1. RESEARCH PROPOSAL: THEORY, RESEARCH QUESTION & HYPOTHESIS
MNGT 583 – Özge Can

2. Research Proposal Format:
Brief introduction
Research question
Theoretical background
Literature review: A critical review of the theories, concepts, debates and major viewpoints around your research question
Specific emphasis to cultural discussions
Study hypotheses and/or study model
Identfication of why and how culture (or cultura differences) matter

3. Research Proposal Format:
Proposed research methodology
The context/ setting of the study
Your sample – sample size and other characteristics
Method of data collection
Quantitative and/or qualitative
Survey, interviews, archival data etc.
Measurement of the concepts/ variables

4. Possible Topics for Research Proposal:
Intercultural communication and negotiations
International/ global business strategies
International alliances other collaborations
Managing diversity (international workforce)
Teamwork (global/ multicultural teams)
Global leadership; international HRM practices
Expartiates and international careers
Link between national and organizational culture
Every possible organizational issue (e.g. employee attitudes and behaviors, organizational performance, business decisions, organization design and practices, ...)

5. What is THEORY
A system of interconnected ideas that condenses and organizes the knowledge about the world and explains how it works
A good research involves theory. If theory remains unclear, incomplete or poorly formulated => it is a weak research
Theories are not static: we constantly modify older theories and develop new ones
Condense = make denser, compress

6. The Parts of Theory: Assumptions Concepts Relationships
An un-tested starting point in a theory that is necessary in order to build a theoretical explanation
Concepts
An idea that is thought, carefully defined and made explicit in a theory that we can express as a word or symbol
Relationships
Whether the concepts are connected to one another and if so, how
Outlining an entire model of assumptions, concepts and relationships, a theory provides a complete picture of why specific relationships do or do not exist

7. Concepts They are everywhere, we use them all the time
Concepts have two parts: a symbol (a word, term, a written character) and a definition.
We find them easy to use but difficult to define or describe
For example: “Height”
A characteristics of a physical object indicating the distance from top to bottom.
The word “height” refers to an abstract idea. We associate a sound and a written symbol to this idea.

8. Relationships Proposition Hypothesis
A theoretical statement about the relatipnship between two or more concepts
Hypothesis
An empirically testable version of a theoretical proposition that is yet to be tested or verified with empirical evidence
It is most used in deductive theorizing
By empirically evaluating a hypothesis, we learn whether a theoretical proposition is supported, or we may decide to revise it or remove it from the theory entirely.

9. Relationships
Unit of analysis => In research, we must fit the concepts to a specific type of unit of social life:
individuals,
groups,
organizations
movements and exchanges,
institutions,
regions
nations/ countries etc.
By empirically evaluating a hypothesis, we learn whether a theoretical proposition is supported, or we may decide to revise it or remove it from the theory entirely.

10. Abstract and Empirical Levels
Proposition
Treatment to employees
Employee loyalty
Abstract level
Hypothesis
Social security & other benefits
Annual
turnover
Empirical level

11. Research Question Typical qualitative questions:
How did a certain condition or social situation originate?
How do people, events, and conditions sustain over time?
By what processes does the situation change, develop or end?
Typical quantitative questions:
Associations, relations
“Is age at marriage associated with divorce?”

12. Ways to Select a Research Topic:
Personal experience, everyday life and personal values
State of knowledge in the field
Social premiums; curiosity based on media
Solving a problem

13. How to Narrow the Topic into a Research Question:
Examine the literature
Published articles are excellent sources of ideas for research questions. They provide lots of suggestions
Talk over ideas with others
Ask people who are knowledgeable about the topic; seek out others’ opinions
Apply a specific context
Focus on a specific time period, society, catgeory, subgroup or geographic unit
Define the aim or desired outcome of the study
Is it an exploratory, descriptive or explanatory stdudy?

14. Good and Bad Research Questions

15. Quantitative Research: Variables
Variable: Empirical measure of a concept that can take multiple values
Attributes: Categories or levels of a variable
For Example:
gender is a variable; male is an attribute
marital status is a variable; married is an attribute

16. Quantitative Research: Variables
Independent Variable: Variable that produces an effect or result on the dependent variable in a causal hypothesis
Dependent Variable: The effect or result variable that is caused by the independent variable
Intervening (Mediating) Variable: Comes logically or temporally after independent variable and before dependent variable; helps to show the link or mechanism between them

17. Quantitative Research: Hypotheses
Causal Hypothesis: Statement of a causal explanation or proposition that at least one dependent and one independent variable and yet to be empirically tested
Characteristics of causal hypotheses:
At least 2 variables (dependent and independent)
Expresses a cause-effect relationship
Can be expressed as a prediction
Logical link between hypothesis and theory
Falsifiable
A causal hypothesis should always have dependent and independent variables.

18. Quantitative Design: Hypotheses
Logic of Disconforming (“Falsification”): Testing for no relationship provides more cautious support for possible existence of a relationship. Negative, disconforming evidence is more significant.
We never prove a hypothesis; but we can disprove it!
Null Hypothesis: states that there is no significant effect of the independent variable on the dependent.
Alternative Hypothesis: paired with the null hypothesis stating that there is a significant effect
Because, conforming of empirical evidence makes a weak case for the existence of a relationship.
We can test a hypothesis in two ways: in a straightforward way and in a null hypothesis

19. Causal Hypotheses
A positive relationship means that a higher value on the cause goes with a higher value on the effect or outcome
Example: As the number of years of a person’s schooling increases, the longer the person’s life expectancy is.
A negative relationship means that a higher value on the cause goes with a lower value on the effect or outcome
Example: As the number of years of a person’s schooling increases, his/her prejudice decreses.

20. Causal Hypotheses Positive relationship:
Positive and negative relationship:
Positive path relationship: