Research Methods

Chapters 2 and 3 Problem Definition

Learning objectives

 What is the difference between internal and external researchers?

 What are the characteristics of good research?
 What are the ethical considerations in research?
 How to define a problem?
 What characterizes good secondary research?
 What are the three types of research questions?
 What are the characteristics of a good research question?
 Write a good research question.
Internal Researchers
Internal researchers are employees of the company – could have a dedicated research position or could be formed as a
committee from various departments

Advantages Disadvantages
• Internal team may be more readily accepted • May have a stereotypical view of the problems
by the employees which may inhibit new ideas
• The team requires much less time to • May face powerful influences from within the
understand the structure, the philosophy, the organization that may bias their results
climate and the work system of the • They may not be perceived as experts by the
organization staff and management
• They are available to help implement any • They may have their own personal biases that
recommendations, trouble-shoot, and evaluate could affect their objectivity
the results
• May be much less costly
External researchers/consultants
External research consultants – are hired by the company especially to conduct a
research project

Advantages
 Bring a wealth of diverse experience and new ways of thinking (can think
divergently and convergently)
 May have access to more current sophisticated problem solving models

Disadvantages
 Costly
 Employees may not be cooperative
 Additional fees will be involved for implementation and follow-up
When to use Internal vs External researchers
Characteristics of Good Business
Research

 Purpose – has a clear Business contribution (fills a need)

 Rigor – has a good theoretical base and proper methodology
(evidence is believable)
 Objectivity – conclusions should be based on the facts
(evidence), not based on your own personal opinions
 Generalizability – can this research be applied to other
contexts?
 Straightforward – keep it manageable, especially considering
the time frame
Problem Definition- Find the Gap

 A problem can be defined as any situation where a gap exists

between an actual and a desired state – can be a problem or
an opportunity
 It is important to identify the “problem” rather than the
“symptoms” – ask Why???
 The gap is not just something that you don’t know, it’s
something that no one knows!
 Problem Definition Steps
1. Identify a broad management problem or opportunity – How? - talk to people at work, look for pain points or strategic
initiatives
2. Conduct preliminary research (secondary research)
1. About the context/environment
2. About the topic itself
3. About theories, models and frameworks to could be used

3. Define the research problem more specifically – write it in ONE question or statement
1. Relevant – does it have a Business objective?
2. Feasible – can it be done in the time frame, do you have access to the appropriate resources?
3. Interesting – will it advance your career?

4. Define the scope/boundary

4. Does it relate to a particular country, time frame, business unit?
5. What will you include, what will you not include?
Three types of research questions – all types are
fine but for ASP you must have a practical outcome

Descriptive questions –
Exploratory questions – Causal Questions
quantitative and
qualitative, used when: (hypothesis testing)
qualitative
• Not much is known about • Help to create profiles • Trying to identify if an
a phenomenon • Identify various aspects independent variable
• Existing research results • Offer ideas for further causes a change in a
are unclear or unreliable probing dependent variable
• The topic is highly • Help make research (more about this later)
complex decisions
• There is no theoretical
framework
Unique research opportunities

 If you have access to “cool” data, this can be turned into a great project (for
example, your company is implementing a new software, a new strategic
plan, engaging in a merger etc). In these cases, you could measure the impact
on a particular aspect of the company or evaluate the process compared to
“best practices”.

 If you have access to an extensive data base of interesting information, you

can look for patterns or connections between the data to create an
interesting project (eg if you can access customer complaints or employee
satisfaction surveys or HR exit interview data, you can look for causes and
suggest solutions)
How to find a good topic?
Possible paths
Academic route

1. Look at Calls for Papers in key journals eg

https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/services/authors/calls-for-papers
2. Look at upcoming conferences in your area of interest – what themes are they suggesting?https
://www.academic-conferences.org/conferences/

3. Read some articles in an area of interest – focus on the research gaps or limitations that are noted
in the article – consider researching these gaps
Business route

