Business Research Methods

Business Research

A systematic investigation into a specific problem (question),

undertaken with the purpose of finding answers to it.

 A Systematic Investigation
Survey
Problem Data
(Question)
Analysis

Information (Results)
and Theories

Discussion

Findings, Prediction, Decision

Solutions (Answers)
Recommendation
 Applied vs Basic Research

Next Generation Car Buyer:

• What are the millennial characteristics?

• What are the top desired features of a car
for millennials?
• How do millennials search for information
about a car?
• How to maintain millennials engagement?
 Applied vs Basic Research

Millennial Travellers:

• What are the millennial habits?

• What kind of lodge do millennials need?
• How do millennials search for a lodge?
• How to maintain millennials referral?
 Applied vs Basic Research

Customer Attitude
Customer Satisfaction
Customer Loyalty

• Who are the ‘gurus’ of those basic research streams?

• What are the main journal papers of those basic research streams?
 Applied vs Basic Research
Let’s back to your research questions

Do your research questions lead to an applied or basic research?

If they lead to an applied research, what basic research may

underlie it?
 What the Problem is?

Problem = Reality – Expectation

 Problem Identification:
Problem or Symptom?

The sales in the store drop

significantly

5 Whys Technique
 Root Cause
 Preliminary Research

What is the problem?

Why does the problem exist?
Why is it important? What are the benefits of
solving the problem?
 Preliminary Research

To bring a broad management problem to a feasible research

topic: specific, precise, clear boundaries
• Organization and Environment Information
 Secondary Data
• Academic perspective of the topic of interest
 Journal Papers: structure the previous research
 Problem Statement

1. Research Objectives  Why the study is being done?

Example: to investigate the factors that influence the sales in
the store

2. Research Questions  What to learn about the topic?

Example: what are the factors that affect the sales in the store
and to what extent do the influence of these factors’?
 Types of Research Question:
Exploratory

Not much is known about the situation at hand, or no information

is available on how similar problems or research issues have been
solved in the past.

Example:
A group of students wants to know why the sales in the store
currently drop?
 Types of Research Question:
Descriptive

Enable the researcher to describe the characteristics of the

variables of interest in a situation.

Example:
What is the relationship of each following factor to the
sales in the store?
• The products’ quality
• The price
• The in-store service
 Group Discussion

Describe an example of a problem that is

related to one of these topics, i.e.:
- Digital based Business
- Hospitality, Tourism Business
- Beauty Business
- Fashion Business
- Food and Beverage Business
- etc

Create a research plan

 Research Plan

1. Working title
2. Background and the relevance of the study
• What is the problem? (from symptom to problem: 5 whys technique)
• Why does the problem exist?
• Why is it important? What are the benefits of solving the
problem

3. Problem statement
• The purpose of the study
• Research questions
 Research Proposal

4. Scope of the study

5. Selected bibliography
6. Research design:
• Data collection methods
• Sampling design
• Data analysis
7. Time frame and Budget
2nd Meeting
Literature
Review
 What Theoretical Framework is?

• It represents one’s beliefs on how certain phenomena (or

variables or concepts) are related to each other (a model) and
an explanation on why one believe that these variables are
associated to each other (a theory).
• It leads the way a research move from the general (a theory)
to the specific (observations).
Cash vs. Cashless: How/Why does the payment cost matters?
 The Basic Steps of Theoretical
Framework

• Identify and label the variables

• State the relationships among the variables: formulate
hypotheses
• Explain how or why you expect these relationships
Traditional vs. Online store: How/Why does the efficiency matters

• What are the variables?

