Business Research Methods William G. Zikmund

1
BusinessResearch MethodsWilliam G. Zikmund

• Chapter 3
• Theory Building

2
Scientific Method

• The use of a set of prescribed procedures for
  establishing and connecting theoretical
  statements about events and for predicting events
  yet unknown.

3
Two Purposes Of Theory

• Prediction
• Understanding

4
Theory

• A coherent set of general propositions used as
  principles of explanation of the apparent
  relationships of certain observed phenomena.

5
Concept (or Construct)

• A generalized idea about a class of objects,
  attributes, occurrences, or processes that has
  been given a name.
• Shared meanings developed over time (e.g.,
  leadership, productivity, and morale).
• Building blocks for theory development that
  abstract reality

6
A Ladder Of Abstraction For Concepts
Vegetation
Fruit
Increasingly more abstract
Banana
Reality
7
Scientific Business Researchers Operate at Two
Levels

• Abstract level
• concept generalized idea
• propositions relationships among concepts
• Empirical level
• variable anything that may assume different
  numerical values
• hypothesis educated guess

8
Theory Building A Process Of Increasing
Abstraction
Theories
Propositions
Increasingly more abstract
Concepts
Observation of objects and events (reality )

9
Proposition at Abstract Level
Concept B (Habits)
Concept A (Reinforcement)

Hypothesis at Empirical Level
Variable A Dollar bonus for sales volume over
quota
Variable B Always makes four sales calls a day
10

• A hypothesis is a proposition that is empirically
  testable. It is an empirical statement concerned
  with the relationship among variables.

11
Deductive Reasoning

• The logical process of deriving a conclusion from
  a known premise or something known to be true.
• We know that all managers are human beings.
• If we also know that John Smith is a manager,
• then we can deduce that John Smith is a human
  being.

12
Inductive Reasoning

• The logical process of establishing a general
  proposition on the basis of observation of
  particular facts.
• All managers that have ever been seen are human
  beings
• therefore all managers are human beings.

13
The Scientific Method An Overview
Assess relevant existing knowledge
Formulate concepts Propositions
Statement of Hypotheses
Design research
Analyze evaluate data
Provide explanation- state new problem
Acquire empirical data