MIT School of Management (MIT-SOM)

Research Methodology

Subject TeacherMr. Umesh B. Patwardhan

Topic 2 : Introduction to Research

Types of research.

Research approaches.

Who Conducts Research.

Social Research.

Language of Research.

Scientific method of Research.

Types of Research

Basic Research : Basic research or fundamental research (pure

research) is research carried out to increase understanding of

fundamental principles. Many times the end results have no direct or

immediate commercial benefits. Basic research can be thought of as

arising out of curiosity. However, in the long term it is the basis for many

commercial products and applied research.

Applied Research : Discovering, Interpreting and the development of

methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a

wide variety of scientific matters of world and the universe. Applied research

is research accessing and using some part of the research accumulated

theories, knowledge, methods, and techniques, for a specific purpose.

The goal of the research process is to produce new knowledge, which takes three main forms (although, the boundaries between them may be fuzzy)

1. Exploratory Research : Which structures and identifies new problems. 2. Constructive Research : Which develops solutions to a problem.3. Empirical Research : Which tests the feasibility of a solution using

empirical evidence.

Research can also fall into two distinct types

Primary Research : (also called field research) involves the collection of data that does not already exist. This can be through numerous forms, including questionnaires, telephone interviews and information collected through magazines. May be very expensive because many people need to be confronted. By the time the research is complete it may be out dated.

Secondary Research : (also known as desk research) involves the summary, collation and/or synthesis of existing research. Secondary research can come from either internal or external sources.

Artistic research : also seen as 'practice-based research', can take

form when creative works are considered both the research and the

object of research itself. It is the debatable body of thought which

offers an alternative to purely scientific methods in research in its

search for knowledge and truth.

Scientific research relies on the application of the scientific method,

a harnessing of curiosity. This research provides scientific information

and theories for the explanation of the nature and the properties of the

world around us. It makes practical applications possible.

In social sciences and later in other disciplines, the following two

research methods can be applied, depending on the properties of the

subject matter and on the objective of the research :

Qualitative Research (understanding of human behavior and the

reasons that govern such behavior)

Quantitative Research (systematic empirical investigation of

quantitative properties and phenomena and their relationships)

Descriptive Research : It is a fact finding investigation which is

aimed at describing the characteristics of individual, situation or a

group (or) describing the state of affairs as it exists at present.

Analytical Research : It is primarily concerned with testing

hypothesis and specifying and interpreting relationships, by

analyzing the facts or information already available.

Some other types of Research are …

One-time Research – Research confined to a single time period.

Longitudinal Research – Research carried on over several time

periods.

Diagnostic Research – It is also called clinical research which aims

at identifying the causes of a problem, frequency with which it occurs

and the possible solutions for it.

Experimental Research – It is designed to assess the effect of one

particular variable on a phenomenon by keeping the other variables

constant or controlled.

Historical Research – It is the study of past records and other

information sources, with a view to find the origin and development of a

phenomenon and to discover the trends in the past, in order to

understand the present and to anticipate the future.

Exploratory Research – It is the preliminary study of an unfamiliar

problem, about which the researcher has little or no knowledge. It is

aimed to gain familiarity with the problem, to generate new ideas or to

make a precise formulation of the problem. Hence it is also known as

formulative research.

Deductive Research Approach

Deductive reasoning works from the more general to the more specific.

Sometimes this is informally called a "top-down" approach.

Conclusion follows logically from premises (available facts).

It is “Waterfall Approach”

Theory Hypothesis Observation Confirmation

Inductive Research Approach

Inductive reasoning works the other way, moving from specific

observations to broader generalizations and theories.

Informally, we sometimes call this a "bottom up“ approach.

Conclusion is likely based on premises.

Involves a degree off uncertainty.

It is “Hill Climbing” Approach

Observation pattern Tentative Hypothesis Theory

Induction is usually described as moving from the specific to the general,

while deduction begins with the general and ends with the specific.

Exposition Argument

InductionDeduction

Types of Discourse

Research Approach

Pragmatic approach to research (mixed methods)

Pragmatic researchers grant themselves the freedom to use any of the methods, techniques and procedures typically associated with quantitative or qualitative research. They recognize that every method has its limitations and that the different approaches can be complementary. It enables triangulation. Triangulation is a common feature of mixed methods studies.

Advocacy/participatory approach to research (emancipatory)

Group specific. It is not a neutral stance. The researchers are likely to have a political agenda and to try to give the groups they are studying a voice. As they want their research to directly or indirectly result in some kind of reform, it is important that they involve the group being studied in the research, preferably at all stages, so as to avoid further marginalizing them.

Who conducts Research

Proprietary research : Decision Analyst, Inc. uses Internet-based concept

testing called Conceptor to examine new product concepts.

Syndicated services : Nielsen Media Research provides audience data for

television programs like Court TV. Few syndicated data providers are …

• AC Nielsen• Scarborough• Millward Brown• Nielsen Media Research• Roper ASW• CSA TMO• Yahoo!• ORC International

• DoubleClick• Nielsen/NetRatings• Taylor Nelson Sofres Intersearch• J.D. Power Associates• MediaMark• Simmon (SMRB)• BRMB• Information Resources Inc.

Methodology

Process

Industry

Participant group

GeographicRegion

Specialty Business Research Firms

Direct Business

Public Relations

AdvertisingSales Promotion

Communication Agencies

NHRANHRA

CASROCASRO

MRAMRA

ESOMARESOMAR

BRABRA

AMAAMA

WAOBRPWAOBRP

MPAMPA

NABNAB

Trade Associations(General, Business specific, Research specific)

Social Research

Social research is the scientific study of society.

