Establishing an overall strategy and detailed tactics for a research project is an important step in the initiation of a masters.
In the final analysis, the researcher’s creativity and imagination are of paramount importance and the research strategy and tactics are there to support rather than hinder the researcher’s creative faculties.
At a strategic level the research process is defined in broad terms that take into account the general philosophical approach adopted by the researcher. This includes being aware of the ontological and epistemological assumptions that underpin each different research methodological strategy.
In deciding on a research strategy the masters and doctorate students should first decide if the research is to be essentially theoretical or empirical. In the field of business and management studies at masters and doctoral level the vast majority of the research is traditionally empirical in nature and students should respect this precedent unless there is good reason for doing otherwise.
Theoretical research requires intensive textual investigation while empirical research in business and management studies requires extensive interaction with people.
Within the empirical approach to research there are two major options or research orientations : positivistic (which is an approach which is essentially derived from the natural sciences) and phenomenological (which is an approach which is essentially derived from the social sciences). Once a strategy has been decided, consideration can be given to the specific research methods or tactics that will be used. Decide on a research strategy, choose a research tactic.
Factors Influencing the Choice of Research Strategy
The research strategy is determined by four key issues, three of which are to do with resources and one is a direct function of the research question. These key issues are : Research question.,
Research Problem or Question
The first issue that the masters or PhD student needs to consider is the research problem or question.
Skills of the Researcher
Thus those educated in mathematics or natural and life sciences should be cautious if they decide to adopt a phenomenological strategy . Phenomenology and positivism are so different that few individuals can bridge the two research cultures and those who attempt to so do need to be aware of the potential problems.
The Place for Theoretical Research
Anyone undertaking a theoretical masters and especially a theoretical PhD will need to be extraordinarily competent.
Longitudinal Versus Cross-Sectional Research
Closely allied to the research strategy issue is whether the research will be longitudinal or cross –sectional
The term longitudinal is used to describe a study that extends over a substantial period of time and involves studying changes over time.
Cross –sectional research refers to studies which take a snapshot of a situation in time. This type of research does not attempt to comment on trends or on how situations develop over a time period. Rather cross-sectional research examines how something is done at the time of the research study and will generally seek to identify and understand differences between the various members of the study population.
A doctoral dissertation lasting three to five years might qualify for a longitudinal study. Longitudinal research studies conducted over a period of several years can be used to monitor the progress of interventions over time. This paradigm is not extensively used in business and management research at universities for the reasons of time and costs noted above.
Different Tactics for Pursuing Research
The techniques which will be used to collect evidence and which influence the way in which the evidence will be analysed is referred to here as the research tactic. There is an almost limitless number of research tactics and variations in business and management studies.
Galliers (1992) provides a list of approaches or tactics, a subset of which has been discussed in this chapter. This list may be considered as a set of well-known and accepted research tactics or tools that are available to the aspirant researcher.
Action Research
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Action research was developed during the 1960s and has proved particularly useful in the area of managing change.
The process of systematically collecting research data about an ongoing system relative to some objective, goal or need of that system; feeding these data back into the system; taking action by altering selected variables within the system based both on the data and on hypotheses; and evaluating the results of the actions by collecting more data.
As a process, action research is dependent upon an external view of a situation and it essentially involves:
Taking a static picture of the organisational situation;
Formulating a hypotheses based on the picture;
The manipulation of variables in control of the researcher;
Taking and evaluating a second static picture of the situation.
The action researcher is thus involved in a real manner in an organisational situation where there is not only an expectation that a ‘contribution to knowledge’ should be made, but also to directly produce usable knowledge that ‘can be applied and validated in action’. In addition Gummesson points out that there is an expectation that the researcher should also develop a sensitivity to the theoretical categories which are being used so that they are transcended and transformed into better theory.
As Gummesson points out, the skill here is whether the researcher can successfully combine the role of almost a consultant and that of academic researcher. Action research usually involves a small-scale intervention on the part of the researcher in the phenomenon being studied.
Depending on the circumstance, quantitative or qualitative analytical techniques may be required to analyses the evidence being collected.
However, PhD level it needs to be implemented with considerable care and attention.
Action research is essentially phenomenological in nature. It would clearly not be replicable.
A recent example of a dissertation based on action research involved a researcher who implemented a new activity based costing system in an organisation. The focus the research was to understand how this new technique was being used to improve corporate financial performance.
