Research Methodology

Week 2
Research Philosophies,
Approaches, & Strategies

Assistant Professor:
Khalid A. Dahleez
 Chapter Overview

This chapter explores:

• the nature of the relationship between theory and
research);
• epistemological issues
• ontological issues ‫; القضايا المرتبطة بالوجود والواقع‬
• how these issues relate to the widely used types
of research strategy, quantitative and qualitative
research;
• the ways in which values and practical issues are
also central to business research.
 Theory and Research

• Business research does not exist in isolation

– Link between social reality and research
– Link between business research methods and practice
connect with wider social relations

• Understanding the link between theory and research

– There are two key issues here:
• What form of theory is being referred to?
• Is data collected to test theories or build them?
Figure 4.1 The research ‘onion’
Source: © 2015 Mark Saunders, Phillip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill
 Definitions of Important Terms

• Research Paradigm (Lincoln & Guba, 2000)

= Philosophy (Saunder et al 2007) or even =
Worldview (Creswell 2009)
• A paradigm is ‘a cluster‫ مجموعة‬of beliefs and dictates
which for scientists in a particular discipline influence
what should be studied, how research should be
done, [and] how results should be interpreted’
(Bryman 1988a: 4).
• Research philosophy is an over-arching ,‫ جامع‬,‫عام‬
‫ ش مولي‬term relating to the development of knowledge
and the nature of that knowledge. (Saunders et al, 2009)
 Definitions of important Terms

• Research Methodology = Research Strategy

• Research Methodology‐ to emphasize an
overall approach to the research process e.g.
Survey or Action Research

• Research Methods = Technique = Procedure

• Research Method‐ used to outline a specific
research technique or procedure for collecting and
analyzing data e.g. Questionnaire or Focus Group
 Understanding your research philosophy

Thinking about research philosophy, there are 3

ways:-
• Ontology‫ا لواقع‬/‫ – طبيع ة ا لوجود‬what assumptions do we make
about the ways the world works? Are social entities
objective (reality external to social actors) or are they built
on social constructions (perceptions of social actors)?‫هل‬
‫ن ستطيع أنن فهم ا لواقع ب غضا لنظر عنا لفاعلينأو منخال لأفع ا لهم ورؤيتهم ل ه؟‬
• Epistemology‫ – ا لمع رفة ا لمعتبرة وكيفية ا لحصولعليها‬acceptable
knowledge in a particular field of study? What is/shd be
regarded as acceptable knowledge in a discipline. Can the
social world be/shd be studied using the same principles &
procedures like natural science?
 Ontological considerations

• Social ontology: the nature of social entities

• What kind of objects exist in the social world?

• Do social entities exist independently of our perceptions

of them?

• Is social reality external to social actors or constructed

by them?
 Epistemological considerations

• What is (or should be) considered acceptable

knowledge?
• Can the social world be studied ‘scientifically’?
• Is it appropriate to apply the methods of the natural
sciences to social science research?
• Positivism and interpretivism are contrasting
approaches
 Understanding your research philosophy

Aspects of ontology

• Objectivism‫ – ا لموضوعية‬social phenomena and their

meanings have an existence that is independent of
social actors.‫استقال لية ا لظواهر ا الجتماعية ومدلوالتها عنا لفاعلين‬

• Subjectivism‫ا لذاتيل لظواهر ا الجتماعية‬/‫ – ا لتفسير ا لشخصي‬social

phenomena are created from the perceptions and
consequent actions of social actors, concerned with
their existence.
Aspects of Ontology
 What is objectivism?

• Objectivism is an ontological position that asserts

that social phenomena and their meanings have an
existence that is independent of social actors.

• It implies that social phenomena and the categories

that we use in everyday discourse have an existence
that is independent or separate from actors.
 What is constructionism?

