BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS

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WELCOME TO BUSINESS

RESEARCH METHODS

EMGT 416

Zin-Eddine Dadach

Fall 2007-2008


THE RESEARCH

PROCESS


WHAT IS MANAGEMENT?

Process of getting activities completed efficiently with and through other people

( Robins, 1994)

Set of activities directed at the efficient and effective utilization of resources in the pursuit of one or more goals ( Van fleet, 1991)

THE PRIMARY ACTIVITY OF A MANAGER INVOLVES COORDINATING AND FACILITATING THE MANAGEMENT OF PEOPLE AND RESOURCES IN AN

ORGANIZATION


TODAY’S MANAGER’S CHALLENGES

During the last two decades, we have

witnessed a dramatic changes in the business.

From the historic economic role, the business

has now evolved in response to social and

political changes, explosive technology growth,

innovations in global communication

These dramatic changes have created new

knowledge needs for the MANAGER and new

publics to consider when evaluating any

DECISION


MANAGER NEEDS MORE AND

BETTER INFORMATION

BECAUSE: More variables to consider

More knowledge exist in any field of

management

Global and local competition is more vigorous

Quality of theories and models to make

decisions is improving

More concerns from the governments about

public protection

Public more informed wants to be included in

company decision making


THE IMPACT OF COMPUTERS

AND INTERNET ON THE

INFORMATION Data mining is becoming important: Extract

meaningful knowledge from volumes of data

Easier to analyze study data stored in computer

Techniques of quantitative analysis become

more important with new powerful computers

The number and power of the tools used to

conduct research ( INTERNET) has increased

fitting the complexity of the new business

environment


INFORMED DECISIONS

GOOD INFORMATION LEAD TO GOOD DECISION

In this very complex and competitive new business environment, managers should understand how to identify quality information and to recognize the solid, reliable research on which their high-risk decisions can be based

Managers need also to know how to conduct such research to get only the valuable information

These skills need understanding of the scientific methods used for decision making


TO GET VALUABLE INFORMATION YOU

NEED GOOD BUSINESS RESEARCH

METHODS

The study of business research methods

provides us the knowledge and skills to

solve problems and meet the challenges

of a fast-paced decision-making

environment


OBJECTIVES OF

THIS COURSE


THEORY PART OF THE

COURSE

WHY RESEARCH IS IMPORTANT?

WHAT IS QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH?

WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS DURING THE RESEARCH PROCESS

ETHICAL BEHAVIOR OF THE RESEARCHER AND THE RESPONDENT

DISCUSS THE ROLE OF LITERATURE REVIEW AND THE CONCEPTS OF REFERENCING


STATISTICAL PART OF THE

COURSE ( SPSS PROGRAM)

EXPLAIN THE CONCEPT OF HYPOTHESIS TESTING

THE ROLE AND NEED OF CAREFUL RESEARCH

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CAUSAL AND CO RELATIONAL ANALYSIS

RESEARCH VARIABLES AND SURVEY RESEARCH TOOLS

DISCUSS MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES, VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY AND DATA COLLECTION METHODS

ANALYSIS OF DATA BY SPSS


FINAL PROJECT

AT THE END OF THE COURSE, YOU WILL HAVE A CASE STUDY AND SUBMIT A COMPLETE REPORT

REPORT INCLUDE RESEARCH DESIGN, PROCEDURES, DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS IN LIGHT OF THEORY

IDENTIFY THE SIGNIFICANT COMPONENTS OF THE DATA ANALYSIS FOR ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKING


MANAGER IN BUSINESS

RESEARCH

A CRITICAL CONSUMER OF INFORMATION


THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Manager should be able to conduct business

research

Manager should find out the research process

of the information he wants to analyze

The kind of research and its outcome depend

mainly on the research process:

WHY RESEARCH IS DONE?

WHO PAID FOR THE RESEARCH?

WHO DID THE RESEARCH?


WHO DOES RESEARCH ?


ACADEMIC RESEARCH

Every university has a scientific lab with

full time professors and graduated

students

They are mainly two kinds of research

basic research

Practical research


WHAT IS BASIC RESEARCH?

A typical basic research is usually has a

theoretical background and is done in a

lab for theory building

Basic research is done mainly by

graduate students and supervised by a

professor or a group of professors

Basic research is financed by a

professor or an academic department or

the university


OUTCOME OF BASIC RESEARCH

The results of any basis research are to be published in a journal, magazine, newspaper, book

In order to accept paper for publication, scholars reviewing of the journal ensure the level of quality of the research and the theory and methods used.

All the researchers in science and engineering dream to publish in the journals NATURE or SCIENCE


APPLIED RESEARCH

A typical basic research has a little theoretical background and is practically oriented

The practical research is done mainly by researchers in a lab and/or plant for practical results to be used in industries or agencies

Practical research is financed by industries or agencies to solve a practical problem or a particular issue


OUTCOMES OF APPLIED RESEARCH

The results of any practical research are

not for publication.

All the results should be submitted to the

industry or agency who financed the

research

A contract including non-divulgation

between the industry and the professor

who supervise the research is signed in

the beginning of the research process


GOVERNMENTAL RESEARCH

ORGANIZATIONS

In GENERAL, Government organizations

have their “in house” research agencies

The objective of governmental research

agencies is to use statistical research to

find solutions related to social, economic

and market issues .


EXAMPLE OF UAE GOVERNMENT

RESEARCH AGENCIES

The Economic & Policy Research of the

government of UAE

This unit was developed to provide

applied research aimed at supporting the

UAE's growth and development.


WHAT RESEARCH DOES EPRU

UNDERTAKE?

The quality and reliability of UAE economic

statistics and their use for forecasting purposes.

The international competitiveness, efficiency

and productivity of the UAE economy, including

the public and private sectors.

Diversification of the UAE economy.

International trade, including customs reform

and trade relations with GCC members.

UAE labor market dynamics, including the issue

of Emiratization of the labor market.


EXAMPLES OF CURRENT

RESEARCH PROJECTS OF EPRU

An evaluation of the quality of UAE Economic Statistics & Indicators.

Trade Facilitation between GCC Member States.

The International Competitiveness of the Countries of the MENA Region.

The Efficiency of the Abu Dhabi Securities Market and the Dubai Financial Market.

The Efficiency and Productivity of UAE Banks.


ECONOMIC RESEARCH

METHODS USED BY EPRU

Economic models for time-series cross-

section and panel data.

Non-parametric models including Data

Envelope Analysis and Structural

Equation Modeling.

Computable General Equilibrium (CGE)

Modeling.


The CGE MODEL IS USED TO

HELP ANSWER QUESTIONS

SUCH AS: How important are the contributions of the different emirates to

the UAE economy?

What will happen to the economy if trade barriers are removed between GCC countries?

How well placed is the UAE economy to cope with the end of oil exports?

What can the UAE government do to increase the labor market participation rates and employment rates for Emiratis?

What can the UAE government do to keep the economy growing and diversifying?


CONSULTANTS RESEARCH

Provide research & advisory services to industry and government and government

Some consultant agencies are multinational companies involved in accountancy, finance, management and business consultancy in general

Examples of consultant agencies are Price Water house Coopers and Ernest & Young


CONSULTANT RESEARCH FOR

OIL INDUSTRIES PLANNING

The oil and gas industry is driven by the

development and delivery of natural

resources of unknown quality, quantity,

and origin.

In this environment, it’s vital that industry

participants conduct risk management

planning.


ERNST & YOUNG CONSULTANT

RESEARCH AGENCY

To help the oil companies kick off their own scenario planning exercises, the Ernst & Young Global Oil & Gas Center brings the oil companies through nine scenarios and possible outcomes.

From evaluating hydrocarbon reserves to assessing limited supplies within specific countries and states, we provide food for thought on several “what ifs,” including:

What if the global economy experienced a recession?

What if alternatives became a major part of the energy mix?

What if there was no longer a secure supply of oil and gas?


MANAGERS RESEARCH

Managers should see research as part of their

job

Successful management depends on high

quality information

A great deal of information like sales figures is

routinely available to the manager and does not

need research

However, THE CREATIVE UTILIZATION of

such data ( like establishing market trends) can

be a research project


EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH

FOR MANAGERS

Clients

Potential clients

Staffing

Performance

Competitors

Legal issues

Sales

Information technology

Organizational environment

Organization development

Products

Culture

Productivity

Strategy

Quality

Policy

Finance

Training & Staff development

Managerial effectiveness

communication


MANAGERS AND RESEARCH

RESULTS EVALUATION

Managers need to conduct or

commission research if they require

information and understanding to aid in

their decision-making

Managers who are familiar with research

process will be able to commission

research and evaluate results


WHY STUDY RESEARCH

GOOD BUSINESS RESEARCH

REDUCES THE RISK IN DECISION-

MAKING


DECISION MAKING CASE #1

You are a new head of a machinery

manufacturer.

Some of the old and well trained sales and

services staff left the company.

Complaints from customers regarding poor

after sales services are on the increase

HOW DO YOU BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT

HOW TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM?


DECISION MAKING CASE #2

The head of the department chairs the

committee that is responsible to buy the

textbook for EMGT 316

HOW IS HE GOING TO BEGIN TO

EVALUATE THE COMMITTEE

OPTIONS?


CASE #3 : HOW DO YOU SET UP A

RESEARCH PROJECT?

How will you come with a problem

statement ( problem & questions) ?

How are you going to answer these

problem question?


Why do managers study

research?

The manager’s DECISIONS need more

and better information

The availability of improved techniques

and tools to meet this need

The resulting information overload if

discipline is not employed in process


MANAGER NEEDS MORE AND

BETTER INFORMATION

BECAUSE: More variables to consider

More knowledge exist in any field of

management

Global and local competition is more vigorous

Quality of theories and models to make

decisions is improving

More concerns from the governments about

public protection

Public more informed wants to be included in

company decision making


GOOD INFORMATION LEAD

TO GOOD DECISION

In this very complex and competitive new

business environment, managers should

understand how to identify quality information

and to recognize the solid, reliable research on

which their high-risk decisions can be based

Managers need also to know how to conduct

such research to get only the valuable

information

These skills need understanding of the scientific

methods used for decision making


EFFECTS OF CONSUMERS

MAGAZINES ON BUSINESS

Consumer magazines are independent and public satisfaction oriented ( quality, durability, ease to use, safety and price)

Therefore, Consumer magazine (ex: “WHICH” in UK) have a significant impact on consumer’s buying behavior AND AFFECT THE SALES OF ANY COMPANY

Companies whose products receive unsatisfactory marks in consumer magazine will withdraw their products from the market

POSITIVE MARKS MAKES THE COMPANY INVEST MORE ON ADVERTISEMENT


WHAT IS BUSINESS

RESEARCH

THE FIRST STEP FOR ANY

DECISION MAKING : GETTING

INFORMATION


DEFINITION

A systematic inquiry whose objective is

to provide information to solve

managerial problems


CASE #1: WHICH BUSINESS

PARTNERS?

AIR SWISS IS LOOKING FOR

INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS

YOU ARE ASKED TO INVESTIGATE

SIX POTENTIAL COMPANIES


YOUR RESEARCH TEAM

INVESTIGATION

PERTINENT DATA ARE COLLECTED FROM

PUBLIC SOURCES

YOU WILL EXAMINE

ANNUAL REPORTS,

ARTICLES IN BUSINESS JOURNALS,

TRADE MAGAZINES

NEWSPAPERS

FINANCIAL ANALYST’S ASSESSMENTS

COMPANY ADVERTISEMENTS


FINAL RESEARCH REPORT

YOUR RESEARCH TEAM DEVELOP

SUMMARY PROFILE OF EACH

COMPANY

THE FINAL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS THE

OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS

THAT THE ACQUISITION OF THE

TARGET COMPANY WILL BRING TO

ALL AREAS OF THE BUSINESS


THE MANAGER DILEMMA

THE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF

SWISS AIR WILL READ YOUR

REPORT AND MUST MAKE A FINAL

PROPOSAL ABOUT WHICH IS THE

PREFERRED PARTNER WITH WHICH

TO JOIN FORCES


CASE #2: BUYING A NEW

EQUIPMENT?

A prominent manufacturer of medical

equipment contacts you to buy a new-

generation MRI scanner.

The doctor committee is waiting for your

recommendations to decide either to buy

it or not


YOUR INVESTIGATION

Mining data from patients files from other

hospitals which are using the equipment

to find :

How the new equipment is used

For what kind of diagnosis it can be used

Your try to confirm your data with

professional and associations journals


FINAL RESEARCH REPORT

Develop a profile that details the number

of patients that could be treated

Estimate the overheads after buying the

equipment

Estimate potential revenue that would be

realized after buying the equipment


THE MANAGER DILEMMA

AFTER READING THE REPORT, THE

DOCTORS COMMITTEE MUST

DECIDE WHETHER TO BUY A NEW

MRI SCANNER


CASE #3 : CHECKING

DEPARTMENT EFFICIENCY

A color manufacturer can not maintain

good profit level.

