What Is Secondary Data

• Data may be described as Primary or Secondary
  
  • Primary data - collected by the researcher himself
    
  • Secondary data - collected by others to be "re-used" by the researcher
    

• What Form Does Secondary Data Take?
  

  • Qualitative Sources
    

  • Sources for Qualitative Research:
    

    • Biographies - subjective interpretation involved
      
    • Diaries - more spontaneous, less distorted by memory lapses
      
    • Memoirs - benefit/problem of hindsight
      
    • Letters - reveal interactions
      
    • Newspapers - public interest & opinion
      
    • Novels & Literature In General - eg Atkinson's tribute to usefulness of Gordon's "Dr Novels"; McLelland's study of achievement motivation in different cultures via children's stories & folktales
      
    • Handbooks, Policy Statements, Planning Documents, Reports, Historical & Official Documents (Hansard, Royal Commission reports) etc. nb Marx's use of Factory Inspectors reports in developing his theories of the labour process
      

  • Quantitative Sources
    

    • Published Statistics:
      
      • National Government Sources
        
        • Demographic (Census, Vital Statistics, Cancer Registrations)
          
        • Administrative (by-product of Government)
          
          • Collected by Govt. Depts. overseen by ONS (employment, prices, trade, finance)
            
        • Government Surveys (input to Government)
          
          • General Household Survey (GHS)
            
          • Family Expenditure Survey (FES)
            
          • Labour Force Survey (LFS)
            
          • Family Resources Survey (FRS)
            
          • Omnibus Survey
            
      • Local Government Sources
        
        • Planning Documents
          
        • Trends Documents (eg former Strathclyde Social Trends and Economic Trends)
          
      • Other Sources
        
        • Firms & Trade Associations eg Society of Motot Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT)
          
        • Market & Opinion Research eg Gallup, NOP, SCPR System 3
          
        • Trade Unions, TUC, STUC
          
        • Professional Bodies eg CIPFA (Chartered Instiute of Public Finance & Accountancy) provides a Statistical Information Service re Local Government Statistics
          
        • Political Parties
          
        • Voluntary & Charitable Bodies eg Low Pay Unit, SCF (Save the Children Fund), Rowntree Foundation
          
        • Academic & Research Institutes eg
          
          • Micro-Social Change Research Centre (MSRC) at Essex Uni
            
          • National Institute for Economic & Social Rsearch (NIESR)
            
          • Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)
            
      • International Sources
        
        • EU, OECD, World Bank, IMF
          
    • Non-Published / Electronic Sources
      
      • Data Archives eg the Data Archive At Essex
        
        • Data Sub-Setting Service On Tape, Disk, Postal Or Via Janet
          
      • On-Line Access To National Computing Centres
        
        • MIMAS (Manchester Information & Associated Services)
          
        • EDINA (Edinburgh)
          
      • International Sources on Internet & Web
        

• Ways of Using Secondary Sources
  

  • Exploratory phase - getting ideas
    
  • Design Phase - definitions & sampling frames, question wording
    
  • Supplement to Main Research
    
    • - Re-Inforcement &/Or Comparison
      
  • Main Mode of Research
    
    • - Direct Data Collection Impossible
      
    • - Or Costly & Time Consuming
      

• Limitations of Secondary Data
  

  • Collected For A Different Purpose
    
  • Problem of Definitions
    
  • Problem of Comparability Over Time
    
  • Lack of Awareness of Sources of Error/Bias
    
  • Has the Data Been "Massaged"?
    
  • What Do The Statistics Really Mean?
    
    • Eg. Health, Crime, Unemployment
      
  • Limitations of Survey Data
    
    • Representativeness
      
    • Validity of Responses
      
  • Limitations of Documents
    
    • Documents "Construct" As Well As Report Social Reality
      

• How to Search & Use Secondary Sources?
  

  • Documents - Bibliographic Skills, Use of Keywords, Boolean Operators
    
  • Published Statistics
    
    • Guide to Official Statistics
      
    • Digests & Abstracts
      
    • Primary Publication
      
  • Electronic Sources
    
    • Biron
      
    • Gateways - SOSIG, BUBL
      

Comparison of postal, telephone and personal interview survey

	Postal survey	Telephone survey	Personal interview
Cost (assuming a good response rate)	Often lowest	Usually in-between	Usually highest
Ability to probe	No personal contact or observation	Some chance for gathering additional data through elaboration on questions, but no personal observation	Greatest opportunity for observation, building rapport, and additional probing
Respondent ability to complete at own convenience	Yes	Perhaps, but usually no	Perhaps, if interview time is prearranged with respondent
Interview bias	No chance	Some, perhaps due to voice inflection	Greatest chance
Ability to decide who actually responds to the questions	Least	Some	Greatest
Impersonality	Greatest	Some due to lack of face-to-face contact	Least
Complex questions	Least suitable	Somewhat suitable	More suitable
Visual aids	Little opportunity	No opportunity	Greatest opportunity
Potential negative respondent reaction	'Junk mail'	'Junk calls'	Invasion of privacy
Interviewer control over interview environment	Least	Some in selection of time to call	Greatest
Time lag between soliciting and receiving response	Greatest	Least	May be considerable if a large area involved
Suitable types of questions	Simple, mostly dichotomous (yes/no) and multiple choice	Some opportunity for open-ended questions especially if interview is recorded	Greatest opportunity for open-ended questions
Requirement for technical skills in conducting interview	Least	Medium	Greatest
Response rate	Low	Usually high	High

