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National University of Modern Languages Faculty of Management Sciences Business Research Methods for MBA 3rd Semester Aug. Dec 2008 Instructor: Dr. Ashraf Ali

(NUML)Islamabad

Importance of the Course :A common experience of all organizations is that the managers thereof encounter problems big and small each day at work, which they have to solve by making rightdecisions. To make right decisions in business the managers should have the ability of thorough investigation or research of the problems, analysis of some data, and make proposal for the solution in the light of this analysis. This course includes basic conceptsof the research methods for business. The specific study areas include Introduction toresearch, knowledge about research and managerial effectiveness, scientificinvestigations, technology and business research, experimental design, data analysis andinterpretation, conclusion of the findings in the written research report etc. Aims and Objectives :The goal of this course is to provide students sound basic background of the businessresearch methods, which would enable them to pursue research studies at higher levels.The students should be motivated to develop interest for undertaking complex research projects. The students should be trained in such a manner that they should feel competentto organize experiments and to provide consultancy services to researchers in other fields. Learning Objectives :1.To make the students learn by conducting experiments, collecting and describing data.2.To provide students with sound knowledge of business research methodology andenable them to solve the problems confidently.3.To expose students with present day experimental work.4.To promote understanding of the subject for the purpose of analyzing data anddrawing valid inferences.5.To prepare the students for positions

jobs in research organizations.6.To motivate students so as to develop interest for undertaking research in the higher education. Methodology :The methods of instructions will include weekly lectures, group discussions in the classroom on the topics related to the literature and professional experience. Practical :Practical be based on the topics of the studied material. Students would be asked toundertake small experiments, analyze on modern computing facilities, and writeconducting remarks and the reports. Assignments :

A number of assignments should have to be submitted on the current studied topics given by the course incharge. Group discussions ;The class should be divided in to small groups including 5-6 students to discuss theassigned experimental work, to collect the literature, to analyze the data and to make afinal report. Books recommended :1.Sekran, U. (2003) Research methods for business (4 th Edition), National Book Foundation, Islamabad, Pakistan2.Marilyn K. Pelosi, Theresa M. Sandifer, Sekran, U. (2001) Research and Evaluationfor Business John Wiley & Sons Inc.3.Donald R. Cooper and Pamela S. Schindler (2003) Business Research Methods (8 th Edition), McGraw-Hill/Irwin4.Ranjit Kumar, Research Methodolgy Sage Publications5.Ingeman Arbonor and Bjoran Berke, Methodology for creating BusinessKnowledge Sage Publications.6.Dam Remenyl, Doing Research in Business knowledge Sage Publications. DavidH. Folz, Survey Research for Public Administration Sage Publications7.C. William Emory, Business Research Methods Irwin Course Outline : Semester WeekCourse Content 1 st WeekIntroduction to research2 nd WeekScientific research3 rd WeekTechnology and business research4 th WeekResearch process5 th 3

WeekResearch process (contd.)6 th WeekThe broad problem area, preliminary data gathering, problemdefinition, theoretical frame work and hypothesis development,elements of research design.7 th WeekExperimental design8 th WeekMeasurement of variables: operational definition and scales9 th WeekMeasurement: scaling, reliability, validity10 th WeekMid Term Exams11 th WeekMid Term Exams12 th WeekSampling13 th WeekData analysis and interpretation14 th WeekResearch Proposal15 th WeekResearch report16 th WeekManagement decision making and research17 th WeekManagement decision making and research (contd.)18 th WeekEnd Term Exams19 th WeekEnd Term Exams Business Research Methods 2

