Business Research Methods

1. Research defined
• “The systematic investigation into and study of materials, sources, etc.,
in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions” Oxford English dictionary
• “A process of finding out information and investigating the unknown to solve a problem” Maylor
and Blackmon (2005)
• “Something that people undertake in order to find out things in a systematic way, thereby
increasing their knowledge” Saunders et al (2007, p.5)
• Systematic and organized study and investigation, especially to discover new facts.
• Gathering information needed to answer a question, and thereby help in solving a problem.
• Includes conformation of existing facts, review of existing knowledge.
• Pure / basic versus applied research.
Business research is defined as the systematic and objective process of generating information for aid
in making business decisions.
OR
 seeks to predict and explain all phenomena that comprise the ever-changing business
environment.
finds answers that :
 (a) improve business performance, and
 (b) improve the lives of customers, employees and owners.
Research Types:
Applied research is research undertaken to solve practical problems rather than to acquire knowledge
for knowledge sake.
Basic research is experimental and theoretical work undertaken to acquire new knowledge without
looking for long-term benefits other than the advancement of knowledge.
Kind of Research Key Characteristics
Basic research Focuses on generating fundamental knowledge
Applied research Focuses on real-world questions and applications

2. Pedantic Science is characterised by a focus on increasing methodological rigour at the expense of
results that are relevant. This can sometimes be found in refereed academic journals
Popularist Science is characterised by a focus on relevance and usefulness while neglecting theoretical
and methodological rigour, examples being found in some books targeted at practising managers.
Consequently, while findings might be useful to managers, the research upon which they are based is
unlikely to be valid or reliable.
Puerile Science both lacks methodological rigour and is of limited practical relevance and, although
unlikely to be found in refereed academic journals, can be found in other media.
Pragmatic Science is both theoretically and methodologically rigorous and relevant.
Rigour: the quality of being extremely thorough and careful, severity or strictness

3. Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter you should be able to:
• identify the characteristics of a good research topic;
• generate and refine ideas to choose a suitable research topic;
• express your research topic as a clear research question(s), and as an aim and objectives;
• understand the relationship between the research question(s), research aim and research objectives;
• recognize the role of theory in developing the research question(s), research aim and research
objectives;
• develop a written research proposal that outlines your proposed research project.
LO: 1 identify the characteristics of a good research topic:
A good research topic includes three characteristics:
1. Appropriateness
2. Capability
3. Fulfillment
Appropriateness: is it worthwhile?
Appropriateness include five things:
1. Will the examining institute's standards be met?
For example, some universities require students to collect their own data as part of their research
project, whereas others allow them to base their project on data that have already been collected.
2. Does the topic contain issues with clear links to theory?
i. RBV …… TPB …… Social exchange theory ……Two factors theory etc
It will be important to use existing theory from the academic literature to inform your choice of
research topic and in the development of your research proposal. Using existing theory should help
you to clarify your research topic and to inform your research question, aim and objectives. Using
theory should also help you to develop clear definitions of the concepts that you use in your
research.
3. Are the research questions and objectives clearly stated?
4. Are the findings likely to be symmetrical?
It is also important that your topic will have symmetry of potential outcomes: that is, your results
will be of similar value whatever you find out (Gill and Johnson 2010). Without this symmetry you
may spend a considerable amount of time researching your topic, only to find an answer of little
importance.
5. Does the research topic match your career goals?