• Constructionism is an ontological position which

asserts that social phenomena and their meanings
are continually being accomplished by social actors.
• It implies that:
– social phenomena and categories are produced through
social interaction
– social phenomena and categories are in a constant state of
revision
– Researchers' own accounts of the social world are
constructions
– Knowledge is indeterminate
• Also referred to as constructivism
Understanding your research philosophy
 Inter-relationship between the building blocks of Research

Ontology Epistemology Methodology Methods Sources

What’s out
there to
know? What and
how can
we know How can we
about it? go about
acquiring
What
knowledge?
procedures
can we use to
Which
acquire it?
data can
we collect?

Adapted from Hay, 2002, pg. 64

 Understanding your research philosophy

Aspects of philosophy
• Positivism - the stance of the natural scientist,
observable social reality, result law-like
generalisations
• Realism - (reality is independent of the mind)
direct and critical realism (Bhaskar, 1989),
knowledge of reality is due to social conditioning
• Interpretivism – researchers as ‘social actors’,
understanding social reality through the actors point
of view
• Axiology – studies judgements about value, our own
value plays a role in the research
 Positivism
• Only phenomena and hence knowledge confirmed by the senses
can genuinely be warranted as knowledge (phenomenalism).

• The purpose of theory is to generate hypotheses that can be tested

and that will allow explanations of laws to be assessed (deductivism).

• Knowledge is arrived at by gathering facts that provide the basis for

laws (inductivism).

• Science must (and can) be conducted in a way that is value free (i.e.
objective).

• There is a clear distinction between scientific statements and

normative statements and the former are the true domain of the
scientist.
 Interpretivism

• Interpretivism is taken to denote an alternative to positivism.

• It is predicated upon the view that a strategy is required that

respects the differences between people and the objects of the
natural sciences and therefore requires the social scientist to grasp
the subjective meaning of social action.

• Derives from:
–Weber's notion of Verstehen;
–the hermeneutic-phenomenological tradition;
–symbolic interactionism.
 Realism

• Realism shares two features with positivism:

– a belief that the natural and the social sciences can and should
apply the same approach to data collection and explanation;
– a commitment to the view that there is an external reality to which
scientists direct their attention (in other words, there is a reality
that is separate from our descriptions of it).

• There are two forms of realism:

– Empirical realism simply asserts that, through the use of
appropriate methods, reality can be understood.
– Critical realism is a specific form of realism which recognizes the
reality of the natural order and the events and discourses of the
social world.
 What is a Theory? (1)

Zikmund (p. 39) 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”

• Put another way, a theory is a formal, testable explanation of some

events that includes explanations of how things relate to one another.

• A theory can be built through a process of reviewing previous findings

of similar studies, simple logical deduction, and/or knowledge of
applicable theoretical areas.

• Understanding and predicting—are the two purposes of theory. Thus

a theory enables us to predict the behavior or characteristics of one
phenomenon from the knowledge of another phenomenon.
 The Abstraction Ladder

Theory
Abstract Level

Propositions
Levels of
Abstraction

Concepts / Constructs

Observations of Objects,
Events and Occurrences (Reality) Empirical Level
 What is a Theory? (1)

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

 What is a Theory? (1)

• A construct is an abstract concept that is

specifically chosen (or “created”) to explain a
given phenomenon.
• A construct may be a simple concept, such as a
person’s weight, (unidimensional construct)
• Or a combination of a set of related concepts
such as a person’s communication skill, which
may consist of several underlying concepts such
as the person’s vocabulary, syntax, and spelling.
(multi-dimensional construct)
 What is a Theory? (2)

A proposition is a statement concerned with the relationship

between concepts. It asserts a universal connection and logical
linkage between concepts. Propositions are at a higher level of
abstraction than concepts

Example: Smoking is injurious to health

Hypotheses are propositions which are empirically testable. They

are usually concerned with the relationships between variables

Example: Increasing salary by 10% will double the production

 What is a Theory? (3)

