Question

1. Describe the hallmarks of scientific research.

2. What are the steps in hypothetico‐deductive research? Explain them, using your own example.

3. Explain the processes of deduction and induction, giving an example of each.

4. Discuss the following statement: “Good research is deductive in nature.”

Answer 1

1. Describe the hallmarks of scientific research.

a. Purposiveness

The manager has started the research with a definite aim or purpose. The focus is on increasing the commitment of employees to the organization, as this will be beneficial in many ways.

b. Rigor

A good theoretical base and a sound methodological design add rigor to a purposive study. Rigor connotes carefulness, scrupulousness, and the degree of exactitude in research investigations. In the case of our example, let us say the manager of an organization asks 10 to 12 of its employees to indicate what would increase their level of commitment to it.

c. Testability

Scientific research thus lends itself to testing logically developed hypotheses to see whether or not the data support the educated conjectures or hypotheses that are developed after a careful study of the problem situation. Testability thus becomes another hallmark of scientific research.

d. Replicability

Similar findings emerge on the basis of data collected by other organizations employing the same methods. Our hypotheses have not been supported merely by chance, but are reflective of the trus state of affairs in the population

e. Precision and confidence

Precision refers to the closeness of the findings to “reality” based on a sample. In other words, precision reflects the degree of accuracy or exactitude of the results on the basis of the sample, to what really exists in the universe. For example, if I estimated the number of production days lost during the year due to absenteeism at between 30 and 40, as against the actual figure of 35, the precision of my estimation compares more favorably than if I had indicated that the loss of production days was somewhere between 20 and 50. You may recall the term confidence interval in statistics, which is what is referred to here as precision.

Confidence refers to the probability that our estimations are correct. That is, it is not merely enough to be precise, but it is also important that we can confidently claim that 95% of the time our results will be true and there is only a 5% chance of our being wrong. This is also known as the confidence level.

f. Objectivity

The more objective the interpretation of the data, the more scientific the research investigation becomes. Though managers or researchers might start with some initial subjective values and beliefs, their interpretation of the data should be stripped of personal values and bias. If managers attempt to do their own research, they should be particularly sensitive to this aspect. Objectivity is thus another hallmark of scientific investigation.

g. Generalizability

Generalizability refers to the scope of applicability of the research findings in one organizational setting to other settings. Obviously, the wider the range of applicability of the solutions generated by research, the more useful the research is to the users.

h. Parsimony

Parsimony can be introduced with a good understanding of the problem and the important factors that influence it. Such a good conceptual theoretical model can be realized through unstructured and structured interviews with the concerned people, and a thorough literature review of the previous research work in the particular problem area.

2. What are the steps in hypothetico-deductive research? Explain them, using an example not in the book.

a. Observation : first step , in which one senses that certain changes are occurring, or that samo new behavios, attitudes, and feelings are sufacing in one’s environment.

b. Preliminary information gathering : this could bo done by talking informally to several people in the work setting or to clients, or to other relevant sources, thereby gathering information on what is happening and why.

c. Theory formulation : the next step, is an attempt to integrate all the information in a logical manner, so that the reason for the problem can be conceptualized and teted.

d. Hypothesizing : at this point, one might hypothesize that if a sufficient number of items are stocked on solves, customer dissatisfaction will be considerably reduced.

e. Further scientific data collection : in onther words, further scientific data collection is needed to test the hypotheses that are generated in the study.

f. Data analysis :tha data gathered are statistically analyzed to see if the hypotheses that were generated have been supported.

g. Deducation : if it was found from the data analysis that increasing the stocks was positively correlated to customer satisfacation then one can deduce that if customer satisfaction is to be increasd, the shelves have to be better stocked.

3- Explain the processes of deduction and induction, giving an example of each.

Hypothesis testing is called deduction research. Sometimes, hypotheses that were not originally do get generated thourgh the process.

The hypothetico-deductive method of research helps the researcher to deduce or infer from the results of data analysis and hence is the deductive process. For example, if as a result of analysis of data collected, one infers that the problem of turnover can be minimized by

three important factors: (i) flexible work hours; (ii) recognition of superior performance of workers through suitable merit pay raises; and (iii) enriching certain types of jobs, this is the deductive approach.

Induction is a process of drawing inferences from observed phenomena which may subsequently be put to the test through hypothetico-deductive method of research. For instance, if a manager observes that people residing at distances beyond 50 miles from the workplace remain absent more frequently than those he knows to reside close by, and infers thereby that distance is a factor in absenteeism, this is an inductive process.