BUSINESS RESEARCH METHOD 3RD EDITION BY CHRISTINA QUINLAN, BARRY BABIN, JON CAR, MITCH GRIFFIN (CHAP

TEST BANK

Instructor’s Manual Chapter One - Introducing Business Research Learning Objectives: At the end of this chapter the student should be able to: • Outline the model of the research process.

• Outline and briefly explain each of the stages in the research process.

• Outline and apply the model of the four frameworks approach to the research project.

• Understand how research contributes to business success.

• Know how to define business research

Research Skills: At the end of this chapter the student should be able to: • Differentiate between a research idea and a research statement or question.

• Outline the steps in the research process.

• Trace the elements of the research process in a given sample project.

Chapter Summary This chapter is the introductory chapter in the textbook. As such it provides some basic information on social research and business research. The two models around which the textbook is structured are introduced and explained in this chapter. The two models are the model of the research process and the model of the four frameworks approach to undertaking research. It would be useful to spend some time at this stage developing a thorough understanding of these models, as they are central to the learning experience provided by the textbook.

The model of the research process is a simple and very useful way of helping students become familiar with each element of the research process. It is often simply the terminology, and the newness and perhaps the strangeness of the terminology that puts students off research from the start. If they can be encouraged to become familiar with the basic terminology very early on, they will be more confident in their approach to research methods, and in their approach to their own research project.

The four frameworks approach to the research project is a model developed by Christina Quinlan specifically for students. It is invaluable in terms of providing For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

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researchers and student researchers with a framework with which they can quite easily develop appropriately focused research projects. The four frameworks approach to the research project is introduced and clearly explained in this first chapter. It is applied to every step of the research process throughout the textbook. Once again, it is a very simple model. It is worth spending a little time on this chapter in order to become familiar with this model and in order to become comfortable in applying the model to the process of developing a research project.

The first framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project is the conceptual framework. The conceptual framework is contained in the properly articulated research statement or question. The research statement or question contains all of the key concepts in the research project. This conceptual framework for the research project is the framework on which the other three frameworks, the theoretical framework, the methodological framework and the analytical framework, rest. It is a good idea to provide some examples of research statements/questions and to explain how they are in fact conceptual frameworks. It is helpful to explain to students that the key concepts in the conceptual framework are the key words and phrases, the important words and phrases, the big words, in the research statement/question. This exercise demonstrates the simplicity and the utility of the four frameworks approach, and it gives students confidence in their already growing abilities in the field of research methods.

There is an introduction to business research and business research is simply defined as the application of social science research methods in the process of examining business phenomena. Applied business research and basic business research are differentiated and defined. Applied business research, as the chapter explains, is conducted to address a specific business decision for a specific firm or organization. Basic business research (sometimes referred to as pure research) is conducted without a specific decision in mind, and it usually does not address the needs of a specific organization. It attempts to expand the limits of knowledge in general, and as such it is not aimed at solving a particular pragmatic problem.

There is a discussion in the chapter of business research in the twenty-first century, a discussion of communication technologies and their use in business research, and there is a discussion of global business research.

The ways through which a proposed research project can be said to be researchable, ‘the test of researchability’ is explained. This is a very simple very useful test for students to learn and use in order to determine whether or not their proposed research project is in fact researchable. A project is researchable if the researcher has the time needed to carry out the research, the money needed (if

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any money is needed) to carry out the research, and access to the data necessary for the research.

The chapter provides an introduction to the structure of a research project, the structure of a thesis. The student will find the simple and comprehensive guide provided extremely useful.

The chapter provides a very brief introduction to the subject of ethics in research.

This is useful. It is a simple and easy introduction to research ethics. The issues highlighted in the brief introduction, issues such as researcher integrity and the protection of research participants, can be used a good discussion points in seminars and they can be used as starting points in students’ reflections on business research generally and on the ethics of their own research or their proposed research.

There is a brief introduction to research methodology and to data collection methods. These topics are covered in detail in Chapter Eight, while subsequent chapters focus on the data collection methods of observation, interviews and focus groups, and questionnaires and scales. One of the key strengths of this textbook is the breath of the range of methodologies and data collection methods it details, explains and illustrates. The sample research projects presented throughout the textbook provide imaginative, interesting and engaging examples of the application of the broadest range of methodologies and methods in business research projects. The hope is that these will encourage business students to devise and develop excellent research projects through the creative application of these methodologies and methods.

The article at the end of Chapter One is a good example of the kind of sample research projects presented in every chapter of the textbook. This article explores an interesting outline of the use of a social media strategy in the marketing of a Bollywood movie. The journal article is a good example of a research project that has a well-structured and well-written literature review. The research was developed using an interesting research methodology, case study methodology, and the data collection methods used in the research project are clearly detailed, as are the data analysis methods used. The conclusions drawn from the research are clearly and simply outlined and explained. How theory influences research In the article examined here (Nanda, Pattnaik and Lu, 2018, ‘Innovation in social media strategy for movie success: A study of the Bollywood movie industry’, Management Decision, 56(1): 233–251), the authors develop an in-depth and comprehensive case study to examine the promotional strategies adopted through YouTube, Facebook and X (formally Twitter) throughout the life cycle of a Bollywood movie and its impact on the box office success of the movie.

Social media is a key concept in this research. It is interesting to note how the authors use this key concept to facilitate the development of the structure for the entire research project.

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Answers to End of Chapter Questions 1. Detail the steps in the research process.

ANS The Research Process Begin with an idea Refine that idea

State research question/statement state it in one sentence

specific aim and objectives

Complete writing-up of thesis/report

Select Methodology

Draw conclusions Analyse data

Literature Review

Gather data

Devise data collection methods

2. Outline and explain the use of the four frameworks approach in the research project.

ANS The Four Frameworks Approach to the Research Project

The Conceptual Framework

The Theoretical Framework

The Methodological Framework

The Analytical Framework

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The first framework in the four frameworks approach is the conceptual framework. The conceptual framework for the research project is contained in the one-sentence research question or statement which you, the researcher, develop from your reflection on your research idea and the literature published in the area of your research idea. Each key word in that one sentence is a key concept in your research.

The second framework is the theoretical framework. The theoretical framework for the research project is contained in the literature review undertaken and written for the research project. The key concepts in the conceptual framework help to guide the researcher in their search for literature for the literature review, and they help guide the researcher in terms of the structure and the content of the literature review.

The third framework is the methodological framework. This framework contains all of the information and detail relating to the research methodology and methods used in the research project. This framework contains all of the information and detail on the way in which the research was carried out. The researcher designs the research methodology for the research project based on the nature of the research. The information needed on the nature of the research is contained in the conceptual framework for the research project.

The final framework is the analytical framework. This framework contains all of the analysis carried out for the research that is to be presented in the written account of the research project. The researcher is guided in the work of carrying out and presenting the data analysis for the research project by the conceptual framework and the theoretical framework constructed for the research project.

The methodological framework constructed for the research project provides the means through which data for analysis are to be gathered.

3. When can a research project be deemed researchable?

ANS In order to assess whether or not you could undertake and complete your research project, it is a good idea to apply ‘the test of research-ability’. In this simple test you examine whether or not you have the resources to complete the research project. The resources you need are: • The time needed to conduct the research: to design the project, carry out the field work, analyse the data, write up your findings, draw conclusions and make recommendations; • The money needed to conduct the research. In general with small-scale research projects if any money is needed it is the amount of money required for the fieldwork, for example, for posting questionnaires, for travelling to interviews and focus groups; For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

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•

Access to data. Many students underestimate the difficulties that researchers can encounter in accessing data, in attempting to access data, in securing access to data, and in maintaining access to data over the time period required to complete the fieldwork.

4. What is a key concept in research?

ANS A key concept is a key idea, a key word, or a key phrase in the research. The first framework in the four frameworks approach is the conceptual framework.

The conceptual framework for the research project is contained in the onesentence research question or statement which you, the researcher, develop from your reflection on your research idea and the literature published in the area of your research idea. Each key word in that one sentence is a key concept in your research.

5. What is a research diary?

ANS It is the diary the researcher keeps of the research project. In the research diary the researcher records all of their ideas, insights and thoughts as well as other detail and information such as references and contact names, addresses and telephone numbers, and so on.

6. Define business research.

ANS Business research can be defined as the application of social science research methods in the process of examining business phenomena.

7. What is a literature review?

ANS A review of literature; always undertaken in order to embed the researcher and research project in the body of knowledge. Literature is research already carried out and published, in books, in journal articles, in conference reports, in government reports and in the reports of NGOs (Non Governmental Organisations).

8. What is a theoretical framework?

ANS For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

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The theoretical framework is the second framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project. The theoretical framework is contained in the literature review undertaken and written for the research project. The key concepts in the conceptual framework help to guide the researcher towards an appropriate structure of the theoretical framework, the content of the literature review.

9. Discuss the value of business research, using a range of examples of business research projects to support your answer.

ANS Business research can be simply defined as the application of social science research methods in the process of examining business phenomena. Business research is research undertaken in the field of business. Any aspect of business can be researched. Any experience of business can be researched. There are throughout this textbook very many examples of different research projects carried out in different businesses and on different aspects of business and different experiences of business. Research is conducted in order to create knowledge. Every research project is required to make a contribution to knowledge. This is the value of research. With every research project new knowledge is created or developed. In general, each research project produces a very small contribution to knowledge. It is through the accumulation of very small contributions to knowledge that the knowledge base develops, that the field of knowledge grows.

Think about the revolution in information and communication technologies (ICTs).

This revolution emerged and developed from very many different research projects. Think about the field of sales, and the field of marketing. Think about the very many research projects that have contributed to knowledge in this field.

Think about the different issues in Human Resource Management (HRM). Think about the different research projects that have made substantial contributions to this field. If you very quickly flick through this textbook, you will find many examples of marketing and HRM research projects that have made substantial contributions to knowledge in their field. Look at Malika’s research project, the end of chapter case study in Chapter Seven. Think about the relevance and value of Malika’s research project. Through her research Malika will make a contribution to knowledge in the field of team management and to the development of the team of wait staff in the restaurant. She will improve the customer experience of the restaurant. In addition to all of this, she will learn how to carry out and complete a research project. She will herself, through the exercise of undertaking the research project, develop substantial research skills.

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10. Write a short reflective piece on research ethics.

ANS This is an extract from the reflection on research ethics Malika engaged in for her research (see end of chapter case study, Chapter 7).

This research project is an action research study designed to improve the performance of a team of wait staff at the Bon Viveur Restaurant. Permission to conduct the study has been granted by the owners of the restaurant, and a copy of the formal letter of permission is detailed in an appendix in the thesis. The key ethical issues in this study are the participation of the staff of the team and the restaurant’s customers in the study. It is important that all participants participate freely in the study. It is important too that all of the participants understand that they are free at any time to withdraw from the study, without explanation, and without consequence. The participants in the study will not be named or in any way identified in the written account of the research, the thesis. The name of the restaurant has been changed to ensure the anonymity of both the restaurant and the research participants. The research is important research. It will contribute to the development of the wait staff at the restaurant. The research will also contribute to the enhancement of the customer experience in the restaurant. The hope for the research ultimately is that it will contribute to knowledge in the field of restaurant teams and the management of restaurant teams.

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Instructor’s Manual Chapter Two – Developing Research Skills Learning Objectives: At the end of this chapter the student should: • Recognise their existing level of research skills and identify areas for improvement • Create a conceptual framework, the first of the four frameworks • Develop a research statement or question for a research project and outline an appropriate aim and series of objectives for the project • Identify and source appropriate literature • Compile a list of references and properly use appendices.

Research Skills: At the end of this chapter the student should, using the exercises on the companion website, be able to: • generate ideas for research projects • identify, source and use appropriate literature.

Chapter Summary The chapter explains that it takes time to develop the skills of a good or competent researcher. The work of developing such skills involves reading textbooks on research methodologies and research methods as well as gaining experience in working on research projects.

There are, the chapter states, five important and fundamental skills required by every researcher, and they are detailed in the chapter (Table 2.1). One of the most important of these skills is the ability to generate ideas for research projects. Throughout the book examples of good, useful and interesting research projects, some of them drawn from the media and some of them drawn from students examples, are presented. These examples are presented and discussed throughout the textbook to demonstrate to students that possibilities and ideas for good, useful and interesting research projects are everywhere.

A mistake that many students make is in trying to develop their research project on the broad area of interest they have in relation to their research project. For example, a student might be interested in marketing computer games. This is the broad area within which they would like to conduct their research. This topic is too big to be or to become their research project. They must develop a researchable project within this broad area. So, for example, the student might decide to examine or explore the marketing of computer games on a particular

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website, or the marketing of computer games of a particular company, or the marketing of a particular computer game. In this way, the student develops their research project within their broad area of interest. Their broad area of interest does not become their research project. It is essential that students undertake research projects that they will be able to complete to the standard required within the time available. The test of researchability, a simple test outlined in Chapter One and Chapter Two, will help students ensure that they will be able to conduct the research and complete it on time.

This chapter demonstrates with the use of a number of examples how to develop a conceptual framework for a research project. The conceptual framework is the first framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project. The conceptual framework is contained in the research statement or question. It is called the conceptual framework because it contains all of the key concepts in the research project.

The four frameworks approach to the research project, as explained in Chapter One, helps student researchers, and other researchers, to develop appropriately focused and well-integrated research projects.

A focused, very well developed and articulated research statement or question will function well as a conceptual framework. This conceptual framework will guide and support the other three frameworks, the theoretical framework, the methodological framework and the analytical framework. Together, the four frameworks will guide the researcher through the work of constructing the research project.

The four frameworks approach to the research project is new; it is an approach I myself developed from my teaching. Initially, it seems like a lot of information to take on board. However, if you take it step-by-step, and if you use the four frameworks approach in conjunction with the model of the research project set out at the start of every chapter, very quickly you will develop a thorough understanding of the approach and an appreciation of the value of it in teaching and learning about research.

As stated, there are many examples in the chapter of conceptual frameworks and demonstrations of the ways in which conceptual frameworks are constructed.

The importance of the inclusion of a statement of the research methodology to be used in the research project is highlighted throughout. The conceptual framework, in the form of the research statement/question is the key to communicating the research project to others, readers of the research project and examiners of the research project. A statement of the methodology to be used in the research project immediately brings the reader/examiner into the research, they immediately understand how the research was carried out and they will, consequently, have an appropriate expectation regarding the kind of knowledge produced by the research project.

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Student often have difficulty outlining an appropriate aim for their research. This chapter explains how the research statement/question can be, very simply, restated as an aim. This exercise ensures that the research maintains its focus. If the researcher develops a new aim for the research, something other than the research statement/question, then the researcher is taking the research off in a new direction and they will consequently change the focus of the research or lose the focus of the research. In order to maintain the focus, it is a good idea to simply re-state the research statement/question as an aim.

There is a substantial section in the chapter on the work of developing appropriate objectives from the aim of the research. As this is a task that many students struggle with, it would be helpful to spend some time on this. The chapter presents a number of examples of research aims, with appropriate objectives. The chapter demonstrates how the objectives emerge from the aim of the research. When you have explored with students the examples in the chapter, it would be a useful exercise to work through some more examples with them. In particular, students like to use the opportunity in lectures or in seminars to work on their own projects, to present their research statement/question to the lecturer and the class and to have the class then focus on attempting to develop an appropriate aim and objectives for their research statement/objective. It would be useful to work on two or three student examples with the class, if you have the time.

The chapter introduces students to the different ways of doing research. A new model, the methodological pyramid (Figure 2.1), is presented which outlines the different fundamental philosophies in research, the different research methodologies and the different data gathering methods used in research. These are introduced to the students in this chapter, and they are explained in detail in Chapter Four.

The chapter explains what data is and what kinds of things and materials can be used as data and the chapter introduces students to the different ways in which data can be gathered.

The chapter explains what plagiarism is, and how it is a most serious offence.

Some useful resources on plagiarism are given. As plagiarism is such a serious offence, and as very substantial steps are taken in academia to combat plagiarism, students would find it very help if you spent some time with them discussing this issue, explaining your own institutions stand on plagiarism, outlining the penalties imposed on students found guilty of plagiarism, and teaching them how they can avoid an accusation of plagiarism.

The chapter explains the list of references, also known as the bibliography, for any research project is one of the most critical elements of the research project.

A good list of references is a resource for any scholar interested in the topic of

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the research. It helps demonstrate the scholarship of the project and the researcher. The chapter explains what references are and how they are compiled and what appendices are and how they are used. It is useful also to spend some time explaining these to students, encouraging students to engage in discussions about these, and providing students with examples of both references and appendices, in order to help them develop their knowledge and understanding of them. It can be easy to forget how little knowledge and understanding many students have of the basic elements of their programme of study, too often the basic elements are barely touched on or just simply glossed over in lectures or seminars.

The research diary is the final element of the chapter. The research diary is a substantial aid to the research and the researcher. It is very important that you encourage students to keep a research diary and to begin to keep the research diary as soon as they begin to think about and work on their research project.

The chapter explains the value of the research diary and the chapter presents some ideas on how the researcher might use the research diary.

The end of chapter case study presents one student’s research idea and explains how the student developed their idea for their research project. Students can use this case study as a model for their own work in developing their research idea. The case study can be used in class as a teaching aid..

Answers to End of Chapter Questions 1. Differentiate between a research idea and a research question.

A research idea is a broad idea of the area within which you would like to situate your research project. The research question is the precise topic or issue or phenomenon you intend to focus on in your research.

2. Create a conceptual framework for a research project. (example from Chapter Two) The idea is the marketing of computer games. The research statement might read something like this: ‘This research project is case study of the marketing of computer games by three computer games companies: the companies are Zenith Computer Games, Orbit Computer Games and Galaxy Computer Games’.

The conceptual framework for the research project is contained in the research statement. This research statement is a simple statement of a research project.

As a researcher, this is what you are aiming for, a simple clear statement of the

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research. While it is clear and simple, the research statement contains all of the key concepts in the research project. The key concepts in this research project are ‘marketing’, ‘computer games’, ‘computer games companies’ and ‘marketing computer games’. These four concepts, key concepts, are the essential focus of this research project. The entire research project rests upon this conceptual framework.

3. Detail a strategy, using the four frameworks approach to research, to source appropriate literature.

As explained in the question above, each of the subsequent three frameworks in the four frameworks approach to research rests on the first framework, the conceptual framework. The conceptual framework contains the key concepts in the research project. Using the example above, the key concepts in the research project are ‘marketing’, ‘computer games’, ‘computer games companies’ and ‘marketing computer games’. Therefore the strategy to source appropriate literature for the research project would involve key word searches, on the library databases and on the internet, for literature with these key concepts. When the literature has been sourced, the researcher must discern the value of each resource to the research project.

4. Detail, describe and explain some of the different approaches to research.

There are different approaches to research, for example in this chapter we have seen examples of research projects to be developed using survey methodology and examples of research projects to be developed using case study methodology. Survey research facilitates the broad study of phenomena, the study of big populations and samples, and the study of populations and samples that are geographically scattered. Case study research facilitates the in-depth study of phenomena, the study of clearly bounded entities, such as incidents or events, or particular businesses or organisations. In Chapter One we briefly considered other ways of conducting research, among them experimental design, action research, grounded theory and image-based research. These are all different research methodologies and they are all different ways of conducting research. These methodologies and more and considered in detail throughout this textbook.

5. Initiate a research diary using a template in the companion website.

6. Evaluate the evidence presented in the research projects presented on the companion website. Critique the list of references outlined.

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The following questions all relate to a practical exercise each student is asked to undertake. Each student is asked to record in their research diary their critical assessments of the theses they locate in the library. Each student is asked to record briefly in their research diary their reflections on these theses. The questions presented here are designed to help and direct students with these reflections.

7. Find copies of theses/dissertations in your library that report research projects which students in your university have carried out using case study and survey methodologies. Be critical in your examination of these projects. Critique the theses in terms of their overall quality. Critically examine the standard of the writing in the theses. Critically examine the lists of references in the theses.

8. Read the research statements or questions or hypotheses. As conceptual frameworks for the research projects how well do you think they work?

9. Read the research methodology chapters. What initial thoughts do you have about them?

10. What research methodology was used?

11. What was the population of the research?

12. Was a sample used, and if so what sampling method was used?

13. How is the sampling method described? Is enough detail given to allow the reader to critically evaluate the method used?

14. What data collection methods were used?

15. How are these presented in the thesis/dissertation? If would be helpful to keep a record in your research diary of your critical assessments of the theses.

Record briefly in your research diary your reflections on these theses. .

End of Chapter Case Study – Answers to questions What do you think of Clara’s idea proposed research?

It’s very interesting. The idea is very well developed. The research statement is clear, and it contains a statement of the research methodology to be used in the research project. Clara has turned the research statement into the aim of the research project. The objectives Clara has developed clearly emerge from the aim of the research. The objectives are the steps Clara will carry out in order to accomplish the aim of the research.

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Do you think she will get approval from her research supervisor for the study?

Yes, I do think so.

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Instructor's Manual Chapter Three – Understanding Research Ethics Learning Objectives: At the end of this chapter the student should be able to: • • • • • •

Define ethics and apply ethical principles to business research; Explain the importance of research ethics; Critique research from an ethical perspective; Engage in critical reflection on the ethics of their research; Consider, explain and resolve the ethical issues and dilemmas in their own research; Seek and secure formal ethical approval, where necessary, for their research project.

Research Skills: At the end of this chapter the student should, using the exercises on the companion website, be able to: • •

Provide an ethical reflection on a given project Critique a given ethical reflection

Chapter Summary The chapter explains that there are ethical issues in every aspect of the research process. Students are asked to consider, using the model of the research process presented at the start of Chapter One, the potential harms and risks that might arise from their research, from the manner in which they engage with their research, and from the standards that they set for their research.

The concept of ethics is defined in the chapter and the simple definition provided is designed to be used to facilitate students to begin their reflection on ethics, their reflection on ethics in business, and their reflection on ethics in their research projects.

Ethics in business research is considered, again a simple definition is presented.

There is a discussion of YouTube videos of different people engaging in the Davos Debates on ethics. As the chapter explains, for five days in January every year global political, business and cultural leaders meet in Davos in Switzerland at the World Economic Forum. The YouTube videos show these people outlining very

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briefly their understanding of ethics and business ethics. These YouTube videos are a useful way of engaging students in a debate on ethics and on ethics in business, and ethics in business research.

The codes of ethics of a number of organisations, such as the American Marketing Association and The Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland, are considered and explored. These codes of ethics make very useful case studies for students, and very many exercises can be designed around them.

The recent global economic downturn and the ethical issues and dilemmas highlighted by it are considered. The issues as they were and are considered and dealt with in the USA and the UK are reflected upon. It would be interesting to discuss the different approaches taken in these two jurisdictions. It would be also useful to consider the consequences for Ireland of the ethical issues and dilemmas that arose for that country following the global economic downturn.

The importance of ethics in research is really the core of this chapter. The chapter explains the importance of ethics in research, and the chapter explains how the researcher undertakes research ethically. The chapter encourages the student to begin to think as an ethical practitioner and the chapter names and explains the key terms and phrases in ethics in research.

A sample informed consent form is presented in the chapter. The role and function of research ethics committees (REC's) are explained. Finally, the chapter contains a research ethics checklist of questions/prompts to aid and facilitate students in their ethical reflections. The case study in the chapter features the website of The Walt Disney Company and it uses this website as a good case study of ethics in business.

Answers to End of Chapter Questions 1. Define Ethics Ethics can be defined as the moral principles governing the conduct of an individual, a group, or an organisation.

2. Name and briefly explain six key ethical issues.

1. Anonymity Anonymity is a guarantee that researchers make to participants, individual and/or organisations that they will not be identified at any time during the research and that they will not be identifiable in any way in any written account of the research, the report of the research or any subsequent publications.

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2. Confidentiality Confidentiality refers to the guarantee that researchers often make to participants, individuals and/or organisations that their contribution to the research project will remain confidential.

3. Informed Consent Informed consent is consent given by a person to participate in research when that person has been informed of the possible, potential or likely consequences for them and for others following their participation.

4. Integrity of the researcher The integrity of the researcher is the degree to which the researcher can be trusted in and with the research process.

5. Power Without ongoing critical reflection it is possible for a researcher to slip into abuses of the power they have as researchers, and as researchers working with the support of prestigious academic institutions. .

6. The right to privacy of potential participants Everyone has a right to privacy. Potential participants and participants in research have a right to privacy. It is unethical to seek information from participants that is not relevant to the research being undertaken. It is unethical to use undue pressure to encourage people to participate in research.

3. What is meant by ethics in business research?

Ethics in business research is the application of ethical principles and standards to business research.

4. What is meant by the term ethical reflection?

To become an ethical practitioner requires a formal, open and acknowledged critical engagement with ethical standards and behaviours.

5. How do you become a reflexive practitioner?

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Reflexivity is a conscious awareness of the contribution the researcher makes to the development of meaning in the research project, throughout the research process.

The reflexive researcher is aware of their role in the creation of the knowledge that is generated through the research process that they themselves designed.

6. Name and explain two ethical concerns in each step of the research process.

For the planning phases of the research process: •

Is the research useful?

Your research should be useful, it should be meaningful. It should be relevant to your course of study.

•

Will the research make a contribution to knowledge?

You must be able to clearly establish that your research does make a contribution to knowledge, and you must be able to demonstrate how.

For the literature review •

Have I engaged properly and thoroughly with the literature on this topic?

A critique of the referenceswill demonstrate whether you have or not. You should engage properly and thoroughly with the literature, in order to establish that your research is properly situated within the body of knowledge.

•

Have I scrupulously avoided presenting a skewed perspective on the literature?

You should in the literature review present a balanced perspective, you must not display any bias towards any particular argument, or any bias against any particular argument.

For the population and sample •

Is the population chosen for the research the appropriate population?

You must be able to clearly show that the population of the study is the population that can best provide the data required for the study.

•

Is the sampling method used the appropriate sampling method?

It is essential that the sampling method used to select the sample from the population be the appropriate sampling method.

You would need to read about sampling theory, the difference between probability sampling and non-probability sampling, and the different sampling

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methods, in order to respond fully to this question (sampling theory is covered in detail in Chapter 10 of the textbook).

For the methodology •

Is the methodology the appropriate methodology for the research?

Every aspect of the research project must fit properly, the research methodology must fit with the other aspects and elements of the research project.

•

Do I know enough about the methodology I'm using to use it properly?

You must understand a methodology and how to use a methodology in order to properly use that methodology in a research project.

For data gathering •

Are the data gathering techniques chosen for and/or designed for the research appropriate?

The data gathering methods/techniques must fit with the research methodology used in the research, and they must fit with the population of the study, and with the context of the study (the situation, place or setting where the study takes place). In other words, the data gathering methods must fit with all of the other aspects and elements of the research project.

•

Will the data gathering methods chosen yield the data required for the research?

The data gathering methods used must be capable of producing the data required.

For data management •

Do I have a plan for the management of data?

It is essential for the proper (and ethical) management of data that the researcher has a plan for the management of the data when gathering the data, when the data is gathering, and when analysing the data.

•

Do I have a plan for the appropriate disposal of data?

Data gathered for the research project should be properly disposed of, destroyed, when the research project has been completed, marked or graded, or otherwise

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approved. Generally data is destroyed one to three years after the completion of the project.

For data analysis •

Have I the necessary skills to properly analyse the data?

It is essential that the researcher has the skills necessary for the proper analysis of the data gathered.

•

Do I have enough time for data gathering and data analysis?

It is essential that there is enough time for data gathering and data analysis.

These processes take a substantial amount of time. It would be wise for the beginner researcher to seek some advice in relation to the amount of time s/he should allow for data gathering and data analysis.

For completing the research •

Are my conclusions insightful?

It is important that the conclusions emerge from the data, it is important too that the conclusions are insightful, that they are interesting and imaginative and that they make a contribution to knowledge.

•

Do my conclusions add substantially to knowledge in this field?

Conclusions should provide new ideas or new ways of looking at or of thinking about the phenomenon under investigation.

7. Develop two different research questions on ethics in business. Decide whether, based on critical ethical reflection, these research questions could or should be developed into research projects. Explain your ethical reasoning.

Research Question 1: Were there problems with the ethical standards in the Irish banking sector in the decade prior to the 2010 intervention of the EU/ IMF in Ireland's finances?

This question could be developed into a research project. Ten years, however, is a very long period of time to cover; it would take a substantial amount of time to conduct this study. The project is too big for an undergraduate study. It is possible that there are scholars working on this topic, perhaps there are PhD studies underway on this topic. If there are, it would be important to find any material, journal articles or conference papers, published by these scholars. It would be possible and useful to develop an idea for a research project in this area, a project that would be smaller in scope that would still make a substantial contribution to knowledge in the field of business ethics.

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Research Question 2: What are the ethical standards, if any, in the treatment of employees in Baker's Biscuits Plc? While it might be useful to examine the ethical standards in the company, the question is provocatively stated and there is an implication in the question of a possibility of there being no ethical standards. This wording of the question seems to indicate a particular perspective, and perhaps bias, on the part of the researcher.

Therefore, while it might be useful to carry out a study on the ethics in human resources in the company, the question would have to be substantially rephrased and the project substantially re-considered. In any case, such a research question would be unlikely to be approved of by the company. Without permission from the company, the study could not be conducted. (Please see the question below on the end-of-chapter case study.)

(The three-part exercise, (Questions 8, 9, and 10) conducted by students in their research diaries, can be used as the basis for the ethical reflection on their own research that they present in the methodology section or chapter of their thesis/report of their research.

They will find the prompts provided at the end of the chapter useful and helpful as they complete this exercise.

It would also be a useful exercise for them to read through and examine their own institute's application form for ethical approval (if the institute does not have such a form, it would be easy to access the form of another institution).

Reading through the form and considering the kinds of questions asked and the responses required is a useful exercise for student researchers, whether or not they themselves are required to complete and submit such a form.

8. In your research diary, detail your key ethical concerns in terms of your own research project 9. In your research diary, write a reflective piece explaining how you intend to overcome these ethical concerns.

10. In your research diary, write a critique of your approach to overcoming the ethical concerns you have about your research project. (The three-part exercises Questions 8, 9, and 10 - conducted in your research diary, can be used as the basis for the ethical reflection on your own research that you present in the methodology section or chapter of your thesis/dissertation of your research.

End of Chapter Case Study - Answers to questions 1. What are the key ethical issues that the Disney Company focuses on in relation to its hiring practices?

The framework covers:

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• • •

hiring practices with a particular focus on equal opportunities without bias; human resources with a focus on Disney's culture and values; and policies to prevent harassment and discrimination.

Each of these could be examined in detail with students.

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Instructor’s Manual Chapter Four – Understanding Research Philosophy and the Role of Theory

Learning Objectives: At the end of this chapter, the student should: • Understand the philosophical underpinnings of research and research methodologies.

• Understand the different world views represented in different philosophical approaches.

• Understand the links between research, theory and knowledge.

• Understand the role of theory.

• Understand how theories are developed.

Research Skills: At the end of this chapter, the student should, using the exercises on the companion website, be able to: ● Explain the philosophical underpinnings of sample research projects. ● Explain the key concepts of sample research projects. ● Outline an appropriate theoretical framework for a given project. ● Critique a proposed theoretical framework. ● Outline and explain the contribution to theory of a given research project.

Chapter Summary: The aim of this chapter is to explore and explain the philosophical underpinnings of research and research methodologies. The philosophical frameworks explored in this chapter are positivism, constructionism, interpretivism, functionalism, critical inquiry, critical realism, feminism and post-modernism. Each of these represents a different perspective on the social world, and a fundamental framework within social science research. They have all been written about extensively elsewhere and this chapter contains simply a brief introduction to them. The chapter highlights the importance of theory in research and explains how, through research, knowledge and theory are generated.

This chapter, like all the others, begins with the model of the research process.

As the chapter explains, every research project is underpinned by a philosophical framework. This philosophical framework evidences the worldview within which the research project was situated and developed. This is where fit comes into For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

play. It is essential that each element of the research project fit with every other element of the research project. Every aspect of the research project should fit with, should be congruent with, the fundamental philosophical framework of the research project.

The chapter then goes on to explain how the choice of methodology and methods evidence the fundamental philosophical framework of the research project. As this is the case, clearly, they must fit with the research project’s philosophical framework.

Definitions and explanations are presented for the terms ontology and epistemology. These two terms are of fundamental importance in research. They deal with the nature of reality (ontology) and with the nature of knowledge and the means of knowledge creation (epistemology).

The different epistemological positions the textbook is concerned with are positivism, social constructionism and interpretivism. These are defined and explained.