• What are the relationships among the variables?
• How or why you expect these relationships?
 Variable

• Any concept that varies/changes in value

• Dependent Variable
- Is of primary interest to the researcher
- The goal of the research project is to understand, predict or explain
the variability of this variable
• Independent Variable
- Influences the Dependent Variables in either positive or negative way
- The variance in the Dependent Variables is accounted for by the
Independent Variables
 Variable

• Moderating Variable:
Moderator is a qualitative
(e.g., gender, race, class) or
quantitative (e.g., level of
reward) variable that
affects the direction and/or
strength of relation
between independent and
dependent variable
 Variable

• Mediating Variable:
surfaces between the time the independent variables start operating to influence
the dependent variable and the time their impact is felt on it.
 Hypothesis

A tentative (yet tested) statement to predict the findings

from the empirical data.
• Directional
• Non-directional
 Give the hypotheses for this relationship

Service Customer
quality switching

Switching
cost • Directional relationship?
• Non-directional relationship?
• How or why you expect these
relationships
 Give the hypotheses for this relationship

Service Customer Customer

quality satisfaction switching

• Directional relationship?
• Non-directional relationship?
• How or why you expect these relationships
 Searching for Literature
https://scholar.google.co.id/

http://library.prasetiyamulya.ac.id/
https://www.mendeley.com/downloads

Organizing
the Literature
Citing a Literature
 Reviewing the Literature

1. What are the research questions and problem statements? Are they clear?
2. What are the relevance of research questions? Why is the research important?
3. What are the contributions of the research?
4. What theories are used in the research?
5. What method is used in the research?
• The data sufficiency
• The validity of the instrument/measures
• The analysis technique
6. How far the findings and conclusions answer the research question?
3th Meeting
The Stages of
Customer
Validation Research
 Secondary Data

Secondary data is the data that have been previously

collected for some purpose, therefore, obtaining
secondary data is faster and less expensive.
 Secondary Data
Objectives

• Fact Finding: Identifying patterns, Tracking trends

• Model Building: Estimating potential market, Forecasting sales,
Selecting trade areas and sales
• Database Marketing: Enhancing customer database, Developing
prospect lists
 Secondary Data
Objectives

In the business research context, secondary data helps to justify

the importance of answering the research questions (Research
Background). For instance to justify:
• Market size
• Potential demand
• Existing supplies
• Competition map.
 Secondary Data
Point of Evaluation

• Is the subject in the secondary data relevant with the

research questions?
• Do the secondary data apply to the population of interest?
• Do the secondary data apply to the time period of interest?
• Do the secondary data appear in the correct units of
measurement?
• Do the secondary data cover the subject of interest in
adequate detail?
 Secondary Data
Sources

• Internal sources
• External sources: libraries, vendors, producers
• Internet: www.ceoexpress.com, www.adage.com,
http://online.wsj.com, www.brint.com
• Single-sources Data-Integrated Information: www.caci.co.uk,
www.claritas.com/MyBestSegments/Default.jsp, www.gfkmri.com
 Qualitative Research

Provide elaborate interpretation of phenomena to address

research objectives and focus on discovering true inner
meanings and new insights.
 Qualitative Research
Objectives

In the business research context, qualitative research helps to

identify customer justify needs and problems (customer journey),
such as:
• The way customers consume the products/service
• The reasons of consuming the products/service
• The purchasing quantity, time, location, etc
 Qualitative Research
Points to Know

• The characteristics of informants

• How to find the informants
• How to analyze and gather the data
• Specific research methods
• Research schedule
 Quantitative Research

Address research objectives through empirical assessments

that involve numerical measurement and analysis.
In the business research context, quantitative research helps
to justify the fit of product’s/service’s attributes and the
customer expectations.
 Quantitative Research
Points to Know

• The tangible and intangible aspects of the products/services

• The characteristics of the respondents
• How to find the informants
• How to analyze and gather the data
• The instruments/questionnaires
• Research schedule
 Alpha Test

Is a test to see if the product does what it is designed to do.

In alpha test, the respondents should not pay for the
product/service.
 Alpha Test
Points to Know

• The tangible aspects of the products/services

• The packaging
• The product/service prototype
• How to measure the attributes of the product/service
• The details of the informants
• How to analyze and gather the data
• Research schedule
 Beta Test

Is a test to see the supporting elements beyond the

product/service itself in order to determine the product's
economic value-to-the-customer.
 Beta Test
Points to Know

• The support features of the products/services

• The marketing mix around the products/services
• The details of the informants
• How to analyze and gather the data
• Research schedule
4th Meeting
Qualitative Research
In Depth Interview (IDI)
and Focus Group
Discussion (FGD)
QUALITATIVE DATA
Qualitative data are usually in the form of words

“They are a source of well-grounded, rich descriptions and

explanations of processes in identifiable local contexts”

(Miles and Huberman, 1994, p. 1)

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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

What?

