Business Research Methods

Subject Business Research Methods

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 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH

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 Learning objectives
• 1. Explain what is meant by scientific investigation, giving
examples of both scientific and nonscientific investigations.
• 2. Explain the eight hallmarks of science.
• 3. Briefly explain why research in the organizational behavior and
management areas cannot be completely scientific.
• 4. Describe the building blocks of science.
• 5. Discuss the seven steps of the hypothetico-deductive method,
using an example of your own.
• 6. Appreciate the advantages of knowledge about scientific
investigation

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 The definition of research
• Research is an organized, systematic, data-
based, critical, objective, scientific inquiry
into a specific problem that needs a
solution.
• Managerial decisions based on the results of
scientific research tend to be effective.

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 What is Meant by a Scientific
Research?
• Scientific research focuses on solving problems
and pursues a step-by-step logical, organized, and
rigorous method to identify the problems, gather
data, analyze them, and draw valid conclusions
therefrom.
• Thus, scientific research is not based on hunches,
experience, and intuition (though these may play
a part in final decision making), but a purposive
and rigorous.
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 What is Meant by a Scientific
Research?
• Because of the rigorous way in which the
research done, scientific research enables
all those who are interested in researching
about the same or similar issues to come up
with comparable findings when the data
are analyzed.

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 What is Meant by a Scientific
Research?
• Scientific research helps researchers to state their
findings with accuracy and confidence.
• This helps various other organizations to apply those
solutions when they encounter similar problems.
• Scientific investigation tends to be more objective
than subjective, and helps managers to highlight the
most critical factors at the workplace that need
specific attention so as to avoid, minimize, or solve
problems.

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 What is Meant by a Scientific
Research?
• Scientific investigation and managerial decision making
are integral aspects of effective problem solving.
• Scientific research applies to both basic and applied
research.
• Applied research may or may not be generalizable to
other organizations, depending on the extent to which
differences exist in such factors as size, nature of work,
characteristics of the employees, and structure of the
organization.

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 The Hallmarks of Scientific
Research
• 1. Purposiveness 5. Precision
• 2. Rigor 6. Objectivity
• 3. Testability 7. Generalizability
• 4. Replicability 8. Parsimony

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 The Hallmarks of Scientific
Research
• We will explain each of these
characteristics in the context of the
following example:
• Consider the case of a manager who is
interested in investigating how employees’
commitment to the organization can be
increased.

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 1. Purposiveness
• The manager has started the research with a
definite aim or purpose.
• The focus is on increasing the commitment of
employees to the organization, as this will be a
beneficial in many ways.
• An increase in employee commitment will
translate into less turnover, less absenteeism, and
increased performance levels, all of which would
definitely benefit the organization.
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 2. Rigor
• A good theoretical base and a sound
methodological design would add rigor to a
purposive study.
• Rigor means carefulness, and the degree of
exactitude in research investigations.

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 An approach to an investigation would
lack rigor for the following reasons
• Incorrect conclusions because they are based on the responses
of just a few employees (lacks of methodological
sophistication).
• 2. the manner of framing and addressing the questions could
have introduced bias in the responses (lacks of
methodological sophistication).
• 3. There might be many other important influences on
organizational commitment that this small sample did not
verbalize during the interviews, and the researcher would
have failed to include them (lacks of a good theoretical
framework).
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 3. Testability
• After taking random selection of employees
of the organization, and the study of previous
research done of the area of organizational
commitment, the researcher develops certain
hypotheses on how employee commitment
can be enhanced. Then these hypotheses can
be tested by applying certain statistical tests
to the data collected for the purpose.
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 4. Replicability
• The results of the tests of hypotheses
should be supported again and again when
the same type of research is repeated in
other similar circumstances.
• If the results are repeated, we will gain
confidence in the scientific nature of our
research.

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 Reference
• Book: Research Methods for Business By
Uma Sekaran, 4th Edition.
• Research Methods for Research Methods
for Business Business A Skill Building
Approach A Skill Building Approach
• Uma Sekaran and Roger Bougie Uma
Sekaran

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 Thank You Students
Best of Luck for the Learning Process

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