Lecture 1: Introduction to

Research
Advance Research Methods
 Learning Outcomes
• Describe what research is and how it is
defined.
• Distinguish between applied and basic
research
• Rationale
• Types
• The process
 What research is
• Research is a search for what is the actual reality is (Epistemology and
Ontology)

• Research is a systematic process

• Research is an unbiased organized effort

• Research is a journey

• Confirmation of established dogmas

• Problem Identification and problem solutions

 What research is
• Research is scientific

• Research is unbiased quest for answering

questions

• Research is Data based

 What research is
• We can now define research as an organized,
systematic, data-based, critical, objective,
scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific
problem or confirmation of an established
theories or dogma etc, undertaken with the
purpose of finding answers or solutions to it
 Rationale (Why Research)
• Without research it was impossible to experience the modern
day world

• It was always due to human quest to strive for ease and utility
that led discoveries and inventions that nobody had taught to
exist

• Think about a joint stock company

• Some researchers must have thought about such funding

arrangement
Research in Management Sciences
• In management, research is usually primarily conducted to
resolve problematic issues in, or interrelated among, the
areas of accounting, finance, management, and
marketing.
•
• In Accounting, budget control systems, practices, and
procedures are frequently examined. Inventory costing
methods, accelerated depreciation, time-series behavior
of quarterly earnings, transfer pricing, cash recovery rates,
and taxation methods are some of the other areas that are
researched.
 TYPES OF RESEARCH: APPLIED AND BASIC

• Research done with the intention of applying the results of

the findings to solve specific problems currently being
experienced in the organization is called applied research.

• Research done chiefly to enhance the understanding of

certain problems that commonly occur in organizational
settings, and seek methods of solving them, is called basic or
fundamental research. It is also known as pure research.
 TYPES OF RESEARCH: APPLIED AND BASIC

• For example, a particular product may not be

selling well and the manager might want to
find the reasons for this in order to take
corrective action. Such research is called
applied research. The other is to generate a
body of knowledge by trying to comprehend
how certain problems that occur in
organizations can be solved. This is called
basic research.
 ETHICS AND RESEARCH
• Ethics in research refers to a code of conduct
or expected societal norm of behavior while
conducting research.
• Ethical conduct applies to the organization and
the members that sponsor the research, the
researchers who undertake the research, and
the respondents who provide them with the
necessary data.
 ETHICS AND RESEARCH
• The observance of ethics begins with the
person instituting the research, who should do
so in good faith, pay attention to what the
results indicate, and surrendering the ego,
pursue organizational rather than self-
interests.
 THE FEATURES OF RESEARCH

• Purposiveness
• Rigor
• Testability
• Replicability, reproducibility
• Precision, Accuracy and Confidence
• Objectivity
• Generalizability
• Parsimony
• Limitation of scientific Inquiry
 Rigor

• As a concept, rigor is perhaps best thought of

in terms of the quality of the research process.
In essence, a more rigorous research process
will result in more trustworthy findings
 Testability

• Testability refers to the ability to run an experiment

to test a hypothesis or theory. When designing a
research hypothesis, the questions being asked by
the researcher must be testable or the study
becomes impossible to provide an answer to the
inquiry. Testability refers not only to methods used
for the investigation but also the constraints of the
researcher. Some questions are unable to be
answered due to limited access or inability to
implement the investigation
 Replicability

