AGENDA FOR 1ST SESSION

• Personal Introductions (Mine! or Students ???)

• Appoint CR (Are you sure?)
• Course Outline
• Expected Class Conduct
• Introduction to Research????
 Muhammad Mubin Memon
Qualification
M.Phil(Finance) Bilkent, Ankara, Turkey (2017)
MS(Management Sci.), SZABIST, Karachi (2014)
FPFA (Reg # 5516), PIPFA, Pakistan (2012)
Certified Islamic Finance Professional, CIE, Karachi (2010)
M.Com (Accounting & Finance) KU, Karachi (2008)
Academic Experience
• University Teaching:
(Full Time)
• IQRA University, Professional Faculty (January 2019 – present)
• Bilkent University, Turkey, Teaching Assistant & Research Scholar, (Sept 2014 – April 2017)
• FUUAST, Co-Operative Lecturer (February 2010 – December 2013)
(Adjunct / Visiting)
• Since Spring 2009 – present [SZABIST, IoBM, MAJU, KASBIT, FUUAST, BBSU, DIHE, INDUS]
• Graduate Research Scholar
• HEC-Pakistan Scholar & Phd(Finance) Candidate, Bilkent University, Turkey; [Sept 2014 – April 2017]
• Professional and Other Teaching
• Since January 2002 – July 2014 [CAT/ACCA/O&A Levels, ICMAP, PIPFA, B.Com]
Professional Experience:
• Freelance Accounting and Tax Consultant, (2012 – 2014 & 2017 – now)
• Accountant (2002 till 2009)
Industries: Tourism and Travelers, Education and Merchandising
In short, Accountant turned Academician
Current Research Engagements

https://sites.google.com/site/mmubinmemon/research

Current Teaching Engagement

See Google Site of Mine

https://sites.google.com/site/mmubinmemon/teaching

Google Key words

“mubin memon”
Or
“mubin memon google sites”
Course Outline
• By IU (you should already have it)

• Restructuring required as per Summer Semester

(after feedback from Very First Session of
Students along with Assessment Instrument’s
Weightage)
Research Methodols
by Muhammad Mubin Memon

Week 1’s Agenda

Introduction to Research
Types of Research: Pure v/s Applied
Research Purpose: Descriptive, Exploratory & Explanatory
Time Dimension: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal
Content Level: First Session of First Semester of BBA/MBA
Target Audience Background: Intermediate/O Level/A Level atleast
Pre-Requisite Knowledge: Nil

Subject Matter
• What is Subject Matter?

• Subject Matter of Natural Science Subjects

▫ Biology
▫ Chemistry
▫ Physics
▫ Botany
▫ Zoology
Content Level: First Session of 2nd / 3rd Semester of BBA/MBA
Target Audience Background: having atleast 14 Year of Formal Education
Pre-Requisite Knowledge: Nil

Subject Matter
• Subject Matter of Business?

• Subject Matter of Marketing?

• Subject Matter of Accounting?

• Subject Matter of Finance?

• Subject Matter of Research!!!

Some ways in which the term
“research” is used wrongly
• Just collecting facts or information with no clear
purpose;
• Reassembling and reordering facts or
information without interpretation
• As a term to get your product or idea noticed
and respected.
 The nature of research
Definition:

‘Something that people undertake in order to find things out

in a systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge’
Saunders et al. (2009)

Characteristics:

• Data are collected systematically

• Data are interpreted systematically

• There is a clear purpose to find things out

What does it suggest “systemically” and to
“to find out things”
• “systematic” suggests that research is based on
logical relationships and not just beliefs.
“to find out things” suggests there are a
multiplicity of possible purposes of your
research. These may include describing,
explaining, understanding, criticizing, and
analyzing.
Reflections on Research
• What is Research?
In simple term:
“Research is a way of going about finding answers to the
questions”
In the broadest sense:
“Research includes any gathering of data, information and
facts for the advancement of knowledge”
In technical term:
“The systematic investigation into and study of materials
and sources in order to establish facts and reach new
conclusions”