Case Studies
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The case study is a sophisticated research tactic that will be discussed in detail in Chapter 10. The case study is a research tactic for the social scientist as experiments are a research strategy for the natural scientist
Yin (1989) states that a case study from a research strategy point of view may be defined as an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real life context, when the boundaries between phenomenon and the context are not clearly evident, and in which multiple sources of evidence are used. It is particularly valuable in answering who, why and how questions in management research.
According to Bell (1993) the case study methodology has also been used as an umbrella term for a family of research methods having in common the decision to focus on an enquiry around a specific instance or event. The philosophy behind the case study is that sometimes only by looking carefully at a practical, real-life instance can a full picture be obtained of the actual interaction of variables or events.
The case study allows the investigator to concentrate on specific instances in an attempt to identify detailed interactive processes which may be crucial, but which are transparent to the large-scale survey. Case studies are an important approach for business and management researchers and some masters and much doctoral research work is conducted using this method.
Because of its flexible nature a case study may be an almost entirely positivistic or almost entirely phenomenological study or anything between these two extremes.
A recent example of dissertation based on a case study approach involved the detailed examination of a large industrial conglomerate over a substantial period of time. The focus of this case study was to understand the inter-relationships between the group corporate strategy and the individual strategies of the separate and somewhat independent subsidiaries in the group.
The main focus of the analytical work was on quantitative issues that employed the extensive use of a statistical packages.
For another dissertation an intensive case study of a medium-sized specialist consulting practice was conducted .The objective here was to investigate the evolution of power relationships in the orgnisation.
Practice which enabled some observation of interaction between consultants during the normal course of the working day. The company also allowed the researcher access to board and weekly planning meeting. In addition, interviews were conducted with at least ten consultants and support staff. The chairperson and managing director were also interviewed as they both consulted with clients. The data collected was then analysed using the grounded theory method
Ethnography
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Ethnographic research requires the researcher to become part of the ‘tribe’ and to fully participate in its society. ‘ethnography is that type of field observation in which a society’s culture is studied . Ethnographic research is essentially phenomenological in nature.
A recent dissertation that used elements of ethnography was produced for a PhD where the student spent three years studying how the corporate culture changed as an organisation went on the acquisition trail.
This dissertation was not exclusively ethnographic and it would be quite unusual for a business and management research degree only to employ a pure ethnographic approach.
In a classical ethnographic situation a researcher would live with a tribe for five or more years and then return to his or her institution and write up the findings. In business and management studies, especially at the masters and even the doctoral level, this would usually not be feasible.
An ethnographer will be concerned with a detailed understanding of how the society being studied works, i.e. its culture, and thus when this approach is used in business and management studies it will focus on detailed aspects of corporate relationships.
Field Experiments
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Field experiments are more common and regarded as far more authentic than laboratory experiments in business and management research. The famous Hardware studies that signalled the beginning of formal research studies in this field of endeavour, were field experiments that provided insight into issues concerning worker productivity.
However, a field experiment probably could be conducted around a change of policy or a new investment, and the student would simply have to obtain the agreement of the organisation to participate in this event as an observer. Thus field experiments do have an important role in business and management research.
Field experiments are less positivistic as they clearly do not present the same opportunity for control and replication as the laboratory experiment. Therefore field experiments are approached from a less traditional scientific point of view. The results of a field experiment will often be interpreted in a much more phenomenological way.
Research in business and management studies is no longer largely, or even substantially, experimental in either the laboratory or in a field study setting, but rather is based on the observation of actual business and management functions as they happen or as they have happened.
Experiments are frequently regarded as too artificial in the business and management world to be of any real applicability and thus many masters and PhD students tend to avoid them.
A recent example of dissertation based on a field experiment was a study as to how a group of sales people responded to a new incentive payment in one particular part of an organisation. The researcher was able to to examine the sales group performance before the introduction of the new incentive scheme and was then able to observe the differences in performance after the change.
Using primarily quantitative techniques, this research confirmed that the new arrangements did in fact work and that they were suitable to be employed throughout the whole orgnisation. This approach to research is usually straightforward, with the main problem for the researcher being the acquisition of access to organisations undertaking changes in the field.
Focus Groups
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This is a research approach for collecting evidence from a highly specialised group of individuals. It is usually considered necessary to have a group of more than four individuals to constitute a focus group that will debate an issue of interest to the researcher. This is a relatively easy way for a researcher to accumulate some evidence from a number of experts.
