Brm Unit 1.pdf

BRM – UNIT 1

Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Introduction to Research

What is research

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• Research is the process of finding solutions to a problem after a thorough study and analysis of the situational factors. "...original investigation undertaken in order to gain knowledge and understanding."

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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).

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Defining our Research Key Challenges: – Understanding the research process – Taking a systematic approach – Generating and clarifying ideas – Using the library and internet. Dr. J. Sasiganth

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OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH • 1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it. (exploratory or formulative research studies) • 2. To describe accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a group. (descriptive research) • 3. To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is associated with something else. (studies with this object known as diagnostic research) • 4. To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables. (such studies are known as hypothesis testing research)

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Why is it important for managers to know about research? • • • • • •

Solve problems Decision making tool Competition Risk Investment Hire researchers and consultants more effectively Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Typical Users of Business Research Methods • Businesses and Corporations • Public-Sector Agencies • Consulting Firms • Research Institutes • Non-Governmental Organizations • Non-Profit Organizations • Independent Researchers and Consultants Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Fields Where Business Research is Often Used Financial and Accounting Research

General Business Conditions and Corporate Research • • • • • •

Short- & Long-Range Forecasting, Business and Industry Trends Global Environments Inflation and Pricing Plant and Warehouse Location Acquisitions Management and Organizational Behaviour Research

• • • • • • • •

Total Quality Management Morale and Job Satisfaction Leadership Style Employee Productivity Organizational Effectiveness Structural issues Absenteeism and turnover Organizational Climate

• Forecasts of financial interest rate trends, • Stock,bond and commodity value predictions • capital formation alternatives • mergers and acquisitions • risk-return trade-offs • portfolio analysis • impact of taxes • research on financial institutions • expected rate of return • capital asset pricing models • credit risk • cost analysis

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Fields Where Business Research is Often Used Sales and Marketing Research • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Market Potentials Market Share Market segmentation Market characteristics Sales Analysis Establishment of sales quotas Distribution channels New product concepts Test markets Advertising research Buyer behaviour Customer satisfaction Website visitation rates

Information Systems Research • • • • • • •

Knowledge and information needs assessment Computer information system use and evaluation Technical suppot satisfaction Database analysis Data mining Enterprise resource planning systems Customer relationship management systems Corporate Responsibility Research

• • • •

Ecological Impact Legal Constraints on advertising and promotion Sex, age and racial discrimination / worker equity Social values and ethics

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Selected Examples of Real-Life Situations in Which Business Research Methods are Used  A firm wants to produce and market a new product but first wants to ascertain if there is a potential consumer demand for this product in markets x,y and z  a multinational firm wants to establish a production facility in another country after determining its technical and economic feasibility  A government agency wants to ascertain the satisfaction level of its employees, the causes for any possible discontent, and propose a scheme for enhancing this level  A financial institution wants to invest in commodities and commissions a study to determine the past trends and forecast future returns in a portfolio of commodities  The CEO of a firm wants to undertake a SWOT-Analysis as part of his plan to redefine his organization’s priorities Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Why Conduct Research? – To complete an assigned task – To improve –understanding of the problem –our competence in doing research –the ability to manage research –on others’ research – To increase credibility of ones work – To discover new things/ test ideas – To Make sense of Dr.world around us. J. Sasiganth

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What Research is Not? It is Not – Mere information gathering – Mere transportation of facts from one location to another – Merely rummaging for information – A catchword to get attention Dr. J. Sasiganth

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When Should Business Research be Undertaken?

Is sufficient time available? Yes Is information inadequate?

NO

Do not undertake Business Research

Yes High importance of decision? Yes Research benefits greater than costs?

Undertake Business Research Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Stages in the Research Process Formulation of Hypothesis

Define Problem

Conclusions and Report

Planning a Research Design

Processing and Analysing the Data

Sampling Techniques

Data Collection Dr. J. Sasiganth

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The following are the steps that provide useful procedural guidelines regarding the conduct of research: (1) Formulating the research problem; (2) Extensive literature survey; (3) Developing hypothesis; (4) Preparing the research design; (5) Determining sample design; (6) Collecting data; (7) Execution of the project; (8) Analysis of data; (9) Hypothesis testing; (10) Generalization and interpretation, and (11) Preparation of the report or presentation of the results. Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Decision-Making Decision-Making is the process of resolving a problem or choosing amongst alternative opportunities  What is the problem or opportunity?  How much Information is available?  What Information is needed? Complete Certainty

Decision-Making Situation

Absolute Ambiguity

Value of Research Dr. J. Sasiganth

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The Literature Review • A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles, and any other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated. • Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have explored while researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits within a larger field of study.

