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MGMT2063 Research Methods for Business-Introduction to Qualitative & Quantitative Methods has turned out to be quite an interesting course. When I sought out to invest in a degree there were two areas that I was hoping to improve on, namely: my accounting knowledge and most importantly my research skills.  This course has really prepared me to take on various research with the confidence that I know exactly how to go about it.

Business research is done for a number of reasons including to examine and solve business problems and to identify business opportunities amongst a list of other reasons. Research for the most part can take one of three forms; Exploratory research which is done on areas that are not very clear or where not much information is documented on; Descriptive research which is concerned with who, what , where, when and how and;  Casual research which is used to explain cause and effect. Of importance to all types of research is the concept of ethics. As will all professional arena business research relies highly on ethical principles as it relates to the conducting of the research to the presentation of the findings

Understanding the foundation of business research the course then allowed me the privilege to delve more deeply into various aspect of a research. A six step research process was used and each area was traversed with extreme detail. The six steps included; clarifying research question, proposing the research, designing the research project, data collection and preparation, data analysis & interpretation and finally reporting of the results. The clarifying the research question was probably the most important aspect of the research as without the right research question the result of the entire research would be useless to the key stakeholders. As constant communication is encourage throughout the research process and this was stressed throughout the course. Along with communication intense literary review is critical what has been already done, where there are gaps in previous research and what where the recommendations for future study.

Research design and data collection were the next steps after finalizing what the research is all about. This section of the course was quite enlightening as I gained insight as to why and when to use a quantitative, qualitative or mixed approach to data collection. Qualitative research as we know is said to broken down into four major categories (Phenomenology, Ethnography and Case study) while Quantitative research is broken down into three (Experimental research, Quasi-experimental research and Non-experimental research). Each research using varying methods based on the nature of the research.After the design is chosen then a sampling method is decided on. In order to draw a conclusion we apply sampling to set population as we aim to study as to study the entire population can prove costly and time consuming.  The Sampling process requires us to choose a sampling technique and to define a sample size. There are eight sampling techniques covered in the course from which to choose from,

Once the population sample has been decided on then the aspect of data collection comes into play. Data can either be primary or secondary. Primary data is directly related to the field of study and as such is the most reliable but it comes with a cost and as such can prove time consuming and costly to collect. Secondary data is a cheaper but less reliable way of collecting data for the research of the sample population. Secondary data can be obtained from a number of source. Both secondary and primary data ca be use in a single research. Data collection is consider by many to be the crucial aspect of the research and as such great care must be taken in the collection process and bad data with lead to bad or useless results. There are a number of ways for collecting data base on the type of research. One popular way is through surveys of one kind or the next. The course went in detail about survey design and covered lots of does and don’ts. This was quite helpful in improving my survey design skills and now I am able to critically analyse every element of surveys I create.

Following up on the collection of the data then there is the need for editing. Editing requires looking through the various data collected and checking for any inconsistencies with either responses or recording of data by interviewer. This may require the omission of affected data or the adjustment. In some cases where data collected doesn’t seem clear the interviewer may choose to contact the respondent for clarification. This aspect of process was quite new to me and definitely lacking in previous research as it’s evident that this is vital to ensuring the data collected goes through a form of unbiased quality assurance. This then brings to the forefront the displaying the data which is a crucial part of the research process and it’s able to tell a thousand words in a pictorial view or it’s able to tell the nature of the data collected in an appropriate and easy to digest manner for analysis. There are many ways to display the data processed these include but pie charts, scatter plots, histograms stem and leaf etc.

Once all these aspects of the research process is handle with the outmost care. Then the resulting data to be analysed will be quite credible making the conclusions more precise. The aim of any research is to present valid findings and indeed the literature covered in this course speaks to that. This course has not only improved my research skills but it has also made me appreciate the work put in to the academic and peer reviewed journals. This has translated to me reading a lot more journals and citing a lot more from such works.

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Unit 7 - Data Preparation and Presentation

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Unit 7 - Data Preparation and Presentation

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This unit is broken down into the following sessions:

·  Editing and Coding

·  The Data Dictionary

·  Displaying the Data

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After successful gathering the field data through the desired means of data collection we then move on to the editing and coding of success data. Editing requires looking through the various data collected and checking for any inconsistencies with either responses or recording of data by interviewer. This may require the omission of affected data or the adjustment. In some cases where data collected doesn’t seem clear the interviewer may choose to contact the respondent for clarification.

After editing is completed then it is coded for software usage. Coding makes it easier to analyse by the software. A code book is used to document the coding scheme as it holds the data files to be used for analysis. The editing and coding is a crucial aspect of the analysis process. This has been noted in many peer review journals where researchers mention the amount of surveys handed out and how much where received from respondents that where further broken down based of the relevance to the data and the quality if the response.

Databases are used to store the data. A data dictionary refers to the collection of descriptions for the variables used. It is noted that quality control takes place at every level of the data processing task as this ensures the final product is credible.

