Ali Khalili 19017626

Research Skills 17/03/2020

Summaries
Doing in-company research projects

Step 1 Define the problem

Business research projects need a single problem that relates to profit at the beginning, and
it has to be defined clearly by stating the size of the problem as well. You find the cause and
effect of the problem when you clearly define it. A well-defined problem helps us know how
to seek the solution for the said problem. It should be an open question and denotes what
the company can do or should do to be better and progress. A clearly stated question also
tells us the project’s aim.

Step 2 Specify your project aim

The aim of the project is to solve the problem and is constructed using the problem
question. It states what your customer can expect from you and what elements is included
in it. It also shows the requirements for research activities.

Step 3 Determine the information gaps

The project aim is the main component to find out what needs research. It should be
reviewed consistently to establish any information gaps as each gap causes a new research
activity.

Step 4 Specify your research questions

Research questions trigger the beginning of our research activities. They are single questions
that provides the layout of the type of answer that should be given by the research activity.
As always research questions should be open questions. If the question is too long, they
could be made simpler by splitting them into smaller sub categories or sub-questions to help
us in giving direct instructions to the research activity and clarity.

Step 5 Assess what needs preliminary investigation

Evaluate what research questions or sub-questions need investigation before starting

research as it helps us have clearly defined outline of what needs to be solved. Models help
make it easier to determine what features to focus on. Methods also provide support for
the collection or use of data to create new information.

Step 6 Execute the preliminary investigation

The preliminary investigation should be done thoroughly and one at a time by exploring
each research activity or sub-activity to have the most effective solution for execution. To
thoroughly investigate you need to compare and contrast models and methods that are
Ali Khalili 19017626
Research Skills 17/03/2020
relevant. It also includes how to execute a method effectively. The preliminary investigation
is the steppingstone that guides and helps develop a series of methods to execute the main
research.

Step 7 Execute the main research

The main research involves answering your research questions thoroughly one by one. It is
structured in accordance to your research questions even though one or more research
activities could be executed simultaneously. Each research activity starts with a choice of
data, process and sources. After that is data collection, analysis, interpretation and
conclusion. Upon completion of all research activities, the solutions that have been found
will be used for the input to your conclusion.

Step 8 Conclude

The answers from your research activities allow you to construct a conclusion. This includes
having all the solutions and considering how they work well in harmony. A well-constructed
conclusion provides a clear view of the situation and paves the way for recommendations.

Step 9 Recommend

The recommendation is constructed using your conclusion and should include the
achievement of the project aim. It closely follows the structure of deliverables outlined in
the description of the project aim. The objectives that the company should achieve are laid
out first and then suggestions are provided on how the company can achieve the said
objectives.

Step 10 Critically appraise your research project

Critically appraising your work is a way of considering its limitations and value. You should
state all the limitations that you faced when conducting the research that may have
impacted the reliability or quality of your research. Then, provide the actions you took to
minimize the effect that these said limitations had on your work. Finally, evaluate your
research’s value despite all the limitations faced.

Research this is it
Ali Khalili 19017626
Research Skills 17/03/2020

Chapter 1: What does the researcher want to study?

In order to know what to research and how a researcher must know what to study. They
should know the objectives and research questions. Objectives are the goals you have in
mind to collect information that can be used. Research question is that you have to ask
yourself if this is an ethical field to research or not. If it is ethical then you proceed to the
next step. The next step is to construct a research question. It could be open or closed
question. An open-ended question requires qualitative research to be accurate and precise
as you want to gain new information. A close-ended question uses quantitative research as
it is standardized, and you want to establish facts. You need to know the research units
which is the target of your research. They could be individuals, companies, objects,
organizations, groups and etc. To start your research, you should find out any prior research
done about the said subject as there is a high chance that someone already researched that
topic. You need to establish whether your research is descriptive, exploratory, or model
testing. Descriptive research is used to describe something and can be either quantitative of
qualitative. Exploratory research is the type of research you do if you want to find
explanations for things and can be either qualitative or quantitative as well. Model testing
research is when you want to test out an idea or theory and it is always quantitative. You
also have to ask yourself if the research is possible to do in the amount of time you have and
if it has enough financial support and resources to continue.