The owner believes the inventory

management is weak area of the

company

You are asked to make some

recommendations


GET THE FIRST IMPRESSION

You look at the present warehousing and

shipping operations and find excessive

sales loss and delivery delays because

of out-stock conditions

An informal poll of customers confirm

your impression


TRAINING NEEDED

Based on this impression, you familiarize

yourself with the latest inventory

management techniques in a local

college library


COLLECTING DATA

You ask the warehouse manager to take

an accurate inventory

You review the incoming orders of the

last year

The owner shows you the production run

of last year and the method he uses to

assess the need for a particular color

paint


SELECTING THE BEST

TECHNIQUE

Modeling the last year business using production, order and inventory management technique, you select the method that give you, in theory, the best profit

After two months, the new technique used show a much lower inventory and a higher order fulfillment

Your recommend the new technique to the owner


THE MANAGER DILEMMA

The owner must decide whether to

implement a new inventory management

system


WHAT MUST A

RESEARCHER

ACCOMPLISH

DIFFERENT OBJECTIVES OF

BUSINESS RESEARCH


RESEARCH STUDY

OBJECTIVES

REPORTING

DESCRIPTIVE

EXPLANATORY

EVALUATIVE


OBJECTIVE #1 : REPORTING

At the elementary level, a reporting study may

be produced simply to provide an account or

summation of some data or to generate some

statistics

Reporting study call for knowledge and skills in

using information sources and dealing with their

gatekeepers

Reporting research calls for little in the way of

inference or conclusion drawing


REPORTING=GETTING

INFORMATION

Sometimes the task might be quite

simple and the data readily available

Sometimes the information are difficult to

get


CASE STUDY : SWISS AIR

The researcher needs to know which

information should be assessed in order

to value the company

Knowing the type of information needed,

the researcher identifies possible

sources of information, like trade press

articles and annual reports


THE VALUABLE SOURCES

The public takes airplanes: the public

feedback is the most important source of

information

Because of the evaluation of the

potential partners on the company

stock’s prices, only public sources are

used

Other less sensitive reporting studies

could be interviewing the gatekeepers


OBJECTIVE #2: DESCRIPTIVE

A Descriptive study seeks to find out and describe but not necessarily to explain

A descriptive study try the answer the following questions:

Who?

What?

When?

Where?

How?


WHO CAN DO DESCRIPTIVE

STUDY?

This is the nature of much research produced by governmental statistical agencies

Examples are: collecting information regarding the population, Households, Medical care expenditure,…

Such descriptive research is conducted on a regular basis to monitor social and economic changes

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES COLLECT THESE DATA AND OTHERS CAN USE IT FOR POLICY, ACADEMIC OR POLITICAL PURPOSES


DESCRIPTIVE STUDY IS

STATISTICAL

Descriptive studies may involve the

collection of data and an examination of

the distribution and the number of times

the researcher observes a single event

or characteristic (research variable)

Descriptive studies may also involve an

assessment (study) of the interaction of

two or more variables


CASE STUDY: BUYING A NEW

EQUIPMENT IS A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY

The researcher must present data that reveal:

Who is affiliated with the insurer

Who uses managed healthcare programs ( both

doctors and patients)

General trends (TENDENCY) in the use of MRI

in diagnosis illness and relationship with patient

characteristics

Doctor referrals

Technology use patterns


DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

DEFICIENCY

Descriptive research may or may not

have the potential for drawing powerful

inferences ( link between data and the

decision to make)

Some organizations that have databases

of their employees , customers, suppliers

do not mine them regularly to take

advantage of the decision-making insight

they may provide


DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH FOR

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

Descriptive research can not explain why an event has occur and why some variables interact in the research

Descriptive research is popular in business research because of its versatility across disciplines

For non-profit organizations, descriptive research has broad appeal to administrators and policy analysts for planning, monitoring, and evaluating


OBJECTIVE #3

:EXPLANATORY RESEARCH

Explanatory research moves beyond

description to seek to explain the

patterns, relationships and trends

observed or discovered

intend to describe why and how

something work or to make something

easier to understand


EXPLANATORY RESEARCH

NEEDS CAUSALITY

Why a particular product is so popular?

How staff bonuses bring about increases in efficiency?

Such questions raise the difficult issue of causality ( NOTHING CAN NOT HAPPEN WITHOUT A CAUSE)

To establish causality ( link between two events) requires the researcher to be rigorous in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data


OBJECTIVE #4: EVALUATIVE

RESEARCH

Aims to make judgment on the success or effectiveness of policies, practices, strategies or programs

Example #1: if an advertising campaign has been cost effective

Example #2: if a particular program is meeting required performance standards

In the private sectors, this research could be done for profitability purposes


BUSINESS RESEARCH:

APPROACHES OR

PARADIGM


WHAT IS PARADIGM ?

One that serves as a pattern or model.

Since the 1960s, paradigm has been used in science to refer to a theoretical framework, as when Nobel Laureate David Baltimore cited the work of two colleagues that "really established a new paradigm for our understanding of the causation of cancer."

Thereafter, researchers in many different fields, including sociology and literary criticism, often saw themselves as working in or trying to break out of paradigms.


PARADIGM IN BUSINESS

RESEARCH

PARADIGM provides guidelines and

principles concerning the way business

research is conducted

The two most important paradigms in

social science research are

The positivist approach

The critical/ interpretive approach


POSITIVIST RESEARCH

The researcher is independent on the research and the objective is to describe and explain.

Behavior of individuals, groups or organizations under study is explained on the basis of the facts and observations.

Quantitative data are gathered using theories and models

It consists of the empirical part of the study

It is also known as scientific, empiricist, quantitative, deductive

Mostly used in natural sciences


CRITICAL/INTERPRETIVE

RESEARCH

Human phenomena can not be studied

as non-human phenomena

The social world is socially constructed

and subjective

The “reality” to be studied is the

perceptions of the actors involved in a

given social milieu and not a social

model imposed by the researcher


CRITICAL/INTERPRETIVE

RESEARCH

The researchers are part of the research

process

The researcher gets inside the mind of

the his/her subjects to see the world

from their point of view

Provide their own explanations of their

situations and behavior


POSITIVIST OR CRITICAL

APPROACH

Both approaches make assumptions that

need to be weighted before selecting a

research methodology

Researchers are free to choose one or

another approach however a mix of the

two approaches is recommended

because the findings provide a broader

insight or understanding the issues being

investigated


QUANTITATIVE &

QUALITATIVE

APPROACH


DEFINITIONS

Quality is the essential character or nature of

something while Quantity is the amount

Quality is the “WHAT” while Quatity is the

“HOW MUCH”

Qualitative refers to the meaning or model or

analogy or metaphor characterizing something

Quantitative assumes the meaning and refers

to a measure of it


INTRODUCTION

Most business research involves the collection,

analysis and interpretation of statistical

information

Sometimes the research is quantitative :

number of sick days by employees during one

year or the level of sales of a product

Sometimes the research is qualitative in nature

like level of satisfaction of clients , but it is

represented in a quantitative manner ( scores

between 0 and 5)


QUANTITATIVE APPROACH

Collection of numerical data and their analysis

DATA MAY DERIVE FROM QUESTIONNAIRE-BASED SURVEYS, FROM OBSERVATION OR FROM SECONDARY SOURCES SUCH AS SALES DATA

It relies on numerical evidence to draw conclusions or to test hypotheses

The reliability of the results requires a study of a large number of people or organizations

Computers are used for this kind of study


SAMPLE LARGE

POPULATION

The aim of such study is to link the

observations in one sample to a more general

population

Example : Testing a new drug for a sample of

people ( paid by the company but their health

history should be known by the pharmaceutical

company)

The conclusions of the research are made for

the general public


QUALITATIVE APPROACH

Not concerned by statistical analysis

Collecting a great number of data for a

relatively small number of subjects and

not a limited amount of information for a

large number of subjects

The information collected is not in

numerical form and conclusions are not

based on numerical analysis



The objective of the research is to fully understand the experiences and situations of few people

The methods used for gathering qualitative information include: observation

informal and unstructured and in-depth interviewing

participants observation


QUANTITATIVE VS


Some researchers use only one

approach

When both are used, Quantitative

approach should be based on initial ,

exploratory qualitative approach

However, the two approaches could be

used together as computers are

increasingly used to analyze qualitative

data


INDUCTION AND

DEDUCTION

APPROACH


INDUCTION APPROACH

RESEARCH PROCESS AS FOLLOWS

A= OBSERVATION,

DESCRIPTION

DATA COLLECTION

B = ANALYSIS

C= EXPLANATION

HYPOTHESIS

THEORY

B

C

A


CONCLUSION EXPLAINS

THE FACTS

FIRST YOU COLLECT DATA

SECOND YOU ANALYZE

THIRD YOU EXPLAIN


EXAMPLE OF INDUCTION

SUPPOSE YOUR FIRM SPENDS $ 1 MILLION ON

REGIONAL PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN HOWEVER

SALES DID NOT INCREASE : WHY?

CONCLUSION : PROMOTION POORLY EXECUTED.

THIS CONCLUSION IS INDUCTIVE SINCE

SALES SHOULD INCREASE AFTER

PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN

ALSO WE KNOW BY LOGIC IF THE

PROMOTION IS POORLY EXECUTED ,

SALES WILL NOT INCREASE


HYPOTHESIS FOR THE

POOR PROMOTION

REGIONAL RETAILERS HAVE NOT

ENOUGH STOCK TO FILL CUSTOMER

REQUESTS

A STRIKE BY THE TRUCKING FIRM

EMPLOYEES PREVENTED STOCKS

TON ARRIVE ON TIME

A HURRICANE CLOSED ALL RETAIL

LOCATIONS


DEDUCTION APPROACH


C= EXPLANATION

HYPOTHESIS

THEORY

A= OBSERVATION,

DESCRIPTION

DATA COLLECTION

B = ANALYSIS

B

C

A


DATA CONFRONT PRIOR

REASONING: TRUE OR FALSE

FIRST A PRIOR REASONING IS

ASSUMED

SECOND DATA ARE COLLECTED

THIRD COLLECTED DATA WILL

CONFIRM OR NEGATE THE

REASONING


CASE FOR STUDY

All regular employees are trusted not to

steal ( assuming theory)

John is a regular employee ( collecting

data)

John can be trusted ( conclusion)


EXPERIMENTAL &

NON-EXPERIMENTAL

RESEARCH


EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

DONE IN LABORATORY BY

SCIENTISTS IN FIELD LIKE BIOLOGY

AND ENGINEERING

RESEARCHER HAS CONTROL ON

SOME VARIABLES


NON-EXPERIMENTAL

RESEARCH

REAL WORLD

PEOPLE

NO CONTROL ON THE VARIABLES

EX: TWO PEOPLE WITH SAME

INCOME CAN DIFFER MARKEDLY IN

PERSONALITIES, FAMILY

SITUATIONS, HEALTH


PLANNING & DESIGNING

RESEARCH

THE PROCESS INVOLVED


THE ELEMENTS OF THE PROCESS

THE RESEARCH PROCESS CAN BE DIVIDED INTO EIGHT MAIN ELEMENTS (FIGURE 3.1 PAGE 46)

SELECT TOPIC

REVIEW LITERATURE

INVENT NEW FRAMEWORK

DECIDE RESEARCH QUESTIONS

LIST INFORMATION NEEDS AND ORGANIZE

DECIDE RESEARCH STRATEGY

CONDUCT RESEARCH

REPORT FINDINGS


INTERACTION IN THE FOUR

FIRST ELEMENTS

THE VARIETY OF APPROACHES TO

RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT NOT

ALL THE RESEARCH PROJECTS WILL

FOLLOW PRECISELY THE SAME

SEQUENCE

THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF

INTERACTION BETWEEN THE FOUR

ELEMENTS OF THE PROCESS (

FIGURE 3.1)


ELEMENT # 1:

SELECTING A TOPIC FROM

DIFFERENT SOURCES


I) FROM PERSONAL INTEREST:

IF THE RESEARCHER

RESPONSIBLE FOR A PARTICULAR

FUNCTION IN AN ORGANIZATION

MEMBER OF A SOCIAL GROUP

BASED ON GENDER, ETHNICITY OR

OCCUPATION

LIVE IN A PARTICULAR LOCATION

HAVING SPECIFIC PROBLEMS


ADVANTAGES AND

DISADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES:

KNOWLEDGE OF

PHENOMENA

EASY ACCESS TO

INFORMATION

FROM INDIVIDUALS

HIGH LEVEL OF

MOTIVATION

DISADVANTAGES:

NON-OBJECTIVE (

PART OF THE

SITUATION)


II) FROM LITERATURE

MOST COMMON SOURCE OF IDEAS FOR ACADEMIC RESEARCH

THERE ARE A VARIETY OF FORMS:

THEORY TESTED IN USA ONLY

( YOU CAN TRY TO STUDY THE THEORY SOMEWHERE ELSE)

A THEORY DEVELOPED IN RELATION TO MANUFACTURING ( YOU CAN STUDY THE SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS)

WIDELY ACCEPTED THEORY BASED ON MEN ( YOU CAN STUDY IT ON WOMEN)


A THEORY TESTED LONG TIME AGO

AND NEW TESTING TECHNIQUES

ARE NOW AVAILABLE


ACADEMIC RESEARCH : MY

MASTER THESIS

A NEW AMINE DEVELOPED BY

MOBILE WAS TESTED AND

COMPARED WITH THE WELL KNOWN

AMINE ( MEA) FOR A SPECIFIC

THERMODYNAMIC BEHAVIOR

I COMPARED THE SAME AMINES BUT

THE COMPARISON WAS DONE FOR

THE ABSORPTION RATE PROPERTY

OF BOTH AMINES


CRITICAL REVIEWING NEEDED

IN LITERATURE SOURCE

IN THE CASE, SELECTING A TOPIC AND

REVIEWING THE LITERATURE ARE

COMBINED

A GOOD RESEARCHER SHOULD IDENTIFY

NOT ONLY WHAT THE LITERATURE SAYS

BUT ESPECIALLY WHAT IT DOES NOT SAY

MOST RESEARCHERS DO NOT TELL YOU

EVERYTHING ABOUT THEIR WORK : YOU

NEED TO READ CAREFULLY, IMAGINE AND

GUESS


III) POLICY OR MANAGEMENT

CAN BE SPONSORED BY PRIVATE OR INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS OR DONE BY ACADEMICS

ACADEMICS : RESEARCH RESULTS MADE PUBLIC AND OBJECTIVE IS METHODOLOGY FOR WIDE AND GENERAL APPLICATIONS (PARADIGM)

PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS: RESEARCH FOR A PARTICULAR APPLICATION AND RESULTS REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL

GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS: LIES BETWEEN THE TWO APPROACHES


EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH

TOPICS ( FIGURE 3.2 PAGE 47)

PERSONAL INTEREST

THE LITERATURE

POLICY AND MANAGEMENT

SOCIAL

POPULAR ISSUES


ELEMENT #2:

REVIEWING THE LITERATURE


OBJECTIVE OF REVIEWING

LITERATURE

IDENTIFYING AND ENGAGING WITH

PREVIOUS WORK RELEVANT TO THE

TOPIC OF INTEREST


THE ROLE OF THE

LITERATURE REVIEW

THE ENTIRE BASIS OF THE RESEARCH

A SOURCE OF IDEAS ON TOPICS FOR RESEARCH

A SOURCE OF INFORMATION ON RESEARCH DONE BY OTHERS

SOURCE OF METHODOLOGY OR THEORETICAL IDEAS

SOURCE OF COMPARISON BETWEEN YOUR RESEARCH AND OTHERS

SOURCE OF DATA SUPPORTING YOUR RESEARCH ( EX: DATA ON LOCAL MARKET)


STEPS OF REVIEWING

LITERATURE

THE REVIEWING LITERATURE IN THE BEGINNING OF THE PROJECT IS TEMPORARY (JUST TO START THE PROJECT)

TIME DOES NOT ALWAYS ALLOW COMPLETE LITERATURE REVIEW

PROCEED WITH THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IN THE HOPE THAT ALL THE RELEVANT ELEMENTS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED

EXPLORATION OF LITERATURE WILL CONTINUE DURING THE PROJECT


RISK OF INCOMPLETE

LITERATURE REVIEW

DURING THE PROJECT PROCESS, THE RESEARCHER MAY FIND A PUBLICATION ( OLD OR NEW ) WHICH COMPLETELY NEGATES OR UPSTAGES ( DIMINISH THE VALUE) HIS WORK JUST BEFORE FINISHING

THIS RISK IS VERY HIGH IN NATURAL SCIENCES

BUT MINIMAL IN SOCIAL SCIENCES BECAUSE IN TWO DIFFERENT PLACES, SAME RESEARCH PROJECT GIVES DIFFERENT FINDINGS ( SUBJECTIVE)


HOW TO GET NEW

LITERATURE SOURCES

FOR FASHIONABLE PROJECTS, LITERATURE REVIEW SHOULD INCLUDE UNPUBLISHED LITERATURE AND ONGOING RESEARCH

KNOWING THE PROJECT, FIND THE CENTERS INVOLVED AND GET INFORMATION THROUGH DIRECT APPROACHES, ANNUAL REPORTS, NEWSLETTERS, WEB SITES,


FASHIONABLE PROJECTS:

COMMUNICATION NETWORKS ARE

VERY ACTIVE

SEARCH FOR SEMINARS AND

CONFERENCES RELATED TO THE

PROJECT, GET THE MOST RECENT

PAPERS, CONTACTS OTHERS

RESEARCHERS,

POSSIBLE COLLABORATION


CONCLUSION OF THE

LITERATURE REVIEW

ACADEMIC PROJECTS: COMPARE

METHODOLOGIES AND DISCUSSING

MERITS AND DEFICIENCIES AND

EXPLAIN HOW CONCLUSIONS ARE

RELATED TO YOUR PROJECT

MANAGERIAL PROJECTS: SHORTER

CONCLUSION RELATED TO

RELEVANT AND USEFUL FINDINGS

INSTEAD OF METHODOLOGY USED


ELEMENT #3

DEVISING A CONCEPTUAL

FRAMEWORK


CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The development of a conceptual

framework is the most important and the

most difficult element of the project

It is sometimes also the weakest

element in research proposals

Conceptual framework involves concepts


CONCEPTS

To understand and communicate information

about objects and events, there must be a

common ground on which to do it.

CONCEPT SERVE THIS PURPOSE

Concepts are generally accepted collection of

meanings or characteristics associated with

certain events, objects, situations and

behaviors


EXAMPLE OF CONCEPTS

IF WE SEE A MAN PASSING, WE

IDENTIFY THAT HE IS

WALKING

SKIPPING ( JUMPING)

CRAWLING ( ON THE KNEE)

HOPPING ( SHORT JUMP)

RUNNING

THIS IS A CONCEPT


SOURCES OF CONCEPTS

SOME CONCEPTS ARE ACQUIRED

FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

AND IF WE CHANGE SOCIETY, WE

WILL HAVE THE SAME CONCEPTS

BUT IN A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE

SOME CONCEPTS ARE UNIQUE TO A

PARTICULAR CULTURE AND CAN

NOT BE TRANSLATED INTO

ANOTHER LANGUAGE


BORROWING CONCEPTS

GRAVITATION BORROWED FROM PHYSICS AND USED IN MARKETING TO EXPLAIN WHY PEOPLE SHOP WHERE THEY DO

DISTANCE IS USED IN ATTITUDE MEASUREMENT TO DESCRIBE THE DEGREE OF VARIABILITY BETWEEN ATTITUDES OF PEOPLE

VELOCITY IS USED IN ECONOMY

FLAVOR BORROWED FROM FOOD SCIENCE TO ENGINEERING ( HE DOES NOT HAVE THE FLAVOR OF SCIENCE)


CONCEPTS IN BUSINESS

RESEARCH

WE DESIGN HYPOTHESES USING

CONCEPTS

( FOR EXAMPLE : WHAT IS A GOOD

COMPANY?)

TWO PEOPLE MAY HAVE TWO

DIFFERENT OPINIONS OR

CONCEPTS


THE IMPORTANCE OF

CONCEPTS

WE DEVISE MEASUREMENT

CONCEPTS BY WHICH TO TEST OUR

HYPOTHETICAL STATEMENTS

WE GATHER DATA USING THESE

MEASUREMENTS CONCEPTS

SOME PEOPLE INVENT CONCEPTS

TO EXPRESS THEIR IDEAS


COMMUNICATING OUR

CONCEPTS: THE ART

THE SUCCESS OF RESEARCH

DEPENDS ON HOW CLEARLY WE

CONCEPTUALIZE ( FORM AN IDEA)

THIS IS THE ART PART OF BUSINESS

RESEARCH.

YOUR CONCEPTS ARE THE RESULT OF

YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES.

YOUR OWN ART WILL HELP YOU CHOOSE

THE RIGHT QUESTIONS RELATED TO YOUR

CONCEPTS USED FOR THE RESEARCH


WE NEED CLEAR

CONCEPTS

HOW OTHERS UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPTS WE USE

WHEN WE NEED TO MEASURE ATTITUDE OR SATISFACTION OF PEOPLE WHICH ARE ABSTRACT

EXAMPLE: SOME PEOPLE DO NOT CONCEPTUALIZE THAT HUNTING IS A CRIME


EXAMPLE #1 THAT NEEDS

CONCEPT

If you want to know: what will be the employee

reaction to the new flexible work schedule ?

You may ask :

Which employees?

What reaction?

THESE QUESTIONS REQUIRE THE USE OF

CONCEPTS, CONSTRUCTS AND

DEFINITIONS


CHALLENGE: CONCEPTS THAT OTHER

CLEARLY UNDERSTAND

EXAMPLE : IN YOUR

QUESTIONNAIRE, YOU ARE ASKING

RESPONDENTS : “ FAMILY TOTAL

INCOME”

SEEMS AN EASY QUESTION BUT

YOU WILL HAVE CONFUSING

ANSWERS AND YOU CAN NOT

QUANTIFY THEM


WE NEED TO BE MORE PRECISEABOUT

TIME PERIOD : WEEKLY, MONTHLY,

ANNUALLY

BEFORE OR AFTER INCOME TAXES

FOR HEAD OF FAMILY ONLY OR ALL THE

FAMILY MEMBERS

FOR SALARY AND WAGES ONLY OR FOR

DIVIDENDS, INTEREST, AND CAPITAL GAIN

INCOME IN KIND SUCH AS FREE RENT,

EMPLOYEE DISCOUNT, OR FOOD STAMP


EXAMPLE THAT NEED

CONCEPT

Why did the stock market price surge higher when all the normal indicators suggested it will go down

You may ask:

What are the normal indicators

THIS QUESTION ALSO REQUIRE THE USE OF CONCEPTS, CONSTRUCTS AND DEFINITIONS


FIGURE 3.3 PAGE 50

Examples of concepts encountered in

management research, their definition

and they might be operationalised or

communicated in a qualitatively or

quantitatively assessable or measurable

form


CONCEPTUAL

FRAMEWORK


IMPORTANCE OF


A conceptual framework of a researcher

indicates how he views the concepts

involved in his study and also the

relation between concepts.

The conceptual framework is original to

each researcher. It depends on the

researcher CONCEPTS based on his

experiences, education and know-how


COURSE OF THE STUDY = CONCEPTS

+ CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

THE CONCEPTS IDENTIFIED,

THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

DETERMINE ALL THE COURSE OF

STUDY



AND TYPES OF RESEARCH

IT IS NECESSARY TO DECIDE FIRST

UPON THE KINDS OF RESEARCH

BEING CONDUCTED IN ORDER TO

ELABORATE ITS CONCEPTUAL

FRAMEWORK.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ARE

DIFFERENT IF THE RESEARCH IS

DESCRIPTIVE, EXPLANATORY OR

EVALUATIVE


DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH RARELY

REQUIRES ELABORATE

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK BUT

CLEAR DEFINITIONS OF CONCEPTS

INVOLVED ARE REQUIRED


EXPLANATORY/

EVALUATIVE RESEARCH

NEED WELL DEVELOPED

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK THAT

FORMS THE BASIS FOR THE

EXPLANATION AND THE

EXAMINATION REQUIRED FOR THE

RESEARCH


EXPLANATORY/

EVALUATIVE RESEARCH

EXPLANATION INVOLVES IDEA OF

CAUSE EFFECT

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INPUTS

AND OUTPUTS

ACTIONS AND OUTCOMES


DEVELOPMENT OF

FRAMEWORK (FIGURE 3.4 P.51)

The development of a framework

involves four elements:

Identification of concepts

Definition of concepts

Exploration of relationships between

concepts

Operationalisation


The process of devising a

conceptual framework


Concepts – examples (a)


Concepts – examples (b)


APPLIED RESEARCH

IN APPLIED RESEARCH SUCH AS

PLANNING AND MARKETING IN AN

ORGANIZATION READY MADE

IDEAS CAN BE FOUND IN PLANNING

OR MARKETING LITERATURE


ACADEMIC RESEARCH

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK CALLED MODEL IS NEEDED

EXAMPLE : THE LEVEL OF STAFF TURNOVER ( T) IN A COMPANY IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE SIZE OF THE COMPANY ( E) COULD BE EXPRESSED AS :

T= a + B.e

THE RESEARCHER IS ASKED TO FIND THE VALUES OF a AND b

Turnover, in a human resources context refers to the characteristic of a given company or industry, relative to rate at which an employer gains and loses staff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment


FOR THE SAME EXAMPLE:

TURNOVER IN A COMPANY

IMAGINE NOW THAT YOU RELATE THE LEVEL OF STAFF TURNOVER ( T) IN A COMPANY TO :

STAFF EXPECTATIONS

STAFF CHARACTERISTICS

JOB CHARACTERISTICS

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

\


CONCEPT MAPPING A

A Expectations

Turnover

Jobcharacteristics

Personalcharacteristics


CONCEPT MAPPING A AND B

A


Expectations

Jobcharacteristics

Turnover

B Expectations

Jobcharacteristics


Job satisfaction

Organisational commitment

Turnover


DECIDING

RESEARCH

QUESTIONS


THE LINK BETWEEN

CONCEPTS AND RESEARCH

DECIDING ON THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS

IS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT TASKS IN

THE WHOLE PROCESS

The scope/scale of the resultant project should

be manageable within the time/resources

available.

Questions should be answerable

Questions may be grouped into primary and

subsidiary


EXAMPLE #1 OF RESEARCH

QUESTIONS

Research question : What is the relationship

between advertising expenditure and revenue?

Research objective – eg. The aim of the study

is to discover the relationship between

advertising expenditure and revenue.

Hypothesis – eg. There is a positive relationship

between advertising expenditure and revenue

THE RESEARCH RESULTS WILL TELL YOU :

TRUE OR FALSE


EXAMPLE #2 : STAFF

TURNOVER

WHAT ARE THE RELATIVE

INFLUENCES OF “PERSONAL

CHARACTERISTICS”, PRE-

EMPLOYMENT EXPECTATIONS” AND

“JOB CHARACTERISTICS” ON “JOB

SATISFACTION”


EXAMPLE #2 : STAFF

TURNOVER

TO WHAT EXTENT DOES “JOB

SATISFACTION” AFFECT “

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT”

TO WHAT EXPECT DOES

“ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT”

INFLUENCE THE LEVEL OF “STAFF

TURNOVER”


STAFF TURNOVER

CONCEPT MAPPING


Listing information needs &

operationalisation

Self-esteem Existing scale eg. CSE Questionnaire

Concept/variable Operationalisation Data source

Gender M/F Questionnaire or

records

Job expectations Likert scales Questionnaire

Personal Characteristics

Age Age last birthday Questionnaire or

records

Education Highest degree. Questionnaire or records

Experience # years in employment Questionnaire

Marital status Married, de facto etc. Questionnaire


Listing information needs &

operationalisation Contd

Type of industry* Suitable classification Secondary

Concept/variable Operationalisation Data source

Job level Suitable classification Questionnaire/records

Job Characteristics

Salary level Age last birthday Questionnaire/records

Involved in decisions Scale or ad hoc measure Questionnaire/records

Size of org.* # of employees Questionnaire

Job satisfaction Existing scale (eg. JDI) Questionnaire

Org. commitment Existing scale (eg. BOCS) Questionnaire

* Not relevant if only one organisation


HOME WORK FOR

OCTOBER 4TH 2007

ANALYZE THE BUSINESS RESEARCH WORK DONE FOR THE RADIO STATION WKLM AND

WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM?

HOW WKLM WANTS TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM?

HOW DID THEY SELECT THE SAMPLE?

WHY PHONE SURVEY WAS USED?

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM FACED DURING THIS SURVEY?

