Chapter 5

Business Research
Process (Steps 1-3)
References:
Business Research Book of VU
Research Methods For Business (Uma Sekaran)
Internet

Resource Person: Furqan-ul-haq Siddiqui

 The Business Research Process

Observation Theoretical
Framework Generation of
Problem
1 Preliminary Data Hypothesis 5
Broad definition
Gathering 4 Variables
problem area 2 Identification and
3
labelling
Scientific

Researc
h
Design
Data
Collection,
analysis &
NO
interpretation

Decision Report Report Deduction

Yes
Making Presentation Writing Research Question
Answered?
 1. Observation/Broad Problem Area

The process begins when a researcher observes a

problem/issue/opportunity/ change or a researcher
selects an area for research.
The broad problem area refers to the entire situation where
one sees a possible need for research and problem solving.

Broad problem area of study or issue may be HR,

finance, crime, social issues or marketing etc.
 The specific issues that need to be researched
within the situation may not be identified at this
stage.
Such issues might pertain to
1. Problem currently existing in an organization that
needs to be solved
2. Areas that manager thinks need to be improved
3. Conceptual or theoretical frame work to
understand some phenomena
4. Answer empirically of some questions or to
determine relationships
Broad Problem Area

Examples , A manager could observe the following in

the workplace:

Training programmes are perhaps are not as effective

as were anticipated.

The sale volume of a product is not picking up.

Minority groups are not making career progress in

organizations.
 Broad Problem Area

The broad problem area would be narrowed down to

specific issues for investigation after some
preliminary data

This may take the form of interviews and library

research.
 Preliminary Data Collection
Nature of data to be collected

The nature of information that would be needed by the

researcher for the purpose could be classified under three
headings.
1. Background information of the organization (secondary
data)
2. Managerial philosophy, company policies, and other
structural aspects
3. Perception, attitudes, and behavioral response of the
organizational member and client systems (if applicable)
- primary data.
 1. Background Information on the Organization

The origin and history of the company - when it was

started, rate of growth, ownership and control and so
on.
Size-, in terms of employees, or assets or both.
Location - regional, national or other.
Resource - human and other.
Charter - purpose and ideology
Interdependent relationships with other institutions
and the external environment.
Financial position.
 2. Information on Management Philosophy and
Structural Factors

Employees role & position at each organizational level.

Extent of specialization.

Communication channels.

Control systems.

Coordination & Span of control

Reward systems.

Workflow systems and the like.

3. Employees Perception, Attitudes, and Behavioral
Responses towards their organization
Workflow interdependence.
Rewards provided by the organization such as pay and fringe
benefits.
Growth opportunities
Participation in decision making.
Companies tolerance regarding taking time off the job by
employees
Autonomy
Co-workers
These factors help researcher to determine employees
loyalty, performance, absenteeism, turnover, performance
intensions etc.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Because:
- Knowledge accumulates.
- We learn from and build on
what others have done.

Researchers read other

peoples research.
They learn, compare,
replicate, or critically
analyze the work by others.
 Literature Survey
Literature survey is the documentation of a comprehensive review of
the published and unpublished work from secondary sources of data

The library is a rich storage base for secondary data, and researchers
spend several weeks, and sometimes months, going through

Books
journals
newspapers,
magazines,
conference proceedings, ,
master's thesis/dissertations/synopsis & abstracts
several government Publications
financial marketing and other reports.
 Goals of Review of Literature
1. To demonstrate a familiarity with a body of knowledge
and establish credibility.
Demonstrates the researchers professional competence,
ability, and background.
2. To know the path of prior research and how a current
research project is linked to it.
3. To integrate and summarize what is known in an area
A good review points out areas where prior studies agree,
where they disagree, and where major questions remain
unanswered.
No reinventing the wheel. No wastage of effort.
4. To learn from others and stimulate new ideas.
Researcher benefits from others efforts.
Ready made techniques. Also difficulties. Replications to
overcome previous limitations.
5. Identification of variables. Important variables that are
likely to influence the problem situation are not left out of
the study.
6. Helps in developing theoretical framework.
Ready made theoretical models for research may be
available.
Previous studies provide evidence for developing
theoretical argumentation for positing the relationship
among variables.
7. Problem statement can be made with precision
Review provides clarity of thought about the issue
under study.

