shima research journey bib 19 january 2012

8/3/2019 Shima Research Journey Bib 19 January 2012

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How To Make A

Research ProposalBy:

DR. ROSHIMA SAID

ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT

UiTM KEDAH

JOURNEY TO RESEARCH


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What is Research?

Research is simply the process of thoroughlystudying and analyzing the situational factorssurrounding a problem in order to seek out

solutions to the problems identified (Cavana,Delahaye and Sekaran, 2001)

Research is an organized, systematic, data-based, critical, objective, scientific inquiry orinvestigation into a specific problem or issuewith the purpose of finding solutions to it orclarifying it.


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Why makes people do research?

To expand our understanding of the world aroundus.

to overcome and solve particular existing problems.

To discover new facts To verify and test important facts

To analyze an event or process or phenomenon toidentify the cause and effect relationship.

To develop new scientific tools, concepts andtheories to solve and understand scientific andnonscientific problems.


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Types of Research-APPLIED RESEARCH

APPLIED RESEARCH= to solve a currentproblem that faced by an organizations

that demand a timely solution. Research done with the intention of

applying the results to solve specificproblems currently being experiences in

the business. Eg., a particular product may not selling

well and the manager may want to findreasons.


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Types of Research -BASIC RESEARCH/THEORETICAL

RESEARCH

BASIC RESEARCH= to generate a body of knowledge bytrying to comprehend how certain problems that occur inorganizations can be solved. Some organizations may laterapply the knowledge gained by the findings of basicresearch to solve their own problems.

Most research and development departments in industry,and academics in university do basic or fundamentalresearch, so that more knowledge is generated in particularareas of interest to industries, organizations and

researchers. Eg. A university lecturer may be interested in investigating the factors

that contribute to staff absenteeism as a matter of mere academicinterest. Later, a manager who encounters employee absenteeismmay be able to use this information to determine if the factors arerelevant to the particular work setting


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Differences between Applied and Basic

Research

BASIC RESEARCH APPLIED RESEARCH

Seeks generalization Studies individual or specific caseswithout the objective to generalize

Aims at basic processes Aims at any variable which makes thedesired difference

Attempts to explain why thingshappen

Tries to say how things can bechanged

Tries to get all the facts Tries to correct the facts which areproblematic

Reports in technical language of thetopic

Reports in common language


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SOME BASIC DEFINITIONS

Observations = perceptions of reality andcan be expressed in the form of facts oropinions.

A fact is an observations that represents a

universal truth, and can be supported bymeasurable evidence. Eg. height and weight.

An opinion is a persons belief aboutphenomenon. For eg. A researcher may use

series of interviews to ascertain peoplesopinions on a product for marketing oradvertising purposes.


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SOME BASIC DEFINITIONS- contd

A concept is an idea expressed as asymbol or in words ( Neuman, 1997).

Concepts are general representations of

ideas to be studied and become thebuilding blocks of a research project(Ticehurst & Veal, 1999).

In physical sciences, symbols are often used to

communicate an idea. Eg. H2O In social sciences, a relatively abstract idea

may be communicated by a word or phrase.Eg. Self directed learning communicates a

relatively abstract idea of a way of learning


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SOME BASIC DEFINITIONS- contd

A concept that can be operationalised iscalled a variable. A researcher

operationalises a concept so that it can beobserved and measured.


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Types of research methods/ Approaches to

research

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research are used within

the positivist research paradigm. The hallmarks of good research are

seen as objective observation, precisemeasurements, statistical analysis andverifiable truths.

Hypotheses are tested, means that tofind the expected solution to theproblem or challenge.


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Types of research methods/ Approaches to

research

Qualitative Approach Qualitative research believe that humans are complex,

somewhat unpredictable beings and that individualdifferences and idiosyncratic (a way of behaving, thinking,

or feeling that is peculiar to an individual or group,especially an odd or unusual one) needs override anynotion universal laws of human behaviour.

The aim of qualitative research is to discover how humansconstruct meanings in their contextual setting.

Qualitative research reveals peoples values, interpretativeschemes, mind maps, belief systems and rules of living sothat the respondent's reality can be understood.


