Applied Research 1,3,4,5

survey

a research technique in which a sample is interviewed in some form or the behavior of repsondents is observed and described in some way

human subjects review committee

carefully reviews proposed research designs to try and make sure that no harm can come to any research participant

research suppliers

commercial providers of research services

standardized research service

companies that develop a unique methodology for investigating a business specialty area

exploratory research

conduct to clarify ambiguous situations or discover ideas that may be potential business opportunities

pseudo-research

conducted not to gather information for marketing decisions but to bolster a point of view and satisfy other needs

the scientific method

definition: the way researchers go about using knowledge and evidence to reach objective conclusions about the real world

marketing- oriented

describes a firm in which all decisions are made with conscious awareness of the effect on the customer

production oriented

describes a firm that prioritizes decision making in a way that emphasizes technical superiority in the product.

product oriented

describes a firm that prioritizes decisions making in a way that emphasizes technical superity

production oriented

describes a firm that prioritizes efficiency and effectiveness of the production process in making decisions

descriptive research

describes characteristics of objects, peoples, groups, organizations, or environments, tries to "paint a picture' of a given situation .

cross-functional teams

employee teams composed of individuals from various functional areas such as engineering, production, finance, and marketing who share a common purpose

forecast analyst

employee who provides technical assistance such as running computer programs and manipulating data to generate a sales forecast

manager of decision support systems

employee who supervises the collection of sales, inventory , and other periodic customer relationship management (CRM) data

empirical testing

examining in research hypothesis against reality using data.

hypothesis

formal statement of an unproven proposition that is empirically testable

frugging

fund raising under the guise of research

backward linkage

implies that later steps influence earlier stages of the research process

forward linkage

implies that the earlier stages of the research process influence the later stages.

abstract level

in theory development, the level of knowledge expressing a concept that exists only as an idea or quality apart from an object

sampling

involves any procedure that draws conclusions based on measurements of a proportion of the population

empirical level

level of knowledge that is verifiable by experience or observation

conditional causality

means that a cause is necessary but not sufficient to bring about an effect

contributory causlity

means that a cause need be neither necessary nor sufficient to bring about an effect

manipulation

means that the researcher alters the level of the variable in specific increments

absolute casuality

means the cause is necessary and sufficient to bring about the effect.

unobtrusive methods

methods in which the research respondents do not have to be disturbed for data to be gathered

research programs

numerous related studies that come together to address multiple, related research objectives

symptoms

observable cues that serve as they are caused by that problem

conflict of interest

occurs when on researcher works for two competing companies

temporal sequence

one of the criteria for causality; deals with the time order of events - the cause must occur before the effect

nonspurious correlation

one of the three criteria for casualty; means any covariation between a cause and an effect is true and mot simply due to some other variable

concomitant variation

one of three criteria for causality; occurs when two events "covay" meaning they vary systematically

ladder of abstraction

organization of concepts in sequence from the most concrete and individual to the most general

moral standards

principles that reflect beliefs about what is ethical and what is unethical

ethical dilemma

refers to a situation in which one chooses from alternatives courses of action, each with different ethical implications

performance-monitoring

refers to research that regularly , sometimes routinely, provides feedback for evaluation and control of business activity.

experimental variable

represents the proposed cause and is controlled by the researcher by manipulating it.

applied business research

research conducted for a specific decision in mind that usually do address the needs of a specific organization. It attempts to expand the limits of knowledge in general and is aimed at solving a particular pragmatic problem.

basic business research

research conducted without a specific decision in mind that usually does not address the needs of specific organizations. It attempts to expand the limits of knowledge in general and is not aimed at solving a particular pragmatic problem.

research assistant

research employees who provide technical assistance with questionnaire design, data analyses, and similar activities

in-house research

research performed by the employees of the company that will benefit from the research

custom research

research projects that are tailored specifically to client's unique needs.