 

 

THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

 

Purpose of the Research Proposal

• To present the question to be researched and its importance
  
• To discuss the research efforts of others who have worked on related questions
  
• To suggest the data necessary for solving the question
  

The Research Sponsor

All research has a sponsor in one form or another:

• In a corporate setting, management sponsors research
  
• In an academic environment, the student is responsible to the class instructor
  

What are the Benefits of the Proposal to a Researcher?

• Allows the researcher to plan and review the project's steps
  
• Serves as a guide throughout the investigation
  
• Forces time and budget estimates
  

Types of Research Proposals

• Internal
  
• External
  

Proposal Complexity

3 levels of complexity:

• The exploratory study is used for the most simple proposals
  
• The small-scale study is more complex and common in business
  
• The large-scale professional study is the most complex, costing millions of dollars
  

How to Structure the Research Proposal?

• Create proposal modules
  
• Put together various modules to tailor your proposal to the intended audience
  

Modules in a Research Proposal

• Executive Summary 1 Qualifications of Researcher
  
• Problem Statement 2 Budget
  
• Research Objectives 3 Schedule
  
• Literature Review 4 Facilities and Special Resources
  
• Importance of the Study 5 Project Management
  
• Research Design 6 Bibliography
  
• Data Analysis 7 Appendices
  
• Nature and Form of Results
  

Evaluating the Research Proposal

• Proposal must be neatly written in appropriate writing style
  
• Major topics should be easily found and logically organized
  
• Proposal must meet specific guidelines set by the sponsor
  
• Technical writing style must be clearly understood and explained
  

What to include in the Appendices?

• A glossary of concepts, constructs, and definitions
  
• Samples of the measurement instrument
  
• Other materials that reinforce the body of the proposal
  

 

 

THE DESIGN OF RESEARCH

 

MEASUREMENT!!!

Measurement

• Selecting observable empirical events
  
• Using numbers or symbols to represent aspects of the events
  
• Applying a mapping rule to connect the observation to the symbol
  

What is measured?

• Objects:
  
  • Things of ordinary experience
    
  • Some things not concrete
    
• Properties: characteristics of objects
  

Characteristics of Data

• Classification
  
• Order
  
• Distance (interval between numbers)
  
• Origin of number series
  

Scales

• There are four basic types of scales: nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio.
  
• Nominal scale
  
  • It is one that allows the researcher to assign subjects to certain categories or groups.
    
  • It gives some basic, categorical, gross information.
    

Scales (cont.)

• These numbers serve as simple and convenient category labels with no intrinsic value, other than to assign respondents to one of two nonoverlapping or mutually exclusive or collectively exhaustive categories.
  
  • 200 people, 98 men (49%) and 102 women (51%).
    
• Example: it will allow computation of the numbers and percentage of respondents from 11 categories of the nationality of individuals.
  

Scales (cont.)

• Ordinal scale
  
  • It categorizes the variables in such a way as to denote differences among the various categories.
    
  • It rank-orders the categories in some meaningful way.
    
  • It provides more information than the nominal scale.
    
  • The differences in the ranking of objects, persons, or events investigated are clearly known, but we do not know their magnitude.
    

Scales (cont.)

• Interval scale
  
  • An interval scale allows us to perform certain arithmetical operations on the data collected from the respondents.
    
  • The ordinal scale to rank-order the preferences, the interval scale lets us measure the distance between any two points on the scale.
    
  • The origin, or the starting point, could be any arbitrary number.
    

Scales (cont.)

• Ratio scale
  
  • It has an absolute zero point which is a meaningful measurement point.
    
  • It is the most powerful of the four scales because it has a unique zero origin (not an arbitrary origin) and subsumes all the properties of the other three scales.
    

Scales (cont.)

• For instance
  
  • 250 pounds and 125 pounds (the ration of 2:1).
    
  • Gender: nominal scale.
    
  • Temperature: nominal scale (high/low), or ordinal scale (hot-medium-low), or the interval scale through the thermometer.
    

• Example: use of the nominal scale
  
  • Gender: male & female.
    
  • Department: production, sales, accounting, finance, personnel, R&D, and other.
    