CHAPTER 1Introduction:Research methods provide the knowledge and skills to solve the problems and meet thechallenges of a fast-paced decision- making environment. Research

is simply the process of finding solutions to a problem after a thorough studyand analysis of the situation and data. OR Research is a systematic inquiry aimed at providing information to solve problems. Wedefine business research as a systematic inquiry that provides information to guidebusiness decisions. OR Business research is an organized, systematic, data-based, critical, objective, scientificinquiry or investigation into a specific problem, undertaken with the purpose of finding answers or solution to it. OR Business research is the process of finding solution to a specific problem encountered inthe work setting. Physical research is normally conducted under controlled laboratory conditions while business research seldom is. Business research normally deals with such topics as humanattitude, behavior, and performance. Types of Business Research:Applied research is research done with the intention of applying the results of the findings to solve specific problems being experienced in the organization. For example, a particular product may not be selling well and the manager might want to find the reasonfor this in order to take corrective action. Basic research is research done mainly to increase the understanding of certain problems that commonly occur in organization settings. A university professor may beinterested in investigating the factor that contributes the absenteeism as a matter of mereacademic interest. After gathering information on this topic from several institutions andanalyzing the data, the professor may identify factors such as inflexible work hours,inadequate training of employees, and low morale as primarily influencing absenteeism.Later on, a manager who encounters absenteeism of employees in his organization mayuse this information to determine if these factors are relevant to those particular work settings for problem solving. It is also known as pure research . The Value of acquiring research skills: 3

The knowledge of research is important due to the following reasons: 5

 To gather more information before selecting a course of action. To do a high level research study. To understand research design. To evaluate and resolve a current management dilemma. To establish a career as a research specialist. Steps in conducting Business Research: 1Problem Identification2Statement of Desired Goal or outcome3Research Evidence and Hard Data4Outcome5Identification of possible Cause6Proposed SolutionAt Step 1 you identify that a problem exists or there is an opportunity for improvement.The objective of this step is to develop statement that reflects the current situation.Problems or opportunities for improvement can be identified from customer complaints,employee surveys, focus groups, brainstorming sessions, new regulations, or a variety of other places. For example, the amount of time it takes to get a new product may be toolong, there may bee too many errors in the billing process, customers may be on hold toolong, or there may be too many returns of a particular product. All of these situationsrepresent problems and/or opportunities for improvement. Identification of a problem isan important step in conducting research. It is the reason for collecting and analyzingdata. Otherwise, data analysis occurs in a vacuum and is not connected to businessdecision.Research provides the needed information that guides managers to make informeddecisions to successfully deal with problems. The information provided could be theresult of a careful analysis of the data gathered firsthand or of data that are alreadyavailable (in the company, industry, archives, etc). Data can be quantitative (as generallygathered through structured questions) or qualitative (as generated from the broadanswers to specific questions in interviews, or from responses to open-ended questions ina questionnaire, or through observation, or from already available information gatheredfrom various sources).A common experience of all organizations is that the manager has to solve big and small problems on a daily basis by making the right decisions. In business, research is usually primarily conducted to resolve problematic issues in, or interrelated among, the areas of accounting, finance, management, and marketing. problematic issues of research in Business: 4 Accounting : budget control systems, practices, and procedures are frequently examined.Inventory costing methods, accelerated depreciation, time series behavior of quarterlyearnings, transfer pricing, cash recovery rates, and taxation methods are some of the other areas that are researched. Finance : the operations of financial institutions, optimum financing, yields onmortgages, the behavior of the stock exchange, and the like, become the focus of investigation. Management research: 6

could encompass the study of employee attitude and behavior,human resources management, the impact of changing demographics on management practices, production operations management, strategy formulation, information system,and the like. Marketing research could address issues pertaining to product image, advertising, sales promotion, distribution, packaging, pricing, after-sales service, customer preferences,new product development, and other marketing aspects. Types of the Studies used to do research: Reporting Descriptive Explanatory predictive Good Research: Good research uses the scientific method. Some of the characteristics of the goodresearch are as fallowing:1. Purpose of the research clearly defined: The purpose of the research, or the problem involved, should be clearly defined and sharply delineated in terms asunambiguous as possible. The statement of the research problem should includeanalysis into its simplest elements, its scope and limitations, and precisespecifications of the meanings of all words significant to the research.2. Research procedure described in detail: The research procedures used should be described in sufficient detail to permit another researcher to repeat theresearch.3. Research design thoroughly planned: The procedural design of the researchshould be carefully planned to yield results that are as objective as possible. Whena sampling of the population is involved, the report should include evidenceconcerning the degree of representativeness of the sample. A questionnaire oughtnot to be used when more reliable evidence is available from documentarysources or by direct observation. Bibliographic searches should be as thoroughand complete as possible. Experiments should have satisfactory controls. Directobservations should be recorded in writing as soon as possible after the events.5 Efforts should be made to minimize the influence of personal bias in selecting andrecording data.4. Limitations frankly revealed: The researcher should report, with completefrankness, flaws in procedural design and estimate their effect upon the findings.A competent researcher should be sensitive to the effects of imperfect design, andhis experience in analyzing the data should give him a basis for estimating their influence.5. High ethical standard applied: 7

