Questions and Answers of Research Methods For Business Students

What aspects of a class research project would be stressed by you in the written report and in the oral presentation?
What are the similarities and differences between basic and applied research reports?
Describe the main steps in qualitative data analysis.
A tax consultant wonders whether he should be more selective about the class of clients he serves so as to maximize his income. He usually deals with four categories of clients: the very rich, rich,
When we collect data on the effects of treatment in experimental designs, which statistical test is most appropriate to test the treatment effects?
A researcher wants to provide an overview of the gender of the respondents in his sample. The gender is measured like this: What is your gender? Male Female. What is the best way to provide an
There are three measures of central tendency: the mean, the median, and the mode. Measures of dispersion include the range, the standard deviation, and the variance (where the measure of central
Overgeneralizations give rise to much confusion and other problems for researchers who try to replicate the findings. Explain what is meant by this.
Because there seems to be a trade-off between accuracy and confidence for any given sample size, accuracy should always be considered more important than precision. Explain with reasons why you do or
“Use of a sample of 5000 is not necessarily better than one of 500.” How would you react to this statement?
The use of a convenience sample used in organizational research is correct because all members share the same organizational stimuli and go through almost the same kinds of experience in their
a. Explain what precision and confidence are and how they influence sample size.b. Discuss what is meant by the statement: “There is a trade-off between precision and confidence under certain
a. Explain why cluster sampling is a probability sampling design.b. What are the advantages and disadvantages of cluster sampling?c. Describe a situation where you would consider the use of cluster
Identify the relevant population for the following research foci, and suggest the appropriate sampling design to investigate the issues, explaining why they are appropriate. Wherever necessary,
Design a study to examine the following situation.
Below is an adapted note from Business Week published some time ago. After reading it, apply what you have learned in this chapter, and design a study after sketching the theoretical framework.
“If a control group is a part of an experimental design, one need not worry about controlling other exogenous variables.” Discuss this statement
Explain the concept of “trade-off between internal validity and external validity.”
What is internal validity and what are the threats it stands exposed to?
Define the terms control and manipulation. Describe a possible lab experiment where you would need to control a variable. Include also a variable over which you would have no control but which could
The fewer the biases in measurement and in data collection procedures, the more scientific the research. Comment on this statement.
How would you use the data from observational study to reach scientific conclusions?
How has the advancement in technology helped data gathering?
“One way to deal with discrepancies found in the data obtained from multiple sources is to average the figures and take the mean as the value of the variable.” What is your reaction to this?
“Every data collection method has its own built-in biases.Therefore, resorting to multimethods of data collection is only going to compound the biases.” How would you critique this statement?
How are multiple methods of data collection and from multiple sources related to the reliability and validity of the measures?
What are projective techniques and how can they be used profitably?
Explain the principles of wording, stating how these are important in questionnaire design, citing examples not in the book.
What is bias, and how can it be reduced during interviews?
As a manager, you have invited a research team to come in, study, and offer suggestions on how to improve the performance of your staff. What steps will you take to allay staff apprehensions even
Describe the different data sources, explaining their usefulness and disadvantages.
“A valid instrument is always reliable, but a reliable instrument may not always be valid.” Comment on this statement.
Whenever possible, it is advisable to use instruments that have already been developed and repeatedly used in published studies, rather than developing our own instruments for our studies. Do you
Construct a semantic differential scale to assess the properties of a particular brand of coffee or tea.
Explain why it does not make sense to assess the internal consistency of a formative scale.
Why is it important to establish the “goodness” of measures and how is this done?
Why is the ratio scale considered to be the most powerful of the four scales?
Is it useful to draw on existing measures to measure abstract and subjective constructs such as customer loyalty? Why (not)?
Operationalize the following:a. Customer loyaltyb. Price consciousnessc. Career success
What is meant by operational definition, when is it necessary, and why is it necessary?
Provide (relevant) measurable attributes for the following objects:a. a restaurantb. a businesspersonc. a consumerd. a care. a tennis racketf. a strategic business unit
To what extent would it frustrate you if people did not give you feedback on how you are progressing?
How often during the past three months have you checked with your subordinates that what you are doing is not getting in the way of their efficient performance?
How often have you tried to obtain feedback on your performance from your co-workers during the past three months?
During the past three months, how often have you sought feedback from your superiors on how well you are performing your job?
To what extent would you prefer to take on extremely difficult assignments rather than moderately challenging ones?
To what extent would you prefer a job that is difficult but challenging, to one that is easy and routine?
To what extent would you prefer to work by yourself rather than with others?
To what extent would you prefer to work with a friendly but incompetent colleague, rather than a difficult but competent one?
