Assistant Professor of Marketing Research Methodology Dr. Tamer El Sharnouby Assistant Professor of Marketing Cairo University telsharnouby@gmail.com

Textbook Jill Collis & Roger Hussey. (2009). Business Research: A Practical Guide for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students, Third edition. Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire.

Module 1 Understanding Research Outline: Definition and purpose of research, The qualities of a good researcher, Main types of research.

Definition and purpose of research Research means different things to different people. Research: Process of enquiry and investigation, Systematic and methodical, Increases knowledge, Thorough and rigorous, and Appropriate methodology and method.

Purpose of research: To review and synthesise existing knowledge, To investigate some existing situation and problem, To provide a solution to a problem, To explore and analyse some general issues, To construct or create a new procedure or system, To explain a new phenomenon, To generate new knowledge, and A combination of any of the above.

Qualities of a good researcher You might have some.... Others you need to develop: Communication skills: the ability to communicate your understanding of the research area (submission of dissertation, thesis, proposal, defence in viva, oral examination).

Written and verbal communication skills are needed: Applying for funding, Discussing your project with your supervisor, Negotiating access to sources of data, Conducting interview, Designing interviews, leading a focus group, Writing and presenting conference paper, Writing academic journal articles.

Intellectual skills: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation

Information technology skills Word-processing program (write your notes, any quotations and references from literature, results of any survey, observations,...etc later on you can manipulate and refine) Statistical packages (Minitab, SPSS, Stata) Database (quantitative data and qualitative data) , Computerized library and online databases, Internet.

Organizational skills Time management: many tasks ...time consuming: Timetable for your research ASAP, List all activities you have to undertake and estimate the time you think it will take to complete them, To start writing a satisfactory first draft proposal... Shut the door, unplug the telephone, switch of mobile and sit down with you books and papers for five or six hours without interruption.

Motivation Choose a subject you are interested in. Your reason for doing the research: I love the subject, I love studying, I want to be intellectual, I have a personal question I want to answer, I want to be creative and useful, I want to be a member of the research community, I need to get a better job, Employers want people with this qualification, All my friends are doing it, and It’s part of my course.

Major Limitations in Conducting a Research Time Costs Access to resources Approval by authorities Ethical concerns Expertise

Types of research: According to: The purpose: Exploratory, descriptive, analytical and predictive research. Process/approach: Quantitative vs Qualitative. Applied vs Basic research

Research Approaches Deductive Deductive Deductive Patterns Hypotheses Inductive Inductive

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Methodological Assumption (Cresswell 1994: 5) Deductive process Inductive process Cause and effect Mutual simultaneous shaping of factors Static design – categories isolated before study Emerging design – categories identified during research process Generalization leading to prediction, explanation, and understanding Patterns, theories developed for understanding Accurate and reliable through validity and reliability Accurate and reliable through verification

Assumptions of qualitative designs Qualitative researchers are concerned primarily with process, rather than outcomes or products. Qualitative researchers are interested in meaning. The qualitative researcher is the primary instrument for data collection and analysis. Data are mediated through this human instrument, rather than through questionnaires, or machines. Qualitative research involves fieldwork. The researcher physically goes to the people setting, site, or institution to observe or record behavior in its natural setting. Qualitative research is descriptive in that the researcher is interested in process, meaning and understanding gained through words or pictures. The process of qualitative research is inductive in that the researcher builds abstractions, concepts, hypotheses, and theories from details.

Assumptions of qualitative designs The nature of reality: multiple, constructed and holistic The relationship of knower to known: interactive, inseparable. Generalization: a “working hypothesis” that describes a single case Causal linkages: mutual simultaneous shaping. Inquiry is value bound.

When to use qualitative research For problems that need exploration For problems that need a complex detailed understanding. To write in styles that push the limits of formal academic narratives To understand contexts The topic has been researched for a long time in the same way The topic is new to research You would like in-depth information that may be difficult to convey quantitatively

Qual Data Collection Methods Interviews Focus groups Participant observation (field notes) Video Text and Image analysis (documents, media data)

Assumptions of quantitative designs Quan: what, where, and when of natural phenomena develop and employ mathematical models, theories and hypotheses related to natural phenomena Involve large samples of subjects; deal with cause/effect Associated with positivism: that objective truth can be known with certainty, that it can be gained through rational methods

Positivism A single, tangible reality "out there" that can be broken apart into pieces capable of being studied independently The separation of the observer from the observed What is true at one time and place will also be true at another time and place An assumption of linear causality; there are no effects without causes and no causes without effects The results of an inquiry are essentially free from beliefs, interpretations

Quantitative Methods Survey Experiments

Quantitative concerns Useful in areas like user demographics, patterns of use; BUT: Can produce a false sense of certainty Takes the subject outside of natural setting/tasks Quantifies unquantifiable phenomenon

Choice of Methodology & Methods Depends on Research Questions Research Goals Researcher Beliefs and Values Researcher Skills Time and Funds

References Cornford, T. and Smithson, S. (1996). Project Research in Information Systems. A Student’s Guide. Macmillan. London. Creswell, J.W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design. Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Creswell, J.W. (2009). Research design. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Denzin, N.K. & Lincoln, Y. (2000). Introduction: The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In N.K. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp.1-17). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Questions? Dr. Tamer El Sharnouby telsharnouby@gmail.com