Research Philosophies for Professors of Bu

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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Understanding research philosophies
and approaches

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Understanding research philosophies
and approaches
 By end of this lecture you should be able to:
 Define the key terms ontology, epistemology and explain their
relevance to business research;
 Explain the relevance for business research of philosophical
perspectives such as positivism, realism, pragmatism,
 Understand the main research paradigms which are significant for
business research;
 Distinguish between main research approaches; deductive and
inductive;

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The research ‘onion’
Source: © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2006

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Understanding your research philosophy (1)
‘Research philosophy is an over-arching term
relating to the development of knowledge and
the nature of that knowledge’
Adapted from Saunders et al, (2009)

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Thinking about research philosophy
Ontology: is concerned with nature of reality.
 Raise the questions of the assumptions researchers
have about the way the world operates and
commitment held to particular views.

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Ontology
 The first aspect of ontology we discuss is objectivism.
This portrays the position that social entities exist in
reality external to social actors concerned with their
existence.
 The second aspect, subjectivism holds that social
phenomena are created from the perceptions and
consequent actions of those social actors concerned with
their existence

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Subjectivism
 Remenyi et al. (1998:35) stress the necessity to study ‘the details of
the situation to understand the reality or perhaps a reality working
behind them’.
 This is often associated with the term constructionism, or social
constructionism.
 This follows from the interpretivist philosophy that it is necessary to
explore the subjective meanings motivating the
actions of social actors in order for the researcher to be able to
understand these actions.

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Ontology
 Blaikie (1993) describes the root definition of ontology as
‘the science or study of being’ and develops this
description for the social sciences to encompass ‘claims
about what exists, what it looks like, what units make
it up and how these units interact with each other’.
 In short, ontology describes our view (whether claims or
assumptions) on the nature of reality, and specifically, is
this an objective reality that really exists, or only a
subjective reality, created in our minds.

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Ontology
 For the everyday example, they use the example of a
workplace report – asking one to question whether it
describes what is really going on, or only what the author
thinks is going on.
 They go on to highlight the complexity that is introduced
when considering phenomena such as culture, power or
control, and whether they really exist or are simply an
illusion, further extending the discussion as to how
individuals (and groups) determine these realities –
 does the reality exist only through experience of it
(subjectivism), or does it exist independently of those who
live it (objectivism).

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Epistemology
 It concerns what constitutes acceptable knowledge in a field of
study.
 Closely coupled with ontology and its consideration of what
constitutes reality, epistemology considers views about the
most appropriate ways of enquiring into the nature of the
world (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Jackson, 2008) and
 ‘what is knowledge and what are the sources and limits of
knowledge’ (Eriksson and Kovalainen, 2008).
 Questions of epistemology begin to consider the research
method, and Eriksson and Kovalainen go on to discuss how
epistemology defines how knowledge can be produced and
argued for.

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Epistemology
 Blaikie (1993) describes epistemology as ‘the theory or
science of the method or grounds of knowledge’ expanding
this into a set of claims or assumptions about the ways in which
it is possible to gain knowledge of reality, how what exists may
be known, what can be known, and what criteria must be
satisfied in order to be described as knowledge.
 Chia (2002) describes epistemology as ‘how and what it is
possible to know’ and the need to reflect on methods and
standards through which reliable and verifiable knowledge is
produced.

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Epistemology
Hatch and Cunliffe (2006) summarise
epistemology as ‘knowing how you can know’
and expand this by asking:
 how is knowledge generated;
 what criteria discriminate good knowledge from
bad knowledge; and
 how should reality be represented or described.
They go on to highlight the inter-dependent
relationship between epistemology and ontology,
and how one both informs, and depends upon, the
other.

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Axiology
Axiology is a branch of philosophy that studies
judgments about value.
Although this may include values we posess in
the fields of aesthetics and ethics, it is the process
of social enquiry with which we are concerned
here.
The role that your own values play in all stages of
the research process is of great importance if you
wish your research results to be credible.

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Axiology
Choosing one topic rather than another suggests that
you think one of the topics is more important.
Your choice of philosophical approach is a reflection
of your values as is your choice of data collection
techniques.
For example, to conduct a study where you place great
importance in data collected through interview work
suggests that you value personal interaction with your
respondents more highly than their anonymous views
expressed through survey data.

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Aspects of Epistemology
 Positivism - the stance of the natural scientist
 Realism - direct and critical realism
 Interpretivism – researchers as ‘social actors’
 Axiology – studies judgements about value

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Positivism
Positivism can be defined as “research
approaches that employ empirical
methods, make extensive use of
quantitative analysis, or develop logical
calculi to build formal explanatory
theory”

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Realism
Is another philosophical position which
relates to scientific enquiry.
The essence of realism is that what the
senses show us as reality is the truth; that
objects have an existence independent of
the human mind.
In this sense, realism is opposed to
idealism, the theory that only the mind and
its contents exist

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Direct realism and critical realism
Direct Realism: It says that what you see is
what you get: what we experience through our
senses portrays the world accurately.
Critical realism: critical realists argue that
what we experience are sensations, the images
of the things in the real world, not the things
directly.
Critical realists point out how often our senses
deceive us.

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Difference
 Critical realism claims that there are two steps to
experiencing the world.
 First, there is the thing itself and the sensations it conveys.
 Second, there is the mental processing that goes on sometime after
that sensation meets our senses.
 Direct realism says that the first step is enough.
 In cricket, the umpire who is the critical realist would say
about his umpiring decisions: ‘I give them as I see them!’
 The umpire who is a direct realist would say ‘I give them
as they are!’

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Interpretivism
Interpretivisim advocates it is necessary for
the researcher to understand differences
between humans in our role as social actors.
This emphasizes the differences between
conducting research among people rather
than objects such as trucks and computers.

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Interpretivisim
 Interpretive research is concerned with the meanings that
people attach to norms, rules, and values that regulate
their interactions.
 Care is taken not to impose a previous understanding of
norms, rules, and values on others but rather to
understand their beliefs and actions from their point
of view.
 The focus is not only on what they tell us directly about
the reasons for their beliefs and actions but also on the
social practices that underlie them.
 Social practice gives meaning to social action

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Interpretivisim
The heritage of this strand of interpretivism comes
from two intellectual traditions:
phenomenology and symbolic interactionism.
Phenomenology refers to the way in which we as
humans make sense of the world around us.
In symbolic interactionism we are in a continual
process of interpreting the social world around us in
that we interpret the actions of others with whom
we interact and this interpretation leads to
adjustment of our own meanings and actions.

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Pragmatism
Pragmatism holds that the most important determinant of
the epistemology, ontology, axiology adopted is the
research question.
 Tashakkori and Teddlie (1998) suggest that it is more
appropriate for the researcher in a particular study to think
of the philosophy adopted as a continuum rather than
opposite positions.
 They note that ‘at some points the knower and the known
must be interactive, while at others, one may more easily
stand apart from what one is studying’ (Tashakkori and
Teddlie 1998:26)

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Research paradigms
Definition
‘A way of examining social phenomenon from
which particular understandings of these
phenomena can be gained and explanations
attempted’
Saunders et al. (2009)

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Research Approaches
Deduction (theory testing)
Induction (building theory)

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Research Approaches
Deduction
5 sequential stages of testing theory
 Deducing a hypothesis
 Expressing the hypothesis operationally
 Testing the operational hypothesis
 Examining the specific outcome of the enquiry
 Modifying the theory (if necessary)
Adapted from Robson (2002)

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Research Approaches (2)
Characteristics of Deduction
 Explaining causal relationships between variables
 Establishing controls for testing hypotheses
 Independence of the researcher
 Concepts operationalized for quantitative measurement
 Generalisation

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Research Approaches (3)
Induction
Building theory by –
 Understanding the way human build their world
 Permitting alternative explanations of what ’ s
going on
 Being concerned with the context of events
 Using more qualitative data
 Using a variety of data collection methods

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Choosing your research approach
The right choice of approach helps you to
 Make a more informed decision about the research
design
 Think about which strategies will work for your
research topic
 Adapt your design to cater for any constraints
Adapted from Easterby-Smith et al. (2008)

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Combining research approaches
Things worth considering
 The nature of the research topic
 The time available
 The extent of risk
 The research audience – managers and markers

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Deductive and Inductive research
Major differences between these approaches
Table 4.2 Major differences between deductive and inductive approaches to
research

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Class Exercise
Sadie decided to conduct a research project on
violence at work and its effects on the stress
levels of staff. She considered the different ways
she would approach the work were she to adopt:
• the deductive approach;
• the inductive approach
Discuss how can she go for the two approaches.

