1st and 2nd
Learning Outcomes
 Students should be able to describe what research is
and how it is defined, and explain the scope of
business research
Outlines
 Definition of business research
 Type of business research: applied and basic
 The use of research in business
 The hallmarks of scientific research
 Characteristics of scientific research
 The building blocks of science in research
 Key questions in planning research
 Examples of research areas in business
 The role of information technology in business research
Research Isn’t
 Research isn’t information gathering:
 Gathering information from resources such books or
magazines isn’t research.
 No contribution to new knowledge.
 Research isn’t the transportation of facts:
 Merely transporting facts from one resource to another
doesn’t constitute research.
 No contribution to new knowledge although this might
make existing knowledge more accessible.
What Research Is
Research can be described as organized and systematic
inquiry or investigation which provides information
for solving a problem or finding answers to a
complex issue
(Uma Sekaran, 2003)
Business Research Is:
an Organized, Systematic, Data Based, Critical,
Objective, Scientific inquiry or Investigation into a
specific problem, undertaken with the purpose of
finding answers or solutions to it.
(Uma Sekaran, 2003)
Types of Business Research
 Applied research
 A study which is undertaken to resolve current problem

Xerox is insular and isn’t ready for the increasingly competitive,
high-tech world. Xerox sill relies on old-fashioned and slowselling analog copiers for more than half its revenue and
despite its double-digit growth in digital products and services,
its sales rose just 4%.
 Basic (pure/fundamental) research
 A study to generate scientific knowledge for future use

Research into the causes and consequences of global warming
will offer many solutions to minimize the phenomenon, and
lead to further research concerning if and how global warming
can be averted.
Other Types of Research
 Case studies:
 involve in-depth, contextual analyses of similar situations
in other organizations, where the problem happen to be the
same as experienced in the current situation.

A study of what contributes to the successful installation of a good
MIS in organizations similar to the one that is planning to install
the system as well.
 Action research:
 undertaken to initiate change processes in organizations

The vice president of BCD Co., wants to introduce a new system of
bookkeeping and meet some resistance from the Accounting
Department. Therefore, he seeks a solution to the problem of
employee resistance.
Examples of Research Areas in
Business
 Problems of
 Absenteeism
 Communication
 Motivation
 Productivity
 Morale
 Make or buy decisions
 Advertising effectiveness
 Test marketing
 Budget allocations
 Accounting procedures
The Hallmarks of Scientific
Research
 Purposiveness
 Rigor
 Testability
 Replicability
 Precision and Confidence
 Objectivity
 Generalizability
 Parsimony
Research Sequence
Explore situation
identify problem
exists
Decide next steps
Implement or
more research.
Develop
research
design
Collect data
Analyze data
Interpret results
Evaluate results
see if research
questions has been
answered
What is Good Research….?
 The purpose of the research or the problem involved,
should be clearly defined
 The research procedures used should be described detail
 The research design should be carefully planned to yield
results as objective as possible
 The research should report the result and estimate their
effect upon the findings
 Analysis of the data should be adequate to reveal its
significance and the methods of analysis uses should be
appropriate
 Conclusions should be confined the research data
 Greater confidence for experienced researcher
The Building Blocks of Science in
Research
Explanation…….
 The process of observation is sensing the phenomena
around us is what gets most of the research started. Then,
problem identification calls for some preliminary data
gathering. Integration of the information obtained, helps
to determine that a problem exists, thus it formulates a
conceptual model or theoretical framework. Several
hypotheses can be generated and tested to determine if
the data support them. Concepts are then operationally
defined so that they can be measured. A research
design is set up to decide on how to collect further data,
analyze and interpret them, to finally provide answers to
the problems.
Planning your Research:
Key Questions






What do you want to know?
How do you find out what you want to know?
Where can you get the information?
Who do you need to ask?
When does your research need to be done?
Why? (Getting the answer)
Step 1: What?
 What do I want to know?
 When developing your research question, keep in
mind:



Who your research is for;
What decisions your research will inform;
What kind of information is needed to inform those
decisions.
 Conduct a local information scan
 Take another look at your research question
Step 2: How? Where? Who?
 How do I find out what I want to know?
 Where can I get the information I need?
 Who do I need to ask?
 Choose your methodology





quantitative or numbers information
qualitative in-depth explanatory information
case studies
site visits or observation
participatory research
Step 3: When?
 When do all the different parts of the research need to
be done?
 List all your research work areas
 Map them against a timeline
 Develop a work plan
Step 4: Why?
Getting the answer
 Collect your data
 Keep returning to your research question
 Organize your research results to answer the
question
 Keep in mind who you are doing the research for
 Focus on what research results do tell you
 Be creative, methodical and meticulous
The Role of IT in Business Research
 The use of internet
 Electornic mail (e-mail)
 Intranet
 Browser
 Web sites
 Digital whiteboards
 Video conferencing
 Information gathering
 Data analysis
Information Systems in
Organization
 Data Warehousing
 Data Mining
 Decision Support System
 Management Information System
 Executive information System
 Expert System
 Operations Research