1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Learning Outcomes

• At the end of the topic, you will be able to:

▫ explain the nature and purpose of research

▫ classify different types of research

▫ identify the main stages in the research process

▫ identify the characteristics of a good research

project

▫ Some basic concepts regarding research

2
1

NATURE AND PURPOSE OF RESEARCH

 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Nature and Purpose of Research

• Although Research is central to both business and academic

activities, there is no consensus in the literature on how it
should be defined
• One reason for this is that research means different things to
different people
• Walliman (2001) argues that many of these everyday uses of the
term ‘research’ are not research in the true meaning of the
word
• As part of this, he highlights ways in which the term is used
wrongly:
▫ just collecting facts or information with no clear purpose;
▫ reassembling and reordering facts or information without
interpretation;
▫ as a term to get your product or idea noticed and respected
4
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Nature and Purpose of Research

• Bases on discussion we can see that research has a number of

characteristics:
▫ Data are collected systematically
▫ Data are interpreted systematically
▫ There is a clear purpose: to find things out
• We can therefore define research as something that people
undertake in order to find out things in a systematic way,
thereby increasing their knowledge
• Two phrases are important in this definition:
▫ ‘systematic research’ and ‘to find out things’.
• ‘Systematic’ suggests that research is based on logical
relationships and not just beliefs (Ghauri and Grønhaug, 2005)
• ‘To find out things’ suggests there are a multiplicity of possible
purposes for your research
5
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Nature and Purpose of Research

• All business and management research projects can be

placed on a continuum
• At one extreme of the continuum is research that is
undertaken purely to understand the processes of
business and management and their outcomes
• Such research is undertaken largely in universities and
largely as the result of an academic agenda
• This is often termed basic, fundamental or pure research

6
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Nature and Purpose of Research

• At the other end is research that is of direct and

immediate relevance to managers, addresses issues that
they see as important, and is presented in ways that they
understand and can action on
• This is termed applied research
• Wherever your research project lies on this basic–applied
continuum, we believe that you should undertake your
research with rigour

7
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Nature and Purpose of Research

8
2
TYPES OF BUSINESS RESEARCH AND THE
RESEARCH PROCESS
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Types of Business Research

• Business research can be classified on the basis of either

technique or purpose
• Experiments, surveys, and observational studies are just a
few common research techniques
• Classifying research by its purpose, shows how the nature
of a decision situation influences the research
methodology
• Three types of business research are introduced based on
the above discussion:
▫ Exploratory
▫ Descriptive
▫ Causal (Explanatory)
10
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Exploratory Research

• Exploratory research is conducted to clarify ambiguous

situations or discover potential business opportunities
• As the name implies, exploratory research is not intended
to provide conclusive evidence from which to determine a
particular course of action
• Usually exploratory research is a first step, conducted with
the expectation that additional research will be needed to
provide more conclusive evidence
• Exploratory research is particularly useful in new product
development

11
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Descriptive Research

• As the name implies, the major purpose of descriptive

research is to describe characteristics of objects, people,
groups, organizations, or environments
• In other words, descriptive research tries to “paint a
picture” of a given situation by addressing who, what,
when, where, and how questions
• Unlike exploratory research, descriptive studies are
conducted after the researcher has gained a firm grasp of
the situation being studied
• This understanding, which may have been developed in
part from exploratory research, directs the study toward
specific issues
12
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Causal Research

• Causal research seeks to identify cause and- effect

relationships
• When something causes an effect, it means it brings it
about or makes it happen
• The different types of research discussed here are often
building blocks—exploratory research builds the
foundation for descriptive research, which usually
establishes the basis for causal research

13
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Research Process

Wish to do Research

Formulate Research Topic

Critically Review the Literature

Understand Your Research

Philosophy and Approach

Formulate your Research Design

14
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Research Process

Plan your Data Collection

and Collect Data

Analyze your Data

Writing your Project Report

Submitting the Project

15
 End of the
Presentation

16