Research Methods in Business Darryl Carlton Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) Vladivostok http: //www. dvfu. ru April 2014
WORKSHOP CREATING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL Фрмирование диссертации (research proposal) на основе ипользования качественных методов. If I have seen a further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants – Sir Isaac Newton Getting Started by Tolich & Davidson © Pearson 2011
Why Do We Produce a Research Proposal? To enter a doctoral program you are usually required to submit a research proposal of approximately 1000 -2000 words (5 to 8 pages) To attract a Research Grant you will need to be able to present a clear and unambiguous story outlining what the research will cover, how long it will take, and what the anticipated results will be To win Research Projects from business and Government entities you will need to complete a proposal which responds to their request
Where Do We Start? We start at the very beginning! With defining the Research Question
The role of the Research Question How do we define research? A process of asking a question, or a series of related questions, and then initiating a systematic procedure to obtain valid answers to that question. NOTE: According to this view of research, the Research Question is of central importance – it actually drives the research method AND is the starting point for creating the research proposal Slide 5
Structure of the Research Question Formulate a research question • • What phenomenon are you going to study What aspect of this phenomenon Which level will you conduct this research In what context
Research Question Definition: A Research Question is a statement that identifies the phenomenon to be studied ASPECT LEVEL Example: What are the critical success factors, as perceived by IT service providers, for the operation of online IT support services? CONTEXT Slide 7 PHENOMENON
What Phenomenon? What is a Phenomenon? Example: Health Services Corruption Green IT ERP, CRM, SCM E-Commerce B 2 B, B 2 C, C 2 C e. Government ICT and development Slide 8
Which aspect of the phenomenon? FOCUS users, business processes, management and strategy, social and technical struggle, policies and legal aspects, etc. PESTEL Slide 9
Which Level? Individual/work groups/ departments/ organizations/country In what context? “experimental conditions" or "study environment” IS and IT professionals/educators Slide 10
Some checks on the quality of your research question ………. INTERESTING/RELEVANT Does the question deal with a topic or issue that interests me enough to spark my own thoughts and ideas? Is it well grounded in current theoretical and empirical knowledge? Is it important in terms of theory and application (often primarily one or the other)? • Will the project still be current when I finish? CORRECTLY FORMED Is the question researchable (does it fall into one of the standard research question types, with hypotheses (either explicit or implicit) that can be tested, and symmetric outcomes)? FEASIBLE Do I have the research skills needed (or can I acquire them in a feasible amount of time)? What type of information do I need to answer the research question? Is the scope of this information reasonable (eg, can I really research all the different examples of the phenomenon)? Given the type and scope of the information that I need, is my question too broad, too narrow, or okay? What sources will have the type of information that I need to answer the research question (eg, journals, books, government, source documents, interviews/people, . . )? Can I access these sources? Research Methods – R. Smith Slide 11
A good Research Question Should be well grounded in current theoretical and empirical knowledge (know the literature) Should be amenable to the formulation of clear hypotheses and operational definitions Should be important in terms of theory and application (often primarily one or the other) • Should have “symmetrical findings” (ie: of similar value for either outcome)? Slide Research Methods – R. Smith 12
The Structure of Your Research Proposal 1. Working Title 2. Statement of topic and aims 3. Review of the literature and relevant practice 4. The Method or Approach you will take in conducting this research 5. Research Timeline 6. Chapter Outline and thesis breakdown 7. References
The Working Title Give a working title that describes the nature of your project. You may use a ‘poetic’ title, but it is useful to indicate, after a colon, the nature of the study or your approach. Dead Souls: the economic impact of corrupt employment practices in the ship building industry in Vladivostok. Spinning Boris: a study of the effectiveness of US style market research on Russian politics with particular reference to the election campaign of Boris Yeltsin Animal Farm: the failure of command control style governance arrangements in public sector information technology projects