• Scientific research requires operational definitions that define

constructs in terms of how they will be empirically measured.
• A variable is a measurable representation of an abstract construct.
As abstract entities, constructs are not directly measurable, and
hence, we look for proxy measures called variables.
What is a Theory? (4)
What is a Theory? (5)
Example
 Qualities of a Good Theory (1)

“A theory is a good theory if it satisfies two

requirements. It must accurately describe a
large class of observations on the basis of a
model that contains only a few arbitrary
elements. And it must make definite
predictions about the result of future
observations”

Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time,

1988
 Qualities of a Good Theory (2)

Often, competing theories are put forth to explain certain

phenomena. One cannot really be 100% certain that a
given theory is correct because, no matter on how many
occasions the results of experiments agree with the
theory, there may come an occasion when some do not

Theories must be:

 Objective
 Verifiable (i.e. within the accepted margins of error)
 Falsifiable / disprovable
Good theories must understand, explain and predict
 Research Approach To Theory Building
Deductive and Inductive Theory

• Deductivism‫ مبنيعلىا الستدال لوا الستنتاج‬:

• Theory guides research ‫ن جمع ا لبياناتال ختبار ا لنظرية‬
– Theory  data
– Explicit hypothesis to be confirmed or rejected
– Quantitative research

• Inductivism‫ مبنيعلىا الستقراء‬:

• Theory is an outcome of research ‫بيانات بناء‬
‫ن جمع ا ل ل‬
‫ا لنظرية‬
– Data  theory
– Generalizable inferences from observations
– Qualitative research /grounded theory
 Research Approach
Deductive and Inductive Theory
 Research Wheel
Deductive and Inductive Theory
The process of deduction
 Deductive Reasoning

Theory

Using deductive reasoning, one

starts with a given theory as the
Hypotheses basis for which we develop
hypotheses and then confirm
these with specific
data acquired using observation
or experimentation
Observation
(Is our theory valid or not?)

Confirmation
 Research Approaches - Deduction

5 sequential stages of testing theory

• Deducing a hypothesis
• Expressing the hypothesis operationally
• Testing the operational hypothesis
• Examining the specific outcome of the enquiry
• Modifying the theory (if necessary)

Adapted from Robson (2002)

 Research Approaches - Deduction

Characteristics of Deduction

• Explaining causal relationships between variables

• Establishing controls for testing hypotheses

• Independence of the researcher

• Concepts operationalised for quantative measurement

• Generalisation
 Research Approaches - Induction

Building theory by –

• Understanding the way human build their world

• Permitting alternative explanations of what’s
going on
• Being concerned with the context of events
• Using more qualitative data
• Using a variety of data collection methods
 Inductive Reasoning

Observation

Using inductive reasoning, one

starts with a specific observation
Pattern
as the basis for which we develop
a general pattern and tentative
hypothesis as the foundation
of a theory
Tentative Hypothesis

Theory
 Choosing your research approach

The right choice of approach helps you to

• Make a more informed decision about the

research design

• Think about which strategies will work for your

research topic

• Adapt your design to cater for any constraints

Adapted from Easterby-Smith et al. (2008)

 Combining research approaches

Things worth considering

• The nature of the research topic

• The time available

• The extent of risk

• The research audience – managers and

markers, supervisors, external examiners
Deductive and Inductive research - Summary
Major differences between these approaches

Saunders et al, (2009)

Table 4.2 Major differences between deductive and inductive approaches to
research
Deductive and Inductive research - Summary
 Research strategy:
quantitative research

Quantitative research is a research strategy that

emphasizes quantification in the collection and analysis of
data and that:
• entails a deductive approach to the relationship between
theory and research, in which the emphasis is on the testing
of theories;
• has incorporated the practices and norms of the natural
scientific model and of positivism in particular; and
• takes a view of social reality as an external, objective reality
 Research strategy:
quantitative research
Features of quantitative research

