UNIT-2

SCIENTIFIC THINKING

COURSE TITLE:
BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS (MBA 541)

Ephrem Assefa (Ph.D)

School of Graduate Studies
St. Mary’s University

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

Content:
2.1. Scientific reasoning: deduction, induction & combination
of induction & deduction
2.2. Research paradigm and philosophy
2.3. Basic concepts
a) Theory
b) Concepts (constructs)
c) Definitions
d) Variables
2.4. Propositions and hypothesis

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

2.1. SCIENTIFIC REASONING

How are Theories Generated?

 There are two methods of scientific inquiry:

1) Inductive reasoning/Inductivism

2) Deductive reasoning/ Deductivism

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… SCIENTIFIC REASONING
1) Inductive reasoning (Inductivism)
– Popular in the 19th century and was associated with Scottish
philosopher John Stuart Mill (A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and
Inductive [1843])
– Inductive method relies on the empirical verification of a general
conclusion derivable from a finite number of observations.
– It is the logical process of establishing a general proposition on the
basis of observation of particular facts.
– Conclusions are drawn from several observations.
– It is appropriate for small sample research projects as it is easy to
analyze small sample size data.
– Observing the „world‟ and coming to a generalization about it

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… SCIENTIFIC REASONING
… Inductive reasoning (Inductivism)

„If we could determine what causes are correctly assigned to what

effects, and what effects to what causes, we should be virtually
acquainted with the whole course of nature.‟
(John Stuart Mill, 1943)

 E.g.,
 My neighbor‟s cat hisses at me daily.
 At the pet store, all the cats hiss at me.
 Therefore, all cats probably hate me.

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… SCIENTIFIC REASONING
INDUCTIVE RESEARCH
• Bottom up approach THEORY
• Theory building

TENTATIVE HYPOTHESIS

PATTERN

OBSERVATION

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… SCIENTIFIC REASONING

2) Deductive reasoning (Deductivism)

– Developed in the early 20th century by Poincaré (Science and

Hypothesis [1902]) and Karl Popper (The Logic of Scientific
Discovery [1934])
– Theory may be developed with deductive reasoning by moving
from a general statement to a specific assertion.
– It is the logical process of deriving a conclusion about a specific
instance based on a known general premise or something known
to be true.

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… SCIENTIFIC REASONING
… Deductive reasoning (Deductivism)

– General laws, rules, or other widely accepted principles or truths

are used to prove the conclusion.
– Start with a hypothesis or general ideas called premises, and
apply them to specific circumstances.
– There are two premises:
1) Major premise (broad judgment or definition)
2) Minor premise (an inference about a particular situation or
person)

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… SCIENTIFIC REASONING
… Deductive reasoning (Deductivism)
– The process of reasoning from premises to conclusion is known as
inference

– The most basic form of deductive reasoning is the syllogism, where

two premises communicating the same idea support a conclusion.
E.g., If A=B and C=A, then B=C.

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… SCIENTIFIC REASONING
… Deductive reasoning (Deductivism)
– Example 1:
1. All management professors are human beings. [Major premise/
Universal Law]
2. Daniel is a management professor. [Minor premise/ the statement of
relevant initial conditions]
3. Daniel is a human being. [Conclusion]
– Example 2:
1. If A is true, then B is true. [If= Antecedent….. Assumption]
2. A is true. [Then = Consequent ……. Prediction]
3. Therefore, B is true.

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… SCIENTIFIC REASONING
… Deductive reasoning (Deductivism)
– Example 3:
 All crows are black [General premise]
 A is a crow [Minor premise]
 Therefore, A is black [Conclusion]

– Example 4:
 Good students pass exams [General premise]
 Saba is a good student [Minor premise]
 Therefore, Saba will pass her exam [Conclusion]

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… SCIENTIFIC REASONING

… Deductive reasoning (Deductivism)

– „Universal‟ laws are hypotheses to be „tested‟ against the
predictions implied by these laws.
– The end result is either confirmation or rejection of a theory
– The universal laws remain so until one or more of their
predictions are found to be false
– A general set of propositions relating to a given phenomenon is
narrowed down to a specific set of testable hypotheses or to a
single testable hypothesis.
• Note: Inductivism and deductivism are not opposite but tend to be
complementary, and in conducting research people tend to swap
between the two
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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… SCIENTIFIC REASONING

DEDUCTIVE RESEARCH
THEORY
• Top-down approach
• Theory testing
HYPOTHESIS

OBSERVATION

CONFIRMATION

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… SCIENTIFIC REASONING

Dimension Deductive reasoning Inductive reasoning

Logic When the premises are true, known premises are used
the conclusion must also be to generate untested
true conclusions
Generalizability Generalizing from the general Generalizing from the
to the specific specific to the general
Use of data To evaluate propositions or To explore a phenomenon,
hypotheses related to an identify themes and
existing theory patterns and create a
conceptual framework
Theory Theory falsification or Theory generation and
verification building

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

2.2. Research Paradigm and Philosophy

2.2.1. RESEARCH PARADIGM
 “Is a shared world view that represents the beliefs & values in a
discipline & that guides how problems are solved” (Schwandt,
2001).
 Frames of reference we use to organize our observations &
reasoning
A paradigm is a universally recognized scientific achievements that, for a time,
provide model problems and solutions to a community of researcher, i.e.,
 What is to be observed/investigated?
 The kind of questions to be asked or probed for answer?
 How these questions are to be structured?
 How the results will be interpreted
(Kuhn, 1970)
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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… Research Paradigm and Philosophy

… RESEARCH PARADIGM

 Scientific research paradigm directs the process of carrying out

research in a particular direction

 According to Kuhn, science operates within a set of given

assumptions called “paradigms”, which are less questionable
and not subject to testing.

 Unlike Karl Popper (who assumes that science is accountable for

falsification), Kuhn believes that science progresses via periodic
revolutions (“paradigm shifts”) rather than through linear
accumulation of new knowledge

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… Research Paradigm & Philosophy

2.2.2. RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY

 It refers to the development of knowledge and the nature of
that knowledge.
1) Ontology 2) Epistemology
• Is a branch of philosophy  A branch of philosophy which
concerned with nature of reality- concerns which what constitutes
the nature of being & existence. acceptable knowledge in a field of
• What is reality? study.
• Has two aspects:  What & how can I know knowledge?
1) Subjectivism or social  Has two aspects:
constructionism 1) Positivism
2) Objectivism 2) Interpretivism/ Phenomenology
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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

Ontological Orientation
(Existence of Knowledge)

1) Qualitative- Constructionism/ Subjectivism

 Reality as being socially constructed, i.e., “subjective reality”
 People create organization and cultures continuously as they
solve everyday problems.
 Social phenomena are created from the perceptions &
consequent actions of social actors.
 Continuous construction and reconstruction
 No absolute view of the world

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… Ontological Orientation

2) Quantitative- Objectivism
 Social phenomena have existence independent of social
actors
 Organizations, cultures, rules, values have impose external
influence on social actors

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

Epistemological Orientation
(Theory of Knowledge)

1. Qualitative--Interpretivism (Phenomenology)
 Phenomenology is the study of experience.
 It studies the structure of various types of experience ranging
from perception, thought, memory, imagination, emotion, desire,
etc
 Subjective meanings of social actions
 Understanding social phenomena from the actors‟ perspectives
or own frames of reference not from a standard model

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… Epistemological Orientation
2. Quantitative—Positivism
 Applying natural science methods to study social reality
 Realism- reality separate from our perceptions of it
 The process of measurement is central to it
 research undertaken in a value free framework
 Only phenomena that you can observe will lead to the production
of credible data
 Develop hypothesis based on the existing theory, then collect
data to test the hypothesis- either to confirm or refute it, which
leads to the further development of theory
 The research is undertaken in a value-free way, i.e., the
researcher is value neutral
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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… Epistemological Orientation
… Quantitative—Positivism

 Use a highly structured methodology in order to facilitate

replication
 The phenomenon should be counted or measured to allow
quantitative analysis
 The task is to identify causal laws, of deterministic or
probabilistic kind

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

Methodology
• How do we produce reliable and valid knowledge?