• In science, replication is the process of

repeating research to determine the extent to
which findings generalize across time and
across situations.
 Precision and Confidence
• Precision and accuracy are two ways that scientists
think about error. Accuracy refers to how close a
measurement is to the true or accepted value.
Precision refers to how close measurements of the
same item are to each other. Precision is independent
of accuracy. That means it is possible to be very
precise but not very accurate, and it is also possible to
be accurate without being precise. The best quality
scientific observations are both accurate and precise.
•  
 Objectivity
• Scientific objectivity is a characteristic of
scientific claims, methods and results. It
expresses the idea that the claims, methods
and results of science are not, or should not
be influenced by particular perspectives, value
commitments, community bias or personal
interests, to name a few relevant factors. 
 Generalizability
• It can be defined as the extension of research
findings and conclusions from a study conducted
on a sample population to the population at
large. While the dependability of this extension
is not absolute, it is statistically probable.
Because sound generalizability requires data on
large populations, quantitative research --
experimental for instance -- provides the best
foundation for producing broad generalizability. 
 Parsimony
• The ultimate goal of scientific research is to generate
theories to explain and predict behavior. Theories are
based on a set of assumptions that support collected
data and scientific observation. The application of
parsimony or Ockham’s (or Occam’s) razor is critically
important to theory development as it advocates for
simplicity over complexity and necessity over the
surplus to explain a given phenomenon. 
• It is variously paraphrased by statements like "the
simplest explanation is most likely the right one". 
 Limitation of scientific Inquiry
• Clearly, the scientific method is a powerful tool, but it does have its
limitations. These limitations are based on the fact that a hypothesis
must be testable and that experiments and observations be repeatable. 

• Science is incapable of making value judgments. It cannot say global

warming is bad, for example. It can study the causes and effects of global
warming and report on those results, but it cannot assert that driving
SUVs is wrong or that people who haven't replaced their regular light
bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs are irresponsible. Occasionally,
certain organizations use scientific data to advance their causes. This
blurs the line between science and morality and encourages the creation
of "pseudo-science," which tries to legitimize a product or idea with a
claim that has not been subjected to rigorous testing.
 Deduction and Induction
• Deductive reasoning is a basic form of valid reasoning. Deductive
reasoning, or deduction, starts out with a general statement, or
hypothesis, and examines the possibilities to reach a specific,
logical conclusion

• "In deductive inference, we hold a theory and based on it we

make a prediction of its consequences. That is, we predict what
the observations should be if the theory were correct. We go
from the general — the theory — to the specific — the
observations," said Dr. Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, a researcher
and professor emerita at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
 Deduction and Induction
• "In inductive inference, we go from the specific to the
general. We make many observations, discern a
pattern, make a generalization, and infer an
explanation or a theory,“

• Inductive reasoning is the opposite of deductive

reasoning. Inductive reasoning makes broad
generalizations from specific observations. Basically,
there is data, then conclusions are drawn from the
data. This is called inductive logic
THE HYPOTHETICO-DEDUCTIVE METHOD

• The Seven-Step Process in the Hypothetic

Deductive Method
• 1. Observation
• 2. Preliminary information gathering
• 3. Theory formulation
• 4. Hypothesizing
• 5. Further scientific data collection
• 6. Data analysis
• 7. Deduction
 1. Observation

• Observation is the first stage, in which one

senses that certain changes are occur-ring, or
that some new behaviors, attitudes, and
feelings are surfacing in one‘s environment
(i.e., the workplace). When the observed
phenomena are seen to have potentially
important consequences, one would proceed
to the next step.
Preliminary Information Gathering
• Preliminary information gathering involves the
seeking of information in depth, of what is
observed. This could be done by talking
informally to several people in the work
setting or to clients, or to other relevant
sources, thereby gathering information on
what is happening and why.
 Theory Formulation
• Theory formulation, the next step, is an attempt
to integrate all the information in a logical
manner, so that the factors responsible for the
problem can be conceptualized and tested. The
theoretical framework formulated is often
guided by experience and intuition. In this step
the critical variables are examined as to their
contribution or influence in explaining why the
problem occurs and how it can be solved.
 Hypothesizing
• Hypothesizing is the next logical step after theory
formulation. From the theorized network of associations
among the variables, certain testable hypotheses or
educated inferences can be generated.

• Hypothesis testing is called deductive research.

Sometimes, hypotheses that were not originally
formulated do get generated through the process of
induction. That is, after the data are obtained, some
creative insights occur, and based on these, new
hypotheses could get generated to be tested later.
Further Scientific Data Collection
• After the development of the hypotheses,
data with respect to each variable in the
hypotheses need to be obtained. In other
words, further scientific data col- lection is
needed to test the hypotheses that are
generated in the study.
 Data Analysis and Deduction
• In the data analysis step, the data gathered
are statistically analyzed to see if the
hypotheses that were generated have been
supported.

• Deduction is the process of arriving at

conclusions by interpreting the meaning of the
results of the data analysis.