Q. 1 Explain and discuss the term non-systematic investigation in business research.

In
which situations, non-systematic investigation is being conducted? Discuss

Ans:

The type of investigation in which research is processed without observing the steps involved in
systematic investigation.

Non-systematic sources of research ideas

Includes those occurrences that give us the illusion that a research idea has dropped out of the
sky. These sources are nonsystematic in that we have not made any concerted effort to locate
researchable ideas, they present themselves in a somewhat unpredictable manner. Among the
major non-systematic sources of research ideas are inspiration, serendipity, and everyday
occurrences. Each is described below.

Inspiration.

Some research ideas may appear to be the product of a blind flash of genius; in the twinkle of
an eye an inspired research idea is born. Although such ideas just seem to appear, it is often the
case that the researcher has been thinking about this research area for some time. We see only
the end product, the idea, not the thinking that preceded its appearance

Serendipity

Serendipity refers to those situations where we look for one phenomenon but find another.
Serendipity often serves as an excellent source for research ideas.

Non-systematic research is acquiring knowledge and truths about the world using techniques
that do not follow the scientific method. For instance, Plato was a large proponent of some of
these, and Freud's theories use several of them as well. Let's look at several non-systematic
methods to see what pitfalls are out there.

Tradition
Tradition is knowledge and understanding that is believed to be true because it has been
traditionally accepted. No one has stopped to say 'Hey, wait a minute. That's not right.' For
instance, how much of your brain do you use? If you say 'only 10%,' then you have fallen
victim to a common fallacy passed through tradition. We actually use 100% of our brain and
nearly all the time.

Personal Experience

Personal experience is information or understanding derived from experiencing something

firsthand. There doesn't seem to be a problem with this at first, but it is actually incredibly
flawed because experience is subjective and not reproducible.

For instance, dreams seem to predict the future. Everyone has had the dj vu experience of
having dreamt something before, but does that mean you have prophetic dreams? Not really.
Most likely, you had a dream that was similar to the event and your mind just filled in the
blanks to make it seem like it all happened before.

Intuition

Intuitive knowledge comes from understanding and believing in an idea based on a gut instinct
or through personal insight. This is the 'I know it because I know it' category of knowledge,
where someone cannot offer a good reason for something, but they just know it to be true.

For instance, eyewitnesses to a crime appear more accurate when they are more confident. This
is false and has been found time and again by researchers. Confidence has nothing to do with a
person's accuracy when recalling something in the past. But, many people rely on what they feel
is the right answer, and someone who is confident must be right!

Logic

Logic is the application of thought and reasoning to come to a conclusion. But much like
personal experience, the process is flawed by a person's limited viewpoint. You cannot think
about something you don't already know.
Logic tells us only the psychopathic 1% of the population will kill another person if asked to do
so by an authority figure. This is a favorite study of mine. Milgram asked experts to use their
logic to come to a conclusion and they predicted less than 1% of participants would kill
someone. Milgram's study found that 65% of subjects would kill someone. Logic cannot predict
things that do not make logical sense. In addition, logic does not contribute additional
information. It merely reworks what is