Sources of Measurement Differences

• Respondent
  
• Situational factors
  
• Measurer or researcher
  
• Data collection instrument
  

    Validity

• Content Validity
  
• Criterion-Related Validity
  
  • Predictive
    
  • Concurrent
    
• Construct Validity
  

Reliability

• Stability
  
  • Test-retest
    

Equivalence

• Parallel forms
  

• Internal Consistency
  
  • Split-half
    
  • KR20
    
  • Cronbach's alpha
    

Practicality

• Economy
  
• Convenience
  
• Interpretability
  

 

The Business Research Process

1. Observation (Broad area of research identified)
   
2. Preliminary Data Gathering (interviewing & Literature survey)
   
3. Problem Definition (Research problem Delineated)
   
4. Theoretical framework (Variables clearly identified)
   
5. Generation of Hypothesis
   
6. Scientific research Design
   
7. Data collection, analysis, and interpretation
   
8. Deduction (hypothesis substantiated or not? Research questions answered or not?)
   
9. Report Writing
   
10. Report Presentation
    
11. Managerial Decision Making
    

RESEARCH DESIGN STRATEGIES

What is Research Design?

• A plan for selecting the sources and types of information used to answer research questions
  
• A framework for specifying the relationships among the study variables
  
• A blueprint that outlines each procedure from the hypothesis to the analysis
  

Classifications of Designs

• Exploratory study is usually to develop hypotheses or questions for further research
  
• Formal study is to test the hypotheses or answer the research questions
  

Methods of Data Collection

• Monitoring, which includes observational
  studies
  
• Interrogation/communication studies
  

Power to Produce Effects

• In an experiment, the researcher attempts to control and/or manipulate the variables in the study
  
• In an ex post facto design, the researcher has no control over the variables; they can only report what has happened.
  

Purpose of the Study

• Descriptive study tries to explain relationships among variables.
  
• Causal study is how one variable produces changes in another.
  

The Time Dimension

• Cross-sectional studies are carried out once and represent a snapshot of one point in time
  
• Longitudinal studies are repeated over an extended period
  

The Topical Scope

• Statistical studies attempt to capture a population's characteristics by making inferences from a sample's characteristics
  
• Case studies place more emphasis on a full contextual analysis of fewer events or conditions and their interrelations
  

The Research Environment

• Field conditions
  
• Laboratory conditions
  
• Simulations
  

A Participant's Perceptions

• Usefulness of a design may be reduced when people in the study perceive that research is being conducted
  
• Participants' perceptions influence the outcomes of the research
  

Why do Exploratory Studies?

• Exploration is particularly useful when researchers lack a clear idea of the problems
  

Data Collection Techniques

• Qualitative techniques
  
• Secondary data
  
• Focus groups
  
• Two-stage design
  

Causation

• The essential element of causation is
  
  • A "produces" B
    

                Or

• A "forces" B to occur
  

Causal Study Relationships

• Symmetrical
  
• Reciprocal
  
• Asymmetrical
  

Asymmetrical Relationships

• Stimulus-Response
  
• Property-Disposition
  
• Disposition-Behavior
  
• Property-Behavior
  

Achieving the Ideal Experimental Design

• Control
  
  • Random Assignment
    
  • Matching
    
• Randomization    
  
  • Manipulation and control of variables
    

 

 

 

 

 

 

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

 

Primary Sources

• Contemporary Accounts of an event written by the person who witnessed or experienced it. FIRST HAND!
  
  
• Original Documents, Unpublished – not about another document or account
  
• Published works - as long as they are written soon after the fact and not as historical accounts
  

Primary Sources

Include:

• Diaries Interviews
  
• Letters Photographs
  
• Memoirs Audio or video recordings
  
• Journals Research reports (natural or social sciences)
  
• Speeches Original literary or theatrical works
  
• Manuscripts
  
• Statistical Data
  

Secondary Sources

• Interpret primary sources - at least one step removed from the event or phenomenon under review
  
• Examination of studies that other researchers have made of a subject
  
• Second Hand - conveys the experiences and opinions of others
  
• Usually in the form of published works
  
  • Journal articles
    
  • Books
    
  • Radio and TV documentaries
    

How do you know?

• Ask yourself some questions:
  
  • How does the author know these details?
    
  • Was the author present at the event or soon on the scene?
    
  • Where does this information come from—personal experience, eyewitness accounts, or reports written by others?
    
  • Are the author's conclusions based on a single piece of evidence, or have many sources been taken into account?
    
• For further details click links below.
  http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/PrimarySources.html
  

http://www.library.utoronto.ca/gerstein/tutorial/primary_research1.html

MEASUREMENT SCALES

What is Scaling?

Scaling is assigning numbers to indicants of the properties of objects

Types of Response Scales

• Rating Scales
  
• Ranking Scales
  
• Categorization
  

Types of Rating Scales

• Simple category Numerical
  
• Multiple choice, single response Multiple rating
  
• Multiple choice, multiple response Fixed sum
  
• Likert scale Staple
  
• Semantic differential Graphic rating
  

Category Scale

• The category scale uses multiple items to elicit a single response.
  
