Business Research: Principles and Processes MGMT6791 Workshop 1A: The Nature of Research & Scientific Method

Transcription

1 Business Research: Principles and Processes MGMT6791 Workshop 1A: The Nature of Research & Scientific Method Professor Tim Mazzarol UWA Business School MGMT6791 UWA Business School DBA Program

2 Learning Outcomes At the end of this unit you should understand: The different methods of learning; The distinctive contribution of research to learning; Key research concepts; The use of inductive and deductive reasoning; The process involved in moving from observation to theory creation; The scientific method and its application to social science research; Research design; The development of propositions and hypotheses; Appropriate research styles and structure; The importance of ethics in research; How to conduct electronic literature searches; How to use Endnote for referencing and bibliographic purposes; How to access and use relevant library data bases.

3 Program Structure Workshop Date Topic Readings 1 23 JAN The nature of research and the scientific method Part 1 Gauch (2012); Gimbel (2011) 2 24 JAN The nature of research and the scientific method Part 2 Gauch (2012); Gimbel (2011) Deadline 19 FEB Assignment 1 Analysis of scientific theory construction 35% of marks Submit via LMS in PDF format 3 20 FEB Developing the research project Staines, Johnson & Bonacci (2008) 4 21 FEB How to prepare the thesis Dunleavy (2003) Deadline 18 MAR Evaluating the conceptual foundations of your research topic 35% of marks Submit via LMS in PDF format 5 19 MAR Getting started Mewburn (2013); Hunt Ogden (2002) 6 20 MAR Launching the literature review Chong (2012) Deadline 3 APR Developing the research literature strategy 10% of marks Presented in class 7 2 APR Developing the research literature strategy Part 1 Garson (2013a/b) 8 3 APR Developing the research literature strategy Part 2 Garson (2013a/b) Deadline 11 APR Blueprinting the thesis of the thesis 20% of marks Submit via Source: LMS in Mazzarol PDF format & Reboud (2009)

4 Recommended Readings These books can be purchased via Amazon and the Kindle editions are quite inexpensive.

5 Group Exercise Discuss the following: What do you understand by the term Research? What do you understand to be the most important ingredients of good research? How might writing a research paper differ from writing other types of writing (i.e. novels, dramas or letters)?

6 Defining Research Research is a basic construct of knowledge generation and understanding. It is our attempt to explain our world. Derived from the Latin To Know. What it is? Why it is? Knowledge deals with: If there is the act of knowing How do we know things?

7 Video What is Knowledge?

8 Group Exercise Discuss the following: How do we obtain knowledge? Summarise the key points made in the video and discuss if you feel that they are valid. How much of your knowledge is derived from direct experience and observation, and how much is conceptual (i.e. derived from reason and thinking)?

9 Four Methods of Knowing Method of Tenacity People hold firmly to beliefs they know to true, because they have always been believed to be the truth. The Earth is Flat All snakes are dangerous All politicians are liars Method of Authority If something is deemed a truth by a recognised authority, or the weight of tradition or public sanction then it must be so. Religion Political dogma Cultural mores Method of Intuition Is based on the proposition that something is known because it just stands to reason but whose reason? Method of Science (Research)

10 The Scientific Method Method of Science Knowledge is not based on tenacity, authority or intuition. Knowledge is derived from the observation of empirical and testable evidence. Empirical Evidence Is based on: Observation Experience Experimentation Testing It is not based on: Theory Speculation

11 Four Bold Claims of Science Rationality Rational methods of inquiry use reason and evidence correctly to achieve substantial and specified success in finding truth, and rational actions use rational and true beliefs to guide good actions. Truth True statements correspond with reality. Correspondence External physical world of objects and events. Internal mental world of perceptions and beliefs. Objectivity Objective beliefs concern external physical objects; they can be tested and verified so that consensus will emerge among knowledgeable persons; and they do not depend on controversial presuppositions or special worldviews. Realism Realism is correspondence of human thoughts with an external and independent reality, including physical objects. Source: Gauch 2012

12 Video Science is wrong... Only God knows the truth

13 Group Exercise Discuss the following: What was the video s point? How would the video s claims about the validity of science be addressed by the four bold claims of science? According to Albert Einstein science is common sense, but many things in nature don t appear to be natural. Discuss with reference to the video s claims in relation to: scientific theories of evolution, the solar system and gravity.

14 A brief history of science Aristotle ( BC) Augustine ( AD) Medieval Scholars ( AD) Roger Bacon ( ) Nicolaus Copernicus ( ) Galileo Galilei ( ) Isaac Newton ( ) David Hume ( Charles Darwin ( ) Albert Einstein ( ) Karl Popper ( )

15 Aristotle Definition of Truth Truth must correspond with reality. Otherwise it is false. The physical world is real Plato felt there was a perfect form of things that were the true reality. Aristotle argued there were no perfect forms, only traits that belong to the object (e.g. no perfect form of a dog, just individual dogs). Syllogism Deductive Logic Major premise: All humans are mortal Minor premise: All Greeks are human Conclusion: All Greeks are mortal Aristotle ( BC) Source: Gauch 2012

16 Augustine Objectivity of Truth Truth must be objective. Truth must be public. Truth must be communal. Truth must be shared. The physical world is explored by senses The human senses are reliable. Opposition to the sceptics. Appeal to common sense. Biblical text is metaphorical The Bible should not be taken literally. The Scriptures are history and metaphor. It should not be accepted if it contradicts natural knowledge and God-given reason. Augustine ( AD) Source: Gauch 2012

