Research method2 Dr Majed El- Farra 1 Research methods Second meeting.

research method2 Dr Majed El-Farra

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Research methods

Second meeting


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Deciding on the research approach and choosing a research strategy.

Research philosophy.It depends on the way that you think about

the development of knowledge.This affect how we do research.There are three views:1. Positivism2. Interpretivisim3. Realism


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Positivism This philosophy adopts the stance of

natural scientists. You work with an observable social

reality. The research end: law-like

generalization. You collect and interpret data in a

value-free manner, with relying on quantifiable/measured statistics.


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Interpretivisim They argue against positivism that: the social

sciences are too complex to be reduced to a series of law-like generalization.

They tend to discover the details of the situation to understand the reality working behind it.

Interpret. Is persuasive in the case of management and business since they are complex.

We interpret situations and meaning through its interaction with environment.

Generalizability is not of crucial importance.


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Realism

There are large-scale of social forces that affect people behavior and their perception to the world even without their necessarily being aware of.

Realism believes that people are not objects to be studied in the style of natural science.


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Which philosophy is better?

It depends on the research question and objectives.

Also most research use more that one philosophical domain.


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Choosing research approach There are may approaches:1- Deductive: bases on developing theory and

hypothesis and design a strategic research to test hypothesis. Here you use existed theory.

Deductive: owes more to positivism. Linked to scientific research.

2- Inductive: you collect data and develop theory as a result of your data analysis.

Inductive: owes more to interpretivism.


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Difference between deductive inductive Deductive emphasizes:1. Scientific principles.2. Moving from theory to data3. The need to explain causal relationships between

variables.4. The collection of quantitative data.5. The operationalisation of concepts to ensure clarity of

definition.6. A highly structured approach7. Researcher independent of what is being researched.8. The necessity to select samples of sufficient size in

order to generalize conclusions. Example: the evaluate the competitive advantages of

the IUG by using value chain model.


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Difference between deductive inductive Inductive emphasizes:1. Gaining an understanding of the meanings humans

attach to events.2. A close understanding of the research context.3. The collection of qualitative data.4. A more flexible structure to permit changes of research

emphasis as the research progresses.5. A realization that the researcher is part of research

process.6. Less concern with the need of generalize. Ex. Understand the cause of company employee

absenteeism by going to shopfloor and interview a sample of employees in order to get feel what was going on.


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Induction emphasizes1. Gaining understanding of the meanings

humans attached to events.2. A close understanding of the research

context.3. The collection of qualitative data.4. A more flexible structure to permit

changes of research emphasis as the research progresses.

5. A realization that the researcher is part of the research process.

6. Less concern with the need to generalize.


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Example

You are conducting research on the business failure among small businesses in the Gaza Strip.

Which approach you should apply?Deductive or inductive. How and why?


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Research strategy Concept: A general plan of how you will go about

answering the research question.Research strategy include: define source of

data, time span, location, provide justification for using different techniques, why you research particular org., population, sample.

All justifications should always be based on your research question.


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Different research strategies Experiment. It involves:1. Define of theoretical hypothesis2. Selection of samples of individuals from

known population. Usually small number.3. Allocation of samples to different

experimental conditions4. Introduction of planned change on one or

more of the variables5. Control of other variables


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Study groups in experiment

There are three types:1. One group approach2. Two groups: experimental and

standard groups.3. Rotated experiment. Which one is better?


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Experiment example

Study the influence of advertising on company sales.


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Different research strategies Survey: usually associated with deductive

approach. Survey allows collection of sizable data

from a large population in a highly economical way. Often obtained by using questionnaire. These data are standardized and allow easy comparison.

Data collection techniques: questionnaire, structures observations and interviews.

Example: collecting data on the unemployed people in the Gaza Strip.


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Different research strategies Case study:It involve an empirical investigation of a particular

contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence.

The is strategy is of particular interest to you if you wish to gain a rich understanding of the context of the research.

Data collection methods:Questionnaires, interviews, observation and documentary

analysis. Example: analyzing the reasons of high absenteeism

rate in Gaza’s private sector: case study of Mortaja com.


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Different research strategies Ground theory:It is a theory building by combining of

inductive and deductive approaches.In data collection you start without the

formulation of an initial theoretical framework.

Theory is developed from data generated by a series of observations.


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Different research strategies Action research: it has explicit focus on action

particularly promoting change within the org.It has different interpretations. But there are three:1. Focuses on the management of change.2. Relates to the involvement of practitioners in the

research with close collaboration with researchers. Ex. Collaboration with member of org. and researcher to study some issue at org.

3. It suggest that action research should have implications beyond the immediate project. May be developing new theory. Or reuse the new idea in a new context.


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Different research strategies Time horizons: includes, cross-sectional studies and

longitudinal studies. cross-sectional studies:A study of a particular phenomena at a particular time. Here

you often employ survey strategy. Ex. The level of job satisfaction among managers at the company at a given point in time.

longitudinal studies. Here you study change and development. You observe people or events over time. You answer the question: has there been any change over a period of time?

Ex. You can introduce a longitudinal element to your research by reviewing the literature over long period of time to follow the development of the phenomena. Ex. Study the industrial development in Gaza, 1967-2003.


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Different research strategies Exploratory:Useful to clarify your understanding of a

problem. It will give the answer whether it worth pursuing the research or not.

How to conduct exploratory res.1. Search the literature.2. Talking to experts in the field.3. Conducting focus group interviews.4. Questionnaire.


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Different research strategies Descriptive study.Its object is to portray/show an accurate

profile of events in real life. In order to call descriptive research is

scientific it should get to the level of analyzing and interpreting of the phenomena.

Can we combine more than method in one research?

Research method2 Dr Majed El- Farra 1 Research methods Second meeting.

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