The document provides an overview of research methodology concepts for business research. It discusses various stages of the research process including formulating the research problem, literature review, developing hypotheses, research design, data collection and analysis, and reporting findings. It also defines different types of research such as descriptive research, causal research, and exploratory research. Additionally, it outlines criteria for good research, challenges in research, and the role of research in business decision making.

1. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
BON SECOURS COLLEGE FOR WOMEN,
THANJAVUR
Dr.N.R.SARAVANAN
MBA, MBA, MA (Yoga), PGDHRM, M.Phil, Ph.D,
RESEARCH METHODS IN MANAGEMENT
UNIT – I

2.  Purpose clearly defined.
 Research process detailed.
 Research design thoroughly planned.
 High ethical standards applied.
 Limitations frankly revealed.
 Adequate analysis for decision maker’s needs.
 Findings presented unambiguously.
 Conclusions justified.
 Researcher’s experience reflected.
CRITERIA OF A GOOD RESEARCH

3. QUALITIES OF A GOOD RESEARCH
 Systematic
 Logical
 Empirical
 Replicable
 Creative
 Use of multiple methods

4. What is Research Methodology
 The process used to collect information and data for
the purpose of making business decisions.
 The methodology may include publication research,
interviews, surveys and other research techniques,
and could include both present and historical
information.

5. Research Methods
 The methods section of any proposal must address
several fundamental design components. The
research method documents describes a number of
components required for a fundable proposal.

6. Data Analysis Methods
 Data analysis methods vary considerably from and
even within the types of research designs. Some
methods, such as single-subject designs, do not
necessarily need a Australian pokies online statistical
analysis to convey experimental control over the
dependent variables. Most “quantitative” designs,
such as randomized trials and many quasi-
experimental designs, require statistical analysis.

7. What is Business Research?
“The application of the scientific method in
searching for the truth about business
phenomena. These activities include defining
business opportunities and problems,
generating and evaluating ideas, monitoring
performance, and understanding the
business process.”

8. • Scope of
Research
TYPES OF RESEARCHBASIC APPLIED
Non-Specific
Research
Specific Research
Type of Research
 Natural Sciences
 Social Sciences
 Management Sciences (Business Research)

9. RESEARCH PROCESS
1. Formulating research problem
2. Extensive literature survey
3. Writing a primary synopsis
4. Identifying and labeling variables
5. Developing the hypothesis
6. Preparing the research design
7. Determining sample design
8. Collecting the data
9. Execution of the project
10. Processing and analyzing of data
11. Testing of hypothesis
12. Preparation of research report

10. Identifying, evaluating and formulating the research
problem
A researcher identifies, evaluate and formulate a correct
problem on the basis of
(1)Researcher’s familiarity and experience in the field of study,
(2)Guidance from colleagues
(3)Personal interest and aptitude
(4)Availability of data and other information
Extensive Literature survey
Researcher examine all available literature both conceptual and
empirical.
Conceptual- concepts and theories
Empirical- facts and figure observed in the earlier studies

11.  Writing a primary synopsis
 A research worker has to write a synopsis of the topic
selected for research work mentioning the summary of what
is going to be done under his research.
 Identifying and labeling variables
 Identifying and labeling dependent variable and independent
variable. Independent variable is the cause and dependent
variable is the effect. Eg. Achievement and Intelligence.
 Setting up of hypothesis
 A hypothesis is a tentative conclusion of logically drawn. A
hypothesis provides the focal point for research. The
hypothesis should be very specific and limited to the scope
of the research work.

12.  Preparing the research design
 A research design is a plan that specifies the sources and
types of information relevant to the research problem.
 It contains
 (a) clear statement of research problem
 (b) procedure and techniques to be used for gathering
information
 (c) population to be studied
 (d) methods to be used in processing and analyzing data.
 Determining the sample design
 Select a sample from the universe (population) and make studies
about the universe through this sample.
 Sample design refers to the techniques or the procedure which
the researcher would adopt in selecting some sampling units
from the universe for drawing inferences about the universe.

13. TYPES OF RESEARCH
 Descriptive Vs Analytical Research
Descriptive Research is a fact finding investigation
which is aimed at describing the characteristics of
individual, situation or a group (or) describing the state of
affairs as it exists at present.
Analytical Research is primarily concerned with
testing hypothesis and specifying and interpreting
relationships, by analyzing the facts or information
already available.

14. Descriptive vs. Analytical Research:
 The distinction between descriptive and analytical
research is based on the question it asks. Descriptive
research attempts to determine, describe, or
identify what is, while analytical research attempts
to establish why it is that way or how it came to be.
The descriptive research uses description,
classification, measurement, and comparison to
describe what phenomena are.
 The analytical research usually concerns itself with
cause-effect relationships.