The main philosophical frameworks used in social science research are listed and explained (in Table 4.2). Using the model of the five basic elements of research (Figure 4.1) and the Methodological Pyramid (Figure 4.2) the chapter demonstrates how these different elements, theoretical perspective, ontology, epistemology, methodology, and methods fit together in the research project. As this is an area that many students find complex and difficult, it would be worth spending some time on it; having said that, it would not be a good idea to spend too much time on this or to over-emphasise this at the start. It is enough to work through this chapter with students and to ensure that they understand the terms, and they have explored the models presented and read the student examples provided. All of these aids have been designed to clarify for students how all of these elements are operationalised in the research project.

Quantitative and qualitative data are introduced, defined and explained in this chapter. It is important to spend a little time on this, in order to ensure that students grasp these basics. If you use the examples provided, you will help students develop their understanding. Repetition helps students; in particular the repetition of new concepts helps students. Slowly articulating concepts helps, and in particular the slow articulation of each syllable in each new word helps students. Writing new words on the board helps students. This type of classroom work helps them learn how to pronounce the new words properly. In addition,

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they become more familiar with the new words through writing them down and through clear articulation and repetition.

There is considerable emphasis in the chapter on the importance and the use of theory in research. Theory is defined in the chapter; the chapter explains what theory is, where it is to be found and how it is developed. The chapter spends some time explaining what concepts are, explaining that they are the building blocks of theory.

The chapter explains in detail how to create and develop the literature review, the theoretical framework of the research project. The theoretical framework is the second framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project.

The end of chapter case study focuses on the research diary. There is an emphasis throughout the textbook on the research diary and on the value for the researcher of the research diary that they themselves keep throughout the research project.

Answers to End of Chapter Questions 1. What is meant by the term philosophical framework in relation to social research?

Every research project is underpinned by a philosophical framework; every research project is situated within a particular philosophical framework. The philosophical framework within which the research project evidences the worldview within which the research is situated.

2. Name and briefly explain three philosophical frameworks used in social research.

Positivism holds that there is one objective reality; reality is singular and separate from consciousness.

Constructivism along with social constructivism, holds that social phenomena develop in social contexts and that individuals and groups create in part their own realities.

Interpretivism holds that all knowledge is a matter of interpretation.

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Hermeneutics - theory of interpretation and the study of the processes of interpretation Symbolic interactionism holds that people derive meaning from interaction, that reality comes into being through the shared meaning that develops from human interaction.

Functionalism - within sociology, the study of the structures of society and the manner in which those structures serve societal needs.

Structuralism holds that human culture can be understood as a system of signs, that meaning is produced and reproduced in society through systems of signs, such as different structures, e.g. economic structures, different practices and ways of doing things.

Critical theory -the examination and critique of society, with a view to exposing systems of domination through a focus on values and norms.

Critical realism holds that the world as we know it is constructed from our perspectives and experiences, from what is observable. We have to understand the hidden structures and how they operate in constructing the social world to have a clearer, fuller understanding of reality.

Feminism holds that there should be political, social, sexual and economic equality between women and men.

Post-structuralism derives from a critique of structuralism.

Post-modernism means after modernity, after the period of modernity. In the period of modernity, which developed from the time of the Enlightenment, scientists attempted to explore, analyze and explain the world in empirical objective rational terms. Post-modernists challenge and reject the simplicity of such approaches.

3. What is quantitative data?

Quantitative data is data in the form of numbers, numerical data and/or data that can be coded in numeric format; coding data in a numeric format involves representing phenomena by assigning numbers in an ordered and meaningful way.

4. What is qualitative data?

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Qualitative data is data that represent feelings, thoughts, ideas, understandings, non-numeric data.

5. Give an example of how simple and concise qualitative data can be coded numerically.

If you ask a participant to indicate to you their gender, there are a number of possible answers, e.g. male, female, transgender, gender neutral, nonbinary, agender, pangender, and more. For the sake of this example, we will condense these options into four possible answers. The respondents will answer that they identify as male, female, transgender, or nonbinary. Now you have data that are not numerical in form, but data that can readily be coded numerically.

The researcher can assign a code to each of the possible answers. The researcher decides what code to assign to each value. In this case, female might be coded 1, male might be coded 2, transgender might be coded 3 and nonbinary coded 4. In this way, the non-numerical data have easily been converted to numerical data, female = 1, male = 2, transgender = 3, nonbinary = 4. We now have numerical values for the data on gender.

6. Explain why the numerical coding of qualitative data can be inappropriate.

Often qualitative data is too complex to be coded numerically, and sometimes coding qualitative data numerically serves neither the data nor the research project. This is because qualitative data can lose richness, depth and complexity through numerical coding. It may be that the research project actually requires rich, deeply complex and densely descriptive data. If this is the case, reducing the complexity of qualitative data to the level of a numeric code may substantially damage the research project, and at the same time raise ethical issues regarding the management of data.

7. Explain the limits of research developed without a theoretical framework.

• • • •

The findings of such research are generally confined to the specific context within which the research was conducted.

Such research can only make a contribution in this very limited context.

Such research cannot make a contribution to theory.

It cannot go towards developing the knowledge base.

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8. Explain what is meant by the statement ‘concepts are the building blocks of theory’.

Theory is important in research, and concepts are the building blocks of theory.

What are concepts? As we have seen in our exploration and use of the conceptual framework, the first of the four frameworks in the four frameworks approach to research, concepts are key ideas, key words, often the big words, in a sentence, a paragraph, in an idea. Every discipline and every theory is made up of concepts.

9. Briefly explain the process of developing theory, as detailed in this chapter.

Concepts are key words or key ideas. They each contain a great deal of meaning, and they each have the capacity of communicate a great deal of information. Each concept has the capacity to communicate or convey all of the meaning that is contained within the concept. Each and every theory is made up of a number of concepts. Each theory is created from different concepts and from the way in which different concepts are grouped together or aligned. This process of developing theory from concepts is not a simple linear process. It is a very complex process of creation, development, and reflection. It is, as is all creative endeavour, one part inspiration and nine parts perspiration. Each theorist is immersed in the concepts that make up the body of knowledge within which they are working. Through their active engagement with the body of knowledge, the theory of that body of knowledge, and the concepts that make up the theories and the body of knowledge, they try to develop the body of knowledge, to create new concepts, to develop old concepts and to move the discipline along. Concepts, created and developed, and aligned with other concepts, are the means through which theory is created.

10. Explain why it is essential to engage with the literature before making decisions regarding the focus of the research project.

The researcher engages in the literature before making final decisions regarding the focus of the research project because if they do not: • they may end up conducting research on a topic that has already been well researched, • or on a topic that is out of date, For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

•

or on a topic which the debate in the field has already dealt with and from which it has already moved on In addition, by engaging with the literature before they make any final decisions regarding the focus of the research project, they may develop new insights/get new ideas and/or insights which will be valuable in informing and shaping their research project.

11. Compare and contrast deductive logic with inductive logic. Give an example of both.

Inductive reasoning is the logical process of establishing a general proposition on the basis of observation of particular facts.

For example, teaching staff at higher education institutions are highly qualified as I have evidenced the academic transcripts confirming the qualifications of many academic staff.

Deductive reasoning is the logical process of deriving a conclusion about a specific instance based on a known general premise or something known to be true. For example, we know that all academic staff are human beings. If we also know that Brent Miffield is an academic staff member at a university, then we can deduce that Brent Miffield is a human being.

12. Why is precision so important in scientific research?

The researcher is very careful and very precise in the manner in which they design, conduct and complete their research project. The researcher is very precise in the way in which they use language in the research project, in designing different elements of the research project, and in writing up the research. This level of precision is necessary in order to meet the scientific standards of research.

13. Name and briefly detail some of the theories offered to explain aspects of your field of business.

Answers will vary depending on the field of business. Some management theories include Contingency Theory and Balanced Score Card. Opinion Pricing Theory is used in finance. Theory of Reasoned Action and Dualcoding Theory are used in marketing, and economic theories include Demand Theory and Balance of Payment Theory.

14. Develop a conceptual framework for a research project.

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Example, taken from the Chapter – ‘This research project is a case study designed to examine the perceptions of global warming among final-year undergraduate students in Business Studies at the University of Wollongong’.

15. Use the conceptual framework developed in your answer to Question 14 to develop an outline for a theoretical framework for that research project.

The outline might look as follows: Subheading 1 – Introduction Subheading 2 – Global Warming Subheading 2 – Perceptions of Global Warming Subheading 3 – Key Issues Subheading 4 – Summary 16. Use the outline of the theoretical framework developed in your answer to Question 15 to list the theories and theorists to be drawn on in that research project.

The theories to be drawn on in this research project include theories of attitudes and perceptions, and theories of global warming.

End of Chapter Case Study – Answers to questions 1. Can you briefly explain the meaning of the concluding statement?

‘In their conclusions the author’s state: “the use of a research diary was grounded in the epistemological position of social constructionism and the need for reflexivity in research”.

The research diary was used to facilitate research which was situated within a philosophical framework of social constructionism. Social constructionism holds that social reality develops in social contexts and those individuals and groups create in part their own realities. The research was designed to capture the subjective meaning of the phenomenon under investigation for those experiencing the phenomenon. Reflexivity in research is a conscious awareness of the contribution the researcher makes to the development of meaning in the research project, throughout the research process. The reflexive researcher is aware of their role in the creation of the knowledge that is generated through the research process that they themselves have designed. The reflexive researcher

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uses the research diary to record their awareness of their own contribution to the development of meaning in the research project.

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Instructor's Manual Chapter Five – The Literature Review

Learning Objectives: At the end of this chapter the student should be able to: • Identify and source appropriate literature.

• Evaluate the quality of the literature sourced.

• Evaluate the utility for the research project of the literature sourced.

• Review literature • Create a theoretical framework.

• Write a literature review.

Research Skills: At the end of this chapter the student should, using the exercises on the accompanying companion website, be able to: • • •

Outline a keyword search strategy for a given research project.

Create a theoretical framework for a given research project.

Critique a given literature review.

Chapter Outline: The focus throughout the chapter is on familiarizing students with literature and equipping them with the skills needed to carry out a review of the literature and to write a literature review.

The aim of this chapter is to explore and explain the literature review. The chapter begins with a definition of ‘literature’ in the context of research. This is followed by a discussion on where to source literature and a discussion on the importance of exercising discernment, of being discerning, in relation to the literature sourced and reviewed for a research project. There are explanations of how to select appropriate literature and how to use literature. There is a discussion and an explanation of how to construct the theoretical framework, the second framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project.

The theoretical framework is the literature review written for the research project, or we might say that the theoretical framework is contained in the literature review written for the research project. There is a demonstration of

how to write a literature review. In the case study at the end of the chapter, two sample literature reviews are presented: the first is an example of a poorly written literature review; the second an example of a better literature review.

The chapter explains what literature is, in the context of a research project, where to find literature and how to critically evaluate literature.

The model of the research process is used at the start of the chapter to demonstrate to students when reading starts for the literature review and where the literature review fits into the research project. The model of the research process is used again at the end of the chapter when students are advised to use the model of the research process to evaluate the literature they review. A series of questions are provided at the end of the chapter to help students develop the skills they need to critically evaluate literature, and each element of the research process as it is presented in the literature.

There is an explanation in the chapter of the role of literature in research, of the importance of theory in research and of the need for the research project to make a contribution to knowledge. The peer review process of evaluating the validity of research, and the value of the contribution to knowledge of individual research projects are briefly explained.

The means by which the conceptual framework is used to guide and direct the development of the theoretical framework for the research project is explained.

The theoretical framework is, as explained in previous chapters, the content of the literature review as it is written by the researcher. The theoretical framework is contained in the literature review. The use of the key concepts in the conceptual framework to develop key word searches for literature for the literature review is explained. The chapter explains how the researcher develops search strategies for useful and relevant literature.

The chapter explains how to create a theoretical framework and the chapter explains and demonstrates how to write a literature review. The fundamental importance of structure in the writing of the literature review is emphasized and the key elements of the structure of the literature review are presented and explained. Several sample structures for literature reviews of different word counts are presented. It would be very helpful for students if you would talk them through each element of these examples. Then, when you have done this, you should ask them to apply the model of structure provided to their own work.

If possible, you could work through a couple of examples of the students’ own work with the group. Students find this process of the lecturer working through

the examples with them very helpful.

There is an emphasis in the chapter on the importance of good standards of writing, spelling, syntax and grammar. There is also consideration of some of the common problems encountered by students. It would be a good idea to work through these issues in class with the students.

Referencing, the importance of it and the value of it, is emphasized in the chapter. Many students have trouble with referencing so it would be important to spend some time on this. Students appreciate being provided with guides to referencing so if you can provide a guide, you should do this. As well as the guide, it would be helpful to talk to the students through the referencing method used. It would also be helpful if you could provide them with some good examples of the referencing methods. Perhaps there are some outstanding theses in the library that you could direct them towards.

The case study at the end of the chapter provides two sample literature reviews.

One is an example of a poorly written literature review, the other an example of a better literature review. Reading these to students in class, and ensuring that they read them themselves, provides them with a very good, very simple, guide to writing the literature review. There are guides to writing literature reviews everywhere. Almost all journal articles have a literature review. Students should be encouraged to source one or two or three journal articles that are particularly relevant to their own research to use as guides for the writing and presentation of their own research.

End of Chapter Questions 1. What is a theoretical framework in a research project?

The key concepts in the theoretical framework guide and direct the search for literature for the theoretical framework, and they guide and direct the structure of the theoretical framework.

2. What is the relationship between the conceptual framework and the theoretical framework in a research project?

The theoretical framework is created by the researcher to support the research.

The theoretical framework is the content of the literature review; it is contained in the literature review.

3. Outline the three key elements in a literature search strategy.

In the first place, the researcher identifies all the relevant literature. Then the researcher sources that literature and saves it in a folder, for example on a memory stick and on their computer. It is important to make and keep back-up copies of everything. Then the researcher begins the process of reading the literature, developing an understanding of it and an understanding of the body of knowledge represented in the literature.

The following search strategy was developed as an example.

This research project is a survey examining awareness of and perceptions of the World Wildlife Fund among students at Hazelbrook University.

The key concepts in this conceptual framework are as follows: The World Wildlife Fund Perceptions Third Level Students The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is global organization dedicated to the conservation of wildlife. The search will involve searches for information on WWF. Perceptions in this context are market perceptions. The search will involve searches for literature on market perceptions, and on market perceptions of global conservation organizations. Finally, the focus in particular in this study is on the perceptions of the market that is third level students.

Therefore, if there is any literature on the perceptions of this particular market, then this literature will be of key interest to the researcher and this literature will feature in the literature review.

The searches for literature to be carried out will be key word searches. The searches will be carried out in the library, on the library collection, and on the databases in the library’s collection. The databases host online international journals. Marketing journals are of particular interest. Searches will also be carried out on the internet using search engines such as google.

The objective of the search is to find relevant up-to-date literature.

4. What is meant by a critical engagement with the literature?

A critical engagement with the literature is a questioning engagement. As explained in the chapter, when reading published research, it is important to take a critical perspective. When developing such a critical perspective it is helpful to draw on the model of the research process, detailed in previous chapters. Using the model of the research process, the student should read and critically examine every element of the research process. A series of questions are presented in the chapter to help focus the critical engagement needed when appraising literature.

5. Explain the role of references in the literature review.

It is important to try to reference as much as possible throughout the literature review. You should Include all of the references possible in writing the review.

These references evidence quality and the relevance of the literature reviewed, and the evidence the amount of reading undertaken for the research. It is therefore important to fit in as many relevant and useful references as possible into the literature review.

6. What is a list of references and what is the value of a good list of references?

The list of references is placed at the end of the thesis, after the last chapter, and before the appendices. The list contains the full reference for every reference in the body of the work, the thesis. The references are listed in alphabetical order.

Every reference must be included. Only references which have been referred to in the body of the work, the thesis, should appear in the list of references.

7. Name and explain the referencing style used in your institution.

As explained in Chapter Two, there are many books and booklets which can help in compiling the list of references. It is useful, as always, to visit the library and to examine there the list of references in the theses held there and the ways in which the list of references is presented. Dublin City University library has an online booklet, prepared by DCU librarian Julie Allen that provides a guide to referencing every kind of resource using the Harvard Referencing Method, and other referencing methods. The booklet contains sample lists of references. It is available at www.dcu.ie/~library/citing&refguide08.pdf. Another good resource is the very useful on-line Library Research Skills Tutorial provided by The University of London Research Library Services. This can be accessed at www.ulrls.lin.ac.uk.

8. Explain why it is necessary for the researcher to plan the literature review.

Given a very detailed plan, and a comprehensive and critical reading of the literature, the writing of the literature review should be a relatively simple and straight-forward task.

9. How does the researcher develop the key argument of the literature review?

Everything written in the literature review must be clearly relevant to the research project that you are undertaking. Everything written in the literature review must be explicitly related to the argument developed in the chapter. Every point that is made in the literature review is connected by the researcher to the overall argument s/he is presenting in the chapter. The argument that the researcher is expressing in the literature review, ultimately, is an argument for the research that they are carrying out. Carefully, throughout the literature review, the researcher is constructing a theoretical argument for the research that s/he is carrying out.

10. Demonstrate by means of an example, an appropriate structure for a literature review for a research project.

Continued over…

End of Chapter Case Study Question Having read both of the sample literature reviews, can you explain why one of the reviews is better than the other?

The better literature review is more organized. It is more integrated. The literature reviewed is integrated into a developing argument. In a good review,

the researcher leads with their own voice, they review the literature from their own perspective, from the perspective of their research project. In the good review, the literature review is not simply reported. The researcher has read the literature, digested it, and is now presenting an overview of the literature. The good literature review is clearly being written to a point; the point is the argument being made in the literature review.

As explained earlier, the researcher may decide to step into one of these gaps in knowledge with their own research. In addition, through the search for literature the researcher will develop their awareness of any research centres dedicated to research in their field, and they will develop their knowledge and understanding of the research priorities of these research centres and the researchers working within them. Through this work, the researcher further develops their own expertise. The researcher reads the literature with a view to developing from it a theoretical framework for their own research project.

Instructor’s Manual Chapter Six - Quantitative Research: An Introduction Learning Outcomes: At the end of this chapter, the student should: • Understand quantitative research.

• Be able to define and explain quantitative research.

• Know how and when to use quantitative research.

Research Skills: At the end of this chapter, the student should, using the exercises on the companion website, be able to: • Determine what needs to be measured to address a research question.

• Distinguish levels of scale measurement.

• Form an index or composite measure.

• List the three criteria for good measurement.

Chapter summary: What do I Measure?

• The research statement or question, which provides the conceptual framework for the research project, is used to decide what concepts need to be measured.

• Measurement is the process of describing some property of a phenomenon of interest, usually by assigning numbers in a reliable and valid way.

• When numbers are used, the researcher must have a rule for assigning a number to an observation in a way that provides an accurate description.

• All measurement, particularly in the social sciences, contains error.

Concepts • A researcher has to know what to measure before knowing how to measure something.

• A concept is a generalized idea about a class of objects, that has been given

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•

•

a name, an abstraction of reality that is the basic unit for theory development.

Concepts such as age, sex, education and number of children are relatively concrete properties and present few problems in either definition or measurement.

Concepts such as brand loyalty, corporate culture, and so on are more abstract and are more difficult to both define and measure.

Operational Definitions • Researchers measure concepts through a process known as operationalization, which is a process that involves identifying scales that correspond to variance in the concept.

• Scales provide a range of values that correspond to different values in the concept being measured.

• Scales provide correspondence rules that indicate that a certain value on a scale corresponds to some true value of a concept, hopefully in a truthful way.

Variables • Variables capture different concept values.

Constructs • A term used for concepts that are measured with multiple variables.

• Using multiple variables to measure one concept can often provide a more complete account of some concept than could any single variable.

Levels of Scale Measurement • The level of scale measurement is important because it determines the mathematical comparisons that are allowed.

• The four levels of scale measurement are: 1. nominal 2. ordinal 3. interval 4. ratio Nominal Scale

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• • • • • • • •

Nominal scales represent the most elementary level of measurement.

Assigns a value to an object for identification or classification purposes.

The value can be but does not have to be a number since no quantities are being represented.

A qualitative scale.

Useful even though they can be considered elementary.

Business researchers use nominal scales quite often.

Nominal scaling is arbitrary in the sense that each label can be assigned to any of the categories without introducing error.

Examples of nominal numbering are uniform numbers, airport terminals, and school bus numbers.

Ordinal Scale • Ordinal scales have nominal properties, but they also allow things to be arranged based on how much of some concept they possess.

• A ranking scale.

• Somewhat arbitrary, but not nearly as much as a nominal scale.

• Example: “win,” “place,” and “show” in a horse race tells which horse was first, second, and third, but does not tell by how much a horse won.

Interval Scale • Interval scales have both nominal and ordinal properties, but they also capture information about differences in quantities of a concept.

• Classic example is the Fahrenheit temperature scale: o 80° F is hotter than 40° F, but you cannot conclude that the 40° is twice as cold as 80° because this is a scaling system. o To see the point above, convert the temperatures to the Celsius scale. o 80° F = 26.7° C, and 40° F = 4.4° C. o The scale is not iconic, meaning that it does not exactly represent some phenomenon.

• Interval scales are very useful because they capture relative quantities in the form of distances between observations.

Ratio Scale • Ratio scales represent the highest form of measurement in that they have all For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

• • •

the properties of interval scales with the additional attribute of representing absolute quantities.

Interval scales represent only relative meaning while ratio scales represent absolute meaning.

In other words, ratio scales provide iconic measurement.

Zero, therefore, has meaning in that it represents an absence of some concept.

• An absolute zero is a defining characteristic in determining between ratio and interval scales.

• For example money is a way to measure economic value.

Mathematical and Statistical Analysis of Scales • Although you can put numbers into formulas and perform calculations with almost any numbers, the researcher has to know the meaning behind the numbers before useful conclusions can be drawn (e.g., averaging the numbers used to identify school busses is meaningless).

Discrete Measures • Discrete measures are those that take on only one of a finite number of values.

• Most often used to represent a classificatory variable and thus do not represent intensity of measures, only membership.

• Common discrete scales include any yes-no response, matching, color choice or practically any scale that involves selecting from a small number of categories.

• Nominal and ordinal scales are discrete measures.

• Certain statistics are most appropriate for discrete measures (shown in Table 6.1).

• The central tendency of discrete measures is best captured by the mode (i.e., most frequent level).

Continuous Measures • Continuous measures are those assigning values anywhere along some scale range in a place that corresponds to the intensity of some concept.

• Ratio measures are continuous measures.

• Strictly speaking, interval scales are not necessarily continuous.

• e.g., Likert item ranging from 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree.

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• • •

• • •

This is a discrete scale because only the values 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 can be assigned.

The mean is not an appropriate way of stating central tendency and we really shouldn’t use many common statistics on these responses.

However, as a scaled response of this type takes on more values, the error introduced by assuming that the differences between the discrete points are equal are smaller.

Therefore, business researchers generally treat interval scales containing 5 or more categories of response as interval.

Researchers should keep in mind, however, the distinction between ratio and interval measures.

Errors in judgment can be made when interval measures are treated as ratio. o e.g., An attitude of 0 means nothing as attitude only has meaning in a relative sense (i.e., compared to another’s attitude). o The means and standard deviation may be calculated from continuous data. o Using the actual quantities from arithmetic operations is permissible with ratio scales.

Index Measures •

An attribute is a single characteristic or fundamental feature of an object, person, situation, or issue.

Indexes and Composites • Multi-item instruments for measuring a construct are called index measures, or composite measures.

• An index measure assigns a value based on how much of the concept being measured is associated with an observation.

• An index is often formed by putting several variables together.

• Composite measures also assign a value based on a mathematical derivation of multiple variables.

• For most practical applications, composite measures and indexes are computed in the same way.

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Computing Scale Values • Table 6.2 demonstrates how a composite measure can be created from common rating scales.

• A summated scale is created by simply summing the response to each item making up the composite measure.

• A researcher may sometimes choose to average the scores rather than summing them because the composite measure is expressed on the same scale as is the items that make it up.

• Reverse coding means that the value assigned for a response is treated oppositely from the other items.

Three Criteria for Good Measurement The three major criteria for evaluating measurements are: 1. reliability 2. validity 3. sensitivity Reliability • Reliability is an indicator of a measure’s internal consistency.

• A measure is reliable when different attempts at measuring something converge on the same result.

Internal Consistency • Internal consistency represents a measure’s homogeneity.

• The set of items that make up a measure are referred to as a battery of scale items.

• Internal consistency of a multiple-item measure can be measured by correlating scores on subsets of items making up a scale.

• The split-half method of checking reliability is performed by taking half the items from the scale and checking them against the results from the other half. o The two scale halves should correlate highly. o They should also produce similar scores.

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Coefficient alpha (α) is the most commonly applied estimate of a multiple item scale’s reliability.

• Represents internal consistency by computing the average of all possible splithalf reliabilities for a multiple item scale.

• The coefficient demonstrates whether the different items converge.

• Ranges in value from 0 (no consistency) to 1 (complete consistency).

• Generally, scales with a coefficient α: o 0.80 - 0.95: very good reliability o 0.70 - 0.80: good reliability o 0.60 - 0.70: fair reliability o below 0.60: poor reliability Test-Retest Reliability • The test-retest method of determining reliability involves administering the same scale or measure to the same respondents at two separate times to test for stability.

• If the measure is stable over time, the test, administered under the same conditions each time, should obtain similar results.

• Represents a measure’s repeatability.

• Two problems common to all longitudinal studies: o The pre-measure, or first measure, may sensitize the respondents to their participation in a research project and subsequently influence the results of the second measure. o If the time between measures is long, there may be an attitude change or other maturation of the subjects.

Validity • Good measures should be both consistent (i.e., reliable) and accurate (i.e., valid).

• Validity is the accuracy of a measure or the extent to which a score truthfully represents a concept.

• Achieving validity is not a simple matter.

Establishing Validity The four basic approaches to establishing validity are face validity, content validity,

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criterion validity, and construct validity.

• Face validity refers to the subjective agreement among professionals that a scale logically reflects the concept being measured.

• Content validity refers to the degree that a measure covers the domain of interest.

• Criterion validity addresses the question: “Does my measure correlate with measures of similar concepts or known quantities?” o May be classified as either concurrent validity or predictive validity depending on the time sequence in which the new measurement scale and the criterion measure are correlated. o If measures taken at the same time concurrent validity. o If measures taken at different times predictive validity.

• Construct validity exists when a measure reliably measures and truthfully represents a unique concept and consists of several components: o Face validity o Content validity o Criterion validity o Convergent validity – another way of expressing internal consistency; highly reliable scales contain convergent validity. o Discriminant validity – represents how unique or distinct is a measure; a scale should not correlate too highly with a measure of a different construct.

Sensitivity • The sensitivity of a scale is an important measurement concept, particularly when changes in attitudes or other hypothetical constructs are under investigation.

• Sensitivity refers to an instrument’s ability to accurately measure variability in a concept.

• Sensitivity is generally increased by adding more response points or adding scale items.

Questions for Review and Critical Thinking Answers 1. Indicate whether the following measures use a nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

scale: a. Prices on the stock market These are ratio scales. They have an absolute zero point. b. Marital status, classified as “married” or “never married” When it is classified as “married” or “never married,” marital status is a nominal scale because it indicates a category of marital status. c. A yes/no question asking whether a respondent has ever been unemployed Whether or not a respondent has ever been unemployed is a nominal scale.

The two categories are “yes” and “no.” d. Professorial rank: assistant professor, associate professor, or professor Professorial rank: assistant professor, associate professor, or professor is an ordinal scale because it indicates an ordered rank, according to a hierarchical status. However, depending on the context of the research, it may be considered to be a nominal scale. e. Grades: A, B, C, D, or F These show order, but not necessarily interval order, so it is an ordinal scale.

2. What are the components of construct validity?

Describe each.

Construct validity exists when a measure reliably measures and truthfully represents a unique concept. Construct validity consists of several components: a. Face – refers to the subjective agreement among professionals that a scale logically reflects the concepts being measured. b. Content validity – refers to the degree that a measure covers the For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

domain of interest. c. Convergent validity – another way of expressing internal consistency. d. Criterion validity – addresses the question, “Does my measure correlate with measures of the similar concepts or known quantities?” It may be classified as either concurrent validity or predictive validity depending on the time sequence in which the new measurement scale and the criterion measure are correlated. e. Discriminant validity – represents how unique or distinct is a measure. A scale should not correlate too highly (i.e., above .75) with a measure of a different construct.

3. Comment on the validity and reliability of the following: a. A respondent’s report of an intention to subscribe to Consumer Reports is highly reliable. A researcher believes that this constitutes a valid measurement of dissatisfaction with the economic system and alienation from big business.

There is a problem with validity in this instance. There may be other reasons for reading Consumer Reports other than alienation from big business. It has been said that a bent ruler may consistently provide the same results, but this does not necessarily indicate accuracy of measurement. This probably is the case when a researcher uses this magazine as an indicator of alienation. b. A general-interest magazine claimed that it was a better advertising medium than television programs with similar content. Research had indicated that for a soft drink and other test products, recall scores were higher for the magazine ads than for 30- second commercials.

This question deals with advertising effectiveness. The question indirectly asks, “What is advertising effectiveness?” Recall—consumers’ ability to remember commercials—is a standard form of measuring advertising effectiveness.

However, it has been argued that the persuasive power of television is substantially greater than magazines. Television has the ability to involve the prospect. Recall may not be a valid measure of advertising effectiveness if the For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

goal is to measure persuasiveness rather than ability to remember the ads. c. A respondent’s report of frequency of magazine reading consistently indicates that she regularly reads Good Housekeeping and Gourmet and never reads Cosmopolitan.

This question implies a longitudinal study reporting magazine readership at several points in time. Because answers are consistent on all occasions, the results are reliable. However, the question may not be valid. Suppose, for example, a respondent’s longitudinal report of magazine readership gave the following responses over a one-year period: period one, never read Cosmopolitan, period two, subscribe to Cosmopolitan, period three, occasionally read Cosmopolitan. These results show a lack of reliability. While it is possible that the subject has changed her behavior radically over the course of the year, it is more likely that response bias is inherent in the question concerning the reading of Cosmopolitan magazine. Even with consistent answers a response bias could occur, hence a lack of validity.

4. How is it that business researchers can justify treating a seven-point Likert scale as interval?

A 7-point Likert scale is an interval scale, and, strictly speaking, interval scales are not necessarily continuous. It is a discrete scale because only the values 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 can be assigned. Furthermore, it is an ordinal scale because it only orders based on agreement. We really have no way of knowing that the difference in agreement of somebody marking a 5 instead of a 4 is the same as the difference in agreement of somebody marking a 2 instead of a 1. Therefore, the mean is not an appropriate way of stating central tendency, and we really shouldn’t use many common statistics on these responses. However, as a scaled response of this type takes on more values, the error introduced by assuming that the differences between the discrete points are equal become smaller.

Therefore, business researchers generally treat interval scales containing five or more categories of response as interval.

5. How can a researcher assess the reliability and validity of a multi-item composite scale?

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Reliability is an indicator of a measure’s internal consistency. A measure is reliable when different attempts at measuring something converge on the same result. Internal consistency represents a measure’s homogeneity. Internal consistency of a multiple-item measure can be measured by correlating scores on subsets of items making up a scale. The split-half method of checking reliability is performed by taking half the items from a scale and checking them against the results from the other half. The two scale halves should correlate highly, and they should produce similar scores. Coefficient alpha (α) is the most commonly applied estimate of a multiple item scale’s reliability and represents internal consistency by computing the average of all possible split-half reliabilities. The test-retest method of determining reliability involves administering the same scale or measure to the same respondents at two separate times to test for stability. If the measure is stable over time, the test, administered under the same conditions each time, should obtain similar results. Test-retest reliability represents a measure’s repeatability.

Validity is the accuracy of a measure on the extent to which a score truthfully represents a concept. Achieving validity is not a simple matter. It addresses the problem of whether a measure indeed measures what it is supposed to measure.

Researchers have attempted to assess validity in many ways. Three basic approaches to establishing validity are face or content validity, criterion validity, and construct validity, which are described in the answer to Question 2.

6. Describe, compare, and contrast the four different levels of scale measurement.

Nominal Scales – represent the most elementary level of measurement. A nominal scale assigns a value to an object for identification or classification purposes. The value can be but does not have to be a number because no quantities are being represented.

Ordinal Scales – have nominal properties, but they also allow things to be arranged based on how much of some concept they possess. In other words, an ordinal scale is a ranking scale. However, it does not tell the value of the interval between rankings.

