Management and Business Research

The Review Process

1. establish topic, scope and aim, 2. find, record and evaluate literature, 3. summarize and organize literature around different themes

Four ways of defining a research gap

1. take a well-understood problem within a particular discipline that has been explored in a particular way, and investigate the same phenomenon using a different approach, 2. identify contradictory results and try, through the research, to reconcile them or produce new findings, 3. identify a novel social phenomenon that cannot be explained by existing research and theorizing, 4. take well-understood methods from one area of the social sciences and use them (perhaps for the first time) in another

Simple Argument Analysis

Claim, Evidence, Warrant

Knowledge Value Chain

Knowledge Translation Process: Basic Research --> Theory to Practice --> Collaborative Research --> Directly Usable Output

Criteria for evaluating sources of information

Purpose, Autorship, Credibility and Accuracy, Timeliness

Audience

The nature of academic scolarship: addresses primarily an academic as well as practicitioner audience

Synthesis

The nature of academic scolarship: combines theory and data into a cohesive argument

Situated

The nature of academic scolarship: demonstrates knowledge of wider context, e.g. other literatures

Logically consistent

The nature of academic scolarship: is coherent, not internally contradictory

Methodologically coherent

The nature of academic scolarship: methods and data collection and analysis support the aims and objectives

Critically reflective

The nature of academic scolarship: offers a critical evaluation of other literatures, demonstrates critical understanding of its own limitations, offers a critical evaluation of the theories generated

Academic work

The nature of academic scolarship: recognised by others working in a similar area

Original

The nature of academic scolarship: takes a different angle, adtopts a different methodology, provides a different explanation

Aims of a Research Project

To achieve one or more of the following three elements: 1. Contribution to knowledge, 2. Research methodology, 3. Impact and engagement

Research Statement

What is the topic of my research? Why is this topic relevant, important or interesting? How does this project relate to the past research in this field? What are the main concepts and theories that could be relevant? What is the aim of the literature review, and how does it relate to the aim of the research? What could be an appropriate working title for this review?

Methodology

a combination of methods used to enquire into a specific situation

Paradigm

a consensual pattern in the way scientists understand, and inquire into, the world

Cooperative inquiry

a form of action research where the research 'subjects' not only play a part in sense-making, but also are encouraged to determine the main questions to be researched

convenience sampling

a form of non-probability sampling design where entities are included in a sample on the basis of their ease of access

purposive sampling

a form of non-probability sampling design where the criteria for inclusion in a sample are defined, and entities are first screened to see whether they meet the criteria for inclusion; those entities that meet the criteria are included in the sample

Snowball sampling

a form of non-probability sampling design where the criteria for inclusion in the sample are defined; entities that meet the criteria is are included in the sample and then asked whether they know others who also meet the criteria

quota sampling

a form of non-probability sampling design where the population is divided into units and a target sample size (XX) is defined for each unit; entities that meet the criteria for a specific unit are added to the sample until the target sample size for the unit is achieved

Participant observation

a form of observation where there is direct involvement of the researcher in the research setting, in order to gain a detailed understanding of the experiences of research participants

Simple random sampling

a form of sampling where every entity in the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample

Non-proportional stratified random sampling

a form of sampling where the population is divided into subsets (called strata) and different sampling proportions are used for each stratum for selecting a sample

Stratified random sampling

a form of sampling where the population is divided into subsets (called strata) and within strata every entity in the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample

Proportional stratified random sampling

a form of sampling where the population is divided into subsets (called strata) and within strata the same sampling proportion is used for selecting a sample

Sample

a limited number of subjects selected from a population

Systematic Literature Review

a means of synthesizing research on a topic or within a field in such a way that is both transparent and reproducible

Cluster sampling

a modification of random sampling where the population is first divided into convenient units and then all entities within a XX are selected

Internal realism

a philosophical position which assumes that reality is independent of the observer, but that scientists can only access that reality indirectly

Multi-stage sampling

a process of dividing up a population into hierarchical units, such as countries, regions, organizations, work groups and applying random sampling at each level

Systematic random sampling

a process of random sampling where every nth entity from the population is selected

Research Design

a strategy that lays out the principles of the research methodology for a given study. it articulates methods and techniques for all stages of the research process and justifies their appropriateness in relation to both the research question or hypothesis and the research context

Scolarship

a term given to the development of high levels of knowledge about a particular issue or topic

Action Research

an approach to research that seeks understanding through attempting to change the situation under investigation

Critical Realism

an approach to social research with an explicit ontological position, which combines features of both positivism and constructionism

Claim

an arguable statement of belief or truth

Journal Impact Factor

an index that reflects the average number of citations that articles published in a given journal have received, and that is often taken as a proxy for the quality and reputation of an academic journal

Realism

an ontological position which assumes that the physical and social worlds exist independently of any observations made about them

Nominalism

an ontological view that objects in the world are 'formed' by the language we use and the names we attach to phenomena

Relativisim

an ontological view that phenomena depend on the perspectives from which we observe them; also an epistemological position that observations will be more accurate/credible if made from several different perspectives

Critical review

assesses the value of existing research in a critical light

Human Relations Theory

assumes that performance of both individuals and organizations is dependent on the commitment and involvement of all employees, and hence managers need to foster positive relations with, and between, employees

