Importance Of Business Research In Decision Making: Reflection On A 12-Week Teaching Period

Overview of Business Research

Question: 

Discuss about the Journal Entry for International Business Research.

Research is an integral part of any business as it aids with the decision making process of the business. (ekaran, and Bougi 2016) A number of studies have revealed that organization’s that conduct well developed and accurate research is more successful than those that don’t. The success stems from the fact that the better the research work the more the information available to ensure accurate decision making (Liu 2017). For the past 12 weeks we have been learning about business research method and the primary objective of the lessons was for students to develop an understanding of how research work is conducted in business. The lessons provided me with an opportunity to work on two research assignments. Both assignments investigated the relationship that existed between house prices and immigration rates. This journal reviews the 12 week teaching period documenting a critical analysis of the learning process. In the journal I will reflect and review how I have progressed with the learning goals that relate to assignments 1 and 2 on a week by week basis. The journal will then provide a conclusion bearing a summary of the key lessons learnt during the 12 weeks and their practical application in my future career.

The first week was one of the most important week in the learning process as we were introduced into the topic of business research and the different concepts related with it. In this week I was able to learn about the different forms of business research and identified market research as one of the most important forms of research (Eriksson, and Kovalainen 2015). This is because through market research a business is able to better understand its existing customers and identify new potential customers. The information obtained in the first week is quite important especially for a person who seeks to occupy the managerial position in any organization. I was also able to learn about the importance of business research for organizations and for everyday life. It was evident that one of the most important reasons as to why organizations conducted research was to obtain more information on a particular topic so as to be able to make a well informed decision regarding the particular topic. Research helped organizations to determine how different factors affect each other and how by adjusting one factor, a person can be able to affect the other. The insight obtained week 1 is demonstrated in assignment 1 and 2 where we sought to determine how immigrations rates and house prices affect each other. In summary week 1 focused primarily on providing the student with an overview of what to expect for the next 12 weeks.

Selection of Research Topic

In the second week of the learning process, I was able to learn about the selection of a research topic and how organizations should go about doing the same. In the classes, it was made evident that the research question plays a significant role in determining whether the data collected is relevant and helpful to the organization or not. The more refined a research topic is, the more helpful it is towards the success of the organization.. This information is quite helpful for a person in the management position of an organization. Well thought out research questions provide for better research work thus making for an easy decision making process. The information I obtained in this class was useful to me in being able to effectively develop and understand my research question.

In the third week of the learning practice I was able to learn about research goals and how to select proper research goals. The learning experience made me aware of the fact that the research goals are largely associated with the research question that one is seeking to answer. In conducting the first assignment, the research objectives were critically evaluating the relationship that exists between immigration rates and house price rates, investigate the factors influencing immigration rates and house across different countries and the production of a fruitful relationship that is based on a fruitful relationship that is based on change in period and nursery.

Unlike in week 1 lessons where we covered general aspects of research, week 2 focused more on specific elements of research. In week 4 I learnt about how to conduct a research; here I was introduced into the different research methods that are in existence and how use them I learnt that there exists two broad categories of research namely qualitative and quantitative research. Quantitative research is used primarily when dealing with quantifiable data while qualitative research is used when dealing with information that one cannot quantify (Bryman, and Bell 2015). While learning about the two categories of research, I was also educated on the different methodologies of collecting data for research from the use of questioners, to focus groups. Learning about these elements helped to expound my perception on the field of research. The information obtained in this week was important as I would be able to effectively choose which research method to use while undertaking my assignment. Through the information obtained in this lesson I was able to efficiently determine the scope of different research works that I have conducted. The term project scope is used to refer to the projects that a particular research would cover. This information was quite helpful to me in the development of the scope for the research questions on the relationship between immigration and housing process. In reviewing the scope, it is important to indicate that the more specific a scope is the more insightful the research will be. This is because specific and narrowed down scopes allow for in-depyth research work which results in quality data.

Setting Research Goals

The period spanning week 5 to week 8 we were able to learn about the different research methods that are in existence and how they are used. In the lessons, I was able to learn of the fact that research methods are utilized in different contexts based on the research questions. Research questions that are predominantly statistical in nature required qualitative research mechanisms while those that are not required qualitative means of conducting the research (Paradis et al., 2016). Some research questions might require an individual to utilize a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research data to ensure the obtainment of results that are reflective of the questions being reviewed (Field 2015). Due to the complex nature of my research question in conducting the two assignments one and two, I decided to utilize both qualitative and quantitative research method (Hair 2015). This was obtained through the use of literature review. Through the use of literature review as my primary method of data collection for the two assignments, I was able to obtain both qualitative data from the opinions of the authors and other reputable individuals regarding their opinion on the subject matter (Neelankavil 2015). I was also able to obtain quantitative data through the facts and figures presented in the articles being reviewed. The use of literature review as the primary source of data collection served to provide me with a large base of data to select from when making my analysis comments.

 In week 9 and 10, I was able to learn about conceptualization of the data a person obtains after conducting research on the specific subject matter. The more in depth the conceptualization process is the more accurate the research work is. The conceptualization entails obtaining the data through various data collection methods and deriving a meaning from the data Guerra-(Santin et al. 2015). Personally I found the ability to derive meaning from data collected from different sources and tie this information together to be quite interesting. This is because the data research process is usually quite disjointed. By being able to integrate the different data sets together, one is able to interact with the data therefore enhancing the recipients information.

In the final week of the learning experiences we were told how to develop summaries and conclusion remarks on the status of the data. This information is important as it helps to persuade the reader regarding the validity of the arguments presented in the article. The conclusion remarks also serve to enhance some of the key aspects of the paper that were preserved in the research (Logan 2015). This serves to efficiently persuade the audience to the argument standpoints that they were unable to obtain. It is also important to provide a summary of the research paper so as to make it easier for individuals to read through the most important elopements of a research paper without having to read through the entire paper (Lester, and Lester Jr 2015).

Conclusion

In summary it is logical to conclude that research is an element aspect of the organizations operations and thus there is a need to maintain it. The more defined a research question  is, the less likely it is for one to experience some of the major difficulties associated with research work (Sekaran, and Bougie 2016). It is my personal opinion that while engaging in the week 1 and 2 assignment, I was able to obtain a lot of information which will serve to enhance my ability to operate as a business person.

Bryman, A. and Bell, E., 2015. Business research methods. Oxford University Press, USA.

Eriksson, P. and Kovalainen, A., 2015. Qualitative methods in business research: a practical guide to social research. Sage.

Hair, J.F., 2015. Essentials of business research methods. Me sharpe.

Sekaran, U. And Bougie, R., 2016. Research methods for business: a skill building approach. John wiley & sons.

Neelankavil, J.P., 2015. International business research. Routledge.

Guerra-santin, O. and Tweed, C.A., 2015. In-use monitoring of buildings: an overview of data collection methods. Energy and buildings, 93, pp.189-207.

Field, T., 2015. The benefits and limitations of quantitative data collection to the literature review data collection.

Paradis, E., O’brien, B., Nimmon, L., Bandiera, G. and Martimianakis, M.A., 2016. Design: selection of data collection methods. Journal of graduate medical education, 8(2), pp.263-264.

Liu, W., 2017. Research goals and hypotheses. In how are Chinese only children growing (pp. 95-104). Springer fachmedien wiesbaden.

Logan, B., 2015. Research goals, not milestones.

Lester, J.D. and Lester Jr, J.D., 2015. Writing research papers: a complete guide (paperback). Pearson.

Sekaran, U. and Bougie, R., 2016. Research methods for business: a skill building approach. John Wiley & Sons.