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Interval Scales – have both nominal and ordinal properties, but they also capture information about differences in quantities of a concept. This type of scale captures relative quantities in the form of distances between observations, but it is not iconic, meaning that it does not exactly represent some phenomenon.

Ratio Scales – represent the highest form of measurement in that they have all the properties of interval scales with the additional attribute of representing absolute quantities. Provide iconic measurement. Zero, therefore, has meaning in that it represents an absence of some concept.

7. Why might a researcher wish to use more than one question to measure satisfaction with a particular aspect of retail shopping?

The answer to this question requires a recognition that there are several dimensions to shopping. Like many aspects of our lives, shopping may be a source of both disappointment and satisfaction at the same time. It may be appropriate to have a battery of measures to make sure that the scale measures what it is supposed to measure. Because shopping is a complex multidimensional concept, several questions may be required to design scales that are valid and reliable.

8. Look at the responses to the following survey items that describe how stressful consumers believed a Christmas shopping trip was using a ten-point scale ranging from 1 (= no stress at all) to 10 (= extremely stressful): a. How stressful was finding a place to park? 7 b. How stressful was the checkout procedure? 5 c. How stressful was trying to find exactly the right product? 8 d. How stressful was finding a store employee? 6 i.

What would be the stress score for this respondent based on a summated scale score?

A summated scale is created by simply summing the response to each item making up the composite measure, and in this case, it is 26 (i.e., 7+5+8+6 = 26).

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ii.

What would be the stress score for this respondent based on an average composite scale score?

The average composite scale score is simply the average of the responses and is equal to 6.5 (i.e. 26 / 4 = 6.5). ii.

Do any items need to be reverse coded? Why or why not?

No because each item was asking how stressful something was for the respondent.

9. Suppose a researcher takes over a project only after a proposal has been written by another researcher. Where will the researcher find the things that need to be measured?

The research statement / question should suggest the concepts that must be measured.

10. Consider the different grading measuring scales described at the beginning of the chapter. Describe what level of measurement is represented by each.

Which method do you think contains the least opportunity for error?

The first type of grading assigned a letter corresponding to a student’s performance, and it represents an interval scale because the descending order of letter represents rank.

The second type of grading assigned a number from 1 to 20 and represents an ordinal scale.

The third type of grading assigned a number corresponding to a percentage performance scale and represents a ratio scale. This type contains the least opportunity for error.

The final type of grading assigned a P or F representing passing or failing and is a nominal scale.

11. Define measurement. How is your performance in your research class being assessed?

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Measurement is the process of describing some property of a phenomenon of interest usually by assigning numbers in a reliable and valid way. Students’ performance in a research class will be assessed through their performance on exams, projects, presentations, etc. Each element will be assigned a score (a ratio measure), which is typically translated into a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or F (a nominal measure).

12. What is the difference between a concept and a construct?

A concept can be thought of as a generalized idea that represents something of meaning. Concepts such as age, sex, education, and number of children are relatively concrete properties and present few problems in either definition or measurement.

Concepts such as loyalty, personality, channel power, trust, corporate culture, etc. are more difficult both to define and measure. Researchers measure concepts through a process known as operationalization, which involves identifying scales that correspond to variance in the concept. Scales provide a range of values that correspond to different values in the concept being measured. Researchers use variance in concepts to make diagnoses, and scales capture variance in concepts.

Sometimes, a single variable cannot capture a concept alone. Using multiple variables to measure one concept can often provide a more complete account of some concept than could any single variable. A construct is a term used for concepts that are measured with multiple measures.

End of Chapter Questions 1. Define each of the following concepts, and then operationally define each one by providing correspondence rules between the definition and the scale: a. A good bowler Conceptually a good bowler is someone who regularly bowls and scores above average. Operationally a good bowler might be defined as someone who bowls in a league and has a 185 average. b. Purchasing intention for an iPhone Purchasing intention is an individual’s plan to buy an iPhone. An operational definition might be an individual who indicates “definitely will” or “probably will” on a scale that For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

reads: Do you plan to purchase an iPhone in the next six months?

Definitely Will

Probably Will

Uncertain

Probably Will Not

Definitel yWill Not

c. Consumer involvement with cars Conceptually, involvement is the level of personal importance and interest evoked by automobiles.

Operationally it might be a combination of scores on the following two questions: How important are cars in your personal life?

Very Important/ Somewhat Important/ Not at All Important How interesting are cars to you?

Very Interesting/ Somewhat Interesting/ Not at All Interesting d. A workaholic Most students will have a feel for this concept and conceptually define it as someone who works all the time, who is addicted to work, or who works to excess.

The first operational definition that students will suggest is often someone who works more than x hours per week, perhaps 70 hours per week. This will not, however, tap the cognitive domain of someone who loves to work—who cannot wait for Monday mornings. It may not tap someone’s self-perception that they are a workaholic.

Some operational definitions might be answers to “How many hours per week do you work?” or “How many hours did you work this week?”

Or you could use a simple self-report statement, such as “Are you a workaholic?”

A series of attitude statements might also be used as an operational definition. For example: “I love to go to work on Monday mornings.” strongly agree

agree

disagree

strongly disagree

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“Work is the most important thing in my life.” strongly agree

agree

disagree

strongly disagree

e. Outstanding supervisory skills This is a construct that may be described with several variables such as empathy, delegation of authority, empowerment of employees, fairness, and so on. f. A risk averse investor This may be conceptualized through attitudes toward risky investing. Behavior could also be used to infer risk aversion, such as investing in lower risk investments (i.e., annuities).

2. Refer back to the opening Value of Good Research. Use a search engine to find stories dealing with job performance. In particular, pay attention to stories that may be related to CRM (customer relationship management).

Make a recommendation to Griff concerning a way that job performance should be measured. Would your scale be nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio?

Students’ responses will vary.

Business researchers use many scales or number systems. Not all scales capture the same richness in a measure. Not all concepts require a rich measure. Traditionally, the level of scale measurement is seen as important because it determines the mathematical comparisons that are allowable.

There are four levels of measurement or types of scale measurement: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio level scales. Each type offers the researcher progressively more power in analyzing and testing the validity of a scale.

3. Go to http://www.queendom.com/tests. Click on the lists of personality tests.

Take the hostility test. Do you think this is a reliable and valid measure of how prone someone is to generally act in a hostile manner?

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When I clicked on the personality test, I did not see the hostility test. However, when I searched for it, it came up. Students’ responses regarding whether or not this is a reliable and valid measure will probably be influenced by the score they received. Mine was 32, indicating that I was not a very hostile person, which I think is a pretty accurate description of me. However, if the score is higher, and thus having a more socially undesirable meaning, students may say that it is not a valid measure; indeed, those students might even get angry!

End of Chapter Questions 1. Define each of the following concepts and then operationally define each one by providing correspondence rules between the definition and the scale: a. a good bowler b. purchasing intention for an iPhone c. consumer involvement with cars d. a workaholic e. outstanding supervisory skills f. a risk-averse investor 2 Refer back to the opening Value of Good Research box. Use a search engine to find stories dealing with job performance. In particular, pay attention to stories that may be related to CRM (customer relationship management). Make a recommendation to Griff concerning a way that job performance should be measured. Would your scale be nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio?

3 Go to www.queendom.com/tests. Click on the lists of personality tests. Take the hostility vs kindness test. Do you think this is a reliable and valid measure of how prone someone is to generally act in a hostile manner?

End of Chapter Case Study – Answers to questions 1. How comparable are the two different methods? In what ways are they similar? In what ways are they different?

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Both methods use consumer-based data. The survey method is more direct, while the weighted average method uses reported consumer complaints as a large part of the database. Surveying relies on the use of single “overall” rating to determine a rank order of airlines as to quality. The AQR produces a weighted average number that, when compared for each airline, can be treated as a continuously scaled variable. This weighted average score can then be translated into a ranking. Only the rankings are fully comparable between the two methods.

The survey method examines perceptual, qualitative, more subjective aspects of the service experience. The weighted average method examines performance, quantitative, and more objective aspects of the service experience.

2. What are the positive and negative aspects of each approach that Shocker should consider before recommending a course of action for FlyAway Airways?

Positive aspects of survey method: + Easily understood by management. + Represents broad based opinion of actual consumers of airline services. + Looks at the perceptual, subjective aspects of service quality.

Negative aspects of survey method: - Cumbersome and costly to accomplish.

- Respondents lack of experience with all airlines taints the value of the opinion expressed.

- Most probably long time lags between survey efforts.

Positive aspects of weighted average method: + Because of standardized factors, the results are very comparable from airline to airline and from time period to time period. + Easily repeatable, uses inexpensive publicly available data, and is quick to accomplish.

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+ +

Responds to consumer concerns via the inclusion of several customer complaint factors.

Looks at performance-oriented factors that are more objective.

Negative aspects of weighted average method: - Uses only limited data points.

- Performance data that is used is self-reported by the airlines under Federal mandates.

- Weights assigned to each factor can be questioned as to their true representativeness of consumer opinion.

- The direction of impact (+/-) for each factor can be argued as well.

3. What aspects of service quality does each approach address well and not so well?

A survey approach captures perceptual aspects very well but misses the finer detail of multiple encounters. The survey approach forces the respondent to give an “average” opinion, based on experience to that point in time. These are very meaningful, but everything might change with the next encounter, news of an air crash, or announcement of financial woes for an airline. Also, each respondent’s “average” opinion carries the same weight whether they are heavy, infrequent, or non-users of airline services.

The weighted average of the AQR uses performance data or outcomes as its mainstay. The weighing system allows each factor to have a varying impact on quality. Weights reflect the importance of critical factors such as on-timeness, accidents, flight problems, denied boardings, and lost baggage. The positive or negative sign associated with each weighted factor reflects the impact that the factor has on the consumer’s perception of quality.

4. Considering the two methods outlined, what types of validity would you consider to be demonstrated by the two approaches to measuring quality?

Defend your position.

Types of validity demonstrated: A. Content/face validity: Definition: Judgment of experts in the field that For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

suggests that the items being used in the scale are representative of the concept being investigated. Both methods use similar, but not identical, elements to evaluate the service quality concept that has been recognized by researchers as pertinent when evaluating the quality or satisfaction experienced by a customer (i.e., on-timeness, lost baggage/hassles, safety, ability to serve the customer, financial stability).

B. Criterion validity: Definition: Correlating the results of one scale with the results of another measure or scale designed to measure the same concept.

There are really no other scales available for comparison at this point in time.

Also, the AQR approach does not allow the capturing of the “overall” quality rating that the survey method is based on, so comparison between the two is difficult.

Reliability: The reliability score (Chronbach’s Alpha) reported represents the scale’s freedom from experimental error and reflects the scale’s consistency of results when applied to other group results at other times. A perfect reliability of 1.00 indicates that exactly the same results would be obtained with other similar samples using this scale.

5. Which of the methods should Shocker recommend? Why? He should recommend doing both. If FlyAway Airways is already doing a customer survey regarding quality issues, they should continue to monitor this side of the quality concept. In addition, FlyAway Airways should begin to gather the data and monitor the AQR type scores as well. Having regular, comparable, quantitative information to compliment the less frequent survey results offers a more complete picture of service quality for management decision making. Where possible, the two different efforts at assessing service quality should use common definitions and/or question areas. This attention to the content of both methods will result in much better comparison of findings.

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Instructor’s Manual Chapter Seven: Qualitative Research: An Introduction

Learning Outcomes At the end of this chapter, the student should: ● Understand qualitative research ● Be able to define and explain qualitative research ● Know how and when to use qualitative research.

Research Skills At the end of this chapter, the student should, using the exercises on the companion website, be able to: ● Understand the role of qualitative research in business research. ● Describe the basic qualitative research orientations. ● Recognize common qualitative research tools and how to apply them.

Chapter Summary: Vans shoes traditionally are synonymous with skateboarding and skateboard culture. A decade before VF Corporation acquired the brand, Vans was practically a dead brand. However, the last 10 to 12 years has seen a revival in skateboard interest, and Vans has remained the number one skateboard shoe provider. Now management wants to increase sales annually. Two important research questions involve “What is the meaning of a pair of Vans?” and “What things define the skate-boarding experience?” These questions call for qualitative research methods, and one way to collect this data is to hire young, energetic research employees to become “boarders” and immerse themselves into the culture. Depth interviews of Vans wearers will also be useful.

Students are asked to gather data about perceptions regarding the quality of business education in their school or college. Students are asked to gather the For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

data and then begin to analyze the data using a thematic analysis approach. They are asked to look over the comments provided by the students in their class, to identify major themes or issues, and to offer suggestions to administrators at their school for improving the educational environment.

Discoveries at P&G! • With thousands of products to manage, Proctor and Gamble (P&G) finds itself conducting qualitative research almost daily.

P&G doesn’t introduce a product that hasn’t been reviewed from nearly every possible angle. At times, P&G seeks outside help for its research. Qualitative research techniques (e.g., depth interviews, observational techniques, and focus groups) with managers and marketing employees revealed a management problem.

Marketing problems were due to low morale among the marketing employees.

A quantitative study followed these findings and supported the idea and led to suggestions for improving marketing morale.

What is Qualitative Research?

•

•

Qualitative business research – addresses business objectives through techniques that allow the researcher to provide elaborate interpretations of business phenomena without depending on numerical measurement.

Qualitative research is less structured than most quantitative approaches. For example, it does not rely on questionnaires containing structured response formats. Instead, the researcher must extract meaning from unstructured or semi-structured responses, such as text from a recorded interview or a collage representing the meaning of some experience. The researcher interprets the data to extract its meaning.

Uses of Qualitative Research •

In terms of research methodology, the researcher has many tools available, and the research methodology used should be the most appropriate methodology for the research project. Generally, the less specific the research objective and/or when the emphasis is on a deeper understanding of motivations or on developing novel concepts, the more likely that qualitative For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

research tools will be appropriate.

Commons situations that often call for qualitative research: • When the aim of the research is to develop an understanding of some phenomena in greater detail and in much depth.

• When it is difficult to develop specific and actionable decision statements or research objectives.

• When the a i m o f t h e research is to learn how a phenomenon occurs in its natural setting or to learn how to express some concept in colloquial terms.

• When some behavior the researcher is studying is particularly context dependent.

• When a fresh approach to studying some problem is needed.

QUALITATIVE “versus” QUANTITIVE RESEARCH • • •

•

Qualitative research can accomplish research objectives that quantitative research cannot and vice versa.

Many good research projects combine both.

Quantitative business research – business research that addresses research objectives through empirical assessments that involve numerical measurement and analysis approaches.

Qualitative business research – business research that addresses research objectives through empirical assessments that involve non-numerical data gathering and analysis approaches.

Contrasting Qualitative and Quantitative Methods • • • •

Exhibit 7.1 illustrates some differences between qualitative and quantitative research.

Quantitative researchers measure concepts with scales that provide numeric values.

Qualitative researchers are more interested in observing, listening and interpreting.

Researchers are intimately involved in the research process and in constructing the results.

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• •

• • •

Qualitative research is said to be more subjective, meaning the results are researcher dependent.

Qualitative research lacks intersubjective certifiability (sometimes called intersubjective verifiability), which means the ability of different individuals following the same procedures to produce the same results or come to the same conclusion.

Qualitative research usually involves a handful of people, which is acceptable in discovery-oriented research.

A smaller sample does not necessarily mean cheaper because of the greater researcher involvement.

Qualitative is most often used in exploratory designs.

Contrasting Exploratory and Confirmatory Research •

• • • •

Philosophically, research can be considered as either exploratory (i.e., develop ideas that lead to hypotheses) or confirmatory (i.e., tests hypotheses).

Most exploratory research designs produce qualitative data – data that is not numerical, but rather is textual, visual, or oral.

Quantitative data represent phenomena by assigning numbers in an ordered and meaningful way.

Exploratory research may be a single formal investigation or a series of informal studies.

A qualitative approach can, but does not necessarily, save time.

ORIENTATIONS TO QUALITATIVE RESEARCH Orientations to qualitative research are very much influenced by the different fields of study involved in research.

Major categories of qualitative research: 1. Phenomenology – originating in philosophy and psychology.

2. Ethnography – originating in anthropology.

3. Grounded theory – originating in sociology 4. Case studies – originating in psychology and in business research.

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Phenomenology What Is a Phenomenological Approach to Research?

Phenomenology represents: • a philosophical approach to studying human experiences based on the idea that human experience itself is inherently subjective and determined by the context in which they live.

• Researchers focus on how a person’s behavior is shaped by the relationship they have with their physical environment, objects, people, and situations.

• Relies largely on conversational interview tools.

• Interviews are usually video or audiotaped and then interpreted by the researcher.

• Researchers try to avoid asking direct questions and ask the respondent to tell a story about some experience.

• Respondents must be comfortable telling their story, and ways to accomplish this include becoming a member of the group or avoid having the person use his or her real name.

What Is Hermeneutics?

• Hermeneutics is an approach to understanding phenomenology that relies on analysis of texts in which a person tells a story about themselves.

• Meaning is drawn by connecting text passages to one another or to themes expressed outside the story.

• Hermeneutic unit – a text passage from a respondent’s story that is linked.

• with a key theme from within this story or provided by the researcher.

• Software exists to assist in interpreting texts (e.g., Atlas-Ti).

• Also appropriate in grounded theory approaches.

Ethnography What Is Ethnography?

• Ethnography represents ways of studying cultures through methods that involve becoming highly involved within that culture.

• Participant-observation typifies this approach and means the researcher becomes immersed within a culture that he or she is studying and draws data from his or her observations.

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•

Culture can be broad (i.e., American culture) or narrow (i.e., urban gang).

.

Observation in Ethnography • Plays a key role.

• Useful when a particular culture is comprised of individuals who cannot or will not verbalize their thoughts and feelings.

Grounded Theory What Is Grounded Theory?

Grounded theory represents an inductive investigation in which the researcher poses questions about information provided by respondents or taken from historical records.

The researcher asks the questions to him or herself and repeatedly questions the responses to derive deeper explanations.

Particularly applicable in highly dynamic situations involving rapid and significant change.

Two key questions asked: “What is happening here?”

“How is it different?”

Distinguishing characteristics of this theory is that it does not begin with a theory but instead extracts one from whatever emerges from an area of inquiry.

How Is Grounded Theory Used?

Analyzing several years of text can reveal underlying problems.

Software can be useful.

Grounded theorists often rely on visual representations.

Case Studies What Are Case Studies?

Case studies simply refer to the documented history of a particular person, group, organization, or event.

Can be analyzed for important themes, which are identified by the frequency with which the same term (or a synonym) arises in the narrative description.

Themes may be useful in discovering relevant variables.

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How Are Case Studies Used?

Commonly applied in business.

Often overlap with one of the other categories of qualitative research.

A primary advantage is that an entire organization or entity can be investigated in depth with meticulous attention to detail.

Allows the researcher to study the order of events or to concentrate on identifying relationships among functions, individuals, or entities.

Often requires the cooperation of the party whose history is being studied.

COMMON TECHNIQUES USED IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH Table7.2 lists characteristics of some common qualitative research techniques.

What Is a Focus Group Interview?

A focus group interview is an unstructured, free-flowing interview with a small group of people (i.e., 6-10 people).

Led by a trained moderator who follows a flexible format encouraging dialog. among respondents.

Moderator begins by providing an opening statement to broadly steer discussion in the intended direction.

Ideally, discussion topics emerge at the group’s initiative, not the moderators.

Advantages of Focus Group Interviews • Relatively fast.

• Easy to execute.

• Allow respondents to piggy-back off each other’s ideas – one respondent stimulates thought among the others.

• Provide multiple perspectives.

• Flexibility to allow more detailed descriptions.

• High degree of scrutiny – session can be observed since they are usually conducted in a room with a two-way mirror and are generally tape recorded or videotaped for later examination.

Focus Group Illustration A brief example of how RJR is using focus groups in developing a smokeless cigarette in the U.K. For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

Group Composition • The ideal size is 6-10 people.

• Homogeneous groups work best because they allow researchers to concentrate on consumers with similar lifestyles, experiences, and communication skills.

• From an ethnographic perspective, the respondents should all be members of a unique culture.

• Researchers who wish to collect information from different types of people should conduct several focus groups.

Environmental Conditions • Facilities usually have videotape cameras in observation rooms behind twoway mirrors and microphone systems connected to tape recorders and speakers to allow observation by others.

• Refreshments are usually provided to create a more relaxed atmosphere.

The Focus Group Moderator The moderator is a person who leads a focus group interview and ensures that everyone gets a chance to speak and contribute to the discussion.

Qualities that a good moderator must possess: • Must develop rapport with the group to promote interaction among all participants.

• Must be a good listener.

• Must try not to interject his or her own opinions.

• Must be able to control discussion without being overbearing.

Planning the Focus Group Outline A discussion guide includes written introductory comments informing the group about the focus group purpose and rules and then outlines topics or questions to be addressed in the session.

The a m o u n t of content depends on the nature and experience of the researcher and the complexity of the topic.

Steps to be used to conduct an effective focus group discussion guide: • Welcome and introductions should take place first.

• Begin the interview with a broad icebreaker that does not reveal too many For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

• •

•

specifics about the interview.

Questions become increasingly more specific as the interview proceeds.

If there is a very specific objective to be accomplished (i.e., explaining why a respondent would either buy or not buy a product), that question should probably be saved for last.

A debriefing statement should be provided providing respondents with the actual focus group objectives and answering any questions any may have.

Focus Groups as Diagnostic Tools Focus groups can be helpful in later stages of a research project, particularly when the findings from quantitative techniques raise more questions than they answer.

Also, an excellent diagnostic tool for spotting problems with ideas (i.e., idea screening).

Videoconferencing and Focus Groups With t h e widespread utilization of videoconferencing, the number of companies using these systems has increased.

Interactive Media and Online Focus Groups • Online focus group refers to a qualitative research effort in which a group of individuals provide unstructured comments by entering their remarks into an electronic, Internet display board of some type of chat-room session or in the form of a blog.

• Because comments are entered into the computer, transcripts of verbatim responses are available immediately after the group session.

• Quick and cost-efficient.

• However, group synergy and snowballing of ideas may be diminished.

• “Continuous” focus groups can be established through an internet blog.

• Can call this technique a focus blog when the intention is to mine the site for business research purposes.

On-Line Versus Face-To-Face Focus Group Technique • Respondents feel online anonymity is very secure.

• Online focus groups can be larger because participants do not have to be in the same room at a research facility (i.e., 25 participants or more is not uncommon).

• The Internet does not have geographical restrictions.

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Disadvantages of online focus groups: • researcher does not exercise as much control over who is participating.

• moderators cannot see body language and facial expressions.

• moderators’ ability to probe and ask additional questions on the spot is reduced.

• respondents cannot touch or taste something.

Disadvantages of Focus Groups • Requires objective, sensitive and effective moderators that will not interject his or her opinion or allow one or a few participants to dominate.

• Sampling problems – participants may not be representative of the entire target market.

• Face to face focus groups may not be useful for discussing sensitive topics.

• Expensive, especially if conducted by an outside research company (i.e., $5,000 or more).

Depth Interviews • A depth interview is a one-on-one interview between a professional researcher and a research respondent.

• The interviewer’s role is critical, and he or she must be highly skilled and can encourage the respondent to talk freely without influencing the direction of the conversation.

• Probing questions are critical.

• L a d d e r i n g – a particular approach to probing asking respondents to compare differences between brands at different levels.

• The first distinctions are usually attribute-level distinctions, the second are benefit-level distinctions and the third are at the value or motivation level.

• Interviews last more than an hour.

• Each interview produces about the same amount of text as does a focus group interview, which has to be analyzed and interpreted.

• Another issue stems from the necessity of recording both surface reactions and subconscious motivations of the respondent, and the analysis and interpretation of such data are highly subjective.

• Provide more insight into a particular individual than do focus groups.

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• •

Respondents are more likely to discuss sensitive topics than in focus groups.

Costs are similar to focus groups if only a few interviews are conducted but higher if more are conducted due to the increased interviewing and analysis time.

Conversations Conversations are an informal data gathering approach in which the researcher engages a respondent in a discussion of the relevant subject matter.

• The approach is almost completely unstructured, and the researcher enters the conversation with few expectations.

• The goal is to have the respondent produce a dialog about their lived experiences, and meaning is extracted from that.

• Particularly appropriate in phenomenological research and for developing grounded theory.

• Computer-based consumer dialogs may enable the discovery of product problems and ideas for overcoming them.

• Interviews are usually inexpensive to conduct.

• However, it is prone to produce little relevant information since little effort is made to steer the conversation.

• Data analysis is very much researcher dependent.

Semi-Structured Interviews Usually come in written form and ask respondents for short essay-type responses to specific open-ended questions and respondents are free to write as much as they want.

Advantages include: • ability to address more specific issues.

• responses are usually easier to interpret than other qualitative approaches.

• questions can be administered without the presence of an interviewer.

• relatively cost effective.

Social Networking • One of the most impactful trends in recent times, becoming the primary tool for communicating with friends for many consumers.

• A large portion of this information discusses business and consumer-related For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

•

information.

Companies monitor these sites for information related to their particular brands and code it as positive or negative.

Free-Association/Sentence Completion Method • Free-association techniques simply record a respondent’s first cognitive reactions (top-of-mind) to some stimulus (e.g., Rorschach or inkblot test).

• Allows researchers to map a respondent’s thoughts or memory.

• The sentence completion method requires respondents to complete a few partial sentences with the first word or phrase that comes to mind (e.g., People who Drink beer are____) Effective for finding out what is on a respondent’s mind, but the ability to probe for meaning is not possible.

• Can be done quickly and cheaply.

• Sometimes used in conjunction with other approaches (i.e., used as an icebreaker in a focus group interview).

Observation • The participant-observer approach typifies how observation can be used to explore various issues.

• Field notes are the researchers’ descriptions of what actually happens in the field, and these notes then become the text from which meaning is extracted.

• May also take place in visual form (e.g., observing consumers in their homes).

• Advantages for gaining insight into things that respondents cannot or will not verbalize.

Collages • Respondents’ collages that represent their experience with some good, service, or brand are analyzed for meaning much in the same manner as text dialogs are analyzed.

• Software can be applied to help develop potential grounded theories.

• Often used with other approaches.

• Flexible, but also very subject to the researcher’s interpretations.

Projective Research Techniques A projective technique is an indirect means of questioning enabling respondents to For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

project beliefs and feelings onto a third party, an inanimate object, or a task situation.

Individuals are expected to interpret the situation within the context of their own experiences, attitudes, and personalities and to express opinions and emotions that may be hidden from others and possibly themselves.

Particularly useful in studying sensitive issues.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) • A thematic apperception test (TAT) presents subjects with an ambiguous picture(s) in which consumers and products are the center of attention.

• Investigator asks the subject to tell what is happening in the picture now and what might happen next.

• Themes (thematic) are elicited on the basis of the perceptual-interpretative.

• (apperception) use of the pictures.

• Researcher analyzes the contents of the stories that the subjects relate.

• If subjects are to project their own views into the situation, the environmental setting should be a well-defined, familiar problem, but the solution should be ambiguous.

EXPLORATORY RESEARCH IN SCIENCE AND IN PRACTICE Misuses of Exploratory and Qualitative Research • Exploratory research cannot take the place of conclusive, confirmatory research.

• One of the biggest drawbacks is the subjectivity that comes along with “interpretation” (sometimes the term interpretive research is used synonymously with qualitative research) • Is the result replicable, meaning it could be reproduced by another researcher?

• The “motivational research” era brought about negative perceptions of these methods due to some interesting and occasionally bizarre reasons for consumers’ purchasing behavior (i.e., baking a cake is symbolic of giving birth).

• Today, qualitative tools have won acceptance once again as researchers realize they have greater power in discovering insights that would be difficult to capture in typical survey research.

Scientific Decision Processes Objectivity and replicability are two characteristics of scientific inquiry.

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• • • • • • • •

A focus group or depth interview or TAT alone does not best represent scientific inquiry.

However, if the thoughts discovered through these techniques are developed into research hypotheses, they can be further tested.

Thus, exploratory research approaches using qualitative tools are very much a part of scientific inquiry.

Before making a scientific decision, a research project should include a confirmatory study, but is it always necessary?

In practice, many decisions are based solely on the results of focus group interviews or some other exploratory result for the following reasons: Time – sometimes the risk of delaying a decision may be seen as greater than the risk of proceeding without completing the scientific process.

Money – sometimes the costs are too high to follow up on exploratory research results.

Emotion – sometimes decision makers become so anxious to have something resolved, or they get so excited about some novel discovery resulting from a focus group interview, they may act rashly.

End of Chapter Questions 1. Comment on the following remark by a business consultant: “Qualitative exploration is a tool of research and a stimulant to thinking. In and by itself, however, it does not constitute business research.”

By “business research,” this question is getting at the concept of scientific inquiry.

Objectivity and replicability are two characteristics of scientific inquiry, and one could argue that qualitative research does not possess these characteristics.

Many qualitative research techniques reduce to a matter of opinion that may vary from researcher to researcher and from one respondent group to another. So, these methods alone do not best represent scientific inquiry. However, if the thoughts discovered through these techniques survive preliminary evaluations and are developed into research hypotheses, they can be further tested. Thus, exploratory research approaches using qualitative research tools are very much a part of scientific inquiry, even if they do not represent “good science” on their own.

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2. What is laddering? How might it be used in trying to understand which fastfood restaurant customers prefer?

Laddering is a term used for a particular approach to probing asking respondents to compare differences between brands at different levels. What usually results is that the first distinctions are attribute level distinctions, the second are benefit level distinctions, and the third are at the value or motivation level.

Laddering can be used to determine not only which fast-food restaurant a consumer prefers but also why he or she prefers that one. For example, a mother may indicate that McDonald’s is her favorite fast-food restaurant. The first level of probing will likely result in attributes as the explanation (e.g., McDonald’s has several choices from which to choose, such as hamburgers, Happy Meals, salads, etc.). The next level may reveal benefits that the stated attributes provide (e.g., wide selection allows all family members to be happy). Finally, the third level might reveal the value or motivational level, such as a mother wanting her child to be happy, and the playground and Happy Meal toy satisfy this motivation.

3. A researcher tells a manager of a wine company that he has some “cool focus group results” suggesting that respondents like the idea of a screwcap to top wine bottles. Even before the decision maker sees the report, the manager begins purchasing screwcaps and the new bottling equipment. Comment on this situation.

Before acting on the results of any focus group, managers should examine the sample used because some unique sampling problems arise with focus groups.

Researchers often select focus group participants because they have similar backgrounds and experiences or because screening indicates that the participants are more articulate or gregarious than the typical consumer. Such participants may not be representative of the entire target market. While the researcher may have some “cool focus group results,” if the participants are not representative of the target market the results in the marketplace will not be realized. For example, did the focus group consist of every-day consumers, or were wine aficionados included?

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Target, Tesco and Marriott. Is there any evidence that they are using their Internet sites in some way to conduct a continuous online focus blog or intermittent online focus groups?

At the time of this writing, it did not appear that any of the sites listed in this question are using their sites to conduct a continuous online focus blog or intermittent online focus group. The instructor might want to note the risk in allowing blogs related to a business’s site because of the lack of control the company has over what visitors might post.

5. A packaged goods manufacturer receives many thousands of customer letters a year. Some are complaints, some are compliments. They cover a broad range of topics. Are these letters a possible source for exploratory research? Why or why not?

Yes, they can be considered a possible source for exploratory research.

Computerized software exists to assist in interpreting text. Atlas-Ti is one such software package that adopts the term hermeneutic unit in referring to groups of phrases that are linked with meanings. The letters can be treated similarly to case studies and then analyzed for important themes. Themes are identified by the frequency with which the same term (or a synonym) arises in the narrative description. The themes may be useful in discovering variables that are relevant to explanations.

6. What type of exploratory research would you suggest in the following situations? a. A research project has the purpose of evaluating potential names for a corporate spin-off. b. A human resource manager must determine the most important benefits of an employee health plan. c. An advertiser wishes to identify the symbolism associated with cigar smoking. a.

A research project has the purpose of evaluating potential names for a corporate spin-off.

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because it has a connotation that is compatible with the intended corporate concept. A connotation that presents a favorable and distinctive image is desired.

A word association test might be very useful. A statement such as the following might be used: “I am going to read you several names. I would like you to respond with the first thing that comes to your mind.” b.

A human resource manager must determine the most important benefits of an employee health plan.

A focus group interview with employees might provide insight into what benefits are most important to employees. c.

An advertiser wishes to identify the symbolism associated with cigar smoking.

A thematic apperception test might be a very useful technique in this situation. For example, the first picture might be a man and a woman seated at a restaurant with the person at the next table smoking a cigar. Or the picture might show two people in the same room, one beginning to light up a cigar. A sentence completion test might also be used. If a focus group is used, smokers and nonsmokers should not be in the same group.

