Research Methods in MIS

1. Research Methods in MIS Dr. Deepak Khazanchi

2. Identify Problem Areas Conduct Interview Do Library Research Develop Theoretical Framework Formulate Hypothesis Make Research Design Decisions Collect Data Analyze & Interpret Data Discuss Findings & Implications Discriminate between Good and Bad Research Know the Manager-Researcher Relationship Self Management of Time, Talents, and Other Resources Develop Communication Skills-Oral & Written Take Personal Responsibility for Learning & Information Seeking Learn to Handle Ambiguity Develop Logical Thinking and a feel for What is Involved in Managerial Decision Making Develop Confidence in Competence Objectives for the Course Knowledge & Skills Acquisition Personal & Professional Development

3. Definition of Research • Research is the organized and systematic inquiry or investigation which provides information for solving a problem or finding answers to a complex issue.

4. Why Study Research? • Research provides you with the knowledge and skills needed for the fast-paced decision-making environment

5. Why Managers need Better Information • Global and domestic competition is more vigorous • Organizations are increasingly practicing data mining and data warehousing

6. The Value of Acquiring Skills • To gather more information before selecting a course of action • To do a high-level research study • To understand research design • To evaluate and resolve a current management dilemma • To establish a career as a research specialist

7. Different Styles of Research • Pure/Basic Research • Research conducted for the purpose of adding to general knowledge for future use. • Usually not prompted by a specific problem. • Applied Research • Research conducted for the purpose of practical application • Usually, undertaken in response to a specific problem o need for decision making.

8. Research Process • Specific planned and controlled steps for empirically investigating a problem. • Also referred to as hypothetico-deductive research • THE RESEARCH PROCESS IS THE SAME FOR Basic and Applied RESEARCH. However, methods used within the “process” might differ.

9. What is Good Research? • Conforms to the characteristics of the scientific method • Purpose clearly defined • Research process detailed • Research design thoroughly planned • High ethical standards applied • Limitations frankly revealed

10. What is Good Research? (Cont’d) • Adequate analysis for decision-maker’s needs • Findings presented unambiguously • Conclusions justified • Researcher’s experience reflected

11. Why Managers should Know Research? • facilitates good decision making • become discriminating about research findings • prevent vested interests • educates to share pertinent and relevant information with researcher

12. Why Managers should Know Research? (cont’d). • Helps take calculated risks with probabilities attached • Understand the complexity of the variables impacting an organization • An integral part of professionalization of management

13. The Manager-Researcher Relationship • Manager’s obligations • Specify problems • Provide adequate background information • Access to company information gatekeepers • Researcher’s obligations • Develop a creative research design • Provide answers to important business questions

14. Manager-Researcher Conflicts • Management’s limited exposure to research • Manager sees researcher as threat to personal status • Researcher has to consider corporate culture and political situations • Researcher’s isolation from managers

15. Internal vs. External Researchers • Internal Researchers: • Advantages: • Better acceptance from staff • Knowledge about organization • Would be an integral part of implementation and evaluation of the research recommendations • Disadvantages: • Less fresh ideas • Power politics could prevail • Possibility not valued as “experts” by staff

16. Internal vs. External Researchers (Cont’d) • External Researchers • Advantages: • Divergent and Convergent thinking • Experience from several situations in different types of organizations • Usually, external researchers have better technical training • Disadvantages: • Takes time to know and understand the organizational system • Rapport and cooperation from staff not easy • Not available for evaluation after implementation • Costs money

17. Types of Studies Used to do Research • Reporting Study • Provides an account or simulation of some data or generate some statistics • Research design does not have to be complex and require inferences for a project to be called research. • Purists do not qualify this as research; some authors consider investigative reporting as a candidate for being called research.

18. Types of Studies Used to do Research (cont’d) • Descriptive Study • Tries to discover answers to the questions who, what, when, where, and sometimes how. • Describe and define a subject, often by creating a profile of a group of problems, people, or events. • Descriptive studies may or may not have the potential for drawing powerful inferences. • Popular in business research because of its versatility across disciplines.

19. Types of Studies Used to do Research (Cont’d) • Explanatory Study • Goes beyond description and attempts to explain the reasons for the phenomenon that the descriptive study only observed. • Grounded in theory or past literature • Researcher asserts hypotheses or testable propositions • Hypotheses are tested by modeling relationships between variable so of interest • Addresses why and how questions

20. Types of Studies Used to do Research (Cont’d) • Predictive Study • Attempts to predict when and in what situations an event or phenomenon will occur • Is as rooted in theory as explanatory studies. • Predictive studies allow for control of phenomenon once we can explain and predict it • Being able to replicate a scenario and dictate a particular outcome is the objective of control

21. Steps in The Research Process Review Research Ethics • Research Problem Arises (Observation?) • Recognition of Existing Problem • Desire to Improve Status Quo • Planning for the future (environmental scanning) • Curiosity/Discovery • Preliminary Information Gathering • Interviews • Literature Survey • Determine the variables and operational definitions

22. Steps in The Research Process (cont’d) • Theory Formulation • Concepts, Constructs, Variables, and Relationships • Hypothesis Development • Vs. Research Questions • Further Data Collection • Data Analysis • Deduction-Draw Conclusions