WHAT IS RESEARCH?

Any honest attempt to study a problem systematically or to add to mans knowledge of a problem
may be regarded as research. (Theodorson and Theodorson 1969 cited in Reber 1995, p.663)

Research is a creative activity leading to the production of new knowledge

In a university setting, research is defined as an original investigation undertaken in
order to contribute to knowledge and understanding in a particular field
Qualitative Research is primarily exploratory research. It is used to gain an
understanding of underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations. It provides
insights into the problem or helps to develop ideas or hypotheses for potential
quantitative research .Sep 16, 2011

WHY UNDERTAKE RESEARCH?

To investigate some existing situation or problem.
To provide solutions to a problem.
To explore and analyse more general issues.
To construct or create a new procedure or system.
To explain a new phenomenon.
To generate new knowledge.
A combination of two or more of any of the above.

Exploratory Research Descriptive Research Explanatory research

- Examine a little - Aims at painting a - Aims developing cause &
understood issue detailed picture effect relationships
- Develop ideas - Defines the idea - Tests the idea
- Seeking alternative - Develops dimensions/ - Explains the
explanation classification phenomenon
- Intuitive in nature - Theoretical in nature - Empirical in nature
- Focus on understanding - Focus on description - Focus on explanation
- Broad in scope - Focused in scope - Specific in scope
- Focus on theory - Focus on describing - Focus on accepting/
building different aspects rejecting a theory

Exploratory Research Descriptive Research Explanatory research

- Qualitative - Qualitative / Quantitative - Quantitative
- Induction - Induction / Deduction - Deduction
- Few Cases - Few to many cases - Many cases
- Interview, Observations, FGDs - Any technique suitable - Questionnaire, Secondary d
- Focus on Details - Focus on description - Focus on precise Explanati
- Theory Development - Theory Refinement - Theory Testing
- Theorizing - Refining - Generalizing

Type, idea,nature,focus,scope,theory,Quantitative/qualitative,induction/deduction,no of
cases,Technique,Focus on
detail/description/explanation,TheoryDevelopmnet/refinement/testing,Theorizing.
Exploratory research
Research in which primary issue is to examine a little understood issue or phenomenon to
develop preliminary ideas and move towards refined research questions by focusing on the
what question.
Explanatory research
Research in which the primary purpose is to explain why events occur and to build,
elaborate, extend, or test theory.

Pure research takes place to explore a particular concept, or issue, without regard for a specific
problem, and may be carried out to simply gain a better understanding of the overall concepts.
Applied research is undertaken to solve a specific problem or provide a solution to a practical
question.
Primary research
Refers to research that has involved the collection of original data specific to that
particular research project, for example through using research methods such as
questionnaires or interviews.
Secondary research
Refers to research where no such original data is collected, but the research project
uses existing (or secondary) sources of data, for example census or archive data.
Theoretical research generally uses the findings from existing works to develop new ideas
through analysing existing theory and explanations. These new ideas are not tested through
collecting evidence in the form of primary data.
Empirical research supports the development of new ideas through the collection of data
(empirical = observation or measurement rather than theoretical reasoning).

Why do qualitative research?

Qualitative research methods are designed to help researchers understand people
and what they say and do
They allow a researcher to see and understand the context within which actions and
decisions take place
It is the context that helps to explain why someone said something or acted the way
they did
Also by talking to people, or reading what they have written, we can find out what
they are or were thinking
Rigorous study?
When creating a rigorous study it is best to start with a good study design. A good study
design is your best chance to get useful data to analyze at the end.
The peer review system
Research findings must be open to scrutiny and formal evaluation by experts in a
particular field
Experts are those who are experienced and qualified to review research
If the research findings are new to these expert reviewers, then we can say that the
research findings represent an original contribution to knowledge
This peer review system exists in all scientific disciplines
It is a system of quality assurance
It is a social system
 Qualitative Research: Quantitative Research:
A focus on text A focus on numbers

Action research Surveys

Case study research Laboratory experiments
Ethnography Simulation
Grounded theory Mathematical modelling
Semiotics Structured equation modelling
Discourse analysis Statistical analysis
Hermeneutics Econometrics
Narrative and metaphor

The word triangulation has at least two meanings

Combining quantitative and qualitative research methods in the one study
Using two or more techniques to gather data
Rigorous Research Relevant Research
 Scientific research
Emphasis on meeting scientific standards such
as validity and reliability
Subject to academic peer review
Published in academic journals
Theoretical contribution
Relevant to business practitioners
Emphasis on being of practical immediate
relevant to practice
Published in consulting reports or industry
magazines
Practical contribution

