Babajide Okuntola May 19, 2009

Student Number 5

(BA 301) THE RESEARCH PROCESS

CHAPTER 6

Summary of Elements of Research Design

This chapter will enable us understand different aspects relevant to designing a research study and the use of the study.

Research design provides the glue that holds the research project together. A design is used to structure the research, to show how all of the major parts of the research project,  the samples or groups, measures, treatments or programs, and methods of assignment work together to try to address the central research questions.

In research designing, the following steps have to be taken into consideration.

1)       Observation; A method of data collection in which the situation of interest is watched and the relevant facts, actions and behaviours are recorded.

 

2)       Preliminary data gathering

 

3)       Problem definition; before a project can begin, there has to be a reason why it should take place. You have to define the problem that the system is meant to be overcome. This phase is called the 'Problem definition phase’. Some formal effort is made to define exactly what the problem is.

Methods of defining a problem:

	·         Interview employees about their issues with the current system
	·         Analysing the total costs of the current system
	·         Key external factors that may point towards developing a new system.
	·         Performance of the existing system.

4)       Theoretical frame work; A theoretical framework is a collection of interrelated concepts, like a theory but not necessarily so well worked-out. A theoretical framework guides your research, determining what things you will measure, and what statistical relationships you will look for.

 

5)       Generation of hypotheses; this is a tentative theory or supposition provisionally adopted to explain certain facts, and to guide in the investigation of others; hence, frequently called a working hypothesis.

6)       Scientific research design

 

7)       Data collection, analysis and interpretation; Data collection is the systematic recording of information; data analysis involves working to uncover patterns and trends in data sets; data interpretation involves explaining those patterns and trends.

 

8)       Deduction; Deductive reasoning works from the more general to the more specific. Sometimes this is informally called a "top-down" approach. We might begin with thinking up a theory about our topic of interest. We then narrow that down into more specific hypotheses that we can test. We narrow down even further when we collect observations to address the hypotheses. This ultimately leads us to be able to test the hypotheses with specific data, a confirmation (or not) of our original theories.

 

9)       Report writing

 

10)   Report presentation

 

11)   Managerial decision making

 

Definition of Issues involved in research design:

Purpose of the study:

n       Exploratory Study: This Study is undertaken when not much is known about the situation at hand, or no information is available on how similar problems or research issues have been solved in the past.

E.g. the manager of a multinational corporation is curious to know if the work ethic values of employees working in Prince Hassan Industrial City would be different from those of Americans.

That city is a small city, and no information about the ethic values of its workers.

Also, the work ethic values mean be different to people in different cultures.

The best way to study the above situation is by conducting an exploratory study, by interviewing the employees in organizations.

 

n       Descriptive Study: this is undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe the characteristics of the variables of interest in a situation.

For instance, a study of the Research Methods 200 class in terms of the percentage of members who are in their senior (will be in the graduation stage), sex composition, age groupings, number of semesters left until graduation, can be considered as descriptive in nature.

In addition, descriptive studies are undertaken in organizations to learn about and describe the characteristics of a group of employees, as for example, the age, education level, job status, and length of service.

Example 1; A bank manager wants to have a profile of the individuals who have loan payments outstanding for 6 months and more.

This profile would include details of their average age, earnings, nature of occupation, full-time/ part-time employment status, and the like.

The above information might help the manager to decide right away on the types of individuals who should be made ineligible for loans in the future.

n       Example 2; A marketing manager might want to develop a pricing, sales, distribution, and advertising strategy for his product.

The manager might ask for information regarding the competitors, with respect to the following:

1. The percentage of companies who have prices higher and lower than the industry norm.

2. The percentage of competitors hiring in-house staff to handle sales and those who use independent agents.

3. Percentage of sales groups organized by product line, by accounts, and by region.

4. The types of distribution channels used and the percentage of customers using each.

5. Percentage of competitors spending more dollars on advertising/promotion than the firm and those spending less.

6. Percentage of those using the web to sell the product.

n       Hypothesis Testing: Studies that engage in hypotheses testing usually explain the nature of certain relationships, or establish the differences among groups or the independence of two or more factors in a situation.

