Understanding Research Methods in Business

This assignment delves into the essential concepts of research methods in a business context. It examines various research methodologies, including quantitative and qualitative approaches, highlighting their applications and limitations. The focus is on understanding sampling techniques, potential sources of bias, and strategies to minimize them. Students will analyze real-world examples and apply their knowledge to practical scenarios.

Running head: BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Business Research Methodology
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Answer to question 1:
The cross sectional research design is a kind of observational studies which tends to
analyze the gathered data from a specific population or a representation of that population at
any particular point of time. In economics, the cross sectional studies generally include the
cross sectional regression for sorting out the existence of the independent variables at a
specific point of time. This value can differ from time to time due to the time series analysis
where the single or multiple economic aggregates can be traced during the course of time.
The longitudinal studies are the kind of research design that includes frequent observations
on the similar variables, mostly people, over an extended period of time, generally few
decades. This study can also be considered as the observational study even though it can be
structured as longitudinal experiments (Bryman and Bell 2015). This study is mostly utilized
in psychology and sociology. Unlike the cross sectional studies this research design tends to
track the same people for a long time. On the other hand, comparative research design
focuses more for making comparisons across different cultures or regions. However there is a
major issue with this design as it may use different categories, so the comparison can be
unusual. The Management Consultancy performance is the cross sectional study as it gathers
data from a specific population for analyzing.
Answer to question 2:
The author has considered three kinds of research designs as longitudinal research
deign, such as, repeated cross sectional studies, retrospective studies ad prospective studies.
Advantages of the longitudinal studies
 This study is effective to determine the variables over the course of time as they
mostly include the usage of the gathered data for a longer period of time. Therefore it

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is easier to define the patterns in a more efficient way (Eriksson and Kovalainen
2015).
 As the longitudinal studies observe a specific set of situations, it makes sure a definite
validity and focus of the data.
 This study is very much effectual for researching on specific developmental trends.
 Longitudinal studies are mostly flexible as they provide a lot of time for gathering
data, therefore allows adequate flexibility (Sekaran and Bougie 2016).
 This research design also provides higher accuracy while observing the changes
gradually.
Limitations:
 Longitudinal studies take a lot of time for collecting all the required data.
 This study also does not consider the data which are not 100% accurate. Therefore the
data collection procedure also takes a lot of time.
 This study also has the risks of panel attrition which refers to the fact that the
researchers have to rely upon the similar subject group for the entire research
procedure (Eriksson and Kovalainen 2015). .
 This study also requires a larger sample size.
 Longitudinal studies are more expensive than the other research studies.
Answer to question 3:
I had participated in a study which had been undertaken in disguise of selling me few
cosmetic products. A lady came to my home and asked me to check few cosmetic products
from a comparatively new company. I had never heard of the company but I liked some of its
products so I bought a few. Later when I came to know that this was a survey, I felt a little
bad as this was not conveyed to me at first. I thought it was entirely push marketing and it

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was a clear case of conflict of interest between the consumers and the suppliers of the
products. I think the ethical principle of interest has been breached here. The conflict of
interest refers to the situation where an organization or an individual is involved with more
than on interest and one of these interests can corrupt the final decision making of any
organization or individual (Collis and Hussey 2013). Here the person, who was interacting
with me, has been instructed to act like that for their purpose of market analysis. However, at
the same time this is working as a violation of privacy for me. Therefore I would not want
this to happen to me again.
Answer to question 4:
Reliability is a major factor in qualitative research, as it refers to the right replica of
the entire research process and its results. However, within the paradigm of qualitative
research, the reliability factor is challenged several times because it is entirely dependent on
the data. In the qualitative research, data is taken from actual sources; therefore its accuracy
should be checked several times (Hair 2015). Furthermore, if there is any kind of vexatious
opinion, it can create hindrance for the outcome of the qualitative research.
The employees are mostly interviewed about the director of the company. There can
be several employees from different levels, who can be interviewed about this matter.
However, in this research the employees may provide wrong or biased information. They
may think about their job securities while providing information to the researcher. Wilson
2014) shows that there are several instances that indicate that the employees tend to provide
biased information as they may think that their information can be leaked and they could be
exposed if they are saying things against the director.