7. Why do exploratory research designs rely so much on qualitative research techniques?

When researchers have limited experience or knowledge about a research issue, exploratory research is a useful step. Exploratory research, which often involves qualitative methods, can be an essential first step to a more rigorous, conclusive confirmatory study by reducing the chance of beginning with an inadequate, incorrect or misleading set of research objectives.

8. What are the key differences between a focus group and a depth interview?

A focus group interview is an unstructured, free-flowing interview with a small group of people, usually between six and ten people. A depth interview is a oneon-one interview between a professional researcher and a research respondent.

9. Define qualitative and quantitative research. Compare and contrast the two approaches.

Qualitative research is research that addresses research objectives through techniques that allow the researcher to provide elaborate interpretations of For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

business phenomena without depending on numerical measurement. Its focus is on discovering true inner meanings and new insights. It is less structured than most quantitative approaches and does not rely on self-response questionnaires containing structured response formats. Instead, it is more researcherdependent in that the researcher must extract meaning from unstructured responses such as text from a recorded interview or a collage representing the meaning of some experience. The researcher interprets the data to extract its meaning and converts it to information.

10. Go back to the opening Value of Good Research box. What if Vans approached you to conduct a focus group that explored the idea of offering casual attire (offboard) aimed at its primary segment (skateboarders) and offering casual attire for male retirees like Samuel Teel? How would you recommend the focus group(s) proceed? Prepare a focus group schedule(s) to accomplish this task.

First, students should indicate that homogeneous groups seem to work best, because they allow researchers to concentrate on consumers with similar lifestyles, experiences, and communications skills. The session does not become rife with too many arguments and different viewpoints stemming from diverse backgrounds, and skateboarders and retirees are very different. Also, from an ethnographic perspective, the respondents should all be members of a unique culture. So, students should indicate that since skateboarders and retirees are different types of people, multiple focus groups should be conducted.

With regard to the focus group outline, students’ responses will vary, but an outline is given in the chapter: 1. Welcome and introductions should take place first.

2. Begin the interview with a broad icebreaker that does not reveal too many specifics about the interview.

3. Questions become increasingly more specific as the interview proceeds.

4. If there is a very specific objective to be accomplished (i.e., explaining why a respondent would either buy or not buy a product), that question should probably be saved for last.

5. A debriefing statement should be provided providing respondents with the actual focus group objectives and answering any questions any may have.

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11. Interview two people about their exercise behaviour. In one interview, try to use a semi-structured approach by preparing questions/issues ahead of time and trying to have the respondent complete the interview using the schedule. With the other, try a conversational approach. What are the main themes that emerge in each? Which approach do you think was more insightful? Do you think there were any ‘sensitive’ topics that a respondent was not completely forthcoming about?

While students’ responses will vary, they should demonstrate an understanding of the two approaches. Conversations in qualitative research are an informal data gathering approach in which the researcher engages a respondent in a discussion of the relevant subject matter (in this case it’s exercise behavior). This approach is almost completely unstructured and the researcher enters the conversation with few expectations. Meaning will be extracted from the resulting dialog. While this approach can be cost effective and effective at getting respondents to discuss sensitive issues, it is prone to produce little relevant information since little effort is made to steer the conversation. Additionally, the data analysis is very much researcher dependent.

Semi-structured interviews usually come in written form and ask respondents for short essay type responses to specific open-ended questions. Respondents are free to write as much or as little as they want. The advantages of this approach include an ability to address more specific issues. Responses are usually easier to interpret than other qualitative approaches. Since questions are prepared ahead of time, and if in writing, the questions can be administered without the presence of an interviewer.

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End Of Chapter Case Study—Answers Question: What do you think of Malika’s research proposal?

Do you think the project is researchable, using the test of researchability outlined in Chapter 1? Explain your answer.

In this simple test, you examine whether you have the resources to complete the research project you are thinking of undertaking. The resources you need are: ● The time required to conduct the research: to design the project, carry out the fieldwork, analyze the data, write up your findings, draw conclusions and make recommendations. ● The money required to conduct the research if any money is needed. In general, even with small-scale research projects, some funds may be required for the fieldwork, for example organizing focus groups. ● Access to data. Many students underestimate the difficulties that researchers can encounter in accessing data, in attempting to access data, in securing access to data and in maintaining access to data over the time required to complete the research project.

Does Malika’s research proposal give you any ideas for your own research project?

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Instructor's Manual

Chapter Eight – Research Methodology and Design In this chapter the focus is on research methodology. The chapter details and explains the third framework in the four frameworks approach to research, the methodological framework, and the chapters shows how to develop an appropriate methodological framework for a research project. The different elements of the methodological framework are highlighted and explained.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this chapter the student should: • Understand and be able to discuss and write about research methodology.

• Understand how research methodologies are deployed in research.

• Be able to decide on the methodology most appropriate for their own research and create a methodological framework for that research.

• Be able to critique the use of methodologies in other research projects.

• Be able to explain which data gathering methods work with which research methodologies and why.

Research Skills: At the end of this chapter the student should, using the exercises on the accompanying companion website, be able to: • Evaluate the utility, value and limitations, of the methodologies deployed in given research projects.

• Design a research project with an appropriate methodology.

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Chapter Summary: The focus of the chapter is on research methodology and as the model of the research process (Fig. 1.1) illustrates, in the research process the methodology is situated after the literature review and before the data collection methods.

The research methodology is the first and perhaps the foremost element of the methodological framework. The methodological framework is the third framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project. The methodological framework is contained in, it is the content of, the methodology chapter in the thesis, or in the methodology section of the report of the research.

As was explained in earlier chapters, the research statement or question, the conceptual framework for the research project, when it is complete, contains a statement of the methodology to be used in the research. Examples of research methodologies that we have already encountered include survey methodology and case study methodology.

This chapter contains a long list of research methodologies, and this long list is followed by a very substantial box feature within which each one of these research methodologies is explained. In addition to providing an explanation of the methodology, a number of recommended readings are given for each one.

This box feature is a substantial support to teaching and students will find it very helpful. It provides enough detail on each of the methodologies for each student to decide quickly which of the methodologies is of relevance to them in their research project. Whether or not the methodologies are of relevance to the student in their research project, the chapter provides a simple and relatively succinct learning resource on the topic of research methodologies.

The chapter presents again The Methodological Pyramid. It would be a good idea to spend some time with students reviewing the pyramid and exploring again the way in which the fundamental philosophies support the research methodologies, and the research methodologies in turn support the data collection methods. It is important to remember that the research methodology must fit with the fundamental philosophies of the research project, and the data collection methods must fit with the project's research methodology.

The chapter explains what research methods (data collection methods) are and the chapter lists and explains the different kinds of research methods.

Decisions around what data gathering methods to use in the research project are critical and it is important to spend time with students explaining how these For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

decisions are made. There is some discussion in the chapter on how these decisions are made and there is a series of bullet points in the chapter designed to illustrate how these decisions are made.

Table 8.1 lists twenty different data gathering methods. Table 8.2 explains each of these data gathering methods and explains how they are used. It also provides direction for further reading on these methods and the table directs readers to where these methods are dealt with in more detail in the textbook.

The chapter details and explains the methodological framework, the third framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project. There is a detailed explanation in the chapter of the different elements of the methodological framework. The methodological framework is the content of the methodology chapter or the methodology section.

In the case study at the end of the chapter, Genji's research project, there is an example of a methodological framework. This case study should be used to illustrate the way in which the methodological framework is constructed for the research project, and the way in which it is presented in the research project.

End of Chapter Questions 1. The methodological framework emerges from the conceptual framework.

Explain this statement.

The research methodology used in the research must be capable of supporting the research, of facilitating the accomplishment of the aim of the research, the completion of the research. The figure above illustrates the way in which the methodological framework emerges from the conceptual framework. The decision on which methodology to use in the research project is made based on the focus of the research.

The focus of the research is outlined succinctly in the conceptual framework for the research project. The conceptual framework for the research project is contained in the research question or statement.

2. Name and briefly explain five different research methodologies.

The details below are taken from the chapter. This detail provides a useful response to this question.

3. Name the research methodology you intend to use in your research project and explain why it is the most appropriate research methodology for your research.

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The extract below is taken from the end of chapter case study. This provides a useful example of a response to this question.

This research project will be developed using a case study methodology (Yin; 1989, 2008, Bell; 2005). Case study research calls for the in-depth study of the phenomenon under investigation (Yin 2008). The phenomenon under investigation can be an issue, or a number of issues, an organisation, or a number of organisations, an individual, or a number of individuals, an event or incident, or a number of events or incidences (Quinlan; 2011). As Yin states (1989), the case can be an event, an entity, an individual or even a unit of analysis; 'it is an empirical enquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence'.

The phenomenon under investigation in this proposed case study are the key strategies that can be used for the promotion of low-carbon technologies in developing countries. A case study approach to this research is appropriate as the research calls for the in-depth study of strategies for the promotion of particular technologies, and for the development of a template of key strategies for the promotion of these technologies. A case study methodology will allow for the in-depth study of the strategies used to promote particular technologies, and it will allow for the identification of key strategies. When the key strategies have been identified through this case study, a template of the key strategies will be developed and presented. This template will be presented in the final chapter of the thesis.

4. Name two other research methodologies that you could use to develop your research project and explain why you have decided not to use them.

This would be a good research diary exercise for students. In answering this question, they should draw on the details presented in Table 8.2.

5. Outline and explain the data gathering methods you intend to use in your research project.

This is a useful exercise for students. They should conduct this exercise in their research diaries. The exercise will provide a very useful point of discussion in class. The detailed data collection methods outlined in Table 8.2 will be helpful.

Introduction (to the chapter/section)

6. Can you detail and defend the methodological framework developed for your research project.

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Once again, the example provided at the end of chapter case study, where Genji outlines and defends the methodological framework for her research, can be used in response to this question.

7. Explain the meaning of the word triangulation and the use of triangulation in social science research.

Triangulation in social science research calls for more than one approach to answering the research question or responding to the research issue. In social science research, the concept of triangulation and the processes of triangulating research call for more than one approach to answering the research question or responding to the research statement. There are different ways of triangulating research. They are theoretical triangulation, researcher triangulation, methodological triangulation and within method and between method (data collection method) triangulation. Using between method triangulation for example, the research question might be explored using a questionnaire and a series of interviews or using a series of observations and a focus group. Using within method triangulation the research issue or phenomenon might be explored for example using two different, and perhaps sequential, (one after the other) questionnaires, or using two different sets of interviews. Essentially, triangulation means examining the research issue or phenomenon from more than one perspective.

8. Explain the key differences between survey research methodology and case study research methodology.

Surveys tend to be quantitative research projects or largely quantitative, that is quantitative with some qualitative element. In general, the data collection methods that tend to be used in surveys are questionnaires and/or scales. It is often the case that the population or population sample used in surveys is big, and a questionnaire and/or a scale is an effective method to use in engaging such a population. Sometimes the population is geographically scattered. A questionnaire can generally easily be posted or e-mailed to, or made available on the internet for, a geographically scattered population.

A case study generally does not have the substantial population in terms of numeric size or geographic spread of survey research. Instead of breadth, i.e. numeric size and geographic spread, case study research calls for depth; it calls for a deeper investigation of some more bounded entity. A simple definition of case study methodology is that it is the in-depth study of a bounded entity.

9. Explain the term narrative enquiry in relation to social science research.

Narrative enquiry, narrative research, or narrative analysis is a research methodology that is used in the gathering and analysis of narratives. The narratives gathered as data and analysed are often narratives or stories of personal experience told to the For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

researcher by the person who has had the experience. The narratives gathered become the data, or one type of data, gathered for the research project.

10. What are the key ethical concerns you now have in relation to your research project?

In responding to this question, students should be encouraged to re-visit the entries they made in their research diaries in relation to the ethical concerns they had in relation to their research when they had finished reading Chapter Three 'Understanding Research Ethics'.

The reflection on ethics presented below is taken from the end of chapter case study. It is Genji's reflection on the ethical issues she focused on in relation to her research project.

Ethics The ethical issues in this research project are substantial. The research has been requested by an NGO working in a developing country. The research, when it is completed, will shape the work of that NGO and it will go to shape the experiences of development of the people of that developing country. As this is the case, the case study must be properly and thoroughly conducted. It must be well designed. The findings of the research, the conclusions drawn from the research and the final product of the research, the template of key strategies designed to promote the use of low-carbon technologies in developing countries, must be meaningful and useful.

There are ethical responsibilities in the conduct of this research to the two populations of the research, the population of senior managers involved in the development of strategies for the promotion of low-carbon technologies, and the population of development workers engaged in the promotion of low-carbon technologies in developing countries. The participants in the research must be engaged in the research in a professional manner. Their contribution to the research will be acknowledged. They will be made aware of the fact that by participating in the research they will be making a substantial contribution to the international development work of the NGO. The participants will be made fully aware of the extent of the participation in the research required of them before they agree to participate.

The individual identities of the participants in the research will remain anonymous. The organisations they represent will not be identified.

The data gathered for the research will be held safely and securely.

Correct data analysis procedures will be used in the analysis of the data.

The research, when it is completed, will be presented to the NGO. An article from the research will be published on the website of the NGO. A copy of the thesis will be placed in the University library.

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End of Chapter Case Study Questions What do you think of Genji's research project?

I think it is a very good research project. It is useful research and it will make a substantial contribution to knowledge.

What do you think of the methodological framework that she developed for her research project?

I think it is overall a good methodological framework. It is well written and comprehensive. Genji has chosen an appropriate methodology for the research and she has provided a good justification of the methodology. She has chosen to work with two populations, both of the populations are appropriate for the research project. The sampling method proposed is appropriate. The sample size is small but adequate for this research project, given the requirements of the programme of study. The data collection methods are appropriate. They fit well with the research. Genji is triangulating her research; she is using between method triangulation adopting a multi-method approach to the research project i.e. she is using different data gathering methods to gather data on the same phenomenon, the phenomenon she is investigating in this research project.

Genji provides a short but useful introduction to the approach to data analysis. There is a weakness in the detail on validity and reliability. These issues need further work. She needs to tell us why she thinks the four frameworks approach is an aid to establishing the validity of the research. She also needs to explicitly explain and establish the validity of her data collection methods. She asserts that her case study can be deemed reliable, but she has not clearly established why this is the case. Her ethical reflection is quite good. The references are adequate. She could perhaps have included one or two more up-to-date references.

Using this chapter as a guide, do you think you could design a methodological framework for your own research project?

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Instructor's Manual Chapter Nine – Understanding Populations and Sampling Research populations and samples and sampling methods are fundamental elements of the methodological framework, the third framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project. The aim of this chapter is to explain how to select a population, and when and how to select a sample from a population for a research project. The chapter clearly and simply outlines the issues in choosing a population and a sample. The different sampling methods are explained.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this chapter, the student should be able to: •

Define a research population.

•

Describe the process of identifying a target population and outlining a sampling frame.

•

Identify the different types of probability and non-probability sampling and summarize their relative advantages and disadvantages.

•

Select a sample from a population.

Research Skills: At the end of this chapter the student should, using the exercises on the accompanying companion website, be able to: •

Explain how to choose an appropriate sample design.

•

Outline an appropriate population for a given research project and select a sample from that.

•

population using an appropriate sampling method.

•

List and detail the challenges for internet sampling.

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Research populations, samples and sampling methods are fundamental elements of the methodological framework, the third framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project. The aim of this chapter is to explain how to select a population, and when and how to select a sample from a population for a research project.

The chapter explains with the use of examples, how to outline and define the population of a study. Talking students through these examples and getting them to engage and talk about the populations of their own studies would be an important exercise. Students grow in confidence as they engage with a topic and as they articulate the key words and concepts of that topic. In addition, you will be able to judge how well they understand the different concepts when they articulate those understandings.

Chapter Summary: The chapter explains samples and sampling in research. There are essentially two different kinds of sampling, probability and non-probability sampling. The chapter explains both of these. The chapter details the different probability and non-probability sampling techniques and explains when and how these different techniques should be used.

Random sampling error is explained in the chapter, and so too is simple (non-random) sampling error.

The role of the researcher in designing the research project, and in deciding on and defining the parameters of the population of the study is explained. Examples of research populations are provided.

The methodology in focus in the chapter is discourse analysis. Useful resources are given in relation to discourse analysis and two journal articles which present interesting research projects developed using discourse analysis are explored.

End of Chapter Questions For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

1. Explain what is meant by the term the population of the research project.

The population of the research or the universe is all of the people or all of the units, who or which, belong to that population. The population of the study is defined by the researcher.

2. Detail and explain the reasons why a researcher would engage in sampling with a research population.

In social science research, it is often the case that the entire population of the research is too big, and consequently beyond the scope of the researcher. In such situations, the researcher clearly defines the population of the research, and then selects from that population a sample to study. The proposed research is then carried out on or with the sample, instead of the entire population. Some research is carried out using entire populations and some is carried out using sample populations or samples of populations.

3. Explain the difference between probability and non-probability sampling.

Using probability sampling, the sample selected from the population is claimed by the researcher to be representative of the population. The researcher using a probability sampling technique wants to claim that the findings of research conducted with the sample are generalisable to the entire population of the study.

Probability sampling is based on the theories of mathematics of probability.

The basic rule of probability sampling holds that each member of the population has an equal probability of being selected for inclusion in the sample. As this is the case, the researcher, in order to engage in probability sampling, must have a complete list (or map, or chart), of every member of the population. The sample is drawn from this list. This list is known as a sampling frame.

It often happens with social science research projects that it is not possible to produce a For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

complete list of the population; when this is the case, it is not possible to develop a sampling frame. For example, a researcher might be asked to examine brand loyalty among consumers of Cosmopolitan magazine. It wouldn't be possible to compile a complete list of consumers of Cosmopolitan magazine.

Without a complete sampling frame, it is not possible to engage in probability sampling, as without a sampling frame it is not possible to guarantee that every member of the population has an equally likely chance of being included in the study.

In non-probability sampling, the sample is selected to represent the population, but it cannot be said to be representative of the population, in any statistical sense. The emphasis in non-probability sampling is on the capacity of a relatively small number of cases to clearly and comprehensively illustrate the phenomenon under investigation.

4. What is simple random sampling and how is it used?

Simple random sampling involves selecting a sample at random from a sampling frame.

Let us say that you want to study the population of your class, and there are thirty students in your class. As it is a simple thing to get a complete list of the names of the students in your class (a sampling frame), it is possible to engage in simple random sampling with this population. The first thing to do is to make a list on a sheet of paper of all of the names of the people in your class. Then tear off each name one by one, and place each of them into a hat or a box. Then select one name at a time. You are now engaging in simple random sampling.

5. Outline an example of a research project that should be developed using a stratified sampling technique. Explain why a stratified sampling method should be used in this research project.

The example below is taken from the chapter, from 'A Study of Religious Practice Among Your Classmates’.

You as a researcher decided to examine religious practice among your classmates. Let For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

us say that there are thirty students in your class. You obtain or create a list of the names of all of the students in your class. This is your sampling frame.

You know that ten of the students are devout Jehovah's Witnesses, practicing Buddhists, Sikhs, Muslims, Catholics, or Jews. The other twenty students in the class are nonreligious, atheists or agnostics.

If you use a simple random sampling method or a systematic sampling method, it is unlikely that the sample will be representative of the population.

The researcher might overcome the issues by using a stratified sample. Using a stratified sampling technique, the researcher produces two lists of names, one list contains the names of the practicing students, the other list contains the names of the non-practicing students. The researcher puts all the names from one list into a hat and selects five names. Then the student puts the names from the other list into a hat and selects five names. Now the student has ten names.

These ten names comprise the sample to be used in the research. This sample is a stratified sample. It is stratified along religious lines. The sample has been stratified in order to ensure that the sample selected is representative of religious practice in that population.

6. What is meant by the term judgemental sampling method and how and when is such a method used in research?

Using a judgmental or purposive sampling technique the researcher decides, or makes a judgement, about who to include in the research. The criterion for inclusion in the research is the capacity of the participant to inform the research. Each person, or unit, chosen to be included must have a contribution to make to the research. People chosen to be included in such a sample would be key informants on the topic under investigation. Researchers use judgemental sampling techniques when they want to themselves to select each individual participant in the research. The researcher must be For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

able to justify this choice of sampling method.

7. Describe the process of identifying a target population and selecting a sampling frame Once the decision to sample has been made, the first question concerns the identification of the target population. What is the relevant population? In many cases this question is easy to answer. For example, registered voters may be clearly identifiable. Likewise, if a company’s 106-person sales force is the population of concern, there are few definitional problems. In other cases, the decision may be difficult. One survey concerning organizational buyer behavior incorrectly defined the population as purchasing agents whom sales representatives regularly contacted. After the survey, investigators discovered that industrial engineers within the customer companies rarely talked with the salespeople but substantially affected buying decisions. For consumer-related research, the appropriate population element frequently is the household rather than an individual member of the household. This presents some problems if household lists are not available.

At the outset of the sampling process, the target population must be carefully defined so that the proper sources from which the data are to be collected can be identified. The usual technique for defining the target population is to answer questions about the crucial characteristics of the population. Does the term comic book reader include children under six years of age who do not actually read the words? The question to answer is, “Whom do we want to talk to?”

A list of elements from which the sample may be drawn is called a sampling frame.

A simple example of a sampling frame would be the list of students from the registrar’s office at a university. During the actual sampling process, the elements of the population must be selected according to a certain procedure – either a probability or a nonprobability sampling method.

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8. Compare random sampling and systematic (non-sampling) errors.

Random sampling error is the difference between the sample result and the result of a census conducted using identical procedures. Random sampling error occurs because of chance variation in the scientific selection of sampling units. The sampling units, even if properly selected according to sampling theory, are not likely to perfectly represent the population, but generally they are reliable estimates. Our discussion on the process of randomization (a procedure designed to give everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected as a sample member) will show that, because random sampling errors follow chance variations, they tend to cancel one another out when averaged. This means that properly selected samples, while perhaps not perfect, are generally good approximations of the population. Still, the true population value almost always differs slightly from the sample value, causing a small random sampling error.

Every once in a while, an unusual sample is selected because too many atypical people were included in the sample and a large random sampling error occurred.

Random sampling error is a function of sample size. As sample size increases, random sampling error decreases. It is possible to estimate the random sampling error that may be expected with various sample sizes. Suppose a survey of approximately 1,000 people has been taken in Fresno to determine the feasibility of a new soccer franchise. Assume that 30 percent of the respondents favor the idea of a new professional sport in town. The researcher will know, based on the laws of probability, that 95 percent of the time a survey of slightly fewer than 900 people will produce results with an error of approximately plus or minus 3 percent. If the survey were conducted with only 325 people, the margin of error would increase to approximately plus or minus 5 percentage points. This example illustrates random sampling errors.

Systematic (non-sampling) errors result from non-sampling factors, primarily the nature of a study’s design and the correctness of execution. These errors are not due to chance fluctuations. For example, highly educated respondents are more likely to cooperate with mail surveys than respondents with low levels of education, for whom filling out forms is more difficult and intimidating. Sample biases such as these account

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for a large portion of errors in business research. The term sample bias is somewhat unfortunate, because many forms of bias are not related to the selection of the sample.

Errors due to sample selection problems, such as sampling frame errors, are systematic (non-sampling) errors and should not be classified as random sampling errors.

9. Identify the types of non-probability sampling, including their advantages and disadvantages.

In non-probability sampling, the sample is selected to represent the population, but it cannot be said to be representative of the population, in any statistical sense. The emphasis in non-probability sampling is on the capacity of a relatively small number of cases to clearly and comprehensively illustrate the phenomenon under investigation. It often happens with social science research projects, as stated, that it is not possible to produce a complete list of the population; when this is the case, it is not possible to develop a sampling frame. For example, a researcher might be asked to examine brand loyalty among consumers of Cosmopolitan magazine. It wouldn't be possible to compile a complete list of consumers of Cosmopolitan magazine. Without a complete sampling frame, it is not possible to engage in probability sampling, as without a sampling frame it is not possible to guarantee that every member of the population has an equally likely chance of being included in the study. The sampling approach used in such circumstances is non-probability sampling. Non-probability sampling techniques include judgemental sampling, quota sampling, snowball sampling and convenience sampling.

Non-probability sampling techniques The following paragraphs explain the different sampling techniques used in nonprobability sampling. As with the probability sampling techniques explained above, each of these sampling techniques is simply and clearly explained. Enough detail is given to enable you, the student, to make a decision with regard to which sampling technique to use in your research project.

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Judgemental (Judgement) or purposive sampling Using a judgemental or purposive sampling technique the researcher decides, or makes a judgement, about who to include in the research. The criterion for inclusion in the research is the capacity of the participant to inform the research. Each person, or unit, chosen to be included must have a contribution to make to the research. People chosen to be included in such a sample would be key informants on the topic under investigation. A weakness in the method lies in the fact that the researcher makes the judgement with regard to who to include in the sample. This introduces the possibility of error. For example, Genji in her research, detailed in the case study at the end of Chapter 8 in this textbook, used a judgemental sampling technique in order to compile the sample for her study. Genji was researching key strategies used in the promotion of low-carbon technologies in developing countries. Her judgemental sample comprised five senior managers from companies producing low-carbon technologies, and five development workers engaged in promoting low-carbon technologies in developing countries.

Quota sampling Using a quota sampling technique the researcher develops a sample of participants for the research using different quota criteria. The weakness in this method lies in the fact that the people included in the quota(s) may not be best placed to comment on the phenomenon under investigation. Jack in his research project, detailed in the case study at the end of Chapter 2 in this textbook, used a quota sampling method in order to compile the sample for his survey research. Jack needed 100 participants in his survey. The population of the study was a population of students and staff from his university. He decided that there would be four quotas. The first quota was to be made up of 25 female students, the second quota was to be made up of 25 male students, the third quota was to be made up of 25 female members of staff, and the fourth and final quota was to be made up of 25 male members of staff. In this way, Jack used a quota sampling method to develop, using four different quotas, the sample for his research.

Convenience sampling Using a convenience sampling technique the researcher engages those participants in the research whom it is easiest to include, for example people in the newsagents, people in the supermarket, and so on. The researcher knows For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

how many people to include in the sample, then continues to engage people in the research until the sample has been filled. The possible weakness in this method lies in the fact that the sample gathered may not be the best sample in terms of providing data on the phenomenon under investigation.

Snowball sampling Using a snowball sampling technique the researcher finds one participant in the research, conducts the research with that participant, and then asks that participant to recommend the next participant. Participants must fit the inclusion criteria for the research project. The researcher goes through the procedure with the second participant and when finished, asks that participant to recommend another participant to be included in the research. The researcher continues in this manner until the sample is complete. The potential weakness in this method lies in the fact that the starting point defines the sample. In other words, the first person sampled recommends the next, and so on, and consequently, the first person determines, in a sense, the shape of the entire sample.

10. Summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the various types of probability samples.

The following paragraphs explain the different sampling techniques used in probability sampling. Each of the sampling techniques is simply and clearly explained, with enough detail to enable you, the student, to make a decision with regard to which sampling technique to use in your research project.

Simple random sampling Simple random sampling involves selecting a sample at random from a sampling frame. Let us say that you want to study the population of your class, and there are 30 students in your class. As it is a simple thing to get a complete list of the names of the students in your class (a complete sampling frame), it is possible to engage in simple random sampling with this population. The first thing to do is to make a list on a sheet of paper of all of the names of the people in your class. Then tear off each name one by one and place each one into a hat or a box. Then select one name at a time from the hat or box. You are now engaging in simple random sampling.

Every time you select a name, note the name and then replace it in the hat or box. Then For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

each time you select a name, you are selecting from a complete population. This is known as sampling with replacement. You continue this process until you have the complete sample required, the number of names required to complete the sample.

National Lotteries use a system of simple random sampling to compile the numbers in each game. In the game all of the numbers are placed into the machine, and they are selected one at a time until the complete set of numbers is drawn. This is sampling without replacement, i.e. the balls after they have been selected and the numbers on them noted are not placed back into the machine in order that the next number drawn is drawn from a complete set of numbers. In social science research, in order to generate random samples, researchers often use tables of random numbers. Books of mathematical tables contain tables of random numbers. Tables of random numbers can also be computer-generated. The case study at the end of this chapter focuses on random numbers, on the process by which random numbers can be produced in Microsoft Excel, and on the way in which a researcher would use such random numbers to generate a sample for a research project. Simple random sampling is easy to use.

Usng this sampling method it is easy to assemble the sample. Sampling randomly means there is less chance of sampling bias. This method doesn’t work so well with very large populations, where it may not be feasible to develop a simple random sample.

Systematic sampling Systematic sampling involves selecting items at systematic or regular intervals from the sampling frame. For example, you might be working in a housing estate trying to establish which brand of washing powder is used in each house. Your sampling frame is made up of all of the houses in the housing estate.

Suppose there are 500 houses in the estate, and you begin at a random starting point and then sample every third house, or every fifth house, or whatever interval of house you decide on, until you complete your sample. Your complete sample is the number of houses or households you have decided to include in the study. You are engaging in systematic sampling. Alternatively, you might spin a pen and then begin at the house toward which the pen is pointing when it stops spinning, and then call at every third house, or every fifth house, or whatever, in order to complete your sample. The random For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

starting point is important. This is a systematic sampling technique. This method is easy to use, and it is systematic. There may be a characteristic in the population that might render this sampling method appropriate.

Stratified sample A stratified sample is a sample selected based on some known characteristic of the population, a characteristic which will have an impact on the research. Using stratified sampling the researcher divides, or stratifies, the sample selected for use in the research using the characteristic which he/she knows will have an impact on the research. In the Real-World Research box opposite, in the study of religious practice, the researcher uses first a simple random sampling technique and, then a systematic sampling technique before finally deciding that a stratified sampling technique is really required for this particular study with this particular population. This example provides a good and simple explanation of stratified sampling. Stratified sampling divides the population into groups and subsamples from each group using probability sampling. This assures representation of all groups in a sample.

Characteristics of each stratum can be estimated, and comparisons made. When compared with other sampling techniques, stratified sampling reduces variability for the size sample.

Cluster sampling Cluster sampling is used when the units or the people who make up the population of the study are to be found in groups or clusters. Sampling is carried out by randomly selecting a sample of the clusters to study, rather than randomly selecting from the population. Cluster sampling is particularly efficient with populations that are geographically spread in clusters. Rather than randomly selecting from all of the members of the population, the researcher identifies all of the clusters of units or individuals within the population, and then randomly selects clusters from all of the clusters to include in the study.

11. Discuss how to choose an appropriate sample design and explain in your answer the challenges for Internet sampling.

Figure 9.1 models the process of decision-making around sampling.

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Internet surveys allow researchers to reach a large sample rapidly—both an advantage and a disadvantage. Sample size requirements can be met overnight or in some cases almost instantaneously. A researcher can, for instance, release a survey one morning and have data back from around the globe by the next morning. If rapid response rates are expected, the sample for an Internet survey should be metered out across global regions or across all time zones in a national study. In addition, people in some populations are more likely to go online during the weekend than on a weekday. If the researcher can anticipate a day-of-the-week effect, the survey should be kept open long

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enough so that all sample units have the opportunity to participate in the research project.

The ease and low cost of an Internet survey also has contributed to a flood of online questionnaires, some more formal than others. As a result, frequent Internet users may be more selective about which surveys they bother answering. Researchers investigating college students’ attitudes toward environmental issues found that those who responded to an e-mail request that had been sent to all students tended to be more concerned about the environment than students who were contacted individually through systematic sampling. The researchers concluded that students who cared about the issues were more likely to respond to the online survey.

Another disadvantage of Internet surveys is the lack of computer ownership and Internet access among certain segments of the population. This is particularly true in regions of the world where Internet availability is limited. A sample of Internet users is representative only of Internet users, who tend to be younger, better educated, and more affluent than the general population. This is not to say that all Internet samples are unrepresentative of all target populations. Nevertheless, when using Internet surveys, researchers should be keenly aware of potential sampling problems that can arise due to systematic characteristics of heavy computer users.

12. What are random numbers? How are random numbers used in sampling in research projects?

In social science research, in order to generate random samples, researchers often use tables of random numbers. Books of mathematical tables contain tables of random numbers. Tables of random numbers can also be computer-generated. The case study at the end of this chapter focuses on random numbers, on the process by which random numbers can be produced in Microsoft Excel, and on the way in which a researcher would use such random numbers to generate a sample for a research project.

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End of Chapter Case Study Question In the exercise in this case study the sampling method used is systematic sampling.

Can you define this sampling method and explain how it works?