SUMMARIZE THE FINDINGS

HOW THE FINDINGS ARE RELATED TO THE OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH?

CAN YOU THINK ABOUT ANOTHER METHODOLOGY? EXPLAIN


DEVELOPING

RESEARCH

STRATEGY


STEPS OF RESEARCH

STRATEGY

Decide information ( DATA ) -gathering

methods – See Chs. 5-11

Decide data analysis methods – See

Chs. 12-15

Budget and timetable – See this chapter

Section II


THURSDAY OCTOBER 4TH : RESEARCH

PROJECT PROPOSAL

THE REPORT SHOULD INCLUDE:

SITUATION AND STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

TYPE OF STUDY

HYPOTHESES ( IF ANY)

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SELECT YOUR SAMPLE AND WHY?

WHICH DATA ARE YOU GOING TO COLLECT?

WHICH SECONDARY DATA ?

SOME QUESTIONS YOU ARE GOING TO ASK


SOURCE OF

INFORMATION #1

GATHERING DATA


GATHERING DATA

As you explore your problem or topic, you may consider many different types of information sources, some much valuable than others

Information sources are generally characterized into:

Primary sources

Secondary sources

Tertiary sources


WHAT ARE DATA?

Data are facts presented to the

researcher from the study environment

Data can be characterized by their

Abstractness

Verifiability

Elusiveness

Closeness to the phenomena


Data as Abstractness

Metaphorical ( related to metaphor)

Example of Metaphor : he has a heart of stone ( not real )

Example of Abstractions: the growth of GNP ( Gross National Product) can not be observed directly, only the effects of it can be recorded

GDP measures all production within the country, by whoever happens to be working here;

GNP measures the production of all the nationals, wherever they happen to be working.


VERIFIABILITY OF DATA

Our data are processed by our senses and can

be limited to the senses of other people

Everything we know about the world and

ourselves has come through our senses.

All our knowledge therefore is the product of

what we have seen, heard, smelt, etc.

When sensory experiences consistently

produce the same results, our data are said

trustworthy because they may be verified


ELUSIVE DATA

Capturing data is elusive, complicated by

the speed at which events occur and

time-bound nature of observations

Opinions, preferences or attitudes are

not the same from the 80’s to now


CLOSENESS TO THE

PHENOMENA

Data reflect their truthfulness by

closeness to the phenomena


PRIMARY VS SECONDARY

DATA

Much of business research involves the

collection and analysis of new data.

Primary data:

new data specifically collected in

current research project

researcher is the primary user.


KEY TERMS –DEFINITIONS

However, research can also be done by the analysis of existing data that was collected for some other purpose, and the ability to locatesuch secondary data is an important research skill.

Secondary data: data already exist - collected for some other

(primary) purpose

researcher is the secondary user.


SECONDARY DATA

USES AND ROLES


USES/ROLES OF

SECONDARY DATA

Background/preparation

Complementary –

comparison/validation of primary data

collected

Whole basis of project – re-analysis

of data

Context setting (in report)


SOURCES OF SECONDARY

DATA

COMPANY INFORMATION

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

MANAGEMENT RELATED FIELDS

ARCHIVES

INTERNET


SOURCE OF SECONDARY DATA

#1 : COMPANY INFORMATION

This can be from internal or external sources.

Internal sources comprise the internal records of a company, and include financial accounts and sales information, human resources records , customer complaints, etc.

External sources for public companies are available from their annual reports and other reports on their finances and structure that they are required by law to disclose.

For private companies, newspapers, the financial press and trade journals need to be searched for information.

A number of electronic databases can be searched for company information.


SOURCE OF SECONDARY DATA

#2 “:GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.

GOVERNMENT Bureau of Statistics,

the GOVERNMENT Trade Commission,

THE Government Index of Publications.

Information from these sources is

available via the Internet.


SECONDARY DATA FROM UAE

GOVERNMENT STATISTIC

AGENCIES

UAE STATISTICS

http://www.zu.ac.ae/library/html/UAEInfo/UAEStats.htm


SOURCE #3 OF SECONDARY

DATA: Educational institutions

and specialist centres Many universities have web pages where

information on conferences and publications can be obtained.

Specialist centres, often associated with universities, provide a similar source of information in their specialist areas.

Academic researchers may be contacted for information.

These may be located from their being authors of published papers, or from a number of existing databases



DATA :PROFESSIONAL

ORGANIZATIONS

These include business and professional

associations, societies, and not-for-profit

organisations, and can be located

through the telephone directories.

Databases also exist that contain many

such associations and societies



DATA: Management-related fields

Business research will often require the

seeking of information related to other

disciplines, such as law, psychology,

education, sociology, etc.

Databases and other sources of

information are available for each of

these disciplines.



DATA :Archival material

Archival material available via the

Internet is developing, and is accessed

through some newspaper and university

websites.



DATA : Internet-based resources

.A number of websites are available that

give wide coverage and a large number

of links to other sources.


SECONDARY DATA

FROM COMPANY

INFORMATION

CASE STUDY


COMPANY SECONDARY

DATA AVAILABLE

SECONDARY DATA COULD DE

INTERNAL DATA

EXTERNAL DATA


SECONDARY INTERNAL DATA

FOR A COMPANY OR AN

ORGANIZATION

Financial accounts

Sales data

Prices

Product development

Advertising expenditure

Purchase of supplies

Human resources records

Customer complaint logs


CASE STUDY FOR INTERNAL DATA :

Employee Turnover & Company

Performance

Data from 100 branches of a Dutch company, for years 1995-98 on: Employee turnover

Branch performance – sales, profits, etc.

Other – absenteeism, average age of staff, regional location

Regression equation:

Y = c + 0.38X1 + 0.32X2 – 0.14X3 – 0.07X4 + 0.44X5 –0.56X6

Y = Change in performance, 1995-98

X1 = Performance ’95 X2 = Emp. Turnover

X3 = Absenteeism X4 = Age

X5 = Region X6 = Employee turnover squared


SECONDARY EXTERNAL DATA

FOR A COMPANY OR AN

ORGANIZATION Company information is available from a

variety of sources, eg.:

Biz@advantage

www.whowhere.com

www.hoovers.com – 12,000 companies, USA & others

Australian Stock Exchange (www.asx.com.au)

AGSM Annual reports

Dun & Bradstreet (www.dnb.com)

Kompass directories

Fortune 500

http://www.whowhere.com/

http://www.hoovers.com/

http://www.asx.com.au/

http://www.dnb.com/


CLASS WORK

Identify as many internal secondary sources of

information relevant to business research that

are available in:

the organisation in which you are employed;

a trade, professional or union organisation with

which you are familiar;

an educational organisation.

Describe each of the sources you identify and

their potential use in a business research study.


COMPANY’S SECONDARY

DATA AND RESEARCH

DATA : Annual sales (value and volume)

Research Market trends

DATA: Product sales vs costs

Research Product profitability

DATA :Weekly/monthly sales (value and

volume)

Research Seasonality

DATA :Customer information

Research: Catchment area/market analysis


COMPANY’S SECONDARY

DATA AND RESEARCH

DATA: Advertising expenditures

Research: Advertising effectiveness (with sales data)

DATA: Staff turnover

Research: Personnel policies

DATA: Staff absenteeism

Research: Personnel policies

DATA : Inventory data

Research: Inventory costs

DATA: Customer complaints

Research :Quality issue

DATA: Wastage, returns

Research :Quality, efficiency


TRADE, PROFESSIONAL,

UNION BODY SECONDARY

DATA AND RESEARCH

DATA: Membership data (e.g. turnover,

gender, location, skill/trade)

Research: Membership trends,

recruitment policies

DATA: Awards/agreements

Research Industrial environment, trends


Educational Institution

secondary data and research

DATA : Applications for places

Research: Demand trends

DATA: Attrition rates

Research: Quality

DATA: Student evaluations

Research: Teaching quality

DATA: Employment rates

Research: Industry relevance, quality

DATA: Student data

Research: Gender distribution, geographical catchment

DATA: Student grades

Research :Quality


CLASS WORK: USE THE

INTERNET

identify sources of information which

would assist you to you to prepare a

report on:

the productivity of auto workers in the

USA, Australia, Japan, Canada and

Great Britain over the past decade

Companies that offer training programs

for middle managers in USA AND

EUROPE.


GROUP WORK

SESSION


SOURCE OF

INFORMATION #2

OBSERVATION


THE IMPORTANCE OF

OBSERVATION METHOD

Observation is a generally neglected

technique in business research.

But, it is useful to understand that

systematic observation can be a reliable

and efficient research tool in many

situations.

The observational method has been

used in several areas of management

research.


WHAT TO OBSERVE?

Time and motion studies are early examples of

research that use this method.

Other forms of workplace behaviour, such as

the amount of work completed, or the times that

people arrive and leave the workplace, can be

studied by observation.

Also, the observation of social behaviours of

employees, or the behaviour of customers in a

store can form a source of data for research.


Example of time study

In Quebec post-office, when you take the

ticket, the time appears in the ticket

automatically .

This is the time you started to queue and

when you are front of the agent, he will

take the time and record how much you

stayed on-line

Their project could be : how to decrease

the queuing time of costumers


OBSERVATION TECHNIQUES

Observation can be done by simply ‘looking’ or with the use of still or time-lapse photography, or video recording.

In these above examples, it is possible that questioning the subjects might not yield the same information as might be gained from direct observation.

This could be because the subjects are not aware of the patterns of behaviour that might be observed, or because subjects might tend to under-report negative behaviours, such as lateness or laziness, and over-report positive behaviours.


OBSERVATION CONTEXTS

Spatial use of sites

Workplace behaviour

Consumer testing

Complementary research

Social behaviour


CONTEXT: WORKPLACE

BEHAVIOR

What might be observed?

Physical actions

Non-verbal behaviour (eg. Level of

voice, body language

Time taken to complete tasks

Distances between people

Deviant behaviour –

Employee relations, privacy & ethics

issues


CONTEXT: CONSUMER

TESTING

Sometimes called ‘mystery shopping’

Can be seen as a form of participant

observation

Researcher plays the incognito role of

shopper/user/observer

Examples of what might be observed:

Cleanliness of premises

Information availability

Product availability

Staff availability, courtesy, knowledge


CONTEXT:

COMPLEMENTARY

For example:

In a sample interview survey at a

site: may be necessary to count

(by observation) the total number

of users of the site and temporal

pattern of use of the site – to

weight the sample


CONTEXT : SOCIAL

BEHAVIOR

Example: an industrial dispute

(especially if there are strikes,

picketing, lockouts, violence


ELEMENTS OF

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Who/what is to be observed?

Steps in setting up/implementing a

project


Who/what is to be

observed?

The participants Who are they?

What are their interrelationships?

How many are there?

The setting Appearance?

Behaviours that the setting might encourage, discourage or permit.

The purpose What is the purpose that has brought the participants

together?

What is the official purpose?

Are the goals of all the participants compatible? Contd


Who/what is to be observed? Contd

Social behaviour

What do participants actually do?

How do they do it?

Stimulus for the behaviour

Objective of the behaviour

Toward what is the behaviour directed?

Qualities of behaviour (intensity, appropriateness, etc.)


Effects of behaviour (others, responses,

etc.)

Frequency and duration

When did the event occur?

How long did it last?

Does it recur? How frequently does it

recur?


Case study : Steps in an

observation project

1. Choose site

2. Choose observation point

3. Choose study time period

4. Decide on continuous observation or sampling

5. Decide on number and length of sampling periods

6. Decide what to observe


Case study

7 Divide into zones

8 Design a recording sheet

9 Conduct study

10 Analyse data


Step 1: Choice of site

Sites may be fixed by project

brief

If choice is possible, consider:

Appropriate workplace/customer

behaviour

Suitable conditions for

observation


Step 2: Choice of observation

points

Some site can be observed from

one spot

Other required selection of

observation points to cover the

whole site


Step 3: Choice of time period

Need to take account of patterns of use by:

Year

Day of the week

Time of day

Weather conditions, season

Public/school holidays

Sampling of time-periods may be necessary

(see Step 4)


Step 4: Continuous observation or

sampling?

When counting:

Continuous counts – of all people

entering site?

Spot counts – of numbers present at

particular times

Dependent on number of entrances,

resources available, technology available

Qualitative – continuous observation (in

specified periods) more likely.


Step 5: Determine count

frequency


Step 6: Decide what to observe

Record visitor numbers?

Also record characteristics?

(male, female, adult, children …)

Behaviour?

Possible to observe people’s

movement through a site

Use site map to record

information – see Figure 6.3


Step 7: Division of site into

zones


Step 8: Design a recording

sheet


Step 9: Conduct the

observation

Avoid boredom by circulating staff

between tasks/locations


Step 10. Analysis


Step 10. Analysis - contd


Step 10. Analysis - contd

Using count data:

From Fig. 6.5: Average number present: 83.5

Number of visitor-hours in the day = 83.5 x 10 = 835

If average length of stay* = 0.5 hours:

No. of visitors = 835/0.5 = 1670

If average length of stay* = 2 hours:

No. of visitors = 835/2 = 417

* average length of stay from interview survey


Technical aids to observation

Aerial photography

Still photography

Video

Time-lapse photography

Automatic counters

Vehicles

Pedestrians


Just looking

Whatever type of research project is involved, careful observation of the site, people, behaviour, environment, etc. often pays dividends


HOMEWORK FOR THE GROUP

:TRY YOUR OBSERVATION

CAPACITIES OUTSIDE: Select a work site (an office block foyer ,a

shopping centre) and position yourself in an unobtrusive location where you can see what is going on.

Over a period of four hours, record what happens.

Conduct interviews with four visitors each hour and ask them how long they have stayed, or expect to stay, at the site.

Establish the average length of stay and, use this information as data and estimate the number of persons visiting the site in the course of the day..


WRITING A REPORT

Write a report on how the site is used,

who it is used by, how many people use

it, what conflicts there are - if any -

between different groups of users and

how the design aids or hinders the

activity which people engage in on the

site


HELPFUL IDEAS

Draw a map, as in Figure 6.3, and to construct a data recording sheet, as in Figure 6.4.

