[23-24] Business Research Techniques summary PM

BRT SAMENVATTING

Module 1: The research process 2

Module 2: Defining the problem and developing theory 3

Module 3: Choosing a research strategy 6

Module 4: Collecting & analyzing data 8

Module 5-8 prelude: Reliability and validity 16

Module 5: Survey research 17

Module 6: Experimental lab research 23

Module 7: Archival research 28

Module 8: Experimental field research 32

Module 9: Qualitative research 35

,Module 1: The research process
Hallmarks of “good” business research
● Purposiveness: the goal and the ‘why’ of your research.
● Rigor: ensuring a good theoretical base and methodological design. =
strengheid/grondigheid.
● Objectivity: drawing conclusions based on facts rather than subjective ideas.
● Parsimony: shaving away unnecessary details and explaining a lot with a little.
● Replicability: finding the same results if the research is repeated.
● Generalizability: external validity. Being able to generalize the findings.
● Testability: using hypotheses that are testable.
● Precision and confidence:
○ Precision refers to the closeness of the findings to reality → standard deviation.
○ Confidence refers to the probability that the estimations are correct → intervals.

Inductive vs. deductive research
● Inductive: forming a theory. From observing a pattern to developing a theory.
○ Qualitative research is mostly inductive.
● Deductive: testing a theory. Testing if the observed patterns fit the theory.
○ Quantitative research is mostly deductive.

7 step research process:
1. Define the business problem.
2. Formulate the problem statement.
3. For
a. induction: provide a conceptual background.
b. deduction: develop a theoretical framework.
4. Choose a research design.
5. Collect data.
6. Analyze data.
7. For
a. induction: develop theory.
b. deduction: write-up.




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,Module 2: Defining the problem and developing
theory
How to define the problem statement?
1. Identify the management problem;
2. Preliminary research;
3. Definition of the research problem.

What makes a good business problem?
● Feasibility: is it doable (in time, money, etc.)? You should be able to:
○ Demarcate the problem;
○ Express the problem in variables;
○ Gather the required data.
● Relevance: is it important?
○ Managerial relevance: who benefits from having the problem solved?
○ Academic relevance: has the problem not already been solved in prior
research? Is anything known about the topic?

What makes a good problem statement?
● Formulated in terms of variables/relations;
● Open-ended questions;
● Stated clearly/unambiguously.

What makes good research questions?
● Should collectively address the problem statement;
● First theoretical, then practical research questions;
● Stated clearly/unambiguously.

Theoretical research questions: general questions, e.g. “What is the effect of a CEO’s
communication style on employee morale?”. → More general and theoretical.
Practical research questions: applied to the case, e.g., “What is the effect of the CEO’s
communication style after the Ahold Delhaize merger on employee morale?”. → Specified for
Ahold Delhaize.

Research questions can be:
● Exploratory: inductive and qualitative, building a theory;
● Descriptive: qualitative or quantitative. Gather data that describes the topic of interest;
● Causal: tests whether or not one variable causes another variable to change.

Types of research:
• Applied research: to solve a problem.
• Fundamental research: to generate new knowledge.


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, Conditional process model: when both a mediator and moderator are present.

Conditions for an independent variable (IV) to affect the dependent variable (DV):
● X and Y co-occur / correlate → a change in the DV should be associated with a change
in the IV;
● The cause (X) must occur before the effect (Y);
● No spurious correlation → there is no other cause (Z) that explains the co-occurrence of
X and Y;
● A logical explanation is needed and must explain why IV affects DV.

Types of moderation




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