Displaying the data is a crucial part of the research process and it’s able to tell a thousand words in a pictorial view or it’s able to tell the nature of the data collected in an appropriate and easy to digest manner for analysis. There are many ways to display the data processed these include but pie charts, scatter plots, histograms stem and leaf etc.

Data Preparation and processing is an important phase of the research process and it aims to add a level of quality control with respect to the data collected. It also aims to make the data ready for processing by selected software and later we are then ale to display data in a format that it summarizes the results that the data collection.

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The unit is broken down into three sections, namely:

·  Communicating with respondents.

·  Questionnaire design.

·  Errors common in questionnaire design.

When considering the use of questionnaires in research the researcher will have to consider how the questionnaire will be administered as the mode of communication is contingent on it. There are a number of ways questionnaires maybe administered which are grouped under two main headings, namely; self-administered or interviewer administered. Each mode has its advantages and disadvantages. However key to note is that self-administered require simple language since there would be no one to explain the aspects that are unclear. Interviewer-administered questionnaires however can be more complex as the questions can be explained by the interviewer.

The design of the survey is of extreme importance. The better the design the higher the rate of response and the lower the level of misunderstanding of the question by respondents. It’s noted that when doing a questionnaire the researcher should be mindful of five main things (Zikmund et al. 2009):

·  What should be asked?

·  How should questions be phrased?

·  How should questionnaires be pretested and revised?

·  How should questions be arranged?

·  What layout design should be used?

Of importance is the type of questions (open-ended and closed ended) and how best to use them. When putting the questions together simple language should be used. Leading questions, loaded questions and double barrelled questions should be avoided.

Efforts should be made to minimize errors and increase response rate as much as possible. Errors that can be minimized are tied to questionnaire design. So by following the guidelines for effective questionnaire design and pretesting the questionnaire such errors can be minimized. There are some errors however that are not related to questionnaire design these include interviewer error and respondent error. These can range from cheating or just carelessness on the part of the interviewer or providing fake information on the part of the respondent.

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This unit is broken down into three sessions namely:

·  Source of Data

·  The Data Collection Process

·  Preparation and Management of Field Processes

Data is said to be broken down into three categories which are primary, secondary and tertiary data. These categories do not reflect the importance of the data but rather how the information was gathered. Primary data is data the researcher collects first hand through interviews, surveys, direct observation and experiments. Primary data has its advantages which include the fact the data is collected for the specific research for which the researcher has more control and the organization for which it was collected has ownership. Primary data collection can be time consuming however and also expensive to undertake which might prove difficult for small businesses.

Secondary data is data that the researcher did not collect themselves. Secondary data is a great starting point for any research as the data can help to determine what line the data gathering takes or it might start as a guide as to what to expect. This type of data includes peer reviewed journals, Statistics of the population, policy reports dissertations amongst others. Like primary data, secondary data has its advantages and disadvantages which include being easier and cheaper to collect, less time consuming and it’s a great way in some cases to ad credibility to the research done. The data collected however maybe outdated in the case of censuses which happen every four to five years. The data collected through secondary sources was also not tailored to the research and the accuracy may not be well known.

Collection of data is deemed the most important aspect of the data as the research hinges on credibility of the data. The chapter brought to the focus the various kinds of data collection and the suitability according to the type of research being undertaken, Care should be taken when choosing the data collection method or methods. The unit also does more in depth with triangulation. The usage of different perspectives to highlight the findings is a great way to ad credibility to the data collected.

Finally the aspects of the preparation and management of field processes was brought to the focus the chapter. Here I was enlightened about the importance of field workers. Extreme care must be taken in selecting and training field workers and their supervisor. Also field workers should be monitored on a regular basis as a form of regular auditing.

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This unit was broken down in three sections namely:

·  Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approach.

·  Conceptualization and Measurement

·  Sampling and Non-Sampling Designs

As is relates to Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Research a researcher can take one of three approaches. The research undertaken could be solely quantitative or quantitative or it can be a mixture of both. If the research is applies mix methods then it can take one of three lines. It can be mixed but more quantitative or mix but more qualitative or it can be smack in the middle.

Qualitative research as we know is said to broken down into four major categories (Phenomenology, Ethnography and Case study) while Quantitative research is broken down into three (Experimental research, Quasi-experimental research and Non-experimental research). Each research using varying methods based on the nature of the research. Researcher should be keen on the nature of the research to be undertaken so that the correct method(s) could be applied.

Next we looked at defining and clarifying a concept (Conceptualization). Part of the process is identifying key variables which include both dependent (what we are actually trying to explain) and independent variables (that wish we have no control of but the dependent variable is nevertheless dependent on it). Measure was also looked at and the importance cannot be over emphasized and the aim of research os to provide accurate result. As such there a key indicators to go by to ensure that measurement in any given research is reliable. So as it relates to more quantitative research we looked at widening the range of responses to allow for better measure the more wide the range of responses the better we are able to capture the precise feedback.

