purpose of the study in business research

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Business Research: Methods, Types & Examples

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Business research: Definition

Quantitative research methods, qualitative research methods, advantages of business research, disadvantages of business research, importance of business research.

Business research is a process of acquiring detailed information on all the areas of business and using such information to maximize the sales and profit of the business. Such a study helps companies determine which product/service is most profitable or in demand. In simple words, it can be stated as the acquisition of information or knowledge for professional or commercial purposes to determine opportunities and goals for a business.

Business research can be done for anything and everything. In general, when people speak about business research design , it means asking research questions to know where the money can be spent to increase sales, profits, or market share. Such research is critical to make wise and informed decisions.

LEARN ABOUT: Research Process Steps

For example: A mobile company wants to launch a new model in the market. But they are not aware of what are the dimensions of a mobile that are in most demand. Hence, the company conducts business research using various methods to gather information, and the same is then evaluated, and conclusions are drawn as to what dimensions are most in demand.

This will enable the researcher to make wise decisions to position his phone at the right price in the market and hence acquire a larger market share.

LEARN ABOUT:  Test Market Demand

Business research: Types and methodologies

Business research is a part of the business intelligence process. It is usually conducted to determine whether a company can succeed in a new region, to understand its competitors, or simply select a marketing approach for a product. This research can be carried out using steps in qualitative research methods or quantitative research methods.

Quantitative research methods are research methods that deal with numbers. It is a systematic empirical investigation using statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques . Such methods usually start with data collection and then proceed to statistical analysis using various methods. The following are some of the research methods used to carry out business research.

LEARN ABOUT: Data Management Framework

Survey research

Survey research is one of the most widely used methods to gather data, especially for conducting business research. Surveys involve asking various survey questions to a set of audiences through various types like online polls, online surveys, questionnaires, etc. Nowadays, most of the major corporations use this method to gather data and use it to understand the market and make appropriate business decisions.

Various types of surveys, like cross-sectional studies , which need to collect data from a set of audiences at a given point of time, or longitudinal surveys which are needed to collect data from a set of audiences across various time durations in order to understand changes in the respondents’ behavior are used to conduct survey research. With the advancement in technology, surveys can now be sent online through email or social media .

For example: A company wants to know the NPS score for their website i.e. how satisfied are people who are visiting their website. An increase in traffic to their website or the audience spending more time on a website can result in higher rankings on search engines which will enable the company to get more leads as well as increase its visibility.

Hence, the company can ask people who visit their website a few questions through an online survey to understand their opinions or gain feedback and hence make appropriate changes to the website to increase satisfaction.

Learn More:  Business Survey Template

Correlational research

Correlational research is conducted to understand the relationship between two entities and what impact each one of them has on the other. Using mathematical analysis methods, correlational research enables the researcher to correlate two or more variables .

Such research can help understand patterns, relationships, trends, etc. Manipulation of one variable is possible to get the desired results as well. Generally, a conclusion cannot be drawn only on the basis of correlational research.

For example: Research can be conducted to understand the relationship between colors and gender-based audiences. Using such research and identifying the target audience, a company can choose the production of particular color products to be released in the market. This can enable the company to understand the supply and demand requirements of its products.

Causal-Comparative research

Causal-comparative research is a method based on the comparison. It is used to deduce the cause-effect relationship between variables. Sometimes also known as quasi-experimental research, it involves establishing an independent variable and analyzing the effects on the dependent variable.

In such research, data manipulation is not done; however, changes are observed in the variables or groups under the influence of the same changes. Drawing conclusions through such research is a little tricky as independent and dependent variables will always exist in a group. Hence all other parameters have to be taken into consideration before drawing any inferences from the research.

LEARN ABOUT: Causal Research

For example: Research can be conducted to analyze the effect of good educational facilities in rural areas. Such a study can be done to analyze the changes in the group of people from rural areas when they are provided with good educational facilities and before that.

Another example can be to analyze the effect of having dams and how it will affect the farmers or the production of crops in that area.

LEARN ABOUT: Market research trends

Experimental research

Experimental research is based on trying to prove a theory. Such research may be useful in business research as it can let the product company know some behavioral traits of its consumers, which can lead to more revenue. In this method, an experiment is carried out on a set of audiences to observe and later analyze their behavior when impacted by certain parameters.

LEARN ABOUT: Behavioral Targeting

For example: Experimental research was conducted recently to understand if particular colors have an effect on consumers’ hunger. A set of the audience was then exposed to those particular colors while they were eating, and the subjects were observed. It was seen that certain colors like red or yellow increase hunger.

Hence, such research was a boon to the hospitality industry. You can see many food chains like Mcdonalds, KFC, etc., using such colors in their interiors, brands, as well as packaging.

Another example of inferences drawn from experimental research, which is used widely by most bars/pubs across the world, is that loud music in the workplace or anywhere makes a person drink more in less time. This was proven through experimental research and was a key finding for many business owners across the globe.

Online research / Literature research

Literature research is one of the oldest methods available. It is very economical, and a lot of information can be gathered using such research. Online research or literature research involves gathering information from existing documents and studies, which can be available at Libraries, annual reports, etc.

Nowadays, with the advancement in technology, such research has become even more simple and accessible to everyone. An individual can directly research online for any information that is needed, which will give him in-depth information about the topic or the organization.

Such research is used mostly by marketing and salespeople in the business sector to understand the market or their customers. Such research is carried out using existing information that is available from various sources. However, care has to be taken to validate the sources from where the information is going to be collected.

For example , a salesperson has heard a particular firm is looking for some solution that their company provides. Hence, the salesperson will first search for a decision maker from the company, investigate what department he is from, and understand what the target company is looking for and what they are into.

Using this research, he can cater his solution to be spot on when he pitches it to this client. He can also reach out to the customer directly by finding a means to communicate with him by researching online.’

LEARN ABOUT: 12 Best Tools for Researchers

Qualitative research is a method that has a high importance in business research. Qualitative research involves obtaining data through open-ended conversational means of communication. Such research enables the researcher to not only understand what the audience thinks but also why he thinks it.

In such research, in-depth information can be gathered from the subjects depending on their responses. There are various types of qualitative research methods, such as interviews, focus groups, ethnographic research, content analysis, and case study research, that are widely used.

Such methods are of very high importance in business research as they enable the researcher to understand the consumer. What motivates the consumer to buy and what does not is what will lead to higher sales, and that is the prime objective for any business.

Following are a few methods that are widely used in today’s world by most businesses.

Interviews are somewhat similar to surveys, like sometimes they may have the same types of questions used. The difference is that the respondent can answer these open-ended questions at length, and the direction of the conversation or the questions being asked can be changed depending on the response of the subject.

Such a method usually gives the researcher detailed information about the perspective or opinions of its subject. Carrying out interviews with subject matter experts can also give important information critical to some businesses.

For example: An interview was conducted by a telecom manufacturer with a group of women to understand why they have less number of female customers. After interviewing them, the researcher understood that there were fewer feminine colors in some of the models, and females preferred not to purchase them.

Such information can be critical to a business such as a  telecom manufacturer and hence it can be used to increase its market share by targeting women customers by launching some feminine colors in the market.

Another example would be to interview a subject matter expert in social media marketing. Such an interview can enable a researcher to understand why certain types of social media advertising strategies work for a company and why some of them don’t.

LEARN ABOUT: Qualitative Interview

Focus groups

Focus groups are a set of individuals selected specifically to understand their opinions and behaviors. It is usually a small set of a group that is selected keeping in mind the parameters for their target market audience to discuss a particular product or service. Such a method enables a researcher with a larger sample than the interview or a case study while taking advantage of conversational communication.

Focus group is also one of the best examples of qualitative data in education . Nowadays, focus groups can be sent online surveys as well to collect data and answer why, what, and how questions. Such a method is very crucial to test new concepts or products before they are launched in the market.

For example: Research is conducted with a focus group to understand what dimension of screen size is preferred most by the current target market. Such a method can enable a researcher to dig deeper if the target market focuses more on the screen size, features, or colors of the phone. Using this data, a company can make wise decisions about its product line and secure a higher market share.

Ethnographic research

Ethnographic research is one of the most challenging research but can give extremely precise results. Such research is used quite rarely, as it is time-consuming and can be expensive as well. It involves the researcher adapting to the natural environment and observing its target audience to collect data. Such a method is generally used to understand cultures, challenges, or other things that can occur in that particular setting.

For example: The world-renowned show “Undercover Boss” would be an apt example of how ethnographic research can be used in businesses. In this show, the senior management of a large organization works in his own company as a regular employee to understand what improvements can be made, what is the culture in the organization, and to identify hard-working employees and reward them.

It can be seen that the researcher had to spend a good amount of time in the natural setting of the employees and adapt to their ways and processes. While observing in this setting, the researcher could find out the information he needed firsthand without losing any information or any bias and improve certain things that would impact his business.

LEARN ABOUT:   Workforce Planning Model

Case study research

Case study research is one of the most important in business research. It is also used as marketing collateral by most businesses to land up more clients. Case study research is conducted to assess customer satisfaction and document the challenges that were faced and the solutions that the firm gave them.

These inferences are made to point out the benefits that the customer enjoyed for choosing their specific firm. Such research is widely used in other fields like education, social sciences, and similar. Case studies are provided by businesses to new clients to showcase their capabilities, and hence such research plays a crucial role in the business sector.

For example: A services company has provided a testing solution to one of its clients. A case study research is conducted to find out what were the challenges faced during the project, what was the scope of their work, what objective was to be achieved, and what solutions were given to tackle the challenges.

The study can end with the benefits that the company provided through its solutions, like reduced time to test batches, easy implementation or integration of the system, or even cost reduction. Such a study showcases the capability of the company, and hence it can be stated as empirical evidence of the new prospect.

Website visitor profiling/research

Website intercept surveys or website visitor profiling/research is something new that has come up and is quite helpful in the business sector. It is an innovative approach to collect direct feedback from your website visitors using surveys. In recent times a lot of business generation happens online, and hence it is important to understand the visitors of your website as they are your potential customers.

Collecting feedback is critical to any business, as without understanding a customer, no business can be successful. A company has to keep its customers satisfied and try to make them loyal customers in order to stay on top.

A website intercept survey is an online survey that allows you to target visitors to understand their intent and collect feedback to evaluate the customers’ online experience. Information like visitor intention, behavior path, and satisfaction with the overall website can be collected using this.

Depending on what information a company is looking for, multiple forms of website intercept surveys can be used to gather responses. Some of the popular ones are Pop-ups, also called Modal boxes, and on-page surveys.

For example: A prospective customer is looking for a particular product that a company is selling. Once he is directed to the website, an intercept survey will start noting his intent and path. Once the transaction has been made, a pop-up or an on-page survey is provided to the customer to rate the website.

Such research enables the researcher to put this data to good use and hence understand the customers’ intent and path and improve any parts of the website depending on the responses, which in turn would lead to satisfied customers and hence, higher revenues and market share.

LEARN ABOUT: Qualitative Research Questions and Questionnaires

• Business research helps to identify opportunities and threats.
• It helps identify research problems , and using this information, wise decisions can be made to tackle the issue appropriately.
• It helps to understand customers better and hence can be useful to communicate better with the customers or stakeholders.
• Risks and uncertainties can be minimized by conducting business research in advance.
• Financial outcomes and investments that will be needed can be planned effectively using business research.
• Such research can help track competition in the business sector.
• Business research can enable a company to make wise decisions as to where to spend and how much.
• Business research can enable a company to stay up-to-date with the market and its trends, and appropriate innovations can be made to stay ahead in the game.
• Business research helps to measure reputation management
• Business research can be a high-cost affair
• Most of the time, business research is based on assumptions
• Business research can be time-consuming
• Business research can sometimes give you inaccurate information because of a biased population or a small focus group.
• Business research results can quickly become obsolete because of the fast-changing markets

Business research is one of the most effective ways to understand customers, the market, and competitors. Such research helps companies to understand the demand and supply of the market. Using such research will help businesses reduce costs and create solutions or products that are targeted to the demand in the market and the correct audience.

In-house business research can enable senior management to build an effective team or train or mentor when needed. Business research enables the company to track its competitors and hence can give you the upper hand to stay ahead of them.

