INTRODUCTION

Research concepts and business studies:

 According to Babbie (1986): Research is the process of systematically collecting data and analyzing
information to increase understanding of a phenomenon.
 Business (market) research is a process of planning, collecting and processing data to provide
information for strategic planning, operations, control, business decision making and operations
management. business activity
Qualitative Research
 Defenition:
o Qualitative research method is a type of research often used to find out opinions and explore
perspectives to find "insight" of issues. Besides, qualitative research also helps discover
future customer trends.
o Qualitative research approaches the research subject in a very natural way to ensure that the
opinions, behaviors, and perspectives of the subject being researched will be as accurate and
objective as possible.
o Qualitative research will answer questions about "why" and "how" of a certain behavior or
phenomenon. One of the typical examples of the personal interview method is that the
interviewer will ask questions so that the respondent can freely give his or her personal
opinion. Then the interviewer will collect diverse information, even if they have never
thought of it.
 Advantages:
o The research problem will be viewed from an insider's perspective: The researcher playing an
important role will help us better understand issues that are easily overlooked by quantitative
methods. Qualitative research will only help study the researcher's attitudes and behaviors.
o Qualitative research is highly flexible because it does not use a fixed structure
o Helps researchers discover useful information quickly
o The research time and time to conduct a qualitative research project is usually quite short and
costs little
Quantitative Research
 Defenition:
o Quantitative method is the collection and analysis of information based on databases
collected from the market. The purpose of researching in this way is to draw market
 conclusions through the use of statistical methods, data processing as well as data. The results
from one sample group will be generalized to a larger sample population.
o Quantitative data collection methods are often more structured than qualitative data methods.
They will include many other forms of surveys such as online surveys, on paper, mobile
surveys, via email or mail, etc. Quantitative research will be associated with relying on theory
and inference to quantify analyze, measure research factors or test correlations,...
o Unlike qualitative data analysis, quantitative data analysis will use statistics to summarize
data, describe patterns, relationships and connections between variables. From there, a report
is formed with useful parameters, easier to see and easier to make decisions. Quantitative data
analysis techniques will include 2 types: Descriptive statistics and Inferential statistics.
 Advantages:
o Scientific objectivity: Quantitative data will be explained by statistical analysis because
statistics will be based on logical, mathematical principles, so quantitative studies are
completely suitable for testing hypotheses.
o Quantitative research is quite reliable and highly representative, so the results of this method
will be generalized to the entire sample.
o Fast analysis time: Nowadays, software has the function of processing large amounts of data
accurately and extremely quickly. Therefore, it can minimize technical errors that may arise
due to human impact when processing.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature Review
 Defenition:
• Literature Review is to identify, synthesize and evaluate scientific research surrounding a
specific problem or research question. It involves critical analysis of the relationships
between different research findings, and relating those results to your research.
• Literature review can be in the form of an independent research article, the introduction
of a scientific article or a chapter in a thesis/dissertation that provides a theoretical
framework/rationale for a research.
 Purpose:
• Analyze and find new research questions
• Relating theory to research practice, providing basic concepts
• Increase understanding of the different approaches that have been applied to this research
problem
 • Avoid ineffective research methods and approaches
• Suggest recommendations and research directions for the future
• Point out evidence and conflicting issues
 Steps to conduct Literature Review
1. Identify the problem and scope of research (Scoping)
You need to determine whether the literature review. What questions will I write to answer? You also need
to set criteria to select scientific articles to include in the literature review and eliminate less relevant
articles. To filter quality articles, you need to focus on reading the abstract, introduction, and conclusion
of each article.
2. Planning
In this step, it is necessary to break down the research question into individual concepts to form search
keywords (anchor articles) on the selected topic. Anchor articles are typical research articles in the field
you are interested in. At that time, you can look at the "References" section of these articles to locate the
next articles you need to read...
 There are 3 ways to help do this:
• First, ask an advisor, or an expert in the industry/field you are interested in.
• Second, search in the online library. Large universities often buy copies
• the rights of many research journals, so the data source is abundant and free for students.
For example, Seoul National University Library: http://library.snu.ac.kr
• Third, search on Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.kr
• Note: when searching online: You must choose appropriate search keywords, you should
try many different keywords... For example: academic research performance, university
professor’s research performance, teacher research performance,…
• This search process also helps you narrow down your research topic to be more specific.
For example, if you are interested in “university professor research performance”, during
the search process you can narrow your choice, for example, how factor A affects
university professor research performance…
3. Evaluate and filter data
 Once you have a list of articles to read, the next thing is to organize those articles before taking notes.