Quantitative and qualitative methods might be used.

Suggested report headings:

1. The nature and layout of the site

2. The use of the site:

a. Activities and numbers (quantitative)

b. Observations on the use and mis-use of the site (qualitative)

3. Implications for design, layout and management.

4 Comments on the research experience.


QUALITATIVE

METHODS


OBJECTIVE OF THE

CHAPTER

The nature of qualitative research

methods and discussed and some of the

advantages that they might have over

quantitative methods are listed.

A number of qualitative methods are

outlined, and examples of their use in

business research are given.


THE NATURE OF QUALITATIVE

RESEARCH METHODS

Use of qualitative rather than quantitative information:

a large amount of ‘rich’ information about a small number of subjects

Assumes that reality is socially and subjectively constructed

Researcher’s task is to uncover meanings rather than test pre-established hypotheses: usually inductive rather than deductive

Assumes people are best able to describe their own situation, beliefs, motivations etc.


INDUCTION APPROACH


A= OBSERVATION,

DESCRIPTION

DATA COLLECTION

B = ANALYSIS

C= EXPLANATION

HYPOTHESIS

THEORY

B

C

A


DEDUCTION APPROACH


C= EXPLANATION

HYPOTHESIS

THEORY

A= OBSERVATION,

DESCRIPTION

DATA COLLECTION

B = ANALYSIS

B

C

A


DEFINITION OF

QUALITATIVE METHOD

The term qualitative is used to describe

research methods that use and result in

data that is qualitative, rather than

numerical or statistical in nature.

Qualitative research methods are more

likely to be employed when it is the

perceptions, meanings and

understanding of people that the

research seeks to uncover.


SAMPLE FOR QUALITATIVE

METHOD

Qualitative research studies tend to

obtain a large amount of ‘rich’

information from a relatively few number

of people or organisations, in contrast to

quantitative methods that usually collect

more limited information from a greater

number of cases.


PROCESS OF QUALITATIVE

RESEARCH

The process of doing qualitative research tends

to be less rigidly structured than for quantitative

research.

In qualitative research a recursive rather than

sequential approach is common.

Here the various components of the research

process, such as hypothesis formation, the

recording and analysis of data and writing, can

overlap and take place simultaneously,

rather than in a fixed non-overlapping order.


ADVANTAGES OF

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

The researcher’s feelings as well as reasoning, can help shape the research;

Qualitative research focuses on people’s understandings and interpretations, rather than the finding of external causes or ‘laws’ for behaviour;

The results of qualitative studies are usually presented in a narrative form, which makes them more interesting and understandable for those managers not trained in statistics;

Qualitative methods can use a combination of techniques to provide a broad understanding of the social situation.


Four qualitative methods used

in business research are

In-depth interviews

Group interviews or Focus groups,

Participant observation,

Ethnography ( scientific description).


IN DEPTH INTERVIEW


What is an interview?

Interviewing is a skill that needs practice

to develop.

Part of this is the ability to guide the

conversation so that it does not deviate

too far from the purposes of the

research, while not influencing the

interviewee’s responses and maintaining

a friendly atmosphere.

.


ANALYZING DATA OF

INTERVIEW?

The analysis of interview data can vary, but this should be guided by the conceptual framework and research questions of the research project.

The content of the interviews can be analysed in a fairly holistic and informal manner.

Alternatively, a more systematic approach can be used where sections of the typed transcript are ‘flagged’ with key words, and indexes formed of the locations where certain ideas arise.


THE USE OF COMPUTER

Specialised computer programs have

been designed to assist in the analysis

of data in this form, and graphical

representations of the results are

possible


In-depth interviews time and

format

In-depth interviews tend to be much longer than

questionnaire-based interviews and vary in

length from about half and hour to several

hours, with repeat interviews sometimes being

carried out.

The in-depth interview is relatively unstructured,

with the interviewer asking unplanned

supplementary questions and encouraging the

respondent to explain the reasons for their

answers.


Cases need In-depth interviews

In-depth interviews, rather than questionnaire-based ones, are more appropriate when the information sought is likely to be different for each subject and vary in complex ways, and when it is described in the form of narratives, rather than statistical statements.

They can also be used as a preliminary to a larger questionnaire-based quantitative study.


Interviews are commonly taped and

sometimes verbatim typed transcripts

produced.

If taping is not possible, then notes must

be taken

Check list


Example of formal

questionnaire

You want to know from the subject about

the training and educational activities he

took during the last ten years

Answers will be ticking boxes


In depth interview check list

Topic : training & education

Interviewer will shape the question according to the particular subject

Ex: if the interviewer is interested in the influence of the training on current attitudes in the workplace:

A specific question could be: what useful skills did you obtain ? or how satisfied are you now with your job?


Example of checklist


Techniques interviewer could use

to encourage the subject to talk

Non verbal response : Uh-huh

That’s interesting invite to keep talking

Reflection take the last response as a new

question ( ex: so you think you do not need

further training)

Probe ( ex” why don’t you think you do not

need further training?)

Backtracking let’s go back to ….

New topic Can we talk about other kinds of

training?


CLASS WORK

Interview each other, using a similar

checklist and, if available, tape-

recorders.

Suitable topics might be: career

aspirations; education experiences and

plans; purchasing behaviour in relation

to, say, holidays or computers or

food/drink.


GROUP INTERVIEWS

OR FOCUS GROUP


METHOD OF FOCUS GROUP

This method is similar to the in-depth interview except that groups of people are interviewed rather than individuals separately.

The number of people in each group is usually between five and twelve.

The interviewer, or facilitator, not only has the role of guiding the discussion to ensure that all topics are covered, but needs to ensure that all members contribute to the discussion so that it is not dominated by a small number of participants.


RECORDING/ANALYSIS OF

DATA

The recording and analysis of data is similar to

that for in-depth interviews, although the

production of typed transcripts is less common

for focus groups.

Focus groups are often used as an alternative

to in-depth interviews, especially when the

interaction between people is of interest in

itself, and where this interaction is more likely to

produce ideas than with individual interviews


CLASS WORK

Focus groups study: Five students + one

interviewer

Select a topic

Topics likely to be of common interest -

eg. films, music, the local environment,

transport.


PARTICIPANT

OBSERVATION


TECHNIQUE USED

Here the researcher becomes a participant in the social processes being studied.

For example, researchers have become members of work teams in order to gain insights into the motives and behaviours of other employees.

This method can be used when complex and detailed information is required on group dynamics and interpersonal relationships, and becoming a member of the group is an effective way of achieving this.


ETHICAL ISSUES

Ethical issues can arise if deception is

involved by the researcher not informing

the group or others of the research

project, or if a ‘disguise’ of a journalist or

writer is adopted.


CLASS WORK

Observe certain features of your

workplace or in the educational

institution or at leisure - examples could

be power relationships, perhaps in

relation to gender; or communication

practices.

QUESTIONNAIRE

SURVEYS


INTRODUCTION

This part of the course describes the

different types of questionnaire surveys

that are used in business research, as

well as their relative advantages and

disadvantages.

Issues related to the design of

questionnaires, and the processing of

subjects’ responses for statistical

analysis, are also discussed.


OBJECTIVE OF THIS

CHAPTER

Questionnaire surveys involve the

gathering of information from individuals

using a standard set of questions, called

a questionnaire, or interview schedule.

Surveys use only a part of the population

that the researcher is concerned with,

and the way that such samples can be

chosen to represent populations is the

focus of this chapter.


THE IMPORTANCE OF ASKING

THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

Questionnaire-based studies rely on

individuals’ answers to the researcher’s

questions, and the information obtained

therefore depends on their ability to

recall information, to correctly interpret

meaning of the questions, and their

honesty.

Samples used in questionnaire surveys

typically vary from about 50 to several

thousand subjects. LISTEN...LEARN...THINK....GROW 260

QUESTIONNAIRE ARE

QUANTITATIVE

Questionnaire surveys are generally

regarded as a quantitative, rather than

qualitative, research methodology.

Individuals’ responses to the

questionnaires are usually transformed,

or coded, into some standard numerical

form that is suitable for later statistical

analysis.


QUESTIONAIRE FROM

SAMPLE TO POPULATION

Thus, questionnaire surveys are

appropriate in business research where

there is a need for relatively structured

data, and where conclusions need to be

drawn for a large population.


BEFORE ASKING:

When designing the questions in a

questionnaire a number of basic

principles should apply, including:

avoid jargon

use simple language

avoid ambiguity

avoid leading questions

ask only one question at a time


The Nature of Questionnaire

Surveys

Data collected via a printed questionnaire or

interview schedule

Usually based on a sample selected from a

population

Reliance on information from individuals –

self-reported data

Often large samples require computer-aided

analysis

Merits of the Questionnaire

Survey Method Quantified data for decision making

Ideal for providing quantified information for organisations which need quantified information for decision-making.

Transparency Provide a 'transparent' set of research procedures.

Procedures clear for all to see.

Data can be re-analysed for alternative interpretation.

Succinct presentation Quantification can provide complex information in a succinct form.

Comparability Longitudinal and annual surveys enable the study of change over

time.

Capturing complexity An effective means of gathering a wide range of complex information

on individuals or organisations.

Interviewer-completion vs

Respondent-completion

Interviewer-completion:

Interviewer reads out the questions and writes down answers


Respondent reads the questionnaire and writes down the answers

Interviewer-completion vs Respondent-completion:

Advantages & Disadvantages

Figure 8.1 Interviewer Respondent

Advantages -More accuracy

-Higher response rates

-Fuller, more complete answers

-Design can be less ‘user-

friendly’

-Cheaper

-Quicker

-Relatively anonymous

Disadvantages -Higher cost

-Less anonymity

-Exaggerated desire to please

interviewer

-Patchy response

-Incomplete response

-Risk of frivolous response

More care needed in

layout/presentation

Types of questionnaire survey

Household surveys – respondents selected on the basis of where

they live and interviewed in their home;

Street/quota/intercept surveys - respondents selected by stopping

in street, shopping malls, etc;

Telephone surveys - interviews are conducted by telephone;

Mail surveys - questionnaires sent and returned by mail;

E-surveys - questionnaires sent and returned by email/Internet;

Customer/visitor on-site intercept surveys – users/customers

surveyed on site;

Captive group surveys - members of groups are surveyed

Organisation surveys - members of an organisation/ organisations

are surveyed

Types of questionnaire survey:

characteristics

HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS

In household surveys, people are

selected on the basis of where they live

and are interviewed face-to-face in their

homes.

.


Household questionnaire

survey

Face-to-face interview – interviewer completion

Variations:

1. Drop-off and collect (eg. national census)

2. Partial interview and partial drop-off & collect

Representative of a defined community – eg. suburb, local govt area, city

Interview can be quite lengthy – eg. 30 minutes +

Relatively expensive

Omnibus surveys:

Different clients buy different questions in a composite questionnaire

Street/quota intercept surveys

Respondents intercepted in shopping streets/malls etc.

Face-to-face interview – interviewer completion

Interview short

Aim: a sample representative of community, but:

Some groups under-represented

‘Quota sampling’ = specified number of interviews in

particular gender/age groups (based on census)

Failure to achieve quotas can be corrected by

weighting.

Relatively cheap

STREET SURVEYS

Street surveys use face-to-face

questioning of a fairly short duration, and

respondents are approached on the

street, in shopping malls, and other

public places. Apart from the short time

available for questioning, the other main

disadvantage is that the sample in not

likely to be representative of the larger

population


STREETS SURVEYS

.To reduce this effect, quota sampling,

may be used where the interviewer is

given quotas of different types of people

to interview, usually based on obvious

characteristics such as age, sex, etc.


Telephone survey

Common for political/opinion polls

Sampling based on ‘White Pages’

Excludes non-telephone subscribers

Emerging problem of mobile phones

Problem of non-response

Automatic Computer-aided Telephone Interviewing (CATI)

Automatic sampling and dialling

Answers keyed directly into computer (quick, cost-effective)

Interviews typically short – 15-20 mins max.

Respondents cannot be shown lists

Not being face-to-face is an advantage and a disadvantage

Relatively cheap

TELEPHONE SURVEY

Telephone surveys are becoming

increasingly popular for political polling

and other areas because of the relatively

low cost for a wide coverage, and the

speed at which the data can be collected

and analysed. The interviewer usually

types the responses directly into a

computer so they can be immediately

converted to a form ready for statistical

analysis. LISTEN...LEARN...THINK....GROW 276

CALL TIMING

To obtain more representative samples,

calls need to be made in the evenings

when employed people are more likely to

be home.


Mail surveys

Questionnaire is mailed to respondents

Sometimes the only practical method – eg.

geographically scattered sample

Relatively cheap


Problem of response rates:

70% non-response often reported

MAIL SURVEY

CHARACTERISTICS

With mail surveys, questionnaires are

distributed and returned by mail, usually

in a reply-paid envelope. Their main

advantage is that a large and widely

distributed population can be sampled at

a relatively low cost. However, the major

problem is the typically low response

rate, which can be around 30% for a

reasonably large questionnaire.


RESPONSE RATE

The response rate is influenced by a

number of factors, including the

respondents’ level of interest in the topic,

the length and complexity of the

questionnaire, the presence of an

accompanying letter by a known and

respected person, rewards for

responding, and the use of reminders

and follow-up mailings.


Mail survey response pattern

EMAIL SURVEY

E-surveys are conducted via email

and/or the Internet and may involved

downloading a questionnaire for

completion or fully on-line completion

and return.


