RESEARCH METHODS FOR BUSINESS:

A SKILL BUILDING APPROACH

UME-SEKARAN AND ROGER BOUGIE (5th Edition)

CHAPTER 2:
SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 Topics Discussed
2

1. The hallmarks of science

2. Limitations to scientific research in management
3. The building blocks of science and the hypothetico-
deductive method of research
4. The seven steps of the hypothetico-deductive method

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 Chapter Objectives
3

After completing Chapter 2 you should be able to:

1. Explain what is meant by scientific investigation, giving
examples of both scientific and nonscientific
investigations.

2. Explain the eight hallmarks of science.

3. Briefly explain why research in the organizational
behavior and management areas cannot be completely
scientific.

4. Describe the building blocks of science.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 Chapter Objectives
4

After completing Chapter 2 you should be able to:

5. Discuss the seven steps of the hypothetico-deductive
method, using an example of your own.

6. Describe the processes of induction and deduction.

7. Appreciate the advantages of knowledge about scientific
investigation.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 Introduction
5

 Scientific research focuses on solving problems and pursues

a step-by-step logical, organized, and rigorous method to
identify the problems, gather data, analyze them, and draw
valid conclusions from them.
 Thus, scientific research is not based on hunches,
experience, and intuition (though these may play a part in
final decision making), but is purposive and rigorous.
 Scientific investigation tends to be more objective than
subjective, and helps managers to highlight the most
critical factors at the workplace that need specific attention
so as to avoid, minimize, or solve problems.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 The Hallmarks of Scientific Research
6

1. Purposiveness
2. Rigor
3. Testability
4. Replicability
5. Precision and confidence
6. Objectivity
7. Generalizability
8. Parsimony

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 1. Purposiveness
7

 The manager has started the research with a definite aim or

purpose.
 For example: the focus is on increasing the commitment of
employees to the organization, as this will be beneficial in
many ways. An increase in employee commitment will
translate into less turnover, less absenteeism, and probably
increased performance levels, all of which will definitely
benefit the organization.
 The research thus has a purposive focus.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 2. Rigor
8

 Rigor connotes carefulness, scrupulousness, and the degree

of exactitude in research investigations.
 Rigorous research involves a good theoretical base and a
carefully thought-out methodology.
 This factor enable the researcher to collect the right kind of
information from an appropriate sample with the minimum
degree of bias, and facilitate suitable analysis of the data
gathered.
 Rigor in research design also makes possible the
achievement of the other six hallmarks of science.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 2. Rigor
9

 For Example: A manager asks 10 to 12 of its employees to indicate

what would increase their level of commitment to it. If, solely on the
basis of their responses, the manager reaches several conclusions on
how employee commitment can be increased, the whole approach to
the investigation is unscientific. It lacks rigor for the following
reasons:
1. The conclusions are incorrectly drawn because they are based on the
responses of just a few employees whose opinions may not be
representative of those of the entire workforce.
2. The manner of framing and addressing the questions could have
introduced bias or incorrectness in the responses.
3. There might be many other important influences on organizational
commitment that this small sample of respondents did not or could
not verbalize during the interviews, and the researcher has therefore
failed to include them.
Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)
 3. Testability
10

 If, after talking to a random selection of employees of the

organization and study of the previous research done in the
area of organizational commitment, the manager or
researcher develops certain hypotheses on how employee
commitment can be enhanced, then these can be tested by
applying certain statistical tests to the data collected for the
purpose.
 Scientific research thus lends itself to testing logically
developed hypotheses to see whether or not the data
support the educated conjectures or hypotheses that are
developed after a careful study of the problem situation.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 4. Replicability
11

 Let us suppose that the manager/researcher, based on the

results of the study, concludes that participation in decision
making is one of the most important factors that influences
the commitment of employees to the organization.
 We will place more faith and credence in these findings and
conclusion if similar findings emerge on the basis of data
collected by other organizations employing the same
methods.
 To the extent that this does happen (i.e., the results are
replicated or repeated), we will gain confidence in the
scientific nature of our research.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 5. Precision and Confidence
12