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Research with Subjects (Quantitative)

Research with Informants

(Qualitative)

1. What do I know about a problem thatwill allow me to formulate and test ahypothesis?

1. What do my informants know abouttheir culture that I can discover?

2. What concepts can I use to test thishypothesis?

2. What concepts do my informants use toclassify their experiences?

3. How can I operationally define theseconcepts?

3. How do my informants define theseconcepts?

4. What scientific theory can explain thedata?

4. What folk theory do my informants useto explain their experience?

5. How can I interpret the results andreport them in the language of my

colleagues?

5. How can I translate the culturalknowledge of my informants into a cultural

description my colleagues will understand?

Research with Subjects (QuantitativeVs Qualitative)


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Inductive Vs. Deductive Reasoning

DevelopTheory

FormulateHypotheses

Collect and

analyze data

Accept/Rejecthypotheses

Deductive Reasoning Quantitative Approach


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Inductive Vs. Deductive Reasoning-

contd

Observephenomena

Analyze patterns

and themes

Formulaterelationship

Develop theory

Inductive - QualitativeApproach


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Content of Research Proposal

CHAPTER 1

Background of the study

Problem Statement (Research Problems)

Research Objectives

Research Questions

CHAPTER 2

Literature Review

Terms and definition

Literature Review of your subject matter

Hypotheses Development

Theoretical / Conceptual Framework


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Content of Research Proposal- contd

CHAPTER 3 Research Methodology

Research Design Unit analysis

Population Sample size

Conceptualization of your variables( Measurement of Variables)

Dependent variables = subject matter Independent Variables

Moderating Variables Mediating Variables

Statistical Techniques SPSS, E-VIEWS etc


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The Research Process

1. Identify and develop your area of interest andtopic.

2. Preliminary information gathering and literaturesurvey

3. Problem definition= find the problem statement

4. Framework development= conceptual ortheoretical framework

5. Research objectives, research questions anddevelopment of hypotheses

6. Research design7. Data Collection = quantitative and qualitative

8. Data analysis = quantitative and qualitative

9. Interpretation of findings

10.

Report preparation and presentation


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1. Identify and develop your

area of interest and topic


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Research Process

1. Identify and develop your area of interest and

topic Test the main concepts or keywords in your topic

by looking them up in the appropriatebackground sources or by using them as searchterms in library catalogue and in periodical

indexes.

If you are finding too much information and toomany sources, narrow your topic.

Area of interest marketing, human resource,

corporate governance, management accounting,information system, education, banking etc.

Eg: Education, narrow your topic to accountingeducation, then narrow your topic to employer

demands of accounting graduation.


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Research Process

1. Identify and develop your area of interest

and topic

Human Resource

Human Resources Strategies andits impact on firms performance

CorporateGovernance

Corporate Governancemechanism and Corporate SocialResponsibility Disclosure


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1.Preliminary informationgathering and literature survey

LITERATURE REVIEW


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Research Process

2.Preliminary information gathering and

literature survey

Preliminary information gathering involvesthe search information in depth concerningthe observed phenomenon.

It can be done through observation ortalking informally to several people in thework setting or to clients or other relevantsources.

Unstructured interviews.

Library research


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Research Process


literature survey

What is literature review?

As a piece of writing, the literature review must be definedby guiding concept

A literature review is a review of reading materials of what

has been published on a topic by previous scholars andresearcher.

The purpose ofLR is to convey to the reader whatknowledge and ideas have been established on a topic,and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

What you gain from literature Review? Information seeking: the ability to scan the literature

efficiently, using manual or computerized efficiently, toidentify a set of useful articles and books.

Critical Appraisal: the ability to apply principles of

analysis to unbiased and valid studies.


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Research Process


literature survey

A literature Review must do these things:

be organized around and related directly to thethesis or research question you are developing.

Synthesis results into a summary of what is andnot known- a-state-of-the-art.

Identify areas of controversy in the literature.

Formulate questions that need further research.


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Research Process


literature survey

Why you need a good literaturereview?

To demonstrate that you know the field.

Justifies the reason for your research.

Allows to establish your theoretical framework.

Allows to establish a good methodologicalapproach.

To find the gaps exists in your research.


