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The Research Process

Chapter 4

The Research Process for Basic and Applied Research


Observation Theoretical Framework
Hypotheses

Research Design

Data Collection

Problem Identification

Deduction

No Preliminary data collection

Yes Report Writing Report Presentation Managerial Decision Making

Research Process

Scientific inquiry relating to its two distinct aspectsthe process of developing the conceptual framework & the hypotheses for testing & the design which involves the planning of the actual study dealing with such aspects as the location of the study, the selection of the sample & collection & analysis of the data.

The research Process

The previous image captures the research process in the first five boxes. Boxes 6 and 7 embody the design aspects. Box 8 denote the final deduction from the hypotheses testing. When all hypotheses substantiated and the research questions are fully answered the researcher writes up the report and presents it to the manager to be able to examine different ways of solving the problem and making a final decision, as represented in boxes 9,10, and 11

Cont.

if however several of the hypothesis are not substantiated or are only partially supported one may go back to examine the reasons for this. Figure indicating that the process may have to be restarted at the point where the researcher feels the need for reexamination. But managerial decisions may have to be made on the basis of current findings, either for lack of time or other reasons in which case the researcher tries to make educated conjectures as to why certain hypotheses were not supported & then writes the report reflecting these. Though the literature search & interviews might have been conducted before formulating the theoretical framework one may have to go back & conduct more interviews & or seek additional information from the literature for a clearer understanding so as to refine the theory. The research site, sample, measurement of the variables &other design issues may also have to be simultaneously considered as on e identifies the problems, formulates the theory & generated the hypothesis

Broad Problem Area


Identification of the broad problem area through the process of observing and focusing on the situation. Broad problem area refers to the entire situation where one sees a possible need for research and problem solving. The specific issues that need to be researched within this situation may not be identified at this stage.

Such issues might pertain to:


Problems currently existing in an organizational setting that need to be solved Areas that a manager believes need to be improved in the organization A conceptual or theoretical issues that needs to be tightened up for the basic researcher to understand certain phenomena Some research questions that a basic researcher wants to answer empirically

Currently Existing
Examplea situation might present itself where a manager might receive written complaints from women in some departments that they are not being treated right by the bosses. From the generalized nature of these complaints, the manager might become aware that he is facing gender related problem situation, but may not be able to point what exactly it is. That is the matter calls for further investigation before the exact problem can be identified and attempts are made to resolve it.

Requiring Improvements

ExampleIf the company has already formulated policies on discrimination and sexual harassments and legitimate complaints of discrimination come in then it is obvious that policies are not clear and need to be refined either is how they have been framed how they are understood or how they are enforced

Conceptual issue that need to be tightened

ExampleIt would be for the basic researcher to study sexual harassment so as to define that concept in precise terms. However, in practice certain nonverbal and non physical attention might also be unpalatable to some could be termed harassment. Thus the researcher might want to come up with a precise statement of what sexual harassment is and explain the definition of the term.

Answers Empirically

ExampleIt might be when the issue of perceived or actual sexual harassment and its impact on the consequences for the individuals (e.g. psychological stress) and organizations (poor performance) is explored by gathering data and testing the relationships. This is a situation where some specific answers are sought to a research question.

Examples of broad problem areas that a Manager could observe at the work

Training programs are perhaps not as effective as anticipated. The sales volume of a product is not picking up. Minority group members in organizations are not advancing in their careers The daily balancing of accounting ledgers in becoming a continuing concern The newly installed information system is not being used by the managers for whom it was primarily designed.

Continue:

The introduction of flexible work hours has created more problems than it has solved in many companies. The anticipated results of a recent merger have not been forthcoming Inventory control is not effective The installation of an MIS keeps getting stalled The management of complex multidepartmental team project is getting out of hand in the R & D department of a firm.

Continue

The broad problem area would be narrowed down to specific issues for investigation after some preliminary data are gathered by the researcher. This may be through Interview and literature research.

2. Preliminary Data Collection

It is the nature of the data collected which is from:

Unstructured Structured interviews Library search It would help to define the problem more specifically and evolve a theory, delineating possible variables that might exert an influence on it.

Cont.

The nature of information needed by researcher for the purpose could be:

Background Information of the organization that is the contextual factor Managerial Philosophy, company policies and other structural factors Perceptions, attitudes & behavioral responses of organization members and client system

Con.

Certain types of information such as the background details of the company can be obtained from available published records, the website of the company, its archives and other sources. Other type of written information such as company policies, procedures and rules can be obtained from the organizations records and documents. Data gathered through such existing sources are called secondary data.

Cont.

Certain other types of information such as the perceptions and attitudes of employees are best obtained by talking to them by observing events, people and objects or by administering questionnaires to individuals. Such data gathered fro research from the actual site of occurrence of events are called primary data.

Preliminary Data Collection


1.

Background information on the organization


It is very important for the researcher to be well acquainted with the background of the company before conducting the first interviews with officials. Such background information might include among other things the undernoted contextual factors which may be obtained from various published sources such as trade publications. Census of Business and Industry, Directory of Corporations, several other business guides and services, records available with the organization and web.

Cont.

What information will the researcher take?

The origin and history of the company when it came into being business it is in, rate of growth, ownership and control and so on. Size in term of employees , assets or both. Charterpurpose and ideology Location, regional, national or other Resources- human and others. Interdependent relationships with other institutions and the external environment Financial position during the previous 5-10 years and relevant financial data.

2. Management Philosophy and Structural factors


By asking direct questions from management It is possible that some answers are conflicting and contradicting Indicate problems as poor communication or misperception of organization philosophy, goal, values & so forth. Managerial philosophy questions offer an excellent idea of the priorities and values of company for example: Whether product quality is deemed important Focus on short or long term goals Controls are so tight that the creativity is stifled or loose so nothing gets done or conductive to good performance Company always plays safe or prepared to take calculate risks People oriented or solely profit oriented

Structural factors influence the problem and need to be explored on the following areas:

Role & positions in the organization and number of employees at each job level Extent of specialization Communication channels Control systems Coordination and span of control Reward Systems Workflow systems

Cont.

It is possible that the respondents perceptions of the structural variables may not match the formal written structural policies and procedures of the organization. Where such in the case these become relevant leads to follow during further unstructured and structured interviews with various levels of employees in the organization.

3. Perceptions, Attitudes and Behavioral Responses

Perceptions, Attitudes &Behavioral Responses


Employees Perceptions about work, and work environment and their attitudinal and behavioral responses can be tapped by talking to them, observing them and seeking their responses through questionnaires. A general idea of peoples perceptions of their work, the Organizational climate and other aspects of interest to the researcher can be obtained through structured and unstructured interviews. By establishing good rapport with the individuals and following the right questioning techniques the researcher will be able to obtain useful information. An understanding of the attitudinal & behavioral reactions of the organizational members is often very helpful in arriving at a precise problem definition.

Attitudinal factors comprise peoples beliefs about the reactions to the following:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

Nature of work Workflow interdependencies Superiors in organizations Participation in decision making Client systems Co-workers Rewards Opportunities for advancement Attitude towards employees family responsibilities Co.s involvement with community Co. tolerance of taking time off from the job

Cont.

Behavioral factors include actual work habits such as industriousness, extent of absenteeism and performance on the job and the like. Is all the information necessary? How the materials will be utilized in the research project? How much time should spent on collecting such information

The main idea of collecting such information is that these might often reveal the root of the REAL PROBLEM, attack on REAL ISSUES rather than work on the surface SYMPTOMS

Literature Survey

Definition

The documentation of a comprehensive review of the published and unpublished work from secondary sources of data in the areas of specific interest to the researcher. LibraryBooks, journals, newspapers, magazines, conference proceedings, doctoral dissertation, master thesis, government publications, financial and marketing reports on the research topic. Internetwhich has made the literature search readily available and accessible and can be done without entering into a library The researcher could start the literature survey even as the information from the unstructured & structured interviews in being gathered.

Cont.

Reviewing the literature on the topic area at this time helps the researcher to focus further interviews more meaningfully on certain aspects found to be important in the published studies even if these had not surfaced during the earlier questioning.

Reasons for Literature Survey


1.

2.

3.

4.
5. 6.

The purpose for reviewing literature survey is to ensure that no important variable that has in the past found repeatedly to have an impact on the problem is ignore. A clearer idea emerges as to what variable would be considered important ? Why they would be considered? How they should be investigated to solve the problem. Thus, Literature Survey helps the development of the Theoretical Framework and hypotheses for testing. The problem statement can be made with precision and clarity. Testability and replicability of the findings of the current research are enhanced. One does not run the risk of reinventing the wheel that is wasting efforts on trying to rediscover something that is already known. The problem investigated is perceived by the scientific community as relevant and significant.

Conducting Literature Survey

There are 3 steps in conducting the literature survey:


1. 2. 3.

Identifying the relevant sources Extracting the relevant information Writing up the literature review

A. Identifying the relevant sources

Manually go through several bibliographical indexes that are compiled periodically, listing the journals, books and other sources in which published work in the area of interest can be found. Computer has made these tasks very easy but library information should also be used Online systems to locate and print out the published information on various topics.

Cont.

Basically 3 forms of databases come in handy while reviewing the literature as indicated below
I. The Bibliographic databases

Name of the author The title of the book/author Source of publication Year Volume Page numbers

II. The abstract databases The summary of the article/ book or relevant material

III. The Full text databases Data in full form can be generated through online. Online searchers provide a number of advantages : a. less time b. comprehensive in listing & review of reference c. focus on material most central to the research d. relatively inexpensive

B. Extracting the Relevant Information

Access and have print out of the bibliographic indexes which will form the next step.