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Summary:
Research philosophy
relates to the development of knowledge and
the nature of that knowledge
contains important assumptions about the way
in which you view the world

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Summary:
Three major ways of thinking about research
philosophy
Epistemology
Ontology – objectivism and subjectivism
Axiology

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Summary:
Social science paradigms can generate fresh
insights into real-life issues and problems
Four of the paradigms are:
Positivism
Realism
Interpretivism
Pragmatism

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Summary: Chapter 4
The two main research approaches are
Deduction - theory and hypothesis are
developed and tested
Induction – data is collected and a theory
developed from the data analysis

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Formulating the research design

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The Process of Research Design
Research choices
Research strategies
Time horizons

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Research Design
The research design needs
 Clear objectives derived from the research question
 To specify sources of data collection
 To consider constraints and ethical issues
 Valid reasons for your choice of design

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Classification of the research purpose
Exploratory research
 is a valuable means of finding out ‘what is happening to
seek new insights; to ask questions and to assess
phenomena in a new light’.
 Useful if you wish to clarify your understanding of a
problem, such as if you are unsure of precise nature of
the problem.
 It may well be that time is well spent on exploratory
research, as it may show that the research is not worth
pursuing!

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Explanatory
There are three principal ways of
conducting explanatory research:
A search of the literature;
Interviewing ‘experts’ in the subject;
Conducting focus group interviews.

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Descriptive studies
The object of descriptive research is ‘ to ‘portray an
accurate profile of persons, events or situations’.
This may be an extension of, or a forerunner to a
piece of exploratory research or, more often, a piece
of explanatory research.
It is necessary to have a clear picture of the
phenomena on which you wish to collect data prior to
collection of data.

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Explanatory research
Studies that establish causal relationships
between variables may be termed explanatory
research.
The emphasis her is on studying a situation or a
problem in order to explain the relationship
between variables.

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Research Strategies
Experiment Action research
Grounded theory Survey
Ethnography Case study
Archival research

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Research Strategies
An experiment will involve
 Definition of a theoretical hypothesis
 Selection of samples from know populations
 Random allocation of samples
 Introduction of planned intervention
 Measurement on a small number of dependent
variables
 Control of all other variables

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Research Strategies
Survey: key features
 Popular in business research
 Perceived as authoritative
 Allows collection of quantitative data
 Data can be analysed quantitatively
 Samples need to be representative
 Gives the researcher independence
 Structured observation and interviews can be used

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Research Strategies
Case Study: key features
 Provides a rich understanding of a real life context
 Uses and triangulates multiple sources of data
 A case study can be categorised in four ways and
based on two dimensions:
single case v. multiple case
holistic case v. embedded case
Yin (2003)

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Research Strategies
Action research: key features
 Research IN action - not ON action
 Involves practitioners in the research
 The researcher becomes part of the organisation
 Promotes change within the organisation
 Can have two distinct foci (Schein, 1999) –
the aim of the research and the needs of the sponsor

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Research Strategies
Grounded theory: key features
 Theory is built through induction and deduction
 Helps to predict and explain behaviour
 Develops theory from data generated by
observations
 Is an interpretative process, not a logico-
deductive one
Based on Suddaby (2006)

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Research Strategies
Ethnography: key features
 Aims to describe and explain the social world
inhabited by the researcher
 Takes place over an extended time period
 Is naturalistic
 Involves extended participant observation

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Research Strategies
Archival research: key features
 Uses administrative records and documents as
the principal sources of data
 Allows research questions focused on the past
 Is constrained by the nature of the records and
documents

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Research Strategies
The role of the practitioner-researcher
Key features
 Research access is more easily available
 The researcher knows the organisation
 Has the disadvantage of familiarity
 The researcher is likely to their own assumptions
and preconceptions
 The dual role requires careful negotiation

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Multiple research methods
Research choices
Figure 5.4 Research choices