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The purpose of a literature review is to: • Place each work in the context of its contribution to understanding the research problem being studied. • Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration. • Identify new ways to interpret prior research. • Reveal any gaps that exist in the literature. • Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies. • Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort. • Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research. • Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important]. Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Conducting the literature review • • • • • • • • •

Data Sources Text Books Journals Theses Conference Proceedings Unpublished manuscripts Reports Newspapers The Internet

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Problem statement • A problem statement is a concise description of the issues that need to be addressed by a problem solving team and should be presented to them (or created by them) before they try to solve the problem. • A "Problem Statement" is a description of a difficulty or lack that needs to be solved or at least researched to see whether a solution can be found. It can also be described as either a gap between the real and the desired or a contradiction between principle and practice.

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What is the goal of a statement of problem? • The ultimate goal of a problem statement is to transform a generalized problem (something that bothers you; a perceived lack) into a targeted, well-defined problem. A good research problem should at minimum: 1. Address a gap 2. be significant enough to contribute to the existing body of research 3. be one that will lead to more research 4. renter itself to be investigated via collection of data 5. be interesting to the researcher and suit his/her skills, time and resources 6. be ethical Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Types of Business research Applied research • Is to solve a current problem faced by the manager in the work setting, demanding a timely solution. For example, applied researchers may investigate ways to: • Improve agricultural crop production • Treat or cure a specific disease • Improve the energy efficiency of homes, offices, or modes of transportation • How does motivation affect employee performance?

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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. For example, basic science investigations probe for answers to questions such as: • How did the universe begin? • What are protons, neutrons, and electrons composed of? • How do slime molds reproduce? • What is the specific genetic code of the fruit fly? • Should Corporation X adopt a paperless office environment? Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Exploratory Research • undertaken with the aim of clarifying ambiguous problems • general problems usually known but not sufficiently understood • the purpose is to get more information, not to uncover specific courses of action (subsequent research) • Involves exploring a general aspect. • Includes studying of a problem, about which nothing or a very little is known. • Follows a very formal approach of research. • Helps in exploring new ideas. • Helps in gathering information to study a specific problem very minutely. • Helps in knowing the feasibility in attempting a study. Example: Child-Care support programme for employees

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Descriptive Research: •

undertaken with the aim of determining the characteristics of a population or phenomenon • Previous knowledge of problem exists • High degree of precision or accuracy required • Simplest form of research. • More specific in nature and working than exploratory research. • It involves a mutual effort. • Helps in identifying various features of a problem. • Restricted to the problems that are describable and not arguable and the problems in which valid standards can be developed for standards. Examples: Who are the main consumers of organic foods? How many students read the prescribed course literature? Where do most holiday-makers travelling overseas go? When do petrol stations tend to raise their prices? For example, Finding the most frequent disease that affects the children of a town. The reader of the research will know what to do to prevent that disease thus, more people will live a healthy life. Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Causal Research • undertaken with the aim of identifying cause and effect relationships amongst variables • are normally preceeded by exploratory and descriptive research studies • Often difficult to determine because of the influence of other variables (concommitant Variation and the presence of other hidden variables) Example: Higher ice-cream consumption causes more people to drown (indicative of a causal relationship (?))