Statement of Topic and Aims Identify the general subject area and outline how your topic relates to the field. Establish why it is a significant topic and what contribution your work will make. “Information Technology project implementation is notoriously poor, with industry reports suggesting high failure rates of large projects (Meiritz, 2012). In recent years there have been a great many reported failures in large scale IT projects in the public sector in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America costing billions of dollars. The causes of these project failures have been reported and studied for decades - poor project planning, a weak business case, and a lack of top management involvement and support (Whittaker, 1995). Despite this apparent knowledge, failures continue and the scope and size of these failures would seem to be increasing and becoming more frequent. It would appear therefore, that either the lessons are not being learned, or the real cause of failures remains unknown. ” (Carlton, 2014)
Review of the Literature and Relevant Practice The literature review is an academic genealogy. As academics, we stand on the shoulders of others. The literature review: 1. 2. Represents a rope stretching back in time. Identifies the layers upon which research is built. REMEMBER: No-one is interested in your opinion
Literature Reviews Review existing research and theory on the topic They point out what questions remain, and relate the research presented in the rest of the article to the existing literature. In sum, a literature review states ‘What do we already know about this topic and what is left to discover? ’ Getting Started by Tolich & Davidson © Pearson 2011
The Method or Approach Primary Research Secondary Research Most research and most research writing involves the use of both forms of research and both forms of research sources
Research Models Broadly speaking there are two major types of research models or research paradigms QUANTITATIVE Traditional, positivist, experimental or empiricist QUALITATIVE Constructivist, naturalistic, interpretive, post-positivist or post-modern perspective Clark, R. J. (2005) Research Methodologies
Research Models (2) Assumption Question Quantitative Qualitative ONTOLOGICAL What is the nature of reality? Reality is objective and singular, apart from the researcher Reality is subjective and multiple as seen by participants in the study EPISTEMOLOGICAL What is the relationship of the researcher to the subject being researched? Researcher is independent from that being researched Researcher interacts with that being researched AXIOLOGICAL What is the role of values? Value free and unbiased Value laden and biased RHETORICAL What is the language of research? Formal, based on set definitions, impersonal voice, use of accepted qualitative words Informal, evolving decisions, personal voice, accepted qualitative words METHODOLOGICAL What is the process of research? Deductive process, cause and effect, static research design – categories isolated before study, context free (independent) generalisations leading to predictions, explanation, and understanding. accurate reliable through validity (testing) Inductive process, mutual simulataneous shaping of factors, emerging design – categories indentified during research process, context bound, patterns and theories developed for understanding, accurate and reliable through verification Clark, R. J. (2005) Research Methodologies
Research Methodologies 1. Historical Qualitative 2. Comparitive Qualitative 3. Descriptive Qualitative 4. Correlation Quantitative 5. Experimental Quantitative 6. Evaluation Qualitative 7. Action Qualitative 8. Ethnographic Mixed methods 9. Feminist Mixed methods 10. Cultural Mixed methods
Research Methodologies 1. Historical 2. Comparitive 3. Descriptive 4. Correlation 5. Experimental 6. Evaluation 7. Action 8. Ethnographic 9. Feminist 10. Cultural The systematic and objective location, evaluation and synthesis of evidence in order to establish facts and draw conclusions about past events
Research Methodologies 1. Historical 2. Comparitive 3. Descriptive 4. Correlation 5. Experimental 6. Evaluation 7. Action 8. Ethnographic 9. Feminist 10. Cultural Often used together with historical research to compare people’s experiences of different societies, either between times in the past of in parallel in the present
Research Methodologies 1. Historical 2. Comparitive 3. Descriptive 4. Correlation 5. Experimental 6. Evaluation 7. Action 8. Ethnographic 9. Feminist 10. Cultural Instead of gatrhering records or artifacts, descriptive research relies on observation as a means of collecting data