Hypotheses testing is undertaken to explain the variance in the dependent variable or to predict organizational outcomes.

Example 1: A marketing manager wants to know if the sales of the company will increase if he doubles the advertising dollars.

Here, the manager would like to know the nature of the relationship between advertising and sales by testing the hypothesis:

If advertising is increased, then sales will also go up.

n       Case studies analysis: Case studies involve in-depth, contextual analyses of matters relating to similar situations in other organizations.

Case studies, as a problem solving technique, are not frequently resorted to in organizations because findings the same type of problem in another comparable setting is difficult due to the reluctance of the companies to reveal their problems.

Case studies that are qualitative in nature are, however, useful in applying solutions to current problems based on past problem-solving experiences.

Also, case studies are useful in understanding certain phenomena, and generating further theories for empirical testing.

Types of investigation:

n       A causal study: This is an inquiry to know the cause of one or more problems.

n       A correlational study: This is an inquiry to know the important variables associated with the problem.

Extent of researcher interference:

·         Minimal Interference

·         Moderate Interference

·         Excessive Interference

 

Study setting:

 

·         Correlational studies are conducted in non-contrived settings (normal settings), whereas most causal studies are done in contrived settings.

 

·         Correlational studies done in organizations are called field studies.

Chapter 5

Babajide Okuntola May 19, 2009

(BA 301) THE RESEARCH PROCESS

CHAPTER 5

Summary of Theoretical Framework Hypothesis Development

This chapter basically looks at the four types of variables and their definitions. It also discusses how the theoretical framework is developed and how testable hypotheses are generated there from.

Variables are properties or characteristics of some event, object, or person that can take on different values or amounts (as opposed to constants such as p which do not vary). When conducting research, experimenters often manipulate variables. For example, an experimenter might compare the effectiveness of four types of antidepressants. In this case, the variable is the "type of antidepressant".

There are four main types of variables namely;

·         Dependent variable

·         Independent variable

·         Moderating variable

·         Intervening variable

Dependent variables are the variables of primary interest to the researcher. It is the main variable that lends itself for investigation as a variable factor. Through the analysis of the dependent variable it is possible to find answers or solutions to a problem.

E.g. A researcher is investigating why there is a very high demand for a particular product produced by organization A. From this example, the high demand for the products is the dependent variable while the factors leading to the excessive demand are the independent variables.

 

Independent Variables are the variables that influence the dependent variable either in a positive or negative way. From the dependent variable above, the independent variables are the factors that bring about high demand for the products of organization A. examples of the independent variables that affect demand for products are;

·         Disposable Income of Consumers

·         Necessity & importance of Products to consumers

The above are major factors that manufactured products depend on.

 

Moderating variables are variables that have contingent effect on the relationship between two or more variables. A moderating variable serves as a catalyst for the impact of an independent variable on a dependent variable. Examples of a moderating variable between dependent and independent variables with reference to the case study are as follows;

·       Factors of production

·       Quality of products produced

·       Job Satisfaction of staff in Organization A

·       Job effectiveness and efficiency of staff of Organization A

The above affect the ability to organization A to produce as many products to meet consumer needs and consumer patronizing organization A.

 

Intervening Variable is the variable that surfaces between the time the independent variable starts influencing the dependent variable and the time the impact is felt on it. An example of an intervening variable with reference to the case study is as follows;

·         Advertisement of products

The intervening variable of the case study is comes up between the period of completion of manufacturing of a product and when they are made available for consumers.

 

A theoretical framework is a collection of interrelated concepts, like a theory but not necessarily so well worked-out. A theoretical framework guides your research, determining what things you will measure, and what statistical relationships you will look for.

 

A hypothesis is a logically conjectured relationship between two or more variables expressed in the form of a testable statement. Relationships are conjectured on the basis of the network of associations established in the theoretical framework formulated for the research study. By testing the hypotheses and confirming the conjectured relationships, it is expected that solutions can be found to correct the problem encountered.

There are 2 types of hypothesis;

I) Directional
ii) Non - Directional

Directional hypothesis are those where one can predict the direction (effect of one variable on the other as 'Positive' or 'Negative)

for e.g. Girls perform better than boys (better than' shows the direction predicted)

Non Directional hypothesis are those where one does not predict the kind of effect but can state a relationship between variable 1 and variable 2.