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Theoretical Research Theory - systematic description / Explanations . - Goal is to prove/disprove a hypothesized truth. Empirical research - observation or experiment – test hypothesis. Cross sectional research - one short or status research – population “ a collection of data more than one case at a single point of time in order to collect a body of Quantitative or qualitative”. E.g. customer satisfaction, poverty in India, shelter less families in India Time series and Trend research - Data collected at successive intervals – The trend data from the same population at successive intervals. Eg. Poverty rate and employability rate Dr. J. Sasiganth

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• Explanatory research: Explanatory research goes beyond description and attempts to explain the reasons for the phenomenon that the descriptive research only observed. The research would use theories or at least hypothesis to account for the forces that caused a certain phenomenon to occur. • Predictive research: If we can provide a plausible explanation for an event after it has occurred, it is desirable to be able to predict when and in what situations the event will occur. This research is just as rooted in theory as explanation. This research calls for a high order of inference making. In business research, prediction is found in studies conducted to evaluate specific courses of action or to forecast current and future values. • Analytical research: The researcher has to use facts or information already available, and analyse these to make a critical evaluation of the material. Dr. J. Sasiganth

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A Research’s Distinct Characteristics • Research originates with a question or problem. • It is guided by the specific problem/hypothesis. • It requires clear articulation of a goal/sub-goals. • It requires a specific plan for proceeding. • It accepts certain critical assumptions. • It requires collection and interpretation of data.

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Research Questions / Problems • Objectives of the research study . • Must be answered

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Management-research question hierarchy process begins by identifying the management dilemma Dr. J. Sasiganth

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 Management Dilemma The symptom of an actual problem Not difficult to identify a dilemma, however choosing one to focus on may be difficult

 Management Question Categories Choice of purposes or objective Generation and evaluation of solutions Troubleshooting or control situation

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• Research Questions – Hypothesis of choice that best states the objectives of the research study

• Fine-tuning the research questions is necessary – Examine concepts and constructs – Break research questions into specific second-andthird-level questions – Verify hypotheses with quality tests – Determine what evidence answers the various questions and hypothesis – Set the scope of your study Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Investigative Questions • Questions the researcher must answer to satisfactorily arrive at a conclusion about the research question Measurement Questions •The questions we actually ask or extract from respondents or data

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Designing the Study • Research Design – Select a research design from the large variety of methods, techniques, procedures,and protocols.

• Sampling Design – Estimating population values – Testing statistical hypotheses

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Contents of a Research Proposal • • • • • • •

Statement of the research question Brief description of research methodology Pilot Testing Data collection Data preparation Data analysis and interpretation Research reporting Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Budget Types • Rule-of-thumb • Departmental • Task Dr. J. Sasiganth

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The Research Proposal Purpose Legallybinding contract

Methods

Written proposals establish

Obligations

Extent

Timing

Delivery Budgets Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Data Collection • Characterized by – abstractness – verifiability – elusiveness – closeness to the phenomenon

• Types – Secondary data – Primary data Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Final Steps in Research • Data analysis • Reporting the results – Executive summary – Overview of the research (or main body of research) – Implementation strategies for the recommendations – Technical appendix Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Hypotheses Definitions The word hypothesis is derived form the Greek words  “hypo” means under  “tithemi” means place • Hypotheses are predictions about the relationship among two or more variables or groups based on a theory or previous research (Pittenger, 2003) • Hypotheses are assumptions or theories that a researcher makes and tests. • Why are hypotheses important? Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Theoretical Framework

Hypothesis

Theoretical Framework

Literature Review

Problem Statement

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Importance of Hypotheses • Hypotheses:

– Direct our observations • Identifies the variables examined and data to be collected – Describe a relationship among variables • Can state that as one variable increases, the other will decrease; as one variables increases, the other will increase, and so on. – Refer to populations • Hypotheses help researchers infer that results of a sample will translate to a population

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4 Functions of Hypotheses • Hypotheses can: – Estimate Population Characteristics – Correlate Variables – Display Differences among Two or more populations – Show possible Cause and Effect What research designs relate to each of these 4 functions? Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Symbols used in Hypotheses • M= mean • µ (mu: mew)= population mean • Roman Letters (e.g., A, B, C, D) are used to represent statistics • Greek Letters (e.g., α, β) are used to represent parameters • α= significance level; probability of committing a Type I Error (α= .05) • p= probability value (p= .05) • Null Hypothesis= (H0: µ1 - µ2 = 0 or H0: µ1 = µ2) • Alternative Hypothesis= (H1: µ1-µ2 ≠ 0 or H1: µ1 ≠ µ2 ) – Sometimes you may see it noted as HA Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Research Hypotheses • Research Hypothesis: A statement of the relationship among two or more variables or groups. • The acceptance or non-acceptance of which is based on resolving a logical alternative with a null hypothesis. Example: • Graduate students who read the text in research methods will score higher on their comprehensive exams than graduate students who did not read their research methods text. Dr. J. Sasiganth

