Basic Research Methods

Business management research is situated in the context of social science disciplines, such as sociology, economics, management, psychology, etc. The ability to work with scientific and practical business management problems, to use efficiency research methods, to manage data and to produce information for making appropriate decisions are all seen as important developments of business competencies. These developments increase the search for a better understanding of advantages and disadvantages of research approaches and methods, as well as how is efficiency use to interpret findings and making strategic or tactical decisions. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a reference guide to the research process and methods for students and business practitioners in the research field. This chapter gives a short overview about the different types of research (exploratory, descriptive and causal), approaches (qualitative, quantitative) and various research methods such as observation, experiments, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups and uses of case studies.