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Research Methods

CHAPTER 1

Uma Sekaran
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
Mudrajad Kuncoro, Ph.D.
Why research
Research may be described as a
combination
of:
– a quest of knowledge and understanding
– an interesting and, perhaps, useful experience.
– a course for qualification
– a career
– a style of life
– an essential process for commercial success
– a way to improve human quality of life
– a justification for funds for your department in your
university or company.

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What is Research?

• In its broadest sense, the term research may be used


to describe any activity that is primarily focused upon
the search for knowledge
• In a more narrow sense, research is usually taken to
be concerned with the systematic development of
new knowledge
• So, research can include the ‘looking up’ of existing
(previously published) material, but that is normally
thought of as just the first step in the research
process.

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What is Research?

"Seeking through methodical processes to add to one's


own body of knowledge and, hopefully, to that of others,
by the discovery of non-trivial facts and insights".

( Howard, K. and Sharp, J.A. 1983 p.6)

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What is research?

• “careful search or inquiry; Endeavour to


discover new or collate old facts etc. by
scientific study of a subject, course of critical
investigation”
(Oxford English Dictionary, OED)

• Research is the process of finding solutions


to a problem after a thorough study and
analysis of the situational factors.
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What is Research?
• Research is an organized and systematic way of finding
answers to questions.
• Systematic because there is a definite set of procedures
and steps which you will follow. There are certain things
in the research process which are always done in order
to get the most accurate results.
• Organized in that there is a structure or method in going
about doing research. It is a planned procedure, not a
spontaneous one. It is focused and limited to a specific
scope.
• Finding answers is the end of all research. Whether it is
the answer to a hypothesis or even a simple question,
research is successful when we find answers. Sometimes
the answer is no, but it is still an answer.

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What is business research?
• Research provides the needed information
that guides managers to make informed
decisions to successfully deal with problems.
• The information provided could be the result
of a careful analysis of data gathered firsthand
or of data that are already available (in the
company).
Business Research
• In business, research is conducted to resolve problematic issues
in, or interrelated among, the areas of accounting, finance,
management, and marketing.
• Accounting:
Budget control system, practices, inventory costing methods,
accelerated depreciation, taxation methods…etc.
• Finance:
The operation of financial institutions, optimum financial ratios,
mergers and acquisitions, ..etc.
• Management:
– Employee attitudes and behaviors, human resources management,
production operations management. Information systems…etc.
• Marketing:
– Advertising, sale promotion, distribution, packing, pricing, after-sale
service…etc.

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Business Research

• Research can be described as a systematic


and organized effort to investigate a
specific problem that needs solution.
• It is a series of steps designed and
followed with the goal of finding answers
to the issues that are of concern to us in
the work environment.
• The first steep is to know where the
problem areas are in the organization.
Then collecting data,….., finding solution.

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Basic and Applied Research

Basic Research aims to expand the frontiers of science and knowledge by verifying
or disproving the acceptability of a given theory or attempting to discover more
about a certain concept (non-specificity)

Example: How does motivation affect employee performance?

Applied Research focusses on a real-life problem or situation with a view to


helping reach a decision how to deal with it (Specificity)

Example: Should Corporation X adopt a paperless office environment?

MBA III (Research Methodology)


29 August 2005 10
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
Types Of Business Research

1.Applied research
Is to solve a current problem faced by the manager
in the work setting, demanding a timely solution

2.Basic research (fundamental, pure)


Is to generate a body of knowledge by trying to
comprehend how certain problems that occur in
organizations can be solved. The findings of such
research contribute to the building of knowledge in
the various functional areas of business.
• Research can be undertaken for two
purposes:
– To solve a currently existing problem in
work setting. (applied research)
– To add or contribute to the general body of
knowledge. (basic research)

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Applied research.

• When research done with the intention of


applying the results of its findings to solving
specific problems currently existed, its called
applied research.

• For example, applied researchers may


investigate ways to:
• improve agricultural crop production
• treat a specific disease
• improve the productivity of workers in certain sector.

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Applied research

• Most organizations are interested in applied research.


• Companies usually pay to researcher and consultant to study a
problem of concern to them in order to find solutions.
• Example: manufacturing companies want to improve their
production, this can be done by:
– Expending their effort on constant continuous improvement.
– New product
– Both alternatives
• Doubtless, each alternative has its own merits and demerits,
companies have to carry out research to find out which strategy
should be adopted.

