The nature of business and management research

and structure of this book

Chapter 01 - Summary

Research Methods for Business Students

BM 5207 - Research Methods for Managers

G.G.N.M.L.C.K.Nawarathna
# 17253
Chapter objectives

• Be able to outline the purpose and distinct focus of management research.

• Be able to place your research project on a basic-applied research
Continuum according to its purpose and contex.
• Understand the stages you will need to complete (and revisit) as part of
Your research process
• Have an overview of this book’s purpose, structure and features;
• Be aware of some of the ways you can use this book.

Contents
Introduction to the research process ............................................................................................... 2
What is research? ............................................................................................................................ 2
The nature of business and management research .......................................................................... 3
The research processes .................................................................................................................... 4
Introduction to the research process

This book teaches the different steps one should take when conducting business and management
research. It will help you to undertake a research project by providing a range of approaches,
strategies, techniques and procedures. Throughout this book the term methods and methodology
will be used. However, some may think these terms refer to the same thing, they actually have
different meanings.

• Methods :- refers to techniques and procedures used to obtain and analyses data.
• Methodology: refers to the theory of how research should be undertaken.

What is research?
Definition
‘Something that people undertake in order to find things out in a systematic way, thereby
increasing their knowledge’
Saunders et al. (2009)
People conduct research to systematically investigate things in order to enhance their knowledge,
but research is not merely collecting data.

• Data are collected systematically

• Data are interpreted systematically
• There is a clear goal: to discover new findings

for you to systematically behavior research based on logical relationships, a researcher have to
provide an rationalization of the methods used to gather records, show why the outcomes are
meaningful and description any obstacles to the studies. The goal of studies is not simplest to
provide an explanation for, describe, criticize, recognize or examine something, however also to
certainly discover a clear solution to a specific hassle.
The nature of business and management research

Using our earlier definition of research, it would seem sensible to define business and management
research as undertaking systematic research to find out things about business and management.
• managers draw on knowledge from other disciplines
• Managers are more likely to allow access if they see
• commercial or personal advantage
• Managers now tend to be as educated as the researchers
• Managers require research to have some practical consequence
Management research is different from other kinds of research because it is transdisciplinary
(multiple studies are involved with it) and it is a design science. Moreover, it has to be theoretically
and methodologically accurate, while at the same time being of practical relevance in the business
world. The researcher Michael Gibbons has introduced 3 modes of knowledge creation:
• Mode 1 – creating fundamental knowledge.
• Mode 2 – creating practical relevant knowledge, with emphasis on collaboration.
• Mode 3 – creating knowledge that is mainly relevant to the human condition.
Research that only emphasizes Mode 1 ways of creating knowledge which only focuses on
understanding business and management processes and their outcomes is called basic, fundamental
or pure research. Another type of research is called applied research where the emphasis is more
on Mode 2. In this case research is only being conducted direct relevance to managers and is
presented in ways these managers can understand and act upon. Pure and applied research are two
extremes, in order to successfully conduct business and management research there has to be a
balance between the theoretical (Mode 1) and practical (Mode 2) part of research.
The characteristics of pure/basic and applied science are summarized in
figure 1.1
The research processes

When doing research on needs to go through several stages, usually involving: formulating and
clarifying the research topic, reviewing the literature, designing the research, collecting the data,
analyzing the data and finally the writing. However, it is not always necessary to pass through
these stages one at a time. More frequently the stages in a research process will cross-refer to other
stages, meaning that there is no linear line in the research process.

Stages of the research process

• Formulating and clarifying a topic
• Reviewing the literature
• Designing the research
• Collecting data
• Analysing data
• Writing up
Factors to consider
• The impact of your personal feelings and beliefs
• Access to data
• Time and other resources
• Validity and reliability of the data
• Ethical issues

Overview of the Chapters

• Tutorials for data analysis software

• Smarter Online Searching Guide
• Terminology that is defined and explained
• Examples of research projects
• Checklists for focused guidance