Business Research Methods
Course Title:
Business Research Methods
Text Book:
Research Methodology: A step-By-Step Guide For
Beginners by Ranjit Kumar
Must Read Books:
 Business Research Methods by William G. Zikmund 7. ed
Reference Books:
 Greener, S. (2008) Business Research Methods, Ventus
Publishing. FREE download:
http://bookboon.com/uk/student/management/introduc
tion-to-research-methods
 Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2007).
Research Methods for Business Students, (4th ed.),
Prentice Hall - Financial Times.
What is Research?
 “The systematic investigation into and study of materials,
sources, etc., in order to establish facts and reach new
conclusions” Oxford English dictionary
 “A process of finding out information and investigating the
unknown to solve a problem” Maylor and Blackmon (2005)
 “Something that people undertake in order to find out
things in a systematic way, thereby increasing their
knowledge” Saunders et al (2007, p.5)
Business
Research
Business Research Defined
Business research is defined as the systematic and
objective process of generating information for aid
in making business decisions.
So what's not
Research?
 Research isn’t information gathering:
 Gathering information from resources such as 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.
Research Characteristics

Originates with a question or problem.

Requires clear articulation of a goal.

Follows a specific plan or procedure.

Often divides main problem into sub problems.

Guided by specific problem, question, or hypothesis.

Accepts certain critical assumptions.

Requires collection and interpretation of data.
Types of Business
Research
Types of Research
From the view point of
Application
Pure
Research
Applied
Research
Objectives
Type of Information
Sought
Exploratory
Research
Quantitative
Research
Discriptive
Research
Qualitative
Research
Correlation
Research
Explanatory
Research
Application View Point
Basic Research
 Attempts to expand the limits of knowledge.
 Not directly involved in the solution to a pragmatic
problem.
 To test theory or to discover more about a concept.
Basic Research Example
 Is executive success correlated with high need for
achievement?
 Are members of highly cohesive work groups more
satisfied than members of less cohesive work groups?
 Do consumers experience cognitive dissonance in lowinvolvement situations?
Applied Research
Conducted when a decision must be made about a
specific real-life problem.
Applied Research Examples
 Should McDonalds add Italian pasta dinners to its menu?
 Business research told McDonald’s it should not?
 Should Procter & Gamble add a high-priced home teeth
bleaching kit to its product line?
Summarizing Applied And
Basic Research
Applied research is research undertaken to solve
practical
problems
rather
than
to
acquire
knowledge for knowledge sake.
Basic research is experimental and theoretical
work undertaken to acquire new knowledge
without looking for long-term benefits other than
the advancement of knowledge.
Kind of Research
Key Characteristics
Basic research
Focuses on generating
fundamental knowledge
Applied research
Focuses on real-world
questions and applications