Unit Number: 1

Foundation of Research
(Business Research Methods)

Prof. Dhananjay S. Deshpande

(B.Sc., MCM, B.Ed., MCA, M. Phil.-IT)
Text Books: Business Research Methods
• Business Research Methods (TMGH 9th edition)
by Donald Cooper & Pamela Schindler
• Business Research Methods (Oxford Univ. Press)
by Alan Bryman & Emma Bell
• Research Methodology (NewAge Intr. Pub )
by C. K. Kothari & Emma Bell
• Research Methods in Business Studies
(Prentice Hall) by Parvez Ghauri & Emma Bell
Ref. Books: Business Research Methods
• Business Research Methods (Cenange Learning ed.8)
by William & Berry J Babbin
• The Practice of Social Research (Wadsworth, ed.13)
by Earl R Babbie
• Approaches to Socieal Research Methods (Oxford
Univ. Press, ed.2) by Royce Singleton & Emma Bell
• Business Research Methodology
by Sachdeva
• Research Methodology in Management
by Dr. V. P. Michael
What is Research?
 Research and Truth
• There is no truth!
• Separation of science, philosophy and religion
• Aristotle, Plato, Socrates
• Einstein-dice
Definitions of Research:
 “The systematic investigation into and study of materials,
sources, etc., in order to establish facts and reach new
conclusions” Oxford English dictionary

 “A process of finding out information and investigating the

unknown to solve a problem” Maylor and Blackmon (2005)

 “Something that people undertake in order to find out things

in a systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge”
Saunders et al (2007, p.5)
Business
Research
Business Research Defined

Business research is defined as the systematic and

objective process of generating information for aid
in making business decisions.
So what's not Research?
 Research isn’t information gathering:
Gathering information from resources such as books or
magazines isn’t research.
No contribution to new knowledge.

 Research isn’t the transportation of facts:

Merely transporting facts from one resource to another
doesn’t constitute research.
No contribution to new knowledge although this might
make existing knowledge more accessible.
Research Characteristics
 Originates with a question or problem.
 Requires clear articulation of a goal.
 Follows a specific plan or procedure.
 Often divides main problem into sub problems.
 Guided by specific problem, question, or hypothesis.
 Accepts certain critical assumptions.
 Requires collection and interpretation of data.
Types of Business
Research
 Types of Research
From the view point of

Type of Information
Application Objectives
Sought

Exploratory Quantitative
Pure Research Research
Research

Discriptive Qualitative
Applied Research Research
Research

Correlation
Research

Explanatory
Research
Application View Point
Basic Research
Attempts to expand the limits of knowledge.
Not directly involved in the solution to a pragmatic
problem.
To test theory or to discover more about a concept.
Basic Research Example
Is executive success correlated with high need for
achievement?
Are members of highly cohesive work groups more
satisfied than members of less cohesive work groups?
Do consumers experience cognitive dissonance in low-
involvement situations?
Applied Research

Conducted when a decision must be made about a

specific real-life problem.
Applied Research Examples

 Should McDonalds add Italian pasta dinners to its menu?

 Business research told McDonald’s it should not?
 Should Procter & Gamble add a high-priced home teeth
bleaching kit to its product line?
Summarizing Applied And Basic
Research
Applied research is research undertaken to
solve practical problems rather than to acquire
knowledge for knowledge sake.
Basic research is experimental and theoretical
work undertaken to acquire new knowledge
without looking for long-term benefits other
than the advancement of knowledge.
Kind of Research Key Characteristics
Basic research Focuses on generating
fundamental knowledge

Applied research Focuses on real-world

questions and applications