Failures can be avoided by conducting such research as it can give the researcher an idea if the time is right to launch its product/solution and also if the audience is right. It will help understand the brand value and measure customer satisfaction which is essential to continuously innovate and meet customer demands.

This will help the company grow its revenue and market share. Business research also helps recruit ideal candidates for various roles in the company. By conducting such research, a company can carry out a SWOT analysis , i.e. understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. With the help of this information, wise decisions can be made to ensure business success.

LEARN ABOUT:  Market research industry

Business research is the first step that any business owner needs to set up his business to survive or to excel in the market. The main reason why such research is of utmost importance is that it helps businesses to grow in terms of revenue, market share, and brand value.

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Home » Purpose of Research – Objectives and Applications

Purpose of Research – Objectives and Applications

Table of Contents

Purpose of Research

Definition:

The purpose of research is to systematically investigate and gather information on a particular topic or issue, with the aim of answering questions, solving problems, or advancing knowledge.

The purpose of research can vary depending on the field of study, the research question, and the intended audience. In general, research can be used to:

• Generate new knowledge and theories
• Test existing theories or hypotheses
• Identify trends or patterns
• Gather information for decision-making
• Evaluate the effectiveness of programs, policies, or interventions
• Develop new technologies or products
• Identify new opportunities or areas for further study.

Objectives of Research

The objectives of research may vary depending on the field of study and the specific research question being investigated. However, some common objectives of research include:

• To explore and describe a phenomenon: Research can be conducted to describe and understand a phenomenon or situation in greater detail.
• To test a hypothesis or theory : Research can be used to test a specific hypothesis or theory by collecting and analyzing data.
• To identify patterns or trends: Research can be conducted to identify patterns or trends in data, which can provide insights into the behavior of a system or population.
• To evaluate a program or intervention: Research can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a program or intervention, such as a new drug or educational intervention.
• To develop new knowledge or technology : Research can be conducted to develop new knowledge or technologies that can be applied to solve practical problems.
• To inform policy decisions: Research can provide evidence to inform policy decisions and improve public policy.
• To improve existing knowledge: Research can be conducted to improve existing knowledge and fill gaps in the current understanding of a topic.

Applications of Research

Research has a wide range of applications across various fields and industries. Here are some examples:

• Medicine : Research is critical in developing new treatments and drugs for diseases. Researchers conduct clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of new medications and therapies. They also study the underlying causes of diseases to find new ways to prevent or treat them.
• Technology : Research is crucial in developing new technologies and improving existing ones. Researchers work to develop new software, hardware, and other technological innovations that can be used in various industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and telecommunications.
• Education : Research is essential in the field of education to develop new teaching methods and strategies. Researchers conduct studies to determine the effectiveness of various educational approaches and to identify factors that influence student learning.
• Business : Research is critical in helping businesses make informed decisions. Market research can help businesses understand their target audience and identify trends in the market. Research can also help businesses improve their products and services.
• Environmental Science : Research is crucial in the field of environmental science to understand the impact of human activities on the environment. Researchers conduct studies to identify ways to reduce pollution, protect natural resources, and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Goal of Research

The ultimate goal of research is to advance our understanding of the world and to contribute to the development of new theories, ideas, and technologies that can be used to improve our lives. Some more common Goals are follows:

• Explore and discover new knowledge : Research can help uncover new information and insights that were previously unknown.
• Test hypotheses and theories : Research can be used to test and validate theories and hypotheses, allowing researchers to refine and develop their ideas.
• Solve practical problems: Research can be used to identify solutions to real-world problems and to inform policy and decision-making.
• Improve understanding : Research can help improve our understanding of complex phenomena and systems, such as the human body, the natural world, and social systems.
• Develop new technologies and innovations : Research can lead to the development of new technologies, products, and innovations that can improve our lives and society.
• Contribute to the development of academic fields : Research can help advance academic fields by expanding our knowledge and understanding of important topics and areas of inquiry.

Importance of Research

The importance of research lies in its ability to generate new knowledge and insights, to test existing theories and ideas, and to solve practical problems.

Some of the key reasons why research is important are:

• Advancing knowledge: Research is essential for advancing knowledge and understanding in various fields. It enables us to explore and discover new concepts, ideas, and phenomena that can contribute to scientific and technological progress.
• Solving problems : Research can help identify and solve practical problems and challenges in various domains, such as health care, agriculture, engineering, and social policy.
• Innovation : Research is a critical driver of innovation, as it enables the development of new products, services, and technologies that can improve people’s lives and contribute to economic growth.
• Evidence-based decision-making : Research provides evidence and data that can inform decision-making in various fields, such as policy-making, business strategy, and healthcare.
• Personal and professional development : Engaging in research can also contribute to personal and professional development, as it requires critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills.

When to use Research

Research should be used in situations where there is a need to gather new information, test existing theories, or solve problems. Some common scenarios where research is often used include:

• Scientific inquiry : Research is essential for advancing scientific knowledge and understanding, and for exploring new concepts, theories, and phenomena.
• Business and market analysis: Research is critical for businesses to gather data and insights about the market, customer preferences, and competition, to inform decision-making and strategy development.
• Social policy and public administration: Research is often used in social policy and public administration to evaluate the effectiveness of programs and policies, and to identify areas where improvements are needed.
• Healthcare: Research is essential in healthcare to develop new treatments, improve existing ones, and to understand the causes and mechanisms of diseases.
• Education : Research is critical in education to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching methods and programs, and to develop new approaches to learning.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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• What is Business Research: Methods, Types & Examples

Defne Çobanoğlu

Every business owner wants their company always to be successful and profitable. And even if you have a successful business plan, that does not mean things will not need changing in the future. And trial and error may not be on the table when you can not afford to lose money and precious customers. Therefore, you need to be cautious before taking any steps and do your research . 

In this article, we explained business research, its methods, and types to help business owners and inform those interested to know more. We also added some examples of scenarios any company may face. Let us get started with the definition of business research!

• What is business research?

Business research is a type of research process where the main goal is to help a company thrive and collect data about the target audience, potential business plans, and marketing strategies . The data collection about possible risks and investment opportunities helps business owners make informed decisions about future plans. 

The fields that can use business research include marketing, business, education, and social science . But of course, they are not the only ones that can benefit from business research. It is a helpful research type for all business needs. Now, let us see how we can further categorize this into methods and types of business research.

• Methods and types of business research

Business research methods and types

In business research methodology, there are two main types. These are quantitative research and qualitative research. In the simplest terms, quantitative research is about collecting numerical and factual data, whereas qualitative research is about collecting data by using open-ended questions . These two methods can be divided into more specific parts. Let us get started with quantitative research methods.

• A. Quantitative Research Methods

Quantitative research methods give the researchers factual and numerical evidence that can be effectively used in decision-making processes. There are numerous ways to collect quantitative data, and it is also possible to use more than one method to prove the credibility of the information. Let us start with the first one:

• 1. Survey research

Surveys are a great way to collect information from a targeted group, no matter how big or small. They can be done in the format of an online survey, phone survey or questionnaire . Surveys are usually close-ended or multiple-choice questions that are easy to group and analyze. The business doing the research can collect valuable information directly from its customers.

• 2. Correlational research

Correlational research focuses on the discovery of whether two different entities influence each other in any way. The main focus of this research method is not to make decisions. But rather, they can use the findings to explore further using other research methods.

• 3. Causal-comparative research

Causal-comparative research is similar to correlational research in that both of them compare two different elements and how they affect each other. But the main difference is that fact the focus of this research method is to draw conclusions on the cause-and-effect relationship of said entities.

• 4. Experimental research

Experimental research has a broad spectrum when it comes to what is taken as ‘experimental’. Basically, it is when businesses want to test a specific theory about the quality of a product or service. There are many methods that can be used, and it is decided by the researcher according to the theory that will be tested.

• 5. Literature research

Literature research is a very effective and economical research method to use. It is about using offline and online existing literature and going through them to analyze the data. It is mostly used in sales about consumer behaviors.

• B. Qualitative Research Methods

Qualitative research is not about numbers like quantitative research. Instead, it is about emotions, opinions, and approaches. The target audience can be presented with a topic through open-ended questions. There is more than one method to go with, and it is even possible to use multiple methods at once. Let us see qualitative research methods: 

• 1. Interviews

The interview method is mostly done on a smaller participant group about a specific subject. They consist of open-ended questions and can be in a structured or unstructured format. Interviews are one-on-one questions asked to the target audience to gain insight into the problem . 

• 2. Focus Groups

A focus group is a pre-determined group of individuals who are chosen to participate in a study to answer specific questions. The researchers present them with a topic and encourage discussions with open-ended questions . Then, the findings are generalized to make decisions.

• 3. Ethnographic Research

Ethnographic research is similar to conceptual research, and its main focus is to understand the culture and people of the target audience by using observation . This method is done by observing the people in their natural environment and seeing how they interact with one another and their surroundings.

• 4. Case Study

Businesses generally use a case study method to showcase to potential consumers how their product or service helped a certain individual or a group . It is a good way to attract new customers. This method helps highlight the company’s skill sets and assets.

• 5. Website visitor research

This research method is relatively newer than others. Its main focus is to collect feedback from individuals who use the company website and ask them about their opinions. A business can use this method by presenting a customer with a quick survey after their purchase on the website . Afterward, the company can improve user satisfaction by fixing existing problems.

• Importance of business research

The reasons for conducting business research

Businesses grow by knowing their target market, potential customers, and competitors. And this is only possible by conducting market research to help make informed business decisions. The main goal of business research is to help stakeholders of the company make planned and informed decisions using the facts in the business research report. However, there are other reasons why business research is important. These are:

• Gathering information on customers: A business research report provides data on consumers’ behavioral changes, their needs, preferences, and expectations. The managers and stakeholders can make informed decisions with this knowledge.
• Performance evaluation: Research allows businesses to evaluate their success against industry standards and other competitors. This helps keep track while deciding how to differentiate themselves from others.
• Market expansion: Business research topics include areas that were not explored before. Therefore, when the business wants to expand to new markets, the research provides information on the market’s dynamics and potential risks and profits .
• Efficiency and cost-reduction: The data collected by business research helps identify any obstacles to productivity and cost excessiveness. That way, a more cost-effective and efficient approach can be taken.
• Business research examples

Business research helps business managers make smart plans for the company and its future. They can make informed decisions about new marketing strategies, building new products or service branches, or improving customer satisfaction . 

Business research example #1

Imagine a company making energy drinks wants to know if they can expand their market to the older part of the population. They do not know if they will be interested in their product or what kind of marketing strategies they can use to attract older people’s attention. They can make up a focus group and ask them about their opinions. The company can also conduct literature research to find out information about the competitors .

Business research example #2

Imagine a company that has a clothing store website wants to know if there is anything that makes shopping on their website difficult for customers. They can show a pop-up customer satisfaction survey and ask them if they can find what they are looking for easily and how the website visiting experience was. Then, they can collect customer feedback and see how they can improve their website to enhance customer satisfaction levels.

• Frequently asked questions about business research

What are the 4 stages of business research?

Much like every other research, business research is also best done when it is preplanned and organized. And there is a 4 stage plan of business research. These are:

1 - Defining the problem

2 - Designing the research plan

3 - Collecting data and making an analysis

4 - Reporting on the findings

What is the purpose of business research?

The purpose of business research is to make sense of the existing elements of a business, such as consumers, product placement, marketing, innovation, etc . And using the data collected on these elements to make informed decisions and create smart business strategies to improve the success of the company.

When to use business research?

Business research is best used when a new approach is taken or a new product is launched, and the risks need to be assessed. It is essential to be mindful of all the negative and positive sides of a new strategy without risking the entirety of the company.

• Final words

When you own a business, no matter how big or small, change can be intimidating. You can not go to new territories blindly. But, you can not stay the same either. In order to keep your existing customers and find new potential ones, you should be mindful of their habits and opinions. The best way of doing this is either to ask them directly ( using a survey, interviewing them, etc .) or to do your own research to draw conclusions.

In this article, we explained business research, quantitative and qualitative research methods, and business research types. We also included some examples of business research and what methods can be used for those problems. If you want to do your own business research but do not know where to start, you can check out quantitative research questions to get you started. Also, do not forget to check out other articles on research and so much more!