• A measurement of social variables

• Common research designs: surveys and experiments
• Numerical and statistical data
• Deductive theory testing
• Positivist epistemology
• Objectivist view of reality as external to social actors
 Research strategy:
qualitative research
Qualitative research is a research strategy that
emphasises words rather than quantification in the
collection and analysis of data and that:

• predominantly emphasizes an inductive approach to the

relationship between theory and research, in which the
emphasis is placed on the generation of theories;
• has rejected the practices and norms of the natural scientific
model and of positivism in particular in preference for an
emphasis on the ways in which individuals interpret their
social world; and
• takes a view of social reality as a constantly shifting
emergent property of individuals’ creation.
Research strategy:
qualitative research
 Features of qualitative research

• Understanding the subjective meanings held by actors

(interpretivist epistemology)
• Common methods: interviews, ethnography

• Data are words, texts, and stories

• Inductive approach: theory emerges from data

• Social constructionist ontology

 Mixed methods research

• It is possible to combine quantitative and qualitative

strategies within a research project.

• Holmberg et al’s (2008) study of leadership shows

how combining quantitative and qualitative research
provided a more rounded and complete picture.
 Factors influencing researchers’
choice of methods

• Organizational
• Historical
• Political
• Ethical
• Evidential
• Personal
 Quantitative Qualitative
research research

• Its purpose is to explain • Its purpose is to

social life understand social life

• Is nomothetic – interested • Is ideographic –

in establishing law-like describes reality as it is
statements, causes,
consequences, etc

• Aims at theory testing • Aims at theory building

• Employs an objective • Employs a subjective

approach approach
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 Quantitative Qualitative
research research

• Is etiological – interested • Is historical – interested

in explanations over in real cases
space and time

• Is a closed approach – is • Is open and flexible in all

strictly planned aspects

• Research process is • Research process is

predetermined influenced by the
respondent
• Uses a rigid and static • Uses a dynamic approach
approach
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Quantitative research Qualitative research

• Employs an inflexible • Employs a flexible

process process

• Is particularistic, • Is holistic – studies

studies elements, whole units
variables

• Employs random • Employs theoretical

sampling sampling

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Quantitative research Qualitative research

• Places priority on • Places priority on

studying differences studying similarities

• Employs a reductive • Employs an

data analysis explicative data
analysis
• Employs high levels
of measurement • Employs low levels
of measurement
• Employs a deductive • Employs an
approach inductive approach
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Feature Quantitative Qualitative
Methodology Methodology
Nature of reality Objective; simple; Subjective;
single; tangible problematic;
sense holistic; a social
impressions construct

Causes and Nomological Non-deterministic;

effects thinking; cause – mutual shaping; no
effect linkages cause – effect
linkages

The role of values Value neutral; Normativism;

value-free inquiry value-bound
inquiry
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Feature Quantitative Methodology Qualitative Methodology

Natural and social Deductive; model of Inductive; rejection of the

sciences natural sciences; natural sciences model;
nomothetic; bases on ideographic; no strict
strict rules rules; interpretations

Methods Quantitative, Qualitative, with less

mathematical; extensive emphasis on statistics;
use of statistics verbal and qualitative
analysis

Researcher’s role Rather passive; is the Active; ‘knower’ and

‘knower’; is separate from ‘known’ are interactive
subject – the known: and inseparable
dualism

Generalizations Inductive generalizations; Analytical or conceptual

nomothetic statements generalizations; time-
and-context specific
 Practical considerations

• May influence or determine choices on:

– research strategy
– design
– method
– resources and costs

• May be influenced or determined by:

– nature of the topic
– people being investigated
– political acceptability
 Key Points

• Relevance to practitioners and the fundamental

purpose of business research.

• Quantitative and qualitative research constitute

different approaches to social investigation.

• Theory can be depicted as something that precedes

research or as something that emerges out of it.

• Epistemological considerations influence research

strategy.
 Question?

• Do we have to adopt philosophy?

