What is Business Research?

Research provides the needed information that guides manager to make informed decision to
successfully deal with problem

The information provided could be the result of carefull analysis of data gathered firsthand or of data
that already available in company.

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

Characteristics of Good Research

Objectivity: Research is supposed to be free from any personal and other sorts of biases, which will
make the research error-free as well.

Reliability: Reliability is a characteristic of research that is expected to generate the same results
repeatedly, making it consistent. The higher the level of consistency, the higher the reliability of the
study.

Validity: Validity means that the research should be measuring and following the processes which it is
expected to do. There are several types of fact, such as Internal Validity, Extermal Validity, Face Validity.
Content Validity, Criterion Validity, and Construct Validity.

Accuracy: Accuracy means the method and tools of measurement should be deal

Credibility: The data and techniques used should be the best and most cost effective

Generalizability: This means that the research outcome should apply to a much larger population

Empirical Research: This means that research should be based on real life experiences

Systematic and logical: Research should follow steps and techniques based on certain logic

Controlled Factors: In every research certain factors affect the study but they need to be held while
doing research.

Cyclical: Research should be such that it should start with a problem and there should always be further
scope for working on it

Replicable: This means that the same research should give the same results if done by anyone else.
What is Business Research Design

Research design is the overall strategy (or research methodology) used to carry out a study. It defines
the framework and plan to tackle established problems and/or questions through the collection,
interpretation, analysis, and discussion of data

Research Design

Data presentation and reporting


 Resources
 Time Frame
 Data Analysis
 Data Collection Instruments
 Sampling
 Data Collection Method
 Research objectives and questions

Characteristics of Good Research Design

 Clear Research Objectives
 Appropriateness to Research Questions
 Validity
 Reliability
 Feasibility
 Clear Sampling Strategy
 Control of confounding variables
 Data collection methods
 Data Analysis plan
 Ethical Considerations
 Flexibility

Characteristics of applied Research

Action research is a systematic inquiry process that is undertaken by practitioners (often educators,
social workers, or organizational leaders) to address specific issues or problems in their context.

Here are some key characteristics of action research:

 Collaborative Inquiry
 Problem-Centered
 Cyclical Process
 Practical and Reflective
 Action-Oriented
 Contextually Embedded
 Participatory and Empowering
 Iterative and Flexible
 Qualitative and Quantitative Data
  Ethical Considerations

Critical Writing

Purpose of Critical writing

To summarise and evaluate a text (books, chapters, journal articles, statistics, meta analysis etc.)

Critical writing requires:

Understanding the theoretical model from different perspectives, theories, approaches and frameworks

Critical writing?

Analysing the information and opinions in a text and presenting your evaluation or judgement of the
text.

TECHNIQUES TO EVALUATE TEXTS

 Understanding background of the text

 The comparison of Multiple Texts (papers of different authors on the same Dissue/same
variable/same problem/relevant model etc.)
 The identification of logical flaws (theoretical and empirical gap/limitation)
 The critical assessment of research methods (what methodology the paper has use? Is it as per
your methodological need? means if u putcomes, then intends to work con robustness of you
much read the paper in which robustness is tested through appropriate method)
 Searching for help in the literature itself

Argument?

is an attempt to persuade by giving good reasons

Components (Claim, Evidence, Reason, Premises)

Questions to Consider in Evaluating Arguments

1. What are you claiming?

2. What reasons do you have for believing that claim?
3. On what evidence do you base these reasons?
4. What warrants (principles) make your reasons relevant to your claim?
5. What would you say to someone who said, "But what about...?"

From: "Argument in a Nutshell" in The Craft of Argament, concise ed., by Joseph Williams and Gregory
Colomb (New York: Longman, 2003), p. 43.
What are the different kinds of reasoning?

 Inductive: from specific to general, arguing from specific observations

 Deductive: from general to specific, drawing conclusions from previously known facts

Claim

Example of Good Argument

A number of problems and serious omissions currently plague the research on El conducted under the
'mixed-model' banner, which employs self-report methodologies (Davies, Stankov & Roberts, 1998).
According to Barret, Miguel, Tan, and Hurd (2001), self report measures of ability suffer from low
reliability, low or no criterion- related validity, limited construct validity and are easily faked. It is also
questionable whether items

An argument is Not

 A statement of fact (i.e. 26% of Australians prefer dark Chocolates)

 an assertion or claim (i.e. wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of injury)
 A prescriptive statement (i.e. The Government should spend more money on healthcare)
 A conditional statement (i.e. if you drink too much, you will damage your brain)

An argument IS:

A group of statements of which one is a proposition or claim that is supported by at least one of the
other statements

i.e. drinking water daily is good for your health as it cleans out your liver (Ahmad, 2016) and "reduces
the level of toxins in your blood" (Borison, 2017, P.406)

Analysing Validity of an Argument

Toulmin's Method

Claim: The statement being argued (a thesis)

Data: The facts or evidence used to prove the argument

Warrants: The general, hypothetical assumption on which claim and data depends

Qualifiers: Statements that limit the strength of the argument or statements that propose the conditions
under which the argument is true
Rebuttals: Counter-arguments or statements indicating circumstances when the general argument does
not hold true.

