CHAPTER ONE

RESEARCH METHODS: AN INTRODUCTION

Research is most frequently used terminology in different academic and business institutions.
Research as conscious and creative human activity involves discovering and learning new things.
Where there is a problem there is always a research. It is an essential tool for understanding
the events and structures of the social world. Research can mean different things to different
people. People have defined research differently according to their perception. Here under we
will see different definitions and perceptions of individuals about research.

1.1 Meaning of Research and Business Research

Different authors in many ways have defined the word research. Research can be defined as “a
careful study to discover correct information” or “a way of collecting information to facilitate
problem solving”. In most simple words, it is “search and search again”.

The term ‘Research’ consists of two words:

Research = Re + Search
‘Re’ means again and again and ‘Search’ means to find out something, the following is the
Process:
Observe Collection of data
Persons Phenomena Conclusions
Again and again Analysis of data
Therefore, research means to observe the phenomena again and again from different dimensions.
For example there are many theories of learning due to the observation from different
dimensions. The research is a process of which a person observes the phenomena again and
again and collects the data and on the basis of data he/she draws some conclusions.
Research is oriented towards the discovery of relationship that exists among phenomena of the
world in which we live. The fundamental assumption is that invariant relationship exists between
certain antecedents and certain consequents so that under a specific set of conditions a certain
consequents can be expected to follow the introduction of a given antecedent.
Research commonly refers to a search for knowledge. Some people consider research as a
movement from known to unknown. It is indeed a voyage of knowledge. For some people on
the other hand research implies an art of scientific investigation to the state of nature or
phenomenon. Authors are increasingly adding new names and definition for different kinds of
research. However, to avoid confusion and unnecessary cumbersomeness let us confine
ourselves to the definitions of research given by selected authors.

Hertz provided the most simplified definition of research. His definition referred research to the
original and creative activities. According to him, Research is the application of human
intelligence in a systematic manner to a problem whose solution is not immediately available.

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Wood on the other hand defined research as an activity comprises of defining and redefining
problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions; collecting, organizing and evaluating
data; making deduction and reaching at conclusion to determine whether they fit the formulated
hypothesis.

Actually research is simply the process of arriving as dependable solution to a problem through
the planned and systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data. Research is the most
important process for advancing knowledge for promoting progress and to enable people to
relate more effectively to his environment to accomplish his purpose and to resolve his conflicts.
Although it is not the only way, it is one of the more effective ways of solving scientific
problems.

Research is an ORGANIZED and

SYSTEMATIC way of FINDING
ANSWERS to QUESTIONS.
SYSTEMATIC because there is a definite set of procedures and steps which you will follow.
There are certain things in the research process which are always done in order to get the most
accurate results.

ORGANIZED in that there is a structure or method in going about doing research. It is a

planned procedure, not a spontaneous one. It is focused and limited to a specific scope.

FINDING ANSWERS is the end of all research. Whether it is the answer to a hypothesis or
even a simple question, research is successful when we find answers. Sometimes the answer is
no, but it is still an answer.

QUESTIONS are central to research. If there is no question, then the answer is of no use.
Research is focused on relevant, useful, and important questions. Without a question, research
has no focus, drive, or purpose.

Business Research

Research is a wide field and has many branches like agricultural research, medical research,
educational research and physiological research. Likewise, business research is an important
sub-sector of research and encompasses: market research, financial research, operation research
and human resource research.

Business research is the application of the scientific method in searching for the truth about
business phenomena. These activities include defining business opportunities and problems,

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generating and evaluating alternative courses of action, and monitoring employee and
organizational performance. Business research is more than conducting surveys. This process
includes idea and theory development, problem definition, searching for and collecting
information, analyzing data, and communicating the findings and their implications.
To be brief, business research is any type of research to identify investment opportunities or start
of a business or subsequent improvement. In start up, we need to know our target customers and
market competition. We need to provide information for attracting potential investors. Research
is a must for analyzing strengths and weaknesses of a company, what customers demand or what
the business is offering. A company can focus to serve customers better or gain over competitors
or merely on its survival.

A business manager faces problem, big or small, on daily basis which should be solved by taking
a right decision. Business research is systematic or a step-by-step approach. It can help the
manager to identify and solve small problems, discriminate good research from a bad one by
studying its scope, methodology, check and balance to ensure authenticity. Sound knowledge of
research would also enable a manager to assume calculated risks rather than total risk while
deciding about a change in procedure or location. A manager participates in all types of decisions
whether strategic, tactical or technical. Once again research would help make a better decision
and at the same time contain the losses to a minimum level should the decision backfires.

