Research Process as a Multi-stage Process - Book Report/Review Example

Research Process as a Multi-stage Process Stages in the research process Research process is described as a multi-stage process that should be followed in order to complete a research project. There is no specific number of the stages to be followed in the research process, they vary from one literature to another. Nevertheless, the stages include; literature review, research design, data collection, data analysis, and writing up These stages are not followed systematically as during the course of research process one is required to review a particular step from time to time. The steps to be considered in a research process are presented as below. 1. Generation of an idea Ideas assists one to choose an appropriate and suitable research topic. This topic generalizes the content of the research in a business context, it is aimed to reveal the relationship of the research topic with business. It is not advisable to follow a research topic that is issued a learning institution or one that is provided by the tutor blindly, one should refine the topic into a feasible topic. After the idea has been generated to a research topic, research questions objectives should be formulated in relation to the research topic. The process formulating and clarifying the research topic can be time consuming but one should no despair (Saunders 2012). A successful project will rely upon the strength of research topic (Raimond 1993.). 2. Literature review Reviewing the literature enables one to generate and refine ideas and also part of research project proper (Sharp et al. 2002).A literature review is aimed at investigating previous scholarly literature in regard to the topic. What was researched and what was not researched in regard to your research topic should be reviewed. The sources of included in a critical review range from primary, secondary and tertiary literature. 3. Research philosophies There are various research philosophies that can be adapted by a researcher regarding the nature of the research, they include realism, objectivism, pragmatism, positivism, interpretivism and subjectivism. One can also consider a deductive or inductive approach. A research philosophy is just not picked out of the blues, it should be picked regarding how one values the world of business. Philosophical commitment will help a business researcher to understand what is been investigated (Johnson and Clark 2006). 4. Research design There are various research design that can be used in a research project. Various forms of research design include action research design, case study design, casual design, cohort design, cross-sectional design, descriptive design, experimental design, exploratory design, historical design, longitudinal design, meta-analysis design, sequential design and observational design. Multi research design are the best to use in a research project since they give credibility to the research. 5. Data collection Various methods of data collection should be used in business management (Curran and Blackburn 2001). There are various methods of collecting data, and the discretion to choose the method lies to researcher.one might be required to access business organizations in pursuit of trying to collect data, for this reasons some research ethics should be followed. A good example is protection of the data that is to be collected in a business organisation, if the data falls into the wrong hands it can be used against the corporation or the competitors can use the data to the disadvantage of the organization. 6. Data analysis Data can be analysed qualitatively or quantitatively. It is advisable to consider which data analysis to use when formulating a proposal that require qualitative research (Marshall and Rossman 2006). Analysing the data qualitatively is the best way, which can be done manually or by use of computer by use of qualitative data software such as CAQDAS and other statistical software such as SPSS and STATA. Sources of primary and secondary data that a business might use when conducting market research and which methods they could apply to collect and analyse this data. There are various sources that a business can adapt when conducting market research. Data source can either be primary or secondary. The different sources of primary data that can be used to conduct market research include; interviews, observation and surveys. Secondarysources that a business might use when conducting market research include journal, books, newspaper articles and web based sources. Internal reports, annual reports and customer feedback can also serve as secondary sources of data. The sources are classified in various ways by researchers (Bryman 1989; Dale et al. 1988; Hakim 1982, 2000; Robson 2002). Secondary data can either be documentary multiple source or survey. Documentary secondary data are often used with primary data collection method. Examples of documentary secondary data include written materials such as minute of a meeting, shareholders report, and transcripts of speeches or public records. Magazines, journal and books are also form of written documents. The type of data collected in these sources can be used for statistical data analysis. Survey-based source of secondary data are those data that are