CHAPTER1 INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS RESEARCH What is research

CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS RESEARCH

What is research? Management research is an unbiased, structured, and sequential method of enquiry, directed towards a clear implicit or explicit business objective. This enquiry might lead to validating existing postulates or arriving at new theories and models.

Types of research

Types of research �Basic research : the basic premise is the need to KNOW and the concern is primarily academic in nature. �Applied research: Solution or action oriented research, that is contextual and practical in approach.

Types of research �Exploratory research is loosely structured and the basic premise is to provide direction to subsequent, more structured method of enquiry. �Conclusive research is structured and definite in orientation. These studies are usually conducted to validate formulated hypotheses and specified relationships.

Exploratory vs. Conclusive Research

Conclusive research �Descriptive research: The main goal of this type of research is to describe the data and characteristics about what is being studied. �Causal research: Explores the effect of one or more variables on other variable(s), with reasonable level of certainty by controlling the impact of other influencing variables.

The research process �The management decision problem �Defining the research problem �Formulation of the working hypotheses �Construction of the research proposal

The research process �Formulating the research design �Sampling considerations �Collecting the data for the study �Data analysis and interpretation of findings

Research applications in marketing �Market & consumer analysis �Product research �Pricing research � Promotional research �Place research

Research applications in finance �Asset pricing, capital markets and corporate finance � Financial derivatives and credit risk modeling research �Market-based accounting research �Auditing and accountability �Other areas: financial forecasting, behavioural finance, volatility analysis

Research applications in human resources �Training & development studies �Selection and staffing studies �Performance appraisal–design and evaluation �Organization planning and development �Incentive and benefits studies �Emerging areas–critical factor analysis, employer branding studies

Research applications in production & operations management �Operation planning and design �Demand forecasting and demand estimation �Process planning �Project management and maintenance effectiveness studies �Logistics and supply chain-design and evaluation �Quality estimations and assurance studies

CHARACTERSTICS OF GOOD RESEARCH �MUST have: a clearly stated research purpose/ objective �MUST have: a sequential plan of execution �MUST have: a logical and explicitly stated justification for the selected methods �MUST have: an unbiased and neutral method of conduct and reporting �MUST have: complete transparency and ethical conduction of the research process �MUST have: provision for being reliable & replicable