 Use document management software if the number of review documents is large (ie. Refworks,
Endnote, Mendeley,...)
 Read the Title or Abstract of all findings from the above procedure; If it meets the inclusion and
exclusion criteria, get the full text to read
 Read the full-text, focusing on the Methods and Results sections rather than the Introduction and
Conclusion sections. Continue to check the inclusion and exclusion criteria while reading to reduce
inappropriate articles
 In this step, focus on specificity.
 Take note of the number of articles removed and the reasons
 Overall assessment of the quality of the article (pay attention to the method)
4. Analytical issues when reading literature
• Theoretical background
• Theoretical model
• Research design
• Sampling method
• How to measure
• Data analysis strategy
• Analyze results
• Synthesize and evaluate research results to come to a clear conclusion about the available
evidence

RESEARCH QUESTION
Sample selection steps
1) Determine the general population (we must clearly define the general population, because we will
select the sample from there)
2) Determine the sampling frame or sampling list: Available and commonly used sampling frames are:
Telephone directories or telephone directories sorted by name of individuals, companies, businesses, and
agencies ; telephone directories sorted by street name, or city district name; Correspondence contact list:
members of clubs, associations, readers who buy long-term newspapers from newspaper editors...; List of
names and addresses of customers contacting the company (through warranty cards), and guests invited to
exhibitions and product introductions.
3) Choose sampling method:
Based on the purpose of the research, the importance of the research, the time to conduct the research, the
budget for the research, the skills of the research team, etc. to decide whether to choose a sampling
method or non-probability method. ; then continue to choose the specific form of this method.
4) Determine sample size:
Determining sample size is often based on: accuracy requirements, whether a sampling frame is available,
data collection methods, and allowable costs. For probability samples: there is usually a formula to
calculate sample size; For non-probability samples: usually rely on experience and understanding of the
research problem to choose sample size.
5) Check the sample selection process:
Usually check on the following aspects: Check whether the units in the sample are the right research
objects? (Because mistakes are often made in selecting subjects: due to collection
information in inappropriate places, with inappropriate people, or omitting information from people who
should have been interviewed...). Check the respondent's cooperation (the longer the question, the greater
the refusal to answer). Check the completion rate (see if the required number of units on the sample has
been collected)
Sampling
Sampling is the process of selecting a relatively small part (sample) from a population that is
representative of the entire research population.
Random sampling methods:
1. Choose a simple random sample:
First, make a list of units of the general population in a certain order: make a list according to the rhyme
of the name, or according to the size, or according to the address..., then number the units in the list; then
draw lots, dial numbers, use a random number table, or use a computer to select each unit in the general
population into the sample.
2. Select a systematic random sample
First make a list of units of the general population in a certain conventional order, then number the units
in the list. First, randomly select 1 unit from the list; Then, every k units apart, select 1 unit into the
sample,... and so on until the full number of units in the sample is selected.
For example: Based on the electoral list in a city, we have a list in order
Rhyme of household head's name, including 240,000 households. We want to select a sample of 2000
households. So the selection distance is: k= 240000/2000 = 120, which means that for every 120
households, we select one household into the sample.
3. Select the whole block sample
First, make a general list for each block (such as village, commune, ward, amount of products produced in
a period of time...). Then, we randomly select some blocks and investigate all units in the selected block.
Usually use method
This method is used when a complete list of units in the population to be studied is not available.
Example: The general population is students of a university. At that time, we will make a list of classes,
not a list of students, then select the classes to investigate.
4. Stratified sampling method
First, divide the entire population into groups according to one or more criteria related to the research
purpose (such as grouping enterprises by region, by area, by type, by size,...). Then in each group, use
simple random sampling or systematic sampling to select the sample units. For stratified sampling, the
number of units selected in each group may be proportional to the number of units in that group in the
population, or may not be proportional.
For example: A newspaper editor wants to conduct research on a sample of 1,000 businesses across the
country about their interest in the newspaper in order to market advertising information in the newspaper.
The editorial office can base on the following criteria: geographical region (North, Central, South); form
of ownership (state-owned, non-state-owned, 100% foreign-owned company, etc.) to decide the structure
of the research sample.
Non-random sampling methods:
1. convenience sampling:
This means sampling based on convenience or accessibility of the subject, in places where the
investigator is most likely to encounter the subject.
For example, investigators can stop anyone they meet at a shopping center, street, store, etc. to ask for an
interview. If the interviewee does not agree, they move on to another subject.