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Research Process


literature survey

How to write a good literature Review?

It is a purposeful kind of writing which is to be Well argued

Well supported evidence

Well documented

A straightforward style= use clear and simple Englishappropriate for your audience.

Try to explain and relate with what are you doing in yourresearch.

Critically arguing the points.

Giving examples.

Evaluating or assessing the value of other arguments orthe sufficiency of evidence.

You should use the literature to explain your research.Your aim should be to show why your research needs to becarried out, how you came to choose certainmethodologies or theories to work with, how your workadds to the research already carried out.


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Documents

Documents inclusive of

General Sources

Newspapers, magazines, etc Secondary Sources

Books, research evaluations, etc

Primary SourcesJournal, abstract, etc


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Questions to ask about your literature review.

You need to answer these questions:

What is thespecific thesis, problem, orresearch question that my literature

review helps to define? What type of literature review am I

conducting? Am I looking at issues oftheory? methodology? policy?

quantitative research (e.g. on theeffectiveness of a new procedure)?qualitative research (e.g., studies)?


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Questions to ask about your literature

review.

What is the scope of my literaturereview? What types of publications amI

using (e.g., journals, books,government documents, popularmedia)?

What discipline am I working in (e.g.,accounting, organizational behaviour,sociology, medicine)?


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review.

How good was my informationseeking? Has my search been wide

enough to ensureI've found all therelevant material?

Has it been narrow enough to excludeirrelevant material?

Is the number of sources

I've usedappropriate for the length of my

paper?


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review.

Have Icritically analysedtheliterature I use? Do I followthrough a set of concepts andquestions, comparing items toeach other in the ways they dealwith them?

Instead of just listing and

summarizing items, do I reviewthem, discussing strengthsand weaknesses?


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review.

Have I cited and discussedstudies contraryto my

perspective? Will the reader find my

literature review relevant,

appropriate, and useful?


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Writing the literature

Your aim should be to show why your researchneeds to be carried out, how you came to choosecertain methodologies or theories to work with,and how your work adds to the research already

carried out. explaining something,

arguing the point,

giving examples,

evaluating or assessing the value of other arguments orthe sufficiency of evidence?


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What you are doing (topic) affects thelanguage you use.

Candidate don't exploit verbs fully,

relying on just one or two favourites (forexample 'mentions', 'states', 'suggests','discusses') or overworking the weakerverbs ('have', 'be').


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Verbs such as 'judges', 'postulates','excludes', 'convinces', 'confuses','questions', 'advances (the argument)',

'verifies', provide a strongerinterpretation of your reading,understanding, and opinion of theresearch.


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Active or passive voice

Both active and passive voice should beused - where appropriate. (OrYou

should use, where appropriate, bothactive and passive voice!)

As a general rule, use active voice

unless there is good reason not to


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Tenses

The tense that suits your purpose is thetense you use. Clearly, an event, be it a

survey, an experiment, a study of somekind, done by other researchers or byyou, has to be in the past and it is usualto use the past tense to describe it.

However discussing about researchfindings, evaluations, recommendationsand conclusions present.


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Research Process


literature survey

Look at how published writers review theliterature. You'll see that you should usethe literature to explain your research.

You are not writing a literature review justto tell your reader what other researchershave done.

Your aim should be to show why yourresearch needs to be carried out, how youcame to choose certain methodologies ortheories to work with, and how your work

adds to the research already carried out.


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Research Process


literature survey

EXAMPLES OF WRITING LITERATURE REVIEW

Debreceny et al. (2002) find that voluntaryadoption of corporate disclosure in 22 countries isassociated with company size and listing on an U.S.stock exchange, but not with leverage, risk andInternet penetration in the countries. This study inopposition to Ettredge et. al (2002) distinguishesbetween presentation format and disclosure

content. It finds that the level of technology anddisclosure environment are associated withpresentation format, but not with content. However,the study does not distinguish the disclosures ofmandatory versus non-mandatory items.