Backing: Statements that serve to support the warrants (i.e., arguments that don't necessarily prove the
main point being argued, but which do prove the warrants are true.)

ANOTHER EXAMPLE

What is the connection between environment, tobacco, smoke, and asthma?

Important Statistical Terms

Sampling is a process in social science research that is used in statistical analysis in which a
predetermined number of observations are taken from a larger population.

The methodology used to sample from a larger population depends on the type of analysis being
performed, but it may include the most appropriate sampling method that must be align with research
objectives and overall research framework.

Important Statistical Terms

Population:

a set which includes all measurements of interest to the researcher (The collection of all responses,
measurements, or counts that are of interest)

Sample

A subset of the population

Sampling

Sampling theory focuses on the generalizability of descriptive findings to the population from which the
sample was drawn.

It also considers whether statements can be generalized from one population to another (called,
empirical generalizability)

Sampling is unnecessary when the elements that would sampled are be identical, but the complexity of
the social world makes it difficult to argue very often that different elements are identical.

There are two different meanings of generalizability:

 Can the findings from a sample of the population be generalized to the population from which
the sample was selected?
  Can the findings from a study of one population be generalized to another, somewhat different
population? Sample generalizability depends on sample quality, which is determined by the
amount of sampling error--the difference between the characteristics of a sample and the
characteristics of the population from which it was selected.
 Always remember..... The larger the sampling error, the less representative the sample-and thus
the less generalizable the findings.

To assess sample quality when you are planning or evaluating a study, ask yourself these questions:

 From what population were the cares selected?

 What method was used to select cases from this population?
 Do the cases that were studied represent, in the aggregate, the population from which they
were selected?

But researchers often project their theories into groups or populations much larger than, or simply
different from, those they have actually studied.

 If a small sample has been studied in an experiment er field research project, the study should
be replicated in different settings or, preferably, with a representative sample of t the
population to which generalizations are sought. i.e. medical trials of medications, trainings
sessions to entrepreneurs or business start-ups etc.
 Representative sample A sample that looks like" the population from which it was selected in all
respects that are potentially relevant to the study.
 In some circumstances, it may be feasible to skirt the issue of generalizability by conducting a
census-studying the entire population of interest-rather than drawing a sample.
 This is what the federal government tries to do every 10 years with the countries Census.
 The reason that social scientists don't often attempt to collect data from all the members of
some large population is simply that doing so would be too expensive and time-consuming and
they can do almost as well with a sample.

Get information about large populations

Less costs

Less field time

More accuracy i.e. Can Do A Better Job of Data Collection

Legitimate way to study the whole population

Target Population

The population to be studied/ to which the investigator wants to generalize his results
Sampling Unit:

Smallest unit from which sample can be selected

Sampling frame

List of all the sampling units from which sample is drawn

Sampling scheme

Method of selecting sampling units from sampling frame

Sampling terms

 Population (delinquents) N
 Target population (thieves)
 Sampling frame (known as thieves by police)
 Sample n
 Sampling ratio n/N

Types of Sampling

 Non-probability samples
 Probability samples

Types of Nonprobability Sampling

Nonprobability sampling

 Typically used by qualitative researchers

 Rarely determine sample size in advance
 Limited knowledge about larger group or population

Types

 Haphazard Sampling
 Quota Sampling
 Purposive Sampling
 Snowball Sampling
 Deviant Case Sampling
 Sequential Sampling

Haphazard Sampling

 Convenience form of sampling

  Person-on-the-street interviews
 Cheap and quick
 Can produce ineffective, highly unrepresentative samples
 Weak method, hence recommends in rare cases (where needed only)
 Clip out survey from a newspaper and mail it in
 Haphazard/Accidental/Convenience sample

Analyse the argument using Toulmin's Technique

Congress should ban animal research because animals are tortured in experiments that have no
necessary benefit for humans such as the testing of cosmetics. The well being of animals is more
important than the profits of the cosmetics industry. Only congress has the authority to make such a law
because the corporations can simply move from state to state to avoid legal penalties. However, this
ban should not apply to medical research. A law to ban all research would go too far.