The observance of ethics begins with the personinstituting the research, who should do so in good faith, pay attention to what theresults indicate, and surrendering the ego, pursue organizational rather than self-interests.6. Analysis of the data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance ,and the methods of analysis used should be appropriate. The validity andreliability of data should be checked carefully. The data should be classified inways that assist the researcher to reach pertinent conclusions. When statisticalmethods are used, the probability of error should be estimated and the criteria of statistical significance applied.7. Findings presented unambiguously: These should be cleared and should be justified with the help of literature.8. Conclusions justified: Conclusions should be confined to those justified by thedata of the research and limited to those for which the data provide an adequate basis.9. Greater confidence in the research is warranted if the researcher isexperienced, has good reputation in research, and is a person of integrity. Manager and Research: Managers with knowledge of research have an advantage over those without. Though youyourself may not be doing any major research as a manager, you will have to understand, predict and control events that are dysfunctional to the organization. For example, a new product developed may not be taking off or a financial investment may not be payingoff as anticipated. Such disturbing phenomena have to be understood and explained.Unless this is done, it will not be possible to predict the future of that product or the prospects of that investment, and how future catastrophic outcomes can be controlled. Agrasp of research methods will enable managers to understand, predict and controlenvironment. Knowledge about research and research methods helps professional manager to: 1.Identify and effectively solve minor problems in the work setting.2.He must have a knowledge, how to discriminate good from bad research.3.Awareness of the multiple effects of the factors impinging on a situation.4.Take calculated risks in decision making, knowing full well the probabilitiesassociated with the different possible outcomes.5.Prevent possible vested interests from exercising their influence in a situation.6.Relate to hired researchers and consultants more effectively.7.Combine experience with scientific knowledge while making decisions.6 When Research should be avoided? When information cannot be applied to a critical managerial decision. When managerial decision involves little risk. When management has insufficient resources to conduct a study. When the cost of the study outweighs the level of risk of the decision. The Manager and the Consultant Researcher: As a manager, you will often need to engage a consultant to study some of the morecomplex, time-consuming problems that you might encounter. It is thus 8

important to beknowledgeable about how to locate and select a researcher, how to effectively interactwith the consultant (the terms researcher and consultant are used interchangeably). The Manager Researcher Relationship :During their career, it often becomes necessary for manager to deal with consultant.When the manager is knowledgeable about research, then the interactions between themanager and researcher become more meaningful, purposeful, and beneficial both to theorganization and the researcher alike. The manager has to inform the researchers whattypes of information could be provided to them, and more important, which of their records would not be made available to them. Such record might include the personalfiles of the employees, or the ones with certain trade secrets. Managers who are veryknowledgeable about research can more easily foresee what information the researchersmight require, and if certain documents containing such information cannot be madeavailable, they can inform the research team about this at the outset. It is vexing for researchers to discover at a late stage that the company will not let them have certaininformation. If they know the constraints right from the beginning, the researchers might be able to identify alternate ways of tackling the problems and to design the research insuch a way as to provide the needed answers. Managers Obligations: Specify problems. Provide adequate background information. Access to company information gatekeepers. Researchers Obligations: Develop a creative research design Provide answers to important business questions The Manager Researcher Conflicts : Managements limited exposure to research Manager sees researcher as threat to personal status Researcher has to consider corporate culture and political situations Researchers isolation from managers7 Internal Consultants/Researchers :Some organizations have their own consulting or research departments, which might becalled the management services department, the organization and methods department, R & D, or by some other name. Such a unit within the organization 9