Convenience sampling is often used in exploratory research, to determine the practical significance of the
research problem; or to pre-test the questionnaire to complete it; or when you want to make a rough
estimate of the problem you are interested in without spending a lot of time and money
2. judgment sampling:
It is a method in which the interviewer makes his own judgment about the subjects to be selected for the
sample. Thus, the representativeness of the sample depends heavily on the experience and understanding
of the person organizing the survey and the person collecting the data.
For example, interviewers were asked to go to shopping malls to select elegantly dressed women for
interviews. Thus, there are no specific standards for "what is luxury" but completely rely on judgment to
choose who to interview.

QUESTIONAIRRE DESIGN
Step 1: Determine specifically the data to be collected and the survey objects based on the research
objectives.
 In this first step, the researcher relies on the question: "What information do we need from which
subjects to achieve the research goal?" to fully and detailedly list the information that needs to be
collected. and target audience.
 For example, with the goal of determining the relationship between current customers and bank row
X, ... Survey subjects will decide how to use words, how to ask questions, and question content.
Step 2: Determine interview method
 There are three main interview methods: face-to-face interview, phone interview, and email/electronic
questionnaire interview. For each different method, the researcher will build a different questionnaire
structure.
 In the face-to-face interview method, the survey subject listens to the questions and interacts directly
with the interviewer, so the interviewer can use long and complex questions and at the same time
explain the content. Specific content of each question to avoid survey subjects misunderstanding the
meaning of the question.
Step 3: Determine the content of the question
 The content of the questions is built based on the information listed in step 1. Each question in the
survey plays an important role in achieving the final goal of the research.
 When putting any question in the survey, the researcher needs to answer the following questions: "Is
this question necessary?", "Do the survey subjects understand the question?", "Do they understand the
question?" Is there enough information/ability to answer this question?”, “Are they willing to answer
this question?”
Step 4: Determine the form of the answer
 For a certain question, survey subjects can choose an answer from available answers or answer in
their own language.
 Corresponding to the above two ways of answering, people divide into two types of questions: closed
questions (for example: Which of the following shampoo brands do you like best: Clear, Rejoice,
Sunsilk) and open questions (for example: Do you Which brand of shampoo do you like the most?).
 For researchers, open-ended questions are often difficult to encode during the data entry and analysis
process, and for survey subjects, this type of question requires them to think more to answer, hence
the question format. This question is often used more commonly in qualitative research than in
quantitative research.
Step 5: Determine how words are used
 The way words are used in the survey plays a very important role in designing the survey because it
greatly affects the answers of the survey subjects. For example, if a question is worded unclearly,
respondents may refuse to answer or answer incorrectly.
 To ensure that the survey subject and the researcher are talking about the same issue, the researcher
needs to pay attention to the following: clearly identify the main issue that needs to be asked; Use
simple and common words. When you want to use specialized terms, you need to specifically explain
 that term in the most understandable way; do not use ambiguous words (for example: sometimes,
often, …);
 Avoid suggestive questions (for example: Do you think patriotic Vietnamese should buy imported
products even though this may increase the domestic unemployment rate?); avoid speculative and
estimating questions; Avoid questions that have two answers at once (for example: Is product X cheap
and durable?).
Step 6: Determine the order and format of the questionnaire
 The beginning of the questionnaire should have an introduction so that survey subjects have general
information about the research.
 The main body of the questionnaire should begin with general questions (filtering questions), move
on to questions that specialize in specific issues, and end with demographic information. The main
purpose of the filtering question is to filter out survey subjects that are suitable for the research
objectives (for example: Have you used product X in the last 3 days? If the answer is “yes ", please
answer the next questions. If the answer is "no", thank you very much, you can stop the survey).
 In the main questions section about the research problem, the questions should be arranged in
increasing levels of specificity and difficulty. Besides, questions about sensitive issues should be
placed last. Demographic questions should be placed at the end because survey subjects often tend to
feel uncomfortable and are not willing to provide personal information to strangers.
Step 7: Conduct a mock interview and complete the questionnaire
 Once completed, the questionnaire needs to be tested to eliminate errors (spelling errors, confusing
questions/terms/instructions, incorrect word usage, etc.).
 Mock interviews are conducted by interviewing a few survey subjects, research team members, or
topic leaders, etc. (about 10-15 people). The face-to-face interview method should be applied to some
surveys (even if this is not the method used when conducting the actual survey) because the
interviewer can observe the respondents' reactions. just exploited more points of difficulty when
survey subjects answered questions.
 After editing the necessary content, the survey was used for a second test interview (using different
survey subjects from the first time) for final completion.