Chapter 2: Business research strategies

Question 1

What is theory?

Answer 1

• a way of explaining observed patterns of associations between phenomena
• can be used to inform business research according to a deductive logic of inquiry, or can emerge out of a study inductively

ex. why women and ethnic minorities are under-represented
in higher-paid managerial positions

Question 2

Philosophical assumptions

Answer 2

important in business research because they enable us to think about
the nature of reality (ontology) and how to go about studying it

Question 3

Ontology

Answer 3

theories about the nature of reality

Question 4

Objectivism

Answer 4

those that see the social world as something external to social actors

Question 5

Constructionism

Answer 5

those that see reality as something that people are in the process of constructing

Question 6

Distinction between objectivism and constructionism…

Answer 6

is an important dimension of the quantitative/qualitative contrast

Question 7

Epistemological concerns

Answer 7

• about how we can know or understand something (loom large in
considerations of research strategy)
• to a large extent, these revolve around the desirability of employing a natural science model (and in particular positivism) versus interpretivism

Question 8

Epistemology

Answer 8

refers to theories about what is known, or what we can know

Question 8

Positivism

Answer 8

• an epistemological position which is informed by an objectivist ontological position
• the logic of positivist social science is deductive

Question 9

Interpretivism

Answer 9

comes from writers who have been critical of the application of the scientific model, in the form of positivism, to the study of the social world

Question 10

Quantitative and qualitative research

Answer 10

constitute different research strategies and are usually associated with different epistemological and ontological considerations

Question 11

Quantitative research

Answer 11

emphasizes quantification in the collection and analysis of data and that:

• entails a deductive approach to the relationship between theory and research, in which the emphasis is on the testing of theories;
• has incorporated the practices and norms of the natural scientific model and of positivism in particular; and
• takes a view of social reality as an external, objective reality

Question 12

Qualitative research

Answer 12

emphasizes words and images, rather than quantification, in the collection and analysis of data and that:

• predominantly emphasizes an inductive approach to the relationship between theory and research, in which the emphasis is placed on the generation of theories;
• has rejected the practices and norms of the natural scientific model and of positivism in particular in preference for an emphasis on the ways in which individuals interpret their social world; and
• takes a view of social reality as a constantly shifting and emergent property of individuals’ creation.

Question 12

Values and practical considerations

Answer 12

may also impinge on the research process

Question 13

Deductive reasoning

Answer 13

• used in science and in life
• two true statements, or premises, to form a conclusion

ex. A is equal to B. B is also equal to C

Question 14

Inductive reasoning

Answer 14

a method of drawing conclusions by going from the specific to the general

Question 15

Realism

Answer 15

provides an account of the nature of scientific practice

Question 16

Empiricism

Answer 16

ideas must be subjected to the rigours of testing before they can be considered knowledge

Question 17

Naive empiricism

Answer 17

a belief that the accumulation of ‘facts’ is a legitimate goal in its own right