BUSINESS RESEARCH

METHODS
Prof.Radhika Kiran Kumar
Indira Institute of Business Management
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OBJECTIVES OF THIS
SUBJECT
» IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH
» VARIOUS METHODS TO USE TO
INVESTIGATE PROBLEMS
» DATA COLLECTION
» INTERPRET THE DATA TO MAKE
MEANINGFUL DECISIONS
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CONTENTS
» RESEARCH » QUESTIONNAIRE
» RESEARCH DESIGN
PROBLEM » SAMPLING
» RESEARCH » ANALYSIS OF DATA
HYPOTHESES » HYPOTHESES
» RESEARCH DESIGN TESTING
» DATA COLLECTION » CHI-SQUARE
» ATTITUDE ANALYSIS
MEASUREMENT » ANOVA
» REPORT WRITING
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WHAT IS RESEARCH?
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RESEARCH

A Systematic
and scholarly A journey
An Attitude of An attempt to application from known
Re + Search
enquiry elicit facts of the to unknown
Scientific
method
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WHAT IS BUSINESS
RESEARCH?
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BUSINESS RESEARCH
» Business research is a systematic and
objective inquiry that provides information
to guide managerial decisions, which are
arrived at through a process of planning,
acquiring, analyzing, and disseminating
relevant data to decision-makers in ways that
mobilize the organization to take appropriate
actions to maximize business performance.
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Example of Business Research

» Let say there’s an automobile company that is planning to
launch a car that runs on CNG. In order to promote
cleaner fuel, the company will be involved in developing
different plans and strategies to identify the demand of the
car they are intending to launch. Other than this, the
company will also look for competitors, the target
audience, keeping in mind the distribution of CNG in
India. Hence the researches are conducted on various
ideas to formulate a sustainable and more efficient
design.
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WHAT IS RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY?
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Use of
Identification
Information

Dissemination Collection

Analysis
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Research methods vs Research

Methodology
METHODS METHODOLOGY
The techniques and The theory of how research
procedures to obtain data. should be undertaken
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Types of
Research

In view point
of

Types of
Sources of
Application Objectives Information
Data
Sought
 Types of Business research
based on application
» 1.Applied research
» Is to solve a current problem faced by the manager in the work
setting,demanding a timely solution.
» 2.Basic research (fundamental, pure)
» Is to generate a body of knowledge by trying to comprehend how certain
problems that occur in organizations can be solved.
» The findings of such research contribute to the building of knowledge in
the various functional areas of business.
Examples of Applied Research
» A study into the ways of improving the levels of
customer retention for Wall-Mart in China
» An investigation into the ways of improving
employee motivation in Marriot Hotel
» Development of strategies to introduce change in
Starbucks global supply-chain management with
the view on cost reduction

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Examples of Basic Research
» A critical analysis of product placement as an
effective marketing strategy
» An investigation into the main elements of brands
and branding
» A study of factors impacting each stage of
product life cycle

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Exploratory Research

» The name implies, intends merely to explore the research questions

and does not intend to offer final and conclusive solutions to
existing problems.
» This type of research is usually conducted to study a problem that
has not been clearly defined yet.
» Conducted in order to determine the nature of the problem,
exploratory research is not intended to provide conclusive evidence,
» Helps us to have a better understanding of the problem.
» When conducting exploratory research, the researcher ought to be
willing to change his/her direction as a result of revelation of new
data and new insights.
Examples of Exploratory Research Design

» A study into the role of social networking sites as an

effective marketing communication channel
» An investigation into the ways of improvement of quality of
customer services within hospitality sector in Mumbai
» An assessment of the role of corporate social responsibility
on consumer behaviour in pharmaceutical industry in the
India
 Advantages of Exploratory Research

• Flexibility and adaptability to change

• Exploratory research is effective in laying the
groundwork that will lead to future studies
• Exploratory studies can potentially save time and
other resources by determining at the earlier stages
the types of research that are worth pursuing
 Disadvantages of Exploratory Research

» Exploratory studies generate qualitative information and

interpretation of such type of information is subject to bias
» These types of studies usually make use of a modest
number of samples that may not adequately represent the
target population. Accordingly, findings of exploratory
research cannot be generalized to a wider population.
» Findings of such type of studies are not usually useful in
decision making in a practical level.
 Differences between Exploratory and Conclusive Research

⋄ Exploratory studies result in a range of causes and alternative options

for a solution of a specific problem
⋄ Conclusive studies identify the final information that is the only
solution to an existing research problem.
» Exploratory research design simply explores the research questions,
leaving room for further researches
» Conclusive research design is aimed to provide final findings for the
research
» An exploratory study may not have as rigorous as methodology as it is
used in conclusive studies, and sample sizes may be smaller
» But it helps to do the exploratory study as methodically as possible, if it
is going to be used for major decisions about the way we are going to
conduct our next study
Conclusive Research
» Conclusive research design, as the name implies, is applied to generate
findings that are practically useful in reaching conclusions or decision-
making.
» In this type of studies research objectives and data requirements need
to be clearly defined.
» Findings of conclusive studies usually have specific uses.
» Conclusive research design provides a way to verify and quantify
findings of exploratory studies.
» Conclusive research design usually involves the application of
quantitative methods of data collection and data analysis.
» Moreover, conclusive studies tend to be deductive in nature and
research objectives in these types of studies are achieved via testing
hypotheses.
 Factor Conclusive Exploratory
Objectives To test hypothesis and relationships To get insights and understanding

Information needs are loosely

Information needs a clearly defined defined
Research process is formal and Research process is unstructured
structured and flexible
Characteristics Large representative sample
Small, non-representative sample
Data analysis is quantitative
Primary data analysis is qualitative

Findings Conclusive Only tentative

Findings used as input to decision Generally followed by further
Outcome
making exploratory conclusive research
Main differences between conclusive and exploratory Research Design
It has to be noted that “conclusive research is more likely to use statistical
tests, advanced analytical techniques, and larger sample sizes, compared with
exploratory studies.
Conclusive research is more likely to use quantitative, rather than qualitative
techniques”. Conclusive research is helpful in providing a reliable or representative
picture of the population through the application of valid research instrument.
Conclusive research design can be divided into two categories: descriptive research
and causal research.
Descriptive research is used to describe some functions or characteristics of
phenomenon and can be further divided into the following groups:
Case study
Case series study
Cross-sectional study
Longitudinal study
Retrospective study
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RESEARCH PROCESS
PROCESS 25

Formulating the Development of

Extensive
research working
Literature survey
problem hypotheses

Preparing the Determining Collecting the

research design sample design data

Execution of the Hypothesis

Analysis of data
project testing

Generalizations
Preparation of
and
the report
interpretation
Research Process in Flow Chart
Criteria of Good Research
Logical Empirical

Systematic Replicable
Good
Research

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THANKS!
Any questions?