data driven decision making-milestone 1
Introduction to Research Methods
Research methods are defined very differently in different fields of study and endeavor; the way that an astrophysicist, sociologist, and UX researcher will define research methods will be very different. Whether we are describing research methods in a professional or academic context however, those definitions tend to include three key elements that separate research from more general types of intellectual exploration (Wilson, 2014):
Research is a process for asking questions and pursuing their answers
Research is marked by distinct, explicit processes for forming questions which shape how you gather information, and then analyzing that information in order to answer that pre-defined question.
That process is systematic, methodical, and follows some rules about best practices.
Research is systematic in that it must follow a set series of stages (the specifics of these vary from field to field) and is held to standards of methodological best practices. While different fields define appropriate methodologies a bit differently, all of them have general standards that dictate what methodological approaches constitute rigorous research. Research is also bound by best practices for ethical conduct by researchers, both to protect research subjects and promote honesty.
Research increases knowledge
Research's ultimate goal is to increase our knowledge and understanding about the world. That doesn't mean that your work is only really research if you discover dramatic new things! Increasing knowledge can come in the form of a new argument, of data applied to a novel question, or of a re-evaluation of existing data to provide new insights.
In the context of business and organizational leadership, the purpose of research is to enhance decision-making and strategy over a wide range of organizational dilemmas. Questions from human resources management strategies to marketing to economic strategy to product design can all benefit from research that meets the three criteria above to provide rigorous and trustworthy answers to important questions. Where academics can stop their research with the answer to their question, however, those of us doing research for business or organizational leadership need to take the additional step of translating that research into recommendations, next steps, or strategic approaches.
Work Cited
Wilson, J. (2014). Essentials of Business Research. Sage. https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/essentials-of-business-research/book239463
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Selecting a Topic
When doing research in a professional setting or for your own business, topics for research are usually generated by circumstances and strategic needs. Perhaps your boss needs to evaluate the advisability of entering a new market, or you are considering a change to HR policies, and need to do some research to steer your next steps.
In an academic setting like this course, you'll need to choose your research topic without necessarily having access to those guides. A good research topic has the following characteristics:
It matters to you beyond the boundaries of the course: Think about why you're pursuing this course and this degree. What knowledge do you want to gain, and what do you want to do with it? Choosing a topic that you enjoy thinking and learning about will make writing your paper substantially less onerous.
Use personal curiosity as a spark. What are you curious about? What are you passionate about? Think about articles you've clicked on because they seem interesting, or informative conversations you've enjoyed.
You can also think about your professional goals. What knowledge would better equip you to excel at work? If you are interested in developing your own business, what knowledge would help you navigate those choices?
Is big enough? Make sure that your topic is broad enough for you to find enough high-quality data and research. The best way to ensure that your topic is broad enough is to do some preliminary searching for sources using google scholar.
Note that if you're studying something very recent or geographically specific, you may have trouble finding enough information to support your work. Think about whether expanding your scope to include comparisons between different geographic locations, different industries, or similar broader timelines. As an example, if you were interested in studying the impact of COVID-19 on widget manufacturing rates in Bangor Maine, you may consider looking at the impact of COVID-19 on manufacturing in the United States, or looking into the history of widget manufacture in the Northeast.
Is small enough? Conversely, topics that are too broad are also challenging to research. If you are covering too much scope, there will be so much variation in the data and research caused by various contexts, cultures, and historical change that you will not be able to coherently synthesize conclusions from your broad research. Again, the best tool to combat this is preliminary research; enter you topic into google scholar and see if your results include too many diverse case studies and perspectives to be valuable.
As an example, if you're interested in the Impact of COVID-19 on business, you'll encounter a wide-range of impacts depending on country of interest and industry, as well as a huge variety of ways that 'impact' can be defined. Instead, you could consider focusing on how COVID-19 impacted a particular set of economic conditions, worker behaviors, or HR decisions in a specific industry/sector and country/region.
Fits with the course assignment and evaluation rubric. Set yourself up for success by choosing a topic that lets you show off the skills you've gained in the course! Your final assignment has been designed to let the instructor understand your mastery of the course content. Choose a topic that's well-suited to the assignment to make your work easier. If you have any questions about the fit of the topic you've chosen with the assignment (or about anything else related to the course), you should reach out to your professor as early as you can.