Defne is a content writer at forms.app. She is also a translator specializing in literary translation. Defne loves reading, writing, and translating professionally and as a hobby. Her expertise lies in survey research, research methodologies, content writing, and translation.

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Business research: definition, types & methods.

10 min read What is business research and why does it matter? Here are some of the ways business research can be helpful to your company, whichever method you choose to carry it out.

What is business research?

Business research helps companies make better business decisions by gathering information. The scope of the term business research is quite broad – it acts as an umbrella that covers every aspect of business, from finances to advertising creative. It can include research methods which help a company better understand its target market. It could focus on customer experience and assess customer satisfaction levels. Or it could involve sizing up the competition through competitor research.

Often when carrying out business research, companies are looking at their own data, sourced from their employees, their customers and their business records. However, business researchers can go beyond their own company in order to collect relevant information and understand patterns that may help leaders make informed decisions. For example, a business may carry out ethnographic research where the participants are studied in the context of their everyday lives, rather than just in their role as consumer, or look at secondary data sources such as open access public records and empirical research carried out in academic studies.

There is also a body of knowledge about business in general that can be mined for business research purposes. For example organizational theory and general studies on consumer behavior.

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Why is business research important?

We live in a time of high speed technological progress and hyper-connectedness. Customers have an entire market at their fingertips and can easily switch brands if a competitor is offering something better than you are. At the same time, the world of business has evolved to the point of near-saturation. It’s hard to think of a need that hasn’t been addressed by someone’s innovative product or service.

The combination of ease of switching, high consumer awareness and a super-evolved marketplace crowded with companies and their offerings means that businesses must do whatever they can to find and maintain an edge. Business research is one of the most useful weapons in the fight against business obscurity, since it allows companies to gain a deep understanding of buyer behavior and stay up to date at all times with detailed information on their market.

Thanks to the standard of modern business research tools and methods, it’s now possible for business analysts to track the intricate relationships between competitors, financial markets, social trends, geopolitical changes, world events, and more.

Find out how to conduct your own market research and make use of existing market research data with our Ultimate guide to market research

Types of business research

Business research methods vary widely, but they can be grouped into two broad categories – qualitative research and quantitative research .

Qualitative research methods

Qualitative business research deals with non-numerical data such as people’s thoughts, feelings and opinions. It relies heavily on the observations of researchers, who collect data from a relatively small number of participants – often through direct interactions.

Qualitative research interviews take place one-on-one between a researcher and participant. In a business context, the participant might be a customer, a supplier, an employee or other stakeholder. Using open-ended questions , the researcher conducts the interview in either a structured or unstructured format. Structured interviews stick closely to a question list and scripted phrases, while unstructured interviews are more conversational and exploratory. As well as listening to the participant’s responses, the interviewer will observe non-verbal information such as posture, tone of voice and facial expression.

Focus groups

Like the qualitative interview, a focus group is a form of business research that uses direct interaction between the researcher and participants to collect data. In focus groups , a small number of participants (usually around 10) take part in a group discussion led by a researcher who acts as moderator. The researcher asks questions and takes note of the responses, as in a qualitative research interview. Sampling for focus groups is usually purposive rather than random, so that the group members represent varied points of view.

Observational studies

In an observational study, the researcher may not directly interact with participants at all, but will pay attention to practical situations, such as a busy sales floor full of potential customers, or a conference for some relevant business activity. They will hear people speak and watch their interactions , then record relevant data such as behavior patterns that relate to the subject they are interested in. Observational studies can be classified as a type of ethnographic research. They can be used to gain insight about a company’s target audience in their everyday lives, or study employee behaviors in actual business situations.

Ethnographic Research

Ethnographic research is an immersive design of research where one observes peoples’ behavior in their natural environment. Ethnography was most commonly found in the anthropology field and is now practices across a wide range of social sciences.

Ehnography is used to support a designer’s deeper understanding of the design problem – including the relevant domain, audience(s), processes, goals and context(s) of use.

The ethnographic research process is a popular methodology used in the software development lifecycle. It helps create better UI/UX flow based on the real needs of the end-users.

If you truly want to understand your customers’ needs, wants, desires, pain-points “walking a mile” in their shoes enables this. Ethnographic research is this deeply rooted part of research where you truly learn your targe audiences’ problem to craft the perfect solution.

Case study research

A case study is a detailed piece of research that provides in depth knowledge about a specific person, place or organization. In the context of business research, case study research might focus on organizational dynamics or company culture in an actual business setting, and case studies have been used to develop new theories about how businesses operate. Proponents of case study research feel that it adds significant value in making theoretical and empirical advances. However its detractors point out that it can be time consuming and expensive, requiring highly skilled researchers to carry it out.

Quantitative research methods

Quantitative research focuses on countable data that is objective in nature. It relies on finding the patterns and relationships that emerge from mass data – for example by analyzing the material posted on social media platforms, or via surveys of the target audience. Data collected through quantitative methods is empirical in nature and can be analyzed using statistical techniques. Unlike qualitative approaches, a quantitative research method is usually reliant on finding the right sample size, as this will determine whether the results are representative. These are just a few methods – there are many more.

Surveys are one of the most effective ways to conduct business research. They use a highly structured questionnaire which is distributed to participants, typically online (although in the past, face to face and telephone surveys were widely used). The questions are predominantly closed-ended, limiting the range of responses so that they can be grouped and analyzed at scale using statistical tools. However surveys can also be used to get a better understanding of the pain points customers face by providing open field responses where they can express themselves in their own words. Both types of data can be captured on the same questionnaire, which offers efficiency of time and cost to the researcher.

Correlational research

Correlational research looks at the relationship between two entities, neither of which are manipulated by the researcher. For example, this might be the in-store sales of a certain product line and the proportion of female customers subscribed to a mailing list. Using statistical analysis methods, researchers can determine the strength of the correlation and even discover intricate relationships between the two variables. Compared with simple observation and intuition, correlation may identify further information about business activity and its impact, pointing the way towards potential improvements and more revenue.

Experimental research

It may sound like something that is strictly for scientists, but experimental research is used by both businesses and scholars alike. When conducted as part of the business intelligence process, experimental research is used to test different tactics to see which ones are most successful – for example one marketing approach versus another. In the simplest form of experimental research, the researcher identifies a dependent variable and an independent variable. The hypothesis is that the independent variable has no effect on the dependent variable, and the researcher will change the independent one to test this assumption. In a business context, the hypothesis might be that price has no relationship to customer satisfaction. The researcher manipulates the price and observes the C-Sat scores to see if there’s an effect.

The best tools for business research

You can make the business research process much quicker and more efficient by selecting the right tools. Business research methods like surveys and interviews demand tools and technologies that can store vast quantities of data while making them easy to access and navigate. If your system can also carry out statistical analysis, and provide predictive recommendations to help you with your business decisions, so much the better.

Related resources

Mixed methods research 17 min read, market intelligence 10 min read, marketing insights 11 min read, ethnographic research 11 min read, qualitative vs quantitative research 13 min read, qualitative research questions 11 min read, qualitative research design 12 min read, request demo.

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Nature, Scope, and Significance of Business Research

Business research is a systematic process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data to solve business problems and make strategic decisions. It serves various fields such as market research, financial analysis, consumer behavior, and competitive analysis. The primary goal of business research is to provide actionable insights that can help businesses improve their performance, identify opportunities, and reduce risks. In this blog, we will explore the scope and methodology of business research, and how it benefits both local and global businesses. Finally, we will highlight why Insights Opinion is one of the big market research firms .

What is Business Research

Business research is like being a detective for your business. Here is what it usually involves:

• Finding Information:  This is about collecting all sorts of details. Look at how many things you sell, what your customers think, or what similar businesses do. It is like gathering clues – you could check your own sales records, ask customers for feedback, or read reports about your industry.
• Understanding the Information:  Once you have all this information, you must figure out what it tells you. For example, you might see that people buy more from you at certain times of the year or that they like one of your products more than others.
• Telling Others What You Found:  After figuring things out, you need to explain it to the people who make decisions in your business. This could be through writing a report, giving a presentation, or having a chat about your findings.

Benefits of Business Research

By understanding market trends, customer behavior, and other critical factors, businesses can make better decisions, optimize their strategies, and achieve their goals. Here are some major benefits of business research :

Informed Decision Making:  Business research provides accurate and reliable data, enabling managers to make well-informed decisions.

Market Understanding:  It helps businesses understand market dynamics, customer preferences, and emerging trends.

Risk Reduction:  By identifying potential risks and challenges, business research allows companies to take proactive measures.

Competitive Advantage:  Businesses can gain a competitive edge by understanding their competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.

Strategic Planning:  Research insights help in formulating effective strategies and long-term plans .

Scope of Business Research

The scope of research is vast and includes various aspects of a business. It can be broadly categorized into the following areas:

Market Research:  Market research involves collecting and analyzing data about market conditions, customer preferences, and buying behaviors. It helps businesses identify new market opportunities , understand customer needs, and develop effective marketing strategies.

Product Research:  Product research focuses on evaluating the feasibility, design, and performance of new products or services. It involves testing product concepts, assessing market demand, and gathering customer feedback.

Financial Research:  Financial research involves analyzing financial data to evaluate the financial health of a business. It includes budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning to ensure the company’s profitability and sustainability.

Consumer Research:  Consumer research aims to understand consumer behavior, preferences, and satisfaction levels. It helps businesses tailor their products and services to meet customer expectations.

Competitive Analysis:  Competitive analysis involves studying competitors to understand their strategies, strengths, and weaknesses. It helps businesses develop strategies to gain a competitive advantage.

Operational Research:  Operational research focuses on improving business processes and operations. It involves analyzing workflows, identifying inefficiencies, and implementing solutions to enhance productivity.

Business Research Methodology

The business research methodology involves a systematic process that includes several key steps:

Problem Identification:  The first step in business research is identifying the problem or issue that needs to be addressed. This involves defining the research objectives and determining the scope of the study.

Research Design:  In this step, researchers develop a plan or framework for conducting the research. This includes selecting the research method (qualitative or quantitative), determining the sample size, and choosing data collection techniques.

Data Collection:  Data collection involves gathering relevant information from various sources. This can be done through surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation, and secondary data sources such as company records and industry reports.

Data Analysis:  Once the data is collected, it is analyzed using statistical tools and techniques.: This step involves organizing the data, identifying patterns, and interpreting the results.

Reporting and Presentation:  The final step is presenting the research findings in a clear and concise manner. This includes preparing reports, charts, and presentations that summarize the key insights and recommendations .

Business Research for Local and Global Businesses

Business research is essential for both local and global businesses. It helps them understand their respective markets and make informed decisions.

Local Businesses:  For local businesses, research focuses on understanding the local market dynamics, customer preferences, and competitive landscape. This includes analyzing local trends, conducting surveys, and gathering feedback from customers.

Global Businesses:  For global businesses, research involves a more extensive analysis of international markets. This includes studying global trends, understanding cultural differences, and evaluating the economic and political environment in different countries.

Why Choose Insights Opinion for Business Research

Insights Opinion is a big market research company that offers comprehensive business research services. Whether you are a local business looking to understand your market better or a global enterprise seeking to expand into new territories, Insights Opinion provides the expertise and resources you need. Our team of experienced researchers uses advanced methodologies to deliver actionable insights that drive business growth. Choose Insights Opinion for your business research needs and make data-driven decisions that propel your business forward. Trust us to provide the best market research services and help you achieve your business objectives.

What is business research?

Ans.  Business research involves gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data to solve business problems and make informed decisions.

What are the main benefits of business research?

Ans.  Business research helps in making informed decisions, understanding market trends, reducing risks, gaining competitive advantage, and planning effective strategies.

How is business research conducted?

Ans.  Business research is conducted through a systematic process that includes problem identification, research design, data collection, data analysis, and reporting.

Can business research help both local and global businesses?

Ans.  Yes, business research helps local businesses understand their market and global businesses analyze international trends and cultural differences for better decision-making.

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Article contents

Business research process.

