This document provides an overview of business research methods. It defines research as the process of finding solutions to problems through thorough study and analysis. Business research uses information gathered from data to help managers make informed decisions. The objectives, types, and importance of research are discussed. The scientific investigation process and various research approaches, including quantitative and qualitative methods, are also outlined. Finally, elements of the research process like hypotheses, sampling, data analysis, and reporting are defined.

1. 1st chapter
Business Research
Method
Studies
By
Venkatesh.N
Koshys Institute of Management

8. 1 Introduction to Research

1.1What is research?

Research is the process of finding solutions to a
problem after a thorough study and analysis of the
situational factors.

9. 1.2.What is business research?
• Research provides the needed
information that guides
managers to make informed
decisions to successfully deal
with problems.
• The information provided
could be the result of a careful
analysis of data gathered
firsthand or of data that are
already available (in the
company).

11. Objectives of research



The objectives of a research project summarize what is to be
achieved by the study. These objectives should be closely
related to the research problem.
The general objective of a study states what researchers
expect to achieve by the study in general terms. It is
possible (and advisable) to break down a general objective
into smaller, logically connected parts.
These are normally referred to as specific objectives.
Specific objectives should systematically address the
various research questions. They should specify what you
will do in your study, where and for what purpose.

12. 
Why should research objectives be developed?

The formulation of objectives will help you to:

Focus the study (narrowing it down to essentials);
Avoid the collection of data which are not strictly necessary
for understanding and solving the problem you have
identified;
Organize the study in clearly defined parts or phases.
Properly formulated, specific objectives will facilitate the
development of your research methodology and will help to
orient the collection, analysis, interpretation and utilization
of data.




13. How should you state your objectives?

It is important that your objectives are stated in a good way.
Take care that the objectives of your study:

Cover the different aspects of the problem and its
contributing factors in a coherent way and in a logical
sequence;

Are clearly phrased in operational terms, specifying exactly
what you are going to do, where, and for what purpose;
Are realistic considering local conditions;


14. Contd…


Use action verbs that are specific enough to be evaluated
(Examples of action verbs are: to determine, to compare, to
verify, to calculate, to describe, and to establish). Avoid the
use of vague non-action verbs (Examples of non-action
verbs: to appreciate, to understand, or to study).
Keep in mind that when the project is evaluated, the results
will be compared to the objectives. If the objectives have
not been spelled out clearly, the project cannot be evaluated.

15. Introduction Research
approaches




The clear identification of the approaches to the
research can be made only by analyzing the
different types of research
The very basic purpose of conducting the
descriptive (straightforward) research work is to
analyze the facts and investigate the existing
situation.
It focus mainly on the different dimension of the
problems under study.
The researcher doesn’t have any control over the
variable(unpredictable) associated with research.

16. Applied research



The purpose of applied research is to find a solution
to the immediate problems faced by the society. It is
action oriented research study.
Pure Research:-the pure research aim at finding
some thing to the society . it is an in-depth scientific
research focused in developing knowledge to the
society.
It is also called as fundamental research brings new
ideas, to the existing body of the knowledge.

17. Quantitative research


Quantitative research is based on the quality
or the amount. The outcome of the study is
presented through monetary or numerical
terms.
The qualitative approaches are popularly used
to find the behavior of the people under study.

18. Quantitative approach



If the sales of the company is connected with the
profit for the previous years, it is clearly gives the
confidence to the researcher to draw the conclusion
that sales and income or profit are directly related to
each other, and when the sales is increases, profit of
the company is increases .
The quantitative approaches of analysis used
regularly the different types of qualitative analysis.
The analysis will be based on the numerical ,
percentage and in the monetary terms.
Further quantitative research also consists of usage
of many statistical tolls like arithmetic mean, median,

19. Qualitative Approach

It is based on subjective examination of behavior,
attitude, opinions, behavior impressions etc….the
simplification of research support are mainly made
on the basis of non qualitative terms, in other wards,
by adopting group discussion, group interviews,
projective techniques, in-depth interviews of the
respondents etc..

27. Exploratory or Formulative research
Exploratory research is preliminary study of an
unfamiliar problems about which the researcher has
little or no knowledge.
It is similar to a doctors initial investigation of a patient
suffering from an unfamiliar malady for getting some
clues for identifying it.

33. 1.3.Types of Business research.





1.Applied research
Is to solve a current problem faced by the manager in
the work setting, demanding a timely solution.
2.Basic research (fundamental, pure)
Is to generate a body of knowledge by trying to
understand how certain problems that occur in
organizations can be solved.
The findings of such research contribute to the
building of knowledge in the various functional areas
of business.

