QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN BUSINESS

PROF. DR. MOHAMMAD ADAM BAKAR DEAN, SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

PURPOSE OF RESEARCH

The primary purpose is to explore, interpret, predict or explain an event, a phenomenon or a relationship to advance human understanding and in so doing enhancing the frontier of knowledge . IN SHORT TO SEEK (NEW) KNOWLEDGE THAT WILL EXPAND EXISTING RESERVOIR OF KNOWLEDGE.

SO, WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED KNOWLEDGE?

THE DEFINITION Knowledge is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as
expertise, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject; what is known in a particular field or in total; facts and information; or awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.

THE BASIC QUESTIONS ABOUT KNOWLEDGE A

RESEARCHER SEEKS TO FIND OUT
What does it look like and in what form it manifest itself? Where does it resides and where is its origin? Is its presence independent of the human mind? Is it universal and hence generalizeable or is it context specific? How can we acquire them? How do you know that you know or that you have actually found it?

KNOWLEDGE IN CONTEXT

SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE GOD GIVEN, OUT THERE, AND HENCE, THE OBJECTIVE IS TO SEARCH. IF IT IS NOT THERE DOESNT MEAN ITS NOT THERE. YOU JUST HAS NOT FOUND IT. SOCIAL SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE SOCIALLY CREATED. IT WILL NOT BE THERE UNLESS THERE ARE HUMAN BEINGS. MEANINGS ARE CONSTRUCTED BY THE SOCIAL ACTORS. AND IT MAY MEANS DIFFERENT THINGS TO DIFFERENT THINGS IN DIFFERENT CONTEXT

COMPARISON OF THE TWO APPROACHES

QUANTITATIVE

QUALITATIVE

TEST HYPOTHESIS, SCIENTIFIC METHODOLOGY STRUCTURE CONCRETE, RIGID & DETERMINISTIC

EXPLORE PHENOMENON, GROUNDED THEORY LESS STRUCTURED, FLEXIBLE & FLUID

HIGHLY STRUCTURED DESIGN

TO QUANTIFY VARIATION TO PREDICT CAUSAL RELATIONSHIPS

SEMI STRUCTURED
TO DESCRIBE VARIATION TO DESCRIBE & EXPLAIN RELATIONSHIPS

DATA NUMBERS OR ASSIGNED NUMBERS

RESEARCHER NEUTRAL & UNINVOLVED

TEXTS, SYMBOLS, THEMES, PATTERNS

RESEARCHER BIASED AND INVOLVED.

RESEARCH APPROACHES

DEDUCTIVE vs INDUCTIVE APPROACHES

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH - HISTORY

ORIGINATED IN THE FIELD OF SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY. APPLICATION IN OTHER FILED OF SOCIAL RESEARCH AFTER 1970 AND IN BUSINESS IN THE 1980s. DEEPLY ROOTED AND MOSTLY ADOPTED THE GOUNDED THEORY APPROACH PROPOSED BY GLASER & STRAUSS (1969).

APPROACHES TO CONDUCTING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM ETHNOMETHODOLOGY PHENOMENOLOGY

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH TYPES OF DATA

EVENTS, PROCESSES, STRUCTURES THROUGH REVIEW OF DOCUMENTS, REPORTS, STATUTES AND OTHER WRITTEN EVIDENCES etc OPINIONS, FEELINGS, PERCEPTIONS & EMOTIONS THROUGH IN DEPTH INTERVIEWS, OBSERVATIONS IN NATURAL SETTING PATTERNS OF THOUGTS, TRENDS OF OPINIONS, AFFILIATIONS THROUGH OBSERVATIONS OF ACTUAL ACTIONS AND BEHAVIOUR IN GROUP SETTING.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH HOW TO ANALYZE DATA

MOSTLY THROUGH THE CONCEPT AND TECHNIQUES OF CONTENT ANALYSIS Kippendorf CONTENT ANALYSIS THAT EVENTS, INTRVIEWS, OBSERVATIONS AND DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCES ARE CONTENT ANALYZED TO SHOW/REVEAL;

PATTERNS OF THOUGHTS (PATTERN MATCHING) SYMBOLIC MEANINGS THEMES AND CENTRAL IDEAS OF DISCUSSIONS. AFFILIATIONS & ASSOCIATIONS of members

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ANALYTIC STRATEGIES

CODING OPEN vs SELECTIVE CODING JOURNALIZING, MEMOING AND FIELD NOTES RECORDS OF THOUGHTS, IDEAS, EVENTS OBSERVED SKETCHES TO CAPTURE SUBTLE RELATIONSHIPS IN CERTAIN EVENTS AND SOCIAL INTERACTIONS. INTEGRATIVE DIAGRAMS TO DEPICT RELATIONSHIPS IN CONTENT ANALYSIS OF DOCUMENTS AND HISTORICAL EVENTS

QUALITATIVE VALIDITY
CREDIBILITY THE ISSUE OF TRUSTABILITY TRANSFERABILITY THE ISSUE OF GENERALIZABILITY DEPENDABILITY HOW RELIABLE IS THE DATA? THE ISSUE OF DUPLICITY & REPLICABILITY. CONFORMABILITY & CORROBORABILITY.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH FOR BUSINESS

ON A SOCIAL SCIENCE PHENOMENON FOR ISSUES ON AND ABOUT BEHAVIOURS THAT ARE SOCIALLY CREATED THE PURPOSE IS TO EXPLORE AND MAKE SESNSE OF WHY THINGS HAPPEN. EXPLANATIONS ARE DONE BY DESCRIBING HOW THINGS EVOLVED TO BECOME WHAT IT IS NOW. PRESENTED IN NARATIVE FORMS LIKE SOME KIND OF STORY TELLING.

MAJOR ISSUES
METHODOLOGICAL INDEPENDENCE AND TRIANGULATION OF METHODS THE MEANS MUST JUSTIFY THE GOALS. ROLES OF RESEARCHERS CONTEXT AND GENERALIZABILITY

CHEERS & GOOD LUCK

SEE YOU IN NOVEMBER FOR PRESENTATION OF YOUR DRAFT RESEARCH PROPOSAL