• James A. Muncy James A. Muncy Marketing, Bradley University
• , and  Alice M. Muncy Alice M. Muncy Accounting, Baylor University
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190224851.013.215
• Published online: 27 October 2020

Business research is conducted by both businesspeople, who have informational needs, and scholars, whose field of study is business. Though some of the specifics as to how research is conducted differs between scholarly research and applied research, the general process they follow is the same. Business research is conducted in five stages. The first stage is problem formation where the objectives of the research are established. The second stage is research design . In this stage, the researcher identifies the variables of interest and possible relationships among those variables, decides on the appropriate data source and measurement approach, and plans the sampling methodology. It is also within the research design stage that the role that time will play in the study is determined. The third stage is data collection . Researchers must decide whether to outsource the data collection process or collect the data themselves. Also, data quality issues must be addressed in the collection of the data. The fourth stage is data analysis . The data must be prepared and cleaned. Statistical packages or programs such as SAS, SPSS, STATA, and R are used to analyze quantitative data. In the cases of qualitative data, coding, artificial intelligence, and/or interpretive analysis is employed. The fifth stage is the presentation of results . In applied business research, the results are typically limited in their distribution and they must be addressed to the immediate problem at hand. In scholarly business research, the results are intended to be widely distributed through journals, books, and conferences. As a means of quality control, scholarly research usually goes through a double-blind review process before it is published.

• business research
• research design
• scholarly research
• applied research
• data collection
• data analysis
• data quality

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Business Research: It’s Meaning, Process and Objectives

Meaning of business research.

Business research is the process of studying a company’s competitors, stakeholders, and profit & loss to meet the company objectives and maximize revenue & profits. 

The research should be unbiased and factual as they form the basis for further analysis. 

Thus, business research is purely the collection and interpretation of external as well as internal data for a company’s better performance.

Objectives of Business Research

Understanding customer requirements, defining stakeholders.

Business research helps to differentiate between potential and non-potential customers. This way the company can quantify its market reach and conduct surveys amongst some of its customers related to their tastes and type. This will help them gain feedback from their customers which they can add back as features in their products! 

Pain & Gain Points

Rival study.

The strength of a company is a threat to its competitor and the weakness of a company is the opportunity of its competitor. Therefore, the company should analyze its threats i.e., make an in-depth study of its competitors and, thus brainstorm different ways in which it can convert its threats into opportunities.

Scope of Business Research

Moreover, the scope of business research is not only restricted to the product market. It also plays a crucial role in personnel management and workforce development. Research made for employee motivation, grooming, training, and promotion inculcates more coordination in the organization and also nurtures productivity amongst employees. 

Nature of Business Research

Process of business research, identification of challenge.

The first and foremost task of every research is to set an objective by defining what are the prevalent problems in the marketplace and how a company can tackle them. 

Creating Research Proposal

Execution of research.

Once the plan is made and the research proposal is developed, the company can toss alternative ways they can execute the research. The company can forward with research by random sampling (mass media survey) or can rely on previously collected data too. 

Interpretation of Data

Action plan, related posts:, add commercemates to your homescreen.

Introduction to Business Research

• First Online: 01 January 2013

Cite this chapter

• S. Sreejesh 4 ,
• Sanjay Mohapatra 5 &
• M. R. Anusree 6  

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In the present fast track business environment marked by cut-throat competition, many organizations rely on business research to gain a competitive advantage and greater market share. A good research study helps organizations to understand processes, products, customers, markets and competition, to develop policies, strategies and tactics that are most likely to succeed.

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A Roadmap to Business Research

Understanding the Process of Empirical Business Studies: The Influence of Methodological Approaches

The use of experiments in business research, author information, authors and affiliations.

IBS Hyderabad, IFHE University, Hyderabad, 501504, India

S. Sreejesh

Xavier Institute of Management, Xavier Road, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, 751013, India

Sanjay Mohapatra

Department of Statistics, University of Kerala, Trivandrum, Kerala, 695581, India

M. R. Anusree

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Correspondence to S. Sreejesh .

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Sreejesh, S., Mohapatra, S., Anusree, M.R. (2014). Introduction to Business Research. In: Business Research Methods. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00539-3_1

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Research Aims, Objectives & Questions

By: David Phair (PhD) and Alexandra Shaeffer (PhD) | June 2022

T he research aims , objectives and research questions (collectively called the “golden thread”) are arguably the most important thing you need to get right when you’re crafting a research proposal , dissertation or thesis . We receive questions almost every day about this “holy trinity” of research and there’s certainly a lot of confusion out there, so we’ve crafted this post to help you navigate your way through the fog.

Overview: The Golden Thread

• What is the golden thread
• What are research aims ( examples )
• What are research objectives ( examples )
• What are research questions ( examples )
• The importance of alignment in the golden thread

What is the “golden thread”?

The golden thread simply refers to the collective research aims , research objectives , and research questions for any given project (i.e., a dissertation, thesis, or research paper ). These three elements are bundled together because it’s extremely important that they align with each other, and that the entire research project aligns with them.

Importantly, the golden thread needs to weave its way through the entirety of any research project , from start to end. In other words, it needs to be very clearly defined right at the beginning of the project (the topic ideation and proposal stage) and it needs to inform almost every decision throughout the rest of the project. For example, your research design and methodology will be heavily influenced by the golden thread (we’ll explain this in more detail later), as well as your literature review.

The research aims, objectives and research questions (the golden thread) define the focus and scope ( the delimitations ) of your research project. In other words, they help ringfence your dissertation or thesis to a relatively narrow domain, so that you can “go deep” and really dig into a specific problem or opportunity. They also help keep you on track , as they act as a litmus test for relevance. In other words, if you’re ever unsure whether to include something in your document, simply ask yourself the question, “does this contribute toward my research aims, objectives or questions?”. If it doesn’t, chances are you can drop it.

Alright, enough of the fluffy, conceptual stuff. Let’s get down to business and look at what exactly the research aims, objectives and questions are and outline a few examples to bring these concepts to life.

Research Aims: What are they?

Simply put, the research aim(s) is a statement that reflects the broad overarching goal (s) of the research project. Research aims are fairly high-level (low resolution) as they outline the general direction of the research and what it’s trying to achieve .

Research Aims: Examples

True to the name, research aims usually start with the wording “this research aims to…”, “this research seeks to…”, and so on. For example:

“This research aims to explore employee experiences of digital transformation in retail HR.”   “This study sets out to assess the interaction between student support and self-care on well-being in engineering graduate students”  

As you can see, these research aims provide a high-level description of what the study is about and what it seeks to achieve. They’re not hyper-specific or action-oriented, but they’re clear about what the study’s focus is and what is being investigated.

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Research Objectives: What are they?

The research objectives take the research aims and make them more practical and actionable . In other words, the research objectives showcase the steps that the researcher will take to achieve the research aims.

The research objectives need to be far more specific (higher resolution) and actionable than the research aims. In fact, it’s always a good idea to craft your research objectives using the “SMART” criteria. In other words, they should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound”.

Research Objectives: Examples

Let’s look at two examples of research objectives. We’ll stick with the topic and research aims we mentioned previously.  

For the digital transformation topic:

To observe the retail HR employees throughout the digital transformation. To assess employee perceptions of digital transformation in retail HR. To identify the barriers and facilitators of digital transformation in retail HR.

And for the student wellness topic:

To determine whether student self-care predicts the well-being score of engineering graduate students. To determine whether student support predicts the well-being score of engineering students. To assess the interaction between student self-care and student support when predicting well-being in engineering graduate students.

  As you can see, these research objectives clearly align with the previously mentioned research aims and effectively translate the low-resolution aims into (comparatively) higher-resolution objectives and action points . They give the research project a clear focus and present something that resembles a research-based “to-do” list.

Research Questions: What are they?

Finally, we arrive at the all-important research questions. The research questions are, as the name suggests, the key questions that your study will seek to answer . Simply put, they are the core purpose of your dissertation, thesis, or research project. You’ll present them at the beginning of your document (either in the introduction chapter or literature review chapter) and you’ll answer them at the end of your document (typically in the discussion and conclusion chapters).

The research questions will be the driving force throughout the research process. For example, in the literature review chapter, you’ll assess the relevance of any given resource based on whether it helps you move towards answering your research questions. Similarly, your methodology and research design will be heavily influenced by the nature of your research questions. For instance, research questions that are exploratory in nature will usually make use of a qualitative approach, whereas questions that relate to measurement or relationship testing will make use of a quantitative approach.  

Let’s look at some examples of research questions to make this more tangible.

Research Questions: Examples 

Again, we’ll stick with the research aims and research objectives we mentioned previously.  

For the digital transformation topic (which would be qualitative in nature):

How do employees perceive digital transformation in retail HR? What are the barriers and facilitators of digital transformation in retail HR?  

And for the student wellness topic (which would be quantitative in nature):

Does student self-care predict the well-being scores of engineering graduate students? Does student support predict the well-being scores of engineering students? Do student self-care and student support interact when predicting well-being in engineering graduate students?  

You’ll probably notice that there’s quite a formulaic approach to this. In other words, the research questions are basically the research objectives “converted” into question format. While that is true most of the time, it’s not always the case. For example, the first research objective for the digital transformation topic was more or less a step on the path toward the other objectives, and as such, it didn’t warrant its own research question.

So, don’t rush your research questions and sloppily reword your objectives as questions. Carefully think about what exactly you’re trying to achieve (i.e. your research aim) and the objectives you’ve set out, then craft a set of well-aligned research questions . Also, keep in mind that this can be a somewhat iterative process , where you go back and tweak research objectives and aims to ensure tight alignment throughout the golden thread.

The importance of strong alignment

Alignment is the keyword here and we have to stress its importance . Simply put, you need to make sure that there is a very tight alignment between all three pieces of the golden thread. If your research aims and research questions don’t align, for example, your project will be pulling in different directions and will lack focus . This is a common problem students face and can cause many headaches (and tears), so be warned.

Take the time to carefully craft your research aims, objectives and research questions before you run off down the research path. Ideally, get your research supervisor/advisor to review and comment on your golden thread before you invest significant time into your project, and certainly before you start collecting data .  

Recap: The golden thread

In this post, we unpacked the golden thread of research, consisting of the research aims , research objectives and research questions . You can jump back to any section using the links below.

As always, feel free to leave a comment below – we always love to hear from you. Also, if you’re interested in 1-on-1 support, take a look at our private coaching service here.

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41 Comments

Thank you very much for your great effort put. As an Undergraduate taking Demographic Research & Methodology, I’ve been trying so hard to understand clearly what is a Research Question, Research Aim and the Objectives in a research and the relationship between them etc. But as for now I’m thankful that you’ve solved my problem.

Well appreciated. This has helped me greatly in doing my dissertation.

An so delighted with this wonderful information thank you a lot.

so impressive i have benefited a lot looking forward to learn more on research.

I am very happy to have carefully gone through this well researched article.

Infact,I used to be phobia about anything research, because of my poor understanding of the concepts.

Now,I get to know that my research question is the same as my research objective(s) rephrased in question format.

I please I would need a follow up on the subject,as I intends to join the team of researchers. Thanks once again.

Thanks so much. This was really helpful.

I know you pepole have tried to break things into more understandable and easy format. And God bless you. Keep it up

i found this document so useful towards my study in research methods. thanks so much.

This is my 2nd read topic in your course and I should commend the simplified explanations of each part. I’m beginning to understand and absorb the use of each part of a dissertation/thesis. I’ll keep on reading your free course and might be able to avail the training course! Kudos!

Thank you! Better put that my lecture and helped to easily understand the basics which I feel often get brushed over when beginning dissertation work.

This is quite helpful. I like how the Golden thread has been explained and the needed alignment.

This is quite helpful. I really appreciate!

The article made it simple for researcher students to differentiate between three concepts.

Very innovative and educational in approach to conducting research.

I am very impressed with all these terminology, as I am a fresh student for post graduate, I am highly guided and I promised to continue making consultation when the need arise. Thanks a lot.

A very helpful piece. thanks, I really appreciate it .

Very well explained, and it might be helpful to many people like me.

Wish i had found this (and other) resource(s) at the beginning of my PhD journey… not in my writing up year… 😩 Anyways… just a quick question as i’m having some issues ordering my “golden thread”…. does it matter in what order you mention them? i.e., is it always first aims, then objectives, and finally the questions? or can you first mention the research questions and then the aims and objectives?

