Business Research
SMS
Varanasi
1 Introduction to Research
 1.1What is research?
Research is the process of finding
solutions to a problem after a
thorough study and analysis of
the situational factors.
1.2.What is business research?
 Research provides the needed
information that guides managers to
make informed decisions to successfully
deal with problems.
 The information provided could be the
result of a careful analysis of data
gathered firsthand or of data that are
already available (in the company).
1.3.Types of Business research.
 1.Applied research
 Is to solve a current problem faced by the
manager in the work setting,demanding a timely
solution.
 2.Basic research (fundamental, pure)
 Is to generate a body of knowledge by trying to
comprehend how certain problems that occur in
organizations can be solved.
 The findings of such research contribute to the
building of knowledge in the various functional
areas of business.
1.4. Why is it important for managers to know
about research?
 Solve problems
 Decision making tool
 Competition
 Risk
 Investment
 Hire researchers and consultants more
effectively
2 Scientific Investigation
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1 Observation
2 Identification of problem area
3 Theoretical framework
4 Hypotheses
5 Research design
6 Data collection
7 Data analysis
8 Data interpretation
9 Implementation
The seven-step process in the
Hypothetico-Deductive method
 1 Observation
 2 Problem identification
preliminary information gathering
 3 Theoretical framework
 theory formulation
 4 Hypothesizing
 5 Research design
 further scientific data collection
 6 logical analysis
 7 Deduction
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The seven-step process
 problem statement is a clear, precise, and succinct statement of the
question or issue that is to be investigated with the goal of finding
an answer or solution.
 Theoretical framework is the foundation on which the entire research
project is based.It is logically developed,described,and elaborated
network of associations among the variables relevant to the problem
situation.
 A hypothesis is a tentative statement that proposes a possible
explanation to some phenomenon or event. A useful hypothesis is a
testable statement which may include a prediction. A hypotheses
should not be confused with a theory.
 Data analysis: the data gathered are statistically analyzed to see if the
hypotheses that were generated have been supported.
 Measurement is the process observing and recording the observations
that are collected as part of a research effort.
 Deduction is the process of arriving at conclusions by interpreting the
meaning of the data analysis results.
Problem Formulation
 "Well begun is half done" --Aristotle,
quoting an old proverb
 Where do research topics come from?
 The idea for a research project?
 one of the most common sources of research
ideas is the experience of practical
problems in the field?
 The Literature Review
Levels of Measurement
The Research Cycle
 The Research Cycle
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QUESTIONING
PLANNING
GATHERING
SORTING & SIFTING
SYNTHESIZING
EVALUATING
REPORTING*
Information needs in business
 Almost every organization has to engage in
research at some level to stay competitive.
 Companies gather data both from within and
outside the organization.
 The methods used to gather,analyze,and
synthesize information from the external and
internal environments are becoming increasingly
sophisticated to the immense scope of computer
technology.
Computer Technology and Business
 ICT
 Information
 Communication
 Technology
The research process
 1 Observation
 2 Data gathering
 3 Problem definition
 4 Theoretical framework (variables identified)
 5 Hypotheses
 6 Research design
 7 Data collection,analysis,interpretation
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8 Deduction
9 Report writing
10 Report presentation
11 Managerial decision making
Research design
 Purpose of the study:
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Exploratory study
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Descriptive study
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Is undertaken when no information is available on how similar
problems or research issues have been solved in the past
Is to able to describe the characteristics of the variables of
interest in a situation.
Hypotheses testing
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Is undertaken to explain the variance in the dependent variable
or to predict organizational outcomes.
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Case studies
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Research design can be thought of as the structure of
research -- it is the "glue" that holds all of the elements in a
research project together
Measurement
 The rating scale
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Have several response catagories
Likert scale is designed o exermine how
strongly subject agree or disagree with
statements on a 5-point scale
 Ranking scale
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Are used to tap preferences between two or
more objects or items
 Goodness of measure : reliability,validity
Data collection methods
 Data can be collected in a variety ways ,data
sources can be primary or secondary.
 Data collection methods such as:
 interview(face-to-face,telephone,computerassisted interviews),
 Questionaires
 Observation
 Motivational techniques
Sampling
 A sample is a subset of the population.
 Sample is the process of selecting a sufficient
number of elements from the population.
 Studying a sample rather the entire population is
sometimes to lead to more reliable results, mostly
because fatigue is reduced,resulting in fewer errors
on collection data. (time, cost,human resources)
 Surveys are useful and powerful in finding answers to
research question but if data are not collected from
the people or objects that can provide the correct
answers to solve the problem, the survey will be in
vain.
Data Analysis and Interpretation
 The data analysis involves three major steps, done in
roughly this order:
 Cleaning and organizing the data for analysis (Data
Preparation)
 Describing the data (Descriptive Statistics)
 Testing Hypotheses and Models (Inferential Statistics)
Descriptive Statistics
 Descriptive statistics
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provide simple summaries about the sample and the measures.
Central Tendency. The central tendency of a distribution is an estimate of
the "center" of a distribution of values. There are three major types of
estimates of central tendency:
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Mean is the most common-used measure of data tendency.=average.
Median is the middle value , when the data is arranged in numerical order.
Mode is the value ( number) that appears the most.
Dispersion (Range, Standard Diviation)refers to the spread of the values
around the central tendency
 Inferential statistics
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t-test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA),
regression analysis, Correlation is a measure of the relation between two or
more variables.
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we use inferential statistics to make judgments of the probability that an
observed difference between groups. Thus, we use inferential statistics to
make inferences from our data to more general conditions;
we use descriptive statistics simply to describe what's going on in our data.
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Statistics methods
 Central tendency
The Research Report
 Researh proposal
 Research report
 Research presentation
Research report articles vary in how they are
organized, :
 Abstract - Brief summary of the contents of the article
 Introduction - A explanation of the purpose of the study, a statement of the
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research question(s) the study intends to address
Literature review - A critical assessment of the work done so far on this
topic, to show how the current study relates to what has already been done
Methods - How the study was carried out (e.g. instruments or equipment,
procedures, methods to gather and analyze data)
Results - What was found in the course of the study
Discussion - What do the results mean
Conclusion - State the conclusions and implications of the results, and
discuss how it relates to the work reviewed in the literature review; also,
point to directions for further work in the area
Research Proposal
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Title Page
Abstract (on a separate single page)
The Body (no page breaks between sections in the body)
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Introduction (2-3 pages)
Methods (7-10 pages)
 Sample (1 page)
 Measures (2-3 pages)
 Design (2-3 pages)
 Procedures (2-3 pages)
Results (2-3 pages)
Conclusions (1-2 pages)
References
Tables (one to a page)
Figures (one to a page)
Appendices
Question?
 How can you solve business problem?
 Why do you need to know how to write the research
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proposal?
Do you understand the research process?
Do you know why do you have to identify problem
statement clearly before doing research?
Do you know why sampling and statistics are
important to the research result?
Why do you have to identify the limitation of your
study?
Why the research report and presentation are
important?
Do you know how to apply the steps of the research
process ?
Questions
 1.If you want to set up a coffee shop near
the university and school, what is your
research topic?
 2.Identify the problem statement.
 3.Identify the objectives
 4.The hypotheses
 5. The research methodology.
 6. The examples of the questionaireใ