1

BBA20109 Research Methods in Business

TUTORIAL QUESTIONS

Week 1 Def

1. Dribe With an example of each, discuss how the three hallmarks of science, namely rigor, precision and
confidence, and parsimony apply to a research so that it can be called scientific.

2. Describe the meaning of generalizability and objectivity with an example of each.

3. Provide any five common researched areas in business.

Discussion on assignment questions and rubrics

Week 2


4. Ethical behavior pervades each step of the research process data collection, data analysis, reporting
and dissemination of information of the Internet, if such activity is undertaken. Why?

5. Differentiate between testability and replicability with an example of each.

6. What is a scientific research and how its findings help an organization?

7. Discuss in-depth the differences between applied and basic research.
8. A manager who is faced with several alternative solutions to a particular problem should not
instinctively call for applied research. In fact, the first decision to be made is whether to conduct
research at all. In your opinion, in what situations, it is best not to conduct research.

Week 3
9. Why case study must be an essential tool in the university education?

10. The Internet World Wide Web can be a very powerful tool for doing exploratory research. Discuss.

11. Which type of research aimed at solving a specific, pragmatic problem better understanding of
the marketplace, determination of why a strategy or tactic failed, reduction of uncertainty in
management decision making?

12. Discussion on the construction of a case study
Week 4
13. Describe deductive approach with an example.

14. While inductive method is commonly used in research, it is not always logically valid. Why?

15. A research proposal is the result of a planned, organized and careful effort of a researcher. Discuss
the features of a good research proposal.

16. Discuss how a literature review different from an academic research paper.
17. Why do scholars write literature reviews?
Week 5
18. Searching for online resources for business research (hands-on session)
Week 6
2
19. APA citation style The principles and applications
Week 7
20. Briefly describe how theoretical framework helps a researcher.

21. With an example of each, differentiate between moderating and intervening variables.

22. An applied researcher wants to improve the productivity of a factory operator in toy making factory.
What is the dependent variable in this case?

23. A manager believes that good salary and training will increase the performance levels and decrease
the turnover rate of the marketing staff. Determine the independent, dependent, moderating and
intervening variable in this case.

Week 8
24. Discussion qualitative and quantitative research
Week 9
25. State the importance of hypothesis testing?

26. Explain the meaning of rejecting the null hypothesis and failing to reject the null hypothesis.

27. Describe what is meant by exploratory and descriptive research. Give examples of each type of
enquiry.

28. Discuss what a cross-sectional study means with an example.

29. With an example, state one main application of longitudinal design.

30. What methods of data collection are suited to a case study approach?

31. What does operational definition imply in a research?

Week 10
32. There are four basic types of scales, namely nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio. The degree of
sophistication to which the scales are fine-tuned increases as we move from the nominal to the ratio
scale. Why?

33. State one difference between comparative scaling and noncomparative scaling techniques with an
example of each.

34. Describe any three strengths and weaknesses of Likert scale.

Week 11
35. In the world of marketing, focus groups are seen as an important tool for acquiring feedback
regarding new products. Why?
36. State two principles of measurements that are to be followed to ensure that the data collected are
appropriate to test the hypotheses.

37. Describe the three design principles of a good questionnaire. Why are these issues so vital in
questionnaire design?

38. State one advantage and one disadvantage of conducting observational studies.

39. Electronic questionnaires for business research are becoming increasingly popular today. Why?

40. Briefly discuss the factors determining the choice of data collection methods.
3

41. Explain how the interviewee could bias the data during the interview.

42. Explain how mailed questionnaires are advantageous than other data collection methods.
Week 12
43. Differentiate between a sample and a subject.

44. Why studying a sample rather than the entire population is likely to lead to more reliable results?

45. Explain what probability sampling is and when this design is being used by researchers.

46. Give reason to explain why nonprobability sampling designs cannot be confidently generalized.

47. Both sampling design and sample size are important to establish the representativeness of the sample
for generalizability. Why?

48. Discuss how simple random sampling and systematic sampling work with an example of each.

49. Discuss any three nonprobability sampling designs with an example of each.

Week 13
50. Provide six circumstances when larger sample are needed.
51. Why researchers need to sample the population instead of studying the whole population?

52. Discuss how stratified random sampling design works and differentiate between proportionate and
disproportionate sampling decisions with an example of each.

53. Explain why stratified random sampling is more efficient than the simple random sampling design?

54. Case study discussion sample size determination
Week 14
55. SPSS hands-on session
Week 15
56. Discussion (with sample) good research report & presentation skills