1. Identify a problem or challenge at your workplace or in your industry – conduct research and
prepare a comprehensive action plan to solve this issue that addresses the needs of all key
stakeholders
2. Identify a disruptive opportunity for your company to explore (new products, new production
methods, new markets, new distribution channels etc) – research and analyze all of the key
elements involved in this opportunity and prepare an action plan that addresses all key stakeholders
How to narrow down a research topic
into a question
Topic Question
AI How can AI be used to improve operational efficiency in ABC
Manufacturing plant?
Fintech How can Smart contracts be used by ABC Company to improve
the cash collections process?
Digital What digital marketing strategy can be used to increase the
marketing sales of product A in market B by 10%?
Operational How can the number of defects in product X be reduced by 10%
efficiency through the use of the automated inspection?
Joint ventures What are the key elements to be included in a successful joint
venture contract between manufacturer A and client B?

For more guidance on research questions, check out this site:

https://www.scribbr.com/research-process/research-questions/
 Previous topics
1. The future prospects for a new company after a recent merger with another
company
2. Expanding the service offering for interior design in the Indian market
3. The effect of open banking on the banking industry
4. Finding the root causes for project delays in the company and suggesting
solutions
5. Benefits of End-user computing automation
6. Competitor analysis for cyber security products
7. Case study of failure of joint venture companies in the Asia Pacific region that
were established by a Japanese company with a local partner in the region
8. Evaluate the reasons for project delivery successes and failures in the company
9. Impact analysis of virtual workforce (robots) on the banking industry in Asia
 More previous topics
10.Challenges faced by first time venture capital fund managers in
Singapore
11.Effect of new technologies in the cash management area of banking
operations
12.Is there a gender bias against hiring women in IT?
13.How to motivate contract workers
14.Extent of customer satisfaction with the Quality Assurance services in
her automotive company
15.Potential for the use of AI for underwriting in the insurance industry
16.Implementing the Internet of Things in Healthcare
17.How to improve the effectiveness of the self service function in a bank
18.Effectiveness of salesforce.com as a CRM tool in the company
Research Question and Objectives
Ideally a research project should have ONE overarching research question and 4-
5 research objectives (or sub-questions) that will help to answer the research
question.
For example:
Research Question: How can Smart contracts be used by ABC Company to
improve the cash collections process?
Objectives:
 What are the various features, pros and cons of Smart contracts?
 What is the current cash collections process and how well is it working?
 What are root causes of challenges in the cash collections process?
 How can smart contracts address these challenges?
 What are the steps needed to implement smart contracts in this context?
 Activity 1 – Good Research Questions
Brainstorm possible topics that you could research.
Write your own business-related research question based on your current work
situation along with 4-5 objectives or sub-questions.
Primary vs Secondary
data
Primary data is data collected directly
from its source. (eg surveys,
interviews, experiment data)

Secondary data is research data that

has previously been gathered and can
be accessed by researchers. (eg
articles, websites, databases)

All research projects MUST have

secondary data.
Good secondary data
 Timeliness
 check the publication dates to be sure data is current
 For “seminal” works, older articles are fine
 textbooks tend to be outdated
 Accuracy
 peer-reviewed journals are preferred (can use Google-scholar, EBSCO, Proquest to
search for them)
 company websites are good to provide basic company history, mission, vision etc
 statistics bureaus are good sources for descriptive statistics
 Bias – who is the author and what is their motivation
 Relevance – try to find the most relevant data
 Costs – benefits must outweigh the costs
How to find peer-reviewed articles
SP Jain library – use EBSCO or PROQUEST – search for key words but limit
the search to peer-reviewed, full text, recent articles

Google Scholar – use the advanced search function to search using key
words and limit by date and peer-reviewed ( the disadvantage is that you
will find some free articles and others that you need to pay for)
Critical analysis of published research
Always read with purpose – take these notes as you read:

1. What type of resource is this? (quality level? - peer-reviewed etc)

2. Why am I reading this?
3. What are the authors trying to say in writing this? (any bias?)
4. What type of research method was used? (eg qualitative, quantitative?)
5. What are the authors saying that is relevant to what I want to find out?
(bullet points of main findings)
6. How convincing is what the authors are saying? (any limitations?)
7. In conclusion, how can I use this information? (relevance)
 Activity 2 – Secondary research
Choose one of the research questions that we developed earlier:
a. Describe what types of secondary research you would collect.
b. Indicate the sources that you might use.
c. What key words would you use to search?
 Qualitative vs Quantitative Research
Quantitative (numbers)
Data is mainly numerical – can be from
surveys, databases, or reports
Concepts are in the form of distinct
variables (often involving hypothesis
testing)
Data analysis uses statistical tests, tables
and charts
Often deductive – trying to prove a point
Qualitative (words)
Data is mainly words from documents,
observations and interviews
Concepts are in the form of themes
Data Analysis proceeds by extracting themes
or generalizations from evidence and
organizing data to present a coherent,
consistent picture
Often inductive – trying to discover
something
Ethics Example: Stanford Prison Experiment
The Stanford prison experiment was designed to
examine the effects of situational variables on
participants' reactions and behaviors in a two-week
simulation of a prison environment. Stanford
University psychology professor Philip Zimbardo led
the research team who ran the study in the summer
of 1971.

Watch this trailer for a movie based on this famous

1971 social experiment.
https://www.imdb.com/video/vi739618841/?playlis
tId=tt0420293&ref_=tt_ov_vi
Ethics Example: Stanford Prison Experiment
According to Zimbardo and his colleagues, the Stanford Prison Experiment
revealed how people will readily conform to the social roles they are
expected to play, especially if the roles are as strongly stereotyped as those
of the prison guards.
 The study has received many ethical criticisms, including lack of fully
informed consent by participants. Although the participants signed an
ethics agreement, the actual events that would happen were unknown.
 Also, the prisoners did not consent to being 'arrested' at home. The
prisoners were not told partly because final approval from the police
wasn’t given until minutes before the participants decided to participate,
and partly because the researchers wanted the arrests to come as a
surprise.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/zimbardo.html
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24031990-200-insi
de-the-prison-experiment-that-claimed-to-show-the-roots-of-
evil
/
Principles of Ethical Research

 Do not exploit research or research participants for personal gain

 Do not cause physical harm, legal harm, psychological abuse, stress or loss of self
esteem
 Participants must give informed, voluntary consent
 Do not coerce or humiliate participants
 Deception should only be used minimally and with a specific methodological purpose –
participants must be debriefed
 Honor all guarantees of privacy, anonymity, and confidentiality
 Anticipate repercussions of the research or publication of results
 Identify the sponsor who funded the research
 Make interpretations of results consistent with the data
 Ethical practices
For each of the following, explain whether or not the researcher is violating an ethical principle. Be sure
to explain your answer fully.
a) Ann is studying how potential job applicants work together in teams. She asks the applicants to work
together on a task and openly observes their behavior. She does not reveal the true purpose of the
activity until after it is complete.
b) Bob has been hired by ABC soft drink company to conduct a taste test using 100 students to compare
their new lime drink to an existing competitor’s soda. Bob does not reveal who he is working for.
c) Carla is conducting research at a start-up IT company who are about to launch a new product. Carla
is very excited about what she finds and decides to purchase some shares in this IT company.
d) Dave is conducting research into the effects of stress on students. In order to observe the stress
levels of students, he asks them to complete a very challenging test in a very short period of time
and measures their stress levels. In order to ensure that test is more authentic, he requests the
professor to tell the students that this test score will be included in their final grade.
e) Evelyn has conducted an interview with the general manager of a local hospital as part of her
research into corruption in the medical field. The interview is so interesting that Evelyn decides to
publish the content on her LinkedIn account.
Review

 What did you learn so far today?

 What is still confusing?