business research methodology

Copyright Reserved by Dr. Kanlaya Vanichbuncha 1

Business Research Methodology

by

Associate Prof. Dr. Kanlaya Vanichbuncha

Faculty of Commerce & Accountancy

Chulalongkorn University


Research

• The systematic and objective process of gathering, recording, and analyzing data for aid in making business decision


Type of Research

1. Basic Research

2. Applied Research


Basic Research (Pure Research)

• Research that is intended to expand the boundaries of knowledge itself; conducted to verify the acceptability of a given theory.


Applied Research

• Answer questions about specific problems or to make decisions about a particular course of action or policy decision.


Type of Business Research

• Exploratory Research

• Descriptive Research

• Casual Research


Exploratory Research

Both quantitative and qualitative techniques are applied.

Objectives:

• Diagnostic a situation

• Screening alternatives

• Discovering new ideas


Exploratory Studies

• Initial research conducted to clarify and define the nature of a problem.

• Exploratory studies are conducted to clarify ambiguous problems.

• “Would people be interested in our new product idea?”


Types of Exploratory Research

• Experience Survey

• Secondary Data Analysis

• Case Study Method

• Pilot Studies



1.Experience Survey

An exploratory research technique in which individuals who are knowledgeable about a particular research problem are surveyed.

• Interviews a small number of experienced people who have been carefully selected (not random).


2.Secondary Data Analysis

Preliminary review of data collected for another purpose to clarify issues in the early stage of research effort

• Save time and money

• Important in applied research



3.Case Study Method

An exploratory research technique that intensively investigates one or a few situations to the research’s problem situation.



4.Pilot Studies (For Qualitative Analysis)

A collective term used to describe any small-scale exploratory research technique that uses sampling, but does not apply rigorous standards.

• Collect primary data from general samples (employees, consumers, etc.)



Types of Pilot Studies

• Focus Group

• Depth Interview


I. Focus Group Interview

An unstructured, free-flowing interview with a small groups of people.

• New-product concept

• Reaction toward a new-product concept

Consist of moderator and 6-20 participants who discuss a single topics.


Advantages of Focus Group

• Easy to execute

• Quick

• Snowballing

• Stimulation

• Security


Focus Group

• Homogeneity Group

• Telephone

• Online

• Videoconference


II. Depth Interview

A relatively unstructured, extensive interview used in the primary stages of the research process.


Descriptive Research

• Research designed to describe characteristics of a population or a phenomenon.

• Describe characteristics of a population

• Seek to determine the answers to who, what, when, where, and how questions.

• “What kind of people favor…?”

• “Why do you feel that way?”


Casual Research

• Research conducted to identify cause-effect relationships among variables where the research problem has already been narrowly defined.

• “Predicting the influence of price, packaging, advertising on sales”


Scientific Method

• Techniques or procedures used to analyze empirical evidence in an attempt to confirm or disprove prior conceptions.


Stage in Research Process

1. Defining the Problem

2. Planning a Research Design

3. Planning a Sample

4. Gathering the Data

5. Processing and Analyzing the Data

6. Formulating Conclusions and Preparing the Report


Defining the Problem

Planning a Research Design

Planning a Sample

Gathering the Data

Processing and Analyzing the Data

Formulating Conclusion and Preparing the Report


Flowchart of the

Research Process


Problem Discovery

Selection of ExploratoryResearch Technique

Secondary

Data

Pilot

Survey

Experience

Survey

Case

Study

Problem Definition Research Objectives A

Flowchart of the Research Process



A

Selection of BasicResearch Method

ObservationSecondary

Data

Experiment

Lab

Field

Survey

Interview

Questionnaire

B

Research Design



B

Selection of Sample Design

Sampling

Probability Non-Probability

Collection DataData Gathering C



C

Editing and Coding Data

Data Processing

Interpretation of Finding

Report

Data Processing and Analysis

Continuous and Report


Research Objective

• The purpose of the research in measurable terms; the definition of what the research should accomplish.


Example of Business Problem Translated into Research Objective

Problem / Questions

Research Questions

Research Objectives

1. Do employees with ≥ 10 years of services have different awareness levels, etc. than employees with < 10 years of services?

Do the answers to the above questions differ by employee’s years of services?

To compare levels of awareness, evaluation etc. managers with ≥ 10 years of service with managers with < 10 years of service,


Example of Business Problem Translated into Research Objective

Problem / Questions

Research Questions

Research Objectives

2. Should the services be provided by in-house personnel or outside consultants?

- Would managers prefer in-house personnel or outside consultants?

- How much would each alternative cost?

- To measure managers’ perceived benefits and disadvantages of in-house versus outside consultants.

- To measure managers’ preference of alternative if discharge occurred.

- To identify costs associated with each alternative.


Scale

Type of Scale Numerical Operation Descriptive Statistics

Nominal Counting Frequency in each category

Percentage in each category

Mode

Ordinal Rank ordering Median

Range

Percentile ranking

Interval Arithmetic operation in intervals between numbers

Mean

Standard deviation

Variance

Scale Arithmetic operation in actual quantities

Geometric mean

Coefficient of variation


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business research methodology

Documents

particular research

primary data

new product idea

newproduct concept reaction

business decisioncopyright

small groups of people

advantages of focus

researchs problem situation