Business Research Methods: Uma Sekaran

Business Research
Methods
Uma Sekaran
Chapter 2
SCIENTIFIC
INVESTIGATION
Definition of Scientific
Research
Scientific Research focusing on

solving problems and pursues a
step by step logical, organized
and rigorous method to identify
the problems, gather data,
analyze them and draw valid
conclusions there from.
Why Scientific Research?
 This research is not based experience and
intuition.
 It is purposive and rigorous.
 Enables all those who are interested in
researching and knowing about the same or
similar issues to come up with comparable
findings when data are analyzed.
 Findings are accurate and confident.
 Apply solutions to similar problems.
 It is more objective.
Cont.
 Highlights the most critical factors at the work
place that need specific attention to solve or
minimize problems.
 Scientific Investigation and Managerial Decision
Making are integral part of effective problem
solving.
 It can be applied to both basic and applied
research.
The Hallmarks of Scientific Research
The hallmarks or main distinguishing
characteristics of scientific research may be
listed as follows:
1. Purposiveness
2. Rigor
3. Testability
4. Replicability
5. Precision and Confidence
6. Objectivity
7. Generalizability
8. Parsimony
Hallmarks of Scientific Research
1. Purposiveness
 It has to start with a definite aim or purpose.

 The focus is on increasing employee
commitment.
 Increase employee commitment will translate
into less turnover, less absenteeism and
increased performance levels.
 Thus it has a purposive focus.
2. Rigor
 A good theoretical base and sound methodological design
would add rigor to the purposive study.
 Rigor: carefulness, scrupulousness, and the degree of
exactitude in research.
Example:
A manager asks 10-12 employees how to increase the level
of commitment. If solely on the basis of their responses the
manager reaches several conclusions on how employee
commitment can be increases, the whole approach to the
investigation would be unscientific. It would lack rigor for
the following reasons:
1. Based on few employees
2. Bias and incorrectness
3. There might be other influences on commitment
which are ignored and are important for a researcher
to know
Thus, Rigorous involves good theoretical base and

thought out methodology.
 These factors enable the researcher to collect the right
kind of information from an appropriate sample with
the minimum degree of bias and facilitate suitable
analysis of the data gathered.
 This supports the other six too.
3. Testability
After random selection manager and researcher
develops certain hypothesis on how manager
employee commitment can be enhanced, then
these can be tested by applying certain statistical
tests to the data collected for the purpose.
The researcher might hypothesize

that those employees who perceive
greater opportunities for
participation in decision making
would have a higher level of
commitment. It can be tested when
the data are collected.
3. Testability
 Scientific research lends itself to testing
logically developed hypotheses to see whether
or not the data support the educated
conjectures/hypotheses that are developed
after careful study of the problem situation
4. Replicability
It means that it can be used again if
similar circumstances prevails.
Example:
The study concludes that participation in
decision making is one of the most
important factors that influences the
commitment, we will place more faith and
credence in these finding and apply in
similar situations. To the extent that this
does happen, we will gain confidence in
the scientific nature of our research.
Replication
 One of the most important elements of the
scientific method is replication.
 Replication essentially means conducting the
same research study a second time with
another group of participants to see whether
the same results are obtained.
 The same researcher may attempt to replicate
previously obtained results, or perhaps other
researchers may undertake that task.
 Replication illustrates an important point about
scientific research—namely, that researchers
should avoid drawing broad conclusions based
on the results of a single research study
because it is always possible that the results of
that particular study were an aberration.
 In other words, it is possible that the results of
the research study were obtained by chance or
error and, therefore, that the results may not
accurately represent the actual state of things.
 However, if the results of a research study are
obtained a second time (i.e., replicated), the
likelihood that the original study’s findings
were obtained by chance or error is greatly
reduced.
5. Precision and Confidence
Precision
– Precision refers to the closeness of the findings to
“reality” based on a sample.
– It reflects the degree of accuracy and exactitude of the
results of the sample.
Example:
If a supervisor estimated the number of production
days lost during the year due to absenteeism at
between 30 and 40, as against the actual of 35, the
precision of my estimation more favorably than if
he has indicated that the loss of production days
was somewhere between 20 and 50.
Confidence
– Confidence refers to the probability
that our estimations are correct.
– That is, it is not merely enough to be

precise, but it is also important that
we can confidently claim that 95% of
the time our results would be true
and there is only a 5% chance of our
being wrong.
– This is also known as confidence level.

6. Objectivity
The conclusions drawn through the interpretation of
the results of data analysis should be objective; that
is, they should be based on the facts of the findings
derived from actual data, and not on our subjective
or emotional values.
Example:
If we had a hypothesis that stated that greater
participation in decision making will increase
organizational commitment and this was not supported
by the results, it makes no sense if the researcher
continues to argue that increased opportunities for
employee participation would still help!
7. Generalizability
It refers to the scope of applicability of the research
findings in one organization setting to other settings.
Example:
If a researcher’s findings that participation in
decision making enhances organizational
commitment are found to be true in a variety of
manufacturing, industrial and service organizations,
and not merely in the particular organization
studied by the researcher, then the generalizability
of the findings to other organizational settings in
enhanced. The more generalizable the research, the
greater its usefulness and value.
8. Parsimony
Simplicity in explaining the phenomenon or problems that
occur, and in generating solutions for the problems, is
always preferred to complex research frameworks that
consider an unmanageable number of factors.
For instance, if 2-3 specific variables in the work situation are

identified, which when changed would raise the
organizational commitment of the employees by 45%, that
would be more useful be more useful and valuable to the
manager than if it were recommended that he should
change 10 different variables to increase organizational
commitment by 48%.
The seven-step process in
the Hypothetico-Deductive method
1 IDENTIFY A BROAD PROBLEM STATEMENT

2. DEFINE PROBLEM STATEMENT
3. DEVELOP HYPOTHESES
4. DETERMINE MEASURES
5. DATA COLLECTION
6. DATA ANALYSIS
7. INTERPRETATION OF DATA
1. IDENTIFY A BROAD
PROBLEM AREA
22
2. Defining the Problem Statement
 After gathering initial information and

literature review, the researcher is in
position to narrow down the problem from its
original broad base and define the issues of
concern more clearly.
23
3. Develop hypotheses
 Why the problem occurs, how it can be

solved
 Theorized network of associations among
variables: hypotheses, educated conjectures
 Hypotheses criteria: testable & falsifiable
 Provisional
 only proven until it is disproved
24
4. Determine measures:
operationalized variable
25
5. Data collection
6. Data analysis: hypothesis

testing
7. Interpretation of data
26
Alternative Approach To
Research
1. 27
Positivism:
The word, science and scientific research is seen
as the way to get at the truth.
Positivists believe that there is an objective truth
out there
1. 28
Constructionism:
The world is fundamentally mental or mentally

constructed
The research aim to understand the rules people

use to make sense of the world by investigating
what happens in people’s mind
29
Critical Realism
The intermediary viewpoints
A combination of the belief in an external reality
(an objective truth) with the rejection of the claim
that this external reality can be objectively
measured, observation will always be subject to
interpretation.
Triangulasi. 30
Pragmatism
• Eclecticisme
• Pluralisme
• Different researchers have different ideas
31

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Business Research

Scientific Research focusing on

 It has to start with a definite aim or purpose.

Thus, Rigorous involves good theoretical base and

The researcher might hypothesize

– That is, it is not merely enough to be

– This is also known as confidence level.

For instance, if 2-3 specific variables in the work situation are

1 IDENTIFY A BROAD PROBLEM STATEMENT

 After gathering initial information and

 Why the problem occurs, how it can be

6. Data analysis: hypothesis

The world is fundamentally mental or mentally

The research aim to understand the rules people

The intermediary viewpoints

A combination of the belief in an external reality

(an objective truth) with the rejection of the claim

that this external reality can be objectively

measured, observation will always be subject to

• Different researchers have different ideas

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