BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS

Objective

The quality of business decisions depends to a great extent on the information available to the decisions maker. It is the function of business research to provide information for this decision-making. The main purpose of this course is to provide business decision makers with an understanding of research methods.
The focus of this course is the need for business research and major emphasis will be on workshop session, fieldwork and case studies also the preparation of a research report.

Course Contents

1. The Role of Business Research

1.1    Definition of Research
1.2    Business Research
1.3    Structure of Decision Making
1.4    Level of Decision Making
1.5    Decision Making Process
1.6    Manager Researcher Relationship

2. Scientific Inquiry

2.1    Overview
2.2    Definitions and Terminologies Used in Research
2.3    Methods of Theory Construction
2.4    Model Based Theory
2.5    Deductive Theory
2.6    Functional Theory
2.7    Induction Theory
2.8    Relevance of Science in Business Research
2.9    Scientific Methods

3. Beginning the Research Process

3.1    Business Research Processes
3.2    Problem Identification and Formulation

3.3    The Research Problem Development Process
3.4    Methods of Calculation of Research Cost and it Worth

4. Research Proposal Development and Evaluation

4.1    Overview
4.2    Types of Research Proposal
4.3    Research Proposal Importance for Manager and Researcher
4.4    Letter of Request
4.5    Letter of Transmittal
4.6    Title
4.7    Background
4.8    Problem Statement
4.9    Objectives
4.10  Research Strategy and Method
4.11  Nature of the Final Report
4.12  Budget and Time Schedule
4.13  Research Proposal Evaluation

5. Fundamentals of Research Design

5.1    The Nature of Research Design
5.2    Error Reduction Through Research Design
5.3    Material Sources of Error in the Research Design Process
5.4    Managerial Strategies for Dealing with Error
5.5    Major Types of Design
5.6    Ex-Post Facto Design
5.7    Experimental Design
5.8    Validity Concerns
5.9    Managerial Considerations

6. Foundations of Measurement

6.1    The Nature of Measurement
6.2    Components of Measurement
6.3    The Measurement Process
6.4    Levels of Measurement
6.5    Nominal
6.6    Ordinal
6.7    Interval Evaluation of Measurement Scales
6.8    Validity and Reliability

7. Attitude Measurement

7.1    Attitude Measurement
7.2    Attitude Defined
7.3    Attitude as a Hypothetical Construct
7.4    Techniques for Measuring Attitudes
7.5    Attitude Rating Scales
7.6    Ranking
7.7    Sorting
7.8    Other Methods of Attitude Measurement
7.9    Selecting a Measurement Scale
7.10  Some Practical Decisions

8. Primary Data Collection

9.1    The Nature of Primary Data Collection
9.2    Personal Interviewing
9.3    Telephone Interviewing
9.4    Mail Interviewing
9.5    A Comparison of Data Collection Methods

9. Secondary Data Collection

9.1    Secondary Data in Business Research
9.2    Uses of Secondary Data
9.3     Research Strategy
9.4     Literature Cited
9.5     Expert Interviews
9.6     Case Studies

10. Questionnaire Design

10.1    Importance
10.2    Phrasing
10.3    Response Format 10.4 Pre-Testing
10.5    Don’ts of a Questionnaire

11. Sampling Design

    11.1     Terminologies and Definitions
    11.2    Steps in Sampling Process
    11.3    Sample Designs
    11.4    Probability Designs
    11.5    Unknown Probability Designs
    11.6    Sample Size Calculations
    11.7    Types of Sampling

12. Observation Method

12.1    Field Work
12.2    Editing and Coding
12.3    Data Analysis
12.4    Communicating Research Results

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