Finally, think of your initial choice of topic as a starting point. Your engagement with the research will shape your topic by narrowing it or broadening it, as you look for sources to engage with. You may shift your focus as you find something new in the research, or as you stumble upon something in your day-to-day life that provides a creative spark. Be open to these shifts!
Once you have a topic in mind, the next step is to create a research question that will drive the direction of your research. A topic is distinct from a research question in that a topic sets up the area in which you're researching, while the topic provides the specifics of what type of answer that research should produce. If you think of research like navigating a new city, your topic would be the general area you were exploring, like 'downtown' or 'the west side of town', while your research question would provide a navigable destination that you could add to your GPS. In this sub-module, we're going to work on developing strong research questions.
Characteristics of a strong research question
A strong research question is the foundation of high-quality and insightful research. We're going to adapt Hulley et. al's FINER criteria for developing research questions to the context of Business and Organizational Leadership as a guide. Your research questions should be (Bouchrika, 2022; Hulley et al., 2007):
Feasible
You should be able to answer the research question adequately with the time and resources available to you
Your research question should be manageable in scope and should fit the length/requirements of the paper you're writing.
Interesting
Answering your research question should be interesting to you and your colleagues
Your answer should be non-obvious, and your research question should have the possibility of provoking debate or discussion
Novel
Answering your research question should add to our knowledge about the world, or provide a new perspective on known phenomena
You don't have to break revolutionary new ground, but you should thoughtfully apply theory, data, case studies, and other research in a way that advances conversations in your field or provides a new lens on a case study.
Ethical
When performing primary research (research where you generate new data through surveys, interviews, experiments, etc.), it must be conducted in a way that meets all Institutional Review Board and ethical conduct standards
When doing secondary or tertiary research (research conducted using existing sources), it must be conducted in a way that is consistent with institutional honor codes, is respectful of research subjects, and aligns with your own ethical standards
Relevant
Your research should be relevant to the course requirements, and to your own educational goals.
Your research should also address issues of interest in the field of organizational leadership and/or business.
Note that some knowledge about your topic is necessary in order to craft a high-quality research question. Preliminary research into your topic area is a vital part of the research process. In addition to allowing you to make sure there are sufficient available sources, you'll be able to consider the existing state of the research and come to an informed decision about creating your research question.
After drafting a preliminary research question, your next task is to evaluate any assumptions you've embedded in your work, and then to carefully define the key terms and concepts that you'll be working with. At the end of this module you'll have a well-crafted research question that's ready to serve as a strong foundation for your paper.
Works Cited:
Bouchrika, I. (2022, May 4). How to Write a Research Question: Types, Steps, and Examples. Research.Com. https://research.com/research/how-to-write-a-research-question
Hulley, S. B., Cummings, S. R., Browner, W. S., Grady, D. G., & Newman, T. B. (2007). Designing clinical research (3rd ed). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Evaluating Assumptions
Almost all research questions rest on assumptions about the world and the object we are studying. To some extent these are inevitable, and even necessary: if we had to abolish all assumptions and start from interrogating the nature of existence as a part of every research question, very little would get done! Unexamined, biased, or incorrect assumptions, however, can cause serious damage to our ability to make data-informed decisions.
As an example, let's look at research related to resistance to organizational change. Much of the field of change management has focused on questions related to how organizations can minimize resistance to change among workers, or how organizations can be come more agile to adopt change more quickly. These research questions (and the field of change management, more generally) have been shaped by the assumptions about the nature of resistance to change and the benefits of agility:
Resistance to change is bad, and represents an organizational behavior that should be minimized
Change often fails because of resistance to that change within the organization
Resistance to change is the result of failures in change management and leadership
Organizations must be able to change rapidly and without resistance in order to adapt to changing business opportunities and threats
More recently, some researchers have emerged who are challenging these assumptions (or at least, their universal application) Rather than addressing resistance to change as a barrier to overcome, their reach has focused on how resistance to change is a common phenomena and can be harnessed to the benefit of the organization to point out potential problems with the change agenda. To explore this further, see Saunders et. al, 2019.
As you develop a research question, ask yourself about the assumptions underpinning that question. Think critically about whether they serve your needs, or whether they're leading you to overlook alternative approaches that could benefit your research or your organizational strategy.
Works Cited:
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., Thornhill, A., & Bristow, A. (2019). “Research Methods for Business Students” Chapter 4: Understanding research philosophy and approaches to theory development (pp. 128–171).
