INTRODUCTION TO

RESEARCH

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INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
 REFERENCE MATERIAL
 PRIMARY REFERENCES
• RESEARCH METHODS FOR BUSINESS – A SKILL BUILDING
APPROACH
by Uma Sekaran
• THE RESEACHER’S TOOLKIT – A COMPLETE GUIDE TO
PRACTITIONER RESEARCH
by David Wilkinson
 SECONDARY REFERENCES
• BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS
by Donald R Cooper & C. William Emory
• BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS
by Donald R Cooper & Pamela S Shindler
• BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS
by William G Zikmund
• RESEARCH SKILLS FOR MANAGEMENT STUDIES
by Alan Berkeley Thomas
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INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
 WHAT IS RESEARCH ? ? ?
 IT IS …..
• THE PROCESS OF FINDING SOLUTIONS TO
PROBLEMS AFTER STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF THE
SITUATIONAL FACTORS.
• THE PROCESS OF REFINING HUMAN EXPERIENCE
FOR ADDING INTO THE STOCK OF KNOWLEDGE
• ANY ORGANIZED INQUIRY CARRIED OUT TO
PROVIDE INFORMATION FOR SOLVING
PROBLEMS.

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INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
 INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
 DEFINITION OF RESEARCH
• “AN ORGANIZED, SYSTEMATIC, DATA BASED,
CRITICAL, OBJECTIVE, SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY OR
INVESTIGATION INTO A SPECIFIC PROBLEM
UNDERTAKEN WITH THE PURPOSE OF FINDING
ANSWERS OR SOLUTIONS TO IT”
• LEADS TO NEEDED INFORMATION THAT
GUIDES MANAGERS TO MAKE INFORMED
DECISIONS TO SUCCESSFULLY DEAL WITH
PROBLEMS

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INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
 INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
 WHY RESEARCH?
 TYPES OF RESEARCH
• APPLIED RESEARCH: AIMED TO SOLVE A
CURRENT PROBLEM
• BASIC RESEARCH: AIMED TO GENERATE A BODY
OF KNOWLEDGE BY COMPREHENDING HOW
PROBLEMS THAT OCCUR IN ORGANIZATIONS CAN
BE SOLVED

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INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
 INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
 IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING OF RESEARCH FOR
MANAGERS
• UNDERSTAND, PREDICT AND CONTROL THEIR ENVIRONMENTS
• IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEM SITUATIONS BEFORE THEY GET
OUT OF CONTROL
• ANALYSE RESEARCH FINDINGS TO ESTABLISH EFFICACY OF
FINDINGS
• EFFECTIVE ANALYSIS OF PUBLISHED RESEARCH FOR OWN
NEEDS/APPLICATION
• INCREASED SENSITIVITY TO MULTIPLE VARIABLES OPERATING
WITHIN A SYSTEM
• FACILITATE DECISION MAKING AND DEVELOP UNDERSTANDING
OF THE RISK FACTORS
• AVERT DISTORTION OF INFORMATION BY VESTED INTERESTS
• SHARE AND ADVISE RESEARCHER OF HIS RESEARCH NEEDS

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INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
 SELECTION OF A RESEARCHER
• AVAILABLE OPTIONS:
1. USE OF INTERNAL
CONSULTANTS/RESEARCHERS
2. HIRING OF EXTERNAL
CONSULTANTS/RESEARCHERS

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INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF EMPLOYING
INTERNAL CONSULTANTS/RESEARCHERS
• ADVANTAGES
 BETTER ACCEPTANCE WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION

 BETTER AWARENESS OF ENVIRONMENTS & CULTURE

 ALSO AVAILABLE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF FINDINGS

AFTER RECOMMENDATIONS ARE ACCEPTED

 LESS COSTLY

• DISADVANTAGES
 STEREOTYPED APPROACH; MAY INHIBIT FRESH IDEAS

 VULNERABILITY TO MANIPULATION BY POWERFUL

COALITIONS WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION

 SKEPTICISM OF ABILITIES WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION

 INFLUENCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL BIASIS MAY AFFECT

FINDINGS

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INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF EMPLOYING
EXTERNAL CONSULTANTS/RESEARCHERS
• ADVANTAGES
 LENDS VARIETY THROUGH EXPERIENCE WITH WORKING

WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

 IN LARGE RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS, IF TRAINED
EFFECTIVELY, THEY BRING UPDATED KNOWLEDGE OF
AVAILABLE MODELS OF PROBLEM SOLVING
• DISADVANTAGES
 HIGHER COST ACTS AS A DETERRENT

 TAKE TIME TO UNDERSTAND THE ORGANIZATION

 NOT READILY ACCEPTED BY EMPLOYEES

 CHARGE ADDITIONAL FEES FOR ASISTANCE IN

IMPLEMENTATION & EVALUATION PHASES

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INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
 INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
 ETHICS IN RESEARCH
• STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOUR IN RESEARCH.
• SAFE GUARDS INTERESTS OF MANAGERS,
RESEARCHERS, ANALYSTS, DATA PROVIDERS
ETC.
• NEED FOR ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR AT ALL
STAGES OF RESEARCH PROCESS ie DATA
COLLECTION, ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION OF
RESULTS.

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INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH