ADVANCED RESEARCH

METHOD ACFN-5051
Dejene Mamo Bekana (PhD, Assistant Professor)
Contents
Unit 1: Introduction to Research Methods
• Concept and Definition of Research
• Nature and Scope of Business research
• Objective and Motivation of Research
• Research and Scientific Method
• Characteristics of Good Research
• Types of research
• Research Methods versus Methodology
• Ethical issues in Accounting and Finance Research
 Contents…
Unit 2: Research processes (Overview) and Formulation of the
Research Problem and Hypothesis
• Research processes (Overview)
• Choosing Research Topic
• Review of Literature (importance)
• Formulation of Research Problem
• Specification of Research Objective
• Operationalization of Research Objective
• Development of Research Hypothesis
Unit 3: Research and Sampling Design
• Meaning of Research Design
• The Why of Research Design
• Features of a Good Design
• Types of Research Designs
• Census and Sample Survey
• Characteristics of Good Sample
• Types of Sampling: Probability vs Non-probability
Contents…

• Unit 4: Research Proposal Development

• Meaning of Research Proposal
• Types of Research Proposal
• Structure of Research Proposal
• Referencing – rationale and techniques;
• Referencing Styles;
Contents…

• Unit 5: Measurement and Data Collection

• Measurement and Scaling: Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, Ratio
• Sources of Errors in Measurement
• Goodness of Measurement: Validity, reliability and
practicality
• Types of data: Primary and Secondary
• Methods of Data Collection
• The survey method;
• The case-study method;
• Guideline for designing a Questionnaire and other
Instruments.
Contents…

• Unit 6: Data Processing, Analysis and Presentation

• Data Processing: Coding, Entry and Transformation
• Quantitative Data Analysis Preliminary analysis: Frequency
tables, cross tabulations, Bar charts, Measuring
Association. Hypothesis Testing. Multivariate Analysis
• Qualitative Data Analysis
Organization of the module

• Work Load: Contact hrs=60; non-contact hrs=120;

Total hrs=180
• The assessment method: continuous assessment:
• Group assignment I 25%
• Group assignment II 25%
• Final examination 50%
• Total 100%
• Learning & Teaching Methods: Lecture, tutorial,
Individual work, collaborative work, discussions and
reports
• Media: Face-to-face lecture, notes, power points,
databases, books, journal articles, internet (e-mail)
 Chapter 1

An Overview of Research

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1.1 Introduction
Human beings have been concerned to
come to grips with their environment
through:
Experience
Reasoning
Research [a combination of both
experience and reasoning]
(Cohen and Manion, 1994, p.1)

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1.Experience (subsume a number of
sources of information)
• Personal experience. i.e., body of knowledge
and skills derived from encounters and acquaintance
with facts and events in the environment
• Experience of others in the immediate circle
• Sources beyond immediate circle, i.e.,
authoritative sources

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2. Reasoning
• Deductive (Aristotle)-from whole to parts
• Inductive (Francis Bacon) – from number of observations to
whole
• Combined
3. Research
Systematic , controlled empirical and critical investigation of
hypothetical propositions about the presumed relations among
natural phenomena :
• Systematic and controlled
• Empirical
• Self- correcting
• Research is a combination of both experience and
reasoning and must be regarded as the most successful
approach to the discovery of truth.
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Inductive Reasoning (Qualitative
Approach)

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Deductive Reasoning (Quantitative
Approach)

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Research: applies logical reasoning

• Deduction: Goes from general (theories) to specific

(facts)
• Premise * Honest people do not steal
• Premise * John is honest
• Conclusion: John does not steal
•  Induction: Goes from facts to generalizations
(theories)
• Facts: Abebe, Ayele, Almaz and Aweke died.
• Facts: Abebe, Ayele, Almaz are human-beings
• Generalization: Human-beings are mortal.
NB: If the premises are true, the conclusion is
correct.
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1.2 What is a research?
1. A voyage of discovery or a journey/ movement
from the known to unknown: an attitude: an
experience: A method of critical thinking: a
careful enquiry in seeking facts or principles.

2. An art of scientific investigation

•a scientific and systematic search for pertinent
information on a specific topic
•Process of arriving at dependable solutions to
problems through the planned and systematic
collection, analysis and interpretation of data.

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3. A systematized effort to gain new knowledge
• Search for (new) knowledge facts through objective,
systematic and scientific method of finding solution to
a problem.
• Implicit question + explicit answer + data to support
the answer = research
• The systematic method consisting of enunciating the
problem, formulating a hypothesis, collecting the facts
or data, analyzing the facts and reaching certain
conclusions either in the form of solution(s) towards
the concerned problem or in certain generalizations for
some theoretical formulation.

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4. Comprehensive definition:
• Research is a search for knowledge
through objective and systematic methods
of finding solution to a problem or the
systematic approach concerning
generalization and the formulation of a
theory.

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• Therefore, research can be carried out:
 To develop theories, models and principles
To help improve practice;
To bridge the gap between theory and
practice;
To influence policymaking (e.g. Policy in
housing, crime, education, environment, etc.);
To improve the level of implementation of
policies; and
To encourage interaction among different
disciplines.
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Basic characteristics
• Research is directed towards the solution of a
problem.
• Research emphasizes the development of
generalizations, principles, or theories to
predict future occurrences.
• Research is based upon observable
experiences or empirical evidence.
• Research demands accurate observation and
description.
• Research involves gathering new data primary
or first- hand sources or using existing data a
new purpose.

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• Research is characterized by carefully
designed procedures, always applying
rigorous analysis.
• Research requires expertise.
• Research strives to be objective and logical,
applying every possible test to validate the
procedures employed, the data collected, and
the conclusions reached.
• Research is characterized by patience and
unhurried activity.
• Research is carefully recorded and reported.

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What would you do if you want to
search for knowledge/answer?

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Ways of Knowing
• There are different ways of obtaining knowledge and/or Wisdom. Science
presents a specific methodology for obtaining knowledge.
• Five ways we can know something
1. Tradition
2. Personal experience
3. Experts and authorities
4. Method of Intuition: Logic
 Inductive
 Deductive
5. The scientific method

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Ways of Knowing…
• 1. Methods of Tenacity/Tradition/Customs/Superstition/ Magic/Mystery
• Doing things as they have always been done
• Limitations
• Traditions are often based on an idealized past
• Traditions can be distant from current realities and the complexities associated with them
• Truth is true because one believes it even in front of contradicting evidence.
• 2. Personal experience
• Relying on one’s knowledge of prior experiences
• Limitations
• How one is affected by an event depends on who one is
• One frequently needs to know something that cannot by learned through experience

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Ways of Knowing…
• 3. Experts or authorities(Method of Authority: Religion)
• Truth is true because an authority says so.
• Relying on the expertise or authority of others
• Limitations
• Experts can be wrong
• Experts can disagree among themselves, as in a “second
opinion”

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Ways of Knowing…
• 4. Logic
• Inductive reasoning
• Reasoning from the specific to the general
• Limitations
• In order to be certain of a conclusion one must observe all examples
• All examples can be observed only in very limited situations where there are few
members of the group
• Deductive reasoning
• Reasoning from the general to the specific
• Limitations
• You must begin with true premises in order to arrive at true conclusions
• Deductive reasoning only organizes what is already known.

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5. The Scientific Method
• Method of Science
• Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") is, in its broadest
sense, refers to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that
is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome.
• Science is a method of seeking truth. This method only accounts for solvable
problems that have empirical solutions based on observable events.
• The goal of the scientific method is to explain, predict, and/or control
phenomena. This involves the acquisition of knowledge and the development
and testing of theory.
• Scientific methods consist of systematic observation, classification and
interpretation of data. Although we engage in such process in our daily life, the
difference between our casual day- to-day generalization and the conclusions
usually recognized as scientific method lies in the degree of formality,
rigorousness, verifiability and general validity of latter.
• The use of the scientific method is more efficient and reliable than any other
source of knowledge.
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The Scientific Method…
• Limitations of the scientific method
• Inability to answer value-based questions involving
“should”
• Inability to capture the full richness and complexities of
the participants
• Limitations of our measurement instruments
• Ethical and legal responsibilities

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 Research as Scientific Inquiry
• Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") is, in its broadest
sense, any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is
capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome.
• Scientific inquiry is the search for knowledge using recognized methods
in data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
• scientific knowledge is not based on the opinions, feelings, or intuition of the
scientist. Instead, scientific knowledge is based on objective data that were reliably
obtained in the context of a carefully designed research study.
• Any reality that cannot be put to “sensory experience” directly or indirectly (existence
of heaven, the Day of Judgment, life hereafter, God’s rewards for good deeds) does
not fall within the domain of scientific method.
• Scientific methods follows defined steps to solve a problem and/or reach at a
conclusion.
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 WHAT IS RESEARCH ?
• The word research is used in everyday speech to cover a broad spectrum of meaning, which makes it a decidedly
confusing term for students especially graduate students who must learn to use the word in its specialized
denotation.
• Everywhere, our knowledge is incomplete and problems are waiting to be solved. We address the void in our
knowledge and those unresolved problems by asking relevant questions and seeking answers to them.
• The role of research is to provide a method for obtaining those answers by inquiringly studying the evidence
within the parameters of the scientific method.
• Basically, it is a way of “re-searching” or looking again at the world and making sense of it. Re (again) +
Search. The word research is composed of two syllables, re and search: re is a prefix meaning again, anew or
over again search is a verb meaning to examine closely and carefully, to test and try, or to probe. Together they
form a noun describing a careful, systematic, patient study and investigation in some field of knowledge,
undertaken to establish facts or principles.
 Research is a systematic process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting information (data) to increase
understanding of a phenomenon about which we are interested. ( Systematic and orderly (following a series
of steps).
• Research is a structured enquiry that utilizes acceptable scientific methodology to solve problems and create new
knowledge that is generally applicable.
Research is a process through which we attempt to achieve systematically and with the support of data the answer to a
question, the resolution of a problem, or a greater understanding of a phenomenon
It is a discovery (Rediscovery); A voyage from the known to the unknown. This is a general definition which
applies to all disciplines.

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Your research will take you on a journey to find out :

• What is already known

• What is still unknown
• What is worth knowing
• What is knowable
• What is the best way of
designing a study in order to
find answers to what is:
Unknown, Worth knowing
and Knowable
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What Research Is Not:
• Mere information gathering

• Mere transportation of facts from one location to

another

• Merely rummaging for information

• A catchword used to get attention

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Purpose of Doing Research
• If we ask someone why he or she is conducting a study, we
might get a range of responses:
• “My boss told me to do”; “It was a class assignment”; “I was
curious.” There are almost as many reasons to do research as
there are researches.
• Yet the purposes of research may be organized into four
groups based on what the researcher is trying to accomplish:
• to explore a new topic,
• To describe a social phenomenon,
• or to explain why something occurs,
• to predict.
• Studies may have multiple purposes (e.g. both to explore
and to describe) but one purpose usually dominates.

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 Importance of Research
• Reason 1: Research adds to our knowledge.
• Addresses gaps in knowledge
• Expands knowledge
• Replicates knowledge
• Adds voices of individuals to
knowledge

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 Importance of Research (cont’d)
• Reason 2: Research helps improve practice.
• Researchers/business managers gain
new ideas for their job.
• Researchers/business managers
gain new insights into approaches.
• Researchers/business managers can
connect with other educators.

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Importance of Research (cont’d)

• Reason 3: Research helps inform policy debates.

• Research allows people to weigh
different perspectives on issues.
• Research enables people to make
informed decisions regarding policy.

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Problems with Research Today
• Contradictory or vague findings
• Questionable data
• Unclear statements about the intent of
the study
• Lack of full disclosure of the data
collection procedure
• Inarticulate rendering of the research
problem

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What is Business Research?
• It is a process of determining, acquiring,
analyzing, synthesizing, and disseminating
relevant business data, information, and
insights to decision makers in ways that
mobilize the organization to take appropriate
business actions that, in turn, maximize
business performance.
• Business research is a systematic inquiry that
provides information to guide business
decisions.
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How is understanding research methodology useful to you?
• Management is both a science and an art
• this means that managers and behavioral scientists in
general use the methods of science to gather and
interpret information.
• science provides a carefully developed system for answering
questions so that the answers we get are as accurate,
objective and complete as possible.
• Conducting a study
• each student in this class has to develop a research
outline following the steps of research process as part
of the requirement of the course.
• to keep up to date in your profession, you will probably
need to read and understand the most recent research
publications.

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How is understanding research methodology useful…?
• Reading and Evaluating Other People’s Studies
• this class will help you critically evaluate the
research presented in journal articles
• you will be able to determine to what extent the
evidence supports conclusions.
• Understanding brief descriptions of studies
• there are basic principles that every scientific
study follows and knowing about these
principles will help you to better understand
the meaning of abbreviated descriptions of
studies that you will find in your textbooks for
other classes.

