As we move through this course, we will be looking at a

wide range of ways to approach business research,

especially when we look at research designs. For now, it is
simply important to distinguish two major approaches:
Approaches to qualitative and quantitative. Research problems and
Research questions and how they relate to debates ...
 Deductive versus Inductive

An inductive approach starts by

A deductive approach begins by
looking at theory, produces
hypotheses from that theory,
which relate to the focus of
research, and then proceeds to
test that theory.
looking at the focus of research
the organization, a business
problem, an economic issue etc)
and through investigation by
various research methods, aims
to generate theory from the
research.
 A positivist approach is usually associated with natural
science research and involves empirical testing.
It promotes the idea of experimentation and testing to
prove or disprove hypotheses (deductive) and then
Positivist versus generates new theory by putting facts together to

Interpretivist generate “laws” or principles (inductive).

Finally positivist research is about objective rather than

subjective (normative) statements and only the objective
statements are seen to be the proper domain of scientists.
We contrast this with the idea of “interpretivism”.

The interpretivist argument promotes the idea that

subjective thought and ideas are valid. This idea is
based on the work of Max Weber (1864-1920) who
described sociology as a social science “which attempts
the interpretive understanding of social action in order
to arrive at a causal explanation of its course and
effects” (1947 p88).

An interpretivist researcher aims to see the world

through the eyes of the people being studied, allowing
them multiple perspectives of reality, rather than the
“one reality” of positivism.
 Objectivism states that social entities (like organisations, societies, teams) have an
existence, which is separate from the people in them.

Suppose now we consider the idea of a “learning organisation” Clearly people in

organisations can learn, but to what extent could we say the organisation itself
learns? Who teaches it? Who assesses that learning?

Objectivist An objectivist view would say there definitely is an entity (the organisation)
independent of the people in the organisation which can learn and foster learning.

versus Constructivists would say on the contrary that the organisation has no independent
reality. It is

constructivist constructed in the minds of those who think about it. So every time we think about
an organisation, we are “constructing” it into some kind of reality. From this
perspective, the organisation only has an

existence in the minds of people, whether they are the staff or managers,
customers, suppliers,

contractors, government, professional bodies or, of course, business researchers.

 A quantitative approach to research is likely to be
associated with a deductive approach to testing theory,
often using number or fact and therefore a positivist or
natural science model, and an objectivist view of the

Quantitative objects studied.

A qualitative approach to research is likely to be
versus associated with an inductive approach to generating
qualitative? theory, often using an interpretivist model allowing the
existence of multiple subjective perspectives

and constructing knowledge rather than seeking to “find”

it in “reality”.
 In current business and management research, you are
likely to find a mix of both quantitative and qualitative
strategies, looking at observable objective facts where

Quantitative they might be seen to exist, through

the use and manipulation of numbers,and looking also at
versus the perceptions of those involved with these “facts”. So in
qualitative? a practical sense, we try to use the best of both worlds to
investigate the messy reality of

people and organizations.