brm - objectives of each chapter

7/23/2019 BRM - Objectives of Each Chapter

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1. Research in Business

After reading this chapter, you should understand . . .

1. What business research is and how it differs from decision support systems and business

intelligence systems.

2. The trends affecting business research and the emerging hierarchy of research-based

decision makers.

3. The different types of research studies used in business.

4. The distinction between good business research and that which falls short of professional

quality.

. The nature of the research process.

2. Ethics in Business Research


1. What issues are co!ered in research ethics.

2. The goal of "no harm" for all research acti!ities and what constitutes "no harm" for

participant# researcher# and research sponsor.

3. The differing ethical dilemmas and responsibilities of researchers# sponsors# and research

assistants.

4. The role of ethical codes of conduct in professional associations.

3. Thinking Like a Researcher


1. The terminology used by professional researchers employing scientific thinking.

2. What you need to formulate a solid research hypothesis.

3. The need for sound reasoning to enhance business research results.


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4. The Research rocess! An "#er#ie$


1. $esearch is decision- and dilemma-centered.

2. The clarified research question is the result of careful e%ploration and analysis and sets

the direction for the research pro&ect.

3. 'ow !alue assessments and budgeting influence the process for proposing research and#

ultimately# research design.

4. What is included in research design# data collection# data analysis# and reporting.

. $esearch process problems to a!oid.

%. &larifying the Research 'uestion through (econdary )ata and E*ploration


1. The purposes and process of e%ploratory research.

2. Two types and three le!els of management decision-related secondary sources.

3. (i!e types of e%ternal information and the fi!e critical factors for e!aluating the !alue of

a source and its content.

4. The process of using e%ploratory research to understand the management dilemma and

work through the stages of analysis necessary to formulate the research question )and#

ultimately# in!estigati!e questions and measurement questions*.

. What is in!ol!ed in internal data mining and how internal data-mining techniques differ

from literature searches.

+. Research )esign! An "#er#ie$


1. The basic stages of research design.

2. The ma&or descriptors of research design.

3. The ma&or types of research designs.

4. The relationships that e%ist between !ariables in research design and the steps for

e!aluating those relationships.


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. 'ualitati#e Research


1. 'ow qualitati!e methods differ from quantitati!e methods.

2. The contro!ersy surrounding qualitati!e research.

3. The types of decisions that use qualitati!e methods.

4. The !ariety of qualitati!e research methods.

-. "ser#ation (tudies


1. When obser!ation studies are most useful.

2. The distinctions between monitoring nonbeha!ioral and beha!ioral acti!ities.

3. The strengths of the obser!ation approach in research design.

4. The weaknesses of the obser!ation approach in research design.

. The three perspecti!es from which the obser!er+participant relationship may be !iewed

in obser!ation studies.

,. The !arious designs of obser!ation studies.

/. E*peri0ents


1. The uses for e%perimentation.

2. The ad!antages and disad!antages of the e%perimental method.

3. The se!en steps of a well-planned e%periment.

4. nternal and e%ternal !alidity with e%perimental research designs.

. The three types of e%perimental designs and the !ariations of each.

1. (ur#eys


1. The process for selecting the appropriate and optimal communication approach.

2. What factors affect participation in communication studies.

3. The ma&or sources of error in communication studies and how to minimie them.

4. The ma&or ad!antages and disad!antages of the three communication approaches.

. Why an organiation might outsource a communication study.


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11. easure0ent


1. The distinction between measuring ob&ects# properties# and indicants of properties.

2. The similarities and differences between the four scale types used in measurement and

when each is used.

3. The four ma&or sources of measurement error.

4. The criteria for e!aluating good measurement.

12. easure0ent (cales


1. The nature of attitudes and their relationship to beha!ior.

2. The critical decisions in!ol!ed in selecting an appropriate measurement scale.

3. The characteristics and use of rating# ranking# sorting# and other preference scales.

13. 'uestionnaires and nstru0ents


1. The link forged between the management dilemma and the communication instrument by

the management-research question hierarchy.

2. The influence of the communication method on instrument design.

3. The three general classes of information and what each contributes to the instrument.

4. The influence of question content# question wording# response strategy# and preliminary

analysis planning on question construction.

. /ach of the numerous question design issues influencing instrument quality# reliability#

and !alidity.

