The Role of Researchkapil Deb Subedi

2010

Research Methods

Kapil Deb SubediLecturer of Management, Saptagandaki Multiple Campus

Overview

Why Study Research Methods? What are the Stages in Research? Elements of Research Not Frequently Discussed Why writing and the language of research is so

important The Flow of Research Time, Units & Questions Causal Model Building Next Class

What is Research?

“The discovery of nature, of the ways of planets, and plants and animals, required first the conquest of common sense. Science would advance, not by authenticating everyday experience but by grasping paradox, adventuring into the unknown. Novel instruments, telescopes and microscopes among others, would offer disturbing new perspectives. …Here were the new incentives to ransack the world for undiscovered species and seek clues to the mystery of an ever-changing nature.”

Daniel Boorstin (1983) The Discoverers

Why Study Research Methods?

To Help:– conduct your own research– evaluate the soundness of theories– assess the validity of others’ claims– understand and apply research results– solve organizational problems.

Objectives of A Thesis or Dissertation

Demonstrate the ability to:1. Do independent research

2. Make a contribution to knowledge with the research

3. Document the research and make it available to the scholarly community (i.e., publish!)

Source: Davis, Gordon and Clyde A. Parker (1997) Writing the Doctoral Dissertation, p. 15

Stages in the Research Process

Problem

Model &Hypotheses

ResearchDesign

MeasurementData

Collection

DataAnalysis

Generalization

Real Stages in the Research Process

Problem

Model &Hypotheses

ResearchDesign

MeasurementDataCollection

DataAnalysis

Generalization

Research is NOT a linear process!!

Elements of Research Not Frequently Discussed

• Research is not a linear process• It is just written up like it is

• Note: articles are written backwards: once you know the results you know what literature is important

• Research is a social process• Not because research is social but because results must

enter into a social “learned” society

• Research value (impact) is more a question of importance than volume

• But volume makes for a wonderful, simple measure of productivity• But, one good published idea is worth more than a hundred articles

• How do you know value? CITES!!! [isi web of science]

Little Discussed Elements (II)

Research is for posterity– i.e., it has a different time scale than consulting

Refereed archival journals versus the Internet

Research builds upon the past– …by tearing it down (theory building), – Or by supporting it (replications studies)

• Research not published is virtually worthless• The importance is more to be read than to read!

Research demands a special form of writing and language

Writing

Not like anything you have ever done before– Larger audience– More risk– Structured completely differently– Rewrite-rewrite-rewrite

Social system expectations– Expects that conventions will be met– Expects that the authors will get to the point!

      "There are two moments worthwhile in writing, the one when you start

and the other when you throw it in the waste-paper basket." (Samuel Beckett)

Drucker’s view

“The man of knowledge has always been expected to take responsibility for being understood. It is barbarian arrogance to assume that the layman can or should make the effort to understand him, and that it is enough if the man of knowledge talks to a handful of fellow experts who are his peers.”

P. 62

Examples of Types of Writing

Academy of Management Journal:– “We examine how firms search, or solve problems, to create new products.

According to organizational learning research, firms position themselves in a unidimensional search space that spans a spectrum from local to distant search. Our findings in the global robotics industry suggest that firms' search efforts actually vary across two distinct dimensions: search depth, or how frequently the firm reuses its existing knowledge, and search scope, or how widely the firm explores new knowledge.

Katila, Riita, Ahuja, Gautam (2002) “SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF SEARCH BEHAVIOR AND NEW PRODUCT INTRODUCTION.” Academy of Management Journal, 45(6): 1183

Academy of Management Review– “We propose a model in which between-individual differences in performance

(heterogeneity) and within-individual differences in performance over time (variability) affect flow line performance. The impact of heterogeneity and variability is contingent upon the flow line context, particularly the rules governing the way work moves between employees (work flow policy). We show how subtle changes in this policy can have a motivational effect on heterogeneity and variability and how these, in turn, can impact the relationship between work flow policy and flow line performance. “

