Research Concepts

CONCEPTS OF RESEARCH

•Consider the following case which is an example of research:

•A general manager, of a car producing company which is quite old ,was concerned with the complaints received from the car users that the car they produce have some problems with rating sound at the dash board and the rear passenger seat after few thousand kilometers of driving.

•

Concept…He enquired with customers to know their behaviour of driving and to identify the lot where the problem existedHe obtained information from the company workers to identify the various factors influencing the problem.He then formulated the problem and generated guesses (hypotheses).He constructed a checklist and obtained requisite information from a representative sample of cars.He analyzed the collected data, interpreted the results in the light of his hypotheses and reached conclusions.

Concept…

Notice in the example above that theresearcher went through a sequence of steps which were in order and thus systematic.

Secondly, the researcher did not just jump at the conclusions, but used a scientific method of inquiry in reaching at conclusions.

The two important characteristics of researchare: it is systematic and secondly it follows ascientific method of enquiry.

What is Research

Research is systematic, because it follows certain steps that are logical in order. These steps are:

Understanding the nature of problem to be studied and identifying the related area of knowledge.

Reviewing literature to understand how others haveapproached or dealt with the problem.

What is Research

Collecting data in an organized and controlled manner so as to arrive at valid decisions.

Analyzing data appropriate to the problem.

Drawing conclusions and making generalizations.

High Quality Research!

It is based on the work of others.

It can be replicated (duplicated).

It is generalizable to other settings.

It is based on some logical rationale and tied totheory.

It is doable!

It generates new questions or is cyclical in nature.

It is incremental.

Then What is Bad Research?The opposites of what have been discussed.

Looking for something when it simply is not to be found.

Plagiarizing other people's work.

Falsifying data to prove a point.

Misrepresenting information and misleading participants.

DEFINITION OF RESEARCH

Hunting for facts or truth about asubject.

Organized scientific investigations tosolve problems, test hypotheses, develop or invent new products.

Why do we need research?

To get PhDs, Masters and Bachelors degree

To provide solutions to complex problems

To investigate laws of nature

To make new discoveries

To develop new products

To save costs

To improve our life

Human desires

What Research Is

Research is:

“…the systematic process of collecting and analyzing information (data) in order to increase our understanding of the phenomenon about which we are concerned or interested.”1

What is a Business Research

It is a systematic Inquiry that provides information to guide business decision.

The systematic and objective process of gathering recording and analysing data for aid in making business decisions

Research Characteristics1. Originates with a question or problem.

2. Requires clear articulation of a goal.

3. Follows a specific plan or procedure.

4. Often divides main problem into subproblems.

5. Guided by specific problem, question, or hypothesis.

6. Accepts certain critical assumptions.

7. Requires collection and interpretation of data.

8. Cyclical (helical) in nature.

Scope of Business Research

It covers a wide range of phenomenon

For managers: the purpose of research is to fulfill the need for knowledge of the organization, the market, the economy, or any other area of uncertainty

For development and implementation of plans and strategies

It helps decision makers to shift from intuitive information gathering to systematic and objective investigation

Business research encompasses all functional specialties: financial, economic, marketing, production

Managerial value for Business Research

To gather more information before selecting a course of action

To do a high-level research study

To understand research design

To evaluate and resolve a current management dilemma

To perform Diagnosis and Assessment

Managerial value of Business Research

Selecting and implementing a course of action

Evaluating the course of action

To establish a career as a research specialist

Evaluation research is the formal, objective measurement and appraisal of the extent to which a given activity, project, or program has achieved its objectives.

PERFORMANCE-MONITORING RESEARCH

RESEARCH THAT REGULARLY PROVIDES FEEDBACK FOR EVALUATION AND CONTROL

INDICATES THINGS ARE OR ARE NOT GOING AS PLANNED

RESEARCH MAY BE REQUIRED TO EXPLAIN WHY SOMETHING “WENT WRONG”

Why Managers need Better Information

Global and domestic competition is more vigorous

Organizations are increasingly practicing data mining and data warehousing

ConceptsIf one has to communicate information about any objects and events there must be a common ground on which to do it. Concept is for this purpose.Concept is a bundle of meanings or characteristics associated with certain events, objects, conditions, situations etc.

Words or phrases that represent some phenomenonTheories contain a variety of concepts

Importance to research

Hypotheses are designed using concept

Measurement concepts are devised to test the hypothetical statements

Data is gathered by using this measurement concept

The success of research is on

How clearly conceptualize

And how well others understand the concepts we use

Example

Qs. Give the estimate of your (respondents) family income.

This question may seem simple but we will get varying and confusing answers unless we restrict and narrow the concept by specifying.Time period-weekly, monthly, annuallyBefore or after Income taxFor head of the family only or for all the members.

Constructs

A construct is an image or idea specifically invented for a given research or a theory building purpose

Construct is formed by combining the simpler concepts

Example

A human resource analyst in a software company that employs technical writers is analysing task attributes of a job in need of a redesign

She knows that job description of a technical writer consist of three components- presentation quality, language skill, and job interest

Construct composed of concepts in a job redesign

VocabularySyntax

Spelling

Typingspeed

Formataccuracy

Manuscrpiterror

Job Interest Construct

Lang. Skill Construct

Presentation quality Construct

Most Concrete

Most Abstract

Level of Abstraction

Definitions

Nominally

definitions are “dictionary” definitions of concepts

Operationally

definitions describe how concepts are or will be measured for research purposes

Operational Definition

A very clear and very precise explanation of the items being measured or the terms that are used to ensures comprehensible knowledge of the terminology and the ability to operate a process, procedure, or service and/or collect data consistently and reliably.

Operational Definitions

Before we can test our hypotheses we need toestablish operational definitions for our variables.This is the next step after defining concepts inour hypotheses.Operational definitions are very specific.There can be disagreement over theseoperational definitions across researchers. Thisis permissible as long as the definitions are clear

Operational Definition Example #1

Hypothesis: "Higher rates of literacy make democracymore likely."Defining concepts: Literacy: "the completion ofenough education to be expected to read." Democracy:"a system of government in which public officials areselected in competitive elections.“

Operational definitions: Literacy: "the % of people ina country that have completed at least 6 years of formaleducation." Democracy: "a country where the 2nd placefinisher for the most powerful political office receivedat least 25% of the vote."

Operational Definition Example #2

Hypothesis: "Highly educated people tend to beliberal."Defining concepts: Highly educated: "at leastsome college education." Liberal: "believing thegovernment should help those who are less well-off."Operational definitions: Highly educated: "hascompleted at least 2 years of education at acollege or university." Liberal: "answers 'yes' tothe question 'Should the government providelow income housing for poor citizens?'"

variables

is a symbolic representation used to denote a quantity or expression.

Independent Variable

the variable that is manipulated either by the researcher or by nature or circumstance

independent variables are also called “stimulus” “input” or “predictor” variables

analogous to the “cause” in a cause-effect relationship

Dependent variable

the variable that is manipulated either by the researcher or by nature or circumstance

independent variables are also called “stimulus” “input” or “predictor” variables

analogous to the “cause” in a cause-effect relationship

Does a participative leadership style influence job satisfaction of the employees.

Mediating variable

a.k.a. moderating, intervening, intermediary, or mediating variablesa 2nd or 3rd variable that can increase or decrease the relationship between an independent and a dependent variable.for example, The introduction of the four day work week will lead to increased office productivity.

The introduction of the four day work week will lead to increased office productivity especially among young workers

Hypothesis

• The Objective of the Hypothesis Phase is to propose a solution to achieve the task objective, a set of goals and hypothesis for this solution, and the factors and performance metrics for testing the validity of the solution.

• Specify Solution; Set Goals; Define Factors; and Postulate Performance

Hypotheses

Hypotheses are tentative, intelligent guesses as to the solution of the problem.

Hypotheses can direct later research activities since they can help determine the nature of the research and methods applied.

Hypothesis is described as staetements in which we assign variables to cases

A Case is defined in the sense as the entity or thing that the hypothesis talks about

Eg. Executive James has a higher than average achievement motivation

If our hypo. Is based on more than one case-Generalization.

Eg. Executives in company Z have a higher than avg achievement motivation

Descriptive hypo.

These are statements that typically state existence, size, form, or distribution

Relational Hypo

These are statements that describe a relationship two variables with respect to some case

Eg. Foreign cars are perceived by Indian consumers to be of better quality than domestic cars

Explanatory Hypo

A change in one variable causes an effect on the other

Eg. An increase in family income leads to an increase in income saved

Research ProcessFormulating the Research ProblemExtensive Literature SurveyDeveloping the hypothesisPreparing the research DesignDetermining sample DesignCollecting the DataExecution of the ProjectAnalysis of DataHypothesis testingGeneralisation & InterpretationPreparation of report