• This uses the nominal scale.
  
• Example: where in northern California do you reside? North Bay, South Bay, East Bay, Peninsula, and other.
  

Likert Scale

• This is an interval scale and the differences in the responses between any two points on the scale remain the same.
  
• The responses over a number of items tapping a particular concept or variable are then summated for every respondent.
  
• Example: it is designed to examine how strongly subjects agree or disagree with statements on a 5-point scale for the work.
  

Semantic Differential Scale

• It is used to assess respondent's attitudes toward a particular brand, advertisement, object, or individual.
  
• This is treated as an interval scale.
  
• Several bipolar attributes are identified at the extremes of the scale such as Good-Bad, Strong-Weak, and Hot-Cold.
  
• Example: responsive-unresponsive, beautiful-ugly, and courageous-timid.
  

Numerical Scale

• It is similar to the semantic differential scale.
  
• The 5-point or 7-point scale are provided.
  
• Example: 7-point, extremely pleased-extremely displeased.
  

Itemized Rating Scale

• A 5-point or 7-point scale with anchors, as needed, is provided for each item.
  
• When a neutral point is provided, it is a balanced rating scale, and when it is not, it is an unbalanced rating scale.
  
• Research indicates that a 5-point scale is just as good as any, and that an increase from 5 to 7 or 9 points on a rating scale does not improve the reliability of the ratings.
  

Itemized Rating Scale (cont.)

• Example: 5 points, balanced rating scale with a neutral point.
  
• Example: 4 points, unbalanced rating scale without a neutral point.
  

Fixed or Constant Sum Scale

• The respondents are here asked to distribute a given number of points across various items.
  
• This is in the nature of an ordinal scale.
  
• Example: In choosing a toilet soap such as fragrance, color, shape, size, and texture of lather.
  

Stapel Scale

• This scale simultaneously measures both the direction and intensity of the attitude toward the items under study.
  
• This is does not have an absolute zero point, this is an interval scale.
  
• Example: supervisor's abilities such as adopting modern technology, product innovation, and interpersonal skill, from +3 to –3.
  

Graphic Rating Scale

• A graphical representation helps the respondents to indicate on this scale their answers to a particular question by placing a mark at the appropriate point on the line.
  
• This is an ordinal scale, but might appear to make it look like an interval scale.
  
• It is applied as faces scale such as feeling about their jobs.
  
• Example: rate your supervisor, excellent (10) – all right (5) – very bad (1).
  

Rating Scale Errors to Avoid

• Leniency
  
  • Negative Leniency
    
  • Positive Leniency
    
• Central Tendency
  
• Halo Effect
  

Ranking Scale

• They are used to tap preferences between two or among more objects or items (ordinal in nature).
  
• Such ranking may not give definitive clues to some of the answers sought, for example, the four product lines (35%, 25%, 20%, 20%).
  
• The methods used are the paired comparisons, forced choice, and the comparative scale.
  

Paired Comparison Scale

• The scale is used when, among a small number of objects, respondents are asked to choose between two objects at a time.
  
• The paired choices for n objects will be .
  
• The greater the number of objects or stimuli, the greater the number of paired comparisons presented to the respondents, and the greater the respondent fatigue.
  

Forced Choice Scale

• It enables respondents to rank objects relative to one another, among the alternatives provided.
  
• This is easier for the respondents.
  
• Example: assigning 1 for the most preferred choice and 5 for the least preferred for Fortune, Playboy, Time, People, and Prevention magazines.
  

Comparative Scale

• It provides a benchmark or a point of reference to assess attitude toward the current object, event, or situation under study.
  
• Example: volatile financial environment compared to stocks – invest in Treasury bonds (more useful, about the same, and less useful).
  

Summary of Scale

• Nominal data lend themselves to dichotomous or category scale.
  
• Ordinal data to any one of the ranking scales – paired comparison, forced choice, or comparative scales.
  
• Interval or interval-like data to the other rating scales such as Likert scale, itemized rating scale, fixed or constant sum rating scale, Stapel scale, graphic rating scale, consensus scale.
  

Summary of Scale (cont.)

• The semantic differential and the numerical scales are, strictly speaking, not interval scales, though they are often treated as such in data analysis.
  

Dimensions of a Scale

• Unidimensional
  
• Multidimensional
  

Scale Design Techniques

• Arbitrary scaling
  
• Consensus scaling
  
• Item Analysis scaling
  
• Cumulative scaling
  
• Factor scaling
  

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS RESEARCH

What is Business Research?

A systematic Inquiry whose objective is to provide information to solve managerial problems.

Why Study Research?