• What „strategies of inquiry‟ are appropriate for our ontological and

epistemological position? (descriptive, explanatory/confirmatory,
exploratory)

• How the researcher access and report what is learned about the
reality?

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

Method
• How can we collect data to test our theories or describe social
phenomena?

• What data collection approaches/tools are appropriate to the

methodology?

• Three groups of research methods:

– Techniques used to collect data
– Statistical techniques used to analyse data
– Methods used to evaluate the accuracy of the research result (tests
used, such as VIF)

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

2.3. BASIC CONCEPTS

a) Theory
 A formal, logical explanation of some events that includes
predictions of how things relate to one another.
 It consists of a coherent set of general propositions that offer
an explanation of some phenomena by describing the way
other things correspond to this phenomena.
 Purpose of theory:
a) Understanding of the relationship among various
phenomena.
b) Predicting: it enables us to predict the behavior or
characteristics of one phenomenon from the knowledge
of another phenomenon
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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… BASIC CONCEPTS

b) Concept (construct):
 A generalized idea about a class of objects that has been
given a name; an abstraction of reality that is the basic unit for
theory development.
 Concepts are the building blocks of theory. E.g., leadership,
productivity, employee morale are concepts in organizational
theory
 Concepts are abstractions of reality
 Concepts may vary in degree of abstraction: abstract level and
empirical level

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… BASIC CONCEPTS
… Concept (construct)
 Concepts may vary in degree of abstraction: abstract level and
empirical level

Abstract level: the level of Empirical level: Level of

knowledge expressing a concept knowledge that is verifiable
that exists only as an idea or a by experience or
quality apart from an object. At observation. At the level of
the level of proposition variables or hypothesis

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… Concept (construct)

Measure of a concept
1. Direct measure- for a concept which has a direct quantitative
expression, e.g. demand, consumption, etc.

2. Indicator- concept which has a quantitative value and can

stand for another concept which cannot have a direct
quantitative expression. e.g. poverty, sustainability,
development, etc.
Example: Social status: Direct (income), Indirect (occupation)

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… BASIC CONCEPTS
… Concept (construct)

 Measures of a concept must consider different aspects or

dimensions or components of the concepts.

 More than one indicator is better because one indicator

captures only one aspect
 Example: Organizational commitment: 3 dimensions
 Affective commitment
 Continuance commitment Dimensions
 Normative commitment

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… BASIC CONCEPTS

C) Variable: Anything that assumes different numerical

values/qualities
 Classification of variables:
I. Independent vs. Dependent

1. Independent/ Explanatory/ 2. Dependent/ criterion/

Causal variable (X): resultant variable (Y)

A variable whose value A variable that changes its

determines the value of value according to the value
another variable of another variable

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… BASIC CONCEPTS
… Variable
II. Observable vs. Latent

1. Observable variable: 2. Latent variable:

A variable observable or Unobservable variable which

measured directly. E.g., affects the criterion variable.
income Measured via indicator. E.g.,
stress, sustainability

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… BASIC CONCEPTS
… Variable
III. Discrete vs. continuous
1. Discrete variable: 2. Continuous variable:
 A variable which can take only • A variable which can assume
certain values. any real value, i.e., has an
 Has indivisible or separate and infinite number of possible
finite categories values between any two
 No value exists between two observed values (in an
neighbouring categories interval).
 Scale: Nominal and ordinal • Its values increase in factions
 E.g., gender (male, female), or decimals.
marital status (single, married, • Scale: Interval, ratio
divorced) • E.g., income, age, etc
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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… BASIC CONCEPTS
… Variable
IV. Mediator vs. Moderator variable
1. Mediator variable: 2. Moderator variable:
 A variable which mediates the • A variable which affects the
relationship between the strength of the relationship
independent or predictor (X) between the independent (X)
and dependent or criterion and dependent variables (Y)
variables (Y)

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… BASIC CONCEPTS
… Mediator vs. Moderator variable

