Business Research

Business Research SET 1

1 Komal Gangi, Asst. Professor, TIAS



SNO. TOPICS Covered

1.

Writing A Research Proposal

2.

Ethical Issues in Data Collection



Writing a Research Proposal

The Research Proposal

All research endeavours in every academic and professional field are preceded by a research

proposal. It informs your academic supervisor or potential provider of a research contract of your

conceptualization of the total research process that you propose to undertake, and examines its

suitability and validity. In any academic field, your research proposal will go through a number

of committees for approval. Unless, it is approved, you will not be able to start your research.

Hence, it is important to study closely what constitutes a research proposal

A research proposal is an overall plan, scheme, structure and strategy designed to obtain

answers to the research questions or problems that constitute your research project.

A research proposal should outline the various tasks you plan to undertake to fulfill your

research objectives, test hypothesis or obtain answers to your research questions. It should state

the reasons for undertaking the study.

Broadly, a research proposal’s main function is to detail the operational plan for obtaining

answers to your research questions. In doing so, it ensures and reassures the reader of the

validity of methodology for obtaining answers to your research questions accurately and

objectively

In order to achieve this function, a research proposal must tell you, your research supervisor

and reviewers the following information about your study:

• What you are proposing to do;

• How you plan to proceed;

• Why you selected the proposed strategy.

Contents of a Research Proposal

A research proposal should contain the following information about your study:

1. An introduction, including a brief literature review;

2. Theoretical framework that underpins your study

3. Conceptual framework that constitutes the basis of your study

4. Objectives or research questions of your study



5. Hypotheses to be tested if applicable

6. Study design that you are proposing to adopt

7. Setting for your study

8. Research instrument that you are planning to use;

9. Sampling Design and sample size;

10. Ethical Issues involved and how you propose to deal with them

11. Data processing procedures

12. Proposed chapters of the report

13. Problems and limitations of the study

14. Proposed time frame for the project

A research proposal should communicate the purpose and plan of research in such a way

that it enables you to return to the proposal of your own guidance in decision making at

different stages of the research process;

Convinces your research supervisor or a reviewer that your proposed methodology is

meritorious, valid, appropriate and workable in terms of obtaining answers to your research

questions or objectives

Proposal should follow the suggested guidelines and be written in an academic style

Must contain appropriate references in the body of the text and a bibliography at the end

Survey of literature review should cover major publications on the topic

Theoretical framework must emerge from this literature review and must have its

grounding in empirical framework

Literature review should also raise issues relating to the methodology you are proposing

For eg- it may examine how other studies operationalised the major variables of relevance to

your study

Critiques of methods and procedures should be included under the respective headings

For ex- a critique of the “sampling design” you adopt should be included under “sampling”

Critique to study design should be discussed under “study design”



1. Preamble/ Introduction

Proposal should start with an introduction to include some of the information listed below

In writing this section , literature review is of central importance as it serves two main

functions:

1. Acquaints you with the available literature in the area of your study, thereby broadening

your knowledge base

2. Provides you with information on methods and procedures other people have used in

similar situations and tells you what works and what does not

3. The type, extent and quality of literature review are mostly dependent upon the academic

level for which you are writing the proposal

4. The contents of this section may vary greatly according to the subject area under study

a) An overview of the main area under study;

b) Historical perspective (development, growth, etc. ) pertinent to the study area

c) Philosophical or ideological issues relating to the topic;

d) Trends in terms of prevalance, if appropriate;

e) Major theories, if any;

f) The main issues, problems and advances in the subject area under study;

g) Important theoretical and practical issues relating to the central problem under study;

h) Main findings relating to the core issue(s)

Example

- Suppose that you are conducting a study to investigate the impact of immigration on the

family. Introduction should include:

- Origin of migratory movements in the world

- General theories developed to explain migratory behaviour

- Current trends in migration

- Impact of immigration on family roles and relationships



2. The Problem

Identify some of the gaps in the existing body of knowledge

Identify some of the unanswered questions

Knowledge gained from other studies and the literature about the issues you are

proposing to investigate should be an integral part of this section. This section should

include:

a) Identify the issues that are the basis of your study

b) Specify the various aspects of/ perspectives on these issues

c) Identify main gaps in the existing body of knowledge

d) Raise some main research questions that you want to answer through your study

e) Develop a rationale for your study with particular reference on how your study will

fill the identified gaps

Example:

What settlement process does a family go through after immigration?

What adjustments do immigrants have to make?

What types of change can occur in family members’ attitudes?

What is the possible impact of settlement on family roles and relationships? Etc.

3. Objectives of the study

Include a statement of both your study’s main and sub-objectives.