Research provides you with the knowledge and skills needed for the fast-paced decision-making environment

Why Managers need Better Information

• Global and domestic competition is more vigorous
  
• Organizations are increasingly practicing data mining and data warehousing
  

The Value of Acquiring Research Skills

• To gather more information before selecting a course of action
  
• To do a high-level research study
  
• To understand research design
  
• To evaluate and resolve a current management dilemma
  
• To establish a career as a research specialist
  

Types of Studies Used to do Research

• Reporting
  
• Descriptive
  
• Explanatory
  
• Predictive
  

Exploratory study

• An exploratory study is undertaken when not much is known about the situation at hand, or no information is available on how similar problems or research issues have been solved in the past.
  
• Extensive interviews with many people might have to be undertaken to get a handle on the situation and understand the phenomena.
  
• More rigorous research could then proceed.
  

Exploratory studies are also necessary when some facts are known, but more information is needed for developing a viable theoretical framework

Descriptive study

• Descriptive studies are undertaken to understand the characteristics of organizations that follow certain common practices such as the age, educational level, job status, sex, length of service, and working in the system.
  

Different Styles of Research

(1) Applied Research

(2) Pure Research/Basic Research

What is Good Research?

• Following the standards of the scientific method
  
  • Purpose clearly defined
    
  • Research process detailed
    
  • Research design thoroughly planned
    
  • Limitations frankly revealed
    
  • High ethical standards applied
    

The Manager-Researcher Relationship

• Manager's obligations
  
  • Specify problems
    
  • Provide adequate background information
    
  • Access to company information gatekeepers
    
• Researcher's obligations
  
  • Develop a creative research design
    
  • Provide answers to important business questions
    

Manager-Researcher Conflicts

• Management's limited exposure to research
  
• Manager sees researcher as threat to personal status
  
• Researcher has to consider corporate culture and political situations
  
• Researcher's isolation from managers
  

When Research Should be Avoided

• When information cannot be applied to a critical managerial decision
  
• When managerial decision involves little risk
  
• When management has insufficient resources to conduct a study
  
• When the cost of the study outweighs the level of risk of the decision
  

 

 

 

Importance of basic research applied research

Basic Research

Basic research is a type of research that only attempts to expand the limits of knowledge. It is not directly involved in the solution to a pragmatic or real time problem. The all researches done in the past are became basic researches.

Basic Research Example

• Is business ethics is related to the success of the business?
  
• Role of business ethics in success of an organization.
  

Applied Research

Applied research is another type of business research and it is conducted when a decision must be made about a specific real-life problem. The researcher extracts results by his own experiments and efforts.

Applied Research Example

• Should PEPSI
  add Diet
  PEPSI in its product-line?
  
• Will the Mountain Dew create a demand in consumer market?
  

Applied research is most important in the business perspective to take real time decisions. But the basic research is also important because it expands the knowledge and become useful to provide a theoretical base for the applied researches.

Characteristics of business research

1 – Purposiveness

    Each research should have an objective or purpose to be conducted. The purpose might be:

• To expand product line of a company.
  
• To adopt office automation technology in a business.
  
• To emerge in international competition.
  

2 – Rigor

Researcher should have a good theoretical base (secondary data) and sound methodologies (way of conducting research) from past researches or basic researches. The sample taken for the research should be large enough that represents the whole population.

• For example to launch a new product the researcher should know about the past researches of the same nature products and should know the target consumers and should have a complete survey to the related potential users of the product.
  

3 – Testability

Gather all the secondary data needed and develop the hypothesis according to the sample taken. Hypothesis will yield a value which will be measurable or provable.

• For example if an automobile company claims that their new car does 50 miles per liter then it can be provable.
  

4 – Replicability

The end results observed from the research should be same again and again in the similar circumstances.

• For example if a research concludes that turbo-chip will boast the engine speed to double then in everywhere in the world it can be proven each time.
  

5 – Precision & Confidence

Results should be accurate and correct and should not mislead the decision maker.

• For example a business research results that typewriters should be replaced by computers to work fast and efficiently.
  

 

6 – Objectivity

The research should be factual rather than emotional. The results of research should be neutral and true and should not be flavorful to anyone.

• Suppose a researcher is willing to promote domestic industry and about to research on the tariff on imported goods. Ultimately he will suggest that tariff rates must be higher.
  

7 – Generalizability

Actually, generalizability is a kind of research which gives same results in differing or dissimilar situations. Not all the researches are generalizable.

• Suppose if a research is conducted to be concluding the major issues of the quality education. It results that the faculty members made most impact in quality of education. Then anywhere in the world it can be said faculty of the institutes is the major countable aspect in quality of education.
  

8 – Parsimony

Research results must be easy to understand, easy to formulate, easy to implement and evaluate strategies.

• For example it must make clear that there are four major causes of low literacy rate in Pakistan---first, second, third and fourth.
  