E-Surveys

A mail survey sent via email

Variations:

Download a questionnaire for completion and

return

Direct completion and submission via the internet

Automatic analysis software

Structured filters etc. (see ‘Questionnaire Design’)

CUSTOMER SURVEYS

Customer (or visitor, on-site, or user)

surveys are ones where the customers

or users of a facility are surveyed at the

site of the facility. The questionnaire can be either interviewer-completed or

respondent-completed, but when respondent-completed

there are generally staff available to assist in the

distribution and collection of questionnaires, to encourage

people to complete them and to answer questions


Customer/visitor on-site intercept

survey

Various names:

Customer survey; Visitor survey; On-site survey;

User survey; Intercept survey

Interviews take place on-site

Mostly interviewer-completed but respondent-

completion possible

Relatively cheap

By definition, excludes non-customers

CAPTIVE GROUP SURVEY

Captive group surveys are ones where

members of a group, such as a club, a

professional organisation, or a class at

an educational institution is surveyed

together, often when all are present in a

room. Usually, questionnaires are

respondent-completed, but response

rates are typically much higher than

when this method is used with mail

surveys.LISTEN...LEARN...THINK....GROW 286

Captive group survey

Survey in an organised setting – participants

may have little choice

But research ethics requires voluntary

participation …

Respondent completion

Very cheap and quick

ORGANIZATION SURVEYS

ORGANIZATION SURVEY

Organisation surveys are often used to

obtain employee perceptions and

attitudes, and can take any of the forms

mentioned above.


Organization surveys

The organisation or organisational unit is the

unit of analysis

Any of the above survey formats may be used

Issue of target informants: CEO or more

specialised, lower level employees?

DESIGN OF

QUESTIONNAIRE

The careful design of a questionnaire is vital to

the success of the research project, and should

be carried out with the conceptual framework,

aims and hypotheses of the research being

kept firmly in mind.

It is desirable that a draft questionnaire be first

produced and a pilot study carried out to allow

improvements to be made on the design or

wording of the questionnaire.


Questionnaire design

Topics:

Research problems and information requirements

Types of information

Open-ended and pre-coded questions

Wording of questions

Measuring attitudes and opinions

Ordering of questions

Layout

Filters

Introductory remarks

Research problems & information

requirements

Questionnaire design/content should

arise from the research problem and

its information needs – see Figure 8.4

Questionnaire design process

Type of information

Respondent characteristics Who?

Activities and behaviour What?

Attitudes and motivations Why?

WHO ?

Characteristics of the respondent and, if

needed, those of the organisation.

These might include the respondent’s

age, gender, profession and position in

the organisation, and the organisation’s

number of employees, industry sector,

annual profit, etc.

ACTIVITIES & BEHAVIOR

Information of a factual nature on the

activities and behaviour of the

respondent, or of other persons or

groups that can be assumed to be

known to the respondent.

For example, a questionnaire might ask

employees to give information on what

training courses they had attended in the

previous year.

ATTITUDES & MOTIVATIONS

A variety of attitudes and motivations are

commonly measured, such as how

satisfied a customer is with various

aspects of the service provided, and

what reasons they have for choosing

certain products

SUMMARY OF TYPES OF INFORMATION IN

QUESTIONNAIRE

Questionnaires used in business research generally seek three types of

information, as follows.

A) Characteristics of the respondent and, if needed, those of the

organisation. These might include the respondent’s age, gender,

profession and position in the organisation, and the organisation’s

number of employees, industry sector, annual profit, etc.

B) Information of a factual nature on the activities and behaviour of the

respondent, or of other persons or groups that can be assumed to be

known to the respondent. For example, a questionnaire might ask

employees to give information on what training courses they had

attended in the previous year.

C) A variety of attitudes and motivations are commonly measured,

such as how satisfied a customer is with various aspects of the service

provided, and what reasons they have for choosing certain products.


TYPES OF QUESTIONS

There are two broad types of questions that are

used in questionnaires, open-ended and pre-

coded questions.

For an pre-coded question, the respondent has

to chose from a list of alternative responses.

With an open-ended question, no such list is provided

and the respondent tells the interviewer, or writes down

on the questionnaire, their answer to the question.

Open-ended have the disadvantage that they are more

difficult to code, and especially for respondent-completed

questionnaires, frequently not much effort is given to

providing an adequate response.LISTEN...LEARN...THINK....GROW 300

EXAMPLE OF Open-ended

and pre-coded questions

Wording of questions

avoid jargon

simplify wherever possible

avoid ambiguity

avoid leading questions

ask only one question at a time (avoid

multi-purpose questions)

Wording of questions: CHOOSE

THE CORRECT LANGUAGE

MEASURING ATTITUDES

The measurement of attitudes and

opinions can be done using a variety of

question formats, including open-ended

and pre-coded questions as described

above, items requiring ranking, and a

number of types of rating scales.


RANKING

Ranking. Here respondents rank a

number of options in order of some

property, such as its importance, or their

level of preference.


RANKING SCALES

Rating scales. For these items, respondents

indicate their opinions on the degree to which

some object or person has some particular

property, or the extent to which they have some

specified attitude towards some idea, person or

object.

Respondents indicate their opinions or attitudes

by giving a rating on a numerical scale, usually

with between 4 and 10 steps, with larger (or

smaller) numbers indicating a greater level of

whatever opinion or attitude is being measured.


LIKERT SCALE

Likert scale. A type of rating scale,

where a statement is presented and the

subject indicates the extent to which they

agree with the statement.


SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL

Semantic differential. Another type of

rating scale where pairs of contrasting

descriptors are presented, and the

subject indicates how appropriate each

is to whatever concept or object being

studied by giving a response on a scale.


Fig. 8.7a/b:

Attitude/opinion question formats

a. OPEN-ENDED/DIRECT: What attracted you to apply for this course?

________________________________

b. CHECKLIST: Of the items on the card, which was the most

important to you in applying for this training course?

A. Good reputation

B. Easy access

C. Curriculum

D. Management pays fees

E. Easy parking

Fig. 8.7c:


c. Ranking: Please rank the items on the card in terms of their

importance to you in choosing a course. Please

rank them 1 for the most important to 5 for the

least important.

Rank

A. Good reputation ___

B. Easy access ___

C. Curriculum ___

D. Management pays fees ___

E. Easy parking ___

Fig.8.7d:


d. Likert scales: How important each of the following items in your

decision to choose this training course?

Very Quite Not very Not at all

important important important important

Good reputation □1 □2 □3 □4

Easy Access □1 □2 □3 □4

Curriculum □1 □2 □3 □4

Level of fees □1 □2 □3 □4

Easy parking □1 □2 □3 □4

Fig. 8.7e:


e. Attitude Statements: Please read the statements below and

indicate your level of agreement or

disagreement with them by ticking the

appropriate box.

Agree Agree No Disagree Disagree

Strongly opinion strongly

The learning experience □1 □2 □3 □4 □5

is more important than

the qualification in education

Graduate course fees are □1 □2 □3 □4 □5

too high

Fig. 8.7f:


e. Semantic differential: Please look at the list below and tick

the line to indicate where you think

this course falls in relation to each

factor listed.

Difficult |_______|________|________|________| Easy

Irrelevant |_______|________|________|________| Relevant

Professional |_______|________|________|________| Unprofessional

Dull |_______|________|________|________| Interesting

Questionnaire layout

Be aware of reader/user – interviewer or

respondent?

Special care with mail survey

questionnaires

Compactness (eg. single page) = ease of

handling

Two-column layout often helps

FILTERING QUESTIONS

HOMEWORK

PART #1

Prepare a questionnaire concerning one

typical situation creating difficulties in

your company.

The questionnaire should be designed

for mailing to employees by internal

company mail. It should contain six

different question types, similar to those

shown in Figure 8.7.


HOMEWORK

PART #2

Test the questionnaire on five people

and observe any difficulties or

misunderstandings they experience

when completing the questionnaire.

Modify the questionnaire in light of these

difficulties.


HOMEWORK

PART #3

Prepare a covering letter for the questionnaire providing:

a the reason for conducting the survey

b a request for assistance in completing the survey

c a statement concerning the confidentiality of survey

responses and results

d details of where further information concerning the

background to the survey can be obtained.

You should give attention to the quality of your covering letter in

relation to presentational style and grammar.


HOMEWORK

PART#4:

Provide ten people with the covering

letter and the modified questionnaire.

Collect the completed questionnaires.

After developing a coding system, code

the responses on a data sheet similar to

the one shown in Figure 8.11.


INTRODUCE YOURSELF

Eg. ‘Hallo, my name is _____ : we are conducting a

survey of _______: would you mind answering a few

questions?

Different content/formats for different survey types

Interviewer-completion: include in interviewer

instructions – additional information available if

required

Respondent-completion – printed on questionnaire

Mail survey: this is dealt with in covering letter

EXAMPLE OF COVER

LETTER

Dear member of staff of ______,

I would be grateful for your assistance with this survey of employees' journey to work patterns. The management team tries to make every aspect of working for the company as trouble-free as possible - and that includes getting here and home again at the end of the day! Accurate information from you will help us in this process, including our dealings with the local council, the Roads and Traffic Authority, the Bus Company and State Rail. The questionnaire is entirely anonymous, so you should feel free to express yourself fully. So please complete the questionnaire as soon as possible and place in the special box at the works entrance. I or my assistant, JJ, would be happy to answer any queries you may have about the survey (on extension 5566). We will circulate to all staff a summary of the overall findings of the survey when complete.

Many thanks for your assistance in this important survey.

Regards

Jo Smith

Personnel Manager

ORDER OF QUESTIONS

Start with easy questions

Start with 'relevant' questions

Leave sensitive questions until later

Conducting a pilot survey

Purposes of a pilot survey:

1. Testing questionnaire wording

2. Testing question sequencing

3. Testing questionnaire layout

4. Gaining familiarity with respondents

5. Testing fieldwork arrangements (if required)

6. Training and testing fieldworkers (if required)

7. Estimating response rate

8. Estimating interview or questionnaire completion time

9. Testing analysis procedures

Validity of questionnaire surveys

Validity: the extent to which the data truly reflect what they

are thought to reflect

Validity may be affected by:

Exaggeration or under-statement (to give good

impression)

Inaccuracy of recall

Desire to please the interviewer

Some checks:

Include ‘dummy’ categories in some questions– eg.

books that do not exist, events that have not happened

As the same question twice – in different way

Repeat interviews – some time later

Questionnaire-based

interviewing

Ideally interviewer should stick strictly to

the wording on the questionnaire

… especially opinion/attitude questions

Coding of questionnaire responses

Pre-coded vs Open-ended questions

See Figure 8.5

Pre-coded – codes already exist

Open-ended – coding system must be

devised

See Figure 8.9

Recording coded information - 2

2. What staff development services have you used in the last six months? ||

Career Planning 1 | 1 cp

Mentoring clinic 1 | 1 ment

Computer training 1 | 0 comp

Performance Appraisal 1 | 0 pa

|

UP TO FOUR POSITIVE ANSWERS POSSIBLE – FOUR VARIABLES

Recording coded information – 4/5

4. How much have you spent on books for the training course? ||

ANSWER RECORDED DIRECTLY – NO CODING $ 100 | 100 | cost

|5. Please indicate the importance of the following to you in studying. |

|Very Important Not at all |

important Important |

Good textbook 3 2 1 | 3 text

Knowledgeable lecturer 3 2 1 | 3 lect

Easy assignments 3 2 1 | 1 assgn

THREE ANSWERS REQUIRED – THREE VARIABLES


6. Do you have any suggestions for improving the training course? ||| 1 sug1

________Less theory_________________________________ | __ sug2| __ sug3

_________________________________________________ |

OPEN-ENDED (CODING SEE Fig. 8.9) – UP TO THREE ANSWERS RECORDED = THREE VARIABLES

Data from completed

questionnairesData in Figure 8.11: ready for computer analysis – see Ch. 13

Summary Questionnaire surveys concern the gathering of information from

individuals using a formally designed schedule of questions called a

questionnaire or interview schedule.

Surveys are useful when:

the research questions indicate the need for relatively structured

data

data are required from samples representative of a defined wider

population.

Questionnaire surveys may be:

interviewer-completed or respondent-completed.

household surveys; street/quota surveys; telephone surveys; mail

surveys;

e-surveys; customer surveys; captive group surveys, organisation

surveys,

Questionnaire design:

starting point is the project’s management/theoretical research questions

A pilot survey be conducted to:

test questionnaire wording, sequencing and layout

test fieldwork arrangements, including training field workers

estimate response rate and interview or questionnaire completion time.

Validity of questionnaire surveys can be tested by inclusion of dummy categories, repeat questions and repeated interviews

Coding is necessary for analysis by computer.

SAMPLING AND POPULATIONS

INTRODUCTION

In many questionnaire-based and

observational studies, measures are not

taken from all members of the population

of interest but from only a portion of the

population.

In other words, a sample of the

population is obtained to represent the

population.

SOME DEFINITIONS

Population: The total collection of objects, organisations people about which a survey researcher wishes to draw conclusions and

from which a sample might be drawn for study.

Sample: A part of a population, as used in

survey research.

Representative Sample: A sample whose characteristics are the same as, or at least very similar to, the population from which the sample

was drawn.

SOME DEFINITIONS

Random Sampling: A process of selection

where every member of the population has an

equal change of inclusion in the sample.

Lottery and gambling are random games

Random Sample: A sample that is made up

of elements, each of which is randomly selected

from some population

SOME DEFINITIONS

Quota Sampling: A form of sampling in

which the numbers (ie. quotas) of

different types of people to be included

in the sample are specified. This is done

so that the proportion of these types of

people in the sample match those in the

population relevant to the study.

EXAMPLE OF QUOTA

SAMPLING

IF YOUR RESEARCH IS TO STUDY A GIVEN

POPULATION WITH DIFFERENT AGE

RANGES OF PEOPLE ( QUOTAS FOR EACH

TYPE OF AGE)

< 20 YEARS OLD

20-30 YEARS OLD

30-40 YEARS OLD

40-50 YEARS OLD

>50 YEARS OLD

EXAMPLE OF QUOTA

SAMPLING

THE SAMPLE SHOULD CONTAIN THE

SAME PERCENTAGE OF EACH

RANGE IN THE POPULATION

EX: IF THE POPULATION HAS 30% OF

PEOPLE IN THE RANGE 20-30 YEARS

YOUR SAMPLE SHOULD RESPECT

THE POPULATION QUOTA 30%

REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE

A representative sample is one whose properties accurately match the properties of the population from which it was drawn.

