absolute causality

means the cause is necessary and

sufficient to bring about the effect

abstract level

in theory development, the level of knowledge

expressing a concept that exist only as an
idea or a quality apart form a object

applied business research

research conducted to address a specific

business decision for a specific firm or
organization

backward linkage

implies that the later steps influence the

earlier stages of the research process

basic business research

conducted without a specific decision in mind that usually

does not address the needs of a specific organization,
attempts to expand the limits of knowledge in general, not
aimed at solving a pragmatic problems

business intelligence

the subset of data and information that

actually has some explanatory power
enabling effective decision to be made

business opportunity

a situation that makes some potential

competitive advantage possible

business problem

a situation that makes some significant

negative consequence more likely

business research

causal inference

application of scientific method in searching for the

truth about business phenomena (defining business
opportunities and problems, generating and
evaluating ideas, etc)

a conclusion that when one thing

happens, another specific thing will
follow

causal research

allows causal inferences to be made;

seeks to identify cause and effect
relationships

concept (or construct)

a generalized idea about a class of objects that has

been given a name; an abstraction or reality that is
the basic unit for a theory development

concomitant variation

one of the three criteria for causality;

occurs when two events covary; meaning
they vary systematically

conditional causality

means that a cause is necessary but not

sufficient to bring about an effect

content providers

parties that furnish information

on the world wide web

contributory causality

means that a cause need be neither

necessary nor sufficient to bring about an
effect

cookies

small computer files that content

provider can save onto the computer of
someone who visits its web site

cross-validate

to verify that the empirical findings from

one culture also exist and behave
similarly in another culture

customer relationship
management (CRM)

part of the DSS that addresses exchanges

between the firm and its customers

Data

facts or recorded measures of

certain phenomena (things)

data analysis

the application of reasoning to

understand the data that have been
gathered

data quality

the degree to which data

represent the true situation

data warehouse

the multitiered computer storehouse of

current and historical data

data warehousing

the process allowing important day-today operational data to be stored and

organized for simplified access

data wholesalers

companies that put together consortia of data sources

into packages that are offered to municipal,
corporate, and university libraries for a fee

database

a collection of raw data arranged logically

and organized in a form that can be
stored and processed by a computer

decision making

the process of developing and deciding among

alternative ways of resolving a problem or choosing
from among alternative opportunities

decision support system (DSS)

a computer-based system that helps decision makers

confront problems through direct interaction with
databases and analytical software programs

deductive reasoning

the logical process of deriving a conclusion about a

specific instance base on known general premise or
something know to be true

deliverables

the term used often in consulting to

describe research objectives to a research
client

descriptive research

describes characteristics of objects, people,

groups, organizations, or environments;
tries to paint a picture of a given situation

diagnostic analysis

seeks to diagnose reasons for business outcomes and

focuses specifically on the beliefs and feelings
consumers have about and toward competing
products

electronic data interchange

(EDI)

type of exchange that occurs when one

company's computer system is integrated
with another company's system

empirical level

level of knowledge that is verifiable

to by experience or observation

empirical testing

examining a research hypothesis

against reality using data

environmental scanning

entrails all information gathering

designed to detect changes in the external
operating environment of the firm.

eudaimonia

Hedonic

evaluation research

the formal, objective measurement and appraisal

of the extent a given activity, project, or program
has achieved its objectives

experiment

a carefully controlled study in which the researcher

manipulates a proposed cause and observes any
corresponding change in the proposed effect

experimental variable

represents the proposed cause and is

controlled by the researcher by
manipulating it

exploratory research

conducted to clarify ambiguous situation

or discover ideas that may be potential
business opportunities

focus group

a small group discussion about some

research topic led by a moderator who
guides discussion among the participants

forward linkage

implies that the earlier stages of the

research process influence the later
stages

global information system

an organized collection of computer software, data

and personnel designed to capture, store, update,
manipulate, analyze, and immediately display
information about worldwide business activity