  A situation where business research can help in taking a managerial decision
  

•     Suppose a company is operating nationwide and wants to expand its operations by emerging in e-commerce. It is trying to know that, would it be beneficial for the company or not? Would it beneficial for the company and how much? Then the company can held a research to take decision about launching a website. The research will be conducted by a researcher. He will go through the all steps of research, will find information from different sources and concludes them in a report to the CEO and give a presentation about "How much cost this would take?", "What will be the payback?", and other related aspects. Then the CEO will take decision about the emergence.
  

HYPOTHESIS TESTING

Approaches to Hypothesis Testing

• Classical Statistics
  
  • sampling-theory approach
    
  • objective view of probability
    
  • decision making rests on analysis of available sampling data
    
• Bayesian Statistics
  
  • extension of classical statistics
    
  • consider all other available information
    

Types of Hypotheses

• Null
  
  • that no statistically significant difference exists between the parameter and the statistic being compared
    
• Alternative
  
  • logical opposite of the null hypothesis
    
  • that a statistically significant difference does exist between the parameter and the statistic being compared.
    

Logic of Hypothesis Testing

• Two tailed test
  
  • no directional test
    
  • considers two possibilities
    
• One tailed test
  
  • directional test
    
  • places entire probability of an unlikely outcome to the tail specified by the alternative hypothesis
    

Decision Errors in Testing

• Type I error
  
  • a true null hypothesis is rejected
    
• Type II error    
  
  • one fails to reject a false null hypothesis
    

Testing for Statistical Significance

• State the null hypothesis
  
• Choose the statistical test
  
• Select the desired level of significance
  
• Compute the calculated difference value
  
• Obtain the critical value
  
• Interpret the test
  

Classes of Significance Tests

• Parametric tests
  
  • Z or t test is used to determine the statistical significance between a sample distribution mean and a population parameter
    
• Assumptions:
  
  • independent observations
    
  • normal distributions
    
  • populations have equal variances
    
  • at least interval data measurement scale
    

Classes of Significance Tests

• Nonparametric tests
  
  • Chi-square test is used for situations in which a test for differences between samples is required
    
• Assumptions
  
  • independent observations for some tests
    
  • normal distribution not necessary
    
  • homogeneity of variance not necessary
    
  • appropriate for nominal and ordinal data, may be used for interval or ratio data
    

How to Test the Null Hypothesis

• Analysis of variance (ANOVA)
  
  • the statistical method for testing the null hypothesis that means of several populations are equal
    

Multiple Comparison Tests

• Multiple comparison procedures
  
  • test the difference between each pair of means and indicate significantly different group means at a specified alpha level (<.05)
    
  • use group means and incorporate the MSerror term of the F ratio
    

How to Select a Test

• Which does the test involve?        
  
  • one sample,
    
  • two samples
    
  • k samples
    
• If two or k samples,are the individual cases independent or related?
  
• Is the measurement scale nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio?
  

K Related Samples Test

Use when:

• The grouping factor has more than two levels
  
• Observations or participants are
  
  • matched . . . or
    
  • the same participant is measured more than once
    
• Interval or ratio data
  

 

 

 

 

 

ETHICS IN BUSINESS RESEARCH

What are Research Ethics?

• Ethics are norms or standards of behavior that guide moral choices about our behavior and our relationships with others
  

 

• The goal is to ensure that no one is harmed or suffers adverse consequences from research activities
  

Ethical Treatment of Participants

• Begin data collection by explaining to the participant the benefits expected from the research
  
• Explain to the participants that their rights and well-being will be adequately protected, and say how this will be done
  
• Be certain that interviewers obtain the informed consent of the participant
  

Deception

• The participant is told only part of the truth or when the truth is fully compromised
  
• To prevent biasing the participants before the survey or experiment
  
• To protect the confidentiality of a third party
  

Issues Related to Protecting Participants

• Informed consent
  
• Debriefing
  
• Right to Privacy/Confidentiality
  
• Data Collection in Cyberspace
  

Ethical Issues related to the Client

• Sponsor non-disclosure
  
• Purpose non-disclosure
  
• Findings non-disclosure
  
• Right to quality research
  

Ethics Related to Sponsor

• Sometimes researchers will be asked by sponsors to participate in unethical behavior.
  
• To avoid coercion by sponsor the researcher should:
  
  • Educate sponsor to the purpose of research
    
  • Explain researcher's role
    
  • Explain how distortion of the truth leads to future problems
    
  • If necessary, terminate relationship with sponsor
    

Ethical Issues related to
Researchers and Team Members

• Safety
  
• Ethical behavior of assistants
  
• Protection of anonymity
  

 

DATA PREPARATION AND DESCRIPTION

Editing

• Detects errors and omissions,
  
• Corrects them when possible, and
  
• Certifies that minimum data quality standards are achieved
  

Editing (cont.)

• Guarantees that data are
  
  • accurate
    
  • consistent with other information
    
  • uniformly entered
    
  • complete
    
  • arranged to simplify coding and tabulation
    
• Field Editing
  
  • translation of ad hoc abbreviations and symbols used during data collection
    
  • Validation of the field results.
    