Conducting the Literature Survey

It can be conducted in three steps.

1. Identifying the relevant sources.
2. Extracting the relevant information.
3. Writing up the literature survey
 Conducting the Literature Survey
1. Identification of the Relevant Sources

Basically there are three forms of text database:

Bibliographic database: A bibliographic or
library database is a database of bibliographic
records. It may be a database containing
information about books and other materials
held in a library i.e.,
the name of the author, the article,
source of publication,
Year
volume, and page numbers
Bibliographies at the University Library
of Graz
ii. Abstract database: it provides abstracts of
journals' articles, conference papers (proceedings),
etc
iii. Full-text database: provides a full text of the
article. Thus, entire articles can be retrieved on-line,
if necessary.
2. Extracting the relevant information
The following information may be extracted form the
preliminary data gathering:

1. Problem
2. Variables
3. Sample
4. Data collection
5. Data analysis
6. Results
7. Conclusion
8. Any other information/comments
 Recall chapter 2.Classification Of Research
I. EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
You may be exploring a new topic or issue in order to
learn about it, you began at the beginning to clarify and
define the nature of a problem
Management may have discovered general problem but
research is needed to gain better understanding of
problems
Exploratory research may be the first stage in a sequence
of studies
Subsequent research expected
Exploratory research often relies on secondary research such as reviewing
available literature and/or data, or qualitative approaches such as informal
discussions with consumers, employees, management or competitors, and more
formal approaches through in-depth interviews, focus groups, projective
methods, case studies or pilot studies.
 Goals of Exploratory Research:
1. Become familiar with the basic facts, setting, and
concerns;
2. Develop well grounded picture of the situation;
3. Develop tentative theories, generate new ideas,
conjectures, or hypotheses;
4. Determine the feasibility of conducting the study;
5. Formulate questions and refine issues for more
systematic inquiry; and
6. Develop techniques and a sense of direction for
future research.
Categories of Exploratory Research

Experience Surveys
Secondary Data Analysis
Case Studies
Pilot Studies
Experience Surveys
An exploratory research technique in which
individuals who are knowledgeable about a
particular research problem are surveyed

Secondary Data Analysis

Data that have been previously collected for same
purpose other then problem at hand (Books,
periodicals, government sources, internet, media)
 Case Study Method
Intensely investigates one or A few situations
similar to the problem. Investigate in depth.
Analyzing the similar situations already occurred.
Pilot Study
The use of small-scale diverse research
techniques that involves sampling but doesn't
apply rigorous standards. It includes
a. Focus group Interview-A focus group is a
gathering of 6 to 10 people who are carefully selected
and invited to discuss relevant problem of interest in
the presence of a moderator.
b. Projective Techniques- An indirect means of
questioning that enables a respondent to project
beliefs and feeling of 3rd party. includes
Word Association Tests
Sentence Completion Method
Third-person Technique
Role Playing
T.A.T
Picture Frustration
c. In-depth Interview- An extensive interview by
experts used in primary stages of the research
process
Recall chapter 2.Classification Of Research
 Warning
Exploratory research cannot take the
place of quantitative, conclusive
research. If it is used to make decisions
then it can lead to incorrect & misleading
results.

Most of exploratory research information

are qualitative and interpretation of
findings is typically judgment.
 Writing up the Literature Review
The documentation of the relevant studies citing the author
and the year of the study is called literature review or literature
survey.

The literature survey is a clear and logical presentation of the

research work done thus for in the area of investigation.