A sample that is not representative is called a biased sample.

Random selection of elements from a population ensures that the sample drawn is representative.

However, for practical and other reasons, different sampling methods are commonly used for different types of surveys.

THE CONCEPT OF A

SAMPLE

We will define the concept of a representative sample.

For various types of surveys, the commonly used methods of sampling will be described, as well as procedures that can be followed to increase the likelihood that a representative sample is obtained.

Also, ways of estimating the sample size required for a study will be outlined.

KEY ISSUES FOR SAMPLING

TWO MAIN KEY

What procedures must be followed to

ensure that the sample is representative

of the population from which it is drawn?

How large should the sample be?

PROCEDURES FOR SAMPLING

RANDOM SAMPLING IN

HOUSEHOLD SURVEY

For household surveys, a random selection of

people in a large population over a large area,

(as in a national survey) would be very

inconvenient and costly.

It would require a full list of all people in the

population, and the people selected would be

scattered throughout the whole region, making

travel to interview them expensive.

Instead, multi-stage, or cluster sampling is often

used.

CLUSTER SAMPLING IN

HOUSEHOLD SURVEY

Cluster Sampling: Also termed multi-stage sampling.

A sampling procedure in which the population is divided into sub-populations (or clusters) and a sample of these is first taken.

This procedure may be applied to each of these sub-populations one or more times to obtain a selection of even smaller sub-populations.

Samples are then taken from each of the final sub-populations and combined to form the final sample.

EXAMPLE

For example, a list of different regions might be first made and a selection of regions made.

Then, from each of the selected regions households might be selected at random using electoral rolls.

In this way, interviewers need only visit the selected regions, with a significant saving in the cost of travel and other expenses.

Ideally ( NOT PRACTICAL)

Eg. 10 million population – sample of

1000: all 10 m. names put in a drum and

1000 drawn. ( lottery is random)

In practice:

For national/regional surveys – multi-

stage sampling used – see next Figure.

Multi-stage sampling

SITE OR USERS SURVEY

With site or user surveys, conditions vary

considerably, and so do therefore

sampling methods.

Site interviews can operate in two ways,

but with both ways, some strict rule

about who to interview is necessary to

avoid obtaining a biased sample.

FIRST ALTERNATIVE OF

SITE SURVEY

Firstly, the interviewer can be stationary

and the respondents mobile.

For example, the interviewer may stand

at the entrance to a workplace and

interview people as they leave, using the

rule: when one interview is complete and

checked, the next person passing

through the door should be interviewed.

SECOND ALTERNATIVE FOR

SITE SURVEY

Alternatively, the respondents may be

stationary, and the interviewer mobile.

Here, a sample of respondents might be

chosen at random from a list of

employees, or else, following a set route

through the workplace, every nth person

should be interviewed.

THIRD ALTENATIVE FOR

SITE SURVEY

Site surveys can also be done using self-

completion questionnaires.

However, response rates for these can

be low, leading to a biased sample,

unless participants are strongly

motivated or encouraged to complete

them.

QUOTA SURVEY

Can be used when data are available on

key characteristics of population:

Eg. - age/sex/grade structure of workforce

– from records

- age/sex structure of a community – from

Census

Interviewing target numbers determined

by population characteristics

STREET SURVEYS

Street surveys often use the technique of

quota sampling to increase the

representativeness of the sample that is

obtained.

With quota sampling, interviewers are

given ‘quotas’ of different types of people

to interview, with the quotas being

determined from background information

on the demographics of the population.

STREET SAMPLING

For example, if it is known that 12% of

the population are retired, then the

interviewer would be required to

interview 12 retired persons for every

100 persons interviewed.

In organisational research, quotas based

on the numbers of people in the different

management levels or professional

groups may be used.

SIZE OF SAMPLE

ACCURACY

DETAIL

BUDGET

TIME

APPROPRIATE SIZE

A major element in the design of a survey is the determination of the size of the sample that is required.

The appropriate sample size depends on the following factors.

The level of accuracy required

The level of detail

The budget and the time available for the project

GOOD PROJECT MANAGEMENT:

ON TIME AND IN THE BUDGET BY AVOIDING ABNORMAL SITUATIONS

POPULATIONS AND

SAMPLES

The basic idea of statistics is simple: you want to extrapolate from the data you have collected to make general conclusions.

Statistical analyses are based on a simple model : There is a large population of data out there, and you have randomly sampled parts of it.

You analyze your sample to make inferences about the population.

DIFFERENT SAMPLES

Quality control Sample: The items you tested.

Population: The entire batch of items produced.

Political polls Sample: The ones you polled.

Population: All voters.

Clinical studies Sample: Subset of patients who attended Tuesday

morning clinic in August

Population: All similar patients.

Laboratory research Sample: The data you actually collected

Population: All the data you could have collected if you had repeated the experiment many times the same way

EXAMPLE: OPINION POLLS

Required sample size is not related to

population size (except for small

populations)

EXAMPLE :Political opinion polls

Samples for USA (voting population 156

million) and Australia (voting population

13 million) are of similar size

SAMPLE SIZE AND LEVEL OF

ACCURACY

Voting intentions Confidence

intervals

USA – Sept ’04 –NBC/WSJ - Voters 156 m. Sample size 1006

Bush/Cheney 48% +3.1%

Kerry/Edwards 45% +3.1%

Nader/Camejo 2% +0.9%

SAMPLE SIZE AND LEVEL OF

ACCURACY

Voting intentions Confidence

intervals

USA – Sept ’04 - Registered voters 156 m. – Sample size 1006

Bush/Cheney 48% +3.1%

Kerry/Edwards 45% +3.1%

Nader/Camejo 2% +0.9%

Australia – Aug ’04 –Newspoll -Voters 13 m. –Sample size 1047

Liberal/national 39% +3.0%

Labor 42% +3.0%

Greens 6% +1.4%

LEVEL OF ACCURACY : Why

statistical calculations?

When analyzing data, your goal is

simple: You wish to make the strongest

possible conclusion from limited

amounts of data.

To do this, you need to overcome two

problems:

PROBLEM #1

Important differences can be obscured

by POPULATION variability and

SAMPLE imprecision.

This makes it hard to distinguish real

differences from random variability

PROBLEM #2 2

The human brain excels at finding

patterns, even from random data.

Our natural inclination (especially with

our own data) is to conclude that

differences are real, and to minimize the

contribution of random variability.

Statistical rigor prevents you from

making this mistake.

SIZE OF SAMPLE AND

CONFIDENCE INTERVAL

SITUATION TO STUDY

Get a random sample of smokers and nonsmokers, measure their vitamin C levels, and see how they compare.

In a sample of 40 male smokers, vitamin C levels had a mean of 0.60 mg/dl while in a sample of 40 male nonsmokers, the levels had a mean of 0.90 mg/dl.

The difference in means between nonsmokers and smokers is 0.30 mg/dl. which is impressive

ANOTHER RANDOM

SAMPLE

But if we were to take another random

sample, the difference wouldn't be

exactly the same.

It might be greater, it might be less.

QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED

How much larger or smaller might the difference in population means be if we could measure all smokers and nonsmokers?

What kind of population difference is consistent with this observed value of 0.30 mg/dl?

In particular, is 0.30 mg/dl the sort of sample difference that might be observed if there were no difference in the population mean vitamin C levels?

SO WHAT DOES O,30 MG/DL MEANS TO THE RESEARCHER?

THIS IS WHERE STATISTICAL THEORY COMES

STATISTICS AND

CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI)

In statistics, a confidence interval (CI) is an

interval estimate of a population parameter.

Instead of estimating the parameter by a single

value, an interval of likely estimates is given.

How likely the estimates are is determined by

the confidence interval (CI).

The wider is the interval (CI) will be, the more

likely it is for the interval to contain the

parameter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estimate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_parameter

RELIABILITY OF THE SURVEY

DEPEND ON THE C.I

Confidence interval (CI) is a statistical

tool used to indicate the reliability of an

estimate.

For example, a CI can be used to

describe how reliable survey results are.

All other things being equal, a survey

result with a small CI is more reliable

than a result with a large CI.

RELIABILITY OF THE SURVEY

DEPEND ON THE C.I

The width of the confidence interval

gives us some idea about how uncertain

we are about the unknown parameter.

A very wide confidence interval (CI) may

indicate that more data should be

collected before anything very definite

can be said about the parameter.

FOR OUR EXAMPLE

How much are we confident with the difference in means between nonsmokers and smokers of 0.30 mg/dl.

One way to answer these questions is by reporting a 95% confidence interval.

Here, the 95% confidence interval for the difference in mean vitamin C levels between nonsmokers and smokers is 0.15 to 0.45 mg/dl.

Thus, not only do we estimate the difference to be 0.30 mg/dl, but we are 95% confident it is no less than 0.15 mg/dl or greater than 0.45 mg/dl.

CONFIDENCE INTERVAL OF

95%

The shorter the confidence interval, the less likely it is to contain the quantity being estimated.

The longer the interval, the more likely to contain the quantity being estimated.

Ninety-five percent (95%) has been found to be a convenient level for conducting scientific research, so it is used almost universally.

Intervals of lesser confidence would lead to too many misstatements. Greater confidence would require more data to generate intervals of usable lengths.

Normal distribution and

confidence intervals

WHY 95 % OF CONFIDENCE

There is nothing special about 95%. It is just

convention that confidence intervals are

usually calculated for 95% confidence.

In theory, confidence intervals can be computed

for any degree of confidence.

If you want more confidence, the intervals will

be wider.

If you are willing to accept less confidence, the

intervals will be narrower.

LEVEL OF ACCURACY IN

OPINION POLLS

This is usually specified in terms of the required confidence interval for the particular variable of interest.

This is the range of values around the measured value, within which there is, say, a 95% chance that the ‘true’ population value is located.

Statistical formulae or tables allow estimates of the confidence interval for different sample sizes ( DONE BY SPECIALISTS).

Larger samples are needed for smaller confidence intervals

Fig. 11.4a

Confidence intervals & sample size

Sample

size

(N)

Percentages found from sample (‘results’)

50% 40/60

%

30/70

%

20/80% 10/90

%

5/95% 2/98

%

1/99

%

Confidence intervals + %

1000 +3.1 +3.0 +2.8 +2.5 +1.9 +1.3 +0.9 +0.6

NB. CI for p = CI for 100-p

CI for 50% is the largest in absolute terms

This table refers to 95% CIs – other can be calculated – eg. 99%

Fig. 11.4b


Sample

size

(N)


50% 40/60

%

30/70

%

20/80% 10/90

%

5/95% 2/98

%

1/99

%


1000 +3.1 +3.0 +2.8 +2.5 +1.9 +1.3 +0.9 +0.6

4000 +1.5 +1.5 +1.4 +1.2 +0.9 +0.7 +0.4 +0.3

NB. To Reduce the CI by half – sample size must be increased x 4

Fig. 11.4c


Sample

size

(N)


50% 40/60

%

30/70

%

20/80% 10/90

%

5/95% 2/98

%

1/99

%


50 +13.

9

+ 13.6 +12.7 +11.1 +8.3 * * *

100 +9.8 +9.6 +9.0 +7.8 +5.9 +4.3 * *

200 +6.9 +6.8 +6.3 +5.5 +4.2 +3.0 +1.9 *

250 +6.2 +6.1 +5.7 +5.0 +3.7 +2.7 +1.7 *

1000 +3.1 +3.0 +2.8 +2.5 +1.9 +1.3 +0.9 +0.6

4000 +1.5 +1.5 +1.4 +1.2 +0.9 +0.7 +0.4 +0.3

Fig. 11.5



Conf.

Interval

50% 40/60

%

30/70

%

20/80

%

10/90

%

5/95% 1/99%

Necessary sample sizes

+1 9600 9216 8064 6144 3456 1824 380

+2 2400 2304 2016 1536 864 456 *

+4 600 576 504 384 216 114 *

+8 150 144 126 96 53 * *

FROM THE PERCENTAGE AND THE CONF INTERVAL

SAMPLE SIZE

CLASS WORK

PROBLEM #1 :

Go back to the political polls and find out

the confidence intervals

PROBLEM #2 :

In the example comparing PC users and

Mac users given in this chapter, what

would the confidence intervals be if the

sample size was 4000?

THE LEVEL OF DETAIL

The level of detail of information needed

from the statistical analysis.

More detailed information needs

responses for sub-samples to be

obtained for comparisons.

If the same level of accuracy is required

for the sub-samples, a larger total

sample is therefore needed

Sample size –

level of detail of analysis

Sample

size

% CI Range, % Comment

200 PC

users

20 +5.5 14.5 – 25.5 Ranges

overlap

Mac

users

30 +6.3 23.7 – 36.3

Sample size –

level of detail of analysis

Sample

size

% CI Range, % Comment

200 PC users 20 +5.5 14.5 –

25.5

Ranges

overlap

Mac users 30 +6.3 23.7 –

36.3

500 PC users 20 +3.5 16.5 –

23.5

Ranges

do not

overlapMac users 30 +4.0 26.0 –

34.0

BUDGET FOR THE RESEARCH

BUDGET FOR RESEARCH

Given that a particular method for the

distribution and collection of data has

been determined, the amount of money

able to be spent will put an upper limit

to the sample size.

Money can be wasted by using a too

large a sample than is needed.

EXAMPLE OF SAMPE

SIZING

For example, a survey of 40,000 respondent that could cost as much as $1,200,000 to conduct would give a confidence interval of plus or minus 0.5%.

However, if a confidence interval of plus or minus 1%, percent is sufficient, only 10,000 subjects would be required, with the cost reduced to $400,000.

Alternatively, money can be wasted on a study whose sample size does not allow a sufficiently accurate or detailed data analysis to be done

Generally, the criteria for deciding on a

sample size do not include consideration

of population size.