Systematic sampling involves selecting items at systematic or regular intervals from the sampling frame. For example, you might be working in a housing estate trying to establish which brand of washing powder is used in each house. Your sampling frame is made up of all of the houses in the housing estate. Suppose there are 500 houses in the estate, and you begin at a random starting point and then sample every third house, or every fifth house, or whatever interval of house you decide on, until you complete your sample. You are engaging in systematic sampling. Alternatively, you might spin a pen and then begin at the house toward which the pen is pointing when it stops spinning, and then call at every third house, or every fifth house, or whatever, in order to complete your sample. The random starting point is important. This is a systematic sampling technique.

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Instructor’s Manual Chapter Ten – Writing the Research Proposal In this chapter the focus is on the development of research proposals. This is a very important chapter. As well as teaching the student, how to develop formal proposals for research projects, this chapter looks again at how to generate ideas for research projects, and how to make sure that those projects are researchable. There are two things every researcher needs to be able to do in order to generate ideas for viable research projects. The first thing, and obviously the most important thing, is to be able to come up with ideas for research projects. The second thing, and it is equally important, is to be able to critically evaluate those ideas.

Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter the student should be able to: • Generate ideas for research projects.

• Develop research questions/statements, research hypotheses, define and refine them.

• Provide a sample literature review for a research proposal.

• Outline a methodological framework for a research proposal.

• Write a research proposal.

Research Skills: At the end of this chapter the student should, using the exercises on the accompanying companion website, be able to: • Generate research ideas.

• Outline researchable problems.

• Develop research proposals.

Chapter Summary: The chapter explains that ideas for research project are everywhere; the student simply needs to be able to identify them and then develop them into viable research projects. The chapter uses the model of the research process, as outlined in Chapter One, to explain how research ideas are developed into very well conceptualised research statements/questions.

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In this chapter, the focus is on the development of research proposals. This is a very important chapter. As well as teaching you how to develop formal proposals for research projects, this chapter looks again at how to generate ideas for research and how to critically evaluate those ideas in order to make sure they are researchable.

The research statement/question contains the conceptual framework for the research project. All of the key words and phrases of the research project are contained in the conceptual framework. The conceptual framework directs and guides the research project. The other three frameworks in the four frameworks approach to the research project rest on this fundamental framework, the conceptual framework.

There is a useful discussion about ideas for research projects, and some suggestions about where to look for ideas for research projects. Some cautions are also suggested in relation to ideas for research projects that might not work out, that might prove problematic for one reason or another.

The use of spidergrams in the generation of ideas for research projects is explained and some examples are given. Spidergrams are simple and very useful. It would be a good exercise to get students to develop spidergrams around their ideas for their research projects.

The research methodology in focus in the chapter is documentary analysis. A number of resources are given in relation to documentary analysis, among them some interesting websites. The end of chapter case study is a student’s research proposal for a research project to be carried out using this methodology, documentary analysis.

There is a thorough exploration and a good explanation of the conceptual framework, and many examples are given, discussed and explained.

The importance of refining research ideas and research statements and questions is emphasised. The importance of limiting the scope of a research project is stressed. Students often are too ambitious in their plans for their research projects. It is important to encourage them to undertake quite simple projects. Try to ensure that they limit the scope of their research as much as is possible and appropriate.

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The aims and objectives are considered and explained, and many examples are given. Students often have difficulty with these, and in particular with objectives, with outlining objectives. It is important that they learn how to do this, and this section in the chapter is very valuable in terms of teaching students how to do this. When you have worked through the examples in the chapter, it would be a good idea to work through one or two examples from the students, from their own projects or their ideas for their projects. It would also be useful to use the opportunity of group work in seminars to focus of helping students develop skills around outlining appropriate aims and objectives for their research projects.

The chapter explains how the conceptual framework guides and directs the research project, and how it guides and directs the development of the literature review. The creation of the second framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project, the theoretical framework, is guided and directed by the conceptual framework, by the key concepts in the conceptual framework.

A sample literature review, the chapter explains, is a short literature review, or an example (or sample) of the literature review that will be developed for the research project. There is an example of a sample literature review in the end of chapter case study.

The methodological framework, the third framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project, is fully outlined in the chapter on methodology in the thesis or in the section on methodology in the report of the research. The research proposal contains a synopsis of the methodology; see the end of chapter case study.

A template is provided at the end of the chapter for a research proposal, and the end of chapter case study is an example of a research proposal. These two aids will be particularly helpful for students as they lay out precisely what is generally required in a research proposal.

End of Chapter Questions 1. What are the key elements of a research proposal?

The research statement/question Aim and Objectives Sample Literature Review Research Methodology Population of the Study

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Data Collection Methods Context for the Research Rationale for the Research 2. What constitutes a viable research project?

A viable research project is a project that is do-able, within the constraints of the resources available, and one that has enough scope to reach the standard required by the programme of study.

3. Outline three research statements/questions for three viable research projects. (see below the two examples given in the chapter) This research project is a case study of Illingford High St with a view to producing a development plan for that High St. This research project is a survey examining awareness of and perceptions of the World Wildlife Fund among students at Hazelbrook University.

4. Explain why these research projects are ‘viable’.

The research projects are viable because they are do-able, within the constraints of the resources available, and they have enough scope to meet the standard required by the programme of study.

5. Develop an aim and a series of objectives for each of the research projects.

The aim of this research is to develop a case study of Illingford High St with a view to producing a development plan for that High St. The objectives of the research are as follows: • In the first place Illingford High St will be mapped, and all of the businesses on the High St. will be detailed on the map.

• An analysis will then be undertaken of the nature of all of the businesses on the High St, any gaps in retail and service provision will be identified.

• The perspectives of the owners and managers of the businesses on the High St. will be gathered in terms of the development needs of the High St.

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•

•

•

The perspectives of the local government representatives will be gathered in terms of the development needs of the High St. and in terms of any development plans already in existence for the High St. The perspectives of the general population of the High St. will be gathered in terms of thoughts and/or ideas they might have for the development of the High St. Finally, following a detailed analysis of the data above, a new development plan for the High St will be created and presented.

The aim of this research is to examine awareness of and perceptions of the World Wildlife Fund among students at Hazelbrook University.

The objectives of the research are as follows: • To examine levels of awareness of the World Wildlife Fund among students at Hazelbrook University.

• To examine perceptions of the World Wildlife Fund among students at Hazelbrook University.

6. Propose a research methodology for each of the research projects.

In the examples given above, the first proposed study is a case study, i.e. the research project will be developed using a case study methodology.

This research project is a case study of Illingford High St with a view to producing a development plan for that High St. In the second example the proposed study is a survey, i.e. the research project will be carried out using a survey methodology.

This research project is a survey examining awareness of and perceptions of the World Wildlife Fund among students at Hazelbrook University.

7. Explain why the proposed methodologies are appropriate.

In the first study, the research proposed in the study of a bounded entity, in this case the study of a High St. Case study methodology is appropriate for the indepth study of bounded entities.

In the second study, the research proposed is the study of a large population. A survey methodology is an appropriate for research conducted with a large population.

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8. Explain what is meant by literature in the context of a research project.

In the context of a research project, literature is research that has already been carried out and published. Such literature is to be found primarily in books, in journal articles, in government reports and publications, and in the reports of NGOs. 9. What is a theoretical framework in the context of a research project?

The theoretical framework is the second framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project. The theoretical framework is the content of the literature review.

10. Which framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project provides direction for the theoretical framework?

The conceptual framework, the first framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project, provides direction for the theoretical framework.

11. Develop and detail a search strategy for literature for the literature review for your research project.

Using an example from the chapter, the following search strategy was developed as an example.

This research project is a survey examining awareness of and perceptions of the World Wildlife Fund among students at Hazelbrook University.

The key concepts in this conceptual framework are as follows: The World Wildlife Fund Perceptions Third Level Students The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is global organisation dedicated to the conservation of wildlife. The search will involve searches for information on WWF. Perceptions in this context are market perceptions. The search will involve searches for literature on market perceptions, and on market perceptions of global conservation organisations. Finally, the focus in particular in this study is on the perceptions of the market that is third level students. Therefore, if there is

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any literature on the perceptions of this particular market, then this literature will be of key interest to the researcher and this literature will feature in the literature review.

The searches for literature to be carried out will be key word searches. The searches will be carried out in the library, on the library collection, and on the databases in the library’s collection. The databases host online international journals. Marketing journals are of particular interest. Searches will also be carried out on the internet using search engines such as google.

The objective of the search is to find relevant up-to-date literature.

End of Chapter Case Study – Answer to Question Question: Based on your reading of the methodology and methods outlined in the research proposal here, can you think of an idea for a research project that you would consider undertaking using documentary analysis as your research methodology?

This research project is a study of business plans. The proposed methodology is documentary analysis, the researcher is proposing to examine three years of business plans in one company. The documents will be analysed using a content analysis approach. All content is to be analysed including text and images. The researcher highlights in his writing the utility of documentary analysis in providing important insights into the role of communication.

We are not told whether the researcher is interested in examining the manifest content of the documents or the manifest and the latent content of the documents. If we suppose that he is interested in the manifest content, then we can deduce that he will develop the project within a framework of positivism. In terms of epistemology, the kind of knowledge he will seek to develop will be objective knowledge, factual knowledge. In terms of ontology, positivists, as we know, believe that there is one objective reality, and it is apart from human consciousness.

If the researcher was interested in both the manifest and latent content of the documents, we could deduce that philosophical foundations of the research project were within a framework of interpretivism or social constructionism. The researcher, in this instance, would critically engage with the documents with a view to understanding the different perspectives presented in them. The study of

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the latent content of the documents is the study of the sub-texts of the documents, the underlying themes in the documents. In terms of epistemology, the kind of knowledge generated by such study would be knowledge of subjective meanings, meanings generated by an acknowledgement of, in ontological terms, a different order of reality, an acknowledgement of multiple subjective realities.

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Instructor’s Manual

Chapter Eleven—Fieldwork and Observation

This chapter introduces the student to fieldwork, to the practices and processes of fieldwork. The chapter begins with a consideration of the data needs of the research project, and then goes on to consider the nature of fieldwork. The work of the university student in gathering data through fieldwork for the research project is considered, as is the use of professional fieldworkers. The training of researchers and research assistants for fieldwork is explored in detail.

Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter, the student should: • • • • • • • • •

Understand the nature of fieldwork.

Describe the role of fieldworkers.

Outline the skills required in fieldwork.

Understand the concept of observation in research and be aware of the different kinds of observation undertaken by researchers.

Know how to use observation in data gathering and be able to design a data gathering exercise using observation.

Be able to identify ethical issues in observation studies.

Understand the need for rigour in observation.

Be able to discuss the role of observation as a research method.

Be able to critique the use of observation in research.

Research Skills: At the end of this chapter, the student should, using the exercises on the companion website, be able to: ● Draw up a plan for the fieldwork for a given research project. ● Create a training programme for inexperienced fieldworkers. ● Design a small observation study. ● Create an observation schedule for that small study. ● Complete an ethical reflection on that observation study.

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Chapter Summary: Fieldwork, as the name suggests, is work that is conducted in the field. The work in this instance is data gathering, and the field is any setting beyond the desk, the library and/or the laboratory in which the required data can be gathered. Fieldwork is as aspect of data gathering. Look again at the model of the research process detailed at the start of Chapter 1. In the model, data gathering comes after Research Methodology and Devise Data Gathering Methods. When the research methodology has been decided on, outlined and justified, and when the data gathering methods have been devised and validated, the researcher commences data gathering, which often involves fieldwork.

The Nature of Fieldwork •

•

A personal interviewer administering a questionnaire door-to-door, a telephone interviewer calling from a central location, and an observer counting pedestrians in a shopping mall are all examples of researchers conducting fieldwork.

All of these people are fieldworkers.

Who Conducts Fieldwork • •

• • •

•

A fieldworker is a researcher, or a research assistant, working in the field gathering data.

The student undertaking a research project for a degree at college or university is generally responsible for every aspect of the research project, including fieldwork.

Much fieldwork is conducted by research suppliers who specialize in data collection.

In some cases, a company may subcontract the fieldwork to a field interviewing service that specializes in gathering data.

Field interviewing services and full-service research agencies typically employ field supervisors who supervise and train interviewers, edit completed questionnaires in the field, and confirm that interviews have been conducted by telephoning or re-contacting respondents.

Whether the professional research administrator hires in-house interviewers or selects a field interviewing service, it is desirable that field workers meet certain job requirements. They should be professional, pleasant, and trained for the task.

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In-House Training for Inexperienced Interviewers/Contract Interviewers • • • • • • • • •

After personnel are recruited and selected, they must be trained.

Almost always there will be a briefing session on the particular project.

The objective of training is to ensure that the data collection instrument will be administered in a uniform fashion by all field workers.

In most extensive training programs, the following topics are likely to be covered: How to make initial contact with the respondent and secure the interview.

How to ask survey questions.

How to probe.

How to record responses.

How to terminate the interview.

Making Initial Contact and Securing the Interview Personal Interviews • Interviewers will be trained to make appropriate opening remarks that will convince the respondent that his or her cooperation is important.

Telephone Interviews • Giving one’s name personalizes the call and using the name of the research agency implies that the caller is trustworthy.

• Providing an accurate estimate of the time helps gain cooperation, but it also is the ethically correct thing to do.

Internet Surveys • The potential respondent may receive an email requesting assistance.

Gaining Participation • Avoid questions that ask permission for an interview, such as “May I come in?” and “Would you mind answering some questions?”

• Interviewers should be instructed on handling objections.

• In other cases, client companies will not wish to offend any individual, so in the case where a respondent refuses, the interviewer will be instructed to merely say, “Thank you for your time.”

• The foot-in-the-door and door-in-the-face compliance techniques are useful in securing interviews.

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Foot-in-the-door theory attempts to explain compliance with a large or difficult task on the basis of respondents’ earlier compliance with a smaller initial request.

With the door-in-the-face technique, the interviewer begins with an initial request so large that nearly everyone refuses it (that is, the door is slammed in his or her face); the interviewer then requests a small favor—to comply with a “short” survey. 

•

Asking the Questions • There are five major rules for asking questions: 1. Ask the questions exactly as they are worded in the questionnaire.

2. Read each question very carefully and clearly.

3. Ask the questions in the specified order.

4. Ask every question specified in the questionnaire.

5. Repeat questions that are misunderstood or misinterpreted.

• Even the slightest change in wording may inject some bias into a study.

• If respondents do not understand a question, they will usually ask for some clarification, and the recommended procedure is to repeat the question.

• A critical issue is the fact that interviewers often supply their own personal definitions and ad lib clarifications, and these may include words that are not free from bias.

• Often respondents volunteer information relevant to a question that is supposed to be asked at a later point in the interview.  In this situation, the response should be recorded under the question that deals specifically with that subject.

Probing When No Response is Given • Training of interviewers should include instructions on how to probe when respondents give no answer, incomplete answers, or answers that require clarification.

Probing may be needed in two types of situations: 1. It is necessary in situations in which the respondent must be motivated to enlarge on, clarify, explain, or complete his or her answers.

2. May be necessary when a respondent begins to ramble or lose track.

The interviewer will have several possible probing tactics to choose from, depending on the situation: • Repeating the question: When the respondent remains completely silent, he or she may not have understood the question or decided how to answer it.

Mere repetition may encourage the respondent to answer.

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• •

• •

Using a silent probe: If the interviewer believes that the respondent has more to say, a silent probe—that is, an expectant pause or look—may motivate the respondent to gather his or her thoughts and give a complete response.

Repeating the respondent’s reply: This may stimulate the respondent to expand on the answer.

Asking a neutral question: Asking a neutral question may specifically indicate the type of information that the respondent is seeking. For example, if the interviewer believes that the respondent’s motives should be clarified, he or she might ask, “Tell me about this feeling?” Figure 11.1shows some standard interview probes and the standard abbreviations that are recorded on the questionnaire with the respondent’s answer.

Probes should be neutral and not leading.

Probes may be general, or they may be questions specifically designed by the interviewer to clarify a particular statement by the respondent.

Recording the Responses • Although recording an answer seems extremely simple, mistakes can occur in this phase of the research.

• Each field worker should use the same recording process.

• The rules for recording responses to fixed-alternative questions vary with the specific questionnaire.

• The general instruction for recording open-ended questions is to record the response verbatim, a task that is difficult for most people.

Some suggestions for recording open-ended answers include: • Record responses during the interview.

• Use the respondent’s own words.

• Do not summarize or paraphrase the respondent’s answer.

• Include everything that pertains to the question objectives.

• Include all of your probes.

Terminating the Interview • The final aspect of training is to instruct interviewers on how to close the interview.

• The interviewer who departs hastily will be unable to record those spontaneous comments respondents sometimes offer after all formal questions have been asked.

• The field worker should also answer any respondent’s questions concerning the nature and the purpose of the study.

• The respondent should be thanked for his or her time and cooperation.

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Principles of Good Interviewing • This section presents the principles of good interviewing as put together by one of the USA’s top research organizations, Yankelovich and Partners.

These principles have been divided into two categories: 1. the basics—the interviewing point of view 2. required practices—standard inquiry premises and procedures The Basics Interviewing is a skilled occupation. The basic qualities of a good interviewer are as follows: • Have integrity and be honest.

• Have patience and tact.

• Pay attention to accuracy and detail. A good rule of thumb is not to record an answer unless you fully understand it yourself. Probe for clarification and rich, full answers and record all answers verbatim.

• Exhibit a real interest in the inquiry at hand but keep your own opinions to yourself.

• Be a good listener.

• Keep inquiry and respondent’s answers confidential. Do not discuss the studies with others, and never quote one respondent’s opinion to another.

• Respect others’ rights. There is a happy medium path to pursue in obtaining this information. On the one hand is failure to get it all; and on the other hand, is unnecessary coercion.

Required Practices These are the practical rules of research inquiry, to be followed and used without exception: 1. Complete the number of interviews according to the sampling plan assigned to you.

Both are calculated with the utmost precision.

2. Follow the directions provided. Lack of uniformity in procedure can only spell disaster for later analysis.

3. Make every effort to keep to schedules.

4. Keep control of each interview you do. It is up to you to determine the pace of a particular interview, keeping several points in mind: a. There is an established average length of an interview from the time you start to talk to the respondent to the time you finish. It represents a guideline, but some will be shorter and some longer.

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b. Always get the whole story from the respondent and write it all down in the respondent’s own words, but it’s equally important to keep the interview to the subject at hand. c. Avoid offending the respondent by being too talkative yourself.

5. Complete the questionnaires meticulously. This means: a. Follow exactly all instructions that appear directly on the questionnaire. b.

Ask the questions from the first to the last in the exact numerical order. c. Ask each question exactly as it is written. d. Never leave a question blank. If none of the answer categories provided prove suitable, write in what the respondent said, in his or her own words. e. Use all the props provided to aid both interviewers and respondents.

6. Check over each questionnaire you have completed. This is best done directly after it has been completed; if you find something you have done wrong or have omitted, correct it.

7. Compare your sample execution and assigned quota against the total number of questionnaires you have completed.

8. Clear up any questions with the research agency.

Fieldwork Management Managers of the field operation select, train, supervise, and control fieldworkers.

Briefing Session for Experienced Interviewers • There is always a need to inform field workers about the individual project.

• Both experienced and inexperienced field workers must be briefed on the background of the sponsoring organization, sampling techniques, asking of questions, callback procedures, and other matters specific to the particular project.

• If there are any special instructions (e.g., using show cards or video equipment) they should also be covered during the training session.

• Instructions for handling certain key questions are always important.

• Interviewers are provided with minimum information about the purpose of the study, to ensure that they will not transmit any preconceived notions to respondents.

• One technique used to train the interviewers about the questionnaire is for a field supervisor to conduct an interview with another field supervisor who acts as a respondent.

• The trainees observe the interviewing process and afterwards are instructed to personally interview and record the responses of another field supervisor “respondent.”

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Training to Avoid Procedural Errors in Sample Selection • The briefing session also covers the sampling procedure.

• A number of research projects allow the interviewer to be at least partially responsible for selecting the sample, and the potential for selection bias exists.

• Considerable effort in training and supervisory control should be carried out to minimize these errors.

• Another selection problem is the practice of contacting a respondent when and where it is convenient for both parties.

SUPERVISION OF FIELD WORKERS •

• •

Direct supervision of fieldworkers is necessary to ensure that the techniques communicated in the training sessions are implemented in the field.

Field supervision of interviewers requires checking to see that field procedures are being properly followed.

In addition to quality control, continual training may be provided.

Sampling Verification • Another important job of the supervisor is to verify that the interviews are being conducted according to the sampling plan rather than at the households most accessible to the interviewer.

• Supervisors must also make sure that the right people within the household or sampling unit are being contacted.

Interviewer Cheating • Interviewer cheating in its most blatant form occurs when an interviewer falsifies interviews, merely filling in fake answers rather than contacting respondents (curb-stoning).

• This situation is not common if the job of selection has been properly accomplished. o However, less obvious forms of interviewer cheating occur with greater frequency.

• Quota samples are often seen as time consuming, and the interviewer may stretch the requirements a bit to obtain seemingly qualified respondents.

• An interviewer may fake part of a questionnaire to make it acceptable to the field supervisor.

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Interviewers fake answers when they find questions embarrassing or troublesome to ask because of sensitive subjects. o What appears to be interviewer cheating often is caused by improper training or fieldworkers’ inexperience.

The quality of fieldwork improves if fieldworkers know that a supervisor may follow up with a respondent.

Verification by Reinterviewing • Supervisors generally verify approximately 15 percent of the interviews by reinterviewing. o Normally the interview is not repeated, but the supervisors recontact respondents and ask about the length of the interview and their reaction to the interviewer. o Such verification does not detect the more subtle form of cheating in which only portions of the interview have been falsified; rather, it may simply point out that an interviewer contacted the proper household but interviewed the wrong individual.

Observation Observation as a data gathering method is used, as explained in the chapter in both quantitative and qualitative research. The different ways in which observation is used in both quantitative and qualitative research is explained in some detail in the chapter. It would be a good idea to spend a little time on qualitative and quantitative research, and then spend some time on the use of observation in qualitative and quantitative research. This will help students develop a deeper understanding of the difference between quantitative and qualitative research.

The importance of the design of an observation study is emphasized throughout the chapter. The importance of an observation study being both rigorous and systematic is emphasized. In every data gathering exercise the data gathering method must be properly designed and the data gathering method must provide for a systematic approach to data gathering, an organized approach to data gathering.

The key issue for every data gathering method is whether the data gathering method used is capable of providing the data required for the research project.

This is the issue that the students should be encouraged to focus on when they are proposing a data gathering method, and when they are critiquing a data gathering method.

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It is a good idea to emphasis again the model of the research process. This will facilitate students in becoming familiar with the process and fluent in the flow of the process and different stages of the process.

The box feature, The Value of Good Research, details a research project which introduced a new research methodology into social science research in the early twentieth century. The new methodology was mass observation research. It isn't used much, if at all anymore, but the archive for the methodology is held by the University of Sussex and the URL for the archive is provided. If there is time it would be an interesting exercise to explore the archive with students. If there isn't time, it would be a good idea to direct students to explore the archive themselves in their own time.

The chapter provides some detail on precisely what observation is, in order to encourage understanding, and it provides a step-by-step account of how to undertake observation.

The different kinds of observation are detailed and explained. The three critical decisions to be made in any observation study are outlined. These decisions are: 1. Deciding what exactly is to be observed.

2. Deciding how to conduct the observation (which observation method to use).

3. Deciding how to record the observation. (Remembering that the data gathering must be the data required for the research project).

There is some consideration of the ethical issues in observation and in observation studies. It is important to spend some time with students reflecting on these issues.

This could be done in a brain-storming exercise and/or using a pyramid discussion approach.

There is a useful exploration of the way in which to use observation. The three different ways in which an observation study can be structured are explored and explained in detail. As explained in the chapter, observations can be unstructured, semi-structured, or structured.

The methodology in focus in the chapter is ethnography. Ethnographic research is used a great deal in business research, and, for example, there is some detail in the box feature 'Focus on methodology' on the ethnographic research conducted in the company Intel.

The means by which an observation study can be critiqued are explored. It is always a good exercise to encourage students to find examples in the literature of the methodology and data gathering method they are studying, and to engage in a For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

critique of the way in which the methodology and the data gathering method are used in the research.

The ways in which to construct an observation study are presented in the chapter and there are many examples in the chapter of observation studies. There is in the chapter an example of a student's research project, Iona's research project, in which observation was one of the two data gathering methods proposed for use in the study. In the case study at the end of the chapter another student, Dabir, uses observation in his research. As is explained, Dabir modeled his research project on a research project he found in the literature.

End of Chapter Questions

1 An interviewer finds that when potential respondents ask how much time the survey will take, most refuse if they are told 15 minutes. The interviewer now says ten minutes and finds that most respondents enjoy answering the questions. Is this the right thing to do? Is it ethical?

No, it is not. This is unethical. The interviewer is lying to the respondents.

There are other ways, such as the interviewer assuring respondents that s/he will be as quick as possible. The interviewer might tell potential respondents that the interview will probably take a little more than 10 minutes. The interviewer should assure potential respondents of the value of the research and the importance of their participation in it.

2 What qualities should fieldworkers possess?

Field interviewers should be professional. Pleasant and trained for the task. Being pleasant is important. Respondents do not like interviewers who act like traffic wardens impersonally filling their quotas of parking and speeding tickets.

3 When should interviewers probe? Give some examples of how probing should be done.

Interviewers should probe when respondents give no answer, incomplete answers, or answers that require clarification. In addition, probing is often necessary when the respondent begins to fail to focus on the specific content of the interview. Some examples of probing techniques are (1) repeating the question, (2) using a silent probe, that is, an expectant pause or look, (3) repeating the respondent’s reply, and (4) asking a neutral question.

4 Explain what is meant by observation in field research.

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investigation, the recording of that observation, and the subsequent analysis of that recording of the observation.

5 What is meant by the term rigour in social research?

One of the most basic principles in research is the principle of rigour. For a research project to be rigorous, as stated in Chapter One of this textbook, it must adhere to the scientific principles of research. The research must be systematic.

It must be valid.

6 Name the three main types of observation engaged in by researchers.

• Observation (or non participant observation) • Participant observation • Covert observation 7 What are the three critical decisions to be made in any observation study?

• Deciding what exactly is to be observed.

• Deciding how to conduct the observation.

• Deciding how to record the observation.

8 Why would a researcher use unstructured observation as an observation method?

• Unstructured observations are sometimes undertaken when the researcher is unsure about precisely which aspects of the phenomenon under investigation need to be explored or examined.

• Unstructured observations are sometimes used by researchers in the early stages of a research project when the researcher is unsure of what it is that s/he needs to document.

• Often an unstructured observation leads to a more structured observation.

• The researcher uses the unstructured observation to get to know the field and/or the phenomenon under investigation. Then the researcher designs a semi-structured or structured observation in order to focus the observation more, or more fully, on the precise phenomenon being investigated.

9 Why would a researcher use semi-structured observation as an observation method?

• Semi-structured observations are used when the researcher knows, broadly, which aspects or elements of the action or the phenomenon s/he wishes to observe.

• S/he designs a semi-structured observation schedule in order to facilitate that observation.

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•

The researcher observes the elements or aspects of the action or the phenomenon and then records those observations in the semi-structured observation schedule s/he has designed for the research.

10 Why would a researcher use structured observation as an observation method?

• In a structured observation the researcher knows very precisely the aspects and elements of the action or the phenomenon s/he wishes to observe.

• S/he designs a structured observation schedule in order to facilitate that observation.

• The researcher observes and records every incident of the elements or aspects of the phenomenon under investigation.

• The researcher records those observations in the structured observation schedule s/he has designed for the research.

11 What is unobtrusive observation in research?

• Using unobtrusive observation, the participants may or may not have been told that the research is being undertaken.

• The researcher carries out the observation in an unobtrusive manner.

12 Explain mechanical observation with the use of three examples.

• Mechanical observation is observation undertaken through the use of some kind of technology, such as mobile phone technology.

•

Video cameras are sometimes used in mechanical observation.

•

Traffic counters are an example of mechanical observation.

•

Most organizations record the number of hits at their websites—mouse clicks on a single page of a website; this is another example of mechanical observation.

13 What is covert observation in research and what are the main ethical issues in such research?

• Using covert observation the researcher observes the action, activity or phenomenon in a covert manner.

• In other words, the fact that the action, activity or phenomenon is being observed is kept from the people who are part of, or who are generating, the action, activity or phenomenon.

• The observation is kept secret. It is covert.

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• •

• • •

•

Clearly such observations are ethically problematic.

A key ethical issue is the fact that the participants in the research do not know that they are being observed. The researcher is in effect spying on the participants.

The research is neither open nor honest.

The data gathered in covert research can be especially sensitive. It can cause embarrassment, or worse, for the unknowing participants.

As detailed in the Real-World Research textbox in the chapter, covert research can create difficult personal or emotional issues for the researcher. This too is an ethical issue. Such issues can create considerable stress for the researcher.

The researcher records the observation. The recorded observation is the data gathered.

14. Detail and explain how you would critique an observation study.

• You are most concerned with the validity of the observation as a means of gathering data for that particular study, and the rigour with which the observation was designed, constructed and carried out.

• You are concerned with the manner in which observation as a means of data gathering serves the data requirements of the study.

• You are also concerned with the means by which the data was analyzed.

• You are also concerned with the aim and objectives of the study, and whether and to what degree the observation carried out served to accomplish the aim and objectives of the study.

• In critiquing the research, you weigh whether the observation data collection method used was the most appropriate data collection method in terms of the needs of the study.

• You might suggest that other data collection methods might have served the research better.

• You are concerned with the population of the study and whether observation was the best means of data collection with that population.

• If the study does not have a human population, you are concerned with the context for the study, and whether or not observation was the most appropriate means of data collection in that context and within the circumstances of that population and given the data requirements of the study.

• You are concerned with the way in which the observation was designed.

• You are concerned that the observation was designed to be as thorough, as systematic and as consistent as possible.

• Even when a data collection method is designed to be unstructured, it For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

•

•

•

• • • • • • • •

should be systematic. There should be rigour in the way in which the observation is carried out.

The observation should be clearly and thoroughly organized, and that organization should be thoroughly detailed, outlined and explained, in the written report of the research.

The thorough reporting of the way the observation was carried out facilitates the researcher in establishing the validity and the rigour of the observation. It also allows readers to examine the validity and rigour of the observation.

In engaging in the critique of an observation, you should examine the observation schedule, a copy of which should be included in the appendices of the study.

You critique the schedule for the observation in terms of the appropriateness and thoroughness of the observation.

You should check what was included in the observation and note if you can what, if anything, was omitted from the observation.

Decide whether there was an error in what was included or omitted.

Examine when and where and with whom the observation was conducted.

Explore the way the observation was conducted.

Decide whether the conduct of the observation is appropriate to the needs of the study, and appropriate in terms of proper and appropriate ethical standards.

Examine the way the observation was recorded, and whether the recording of the observation was rigorous.

Examine and critique the evidence presented in terms of the validity and rigour of the observation.

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Instructor’s Manual

Chapter Twelve – Using Interviews and Focus Groups Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter, the student should be able to: ● Decide on the most appropriate use and design of interviews and/or focus groups for particular research projects. ● Design and develop appropriate interview and focus group schedules for their own research. ● Use interviews and/or focus groups in their own research. ● Critique the use of interviews and focus groups in research.

Research Skills At the end of this chapter, the student should, using the exercises on the companion website, be able to: ● Decide when to use interviews and when to use focus groups to gather data. ● Design an interview schedule and a focus group schedule for a sample project. ● Critique the design of a proposed interview and focus group.

Chapter Summary The aim of this chapter is to explain in detail two data collection methods: interviews and focus groups. In this chapter, the ways in which to structure and carry out interviews and focus groups are explained in detail. The different types of interviews – such as one-to-one interviews, depth interviews (or in-depth interviews), telephone interviews, group interviews, photo elicitation interviews and online interviews, – are described, along with their relative advantages and disadvantages.

The chapter starts by explaining that data gathering methods are part of the methodological framework, the third framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project. It is important to refresh the memories of students with regard to the four frameworks approach to the research project. This will remind them of the four frameworks approach and the value of the four frameworks approach to the creation and development of the research project.

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There is also a consideration of epistemology and ontology at the start of the chapter. It is important to refer regularly to these in order to help students become familiar with them and unafraid to refer to them and use them in their own work. The chapter explains that focus groups and interviews are often used in research undertaken within a social constructivist or interpretive philosophical framework, and that focus groups and interviews are most frequently used to generate qualitative research. However, quantitative data can be generated when a highly structured interview schedule is used, and/or when a large number of interviews and/or focus groups are carried out.

