Research Methodology & Ethics
Lecture 1
Slide 14-1
Chapter 1
Introduction to Research
These Power point slides are based on Chapter 1 in:
Uma Sekaran, Roger Bougie (2013). Research Methods for
Business: A Skill-Building Approach, 7th Edition, Wiley
Slide 1-2
Topics to be discussed
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What is research?
Business Research
Types of business research: applied and basic
Manager and research
The Manager–Researcher Relationship
Internal versus external researchers /Consultants
Knowledge about research and managerial effectiveness
Ethics and business research
Slide 14-3
Topics to be discussed
After completing Chapter 1 you should be able to:
1. Describe what research is and how it is defined.
2. Distinguish between applied and basic research, giving examples, and
discussing why they would fall into one or the other of the two categories.
3. Explain why managers should know about research.
4. Discuss what managers should and should not do in order to interact most
effectively with researchers.
Slide 14-4
Topics to be discussed (cont’d)
5. Identify and fully discuss specific situations in which a manager would be
better off using an internal research team, and when an external research team
would be more advisable, giving reasons for the decisions.
6. Discuss what research means to you and describe how you, as manager,
might apply the knowledge gained about research.
7. Be aware of the role of ethics in business research.
Slide 14-5
Definition Research
▪ Business research: an organized and
systematic inquiry or investigation into a
specific problem, undertaken with the
purpose of finding answers or solutions
to it.
Slide 1-3
Theory and Information
▪ Theory and information play an important
role in research.
▪ The term ‘theory’ can mean a lot of things,
depending on whom you ask:
▪ an idea or hunch that someone has;
▪ any concept, instrument, model, or
framework that helps one to think about or
solve a problem, describe a phenomenon,
or understand a topic of interest.
▪ To a scientist, a theory explains a certain
phenomenon.
Slide 1-4
Applied versus Basic Research
▪ Basic research: generates a body of
knowledge by trying to comprehend how
certain
problems
that
occur
in
organizations can be solved.
▪ Applied research:
solves a current
problem faced by the manager in the work
setting, demanding a timely solution.
Slide 1-8
Examples Applied Research
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Slide 1-9
Apple’s iPod fueled the company’s success in recent
years, helping to increase sales from $5 billion in 2001
to $32 billion in the fiscal year 2008. Growth for the
music player averaged more than 200% in 2006 and
2007, before falling to 6% in 2008. Some analysts
believe that the number of iPods sold will drop 12% in
2009. “The reality is there’s a limited group of people
who want an iPod or any other portable media player,”
one analyst says. “So the question becomes, what will
Apple do about it?”
Examples Applied Research
▪
Slide 1-10
Globally, colas account for more than fifty per cent of all sodas
sold. The challenge for the soft drink industry is giving consumers
in developed markets the sugary taste they want without giving
them the mouthful of calories they don’t. Concerns about obesity
and health have led to nine years of falling U.S. soda
consumption. The soda giants can’t rely on existing diet versions
of their namesake colas, as consumers are shying away from the
artificial sweeteners they contain. Critics have blamed the
ingredients for everything from weight gain to cancer. Diet Coke is
losing U.S. sales at 7 percent a year, almost double the rate of
decline of American cola sales overall. So Coke and Pepsi are
turning to research to save their cola businesses, which take in
about two-thirds of the industry’s U.S. sales. “If you can crack the
perfect sweetener, that would be huge,” says Howard Telford, an
analyst at researcher Euromonitor International.
More Examples of Research Areas in
Business
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Absenteeism
Communication
Motivation
Consumer decision making
Customer satisfaction
Budget allocations
Accounting procedures
Slide 1-11
Why Managers Should Know About
Research
▪ Being knowledgeable about research and research
methods helps professional managers to:
▪ Identify and effectively solve minor problems in
the work setting.
▪ Know how to discriminate good from bad
research.
▪ Appreciate the multiple influences and effects of
factors impinging on a situation.
▪ Take calculated risks in decision making.
▪ Prevent possible vested interests from exercising
their influence in a situation.
▪ Relate to hired researchers and consultants more
effectively.
▪ Combine experience with scientific knowledge
while making decisions.
Slide 1-12
The Manager–Researcher Relationship
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Each should know his/her role
Trust levels
Value system
Acceptance
of
findings
and
implementation
▪ Issues
of
inside
versus
outside
researchers/consultants
Slide 1-13
Internal Researchers
▪ Advantages:
▪ Better acceptance from staff
▪ Knowledge about organization
▪ Would be an integral part of
implementation and evaluation of the
research recommendations.
▪ Disadvantages
▪ Less fresh ideas
▪ Power politics could prevail
▪ Possibly not valued as “expert” by staff
Slide 1-14
Internal Researchers
▪ Advantages:
▪ Better acceptance from staff
▪ Knowledge about organization
▪ Would be an integral part of
implementation and evaluation of the
research recommendations.
▪ Disadvantages
▪ Less fresh ideas
▪ Power politics could prevail
▪ Possibly not valued as “expert” by staff
Slide 1-15
External Researchers
▪ Advantages
▪ Divergent and convergent thinking
▪ Experience from several situations in
different organizations
▪ Better technical training, usually
▪ Disadvantages
▪ Takes time to know and understand the
organization
▪ Rapport and cooperation from staff not
easy
▪ Not available for evaluation and
implementation
▪ Costs
Slide 1-16
Ethics and Business Research
▪ Ethics
in business research refers to a
code of conduct of behavior while
conducting research.
▪ Ethical conduct applies to the organization
and the members that sponsor the research,
the researchers who undertake the research,
and the respondents who provide them with
the necessary data.
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Ethics and Business Research
▪ The members that sponsor the research
should do it in good faith, pay attention to
what the results indicate, and pursue
organizational rather than self-interest.
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Ethics and Business Research
(cont’d)
▪ Ethical conduct should also be reflected in
the behavior of the researchers who conduct
the investigation, the participants who
provide the data, the analysts who provide
the results, and the entire research team that
presents the interpretation of the results and
suggests alternative solutions.
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