Quota Sampling

 First you identify relevant categories of people

 Then you figure out how many to sample from each category
 Ensures that some differences are in the sample
 Still haphazard sampling within the category

Purposive Sampling

Expert uses judgment in selecting cases with a specific purpose in mind.

Purposive sampling refers to intentionally selecting participants based on their characteristics,

knowledge, experiences, or some other criteria. Convenience sampling involves recruiting individuals
primarily because they are available, willing, or easy to access or contact on a practical level.

 Especially informative cases (Cultural themed magazines)

 Difficult-to-reach, specialized population (Prostitutes, Atomic scientists)
 Particular types of cases (Adam gee study in the CG book)

Snowball Sampling

 Snowball sampling is a recruitment technique in which research participants are asked to assist
researchers in identifying other potential subjects.
 I find the retired public service bureaucrat women to talk to, then ask him/her for some more
retied bureaucrats I could talk to, and it goes on and on and on
Deviant Case Sampling

 Seeks cases that differ from the dominant pattern or that differ from the predominant
characteristics of other cases.
 Extreme (or deviant) case sampling is a type of purposive sampling that is used to focus on cases
that are special or unusual, typically in the sense that the cases highlight notable outcomes,
failures or successes.
 Selected because they are unusual
 High school dropouts example

Sequential Case Sampling

 Sequential sampling is a non-probability sampling technique wherein the researcher picks a

single or a group of subjects in a given time interval, conducts his study, analyzes the results
then picks another group of subjects if needed and so on.
 Sequential sampling is a non-probabilistic sampling technique, in which the sample size, n, is not
fixed in advanced, nor is the timeframe of data collection. Initially developed as a tool for
product quality control, the process begins, first, with the sampling of a single observation or a
group of observations.

Probability sampling

 Each element has an equal probability of selection

 Can statistically calculate the relationship between sample and the population-sampling error
 Saves time and cost
 Accuracy
 Must draw sampling element: unit of analysis or case in a population
 Population is all of the possible elements, specified for unit, geographical location, and temporal
boundaries
 Sampling frame is specific list that closely approximates all of the elements in a population
 Can be extremely difficult because there just aren't good lists for some things
 Frames may be inaccurate

Methods Used in Probability sampling

 Simple random sampling

 Systematic sampling
 Cluster sampling
 Multi-stage sampling
 Stratified sampling

Random sampling
Each subject has a known probability of being selected

Systematic Sampling

Systematic sampling is a probability sampling method where researchers select members of the
population at a regular interval-for example, by selecting every 15th person on a list of the population. If
the population is in a random order, this can imitate the benefits of simple random sampling.

Calculate a sampling interval-tells researcher how to select elements by slip pattern

 I want to sample 500 names from a list of 1000

 Sampling interval is 2
 I select a random starting point and choose every other name to give me 500
 Big problem when elements in a sample are organized in some kind of cycle or pattem

Cluster Sampling

Cluster sampling is a probability sampling method in which you divide a population into clusters, such as
districts or schools, and then randomly select some of these clusters as your sample. The clusters should
ideally each be mini- representations of the population as a whole. Cluster must be homogenous among
clusters but heterogeneous within the cluster.

Unit chosen is not an individual, but is a cluster of individuals naturally grouped together such as
mosques, churches, schools, blocks, counties, businesses

They are alike with respect to characteristics relevant to the study

 Useful when there is no good sampling frame available

All high school basketball players, for example
 First you random sample clusters of information then draw a random sample of elements from
within the clusters you selected

 Example
Want to sample individuals from Lahore
Randomly select city blocks/towns, then households within blocks/towns, then individuals
within households
 Less expensive, but also less precise
Error shows up in each sample drawn

Multi-stage Sampling

Multi-stage sampling represents a more complicated form of cluster sampling in which larger clusters
are further subdivided into smaller, more targeted groupings for the purposes of surveying.
Despite its name, multi-stage sampling can in fact be easier to implement and can create a more
representative sample of the population than a single sampling technique.

Particularly in cases where a general sampling frame requires preliminary construction multistage
sampling can help reduce costs of large-scale survey research and limit the aspects of a population
which needs to be included within the frame for sampling.

Study Model

 Green HRM Practices

 Green Recruitment & Selection
 Green Training & Development
 Green Performance Management
 Green Reward and Compensation
 Green Employee Empowerment

Organizational Performance

Environmental IT Performance

Organiz, Financial Performance

Multi-stage Sampling

Multi-stage sampling represents a more complicated form of cluster sampling in which larger clusters
are further subdivided into smaller, more targeted groupings for the purposes of surveying.

Despite its name, multi-stage sampling can in fact be easier to implement and can create a more
representative sample of the population than a single sampling technique.