 Precision refers to the closeness of the findings to “reality”

based on a sample. In other words, precision reflects the
degree of accuracy or exactitude of the results on the basis
of the sample, to what really exists in the universe.
 For example, if I estimated the number of production days
lost during the year due to absenteeism at between 30 and
40, as against the actual figure of 35, the precision of my
estimation compares more favorably than if I had indicated
that the loss of production days was somewhere between 20
and 50.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 5. Precision and Confidence
13

 Confidence refers to the probability that our estimations

are correct. That is, it is not merely enough to be precise,
but it is also important that we can confidently claim that
95% of the time our results will be true and there is only a
5% chance of our being wrong. This is also known as the
confidence level.
 In social science research, a 95% confidence level – which
implies that there is only a 5% probability that the findings
may not be correct – is accepted as conventional, and is
usually referred to as a significance level of 0.05 (p = 0.05).

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 6. Objectivity
14

 The conclusions drawn through the interpretation of the

results of data analysis should be objective; that is, they
should be based on the facts of the findings derived from
actual data, and not on our own subjective or emotional
values.
 For instance, if we had a hypothesis that greater
participation in decision making would increase
organizational commitment, and this was not supported by
the results, it would make no sense if the researcher
continued to argue that increased opportunities for
employee participation would increase organizational
commitment because it would not be based on the factual,
data-based research findings.
Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)
 7. Generalizability
15

 Generalizability refers to the scope of applicability of the

research findings in one organizational setting to other
settings.
 Obviously, the wider the range of applicability of the
solutions generated by research, the more useful the
research is to the users.
 For wider generalizability, the research sampling design
has to be logically developed and a number of other details
in the data-collection methods need to be meticulously
followed.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 8. Parsimony
16
 It refers to the simplicity in explaining a phenomena or
problems that occur and in generating solutions for the
problems.
 Economy in research models is achieved when we can build
into our research framework a lesser number of variables that
explain the variance far more efficiently than a complex set of
variables that only marginally add to the variance explained.
 For instance, if two or three specific variables in the work
situation would raise the organizational commitment of the
employees by 45%, that would be more useful and valuable to
the manager than if it were recommended ten different
variables to increase organizational commitment by 48%.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 Some Obstacles In Conducting Scientific
Research In The Management Area
17
 In the management and behavioral areas, it is not always
possible to conduct investigations that are 100% scientific, in
the sense that, unlike in the physical sciences, the results
obtained will not be exact and error-free.
 This is primarily because of difficulties likely to be
encountered in the measurement and collection of data in the
subjective areas of feelings, emotions, attitudes, and
perceptions.
 These problems occur whenever we attempt to quantify
human behavior. Difficulties might also be encountered in
obtaining a representative sample, restricting the
generalizability of the findings. Thus, it is not always possible
to meet all the hallmarks of science in full.
Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)
 The Hypothetico-Deductive Method
18

 Scientific research pursues a step-by-step, logical,

organized, and rigorous method (a scientific method) to
find a solution to a problem.
 The hypothetico-deductive method, popularized by the
Austrian philosopher Karl Popper, is a typical version of the
scientific method.
 The hypotheticodeductive method provides a useful,
systematic approach to solving basic and managerial
problems.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 The Hypothetico-Deductive Method

The HD Model

Hypothetico Deductive Logic A Model

Means “based upon A way of making an Representative of a
hypothesis” authoritative statement system that is
about what is not known constructed to study
by a thorough analysis some aspects of that
of what is known. system or a system as
a whole.
 In deductive reasoning, we start with a general theory and then apply this
theory to a specific case.
 Inductive reasoning works in the opposite direction: it is a process where we
observe specific phenomena and on this basis arrive at general conclusions.
 Both theory generation (induction) and theory testing (deduction) are often
used in research.
 The Hypothetico-Deductive Method
20

 The hypothetico-deductive model mechanized as:

 Scientific - Science is both a process of gaining knowledge and
the organized body of knowledge gained by this process.
 Hypothesis - An intelligent guess for possible solution of a
problem.
 Prediction - It refers to forecasting.
 Experiment - It is a set of actions and observations performed
to verify or falsify a hypothesis within research process.
 False - It means to be incorrect or wrong.
 Theory - A theory is a set of statements closed under logical
implications.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 The Hypothetico-Deductive Method
21

