Research Methods: MGT 817 - Fall 2019
Research Methods: MGT 817 - Fall 2019
Dr Muhammad Naseer
Akhtar
Department of
Management and HR
NUST Business School
Learning Objectives
• Reliability, replication, and validity are presented as criteria
for assessing the quality of business research.
• Five prominent research designs are then outlined:
• experimental and related designs;
• cross-sectional design, the most common form of which is
social survey research;
• longitudinal design and its various forms, such as the panel
study and the cohort study;
• case study design;
• comparative design.
• Each research design is considered in terms of the criteria for
evaluating research findings.
MS HRM 2K16 NUST Business School – Fall 2016 2
Research designs and methods
• A Research Design • A Research Method is
provides a framework for simply a technique for
the collection and analysis collecting data. Choice of
of data. Choice of research research method reflects
design reflects decisions
about priorities given to the decisions about the type of
dimensions of the research instruments or techniques
process. to be used.
• Experimetnal
• Cross- sectional • Assessment Criteria
• Longitudinal • Reliability
• Case Study • Repliciability
• Comparative • Validity
Quality Criteria in Business
Research
Three of the most prominent criteria for the evaluation of business and
management are:
• Reliability
• Replication
• Validity
Types of validity
Validity is concerned with the integrity of the
conclusions that are generated from a piece of
research.
• On the contrary the social science often uses concepts that are
ill defined and therefore the standardization in terms of how it
is measured varies or there is little agreement (e.g. social class,
development, poverty, etc.)
• Statistics cannot be used until we understand the “the
fundamental nature” of measurement (McNabb)
Measurement Fundamentals
• What is a concept?
• “A mental construct that represents phenomena in the real world”.
(Pollock 2005:7)
• The challenge is to transform concepts into concrete terms
(preferable that can be measured).
Pollock’s model
CONCEPT
CONCEPTUAL
DEFINITION
OPERATIONAL
DEFINITION
VARIABLE
(A STATE THAT TAKES
DIFFERENT ATTRIBUTES
O VALUES)
Units of Analysis
• Individuals
• People
• Places
• Groups
• Institutions
• Nations
• Programs
Measurement
• If our studies do not allow us to measure variation
in the dependent variable (Y) as related to
variation in our X variables, then we cannot do
any scientific testing.
1. We measure whether certain variables are meaningful
– individually significant.
2. We measure the variation in our variables.
3. We also measure the significance and explanatory
power of our models and the relationships between
variables.
4. If it can be quantified, then you should do so.
Qualities of Variables
Variable Development
Values 1 2 3
Relationship
The Levels of Measurement
• Nominal
• Ordinal
• Interval
• Ratio
Nominal Measurement
RATIO STRONGEST
INTERVAL
ORDINAL
NOMINAL
WEAKEST
Research Validity
• If so, a study will lack internal validity if it cannot rule out plausible
alternative explanations.
• Can the outcome (diminished corruption) be fully attributed to the
program in place (tougher sanctions)?
Internal Validity
The outcome
Our Cause (s) Results
X Y
•Alternative Explanations
•Rival Hypothesis
•Threats to validity
The outcome
Our Cause (s)
Results
X Y
•Alternative Explanations
•Rival Hypothesis
•Threats to validity
Z X Y
Model Misspecification and Spuriousness
X Z Y
Model Misspecification and Spuriousness
Z
Statistical Validity
EXPLORATORY
EXPLANATORY
EVALUATION
PUBLIC
OPINION