Sampling refers to a subset of a population selected for measurement, observation or questioning, to provide statistical information about the population. In order to draw a conclusion we apply sampling to set population as we aim to study as to study the entire population can prove costly and time consuming.  The Sampling process requires us to choose a sampling technique and to define a sample size. There are eight noted sample techniques which fall under random probability and non-probability sampling. Great care must be taken when choosing the technique as the aim is to get an accurate representation of the entire population. Based on the nature of the sampling its prone to errors as such sampling errors is covered in the unit. Sampling errors can be broken down into sampling and non-sampling errors. Sampling errors are unavoidable but can be controlled and reduced.

Thus unit proved to be most informative as it got in to some of the key areas of the research that ensures the research is valid. By taking note of these areas and making careful decisions the research findings may prove to indeed to valuable and in line with the population studied.

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Unit 1 - Introduction to Business Research

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Unit 1 - Introduction to Business Research

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Unit one was a great introduction into "Business Research".We defines business research as the objective and systematic inquiry into a specific business problem in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions The unit looked at reasons for conducting business research such as : 1. Understanding existing customers. 2. To set realistic targets (Sales, Production etc.). 3. Examine and solve business problems. 4. To identify business opportunities. 5. Prepare for business expansion. 6. Develop effective strategies. 7. Identify potential customer. The unit zoomed in on the 3 major types of business research namely: 1. Exploratory research - which is done on areas that are not very clear or where not much information is documented on. 2. Descriptive research - which is concerned with who, what , where, when and how. 3. Casual research - which is used to explain cause and effect.

The unit covered Research strategies such as qualitative, quantitative and mix methods which involves the use of both quantitative and qualitative research methods in a single study. Theory is defined and also ethics and the role of technology in research is touched on

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This unit covers the "Research Process" which is broken down over 3 sessions as follows:

a. The Research Process

b. Problem Definition

c. The Literature Review

The research process pretty much covers the conceptual stage of the research or problem definition to the report of the findings. The research process for the purposes of this unit is broken down into 6 stages. It should be noted however that in many cases there might be more stages to a research paper or even less as there is no set series of steps but merely some guideline stages that most seem to follow.

A significant part of the research is its problem definition. This area needs to be well defines as many research fail because the problem definition was not well constructed. This process is quite involved and the unit goes through a 6 step process from understanding the problem needs to be analysed or where the opportunity is that needs to be addressed to developing variables to be analysed to the final step of writing the research question. This very involved 6 step process ensure that the backbone of the research is set and ensures that the other phases can flow going forward.

The literature review is that last aspect the unit zooms in on. Literature review serves as an important aspect of the research as it serves many reasons. As one embarks on doing a research its main purpose is not only  to solve a business problem but to add to the body of work that already exist in that specific field of study. The literature review helps to avoid repeating work already done and helps to show where there is room for further research and also where there is gaps in the research. There is a 5 step process outlines in the unit that covers steps to doing a literature review.
Reflecting on the knowledge gained from the unit it is evident that my research skills has vastly improved. I am somewhat drawn to reading more peer reviewed journals as they are more aligned to specific topic of interest. It’s amazing the amount of research I have seen done in a number of fields and the details that the search brings out. The process of conducting a research and the body of worked I have covered thus far has instilled a high level of confidence in me as to how to approach academic writings overall

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Unit 3 - Communication in
the Research Process

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Unit 3 - Communication in
the Research Process

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Communication happens right through the research and among all players with thin the research with the researcher acting as an intermediary between the clients of the research and the interviewees. Unit 3 focuses on communication and does so by looking at three aspect of the research communication process namely:

·  The research proposal

·  The research report

·  The oral presentation

The research proposal is the foundation or the key to the overall research. It has to be well defined as indicated in previous chapters as it’s the plan for the research. With the research proposal there are some suggestion to follow.  These suggestion begin from the preparation phase. From trying the convince the reader to believe the that problem definition or thesis statement is worthy of investigation to making sure that the work is grounded in theory to making sure that solutions are found for the problem or the body of knowledge is added to. The stakeholder and investors in the research can look at the research proposal and determine whether the direction it’s headed meets the need of what they are looking for.

While there is no specific format for writing a research report there are some guidelines to follow as most are somewhat similar with respect to their components. The research report is a significant part of the research communication as t the formal presentation of the body of work. The language should be formal and written in the past tense and the method of citation should follow the APA style. Research reports generally consist of ten segments or more  including an abstract or executive summary, literature review, Research design, data analysis, results amongst other headings.

The final step is marked by the oral presentation. The audience is the key component to bear in mind when preparing the oral presentation. The presentation should aim at capturing the audience as the live interaction is the main advantage of the oral presentation when compared to the written report. There are certain guidelines to note when preparing a PowerPoint presentation. The presentation should make use of diagrams, charts and attractive visuals that tell a lot. The presentation is to aid in capturing the audience attention and not a reading aid for the presenter.

This unit gave me a great appreciation for the communication process and the flow of information within the research process. It maintains the fact that the language use should be formal for ease of understanding for a general audience interested in the body of work. Of note however the oral presentation and the importance is it plays in the overall communication process as the audience is right there to convince about the body of work. Ley aspect of the research has o be brought to life during the oral presentation.