C. Writing up the Literature Review

The documentation of the relevant studies citing the author and the year of the study is called literature review on survey. It is a clear and logical presentation of the relevant research work done so far in the investigation. It is the foundation for setting theoretical framework and hypotheses.

Cont.

Such documentation is important for the reader because:


a.

b.

The researcher is knowledgeable about the problem area and has done the preliminary homework that is necessary to conduct a research. The theoretical framework will be structured on the work already done and will add to the solid foundation of existing knowledge.

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Example 4.1 Example 4.2

3. Problem Identification

After the interviews and the literature review, the researcher is in a position to narrow down the problem from its original broad base and define the issues of concern more clearly. No amount of good research can find solutions to the situation, if the critical issue on the problem to be studied is not clearly pinpointed. A problem does not necessarily mean that something is seriously wrong with a current situation that needs to be rectified immediately.

Problem Statement cont.

A problem could simply indicate an interest in an issue where finding the right answers might help to improve an existing situation. Thus, it is fruitful to define a problem as any situation where a gap exists between the actual and the desired ideal states. It is very important that symptoms of the problem are not defined as real problem.

Example

A manager might have tried to increase the productivity by increasing the piece rate, but with little success. Here the real problem may be the low morale and motivation of employees who feel they are not being recognized as valuable contributors to the system and get no praise for the good work that they do. The low productivity may merely be a symptom of the deep-rooted morale and motivation problem. Under these conditions, a higher piece rate will not improve productivity. Thus finding the right answers to the wrong problem definitions will not help. It should be recognized that correct problem identification is extremely critical for finding solutions to vexing issues.

Problem Definition or Problem Statement


Problem definition or problem statement, as it is also often referred to, is a clear precise and succinct statement of the question or issue that is to be investigated with the goal of finding an answer or solution.

Problem Definition (Contd.)


Under these condition, a higher piece rate will not improve the productivity! Thus, finding the right answers to the wrong problem definitions will not help. Hence it should be recognized that correct problem identification is extremely critical for finding solution to vexing issues.

It is referred to a problem definition or problem statement as a clear, precise, and summary statement of the question or issue that is to be investigated with the goal of finding answer or solution. Problem definitions could include: 1- existing business problem where a manager looking for a solution. 2-situations that may not pose any current problems but which the manager feels have scope for improvement. 3- areas where some conceptual clarity is needed for butter theory building, or 4- situations in which a researcher is trying to answer a research question empirically because of interest in the topic. The first two fall within the realm of applied research, and the latter two under basic research.

Managerial Implications

Managers sometimes look at the symptoms in problematic situation and treat them as if they are the real problems, getting frustrated when their remedies do not work. Understanding the antecedents- problem-consequences sequence and gathering the relevant information to get a real grasp of the problem go a long way in pinpointing it. Managers inputs help researchers to define the broad problem area & confirm their own theories about he situational factors impacting on the central problem. Managers who realize that correct problem definition is critical to ultimate problem solution, don not grudge the time spent in working closely with researchers particularly at this stage. Awareness of information sources & ability to obtain access to the requisite information at will trough the internet are great assets to the manager. Using this facility the manager can get to know how similar businesses the world over grapple with similar situations & get a better handle on the issues at hand.

Ethical Issues in the Preliminary Stage of Investigation


Once a problem is sensed and an investigation is decided on: It is necessary to inform all employees, particularly those who will be interviewed for preliminary data gathering through structured and unstructured interviews of the proposed study. Though it is not necessary to acquaint them with the actual reasons for study(because this might bias responses) letting them know that the research is intended to help them is their work environment will enlist their cooperation. The element of unpleasant surprise will thus be eliminated for the employees. It is also necessary to assure employees that their responses will be kept confidential by the interviewer/s & that individual responses will not be divulged to anyone in the organization.

Cont.

These two steps make the employees comfortable with the research undertaken & ensure their cooperation. Attempts to obtain information through deceptive means should be avoided at all costs as they engender distrust and anxiety within the system. In essence employers have the right to gather information relating to work & employees have the right to privacy & confidentiality but respondent cooperation alone assures good information.

Example

we would draw lesson from the fact that Johns Hopkins University ran into ethical problems for allegedly using human beings for risky scientific experiments. The Maryland Court of Appeals took issue with the prestigious university for its research in the 1990s when it exposed hundreds of poor & minority infants and toddlers to major health risks without alerting their parents. Some of the children according to news print reports now suffer learning disabilities & cognitive impairments akin to lea poisoning.

Cont.

More recently, in June 2001, the same institution practiced deliberate deception on asthma patients to enable doctors to chart the effects of certain medicine. In this process one patient died. In both cases failure to observe ethical standards bought discredit to this prestigious research organization. The moral of this is quite clear experiments on human beings may sometimes become worthwhile as a matter of necessity in the larger interests of promoting the health & well being of people but it is imperative that these should be undertaken only with the full knowledge & unqualified & specific approval of the participating subjects.

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