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Research Process


literature survey


Corporate social responsibility report is to create sustainablerelationships with the stakeholders groups that are employees,shareholders, customers and suppliers, wider community,

investors and regulators. One way to reduce the gaps betweencompany and its stakeholders is by reporting the activities tothe stakeholders or through additional disclosure. Manystudies had used corporate social disclosure as a proxy tocorporate social responsibility or corporate social performance(Gray et al. ,1995; Hackston and Milne ,1996; Adebayo ,2000;Gray et al. ,2001 ; Manasseh ,2004; Shaw Warn ,2004;Haniffa and Cooke, 2005; Guan Yeik ,2006; Mohammad Zainand Janggu ,2006; Hasnah et.al, 2006).


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Research Process


literature survey


The bulk of previous work on the effect of HRM on firm performancehas focused on the domestic operations of US firms. However, human

assets may be an even more important determinant of theperformance of foreign subsidiaries of multinational corporations incountries in transition like Russia since foreign firms often want localemployees to change their behavioral patterns and carefully thought-out HRM policies are needed to accomplish this task. As a result,several authors have suggested that human resource management

policies are especially critical to a firms success in Russia (Fey et al .,1999; Longenecker and Popovski, 1994; May et al ., 1998; Puffer,1993, Radko and Afanasieva, 1999; Welsh et al ., 1993). Further,compared to Western countries, relatively few employees in Russiaare trained in modern market-oriented work practices (Shekshnia,1994).

R h P


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Research Process


literature survey

EXAMPLES OF WRITING LITERATURE REVIEWa-state-of-the-art

Author (s) Variables Dependent Variables

( Information Disclosure)

What makes this study different than

others?

Haniffa and Cooke (2005) -Culture (3 variables): Malay

dominated board of directors,

Malay finance director, Malay

dominated shareholders.

-Composition of non-

executive director,

chairperson with multiple

directorship, ownership by

foreign shareholders,

-Firms size, profitability,

gearing, multiple listing and

industry type.

- Corporate Social Disclosure

(Corporate Social Disclosure

Index and CSD items

expressed in terms of number

of

Words )

- The conceptualization of culture in this

study includes the proportion of Malay

executive directors to total executives

directors

- This study used culture as a moderating

variable instead of independent

variables.

- This study used two sources of data

namely annual report and companies

websites.

Barnea and Rubin (2004) Ownership structure( insiders and institutional

investors)

- Broad market Social Index(BMSI) - This study used various corporategovernance characteristics namely

Board size, Board Independence, CEO

Duality ,Audit Committee ,Ownership

concentration, Managerial Ownership,

Foreign Ownership, Government

Ownership as independent variables.

- - This study will use two sources of data

namely annual report and companies

websites.

R h P


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Research Process


literature survey


a-state-of-the-art

Author Documents

analyzed

Measurement

of CSR

Themes

1.

Hackston andMilne (1996) Annual Reportand accounts

only

ContentAnalysis

No of

sentences

EnvironmentHuman Resources

Products

Energy

Community

General/other

2. Haniffa and

Cooke (2005)

Annual Report

and accounts

only

Content

Analysis

Number of

words

CSD Index

Environment

Human Resources

Products

Community

Value Added


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Background of the study and

Problem definition/ Problemstatement

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Research Process

3. Background of the study and Problem

definition/ Problem statement

At this stage, the researcher canusually convert the original catalyst ofa problem or opportunity into a

tentative research definition. The students/candidates problems are

to find the real problems of theirresearch and develop the problemstatement.

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Research Process



Problem statement is something thatthe researcher has an interest/ realproblem/ or filling the gaps about

phenomenon. Ensure that the research problem that

you identified is really a problem.How??? =Background of the Study

Find evidence= shows statistics or

Literature review from past researchers

Research Process


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Research Process



Start with yourBackground of the

studyShow statistics that theproblems are really exist.Show evidence from past

studies/ LR.

Find the problems andstate in a statement

Research Process


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Research Process



Background of the study

Stress on main subject matter (dependent variable).

For example: Firms performance of companies. Findstatistics or evidence that showed that performance of

Malaysian companies are seriously poor. For example: Service quality of public hospital. Find

statistics or evidence that showed service quality ofMalaysian public hospital are seriously poor, manycomplaints of negligence etc.

For example: Corporate social responsibility (CSR)disclosure. Find statistics or evidence showed thatCSR disclosure of Malaysian public listed companiesare poor, less reporting.