Once again, the necessity of the data gathering method having the capacity to provide the data required for the research project is emphasised.

The text box, The Value of Good Research, provides an insight into how focus groups were used by the UK TV channel, Channel 4, to carry out research on consumer experiences of the television show Big Brother. The research undertaken by the company is a good example of real world research.

Interviews and focus groups are, as we know, data gathering methods.

Interviews and focus groups have different application in social research, and the chapter explains how and why these two different data gathering methods are used.

The chapter details and explains five different types of interview used in social research, the one-to-one interview, the group interview, the telephone interview, the online interview, and the photo-elicitation interview. Each of these different types of interview is explained in some detail.

The chapter explains how to conduct interviews. The chapter explains how interviews are used differently in quantitative and qualitative research. It would be important to spend some time explaining this to students, and to spend some time recapping on the differences between quantitative and qualitative research.

Some consideration is given to the different kinds of knowledge generated in by quantitative and qualitative interviewing and how the interview schedule is designed by the researcher to facilitate to provision of the kind of knowledge required for the research project.

Open and closed questions are explained, and the use of open and closed questions is considered. The different kinds of data that can be generated by open and closed questions are explained.

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It would be a good exercise to spend some time with students discussing the different kinds of knowledge that can be generated by the different methods of data gathering.

The chapter provides a step-by-step guide to conducting interviews. It would be helpful to work through this guide with students, answering any questions they might have while encouraging them to think about their own plans or hopes in terms of data gathering for their own research project.

There is a consideration in the chapter of the issue of bias in research and there is an explanation of what bias is in research as well as a discussion on three main possible sources of bias.

The chapter explains what a focus group is, and the chapter provides a step-bystep guide on how to conduct focus groups. It would be a good idea, if possible, to work through this step-by-step guide with students. As with the step-by-step guide to conducting interviews, students will find it helpful if you work through the guide with them, answering any questions they have while encouraging them to think about their own plans or hopes in terms of data gathering for their own research project.

The relative advantages and disadvantages of online interviews and focus groups are presented in a table in the chapter.

There is some discussion in the chapter about interview and focus group schedules. The means by which interview and focus group schedules are created and developed is explained. The different uses of unstructured, semi structured and structured interview and focus group schedules are considered.

Examples of unstructured, semi structured and structured interview and focus group schedules are provided.

The issues of validity and reliability are explained in detail in the chapter. There is a detailed consideration of the issues of validity and reliability in qualitative research, in Table 12.4. This is a complex area in social research, and it would be important to spend some time with students working through the table and discussing the content of the table with them. When they have finished reading this chapter, students should be beginning to have a clear understanding of the differences between quantitative and qualitative research. This understanding For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

should become fully developed when they finish reading the following chapter, Chapter 13, Surveys and Questionnaires.

There are good examples in the chapter of real-world research carried out using interviews and/or focus groups as data gathering methods. These examples will help the students develop their understanding of how interviews and focus groups are used in research.

The methodology in focus in this chapter is phenomenology. A simple explanation of phenomenological research is provided. There are some examples of business research projects carried out using phenomenology as the methodology. Some resources are provided for further reading on phenomenology.

An explanation is given on how to critique the use of interviews and focus groups in research. This is useful for students in terms of any critique they undertake of research carried out using these data gathering methods. It is also useful for them in terms of helping them develop the skills to critique their own research if they are using these data gathering methods in their own research.

The end of chapter case study focuses on a research project which explored the museum shop as a marketing tool for the Imperial War Museum in London.

Three data gathering methods were used in the study; in-depth interviews, semi structured questionnaires and observation. This case study is useful in that it explains how these data gathering methods were used, and it explains what was accomplished by the research project.

End of Chapter Questions 1 Name and briefly explain five types of interviews.

• the one-to-one interview.

• the group interview.

• the telephone interview.

• the online interview.

• the photo-elicitation interview 2 Outline the advantages and disadvantages of one-to-one in-depth interviews.

In the one-to-one interview, the face to face (f2f) interview, the researcher has the opportunity to develop a rapport with the interviewee/the participant in the research/the respondent. The establishment of rapport with the interviewee is the For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

establishment of a comfortable communicative relationship. This rapport helps the researcher engage the interviewee in the interview process. The interview process calls for confidential, formal, open and honest communication between the interviewer and interviewees.

During a one-to-one interview, the researcher has the opportunity to observe the interviewee, the manner in which the interviewee engages with the research questions, and the manner in which the interviewee responds to the interview questions. In the one-to-one interview the researcher can probe the responses of the interviewee. Generally, this is not done in any challenging way. The researcher gently, with skill, discretion, and respect, probes the responses the interviewee makes to the research questions. The researcher can question the responses of the interviewee. The researcher may ask for clarification on any point from the interviewee or ask for a more detailed or more elaborate response to any question.

In the one-to-one interview the interviewee becomes the sole focus of the interviewer. This means that during the interview, the interviewee has the space and the time to express their individual perspective on or experience of the phenomenon under investigation. The one-to-one interview gives the researcher the opportunity to gather in detail the testimony of the one research respondent who is participating in the interview. This may be useful, important, or even essential in terms of the data requirements of the research project. Or it may not.

The researcher must decide how best to gather the data required for the research.

The main disadvantage of one-to-one interviews is that they are time-consuming.

In addition, there is potential in a one-to-one interview situation for the interviewer to influence or lead the responses of the interviewee in some way. Such action is a source of bias in interview data, (the issue of bias in research is explored in some detail in this chapter).

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3 Devise a simple flow chart for the design and conduct of a series of telephone interviews.

Devise interview schedule Select interviewees using appropriate sampling method Contact interviewees and invite them to participate Provide interviewees with formal information on the research Set-up interviews Conduct telephone interviews Conclude interview Manage data 4 Detail and explain the reasons why a researcher would decide to conduct group interviews.

The group interview has its own unique advantages. The group dynamic may produce data that would not be produced through a one-to-one interview process. The group setting may serve to protect the interviewer and the interviewees. There is safety in numbers. The group setting may provide a sense of security for participants, and the group dynamic may encourage the participants to engage more fully and more freely in the process of creating data.

The researcher must exercise caution. The group dynamic can also have completely the opposite effect. Participants can feel constrained or even intimidated by the group setting, and may, as a consequence, be less inclined to engage with the process. Once again, the researcher must decide the optimum method to use to gather the data required within the constraints of the resources available.

5 What are the key issues in conducting structured interviews?

A structured interview schedule is like a questionnaire which is rigidly followed.

The researcher decides what needs to be known, and s/he designs a very precise data gathering instrument to gather data in order to create knowledge. In designing such a precise instrument, the researcher controls and even shapes the information that is gathered, and consequently the knowledge generated by the research project. Quantitative research is said to be objective and situated within a framework of positivism. The interviewer using that structured interview schedule asks each interviewee the same questions in the same order. The For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

interview schedule is the list of questions to be asked or issues to be explored in the interview(s). The interviewer does not want to bias the interview by influencing or leading the interviewee in their responses. Such bias is known as interviewer bias or researcher bias.

6 What is a focus group and how is it different from a group interview?

A focus group is used in research as a data collection method when there is some advantage, in terms of data gathering or data collection, in bringing a group of people together and facilitating this group in a focussed discussion of the phenomenon under investigation in the research project. The people invited to participate in the focus group must be expert in some way on the phenomenon under investigation.

A focus group is similar in some respects to a group interview, and it is very different in other respects. The key difference is that in a focus group, the researcher facilitates the group in focusing on the phenomenon under investigation in the hope of developing from that focus new information and new insights into that phenomenon. In a group interview, the interviewer interviews the group about the phenomenon under investigation.

7 Outline the key advantages and disadvantages of online interviews and focus groups.

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8. Design a simple research project with a focus group data gathering method conducted using CMC. This research project is a case study examining the understanding of third level business students in the UK and Germany of the causes of the recent global economic crisis. A series of five focus groups will be conducted. Ten students will participate in each of the focus groups, five students in the UK and five students in Germany. In all fifty students will participate, 25 will be in the UK and 25 will be in Germany. The participants will be selected using a purposive or judgemental sampling method. The research will explore whether or not there are different understandings and perceptions of the causes of the global economic downturn among third level business students in the UK and third level business students in Germany. If differences are found, in the conclusions of the research those differences will be outlined and explained. The focus groups will be carried out using computer-mediated communication. Using conferencing software, the focus groups will be synchronous, in real time.

9. Design a simple research project using an FTF focus group.

This research project is a case study examining the experiences of shoppers of shopping in the Great New Shopping Centre, Downtown Epping. The new shopping centre opened March 2015. A series of focus groups will be conducted with shoppers. In all five focus groups will be organised. Each focus group will be comprised of seven women and three men.

• One focus group comprised of people in their teens.

• One focus group comprised of people in their twenties.

• One focus group comprised of people in their thirties and forties.

• One focus group comprised of people in their fifties and sixties.

• One focus group comprised of people in their seventies and older.

The aim of the research is to explore the shoppers’ experiences of shopping in the new shopping centre and to identify any aspects of the shopping experience the shoppers particularly enjoy and any aspects of the shopping experience the shoppers particularly do not enjoy.

All five of the focus groups will be held in the boardroom in the administrative offices in the shopping centre. Using a convenience sampling method the researchers will identify potential participants among shoppers while they shop in the shopping centre, and they will invite those potential participants to participate For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

in the relevant focus group. Refreshments will be provided for participants.

Transport will be provided for participants if required.

10 What is bias in research? Name and explain three different kinds of bias.

Bias in research is anything that contaminates or compromises the research. As this broad definition of bias indicates, bias can be introduced to a research project at any stage, at the design stage, during sampling, during data gathering, data analysis and at the stage of developing findings and coming to conclusions about the research. Bias can refer to a particular perspective that the research takes which highlights some aspects or findings of the research while ignoring or even hiding others. Bias can also refer to some systematic error that has somehow been introduced to the research.

Researcher Bias: Researchers can themselves be the cause of bias. For example, researchers can be biased in favour of a particular result or finding in their research. They can have a particular view and want that view confirm by the study, rather than keeping an open mind as to what the study might confirm.

They can influence the findings of the research through the design of the study.

Through the use of what are known as leading questions, the researcher can influence participants in the study, through the wording of the questions, the emphasis they place on the different words and concepts in the questions, and through encouraging and/or affirming particular responses. Sometimes in qualitative research, the researcher is said to be the research instrument.

Qualitative research is said to be subjective. This is not bias; this is a fundamental tenet of qualitative research. The data gathered for the research project is filtered through their perceptions of the phenomenon under investigation. In such research there are not more possibilities for bias than there are in other kinds of research, but there are different opportunities for bias.

All researchers are in control of their own research. It is their responsibility as competent ethical researchers to guard their research against bias.

Sampling Bias: Sampling bias occurs when the sampling procedure used in the research is flawed or compromised in some way. Researchers can introduce sampling bias into their study if the population or sample used in their study is biased in favour of a particular population or sample population. Population samples that under-represent some members of the population will bias research. Bias can be introduced through non-responses, when the nonrespondents in the study differ in some significant way to respondents. When respondents are self-selecting voluntary response bias can occur if the respondents have a particular agenda in the research. The population and/or the For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

sample selected for the study should be the appropriate population and/or sample for that study; and appropriate sampling methods should be used when selecting samples from study populations.

Respondent Bias: Respondents can bias research in a number of ways. They can respond in a patterned way to each question. When a respondent gives a patterned set of responses to a set of questions, for example answering yes to every question or answering no to every question, this is known as a response set. Acquiescence bias happens when a respondent agrees with everything the researcher says. Social desirability bias occurs when a respondent gives the socially desirable or the politically correct response, rather than an honest response. Prestige bias occurs when the respondent in influenced in responding through their perception of the prestige of a group or individual, for example the use of words like ‘doctor’ or ‘president’ or ‘excellent’ might introduce prestige bias.

Researchers try to eliminate bias from their research. If they find that despite their best efforts, they have not managed to eliminate bias from their research, they acknowledge that their study is biased or that it may be to some degree biased. Researchers try to identify possible sources of bias in their research, although it is not always possible to do this. When researchers do identify a possible source of bias in their research, they acknowledge it.

End of Chapter Case Study – Answers to questions We are told in the journal article what sampling methods were used in the study.

For the in-depth interviews, a purposive sampling method was used. For the questionnaires, a convenience sampling method was used.

1. Following your reading of Chapter Nine of this textbook, can you explain these two sampling methods?

Purposive Sampling: Using a judgmental or purposive sampling technique the researcher decides, or makes a judgement, about who to include in the research. The criterion for inclusion in the research is the capacity of the participant to inform the research. Each person, or unit, chosen to be included must have a contribution to make to the research. People chosen to be included in such a sample would be key informants on the topic under investigation.

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Convenience Sampling: Using a convenience sampling technique, the researcher engages those participants in the research it is easiest to include, for example people in the newsagents, people in the supermarket and so on.

The researcher knows how many people to include in the sample, then s/he continues to engage people in the research until the sample has been filled.

1. Can you outline the differences between them?

Using a purposive or judgemental sampling method participants are individually chosen to participate based on their capacity to inform the research.

Using a convenience sampling method any available participant is invited to participate, and potential participants are invited to participate, until the sample is complete.

2. Do you think that these sampling methods were the appropriate sampling methods to use?

Yes.

3. Why do you think that?

The purposive sampling method was used to compile the sample of participants in the in-depth interviews. The interviewees needed to be key informants in relation to the role of the museum shop. The criterion for participation was that each respondent needed to be a regular museum visitor. The researcher had to identify potential participants who were regular museum visitors, then they had to be invited to participate. Those regular museum visitors who agreed to participate were included in the purposive sample.

The convenience sampling method was used to compile participants to respond to the questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed to be administered to museum visitors. Any visitor to the museum who was willing to participate in the research would be an appropriate respondent to the questionnaire. The only criterion for participation was that the respondent be a museum visitor.

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Instructor’s Manual

Chapter Thirteen – Surveys and Questionnaires

The aim of this chapter is to explain the use of surveys and questionnaires in business research. The purpose of survey research is to collect primary data— data gathered specifically for the research project being carried out. This chapter discusses typical research objectives that may be accomplished with surveys and various advantages of the survey method. The chapter classifies the various data gathering methods used in survey research.

Questionnaires and scales are structured means of data gathering. They are used a great deal in quantitative research. Quantitative research produces quantitative data. Quantitative data are numerical data or data that can readily be converted into numerical form. Qualitative data can be gathered with questionnaires, through the use of open questions. This chapter explains how to create questionnaires and when and how to use questionnaires in a research project.

Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter, the student should be able to: • Define surveys and explain their advantages.

• Describe the type of information that may be gathered in a survey.

• Identify sources of error in survey research.

• Design questionnaires for different research projects.

• Discuss and explain the issues of validity and reliability in relation to questionnaire design.

Research Skills: At the end of this chapter, the student should, using the exercises on the companion website, be able to: • Design a questionnaire for a given research project.

• Explain the significance of decisions about question design and wording in a questionnaire.

• Demonstrate how the proper sequence of questions may improve a questionnaire.

• Describe the process of pretesting a questionnaire.

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Explain the value of pretesting a questionnaire.

The aim of this chapter is to explain the use of surveys and questionnaires in business research. The purpose of survey research is to collect primary data – data gathered specifically for the research project being carried out. In this chapter, there is an explanation of the typical research objectives that may be accomplished with surveys and the various advantages of survey methodology.

The chapter details the different data gathering methods used in survey research.

Chapter Summary: The chapter begins again with the four frameworks approach to the research project. This is useful as it again refreshes the four frameworks for students. The four frameworks approach is a simple guide for the research project and students find it extremely useful in terms of helping them develop and appropriately focus their research projects. It’s always a good idea to remind students of how the four frameworks approach works.

The chapter refers again to ontological assumptions and how they shape research projects, and the chapter refers to epistemological assumptions, assumptions that are made and can be made regarding the kind of knowledge that will be generated by the research. Again, it is a good idea to go over these with students to refresh them in their memories.

The chapter then refers again the model of the research process, presented in Fig. 1.1 in Chapter One. In any module designed to teach students about research and research methodologies this is a useful model. Presenting it again to students will help them become familiar with the model and fluent in the different elements and stages of the research process.

There is a good discussion on errors in survey research. As explained in the chapter, there are two major sources: random sampling error and systematic error. Figure 13.2 outlines the various forms of survey error.

There is some consideration of face to face (F2F) surveys and surveys used in online research (ORM). The different software packages available for use in survey research are discussed. It would be a good idea to show students, using the internet in class or in lectures, one or two of these software packages. They should be encouraged to explore these online resources themselves.

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The ways in which questionnaires are designed and used are explained. It is important to spend some time on this. Questionnaires are very widely used in social research and in business research. Some simple but useful examples of questionnaires are provided. The examples designed specifically for the text are supported with examples from scholarly journals.

The box feature Real World Research Focus on Survey Methodology is very useful. This could be used for a class exercise. There are a number of resources cited in the box feature, all of them useful in terms of developing knowledge and understanding of survey research and questionnaires.

The issues of validity and reliability are explored in detail. The table, Table 13.1 outlines and explains the issues of validity and reliability in quantitative research.

It would be useful to spend some time with students reading through the table and helping them develop a clear understanding of these issues.

There is a useful section on designing questionnaires and students should read and understand this section before embarking themselves on designing questionnaires and scales. To begin with students are encouraged to gather some sample questionnaires to study. A guide to this study is provided.

Guidence is given on how best to go about designing a questionnaire. There is a consideration of the issues in framing and asking questions and finally, in Table 13.2, there is a thorough exploration of the issues in designing questions and items for questionnaires and scales. This table is a particularly useful resource and the value of it should be highlighted with students.

There is an explanation of pilot studies and the value of them. There is a consideration of response rates and an explanation of the key issues in relation to response rates. The concept of generalisability in research is defined and explained. These issues are the final issues explored in the chapter. They are important issues, and it would be a good idea to discuss these issues in class, to explain them, and to read through, with students in class, the definitions and explanations provided in the chapter.

The Value of Good Research textbox presents some information on a very largescale survey of internet access carried out by the BBC World Service. The survey itself is interesting, the metholdogy used and the population engaged. The findings of the survey, some of which are presented in the box feature are also interesting. The information presented is designed to encourage students to think

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about survey research and to develop an understanding of how surveys are used in research.

End of Chapter Questions 1. What is survey research?

A survey is defined as a method of collecting primary data based on communication with a representative sample of individuals. The purpose of survey research is to collect primary data—data gathered specifically for the research project being carried out. When engaging a large population in a research project, it is not possible to engage every member of the population in in-depth research. The researcher must design a research instrument which facilitates a broad approach to researching the phenomenon, using a large number of respondents. A survey research methodology is an appropriate research methodology in such research. Survey research is situated within a framework of positivism, it is deductive and it is used primarily to generate quantitative data. Questionnaires are appropriate data gathering instruments in such research.

2. Why are questionnaires the key data gathering method in survey research?

Basically, surveys involve researchers asking questions of research participants.

In survey research, information is gathered using standardized means. This is in order to ensure that every participant is asked the same questions in the same way. Questionnaires can be easily posted or e-mailed to such populations or placed on the internet to allow for easy access globally. Online methods are commonly used, and they are very effective where the survey population has access to the technologies and the skills necessary to use those technologies.

3. Why are questionnaires particularly useful with large, geographical spread populations?

Questionnaires are effective in engaging with large populations. If the population is geographically scattered, a questionnaire can easily and relatively cheaply be emailed or mailed/posted. Telephone interviews can be used relatively easily and cheaply with geographically scattered populations.

4. List and explain the four key issues in designing a questionnaire.

• The content of the questions; the questions must be relevant to the phenomenon under investigation, and they must be designed in such a way as to elicit the necessary data.

• The construction and presentation of each of the questions; the questions must be properly constructed and presented. There are very

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many issues that can arise in the construction and presentation of questions. These are dealt with in some detail in the chapter (see Table 13.2).

The order of the questions; the questions should be presented in a logical and meaningful order.

The length of the questionnaire. The questionnaire should be long enough to allow for gathering the necessary data. The questionnaire should be no longer than is necessary. It is unethical to ask too much of research participants. It is likely also that participants will refuse to respond, or will respond only in a token fashion, if the questionnaire is perceived by them as being too long. Non-responses and/or inadequate or spoiled responses raise issues for the research.

5. Develop a checklist of things to consider in questionnaire construction.

The following issues might be considered: • Are simple words used?

• Is the language vague?

• Are the questions short?

• Are the questions easy to understand?

• Are the questions specific or general?

• Are the questions leading?

• Are the questions loaded?

• Is any objectionable language used?

• Have any assumptions been made in the questions?

• Are any hypothetical questions used?

• Did you talk down to the respondent?

• Are you asking two questions or one?

• Are any questions too sensitive?

• Is the question necessary?

• Is the questionnaire layout appealing?

• Is the questionnaire layout easy to follow?

• Is there enough room to answer the questions?

• Are the instructions easy to understand?

6. List and explain key issues in question design.

Leading responses

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The possibility of leading participants to a particular response through the way in which the question is framed, for example, ‘Nike and adidas are two of the most popular brands among third-level students in the UK. What brands would you name as being your top five favourite brands?’ The use of two brand names in the research question works as a prompt for respondents. As these two brands have been introduced by the researcher into the research encounter, it is likely that the respondents will name these two brands as being among their five favourite brands. It is also possible that the naming of the brands by the researcher might prompt respondents to deliberately avoid using these particular brand names as they name their top five. This is equally problematic. The problem is that the researcher has contaminated the research by prompting respondents through the use of particular brand names. For example, ‘It has been established, in research and in the media, that the “Fantastic Jersey” company uses child labour in the manufacture of its products. Do you support the brand “Fantastic Jersey”’? It is unlikely that any respondent will admit to supporting a brand that uses child labour. So the researcher has contaminated responses to the research through the design of the question.

Ambiguous questions These are questions that have an unclear meaning or questions that can have more than one possible meaning.

Complicated questions Questions should be short, simple and clear, concise and precise.

Asking two questions, or more, in one question For example, ‘Please name your top five favourite brands, and explain why they are your favourites.’ Here we have two questions in one. Always check that you have not done this when you are compiling a questionnaire, and if you have, rephrase your question, turning that one question into two or more questions.

Potentially embarrassing questions and/or questions which you have no right to ask Examples might be questions about how much money someone earns, questions about a person’s sexual orientation and so on. If you need to ask potentially

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sensitive questions, such as how much money the respondent earns, or how old the respondent is, it is helpful to aggregate the possible answers and then ask the respondent to indicate which range they belong to, rather than respond with a precise figure.

Asking unnecessary questions Ensure that your questionnaire, or schedule of questions and/or issues to be explored, is succinct and relevant, and absolutely to the point. Do not gather unnecessary data.

Loaded words Loaded words are words with a particularly strong emotional impact. For example, class is a loaded word, lower class is a loaded concept. Other words are loaded, too, and perhaps they are not so apparent, e.g. poor is a loaded word.

Unclear or vague concepts Concepts that are not clearly defined are problematic. ‘Fat’ is such a concept. By what standard can a person be described as being fat? Even medical definitions of obesity are contested. Another such concept is ‘old’. Again, what is old? By what definition or standard can something or someone be described as old?

Insulting words Some words and phrases are simply insulting or even degrading. They should not be used. It is important to remember that a word or phrase that is perfectly acceptable in one culture may be quite unacceptable in another.

Humour As a rule, it is best to avoid humour completely, unless humour is the topic of your research. Perceptions of what is funny vary from person to person, as well as from culture to culture, so it is best to avoid it completely.

Slang and colloquialisms

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Many of the words and phrases we use every day are, in fact, either colloquial expressions, peculiar to who we are and where we have come from, or they are slang. While such language can be charming and colourful, the standard for language in a written account of a research project is formal. So a simple formal language should be used throughout. Avoid slang and colloquial words and expressions.

Ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism means viewing the world, and in this context consequently organizing and designing data collection for your research, from your own ethnic or cultural perspective. Ensure that your questionnaire is not ethnocentric.

Ensure that the words, concepts, language you use in your questionnaire are not ethnocentric.

Classist, sexist, racist, ageist or disablist language Do not use classist, sexist, racist, ageist or disablist words, concepts or language in your questionnaire. Ensure that you are not, through the language you use, discriminatory towards or displaying prejudice against any class, race or gender; younger people or older people; or people with different physical and/or intellectual abilities.

Abbreviations and jargon Do not use abbreviations or jargon. Make each question as simple and clear as possible. Use words, concepts and phrases that will be familiar to your respondents.

Respondent bias The different kinds of response bias are detailed in Figure 13.2.

Talking down to respondents Do not ‘talk down’ to respondents by treating them disrespectfully or by patronizing them.

Double negatives

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Double negatives in a question or sentence can be confusing. Avoid using the word ‘not’ in a question, e.g. ‘is it not true that . . .’.

Avoid negative questions.

Ask simple, easy-toanswer questions Ask questions that the respondent will be easily able to answer. Do not ask too much of respondents; keep to a minimum the effort they have to make in order to respond to the questionnaire.

Give clear instructions Ensure that you give clear instructions to respondents. Make sure that respondents have all the instructions, direction and guidance they need in order to be able to properly and fully respond.

7. How might the wording of a question about income influence respondents’ answers?

Questions about income are potentially embarrassing questions. Such questions also come under the category of questions which you may have no right to ask. If you need to ask potentially sensitive questions, such as how much money a respondent earns, it is helpful to aggregate the possible answers, and then ask the respondent to indicate the range to which they belong, (e.g. less than 10,000, more than 10,000 less than 20,000, more than 20,000) rather than asking them to respond with a precise figure.

8. What is meant by the term response rate?

A response rate in a research project is a count of the number of valid responses received to a data gathering exercise, for example the number of properly completed and returned questionnaires and/or completed interviews. The higher the response rate the better. If every member of the study population or sample responds, then the study will have a very complete data set. In face-to-face data gathering exercises, it is not unusual to achieve 100% response rates, in telephone interviews it is not unusual to achieve 80% response rates. In postal surveys and in online surveys, response rates are often considerably lower than this. If the response rate is, for example, 75%, then there is no data on the attitudes or experiences of 25% of the study population or sample. If the response rate is, for example, 25%, then there is no data on the attitudes or experiences of 75% of the study population or sample. The problem is that it is

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possible that the non-respondents vary in some way from the respondents in terms of their attitudes and experiences of the phenomenon being studied. Nonresponses change the nature of the study, and they change the claims that can be made about the study. If everyone responds, you can apply your findings confidently to the population of the study. The fewer the number of valid responses, the less confident you can be.

9. What is the difference between a leading question and a loaded question?

A leading question leads respondents to a particular response through the way in which the question is framed. A loaded question is a question with a particularly strong emotional impact.

10. A client tells a researcher that they want a questionnaire that evaluates the importance of 30 product characteristics and rates their brand and ten competing brands on these characteristics. The researcher believes that this questionnaire will induce respondent fatigue because it will be far too long. How should the researcher respond?

If the researcher believes that the research, for whatever reason, will not accomplish the task, the researcher should say this. Then the researcher should design, or offer to design, a better approach to the research issue.

11. Design eight questions that assess how effective an undergraduate college business course has been.

While students’ responses will vary, they should be expected to apply the guidelines outlined in this chapter.

12. What is the typical process for developing questionnaires for markets where consumers speak a language other than English?

International researchers must take cultural factors into account when designing questionnaires. The most common problem involves translation into another language. Back translation is the process of translating the questionnaire from one language to another and then having it translated back again by a second, independent translator. The back translator is often a person whose native tongue is the language that will be used on the questionnaire. Literacy influences the designs of self-administered questionnaires and interviews, so knowledge of the literacy rates in new markets and foreign countries is vital.

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13. Explain the issues of validity and reliability in relation to quantitative research.

The issues of validity and reliability are treated differently in quantitative and qualitative research Validity •

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The issue of validity in relation to data collection methods in quantitative research, measurement validity, refers to the degree to which the data collection methods as they are designed can accomplish what it is that they are designed to accomplish.

There are different ways of establishing measurement validity: content validity, face validity, criterion related validity and construct validity.

Using content validity, the researcher establishes the validity of the data gathering method by ensuring that the phenomenon under investigation, as defined, or as outlined in the conceptual framework for the research project, is fully represented in the data gathering instrument(s).

Using face validity, the researcher establishes that the data gathering instrument seems a reasonable measure of the phenomenon under investigation. The researcher can improve the face validity of a data gathering instrument by asking people with some expertise on the phenomenon, to judge whether or not the instrument is valid. The data gathering instrument can be changed and developed following their feedback.

Using criterion related validity, also known as instrumental validity, the researcher uses some standard or criterion to measure the data gathering instrument against; for example, the researcher could use another data gathering instrument developed and validated by another (perhaps more established) researcher.

Construct validity is applicable to data gathering instruments which have multiple indicators (questions/issues). In attempting to establish construct validity the researcher demonstrates how all of the indicators are consistent, with each other and consistent with the phenomenon under investigation. The researcher ensures that the questions asked are relevant and pertinent to the phenomenon under investigation; that the data collection method designed is a complete and comprehensive examination of/reflection on the phenomenon under investigation.

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Reliability •

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The term reliability in research relates to the dependability of the research, to the degree to which the research can be repeated while obtaining consistent results.

A data collection instrument in social science research is deemed reliable if it produces the same result again and again, over time and in different circumstances.

A ruler, for example, is a reliable measure. If you use a ruler to measure the length and breadth of one of your shoes, you will get a particular result. If tomorrow you use the same ruler in the same measurement exercise, you will get the same result. If one of your friends uses a ruler to measure the length and breadth of the same shoe you measured, they will get the same result. The ruler is a dependable measure, it produces consistent results; it is a reliable instrument.

14. Go to Qualtrics (www.qualtrics.com). Explore the services offered by Qualtrics. Consider signing up for a Qualtrics student account. Establish what you can gain from Qualtrics if and when you do sign up for a student account.

While students’ responses will vary, they should be expected to apply the guidelines outlined in this chapter.

End of Chapter Case Study – Answers to questions 1. What type of custom survey research projects might a research supplier like Walker Information, Inc. (www.walkerinfo.com) conduct for its clients?

They do surveys for consumer soft goods and grocery store products. For example, they might do a study to see issues people have in relation to baby bathtimes (and from this might come an idea or a concept for a product). From this idea, a prototype product may be developed in a lab and then introduced to a test market, where Walker does more consumer research. They can do name testing to learn what names consumers associate with a certain product. They can do customer satisfaction research.

2. What stages are involved in the conducting of a survey? For which stages might a client company hire a research supplier like Walker Research?

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The stages are problem definition (possibly using exploratory research), statement of the research aim and objectives, selection of research methodology, and data gathering method(s) the type of survey (e.g., mail, telephone, mall intercept, door-to-door, etc.) and design of the questionnaire, selection of the sample design, data gathering, data processing and analysis, interpretation of the findings, and preparation of the conclusions and report.

The company may be hired only for data collection or for help with the entire research process. The company is organized into three strategic business units for business research.

3. What is the purpose of customer satisfaction measurement?

Effective business managers who subscribe to a total quality management philosophy believe that the product’s quality must go beyond acceptability for a given price range. Rather than having consumers relieved that nothing went wrong, consumers should experience some delightful surprises or reap some unexpected benefits. In other words, customer satisfaction is more than just meeting minimum standards. Knowing and tracking the level of customer satisfaction is essential to a total quality management program. Managers should try to establish what quality level their target markets expect, and then to produce and market goods and services that continually surpass expectations.

Implementing a total quality management program requires considerable research. A firm must routinely ask customers to rate it against its competitors. It must periodically measure employee knowledge, attitudes, and expectations. It must monitor company performance against benchmark standards. It must determine whether customers found any delightful surprises or major disappointments. In other words, a total quality management strategy expresses the conviction that to improve quality an organization must regularly conduct research to evaluate quality improvement.

4. What measures, other than findings from surveys, might a company use to evaluate the effectiveness of a total quality management program?

There are many measures from observation and secondary data that can be used to measure quality. For example, percentage of on-time delivery is a frequent measure of service quality. Counting the number of complaint letters or dissatisfied customers who call company telephone lines is another source of measuring the effectiveness of total quality management programs. Analysing complaints is another, and interviewing complainants, or a sample of complainants are others.

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Instructor’s Manual

Chapter Fourteen - Attitude Measurement Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter, the student should be able to: • • • • •

Identify basic approaches to measuring attitudes.

Discuss the use of scales for measuring attitudes.

Represent a latent construct by constructing a summated scale.