4. E.g. If you wish to become an expert in a particular subject area or industry sector.
Capability: is it feasible?
Capability include five things:
Your research topic must also be something you are capable of undertaking.
1. Do you have the necessary research skills?
some skills, for example, learning a new foreign language, may be impossible to acquire in the time
you have available.
2. Can you complete the project in the time available?
Some topics are unlikely to be possible to complete in the time allowed by your course of study. This
may be because they require you to measure the impact of an intervention over a long time period
or because of their complexity.
3. Will the research still be current when you finish?
4. Do you have sufficient financial and other resources?
5. Will you be able to gain access to data?
Capability also means you must be reasonably certain of gaining access to any data you might need
to collect. Many people start with ideas where access to data will prove difficult. Certain, more
sensitive topics, such as financial performance or decision making by senior managers, are
potentially fascinating. However, they may present considerable access problems.
Fulfilment: Does it excite your imagination
Fulfillment include two things:
1. It appears as the most exciting part of course
 So choose something that will sustain your interest throughout the course.
 Do some research that forms part of your leisure activities!
2. Will the research topic help towards the achievement of your future aspirations or career goals?
LO:2 generate ideas to choose a suitable research topic;
For generating ideas to choose a suitable research topic includes Rational Thinking and creative
Thinking:
Many business and management students are expected to generate and refine their own research ideas,
whereas some others, particularly those on professional and post-experience courses, are provided with
an embryonic research idea by their employing or sponsoring organization.
If you have not been given a research idea there is a range of techniques that can be used to find and
select a topic that you would like to research. These can be divided into two groups: those that
predominantly involve rational thinking and those that involve more creative thinking

5. Rational thinking techniques for generating research ideas includes six things:
1. Examining own strengths and interests
• Having some academic knowledge. Look at those assignments for which you have received good
grade.
• You may, as part of your reading, be able to focus more precisely on the sort of ideas about
which you wish to conduct your research.
2. Examining academic staff research interests
• Your university’s website will have profile pages of academic staff.
• In many cases, academic staff provide details of their research interests. Lists of publications and
conference papers with hyperlinks to online copies may also be included.
3. Looking at past project title
a. Scan (and note down) your university’s list of past project titles for anything that
i. captures your imagination
ii. Provides you with fresh insights
b. You need to beware:
i. The fact that a project is in your library is no guarantee of the quality arguments
it contains
4. Discussion
Colleagues, friends, university tutors, practitioner and professional groups.
5. Searching the literature
Types of literature useful for generating research ideas may include:
1. The Article review in academic and professional journals;
2. contain recommendations for further work
a. Reports (normally specific and more updated)
b. Books (contain good overview of previous research).
6. Scanning the media
Keeping up to date with items in the news can be a very rich source of ideas

6. Creative thinking techniques for generating research ideas include four things:
1. Keeping a notebook of ideas
• One of the more creative techniques that we all use is to keep a notebook of ideas. All this
involves is simply noting down any interesting research ideas as you think of them and, of equal
importance, what sparked off your thought. You can then pursue the idea using more rational
thinking technique later.
2. Exploring personal preferences using past project
• Explore your personal preferences by reading through a number of past project reports from
your university.
• Select projects that you like.
• For each project that you like, note down your first thoughts in response to each of the
following questions:
• 1 What do you like in general about the project?
• 2 Why do you like the project?
3 Which ideas in the project appeal to you?
• For each project that you do not like, note down your first thoughts in response to each of the
following questions:
• 1 What do you dislike in general about the project?
• 2 Why do you dislike the project?
• 3 Which ideas in the project do not appeal to you?
3. Relevance tree
• Relevance trees may also prove useful in generating research topics. In this instance, their use is
similar to that of mind mapping.
• You start with a broad concept from which you generate further (usually more specific) topics.
Each of these topics forms a separate branch from which you can generate further, more
detailed sub branches.

7. 4. Brainstorming
It is best undertaken with a group of people, although you can brainstorm on your own. Brainstorming
involves a number of stages:
1 Defining the problem. This will focus on the sorts of ideas you are interested in – as precisely as
possible. In the early stages of formulating a topic this may be as vague as, ‘I am interested in marketing
but don’t know what to do for my research topic’.
2 Asking for suggestions. These will relate to the problem.
3 Recording suggestions. As you record these you will need to observe the following rules:
No suggestion should be criticized or evaluated in any way before all ideas have been considered.
All suggestions, however wild, should be recorded and considered.
As many suggestions as possible should be recorded.
4 Reviewing suggestions. You will seek to explore what is meant by each as you review these.
5 Analyzing suggestions. Work through the list of ideas and decide which appeal to you most as research
ideas and why.
LO2: Refining research ideas may include five things:
1. Using the Delphi Technique