would be useful inseveral ways, and enlisting its help might be advantageous under some circumstances, butnot in others. The manager often has to decide whether to use internal or externalresearchers. To reach a decision, the manager should be aware of the strengths andweaknesses of both, and weight the advantages and disadvantages of using either, basedon the needs of the solution. Advantages: 1.The internal team would stand a better chance of being readily acceptable by theemployees in the subunit of the organization.2.The team would require much less time to understand the structure, the philosophy and climate, and the functioning and work systems of theorganization.3.They would be available for implementing their recommendations after theresearch findings are accepted.4.The internal team might cost considerably less than an external team for thedepartment enlisting help in problem solving, because they will need less time tounderstand the system due to their continuous involvement with various units of the organization. For problems that are of low complexity, the internal teamwould be ideal. Disadvantages of Internal Consultants/Researchers: 1.In view of their long tenure as internal consultants, the internal team may quite possibly fall into a stereotyped way of looking at the organization and its problems. This would inhibit any fresh ideas and perspectives that might beneeded to correct the problems.2.There is scope for certain powerful coalitions in the organization to influence theinternal team to conceal, distort, or misrepresent certain facts. In other words,certain vested interests could dominate, especially in securing a sizable portion of the available scant resources.3.There is also a possibility that even the most highly qualified internal researchteams are not perceived as experts by the staff and management, and hence their recommendations do not get the considerations and attention they deserve.4.Certain organizational biases of the internal research team might in someinstances make the findings less objective and consequently less scientific. External Consultant/Researchers: The disadvantages of the internal research teams turn out to be the advantages of theexternal teams, and the formers advantages work out to be the disadvantages of thelatter.8

Advantages: 1.The external team can draw on a wealth of experience from having worked withdifferent types of organizations that have had the same or similar types of problems.2.The external teams, especially those from established research and consultingfirms, might have more knowledge of current sophisticated problemsolvingmodels through their periodic training programs, which the teams within theorganization may not have access to. Disadvantages: 1.The cost of hiring an external research team is usually high and is the maindeterrent, unless the problems are very critical.2.In addition to the considerable time the external team takes to understand theorganization to be researched, they seldom get a warm welcome, nor are readilyaccepted by employees. Departments and

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individuals likely to be affected by theresearch study may perceive the study team as a threat and resist them. Therefore,soliciting employees help and enlisting their cooperation in the study is a littlemore difficult and time-consuming for the external researchers than for theinternal teams.3.The external team also charges additional fees for their assistance in theimplementation and evaluation phases. Ethics and Business Research: Ethic in business research refers to a code of conduct or expected societal norm of behavior while conducting research. Ethical conduct applies to the organization and themembers that sponsor the research, the researchers who undertake the research, and therespondents who provide them with the necessary data. The observance of ethics beginswith the person instituting the research, who should do so in good faith, pay attention towhat the results indicate, and surrendering the ego, pursue organizational rather than self-interests. Ethical conduct should also be reflected in the behavior of the researchers whoconduct the investigation, the participants who provide the data, the analysts who providethe results, and the entire research team that presents the interpretation of the results andsuggests alternative solution.9 CHAPTER 2Scientific Research Scientific research focuses on solving problems and pursues a step-by-step logical,organized, and rigorous (exact) method to identify the problems, gather data, analyzethem, and draw valid conclusions there from. The scientific research is not based on hunches, experience, and intuition (though thesemay play a part in final decision making), but is purposive and rigorous. Because of therigorous way in which it is done, scientific research enable all those who are interested inresearching and knowing about the same or similar issues to come up with comparablefindings when the data are analyzed. Scientific research also helps researchers to statetheir findings with accuracy and confidence. This helps various other organizations toapply those solutions when they encounter similar problems. Furthermore, scientificinvestigation tends to be more objective than subjective, and helps managers to highlightthe most critical factors at the workplace that need specific attention so as to avoid,minimize, or solve problems. Scientific investigation and managerial decision making areintegral aspects of effective problem solving. The term scientific research applies to both basic and applied research. Applied research may or may not be generalize able to other organizations, depending on the extent to which differences exist in such factors as size,nature of work, characteristics of the employees, and structure of the organization. Nevertheless, applied research also has to be an organized and systematic process where problems are carefully identified, data scientifically gathered and analyzed, andconclusions drawn in an objective manner for effective problem solving.Sometimes the problem may be so simple that it does not call for elaborate research, and past experiences might offer the necessary solution. At other times, exigencies of time,unwillingness to expand the resources needed for doing good research, lack of knowledge, and other factors might prompt business to try to solve problems based onhunches. However, the probability of making wrong decisions in such cases is high. The Hallmarks ( Characters, Tasdeeq, Mustanid) of Scientific Research:

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The hallmarks or main distinguishing characteristics of scientific research may be asfollow: 1.Purposiveness: The manager has started the research with definite aim or purpose. The focus is onincreasing the commitment of employees to the organization, as this will be beneficial inmany ways. An increase in employee commitment will translate into less turnover, lessabsenteeism, and probably increased performance levels, all of which would definitely benefit the organization. The research thus has a purposive focus. 2.Rigor: A good theoretical base and a sound methodological design would add rigor to a purposive study. Rigor connotes carefulness, scrupulousness, and the degree of exactitudein research investigations.10 3.Testability: If, after talking to a random selection of employees of the organization and study of the previous research done in the area or organizational commitment, the manager or researcher develops certain hypotheses on how employee commitment can be enhanced,then these can be tested by applying certain statistical tests to the data collected for the purpose (t-test or chi-test).Scientific research thus lends itself to testing logically developed hypotheses to seewhether or not the data support the educated conjectures or hypotheses that are developedafter a careful study of the problem situation. Testability thus becomes another hallmark of scientific research. 4.Replicability: Suppose that the researcher concludes that participation in decision making is one of themost important factors that influences the commitment of employees to the organization.We will place more faith and credence in these findings and conclusion if similar findingsemerge on the basis of data collected by other organizations employing the samemethods. To put it differently, the results of the tests of hypotheses should be supportedagain and yet again when the same type of research is repeated in other similar circumstances. To the extent that this does happens (i.e. the results are replicated or repeated), we will gain confidence in the scientific nature of our research. In other words,our hypotheses would not have been supported merely by chance, but are reflective of thetrue state of affairs in population. Replicability is thus another hallmark of scientificresearch. 5.Precision and confidence:Precision (accuracy) refers to the closeness of the findings to reality based on asample. For example, if the number of the production days lost during the year due toabsenteeism estimated at between 30 and 40, as against the actual of 35, the precision of the estimation compares more favorably than if there indicated that the loss of productiondays was somewhere between 20 and 50. This term may call as confidence interval instatistics, which is what is referred to here as precision. Confidence refers to the probability that our estimations are correct. That is, it is notmerely enough to be precise, but it is also important that we can confidently claim that95% of the time our results would be true and there is only a 5% chance of our beingwrong. This is also known as confidence level. The narrower the limits within which wecan estimate the range of our predictions (i.e. the more precise our findings) and 12