Summarize ways to measure attitudes with ranking and sorting techniques.

Discuss the major issues involved in the selection of a measurement scale.

Research Skills At the end of this chapter, the student should, using the exercises on the companion website, be able to: • • •

Explain what a Likert scale is and design a ten-item Likert scale to measure attitudes to a new product.

Explain what a rating scale is and design a ten-item rating scale for a training programme.

Explain a semantic differential scale with the use of an example.

Chapter Summary The chapter provides a good introduction to attitude research, explaining what an attitude is, and outlining the different ways of measuring attitudes used in attitude research. .

Attitudes As Hypothetical Constructs The chapter explains that an attitude is an enduring disposition to respond consistently in a given manner to various aspects of the world, including persons, events, and objects.

There are three components of attitude: • Affective component – refers to an individual’s general feelings or emotions toward an object.

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Cognitive component – represents an individual’s awareness of and knowledge about an object.

Behavioural component – reflects a predisposition to action by reflecting a consumer’s buying or purchase intentions.

Business researchers often pose questions involving psychological variables that cannot directly be observed. Unobserved or latent variables are known as hypothetical constructs or just constructs. Examples of common constructs include job satisfaction, organizational commitment, personal feelings, role stress, and so on.

Importance of Measuring Attitudes Most managers hold the intuitive belief that changing consumers’ or employees’ attitudes is a major goal. Because modifying attitudes plays a pervasive role in business strategies, the measurement of attitudes is an important task.

Techniques For Measuring Attitudes The chapter provides a good introduction to the variety of techniques used to measure attitudes. Although these may seem daunting to begin with, a careful reading of the chapter will reveal the simplicity of each of these techniques. It is worth spending time with students on these techniques, as mastering the techniques, or some of the techniques will boost their confidence levels, as well as their research skills.

A remarkable variety of techniques has been devised to measure attitudes, stemming in part from lack of consensus about the exact definition of the concept.

In addition, the affective, cognitive, and behavioural components of an attitude may be measured by different means.

These techniques range from direct to indirect, physiological to verbal, etc. Obtaining verbal statements from respondents generally requires that the respondent perform a task such as ranking, rating, sorting, or making choices.

Ways of Measuring Attitudes • • • • •

Ranking tasks require the respondent to rank order a small number of objects in overall preference on the basis of some characteristic or stimulus.

Rating asks the respondent to estimate the magnitude or the extent to which some characteristic exists.

Sorting might present the respondent with several product concepts printed o n cards and require the respondent to classify the concepts by placing the cards into groups.

Choice between two or more alternatives is another type of attitude measurement—it is assumed that the chosen object is preferred over the other(s).

Attitude Rating Scales

Perhaps the most common practice in business research is using rating scales to measure attitudes, and this section discusses many rating scales designed to enable respondents to report the intensity of their attitudes.

Simple Attitude Scales In its most basic form, attitude scaling requires that an individual agree or disagree with a statement or respond to a single question.

A number of simplified scales are merely checklists: A respondent indicates past experience, preference, and the like merely by checking an item.

Category Scales The simplest rating scale contains only two response categories, such as yes/no or agree/disagree.

A category scale is a more sensitive measure than a scale that has only two response categories—it provides more information.

Question wording is an extremely important factor in the usefulness of these scales.

Method of Summated Ratings: The Likert Scale The Likert scale is an extremely popular means for measuring attitudes.

With the Likert scale, respondents indicate their attitudes by checking how strongly they agree or disagree with carefully constructed statements, ranging from very positive to very negative attitudes toward some object.

Individuals generally choose from approximately five (although alternatives may range from three to nine) response alternatives: “strongly agree,” “agree,” “uncertain,” “disagree,” and “strongly disagree.”

Researchers assign scores, or weights, to each possible response (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 assigned to each level of agreement).

Reverse Recoding If a statement is framed negatively, the numerical scores would need to be reversed.

This is done by reverse coding the negative item so that a strong agreement really indicates an unfavorable response rather than a favorable attitude.

In the case of a 5-point scale, recoding would make the value 1 equal to a new value of 5, 2 equal to 4, 3 equal to 3, 4 equal to 2, and 5 equal to 1.

The data analysis software package SPSS has a recode function.

Composite Scales A Likert scale may include several scale items to form a composite scale.

Each statement is assumed to represent an aspect of a common attitudinal domain.

The total score is the summation of the numerical scores assigned to an individual’s responses.

Semantic Differential The semantic differential is actually a series of attitude scales.

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This popular attitude measurement technique consists of getting respondents to react to some concept using a series of 7-point bipolar rating scale Bipolar adjectives—such as “good” and “bad,” “modern” and “old-fashioned,” or “clean” and “dirty”—anchor both ends (or poles) of the scale.

The chapter details a number of different scales designed to measure attitudes.

Students will find these interesting, so it would be worth spending some time on them, explaining them to students and encouraging them to practice designing and using such scales.

Other Methods of Attitude Measurement Attitudes, as hypothetical constructs, cannot be observed directly, but they can be inferred by the way one responds to multiple attitude indicators.

A summated rating scale can be made up of three indicators of attitude (e.g., very good/very bad, very unfavorable/very favorable, very positive/very negative).

The terminology is such that now attitude would be represented as a latent (unobservable) construct indicated by a consumer’s response to these items.

Selecting a Measurement Scale: Some Practical Decisions There is no best scale that applies to all research projects.

The choice of scale will be a function of the nature of the attitudinal object to be measured, the manager’s problem definition, and the backward and forward linkages to other choices that have already been made (e.g., telephone survey versus mail survey).

There are several issues that will be helpful to consider: 1. Is a ranking, sorting, rating, or choice technique best?

2. Should a monadic or a comparative scale be used?

3. What type of category labels, if any, will be used for the rating scale?

4. How many scale categories or response positions are needed to accurately measure an attitude?

5. Should a balanced or unbalance rating scale be chosen?

6. Should an even or odd number of response categories be provided?

7. Should a scale that forces a choice among predetermined options be used?

8. Should a single measure or an index measure be used?

Ranking, Sorting, Rating, or Choice Technique?

The answer to this question is determined largely by the problem definition and especially by the type of statistical analysis that is desired.

The important thing to remember is that these means of measuring attitudes are simple and easy to use. They are also powerful measures of attitude. Developing an understanding of these techniques and learning how to use them will provide students with good skills in attitude research.

End of Chapter Questions 1. Describe how business researchers think of attitudes.

An attitude is a social-psychological concept that can be defined as a relatively enduring predisposition to respond consistently to various things including people, activities, events, and objects. Attitudes are thought to have three components: affective, cognitive, and behavioural. However, attitudes cannot directly be observed. Business researchers often pose questions involving psychological variables that cannot directly be observed. For example, someone may have an attitude toward working on a commission basis. We cannot actually see this attitude. Rather, we can measure an attitude by making an inference based on the way an individual responds to multiple scale indicators. Because we can’t directly see these phenomena, they are known as latent constructs, hypothetical constructs, or just simply constructs. Common constructs include job satisfaction, organizational commitment, personal values, feelings, role stress, perceived value, and many more.

2. Identify basic approaches to measuring attitudes.

A remarkable variety of techniques has been devised to measure attitudes. This variety stems in part from lack of consensus about the exact definition of the concept. In addition, the cognitive, affective, and behavioural components of an attitude may be measured by different means. Research may assess the affective (emotional) components of attitudes through physiological measures such as galvanic skin response (GSR), blood pressure, and pupil dilation. These measures provide a means of assessing attitudes without verbally questioning the respondent. In general, they can provide a gross measure of likes or dislikes, but they are not really sensitive to the different gradients of an attitude.

Obtaining verbal statements from respondents generally requires that the respondents perform a task such as ranking, rating, sorting, or making choices. A ranking task requires the respondent to rank order a small number of stores, brands, feelings, or objects on the basis of overall preference or some characteristic of the stimulus. Rating asks the respondent to estimate the magnitude or the extent to which some characteristic exists. A quantitative score results. The rating task involves marking a response indicating one’s position using one or more cognitive or attitudinal scales. A sorting task might present the respondent with several different concepts printed on cards and require the respondent to classify the concepts by placing the cards into groups (stacks of cards). Another type of attitude measurement is choice between two or more alternatives. If a respondent chooses one object over another, the researcher assumes that the respondent prefers the chosen object, at least in this setting.

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3. Discuss the use of rating scales for measuring attitudes.

One of the most common practices in business research is using rating scales to measure attitudes. There are many rating scales designed to enable respondents to report the intensity of their attitudes. In its most basic form, attitude scaling requires that an individual agree or disagree with a statement or respond to a single question. For example, respondents in a political poll may be asked whether they agree or disagree with the statement, “The president should run for re-election.” Or, an individual might indicate whether he or she likes or dislikes jalapeño bean dip. This type of self-rating scale merely classifies respondents into one of two categories, thus having only the properties of a nominal scale, and the types of mathematical analysis that may be used with this basic scale are limited. Despite the disadvantages, simple attitude scaling may be used when questionnaires are extremely long, when respondents have little education, or for other specific reasons. A number of simplified scales are merely checklists: a respondent indicates past experience, preference, and so on, simply by checking an item. In many cases the items are adjectives that describe a particular object.

4. Represent a latent construct by constructing a summated scale.

Unobserved or latent variables are known as hypothetical constructs or just constructs.

A method that is simple to administer and therefore extremely popular is business researchers’ adaptation of the method of summated ratings, developed by Rensis Likert. With the Likert scale, respondents indicate their attitudes by checking how strongly they agree or disagree with carefully constructed statements, ranging from very negative to very positive attitudes toward some object. Individuals generally choose from approximately five response alternatives—strongly disagree, disagree, uncertain, agree, and strongly agree—although the number of alternatives may range from three to ten or more. In the following example, there are five alternatives:

I really enjoy my business research class.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Uncertain Agree Strongly Agree □

□

□

□

□

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Researchers assign scores, or weights, to each possible response. In this example, numerical scores of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are assigned to each level of agreement,

respectively. The numerical scores, shown in parentheses, are typically not printed on the questionnaire or computer screen. Strong agreement indicates the most favorable attitude on the statement, and a numerical score of 5 is assigned to this response.

5. Summarise the way to measure attitudes with ranking and sorting techniques.

A ranking task requires the respondent to rank order a small number of stores, brands, feelings, or objects on the basis of overall preference or some characteristic of the stimulus. A sorting task might present the respondent with several different concepts printed on cards and require the respondent to classify the concepts by placing the cards into groups (stacks of cards).

6. Discuss the major issues involved in the selection of a measurement scale.

The answer to this question is relative, and the choice of scale will depend on the nature of the attitudinal object to be measured, the problem definition, and the other choices made with regard to the steps in the research process, and particularly choices made in relation to methodology. However, several questions will help focus the choice of a measurement scale: 1. Is a ranking, sorting, rating, or choice technique best?

2. Should a monadic or a comparative scale be used?

3. What type of category labels, if any, will be used for the rating scale?

4. How many scale categories or response positions are needed to accurately measure an attitude?

5. Should a balanced or unbalanced rating scale be chosen?

6. Should an even or odd number of response categories be provided?

7. Should a scale that forces a choice among predetermined options be used?

8. Should a single measure or an index measure be used?

7. What is the difference between a measured variable and a latent construct?

Many variables that researchers wish to investigate are psychological variables that cannot be observed (i.e., measured) directly. Unobserved or latent variables are known as hypothetical constructs or just constructs. Attitude is an example, and we make inferences based on the way a person responds to multiple individual scale items.

8. If a Likert summative scale has 10 scale items, do all 10 have to be phrased as either positive or negative statements, or can the scale contain a mix of positive and negative statements, or can the scale contain a mix of positive and negative For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

statements?

Students frequently ask this question. They confuse the notion of coding in a consistent direction with designing scale items that elicit valid and reliable responses. Having all positive statements may hint to the respondent that the researcher is interested in investigating a particular position (whether or not this is true). Also, having both positive and negative statements requires that the respondent think about each statement rather than merely checking off one side of the scale for every item. An ideal scale would have two versions of each statement (positive and negative) for split halves of the sample.

9. Should a Likert scale ever be treated as though it had ordinal properties?

Some would argue that that is the highest level of this type of scale. However, in practice there is the assumption that Likert scales have interval properties. The reason is that some research has indicated that violation of this assumption does not produce large differences in answers of research projects. Presumably those who are not disturbed when this assumption is violated can live with the small error caused by scaling.

10. If a semantic differential scale has 10 scale items, should all the positive adjectives be on the right and all the negative adjectives on the left?

This question is also one students often ask. They confuse the notion of coding all items in the same direction, perhaps seven for positive items, one for negative items, with the notion of designing a scale in which respondents carefully consider each item and answer after thinking about each item. Alternating or scattering of positive and negative items on the right or left side of the paper prevents respondents from just casually checking all answers on one side of a scale.

11. What is an attitude? Is there a consensus concerning its definition?

For social scientists, an attitude as an enduring disposition to consistently respond in a given manner to various aspects of the world, including persons, events, and objects.

It is generally believed that attitudes have three components: affective, cognitive, and behavioural. The affective component refers to an individual’s general feelings or emotions toward an object and reflects the emotional character of attitudes. The cognitive component represents an individual’s awareness of and knowledge about an object. The behavioural component reflects a predisposition to action by reflecting a consumer’s buying or purchase intentions.

Many variables that researchers wish to investigate are psychological variables that cannot be observed directly (i.e., attitudes). To measure an attitude, we make an inference based on the way a person responds to multiple individual scale items.

Unobserved or latent variables are known as hypothetical constructs or just constructs.

A remarkable variety of techniques has been devised to measure attitudes, stemming in part from lack of consensus about the exact definition of the concept. In addition, the affective, cognitive, and behavioural components may be measured by different means.

12. A researcher thinks many respondents will answer “don’t know” or “can’t say” if these options are printed on an attitude scale along with categories indicating agreement. The researcher does not print either “don’t know” or “can’t say” on the questionnaire because the resulting data will be more complicated to analyze and report. Is this appropriate?

This is a common tactic in research. The researcher’s objective is to discourage “don’t know” answers. Most researchers will, however, record don’t know responses if they are handwritten on the questionnaire. As long as there is no intent to bias answers or to avoid reporting honest responses, this activity is a proper act. However, the use of forced-choice questions is associated with higher incidences of “no answer.”

13. Distinguish between rating and ranking. Which is a better attitude measurement technique?

Why? Rating asks the respondent to estimate the magnitude or the extent to which some characteristic exists. A quantitative score results. The rating task involves marking a response indicating one’s position using one or more attitudinal or cognitive scales. A ranking task requires the respondent to rank order a small number of items on the basis of overall preference or some characteristic of the stimulus. No one measure is better than the other, and it depends on the objectives of the research.

14. What advantages do numerical scales have over semantic differential scales?

Numerical scales and semantic differential scales are very similar, especially when they have bipolar adjectives at each end.The major advantage a numerical scale has over a semantic differential is that the researcher may feel more comfortable about the interval For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA

scale nature of the data because of the numerical response options. However, there is no strong evidence to indicate that the numerical scale has the property of a ratio scale.

15. How would you perform reverse recoding using statistical software like SAS or SPSS? There is a function in SPSS that allows simple recoding to be done by entering ‘old’ and ‘new’ scale values. Alternatively, a simple mathematical formula can be entered. In the case of a 5-point scale, the formula is: Xnew value = 6 – Xold value 16. Identify the issues a researcher should consider when choosing a measurement scale. There are several issues that will be helpful to consider: 1. Is a ranking, sorting, rating, or choice technique best?

2. Should a monadic or a comparative scale be used?

3. What type of category labels, if any, will be used for the rating scale?

4. How many scale categories or response positions are needed to accurately measure an attitude?

5. Should a balanced or unbalance rating scale be chosen?

6. Should an even or odd number of response categories be provided?

7. Should a scale that forces a choice among predetermined options be used?

8. Should a single measure or an index measure be used?

Each of these issues is discussed in the chapter.

17. A researcher wishes to compare two hotels on the following attributes: Convenience of location / Friendly personnel / Value for the money a. Design a Likert scale to accomplish this task.

The Hilton Hotel has a convenient location.

Strongly agree 5

Moderately agre e 4

Neither Agree nor disagree 3

Moderately disagree 2

Strongl ydisagre e 1

Neither Agree nor disagree 3

Moderately disagree 2

Strongl ydisagre e 1

The Hilton employees are friendly.

Strongly agree 5

Moderately agre e 4

The Hilton Hotel is good value for the money.

Strongly agree 5

Moderately agre e 4

Neither Agree nor disagree 3

Moderately disagree 2

Strongl ydisagre e 1

Another set of Likert items would be used to measure attitudes toward a second hotel. b. Design a semantic differential to accomplish this task.

I think that Hilton Hotels have: A convenient location

An inconvenient location

Friendly personnel

Unfriendly personnel

Poor Value

Good value

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This would be repeated for another hotel. c.

Design a graphic rating scale to accomplish this task.

I think that Hilton Hotels have: A convenient location

An inconvenient location

Friendly personnel

Unfriendly personnel

Poor value

Good

Instructor’s Manual

Chapter Fifteen – Managing Data and Introducing Data Analysis Learning objectives: At the end of this chapter the student should be able to: • Develop an analytical framework for a research project. The analytical framework is the fourth of the four frameworks approach to the research project.

• Outline, describe and explain the four stages of data analysis.

• Begin to analyse data, ask critical questions of data and engage in descriptive data analysis.

• Explain the importance of grounding both data analysis and research findings in the data gathered for the research project.

Research skills: At the end of this chapter the student should, by using the accompanying online exercises referenced in the chapter, be able to: • Propose an analytical framework for a given research project.

• Explain and defend the proposed analytical framework.

Chapter Summary: The aim of this chapter is to introduce the student to data sets and to the management and analysis of data. The chapter introduces the student to the different ways of analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, to the ways in which to begin the process of data analysis and the different ways of organizing data analysis.

The chapter starts by explaining again the difference between quantitative and qualitative data, and the introduction explains that there are different ways of analysing quantitative and qualitative data.

There is an explanation of CADA (Computer Assisted Data Analysis) and the use of CADA in the analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. As well as reading the chapter, students should be encouraged to explore the online resources provided for CADA. Students can learn a lot from these resources, and they will develop a degree of familiarity with them and hopefully a degree of comfort with them.

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Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS)) is a relatively recent development.

Among the software packages available for qualitative data analysis are ATLAS.ti and NVivo.

Some of the different ways in which qualitative data are analysed are briefly explained.

This introduction to data analysis presents a substantial amount of new information, information that is quite complex. It would be a good idea to spend some time with students discussing this new information and facilitating the students in the work of processing and assimilating this information.

As well as beginning to think about and explore data analysis, the chapter introduces students to the work of data management. Data management is a key responsibility in the research process. The chapter explains this quite well and it provides useful information on the work of data management. The weblinks provided for the chapter are also useful in relation to teaching and learning in relation to data management.

In the Value of Good Research text box, ‘Three Cheers for the Death of Old Economics’ there is a good critique of the discipline of economics and a consideration of the new school of economics INET, the Institute for New Economic Thought, funded initially by George Soros and backed by a substantial number of academics.

The four frameworks approach is explained again. The chapter is primarily concerned with the fourth and final framework, the analytical framework. The chapter explains the analytical framework and it provides models of the data analysis chapter. These resources, taken together, will help students develop an understanding of how to structure the data analysis chapter in the thesis or in the report of the research.

The chapter provides a simple introduction to data analysis.

A simple approach to quantitative data analysis is presented and it would be a good idea to lead students through this example allowing them to develop some confidence about data analysis using this simple example.

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A simple introduction to qualitative data analysis is presented. Again, it would be a good idea to lead students through this simple introduction to allow them to develop some confidence about qualitative data analysis. CAQDAS, Computerised Analysis of Qualitative Data Analysis Software, is explained in this chapter.

Data analysis is an exercise of logic, and if the students can be encouraged to take the work of data analysis on and facilitated in developing some confidence in terms of the work, then the process can be very interesting, engaging and rewarding.

The four stages of data analysis is a unique model which Christina Quinlan developed in her teaching practice. It is presented in this textbook. This model, as the other models presented in the textbook, is designed to help students develop an understanding of a process, in this case the stages of data analysis.

The model simplifies the stages of data analysis, in order to facilitate understanding and learning. It is a really useful model. Students find it very helpful in terms of developing an understanding of the process of data analysis.

While simplifying for the purposes of learning the processes of data analysis, the chapter also emphasises the importance of an active reflective engagement with the work of data analysis.

The chapter emphasises the fact that data analysis is a protracted endeavour, which takes place at the kitchen table, at a desk or on the living room floor (for example). What goes into the data analysis chapter is a synopsis of all of this work. Chapter Fifteen of the textbook explains to students how to decide what to put into the data analysis chapter, how to select the key points, aspects and elements from all of the product of the work of data analysis, for inclusion in the chapter on data analysis.

The chapter provides examples of appropriate structures for the data analysis chapter.

The research examples presented in the chapter have been specially selected to provide teaching and learning resources which support the teaching and learning experience created in the chapter.

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End of Chapter Questions 1. What is meant by the term data management?

Data management is concerned with the proper management, use and protection of data.

2. Write a short paragraph on the key concerns in data management in a research project.

Data can be lost or stolen. As well as being careful not to lose data, it is important to ensure that data is not damaged in any way. If, for example, a questionnaire was torn or stained, the tear or stain might render the questionnaire illegible, then that data is lost. Moving data from one location to another creates risks to the security and integrity of the data. If moving the data is unavoidable, it is wise to make a plan for the move which anticipates as much as possible any potential risks or dangers posed to the data by the move. Such a plan may simply involve some reflection on the risks or potential risks involved in moving your data. Data should be anonymised to protect the identity of research participants, particularly if anonymity has been promised and/or guaranteed.

Anonymising data is an aspect of best practice in data management.

3. Describe a simple approach to quantitative data analysis.

Simple and small quantitative data sets can be analysed quite easily by simply counting the numbers and calculating simple statistics in relation to them.

Numbers can easily be counted, and the summaries of counted numbers can be meaningful.

4. Describe a simple approach to qualitative data analysis.

One simple approach to qualitative data analysis is to read through all of the data and while reading, make a list of all of the themes that occur in the data. The themes would be the key ideas or the key concepts that strike the researcher as s/he reads through the data transcripts. The researcher continues reading the transcripts and recording themes until no new themes emerge. Then the researcher takes the complete list of themes and explores them with a view to collapsing themes together. In other words, the researcher tries to condense the list of themes by fitting themes together that seem to logically fit together. In this way, the list of themes becomes shorter, and more manageable. When the researcher collapses themes together s/he needs to conceptualise a new theme, a theme which will encompass all of the themes collapsed together. This process is a process of abstraction. Through this process, the researcher takes a step away from the raw data, and a step towards an abstract or abstracted understanding of the data. The researcher through this process of abstraction

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comes closer to the meaning of the data, the meaning of the data in relation to overall aim of the research. The researcher moves to deeper levels of abstraction in relation to the data, moving further and further away from the raw data, as s/he continues to collapse themes together.

The researcher can colour-codes the themes; in colour-coding the themes, s/he assigns, arbitrarily, for example, the colour red to the first theme, the colour yellow to the second theme, the colour green to the third theme, and do on. The researcher then reads through the transcripts assigning the colours to the parts of the data that represent each of the themes. In this way the researcher can see at a glance each of the themes as they are represented in the data. The researcher then decides how to tell the story of the data, based on this thematic analysis, in the written account of the analysis.

5. What are the four stages of data analysis, as explained in this chapter?

There are four stages in data analysis.

The first stage is description. In this first stage of data analysis the researcher engages in a descriptive analysis of the data. The researcher describes the data, describing what it is that s/he sees in the data.

The second stage is interpretation. In this stage the researcher interprets the data, moving from describing what it is that they see in the data, to interpreting the data. By interpreting the data, what is meant is that the researcher states what it is that they think that the data means; first they describe what it is that they see in the data. Then they state what it is that they think that this means.

They then consider the implications of this interpretation.

The third stage is the conclusions stage. In this stage, the researcher draws some conclusion, a major or minor conclusion from the data. In drawing conclusions, the researcher moves the interpretation along from stating what it is that that they see in the data, and what they think that means, to drawing some kind of major or minor conclusion about that. Conclusions are not findings reiterated. In drawing conclusions, researchers further develop their thinking and reasoning in relation to the data analysed.

The conclusions that you draw as you go through the analysis are for the most part minor conclusions. They add-up into, or they make a substantial contribution

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to, your overall conclusion(s)/your major conclusion(s) which you state in the final chapter of the thesis, or in the final section of the report of the research.

The fourth and final stage of the four stages of data analysis is theorisation. As we know, every research project, certainly every research project conducted within academia must make a contribution to knowledge. It is with this theorising of the analysis that the researcher begins to make their contribution to theory, their contribution to the body of knowledge. In order to theorise their findings, the researcher looks back at their literature review and they check to see how their findings fit with the findings of the theorists detailed in that chapter. The researcher then demonstrates this in their data analysis chapter, or the section on findings in the report of the research, by stating how their finding fits with or contradicts the findings of other theorists, as detailed in their literature review.

Whether the findings fit with or contradict the findings of others is unimportant.

There may be temporal or cultural differences which can account for the researcher’s findings contradicting the findings of others. The researcher tries as much as possible to link their work with the theory laid out in the literature review.

6. What is CADA, and what are the key advantages of CADA in data analysis?

CADA stands for Computer Assisted Data Analysis. CADA is a substantial aid in the analysis of large data sets. The computer has the capacity to store the analysis and the results of analysis, and in particular with large data sets this is invaluable. Using the software package, the computer stores data safely and securely, assuming that the computer itself is safe and secure. A computerised software package facilitates the cleaning data. In checking accuracy in data and accuracy in the way in which data were loaded, researchers engage in cleaning data. Data are ‘cleaned’ in the software package to ensure that they are accurate.

7. What is SPSS, and what is it used for?

SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) is a computer software package used for the analysis of quantitative data. SPSS is a very powerful tool in quantitative data analysis. SPSS works very well in the analysis of survey data. Using SPSS, the researcher first codes each response to each question in each questionnaire. Each response is coded as a number. The numeric code (the number) is then loaded, (or inputted), into SPSS. When the participant in the research has completed and returned the questionnaire, the researcher loads the data, or inputs the data, from the questionnaire into SPSS. When all of the

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completed questionnaires have been loaded or inputted, the researcher then uses SPSS to analyse the data.

8. Explain in detail the acronym CAQDAS. CAQDAS stands for Computer Assisted/Aided Qualitative Data Analysis Software. Among the most frequently used qualitative data analysis software packages are Atlas ti and NVivo. Computerised data analysis software packages are designed to facilitate the management of data and data analysis. The software package stores the data and the analysis of the data. So there is no need for large piles of printed data or colour coded data. There is no need to move large quantities of paper about the desk or about the floor in order to carry out the analysis. The analysis can be done entirely on the computer, and stored and backed up on the computer. As well as eliminating the hard (physical) work of dealing with data analysis on paper, using colour coding or some other kind of coding system, a computerised approach to data analysis is simpler and cleaner.

When the data analysis process is computerised, there is less likelihood of data getting lost or simply missed in the analysis process.

9. Explain the use of the analytical framework with the four frameworks approach to the research project.

The analytical framework is the fourth framework in the four frameworks approach to research. The analytical framework emerges from the conceptual framework, the theoretical framework and the methodological framework. The analytical framework is contained in the data analysis chapter in the thesis, or in the data analysis section of the report of the research. The researcher presents the analytical framework for the research project in the chapter on data analysis.

The chapter on data analysis contains a full account of the analysis carried out on the data, and a complete presentation of the findings that emerge from that data analysis.

10. Using the analytical framework and the simple structures for the data analysis chapter provided in this chapter, design a structure for the data analysis chapter of your research project.

The analytical framework is structured around a series of chapter subsections, each of which is headed with a subtitle. The subtitles and subsections deployed in the chapter provide the structure necessary for the narrative, or story, the researcher tells of the analyzed data.

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The interviews were taped, and the interview transcriptions underwent content analysis using the qualitative software package ATLAS/ti.

The survey instrument used was reviewed by ‘subject matter experts’ and pilot tested by several training directors in MUR organizations in order to ensure that the content was complete and that the questions asked were clear and concise.

An appropriate sampling method was used, although the sample was small. A purposive sampling approach was used in the study. Twelve executives were solicited to participate, in the end seven did participate, and seven interviews in total were carried out.

The data gathering instrument had both open-ended questions and demographic questions regarding the organization and the MUMs that work for the organization. The demographic questions, we are told, were developed to give each organization some kind of quantifiable description.

We are told that, in keeping with the nature of a semi-structured interview, the goal of the interviewers was not to get all the questions in the instrument asked.

Instead, their focus was on gaining through the interviews an understanding of the participant’s perspective of manager training and the role that it played in their organization.

A decision was made to tape all of the interviews. This was done in order to keep the data as pure and as complete as possible. Each of the seven interviews was transcribed promptly on completion by a professional transcriber. All conversation between the interviewers and respondents were transcribed so that the entire interaction, including all follow-up questions and probes, could be reviewed. The transcripts were reviewed to ensure that the different interviewer styles did not affect analysis.

In their analysis of the interview transcripts, the researchers focused on the words, phrases, and themes in the data. They stated that, as recommended by Mehmetoglu and Altinay (2006), information from each participant was first analyzed separately to identify emerging themes within particular organizations.

Then the themes that emerged from each respondent were compared across respondents in order to identify common beliefs or practices. The stated expectation was that such a multiple analysis approach would lead to a more sophisticated understanding of the data and information.

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Analysis was completed using the program Atlas/ti.

The authors explain that the three dimensions identified for the construction of the data gathering instrument—job, employment, and training—were the major themes developed from the literature and they were the major themes used in the process of coding the data.

Main Weaknesses Interviews were conducted with seven executives from seven of the top 100 MUR organizations in the United States. It’s a very small sample, even for a qualitative study.

The interviews were conducted over the phone during a 2-month period in 2005.

There are advantages and disadvantages to using a telephone interview method.

The advantages tend to be in terms of convenience. The disadvantages tend to be in the limits of possibilities in terms of data gathering.

The use of more than one interviewer led to difficulties with the data. The researchers were able to overcome these difficulties. We are told that as more than one interviewer was used, and they both had their own unique style of creating a conversation with the respondents, there was a need to ensure consistency in the analysis of the data. This led to differences in the ways in which responses were generated. We are told that although the data gathering instrument was similar for each interview, different styles of interview prompted the researchers to use content analysis as the means by which the interview data was analysed.

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Instructor’s Manual Chapter Sixteen – Analyzing Qualitative Data Learning objectives: At the end of this chapter the student should: • Understand qualitative data analysis; • Be able to analyse qualitative data.

Research skills: At the end of this chapter the student should, by using the accompanying online exercises referenced in the chapter, be able to: • •

Conduct an analysis of the data set presented.

Critique the data provided in terms of the stated aim of the research project.

The aim of this chapter is to develop the focus on qualitative data and qualitative data analysis started in Chapter Fifteen, Managing Data and Introducing Data Analysis, and to teach the student how to engage in qualitative data analysis.

The chapter explains qualitative data analysis and the key concepts and issues in qualitative data analysis. The chapter demonstrates the processes and procedures of qualitative data analysis. The student will learn in this chapter how to carry out qualitative data analysis. Some of the different approaches to qualitative data analysis are explained in the chapter.

The chapter explains in detail what qualitative data is and how qualitative data is analysed. The chapter outlines a simple approach to qualitative data analysis, and the chapter introduces the student to more complex approaches to qualitative data analysis. The use of computer assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) is explored in the chapter. Three different software packages available for qualitative data analysis are considered, NVivo, Atlas ti and NUDIST. The centrality of language in qualitative data and qualitative data analysis is explored and explained in the chapter. Different ways to present qualitative data and qualitative research findings in the thesis or research report are considered. Finally, the chapter explains how to blend together the findings from quantitative and qualitative research (mixed methods research) in the writing of research.

The chapter provides a good introduction to, and overview of, qualitative data analysis. A great deal of information on qualitative data analysis is presented in the chapter. It would be useful to take a relatively slow approach to the chapter if possible, given all of the information that is presented in the chapter.

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1

In particular, it is important that students understand fundamentally important issues in qualitative data analysis, such as the role of the researcher in qualitative data analysis and the centrality of language in qualitative data analysis. These two issues are reflected upon in detail in the chapter.

Several of the different approaches to qualitative data analysis are discussed and explained. It would be important to spend time with students discussing these different approaches and how and when they are applied.

