Business

Research Methods

William G. Zikmund

Chapter 4:
The Business Research Process
 Research as Career
• Rewarding and satisfying career
• Opportunities for life-long growth
• ICT - exciting fields for innovation
• Global career opportunities
• Main reward in doing
 What It Takes?

• Creativity
• Open mind
• Curiosity
• Patience
• Persistence
• Positive Attitude
• Discipline and focus
 Nature of Creativity
• The ability of making something new
• Originality
• Utility
• No correlation with intelligence
• Nature and nurture both important
• Creative personality
 Research Sequence
• Topic selection
• Research planning
• Literature survey
• Formulating the problem
• Creating new solutions
• Verification of analytical results
• Communication of results
• Commercialization of research outcomes
 Research Planning
• Time and resource planning
• Planning of research processes
• Planning of developing new skills
• Planning of presentations
 Information
• Reduces uncertainty
• Helps focus decision making
 Types Of Research
• Exploratory
• Descriptive
• Causal
 Uncertainty Influences
The Type Of Research
CAUSAL OR COMPLETELY ABSOLUTE EXPLORATORY
DESCRIPTIVE CERTAIN AMBIGUITY
 Degree of Problem Definition
Exploratory Research Descriptive Research Causal Research
(Unaware of Problem) (Aware of Problem) (Problem Clearly Defined)

“Our sales are declining and
we don’t know why.”
“Would people be interested
in our new product idea?”
“What kind of people are buying “Will buyers purchase more of
our product? Who buys our our products in a new package?
competitor’s product?”
“Which of two advertising
“What features do buyers prefer campaigns is more effective?”
in our product?”
Exploratory Research

Secondary data

Experience survey

Pilot studies

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 Exploratory Research
• Initial research conducted to clarify and
define the nature of a problem
• Does not provide conclusive evidence
• Subsequent research expected
 Descriptive Research
• Describes characteristics of a population or
phenomenon
• Some understanding of the nature of the
problem
I keep six honest serving men, (they
taught me all I knew), their names are
what, and why, and when, and how,
and where and who.”
--Rudyard Kipling

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 Descriptive Research Example
• Weight Watchers average customer
• Woman about 40 years old
• Household income of about $50,000
• At least some college education
• Trying to juggle children and a job
 Descriptive Research Example
• Men’s fragrance market
• 1/3 size of women’s fragrance market
• But growing at a faster pace
• Women buy 80 % of men’s fragrances
 Causal Research
• Conducted to identify cause and effect
relationships
 Identifying Causality
• A causal relationship is impossible to prove.
• Evidence of causality:
– 1. The appropriate causal order of events
– 2. Concomitant variation--two phenomena
vary together
– 3. An absence of alternative plausible
explanations
 Stages of the Research Process
Problem Discovery Discovery and
and Definition Definition

Research and so on
Design Conclusions and
Report

Sampling
Data Processing
and Analysis
Data
Gathering
 Research Stages
• Cyclical process - conclusions generate new
ideas
• Stages can overlap chronologically
• Stages are functionally interrelated
– Forward linkages
– Backward linkages
Problem Discovery Problem Selection of
and Definition discovery exploratory research
technique
Sampling

Selection of
exploratory research
technique Probability Nonprobability

Secondary
Experience Pilot Case Collection of
(historical) Data
survey study study data
data Gathering
(fieldwork)

Data
Editing and
Problem definition Processing
coding
(statement of and
Analysis data
research objectives)

Data
Selection of processing
Research Design basic research
method Conclusions
Interpretation
and Report
of
findings
Experiment Survey
Secondary
Laboratory Field Interview Questionnaire Observation
Data Study Report
 Problem Discovery And
Definition
• First step
• Problem, opportunity, or monitor operations
• Discovery before definition
• Problem means management problem
“The formulation of the problem
is often more essential than its
solution”

Albert Einstein
 State the research
questions and research
objectives

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If you do not know where you are going,
any road will take you there.
 Research Design
• Master plan
• Framework for action
• Specifies methods and procedures
 Basic Research Methods
• Surveys
• Experiments
• Secondary data
• Observation
 Research Proposal
• A written statement of the research design
that includes a statement explaining the
purpose of the study.
• Detailed outline of procedures associated
with a particular methodology