This document provides an overview of key concepts in research methods. It discusses the two major approaches to gaining knowledge: everyday experience and science. Everyday experience relies on senses and opinions, while science uses systematic empirical processes. The document then examines various sources of knowledge from everyday experience like tenacity, authority, prior reasoning, and common sense. It outlines the scientific method and its goals of finding general rules through objective evidence and testable statements. Finally, the document defines characteristics of good scientific research like having a clear goal and plan, using ethical standards, and presenting findings unambiguously.

1. Business Research Method in
Accounting and Finance

2. Chapter 1
Introduction to Research

3. 1.1. Source of Knowledge
• There are two major approaches of knowing
the world:
1. everyday experience and
2. science.

4. 1. Everyday Experience as a source of
knowledge
• As we live in this world and interact with our
surrounding we may be confronted with new
ideas that may have important impact on our
lives.
• We get access to this information through our
senses- the most immediate way of knowing
something. This what we call sensory
knowledge.

5. • We may also use the opinion of others as sources
of knowledge.
• We might have experienced a stimulus with our
senses but we want to check on the accuracy and
authenticity of these sensations.
• We often ask: Does this food taste delicious to
you:

6. • Exercise:
• Do you rely on your senses and trust the data
you collected because it has been said, ‘’seeing is
believing’’? How is reliable are your senses?
• There are also other ways of knowing from our
every day experiences. These are presented
below:

7. a. The method of Tenacity
• It refers to the acceptance of a belief based on
the ideas that ‘’we have always known it to be
this way’’.
• In other words, it represents the automatic
acceptance of the prevailing traditional beliefs
and customs in which we have been socialized.
• We accept those beliefs and customs as true
without exploring them and then behave with it.
• Even when we come across evidences that
contradict our beliefs, we still tend to cling
(adhere) to our traditional belief.

8. • This method has two problems:
• 1. The information may gain wide acceptance
through its familiarity alone
• 2. It offers no means for correcting erroneous
ideas
• For example, in some cultures Female genital
Cutting (FGC) is an accepted practice.

9. b. The method of Authority
• If we enter in to a new culture, we ask someone
in that culture who is supposed to have a
knowledge- an authority figure. We may then
accept a new idea or information stated by this
figure.
• Remember that the authority may be incorrect
and may lead to wrong directions. As a result it is
important to check the validity of knowledge of
the authority.
• Exercise: Is there a problem if we unquestioningly
accept the knowledge and expertise of others?

10. c. The prior method
• In this method first we develop general knowledge,
opinion, or belief about the world through the
aforementioned methods or personal observations
of things around us and then we draw new and
specific conclusion from the general knowledge. As
a result it is also known as a deductive reasoning.
• Reason and logic are the basic tools of a prior
method and often take the form of a logical
syllogism such as All men are tall; Alemu is a man;
Therefore, Alemu is tall. Hence, logical conclusions
may not necessarily lead to correct conclusions.
• Exercise: Draw your syllogistic conclusion. Ethiopia
has the best long distance runners in the world.

11. d. Common sense
• Is based on our own past experiences and our
perceptions of the world.
• It originates from our day to day practical
experiences and in turn guides our daily
interaction with our surrounding.
• It may help us to deal with routine aspects of
daily life.
• Note that our perception of the world may be
quite limited or may be seriously misleading.
• It may prevent us from understanding new ideas.