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Research Process



Background of the study (example)

Malaysian companies show little evidence of awarenessof corporate social responsibility, with only one companyso far having reflected its social responsibilities within its

corporate mission.The findings, published in

ACC

AMalaysias study State of Corporate Environmental and

Social Reporting in Malaysia 2004, showed that fewcompanies made reference to any sort of social orenvironmental policy statement within its reporting.According to the study, 43% of the companies reviewed

reported to some extent on social performance, with26% promising that they would do so in the future. Formany Malaysian companies, commitment to CSR isexpressed in term of charitable giving (Business Respect,2004).

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Research Process

3. Background of the study and Problemdefinition/ Problem statement

Background of the study (example)

Country % of CSR Companies in the Top 50

Companies per Country

India 72%

South Korea 52%

Thailand 42%

Singapore 38%

Malaysia 32%

Philippines 30%

Indonesia 24%

Seven Country Mean 41%

UK 98%

JAPAN 96%

The Penetration of CSR Reporting in Asia

Source: Chambers, Moon and Sullivan (2003).

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Research Process



State in a problem statement.

The research problem of this study is toinvestigate why some of the Malaysian PublicListed Companies (PLCs) disclose morecorporate social responsibilities than others andto what extent does the corporate governancecharacteristics influence the corporate social

responsibility disclosure, and find whether theBoard of directors culture (ethnicity) moderatesthe relationship between corporate governancecharacteristics and CSR disclosure.

/


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Research Problem/ Problem

Statement- example

The purpose of this project is to create fourdifferent WebQuests which employconstructive active learning pedagogy,teach higher order thinking skills, and that

introduce feminist issues to 6th -8th gradeart students. I will pilot the WebQuestsover a period of 3 months and documentstudent written responses, my observationsof their process, and student WebQuest

products in order to evaluate studentlearning and interest in the feministtechnological art curriculum.


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Research Process

4. Framework development

An attempt to integrate all the information in alogical manner, so that the reason for the researchproblem can be conceptualized and tested.

In this step, the critical concepts and/or variables

are examined for their contribution to influence inexplaining why the research problems occurredand how it can be solved.

If the findings from preliminary information andliterature review are mainly concepts, then aconceptual framework is developed.

If the findings consist almost entirely variables,then a theoretical framework is developed.


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Research Process

4. Framework development

A theoretical framework is a collection ofinterrelated concepts, like a theory but notnecessarily so well worked-out. A

theoretical framework guides yourresearch, determining what things you willmeasure, and what statistical relationshipsyou will look for.

A framework offers a model of how to makelogical sense of the relationships among theseveral factors that have been identified asimportant to the problem.


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Variables and Theoretical Framework

As a first stage in outlining a theoreticalframework, the researcher categorizes thevariables.

There 4 main types of variables.

The dependent variable ( also known as thecriterion variable)

The independent variable ( also known as thepredictor variable)

The moderating variable The intervening/ mediating variable.


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Dependent Variables (DV)

The dependent variable is the variableof primary interest to the researcher.

In other words, it is the main variable

that lends itself as a viable factor forinvestigation.

For this purpose, the researcher will be

interested in quantifying and measuringthe dependent variable and the othervariable (Independent Variables) thatinfluence DV.


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Independent Variables (IV)

Independent variable is one thatinfluences the dependent variable ineither a positive or negative way.

In each unit of increase inindependent variable, there is anincrease or decrease in thedependent variable.


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Eg. 1 : Cross cultural research indicates thatmanagerial values govern the power distancebetween superiors and subordinates.

Eg. 2 : Research studies indicate that

successful new product development has aninfluence on the share market price of thecompany.

Eg. 3 : The research indicate that

organizational culture, training, staffeducation, staff experience have an influenceon productivity of the organization.