Social research examines a society’s attitudes, assumptions, beliefs, trends,

stratifications and rules. The scope of social research can be small or large,

ranging from the self or a single individual to spanning an entire race or

country.

Popular topics of social research include poverty, racism, class issues,

sexuality, voting behavior, gender constructs, policing and criminal behavior.

Social research determines the relationship between one or more variables.

For example, sex and income level are variables. Focus is on underlying

concepts and cause-and-effect relationships of a social issue.

Social Research can be conducted using surveys, reports, observation, questionnaires, focus groups, historical accounts, personal diaries and census statistics.

Within social research two types of research can be conducted

Qualitative research : It is inductive in nature. Researchers are interested in how people make sense of their lives and in the research process itself.

Quantitative research : Focuses only on the end result, not the process itself, as qualitative research does. Quantitative data is precise and is often the result of surveys or questionnaires.

Social Research is for

Understanding the function of societyStudying individual behavior and social action to evaluate social problems, their effects on society and to find out possible solutions.Exploring social reality and explain social life to develop theories.

Language of Research

Theory : A theory is a based upon a hypothesis and backed by evidence. A theory presents a concept or idea that is testable.

In science, a theory is not merely a guess. A theory is a fact-based framework for describing a phenomenon.

In psychology, theories are used to provide a model for understanding human thoughts, emotions and behaviors. A psychological theory has two key components : (1) it must describe a behavior and (2) make predictions about future behaviors.

In many ways, the term “theory” might better be framed as a verb, as much as it is a noun – because the body of understanding is continuously changing as scholars who follow this process work to improve it.

A concept is a cognitive unit of meaning – an abstract idea or a mental symbol sometimes defined as a "unit of knowledge," built from other units which act as a concept's characteristics.

Concept is a general idea derived or inferred from specific instances or occurrences. Something formed in the mind; a thought or notion.

A general idea is created by abstracting, drawing away, or removing the uncommon characteristic or characteristics from several particular ideas. The remaining common characteristic is that which is similar to all of the different individuals. Example – Red, Dog

Concepts, as abstract units of meaning, play a key role in the development and testing of theories. A simple relational hypothesis can be viewed as either a conceptual hypothesis (where the abstract concepts form the meaning) or an operationalized hypothesis, which is situated in the real world by rules of interpretation.

Example : “Education increases Income”The abstract notion of education and income (concepts) could have many meanings. A conceptual hypothesis cannot be tested. They need to be converted into operational hypothesis or the abstract meaning of education must be derived or operationalized to something in the real world that can be measured. Education could be measured by “years of school completed” or “highest degree completed” etc. Income could be measured by “hourly rate of pay” or “yearly salary” etc.

Empiricism : It is the philosophical concept that experience, which is based on observation and experimentation, is the source of knowledge. According to empiricism, only the information that a person gathers with his or her senses should be used to make decisions, without regard to reason or to either religious or political teachings.

Rationalism : It is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive.

Construct : An idea or theory containing various conceptual elements, typically one considered to be subjective and not based on empirical evidence. A group of words forming a phrase.

An idea or theory containing various conceptual elements, typically one considered to be subjective and not based on empirical evidence.

construct validity refers to whether a scale measures or correlates with the theorized psychological scientific construct that it purports to measure.

A definition is a passage that explains the meaning of a term, a word or phrase or any other set of symbols. A term may have many senses or meanings. For each sense a cluster of words are given for explanation.

Process of theory building

Observation (Careful description documentation and measurement of the phenomena in words and numbers) Classification (categorizing based on attributes) defining relationships (exploring the association between the category-defining attributes and the outcomes observed.

Theory building : People look at the world around them, and talk with other people about what they see, trying to understand what is going on. They build a “theory” or a “model” about how things work.

Inductive

Process

Observe, describe & measurethe phenomena

(constructs)

Categorization basedupon attributes of phenomena

(frameworks & typologies)

Statementsof association

(models)

Anomaly

Confirm

Predict

DeductiveProcess

Observe, describe & measurethe phenomena

(constructs)

Categorization basedupon attributes of phenomena

(frameworks & typologies)

Statementsof association

(models)

Anomaly

Confirm

Predict

Observe, describe & measurethe phenomena

(constructs)

Categorization of thecircumstances in which we

might find ourselves

Statementof causality

Anomaly

Confirm

PredictC

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ul fi

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base

d re

sear

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Descriptive Theory

Normative Theory

Scientific method of Research – for theory building and theory testing

The scientific method is the process by which scientists, collectively and over time, endeavor to construct an accurate (that is, reliable, consistent and non-arbitrary) representation of the world.

When a theory is to be developed one tries to recognize and minimize personal and cultural beliefs which may influence perceptions and interpretations of natural phenomena through the use of standard procedures and criteria.

The scientific method has four steps1. Observation and description of a phenomenon or group of phenomena. 2. Formulation of an hypothesis to explain the phenomena. 3. Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomena, or to predict quantitatively the results of new observations. 4. Performance of experimental tests of the predictions by several independent experimenters and properly performed experiments.

If the experiments bear out the hypothesis it may come to be regarded as a theory or law of nature. If the experiments do not bear out the hypothesis, it must be rejected or modified.

An hypothesis is a limited statement regarding cause and effect in specific

situations; it also refers to our state of knowledge before experimental work

has been performed and perhaps even before new phenomena have been

predicted. (Learned Opinion).

The word model is reserved for situations when it is known that the

hypothesis has at least limited validity.

A scientific theory or law represents an hypothesis, or a group of related

hypotheses, which has been confirmed through repeated experimental tests.

MIT School of Management (MIT-SOM)

Research Methodology

Subject TeacherMr. Umesh B. Patwardhan