Thank you for a very simple explanation that builds upon the concepts in a very logical manner. Just prior to this, I read the research hypothesis article, which was equally very good. This met my primary objective.

My secondary objective was to understand the difference between research questions and research hypothesis, and in which context to use which one. However, I am still not clear on this. Can you kindly please guide?

In research, a research question is a clear and specific inquiry that the researcher wants to answer, while a research hypothesis is a tentative statement or prediction about the relationship between variables or the expected outcome of the study. Research questions are broader and guide the overall study, while hypotheses are specific and testable statements used in quantitative research. Research questions identify the problem, while hypotheses provide a focus for testing in the study.

Exactly what I need in this research journey, I look forward to more of your coaching videos.

This helped a lot. Thanks so much for the effort put into explaining it.

What data source in writing dissertation/Thesis requires?

What is data source covers when writing dessertation/thesis

This is quite useful thanks

I’m excited and thankful. I got so much value which will help me progress in my thesis.

where are the locations of the reserch statement, research objective and research question in a reserach paper? Can you write an ouline that defines their places in the researh paper?

Very helpful and important tips on Aims, Objectives and Questions.

Thank you so much for making research aim, research objectives and research question so clear. This will be helpful to me as i continue with my thesis.

Thanks much for this content. I learned a lot. And I am inspired to learn more. I am still struggling with my preparation for dissertation outline/proposal. But I consistently follow contents and tutorials and the new FB of GRAD Coach. Hope to really become confident in writing my dissertation and successfully defend it.

As a researcher and lecturer, I find splitting research goals into research aims, objectives, and questions is unnecessarily bureaucratic and confusing for students. For most biomedical research projects, including ‘real research’, 1-3 research questions will suffice (numbers may differ by discipline).

Awesome! Very important resources and presented in an informative way to easily understand the golden thread. Indeed, thank you so much.

Well explained

The blog article on research aims, objectives, and questions by Grad Coach is a clear and insightful guide that aligns with my experiences in academic research. The article effectively breaks down the often complex concepts of research aims and objectives, providing a straightforward and accessible explanation. Drawing from my own research endeavors, I appreciate the practical tips offered, such as the need for specificity and clarity when formulating research questions. The article serves as a valuable resource for students and researchers, offering a concise roadmap for crafting well-defined research goals and objectives. Whether you’re a novice or an experienced researcher, this article provides practical insights that contribute to the foundational aspects of a successful research endeavor.

A great thanks for you. it is really amazing explanation. I grasp a lot and one step up to research knowledge.

I really found these tips helpful. Thank you very much Grad Coach.

I found this article helpful. Thanks for sharing this.

thank you so much, the explanation and examples are really helpful

This is a well researched and superbly written article for learners of research methods at all levels in the research topic from conceptualization to research findings and conclusions. I highly recommend this material to university graduate students. As an instructor of advanced research methods for PhD students, I have confirmed that I was giving the right guidelines for the degree they are undertaking.

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Business Research: Types, Methods, Examples

• Updated on  
• Jan 29, 2024

Ever wondered what it takes to build a flourishing business ? Aiming to provide maximum sales and profit, business research helps you to gather comprehensive information about your business and accordingly make relevant changes if required. So, in this process of being successful, we gather all types of data to better define our strategies and understand what products or services customers want. And in case, you’re planning to expand your business, research can help you determine your odds of positive results. In this blog, we’ll help you understand the basics of research and analysis .

“Whoever gets closer to the customer, wins.” – Bernadette Jiwa

This Blog Includes:

What is business research, business research example, importance of business research, types & methods, focus groups , case study research , ethnographic research, survey , correlation research , experimental research , advantages and disadvantages of business research, scope of business research, role of business research, business research books, business research report, top 10 tools for business research, business research partners, top 10 business research topics, career prospects , [bonus] best mba colleges in the world.

Business Research can be simply defined as a process of gathering comprehensive data and information on all the areas of business and incorporating this information for sales and profit maximization. If you are wondering what is Business Research, it is a systematic management activity helping companies to determine which product will be most profitable for companies to produce. Also, there are multiple steps in conducting research, with each thoroughly reviewed to ensure that the best decision is made for the company as a whole.

Also Read: Scope of MBA in International Business

Let’s say there’s an automobile company that is planning to launch a car that runs on CNG. To promote cleaner fuel, the company will be involved in developing different plans and strategies to identify the demand for the car they intend to launch. Other than this, the company will also look for competitors, and the target audience, keeping in mind the distribution of CNG in India. Hence the research is conducted on various ideas to formulate a sustainable and more efficient design. 

When it comes to the question of why Business Research is important, it has an essential role to play in varied areas of business. Here are some of the reasons describing the importance of Business Research:

• It helps businesses gain better insights into their target customer’s preferences, buying patterns, pain points, as well as demographics.
• Business Research also provides businesses with a detailed overview of their target markets, what’s in trend, as well as market demand.
• By studying consumers’ buying patterns and preferences as well as market trends and demands with the help of business research, businesses can effectively and efficiently curate the best possible plans and strategies accordingly.
• The importance of business research also lies in highlighting the areas where unnecessary costs can be minimized and those areas in a business which need more attention and can bring in more customers and hence boost profits.
• Businesses can constantly innovate as per their customers’ preferences and interests and keep their attention on the brand.
• Business Research also plays the role of a catalyst as it helps businesses thrive in their markets by capturing all the available opportunities and also meeting the needs and preferences of their customers.

Also Read: Business Analyst vs Data Analyst

Business research plays an important role in the business intelligence process. This is usually conducted to determine if a company can succeed in a new region through competitive analyses and a better marketing approach. Due to this, this broad field has been distinguished into two types namely, Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research Method.

Here are the most important types of Business Research :

Qualitative Research Methods 

It involves putting open-ended questions to the audience through different channels of communication to understand why researchers think in a particular manner. Stress is laid on understanding the intent, attitude, and beliefs to figure out the behaviour and response of the customers. Moreover, the goal of Qualitative Business Research is to get in-depth knowledge about the subjects of the research. Moreover, qualitative research enables us to put the perspective of the consumer in front of the researcher so that we can understand and see the alignment of the ideas between the market and the business. 

The data collected in this type of business research is by the following methods:  

• Interviews 
• Case Study 
• Ethnographic Research 
• Website Visitor Profiling 
• Content Analysis 

Also Read: Study MBA in Music Business at Berklee College of Music!

Let us take a detailed look at some of the ways-

Interviews and surveys are similar. The only difference lies in the fact that the responder can put a question in an interview whilst it is not possible during a survey. Through interviews, it is easier to understand the detailed perspective of the person concerning the subject of research. A mobile brand researched to understand why certain colours are preferred by male and female customers. The research revealed that since red is assumed to be a feminine colour, it is more preferred by females than males. 

Focus groups are a type of business research that involves only a set of individuals. Each selected individual represents a particular category of the target market. The major difference between interviews and focus groups is the number of people that it involves. To launch a new product for a particular group of society, focus groups prove to be the best way to understand the needs of the local audience. 

For example, Tesla decides to launch their latest car model in India. The company, therefore, will require feedback from the Indian audience only.

Did you know? Amazon, the internet giant changed its payment strategy to enter the Indian market. Since the Indian economy was not entirely ready for online modes of payment, amazon introduced a new payment method and came up with ‘ cash on delivery ’ to gain consumers’ trust.

One of the most effective ways for business research is conducting case studies. With the motive to understand customer satisfaction, challenges that usually the customers face while using the product and hence, providing them with the right solution can be achieved by analysing data secured through data secured by case studies. Case study researchers are conducted in many fields of business that ultimately aid organisations in improving their products or services. 

Ethnographic Research refers to understanding people as a whole. One must be able to grok their consumers or target audience which will help identify patterns, flaws, etc. Ethnography is a branch of anthropology that is the study of what elements or features make us humans. How did people live? What aspect made us so dependent on smartphones and technology? Why would people buy one product over the other? It refers to asking questions about lifestyle, communities, etc., and trying to gain insight into consumer behaviour and buying patterns.

For example, consider a random product. Are people looking for that product? Do they need it? Is it a necessity or a luxury? Which class of people are most likely to buy it? People often cannot comprehend what they are looking for. Gaining different perceptions can help us tailor our products accordingly to the consumers. Who would have thought that the majority of humans will need face masks for survival?

Also Read: How to Become a Research Analyst?

Quantitative Research Methods 

With the employment of mathematical, statistical and computational techniques, quantitative research is carried out to deal with numbers. This systematical empirical investigation starts with the acquisition of the data and then moves on to analyzing it with the help of different tools. The goal is to identify clientele and then meet the targets of the audience. As the method of business research employs a questionnaire to determine the audience’s response, the questions are built around the idea that the audience knows about the product or the services that the firm offers. Some of the key questions answered in quantitative research methods include, who is connected with your network, how they qualify for the ‘product’ or how regularly they visit your website.

The data is collected based on the following research:

• Correlational
• Online 
• Casual Comparative 
• Experimental 

It is the most common method under quantitative research via which a huge amount of data can be collected concerning a product or service. A common set of questions are asked to the people and they are asked to provide their inputs. To understand the nature of the market in-depth, this method is massively used by leading organisations all across the globe. Analysing data recorded through service helps organisations make suitable decisions.

Under this research, usually two entities are put together to examine the impact they create on each other. As suggested by the name it is the best process to understand patterns, relationships and trends. the data grasped through correlation research is generally combined with other tools as one cannot achieve a firm conclusion using this type of business research.  

Experimental research is purely based on proving a particular theory that is pre-assumed. True experimental research companies can understand varied behavioural traits of the customers that further assist them in generating more revenue. Exposing a set of audience to common parameters, their behaviour is recorded and hence analysed. This can be understood as the main basis of the experimental research. 

Also Read: Scope of Operation Research

There are certain pros and cons of business research that you must know about. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of Business Research.

Advantages of Business Research

• Business Research plays the role of a catalyst in identifying potential threats, issues as well as opportunities .
• It provides a detailed analysis of customers and the target audience , thus helping in building better relationships with one’s audience and capturing the areas which we might be missing out on.
• It also anticipates future problems thus the enterprise is able to tackle those uncertainties and prepare for them beforehand.
• It keeps a continuous track of competition in the market and gives businesses the scope to come up with better strategies to tackle their competitors.
• Business Research also conducts a thorough cost analysis thus helping the company efficiently manage resources and allocate them in an optimal manner.
• It keeps you updated with the latest trends and competitor analysis .

Disadvantages of Business Research

• Business Research can be expensive and time-consuming .
• It also has the danger of being assumptive and imprecise at times , because the focus groups might be small or can be highly based on assumptions.
• The market is ever-changing and ever-evolving and capturing the right trends or anticipating them can constitute a complicated process for business research.

Also Read: Types of Research Design

The process of business research can be as comprehensive and as detailed as a business wants it to be. Generally, a company takes up research with a certain aim or hypothesis in order to figure out the issues, opportunities and trends and how they can be leveraged in the best way.

Here is the step-by-step process of Business Research:

• Identifying the Opportunity or Problem – To begin with the research, we first need to know what is the problem or the opportunity we would be leveraging on. It can be a popular trend or a common problem that a business is facing and can potentially become the headstart for the research process. Once you know the problem or the opportunity, go ahead with giving an understandable statement of what it’s about, what the hypothesis of the research will be as well as its objectives.
• Decide and Plan the Research Design – The next step in the business research process to find the right research design which suits the objectives and overall plan of the research. The most popular research designs are Quantitative and Qualitative Research.
• Determining the Research Method – The research design is closely connected to the research method since both qualitative and quantitative research designs have different methods for data collection, analysis, amongst others. So, once you have put a finger on what the right research design will be, go ahead with finding the right research method as per the plan, types of data collection, objective, costs involved, and other determining factors.
• Collect Data – Utilizing the research method and design, the next step in the business research process is to collect data and assimilate it.
• Data Analysis and Evaluation – After assimilating the data required, the data analysis will take place to gather all the observations and findings.
• Communicate Results – The presentation of the business research report is the concluding step of this procedure after which the higher management works upon the best techniques and strategies to leverage the opportunity or tackle the issue.