8. 2. Conducting a preliminary study
3. Continually testing out your ideas
4. Integrating ideas
5. Refining topics given to you by your organisation
1. The Delphi technique: Delphi technique using a group of people who are either involved or
interested in the research topic to generate and select a more specific research idea.
The standard Delphi method involves a researcher using a purposive sample of participants who
are knowledgeable about the topic to be discussed.
• To use this technique, you need:
– 1. To brief the members of the group about the initial research idea (they can make
notes if they wish);
– 2. To encourage group members to seek clarification and more information as
appropriate at the end of the briefing;
– 3. To ask each member of the group, including the originator of the research idea, to
generate independently up to three alternative research ideas based on the initial idea
(they can also be asked to provide a justification for their specific ideas);
– 4. To collect the research ideas in an unedited and non-attributable form and to
distribute them to all members of the group to reflect on;
– 5. To encourage group members to comment on each research idea, including giving
reasons for their opinions.
• 6. A second cycle of steps 2 to 5 to encourage further refinements or new options in light
of what others have said during the first cycle;
• 7. subsequent cycles of the process until an outcome is reached. This may be a consensus
around a particular research idea. It may occur when saturation occurs – no further ideas
are forthcoming. It may also occur when participants become tired and less productive.
• In practice, three cycles of this technique are likely to produce an effective outcome.
The preliminary inquiry
Having generated a research idea, you will need to refine it to choose a suitable topic and
express it as a clear research question(s), an aim and objectives. This will involve searching
for and evaluating literature and other related sources. Even if you searched the literature
to generate your initial research idea, it is likely to be necessary to conduct another search
of it in order to refine this idea into a workable research question.

9. • A preliminary inquiry or initial inquiry is conducted to refine, focus and operationalize your
initial research idea into a suitable research topic and then into a research question(s), aim and
objectives.
• This may lead to the first iteration of your critical literature review, or help to inform it.
• For some researchers the preliminary inquiry may include informal discussions with people who
have personal experience of and knowledge about your research ideas.
• It may also involve shadowing employees who are likely to be important in your research and
who may therefore be able to provide some initial insights.
Integrating ideas
• This involves ‘working up and narrowing down’.
• It involves classifying each research idea first into its area, then its field, and finally the precise
aspect in which you are interested. These represent an increasingly detailed description of the
research idea.
For example, your initial area, based on examining your coursework, might be accountancy. After
searching through relevant journal articles and holding a discussion with colleagues this might become
more focused on the field of financial accounting methods. After a further literature search and reading,
the use of a Delphi technique and discussion with your project tutor you decide to focus on the aspect of
activity-based costing.
LO 3: express your research topic as a clear research question(s), and as an aim and objectives;
• When the process of generating and refining ideas is complete, you will be in position to
develop your research proposal, commencing with expressing your research topic as a research
question(s), related research aim and set of research objectives.
• Research Topic Example: Employees’ perception of job characteristics.
Expressing your topic as a research question(s) includes four things:
1. Consistent with expected standards
2. At the right level (not too difficult)
3. Not too descriptive
4. Use the ‘Goldilocks Test’
Goldilocks test
Clough and Nutbrown use what they call the Goldilocks test to decide if research questions are
either too big two small too hot or just right.

10. A test used to decide if research questions are too big (demand too many sources), too small
(insufficient substance), too hot (sensitivities aroused as a result of doing the research), or just
right. Following key things of goldilocks test:
1. Too big need significant funding
2. Too small are likely to be insufficient substance
3. Too hot maybe so because sensitivities that may be aroused as a result of doing
the research . This may be because of the timing of the research or the many
other reasons that may be upset key people who have a role to play.
4. Just right are those just right for investigation at this time by this research in this
setting

11. Writing a research aim:
• A research aim is a brief statement of the purpose of the research project.
• It is often written as a sentence stating what you intend to achieve through your
research.
• Your research question and research aim are complementary ways of saying what your
research is about. However, neither gives sufficient detail about the steps you will need
to take to answer your question and achieve your aim.
• To do this you will need to devise a set of research objectives.
• Objectives are more generally acceptable to the research community as evidence of the
researcher’s clear sense of purpose and direction.
Include SMART Personal objectives
Specific: What precisely do you hope to achieve from undertaking the research?
Measurable: What measures/standards will be used for ensuring that your objectives are
achieved?
Achievable: Are the targets you have set for yourself achievable given all the possible
constraints?
Realistic: Do you have the time and energy to complete the research on time?
Timely: Will you have time to accomplish all your objectives?

