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Business Research
Methods
(RSM7101)
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

On completion of this session, students will be

able to understand the followings:
•Types of statistics
•Tests used in data analysis

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 STATISTICS

 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
 Statistics that describe the phenomena of interest
 E.g., how frequently certain phenomena occur? What is
the average score when a set of figures are involved? What
is the extent of variability in the set of figures?
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
 Statistics results that let us draw inferences from a sample
to the population
 E.g., we want to know how variables relate to each other?
Whether there is any relationship between variables?
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 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

FREQUENCIES
◦ Number of items various subcategories of a certain
phenomenon occur, from which the percentage and the
accumulative percentage of the occurrence of the
subcategories can be easily calculated
◦ E.g., Maxis wants to know how many Malays, Chinese,
Indians and others are on the payroll of the company
◦ The above information can be presented in the form of a
histogram or a bar chart
◦ Frequencies are generally obtained for nominal variables
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 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

• MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCIES

• Mean (Average)
• Offers a general picture of the data
• E.g., the production manager might want to know
how many units per month, on an average, his
department has been producing over the last 6 months
• The above information may offer the manager a good
idea of the quantity of materials that need to be
stocked
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 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

• MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCIES

• Median
• The central item in a group of observations
when are arrayed in either ascending or
descending order
• The marks of 9 students are 65, 40, 25, 64, 35,
63, 32, 60 and 61 – the median is 60
• The median divides the total area of
observations into two equal halves
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 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

• MEASURES OF CENTRAL
TENDENCIES
• Mode
• The most frequently occurring
phenomenon within the set of observations
• E.g., there are 31 Malays, 27 Chinese, 29
Indians and 42 “Others” – the mode in the
“Others” 8
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 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

• MEASURES OF DISPERSION
• Dispersion
• To know the variability that exists in the set of
observations
• E.g., if firm A sold 30, 40 and 50 units of product during
Jan, Feb and March respectively and firm B sold 10, 40
and 70 units during the same period – their mean is the
same but the dispersion in firm B is larger
• The 3 measurements of dispersion connected with the
mean are range, variance and standard deviation
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 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

• MEASURES OF DISPERSION
• Dispersion
• The range refers to the extreme values in a set of observations
• The standard deviation is the square root of the variance.
• The standard deviation is expressed in the same units as the
mean is, whereas the variance is expressed in squared units,
but for looking at a distribution, you can use either just so
long as you are clear about what you are using.
• Standard deviation is the most commonly used and is
calculated as the square root of the variance
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• To get the best possible results, we should use
the right tests for data analysis.
• To know about the right tests we must know
about the data distribution.
• To check the data wither it’s normally
distributed or not, use the following tests.
• Shapiro-Wilk test (Sample size n <50): (H0=
the data is normally distributed)
• Kolmogorov–Smirnov test (sample size
n>50):(H0 =the data is normally distributed)
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• Skewness & Kurtosis
• Skewness: if the value is Zero, the distribution
is normal
• Kurtosis: if the value is 3, the distribution is
normal
• Use the following test for Skewness and
Kurtosis
• Omnibus K-Squared test: H0: distribution is
normal
• Jarque-Bera Test: H0= the distribution is
normal
• Test for the analysis of the variables 13
Test for the analysis of the variables
1)Parametric tests
•The data is normally distributed or has equal
interval or set measurements where each unit is
the same i.e. time, temperature, weight etc.
•E.g., T-test (related and unrelated samples) for
individual significance of the independent
variables
•E.g., Pearson’s correlation matrix for the
association between independent variables
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2)Non-Parametric tests
•The data is not normally distributed (nominal or ordinal)
•Nominal Data: Data is in categories as male female cricket
teams
• E.g., Chi-Squared test for Individual significance and
also for the association of the independent variables
•Ordinal Data: Data is ordered in some way via ranks or
rating scales
• E.g., Mann-Whitney test for individual significance of
related samples
• E.g., Wilcoxon test for individual significance of un-
related samples
• E.g., Spearmen’s Correlation matrix for significant15
association of the independent variables
TESTING GOODNESS OF DATA

• RELIABILITY
• This indicates the extent of consistency and
stability of the measuring instrument
• Cronbach’s alpha is a reliability coefficient
that reflects how well the items in a set are
positively correlated to one another
• The closer Cronbach’s alpha is to 1, the
higher the internal consistency reliability
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0.8> α ≥ 0.7

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Source:
https://www.statisticshowto.com/probability-and-statistics/statistics-definitions/cronbachs-alp
 The Employee Satisfaction

Alpha = .8715

The employee satisfaction subscale, consisting of 10 items,

was found to be good (α = .872)
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INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

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INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