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How is understanding research methodology useful…?
• Making decisions in our daily lives
• you must understand and appreciate the role and capabilities
of science and experimentation so that you can evaluate and
act on research results.
• this course, research methods, class will help you make
educated decisions about the research claims you encounter in
everyday life.
• Being a better thinker
• science is a logical and objective method of
critical thinking
• this course may help you to evaluate evidence
in a more sophisticated way and make a more
objective decisions in everyday life.
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The Scientific Method and characteristics of research
Research is a process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting information to answer
questions. But to qualify as research, the process must have certain characteristics: it
must, as far as possible, be controlled, rigorous, systematic, valid and verifiable, empirical
and critical.
1. Controlled- in real life there are many factors that affect an outcome. The concept of
control implies that, in exploring causality in relation to two variables (factors), you set
up your study in a way that minimizes the effects of other factors affecting the
relationship. This can be achieved to a large extent in the physical sciences (cookery,
bakery), as most of the research is done in a laboratory. However, in the social sciences
(Hospitality and Tourism) it is extremely difficult as research is carried out on issues
related to human beings living in society, where such controls are not possible. Therefore
in Hospitality and Tourism, as you cannot control external factors, you attempt to
quantify their impact.
2. Rigorous-you must be scrupulous(trustworthy) in ensuring that the procedures
followed to find answers to questions are relevant, appropriate and justified. Again, the
degree of rigor varies markedly between the physical and social sciences and within the
social sciences. 41
The Scientific Method and characteristics of research…
3. Systematic-this implies that the procedure adopted to undertake an
investigation follow a certain logical sequence. The different steps cannot
be taken in a haphazard way. Some procedures must follow others.
4. Valid and verifiable-this concept implies that whatever you conclude on
the basis of your findings is correct and can be verified by you and others.
5.Empirical-this means that any conclusion drawn are based upon hard
evidence gathered from information collected from real life experiences or
observations.
6. Critical-critical scrutiny of the procedures used and the methods
employed is crucial to a research enquiry. The process of investigation
must be foolproof and free from drawbacks. The process adopted and the
procedures used must be able to withstand critical scrutiny.

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Basic concepts Defined & Described
Methodology and Method are often (incorrectly) used interchangeable.

• Methodology – the study of the general approach to inquiry in a given field. OR “The theory of how
research should be undertaken, including the theoretical and philosophical assumptions upon which
research is based and the implications of these for the method or methods adopted.”
• Method – the specific techniques, tools or procedures applied to achieve a given objective.

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Types of Research

Classified from 3 perspectives(based on…)

1.Application of research studies (pure or applied research)
2.Objectives in undertaking the research
(Exploratory,descriptive, correlational, explanatory
research)
3.Inquiry mode employed (qualitative or quantitative
research)
4. By time dimension(cross sectional and longtiudinal)

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 Types of Research

From the viewpoint of

Application Objectives Inquiry mode

Pure Descriptive Exploratory Quantitative

research research research research

Correlational Explanatory
Applied research research Qualitative
research research

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Features of business and management research: by application

Basic and applied research

Sources: Easterby-Smith et al. (2008); Hedrick et al. (1993)

Figure 1.1 Basic and applied research
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Research classification by objective

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 Time Span of Research

Cross-sectional Longitudinal
• Studying groups of people • Studying the same
at one time individuals over time
• Researcher doesn’t have to • Evaluates how children
wait until subjects grow change over time
older • Time consuming and costly
• Provides no information
about the stability of data
over time

48
The Time-Dimension in Social
Research…

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49
 The Time-Dimension in Social Research…

17
50
The Time-Dimension in Social
Research…

18
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 The Time-Dimension in Social Research…

19
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The Time-Dimension in Social
Research…

20
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54
 Paradigms of Research: And now for something completely different… Thinking
about thinking.

• What is worldview? Paradigm?

• Why is it central to developing understandings of the world around us and how

we are connected to this world?

• How do we develop our own worldview?

• What are some of the dominant worldviews?

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Research Paradigm

When researchers talk about different approaches to research, they talk about
“paradigms.”

A paradigm is a “worldview” or a set of assumptions about how things work.
A lens through which to view nature :Implicit body of intertwined theoretical
and methodological belief that permits selection, evaluation, and criticism
(Kuhn, 1970)


Paradigm is “shared understandings of reality”
“Refers to the progress of scientific practice based on people’s philosophies and
assumptions about the world and the nature of knowledge”.

Paradigms offer a framework comprising an accepted set of theories, methods,
and ways of defining data.

Represents a worldview that defines, for its holder, the nature of the world, the
individual’s place in it, and the range of possible relationships to that world and
its parts (Guba & Lincoln, 1994).