Why?

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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

• “…an approach for exploring and understanding the meaning

individuals or groups ascribe to social or human problem” (Creswell,
2014, p.4)

• “The researcher builds a complex, holistic picture, analyzes words,

reports detailed views of informants, and conducts the study in a
natural setting” (Creswell, 1998, p. 15)

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WHY TO USE QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
• To take holistic and comprehensive approach to the study of
phenomena
• To explore areas not yet thoroughly researched
• To discover relevant variables that latter can be tested through
quantitative forms of research

(Corbin and Strauss, 2015, p. 5)

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CENTRAL DIFFICULTY

Methods of analysis are not well formulated

“How can we be sure that an ‘earthy,’ ‘undeniable,’ ‘serendipitous’

finding is not, in fact, wrong?”

(Miles, 1979, p.591)

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 VALIDITY

RELIABILITY

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VALIDITY
Qualitative validity: how accurate are the findings?
(Trustworthiness, authenticity and credibility)
(Creswell and Miller, 2000, in Creswell,
2014)

Triangulation: examining evidence from different data sources

(persons, times, places), methods (observation, interview,
document), researchers (investigator A, B, …)

(Miles et al., 2014)

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RELIABILITY
Qualitative reliability: how consistent is the research approach
across different researchers and different projects?
(Gibbs, 2007, in Creswell, 2014)

Research protocol: exhaustive procedures of data

collection and data analysis

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Primary Data Collection

• Primary data collection methods: ways in which data

collected from original sources for the specific purpose of
the study can be gathered.
• The three main data collection methods in survey research
are interviews, observation, and questionnaires.
• Problems researched with the use of appropriate methods
greatly enhance the value of the study.
Interviews
• An interview is a guided, purposeful conversation between two or
more people.
• Unstructured interviews:
• the interviewer does not enter the interview setting with a
planned sequence of questions to be asked of the respondent.
• Structured interviews:
• Conducted when it is known at the outset what information is
needed.
• The interviewer has a list of predetermined questions to be asked
of the respondents either personally, through the telephone, or
via the computer.
Personal Interview-Advantages
• Advantages
• Can clarify doubts about questionnaire
• Can pick up non-verbal cues
• Relatively high response/cooperation
• Special visual aids and scoring devises can be used
Personal Interview-Disadvantages

• Disadvantages
• High costs and time intensive
• Geographical limitations
• Response bias / Confidentiality difficult to be assured
• Some respondents are unwilling to talk to strangers
• Trained interviewers
Telephone Interview

• Advantages
• Discomfort of face to face is avoided
• Faster / Number of calls per day could be high
• Lower cost
• Disadvantages
• Interview length must be limited
• Low response rate
• No facial expressions
Group Interviews

• Focus groups consist typically of eight to ten members

with a moderator leading the discussions on a
particular topic, concept, or product.
Focus Group

• Focus group research is a generic term for any research that

studies how groups of people talk about a clearly defined
issue.
• An expert panel is a group of people specifically convened by
the researcher to elicit expert knowledge and opinion about
a certain issue.
5th Meeting
Qualitative Data
Analysis
QUALITATIVE DATA

• Focus on data in the form of words. (Qualitative data also can appear
as still or moving images)
• The words are based on observation, interviews, or documents
• Such data require some processing:
• Raw field notes need to be corrected, edited, typed up
• Tape recordings need to be transcribed and corrected

(Miles and Huberman, 1994, p. 9)

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COMPONENT OF DATA ANALYSIS

Data Collection Data Display

Conclusions:
Data Condensation Drawing/Verifying

(Miles et al., 2014)

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DATA CONDENSATION

• Process of selecting, focusing, simplifying, abstracting, and/or

transforming the data—written-up field notes, interview transcripts,
documents.
• Data condensation is a form of analysis that sharpen, sorts, focuses,
discards, and organizes data
• It occurs continuously throughout the research project, until a final
report is completed.

