Research Methodology

Research???
What do you think when you
hear the word research?
Do you think there is need for
research in business?
What would you do?
Have you noticed Ahmedabad has many over bridges?
Suppose you are the head of your states department of
transportation.
You have to determine which roads and bridges will be resurfaced or
replaced in the next financial year.
What would be your course of action?
Do you think this is also research?
What is Business Research?
A process of planning, acquiring, analyzing, and
disseminating relevant data, information, and insights to
decision makers in ways that mobilize the organization to
take appropriate actions that, in turn, maximize
performance.
A systematic inquiry that provides information to guide
managerial decisions.
The driving forces
Information overload
Technological connectivity
Shifting global centers of economic activity and competition
Increasingly critical scrutiny of big business
More government intervention
Battle for analytical talent
The driving forces
Greater computing power and speed
Lower-cost data collection
Better visualization tools
Powerful computations
More integration of data
Real-time access to knowledge

New perspectives on established research methodologies

 Information and Competitive Advantage
Goals
Business Intelligence : provides the manager with ongoing information about events and trends in the
technological, economic, political and legal, demographic, cultural, social, and, most critically, competitive
arenas.
Strategy : general approach an organization will follow to achieve its goals
Tactics : specific, timed activities that execute a strategy
Purposes of business research
To identify and define opportunities and problems
To define, monitor, and refine strategies
To define, monitor, and refine tactics
To improve our understanding of the various fields of management
 Visionaries

Standardized Decision
Makers

Intuitive Decision Makers

The Research Process
Clarifying the Research Question
Research Proposal
Research Design Strategy
Data Collection and Preparation
Data Analysis and Interpretation
Research Reporting
Management Decision
What Is Good Research?
Purpose clearly defined
Research process detailed
Research design thoroughly planned
High ethical standards applied
Limitations frankly revealed
Adequate analysis for decision makers needs
Findings presented unambiguously
Conclusions justified
Researchers experience reflected
A Research Study: Example 1
You work for ClassicToys, a corporation that is considering the acquisition of a toy manufacturer.
You head a task force to investigate six potential companies
You assemble a team composed of representatives from the relevant functional areas.
Then what do you do?
 A Research Study: Example 2
MoreCoatings, a paint manufacturer, is having trouble maintaining profits.
The owner believes inventory management is a weak area of the companys operations.
What would be your way to work it out?
 Different types of Research Studies
Reporting : provides a summation of data
Descriptive : tries to discover answers to the questions who, what, when, where, how.
Explanatory : attempts to explain the reasons for the phenomenon that the descriptive study only observed
Predictive : provide a plausible explanation for an event after it has occurred, and to predict when and in
what situations the event will occur.
Thinking like a
Researcher