An organization can develop a business research department where skilled administrative and
technical personnel can be appointed for a full time research career. Finally, the research job can
be out-sourced to consultant and researchers.

1.2 Motivation of Doing Research

Research is not a trouble free duty rather it is time consuming, tiresome and expensive
undertaking. Despite these all difficulties many people especially in academic institute would
like to carry out research at least once in their life. What are the possible motives of
individuals to undertake research work?

The possible motives for doing research can be either one or a combination of the following.

1) Desire to get degree with its consequential benefit. The graduate and postgraduate students
are required to carry out research project as a partial fulfillment to obtain their master and Ph D.
degree. Research is therefore, prerequisite to complete their study.

2) Desire to get respect and promotion (to own respect in society) in academic and research
institutions publication is crucial for promotion and academic rank. “Publish or perish” is a
phrase commonly used in experienced and well established academic institutes. This implies and
individual should carry out a research activity and publish his findings in scientific or
international journal in order to get respect and academic rank. If not the individual will “perish”

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meaning no proportion or academic rank and hence no respect is possible for that individual in
the academic environment.

3) Desire to face a challenge in solving the unsolved problem. Concern over a particular
problem initiates a researcher.

4) Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work. Doing or participation in some
creative activity will give some professional satisfaction to many individuals. Research will give
the opportunity to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work.

5) Directive of government. Government sometimes gives directives to its employees to carry

out a particular study and investigation for better decision making ground. Ideally and policy
before implementation requires detail study and analysis of its impact on different parts of the
society.

6) Employment condition. Some employers set as criteria at least one publication in

international journal.

1.3. Types of Research

Like its definition research has been classified differently. Generally research can be classified
on the basis of the following traits.

1. On the basis of the outcome of the research: Whether the research tries to solve a particular
problem or makes a general contribution to the knowledge, research can be:

A. Fundamental Research

This form of business research is where the motive is to generate a body of knowledge by
developing an understanding on how certain problems that occur in the organizations could be
solved. There is a definite possibility that organizations might transfer the learning from the
research to the workplace for problem solving. For instance a research carried out at a university
facility on “Motivating Employees in times Recession with Low Pay” could be a useful piece of
work, and could be applied to practical settings when businesses are facing downturn. Thus
research done primarily to enhance understanding on certain problems that commonly occur in
organizations is called basic, fundamental or pure research.

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In general, fundamental research is concerned with the theoretical aspect of science. In other
words it studies the laws of nature, without or regardless of the immediate application of its
findings. Example:

 The relationship between crime and economic status is an example of pure (academic)
research.
 Darwin Theory of Evolution
 Newton’s law of Motion
 Einstein Theory of Relativity

B. Applied research

A research aimed at finding a solution for an immediate problem facing a society, a group or
industry (business organization). The results of such research would be used by either individuals
or groups of decision makers or event by policy makers. Applied form of business research
originates from real work problems that require timely solutions. For example a product may not
be selling well and the manager might want to find the reasons for this in order to take action or
Business is facing problems in retaining employees, or there is higher degree of absenteeism in
the business. All these are problems that require the business to find immediate solutions;
otherwise the business would fail to run smoothly. Thus research carried out with the intention of
applying the results of the findings to solve specific problems is applied business research.

While pure research discovers principles and laws, applied research discovers their application in
solving some social, economical or any other problems. Example:

 The improvement of safety in the working place

 The reduction of wastage in the working places is example of applied research.

2. On the basis of the purpose (the reason why a research is conducted) it can be:

A. Exploratory research (pilot Survey)

It is also called preliminary research. As its name implied, such research is aimed at discovering,
identifying and formulating a research problem and hypothesis. When there are few or no studies
that can be referred such research is needed. The aim of this type of study is to look for patterns,
ideas, or hypothesis, rather than testing or confirming a hypothesis. In exploratory research the
focus is on gaining insights and familiarity with the subject area for more rigorous investigation
at a later stage.

B. Descriptive Research
Descriptive research is a research which describes phenomena as they exist. It is used to
identify and obtain information on the characteristics of a particular problem or issue. The main
purpose of such research is description of the state of nature or affairs as it exists at present. In

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social science and business research we often use the tern ex- post facto research for descriptive
research. The main characteristic of such research is that the researcher has no control over the
variables; he/she can only report what has happened or what is happening. Example:
 What is the absentee rate in office or manufacturing department?
 What is the qualification of different groups of employment?
 Frequency of shopping
 Preferences of people

Ex- post facto studies also include attempts by researchers to discover causes though they cannot
control the variables.