• Central Editing
  

Coding

• Rules that guide the establishment of category sets
  
  • Appropriate to the research problem and purpose
    
  • Exhaustive
    
  • Mutually exclusive
    
  • Derived from one classification principle
    

Content Analysis for Coding

• Measures the semantic content of a message
  
• Researches the objective, systematic, and quantitative description of the content of a communication
  
  • Syntactical unit, Referential unit, Propositional unit,Thematic unit
    

Data Entry Options

• Optical scanning, Voice recognition, Keyboard
  

Data Entry Formats

• Database with full screen editor, Spreadsheet
  

Descriptive Statistics

• Distribution Descriptors, Location, Spread, Shape
  

Descriptive Statistics

• Distribution Descriptors
  
  • Location
    
    • Central Tendency, Mean , Median , Mode
      

Descriptive Statistics

• Distribution Descriptors
  
  • Shape
    
    • Skewness
      
    • Kurtosis
      

 

 

APPLYING SCIENTIFIC THINKING TO MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS

 

Sources of Knowledge

• Empiricists attempt to describe, explain, and make predictions through observation
  
• Rationalists believe all knowledge can be deduced from known laws or basic truths of nature
  
• Authorities serve as important sources of knowledge, but should be judged on integrity and willingness to present a balanced case
  

The Essential Tenets of Science

• Direct observation of phenomena
  
• Clearly defined variables, methods, and procedures
  
• Empirically testable hypotheses
  
• Ability to rule out rival hypotheses
  
• Statistical justification of conclusions
  
• Self-correcting process
  

Ways to Communicate

• Exposition :descriptive statements that merely state and do not give reason
  
• Argument :allows us to explain, interpret, defend, challenge, and explore meaning
  

Important Arguments in Research

• Deduction
  is a form of inference that purports to be conclusive.
  
• Induction
  draws conclusions from one or more particular facts.    
  

What is a Construct?

• A construct is an image or idea specifically invented for a given research and/or theory-building purpose.
  

Types of Variables

• Independent, Dependent Moderating, Extraneous, Intervening
  

Variables

• Dependent variable
  
  • The dependent variable is the variable of primary interest to the researcher.
    
  • The researcher's goal is to understand and describe the dependent variable, or to explain its variability, or predict it.
    
  • The researcher will be interested in quantifying and measuring the dependent variable, as well as the other variables that influence this variable.
    

Variables (cont.)

• Independent variable
  
  • An independent variable is one that influences the dependent variable in either a positive or negative way.
    
  • The variance in the dependent variable is accounted for by the independent variable.
    

Variables (cont.)

• Moderating variable
  
  • An moderating variable is one that has a strong contingent （偶發）effect on the independent variable-dependent variable relationship.
    

Variables (cont.)

• Intervening variable
  
  • An intervening variable is one that surfaces between the time the independent variables start operating to influence the dependent variable and the time their impact is felt on it.
    
  • There is thus a temporal quality or time dimension to the intervening variable.
    

Variables (cont.)

• Creative synergy will not result from the multifaceted problem-solving skills of the diverse workforce unless the manager is capable of harnessing that synergy by creatively coordinating the different skills.
  
• The independent variable helps to explain the variance in the dependent variable.
  
• The intervening variable helps us to conceptualize the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
  
• The moderating variable has a contingent effect on the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
  

The Role of the Hypothesis

• Guides the direction of the study
  
• Identifies facts that are relevant
  
• Suggests which form of research design is appropriate
  
• Provides a framework for organizing the conclusions that result
  

What is a Good Hypothesis?

• A good hypothesis should fulfill three conditions:
  
  • Must be adequate for its purpose
    
  • Must be testable
    
  • Must be better than its rivals
    

The Value of a Theory

• Narrows the range of facts we need to study
  
• Suggests which research approaches will yield the greatest meaning
  
• Suggests a data classification system
  
• Summarizes what is known about an object of study
  
• Predicts further facts that should be found
  

WORD PROCESSING SOFTWARE

Word Processing Programs and Their Uses

• Word processors provide tools for creating, editing, and formatting text-based documents.
  
• You can use a word processor to create virtually any type of document, from a simple letter to a complete book.
  
• A word processor's formatting tools let you create professional-quality documents easily.
  

The Word Processor's Interface

Most Windows-based word processors offer a similar set of tools, which you use to navigate, edit, and format documents:

• Document Area
  
• Menu Bar
  
• Toolbars
  
• Rulers
  
• Scroll Bars
  
• Status Bar
  

 

Entering and Editing Text – Adding Text to a Document

• You create a document by entering text in the document window.
  
• A blinking insertion point shows you where characters will be placed as you type.
  
• When you type to the end of a line, the program automatically moves the insertion point to the next line. This feature is called word wrap.
  

Entering and Editing Text – Editing a Document

Making changes to an existing document is called editing. Tools are provided for erasing and retyping text quickly:

• The Backspace and Delete keys let you erase one or more characters.
  