thegreater the confidence we have in our research results, the more useful and scientific thefindings become. In social science research, a 95% confidence level which implies thatthere is only a 5% probability that the findings may not be correct is accepted asconventional, and is usually referred to as a significance level of .05 (p= .05). Thus precision and confidence are important aspects of research, which are attained throughappropriate scientific sampling design. The greater the precision and confidence we aimat in our research, the more scientific is the investigation and the more useful are theresults.11 6. Objectivity :The conclusion drawn through the interpretation of the results of data analysis should beobjective; that is, they should be based on the facts of the findings derived from actualdata, and not on our own subjective or emotional values. For instance, if we had ahypothesis that stated that greater participation in decision making will increaseorganizational commitment, and this was not supported by the results, it makes no senseif the researcher continues to argue that increased opportunities for employee participation would still help! Such an argument would be based, not on the factual, data- based research findings, but on the subjective opinion of the researcher. If this was theresearchers conviction all along, then there was no need to do research in the first place.Much damage can be sustained by organizations that implement nondata-based or misleading conclusion drawn from research. 7.Generalizability Generalizability refers to the scope of applicability of the research findings in oneorganizational setting to other settings. Obviously, the wider the range of applicability of the solutions generated by research, the more useful the research is to users. For instance,if a researcher`s findings that participation in decision making enhances organizationalcommitment are found to be true in a variety of manufacturing, industrial, and serviceorganizations, and not merely in the particular organization studied by the researcher,then the generalizability of the findings to other organizational settings is enhanced. Themore generalizable the research, the greater its usefulness and value. However, not manyresearch findings can be generalized to all other settings, situations, or organizations. 8.Parsimony: Simplicity in explaining the phenomena or problems that occur, and in generatingsolutions for the problems, is always preferred to complex research frameworks thatconsider an unmanageable number of factors. For instance, if two or three specificvariables in the work situation are identified, which when changed would raise theorganizational commitment of the employees by 45%, that would be more useful andvaluable to the manager than if it were recommended that he should change 10 differentvariables to increase organizational commitment by 48%. Such an unmanageable number of variables might well be totally beyond the managers control.Therefore, the achievement of a meaningful and parsimonious, rather than an elaborateand cumbersome, model for problem solution becomes a critical issue in research.Economy in research models is achieved when we can build into our research framework a lesser number of variables that would explain the variance far

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more efficiently than acomplex set of variables that would only marginally add to the variance explained. Methods of scientific research:Deduction: Deduction is the process by which we arrive at a reasoned conclusion by logicalgeneralization of a known fact. For example, we know that all high performers are highly proficient in their jobs.12

Induction: Induction is a process where we observe certain phenomena and on this basis arrive atconclusions. In other words, in induction we logically establish a general proposition based on observed facts. For instance, we see that the production processes are the primefeatures of factories or manufacturing plants. We therefore conclude that factories existfor production purposes.Both the deductive and the inductive processes are applied in scientific investigations.Theories based on deduction and induction help us to understand, explain, and/or predict business phenomena.1You push the light switch and find no light2You ask the question, Why no light? (induction)3You infer a conclusion (hypotheses) to answer the question and explain the factthat the bulb is burned out. (deduction)4You use this hypothesis to conclude (deduce) that the light will not go on whenwe push the switch. We know from experience that burned-out bulb will not light. Hypothetico-deductive method: When research is designed to test some specific hypothesized outcome, as for instance, tosee if controlling aversive noise in the environment increase the performance of individuals in solving mental puzzles, the following steps ensue. The investigator beginswith the theory that noise adversely affects mental problems solving. The hypothesis isthen generated that if the noise is controlled, mental puzzles can be solved more quicklyand correctly. Based on this a research project is designed to test the hypothesis. Theresults of the study help the researcher to deduce or conclude that controlling the aversivenoise does indeed help the participants to improve their performance on mental puzzles.This method of starting with a theoretical framework, formulating hypotheses, andlogically deducing from the results of the study is known as the hypothetico-deductivemethod.The building blocks of scientific inquiry are depicted in figure and include the processesof initially observing phenomena, identifying the problem, constructing a theory as towhat might be happening, developing hypotheses, determining aspects of the researchdesign, collecting data, analyzing the data, and interpreting the results. The seven step process in the Hypothetico-deduction method:1.Observation: Observation is the first stage, in which one senses that certain changes are occurring,or that some new behaviors, attitudes, and feelings are surfacing in ones environment(i.e. the workplace).The people-oriented manager is always sensitive to and aware of what is happening inand around the workplace. Changes in attitudes, behaviors, communication patternsand styles, and a score of other verbal and nonverbal cause can be readily picked up by managers who are sensitive to the various nuances.13