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… BASIC CONCEPTS
… Variable
IV. Control variable
– A variable that needs to be controlled to test the net effect of the
independent or predictor (X) and dependent or criterion variables
(Y)
– E.g., age, gender, level of education, organizational tenure, firm
size, etc

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

2.4. Propositions and Hypothesis

2.4.1. Propositions
 Statements explaining the logical linkage among certain
concepts by asserting a universal connection between
concepts.
 A statement about the concepts that may be judged as true
or false if it refers to observable phenomena.
 It suggests the probable link between concepts. Thus, it
indicates an area of future research.
 Example: Treating our employees better will make them
more loyal employees

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… Propositions and Hypothesis

2.4.2. Hypothesis:
 It is a formal statement of an unproven proposition that is
empirically testable.
 Tentative statement of the relations between two or more
variables
 Hypotheses are the empirical counterparts of propositions
 When a proposition is formulated for empirical testing, it is
called a hypothesis.
 We apply statistics to data to empirically test hypotheses.

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

Characteristics of Hypothesis
 Should be clear and precise. Otherwise, inferences drawn on its
basis cannot be taken as reliable.
 Should be capable of being tested.
 Should state relationship between variables, if it happens to be a
relational hypothesis.
 Should be limited in scope and must be specific.
 Should be stated as far as possible in most simple terms- to be
easily understandable
 Should be consistent with most known facts i.e., it must be
consistent with a substantial body of established facts.
 Should be amenable to testing within a reasonable time.
 Must explain the facts that gave rise to the need for explanation. It
should have empirical reference

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… Propositions and Hypothesis

… Hypothesis:
 A hypothesis could be descriptive or relational:
1) Descriptive hypothesis: a hypothesis it states the existence,
size, form or distribution of some variable
– E.g., The rate of unemployment among natural science students is high
2) Relational hypothesis: a hypothesis which describes the
relationship between variables (positive, negative or cause and
effect)
– E.g.,
• Income positively and significantly affects household consumption
• There is a positive correlation between motivation & job
performance

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… Propositions and Hypothesis

… Hypothesis
1. Null hypothesis (Ho)
– No relationship between two variables
– Used if theory/literature does not suggest a relationship
between the variables
– Ho: µ = µHo ........ (µ= population mean)

2. Alternative hypotheses (Ha)

– Accepted if the null hypothesis is rejected.
– It is usually what you hope the results will show
– Ha: µ ≠ µHo ......... (µHo= hypothesized mean)

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… Propositions and Hypothesis

… Hypothesis

 Note: If we accept Ho, then we are rejecting Ha and if we

reject Ho, then we are accepting Ha.

 Accept Ha (or reject Ho) if p-value (level of significance < 0.05 or

5%)

 5 % level of significance (commonly used in social sciences)

means that researcher is willing to take as much as a 5 % risk of
rejecting the null hypothesis when it (Ho) happens to be true.

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… Propositions and Hypothesis

… Hypothesis

 A hypothesis is ACCEPTED/ SUPPORTED if supported by data or

when the data is consistent with the hypothesis

 A hypothesis is REJECTED/NOT SUPPORTED if the data is not

consistent with the hypothesis OR the hypothesis is not
supported by the data

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

… Propositions and Hypothesis

… Hypothesis

 Ha: Increasing retirement benefits will reduce intention to leave

the organization

 Retirement benefits (independent variable) and intention to leave

(dependent variable) are VARIABLES, reflecting the concepts of
employee treatment and employee loyalty.

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

Propositions vs. Hypothesis

 The scientific inquiry has two basic levels:

“. . . the empirical and the abstract, conceptual. The empirical

aspect is primarily concerned with the facts of the science as
revealed by observation and experiments. The abstract or
theoretical aspect, on the other hand, consists in a serious
attempt to understand the facts of the science, and to integrate
them into a coherent, i.e., a logical, system. From these
observations and integrations are derived, directly or indirectly,
the basic laws of the science” (Hull, Clark L., 1952)

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Unit 2 SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Learning Objective

END

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