Also Read: MBA in Business Analytics

The scope of Business Research is multifarious and reaches out to many specialisations and areas. Let’s take a look the scope of business research across various specialisations:

• Marketing Management When it comes to business research, becomes an important part of marketing management that analyses consumer behaviour, target audiences, competition, price policy, promotional plans and much more.
• Financial Management It also plays an essential role in budgeting, financial planning, cost allocation, capital raising, tackling fluctuations with international currency as well as taking finance-related decisions.
• Production Management Production Management also includes business research as it helps in product development, planning out for a newer one, finalizing the right technologies for production, and so on.
• Materials Management Business Research is an important aspect of checking the best materials and carrying out its production, supply chain management , logistics , as well as shortlisting negotiation strategies.

There is an incremental role of business research as its importance is across every aspect of the business. Let’s take a look at the role of business research in an enterprise:

• The most primary role of business research is that it helps across every decision in the business, from product innovation to marketing and promotional planning.
• Business Research also helps in forecasting a business, whether in terms of competition or any other types of problems it will be facing.
• Another key area where this plays a bigger role is ensuring consumer satisfaction as through research, we can carry out research and highlight areas where we can efficiently serve our target audience.
• Business research also helps in implementing cost-effectiveness in a business as it can assist in cutting costs wherever needed and investing more in those areas, where profit is coming from.

Want to understand and learn more about business research? Here are some of the books that will make you a pro in this field. Check out the list of business research books:

Also Read: Is It Possible to Study MBA in Europe Without GMAT?

The purpose of a report is to inform the other members, junior and subordinates of the team to provide information on the specific topic. There is a specific format of a business report which makes it look more professional and presentable. There should be a title with the date and nature. The second section includes the introduction, body, and then conclusion. Reports help to identify the issues and helps in resolving them at earlier stages. It can include graphs, surveys, interviews, flow, and piecharts also.

Are you wondering why is there a need to do business research? Business is not stable and it is vital to stay up to date with all the data and developments. It is also important to make business-related decisions, and keep track of competitors, customer feedback, and market changes. The basic objective of business research is to identify the issues and evaluate a plan to resolve them for better managerial functioning.

Now that you are familiar with the objective, importance, and advantages the next important step is to know how to conduct research. There are numerous tools available for free while for some advanced tools there is a membership. Check out the list of top 10 tools:

• Google Keyword Tools
• Google Analytics
• Google Trends

The one thing constant in a business is market changes. A new trend or change comes every time you blink an eye. To keep track of everything externally and internally a research partner comes helpful. There are a few things to keep in mind that will help you in choosing the right business partner. The first thing to keep in mind is that the person should have relevant work experience and expertise in that particular field. An experienced partner can help businesses reach new heights. Look for a partner that can provide well-curated solutions and not the generic ideas that every enterprise follows. Last but not least is that your business research partner should have knowledge of the latest tools and techniques.

Also Read: MBA in Sustainable Development: Courses & Universities

Is your big presentation coming up or your report is due on Monday but you still haven’t finalized your business research topic? Here are some of the trendiest research topics for you:

• How advertisements influence consumer behaviour?
• Does incentive motivation increase employee productivity?
• How to handle crises in the business?
• How to create a work-life balance in the organization?
• What are the things a small business owner has to face?
• How to expand the company globally?
• How is digital marketing helping every business type?
• How to maintain the quality and quantity of products?
• What are the struggles entrepreneurs of a start-up face?
• How to create a budget and maintain company finances?

In order to build a career in Research , you can simply grab a degree in the field of Management , Business or Administration. So, students with an understanding of the core concepts of business and an inclination for research can consider it as a go-to option. Other suitable programs can be Master in Management , MBA Business Analytics , and MBA Data Analytics , to name a few.

To know more, check out Qualitative Research Methods !

It can simply mean researching every area of a business and using the provided information and data to ensure profit maximization.

There are different types of business research such as interviews, surveys, focus groups, correlational research, ethnographic research, case study research, and quantitative research methods, amongst others.

It is essentially important for various aspects of a business such as profit maximization, cost-cutting, financial management , personnel management, consumer behaviour, etc.

The process of research depends upon the type of research design you are opting for. To start with, we first need to determine the aim or objective of the research, then plan out the whole process which includes the types of methods we will be using, then the actual research that takes place followed by the data found that helps in understanding the key observations and how they can be implemented to actualize research hypothesis.

If you’re thinking to start a product line in your existing business or planning a startup, business research is a fundamental process that helps you to navigate the opportunities and obstacles in the marketplace. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses can help you come up with advanced and powerful research techniques that will make it easier to manage. Are you planning to take your higher education abroad? Then, you can quickly book a counselling session with the experts at Leverage Edu and we can help you build the right platform for you to grow in the corporate world.

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What Are Research Objectives and How to Write Them (with Examples)

Table of Contents

Introduction

Research is at the center of everything researchers do, and setting clear, well-defined research objectives plays a pivotal role in guiding scholars toward their desired outcomes. Research papers are essential instruments for researchers to effectively communicate their work. Among the many sections that constitute a research paper, the introduction plays a key role in providing a background and setting the context. 1 Research objectives, which define the aims of the study, are usually stated in the introduction. Every study has a research question that the authors are trying to answer, and the objective is an active statement about how the study will answer this research question. These objectives help guide the development and design of the study and steer the research in the appropriate direction; if this is not clearly defined, a project can fail!

Research studies have a research question, research hypothesis, and one or more research objectives. A research question is what a study aims to answer, and a research hypothesis is a predictive statement about the relationship between two or more variables, which the study sets out to prove or disprove. Objectives are specific, measurable goals that the study aims to achieve. The difference between these three is illustrated by the following example:

• Research question : How does low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) compare with a placebo device in managing the symptoms of skeletally mature patients with patellar tendinopathy?
• Research hypothesis : Pain levels are reduced in patients who receive daily active-LIPUS (treatment) for 12 weeks compared with individuals who receive inactive-LIPUS (placebo).
• Research objective : To investigate the clinical efficacy of LIPUS in the management of patellar tendinopathy symptoms.

This article discusses the importance of clear, well-thought out objectives and suggests methods to write them clearly.

What is the introduction in research papers?

Research objectives are usually included in the introduction section. This section is the first that the readers will read so it is essential that it conveys the subject matter appropriately and is well written to create a good first impression. A good introduction sets the tone of the paper and clearly outlines the contents so that the readers get a quick snapshot of what to expect.

A good introduction should aim to: 2,3

• Indicate the main subject area, its importance, and cite previous literature on the subject
• Define the gap(s) in existing research, ask a research question, and state the objectives
• Announce the present research and outline its novelty and significance
• Avoid repeating the Abstract, providing unnecessary information, and claiming novelty without accurate supporting information.

Why are research objectives important?

Objectives can help you stay focused and steer your research in the required direction. They help define and limit the scope of your research, which is important to efficiently manage your resources and time. The objectives help to create and maintain the overall structure, and specify two main things—the variables and the methods of quantifying the variables.

A good research objective:

• defines the scope of the study
• gives direction to the research
• helps maintain focus and avoid diversions from the topic
• minimizes wastage of resources like time, money, and energy

Types of research objectives

Research objectives can be broadly classified into general and specific objectives . 4 General objectives state what the research expects to achieve overall while specific objectives break this down into smaller, logically connected parts, each of which addresses various parts of the research problem. General objectives are the main goals of the study and are usually fewer in number while specific objectives are more in number because they address several aspects of the research problem.

Example (general objective): To investigate the factors influencing the financial performance of firms listed in the New York Stock Exchange market.

Example (specific objective): To assess the influence of firm size on the financial performance of firms listed in the New York Stock Exchange market.

In addition to this broad classification, research objectives can be grouped into several categories depending on the research problem, as given in Table 1.

Table 1: Types of research objectives

Characteristics of research objectives

Research objectives must start with the word “To” because this helps readers identify the objective in the absence of headings and appropriate sectioning in research papers. 5,6

• A good objective is SMART (mostly applicable to specific objectives):
• Specific—clear about the what, why, when, and how
• Measurable—identifies the main variables of the study and quantifies the targets
• Achievable—attainable using the available time and resources
• Realistic—accurately addresses the scope of the problem
• Time-bound—identifies the time in which each step will be completed
• Research objectives clarify the purpose of research.
• They help understand the relationship and dissimilarities between variables.
• They provide a direction that helps the research to reach a definite conclusion.

How to write research objectives?

Research objectives can be written using the following steps: 7

• State your main research question clearly and concisely.
• Describe the ultimate goal of your study, which is similar to the research question but states the intended outcomes more definitively.
• Divide this main goal into subcategories to develop your objectives.
• Limit the number of objectives (1-2 general; 3-4 specific)
• Assess each objective using the SMART
• Start each objective with an action verb like assess, compare, determine, evaluate, etc., which makes the research appear more actionable.
• Use specific language without making the sentence data heavy.
• The most common section to add the objectives is the introduction and after the problem statement.
• Add the objectives to the abstract (if there is one).
• State the general objective first, followed by the specific objectives.

Formulating research objectives

Formulating research objectives has the following five steps, which could help researchers develop a clear objective: 8

• Identify the research problem.
• Review past studies on subjects similar to your problem statement, that is, studies that use similar methods, variables, etc.
• Identify the research gaps the current study should cover based on your literature review. These gaps could be theoretical, methodological, or conceptual.
• Define the research question(s) based on the gaps identified.
• Revise/relate the research problem based on the defined research question and the gaps identified. This is to confirm that there is an actual need for a study on the subject based on the gaps in literature.
• Identify and write the general and specific objectives.
• Incorporate the objectives into the study.

Advantages of research objectives

Adding clear research objectives has the following advantages: 4,8

• Maintains the focus and direction of the research
• Optimizes allocation of resources with minimal wastage
• Acts as a foundation for defining appropriate research questions and hypotheses
• Provides measurable outcomes that can help evaluate the success of the research
• Determines the feasibility of the research by helping to assess the availability of required resources
• Ensures relevance of the study to the subject and its contribution to existing literature

Disadvantages of research objectives

Research objectives also have few disadvantages, as listed below: 8

• Absence of clearly defined objectives can lead to ambiguity in the research process
• Unintentional bias could affect the validity and accuracy of the research findings

Key takeaways

• Research objectives are concise statements that describe what the research is aiming to achieve.
• They define the scope and direction of the research and maintain focus.
• The objectives should be SMART—specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.
• Clear research objectives help avoid collection of data or resources not required for the study.
• Well-formulated specific objectives help develop the overall research methodology, including data collection, analysis, interpretation, and utilization.
• Research objectives should cover all aspects of the problem statement in a coherent way.
• They should be clearly stated using action verbs.

Frequently asked questions on research objectives

Q: what’s the difference between research objectives and aims 9.

A: Research aims are statements that reflect the broad goal(s) of the study and outline the general direction of the research. They are not specific but clearly define the focus of the study.

Example: This research aims to explore employee experiences of digital transformation in retail HR.

Research objectives focus on the action to be taken to achieve the aims. They make the aims more practical and should be specific and actionable.

Example: To observe the retail HR employees throughout the digital transformation.

Q: What are the examples of research objectives, both general and specific?

A: Here are a few examples of research objectives:

• To identify the antiviral chemical constituents in Mumbukura gitoniensis (general)
• To carry out solvent extraction of dried flowers of Mumbukura gitoniensis and isolate the constituents. (specific)
• To determine the antiviral activity of each of the isolated compounds. (specific)
• To examine the extent, range, and method of coral reef rehabilitation projects in five shallow reef areas adjacent to popular tourist destinations in the Philippines.
• To investigate species richness of mammal communities in five protected areas over the past 20 years.
• To evaluate the potential application of AI techniques for estimating best-corrected visual acuity from fundus photographs with and without ancillary information.
• To investigate whether sport influences psychological parameters in the personality of asthmatic children.

Q: How do I develop research objectives?

A: Developing research objectives begins with defining the problem statement clearly, as illustrated by Figure 1. Objectives specify how the research question will be answered and they determine what is to be measured to test the hypothesis.

Q: Are research objectives measurable?

A: The word “measurable” implies that something is quantifiable. In terms of research objectives, this means that the source and method of collecting data are identified and that all these aspects are feasible for the research. Some metrics can be created to measure your progress toward achieving your objectives.