MAIN objective indicates the central thrust of your study whereas the sub-objectives

identify the specific issues you propose to examine

Objectives should be clearly stated and specific in nature

Each sub-objective should delineate only one issue

Use action- oriented verbs such as “to determine”, “to find-out” and “to ascertain” in

formulating sub-objectives, which should be numerically listed

If the objective is to test the hypothesis, you must follow the convention of hypothesis

formulation in wording the specific objectives

Example:

Main objective:

To determine the impact of immigration on the family



Sub objective:

To determine the impact of immigration on husband/wife roles as perceived by

immigrants

To find out the impact of immigration on marital relations

To Ascertain perceived changes in parental expectations of children’s academic and

professional achievement

4. HYPOTHESES TO BE TESTED

Hypothesis is a statement of your assumptions about the prevalence of a phenomenon or

about a relationship between two variables that you plan to test within the framework of

the study.

When formulating a hypothesis you have an obligation to draw conclusions about it in

your text report. Hypotheses should have a particular style of formulation

You must be acquainted with correct way of wording them

In a study, you may have as many hypotheses as you want to test

However, it is not essential to have a hypothesis in order to undertake a study

A perfectly satisfactory study without formulating a hypotheses can be conducted

Example:

H1 = In most cases there will be a change in husband/wife roles after immigration

H2 = In a majority of cases there will be change in parents’ expectations

Hi = etc.

5. STUDY DESIGN

Describe the study design you plan to use to answer your research questions. For eg- it is

a case study, longitudinal, cross-sectional etc.)

Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your study design

Include details about the various logistical procedures you intend to follow while

executing the study design

One characteristic of a good study design is that it explains the details with such clarity

that, if someone else wants to follow the proposed procedure, she/he will be able to do

exactly as you have done.



Study design should include:

1. Who can make up the study population?

2. Can each element of the study population be identified? If yes, how?

3. Will a sample or the total population be studied?

4. How will you get in touch with the selected sample?

5. How will the sample’s consent to participate in the study be sought?

6. How will the data be collected (e.g. by interview, questionnaire, or observation)?

7. In the case of a mailed questionnaire, to what address should the questionnaire be

returned?

8. Are you planning to send a reminder regarding the return of questionnaires?

9. How will confidentiality be preserved?

10. How and where can respondents contact if they have queries?

Example”

The study is primarily designed to find out from a cross-section of immigrants _____, ----

-and ______ (names of countries) the perceived impact of immigration on family roles.

Initial contact with the ethnic associations will be made through elected office bearers to

obtain a list of members.

Few immigrants will be selected from the list at random, and will be contacted by phone

to explain the purpose of the study and its relevance and to seek their agreement to

participate in the study.

6. THE SETTING

Briefly describe the organisation, agency or community in which you will conduct your

study. If the study is about a group of people, highlight some of the salient characteristics

of the group (e.g. its history, size, composition and structure) and draw attention to any

available relevant information

If your research concerns an agency, office or organisation, include:

The main services provided by the organisation

Its administrative structure;

The type of clients served

Information about the issues that are central to your research.



If you are studying a community, briefly describe some of the main characteristics:

The size of the community

A brief social profile of the community (i.e. the composition of the various groups within

it);

Issues of relevance to the central theme of your study

7. Measurement procedures

This should contain a discussion of your instrument and the details of how you plan to

operationalise your major variables. To start with, justify your choice of research tool,

highlighting its strengths and pointing out its weaknesses. Then outline the major

segments of your research tool and their relevance to the main objective under study.

Discuss the availability of evidence on reliability and validity. Also, discuss the scales

used

8. Ethical Issues

All academic institutions are particular about any ethical issues that research may have

To deal with them, all institutions my have some form of policy on ethics

You need to be acquainted with your institutions’ policy

It is imperative that you identify any ethical issues and how you propose to deal with

them in your proposal.

9. Sampling

It should include:

The size of the sampling population (if known) and from where and how this information

will be obtained

The size of the sample you are planning to select, and your reasons for choosing this size

An explanation of the sampling design you are planning to use in the selection of the

sample (simple random sampling, stratified random sampling, quota sampling, etc.)

10. Analysis of Data

In general terms, describe the strategy you intend to use for data analysis.



Specify whether the data will be analysed manually or by computer

For computer analysis, identify the program and the statistical procedures you plan to

perform on the data. Also identify the main variables for cross tabulation.

Example:

Frequency distribution in terms of:

- Age;

- Education;

- Occupation;

- Number of children;

- Duration of immigration, etc.

11. Structure of the Report

As clearly as possible, state how you intend to organise the final report. In organising content for

your report, the specific objectives of your study are of immense help. Plan to develop your

chapters around the main theme of your study. The title of each chapter should clearly

communicate the main thrust of its contents.

The first chapter is INTRODUCTION.

Second chapter should provide some information about the study population itself – that

is some if its socio-economic demographic characteristics or the study population

Titles of rest of the study may vary from study to study

Example:

It is proposed that the report will be divided into the following chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: The socioeconomic- demographic characteristics of the study population

Chapter 3: The impact on husband/wife roles

Chapter 4: The impact on marital relations

Chapter 5: The impact on expectations of children

Chapter 6: The impact on attitude towards marriage

Chapter 7: The impact on expectations of children



12. Problems and Limitations

This section should list the problems you thought you might encounter concerning, for

example,

The availability of data

Securing permission from the agency/ organisation to carry out the study

Obtaining the sample

Or any other aspect of the study

13. Appendix

As an appendix, attach your research instrument and a list of references.