12. 2. Science
• Is a body of systematized knowledge.
• In this method, ideas are evaluated and corrected
through dispassionately(analytically) observing the
means of senses or measuring devices- in this case
science can been seen as a systematic and
controlled extension of common senses- and using
reason to compare various theoretical
conceptualization based on experience- which
represents a direct application of the principle of
logic.
• The scientific method of knowing is the scientific
research, and its goal is the discovery of regularities
of nature and their representation in theories from
which predictions can be made

13. • Scientific methods:
Find general rules
Collect objective evidences
Make testable statements
Are creative
Are public, and
Are productive

14. • It follows the following logical steps:
Defining the problem
Making tentative explanations
Gathering information
Testing the validity of the hypotheses
Making conclusions as to whether the hypothesis can
be accepted or rejected

15. • Limitations of the method:
1. Cannot answer all questions
2. Its application can never capture the full
richness of the individual and the environment
3. The measurement devices always have some
degree of error

16. 1.2. (A): Definition of Scientific
Research
• People have been struggling to understand
their environment and the nature of the
phenomena it presents.
• One of the means people use to achieve these
ends is research.
• Research is an often-misused term; its usage
in everyday language is different from the
scientific meaning.

17. • Research is defined as human activity based on
intellectual application in the investigation of matter.
• Research is the systematic process of collecting and
analysing information in order to increase our
understanding of the phenomenon about which we
are interested or concerned.
• Scientific research is performing a systematic study
in order to test a hypothesis or answer a question.

18. • Scientific research is a systematic attempt to
obtain answers to meaningful questions about
phenomena or events through the application of
scientific procedures.
• It is the function of the researcher to contribute
to the understanding of the phenomenon and to
communicate that understanding to others.

19. • Scientific research must be organized and
undergo planning;
• Scientific research follows a set of protocols and
established structures.
• These protocols can vary slightly between
disciplines, but all follow similar basic structure.
• Failure to follow the guidelines may prevent the
findings from being accepted and taken seriously.

20. • Scientific research looks at an area and breaks it
down into easily testable/ answerable pieces, i.e.
breaking down a large and seemingly impossible
problem into manageable chunks (large pieces).
• The treatment of the individual pieces will allow
the larger problem/ question to be approached
and answered.
• All scientific research has a goal and ultimate
(final) aim, repeated and refined study gradually
reaching an answer.

21. • Scientific research is:
• Systematic: so ordered, planned, and disciplined
(closely controlled);
• Controlled: the researcher can have confidence
in his/her research outcomes;
• Empirical: putting beliefs, ideas, or assumptions
to a test;
• Critical: many truths are tentative and are
subject to change as a result of subsequent
research.

22. 1.2. (B): Characteristics of scientific research
• Although research projects vary in complexity
and duration, research typically has the
following distinct characteristics:

23. a. Research originates with a problem
• The world is filled with unanswered questions
and unresolved problems.
• Everywhere we look, we see things that cause us
to wonder, to speculate, to ask questions.
• by asking questions, we strike the first spark
igniting (lighting) a chain reaction that leads to
the research process.
• An inquisitive (questioning) mind is the beginning
of research, as some scholars say “Inquiring
(analytical) minds want to know”.

24. • Look around you; consider the unresolved
situations that evoke these questions.
• What is such a situation like?
• Why does such and such phenomenon
occur?
• What does it all mean?
• These are everyday questions. With questions
like these, research begins.

25. b. Research requires clear articulation of a goal
• The ultimate goal of the research must be set
forth clearly and precisely in a grammatically
complete sentence.
• The statement of goal answers the question,
“what problem do you intend to solve?”
• It is essential for the success of any research
undertaking; without it, the research is on very
shaky ground.

26. c. Research requires a specific plan for proceeding
• research is not a blind excursion into the
unknown, with the hope that the data necessary
to answer the question will turn up.
• It is instead, a carefully planned work, a search
and discover mission explicitly outlined in
advance.

27. • Researchers plan their overall research design
and specific research methods in a purposeful
way so that they can acquire data relevant to
their research problem.
• In addition to identifying the goal of your
research, you must also identify how you
propose to reach your goal.
• You cannot wait until you are deep in the project
to plan and design your strategy.

28. • In the formative (determining) stages of a
research project, much can be decided including:
– Where are the data?
– Do any existing data address themselves to the
research problem?
– If the data exist are you likely to have access to them?
– If you have access to the data, what will you do with
them after they are in your possession?
• Each of the questions just listed must have an
answer early in the research process.