Q: Can research objectives change during the study?

A: Revising research objectives during the study is acceptable in situations when the selected methodology is not progressing toward achieving the objective, or if there are challenges pertaining to resources, etc. One thing to keep in mind is the time and resources you would have to complete your research after revising the objectives. Thus, as long as your problem statement and hypotheses are unchanged, minor revisions to the research objectives are acceptable.

Q: What is the difference between research questions and research objectives? 10

Q: Are research objectives the same as hypotheses?

A: No, hypotheses are predictive theories that are expressed in general terms. Research objectives, which are more specific, are developed from hypotheses and aim to test them. A hypothesis can be tested using several methods and each method will have different objectives because the methodology to be used could be different. A hypothesis is developed based on observation and reasoning; it is a calculated prediction about why a particular phenomenon is occurring. To test this prediction, different research objectives are formulated. Here’s a simple example of both a research hypothesis and research objective.

Research hypothesis : Employees who arrive at work earlier are more productive.

Research objective : To assess whether employees who arrive at work earlier are more productive.

To summarize, research objectives are an important part of research studies and should be written clearly to effectively communicate your research. We hope this article has given you a brief insight into the importance of using clearly defined research objectives and how to formulate them.

• Farrugia P, Petrisor BA, Farrokhyar F, Bhandari M. Practical tips for surgical research: Research questions, hypotheses and objectives. Can J Surg. 2010 Aug;53(4):278-81.
• Abbadia J. How to write an introduction for a research paper. Mind the Graph website. Accessed June 14, 2023. https://mindthegraph.com/blog/how-to-write-an-introduction-for-a-research-paper/
• Writing a scientific paper: Introduction. UCI libraries website. Accessed June 15, 2023. https://guides.lib.uci.edu/c.php?g=334338&p=2249903
• Research objectives—Types, examples and writing guide. Researchmethod.net website. Accessed June 17, 2023. https://researchmethod.net/research-objectives/#:~:text=They%20provide%20a%20clear%20direction,track%20and%20achieve%20their%20goals .
• Bartle P. SMART Characteristics of good objectives. Community empowerment collective website. Accessed June 16, 2023. https://cec.vcn.bc.ca/cmp/modules/pd-smar.htm
• Research objectives. Studyprobe website. Accessed June 18, 2023. https://www.studyprobe.in/2022/08/research-objectives.html
• Corredor F. How to write objectives in a research paper. wikiHow website. Accessed June 18, 2023. https://www.wikihow.com/Write-Objectives-in-a-Research-Proposal
• Research objectives: Definition, types, characteristics, advantages. AccountingNest website. Accessed June 15, 2023. https://www.accountingnest.com/articles/research/research-objectives
• Phair D., Shaeffer A. Research aims, objectives & questions. GradCoach website. Accessed June 20, 2023. https://gradcoach.com/research-aims-objectives-questions/
• Understanding the difference between research questions and objectives. Accessed June 21, 2023. https://board.researchersjob.com/blog/research-questions-and-objectives

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Market Research Blog

Nature, scope and significance of business research.

Business market research is a dynamic concept. One of the key components of market research studies is the strategic inquiry into a business situation or environment to establish the actuality or evidence that may have led to the development of certain trends. Today, business research is the pillar that supports decision-making in various areas of an organization. Prior to conducting proactive business research, it is crucial to determine the underlying objectives of the research program to come up with an accurately targeted approach. The significance of business research is that it is a fact-finding mission that fuels successful decision-making in a corporate environment. Let us take a look at the nature, scope, and significance of business research.

What is Involved in Business Research?

Business research is the process of gathering thorough information on all aspects of a company's operations and applying that information to improve operational excellence, which can lead to an increase in sales and profits.

• A study like this can assist businesses in figuring the product or service that is most profitable.
• It entails determining where money should be spent to boost sales, profitability, or/and market share.

Given the increasing competition in all industries, market research has become extremely necessary to make intelligent and informed decisions that fuel business growth.

The Nature of Business Research

In business, knowledge is power. The ability to make informed decisions is crucial for any organization's success and growth. To achieve this, businesses rely on research—a systematic inquiry that helps unravel complex problems, discover insights, and explore new opportunities. Business research involves a structured investigation aimed at collecting and analyzing data to address specific business challenges or explore potential opportunities. This often includes conducting market research studies and producing business research reports based on the research findings. It is a multi-faceted process that employs various methodologies, including quantitative and qualitative techniques, to acquire knowledge that drives decision-making. While quantitative research focuses on numerical data and statistical analysis, qualitative research emphasizes an in-depth understanding of subjective experiences, opinions, and motivations. From problem identification to market analysis and decision support, research empowers businesses to navigate complexities, adapt to change, and seize opportunities. Investing in robust research practices can help organizations lay the foundation for sustainable growth and success. It is crucial to hire a reputable business research company with proven experience in providing specialized business market research services.

The Scope of Business Research

The scope and significance of business research are immense. In this section, we will discuss how top business research companies like Unimrkt Research can help your organization navigate the complicated fabric of today’s dynamic business world and build a profitable venture that stands the test of time.

Problem Identification

Business research plays a vital role in identifying and defining the problems that organizations face. It helps clarify issues, determine their root causes, and establish clear objectives for further investigation. By gaining a comprehensive understanding of the challenges, businesses can develop effective strategies to overcome them.

Market Analysis and Competitive Intelligence

Researching the market landscape and understanding customer preferences are fundamental to success. A business research company enables businesses to analyze market trends, consumer behavior, and competitor strategies. This knowledge aids in developing tailored products, crafting targeted marketing campaigns, and staying ahead of the competition.

Decision Support

Robust research provides decision-makers with reliable information, enabling them to make informed choices. Whether it's launching a new product, expanding into new markets, or modifying existing strategies, data-backed decisions reduce uncertainty and enhance the chances of achieving the desired outcomes.

Innovation and Adaptation

Business research facilitates innovation by uncovering emerging trends, technological advancements, and changing consumer needs. By staying abreast of industry developments, organizations can adapt quickly and identify growth opportunities. Research also aids in identifying potential risks and threats, allowing businesses to proactively mitigate them.

Performance Evaluation

To sustain success, businesses must evaluate their performance regularly. Research provides valuable insights into key performance indicators, customer satisfaction levels, and operational efficiency. By analyzing this data, companies can identify areas for improvement, optimize processes, and enhance overall performance.

Importance of Business Research

Business research is one of the most effective ways to understand your customers and the overall market, as well as analyze competitors. This type of research aids businesses in determining market demand and supply. It can help business organizations to cut unnecessary expenses and develop tailor-made solutions or products that appeal to the demand in the market. Research for startups aids in gathering information for professional or commercial purposes to assess business prospects and goals. Business research can also help startups find the right audience profile for their offerings. It is the holy grail when looking to achieve success in the modern, ultra-competitive business world.

Key Advantages of Business Research

Here are some of the key advantages of business research:

• Market research can help organizations gain a better perspective and understanding of their market or target audience. This ensures that the company stays ahead of its competitors.
• Primary and secondary research can act as an insurance policy against obvious but silent dangers on your business path.
• Market research findings help organizations learn from their weaknesses and adapt to new business environments.
• By using certain research methodologies for competitor analysis, you can capitalize on your new-found knowledge to steer ahead of the competition.
• Regular market research initiatives help take the ‘pulse’ of hot market trends, allowing you to come up with “superhit” products and services.
• It helps with market forecasting, which allows you to project future numbers, characteristics, and trends within your target market.

Significance of Business Research in Local and Global Business Fields

Today, top market research companies are focusing on the assessment of both local and international business environments. A business research company takes factors such as markets (global and domestic), goods and services, and other business elements into account to conduct a progressive and strategic study. The significance of business research is such that it has become a crucial predictor of organizational effectiveness, as it determines the perception, quality, and sustainability of several performance factors. For example, in a traditional manufacturing concern, business research can help with aspects like product refinement, distribution networks, competitiveness module design, and customer demand tracking, among other things.

Key Steps in Conducting Business Research

Here are the key steps involved when conducting business research. By following these steps, businesses can develop and conduct systematic and effective research programs that provide valuable insights, supporting informed decision-making.

Identify and Define the Research Problem

Clearly articulate the specific business challenge or opportunity that you aim to address through research. Define the problem in a concise and focused manner, ensuring clarity and alignment with organizational objectives.

Develop Research Objectives

Establish clear and measurable research objectives that align with the identified problem. These objectives will guide the entire research process and help ensure that the outcomes are relevant and actionable.

Design the Research Methodology

Select the appropriate research methodology based on the nature of the problem and the data needed. This may involve choosing between quantitative and qualitative approaches, or a combination of both. Determine the research design, sampling techniques, data collection methods, and tools to be used.

Collect Data

Implement the data collection methods defined in the research design process. This could involve conducting surveys, interviews, observations, or analyzing existing data sources. Ensure the data collected is reliable, valid, and relevant to the research objectives.

Analyze Data

Process and analyze the collected data using appropriate statistical or qualitative analysis techniques. Identify patterns, trends, and insights that emerge from the data. Use software tools or statistical packages, if required, to aid in data analysis.

Interpret Findings

Interpret the analyzed data in the context of the research objectives and the original problem. Draw meaningful conclusions and insights from the findings. Relate the findings to existing theories or industry benchmarks, if applicable.

Communicate Results

Prepare a comprehensive report or presentation that effectively communicates the research findings, insights, and recommendations. Present the information in a concise, clear, and visually appealing manner. Tailor the communication to the intended audience, highlighting the implications and actionable steps.

Validate and Verify

Seek feedback and validation from stakeholders, colleagues, or experts to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the research findings. Incorporate their input and make any necessary revisions to strengthen the research outcomes.

Implement Recommendations

Translate the research findings into actionable recommendations or strategies. Develop an implementation plan and ensure buy-in from key stakeholders. Monitor and evaluate the progress and impact of the implemented recommendations.

Reflect and Learn

Reflect on the research process and outcomes. Identify lessons learned, strengths, and areas for improvement. This reflection can inform future research endeavors and enhance the organization's research capabilities.

The importance and significance of business research will only continue to grow with the changing business landscape. Business research has a direct impact on your organization’s success. The first and, perhaps, most important task for a business organization is to find the right market research company . This is where Unimrkt Research comes into play. Over the years, we have conducted industry research across 90 countries, spanning four continents in a variety of industries. We follow ESOMAR norms and are certified with the ISO 20252 and ISO 27001 standards. To learn about our business market research services, call +91 124 424 5210/+91 9870 377 557 or email [email protected] .

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• Chapter 1: Home
• Narrowing Your Topic
• Problem Statement

Purpose Statement Overview

Best practices for writing your purpose statement, writing your purpose statement, sample purpose statements.

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Jump to DSE Guide

The purpose statement succinctly explains (on no more than 1 page) the objectives of the research study. These objectives must directly address the problem and help close the stated gap. Expressed as a formula:

Good purpose statements:

• Flow from the problem statement and actually address the proposed problem
• Are concise and clear
• Answer the question ‘Why are you doing this research?’
• Match the methodology (similar to research questions)
• Have a ‘hook’ to get the reader’s attention
• Set the stage by clearly stating, “The purpose of this (qualitative or quantitative) study is to ...

In PhD studies, the purpose usually involves applying a theory to solve the problem. In other words, the purpose tells the reader what the goal of the study is, and what your study will accomplish, through which theoretical lens. The purpose statement also includes brief information about direction, scope, and where the data will come from.

A problem and gap in combination can lead to different research objectives, and hence, different purpose statements. In the example from above where the problem was severe underrepresentation of female CEOs in Fortune 500 companies and the identified gap related to lack of research of male-dominated boards; one purpose might be to explore implicit biases in male-dominated boards through the lens of feminist theory. Another purpose may be to determine how board members rated female and male candidates on scales of competency, professionalism, and experience to predict which candidate will be selected for the CEO position. The first purpose may involve a qualitative ethnographic study in which the researcher observes board meetings and hiring interviews; the second may involve a quantitative regression analysis. The outcomes will be very different, so it’s important that you find out exactly how you want to address a problem and help close a gap!

