Research in Business is a systematic and organised effort, where the objective is to investigate a specific problem faced at the work place, that requires a solution.
Origin of Research
Simply research would be initiated in the business when something is not going well, when a need for change is desired, when an organisation face any issue/problem, when a business soughts answers to specific questions, comes in the process of research. The first step in research to know where and what is the problem, once the problem is identified clearly, steps can be taken to gather information relevant to the problem/issues. This entire process where we try to solve a problem, search for answers to questions is called research.
Definition of Research
Research is an organised, systematic, data-based, critical, objective, scientific inquiry or investigation into a specigic problem, undertaken with the purpose of finding answers or solutions to it.
Keywords of Research
The above definition highlights various research keywords; here is an explanation of the above keywords of research.
The research activities are carried out in a co-ordinated manner
All activities of the research carried out in a planned way.
The Steps are being reviewed, reflected and significance being constantly evaluated.
The Research is with clear questions to which the solution is desired.
Scientific inquiry is a way to investigate things and propose explanations, the reason is that it makes the whole process more reliable and integrated with steps closely relating to each other. A simple plan for Scientific research could be
A: Apparatus (Resources)
Types of Business Research
Research is undertaken for two different purposes. One is to solve a current problem faced by the manager in the work setting, demanding a timely solution,
Applied Business Research
Applied form of business research originates from real work problems that require timely solutions. For example a product may not be selling well and the manager might want to find the reasons for this in order to take action or Business is facing problems in retaining employees, or there is higher degree of absenteeism in the business. All these are problems that require the business to find immediate solutions; otherwise the business would fail to run smoothly. Thus research carried out with the intention of applying the results of the findings to solve specific problems is applied business research.
Basic Business Research
The other form of business research is where the motive is to generate a body of knowledge by developing an understanding on how certain problems that occur in the organisations could be solved. There is a definite possibility that organisations might transfer the learning from the research to the workplace for problem solving. For instance a research carried out at a university facility on Motivating Employees in times Recession with Low Pay could be a useful piece of work, and could be applied to practical settings when businesses are facing downturn. Thus research done primarily to enhance understanding on certain problems that commonly occur in organisations is called Basic, fundamental or pure research.
Reference: Research Methods for Business by Uma Sekaran.