(Miles et al., 2014)

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CODING OF DATA

• Codes are labels that assign symbolic meaning to the descriptive or

inferential infromation compiled during a study.
• Codes are usually attached to data “chunks”
(Miles et al., 2014, p.71)

• Coding is the “critical link” between data collection and their

explanation of meaning.
• A code is a researcher-generated construct that symbolizes and thus
attributed interpreted meaning to each individual datum for later purposes of
pattern detection, categorization, theory building …

(Charmaz, 2001, p. 3-4)

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EXAMPLE OF CODING

A PIECE OF FIELD NOTES CODE

“I asked the principal what the need MOTIVATION
for the new program was, and he
responded that the students coming
into the 9th grade were two years
below grade level and that the old
curriculum was ineffective. Through
testing (the Nelson Reading Test) it
was determined that students were
growing academically only 6 to 6
months during the 10-month school
year”
(Miles et al., 2014, p.73)

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DATA DISPLAY

• A visual format that presents information systematically so the user

can draw conclusions take needed action
(Miles et al., 2014, p. 108)

• Example of display in daily life: gasoline gauges, newspapers,

Facebook status update.
• It includes matrices, graphs, charts and networks
(Miles et al., 2014, p. 13)

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 CHECKLIST MATRIX:
CONDITIONS SUPPORTING PREPAREDNESS AT A SCHOOL

Condition For Users For Administrator

Commitment Strong - “wanted to make it work”
Understanding “Basic” (“felt I could do it, but I just wasn’t sure
how.”) for teacher
Absent for aide (“didn’t understand how we were
going to get all this.”)
Materials Inadequate: ordered late, puzzling (“different
from anything ever used.”), discarded
Front-end Training “Sketchy” for teacher (“it all happened so
quickly.”); no demo class
None for aide: (“totally unprepared… I Had to
learn along with the children.”)
Weak at building level.
Prime mover in central office committed; others not
Absent at building level and among staff.
Basic for 2 prime movers (“got all the help we
needed from developer.”)
Absent for other central office staff
N.A.
Prime movers in central office had training at
developers site; non for others.

(Adapted from: Miles and Huberman, 1994, p. 95)

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NETWORKS

• A network is a collection of nodes or points connected by links or

lines that display stream of participant actions, events, and processes.
• Appropriate to a case-oriented approach that re-creates the “plot” of
events over time, as well, as showing complex interrelationships
between variables.

(Miles et al., 2014, p. 111)

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 NETWORKS:
A NETWORK MODEL OF “LIFELONG IMPACT” FROM HIGH SCHOLL SPEECH
PARTICIPATION

Adolescents Acceptance and

Friendship
Status

Competitions

Winning
Speech
Classes
Positive Affects

Sense of
Good Coaching
Belonging
Adolescents and
Adult Confidence

(Source: Saldana (2013) in Miles et al., 2014)

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DRAWING AND VERIFYING CONCLUSIONS

• From the start of data collection, what things mean are interpreted,
noting patterns, explanations, causal flows and propositions
• These conclusions are vague at first, then increasingly explicit and
grounded
• These conclusions should be hold lightly, maintaining openness and
skepticism
• Conclusions are also verified as the analysis is proceeded.

(Miles et al., 2014)

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DRAWING CONCLUSIONS FROM MATRICES AND
NETWORKS
• For drawing first conclusions, use noting patterns, theme, making
contrast, comparisons, clustering, and counting.
• Early conclusion need conformation, checking, and verification:
following up surprises, triangulating, making if-the tests, and checking
out rival explanations.
• Analysis should go beyond descriptive summation, and reach toward
explanation.
• Clarify the conceptual implications of the conclusions–how they tie
into theory of social behavior
(Miles et al., 2014)
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