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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Corporate SocialResponsibility

Corporate Governance

Culture

Firms performance


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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK


Corporate Social disclosure


MechanismOwnership structureManagerial OwnershipGovernment Ownership

Board of directorBoard sizeBoard Independence

Culture

Board of directorsethnicity

Malay domination BODChinese dominationBOD

Firms performanceFinancial Performance

Net profit marginReturn on assetReturn on capital;

Independent Variables Dependent Variable


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Culture



Firms performance

Financial PerformanceNet profit marginReturn on assetReturn on capital;

Independent Variables Dependent VariaModerating Variables


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Corporate

GovernanceMechanismOwnershipstructure

ManagerialOwnershipGovernmentOwnership

Board of director

Board sizeBoard

Independence

Culture


Malaydomination BOD

ChinesedominationBOD

FirmsperformanceFinancialPerformance

Net profitmarginReturn onassetReturn oncapital;

Independent Variables Dependent VariableMediating Variables


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Culture



Firms performanceFinancial Performance

Net profit marginReturn on assetReturn on capital;

Independent Variables Dependent Variable


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Research objectives, research

questions and hypotheses

Research Process


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Research Process

5. Research objectives, research

questions and hypotheses

Once the problem or opportunity has beenplaced within an appropriate conceptual ortheoretical context, the research objectives canbe formulated.

From the research objectives, we constructresearch questions and hypothesis.

For qualitative research=

research objectives and research questions.

For quantitative research = research objectives research questions hypotheses


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Research Objectives

The purpose of your study.

To solve the problem to find answersto the research questions.

This will be a guide to your researchhypotheses and conceptual framework.


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Research Objectives

Should be stated in the form that cananswer your research questions.

For example:

To identify.. (Untuk mengenalpasti..)

To investigate.. (Untuk menyiasat)

To examine..(Untuk mengkaji)

To explore (Untuk mengetahui) etc.


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5.Research objectives, research

questions and hypotheses (examples)

Research Objectives To examine the level of corporate social responsibility disclosure

made by Malaysian Public Listed companies for the year ended2006.

To determine the level of corporate social responsibility disclosureby themes for Public Listed Companies in Malaysia for the yearended 2006.

To investigate whether a relationship exists between corporategovernance characteristics (Board size, Board Independence, CEODuality, Audit Committee, Ownership concentration, Managerial

Ownership, Foreign Ownership, Government Ownership) andcorporate social responsibility disclosure in Malaysian Public ListedCompanies for the year ended 2006.


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Research Questions

Questions about the problems that youwould like to know more by solving thisproblem.

What are the issues would you like toknow / understand or highlight.

There are three types of questions


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Research Questions

What .(descriptive frequency or testof differences) Apa?

How(relationship influence, effect

etc) Bagaimana? Why. (causal relationship -

experimental) Kenapa?


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5.Research objectives, research

questions and hypotheses (examples)

Research Questions

What is the level of corporate social responsibilitydisclosure made by Malaysian Listed companies forthe year ended 2006?

What is the level of disclosure by theme forMalaysian Public Listed Companies for the yearended 2006?

What is the relationship between corporategovernance mechanism (Board size, BoardIndependence, C

EO Duality,

Audit Committee,Ownership concentration, Managerial Ownership,

Foreign Ownership, Government Ownership) andcorporate social responsibility disclosure inMalaysian Listed Companies for the year ended2006?


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Research Design and Methodology

Research Design

Sampling Design

Unit ofAnalysis

Design ofQuestionnaire Measurement of variables

Dependent Variable

Independent Variable

Moderating Variable

Mediating/Intervening Variable

Statistical Techniques


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Research Design

A research design is a framework or blueprint forconducting the business research project. It detailsthe procedures necessary for obtaining theinformation needed to structure or solve researchproblems.

Understanding the importance of planning and

designing approaches or techniques used in researchprocesses.

The extent of scientific rigor in a research studydepends on how clearly the variables can be definedand on how carefully the researcher has chosen theappropriate design alternatives.

It is important to note that the more sophisticatedand rigorous the research design, the greater thetime, cost and other resources expended on thestudy.


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Research Design

Purpose of the study

Types of investigation

Unit of analysis (population to bestudied)

Time Horizon


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This is the stage to decide the researchapproaches whether a qualitative orquantitative approach will be used.

The researcher need to decide whetherthe investigation will be exploratory,descriptive or hypotheses testing.



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Exploratory study

Exploratory study is undertaken when little isknown about the situation at hand, or when noinformation is available on how similar problemsor research issues have been resolved in thepast.