It is a good idea that students become familiar with the different approaches to data analysis, although so as not to overwhelm them, it is a good idea to remind them that they need only develop a degree of expertise in one approach; the approach that they actually use in analysing their data.

Reflexivity is concept/practice that is of fundamental importance in qualitative research. It would be a good idea to ensure that students understand what reflexivity is, and that they know how to engage in reflexive practice. Research diary exercises would be useful in helping the students develop these skills.

The model of the four stages of data analysis is considered again in the chapter, and it is in this chapter applied to qualitative data analysis. This model, as explained previously, was developed by Christina Quinlan in her teaching practice and it is a useful model in terms of teaching students how to undertake data analysis. The simplicity of the model means that the model is a good teaching aid. The four stages are easy to remember. This model can be used to encourage students to develop some confidence in relation to undertaking data analysis and presenting analysed data.

The analytical framework is discussed and explained and the four frameworks approach to the research project is considered again. It is a good idea to encourage students to become familiar and comfortable with the four frameworks approach, and comfortable with using the four frameworks in their own research.

The research methodology in focus in the chapter is grounded theory, and a simple introduction to a grounded theory approach to data analysis is provided.

Also provided are some useful resources for further reading on this methodology.

Some basic issues in presenting qualitative data analysis are considered and some of different ways of structuring and presenting analysed data are explained.

Matrices are important in qualitative data analysis and in the work of presenting qualitative data and it would be a good exercise to explore matrices in class using the resources provided in the chapter. A matrix (matrices is the plural) is a display that the researcher creates with their data.

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There is a consideration in the chapter of mixed methods approaches to research and although this section is quite brief, it does provide a good insight into the key issue in mixed methods research, as well as providing some useful resources for further reading about mixed methods research.

The chapter provides a basic introduction to CAQDAS, Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software. The value of CAQDAS is explained and in particular the value of CAQDAS in the management of qualitative data and qualitative data analysis. Both ATLAS.ti and NVivo are considered, and direction is given to further resources for both software packages.

Answers to End of Chapter Questions 1. Outline a simple approach to qualitative data analysis.

2. What are matrices and how are they used in qualitative data analysis.

• • •

A matrix (matrices is the plural) is a display that the researcher creates with their data.

Like a table or a figure in quantitative data analysis, the construction of a matrix in qualitative data analysis can provide the researcher with new and fresh insights into the data.

The researcher decides for themselves, based on their requirements and based on the data available, how to construct the matrix, what form it should take, how many columns it should have, how many rows it should have, how many cells it should have, and so on.

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•

The researcher constructs a matrix for the data in order to reduce the data, (for the purposes of data reduction), and in order to display the data.

3. Explain the fundamental importance of language in qualitative data analysis.

• In qualitative data analysis, rather than analysing numbers, researchers analyse language and they use language to give expression to their analyses.

• Many of the data collection methods used in qualitative research produce data that is language based, interview and focus group transcripts of the oral testimony of participants, written texts and documents.

• So language, and the way in which people use language, is particularly important in qualitative research and in qualitative data analysis.

4. Explain the role of the researcher in qualitative data analysis.

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While the fundamental aim of qualitative research is to uncover the subjective meanings participants make of the phenomenon under investigation, there is an acknowledgement of the role that the researcher plays in creating meaning, through their essential (necessary) selection, description and interpretation of the data they gather for the research project.

This is because, within qualitative research, there is an explicit acknowledgement that data gathered is filtered through the consciousness of the researcher.

In qualitative data analysis the researcher becomes subjectively immersed in the data.

The researcher does not stand objectively apart from the data. As this is the case, there is a call within qualitative research for the researcher to provide a reflexive account of themselves within the research project.

In qualitative research, reflexivity calls for an acknowledgement on the part of the researcher of their role in the research project.

The essential role of the researcher in interpreting the experiences of others in the qualitative research process calls for the role of the researcher in this process and the perspective of the researcher, to be made explicit.

This is done by the researcher through a reflexive process.

The researcher makes explicit the perspectives, the understandings and the decisions that guide them through the process of data analysis to the findings and conclusions of the research.

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5. Name and explain four different approaches to qualitative data analysis.

• In discourse analysis the researcher is focused on discourses in the data and on identifying and interpreting the different discourses in the data.

• In narrative analysis, the researcher is focused on narratives in the data, and on describing and interpreting the different narratives in the data.

• In semiotics, the researcher is focused on identifying signs in the data, and on describing and interpreting the way in which signs are used in the data, and the meanings of the signs in the data. Within semiotics the researcher uncovers the denotative (explicit) and connotative (implicit) meanings of the data (see Bignell: 2002).

• In image-based research, the images can be analysed using thematic analysis, using discourse analysis, using narrative analysis, using textual analysis, using content analysis, or using a semiotic analysis.

6. Sketch a model of the four stages in data analysis and explain how the model works.

There are four stages in data analysis.

•

The first stage is description. In this first stage of data analysis the researcher engages in a descriptive analysis of the data. The researcher describes the data, describing what it is that s/he sees in the data.

•

The second stage is interpretation. In this stage the researcher interprets the data, moving from describing what it is that they see in the data, to interpreting the data. By interpreting the data, what is meant is that the researcher states what it is that they think that the data means; first they describe what it is that they see in the data. Then they state what it is that

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they think that this means. They then consider the implications of this interpretation.

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The third stage is the conclusions stage. In this stage, the researcher draws some conclusion, a major or minor conclusion from the data. In drawing conclusions, the researcher moves the interpretation along from stating what it is that that they see in the data, and what they think that means, to drawing some kind of major or minor conclusion about that.

Conclusions are not findings reiterated. In drawing conclusions, researchers move their thinking and reasoning along.

•

The fourth and final stage of the four stages of data analysis is theory or theorisation. As we know, every research project, certainly every research project conducted within academia must make a contribution to knowledge. It is with this theorising of the analysis that the researcher begins to make their contribution to theory, their contribution to the body of knowledge. In order to theorise their findings, the researcher looks back at their literature review and they check to see how their findings fit with the findings of the theorists detailed in that chapter. The researcher then demonstrates this in their data analysis chapter, or the section on findings in the report of the research, by stating how their finding fits with or contradicts the findings of other theorists, as detailed in their literature review. Whether the findings fit with or contradict the findings of others is unimportant. There may be temporal or cultural differences which can account for the researcher’s findings contradicting the findings of others.

The researcher tries as much as possible to link their work with the theory laid out in the literature review.

7. What is the analytical framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project and how does it fit with the other frameworks in the four frameworks approach to the research project?

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8. What is meant by the term mixed methods research?

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It often happens that a mixed methods approach is taken to a research project.

‘Mixed methods’ means that both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in the research project (see Hesse-Biber; 2010 and Gray; 2009).

9. Outline and explain the key issues and potential problems in mixed methods research.

• As we know, quantitative and qualitative research methodologies have different philosophical foundations and different epistemological and ontological assumptions.

• Arguments against mixed methods usually hold that these distinctions are not, or perhaps cannot be, observed in mixed methods research. You will notice as you read accounts of different research projects, that different methodologies and data gathering methods are used in different ways, to different effect all of the time.

• The researcher should have the necessary skills in both quantitative and qualitative research in order to undertake mixed methods research.

• While it is possible, and indeed often advisable, to use mixed methods in research, it is important to understand the paradigmatic issues involved in such approaches.

• It is, as always, necessary to know what it is you are trying to accomplish with your research, and how the research methodologies and methods you employ in your research project will allow you or help you to do this.

10. Explain what is meant by the term CAQDAS and name two qualitative data analysis software packages. What are the key advantages to using CAQDAS? The term CAQDAS means Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software.

Two qualitative data analysis software packages are: • Atlas ti • NVivo Using CAQDAS, the computer software stores and manages the data.

• •

This is particularly important, as discussed in previous chapters, in terms of data management.

When all of the qualitative data gathered for a research project are kept within a file in a qualitative data analysis computer software package, the data are safe.

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• • • •

In addition, the management of the data throughout the process of data analysis is simple and safe; it is highly organised within the structure of the data analysis package.

Using a computer software package for qualitative data analysis, the data are coded and interpreted using the software.

Through the software, the process of analysis is more organised and less liable to error.

When analysing large quantities of qualitative data by hand, it is too easy to make mistakes, to overlook data, to miss issues relevant or even critical issues within the data.

11. ’NET Explore the advantages of computerized software such as ATLAS.ti. The website is at http://www.atlasti.com. How do you think it might assist in coding something like a depth interview or a collage created by a respondent?

While students’ responses will vary, they should be expected to apply the guidelines outlined in this and previous chapters.

12. Design an interview schedule to explore student satisfaction with your college bookstore. Interview five classmates and then arrange the data gathered into a data matrix.

While students’ responses will vary, they should be expected to apply the guidelines outlined in this and previous chapters.

End of Chapter Case Study – Answers to questions 1. What do you think of diaries as a means of gathering data?

Diaries are a good means of gathering data. Good and useful qualitative data can be gathered through the use of a diary method. One drawback of a diary method is that it does ask quite a lot of participants. Keeping a diary can be regarded as a laborious task. Research participants have to be prepared to keep the diary, to the record the required data in the diary, and to record the data properly in the diary. At the end of the data gathering phase of the research they have to be prepared to give the diary to the researcher(s) so that the data in the diary can be analysed and used in the research project.

2. Why are the researchers concerned with maintaining the individualism and subjectivity of each diary?

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In qualitative research, it is these individual subjective experiences and expressions of reality that the qualitative researcher tries to understand and describe in their work.

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Instructor’s Manual Chapter Seventeen – Analyzing Quantitative Data

Learning objectives: At the end of this chapter, the student should: • Understand what descriptive statistics are and why they are used.

• Understand what inferential statistics are and why they are used.

• Be able to create and interpret simple tabulation tables.

• Understand how cross-tabulation can reveal relationships.

• Be able to test a hypothesis about an observed mean compared to some standard.

• Recognize when a particular bivariate statistical test is appropriate.

Research skills: At the end of this chapter the student should, using the exercises on the companion website, be able to: • Carry out an analysis of the data set presented.

• Critique the data provided in terms of the stated aim of the research project.

Chapter Summary: The aim of this chapter is to develop the focus on quantitative data and quantitative data analysis started in Chapter 15 and to teach you, the student, how to engage in quantitative data analysis. The chapter explains quantitative data analysis and the key concepts in quantitative data analysis. It demonstrates the processes involved in quantitative data analysis and basic statistical analysis.

The use of visual displays of quantitative data analysis, charts and graphs is explored and the importance of visual displays of quantitative data is explained.

The chapter provides a good introduction to quantitative data analysis. There are several very useful teaching and learning resources within the chapter.

The model of the four frameworks is again presented, and the framework with which this chapter is primarily concerned with is the fourth and final framework, the analytical framework.

The chapter proceeds then to explain how the work of quantitative data analysis is undertaken and carried out. To begin with there is a discussion of quantitative

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analysis using secondary sources. This is important, as many students will not engage in primary research. Even for those students who will engage in primary research, study of the use of secondary sources is valuable.

The case study presented in The Value of Good Research textbox, Lian’s research project, is a significant case study. It would be a very good idea to spend some time on this case study, exploring the different aspects of it, and discussing these aspects with students in class. This case study is a very good aid. It is extremely useful in teaching and learning in quantitative data analysis.

The case study traces Lian’s research project from conception, through the outlining of an aim and objectives, through an explanation of the research methodology, a description of the data collection methods used, to gathering data and data analysis. The case study contains a copy of the questionnaire Lian developed for the research, and two different coding keys which she developed to aid data analysis. The case study also presents a copy of all of the data for the first nine of the 120 completed questionnaires Lian gathered. The data in the dataset is explained and explored.

There is an explanation in the chapter of the way in which to load data into SPSS. The issues in loading into SPSS are explored. The use of SPSS in data analysis is explored and explained.

There is an exploration of the variable in quantitative data analysis. The variable is defined and explained. This is complex material, and it would be worthwhile spending some time on it, in order to ensure that the students understand the material. Once again, a simple straightforward approach has been taken to presenting and explaining the material in order to facilitate clear understanding.

The methodology in focus in this chapter is experimental design and a simple explanation of experimental design is presented, in The Value of Good Research – Focus on Experimental Design textbox. This provides a short but useful introduction to experimental design. There is a description of the Hawthorne Experiments (1924-1933) and some useful resources are provided for further reading and study.

Then the chapter moves to explore basic statistical analysis. A good introduction is provided to both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Each is defined and explained. There are two tables, one presenting an explanation of different descriptive statistics, such as measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion, percentages, ratios, proportions and so on. The other table presents

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an explanation of different inferential statistics, t tests, ANOVA, correlation and so on. Once again, this is complex material presented in a succinct and relatively simple format. It would be a good idea to spend some time reading through this material with students to ensure that they understand it.

There is a very good section on graphing data, and this section explains the value of graphing data and tabulating data (presenting data in tables). Examples of different kinds of graphs are presented and explained. It would be a useful class exercise to talk through the different graphs presented and the relative advantages and/or disadvantages of each.

The ‘How Theory Influences Research’ textbox presents a synopsis of a journal article which explores the research methods used in journal articles published in small business and entrepreneurship journals. This makes for interesting reading in terms of the perspective it presents on the kinds of research undertaken by the researchers publishing in those journals. The synopsis is useful too in terms of all of the quantitative data presented. It would be useful to discuss the quantitative data presented with students in class, in particular the ways in which the data is presented.

The four stages in the data analysis process is presented again and once again explained. This, as explained in previous chapters, is a model specially developed for this book. It is designed to provide a clear understanding of the process of data analysis, and a simple and memorable model of that process.

Finally, the model of the four frameworks approach to the research project is presented again.

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As explained earlier, the four frameworks approach to the research project is a simple model of an approach to the research project which works very well as an aid, in particular to beginner researchers. It is a unique approach which Christina Quinlan developed which works very well with students. The four frameworks approach to the research project helps students develop well conceptualised appropriately focused good, properly integrated research projects.

The end of chapter case study focuses on a survey of the consumption of charity bracelets. A good deal of detail on the methodology used in the study is presented in the case study and the data gathered in the study. The questions at the end of the case study deal with the issue of bias in research.

End of Chapter Questions 1. What is a variable?

A variable is a characteristic with more than one value. For example, gender is a variable; level of education is a variable.

2. Explain the differences between nominal, ordinal and interval level variables.

3. What is a coding key and what is it used for?

A coding key is a guide, created by the researcher, to all of the codes used in coding data in order to input the data into a computer software programme designed for data analysis. It is used to facilitate data analysis.

4. Explain the value of tabulating research.

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Tabulating data is the presentation of data in tables, and like graphing data, tabulating data can produce fresh insights into the data tabulated.

5. Explain what is meant by the terms univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis.

• Univariate analysis is analysis of one variable. Using univariate analysis, each variable in the dataset is analysed individually, or one at a time.

Methods for examining variables one at a time include: frequencies, measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion.

• Bivariate analysis is analysis conducted on two variables. Examples of the statistical analysis that can be carried out in bivariate analysis include cross tabulation, one way ANOVA, t-tests, correlation tests, and simple linear regression.

• Multivariate analysis is analysis conducted on three or more variables.

Examples of statistics that can be used in multivariate analysis include multiple regression analysis and MANOVA, multiple analysis of variance.

6. Explain the differences between descriptive and inferential statistics.

Descriptive Statistics: Descriptive statistics are used to describe data. Each variable in the data gathered, gender, level of education, income, age, and so on, can be described using descriptive statistics. Using descriptive statistics, each variable can be described in a number of different ways. Among the most generally used descriptive statistics are percentage, ratios, proportions, frequencies, ranges, means, modes, medians, and standard deviations.

Inferential Statistics: With inferential statistics the researcher is trying to go beyond the data and reach conclusions that extend beyond the data. Inferential statistics infer, based on a study of a sample population, what the entire population might think, or do. Inferential statistics are also used in quantitative data analysis for prediction. Prediction in quantitative data analysis is based on the science of probability. The most commonly used inferential statistics include t-tests, ANOVA analysis of variance, correlation tests and regression analysis.

7. Name and explain the ten descriptive statistics commonly used in quantitative data analysis and briefly outline how they are used in data analysis.

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8. Name and explain five different inferential statistics and briefly explain how they are used in data analysis.

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9. Explain why graphs and tables are used for the display and analysis of data.

• Graphing data and tabulating data are important facilities data analysis.

• Graphing data and tabulating data, allows for the communication of large quantities of data in a very succinct manner.

• In addition, visually displaying data can make trends and patterns in the data apparent.

• It does sometimes happen that researchers do not see particular trends or patterns in their data until they visually display the data.

• Graphing data and tabulating data are as important to the process of data analysis as they are to the process of communicating data analysis.

10. Outline and explain the key advantages to using a computer software package such as SPSS in quantitative data analysis.

A computer software package such as SPSS can be used to analyse quantitative data. Such a package readily facilitates the analysis of large data sets. CADA, computer assisted data analysis also helps with the management of data and with the safety and security of data.

11. What is the analytical framework in the four frameworks approach to the research project and explain how it helps the researcher maintain focus in the research project.

The four frameworks approach to research is designed to help the research maintain the focus of the research throughout the research process. The focus of the researcher throughout the research process should be on the research statement or question, the research hypothesis, or the overall aim of the research project. The manner in which the four frameworks approach to the research process works is detailed once more in the figure below.

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12. What is the ideal climate?

Fill in the following blanks: The lowest temperature in January should be no lower than ___ degrees. At least ___ days should be sunny in January: a List at least 15 places in which you would like to live. Using the internet, find the average low temperature in January for each place. This information is available through various weather-related websites such as www.weather.com or through each community’s local news website. Record the data in a spreadsheet or statistical package such as SPSS. Using the benchmark (preferred population low temperature) you filled in above, test whether the sample places that you would like to live in have an ideal January minimum temperature. b Using the same website, record how many days in January are typically sunny. Test whether the number of sunny days meets your standard. For each location, record whether there was measurable precipitation yesterday. Test the following hypothesis: H1: Among places you would like to live, there is less than a 33.3 per cent chance of rain/snow on a given day (5 days out of 15).

While students’ responses will vary, they should be expected to apply the guidelines outlined in this and previous chapters.

End of Chapter Case Study – Answers to questions 1. Can you explain what is meant by bias in research?

Bias in research is anything that contaminates or compromises the research.

Researchers have to be vigilant to avoid bias in their research.

2. Can you name and explain the main sources of bias in research?

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As explained above, bias in research is anything that contaminates or compromises the research. As this broad definition of bias indicates, bias can be introduced to a research project at any stage, at the design stage, during sampling, during data gathering, data analysis and at the stage of developing findings and conclusions. Bias can refer to a particular perspective that the research takes which highlights some aspects or findings of the research while ignoring or even hiding others. Bias can also refer to some systematic error that has somehow been introduced to the research.

Researcher Bias: Researchers can themselves be a cause of bias. For example, researchers can be biased in favour of a particular result or finding in their research. They can have a particular view and want that view confirm by the study, rather than keeping an open mind as to what the study might confirm.

They can influence the findings of the research through the design of the study.

Through the use of what are known as leading questions, the researcher can influence participants in the study, through the wording of the questions, the emphasis they place on the different words and concepts in the questions, and through encouraging and/or affirming particular responses. Sometimes in qualitative research, the researcher is said to be the research instrument. The data gathered for the research project is gathered through their engagement with and experience of the phenomenon under investigation. This can lead sometimes to the researcher losing the ‘outsider’ perspective they must maintain in order to report in a critical analytical way on that phenomenon.

Sampling Bias: Sampling bias occurs when the sampling procedure used in the research is flawed or compromised in some way. Researchers can introduce sampling bias into their study if the population or sample used in their study is biased in favour of a particular population or sample population. Population samples that under-represent some members of the population will bias research. Bias can be introduced through non-responses when the nonrespondents in the study differ in some significant way to respondents. When respondents are self-selecting, voluntary response bias can occur if the respondents have a particular agenda in the research. The population and/or the sample selected for the study should be the appropriate population and/or sample for that study; and appropriate sampling methods should be used when selecting samples from study populations. Sampling methods are dealt with in detail in Chapter Ten, Understanding Populations and Samples.

Respondent Bias: Respondents can bias research in a number of ways:

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• •

•

They can respond in a patterned way to each question. When a respondent gives a patterned set of responses to a set of questions, for example answering yes to every question or answering no to every question, this is known as a response set.

Acquiescence bias happens when a respondent agrees with everything the researcher says.

Social desirability bias occurs when a respondent gives the socially desirable or the politically correct response, rather than an honest response.

Prestige bias occurs when the respondent in influenced in responding through their perception of the prestige of a group or individual, for example the use of words like ‘doctor’ or ‘president’ or ‘excellent’ might introduce prestige bias.

Researchers try to eliminate bias from their research. They do this by developing rigorous and valid research projects. If they find that, despite their best efforts, they have not managed to eliminate bias from their research, they acknowledge that their study is biased or that it may be to some degree biased. Researchers try to identify possible sources of bias in their research, although it is not always possible to do this. When researchers do identify a possible source of bias in their research, they acknowledge it.

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Instructor’s Manual

Chapter Eighteen – Completing and Presenting the Research

Learning objectives: At the end of this chapter, the student should be able to: • Conceptualize and present conclusions from research.

• Conceptualize and present recommendations for research projects.

• Complete the final written report of a research project.

• Present the research.

Research skills: At the end of this chapter, the student should, using the exercises on the companion website, be able to: • Explain what a conclusion is in a research project, and what conclusions represent in terms of the research endeavour.

• Explain how good and useful recommendations are conceptualized and presented.

• Critique the conclusions and recommendations from a given research project.

Chapter Summary: The aim of this chapter is to explain the importance of the written report of the research project. To explain the concept of conclusions in research, to demonstrate how conclusions should be drawn, and to help you, the student, develop the skills needed to complete the write-up of a thesis/dissertation. The means by which the research project is brought full circle is demonstrated in this chapter by explaining how the final conclusions of the research project respond to the research question or statement of the research project and how they respond to the aim and the objectives of the research. The chapter explains how the final chapter of the thesis/dissertation, or the final section of the research report, is designed to answer fully and completely the research question/research statement.

The first textbox in the chapter, The Value of Good Research textbox which details a survey of 1,000 teenagers published in the Guardian newspaper provides a good and interesting example of the problems that can arise when

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research projects are presented without being thoroughly and precisely communicated. This textbox could form the basis for a good class discussion on the importance of thoroughly communicating the research project.

The focus of the chapter is on the final chapter in the thesis, or the final section of the report of the research project, conclusions and recommendations.

The chapter explains what a conclusion is and how conclusions are drawn. The process of moving from a finding to a conclusion, to a recommendation is outlined and explained and examples are given. The examples are important because they illustrate, very simply, this process. The process can seem very difficult and very complex to beginner researcher, having the simple examples presented in the textbook to use as a guide will help them develop an understanding of the process, and the confidence to deal with this in their own research.

The process of theorising conclusions is also explained in the chapter and again examples are given. These examples should be used in class discussions with students, to ensure that they understand these processes, to encourage them to actively engage in learning about the processes, and to facilitate them in learning how to engage in the processes themselves.

The chapter explains what is meant by the ‘implications’ of conclusions.

The recommendations of a study are explained and explored. Some guidelines and standards are provided in terms of how recommendations should be presented. The need, usually, to make separate recommendations for different parties or constituents to the research is explained.

The research methodology in the study is life history research. This is a very useful methodology, and it is sometimes overlooked in business research. In fact, this research methodology has great application in social science research and in business research. A number of very useful and very interesting resources in relation to life history research are presented. It would be a very interesting class exercise to spend some time on this box feature, and to explore using the internet the resources provided.

A substantial amount of guidance is provided in terms of writing up the research project. The guides provided are simply and clearly presented. It would be important to spend some time in class working through the guides with students,

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to ensure that they read them, and they understand them. They will find these guides very useful when they are writing up their research projects.

The end of chapter case study is an interesting case study which draws on a very substantial international study. The ten conclusions drawn from the study, and presented in the case study, make for interesting reading. They are simply written and simply presented, but they are very substantial and very complex conclusions. It would be a good idea to structure a class discussion around these conclusions.

End of Chapter Questions 1. What are conclusions and how are they drawn in a research project?

A conclusion is essentially a judgement, a final decision. At the end of the research process, the researcher comes to a final conclusion, or several final conclusions, about the research. This final decision or final judgement that the researcher makes will relate to, or respond to, the research question or statement. It will relate to the overall aim of the research project.

In presenting data analysis, the researcher engages in the four stages of data analysis. First, they describe the data, then they interpret the data, then they come to some minor conclusion about the data, and finally they theorise the data.

In presenting the analysed data and the findings of the research, the researcher presents minor conclusions drawn from the research. All of these minor conclusions add up into the overall conclusion that the researcher draws from the research.

2. What is the role of the overall conclusion in the research project?

The overall conclusion that the researcher draws from the research is presented at the start of the final chapter, the chapter on conclusions and recommendations. The overall conclusion that the researcher comes to with regard to the research is a response to the research question or statement, a response to the overall aim of the research. It is the final accomplishment of the overall aim of the research project.

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3. What is meant by the term ‘theorising conclusions’?

In theorising conclusions, the researcher looks back at the literature review and sees how their research fits with, or contradicts, the research detailed in the literature review. Then the researcher, in their writing of the conclusions and recommendations chapter of the thesis makes explicit connections between their research and the research of these other researchers. The researcher draws on the work of other researchers and theorists and through that process they enrich the reporting of their conclusions. At the same time, they are connecting their work with the body of knowledge in their field and through that, making their overall contribution to knowledge.

4. Explain the following statement: ‘there are different conclusions for different constituents’.

This means that there are different conclusions for different parties to the research. For example, implications for the participants in the research, for the broader population of the study, for the discipline, if there is a discipline, for the area of business, if the research is situated within a particular area of business, for policy in the field, and so on. The researcher tries to tease out the different conclusions for all parties.

5. What are recommendations and how are they developed?

The recommendations of the study are the ways forward from the research.

Recommendations are courses of action that the researcher recommends based on the findings of the research and the conclusions drawn from those findings.

The following points should be kept in mind when conceptualising the recommendations for the study: • Recommendations should be succinct.

• They should be meaningful in relation to the aim and objectives of the research.

• They should respond to the research question or statement.

• Recommendations should be do-able or achievable. There is no point in making recommendations that cannot possibly be put in action, perhaps because the necessary resources would be not available, or perhaps because there would be too much opposition to them, or for other reasons.

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6. What is meant by the term ‘the limitations of the research’, in the context of the final chapter of the thesis/dissertation or report of the research?

Generally, in the final chapter/section there is a short paragraph detailing the limitations of the research. The research should not be undermined by this paragraph. The paragraph is simply a brief acknowledgement of any limitations in the research. It might be, for example, that there were limitations in the sample size used in the study, or in the approach to data gathering used in the study, or in the data gathered for the study. If there are any limitations, they are briefly explained. Any attempts taken by the researcher to try to overcome these limitations are highlighted and explained.

7. Illustrate using examples the differences between findings, conclusions and recommendations in research.

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8. Outline and briefly explain the model of the research process.

9. Explain the value of the research diary.

The research diary is invaluable to the researcher. This diary contains all of the notes that the researcher makes during the research project. All of the ideas that the researcher gets in relation to the research project are written into the research diary. All of the details, names, titles, addresses, telephone numbers are noted in the research diary. All of the experiences that the researcher has in relation to the research project are noted in the research diary. The research diary becomes the complete informal record of the research project. The research diary is especially useful in providing the researcher with material which s/he can use in the process of writing up the research project.

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10. What rules should be followed when preparing slides for presentation?

The purpose of an oral presentation is to highlight the most important findings of a research project and provide clients or line managers with an opportunity to ask questions.

The key to effective presentation is preparation.

The researcher should select the three or four most important findings for emphasis and rely on the written report for a full summary.

The researcher also needs to be ready to defend the results of the research. This is not the same as being defensive; instead, the researcher should be prepared to deal in a confident, competent manner with the questions that arise.

Remember that even the most reliable and valid research project is worthless if the managers who must act on its results are not convinced of its importance.

A key to effective oral presentation is adapting to the audience. Delivering an hour-long formal speech when a ten-minute discussion is called for (or vice versa) will reflect poorly on both the presenter and the report.

Lecturing or reading to the audience is sure to impede communication at any level of formality. Presenters should refrain from reading prepared text word for word. By relying on brief notes, familiarity with the subject, and as much rehearsal as the occasion calls for, presenters will foster better communication.

Presenters should avoid research jargon and use short, familiar words.

Presenters should maintain eye contact with the audience and repeat the main points. Because the audience cannot go back and replay what the speaker has said, an oral presentation often is organized around a standard format: “Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what you just told them.”

Graphic and other visual aids can be as useful in an oral presentation as in a written one. While presenters can choose from a variety of media, most professional presentations are based on PowerPoint or comparable presentation software.

Each visual aid should be designed to convey a simple, attention-getting message that supports a point on which the audience should focus its thinking.

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As they do in written presentations, presenters should interpret graphics for the audience. The best slides are easy to read and interpret. Large typeface, multiple colors, bullets that highlight, and other artistic devices can enhance the readability of charts.

11. Why is it important to think of the research report from a communications perspective?

The research report is a crucial means for communicating the whole project.

Frequently, the research report is the only part of the project that others ever see.

Even if the project was well designed, the data carefully obtained and analyzed by sophisticated statistical methods, and important conclusions reached, unless the report can effectively communicate this information all of the earlier efforts will have been wasted.

End of Chapter Case Study – Answers to questions What do you think of the conclusions drawn by Bloom and Van Reenan (2010) in this study?

The conclusions drawn are very substantial and very complex, and some of them are quite provocative.

Can you see how these conclusions have emerged from the data gathered?

Yes, the conclusions have clearly emerged from the data gathered.

What do you think of the recommendations they make for further research in the field of economics? In preparing your answer consider the work of Alasuutari (2010) as outline in Chapter 16, Analysing Qualitative Data.

They state that empirical research in the economics of management is at an early stage, and they state that there are several areas of particular interest for future research. They discuss field experiments, and they refer to their own work in randomised control trials. A randomised control trial (RCT) is a methodology whereby participants are allocated at random to receive one of different

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treatments, the RCT is the means by which the outcomes of the treatments are measured and compared.

They state that links to theories of management have yet to be established. They say that many of the correlations that they discuss in the article, such as the positive association of size and productivity with management quality, are common to a number of theories of management, but not to all. There is, they hold, room for more work in this area. They talk about management panel data, and they themselves have built a small panel on the same firms over time, in order to be able to study changes in management over time. They state that multiple sectors of the economy deserve investigation. We have certainly established that to be the case in this textbook.

Clearly there is scope for a great deal of research and a need for a great deal of research in the field of economics.

If we compare these recommendations for further research with the recommendations of Alastuutari (2010), as outlined in Chapter 16 Analysing Qualitative Data, we find that Alasuutari in his work is commenting on the rise and relevance of qualitative research. It is possible, Alasuutari (2010) believes, that the interest in, and increased employer need for, quantitative methods might make us miss the fact that qualitative methods have been consistently growing in strength. He says that a recent study (Payne et al; 2004), shows that only about one in 20 published papers in mainstream British journals use quantitative analysis. He says the figures are the same for Finland, where he himself is based, and he says that a similar trend can be seen from the 1990’s onward in Canada and the US. The paper asks why qualitative research has achieved such a strong position in social science research, in particular when the default assumption often is that scientifically sound research is research based on quantification and statistical analysis as in for example, the randomised controlled trial (RCT), a methodology adopted from medicine. It is this question that Alasuutari (2010), addresses in this paper.

In an interesting insight he asserts that social science is more about running commentaries on changing societies than the accumulation of knowledge about a stable system. In other words, realities are not fixed they are fluid and ever changing.

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It is interesting to compare this insight to the thinking outlined in the Value for Good Research textbox at the start of Chapter 15 Managing Data and Introducing Data Analysis. The newspaper article detailed in the textbox is entitled ‘Three cheers for the death of old economics’. A key insight in the article is the need for new ways of thinking in the field of economics. Detailing the development of INET, the Institute for New Economic Thought, the author states that ‘to gain a genuine understanding of unpredictable reality, some unorthodox economists may employ new mathematical techniques of non-linear dynamics and chaos theory. Others may revive the literary and anecdotal traditions of the great economists of the past, building on the work of sociologists, psychiatrists, historians and political scientists disdained by the present orthodoxy’.

INET, he states, will try to support these new schools of thought.

Research in the social sciences, as we have seen, is a very broad subject, and in this textbook, we have explored some of the very many ways of conducting research in the social sciences.

For use with Business Research Methods 3e, Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zikmund ISBN 9781473791343 © 2024 Cengage Learning EMEA