Again, the way in which this evidence is processed is similar to that described above under the heading of in-depth surveys and the positivistic and phenomenological implications are similar.
There would be no point in giving one example of the use of a focus group in masters and doctoral research. Sometimes focus groups are used at the outset of the research to support the literature review in the formulation of a research question. At other times the focus group is an approach to validating the research conclusions at the end of the project.
The evidence collected during a focus group is usually analysed using qualitative techniques. Focus groups are a useful way of obtaining evidence from experts in an intense or concentrated way.
Forecasting
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Forecasting research tends to be associated with mathematical and statistical techniques of regression and time series analysis. This type of research may also be regarded as falling under the heading of mathematical simulation. These techniques allow projections to be made on the basis of past or historic evidence.
This is usually a highly quantitative approach in which mathematical models are fitted to empirical data or evidence points. This research attempts to establish relationships between different sets of historical evidence and to understand why these relationships exist.
The techniques used in forecasting are essentially positivistic in nature. However , the results of forecasting research can be interpreted in a more phenomenological way and thus be integrated into a greater business and management paradigm than simply a mathematical view of the situation.
A recent example of a dissertation based on forecasting research was work conducted to establish the viability of multiple regression analysis in supporting decisions to invest in plant and equipment in a large-scale processing industry.
This was a highly quantitative and mathematical piece of work which relied on a high degree of numerical sophistication as well as the ability to interpret the results in a way which was of value to management . The result of this work showed that the forecasting approach being studied did in fact contribute to the organisation’s ability to forecast their need for more investment.
Futures Research
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Futures research also provides a way of considering and developing predictions. However, unlike forecasting, futures research has a forward orientation and thus looks ahead, rather than backwards, using techniques such as scenario projections and Delphi studies.
The experts in a Delphi study are normally physically separated and are unknown to one another. The purpose of a Delphi study is to produce a relatively narrow spread of opinions.
This research tactic would not generally be sufficient on its own as the main focus for phD, but it could be used to support other tactics in an attempt to triangulate and thereby validate the conclusions.
A recent example of a masters dissertation that involved futures research was a study to establish what leading firms of chartered accountants thought were the main technological developments that would affect their practices or business over the next five years.
Game or Role Playing
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This research tactic or approach involves asking individuals to participate in a business or management game by playing out a specific role.
A recent example of a dissertation based on game or role playing considered how managers made different decisions when they were put in different competitive situations.
In-depth Surveys
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This type of survey generally attempts to obtain detailed in-depth evidence from a relatively small number of informants through a series of interviews. In this case a questionnaire is generally not used, but rather the informant is allowed to speak freely on the subject of interest to the researcher.
At the end of an in-depth survey the researcher will have a series of transcripts and the task is then to analyse these and to produce appropriate findings.
The use of in-depth surveys is well illustrated by research conducted into how innovative companies manage to maintain an environment that supports new product development.
Twelve companies were identified and were asked to identify three innovative products. The data was analysed through the use of quantitative methods where researchers compared quantifiable data across companies. However, the primary focus of analysis was on the qualitative data in the form of stories.
Laboratory Experiments
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Borrowed from the physical and life sciences laboratory, experiments are sometimes used in business and management research. However, they are not much used in practice, except in limited or specific circumstances, because many of the issues which are of most interest to business and management researchers cannot easily or convincingly be studied in laboratory settings.
Organisations and even individual managers will not usually collaborate in such experiments. Sometimes students are used as surrogates for managers and executives in laboratory settings, but this is not often considered convincing. Laboratory experiments are used far more frequently in the USA than in other parts of the world.
However, a recent example of a dissertation based on this approach was one in which the researcher used a group decision support system to examine how decision making differed depending upon a variety of different variables, including the number of decision makers participating in the meeting.
This experiment provided an insight into how different types of questions are best handled under different circumstances. Laboratory experiments use quantitative techniques of evidence analysis to deliver answers to highly structures research questions.
Large –scale Surveys
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Surveys are a common approach to research in business and management. Surveys, which for the purpose of this chapter are concerned with the administration of questionnaires, offer an opportunity to collect large quantities of data or evidence(oppenheim,1966) in a quick and convenient manner. In business and management research, questionnaires are often used to collect evidence concerning management opinions.
Questionnaires allow evidence to be gathered concerning how much or how long or when, but are of less value when the researcher is asking about how or why. Surveys are thus more often used as the sole or primary source of evidence at the masters level than at the PhD level. However, some PhD dissertations might include a survey as an attempt to corroborate a theoretical conjecture.
The logic of a traditional survey is strictly positivistic. The evidence is frequently treated as though it were the result of measurements of a machine used in an entirely physical or life science environment. Standard statistical techniques used for ordinal numbers are increasingly applied with no recognition of the problems of the subjectivity of the opinions. Although surveys are still extensively used in business and management research there is an increasing feeling that they are not suitable for the collection of evidence about management issues.
A recent example of a dissertation based on a large-scale survey was an exploration into the acceptance of an organisation’s computer strategy by its staff, by examining the level of user satisfaction with a management information systems based on end-user computing.
Some 1,500 computer users within the organisation were asked to complete a questionnaire, and approximately 300 completed forms were returned. These were analysed using a number of statistical approaches. As a result of the evidence collected it was possible to suggest ways in which the organisation could improve the implementation of its strategy.
Participant –Observer Approach
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Using the participant-Observer tactic the researcher joins a team of individuals who are part of the phenomenon being studied. The researcher takes part in the phenomenon in the same way as the other participants, but at the same time focuses on observing the way in which the group operates. This research technique is essentially phenomenological in nature.
A recent example of the participant-observer approach involved research conducted into the management of design and manufacturing processes in small textile companies in central England. The student conducted research in two companies and spent some time working as an employee in these organisations.
Access was negotiated with the owner –manager of the organisations and the researcher participated as a complete participant, or a normal member of the organisation, gathering information on how the design and the production process was managed by working alongside the mainly female workforce.
Scenario Research
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This research tactic involves collecting evidence from a group of suitably qualified experts who are asked to discuss the implications of a particular hypothetical situation occurring. This evidence too is collected and processed in much the same way as in in-depth surveys and again the positivistic and phenomenological implications are similar.
A recent example of a dissertation using scenario discussions as part of an evidence collection strategy involved the presentation of a number of views as to how the market for a product might change over the next five years. Each scenario was fully debated by a group of informants and the researcher collected their evidence. This evidence was then analysed in the same way as it would be in the case of in-depth interviews or focus groups.
Simulation or stochastic Modelling
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In the context of this chapter, simulation or stochastic modelling may be defined as a domain of study in which the input variables and the manner in which they interact is generally known to an uncertain level of accuracy. In such situations, when there is some question as to the accuracy, it is considered inappropriate to use single point estimates of the variables.
Stochastic modelling is used to investigate situations that do not readily lend themselves to a strictly deterministic or analytical treatment. Sometimes simulation can be used as a substitute for a laboratory or field experiment.
Simulation is particularly relevant where there is a requirement for the evaluation of formal mathematical relationships under a large variety of assumptions. There is not a high degree of utilisation of this research paradigm in business or management research except where mathematical modelling is key part of the study. The techniques used for stochastic modelling are positivistic in nature but the results may be interpreted in a more phenomenological way.
A recent example of a dissertation based on simulation involved the building of a mathematical model which was used to describe how to optimise the logistics function of a large manufacturing firm. This model included a large number of variables. Some of these variables were quite difficult to estimate and as a result a stochastic rather than a deterministic approach was taken.
The model was eventually computerised and a large number of simulated trails were performed in order to obtain a better understanding of the impact of different values for the variables, and thus to understand better how to optimise the logistics function. This was a highly mathematical dissertation requiring the researcher to have a strong quantitative background, as well as an ability to be able to present the findings to management in terms that were comprehensible to them.
Research Tactics and their Philosophical Bases
Table 3.1 summarises the general philosophical bases underpinning the different research tactics. It should be noted that most research tactics can be used, at least to some extent, as either positivistic or phenomenological devices. However some tactics are much more studied to one type of research than another and appropriate comments are made in the table.
Suggested Further Reading
Ethnography: Principles in Practice, Tavistock, Landon.
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=voia5txnkbQC
‘Getting answers from a focus group’.
Issues in Participant Observation.
Whyte, W.F. (1985) Participatory Action Research. Sage Focus Editions Vol.123
Updated on 19 November 2018
Last update 1 September 2013
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