• Pragmatism – research question is the most
important determinant of epistemology,
ontology and axiology of our research.
 The Scientific Method

The “scientific method” is basically an overarching

perspective on how scientific investigations should be
undertaken. It can, in effect, be considered as a complete set
of principles and methods that help researchers in all
scientific disciplines obtain valid results for their research
studies, and which includes the provision of clear and
universally accepted guidelines for acquiring, evaluating and
communicating information in the context of a research study

The goals of scientific research are, broadly speaking, to

understand, explain and predict
 Elements of the Scientific Method

 Empirical Approach
 Observation
 Questions
 Hypotheses
 Experiments
 Analysis
 Conclusion
 Replication
 Elements of the Scientific Method
(Empirical Approach)

Evidence-based approach. The guiding principle

behind all research conducted in accordance
with the scientific method

Data derived from direct, systematic and careful

observation and experimentation (as opposed to
speculation, intuition, opinions, hunches, gut
feeling)
 Elements of the Scientific Method
(Observation)

Awareness of the real / physical / social world in which

we exist. This, in turn, gives rise to questions as the
basis for research studies or investigations

Operational Definitions – Ensures consistency when

researchers talk about or are interested in undertaking or
replicating research on the same phenomenon.
Example: What is “exercise”?
 Elements of the Scientific Method
(Questions)

Making an answerable question out of a research idea. The

question must be answered using available and established
scientific research techniques and procedures. Scientific
Analysis should not be attempted on questions which cannot
be answered

Example of an answerable question: Can regular exercising

reduce an individual’s cholesterol level?

Example of a (currently) unanswerable question: Is time

travel possible?
 Elements of the Scientific Method
(Hypotheses)

Hypotheses attempt to explain phenomena of interest. A hypothesis

is a proposition which is empirically testable. It usually seeks to
explain relationships between variables, and predict, and must be
falsifiable

Typical hypotheses structures:

Conditional - If Condition X is fulfilled, then Outcome Y will result

Correlational - The value of Variable B is observed to be related with
changes in the value of Variable A
Causal – The value of Variable ψ determines the value of Variable ξ
 Elements of the Scientific Method
(Experiments)

Experiments are basically about measuring phenomena

and collecting accurate and reliable data which are used
for analysis and evaluation

Accuracy – Correctness of the Measurement

Reliability – Consistency of the Measurement
 Elements of the Scientific Method
(Analysis)

Analysis is about the use of qualitative or quantitative

tools and techniques to process data

Quantitative tools and techniques are considered more

desirable (objective) than qualitative tools and
techniques

Statistical analysis is typically used to quantitatively

analyze data acquired in research studies
 Elements of the Scientific Method
(Conclusions)

Based on the results of the analysis conducted, and used to

support or refute a hypothesis

When undertaking research, conclusions should only be

based on the available data and not broadened to include
statements which are not supported by the data

Example: If the research analysis shows that two variables are

correlated (related), do not assert also that a causal
relationship exists between them
 Elements of the Scientific Method
(Replication)

The purpose of replication is to ensure that if the same

research study is conducted with different participants (i.e.
researchers, research subjects), then the same results are
achieved

Replication establishes the reliability of a research study’s

conclusions

Conclusions are often based on the results of one research

study (aberration effect) which may not be accurate
 References

Materials in this presentation were adapted from several

sources, most visited:
• Bryman, A. (2015). Social research methods. The Unites States: Oxford university
press.
• Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2015). Business research methods. Oxford University Press,
USA.
• Christensen, L. B., Johnson, B., & Turner, L. A. (2015). Research methods, design,
and analysis (S. Frail Ed. 12 ed.). England: Pearson Education Limited.
• Horn, R. (2012). Researching and Writing Dissertations: A Complete Guide for
Business: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
• Saunders, M. N., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2016). Research methods for business
students (7 ed.). England: Pearson Education Limited.
• Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., & Griffin, M. (2013). Business research
methods. Cengage Learning.