Advanced Research Methods (MAL 655)

A Lecture to Master of Business Management Students (2015/2016)

ByMangasini A. Katundu (PhD)

Moshi Co-operative University, Tanzania

Key references:

• Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2007). Research Methods for

Business Students, Fourth Edition. Prentice Hall, London. 623pp.

• Oso, W. Y. & Onen, D. (2008). A General Guide to Writing Research Proposal and Reports. A handbook for

Beginning Researchers, Second Edition, Makerere University Printerly, Kampala. 166pp.

The Nature of Business Research• When listening to radio watching TV or reading a

daily newspaper it is difficult to avoid the term “research”.

• The results of “research” are all around us.• Debates about the findings of recent polls in

Tanzania for example inevitably includes discussions on “research”, normally referring to the way in which the data were collected.

• What these examples really emphasizes is the wide range of meaning given to the term “research” in every day life.

The Nature of Business Research• Walliman (2001) argues that many of these

everyday uses of the term “research” are not research in the true meaning of the world.

• He highlights ways in which the term is used wrongly:

1. Just collecting facts or information with no clear purpose;

2. Reassembling and reordering facts or information without interpretation;

3. as a term to get your product or idea noticed and respected.

The Nature of Business Research• The first of these highlights the fact that,

although research often involves the collection of information , it is more than just reading a few books or articles, talking to a few people or asking people questions.

• While collecting data may be part of the research process, if it is not undertaken in a systematic way, on its own and in particular with a clear purpose, it will not be seen as research.

The Nature of Business Research• Based upon this brief discussion we can already see

that research has a number of characteristics: 1. Data are collected scientifically;2. Data are collected systematically;3. Data are interpreted systematically;4. There is clear purpose, to find this out.• We can therefore define research as something that

people undertake in order to find out things in a scientific and systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge.

The Nature of Business Research

• Using our earlier definition of research it would seem sensible to define business research as undertaking scientific and systematic research to find out things about business.

• Easterby-Smith et al. (2002) argue that three things combine to make business research a distinctive focus for researchers:

The Nature of Business Research1. The way in which managers (and researchers)

draw on knowledge developed by others disciplines;

2. The fact that managers tend to be powerful and busy people. Therefore, they are unlikely to allow research access unless they can see personal advantages;

3. The requirement for the research to have some practical consequence. This means it either needs to contain the potential for asking some form of action or needs to take account of the practical consequences of the findings.

theory in research

• A theory is a generalization about a phenomenon, an explanation of how or why something occurs.

• Indeed, any statements that explain what is measured or described any general statements about cause or effect are theory based, at least implicitly.

• A theory presents a systematic way of understanding events, behaviors and/or situations.

• According to Kaplan (1964) A theory is a way of making sense of a disturbing situation. Theories represent tentative solutions to problems.

theory in research

• A theory is a set of interrelated concepts, definitions, and propositions that explains or predicts events or situations by specifying relations among variables.

• Theories vary in the extent to which they have been conceptually developed and empirically tested; however, “testability” is an important feature of a theory.

theory in research• Stephen Turner has noted in his chapter on

“Theory Development,” social science theories are better understood as models that work in a limited range of settings, rather than laws of science which hold and apply universally.

• Hawes (1975) noted that, the power of a theory is its ability to connect events into a unifed web. "What gives a theory its power is not the declarative statements it consists of but rather the relationship among those statements. 

theory in research

• It is the form of the relationship among statements rather than the individual statements themselves that distinguish between theory and description."

• Kim (1995) outlines FUNCTIONS OF THEORY as involving to: DESCRIBE, EXPLAIN, PREDICT, or CONTROL human phenomena in a variety of contexts.

Types of theories• These two broad types of theory: 1. explanatory theory and,2. change theory. • The two theories may have different emphases but

are complementary. • For example, understanding why an employee

smokes is one step toward a successful cessation effort, but even the best explanations won’t be enough by themselves to fully guide change to improve health.

• Some type of change model will also be needed.

Examples of theories1. Theory of Reasoned Action• Specifically, Reasoned Action predicts that

behavioral intent is created or caused by two factors: our attitudes and our subjective norms. As in Information Integration theory, attitudes have two components.

• Fishbein and Ajzen (1980) call these the evaluation and strength of a belief.