,. 0ources for measurement questions.

. The importance of pretesting questions and instruments.


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14. (a0pling


1. The two premises on which sampling theory is based.

2. The characteristics of accuracy and precision for measuring sample !alidity.

3. The fi!e questions that must be answered to de!elop a sampling plan.

4. The two categories of sampling techniques and the !ariety of sampling techniques within

each category.

. The !arious sampling techniques and when each is used.

1%. )ata reparation and )escription


1. The importance of editing the collected raw data to detect errors and omissions.

2. 'ow coding is used to assign numbers and other symbols to answers and to categorie

responses.

3. The use of content analysis to interpret and summarie open questions.

4. roblems with and solutions for "dont know" responses and missing data.

. The options for data entry and manipulation.

1+. E*ploring, )isplaying, and E*a0ining )ata


1. That e%ploratory data analysis techniques pro!ide insights and data diagnostics by

emphasiing !isual representations of the data.

2. 'ow cross-tabulation is used to e%amine relationships in!ol!ing categorical !ariables#

ser!es as a framework for later statistical testing# and makes table-based analysis using

one or more control !ariables an efficient tool for data !isualiation and decision making.


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1. ypothesis Testing


1. The nature and logic of hypothesis testing.

2. What a statistically significant difference is.

3. The si%-step hypothesis testing procedure.

4. The differences between parametric and nonparametric tests and when to use each.

. The factors that influence the selection of an appropriate test of statistical significance.

,. 'ow to interpret the !arious test statistics.

1-. easures of Association


1. 'ow correlation analysis may be applied to study relationships between two or more

!ariables.

2. The uses# requirements# and interpretation of the product moment correlation coefficient.

3. 'ow predictions are made with regression analysis using the method of least squares to

minimie errors in drawing a line of best fit.

4. 'ow to test regression models for linearity and whether the equation is effecti!e in fitting

the data.

. The nonparametric measures of association and the alternati!es they offer when key

assumptions and requirements for parametric techniques cannot be met.


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1/. ulti#ariate Analysis! An "#er#ie$


1. 'ow to classify and select multi!ariate techniques.

2. 'ow multiple regression predicts a metric dependent !ariable from a set of metric

independent !ariables.

3. 'ow discriminant analysis classifies people or ob&ects into categorical groups using

se!eral metric predictors.

4. 'ow multi!ariate analysis of !ariance assesses the relationship between two or more

metric dependent !ariables and independent classificatory !ariables.

. 'ow structural equation modeling e%plains causality among constructs that cannot be

directly measured.

,. 'ow con&oint analysis assists researchers to disco!er the most important attributes and

le!els of desirable features.

. 'ow principal components analysis e%tracts uncorrelated factors from an initial set of

!ariables and how )e%ploratory* factor analysis reduces the number of !ariables to

disco!er underlying constructs.

. 'ow cluster analysis techniques identify homogenous groups of ob&ects or people using a

set of !ariables to compare their attributes and5or characteristics.

6. 'ow perceptions of products or ser!ices are re!ealed numerically and geometrically by

multidimensional scaling.

2. resenting nsights and 5indings! 6ritten Reports


1. That a quality presentation of research findings can ha!e an inordinate effect on a readers

or a listeners perceptions of a studys quality.

2. The contents# types# lengths# and technical specifications of research reports.

3. That the writer of a research report should be guided by questions of purpose# readership#

circumstances5limitations# and use.

4. That while some statistical data may be incorporated in the te%t# most statistics should be

placed in tables# charts# or graphs.


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21. resenting nsights and 5indings! "ral resentations


1. 'ow the oral research presentation differs from and is similar to traditional public

speaking.

2. Why historical rhetorical theory has practical influence on business presentation skills in

the 21stcentury.

3. 'ow to plan for the research presentation.

4. The frameworks and patterns of organiing a presentation.

. The uses and differences between the types of materials designed to support your points.

,. 'ow proficiency in research presentations requires designing good !isuals and knowing

how use them effecti!ely.

. The importance of deli!ery to getting and holding the audiences attention.

. Why practice is an essential ingredient to success and how to do it7 and# what needs to be

assembled and checked to be certain that arrangements for the occasion and !enue are

ready.

brm - objectives of each chapter

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