How annoyed do you get when you make mistakes?
How much do you concentrate on achieving your goals?
How disappointed would you feel if you did not reach the goals you had set for yourself?
To what extent do you engage yourself in hobbies?
How frequently do you think of your work when you are at home?
How often do you neglect personal matters because you are preoccupied with your job?
How difficult do you find it to continue to do your work in the face of initial failure or discouraging results?
To what extent would you say you push yourself to get the job done on time?
Below are three scenarios. Indicate how the researcher should proceed in each case; that is, determine the following, giving reasons:a. The purpose of the studyb. The type of investigationc. The
Discuss the interrelationships among noncontrived setting, the purpose of the study, type of investigation, researcher interference, and time horizon of study.
Is a field study totally out of the question if one is trying to establish cause-and-effect relationships?
Why is it important to consider basic design issues before conducting the study and even as early as at the time of formulating the research question?
Product placement is a form of advertising in which a company's products and name are intentionally positioned in motion pictures, television programs, radio broadcasts, and the like. Product
Develop a conceptual model for the following case.
Develop a conceptual model for the scenario below.
For the following case entitled “Sleepless nights at Holiday Inn” (published in Business Week and adapted here):a. Identify the problemb. Develop a conceptual modelc. Develop at least four
In recent decades, many service markets have been liberalized.For this reason, incumbent service firms are facing new competitors and must address customer switching. You are discussing the
There is an advantage in stating the hypothesis both in the null and in the alternate; it adds clarity to our thinking of what we are testing. Explain.
“Because literature review is a time-consuming exercise, a good, in-depth interview should suffice to develop a theoretical framework.” Discuss this statement.
Below is the gist of an article from Business Week. After reading it:a. identify the broad problem areab. define the problemc. explain how you would proceed further.
After studying and extracting information from all the relevant work done previously, how does the researcher know which particular references, articles, and information should be given prominence in
Offer a clearly focused problem statement in the broad area of corporate culture.
What is the purpose of a literature review?
How would you go about doing a literature review in the area of customer satisfaction?
Should a researcher always obtain information on the structural aspects and job characteristics from those interviewed? Give reasons for your answer with examples.
Comment on the following situation.
What is action research? Describe a specific situation where action research would be warranted.
Strictly speaking, would the use of case studies be considered scientific research? Why or why not?
Critique the following research done in a service industry as to the extent to which it meets the hallmarks of scientific
If research in the management area cannot be 100% scientific, why bother to do it at all? Comment on this statement.
One hears the word research being mentioned by several groups such as research organizations, college and university professors, doctoral students, graduate assistants working for faculty, graduate
What are the steps in hypothetico-deductive research? Explain them, using an example not in the book.
Describe the hallmarks of scientific research.
Given the situations below:a. discuss, with reasons, whether they fall into the category of applied or basic researchb. for Scenario 1, explain, with reasons, who will conduct the research
Give two specific instances where an external research team would be useful and two other scenarios when an internal research team would be deployed, with adequate explanations as to why each
For what specific purposes is basic research important?
14.4 The ‘road map’ you announced in the introduction may not now be correct. The previews and summaries at the beginning and end of the relevant chapters may need changing. A more serious
14.3 Academic writing is often difficult to understand. This is not usually because the subject matter is complex or the thoughts profound. It is because the writer thinks it necessary to write in an
14.2 It will demonstrate good practice in two respects. First it will demonstrate that you have evaluated your research design. Second it will help you to evaluate how you would alter this design if
14.1 This is easier said than done. Start by going through your results chapter, continually asking yourself ‘Did I find this out?’ You will probably weed out a lot of things that you have
4 Even if you think you aren’t nervous, why is practising a presentation in front of a critical friend a good idea?
3 In what ways might ‘telling them what you’re going to say, saying it, and then telling them what you’ve just said’ have helped Clare’s audience?
2 What advice would you give Clare in relation to interacting with her audience more effectively?
1 In what way did starting with the eight boxes limit or help Clare’s planning of her presentation?
• being rigorous in your use of the procedures that are advocated in order to be able to produce a research report that contains findings that are sufficiently ‘grounded’ to substantiate the
• recognising the relationships between the principal categories that have emerged from this grounded approach in order to develop an explanatory theory;
• understanding how negative cases broaden (or threaten) your emerging explanation;
• seeking to verify apparent relationships against the actual data that you have collected;
• recognising the relationships between categories and rearranging these into a hierarchical form, with the emergence of subcategories;
• recognising significant themes and issues during early analysis to help you to consider where data collection should be focused in the future;
• working with smaller rather than larger units of data;

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