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