previously collected by use of a survey strategy like a questionnaire that was previously used for that purpose. The final type which is multiple-source secondary data comprise both the documentary and survey secondary data. When conducting market research by use of secondary data collection method time and money is likely to saved (Ghauri and Gronhaug 2005). Primary data used to conduct marketresearch can be sourced from surveys; both online and physical versions. They include reports, theses and conference proceedings. The advantages of surveys is that they are reliable as comparison can be made to establish credibility. However, surveys offer limited data. Market research reports can be used as a source, examples of this reports include those that were produced by Mintel and Keynote, academic report and government report. Market research offer first hand data and therefore, it is very reliable. The major obstacle of accessing these reports is the fact that they are not readily available as books or hand books.Conference proceedings is another form of primary literature sources, they are sometimes referred to as symposia. They are not published formally but they appear as unique headings journals or as books. It is difficult to access them due to the fact that they are not well indexed, for this reason one should consider using search tools such as index to Conference proceedings or the British Public Catalogue. Observation is another technique that can be used in collecting data while conducting market research. The researcher is able to share his experience by observing what is happening and feeling it (Gill and Johnson 2002: 144). It is also to note that participant observation is not widely used in business and management, but it does not imply that it should not be used. Collecting data by the use of observation will help market researcher to adequately understand a particular behaviour in market by understanding the meaning (Delbridge and Kirkpatrick 1994: 39). Data collection takes the form of informal interview, the discussions that were held informally are likely to be considered as form of interview. The data collected in this form is considered as descriptive observation or narrative account (Robin 2002: 320). Recording of the data through observation will depend on how open you are, the more open you are the easier it is to record the data as it will be recorded when the event has occurred. Data analysis in observation is very tricky, this is because data collection and analysis takes place concurrently. The primary sources collected quantitative data which is numerically analysed. The benefit of the data is that it is very descriptive and therefore offers adequate analysis. On the other hand, it requires a vast amount of sample in order to make informed analysis. This can be a weakness where large volumes of data is not available. Qualitative data is analysed theoretically by looking at the trends of the data. Market research can also be conducted by using interview as a method of data collection. It can be defined as a focused discussion between a single or more parties (Kahn and Cannell 1957). The research questions that one has formulated in regard to market research can be specifically interviewed by use of this method. There are various forms of interviews which include semi-structured, group interview and in-depth, and structured interviews. The type of interview will depend on your research, if the research is about exploring market one is likely to include a qualitative research interview in the design (Cooper and schindler 2008). The nature of questions that are going to include in the interview depend on the number of question to be answered, complexity of the questions and the logic and order of question (Easterby-Smith et al. 2008; Jankowicz 2005). Time factor should also be considered while formulating the questions, the questioning should not be too short to raise issues of credibility or too long to interfere with time needed to complete the research. Primary data can also be collected by the use of questionnaire, market research can use a questionnaire to collect data regarding issues of brand, customer loyalty and attitude. Business and management research uses questionnaire is made during the survey. Questionnaire is the technique that is used to collect data where each person is required to respond to a set of predetermined questions (DeVaus 2002). The choice of the questionnaire in market research will depend greatly on factors such as, characteristics of the respondents, sample size, nature of questions and the number of questions. Before the questions are designed it will be important to review the literature keenly, conceptualize your own market research and discuss your ideas broadly (Ghauri and Gronhaug 2005). A questionnaire can be used to distinguish between variables such as opinion, behaviour and attribute (Dillman 2007). The questions in a questionnaire can either be open-ended which allows the respondent to answer in their own way (Fink 2003). Closed questions or closed-ended (Dillman 2007) or forced choice question (DeVaus 2002), which gives the respondent some alternative to choose from. In order to have a good response from the respondents’ one should introduce the questionnaire carefully. Issues that might arise