Business Research Methods

The objective of business research is to systematically, objectively, empirically, logically, and reproducibly discover, analyse, and update information. This encompasses research in areas such as market, operational, financial, human resource, strategic, technological, social, and environmental domains. The primary steps involve problem identification, formulation of research questions, literature review, methodology, design, data collection and analysis, interpretation of results, writing of findings, dissemination of research, and reflection on the process. Defining and identifying the problem are essential initial steps. Methods for problem identification include observation, literature research, consultation, surveys, interviews, policy analysis, and trend analysis. The selection of a research approach is contingent upon the problem, objectives, resources, and data requirements. Measurement involves assigning numbers or symbols to attributes according to specific rules, with the four principal measurement scales being nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio. Hypothesis testing is a statistical method used to draw conclusions about a population based on sample data.