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Qualitative Business Research Summary
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Quantitative Business Research Methods
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Summary Business Research Methods
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Business research methods | SummaryChapter 1 | The nature and process of business research
The term ‘business research’ means researching academic topics related to questions that
are relevant to business and management.
Business research and business research methods are embedded in wider contextual
factors. They are not practiced in a vacuum.
Organizations do business research because they:
1. Find a gap in the existing literature
2. Find inconsistency between a number of studies
3. find an unresolved issue in the literature
Two approaches of doing research:
- Deductive approach: A set of theoretical ideas drive data collection and analysis
- Inductive approach: A more open ended strategy of data collection which leads to
theoretical ideas.
Scientific research approach: a hypothesis is formulated and then tested using precise
measurement techniques.
Evidence-based management (IMPORTANT! SEE LECTURE): the systematic use of the
best available evidence to improve management practice.
Managers need to move their “professional decisions away from personal
preference and unsystematic experience toward those based on the best available
scientific evidence”.
Two modes of producing knowledge:
- Mode 1: the traditional way, via academic agendas or theory and putting knowledge
into practice.
- Mode 2: transdisciplinarity, this is a term used to indicate that knowledge is not only
achieved by utilizing different scientific disciplines (multidisciplinarity) or even
combining new theory (interdisciplinarity), but also by involving other than scientific
knowledge. This is also called knowledge-based education: a combination of science
and practice.
The process of business research (also summarized in table 1.1):
The main elements of most research projects. The order of these elements can differ within
different research strategies and approaches.
1. Literature review.
Existing literature represents an important element in all research. When we have topic or
issue has interested us we must read to find out more about past research, researchers,
theories, controversies etc. Furthermore, linking you research questions, findings and
discussion to existing literature is an important and useful way of demonstrating the
credibility of your research and the contribution it is making. However, a literary review is not
simply a summary; it is expected to be critical.
2. Concepts and theories.
,Concepts are the way that we make sense of the social world, they are labels that we give
to aspects of the social world that seem to have significant common features. Examples are:
bureaucracy, power, social control, status, etc. Concepts are a key ingredient of theories.
Concepts help us to think and be more disciplined about what we want to find out about, and
help with the organization of our research findings. So, we might collect data in order to shed
light on a concept (or more likely, several concepts and how they are connected)
(deductive). The alternative view is that concepts are outcomes of research, and help us to
reflect on and organize the data that we collected (inductive).
3. Research questions.
Research questions are extremely important in the research process, because they force you
to consider that most basic of issues – what is it that you want to know? Examples of types
or research questions:
1. Predicting an outcome (does y happen under circumstances of a and b)
2. Explaining causes and consequences of a phenomenon (is y affected by x or is y a
consequence of x?)
3. Evaluating a phenomenon (does y exhibit the benefits that it is claimed to have?)
4. Describing a phenomenon ( what is y like or what forms does y assume?)
5. Developing good practice (how can we improve y?)
6. Empowerment (how can we enhance the lives of those we research?)
7. Comparison (do a and b differ in respect of x?)
Research questions are crucial because they will guide you during the whole process.
4. Sampling.
Representative samples are usually based on constructing a sample that van represent a
wider population (often collected via surveys). However, in some cases we find sampling
principles based not on the idea of representativeness but on the notion that samples should
selected on the basis of their appropriateness to the purposes of the investigation (mostly
case study research). Here, the goal is to understand the selected case of cases in depth.
Sampling issues are still relevant to such research because cases have to be chosen
according to criteria relevant to the research, and individuals who are members of the case
study context have to be sampled according to criteria too. It is also important to remember
that business research is not always carried out on people (for example content analysis).
Data collection.
5. Data collection is the key point of any research project. Generally they can be qualified in
quantitative data collection and qualitative data collection.
Data analysis.
In this stage data need to be managed. This means the researcher has to check the data to
establish whether there are any obvious flaws. Secondly it is about data reduction, reducing
the large corpus of information gathered in order to make sense of it.
Writing up.
Writing your research down in a way others can benefit from it. The core ingredients will be:
1. Introduction; The research area and its significance are outlined. The research
questions will also probably be introduced.
, 2. Literature review; What is already known about the research are is examined
critically. This section often relates to theoretical concepts that are the focus of the
research
3. Research methods; The research methods (sampling methods of data collection,
methods of data analysis) are presented and justified
4. Results; The findings are presented
5. Discussion; The findings are discussed in relation to the literature and the research
questions.
6. Conclusion; The significance of the research is reinforced.
Finally, it is important for business researchers to remain flexible and to modify and adapt
your research plans in response to opportunities and problems that arise. Research is not
something you can entirely plan.
Chapter 2 – Business research strategies
The practice of business research does not exist in a bubble, sealed off from the social
sciences. Two points are particular important here:
1. the methods of management and business research are closely tied to different visions of
how organizational reality should be studied.
2. there is the question of how business research methods and practice connect with the
wider social scientific enterprise.
Theory = a way of explaining observed regularities
Types of theories:
- Grand theory: constructing an abstract generalization
- Middle-range theory: an approach to sociological theorizing aimed at using theory
and empirical research. ??
Empiricism = an approach to the study of reality that suggests that only knowledge gained
through experience and the senses is acceptable. No not reasoning an thinking. Ideas must
be able to be tested before they can be considered knowledge.
Overall the aim of research is to contribute to a theory.
Theory
Two ways to view the relationship between theory and reseach.
- Deductive approach: The researcher, on basis of existing theories Hypothesis
deduces a hypothesis that must be researched. A set of
theoretical ideas drive data collection and analysis.
Data collection
- Inductive approach: A more open ended strategy of data
collection which leads to theoretical ideas.
Deductive: Findings
Theory Observations/findings
Hypostheses
Inductive: confirmed or rejected
Observations/findings theory
Revision of theory
, The grounded theory can be seen as a mix of induction and deduction.
Grounded theory = Grounded Theory staat voor een aanpak waarbij de onderzoeker tijdens
de interviews gaandeweg op ideeën (hypothesen) komt en die in volgende interviews ‘toetst'.
Als die toetsen laten zien dat de hypothesen juist zijn, worden ze als een gefundeerde
theoretische stelling beschouwd. --> You build up a theory by starting with nothing, and by
collecting data you develop a theory that you test again.
Next to inductive and deductive reproaches there is a third approach that overcomes the
limitations associated with the previous approaches.
Limitation deductive reasoning: how do you know if you are testing the right theory?
Limitation inductive reasoning: you never know if you have enough data to prove a builded
theory, because it is not tested.
Abductive reasoning = Abduction starts with a puzzle of surprise and then seeks to explain
it. Puzzles may arise when researchers encounter empirical phenomena which existing
theory cannot account for. Abductive reasoning involves seeking to identify the conditions
that would make the phenomenon less puzzling, turning surprising facts into a matter of
course.
Epistemology and ontology
Epistemological considerations: How can we know (/research) reality? (nature of
knowledge). Two main questions:
1. What should be considered acceptable knowledge in a discipline?
2. Can the social world be studied according to the same principles as the natural
sciences?
To answer these questions there are two main approaches:
- Positivism, claims that: only the information provided by the senses can result in
scientific knowledge. It means that they advocate for the application of methods of
natural sciences such as objective observation to the study of social reality. In this line
of thought humans are regarded as natural objects and their behavior can be
explained by external forces that act on them, such as the social norms they have
been exposed to, their social class, gender, etc…
- Interpretivism, claims that: the subject matter of social sciences, people and they
institutions is very different from that of nature of sciences. For this reason
investigating social actors requires different methods and procedures. Their goal is to
understand an individual’s behavior in an empathic way, or in other words, to grabs
their point of view about the reality in which they live. In this manner, interpretivism
makes sense of the world from the individuals point of view instead of observing their
behavior and looking for relations of cause and effect.
* Interpretivism is linked to Max Weber and Verstehen = foundation workers of
qualitative researchers. How to really understand what your speakers are
saying. Really know what he/she means, so go in debt. '' What do you mean
by that?''. Be silent and the other person will talk.
Ontological considerations: what can be said about ‘being’/reality? (fixed or ongoing?) Two
main questions:
1. Is there such a thing as (social) reality?
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