The purpose of literature survey is to identify and highlight

the important variables, and to document the significant findings
from earlier research that will serve as the foundation on which
the subsequent theoretical framework for the current
investigation can based and the hypothesis developed.
Write the Review
A literature review requires planning and good, clear
writing, which requires lot of rewriting.
What does a good review look like?
The author should communicate a reviews purpose to the
reader by its organization.
The wrong way to write a review is to list a series of
research reports with a summary of the findings of each.
The right way to write a review is to organize common
findings or arguments together. A well accepted approach is
to address the most important ideas first, to logically link
statements or findings, and to note discrepancies or
weaknesses in the present.
 Copying and pasting text from internet
Using photographs, video or audio without
permission or acknowledgement
Using anothers work and claiming
it as your own even with permission
Using your own work without properly citing it!
Quoting a source without using quotation marks-even
if you do cite it
Citing sources you didnt use
Getting a research paper, story, poem, or article off
the Internet
Turning in the same paper for more than one class
without the permission of both teachers (this is
called self-plagiarism)
 Yes! You must
Is it Plagiarism? credit your source
if you paraphrase
You read: text.
"Students are studying
about one-third as much as
faculty say they ought to,
to do well," said George D.
You write:
Kuh, director of the survey Most students spend
and a professor of higher about one-third as
education at Indiana much time studying
University at Bloomington. as faculty say they
should.
From: Young, Jeffrey R. Homework? What
Homework? Chronicle of Higher Education, 49
(15).12/6/2002

Is it Plagiarism?
You read:
"Students are studying about
one-third as much as faculty
say they ought to, to do well,"
said George D. Kuh, director of
the survey and a professor of
higher education at Indiana
University at Bloomington.
From: Young, Jeffrey R. Homework?
What Homework? Chronicle of Higher
Education, 49 (15).12/6/2002
No. As long as you have
included the Young
article in your reference
list, you have properly
cited your source.
You write:
According to George D.
Kuh, Indiana University
at Bloomington,
students study about
one-third of the time
that is expected by
faculty. (Young, 2002)
Getting Started
What is a Citation?
References and citations in text are the formal
methods of acknowledging the use of a creators
work.

An In-Text Citation?
Direct citations and quotations are acknowledged
in the body of a research assignment.
(Right in the sentence or paragraph)
 Citation, References and Acknowledgement
Theres nothing wrong with using someone elses
words, as long as you quote them and create a
citation (note or reference) to the source.
Citations in text identify the source of quotations or a personal
communication used in research like this (authors last name,
publication date, and page number). 1
2 3

Purpose
1. Whether paraphrasing or quoting an author directly, the source
must be credited.
2. Citations enable the reader to locate the source of the quotation in
References.
 3. Problem Definition
From broad to specific concern
After having preliminary data gathering , the researcher
is in a position to narrow down the problem from its
original broad base and define the issue clearly.
Present problem statement in clear and precise manner.
Problem could be
An existing business problem identified by the
Manager
Scope for future improvement
Areas needing conceptual clarity
Curiosity of the researcher
 Problem Definition

A problem could simply indicate an interest in an

issue where finding the right answers might help to
improve an existing situation.

A clear, precise and brief statement of the question

or issue that is to be investigated with the goal of
finding an answer or solution.
Examples of well defined problems
1. To what extent do the structure of the organization and type of
information systems installed account for the variance in the
perceived effectiveness of managerial decisions?
2. What is the influence of information on price and quality on consumer
evaluation of competing brands?
3. Does the income statement in the balance sheet elicit the same kinds
of reader reactions toward the company as the cash flow statement?
4. Does better automation lead to greater asset investment for dollar of
output?
6. Does international expansion result in an increase in the firms value.
7. What are the effects of downsizing on the long range growth pattern of
companies?
9. What are the components of quality of life?
10. Effects of IMF lending upon Pakistan.
11. Effects of T&D in increasing employees contribution.