Quantitative and qualitative research methods involve very different
assumptions about how research should be conducted and the role of the
researcher.

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Knowledge Tree- A way of scoping The Field

Ontology
What is the nature of reality?

Epistemology
What is the nature of knowledge?

Methodology
What is the nature of the approach to research?

Methods and Techniques

What practices of research should be undertaken?

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58
 Ways of Knowing
Two Classic Paradigms

Positivist phenomenological
there is a single reality or truth
there are multiple realities and
across time and contexts, and
that truth is ever changing,
that this truth can be understood
dependent on context and the
through the objective study of
individual (subject and
independent variables
researcher)

59
 The Philosophical Position….

Positivism Phenomenology
Reality is objective and Reality is subjective
Ontology: what is the singular, apart from the and multiple as seen
nature of reality? researcher by the participants
Epistemology:
What is valid Researcher is independent Researcher interacts
knowledge? defines how from that being researched with that being researched
we can know.
Axiology:
,
Value free and un-biased Values are
Value-laden and biased
Role of values excluded from the research process

• Cross-sectional studies • Action Research

• Experimental studies • Case Studies
RESEARCH
• Longitudinal studies • Ethnography
STRATEGY
• Surveys • Grounded Theory
• Etc... • Hermeneutics, etc...
60
Features of research paradigms
Positivistic paradigm Phenomenological
paradigm:Phenomenology is the
study of our experience–how we
experience

Tends to produce quantitative data Tends to produce qualitative data

Uses large samples Uses small samples
Concerned with hypothesis testing Concerned with generating theories
Data is highly specific and precise Data is rich and subjective
The location is artificial The location is natural
Reliability is high Reliability is low
Validity is low Validity is high
Generalises from sample to Generalises from one setting to
population another

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The Positivistic approach
Define your research topic
Literature review
Define your research question(s)
i.e. hypothesis

Deductive Design data collection

Pilot study
Design data analysis

Collect data

Analyse data

Interpret results

Report your findings(Adapted from Maylor and Blackmon

(2005) 62
The Phenomenological approach
Define your research topic
Literature review
Define your research question(s)

Design data collection

Inductive

Collect data

Analyse data Literature review

Interpret data

Research question answered?

Report your findings

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Adapted from Maylor and Blackmon (2005)
 The positivist VS Phenomenological approach
• A generally accepted set of procedures for collecting information about the world
• A generally accepted set of procedures for developing and testing theories

• The positivist approach is an idealised model to arrive at “the truth” through:

• Objective observation
• Measurement
• Careful and accurate analysis of data
• Minimising pre-conceptions about how the world works

• The phenomenology approach is an idealised model to arrive at “the data” through:

• Subjective observation
• Being led by the data (ie. induction)
• Trying to overcome biases about the situation
• Avoiding conceptual frameworks or instruments that might influence what is observed

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Maylor and Blackmon (2005)
Comparing approaches...

Characteristic Positivism Phenomenology

What? Why?
Questions that can be answered How much? How?

Direct observation,
Survey, Interviews,
Associated methods Experiment Participant observation

Data type Predominantly numbers Predominantly words

Finding Measure Meaning

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Adapted from Maylor and Blackmon (2005)
Why does the approach matter?

Whether you take a scientific (positivistic) or

phenomenological approach will influence:

• What research questions you ask

• What methods you use to collect your data
• What type of data you collect
• What techniques you use to analyse your data

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Maylor and Blackmon (2005)
 Researchers Argue
• Quantitative researchers fail because they can
neither adequately define nor accurately
measure enough of the variables to understand
complex natural interactions.

• Qualitative researchers cannot rigorously

examine the detailed structures underlying
complex natural interactions.

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Researchers Argue
 “Purists” contend
• Qualitative and quantitative methodologies are
incompatible because they have different
epistemological bases.
• Using them together is “mixing paradigms.”
 Others believe
• Qualitative and quantitative methodologies are simply
different ways of looking at phenomena
• Using them together is symbiotic
• “there is no one best way for undertaking all
research” Saunders et al. (2009)

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 Ways of Knowing
A Third Paradigm
Pragmatism(mixed approaches)

Use what ever approach and

methodology that will best
answer the question.

Phenomenological(constructivist,
Positivist interpretivist)
there is a single reality or truth there are multiple realities and
across time and contexts, and that truth is ever changing,
that this truth can be understood dependent on context and the
through the objective study of individual (subject and
independent variables researcher)
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The research ‘onion’

Source: © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2006

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