What is 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”.
Formal definition as given in Encarta Dictionary is: “A methodical investigation into a subject in order to discover facts, to establish or revise a theory, or to develop a plan of action based on the facts discovered.”
Formal definition as given in Encarta Dictionary is: “A methodical investigation into a subject in order to discover facts, to establish or revise a theory, or to develop a plan of action based on the facts discovered.”
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What is a business Research
Research is a wide field and has many branches like agricultural research, medical research and physiological Research. Likewise, business research is an important sub-sector of research and encompasses: market research, financial research and human resource research.
To be brief, business research is any type of research to identify investment opportunities or start of a business or subsequent improvement. In startup, 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.
As per books of Business Research, the definition is: “An organized, systematic, data-based, critical, scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem, undertaken with the objective of finding answers or solution to it.”
To be brief, business research is any type of research to identify investment opportunities or start of a business or subsequent improvement. In startup, 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.
As per books of Business Research, the definition is: “An organized, systematic, data-based, critical, scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem, undertaken with the objective of finding answers or solution to it.”
Research only helps in making better decisions.
At the outset, it may be mentioned that business research or for that matter any research does not give an absolute answer to any problem but only assist in making a good decision. Research is one of the four factors for making appropriate and sustainable decisions leading to welfare of the business and eventually its owners.
While designing Sony Walkman, the market research recommended a portable gadget having both recording and playing functions. But Ibuka, the Chairman, overruled the idea and approved only playing function. He had a vision that this would not only make the apparatus cheaper but also lighter leading to high demand. The product was introduced accordingly and was an instant success.
While designing Sony Walkman, the market research recommended a portable gadget having both recording and playing functions. But Ibuka, the Chairman, overruled the idea and approved only playing function. He had a vision that this would not only make the apparatus cheaper but also lighter leading to high demand. The product was introduced accordingly and was an instant success.
Who does Research?
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.
RESEARCH PROCESS
Any research involves several chronological steps, but that does not mean each step must be completed before the next step is undertaken. Furthermore, the process of research is dynamic and the process may change as the research progresses. The steps involved in most research endeavors are shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1
The Research Process
The Research Process
THE RESEARCH QUESTION
Managers' needs for information are the primary source of problem definition and the research question. Managers need information to make educated decisions arising from unanticipated as well as planned changes. As such, managers must select between different alternatives and thus require information about the organization and its environment. The question to be answered or the problem to be solved must first be clearly defined. Questions to be answered could be very specific or extremely broad. The more specific the questions, the easier it will be to answer the research questions. There might be hypotheses that could be tested scientifically. Once the questions to be answered are clearly defined then the value of the research must be assessed. Clearly, if the costs of performing the research project exceed the value that the research will provide, then the project should not be continued.THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Research endeavors require a proposal that explains the problem to be address and the procedure by which the questions will be answered. The researcher's proposal tells the managers what they should expect from the research. It is a contract between the managers and the researcher. For instance, if a company wants to know the degree to which its new incentive program is effective in improving employee performance, then the consultant or employee conducting the research will create a proposal that indicates to that company how the question will be addressed and what specific information the company will have at the end of the research process. The proposal may indicate, for example, that the research will indicate the level of satisfaction of employees with the new incentive plan, the increased firm performance with the plan, and the individual increases in performance (as measured by managers) with the incentive plan. The purpose of the research proposal is to effectively guide the researchers in their development of the research design and data collection to answer the specific research questions.RESEARCH DESIGN
Once the proposal is approved, the researcher has a foundation for development of the research design. The plan for conducting the research is the research design. There are two general forms of research design, namely non-experimental (ex-post-facto) and experimental. In a non-experimental design, the researcher does not control or alter any of the independent variables. The researcher merely studies existing situations, variables, and the interrelation among variables and reports the results of his or her findings. The two major non-experimental designs are field studies and surveys. Field studies combine literature review and possibly analysis of some case studies. For example, if one is interested in determining the effectiveness of total quality management (TQM), there will be a thorough literature search on the topic as well as a study of the firms that have applied TQM and have been successful. A literature review means that a researcher identifies previous writings and research on a topic, summarizes the current knowledge on the topic, and assesses the value of that prior research on the current problem. On the other hand, surveys deal with the formulation of a questionnaire (survey instrument) by which one can measure the magnitude of the desired variables as well as the interrelation among the variables. Non-experimental designs are primarily exploratory in nature and provide descriptive measures and can also be used for predictive purposes.There are two broad categories of experimental designs: field and laboratory. In both field experiments and laboratory experiments, the researcher controls and may alter and introduce some variables in order to determine the effect of a given variable. Field experiments are done in a natural setting, whereas laboratory experiments are undertaken in a simulated setting. Studies on the effectiveness of different configurations of teams and their level of effectiveness can be undertaken in both field and office settings. In an office setting, a researcher might organize workplace teams, using different criteria to establish each, then measure the success of their group interactions and their productivity on real work tasks. This would be a natural setting, except for the way in which teams were organized. Team composition could also be studied in a laboratory in which the researchers had complete control over more variables. To study team effectiveness in a laboratory setting, individuals would be placed in teams using different criteria, then asked to perform a series of tasks specially designed to measure team interactions and performance. This laboratory setting would allow the researcher more control, because the types of individuals involved could be chosen, rather than using only the employees available in a field setting; by designing tasks specific to the study, rather than using existing work tasks; and by having more ability to watch and measure team performance without hindering organizational performance.
DATA COLLECTION
Data collection is the process of gathering the specific information used to answer the research questions. There are a number of issues associated with data collection, including the use of primary or secondary data, survey design, sampling, survey administration, and increasing response rates.PRIMARY DATA AND SECONDARY DATA.
Data can be primary or secondary, and whether one or both are used, and which is used, depends largely on the research question and the availability of these data sources. Secondary data refer to data gathered by others or from other studies. Secondary data is generally less costly and less time consuming than gathering primary data, typically is accumulated before primary data is gathered, and may even help determine the course by which primary data is pursued. An example of secondary data is if a company uses data from the U.S. Census or data collected for another organizational activity (e.g., performance information for individuals from the company's annual performance appraisal). While secondary data can be used for background information about specific research, it may also answer some specific research questions. However, because secondary data was collected for another purpose, it may not adequately address the new research question. In today's world of rapidly growing information technologies, secondary data are available from numerous sources. A researcher should explore the existing data before starting the research process, since there are datasets for many different types of information currently available. There are abundant data available in literature, company records, government publications, trade associations, and through the Internet.Primary data is that which is collected by the researcher to address the current research question. Types of primary data include subject demographics, lifestyle characteristics, attitudes, knowledge, intentions, motivations, and behavior. Demographic data includes statistics regarding populations, such as age, sex, income, level of education, and so forth. Lifestyle characteristics describe a respondent's activities, interests, and opinions. Attitudes refer to views and opinions about things, events, or ideas. Knowledge is the degree to which respondents are aware of these things, events, or ideas. Intentions generally refer to a respondent's planned future behavior. Motivations describe the reasons behind a respondent's behavior. Behavior is related to what respondents do.
Primary data can be collected in the field or the laboratory through communication and observation. Communication generally requires the direct questioning of respondents via a paper-and-pencil survey (i.e., questionnaire) or telephone survey. Observation involves the direct recording of respondent behavior. Surveys are probably the most common design in business research. For instance, if one is interested in determining the success of TQM, a survey can be designed that encompasses questions regarding elements of success, strengths, weaknesses, and other questions dealing with TQM. Then the survey can be sent to companies that have been successful in implementing TQM. The survey results could shed light on many aspects of TQM.
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