17 Medieval scholars & Roger Bacon Medieval Scholars Robert Grosseteste ( ) William of Ockham ( ) Thomas Aquinas ( ) Roger Bacon ( ) Legacies Establishment of universities (e.g. Oxford, Paris, Bologna, Padua) Challenged the ancient authority of Aristotle. Adoption of scientific method. Concept of parsimony (Ockham s razor simplest theory that fits the data is the best choice). Scientific truth things that are real in nature (scientia realis) and things that are conceptual (scientia rationalis). Robert Grosseteste ( ) Roger Bacon ( ) Source: Gauch 2012

18 Isaac Newton Science should trust induction Science can make legitimate claims about entities that cannot be directly observed. Science can claim legitimate knowledge in the absence of deep explanation. Rules of Reasoning Parsimony (economy). Rule I: We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances. Uniformity (replication). Rule II: Therefore to the same natural effects we must, as far as possible, assign the same causes. Experimental verification. Rule III: The qualities of bodies, which admit neither intensification nor remission of degrees, and which are found to belong to all bodies within the reach of our experiments, are to be esteemed the universal qualities of all bodies whatsoever. Falsification (the null hypothesis). Rule IV: In experimental philosophy we are to look upon propositions inferred by general induction from phenomena as accurately or very nearly true, notwithstanding any contrary hypotheses that may be imagined, till such time as other phenomena occur, by which they may either be made more accurate, or liable to exceptions. Induction of the general from many observations. Deduction of the specific from the general. Isaac Newton ( ) Source: Gimbel 2011

19 David Hume Inductive Reasoning Draw conclusions from a series of observations. A train goes by each day at the same time therefore you assume it will go by at that time tomorrow. The problem of Induction However, this pattern of train behaviour does not prove that the train will come by tomorrow. Causal relationships Not discovered by reason but by induction. For any cause there can be multiple effects. Unlike deductive reasoning Inductive reasoning allows for the possibility that a conclusion is false even if all the premises are true. Inductive reasoning is not valid or invalid, it is strong or weak. The Black Swan dilemma All swans we have seen are white, Therefore, all swans are white. Until we come to Western Australia! David Hume ( ) Source: Gauch 2012

20 Karl Popper It must be possible for an empirical scientific system to be refuted by experience. Karl Popper Falsifiability Scientific theory can be demarcated from nonscientific theory because it can be falsified. Rejected classical empiricism (i.e. John Locke, David Hume) that truth could be found via induction. Scientific theory is abstract in nature and can only be tested indirectly. Verification Rejected the aim of science as seeking to prove or disprove theory verification. Scientific theory can only hold until such time as new evidence emerges that contradicts it. Built upon the ideas of David Hume. Karl Popper ( ) Source: Gimbel 2011

21 Key concepts: Deduction, Induction & Falsifiability Deductive Reasoning Deductivism Aristotle Syntactic view of scientific theory. Suggests scientific theories are statements that can be proven true or false via a process of logical reasoning and empirical observation. All Greeks are mortal Socrates is a Greek Therefore Socrates is mortal Moves from general to specific, but requires premises (presuppositions) to be absolutely true. Derives certain truth from certain truth. Inductive Reasoning Inductivism Newton & Hume Challenges Deductive Reasoning on grounds that is demands the acceptance of higher level metaphysical claims that cannot be verified from direct observation. Suggests scientific theories are inherently uncertain, rather than argue from the general to the specific, they are amplitative, moving from direct observation of specific things to a general premise. The first swan is white, the next swan is white, the 10,000 th swan is white therefore all swans are white. Falsifiability Popper Seeks to address the Problem of Induction (Hume s problem). All the swans we have observed to date are white, so all swans must be white, but then we visit Western Australia and find black swans! Suggests that scientific theory cannot seek to find absolute truth. Theories only hold until such time as they can be falsified by new evidence. For a sentence to be scientific, you need to tell me what I need to observe that would show this sentence is not true. Source: Gimbel 2011

22 Induction and Deduction Explained

23 Deduction and Induction as Scientific Methods Valid Deductive Argument Strong Inductive Argument Premise 1: Every mammal has a heart. Premise 2: Every horse is a mammal. Conclusion: Every horse has a heart. The conclusion is already contained in the premises of a deductive argument. Argument must be either true or false. Premise 1: Every horse that has been observed has had a heart. Conclusion: Every horse has a heart. The conclusions of inductive argument go beyond the information present in its premises. Argument can only be strong or weak. Moves from general to specific. Moves from specific to general. Source: Gauch 2012

24 Hypothetico-Deductivism Scientific Method is as much Art as Science Whewell was first person to use term Scientists. Scientific observation is confronted with an infinite number of factors that can be examined in many ways. Scientists use creativity to select a set of facts and try to correlate them. Even if they cannot be perfectly correlated there can be guesses made. But Science requires discipline and logic Carnap and Braithwaite argued that hypotheses can be general and abstract, but Scientists must be able to deductively derive testable consequences. Hypotheses need to be falsifiable. Hypthetico-Deductive Method Find a natural phenomenon to be examined. Develop a hypothesis that would explain this. Derive a directly observable result from the hypothesis, given a set of initial conditions. Set up an experiment that creates these conditions and check if the result is observed. If the result cannot be observed reject the hypothesis, return to step 2 and develop new hypothesis. If the result can be observed the hypothesis is supported, so go to step 3 and repeat experiment. William Whewell ( ) R.B. Braithwaite ( ) Rudolf Carnap ( ) Source: Gimbel 2011

25 Group Exercise Read and discuss the case study: Galileo and Heliocentric Solar System. Prepare a short presentation on the case.

26 End of presentation