Extensive preliminary work ( interviews,observations, or focus groups )needs to be doneto gain familiarity with the phenomena in thesituation, and understand what is occurring ,before develop a model and set up a rigorous


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Descriptive study

Descriptive study is undertaken inorder to ascertain and be able todescribe the characteristics of the

variables of interest in a situation. Descriptive studies are undertaken in

an organizations in order to learn aboutand describe the characteristics of a

particular group, example employee.For example the age, education level,

job status of an employees of anorganization.

D i ti t d td


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Descriptive study -contd

Descriptive studies that present data in ameaningful form help researcher to Understand the characteristics of a group in a given

situation. Think systematically about aspects in a given

situation. Offers ideas for further research. Make certain simple decisions (eg., how many and

what types of individual should be transferred fromone department to another).

Need a combination of qualitative andquantitative data in terms of frequencies, ormean, std. deviations becomes necessary fordescriptive studies.


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Hypothesis Testing

Hypothesis testing usually explain thenature of certain relationships, or establish

the differences among groups or theindependence of two or more factors in asituation.

Case Studies

The researcher is systematically gathers indepth information on a single entity, anindividual, a group, an organization orcommunity- using a variety of data

gathering methods.


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The Appropriate Research Method

Little informationor knowledge ofsituation or

research topic

Extensiveinformation orknowledge of

situation orresearch topic

Exploratory

ObservationUnstructuredInterviewUnstructured FocusGroups

Descriptive

StructuredInterviewStructured focus

groupQuestionnaire

Hypothesis Testing

StructuredquestionnaireField ExperimentLaboratoryExperiment


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TYPE OF INVESTIGATION

There are 3 investigation path tofollow

Clarification

Correlational

Causal


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TYPE OF INVESTIGATION

In a Clarification investigation, the researcher is trying togain a clearer understanding of the concepts involved in the

research problem. Exploratory and descriptive studies oftenfollow this path.

Once a clear understanding of the concepts is achieved, the

researchers interest turns to the relationship betweenconcepts and variables. ( Here the researcher shoulddifferentiate between correlational and causal)

Acorrelational relationship indicates that at least twoconcepts or variables move simultaneously.

Acausal relationship indicates that one concept or variablecauses a movement in another concept or variable.


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TYPE OF INVESTIGATION= eg Whether a study is causal or correlational

thus depends on the type of researchquestions asked and how the problem isdefined.

A causal study question: Does smokingcause cancer?

A correlational study question: Are smoking and cancer related?

Are smoking, drinking and chewing tobaccoassociated with cancer? If so, which of thesecontributes most to the variance in thedependent variable?


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Unit of analysis (population to be studied) Individuals

Dyads

Organisations Cultures


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Unit of analysis- contd

The unit of analysis refers to the level of aggregation of the data collected during thesubsequent data analysis stage.

Our research objectives and problems determines

the unit of analysis. If we wish to study how to raise the motivational

levels of employees in general, then we areinterested in individual employees inorganization.- Unit of analysis is individual.

Two-person relationship or interactions, forexample husband and wife relationship orsupervisor and subordinate relationships in theworkplace are the best examples of dyad as unit

of analysis


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Unit of analysis- contd If the problem statement and objective

is related to group effectiveness, thenthe unit of analysis will be the group inparticular organization.


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Time Horizon: Cross Sectional Vs.

Longitudinal Studies

A study can be carried out in which dataare gathered just once or one short

perhaps period of days, weeks, monthsor years.

Longitudinal studies take more time andeffort and cost more than cross sectionalstudies.


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Sampling Design

1. What is the relevant target population of focus to the study?

4. Should Probability or non-probability sampling method bechosen?

3. What kind of sampling frame is available?

2. What exactly are the parameters we are interested instudying?

5. What is the sample size needed?

6. What costs are attached to the sampling?

7. How much time can be spent in collecting the data from thesample?


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Sampling Design

POPULATION= Refers to the entire group of people,events or things of interest that the researcher wishes toinvestigate.

Example , If the CEO of computer company wants to

know the kinds of advertising strategies adopted bycomputer company in Melbourne, then the population ofthe study consists of all computer company situated inMelbourne.