12. LO5:
Theory
A formulation regarding the cause and effect relationship between two or more variables,
which may or may not have been tested.
The explanatory power of a theory is based on its ability to explain relationships between
concepts. These explanations need to be capable of being confirmed, refined or contradicted as
understandings develop and change based on further research.
• Whetten (1989) identified that theory is composed of four elements, related to ‘what’,
‘how’, ‘why’ and a fourth group of ‘who’, ‘where’ and ‘when’.
• What are the concepts or variables that the theory examines?
• How are these concepts or variables related (relationship)?
– A key aspect here is causality. Theory is concerned with cause and effect.
• Why are these concepts or variables related?
– It explains the reasons for relationships between the concepts or variables.
• Who does this theory apply to; Where does this theory apply; When does this theory
apply?
Threefold typology of theories (1)
• Grand theories: Usually thought to be province of natural scientists. (that will lead to a
whole new way of thinking about management) (e.g.
• Newton’s theory of gravity, Darwin’s theory of evolution.
• Middle range theories: which lack the capacity to change the way in which we think
about the world but are nonetheless of significance. (some of the theories of human
motivation well known to manager would be in this category e.g.
– Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs
– Herzberg et al.’s (1959) two-factor theory of motivation.
– Work family conflict theory
– Work family enrichment theory
– Social exchange theory
– Affective events theory

13. – Psychological contract theory
– Attribution theory
• Substantive theories : that are restricted to a particular time, research setting, group or
population or problems.
– Job demand resource model
– Job characteristics model
– Your Thesis/ Research Project
Deductive approach and inductive approach
 This discussion of theory dose assume that a clear theoretical position is developed
prior to the collection of data (the deductive approach).
 This will not always be the case. It may be that your study is based on the principle of
developing theory after data have been collected (the inductive approach)
How can your research proposal be structured? (1)
• Title - The title should simply and concisely summarise the research question.
• It should avoid unnecessary phrases such as, ‘A study to explore … ’ Instead it should
reflect the concepts
• or variables in your research question.
• Background - context within the literature.
• It needs to introduce the reader to the research issue or problem.
• This addresses the question, ‘what am I going to do?’
• You also need to provide a rationale for your proposed research and to justify this.
• The rationale will also need to address the question, ‘why is it worth doing?’
• This will relate to one of the following types of justification:
• the application of a theory to a particular context (such as within an organization); the
development of a theory within a research setting; testing a theory within a given
context.
• To demonstrate ‘how my research relates to what has been done before in this subject
area’.
• Research question(s), aim and objectives-The Background section should lead logically
into a statement of your research question(s), aim and research objectives.

14. • Timescale and Resources - (finance, data access, equipment)
• References - include some key literature sources.
• Method - The Method is designed to answer the question, ‘how shall I conduct my
research?’
• The Method may be divided into sub-sections that deal with research design,
participants, techniques and procedures and ethical considerations.
• You will need to make a methodological choice between a quantitative, qualitative or
mixed methods design. You will also need to select one or more research strategies.
Literature Review: The documentation of a comprehensive review of the published work
from secondary sources of data in the areas of specific interest to the researcher.
Consequently, the items you read and write about will enhance your subject knowledge and
help you to clarify your research question(s) further. This process is called ‘critically
reviewing the literature’.
• There are three ways in which you are likely to use literature in your research project
(Creswell and Poth 2017).
– First, the preliminary search that helps you to generate and refine your research
ideas and draft your research proposal.
– Second, the critical review or critical literature review, that provides the context
and theoretical framework for your research.
– The third is to place your research findings within the wider body of knowledge
and forms part of your discussion chapter.