Research philosophy is an over-arching term relating to the development of knowledge

and the nature of that knowledge
Ontology: is concerned with nature of reality. This raise the questions of the assumptions
researchers have about the way the world operates and commitment held to particular
views. The two aspects of ontology we describe here will both have their devotees among
business and management researchers , In addition, both are likely to be accepted as
producing valid knowledge by many researchers
 Blaikie (1993) describes the root definition of ontology as the science or study of
being and develops this description for the social sciences to encompass claims
about what exists, what it looks like, what units make it up and how these units
interact with each other. In short, ontology describes our view (whether claims or
assumptions) on the nature of reality, and specifically, is this an objective reality
that really exists, or only a subjective reality, created in our minds.

objectivism
The first aspect of ontology we discuss is objectivism. This portrays the position that
social entities exist in reality external to social actors concerned with their existence.
subjectivism
The second aspect, subjectivism holds that social phenomena are created from the
perceptions and consequent actions of those social actors concerned with their
existence
For the everyday example, they use the example of a workplace report asking one
to question whether it describes what is really going on, or only what the author
thinks is going on. They go on to highlight the complexity that is introduced when
considering phenomena such as culture, power or control, and whether they really
exist or are simply an illusion, further extending the discussion as to how individuals
(and groups) determine these realities does the reality exist only through
experience of it (subjectivism), or does it exist independently of those
who live it (objectivism).
Epistemology
It concerns what constitutes acceptable knowledge in a field of study.
Closely coupled with ontology and its consideration of what constitutes reality,
epistemology considers views about the most appropriate ways of enquiring into the
nature of the world (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Jackson, 2008) and what is
knowledge and what are the sources and limits of knowledge (Eriksson and
Kovalainen, 2008). Questions of epistemology begin to consider the research
method, and Eriksson and Kovalainen go on to discuss how epistemology defines
how knowledge can be produced and argued for.
Hatch and Cunliffe (2006) summarise epistemology as knowing how you can know
and expand this by asking how is knowledge generated, what criteria discriminate
good knowledge from bad knowledge, and how should reality be represented or
described. They go on to highlight the inter-dependent relationship
 between epistemology and ontology, and how one both informs, and depends upon,
the
other.
Aspects of philosophy

Positivism - the stance of the natural scientist

Realism - direct and critical realism

Interpretivism researchers as social actors

Axiology studies judgements about value

Positivism can be defined as research approaches that employ empirical methods, make
extensive use of quantitative analysis, or develop logical calculi to build formal explanatory
theory
Realism
Is another philosophical position which relates to scientific enquiry. The essence of
realism is that what the senses show us as reality is the truth; that objects have an
existence independent of the human mind. In this sense, realism is opposed to
idealism, the theory that only the mind and its contents exist
Direct realism and critical realism
It says that what you see is what you get: what we experience through our senses portrays
the world accurately.
critical realism: critical realists argue that we experience are sensations, the images of the
things in the real world, not the things directly. Critical realists point out how often our
senses deceive us.

Interpretivism
Interpretivisim advocates it is necessary for the researcher to understand differences
between humans in our role as social actors. This emphasizes the differences between
conducting research among people rather than objects such as trucks and computers.
Interpretive research is concerned with the meanings that people attach to norms, rules,
and values that regulate their interactions. Care is taken not to impose a previous
understanding of norms, rules, and values on others but rather to understand their beliefs
and actions from their point of view. The focus is not only on what they tell us directly
about the reasons for their beliefs and actions but also on the social practices that underlie
them. Social practice gives meaning to social action
Pragmatism
Pragmatism holds that the most important determinant of the epistemology,
ontology, axiology adopted is the research question.

Research paradigms
A way of examining social phenomenon from which particular understandings of these
phenomena can be gained and explanations attempted
Social science paradigms can generate fresh insights into real-life issues and problems
Four of the paradigms are:
Functionalist Radical humanist
Interpretive Radical structuralist

Deduction
5 sequential stages of testing theory
Deducing a hypothesis
Expressing the hypothesis operationally
Testing the operational hypothesis
Examining the specific outcome of the enquiry
Modifying the theory (if necessary)
Characteristics of Deduction

Explaining causal relationships between variables

Establishing controls for testing hypotheses
Independence of the researcher
Concepts operationalised for quantative measurement
Generalisation
 Induction
Building theory by
Understanding the way human build their world
Permitting alternative explanations of whats going on
Being concerned with the context of events
Using more qualitative data
Using a variety of data collection methods

Ethics
Action Research
What is Case Study
A case study is an empirical study that investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth and
with its real-life context (Yin, 2009, p18)
Case is a bounded system, i.e. learning situation/group = case (Stake)
Cases are units of investigation.. individuals.. communities.. groups (Henn et al)
(A case can be a group of students, a group of teachers, 1 teacher, 1 student)

Develop holistic and meaningful characteristics of real life event

Investigate:
Small group behaviour
Managerial cycles
Neighbourhood change
School performance
Intrinsic case study- where the researchers do not have to select the case eg:- evaluation of the
process of implementing an innovation in an institution
2) Instrumental case study- the researchers begin with a research question or problem, and
seek out a case that offers illumination. The case may not be typical but can maximise what can
be learned about the phenomenon