L2 The research process Flashcards
When does a business problem occur?
When there is a gap between actual state and desired state
What makes a good problem statement
- Feasibility
- Relevance
Feasibility
- Is it doable? Is it possible?
- is the problem demarcated? (not too big)
- Can the problem be expressed in variables?
- Are you able to gather the required data?
Relevance
- Is it important?
- Is it worthwhile?
Managerial relevance
Related to a problem that concerns:
- managers
- end-users (consumers)
- public policymakers (government)
Academic relevance
- Completely new topic
- New context (prior research, different context)
- Integrate scattered research (different variables/moderators)
- Reconcile contradictory research (more moderators)
Preliminary research
Helps to gain a better understanding of the problem and narrows its down
two types of info:
- Organisation/context
- Information on the topic of interest
Primary data
Data gathered first hand for the specific purpose of the study:
- interviews
- observations
- administering questionnaires
- experiments
Secondary data
Already available data. Is evaluated for purpose of the study
- government publications
- internet etc.
What makes a good problem statement?
- Formulated in terms of variables, and relations
- Open-ended question
- Stated clearly/unambiguously
[Is managerially and academically relevant]
What makes good research questions?
- Should collectively address the problem statement
- First theoretical, then practical research questions (order of research report)
- Stated clearly/unambiguously (not vague)
Theoretical research questions
- Context question
- Conceptualisation questions
- Relationship questions
Practical research questions
- Relationship questions (x affect y)
- Implication questions (how to implement results)
What makes a good variable definition?
- Informative variable name (keep it short if possible)
- No jargon unless very obvious (sales etc)
What if many different definitions exist in the literature?
- Acknowledge the major differences
- End with a definition that focuses on the shared meaning across definitions or Pick one definition and justify why
Types of variables
- dependent variable
- independent variable
- mediating variable
- moderating variable
Dependent variable
variable of primary interest = criterion variable
Independent variable
Influences the dependent variable = predictor variable
Mediating variable
- explains the mechanism at work between X and Y
- Why does X has an influence on Y
full mediation
X only has an effect on Y through mediation
Partial mediation
X has an indirect effect on Y through mediation AND direct effect on Y
Moderating variable
Alters the strength and sometimes even the direction (positive ↔ negative) of the relationship between X and Y
Pure moderator
moderates relationship between X and Y but no direct effect on Y
Quasi moderator
moderates relationship between X and Y AND also has direct effect on Y
Control variable
it is a variable that is not the focus of the study but it existence has an influence on the dependent variable, thus it is included
What is a hypothesis?
A tentative statement about the coherence between two variables
Directional vs. undirectional Hypotheses
diretional = one-sided (lower, higher etc) undirectional = two-sided ( there is an effect)