On the basis of the above go through the list in the next

slide and answer which is really a research?
Research is:
1.Based on facts alone, without theory or judgment
2.Read and used only by experts or college professors
3.Done only in Universities by people with PhD degrees
4.Going to the library and finding articles on a topic
5.Hanging around some place and observing
6.Conducting an experiment in which people are tricked
into doing something
7.Drawing a sample of people and giving them
questionnaires
8.Looking up lots of tables from government reports or
books
9.Using computers, statistics , charts and graphs
Business Research
• Business research can be described as a
systematic and organized effort to investigate a
specific problem encountered in the work
setting, that needs a solution.
• Business research comprises a series of steps
designed and executed, with the goal of finding
answers to the issues that are of concern to the
manager in the work environment.
Problems in Accounting:
• Budget control systems
• Inventory costing methods
• Depreciation
• Time-series behavior of quarterly earnings
• Transfer pricing
• Taxation methods
Problems in Finance:
• The operations of financial institutions
• Optimum financial ratios
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Leveraged buyouts
• Inter-corporate financing
• Yields on mortgages
• The behavior of the stock exchange
Problems in Management:
• Employee attitudes and behaviors
• Human resources management
• The impact of changing demographics on
management practices
• Production operations management
• Strategy formulation
• Information systems
Problems in Marketing:
• Product image
• Advertising
• Sales promotion
• Product distribution
• Product packaging
• Product pricing
• After-sales service
• Consumer preferences
• New product development
 18

Why managers should know about research

• Being knowledgeable about research and research
methods helps professional managers to:
▫ Identify and effectively solve minor problems in the work setting.
▫ Know how to discriminate good from bad research.
▫ Appreciate the multiple influences and effects of factors
impinging on a situation.
▫ Take calculated risks in decision making.
▫ Prevent possible vested interests from exercising their influence
in a situation.
▫ Relate to hired researchers and consultants more effectively.
▫ Combine experience with scientific knowledge while making
decisions.
 19

Internal Researchers
• Advantages:
▫ Better acceptance from staff
▫ Knowledge about organization
▫ Would be an integral part of implementation and
evaluation of the research recommendations.
• Disadvantages
▫ Less fresh ideas
▫ Power politics could prevail
▫ Possibly not valued as “expert” by staff
 20

External Researchers
• Advantages
▫ Divergent and convergent thinking
▫ Experience from several situations in different
organizations
▫ Better technical training, usually
• Disadvantages
▫ Takes time to know and understand the
organization
▫ Rapport and cooperation from staff not easy
▫ Not available for evaluation and implementation
▫ Costs
Basic
Applied
 23

Basic v/s Applied Research (Audience

Dimension)
• Research can be undertaken for two different
purposes:
• To solve a current problem faced by the manager
in the work setting. Such research is called
applied research.
• To generate a body of knowledge about how to
solve problems that could be occurred in
organizations. This is called basic research or
fundamental research. It is also known as pure
research.
 24

Examples of Applied Research

• International:
▫ Apple’s iPod sales increased by 200% from 2001
to 2008. but the sales decreased by 6% in 2009.
What is the reason for this decrease?
▫ The question is: what will apple do about this
problem?
• Local:
▫ Tea Whitener – Real Insights
 25

Examples of Applied Research

• Xerox is insular and isn’t ready for the
increasingly competitive, high-tech world. Xerox
still relies on old-fashioned and slow-selling
analog copiers for more than half its revenue
and despite its double-digit growth in digital
products and services, its sales rose just 4%.
 26

Examples of Applied Research

• In the Xerox situation, it needs to look into the
efficacy of the analog technology used in copiers
and examine what should be done to increase
efficiency and promote its sales.
 27

Examples of Basic Research

• University professors engage in basic research in an
effort to understand and generate more knowledge
about various aspects of businesses, such as:
• How to improve the effectiveness of information
systems.
• How to integrate technology into the overall
strategic objectives of an organization.
• How to increase the productivity of the employees.
• How to increase the effectiveness of small
businesses.
•
 28

Examples of Basic Research

• These findings later become useful for
application in business situations.
 29

Distinction Between Applied and Basic

Research
• The main distinction between applied and
basic business research is:
- Applied research is specifically aimed at
solving a currently experienced problem.
- Basic research has a broader objective of
generating knowledge and understanding of
phenomena and problems that occur in various
organizational settings.
- Both types of research follow the same
steps of systematic inquiry to arrive at
solutions to problems.
Basic and applied research
Quantitative Research
Qualitative Research

What if we combined both of above: Mixed Methods (Emerging)