ELEMENT= An element is a single member of thepopulation. If 10,000 blue collar workers in a particularorganisation happen to be the population of interest to aresearcher, then each single blue collar worker therein willbe the element.


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Sampling Design

Sampling Frame= The sampling is a listing ofall the elements in the population from which thesample is drawn.

Sample=A sample is a subset of the population.

It comprises some members selected from thepopulation. In other words some but not all theelements of the population form sample.

Eg., If 200 members are drawn from apopulation of 1000 blue collar workers, these200 members form the sample for the study. (

the 200 samples would draw conclusionsabout the entire population)


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Sampling Design

POPULATION

Sampling Frame

Sample

Element

Subject


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Sampling DesignJudgment

Quota

Convenience

Judgment

Simple RandomSampling

ComplexProbabilitySampling

Area

Systematic

Cluster

Stratified

Double

Non-probabilitydesign

Probabilitydesign

Important of sampling design and


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Important of sampling design and

sample size

The sampling design and sample size areimportant to establish the

representativeness of the sample for thegeneralisability.

Too large sample size will lead to Type11 Errors.

Rules of thumb for determining sample


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size

Roscoe Rules of Thumb

Sample size larger than 30 and smaller than500 are appropriate for most research.

Where sample are to be broken into subsample(eg. Female and male) a minimum sample sizeof 30 for each category is usually necessary.

In multivariate research (including multipleregression) the sample size should be several

time ( preferably 10 time or more) as large asthe number variable in the study.

For experimental research with tightexperimental controls (eg match pair) need

sample size as small as 10 to 20.


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size

Tabachnick and Fidel (2001, p. 72) inP

allant (2005) give a formula forcalculating sample size requirements,taking into account the number ofindependent variables, N= 50+8m (

where m= number of independentvariables).


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HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT

Hypothesis Once the important variables in a situation and

established the relationships among independentand dependent variables through logicalreasoning in theoretical framework, the

researcher are in the position to test whether therelationships that have been theorized do, in facthold true.

By testing the relationships scientifically throughappropriate statistical analyses, we are able to

obtain reliable information on what kinds ofrelationship exist among variables operating inthe problem situation.

Formulating such testable statements is calledhypothesis development.



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Hypothesis definition

A hypothesis can be defined as a logically conjecturedrelationship between two or more variables expressed inthe form of a testable statement.

By testing the hypothesis and confirming the conjecturedrelationships, it is expected that solutions can be found tocorrect the problem encountered.

A hypothesis can also test whether there are differencesbetween two groups or more groups with respect to anyvariable or variables.

To examine whether or not the conjecturedrelationships or differences exist, these hypotheses

can be put either as propositions or in the form of if-then statements.

Eg: Employees who are more healthy will take sick leaveless frequently.

Eg.:Ifemployees are more healthy, then they will takesick leave less frequently.


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Directional and non-directional Hypothesis

Directional= stating the r/ship in terms of positive ornegative, more than or less than are used.

Eg.: The greater the stress experienced in the job,the lower the job satisfaction of employee.

Eg: Women are more motivated then men.

Non-directional= postulate a relationship or differencebut offer no indication of the direction of theserelationships or differences.

Eg.: There is a relationship between age and jobsatisfaction.

Eg. : There is a difference between the work ethicvalues of Australian and New Zealand.



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Null and Alternate Hypothesis Null hypothesis is a proposition that states a

definitive, exact relationship between the twovariables .

In general the null hypothesis is expressed as no

(significant) relationship between two variables orno (significant) difference between two groups.

Eg. : There is no significant difference betweenwork ethic values of Australian and New Zealand.

Alternate Hypothesis is opposite to null hypothesis. It is a statement expressed a relationship between

two variables or indicating the differencesbetween groups.

Eg.: There is a difference between the work ethic

values of Australian and New Zealand.


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REFERENCES

Cavana., R. , Delahaye, B andSekaran, U (2001) AppliedBusinessResearch:Qualitative and

Quantitative Methods. John Wiley &Sons Australia, Milton


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THANK YOU FOR YOUR

ATTENTIONS..

AND ALL THE BEST TO

YOU..


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