when doing commercial research/consultancy projects as opposed to academic research and how these issues might be overcome. Consultancy projects differ from academic research in various ways and various issues may rise in the process of conducting such a report. Academic research structure is not the same as the one that the consultancy project use, due to this reason the structure should be altered. The information that should be included in a commercial report should be essential to the management. Any irrelevant information to the management should not be considered in the project. Commercial report requires any important information to be relegated to appendices, example of such information is diagrams, references or additional figure. There is no thorough scrutiny from the management reader regarding the report, and hence it is recommended that only essential information should be included in the consultancy report. The background to the project is of great importance in consultancy projects and the manner in which the research was carried out. Academic research don’t give much weight on recommendations, in commercial projects recommendations serve as the main purpose of the project. While the academic research has an abstract, the commercial project has an executive summary. It should be ensured that the executive summary is short, at most two pages, and the massage of the project is conveyed in clear manner possible. Use of long words, complicated language, multitude of acronyms and abbreviations are not appreciated in consultancy project. If it is inevitable to use complicated and technical terms, a glossary should be provided in the appendix. When writing the paper it is also very important to write the paper using the first person as it gives the language used in the paper an element of professionalism. If a first person is not used the report or project becomes less accessible, boldness is also essential while writing the project. There is a dilemma of writing a consultancy report as a specific audience is not established, this is overcome by writing two reports. References Bryman, A. (1989) Research Methods and Organisation Studies. London: Unwin Hyman. Cooper, D.R. and Schindler, P.S. (2008) Business Research Methods (10th edn). Boston, MA and Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw-Hill. Curran, J. and Blackburn, R.A. (2001) Researching the Small Enterprise. London: Sage. Dale, A., Arber, S. and Proctor, M. (1988) Doing Secondary Analysis. London: Unwin Hyman. Delbridge, R. and Kirkpatrick, I. (1994) ‘Theory and practice of participant observation’, in V. Wass and P. Wells (eds), Principles and Practice in Business and Management Research. Aldershot: Dartmouth, pp. 35–62. deVaus, D.A. (2002) Surveys in Social Research (5th edn). London: Routledge. Dillman, D.A. (2007) Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method (2nd edn, 2007 update). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R. and Jackson, P.R. (2008) Management Research (3rd edn). London: Sage. Fink, A. (2003a) How to Ask Survey Questions. (2nd edn). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Fink, A. (2003b) The Survey Handbook. (2nd edn). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Ghauri, P. and Grønhaug, K. (2005) Research Methods in Business Studies: A Practical Guide (3rd edn). Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Gill, J. and Johnson, P. (2002) Research Methods for Managers (3rd edn). London: Paul Chapman. Hakim, C. (1982) Secondary Analysis in Social Research. London: Allen & Unwin. Jankowicz, A.D. (2005) Business Research Projects (4th edn). London: Business Press Thomson Learning Johnson, P. and Clark, M. (2006) ‘Mapping the terrain: an overview of business and management research methodologies’, in P. Johnson and M. Clark. (eds) Business and Management Research Methodologies. London: Sage. Kahn, R. and Cannell, C. (1957) The Dynamics of Interviewing. New York and Chichester: Wiley. Marshall, C. and Rossman, G.B. (2006) Designing Qualitative Research (4th edn). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Robson, C. (2002) Real World Research (2nd edn). Oxford: Blackwell. Saunders, M.N.K. and Lewis, P. (1997) ‘Great ideas and blind alleys? A review of the literature on starting research’, Management Learning, Vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 283–99. Sharp, J., Peters, J. and Howard, K. (2002) The Management of a Student Research Project (3rd edn). Aldershot: Gower. Raimond, P. (1993) Management Projects. London: Chapman & Hall. Appendix Survey questions 1. How long is a research topic? 2. Between data collected through primary sources and secondary sources, which one is more reliable? Why? 3. Is it possible to use observation while collecting data in market research? 4. Is there an element of validity in interviews? 5. What is the best research philosophy to use when conducting market research? 6. Is it justifiable to conduct a consultancy project by using simple language? 7. Who should be addressed in a commercial report? 8. Does the relationship between commercial project and academic project exist? 9. An open ended questionnaire is time consuming. True or false? 10. Do you agree that academic research is not credible since it acts as gate pass to earn a diploma or degree? Read More