34. Why is it important for managers to know about research?






Solve problems
Decision making tool
Competition
Risk
Investment
Hire researchers and consultants more effectively

35. 2 Scientific Investigation






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
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1 Observation
2 Identification of problem area
3 Theoretical framework
4 Hypotheses
5 Research design
6 Data collection
7 Data analysis
8 Data interpretation
9 Implementation

36. 1.Observation –
2. Identification of problem area
3. Theoretical framework

37. 4 Hypotheses—
5 Research design-
6 Data collection-

38. 7 Data analysis-
8 Data interpretation-
9 Implementation-

39. 4. Hypotheses- Definition: A hypothesis is a
tentative statement about the relationship between
two or more variables.(unpredictable)
A hypothesis is a specific, testable prediction about
what you expect to happen in your study.
For example, a study designed to look at the
relationship between sleep deprivation(loosing
something) and test performance might have a
hypothesis that states,
"This study is designed to assess the hypothesis that
sleep deprived(loss) people will perform worse on a
test than individuals who are not sleep deprived."

40. The seven-step process in the Hypothetico-Deductive
method







1 Observation
2 Problem identification
 preliminary information gathering
3 Theoretical framework
 theory formulation
4 Hypothesizing
5 Research design
 further scientific data collection
6 logical analysis
7 Deduction

41. The seven-step process

problem statement is a clear, defined, and brief statement of the
question or issue that is to be investigated with the goal of
finding an answer or solution.

Theoretical framework is the foundation on which the entire
research project is based. It is logically developed,described,and
elaborated network of associations among the variables relevant
to the problem situation.

A hypothesis is a tentative(uncertain) statement that proposes a
possible explanation to some phenomenon or event. A useful
hypothesis is a testable statement which may include a
prediction. A hypotheses should not be confused with a theory.

.

42. Contd….

Data analysis: the data gathered are statistically analyzed to
see if the hypotheses that were generated have been
supported.

Measurement is the process observing and recording the
observations that are collected as part of a research effort.

Deduction is the process of arriving at conclusions by
interpreting the meaning of the data analysis results

43. What is meant by
approach?

It is the whole design including;
assumptions, the process of inquiry, the
type of data collected and the measuring
of findings.

44. Split the overall research design into the
following parts:




(a) sampling design
 the method of selecting items to be observed;
(b) observational design
 the conditions under which the observations are to be made;
(c) statistical design
 the question of how many items are to be observed and how
the information and data gathered are to be analysed;
(d) operational design
 the techniques by which the procedures specified in the
sampling, statistical and observational designs can be carried
out.

45. 45/42

The important features of a research design

(i) a plan


(ii) a strategy


specifies the sources & types of information relevant to the
research problem
which approach will be used for gathering and analyzing the
data.
(iii) the time and cost budgets

most studies are done under these two constraints

46. 46/42

Research design must, at least, contain—
 (a) a clear statement of the research
problem;
 (b) procedures and techniques to be
used for gathering information;
 (c) the population to be studied;
 (d) methods to be used in processing
and analyzing data

47. Researcher′s work in graphic form
Results
Research
Plan of research
Met hods
Aims of research
H y p o t h e s i s
Review of literature
Searching for scientific problem
Aztec Pyramide

48. The Research process
The research process should be understood as one of ongoing
planning, searching, discovery, reflection, synthesis, revision, and
learning, as shown in the figure


49. The Research Cycle

The Research Cycle
 QUESTIONING
 PLANNING
 GATHERING
 SORTING & SIFTING
 SYNTHESIZING
 EVALUATING
 REPORTING*

51. Information needs in business



Almost every organization has to engage in research
at some level to stay competitive.
Companies gather data both from within and outside
the organization.
The methods used to gather,analyze,and synthesize
information from the external and internal
environments are becoming increasingly complicated
to the huge scope of computer technology.

52. Computer Technology and Business




ICT
Information
Communication
Technology

53. The research process











1 Observation
2 Data gathering
3 Problem definition
4 Theoretical framework (variables identified)
5 Hypotheses
6 Research design
7 Data collection,analysis,interpretation
8 Deduction
9 Report writing
10 Report presentation
11 Managerial decision making

54. Research design

Purpose of the study:
 Exploratory (Investigating) study
 Is undertaken when no information is available on how
similar problems or research issues have been solved in the
past
 Descriptive (straight forward)study
 Is to able to describe the characteristics of the variables of
interest in a situation.

