Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1, Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill,
Part 1, Patten and Newhart
Slide 1.2

The nature of research

Definition:

‘Something that people undertake in order to find things out

in a systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge’
Saunders et al. (2009)

Characteristics:

 Data are collected systematically

 Data are interpreted systematically

 There is a clear purpose to find things out

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.3

Goals of Science
 Description: observing behavior in order to describe it
 Prediction: identifying the factors that indicate when an
event will occur
 Explanation: identifying the causes that determine when
and why a behavior occurs

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.4

THE ROLE OF THEORY IN RESEARCH

 A theory is a unified explanation of observations.
 A theory will try to explain a relationship between two or
more actions or things using rigorous criteria so that it
aligns with logic and empirical evidence.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.5

Features of business and management

research
Basic and applied research

Sources:
authors’ experience; Easterby-Smith et al. (2008); Hedrick et al. (1993)
Figure 1.1 Basic and applied research
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.7

Introduction to the research process

Things to consider

 Realities and pitfalls of research

 Approaches, strategies and methods

 Techniques and procedures for data collection and

analysis

 Appropriate use of information technology

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.8

The research process (1)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.9

The research process (1)

Stages of the research process

 Formulating and clarifying a topic

 Reviewing the literature

 Designing the research

 Collecting data

 Analysing data

 Writing up
Based on Figure 1.2: Saunders et al. (2009)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.10

The research process (2)

Factors to consider

 The impact of your personal feelings and beliefs

 Access to data

 Time and other resources

 Validity and reliability of the data

 Ethical issues

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.11

Empirical Research
 based on observation, on experience → data
 Including experimental designs and nonexperimental
designs, qualitative and quantitative approaches to
research design and analysis.
 often contrasted with theoretical approaches, but they are
not opposites and often work hand in hand.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.12

The role of theory

 Research is used to test hypotheses derived from existing
theories. This is a deductive approach.
 Hypotheses are formulated to be consistent with the
existing theory.
 Ex: self-regulated learning theory proposes that a student’s
level of cognitive engagement is determined by the goals they
set. From this, a researcher might deduce that when students
know they will be tested again on the same material, those who
have lower goals (e.g., a goal of getting 70% right) should ask
for less feedback about wrongly answered test items than those
who have higher goals.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.13

The role of theory

 In an inductive approach , research provides a “ground-up”
approach, using observations and conclusions to formulate a
theory.
 Moving from the specific to the general by adding up observations
of specific events or people to notice patterns, and using those
patterns to develop theories that explain the events or behaviors
observed.
 Qualitative researchers often take an inductive approach to theory
construction.
 Research often employs both approaches.
 Inductive observations of patterns may result in a theory that is then
tested using hypothesis testing in a deductive manner.
 Deductive research may result in unexpected findings that the
researcher then explores using inductive approaches.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.14

Doing Science
 We cannot accept a conclusion from only one study
because:
 There may be control problems
 Study may be limited by available technical equipment
 A single study cannot tell us everything about a theory
 Science is not static
 Theories evolve and change over time

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.15

Experimental vs. Nonexperimental

 Control group that did not receive the treatment, in
addition to the experimental group that received the
treatment.
 A true experiment will divide participants into the
control and experimental groups randomly.
 Quasi-experimental meets some but not all of the criteria
of an experiment.
 In nonexperimental studies, researchers do not give
treatments. Some common types of nonexperimental
studies are surveys, polls, interviews, and observation.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.16

Experimental vs. Nonexperimental

 Fifty students are divided into two groups at random. One
group receives math instruction via a correspondence
course on the Internet.
 The other group is given instruction on the same math
skills using a traditional textbook. The purpose is to see if
instruction via the Internet is more effective than
traditional textbook instruction.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.17

Types of nonexperimental research

 Causal-comparative researchers look to the past for the
cause(s) of a current condition. Researchers are interested
in causality but cannot conduct an experiment for ethical
or other limiting reasons.
 Correlational research interested in the degree of
relationship among two or more quantitative variables.
“Did those with high admissions scores tend to earn high
GPAs?”
 cross-sectional vs. longitudinal research.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.18

Causal-comparative studies
 Researchers want to investigate cause-and-effect
relationships, but may not be possible to conduct an
experiment.
 E.g. “smoking is a possible cause of lung cancer’’.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.19

Quantitative vs. Qualitative

 Quantitative research results are presented as
“quantities” or numbers. Often plan their research
deductively.
 Qualitative research results are presented primarily
through words. Often plan their research inductively.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.20

Quantitative vs. Qualitative

 A metropolitan police force is demoralized, as indicated
by high rates of absenteeism, failure to follow procedures,
and so on. Furthermore, the press has raised questions
about the effectiveness of the force and its leadership. In
response, the police commission is planning to employ a
researcher to identify possible causes and solutions.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.21

Quantitative vs. Qualitative

 A qualitative researcher would likely be interested in
questions of “why,” and might formulate some
preliminary ideas or questions that can help to uncover
how members of the police department are making
meaning of these events or their reasons for participating
in some of the reported behaviors. They might investigate
by collecting preliminary observations and informal
interviews. Questions would be exploratory and open-
ended.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.22

Quantitative vs. Qualitative

 A quantitative researcher would likely begin by reviewing
the literature on topics related to organizational
effectiveness, leadership, and demoralization in police
forces or in other organizations. From this, the researcher
might discover theories or combine ideas to hypothesize
how leadership, police effectiveness, and morale are
related. To see if the theories were relevant to the current
case, the researcher would then formulate some
hypotheses that could be tested by conducting research.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.23

Summary: Chapter 1
Business and management research

 Is transdisciplinary

 Engages with both theory and practice

 Involves undertaking systematic research

 Should be undertaken with rigour

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 1.24

And finally……..

 “there is no one best way for

undertaking all research”

 Saunders et al. (2009)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009