Research Methodologies 1. Historical 2. Comparitive 3. Descriptive 4. Correlation 5. Experimental 6. Evaluation 7. Action 8. Ethnographic 9. Feminist 10. Cultural Correlation is a word which describes the statistical measure of association or the relationship between two phenomena
Research Methodologies 1. Historical 2. Comparitive 3. Descriptive 4. Correlation 5. Experimental 6. Evaluation 7. Action 8. Ethnographic 9. Feminist 10. Cultural Researchers try and control every relevant condition which determines the events investigated, so as to observe the effects when the conditions are manipulated
Research Methodologies 1. Historical 2. Comparitive 3. Descriptive 4. Correlation 5. Experimental 6. Evaluation 7. Action 8. Ethnographic 9. Feminist 10. Cultural Three Forms of Evaluation Research: 1. Descriptive: designed to deal with complex social issues. Outcomes do not represent how things are, rather they represent ‘meaningful constructions’ 2. Systems Analysis: holistic type of research involved with indentifying the encompassing whole of which the phenomenon or problem is a part 3. Responsive: in which a series of investigative steps is undertaken in order to evaluate how responsive a program is to all those taking part in it
Research Methodologies 1. Historical 2. Comparitive 3. Descriptive 4. Correlation 5. Experimental 6. Evaluation 7. Action 8. Ethnographic 9. Feminist 10. Cultural Experimental research carried out in the real world, engaged with participants. Usually involves small scale interventions to measure the effects and indentify findings
Research Methodologies 1. Historical 2. Comparitive 3. Descriptive 4. Correlation 5. Experimental 6. Evaluation 7. Action 8. Ethnographic 9. Feminist 10. Cultural Researchers are interested in how subjects of the research theorise about their own behaviour rather than imposing theory from outside
Research Methodologies 1. Historical 2. Comparitive 3. Descriptive 4. Correlation 5. Experimental 6. Evaluation 7. Action 8. Ethnographic 9. Feminist 10. Cultural Feminist/Identity Politics Research: no single set of methodologies rather a related set of practices which start from a position on research which says that gender and issues of identity politics must be considered as an influential category of social theory
Research Methodologies 1. Historical 2. Comparitive 3. Descriptive 4. Correlation 5. Experimental 6. Evaluation 7. Action 8. Ethnographic 9. Feminist 10. Cultural Many of the prevailing theoretical debates (post-modern, post-structuralism) are concerned with language and cultural interpretation – these issues are central to sociological studies. Three approaches used are: 1. Content analysis 2. Semiotics 3. Discourse Analysis
The Research Timeline
Chapter Outline - QUANTITATIVE 1. Introduction 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 2. 3. Review of the literature Methods 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 4. Context (statement of the problem) Purpose of the study Research Questions or Objectives or Hypotheses Theoretical Perspectives Definition of Terms Limitations of the study Research design Sample, population, or subjects Instrumentation and materials Variables in the study Data analysis Appendices: Instruments
Chapter Outline - QUALITATIVE 1. Introduction 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Statement of the problem Purpose of the study The ‘Grand Tour Question” and subquestions Definition of Terms Limitations of the study Significance of the study 2. Procedure 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Assumptions and rationale for qualitative design The type of design used The role of the researcher Data collection procedures Data reduction/analysis procedures Methods for verification Outcome of the study and its relation to theory and literature 3. Appendices
References 1. Citation: Bell, C. 2008. ‘ 100% PURE New Zealand: Branding for backpackers’. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 14 (4): 345– 55. 2. Keywords: Backpackers • branding • environment • green • internet • landscape • sustainability • tourism 3. Design: A qualitative or ethnographic account based on 25 interviews with backpacker hostel managers. The paper is theoretically informed with 54 references situating the piece. Getting Started by Tolich & Davidson © Pearson 2011
Some References: Saunders, M. , Lewis, P. , and Thornhill, A. (2007) “Research Methods for Business Students”, Prentice Hall Salkind, Neil J. (2008) “Exploring Research”, Prentice Hall Formulating Research Questions (2003) URL: http: //stream. cc. gt. atl. ga. us/powerpoints/Fisk/research%20 questions% 202003. pdf Developing a Research Question (2008) URL: http: //www. esc. edu/esconline/across_esc/writerscomplex. nsf/0/f 8 7 fd 7182 f 0 ff 21 c 852569 c 2005 a 47 b 7 Formulating a Research Question (2008) URL: http: //www. theresearchassistant. com/tutorial/2 -1. asp Slide 36
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