For e.g. there will be a difference in the performance of girls & boys (Not defining what kind of difference)

you can choose any of these hypotheses based on the kind of results you expect at the end.

Chapter 8

Chapter 7

Chapter 4

CHAPTER SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 4

In this chapter, we learned about the first three steps in the research process: Identification of the broad problem area to be researched, preliminary data gathering through interviews and literature survey, and problem definition. In particular, we discussed how managers could identify the broad problem area through observation, how preliminary data can be collected through unstructured and structured interviews and literature survey, and how the problem can be honed. We defined the term problem as any situation where a gap exists between the actual and desired states. We also touched on the ethical issues confronting researchers.

For me, the first and I absolutely believe that is the most important and crucial step, is the problem definition stage. If the problem is not clearly identified and defined, the manager will end up chasing shadows. We can end up treating and correcting the symptoms while the real problem will persist. For instance, there was a mail box designated as a helpdesk in my department where all queries and inquiries, plus transaction request can go to. The volume of mails that hit the box was astronomical. The staff attending to the box was being overwhelmed. The problem was not really the volume of mails but that the person on the desk was saddle with other function that distracts him form the box. Instead of addressing that, our departmental heads were attacking his was ethics, performance, the delayed responses to mails, etc. I was able to identify this problem and made a case for it, when it was applied and the helpdesk staff was stripped of other secondary responsibilities, of course, the efficiency of the helpdesk was greatly improved.

It is also very important that the reports generated from our researches have proper citations to avoid rejection of the work and to give it credibility. Also to avoid legal action against the writer as the original author can invoke the copy right laws.

Chapter 3

CHAPTER SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 3

In this chapter we have examined some aspects of computer technology that facilitates research and decision making by managers in organizations. We have specifically examined some of the current possibilities for research afforded by the use of software from simple data collection to the development of information systems to facilitate further research and decision making.

We described the role of information technology the readily makes available to managers the data they need and also indicated that functionally rich data marts and data warehouses expand the scope and quality of decision making. We mentioned Management In formation System, the Decision Support System, Executive Information System and Operations Research as facilitators of managerial decision making.

The obligations of the users of technology in organizations were noted, with the development of ever-increasing levels of sophisticated software packages that are easy to understand and use.

I believe that technology has made the process of research and information gathering, analysis, archiving and retrieval so much faster and easier in today’s world. This has helped countless managers to make decisions faster and more accurately as they can now access the required information for the decision quickly. In the banking industry where I am, a lot of the services we provide will not have been possible with out the advent of these emerging technologies, for instance, internet banking, ATM machines, etc. Having said that, we must also recognise the dangers inherent in the use of these technologies, such as internet frauds and hackers. The internet banking in my bank had to be shut down for a long while in 2007 due to an online fraud that was successful. The whole platform had to be redesigned with new safety features.

Chapter 9

There are two main types of scales: rating and rankng

Rating is used to elicit responses with regard to the object,event or person studied e.g. Dichotomous scale - to elicit a Yes or No answer; Likert Scale - to examine how strongly subjects agree or disagree with statements on a 5-point scale; Stapel Scale - measures both the direction and intensity of the attitude toward the items under study

Ranking is used to make comparisons between or among objects, event or persons and elicit the preferred choices and ranking among them

e.g. paired Comparison – used to assess preferences; Forced Choice - enables respondents to rank objects relative to one another among the alternative provided;

Comparative Scale - provides a benchmark or a point of reference to assess attitudes toward the current object, event or situation under study

Validity (certainty that what is to be measured is what is measured)

Content - how well the dimensions and elements of a concept have been delineated

Criterion-Related - when the measure differentiates individuals on acriterion it is expected to predict; Construct - how well the results fit the theories around which the test is designed

Reliability (the extent to which it is without bias -error free)

Test-retest and parallel-form

Test-Retest-the correlation between results obtained at different times from same set on the same questionnaire.  

The higher the better the test-retest reliability

Parallel-Form-correlation between responses on 2 comparable set that differ only in sequence or wordings