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When there is indeed a problem in the situation, the manager may not understandwhat exactly is happening, but can definitely sense that things are not what theyshould be.Likewise, a drop in sales, frequent production interruptions, incorrect accountingresults, low yielding investments, disinterestedness of employees in their work, andthe like, could easily attract the attention of the manager, though why they may beoccur may be an enigma (puzzle). 2.Preliminary information gathering: Preliminary information gathering involves the seeking of information in depth, of what is observed. This could be done by talking informally to several people in thework setting or to clients, or to other relevant sources, thereby gathering informationon what is happening and why. By doing library research, or obtaining informationthrough other sources, the investigator would identify how such issues have beentackled in other situations.Thus a mass of information would have been collected through the interviews andlibrary search. The next step is to make sense of the factors that have been identifiedin the information-gathering stage by piecing them together in some meaningfulfashion. 3.Theory formulation: Theory formation is an attempt to integrate all the information in a logical manner, sothat the factors responsible for the problem can be conceptualized and tested. In thisstep the critical variables are examined as to their contribution or influence inexplaining why the problem occurs and how it can be solved. Understanding Theory: Components and Connections: When we do research, we seek to know What is in order to understand, explain, and predict phenomena. We might want to answer the question, what will be the employeereaction to the new flexible work schedule? When dealing with such questions, wemust agree on definitions. Which employee? What kind of reaction?? What are themajor indicators??? These questions require the use of concepts, constructs, anddefinitions.If one is to understand and communicate information about objects and events, theremust be a common ground on which to do it. Concepts are used for this purpose. Aconcept is a bundle of meanings or characteristics associated with certain events,objects, conditions, situations, and the like. Concepts are created by classifying andcategorizing objects or events that have common characteristics beyond the singleobservation. We abstract such meanings from reality and use words as labels todesignate them. For example, we see a man passing and think, he is running, walking,skipping, crawling, or hopping. These movements all represent concepts. Construct is an image or idea specifically invented for a given research and theory building purpose. We build constructs by combining the simpler concepts, especiallywhen the idea or image we intend to convey is not directly subject to observation. 4.Hypothesizing: From the theorized network of associations among the variables, certain hypothesesor educated conjectures can be generated. For instance, at this point, one mighthypothesize that if a sufficient number of items are stocked on shelves, customer 14

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dissatisfaction will be considerably reduced. This is a hypothesis that can be tested todetermine if the statement would be supported.Hypothesis testing is called deductive research.5. Further Scientific Data collection: After the development of the hypotheses, data with respect to each variable in thehypotheses need to be obtained. 6.Data Analysis: In this step the Data gathered are statistically analyzed to see if the hypotheses thatwere generated have been supported. 7.Deduction: Deduction is the process of arriving at conclusions by interpreting the meaning of theresults of the data analysis. Based on these deductions, the researcher would makerecommendations on how the customer dissatisfaction problem could be solved. Case Studies: Case Studies involve in-depth, contextual analysis of similar situation in other organizations, where the nature and definition of the problem happen to be the same asexperienced in the current situation. Action Research: Action research is sometimes undertaken by consultants who want to initiate change processes in organizations. In other words, action research methodology is mostappropriate while effecting planned changes. Here, the researcher begins with a problemthat is already identified, and gathers relevant data to provide a tentative problemsolution. This solution is then implemented, with the knowledge that there may beunintended consequences following such implementation. The effects are then evaluated,defined, and diagnosed, and the research continues on an ongoing basis until the problemis fully resolved.15

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Bottom of Form TIP Press Ctrl-F to quickly search anywhere in the document. F Top of Form Search Bottom of Form Search History: Searching... Result 00 of 00 00 results for result for p. Sections CHAPTER 1 Introduction: CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 The Research Process CHAPTER 7 Experimental Designs CHAPTER 8 Measurement of Variables Operational Definition and Scales CHAPTER 9 Measurement: Scaling, Reliability, Validity CHAPTER 10 Data Collection Methods CHAPTER 11 Sampling CHAPTER 12 Data Analysis and Interpretation CHAPTER 13 The Research Report More From This User Related Documents More From This User

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