29. d. Research usually divides the principal problem into more
manageable sub problems
• from a design standpoint it is often helpful to
break a main research problem into several
sub problems, that when solved, will resolve
the main problem.
• By closely inspecting the principal problem
the researcher often uncovers important sub
problems.

30. e. Research is guided by specific research question or
hypothesis
• Having stated the problem/ sub problems, the
researcher usually forms one or more research
questions/ hypotheses.
• develop one or more tentative explanations/
questions.

31. f. Research requires the collection and
interpretation of data
• collect data and organize them in meaningful
ways so that they can be interpreted.
• Data demand interpretation.
• Data, events and observations are, in
themselves, only data, events only ,
observations and nothing more.
• The significance of the data depends on how
the researcher extracts meaning from them.

32. • data un-interpreted by human mind are
worthless: they can never help us to answer the
question.
• interpretation is subjective in nature
• Different minds often find different meanings in
the same set of facts.
• But no rule or formula can lead the researcher to
a correct interpretation.
• Interpretation depends entirely on the
hypotheses, assumptions, and logical reasoning
processes of the researcher.

33. 1.2. (C) Goals of scientific research
• The purpose of scientific research is problem
solving.
• The problem could be of an immediate and
practical value or they could be of theoretical
nature.
• Research focuses on answering various
questions and acquiring new knowledge.

34. • It is the primary tool used in virtually all areas of
science to expand the frontiers of knowledge.
• In addition, by conducting research, researchers
attempt to reduce the complexity of problems,
discover the relationship between seemingly
unrelated events, and ultimately improve the
way we live.

35. • Research is frequently used for describing a thing
or event, discovering the relationship between
phenomena, or making predictions about future
events.
• It may be said that the general aims of research
are to observe and describe, to predict, to
determine causes and explain.

36. 1.3.Motivations in Research
• What makes people to undertake research?
The possible motives for doing research may
be either one or more of the following among
others:
a. Desire to get a research degree along with its
consequential benefits;

37. Cont’d
b. Desire to face the challenges in solving the
unresolved problems, i.e., concern over
practical problems;
c. Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some
creative work;
d. Desire to be of service to society;
e. Desire to get respectability.

38. 1.4. Features of Good Research
• Good research generates dependable data that
are derived by professional conducted practices
and that can be used reliably for decision
making.
• In contrast, poor research is carelessly planned
and conducted, resulting in data that a manager
can’t use to reduce his/her decision-making risks.
• Good research follows the standards of the
scientific method: systematic, empirically based
procedures for generating replicable research.

39. • These features are described below:
1. Purpose clearly defined:
• The purpose of the business research-the
problem involved or the decision to be made-
should be clearly defined and sharply delineated
in terms as unambiguous as possible.
• The statement of the decision problem should
include its scope, its limitations and the precise
meanings of all words and terms significant to
the research.

40. • Failure of the researcher to do this adequately
may raise legitimate doubts in the minds of
research report readers as to whether the
researcher has sufficient understanding of the
problem to make a sound proposal attacking it.
• This characteristic is comparable to developing a
strategic plan for achieving an objective before
developing a tactical plan or an action map.

41. 2. Research process detailed:
• The research procedures used should be
described in sufficient detail to permit another
researcher to repeat the research.
• Except when secrecy is imposed, research
reports should reveal with candor (openness) the
sources of data and the means by which they
were obtained.

42. • Omission of significant procedural details
makes it difficult or impossible to estimate the
validity and reliability of the data and
justifiably weakens the confidence of the
reader in the research itself as well as any
recommendations based on the research.
• This characteristic is comparable to
developing a tactical plan.

43. 3. Research design thoroughly planned:
• The procedural design of the research should be
carefully planned to yield results that are as
objectives as possible.
• When a sampling of the population is involved,
the report should include evidence concerning
the degree of representativeness of the sample.
• A survey of opinions or recollections ought not to
be used when more reliable evidence is available
from documentary sources or by direct
observation.

44. • Bibliographic searches should be a thorough and
complete as possible. Experiments should have
satisfactory controls.
• Direct observations should be recorded in writing
in as soon as possible after the event.
• Efforts should be made to minimize the influence
of personal bias in selecting and recording data.
• This characteristic is comparable to developing
detailed action plans for each tactic.

45. 4. High ethical standards applied:
• Researchers often work independently and have
significant latitude (autonomy) in designing and
executing research projects.
• Careful consideration must be given to those
research situations in which there is a possibility
of physical or psychological harm, exploitation,
invasion of privacy, and/or loss of dignity.
• The research need must be weighted against the
potential for adverse effects.

46. 5. Limitations frankly reveled:
• The researcher should report, with complete
frankness, flaws in procedural design and estimate
their effect on the findings.
• There are very few perfect research designs.
• Some of the imperfections may have little effect on
the validity and reliability of the data; others may
invalidate them entirely.
• A competent researcher should be sensitive to the
effects of imperfect design. The researcher’s
experience in analyzing data should provide a basis
for estimating the influence of design flaws.
• As a decision maker, you should question the value
of research where no limitations are reported.

47. 6. Adequate analysis for decision maker’s needs:
• Analysis of the data should be extensive enough to reveal
its significance, what managers call “insights.”
• The methods of analysis used should be appropriate.
• The extent to which this criterion is met is frequently a
good measure of the competence of the researcher.
• Adequate analysis of the data is the most difficult phase of
the research for the novice.
• The validity and reliability of data should be checked
carefully.
• The data should be classified in ways that assist the
researcher in reaching pertinent conclusions and clearly
reveal the findings that have led to those conclusions.
• When statistical methods are used, the probability of error
should be estimated and the criteria for statistical
significance applied.

48. 7. Findings presented unambiguously:
• Generalizations that outrun (escape) the
evidence on which they are based,
exaggerations, and unnecessary verbiage tend to
be leave an unfavorable impression.
• Such reports are not valuable to managers for an
organizational decision making.
• Presentation of data should be comprehensive,
easily understood by the decision maker,
organized so that the decision maker can readily
locate critical findings.

49. 8. Conclusions justified:
• Conclusions should be limited to those for which the
data provide an adequate basis.
• Researchers also may be tempted to rely too heavily
on data collected in a prior study and use it in the
interpretation of a new study. Such practice
sometimes occurs among research specialists who
confine their work to clients in a small industry.
These actions tend to decrease the objectivity of the
research and weaken reader’s confidence in the
findings.
• Good researchers always specify the conditions
under which their conclusions seem to be valid.

50. 9. Researcher’s experience reflected:
• Greater confidence in the research is warranted if
the researcher is experienced, has a good reputation
in research, and is a person of integrity.
• Were it possible for the reader of a research report
to obtain sufficient information about the
researcher, this criterion perhaps would be one of
the best bases for judging the degree of confidence
a piece of research warrants and the value of any
decision based upon it.
• For this reason the research report should contain
information about the qualifications of the
researcher.

51. • Good business research has an inherent value
only to the extent that it helps management
make better decisions that help achieve
organizational goals.
• Interesting information about consumers,
employees, competitors, or the environment
might be pleasant (nice) to have, but its value is
limited if the information cannot be applied to a
critical decision.

52. • If a study does not help management select more
effective, more efficient, less risky, or more
profitable alternatives than otherwise would be the
case, its use should be questioned.
• Alternatively, management may have insufficient
resources (time, money, or skill) to conduct an
appropriate study or may face a low level of risk
associated with the decision at hand. In these
situations, it is valid to avoid business research and
its associated costs in time and money.
• Business research finds its justification in the
contribution it makes to the decision maker’s task
and to the bottom line.