 The HD model is a method of scientific progress whereby a

hypothesis is tested by generating predictions that may be
tested through scientific experiments.
 When such as prediction is proven true through these
experiments, the theory is accepted.
 When such a prediction is proven false through these
experiments, the theory is rejected, and a new hypothesis is
required.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 The Hypothetico-Deductive Method
22

The hypothetico-deductive method involves the

seven steps:
1. Identify a broad problem area
2. Define the problem statement (define aim or purpose)
3. Develop hypotheses
4. Determine measures
5. Data collection
6. Data analysis
7. Interpretation of data

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 Example of the Application of the
Hypothetico-Deductive Method
23

The CIO Dilemma

Identifying the broad problem area
The Chief Information Officer (CIO) of a firm observes that the
newly installed Management Information System (MIS) is not
being used by middle managers as much as was originally
expected. The managers often approach the CIO or some other
“computer expert” for help or, worse still, make decisions
without facts. “There is surely a problem here,” the CIO exclaims.
The CIO develops the following broad problem statement: “What
should be done to increase the use of the newly installed MIS by
our middle managers?”

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 Example of the Application of the
Hypothetico-Deductive Method
24

 Defining the problem statement

Talking to some of the middle-level managers, the CIO finds that
many of them have very little idea as to what MIS is all about,
what kinds of information it can provide, and how to access it
and utilize the information. The CIO uses the Internet to explore
further information on the lack of use of MIS in organizations.
The search indicates that many middle-level managers –
especially the old-timers – are not familiar with operating
personal computers and experience “computer anxiety.” Lack of
knowledge about what MIS offers is also found to be another
main reason why some managers do not use it. This information
helps the CIO to narrow the broad problem area and to define the
problem statement: “To what extent do knowledge-related
factors affect the use of MIS by middle managers?”
Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)
 Example of the Application of the
Hypothetico-Deductive Method
25

 Hypothesizing
The CIO develops a theory incorporating all the relevant factors
contributing to the lack of access to the MIS by managers in the
organization. From such a theory, the CIO generates various
hypotheses for testing, one among them being:
“Knowledge of the usefulness of MIS would help
managers to put it to greater use”.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 Example of the Application of the
Hypothetico-Deductive Method
26

 Development of measures and data collection

The CIO then develops a short questionnaire measuring the
various factors theorized to influence the use of the MIS by
managers, such as the extent of knowledge of what MIS is, what
kinds of information MIS provides, how to gain access to the
information, and the level of comfort felt by managers in using
computers in general, and finally, how often managers have used
the MIS in the preceding three months.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 Example of the Application of the
Hypothetico-Deductive Method
27

 Data analysis
The CIO then analyzes the data obtained through the
questionnaire to see what factors prevent the managers from
using the statistical software.
 Interpretation
Based on the results, the manager deduces or concludes that
managers do not use MIS owing to certain factors. These
deductions help the CIO to take necessary action to rectify the
situation, which might include, among other things, organizing
seminars for training managers on the use of computers, and
MIS and its usefulness.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 The Process of Deduction
28

 The deduction method is used to describe a way of

reasoning where conclusions are reached logically from
other things which are already known to be true and valid.
 Merits:
 It is time consuming but comparatively it is an easy method
 This method leads to accuracy and precision in generalization
because it makes use of logic and mathematical tools of
analysis
 In social sciences where there is limited scope for
experimentation, this method becomes the only available
method for the development of a particular subject.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 The Process of Deduction
29

 Demerits:
 This method is abstract.
 If the assumption upon which reasoning is based is untrue, the
inferences drawn becomes automatically incorrect.
 When universal validity is claimed for the generalization based
upon deduction---- if the premises are incorrect, the result is
not that authentic.
 Deduction cannot lead to new knowledge.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)

 Discussion Questions
30

1. Describe the hallmarks of scientific research.

2. What are the steps in hypothetico-deductive research?
Explain them, using an example not in the book.
3. Explain the processes of deduction and induction, giving
an example of each.
4. If research in the management area cannot be 100%
scientific, why bother to do it at all? Comment on this
statement.

Ali Raza Sultani (Doctoral Candidate - ABD)