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• Research hypotheses can be stated as Directional or Non-directional. • Directional hypotheses predict the specific relationship among two or more variables or groups: – students who read the text in research methods will score higher on their comprehensive exams than students who did not read their research methods text. H0: µ1 < µ2

H1: µ1 > µ2

– IQ scores will correlate in a positive manner with Self Esteem Scores – Cats will bark less frequently than Dogs Dr. J. Sasiganth

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• Non-Directional Hypotheses predict that there will be differences among two or more groups, but do not specify the direction of the differences – Men and Women will differ in their recall of phone numbers – IQ scores will correlate with Self Esteem scores H0: µ1 = µ2 H1: µ1 ≠ µ2

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What is Hypothesis Testing? Null Hypothesis

Alternative Hypothesis

A≠B

A=B We also need to establish:

1) How unequal are these observations? 2) Are these observations reflective of the general population? Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Null There will be no difference in the comprehensive test scores of graduate students who read the text in research methods and those who did not read their research methods text. • Null hypothesis = no difference in group means. • Ex: “There is no significant difference in the anxiety level of children of High IQ and those of low IQ.” •

Alternative hypothesis = the opposite of the null hypothesis; i.e., there are differences in the group means.

Alternative Graduate students who read the text in research methods will score higher on their comprehensive exams than graduate students who did not read their research methods text. • Ex: “There is a difference in the anxiety level of the children of high IQ and those of low IQ.” Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Statistical Hypotheses – The null hypothesis always implies that there is no relation or statistical difference between variables or groups – The alternative hypothesis implies that there is a meaningful relationship among variables or groups

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Testing Hypotheses • We use a variety of statistical procedures to test null hypotheses. The choice of which procedure we use depends on a variety of factors including: – – – –

the research hypothesis, the data, the sampling strategy, and what we want to be able to say as a result of our testing.

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Steps in Hypothesis Development and Testing Step 1: State the null and alternative hypotheses. Step 2: Make a judgment about the population distribution, the level of measurement, and then select the appropriate statistical test. Step 3: Decide upon the desired level of significance. Step 4: Collect data from a sample and compute the statistical test to see if the level of significance is met. Step 5: Accept or reject the null hypothesis. Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Types of Tests • Statistical procedures that are commonly used for hypothesis testing include: correlation, analysis of variance (ANOVA), analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), regression, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), t-tests, and Chi-Square. Each of these procedures has an associated test statistic, which is used to determine significance. For example ANOVA, ANCOVA, and regression use F statistics and their associated p-values. • Multivariate procedures, like MANOVA, use a variety of test statistics with interesting names, like Wilk’s lambda. These are then related to a more common test statistic, like F. • The secret here, for the layperson, is that all test statistics are eventually related to a probability distribution and a p-value. These p-values mean the same thing across test statistics.

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Error Types • In hypothesis testing, we must contend with two types of errors -- Type I and Type II. – Errors are mistakes that we can make when judging the null hypothesis

• Type I error is what happens when the tested hypothesis is falsely rejected. (It is when you say you found something, but that something is really an error.) A type I error is a false positive. • Type II error is what happens when a false tested hypothesis is not rejected (Hays, 1986). (It is when you don’t find something that is, in fact, there.) A type II error is a false negative.

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Theory – An explanation about how and why something is • It allows you to go beyond the known facts, suggesting what you might expect in the future, and allowing you to organize the facts you already have. The Role of Theory In research planning, theory guides the process Theory is often the primary source of research hypotheses Theory guides the selection of variables as well as their operational definitions Most research is based on multiple, overlapping and interacting theories Dr. J. Sasiganth

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Components or Elements of Theory • Concept • Definition • Variables Theory Generation 1. Deductive theory It is a process of arriving at the solution by logical analysis of known fact. 2. Inductive theory This theory proposes the establishment of a general statement or proposition based on the available information.

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