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In such situation, the researcher should give full assurance to the employees that their
data will not be leaked and there could be legal issues if that ever happens. The researcher
could also sign in a legal paper prior to the interview.
Answer to question 5:
It has been found out that if an individual is working long hours, it may damage their
personal health, put the safety at risk while in increases the stress. Therefore the employees
should not be working very long hours as it can further affect their physical and mental health
a lot. The more employees are going to work, the less time they spend for any other activity
such as leisure (Bryman 2015). However, this is very important for the individuals to spend
quality times with their loved one. Therefore if the individual is not having adequate time for
their personal life, their professional life can be jeopardized as well.
This process can be done with the qualitative approach. In any organization, the
researcher can conduct interviews with the selected employees from different levels. Through
interview, the researcher will be able to find out about the work life balance in the
employees’ life.
Answer to question 6:
The sampling error is the divergence of the selected sample regarding the traits,
characteristics, qualities and behaviors of the entire population. This error occurs for many
reasons, such as the researcher can draw various subjects from the selected population, but
the subjects may have personal difference. It should be noted that the sample size or the
selected sample is just a subset; therefore there is a fine line between the population and
sample (Myers 2013). Therefore error can occur. However, the findings can be trusted as it
reflects the result of a definite subset of the entire population. Therefore I would have a

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management decision relying of the findings, as it shows the attitude of the entire population.
I may increase the numbers of questions and the sample size so that it would be easier to
understand the selected subset.
Answer to question 7:
While interviewing or observing a focus group, if the researcher finds out multiple
members of the group are answering the same to a specific or a single question, it can be
considered as an impact of the groupthink. Groupthink is generally a psychological
phenomenon that is triggered as the members of the same group want to minimize their
internal conflicts and reach to a compromising decision without any kind of evaluation of the
other viewpoints (Silverman et al. 2016). Therefore they tend to isolate themselves and only
react through a similar answer to the questions. Therefore the researcher could find out the
impacts of groupthink if he or she receives similar viewpoints from multiple employees.
If I face any kind of impacts of groupthink while conducting an interview with the
focus group of senior managers, I would try to limit the impacts. In doing so, I would work
with multiple subgroups and will avoid influencing them. Each of the members of the group
should be valued and trusted. Also, I would one of the members of the group as Devil’s
advocate; therefore it would be easier for me to gain their trust.

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Reference list
Anderson, V., 2013. Research methods in human resource management: investigating a
business issue. Kogan Page Publishers.
Bryman, A. and Bell, E., 2015. Business research methods. Oxford University Press, USA.
Bryman, A., 2015. Social research methods. Oxford university press.
Collis, J. and Hussey, R., 2013. Business research: A practical guide for undergraduate and
postgraduate students. Palgrave macmillan.
De Massis, A. and Kotlar, J., 2014. The case study method in family business research:
Guidelines for qualitative scholarship. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 5(1), pp.15-29.
Eriksson, P. and Kovalainen, A., 2015. Qualitative methods in business research: A practical
guide to social research. Sage.
Hair, J.F., 2015. Essentials of business research methods. ME Sharpe.
Myers, M.D., 2013. Qualitative research in business and management. Sage.
Sekaran, U. and Bougie, R., 2016. Research methods for business: A skill building approach.
John Wiley & Sons.
Silverman, D. ed., 2016. Qualitative research. Sage.
Wilson, J., 2014. Essentials of business research: A guide to doing your research project.
Sage.
Zikmund, W.G., Babin, B.J., Carr, J.C. and Griffin, M., 2013. Business research methods.
Cengage Learning.