Advanced Research Methods
Jurian Traas
B3EL101
2021 – 2022
,Inhoudsopgave
WEEK I – PLENARY LECTURE........................................................................................................................... 3
EVIDENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT...............................................................................................................................3
RESEARCH APPROACHES IN MANAGEMENT RESEARCH....................................................................................................3
WEEK II – PLENARY LECTURE.......................................................................................................................... 4
THE RESEARCH CYCLE.............................................................................................................................................. 5
TYPES OF DATA IN RESEARCH....................................................................................................................................6
TYPES OF RESEARCH AND MANAGERIAL PROBLEMS........................................................................................................7
WEEK III – PLENARY LECTURE......................................................................................................................... 8
TYPES OF LITERATURE REVIEW (LR)............................................................................................................................8
WHY ONE NEEDS A LITERATURE REVIEW......................................................................................................................8
HOW TO COLLECT AND ASSESS ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL LITERATURE........................................................................9
TYPICAL STRUCTURE OF AN ACADEMIC ARTICLE.............................................................................................................9
HOW TO EVALUATE AND INTERPRET CLAIMS THAT PAPERS MAKE......................................................................................9
HOW TO WRITE A GOOD LITERATURE REVIEW.............................................................................................................10
WEEK IV – PLENARY LECTURE....................................................................................................................... 10
QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH..............................................................................................................10
CASE STUDY STRATEGY...........................................................................................................................................10
INTERVIEWS: APPROACHES AND ANALYSIS..................................................................................................................12
METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY IN QUALITATIVE STUDIES..................................................................................................13
PRESENTING RESULTS OF YOUR STUDIES....................................................................................................................14
WEEK V – PLENARY LECTURE........................................................................................................................ 14
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH.......................................................................................................................................14
DECISION SCIENCE................................................................................................................................................ 14
SURVEYS.............................................................................................................................................................15
SECONDARY ANALYSIS............................................................................................................................................16
EXPERIMENTS...................................................................................................................................................... 17
WEEK VI – PLENARY LECTURE....................................................................................................................... 17
RESULTS.............................................................................................................................................................17
DISCUSSION.........................................................................................................................................................17
2
, Week I – Plenary Lecture
Basic steps of composing research questions
1. Formulate a knowledge question
2. Collect relevant knowledge
3. Collect new, additional data
4. Analyze and interpret
5. Formulate the answer to the question
Principles of scientific research
1. Science progresses based on testable hypotheses and evidence
2. Research does not take place in a vacuum
3. Don’t trust other people’s science without your own critical analysis
4. Confidence in a theory grows as more and more studies support the theory
Evidence-based management
Evidence-based management (EBMgt) finds its origin in evidence-based medicine. Some
definitions: “The systematic use of the best available evidence to improve management
practice” and “The conscientious use of multiple sources of evidence in organizational
decisions.”
Different types of evidence, weak to strong
- Own research and experimentation
- One-off scientific studies (by others)
- Replicated scientific studies
- Systematic review or meta-analysis of scientific studies
Research approaches in management research
Terminology
- Constructs are theoretical concepts that may or may not be observable and measurable
(often abstract) like trust, customer loyalty, job satisfaction etc.
- Variables are also theoretical concepts, but must be observable and measurable, and
thus are operationalized constructs
- Propositions are a researcher’s statements about relationships between two or more
theoretical constructs. It can be about abstract and non-measurable constructs. It can
be developed conceptually or based on empirical data and does not have to be
measurable or directly testable.
- Hypotheses are statements about relationships between two or more variables (thus,
operationalized constructs). A hypothesis is typically informed by any underlying
propositions. It should be testable and show the directions of the relationship/effect
between the variables.
- Theory is a statement of relationships between units (constructs) observed or
approximated in the empirical world. It answers questions like ‘how’, ‘when’ and
‘why’.
- Research objectives are explanations of the main purpose of conducting a research
project, its intended contribution to the scientific literature and management practice.
It is present in every academic paper, and should explain the reader what, why and
how something should be achieved.
- A research question is the focal point of the research.