15. Business Decision Making
• Business decision making: process of developing and
deciding among alternative ways of,
– resolving a business problem, or
– taking advantage of a business opportunity.
• Business problem: a situation in which negative
consequences are possible.
– It may not be apparent what the problem is, or
even that a problem exists.
– symptom: the effects caused by a problem, serve
as observable clues that a problem may exist.
• Business opportunity: a situation in which there is a
potential for competitive advantage.
Types of Research

16. Ambiguous situations:
• Existence of an opportunity or problem
may not be obvious.
• Precise nature of the problem or
opportunity is not known.
• Alternatives for resolving a problem, or
taking advantage of the opportunity are not
fully clear.
• Set of symptoms to a problem are unclear
or not all known.
Why Research?

17. 1. Exploratory research: identify problems or
opportunities, discover alternatives.
• Purpose is to clarify ambiguous situations.
• Not intended to provide answers to problems or
opportunities.
• This is only the first step in a business decision process.
2. Descriptive research: describes people, organizations,
customers, groups, etc. that are relevant to the
business decision (more ahead).
3. Causal research: answers how will a change in one
event in a manager’s control change another event of
interest (much more ahead).
Exploratory Research
Types of Business Research

18. • Descriptive research: describes people,
organizations, customers, groups, etc. that are
relevant to the business decision.
• Usually done after a problem or opportunity is
well understood (after exploratory research).
• Diagnostic analysis: type of descriptive research
that seeks to discover reasons for business
outcomes.
– Typically discovered with well written
survey questions.
– Might get at customers’ feeling, beliefs,
values, habits, spending habits, etc.
DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

19. • Causal research: answers how will a change in
one event in a manager’s control change another
event of interest.
• Examples: – How will an online training
program affect workers’ job performance? – How
will an improvement in quality of a product
change customer demand?
• In practice, establishing evidence for causation
is extremely tough.
CAUSAL RESEARCH

20. • Temporal sequence: cause happens first, then
effect.
• Concomitant variation: simply means two
variables are related. – Might be measured with a
correlation coefficient.
• Non-spurious relationship: concomitant
variation is evidence that one variable causes
another. This one is extremely tough to establish.
Evidence for Causation

21. • Spurious relationship: data on two variables are
correlated but variables are not directly related to
one another.
• Example: ice cream consumption and murder
rate are positive related to one another.
• Example: class size and academic performance
is related to another. Do you think they are
positively related or negatively related?
• Example: alcohol consumption and academic
performance??
• Example: being overweight and psychologically
depressed??
Variable Co-movement

22. Some other types of research..
One-time Research – Research confined to a single time
period.
Longitudinal Research – Research carried on over
several time periods.
Diagnostic Research – It is also called clinical research
which aims at identifying the causes of a problem,
frequency with which it occurs and the possible solutions
for it.
Exploratory Research – It is the preliminary study of an
unfamiliar problem, about which the researcher has little
or no knowledge. It is aimed to gain familiarity with the
problem, to generate new ideas or to make a precise
formulation of the problem. Hence it is also known as
formulative research.

23. Experimental Research – It is designed to assess
the effect of one particular variable on a
phenomenon by keeping the other variables
constant or controlled.
Historical Research – It is the study of past
records and other information sources, with a view
to find the origin and development of a
phenomenon and to discover the trends in the past,
in-order to understand the present and to
anticipate the future.

24. RESEARCH PROCESS
Define
Research
Problem
Review
Concepts
And
theories
Review
Previous
Research
findings
Formulate
hypothesis
Design
Research
(Including
Sample
Design)
Collect
Data
(Execution)
Analyse
Data
(Test
Hypothesis
if any)
Interpret
and
report
FF
F
F F
FF
I
II
III IV V VI VII
F
FF
Feed Back
Feed Forward
Review the literature

25. SCOPE / SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH
 RESEARCH FOR DECISION MAKING
 Throws light on risks and uncertainty
 Identify alternative courses of action
 Helps in economic use of resources
 Helps in project identification

26.  Solves investment problems
 Solves pricing problems
 Solves allocation problems
 Solves decision making issues in HR
 Solves various operational and planning
problems of business and industry

27.  Provides the basis for all government policies in our
economic system.
 Helps social scientists in studying social
relationships and in seeking answers to various
social problems.
 For students, research means a careerism or a way
to attain a high position in the social structure.
 For professionals in research, it may mean a source
of livelihood.

28.  For philosophers and thinkers, research means the outlet
for new ideas and insights.
 For literary men and women, research means development
of new styles and creative work.
 For analysts and intellectuals, research means
generalizations of new theories.

29. PROBLEMS IN RESEARCH
 Not similar to science
 Uncontrollable variables
 Human tendencies
 Time and money
 Lack of computerization
 Lack of scientific training in the methodology of
research

30.  Insufficient interaction between university
research departments and business
establishments
 Lack of confidence on the part of business units
to give information
 Lack of code of conduct
 Difficulty of adequate and timely secretarial
assistance

31.  Poor library management and functioning
 Difficulty of timely availability of published
data.
 Ignorance
 Research for the sake of research-limited
practical utility though they may use high
sounding business jargon.

