1. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Business Research Methods, 10eCopyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 4 The Business Research Process: An Overview

2. 4-2 Learning Objectives Understand … That research is decision- and dilemma- centered. That the clarified research question is the result of careful exploration and analysis and sets the direction for the research project.

3. 4-3 Learning Objectives Understand... How value assessments and budgeting influence the process for proposing research, and ultimately, research design. What is included in research design, data collection, and data analysis. Research process problems to avoid.

4. 4-4 PulsePoint: Research Revelations 69 The percent of U.S. households paying at least one bill online.

5. 4-5 Curiosity Drives Research “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” Walt Disney

6. 4-6 Purpose of Research Reduce the level of risk of a business decision.

7. 4-7 Evaluating the Value of Research Option Analysis Decision Theory Prior or Interim Evaluation Ex Post Facto Evaluation

8. 4-8 The Business Research Process

9. 4-9 Stage 1: Clarifying the Research Question Management-research question hierarchy process begins by identifying the management dilemma

10. 4-10 Stage 2: Proposing Research Budget Types Rule-of-thumb Departmental Task

11. 4-11 The Research Proposal Delivery Legally- binding contract Legally- binding contract Obligations Written proposals establish Written proposals establish Methods Timing Budgets Extent Purpose

12. 4-12 Stage 3: Research Design

13. 4-13 Stage 3: Designing the Research The Research Project The Research Project Research Design Research Design Sampling Design Sampling Design Pilot Testing

14. 4-14 Stage 4: Data Collection

15. 4-15 Collecting Sensitive Data Demands Safeguards Scotts used a healthcare management company to collect sensitive wellness data during annual health assessments to preserve participant confidentiality.

16. 4-16 Data Characteristics Abstractness Verifiability Elusiveness Closeness

17. 4-17 Stage 5: Data Analysis and Interpretation

18. 4-18 Reducing data to manageable size © 2002 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin Steps in Data Analysis and Interpretation Developing summaries Looking for patterns Applying statistical techniques

19. 4-19 Stage 6: Reporting the Results

20. 4-20 Parts of the Research Report Research Report Research Report Executive Summary Executive Summary Research Overview Research Overview Technical Appendix Technical Appendix Implementation Strategies Implementation Strategies

21. 4-21 The Research Report Overview Problem’s background Summary of exploratory findings Research design and procedures Conclusions

22. 4-22 Research Process Problems to Avoid Ill-defined management problem Unresearchable questions Politically-motivated research

23. 4-23 Research Process Problems to Avoid Company Database Strip-Mining The Favored- Technique Syndrome

24. 4-24 Key Terms Census Data –Primary data –Secondary data Data analysis Decision rule exploration Investigative questions Management dilemma Management question Management-research question hierarchy Pilot test Research design Research process Research questions Sample Target population