3
Jurian Traas
B3EL101
2021 – 2022
,Inhoudsopgave
WEEK I – PLENARY LECTURE........................................................................................................................... 3
EVIDENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT...............................................................................................................................3
RESEARCH APPROACHES IN MANAGEMENT RESEARCH....................................................................................................3
WEEK II – PLENARY LECTURE.......................................................................................................................... 4
THE RESEARCH CYCLE.............................................................................................................................................. 5
TYPES OF DATA IN RESEARCH....................................................................................................................................6
TYPES OF RESEARCH AND MANAGERIAL PROBLEMS........................................................................................................7
WEEK III – PLENARY LECTURE......................................................................................................................... 8
TYPES OF LITERATURE REVIEW (LR)............................................................................................................................8
WHY ONE NEEDS A LITERATURE REVIEW......................................................................................................................8
HOW TO COLLECT AND ASSESS ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL LITERATURE........................................................................9
TYPICAL STRUCTURE OF AN ACADEMIC ARTICLE.............................................................................................................9
HOW TO EVALUATE AND INTERPRET CLAIMS THAT PAPERS MAKE......................................................................................9
HOW TO WRITE A GOOD LITERATURE REVIEW.............................................................................................................10
WEEK IV – PLENARY LECTURE....................................................................................................................... 10
QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH..............................................................................................................10
CASE STUDY STRATEGY...........................................................................................................................................10
INTERVIEWS: APPROACHES AND ANALYSIS..................................................................................................................12
METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY IN QUALITATIVE STUDIES..................................................................................................13
PRESENTING RESULTS OF YOUR STUDIES....................................................................................................................14
WEEK V – PLENARY LECTURE........................................................................................................................ 14
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH.......................................................................................................................................14
DECISION SCIENCE................................................................................................................................................ 14
SURVEYS.............................................................................................................................................................15
SECONDARY ANALYSIS............................................................................................................................................16
EXPERIMENTS...................................................................................................................................................... 17
WEEK VI – PLENARY LECTURE....................................................................................................................... 17
RESULTS.............................................................................................................................................................17
DISCUSSION.........................................................................................................................................................17
2
, Week I – Plenary Lecture
Basic steps of composing research questions
1. Formulate a knowledge question
2. Collect relevant knowledge
3. Collect new, additional data
4. Analyze and interpret
5. Formulate the answer to the question
Principles of scientific research
1. Science progresses based on testable hypotheses and evidence
2. Research does not take place in a vacuum
3. Don’t trust other people’s science without your own critical analysis
4. Confidence in a theory grows as more and more studies support the theory
Evidence-based management
Evidence-based management (EBMgt) finds its origin in evidence-based medicine. Some
definitions: “The systematic use of the best available evidence to improve management
practice” and “The conscientious use of multiple sources of evidence in organizational
decisions.”
Different types of evidence, weak to strong
- Own research and experimentation
- One-off scientific studies (by others)
- Replicated scientific studies
- Systematic review or meta-analysis of scientific studies
Research approaches in management research
Terminology
- Constructs are theoretical concepts that may or may not be observable and measurable
(often abstract) like trust, customer loyalty, job satisfaction etc.
- Variables are also theoretical concepts, but must be observable and measurable, and
thus are operationalized constructs
- Propositions are a researcher’s statements about relationships between two or more
theoretical constructs. It can be about abstract and non-measurable constructs. It can
be developed conceptually or based on empirical data and does not have to be
measurable or directly testable.
- Hypotheses are statements about relationships between two or more variables (thus,
operationalized constructs). A hypothesis is typically informed by any underlying
propositions. It should be testable and show the directions of the relationship/effect
between the variables.
- Theory is a statement of relationships between units (constructs) observed or
approximated in the empirical world. It answers questions like ‘how’, ‘when’ and
‘why’.
- Research objectives are explanations of the main purpose of conducting a research
project, its intended contribution to the scientific literature and management practice.
It is present in every academic paper, and should explain the reader what, why and
how something should be achieved.
- A research question is the focal point of the research.
3
