Research Fundamentals Business Research Methods Methods of Knowing

Research Fundamentals Business Research Methods 研究方法論

Methods of Knowing • • Method of tenacity Method of authority Method of intuition Method of science 研究方法論

Research • Research is a systematic inquiry aimed at providing information to solve problems --Cooper & Emory • A systematic investigation towards increasing the sum of knowledge -- Buckley et. al. 研究方法論

Research Conditions • Orderly investigation of a defined problem • Scientific method be used • Adequate representative evidence be gathered • Logical reasoning be employed • Demonstrate the validity of research conclusions • Yield general principles or laws that may be applied 研究方法論

Business Research • Defined as the systematic and objective process of gathering, recording, and analyzing data for aid in making business decisions --Zikmund • Defined as a systematic inquiry that provides information to guide business decisions -- Cooper & Emory 研究方法論

Basic (Pure) Research • Develop and evaluate concepts and theories • Attempt to expand the limits of knowledge • Be conducted to verify the acceptability of a given theory or to know more about a certain concept • An example – Whether or not an individual’s perception that he or she was doing well on a task would have any influence on future performance 研究方法論

Applied Research • Encompass those studies undertaken to answer questions about specific problems or to make decisions about a particular course of action or policy • An example – An organization contemplating a paperless office and a networking system for the company’s personal computers may conduct research to learn the amount of time its employees spend at personal computers in an average week 研究方法論

Purpose of Study • • • Reporting Description Explanation Prediction Control 研究方法論

Scientific Research • Systematic, controlled, empirical , and critical investigation of natural phenomena guided by theory and hypotheses about the presumed relations among such phenomena • Observations are controlled and alternative explanations of the outcome are ruled out • Test subjective beliefs against objective reality and have the findings open to further scrutiny and testing 研究方法論

What Is Good Research? • The purpose of the research should be clearly defined and sharply delineated in terms as unambiguous as possible • The research procedures used should be described in sufficient detail to permit another researcher to repeat the research • The procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to yield results that are as objective as possible 研究方法論

What Is Good Research? (Cont. ) • The research should report flaws in procedural design and estimate their effect upon the findings • Analysis of the data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance, and the methods of analysis used should be appropriate • Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of the research and limited to those for which the data provide an adequate basis 研究方法論