Two Approaches to do Research
(Data Type)
Quantitative Qualitative
• Quantitative research is • Qualitative research seeks to
“explaining phenomena by answer questions about why
collecting numerical data that and how people behave in the
are analyzed using way that they do. It provides
mathematically based methods in-depth information about
(in particular statistics).” human behavior.
• Quantitative research is • Qualitative research is any
perhaps the simpler to define which does not involve
and identify. numbers or numerical data.
Quantitative research
• The data produced are always numerical, and they
are analyzed using mathematical and statistical
methods. If there are no numbers involved, then it’s
not quantitative research.
• If you wish to carry out statistical analysis of the
opinions of a group of people about a particular
issue or element of their lives, you can ask them
▫ to express their relative agreement with statements
and answer on a five- or seven-point scale, where 1 is
strongly disagree, 2 is disagree, 3 is neutral, 4 is agree
and 5 is strongly agree (the seven-point scale also has
slightly agree/disagree).
 ▫ Such scales are called Likert scales, and enable
statements of opinion to be directly translated into
numerical data.
▫ The development of Likert scales and similar
techniques mean that most phenomena can be
studied using quantitative techniques.
• This is particularly useful if you are in an
environment where numbers are highly valued
and numerical data is considered the ‘gold
standard’.
Sources of Quantitative Data
• Surveys, whether conducted online, by phone or in
person. These rely on the same questions being
asked in the same way to a large number of people;
• Observations, which may either involve counting the
number of times that a particular phenomenon
occurs, such as how often a particular word is used
in interviews, or coding observational data to
translate it into numbers; and
• Secondary data, such as company accounts.
Analysing Quantitative Data
• There are a wide range of statistical techniques
available to analyse quantitative data,
▫ from simple graphs to show the data through tests
of correlations between two or more items, to
statistical significance.
▫ Other techniques include cluster analysis, useful
for identifying relationships between groups of
subjects where there is no obvious hypothesis, and
▫ hypothesis testing, to identify whether there are
genuine differences between groups.
Sources of Qualitative Data
• Interviews, which may be structured, semi-structured or
unstructured;
• Focus groups, which involve multiple participants
discussing an issue;
• ‘Postcards’, or small-scale written questionnaires that
ask, for example, three or four focused questions of
participants but allow them space to write in their own
words;
• Secondary data, including diaries, written accounts of
past events, and company reports; and
• Observations, which may be on site, or under ‘laboratory
conditions’, for example, where participants are asked to
role-play a situation to show what they might do.
Analysing Qualitative Data
• Because qualitative data are drawn from a wide
variety of sources, they can be radically different in
scope.
• There are, therefore, a wide variety of methods for
analyzing them, many of which involve structuring
and coding the data into groups and themes. There
are also a variety of computer packages to support
qualitative data analysis. The best way to work out
which ones are right for your research is to discuss it
with academic colleagues and your supervisor.
It’s your research…
• It is important to say that there is no right and
wrong answer to which methods you choose.
• Sometimes you may wish to use one single
method, whether quantitative or qualitative, and
sometimes you may want to use several, whether
all one type or a mixture. It is your research and
only you can decide which methods will suit
both your research questions and your skills,
even though you may wish to seek advice from
others.
Deduction
Induction
1. Deduction
• Deductive works from the more general to the
more specific. Sometimes this is informally
called a "top-down" approach. We might begin
with thinking up a theory about our topic of
interest. We then narrow that down into more
specific hypotheses that we can test. We narrow
down even further when we collect observations
to address the hypotheses. This ultimately leads
us to be able to test the hypotheses with specific
data -- a confirmation (or not) of our original
theories.
2. Induction
• Inductive works the other way, moving from specific
observations to broader generalizations and
theories. Informally, we sometimes call this a
"bottom up" approach (please note that it's "bottom
up" and not "bottoms up" which is the kind of thing
the bartender says to customers when he's trying to
close for the night!). In inductive reasoning, we
begin with specific observations and measures,
begin to detect patterns and regularities, formulate
some tentative hypotheses that we can explore, and
finally end up developing some general conclusions
or theories.
Exploratory research
Descriptive studies
Explanatory studies
REFER TO ARTICLE: QUIZ 1
Cross-sectional research
Longitudinal research
Time dimension in research: cross-
sectional research

• This is a snapshot approach to social world.

• Researchers observe at one point in time.

• Usually it is the simplest and least costly alternative.

• Can be exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory, but

it is most consistent with a descriptive approach.
Time dimension in research:
longitudinal research
• Researchers examine features of people or other
units at more than one time.

• It is usually more complex and costly than cross-

sectional research.

• But is more powerful especially when seeking

answers to questions about the social change.

• It is consistent with descriptive and explanatory

approaches.
Types of longitudinal research
• Time-series research.
▫ The same type of information is collected on a group of
people or other units across multiple time periods.

• Panel study.
▫ Exactly the same people, group, organizations, or
other units are observed across time periods.

• Cohort analysis.
▫ A category of people who share a similar life
experience in a specified time period is studied.
The research process (1)
Stages of the research process

• Formulating and clarifying a topic

• Reviewing the literature

• Designing the research

• Collecting data

• Analysing data

• Writing up
The research process (2)
Factors to consider

• The impact of your personal feelings and beliefs

• Access to data

• Time and other resources

• Validity and reliability of the data

• Ethical issues
Data collection techniques
• Tests
• Questionnaires (highly used in survey method)
• Interviews
• Focus groups
• Observation
• Existing Data (Secondary Data)
And finally……..

“there is no one best way for undertaking all

research”

Saunders et al. (2009)