55. Contd….

Hypotheses testing
 Is undertaken to explain the difference in the dependent
variable (changeable) or to predict organizational
outcomes

Case studies

Research design can be thought of as the structure of
research -- it is the "glue" that holds all of the elements in a
research project together

56. Data collection methods






Data can be collected in a variety ways ,data sources
can be primary or secondary.
Data collection methods such as:
interview(face-to-face,telephone,computer-assisted
interviews),
Questionaires
Observation
Motivational techniques

58. Sampling




A sample is a subset of the population.
Sample is the process of selecting a sufficient number of
elements from the population.
Studying a sample rather the entire population is
sometimes to lead to more dependable results, mostly
because fatigue(energy) is reduced, resulting in fewer
errors on collection data. (time, cost, human resources)
Surveys are useful and powerful in finding answers to
research question but if data are not collected from the
people or objects that can provide the correct answers to
solve the problem, the survey will be in ineffective.

59. Data Analysis and Interpretation

The data analysis involves three major steps, done in
approximately this order:

Cleaning and organizing the data for analysis (Data
Preparation)

Describing the data (Descriptive Statistics)

Testing Hypotheses and Models (Inferential
Statistics)

60. Statistics methods

Central tendency

61. The Research Report

Researh proposal

Research report

Research presentation

62. Research report articles vary in how they are organized, :

Abstract (theoretical) - Brief summary of the contents of the
article (peace of writing)

Introduction - A explanation of the purpose of the study, a
statement of the research question(s) the study intends to
address

Literature review - A critical assessment of the work done so
far on this topic, to show how the current study relates to
what has already been done

Methods - How the study was carried out (e.g. instruments
or equipment, procedures, methods to gather and analyze
data)

63. Contd…

Results - What was found in the course of the study

Discussion - What do the results mean

Conclusion - State the conclusions and
implications of the results, and discuss how it
relates to the work reviewed in the literature
review; also, point to directions for further work in
the area

64. Research Method v/s Research
Methodology




We can say that research methodology has many
dimensions & research method do constitute a part
of the research methodology
The scope of research methodology is wider than
that of research methods.
Research methodology is a way to systematically
solve the research problem.
It may be understood as a science of studying how
research is done scientifically

65. Contd…

In it we study the various steps that are
generally adopted by a researcher in studying
his research problem along with the logic
behind them

66. R. Method
v/s
R. Methodology
• Research methodology
explains the methods by
• Research method are
which you may proceed
the methodology which
with your research.
you conducted research
• Research methodology
in to a subject or a
involves the learning of
topic.
the various techniques
• Research of experiment
that can be used in the
tests surveys and the
conducted of research &
like.
in the conduct of tests,
experiment , surveys ,
critical studies search

67. Contd…
• Research methods aim
at finding solutions to
research problems.
• Research methodology
aim at the employment
of the correct procedure
to find out solution.
• If the subject for
research is employment
of figure of speech in
English literature
• If the subject for
research is employment
of figure of speech in
English literature

68. Contd…
• Then the research
method that are
involved are study of
various works of the
different poets & the
understanding of the
employment of figure of
speech in their works
• Than the research
methodology pertaining
to the topic mentioned
above involves the
study about the tools of
research, collation of
various manuscripts
related to the topic,
techniques involved in
the critical edition of
these manuscripts and

69. Contd…
• If the subject into which • If the subject into which
you conduct a research
you conduct a research
is a scientific subject or
is a scientific subject or
topic.
topic.
• The research
methodology pertaining
• Then the research
to the scientific topic
methods include
involves the techniques
experiment, tests, study
regarding how to go
about conducting the
of various other results
research, the tools of
of different experiment
research , advance
performed earlier in
techniques that can be
relation to the topic or
used in the conduct of
the experiment and the
the subject & the like
like

70. Research Proposal



Title Page
Abstract (on a separate single page)
The Body (no page breaks between sections in the body)
 Introduction (2-3 pages)
 Methods (7-10 pages)
 Sample (1 page)
 Measures (2-3 pages)
 Design (2-3 pages)
 Procedures (2-3 pages)
 Results (2-3 pages)
 Conclusions (1-2 pages)

71. Contd….
References
 Tables (one to a page)
 Figures (one to a page)
 Appendices


72. Question?








How can you solve business problem?
Why do you need to know how to write the research
proposal?
Do you understand the research process?
Do you know why do you have to identify problem
statement clearly before doing research?
Do you know why sampling and statistics are important to
the research result?
Why do you have to identify the limitation of your study?
Why the research report and presentation are important?
Do you know how to apply the steps of the research
process ?

73. Questions






1.If you want to set up a coffee shop near the
university and school, what is your research topic?
2.Identify the problem statement.
3.Identify the objectives
4.The hypotheses
5. The research methodology.
6. The examples of the questionnaireใ

75. Any Questions