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Basic Or Fundamental Or Pure Research.

• When research is being done chiefly to


improve our understanding of certain
problems that commonly occur in
organizational setting, and how to solve
them, the research is called basic or
fundamental or pure research.

• For example, basic science investigations


looking for answers to questions such as:
• How did the universe begin?
• What are protons, neutrons, and electrons composed of?
• What is the specific genetic code of the fruit fly?

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Basic or fundamental Research

• Done by universities staff and R&D units


in companies.
• Aim is to increase stock of knowledge.
• Many organizations usually benefited
from the finding of such research.
• Example: A research on a phenomenon
such as turnover problem might be done
in Ford company and applied in other
companies.

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Figure 1.1 Basic and applied research
Source: Authors’ experience, Easterby-Smith et al., 2002,

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The Building Blocks of Science in
Research
Deduction and Inductions
Answers to issues can be
found either by the process of
induction or the process of
deduction, or by a
combination of the two.
Deduction
• Deduction is the process by which we arrive at a
reasoned conclusion by logical generalization of a
known fact.

Example: we know that all high performers are highly


proficient in their jobs.
If John is a high performer, we then conclude that he
is highly proficient in his job
Induction
• Induction is a process where we observe certain
phenomena and on this basis arrive at conclusions.

In other words, in induction we logically


establish a general proposition based on
observed facts.
Pola silogisma yang digunakan

Deduktif
Penarikan kesimpulan untuk hal spesifik
dari gejala umum

Induktif
Penarikan kesimpulan berdasarkan
keadaan spesifik untuk hal yang umum
Other Types of Research
Case studies and action research
are sometimes used to study
certain types of issues.
1. Case Studies
2. Action Research
Case Studies
• Case studies involve in depth, contextual analyses of
similar situations in the other organizations, where
the nature and definition of the problem happen to
be the same as experienced in the current situation.
• Case study, as a problem solving technique, is not
often undertaken in organizations because such
studies dealing with problems similar to the one
experienced by a particular organization of a
particular size and in a particular type of setting are
difficult to come by.
Action Research
• The researcher begins with a problem that is already
identified and gathers relevant data to provide a
tentative problem solution.
• This solution is then implemented, with the
knowledge that there may be unintended
consequences following such implementation.
• The effects are then evaluated, defined and
diagnosed and the research continues on an ongoing
basis until the problem is fully resolved.
Klasifikasi menurut tujuan
Penelitian murni: meliputi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan
Penelitian terapan: menyangkut aplikasi teori untuk memecahkan
permasalahan tertentu. Ada 3 macam contoh:

Penelitian Evaluasi: Penelitian yang diharapkan dapat


memberikan masukan atau mendukung pengambilan
keputusan tentang nilai relatif dari dua atau lebih alternatif
tindakan
Penelitian dan pengembangan: Penelitian yang bertujuan
untuk mengembangkan produk sehingga produk tersebut
mempunyai kualitas yang lebih tinggi
Penelitian tindakan: Penelitian yang dilakukan untuk segera
dipergunakan sebagai dasar tindakan pemecahan masalah
yang ada
Klasifikasi penelitian menurut metode

Penelitian Historis: Kegiatan penyelidikan, pemahaman, dan


penjelasan keadaan yang telah lalu

Penelitian Deskriptif: Pengumpulan data untuk diuji hipotesis atau


menjawab pertanyaan mengenai status terakhir dari subjek penelitian

Penelitian Korelasional: Penelitian yang bertujuan menentukan apakah


terdapat asosiasi antara dua variabel atau lebih, serta seberapa jauh
korelasi yang ada di antara variabel yang diteliti

Penelitian Kausal : Penelitian yang menunjukkan arah hubungan antara


variabel bebas dengan variabel terikat, disamping mengukur kekuatan
hubungannya
Experimental research:
Besides receiving the different medications, the groups would be treated
exactly the same so that the research could isolate the effects of the
medications. After receiving the medications, both groups would be
compared to see whether people in the experimental group had fewer
headaches than people in the control group.

Assuming this study was properly designed (and properly designed studies
will be discussed in detail in later chapters), if people in the experimental
group had fewer headaches than people in the control group, the
researcher could conclude that the new medication reduces headaches.

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