Examples of theories• There are two important changes. First,

Reasoned Actions adds another element in the process of persuasion, behavioral intention. Rather than attempt to predict attitudes, as does Information Integration theory (and several others), Reasoned Action is explicitly concerned with behavior.

• However, this theory also recognizes that there are situations (or factors) that limit the influence of attitude on behavior.

Examples of theories• For example, if our attitude leads us to want to go

out on a date but we have no money, our lack of money will prevent our attitude from causing us to go on a date.

• Therefore, Reasoned Action predicts behavioral intention, a compromise between stopping at attitude predictions and actually predicting behavior.

• Because it separates behavioral intention from behavior, Reasoned Action also discusses the factors that limit the influence of attitudes (or behavioral intention) on behavior.

Examples of theories

• The second change from Information Integration theory is that Reasoned Action uses two elements, attitudes and norms (or the expectations of other people), to predict behavioral intent.

• That is, whenever our attitudes lead us to do one thing but the relevant norms suggest we should do something else, both factors influence our behavioral intent.

Examples of theories

• For example, John’s attitudes may encourage him to want to read a Harry Potter book, but his friends may think this series is childish.

• Does John do what his attitudes suggest (read the book) or what the norms of his friends suggest (not read the book)?

• Specifically, Reasoned Action predicts that behavioral intent is created or caused by two factors: our attitudes and our subjective norms

Examples of theories

2. Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) by Ajzen (1991)

• TPB is much more appropriate in predicting and understanding people’s intentions to engage in various activities.

• Main postulation: Human behaviour is planned.• It explains intentions by means of attitudes,

perceived behavioural control, and subjective norms.

Examples of theories

1. Attitudes refer to the degree to which a person has a favourable appraisal of the behaviour.

2. Subjective norm refers to the perceived social pressure to perform the behaviour.

3. Perceived behavioural control refers to the perceived ease of performing the behaviour and to the perceived control over the outcome of it.

Examples of theories

• The theory of planned behaviour assumes that rational considerations govern the choices and behaviours of individuals.

• Specifically, behaviour is determined by the intentions of individuals, their explicit plans or motivations to commit a specific act.

• E.g. the degree to which significant individuals, such as parents, spouses, or colleagues, condone this act, called subjective norms, also affects intentions.

Examples of theories

• The perceived importance of these parents, spouse, or colleagues affects the extent to which their approval will shape intentions.

• TPB is open to the influence of exogenous factors that may play a role in the development of beliefs and attitudes.

Limitations of the TPB• There are several limitations of the TPB, which

include the following: It assumes the person has acquired the

opportunities and resources to be successful in performing the desired behavior, regardless of the intention.

It does not account for other variables that factor into behavioral intention and motivation, such as fear, threat, mood, or past experience.

While it does consider normative influences, it still does not take into account environmental or economic factors that may influence a person's intention to perform a behavior.

Limitations of the TPBIt assumes that behavior is the result of a

linear decision-making process, and does not consider that it can change over time.

While the added construct of perceived behavioral control was an important addition to the theory, it doesn't say anything about actual control over behavior.

The time frame between "intent" and "behavioral action" is not addressed by the theory.

Examples of theories

3. Random Utility Models (RUM)• RUMs are very widely applied marketing

models, especially to the sales of frequently purchased consumer packaged goods.

• The main assumption is that choice is a discrete event.

• What this means is that choice is all-or-nothing.

Examples of theories

• The consumer, as a rule, cannot leave the supermarket with 0.3432 cans of Coke and 0.6568 cans of Pepsi.

• They will tend to leave with 1 can of their chosen brand, and 0 cans of their not chosen brand.

• Thus, choice is not a continuous dependent variable.

• Based on assumptions of this theory, logistic regression models were developed.

research paradigms• Paradigm = world view, perspective.• Theories emanate from a paradigm. • Paradigm (The importance of Socioeconomic

Context)• Theory (mega, macro and micro theories).• Macro Level theory = are theories whose scope

is society at large or at least large portions of it. E.g. struggle between social classes.

• Micro-level theory = have smaller scope e.g. explaining a specific conflict.

•

Inductive Reasoning (Qualitative Approach)

Deductive Reasoning (Quantitative Approach)

ethical and political issues in business research

• When most people think of ethics (or morals), they think of rules for distinguishing between right and wrong, such as the Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"), a code of professional conduct like the Hippocratic Oath ("First of all, do no harm"), a religious creed like the Ten Commandments ("Thou Shalt not kill..."), or a wise aphorisms like the sayings of Confucius.

ethical and political issues in business research

• This is the most common way of defining "ethics": norms for conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

• Most people learn ethical norms at home, at school, in church, or in other social settings. Although most people acquire their sense of right and wrong during childhood, moral development occurs throughout life and human beings pass through different stages of growth as they mature.

ethical and political issues in business research

• Ethical norms are so ubiquitous that one might be tempted to regard them as simple commonsense.

• On the other hand, if morality were nothing more than commonsense, then why are there so many ethical disputes and issues in our society?

• One may also define ethics as a method, procedure, or perspective for deciding how to act and for analyzing complex problems and issues.

ethical and political issues in business research

• There are several reasons why it is important to adhere to ethical norms in research. First, norms promote the aims of research, such as knowledge, truth, and avoidance of error. For example, prohibitions against fabricating, falsifying, or misrepresenting research data promote the truth and avoid error.

• Second, since research often involves a great deal of cooperation and coordination among many different people in different disciplines and institutions, ethical standards promote the values that are essential to collaborative work, such as trust, accountability, mutual respect, and fairness.

ethical and political issues in business research

• For example, many ethical norms in research, such as guidelines for authorship, copyright and patenting policies, data sharing policies, and confidentiality rules in peer review, are designed to protect intellectual property interests while encouraging collaboration.

• Most researchers want to receive credit for their contributions and do not want to have their ideas stolen or disclosed prematurely.

• Third, many of the ethical norms help to ensure that researchers can be held accountable to the public.

ethical and political issues in business research

• Ethics are necessary to deal with research misconduct, conflicts of interest, the human subjects protections, and animal care and use in order to make sure that researchers who are funded by public money can be held accountable to the public.

ethical and political issues in business research

• Most Universities in the world have developed policies and code of conduct for researchers. Example:

1. The Sokoine University of Agriculture: Code of Conduct for Research Ethics (MoCU is currently using the SUA policy meanwhile developing its own)

2. The University of South Africa (UNISA): Policy on Research Ethics. The Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) requires that “every research institution in Tanzania MUST have code of ethics for researchers”

Alternative to Research/ Non-Scientific way of knowing (Inquiry)

1. Authority2. Tradition3. Common sense4. Media myths5. Personal experience

Non-Scientific Inquiry Cont.

1. Authority• When you accept something as true just

because someone in a position of authority says it is true or it is an authoritative publication, you are using authority as basis of knowledge.

• Parents, Teachers, Books.

Non-Scientific Inquiry Cont.

2. Tradition is a special case of authority-the authority of the past. It means you accept something as being true because “it’s the way things have always been.

• 3. Common Sense: You rely on what everyone knows and what “just makes sense”. It is about ordinary reasoning. It can originate from tradition

Non-Scientific Inquiry Cont.

• 4. Media Myths: Media tends to perpetuate the myths of a culture.

• 5. Personal Experience: If something happens to you, if you personally experience it or see it, you accept it as true.

Errors in non-scientific Inquiry

1. Inaccurate Observation:2. Overgeneralization:3. Selective Observation:4. Made Up information:5. Illogical Reasoning:6. Premature Closure of Inquiry

Research/ Scientific Inquiry

• Scientific Inquiry: offers protection against the errors we make in casual inquiry.

• How Does it avoid the errors of non-scientific inquiry?

• Science avoids the errors of casual inquiry by making observation a careful and deliberate activity.

Research/ Scientific Inquiry

• In casual observation we tend to jump to general conclusions on the basis of only few observations.

• Science avoids overgeneralization through replication, the repeating of studies.

• Casual observation may ignore evidence that contradicts our preferred conclusions.

• Science avoids this by setting in advance the observations to be undertaken.

Foundations of Science

• Science is characterized as logical-empirical. • Science has two pillars:1.Logic or rationality2.Observation or empirical evidence• Research as a science of finding out is, thus,

based on logic and empirical evidence.

Variables & their Levels of Measurements

• Samples are made up of individuals, all individuals have characteristics. Members of a sample will differ on certain characteristics. Hence, we call this variation amongst individuals variable characteristics or variables for short.

• Simply: variable is a logical set of attributes or • a symbolic name associated with a value and

whose associated value may be changed.

Variables Cont.

Types of variables: All variables can be groupedinto two major categories:• Qualitative-e.g. Gender, Religion, region, etc• Quantitative-discrete (e.g. number of children,

number of cars, etc ); continuous (e.g. weight, height. Temperature, etc).

