What is Research?

Other insightful definitions of “research” are:

 Systematic, intensive, patient study and investigation in
some field of knowledge, usually employing the
techniques of hypothesis and experiment, whose
purpose is to reveal new facts, theories, or principles
 Means a systematic investigation, including research
development, testing and evaluation, designed to
develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge
 Systematic study directed toward more complete
scientific knowledge or understanding of the subject
studied
Zikmund (p. 41) has defined a theory as “a coherent set of
general propositions, used as principles of explanation of
the amount of the apparent relationships of certain
observed phenomona”
Concepts (or constructs) are the basic building blocks of
theory development. A concept (or construct) is a
generalized idea about a class of objects, attributes,
occurrences, or processes that have been given a name. A
concept (or construct) may vary in terms of the level of
abstraction
Examples: Productivity, Leadership, Morale, Assets,
Inflation