32. ROLE OF RESEARCH
IN
DECISION-MAKING
♪Decision-making is the process of selecting the best alternative
from the available set of alternatives.
♪Management is chiefly concerned with decision-making and its
implementation.
♪These decisions should be based on appropriate studies,
evaluations and observations.
♪Research provides us with knowledge and skills needed to solve
the problems and to meet the challenges of a fast paced
decision-making environment.

33.  Intelligence Activity - scanning the
environment for identifying conditions necessary
for the decision.
 Designing Activity - identifying,
developing and analyzing the alternative courses
of action.
 Choice Activity - choosing the best course
of action from among the alternatives.
According to Herbert A Simon, decision-making involves
three activities:

34. PHASES OF BUSINESS RESEARCH
(RESEARCH PROCESS)
The various steps that are necessary to carry out a research
efficiency are known as research process. It consist of…
Formulating research problem
Extensive literature survey
Writing a primary synopsis
Identifying and labeling variables
Developing the hypothesis
Preparing the research design
Determining sample design
Collecting the data
Execution of the project
Processing and analyzing of data
Testing of hypothesis
Preparation of research report

35. Identifying, evaluating and formulating the research
problem
A researcher identifies, evaluate and formulate a
correct problem on the basis of
Researcher’s familiarity and experience in the field of
study,
Guidance from colleagues
Personal interest and aptitude
Availability of data and other information
Extensive Literature survey
Researcher examine all available literature both
conceptual and empirical.
Conceptual- concepts and theories
Empirical- facts and figure observed in the earlier
studies

36. Writing a primary synopsis
A research worker has to write a synopsis of the topic
selected for research work mentioning the summary of
what is going to be done under his research.
Identifying and labeling variables
Identifying and labeling dependent variable and
independent variable. Independent variable is the cause
and dependent variable is the effect. Eg. Achievement
and Intelligence.
Setting up of hypothesis
A hypothesis is a tentative conclusion of logically
drawn. A hypothesis provides the focal point for
research. The hypothesis should be very specific and
limited to the scope of the research work.

37. Preparing the research design
A research design is a plan that specifies the sources
and types of information relevant to the research
problem.
It contains (a) clear statement of research problem (b)
procedure and techniques to be used for gathering
information (c) population to be studied (d) methods
to be used in processing and analyzing data.
Determining the sample design
Select a sample from the universe (population) and
make studies about the universe through this
sample.
Sample design refers to the techniques or the
procedure which the researcher would adopt in
selecting some sampling units from the universe
for drawing inferences about the universe.

38. Collection of data
 Data collecting through the sources of primary and secondary
Methods ofcollecting primary data are
 (a) observation,
 (b) personal interview,
 (c) Telephone interview,
 (d) Questionnaire,
 (e) Schedule, etc.
The secondary sources mean published work, books, reports,
journals, newspaper, magazines, etc.
Execution of the project
 The researcher has to execute the project in a systematic and
in time.
Processing, Analysis and interpretation of data by statistical
methods.
 Processing of data consists of classification, tabulation and
coding. Analysis and interpretation of data through various
statistical methods and techniques such as, Average, Co

39. Testing hypothesis
For testing the hypothesis we are using number of statistical
tests such as ‘t’ test, ‘F’ test, test. The testing result in
either accepting or rejecting the hypothesis.
Preparation of report or thesis
Finally the researcher prepares the report or the outcome.
A report is a detailed description of what has been done and
how it has been done with respect to a particular area or
topic.
The reports contains, introduction, review of related literature,
methodology, data analysis and interpretation, findings and
conclusion, etc. then Bibliography and Appendix

40. Degreeof ProblemDefinition
Exploratory
Research
(Unaware of
Problem)
Descriptive
Research
(Aware of
Problem)
Causal Research
(Problem Clearly
Defined)
“Our sales are
declining and we
don’t knowwhy.”
“What kind of people
are buying our
product? Whobuys
our competitor’s
product?”
“Will buyers purchase
more of our products
in a new package?
“Would people be
interested in our new
product idea?”
“What features do
buyers prefer in our
product?”
“Which of two
advertising
campaigns is more
effective?”

41. Stages of the Research Process
Problem Discovery
and Definition
Research
Design
Sampling
Data
Gathering
Data Processing
and Analysis
Conclusions and
Report
Discovery and
Definition
and so on

42. The Business Research Process
Problem Discovery
Exploratory
Research
Selection of the
Basic Research
Method
Selection of Sample
Design
Collection of the Data

43. The Research Process (cont.)
Editing and Coding
Data Processing
Interpretation of the
Findings
Report

44. StagesIn TheResearchProcess
• Problem Discovery and Problem Definition
• Research Design
• Sampling
• Data Gathering
• Data ProcessingandAnalysis
• ConclusionsAnd Report

45. THANK YOU