14. Work Schedule

You must set yourself dates as you need to complete the research within a certain time

frame.

List the various operational steps you need to undertake and indicate against each the date

by which you aim to complete that task.

Remember to keep some time towards the end in case the research process does not go as

smoothly as planned.



Ethical Issues in Data Collection

ETHICS

Most Professions have an overall code of conduct that governs the way they carry out

research. Many research bodies have developed the code of conduct specifically for research.

Medicine, business , law, education, psychology and other social sciences have well

established code of ethics for research .

Acc. to Collins Dictionary, ethical means “in accordance with principles of code of conduct

that are considered correct, especially those of a given profession or group’.

What are these principles of conduct?

Who determines them?

In whose judgement must they be considered correct?

Are they universal principles of conduct that can be applied to all professions?

Do these change with time?

Should they?

What happens when a professional does not abide by them?

There are certain behaviours in research such as

Causing harm to individuals,

breaching confidentiality,

using information improperly and

introducing bias

In whose judgement must a code of conduct be considered correct?

Who decides whether a particular practice is wrong?

If a procedure is carried out wrongly, what penalties should be imposed?

Stakeholders in Research

It is the overall body of professionals or government organisations that collectively develop a

code of conduct and form a judgement as to whether or not it is being followed. It is important to

look at the ethical issues in relation to each of the shareholders.

The shareholders are:



The participants of subjects;

The researcher

The funding body

Participants

Participants depend on the profession. In the field of medicine, public health and nursing, the

patients and non-patients become the part of a study, information collection exercise, experiment

or drug trial and service managers and planners who contribute information. In social sciences,

participants include Individuals, groups and communities providing information to help a

researcher to gain understanding of a phenomenon, situation, issue or interaction

Researcher

Anyone who collects information for a specific purpose, adhering to the accepted code of

conduct, is a researcher. She/he may represent any academic discipline

Funding organisation

One who provides funds such as business organisations, service institutions, research bodies

and/or academic institutions.Funds are given for specific purposes.

1. Collecting information

2. Seeking consent

3. Providing incentives

4. Seeking sensitive information

5. The possibility of causing harm to participants

6. Maintaining confidentiality

Ethical issues concerning research participants



1. Avoiding bias

2. Provision of deprivation of a treatment

3. Using inappropriate research methodology

4. Incorrect reporting

5. Inappropriate use of the information

1. Avoiding bias

- It is unethical. Bias is different from subjectivity. Subjectivity, as mentioned earlier is

related to your educational background, training and competence in research, and your

philosophical perspective. Bias is a deliberate attempt either to hide what you have found

in your study, or to highlight something disproportionately to its true existence

2. Provision of deprivation of a treatment

- Both the provision and deprivation of a treatment may pose an ethical dilemma for you as

researcher. When testing an intervention or a treatment, a researcher usually adopts a control

experiment design. In such studies, it is ethical to provide a study population with an

intervention or treatment that has not yet been conclusively proven effective or beneficial?

But if you do not test a treatment/intervention, how can you prove or disprove its

effectiveness or benefits?

On the other hand, you are providing an intervention that may not be effective. Is this

ethical? Is it ethical to deprive a control group of a treatment even if it may prove to be

slightly effective? And beyond the issue of control groups, is it ethical to deprive people who

are struggling for life of the possible benefit, however small it may be, which may be derived

from a drug that is only under trial? As a researcher you need to be aware of these ethical

issues.

There are no simple answers to these dilemmas. Ensuring informed consent, minimum risk

and frank discussion as to the implications of participation in the study will help to resolve

ethical issues.

3. Using inappropriate research methodology

- A researcher has an obligation to use appropriate methodology in conducting study

- Unethical to use a method or procedure you know to be inappropriate

Ethical issues concerning Researcher



- (e.g. selecting a highly biased sample, using invalid instrument or drawing wrong

conclusions.

4. Incorrect reporting

- - To use an appropriate methodology, but to report the findings in a way that changes or

slants them to serve your own or someone else’s interest is unethical

5. Inappropriate use of information

How will the obtained information be used by the researcher?

Use of information that directly or indirectly adversely affects respondents is unethical

Can information be used to adversely affect the study population?

If so, how can the study population be protected?

Example- study to examine the feasibility of restructuring an organisaton

Restructuring may be beneficial to the organisation but may be harmful to some individuals

If information is to be used against them , let the individuals decide whether they want to

participate or not

1. Restrictions imposed by the sponsoring organization

- Funds may be given to develop a program or evaluate it;

- To examine its effectiveness or efficiency

- To study the impact of a policy

- To test a product

- To study a phenomenon, issue or attitude

- There may be direct or indirect controls exercised by sponsoring organisations

- They may select the methodology , prohibit the publication of “what was found” or

impose other restrictions on the research that may stand in the way of obtaining or

disseminating accurate information

2. The misuse of information

How is the sponsoring body going to misuse the information?

How is this likely to affect the study population?

It is unethical to use research as a reason for justifying management decisions

Ethical issues concerning Sponsoring organization