Chapter 2: Has the researcher chosen a research

strategy by which he can answer the research
question?
To be able to do your research you need to have a research strategy. A research strategy is
the answer to the following three questions: what research design should I choose: a survey
or an experiment? Will my research draw on every unit or should I take a sample? And if I
take a sample, how should I go about it? How am I going to measure the constructs in my
research questions? If it is quantitative research which method is the best? Surveys are used
for descriptive research and is usually done once. Experiments measure the effect of
interventions: The effect of an independent experimental variable on a dependent variable.
Experimental research can be easily regulated and standardized and gives the best results.
Besides quantitative research there is qualitative research. To determine which is the best
for your research you have to know if your research question is open or close-ended
question. You should use qualitative data when you have an open-ended research question
as it gives you new information about the subject. The best way to research is to have a
combination of both qualitative and quantitative research as you get the best results and
could compare and contrast. You should choose if you will select the whole population or
draw a sample. If the population is large you should use a sample as it is easy to register and
measure. The best way to draw a sample is to have a randomly generated sample from the
population. The sample size should be determined by the reliability of the research findings.
The larger the sample size and diverse the lesser the margin of error will be. In order to do
this type of research the researcher will do interviews until he or she feels like they are not
gaining any new information.
Ali Khalili 19017626
Research Skills 17/03/2020

Chapter 3: Is the data collection method used by the

researcher appropriate?
The process of operationalization involves taking an abstract complex construct and
translating it into a variable. This makes the construct easy to measure and define. You need
to find more indicators for each dimensions the question has been constructed into. This
ensures that the research is reliable and accurate. You need to know how to collect data. To
collect data, you can ask questions or observe as well as using existing material. You have to
determine which method of data collection is the best and most suitable for your research
question. The quality of the data collection depends on the validity and reliability of the
measurements used. If you are doing interviews or survey you need to determine which is
the best form to use. Oral is used to conduct open interviews as it is the easiest way to
collect data and you have a list of topics to choose from. Written is used when you use
questionnaires and are used in qualitative research and it costs little time and money as well
as people can be honest as it is anonymous. Then you should choose the means of
communication. You have a wide criterion that can be chosen from. You have to determine
which type of communication fits your research question and the financial support
available. You should also determine if the data collection should be done individually or as
a group. Groups are easier to test, and it takes less time and has a high response rate
compared to individually.

Chapter 4: How do you analyze and report the data?

How do you analyze quantitative data? You could use excel for starters as almost everyone
has knowledge to use excel. In order to analyze the data, it should be organized as a data
matrix. A data matrix shows the units of measurements are shown in the rows and the
variables in the columns. To describe quantitative data, you could present them in three
ways: table, graph, or descriptive statistics. Tables show the frequency, percentage and the
cumulative percentage in the columns. If there is large number of values, you should group
them into ranges. The type of graph depends on the size of the variable measured. Variables
measured with nominal scale, use a bar diagram or pie chart. For ratio or interval data use a
histogram. Always avoid three dimensional diagrams as they are confusing. Descriptive
statistics are the measurements of the central tendency and of a distribution. The mean or
average is widely used in this measurement. However, outliers could skew the mean and
give a false information. As a result, the median or the mode is used to give a more accurate
measurement. To analyze quantitative data from a sample you need to have a cushion for
the margin of error as it always exists due to the data collection. To analyze qualitative data,
you use the grounded theory. The grounded theory states that you should approach
qualitative research without any preconceptions or prejudice as it can influence the data
collected either negatively or positively. In order to improve the validity of the results
collected from qualitative analyzes you need to use different strategies. Triangulation is the
most important and it is selecting data from more than one source. Another way is to keep a
good logbook so that the data can be justified as they base their decisions on it. Another
way is to ask peers that are not involved in the research to go over and the research and
Ali Khalili 19017626
Research Skills 17/03/2020
analyze it from a neutral point of view. You could also ask the respondents to double check
the data provided by them to make sure it is recorded accurately.
To report your research, you need to follow guidelines.
 You need a title page which shows the table, the authors’ names and the research
institute as well as the date of publication.
 An introduction in which the background of the research is explained and ends with
the research question.
 The research format in which the design of the research as well as the population
and data collection is described.
 A description of the data in which the data is presented but is not yet discussed. This
should include all the tables, figures, numbers and charts.
 Conclusions and discussion. Here you should answer the research question as well as
contain suggestions for further research and abstract as well.
 Summary is the abstract that must present a good idea of the research as a whole
but should not be long.
 Literature list
 Apprendices.