• Overtype mode lets you type over previously entered text.
  
• AutoCorrect can automatically correct spelling and typing errors.
  
• Undo and Redo let you reverse the effect of a previous action.
  

Entering and Editing Text - Selecting Text

• Word processors let you work with entire blocks of text. You can format, move, copy, or delete a block.
  
• To work with a block of text, you must first select it, using one of many selection options. Selected text is highlighted on the screen.
  
• When you are finished working with selected text, you can deselect it.
  

Formatting Text

Formatting a document means controlling its appearance.

Formats fall into three broad categories:

1. Character Formats

• You can use multiple fonts in a document, such as Arial or Times New Roman.
  
• Word processors let you apply different sizes – measured in points – to the text in a document.
  
• You can apply type styles to your text, such as bold, italic, and underline, among others.
  

2. Paragraph Formats

• In a word processor, you create a new paragraph whenever you press Enter. You can format each paragraph in a different way.
  
• You can set the amount of blank space between lines in a paragraph and between paragraphs in a document.
  
• To align a paragraph, you set the space between its edges and the page's margins. You can also indent a paragraph's first line.
  
• Borders and shading create special effects for paragraphs.
  

3. Document Formats

• Margins are the amount of blank space between the edges of the text and the edges of the page.
  
• Word processors let you print documents on different size paper, in portrait or landscape orientation.
  
• Headers and footers are commonly used in long documents, to provide continuing information along the top or bottom of the pages.
  

 

Special Features of Word Processing Software

Today's word processors provide a variety of specialized tools, including:

1. Language Tools

Language tools can help you improve the quality of your documents by catching language errors. Language tools include:

• Spell checkers, which can help you find and correct misspelled words.
  
• Grammar checkers, which help your document, conform to accepted grammatical rules.
  
• Thesauri, which can help you, make the best word choices.
  

2. Tables

• Tables let you set up rows and columns of information.
  
• You can format a table in dozens of ways, add headings, and more.
  

3. Mail Merge

• Mail merge is the process of combining a form letter with contents of an address database.
  
• Using mail merge, you can create a standard letter and automatically make a copy for each person in your database.
  

4. Support for Graphics and Sounds

• Word processors allow you to add images to your documents.
  
• Once you add a graphic to a document, you can select it, move it, resize it, and more.
  
• You also can add sound files to a document. A sound file appears as an icon; click the icon on screen and the file plays.
  

5. Templates

• A template is a pre-designed document.
  
• A template simplifies document design. You simply open the document and type your text.
  

 

SPREADSHEET SOFTWARE

 

Spreadsheet Programs and Their Uses

• Spreadsheets provide tools for working with numerical data.
  
• You can use a spreadsheet program to create budgets, balance sheets, and other types of number-based documents.
  
• You can display your information in a traditional row-and-column format, or in a chart.
  

The Spreadsheet's Interface

• In a spreadsheet program, you work in a document called a worksheet. You can collect multiple worksheets into a file called a workbook.
  
• Most Windows-based word spreadsheets offer a similar set of tools, including a formula bar, where you can enter and edit data.
  
• Data is displayed in cells. A cell is the intersection of a row and column.
  
• Each cell has a cell address – the combination of the cell's column letter and row number.
  

Entering Data in a Worksheet - Types of Data

You enter four types of data in a worksheet's cells:

• Labels – text or numbers not used in calculations.
  
• Values – numbers that can be used in calculations.
  
• Dates – a necessary part of most worksheets.
  
• Formulas – commands to perform calculations based on numbers or formulas.
  

Entering Data in a Worksheet - Formulas and Functions

• If a formula uses a value in another cell, the formula contains a cell reference, or the address of the referred cell.
  
• Formulas can refer to entire ranges (or blocks) of contiguous cells as well as individual cells.
  
• A function is a predefined formula, which the spreadsheet provides to perform a specific type of calculation. You provide arguments that tell the function what data to use.
  

Editing and Formatting a Worksheet

• Spreadsheets provide many of the same editing and formatting tools found in word processors.
  
• You can change, copy, move, and delete the data in any cell.
  

Relative and Absolute Cell References

• If a formula uses a relative cell reference, it automatically dates if (copied or moved), to a different place.
  
• An absolute cell reference always refers to the same cell even if the formula is moved to a different place.
  

Adding Charts

• A chart is a graphical representation of the data in a worksheet.
  
• Spreadsheets provide tools that make it easy to create a chart from worksheet data.
  
• You can use many different types of charts, and apply many effects to a chart, to present your data in the most appropriate way.
  

Analyzing Data in a Spreadsheet

Three commonly used data-analysis tools are:

• What-if analysis, which lets you test scenarios to see how each affects the result.
  
• Goal seeking, which finds values that make the result meet your specifications.
  
• Sorting, this lets you arrange the worksheet's data in various ways.