16. The preliminary inquiry
Having generated a research idea, you will need to refine it to choose a suitable topic and
express it as a clear research question(s), an aim and objectives. This will involve searching
for and evaluating literature and other related sources. Even if you searched the literature
to generate your initial research idea, it is likely to be necessary to conduct another search
of it in order to refine this idea into a workable research question.
• A preliminary inquiry or initial inquiry is conducted to refine, focus and operationalize your
initial research idea into a suitable research topic and then into a research question(s), aim and
objectives.
• This may lead to the first iteration of your critical literature review, or help to inform it.
• For some researchers the preliminary inquiry may include informal discussions with people who
have personal experience of and knowledge about your research ideas.
• It may also involve shadowing employees who are likely to be important in your research and
who may therefore be able to provide some initial insights.
Second, the critical review or critical literature review, that provides the context and theoretical
framework for your research.
What does critical mean: The following table should answer the of the critics

17. Being ‘critical
Mingers (2000: 225–6) argues that there are four aspects of a critical approach that should be
fostered by management education:
• critique of rhetoric;
• critique of tradition;
• critique of authority;
• critique of objectivity
• Four Aspects of a Critical Approach
– Critique of Rhetoric
• Use your skills to make reasoned judgment and argue effectively in
writing.
– Critique of Tradition
• Use of conventional wisdom (generally accepted theory or belief)
– Critique of Authority
• Dominant view portrayed in the literature you are reading.
– Critique of Objectivity
• Recognizing in your review that the knowledge and information you are
discussing are not value free.
Seminal: Part of your critical judgment will involve you in identifying those theories and
research findings that are most relevant to your research aims and objectives.
• Dees (2003) suggests that you should:
– refer to and assess research by those recognized as experts in your chosen area
accurately;
– consider, discuss and evaluate research that offers both similar and differing
perspectives on your chosen area;
– explain your evaluation regarding the value of this research, showing clearly how
it relates to your research and acknowledging key work;
– justify your arguments clearly in a logical manner;
– distinguish clearly between research findings and researchers’ opinions;

18. – ensure your references are completely accurate.
Forms of critical review (1)
• The form of critical review you undertake will depend on your research question and
aim.
• Integrative review,
– either generate new frameworks and perspectives on a topic for testing or,
alternatively, reveal an area where it is unclear what is happening (a black box).
• Theoretical review,
– are often used to establish what theories exist and the relationships between
them. They are also used to reveal a lack of appropriate theories or that current
theories are inadequate for explaining new or emerging research problems.
– They can therefore be used as the basis for developing new theory to be tested,
or revealing an area where it is unclear (a black box).
• Historical review,
– examines the evolution of research on a particular topic over a period of time.
• Methodological review,
– focuses on research approaches (Section 4.5), strategies (Section 5.8), data
collection techniques or analysis procedures,
• Systematic Review,
– uses a comprehensive pre-planned strategy for locating, critically appraising,
analyzing and synthesizing existing research that is pertinent to a clearly
formulated research question to allow conclusions to be reached about what is
known (Section 3.9).
Possible structures for a critical review
In the opening vignette we highlighted a common problem with literature reviews: they just describe
what each author has written, one author after another (horizontal arrows in Figure 3.2 ), each item
being selected subjectively by the researcher ( Hart 2018 ).
It is much easier to be critical (and more interesting to read) if you take a thematic approach comparing
and, where necessary, contrasting those authors who discuss each theme (vertical arrows in Figure 3.2 ).
Although there is no single structure that your critical review should take, our students have found it
useful to think of the review as a funnel in which you:

19. 1 start at a more general level before narrowing down to your specific
research question(s) and objectives;
2 provide a brief overview of key ideas and themes;
3 summarize, compare and contrast the research of the key authors;
4 narrow down to highlight previous research work most relevant to
your own research;
5 provide a detailed account of the findings of this research and show
how they are related;
6 highlight those aspects where your own research will provide fresh
insights;
7 lead the reader into subsequent sections of your project report,
which explore these issues.
Literature Sources