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Multiple research methods
Reasons for using mixed method designs:
 Triangulation
 Facilitation
 Complementarity
 Generality
 Aid interpretation
 Study different aspects
 Solving a puzzle

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Time Horizons
Select the appropriate time horizon
Cross-sectional studies
Longitudinal studies

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Credibility of research findings
Important considerations
 Reliability
 Validity
 Generalisability
 Logic leaps and false assumptions

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Research design ethics
Remember
‘The research design should not subject the
research population to embarrassment, harm or
other material disadvantage’
Adapted from Saunders et al, (2009)

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Summary: Chapter 5
Research design turns a research question and
objectives into a project that considers
Strategies Choices Time horizons
Research projects can be categorised as
Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory
Research projects may be
Cross-sectional Longitudinal

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Summary: Chapter 5
Important considerations
 The main research strategies may combined in
the same project
 The opportunities provided by using multiple
methods
 The validity and reliability of results
 Access and ethical considerations

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+
Developing a Methodological
Framework
GreTIA Project (Green Transport
in Island Areas)

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+
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Motivation- CHANGE
Integrated transportation and energy model framework
(iTEAM, MIT - TRANSPORTNET 2009 )

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+Research Objectives
 Study the Northern Aegean region
 Plan an innovative green insular transport system by:
 optimising various appropriate resources (data collection, analytical
tools)
 mobilising various transport modes and technologies
 Evaluate the environmental, economic and social impact of
green transport policies
 Social objectives
 familiarize residents and tourists with operating practices of green
transport
 cultivate new attitudes and behavior of travelers for green transport
modes
 increase local prosperity, happiness, and sustainable development
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+Research Objectives for
RESIDENTS
Identify and quantify the factors that affect
travelers decision making process towards:
 Car ownership;
 Residential/Workplace location;
 Mode choice; and
 Destination choice.
Investigate individual activities and travel
patterns.

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+Behavior
Mismatch between residential location &
job location(activity locations-housing proximity);
Desire to live in low density environment and
externalities of travel;
Lack of alternatives to the private automobile
and/or private motorcycle;
What could happen if we are able to influence
Residents and tourist in green option in a
sustainable/green)community strategy vision?

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+Innovation (1/2)
Merge ideas and methodologies from
various sciences;
Utilize state-of-the-art collection techniques
and measurement tools:
 Behavioral data:
on-line questionnaires, GPS devices, Headsets
Environmental data:
direct point or line measurements of air
pollutants, satellite observations.
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+Innovation (2/2)
Advanced model development:
 travel behavior and activity based modeling
 Micro-simulation modeling
 transportation network simulation
 air quality modeling and spatial distribution of pollution
Link tourism to transport;
Financial evaluation of green policies; and
Develop a policy analysis tools for an island
environment.
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+METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK 74
WP1: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
WP2:
EXTERNAL
ENVIRONMENT
WP10: PROJECT DISSEMINATION
WP4:
TOURIST
PREFERENCES
WP5:
ENVIRONME-
NTAL
ANALYSIS
WP7:
TRANSPORT
NETWORK
SIMULATION
WP9:
POLICY
PLATFORM
DEVELOP-
MENT

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Behavioral
Framework
Developed based:
1. on the in-depth
literature review
and analysis; and
2. on a priori
assumptions.
Well-Being/
Satisfaction
Inidicators
Attitudes and
Perceptions
Factors
Affecting
Travel
Behavior
Travel
Environment
Individual
Characteristics
Travel
Alternatives
Characteristics
Individual/Household Travel Choices
Tourist Travel Choices
SP surveys
Policy Scenarios
Impacts
Activities/Travel
Environment
Well-Being
Travel Preferences
Short & Long Distance
Scheduled & Not Scheduled Activities
Peak and Off Peak Travel
Scenarios
· Residential and Workplace Choice
· Car Ownership (Compatible vs Hybrid)
· Implementation of Activities (Physical
Movement vs Information and Communication
Technologies - ICTs)
· Mode Choice (walk, bike, bike share, carpooling,
bus on demand, dial a ride, car, hybrid car)
· Tourist Destination Choice

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+
Behavioral Framework
Development of the behavioral
framework based:
on the in-depth literature review and
analysis conducted in WP2; and
on a priori assumptions

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