Internal Validity

assurance that the results are true and conclusions are correct through the elimination of systematic sources of potential bias

Real domain

comprises causal powers and mechanisms that cannot be detected directly, but that have real consequences for people and society

Actual domain

comprises events and actions that take place, whether or not they are observed or detected

Empirical domain

comprises the experiences and perceptions that people have

Bibliographic Database

contains references to published material such as journal articles, books, conference proceedings, government papers and patents

Qualitative interview

directed conversations evolving around questions and answers about a certain topic, whereby rich and detailed information can be gathered from respondents on their experiences and understandings

Inference

drawing conclusions about a population based on evidence from a sample

Theoretical review

evaluates and synthesizes a corpus of theory that has accumulated around a concept, theory or phenomenon

Evaluation research

focuses on the systemic and rigorous assessment of an activity or object

Bias

in sampling design, a XXed sample is one that does not represent the features of the population from which it is drawn

Representativeness

in sampling design, this refers to how much the characteristics of a sample are the same as the characteristics of the population from which the sample is drawn

Philosophical Assumptions of Positivism

independence, value-freedom, causality, hypothesis and deduction, operationalization, reductionism, generalization, cross-sectional analysis

Factual surveys

involve collecting and collating relatively 'factual' data from different groups of people

Engaged research

involves close collaboration between academics and practitioners in determining the research aims, implementation and practical implications

Purpose of Literature Review

learn from previous research, provides a contexts, helps refine a topic, indicates what a research project is adding to the field, ensures that the research undertaken fits in with the existing wider research

Grey Literature

literature that is not formally published through conventional academic or commercial distribution channels

Philosophical traditions

long-established considerations concerning existence, reality and knowledge which provide the foundation for any research project

Scoping review

maps the territory and develops new research agenda

History Effect

other events have taken place between pre- and post-test

Non-experimental designs

positivt research conducted through comparing groups for which the members have not been assigned at random; similar to quasi-experimental designs

Evidence

provided to support the claim, usually in the form of data

Pure research

research for which the primary objective/output is the development of theory and greater understanding of an issue or a phenomenon without there necessarily being any direct impact

Maturation Effect

respondents growing older, wiser, stronger or more disillusioned

Non-probability sampling designs

sampling designs where the likelihood of each population entity being included in the sample cannot be known

Probability Sampling designs

sampling designs where the likelihood of each population entity being included in the sample is known

Sampling strategy

sets out to the criteria to be adopted by a researcher when selecting a subset (or sample) from a wider population of individuals, organizations, industries (or whatever unit of analysis is being investigated)

Applied research

studies that focus on tackling practical problems in organizations where the desired outcome will be knowledge about how to solve the problem

Traditional Literature Review

summarizes and discusses a body of literature on a specific topic or in relation to a research question

Inferential surveys

surveys that are aimed at establishing relationships between variables and concepts

Meta-analysis

the 'analysis of analyses' that involves the use of research methods to compare and evaluate different studies on related or identical issues, usually with the aim to arrive at overarching conclusions

Survey feedback

the collection of opinions about the management of an organization, which is then fed back to all employees to stimulate change and improvements

Reliability

the consistency of measurement in a composite variable formed by combining scores on a set of items; can be measured by Cronbach's alpha coefficient

Warrant

the expectation or principle that connects the evidence to the claim

Validity

the extent to which measures and research findings provide an accurate representation of the things they are supposed to be describing

Predictor variables

the factors that are believed to cause the effects that are to be observed; also called independent variables

Independent variables

the factors that are believed to cause the effects that are to be observed; also called predictor variables

Dependent variables

the factors that research is trying to predict

Social constructionism

the idea that 'reality' is determined by people rather than by objective and external factors, and hence it is important to appreciate the way people make sense of their experience

Experimenter Effect

the idea that the act of observing or measuring any social progress actually changes that process

Methods and Techniques

the instruments and processes for gathering research data, analysing it and drawing conclusions from it

Precision

the level of confidence that the researcher has in estimating characteristics of the population from evidence drawn from a sample; it depends on sample size but not on sampling proportion

Sampling frame

the list of all of those eligible to be included in a sample

Sample size

the number of entities included in a sample

Population

the set of entities about which a researcher wishes to draw conclusions

Sampling proportion

the size of a sample relative to the size of a population

Positivism

the social world exists externally and that its properties should be measured through objective methods

Quasi-experimental design

the use of multiple measures over time in order to reduce the effects of control and experimental groups not being fully matched

Exploratory surveys

these are similar to cross-sectional surveys, but tend to focus on identifying patterns within the data through the use of factor analysis or principal components analysis

Cross-sectional surveys

these usually involve selecting different organizations, or units, in different contexts, and investigating the relationships between a number of variables across these units

Triangulation

using different kinds of methods, perspectives or data in order to increase confidence in the accuracy of observations

Epistemology

views about the most appropriate ways of enquiring into the nature of the world

Ontology

views about the nature of reality

Testing Effect

where changes observed in individual behavior or attitudes over time are caused by the measures having been made in the first place

Social desirability

where people adjust their answers to a survey in order to project a positive image of themselves to the interviewer

Random assignment

where the objects of the experiment (e.g. people) are assigned at random to either the experimental treatment or to the control (non-treatment) groups

External Validity

whether the results of the research can be generalized to other settings or contexts