debreifing

research subjects are fully informed and provided with a chance to ask any questions they may have about the experiment

advocacy research

research undertaken to support specific claim in a legal action or represent some advocacy or group

do-not call legislation

restricts any telemarketing effort from calling consumers who either register with a no cal list or who require not to be called

diagnostic analysis

seeks to diagnose reasons for business outcomes and focuses specifically on the beliefs and feelings consumers have about and toward competing products

sugging

selling under the guise of research

business problem

situation that makes some significant negative consequences more likely

spyware

software placed on a computer without consent or knowledge of the user

propositions

statements explaining the logical linkage among certain concepts by asserting a universal connections between concepts

push poll

telemarketing under the guise of research

business ethics

the application of morals to behavior related to the exchange environment

data analysis

the application of reasoning to understand the data that have been gathered

business research

the application of the scientific method in searching for the truth about business phenomena. Theses activities include defining business opportunities and problems generating and evaluating ideas, monitoring performance and understanding the business process.

deductive reasoning

the deductive process of deriving conclusion about a specific instance based on a known general premise or something known to be true

evaluation research

the formal, objective measurement and appraisal of the extent a given activity project, or program has achieved its objectives or whether continuing programs

research objectives

the goals to be achieved by conducting research

confidentiality

the information involved in a research study will not be shared with others

inductive reasoning

the logical process of establishing a general proposition on the basis of observation of particular facts

decision making

the process of developing and deciding among alternative ways of recycling a problem or choosing from among alternative oppurtunities

operationalizing

the process of identifying the actual measurement scales to assess the variables of interest

deliverables

the term used to often in consulting to describe research objectives to a research objectives to a research client

cross-validate

to verify that empirical findings from one culture also exist and behave similarly in another culture

informend consent

when an individual understands what the research wants him or her to to and consents to the research study

latent construct

a concept that is not directly observable or measurable but can be estimated through proxy measures.

causal inference

a conclusion that when one thing happens another specific thing will follow

literature review

a directed search of published works, including periodicals and books, that discusses theory and presents empirical results that are relevant to the topic at hand.

placebo

a false experiment effect used to create the perception that some effect has been administered.

theory

a formal logical explanation of some events that includes predictions of how things relate to one another

concept of construct

a generalize idea about a class of objects that has been given a name; abstract of reality that is a basic unit for theory developement

research design

a master plan that specifies the methods and procedures for collecting and analyzing the needed information

research analyst

a person responsible for client contact, project design preparation of proposals, selection of research suppliers, and supervision of data collection, analysis, and reporting activities.

syndicated service

a research supplier that provides standardized information for many clients in return for a fee.

scientific method

a set of prescribed procedure for establishing and connecting theoretical statements about events, for analyzing empirical evidence, and for predicting events yet unknown, techniques or procedures used to analyze empirical evidence in an attempt to confirm or disprove prior conceptions. Step 1: Assessment of relevant existing knowledge of a phenomenon Step 2: formulation of concepts and propositions Step 3: statement of hypothesis Step 4: design of research to test the hypothesis Step 5: Acquisition of meaningful empirical data Step 6: analysis and evaluation of data Step 7: proposal of an explanation of the phenomenon and statement of the new problem raised by the research

research project

a single study that addresses one or small number of research objectives

business oppurtunity

a situation that makes some potential competitive advantage possible

focus group

a small group discussion about some research topic led by a moderator who guides discussion among participants

pilot study

a small scale research project that collects data form respondents similar to those to be used in the full study

pretest

a small-scale study in which the results are only preliminary and intended only to assist in design of a subsequent study

idealism

a term that reflects the degree to which one bases one's morality on moral standards

relativsim

a term that reflects the degree to which one rejects moral standards in favor of the acceptability of some action. This way of thinking rejects absolute principles in favor of situation based evaluations

causal research

allows causal inferences to be made; seeks to identify cause-and-effect relationships

research generalist

an employee who serve as a link between management and research specialists. The research generalist acts as a problem definer, an educator, a liaison, a communicator and friendly ear

test-market

an experiment that is conducted within actual market conditions

ouside agency

an independent research firm contracted by the company that actually will benefit from the research

variables

anything that assumes different numerical values; the empirical assessment of a concept