Particularly in cases where a general sampling frame requires preliminary construction, multi-stage
sampling can help reduce costs of large-scale survey research and limit the aspects of a population
which needs to be included within the frame for sampling.

In statistics, multistage sampling is the taking of samples in stages using smaller and smaller sampling
units at each stage. Multistage sampling can be a complex form of cluster sampling because it is a type
of sampling which involves dividing the population into groups.

This approach however, may be considered overly-expensive or time consuming for the investigator.
Using multi-stage sampling, investigators can instead divide these first-stage clusters further into
second-stage cluster using a second element (for example, first 'clustering a total population by
geographic region, and next dividing each regional cluster into second-stage clusters by neighborhood).

Multi-stage sampling begins first with the construction of the clusters. Next, the investigator identifies
which elements to sample from within the clusters, and so on until they are ready to survey.
Example

Iyoke et al. (2006) stated that 'Researchers used a multi-stage sampling design to survey teachers in
Lahore, Pakistan, in order to examine whether socio-demographic characteristics determine teachers'
attitudes towards adolescent gender education.

First-stage sampling included a simple random sample to select 20 secondary schools in the region. The
second stage of sampling selected 13 teachers from each of these schools (but these teachers must
represent the whole population of that school faculty), who were then administered questionnaires.

Population (25 Districts)

1 Stage Simple Random Sampling

10 Districts (884 Schools)

2nd Stage Stratified Sampling

Boys Secondary Schools (60% from each district) (346 Schools)

Girls Secondary Schools 160% from each district) (188 Schools)

Male Heads (75% from each districti (260 Heads)

Female Heads 75% from each district) (142 Heads)

3rd Stage Simple Random Sampling

Total Sample 402 Secondary School Heads

Stratified Sampling

Stratified sampling is a method of sampling that involves the division of a population into smaller groups
known as strata.

In stratified sampling, the strata are formed based on members' shared attributes or characteristics. A
random sample from each stratum is taken in a number proportional to the stratum's size when
compared to the population. These subsets of the strata are then pooled to form a random sample

SS Guarantees representation of entire population BUT This can allow for oversampling as well for
specific research purposes

REAKING DOWN 'Stratified Random Sampling'

The main advantage with stratified sampling is how it captures key population characteristics in the
sample. Similar to a weighted average, this method of sampling produces characteristics in the sample
that are proportional to the overall population. Stratified sampling works well for populations with a
variety of attributes, but is otherwise ineffective, as subgroups cannot be formed.

Stratified sampling uses information known about the total population prior to sampling to make the
sampling process more efficient. Select sample with mirror proportions on age, gender, religion etc.
Two Approaches are used in Stratified Sampling:

stratified sampling using proportionate approach

stratified sampling using random approach

Stratified Sampling Random Approach

Stratified sampling

 Population
 Strata
 Random selection
 Sample

Sequence for Questionnaire/Instrument Development

A questionnaire is a research instrument that consists of a set of questions or other types of prompts
that aims to collect information from a respondent.

A research questionnaire is typically a mix of close-ended questions and open- ended questions.

The questionnaire is the main instrument for collecting data in survey research. Basically, it is a set of
standardized questions, often called items, which follow a fixed scheme in order to collect individual
data about one or more specific topics. Sometimes questionnaires are confused with interviews.

Israel 1991

Stevens (2007)

Stevens provides rules of thumb for determining sample size in regression and factor analysis. For factor
analysis, he suggests having at least 5 subjects per variable, with a minimum of 100 subjects overall. For
multiple regression, he follows a similar recommendation to Tabachnick and Fidell but also suggests a
rule of thumb of 15 participants per predictor variable to ensure the validity of the analysis.

Formula for Factor Analysis: n=5*k

Where:

n = sample size

k = 1 of variables in the factor analysis

Formula for Regression: n=15*m

Where:
n = 1 sample size

m = of predictor variables

Reference: Stevens, J. P. (2007), Intermediate Statistics: A Modern Approach (3rd ed.)

Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Tabachnick and Fidell (2012)

Tabachnick and Fidell provide guidelines for sample size determination in multivariate analysis,
especially when using techniques like regression or factor analysis. Their rule of thumb is that the
sample size should be large enough to have at least 5 to 10 observations per variable. However, for
some techniques like regression, they recommend at least 50 + 8(m) where m is the number of
predictors in a regression equation.

Formula for Factor Analysis: n = 50 + 8(m)

Where:

n = required sample size

m = number of predictors (independent variables)

This recommendation helps avoid overfitting models and ensures stable estimates of coefficients in
regression.

Reference: Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2012). Using Multivariate Statistics (6th ed.). Pearson.