However, if the population fall below

about 50,000 this affect the required

sample size, as indicated in the next

Figure.

Fig. 11.6

Sample size – small populations

Population size Minimum sample size to achieve CI of

+5% or +1% on a sample finding of

50%

+5% +1%

Infinite 384 9602

5 million 384 9584

1 million 384 9511

500,000 384 9422

100,000 383 8761

50,000 381 8056

10,000 370 4899

5000 357 3288

1000 278 906

100 80 99

WEIGHTING SAMPLES

.

Interview and usage data

Weighting the sample

SOLUTION OF CLASS WORK

The percentages of PC and Mac users in the sample are 20% and 30%, respectively, and the sample size is 4,000, then (reading from the table in Figure 8.3), the half-widths of the two confidence intervals are 1.2% and 1.4% respectively. Thus the 95% confidence interval for each group is:

- PC users: 20% + 1.2 , ie. from 18.8% to 21.2%

- Mac users: 30% + 1.4, ie. from 28.6% to 31.4%.

CLASS WORK #1

For sample size of 500 objects, what are

the intervals of finding 30% of the

population having the same

characteristics ( with 95% confidence)

If the size increased to 2000, what will

be the new intervals

CLASS WORK #2

What size of sample is necessary to find a 50%

of the sample having the same characteristics

with an interval of ± 3%

What is the size of the sample to find 30% of

the population having the same characteristics

with the same confidence interval

What is size of the sample to find 70% of the

population having the confidence interval

CLASS WORK #3

For a population of 25,000, what is the sample size to find 5% confidence interval of 50% of population of same characteristics?

What will the size for 1% confidence interval for the same 50% population of the sample?

What will the size for 1% confidence interval for the same 20% population of the sample?

CLASS WORK #4

Consider 20% of a certain population plays

tennis. That means 80% do not play tennis.

What will be the accuracy for this population for

a total sample size of 200

What will be the accuracy of the population not

playing tennis for a total sample of 400

What will be the size if we want an accuracy of

± 2%

CLASS WORK #5

We have a sample size of 500 . In this

sample 20% of the population have

same characteristics.

What will be the confidence interval?

Which size of the sample will give you

2% interval for the same popultion?

CLASS WORK #6

A survey on 200 people shows that 20%

use PC and 30% use Macintosh

What will be the confidence intervals for

both users?

CLASS WORK #7

For a survey of 500 employees, 50% had a leave sick last year.

If the true value of population who had leave sick is 50%, what will be the chances of drawing a random sample in which no one had a sick leave?

What will be the chances of drawing a random sample of 48-52% which no one had a sick leave

What will be the chances of drawing a random sample of 30%or 70% which no one had a sick leave

CLASS WORK #8

For your survey, study the size of

sample with the corresponding

confidence intervals

According to timing, choose your sample

size and give the corresponding

confidence interval

ANALYZING SECONDARY DATA

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS

CHAPTER

Help you think and act creatively to identify ways in which secondary data might be identified and analysed to purse research in management contexts;

We will study 'data mining' and 'meta-analysis'

Do some applications:

undertake simple secondary data analysis exercises, including: trend analysis

catchment/market area analysis using internal and external (census) data

demographic projections of demand

WHAT ARE SECONDARY DATA ?

Reminder: Secondary data are the data

that already exist and need to be

collected to complete the primary data of

the researcher.

The researcher is the secondary user

Analysis pf secondary data is called

secondary analysis

SECONDARY DATA OF

COMPANIES

Sources of information about company

or corporate organizations can be :

Internal sources

External sources

INTERNAL SOURCES OF

COMPANIES

The internal record-keeping of a company can be a significant source of secondary data.

The internal data recorded are usually:

Financial accounts

Sales data

Prices

Product development

Advertising expenditure

Purchase of supplies

Human resources

Costumer complaints

EXTERNAL DATA OF

COMPANIES

We should distinct Public from Private

companies

Public companies are required by law to

disclose detailed information concerning their

finances and structure. Annual reports and

other company data are lodged annually at

stock exchanges.

Private companies are not obliged to disclose

data. As a result, information on private

companies can be difficult to locate.

EXTERNAL DATA FOR

PRIVATE COMPANIES

Sometimes you pay a fee to have access to the information.

Search in periodical literature, including newspapers, the financial press and trade journals are the next best option.

Three websites that can be used:

www.bizadvantage.com

www.whowhere.com

www.hoovers.com

http://www.bizadvantage.com/

http://www.whowhere.com/

http://www.hoovers.com/

EXAMPLES OF USE OF

INTERNAL DATA

A) Trend analysis

B) Catchment area analysis

C) Employee data

D) Data mining

A) TREND ANALYSIS – 1-

Fig. 12.1a: Quarterly sales & moving average

Year Quarter A sales revenue, $million

1999 99Q1 1.1

99Q2 2.5

99Q3 4.5

99Q4 3.3

2000 00Q1 1.3

00Q2 2.8

00Q3 4.9

00Q4 3.9

Etc

A) TREND ANALYSIS -2-

Fig. 12.1b: Quarterly sales & moving average

Year Quarter A sales

revenue,

$million

B. Moving

average

1999 99Q1 1.1 -

99Q2 2.5 -

99Q3 4.5 -

99Q4 3.3 2.9 = (99Q1+99Q2+99Q3+99Q4)/4

2000 00Q1 1.3 2.9 = (99Q2+99Q3+99Q4+00Q1)/4

00Q2 2.8 3.0 = (99Q3+99Q4+00Q1+00Q2)/4

00Q3 4.9 3.1 = (99Q4+00Q1+00Q2+

00Q3)/4

00Q4 3.9 3.2 = (00Q1+00Q2+

00Q3+00Q4)/4

A) TREND ANALYSIS -3-Fig. 12.1c: Quarterly sales & moving average

Year Quarter A sales revenue, $million B. Moving average

1999 99Q1 1.1 -

99Q2 2.5 -

99Q3 4.5 -

99Q4 3.3 2.9

2000 00Q1 1.3 2.9

00Q2 2.8 3.0

00Q3 4.9 3.1

00Q4 3.9 3.2

Etc.

2003 03Q1 1.7 3.3

03Q2 2.8 3.2

03Q3 4.8 3.1

03Q4 3.0 3.1

A) TREND ANALYSIS/

MOVING AVERAGE

B) CATCHMENT AREA

ANALYSIS

DEFINITION: A catchment area is the

geographical area from which most (eg.

75%) of customers are drawn

Catchment area analysis is the use of

customer information to establish the

catchment or market area of a service

outlet;

B) CATCHMENT AREA

ANALYSIS

Information on the catchment area of a business/ service can be used for:

Analysis of potential customer characteristics (from census data – see External Data Sources later)

Make decisions on choice of local advertising media

Make decisions on new outlets

Customer address data obtained from customer records ( Next figure)

B) Catchment/market area

C) EMPLOYEE DATA Employee data Use of employee

records to study staff turnover and

performance.

D) DATA MINING

Data-mining:

The process by which organisations

analyse computerised data-base

information held on customers for such

purposes as marketing, customer risk

analysis and fraud detection

USES OF EXTERNAL DATA

A) Catchment area analysis

B) Demographic projection

C) Company advertising and press

coverage

A) Catchment area analysis

Use of census data to study catchment/market area population characteristics: The whole country

Individual states

Statistical Divisions

Statistical Subdivisions

Statistical Local Areas

Census Collection Districts

Local government areas

Individual postcodes

Suburbs

State and Federal Parliamentary electorates

A) Catchments Area Analysis:

Census data available in Australia

B) DEMOGRAPHIC

PROJECTION

Population projections for Australia and States/

Territories are available from ABS

These can be used to project demand based

on changing future demographic structure

EXAMPLE: Taking account of the aging of the

population

EXAMPLE OF DEMOGRAPHIC

PROJECTION

C) Company Advertising/Press

coverage

Use of data on advertising/press

coverage can be seen as analysis of

secondary data

Meta-Analysis

Meta-Analysis is the re-analysis of the findings of comparatively large numbers of research projects on the same topic. Findings from a large number of studies on a single topic area compared

Falls between literature review and secondary data analysis

Typically quantified measures are compare –eg. correlation coefficients

Example: Thorsteinson (2003) analysed 38 studies on part-time vs full-time employees’ job attitudes

HOMEWORK

EXERCICE 1: search in a UAE Statistics

Bureau and find Data similar to that in

column A in Figure 12.1. download the

data and replicate column B of Figure

12.1 and the diagram in Figure 12.2.

HOMEWORK

EXERCISE 2 Assume that you have been asked to compare two areas for the siting of a new retail outlet aimed mainly at young people aged 18-29.

The areas are two postcodes in contrasting parts of the city/area where you live.

You should select the two areas for this exercise. Download data on the age-structure of the two areas from the Australian Bureau of Statistics web-site (www.abs.gov.au) or similar in another country and indicate which will be the best location for the outlet.

HOMEWORK

EXERCISE 3 Figure 12.7 presents a

projection of cinema attendance for

Australia in 2021.

Using the same population projection

data produce a similar projection for one

of the activities presented in the book's

web-site.

WRITING A BUSINESS RESEARCH REPORT

Chapter Topics

The importance of the report

Actually getting started

Beginnings and Endings

Main body of the report – technical

aspects

Main body of the report – content

Other media


Written reports of research are a key

element in the world of business and

academe

Eg. feasibility studies, marketing plans,

research studies, development

proposals, environmental impact

assessments + articles and theses


The ability to write a research report

is therefore a key management skill

‘Report’ is used to refer to all

research report formats


Many researchers leave too little time for

report-writing – resulting in ‘last minute

rush’

Many parts of a research report can be

written/ organised well in advance, eg.:

introduction;

statement of objectives;

outline of the theoretical or evaluative

framework;


literature review;

description of the methodology;

production of diagrams, figures, tables

and cover design

Beginnings and endings

Topics

Cover and title page

Table of contents

Executive

summary/synopsis/abstract

Preface/Foreword

Acknowledgements

Appendices


Cover:

Title of report

Author

Institution/publishers (on back cover + spine in

the case of books)


Title page:

Title of report

Author

Institution or publisher, including address and phone numbers*

Sponsoring body (for example, ‘Report to the Board of Directors’)

Date of publication*

* these items sometimes on the reverse of title page

Table of contents – example – Fig.

16.1

Contentspage

Executive Summary (i)Preface (ii)Acknowledgements (iv)

1 INTRODUCTION 12 LITERATURE REVIEW 53 METHODOLOGY 134 FINDINGS: CULTURE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY 225 FINDINGS: LEADERSHIP IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY 256 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 40

REFERENCES 44APPENDICESLIST OF TABLESLIST OF FIGURES/DIAGRAMS/ILLUSTRATIONS

More detail – see Fig. 16.1

NB. More than one ‘Findings’ section in this example

Executive summary

Article: ‘abstract’; Thesis: ‘synopsis’

Content

The background, context or objectives

Methods and data sources

Main findings

Conclusions

Executive summary

Recommendations where appropriate

NB. The Exec. Summary is not the

introduction – it is a summary of the

whole report

Should be written last!

Executive summary - size

Suggested length guidelines:

Report length Executive

summary length

Up to 20 pages 1-2 pages



Over 100 pages 5-6 pages

Preface/Foreword/Acknowledgemen

ts

Preface/Foreword includes:

Origins/context of study

Personal motivation/involvement of the author

Acknowledgements may thank:

funding organisations;

liaison officers of funding organisations;

members of steering committees;

Organisations/individuals providing access to information/resources;

Preface/Foreword/Acknowledg

ements

staff employed: interviewers, coders,

computer programmers, word

processors, secretarial support, etc.;

individuals (including academic

supervisors) who have given advice,

commented on report drafts, etc.; and

individuals who responded to

questionnaires etc. (collectively)

Appendices

Include:

Material too detailed/cumbersome for main

body of the report

See discussion of ‘report as record’

Main Body of Report – Technical - 1

Section numbering

Need to establish a section numbering system

for professional reports, less so for theses, less

for articles – see Fig. 16.1

Word processor ‘styles’ may be used

Heading hierarchy

Be aware of ‘heading hierarchy’ – Chapter

headings, section headings, sub-section

headings

Paragraph numbering

Used in some official reports

Main Body of Report –

Technical - 2 Page numbering

Can be helpful to use chapter/section-specific numbering

when multiple authors involved – eg. Chapter/section 1 has

page nos. : 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 etc.

Typing layout/spacing

I professional reports, paragraphs separated by blank line …

no indenting of first line

Tables, graphics and text

Consider the balance between text, tables and graphics and

their respective roles

Presentation of graphics

Graphics/tables should be complete in themselves –

numbered, titled, fully labelled and sourced.

Main Body of Report - Content

Topics

Structure

Functions of a report

Audiences and style

The narrative structure

The report as ‘record’

Main Body of Report - Structure

Structure should be shaped by the

research questions/issues

not necessarily by the sequence of data

collection processes – see Fig. 16.2

Structure should be stressed at the

beginning, in the middle and at the

end of the report

All research questions should be

answered – even if inconclusively!

Fig. 16.2

Main Body of Report –

Structure

Audiences and style

Consider the readership and

appropriate report style:

General public

Decision-makers –

professional/technical/democratic

Experts – professionals, academics

Functions of the report

Report as narrative

Need to tell a story – see Fig. 16.3

Therefore some detailed material goes

to appendix

Report as record

Some users will want to look up

specific items - not read the whole

report

Role of appendices in providing details

Report as Narrative – Fig. 16.3

Other media

Oral presentations, often involving

one or more of:

Handouts;

Posters;

Overhead transparencies;

Slides;

Video clips; or

Computer-based presentations, such as

Microsoft PowerPoint.

Oral presentations

Different media play different roles

Generally cannot reproduce the whole

report

Necessary to be selective

Selected key findings – of relevance to

the audience

Visuals must be readable from the back of the room!

… so report graphics may need to be modified

Practice delivery and timing

Study others’ good and bad presentations

BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS

Education

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