Goals of Descriptive research

 To provide an accurate profile of a group

 To describe a processes, mechanism or relationship
 To provide a verbal or numerical picture about a phenomenon
 To find information to stimulate new explanations
 To present basic back ground information of a context
 To create a set of categories or classify types
 To document information that contradicts prior beliefs about a subject
C. Analytical or explanatory research
Analytical research on the other hand, goes beyond simple description of the state of nature.
When a researcher encounters an issue that is already known and have a description of it you
may begin to ask “why” things are the way they are. Analytical research uses facts or
information already available, and analyzes them to make a critical evaluation of the material.
Not only describe the characteristics, but also it analyzes and explains why and how it happened
or is happening. The information or facts used here can be either qualitative or quantitative

Goals of analytical research

 To determine the accuracy of a principle or a theory

 To find out which competing explanation is better
 To advance knowledge about an underling process
 To link different issues or topics under a common general statement
 To build and elaborate a theory so it becomes more completes
 To extend a theory or principle in to new areas or issues
 To provide evidence to support or refute an explanation or prediction

Example

 How can we reduce the numbers of complaints made by customers?

 How can we expand the range of our services?

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 D. Predictive research

Such research goes beyond explaining why and how things happened. It predicts (forecast) the
possible (probability) of happening similar situation in other places. It tries to explain about the
probability of happening similar thing in the future. Predictive research aims to generalize from
the analysis by predicting certain phenomena on the basis of hypothesized, general relationships.

Example

 How would an increase in interest rate affect our profit margin?

 In which city would it be most profitable to open a new retail outlet?
 What type of packaging will improve the sales of our products?

3. On the basis of the process of research: That is, on the basis of data used in the research
process research can be:

A. Qualitative research:

Such research is applicable for phenomenon that cannot be expressed in terms of quantity. This
related to quality and kind. Research designed to find out how people feel or what they think
about a particular subject or institution is an example of such research.

B. Quantitative research

Quantitative research is on the other hand is concerned with quantitative phenomenon. It is based
on the measurement of quantity or amount. It is applicable for phenomenon that can be expressed
in term of quantity. A quantitative approach involves collecting and analyzing numerical data
and applying statistical tests. Quantitative research is more objective in nature.

4. On the basis of the environment in which the research is carried out research can be

A. Field research: It is a research carried out in the field. Such research is common in social
science, agricultural science, history and archeology.

B. Laboratory research: It is a research carried out in the laboratory. These are commonly
experimental research. Such researchers are common in medical science, agriculture and in
general in natural sciences.

C. Simulation research: Such research uses models to represent the real world. Simulation is
common in physical science, economics and mathematics.

5. On the basis of the time required to complete the research, research can be

a. One time research: It is a research limited to a single time period

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b. Longitudinal research: Such research is also called ongoing research. It is a research carried
out over several time periods.

1.4. Objectives of Research

Any research activity is designed to discover and answer to questions through the application of
scientific procedure. It is an activity amid at finding out the truth which is hidden and which has
not been discovered yet or to verify or reject that the existing phenomenon (theory, principle or
law) accepted as true.

Though each research study has its own specific objectives, any research has got the following
common (general) objectives.

 To generate new knowledge, principle and scientific law

 To review and synthesize existing knowledge. That is, to verify the validity of the
previous work.
 To investigate some existing situation or problem
 To explain new phenomenon
 To examine the cause of the problem
 To examine the nature of the problem
 To provide solution to a problem
 To construct or create a new procedure and new system
 A combination of any one of the above

1.5. Research Process

Before starting the details of research methods, it is appropriate to have a brief overview of the
research processes. Research processes consists of a series of actions or steps, which are
necessary to successfully carry out research activities. These activities (steps) can overlap
continuously rather than the following strictly prescribed sequence. The first step can determine
the nature of the last step to be under taken. These steps are not separated and distinct. They do
not necessarily follow each other in any specific order.

However, the following order of steps provides a useful procedural guide line regarding the
research process:

 Identification and formulating the research problem

 Extensive literature survey

 Developing working hypothesis

 Preparing the research design

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  Determining sample design

 Collecting data

 Execution of the project

 Analysis of the data

 Hypothesis testing

 Generalization and interpretation

 Reporting the result

1.6. Characteristics of Good Research

Good research is characterized by the following characteristics;

1) Good research is systematic: it means that the research is structured with specific step to be
taken in specified sequence in accordance with the well defined step of rules.

2) Good research is logical: this implies that the research is guided by the rules of logically
reasoning and the logical process of induction and deduction are of great value in carrying out
research.

3) Good research is empirical: it implies that research is related basically to one or more
aspects of a real situation and deals with concrete data that provides a basis for internal validity
to research results.

4) Good research is replicable: this characteristic allows research results to be verified by

replicating the study and thereby building a sound basis for decisions.

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