host

where the content for a particular Web

site physically resides and is accessed

hypothesis

formal statement of an unproven

proposition that is empirically testable

inductive reasoning

the logical process of establishing a

general proposition on the basis of
observation of particular facts

information

data formatted to support decision

making or define the relationship
between two facts

information completeness

having the right amount of

information

interactive medium

a medium, such as the internet that a

person can use to communicate with and
interact with other users

internet

a worldwide network of computer that

allows users access to information form
distant sources

intranet

a company's private data network that

user internet standards and technology

keyword search

takes place as the search engine searches

through millions of web pages for
documents containing the keywords

knowledge

a blend of previous experience, insight,

and data that forms organizational
memory

knowledge management

the process of creating an inclusive, comprehensive,

easily accessible organizational memory, which is
often called the organization's intellectual capital

ladder of abstraction

organization of concepts in sequence

from the most concrete and individual to
the most general

latent construct

a concept that is not directly observable

or measurable, but can be estimated
through proxy measures

literature review

a directed search of published works, including

periodicals and books, that discusses theory and
presents empirical results that are relevant to the
topic at hand

manipulation

means that the researcher alters the level

of the variable in specific increments

marketing-oriented

describes a firm in which all decisions are

made with a conscious awareness of their
effect on the customer

nonspurious association

one of the three criteria for causality; means any

covariation between a cause and affect is true and an
effect is true and not simply due to some other
variable

operationalizing

the process of identifying the actual

measurements scales to assess the
variables of interest

performance-monitoring
research

refers to research that regularly,

sometimes routinely, provides feedback for
evaluation and control of business activity.

pilot study

a small-scale research project that

collects data from respondents similar to
those to be used in the full study

pretest

a small-scale study in which the results

are only preliminary and intended only to
assist in design of subsequent study

product-oriented

Describes a firm that prioritizes decision

making in a way that emphasizes
technical superiority in the product.

production-oriented

Describes a firm that prioritizes efficiency

and effectiveness of the production
processes in making decisions.

Professor Emeritus

Professor Emeritus

propositions

statements explaining the logical linkage

among certain concepts by asserting a
universal connection between concepts

proprietary business research

the gathering of new data to

investigate specific problems

pull technology

consumers request information form a web pages

and the browser then determines a response; the
consumer is essentially asking for the data

push technology

sends data to a user's computer without a request

being made; software is used to guess what
information might be interesting to consumers based
on the pattern of previous responses

relevance

the characteristics of data reflecting how

pertinent these particular facts are to the
situation at hand

research design

a master plan that specifies the methods

and procedures of the collecting and
analyzing the needed information

research objectives

the goals to be achieved by

conducting research

research program

numerous related studies that come

together to address multiple, related
research objectives

research project

a single study that addressees one or a

small number of research objectives

sampling

involves any procedure that draws

conclusions based on measurements of a
portion of the population

scanner data

the accumulated records resulting form

point of sale data recordings

the scientific method

the way researchers go about using knowledge and

evidence to reach objective conclusions about the real
world. a set of prescribed procedures for establishing
and connecting theoretical statements about events

search engine

smart agent software

a computerized directory that allows

anyone to search the world wide web for
information using a keyword search
software capable of learning an internet user's
preferences and automatically searching out
information in selected Web sties and then
distributing it

survey

a research technique in which a sample is

interviewed in some form or the behavior of
respondents is observed and described in some way

symptoms

observable cues that serve as a signal of a

problem because the are cause db that
problem

temporal sequence

one of three criteria for causality; deals

with the time order of events-the cause
must occur before the effect

test-market

an experiment that is conducted

within actual market conditions

theory

a formal, logical explanation of some

events that includes predictions of how
things relate to one another

timeliness

means that the data are current

enough to still be relevant

uniform resources locator

(URL)

a website address that web

browsers recognize

unobtrusive methods

methods in which research respondents

do not have to be disturbed for data to be
gathered

variables

anything that may assume different

numerical values;; the empirical
assessment of a concept

what are the 4 characteristics

that describe data?

relevance, quality, timeless

and completeness

what is the key question distinguishing

relevant data from irrelevant data?

will a change in the data coincide with a

change in some important outcome

world wide web (www)

a portion of the internet that is a system of

computer serves that organize information
into documents called web pages