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p-Value Interpretation
•A p-value less than or equal to your significance
level (typically ≤ 0.05) is statistically significant.
•In contrast, a p-value more than the significance
level (typically p > 0.05) is not statistically
significant

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 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
CORRELATIONS
◦ To know how one variable is related to another – to
see the nature, direction and significance of the
bivariate relationships
◦ A Pearson correlation matrix will provide this
information
◦ To know the two variables are correlated with each
other
◦ Can be meaningfully generated for variables
measured on an interval or ratio scale
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 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

CORRELATIONS
◦ The one that is most common is the Pearson
correlation (r).
◦ This measures the strength and direction of the 
linear relationship between two variables but does
not know which variable causes which variable
◦ It cannot capture nonlinear relationships between
two variables and cannot differentiate between
dependent and independent variables.
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 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

Source: http://www.bioline.org.br/pdf?mm12018
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The age and cholesterol were found to be
high positive correlated, r = .882, p < .05. 26
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

• REGRESSION ANALYIS
• Correlation describes the strength of an association between two variables, the
correlation between A and B is the same as the correlation between B and A.
• However, if the two variables are related it means that when one changes by a
certain amount the other changes by a certain amount.
• For instance, if the salary of an employee is increased, the said employee may
change his working attitude, e.g., become more productive.
• In this context, if y represents the dependent variable and x the independent
variable, this relationship is described as the regression of y on x.
• When the regression is conducted, an F-value, and significance level of that F-
value, is computed. 
• If the F-value is statistically significant (typically p < .05), the model explains a
significant amount of variance in the outcome variable.
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 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

• REGRESSION ANALYIS
• The square of multiple r, R-squared is the amount of variance
explained in the dependent variable by the independent variable(s)
• It is also called the coefficient of determination, or the coefficient of
multiple determination for multiple regression
• Some fields of study have an inherently greater amount of unexplainable
variation.
• In certain areas, your R2 values are bound to be lower. For example,
studies that try to explain human behavior generally have R2 values less
than 50%. People are just harder to predict than things like physical
processes.
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 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

REGRESSION ANALYIS
•Hair et al. (2011) & Hair et al.
(2013) suggested in scholarly research that
focuses on marketing/management issues, R2
values of 0.75, 0.50, or 0.25 can, as a rough
rule of thumb, be respectively described
as substantial, moderate or weak.
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 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

REGRESSION ANALYIS
Adjusted R-Squared?
If you are building regression on
multiple variables, it is always
suggested that you use Adjusted R-
squared instead R-squared.
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 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

• REGRESSION ANALYIS

• Beta (β) (standardized regression coefficient) is a measure of how

strongly each independent variable influences the dependent variable
• Standardizing coefficients means that you can compare the relative
importance of each coefficient in a regression model or to compare the
variables to see which has the strongest relationship with the dependent
variable, since all of them are on the 0 to 1 scale. 
• If the beta coefficient is significant, examine the sign of the beta.
• If the beta coefficient is positive, the interpretation is that the increase in the
independent variable, the dependent variable will also increase in the same
direction.  
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SIMPLE LINEAR REGRESSION ANALYIS (Example)

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Simple linear regression analysis was
used to test if the whiskers significantly
associated/predicted singing. The
results of the regression indicated
whiskers explained 17.5% of the
variance (R2 = .175, F(1, 14)=2.971,
p=.107). In conclusion, it was found that
whiskers did not significantly
associated/predicted singing (β=-5.519,
p=.107) 33
MULTIPLE LINEAR REGRESSION ANALYIS (Example)

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Multiple linear regression analysis was used to test if resident
population, burglary rate per 100,000, lacency-theft rate per
100,000 and motor vehicle theft rate per 100,000 were
significantly associated/predicted murder rate per 100,000.

The results of the regression indicated resident population,

burglary rate per 100,000, lacency-theft rate per 100,000 and
motor vehicle theft rate per 100,000 explained 42.4% of the
variance (adjusted R2 = .424, F(1, 68)=46.699, p<.05).

It was found that motor vehicle theft rate per 100,000

associated/predicted murder rate per 100,000 (β=.011, p<.05),
as did burglary rate per 100,000 (β=.007, p<.05).

In contrast, resident population indicated non-significant

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association with murder rate per 100,000 (p=.576), as did
lacency-theft rate per 100,000 (p=.102)
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

On completion of this session, students will be

able to understand the followings:
•Final report and oral presentation

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Importance of the Report and Presentation

For the following reasons, the report and its

presentation are important parts of the research project:
•They are the tangible products of the research effort.
•Management decisions are guided by the report and the
presentation.
•Management's decision to undertake research in the
future will be influenced by the perceived usefulness of
the report and the presentation.
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The Report Preparation and Presentation Process

Problem Definition, Approach, Research Design, and Field

Work

Data Analysis

Interpretation, Conclusions, and Recommendations

Report Preparation

Oral Presentation

Reading of the Report by the Client

Research Follow-up 38
Report Format
I. Title page
II. Letter of transmittal
III. Letter of authorization
IV. Table of contents
V. List of tables
VI. List of graphs
VII. List of appendices
VIII. List of exhibits
IX. Executive summary
a. Major findings
b. Conclusions
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c. Recommendations
Report Format
X. Problem definition
XI. Research design
XII. Data analysis
XIII.Results
XIV.Conclusions and recommendations
XV. Limitations and Suggestions
XVI.Exhibits
a. Questionnaires and forms
b. Statistical output

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 Report Writing
• Readers. A report should be written for a specific reader or readers,
for example, the managers who will use the results.
• Easy to follow. The report should be easy to follow. It should be
structured logically and written clearly.
• Presentable and professional appearance. The looks of a report are
important.
• Objective. Objectivity is a virtue that should guide report writing.
The rule is, "Tell it like it is."
• Reinforce text with tables and graphs. It is important to reinforce
key information in the text with tables, graphs, pictures, maps, and
other visual devices.
• Terse. A report should be terse and concise.
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Oral Presentation

• The key to an effective presentation is preparation.

• A written script or detailed outline should be prepared
following the format of the written report.
• The presentation must be geared to the audience.
• The presentation should be rehearsed several times
before it is made to the management.
• Visual aids, such as tables and graphs, should be
displayed with a variety of media.
• It is important to maintain eye contact and interact with
the audience during the presentation. 42
Oral Presentation

• Body language should be employed.

• The speaker should vary the volume, pitch, voice quality,
articulation, and rate while speaking.
• The presentation should finish with a strong closing.

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Reading the Research Report

• Addresses the Problem – The problem being addressed

should be clearly identified and the relevant background
information provided.
• The research design should be clearly described in non-
technical terms.
• Execution of the Research Procedures – The reader
should pay special attention to the manner in which the
research procedures were executed.
• Numbers and statistics reported in tables and graphs
should be examined carefully by the reader.
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Reading the Research Report

• Generalizability – It is the responsibility of the researcher

to provide evidence regarding the reliability, validity, and
generalizability of the findings.
• Disclosure – The reader should carefully examine whether
the spirit in which the report was written indicates an
honest and complete disclosure of the research procedures
and results.

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Research Follow-up

• Assisting the Client – The researcher should answer

questions that may arise and help the client to implement
the findings.
• Evaluation of the Research Project – Every research
project provides an opportunity for learning and the
researcher should critically evaluate the entire project to
obtain new insights and knowledge.

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• https://www.statisticssolutions.com/the-multiple-linear-regression-analysis-in-spss/
• https://www.statisticssolutions.com/regression-table/
• https://statistics.laerd.com/spss-tutorials/one-way-anova-using-spss-statistics-2.php
• https://statisticsbyjim.com/regression/interpret-r-squared-regression/
• https://statistics.laerd.com/features-owa.php
• https://blog.minitab.com/blog/adventures-in-statistics-2/multiple-regession-analysis-us
e-adjusted-r-squared-and-predicted-r-squared-to-include-the-correct-number-of-variabl
es
• https://www.statisticssolutions.com/directory-of-statistical-analyses-regression-analysi
s/regression/
• https://www.statisticssolutions.com/the-multiple-linear-regression-analysis-in-spss/
• https://www.bmj.com/about-bmj/https://www.statisticssolutions.com/directory-of-
statistical-analyses-regression-analysis/regression/resources-readers/publications/
statistics-square-one/11-correlation-and-regression 47

References
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• https://bookdown.org/thomas_pernet/Tuto/chi-squared-test-of-independence.html
• https://www.statisticssolutions.com/the-multiple-linear-regression-analysis-in-spss/
• https://www.statisticssolutions.com/regression-table/
• https://statistics.laerd.com/spss-tutorials/one-way-anova-using-spss-statistics-2.php
• https://statisticsbyjim.com/regression/interpret-r-squared-regression/
• https://statistics.laerd.com/features-owa.php
• https://blog.minitab.com/blog/adventures-in-statistics-2/multiple-regession-analysis-use-adjusted-r-
squared-and-predicted-r-squared-to-include-the-correct-number-of-variables
• https://www.statisticssolutions.com/directory-of-statistical-analyses-regression-analysis/regression/
• https://www.statisticssolutions.com/the-multiple-linear-regression-analysis-in-spss/
• https://www.bmj.com/about-bmj/https://www.statisticssolutions.com/directory-of-statistical-analyses-
regression-analysis/regression/resources-readers/publications/statistics-square-one/11-correlation-and-
regression

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References