Doerr, K et. al, (2002) HETEROGENEITY AND VARIABILITY IN THE CONTEXT OF FLOW LINES. Academy of Management Review, (4): 594-607

Language of Research - I

Research Issues:– Theoretical v. Empirical

a.k.a., pure v. applied

– Generalizable (nomothetic) v. Local Truth

Language of Research - II

– Ecological Fallacy (individual like group) v. Exception Fallacy (group like individual; law of small numbers)

– Positivism (external “truth”) – v. Post-Positivism (never know “truth”, only

probabilities)

Levels of Research

Reporting– Telling what someone else did

Descriptive– Describing who, what, where, when, how

Explanatory– Answers “WHY?”

Predictive– Answers: “What will happen if...”

Flow of Research I:Top to Bottom Approach

Source: http://trochim.human.cornell.edu/kb/strucres.htm

Flow of Research II: Inductive v. Deductive

Deductive (“Traditional”)

Inductive (Theory Building; Qualitative )

Source: http://trochim.human.cornell.edu/kb/dedind.htm

Time & Units of Analysis

time in research:– cross-sectional versus longitudinal

units of analysis:– individual, – group, department– organizational, – inter-organizational, – cross-cultural

Types of Questions

Descriptive– Primarily used for qualitative or

demographic information Relational

– What is related to what (no temporal or causal inference)

Causal– X causes Y

Building a Model

Constructs– General ideas created for theory-building– Used to build conceptual/causal model

Variables– Need operational definitions– Types

Independent Dependent Moderating Intervening Extraneous

– That have some type of relationship

A Causal Model is made up of -

Independent(Predictor)

(X)Variables

Dependent(Outcome)(Criterion)

(Y)Variables

Hypotheses

Smoking……………..Causes……………….Cancer

Extraneous Variable: hair color, accent

And -

Independent(Predictor)Variables

Dependent(Outcome)Variables

Moderating

(Conditional)(Interaction)

(X*Y)

Variables

Smoking (by people with special gene) ……causes…………….Cancer

And -

Independent(Predictor)Variables

Mediating

(Intervening)

Variables

Dependent(Outcome)Variables

ModeratingVariables

Smoking ……………causes(by people with a special gene) cells to mutate that causes…….Cancer

And -

Independent(Predictor)Variables

MediatingVariables

Dependent(Outcome)Variables

ModeratingVariables

ControlVariables

Smoking ………………causes(by people with a special gene) cells to mutate that causes…….Cancer (when controlling for age)

Types of Relationships Among Variables

positive, negative, none:

Independent(Predictor)Variables

MediatingVariables

Dependent(Outcome)Variables

ModeratingVariables

ControlVariables

+ -

+

-

Why do You Need a Model?

In order to GENERALIZE!Source: http://trochim.human.cornell.edu/kb/introval.htm

What is written:

What you do:

Language of Research, cont’d.

Theory Model

Propositions/Hypotheses

Hypotheses

Statistical:– H0 (null: no difference)– HA (alternate: the relationship you want

to “prove”) Academic practice:

– H# (the relationship you want to “prove”)

Language ...

Theory Model Propositions/Hypotheses

Constructs/Variables

Constructs (i.e., the ideas behind the variables)

Independent(Predictor)Variables

MediatingVariables

Dependent(Outcome)Variables

ModeratingVariables

ControlVariables

ExternalVariables

Variable Measurement Types

Categorical– Red, blue, green

Sorting slots

Ordinal– Tall, medium, short

Non-equal spacing between items

Interval– 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

with equal spacing between items

Ratio– “true” zero; 0 to 1

Zero means something (absolute zero for example)

Levels in Quantitative Research

Theory Model Propositions Hypotheses Constructs

Operationalizations

“Operationalizing” Models -

we want to ensure that the measures represent the underlying (latent) variables (constructs) well.

Measures should be -

Reliable Valid

– Lots more on this later

Stages in the “Quantitative” Research Process, revisited

Problem

Model &Hypotheses

ResearchDesign

MeasurementData

Collection

DataAnalysis

Generalization