• The two groups may be further sub-divided into sub-groups as follows:

Variables Cont.

1. Dependent variable (s)2. Independent variable (s) (or Manipulated variable)

Variables Cont.3. Intervening variableA variable that explains a relation or provides a

causal link between other variables.Also called by some authors “mediating variable” or

“intermediary variable.”Example: The statistical association between income

and longevity needs to be explained because just having money does not make one live longer.

Other variables intervene between money and long life. People with high incomes tend to have better medical care than those with low incomes. Medical care is an intervening variable. It mediates the relation between income and longevity.

Variables Cont.

4. Dummy VariablesCreated by recoding categorial variables that

have more than two categories into a series of binary variables. E.g., Marital status, if originally labelled 1=married, 2=single, and 3=divorced, widowed, or separated, could be redefined in terms of two variables as follows: var_1: 1=single, 0=otherwise. Var_2: 1=divorced, widowed, or separated, 0=otherwise.

Variables Cont.

5. Continuous variable• A variable that is not restricted to particular

values (other than limited by the accuracy of the measuring instrument). E.g., reaction time, neuroticism, IQ.

• Equal size intervals on different parts of the scale are assumed, if not demonstrated.

• Synonym for interval variable.

Variables Cont.

6. Dichotomous variable: Synonym for binary variable.

7. Discrete variable: Variable having only integer values. For example, number of years spent schooling.

8. Control variable: An extraneous variable that an investigator does not wish to examine in a study.

9. Thus the investigator controls this variable. Also called a covariate.

Variables Cont.• What are variables you would consider in buying a second

hand car?• Brand/make (Suzuki, Toyota, Rover, Nissan, Wagen, Isuzu,

BMW, etc )• Type (2WD, 4WD)• Engine Size: (x<1000cc; x>1000cc;1500cc<x<2700cc, etc)• Color (Champagne gold, navy blue, silver, white, black, pearl,

etc)• Gear (AT, MT, Auto-Manual)• Age (x> 10 years, x<10years, etc)• Engine type (EJ, 3S, 1AZ, 1JZ, 1MZ, etc )• Price • Seats (2, 5, 7, 8, etc)

Level of measurements1. Nominal-objects or people are categorized

according to some criterion (gender, job category, etc) non-numeric

2. Ordinal-categories which are ranked according to characteristics e.g. income (low, moderate, high) non- numeric

3. Interval-contains equal distance between units of measurement but no zero (calendar year, temperature ) numeric

4. Ratio-has an absolute zero and consistent intervals (distance, weight) numeric.

Variables

This graph show speed as a function of time. Time is the independent variable; speed is the dependent variable. 

RESEARCH TOPIC

Research Topic Cont.• Is the subject to be researched, analysed and

interpreted.• It is a thematic statement of what the research

is all about.• It may arise as a problem to be solved or as an

issue to be better understood.• It may involve the conditions in which the

researcher wants to improve, difficulties to be eliminated or questions for which immediate answers are required.

Research Topic Cont.• Typically, a researcher will select a research

topic by identifying a wide area of interest or concern (research area) and then narrow that area to a manageable set of research questions.

• A good research topic will focus the direction of the research and position the central concept for the researcher at an early stage.

• A research topic should have a subject and an object, and should define the variables and the population to be investigated.

Research Topic Cont.• Sources of Research Topics: i. Personal experience (personal observation of

certain relationships for which no satisfactory explanations exists),

ii. Deduction from existing theories,iii.Formal needs assessment,iv.Literature sources (the most common source

where researchers review journal papers, research reports, dissertations and theses, etc.

Research Topic Cont.• When writing the topic make sure: It is not more than 20 words including

punctuations, the shorter the better,It shows clearly the population to be studied,It shows the subject (IV(s)) and the Object (DV),It shows clearly where the study will be

conducted,Do not end with a period,Write using UPPER case,Align at the centre,

Research Topic Cont.A good title must be fully explanatory when

standing alone,A good title must avoid titles that serve no

purpose such as; methods, results, a study of, an investigation, a survey, views, identification of, an assessment of, comparative analysis of, to determine, an analysis of, etc.

Simply, all action verbs must be avoided in the title. They make a title look like an objective.

Avoid brackets, Avoid abbreviation eg. SACCOS

End of introductory Lectures, thanks