The purpose of the study must not only align with the problem and address a gap; it must also align with the chosen research method. In fact, the DP/DM template requires you to name the  research method at the very beginning of the purpose statement. The research verb must match the chosen method. In general, quantitative studies involve “closed-ended” research verbs such as determine , measure , correlate , explain , compare , validate , identify , or examine ; whereas qualitative studies involve “open-ended” research verbs such as explore , understand , narrate , articulate [meanings], discover , or develop .

A qualitative purpose statement following the color-coded problem statement (assumed here to be low well-being among financial sector employees) + gap (lack of research on followers of mid-level managers), might start like this:

In response to declining levels of employee well-being, the purpose of the qualitative phenomenology was to explore and understand the lived experiences related to the well-being of the followers of novice mid-level managers in the financial services industry. The levels of follower well-being have been shown to correlate to employee morale, turnover intention, and customer orientation (Eren et al., 2013). A combined framework of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory and the employee well-being concept informed the research questions and supported the inquiry, analysis, and interpretation of the experiences of followers of novice managers in the financial services industry.

A quantitative purpose statement for the same problem and gap might start like this:

In response to declining levels of employee well-being, the purpose of the quantitative correlational study was to determine which leadership factors predict employee well-being of the followers of novice mid-level managers in the financial services industry. Leadership factors were measured by the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) assessment framework  by Mantlekow (2015), and employee well-being was conceptualized as a compound variable consisting of self-reported turnover-intent and psychological test scores from the Mental Health Survey (MHS) developed by Johns Hopkins University researchers.

Both of these purpose statements reflect viable research strategies and both align with the problem and gap so it’s up to the researcher to design a study in a manner that reflects personal preferences and desired study outcomes. Note that the quantitative research purpose incorporates operationalized concepts  or variables ; that reflect the way the researcher intends to measure the key concepts under study; whereas the qualitative purpose statement isn’t about translating the concepts under study as variables but instead aim to explore and understand the core research phenomenon.  

Always keep in mind that the dissertation process is iterative, and your writing, over time, will be refined as clarity is gradually achieved. Most of the time, greater clarity for the purpose statement and other components of the Dissertation is the result of a growing understanding of the literature in the field. As you increasingly master the literature you will also increasingly clarify the purpose of your study.

The purpose statement should flow directly from the problem statement. There should be clear and obvious alignment between the two and that alignment will get tighter and more pronounced as your work progresses.

The purpose statement should specifically address the reason for conducting the study, with emphasis on the word specifically. There should not be any doubt in your readers’ minds as to the purpose of your study. To achieve this level of clarity you will need to also insure there is no doubt in your mind as to the purpose of your study.

Many researchers benefit from stopping your work during the research process when insight strikes you and write about it while it is still fresh in your mind. This can help you clarify all aspects of a dissertation, including clarifying its purpose.

Your Chair and your committee members can help you to clarify your study’s purpose so carefully attend to any feedback they offer.

The purpose statement should reflect the research questions and vice versa. The chain of alignment that began with the research problem description and continues on to the research purpose, research questions, and methodology must be respected at all times during dissertation development. You are to succinctly describe the overarching goal of the study that reflects the research questions. Each research question narrows and focuses the purpose statement. Conversely, the purpose statement encompasses all of the research questions.

Identify in the purpose statement the research method as quantitative, qualitative or mixed (i.e., “The purpose of this [qualitative/quantitative/mixed] study is to ...)

Avoid the use of the phrase “research study” since the two words together are redundant.

Follow the initial declaration of purpose with a brief overview of how, with what instruments/data, with whom and where (as applicable) the study will be conducted. Identify variables/constructs and/or phenomenon/concept/idea. Since this section is to be a concise paragraph, emphasis must be placed on the word brief. However, adding these details will give your readers a very clear picture of the purpose of your research.

Developing the purpose section of your dissertation is usually not achieved in a single flash of insight. The process involves a great deal of reading to find out what other scholars have done to address the research topic and problem you have identified. The purpose section of your dissertation could well be the most important paragraph you write during your academic career, and every word should be carefully selected. Think of it as the DNA of your dissertation. Everything else you write should emerge directly and clearly from your purpose statement. In turn, your purpose statement should emerge directly and clearly from your research problem description. It is good practice to print out your problem statement and purpose statement and keep them in front of you as you work on each part of your dissertation in order to insure alignment.

It is helpful to collect several dissertations similar to the one you envision creating. Extract the problem descriptions and purpose statements of other dissertation authors and compare them in order to sharpen your thinking about your own work.  Comparing how other dissertation authors have handled the many challenges you are facing can be an invaluable exercise. Keep in mind that individual universities use their own tailored protocols for presenting key components of the dissertation so your review of these purpose statements should focus on content rather than form.

Once your purpose statement is set it must be consistently presented throughout the dissertation. This may require some recursive editing because the way you articulate your purpose may evolve as you work on various aspects of your dissertation. Whenever you make an adjustment to your purpose statement you should carefully follow up on the editing and conceptual ramifications throughout the entire document.

In establishing your purpose you should NOT advocate for a particular outcome. Research should be done to answer questions not prove a point. As a researcher, you are to inquire with an open mind, and even when you come to the work with clear assumptions, your job is to prove the validity of the conclusions reached. For example, you would not say the purpose of your research project is to demonstrate that there is a relationship between two variables. Such a statement presupposes you know the answer before your research is conducted and promotes or supports (advocates on behalf of) a particular outcome. A more appropriate purpose statement would be to examine or explore the relationship between two variables.

Your purpose statement should not imply that you are going to prove something. You may be surprised to learn that we cannot prove anything in scholarly research for two reasons. First, in quantitative analyses, statistical tests calculate the probability that something is true rather than establishing it as true. Second, in qualitative research, the study can only purport to describe what is occurring from the perspective of the participants. Whether or not the phenomenon they are describing is true in a larger context is not knowable. We cannot observe the phenomenon in all settings and in all circumstances.

It is important to distinguish in your mind the differences between the Problem Statement and Purpose Statement.

The Problem Statement is why I am doing the research

The Purpose Statement is what type of research I am doing to fit or address the problem

The Purpose Statement includes:

• Method of Study
• Specific Population

Remember, as you are contemplating what to include in your purpose statement and then when you are writing it, the purpose statement is a concise paragraph that describes the intent of the study, and it should flow directly from the problem statement.  It should specifically address the reason for conducting the study, and reflect the research questions.  Further, it should identify the research method as qualitative, quantitative, or mixed.  Then provide a brief overview of how the study will be conducted, with what instruments/data collection methods, and with whom (subjects) and where (as applicable). Finally, you should identify variables/constructs and/or phenomenon/concept/idea.

Qualitative Purpose Statement

Creswell (2002) suggested for writing purpose statements in qualitative research include using deliberate phrasing to alert the reader to the purpose statement. Verbs that indicate what will take place in the research and the use of non-directional language that do not suggest an outcome are key. A purpose statement should focus on a single idea or concept, with a broad definition of the idea or concept. How the concept was investigated should also be included, as well as participants in the study and locations for the research to give the reader a sense of with whom and where the study took place. 

Creswell (2003) advised the following script for purpose statements in qualitative research:

“The purpose of this qualitative_________________ (strategy of inquiry, such as ethnography, case study, or other type) study is (was? will be?) to ________________ (understand? describe? develop? discover?) the _________________(central phenomenon being studied) for ______________ (the participants, such as the individual, groups, organization) at __________(research site). At this stage in the research, the __________ (central phenomenon being studied) will be generally defined as ___________________ (provide a general definition)” (pg. 90).

Quantitative Purpose Statement

Creswell (2003) offers vast differences between the purpose statements written for qualitative research and those written for quantitative research, particularly with respect to language and the inclusion of variables. The comparison of variables is often a focus of quantitative research, with the variables distinguishable by either the temporal order or how they are measured. As with qualitative research purpose statements, Creswell (2003) recommends the use of deliberate language to alert the reader to the purpose of the study, but quantitative purpose statements also include the theory or conceptual framework guiding the study and the variables that are being studied and how they are related. 

Creswell (2003) suggests the following script for drafting purpose statements in quantitative research:

“The purpose of this _____________________ (experiment? survey?) study is (was? will be?) to test the theory of _________________that _________________ (compares? relates?) the ___________(independent variable) to _________________________(dependent variable), controlling for _______________________ (control variables) for ___________________ (participants) at _________________________ (the research site). The independent variable(s) _____________________ will be generally defined as _______________________ (provide a general definition). The dependent variable(s) will be generally defined as _____________________ (provide a general definition), and the control and intervening variables(s), _________________ (identify the control and intervening variables) will be statistically controlled in this study” (pg. 97).

• The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine how participation in service-learning in an alternative school impacted students academically, civically, and personally.  There is ample evidence demonstrating the failure of schools for students at-risk; however, there is still a need to demonstrate why these students are successful in non-traditional educational programs like the service-learning model used at TDS.  This study was unique in that it examined one alternative school’s approach to service-learning in a setting where students not only serve, but faculty serve as volunteer teachers.  The use of a constructivist approach in service-learning in an alternative school setting was examined in an effort to determine whether service-learning participation contributes positively to academic, personal, and civic gain for students, and to examine student and teacher views regarding the overall outcomes of service-learning.  This study was completed using an ethnographic approach that included observations, content analysis, and interviews with teachers at The David School.
• The purpose of this quantitative non-experimental cross-sectional linear multiple regression design was to investigate the relationship among early childhood teachers’ self-reported assessment of multicultural awareness as measured by responses from the Teacher Multicultural Attitude Survey (TMAS) and supervisors’ observed assessment of teachers’ multicultural competency skills as measured by the Multicultural Teaching Competency Scale (MTCS) survey. Demographic data such as number of multicultural training hours, years teaching in Dubai, curriculum program at current school, and age were also examined and their relationship to multicultural teaching competency. The study took place in the emirate of Dubai where there were 14,333 expatriate teachers employed in private schools (KHDA, 2013b).
• The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study is to examine the degree to which stages of change, gender, acculturation level and trauma types predicts the reluctance of Arab refugees, aged 18 and over, in the Dearborn, MI area, to seek professional help for their mental health needs. This study will utilize four instruments to measure these variables: University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA: DiClemente & Hughes, 1990); Cumulative Trauma Scale (Kira, 2012); Acculturation Rating Scale for Arabic Americans-II Arabic and English (ARSAA-IIA, ARSAA-IIE: Jadalla & Lee, 2013), and a demographic survey. This study will examine 1) the relationship between stages of change, gender, acculturation levels, and trauma types and Arab refugees’ help-seeking behavior, 2) the degree to which any of these variables can predict Arab refugee help-seeking behavior.  Additionally, the outcome of this study could provide researchers and clinicians with a stage-based model, TTM, for measuring Arab refugees’ help-seeking behavior and lay a foundation for how TTM can help target the clinical needs of Arab refugees. Lastly, this attempt to apply the TTM model to Arab refugees’ condition could lay the foundation for future research to investigate the application of TTM to clinical work among refugee populations.
• The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study is to describe the lived experiences of LLM for 10 EFL learners in rural Guatemala and to utilize that data to determine how it conforms to, or possibly challenges, current theoretical conceptions of LLM. In accordance with Morse’s (1994) suggestion that a phenomenological study should utilize at least six participants, this study utilized semi-structured interviews with 10 EFL learners to explore why and how they have experienced the motivation to learn English throughout their lives. The methodology of horizontalization was used to break the interview protocols into individual units of meaning before analyzing these units to extract the overarching themes (Moustakas, 1994). These themes were then interpreted into a detailed description of LLM as experienced by EFL students in this context. Finally, the resulting description was analyzed to discover how these learners’ lived experiences with LLM conformed with and/or diverged from current theories of LLM.
• The purpose of this qualitative, embedded, multiple case study was to examine how both parent-child attachment relationships are impacted by the quality of the paternal and maternal caregiver-child interactions that occur throughout a maternal deployment, within the context of dual-military couples. In order to examine this phenomenon, an embedded, multiple case study was conducted, utilizing an attachment systems metatheory perspective. The study included four dual-military couples who experienced a maternal deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) when they had at least one child between 8 weeks-old to 5 years-old.  Each member of the couple participated in an individual, semi-structured interview with the researcher and completed the Parenting Relationship Questionnaire (PRQ). “The PRQ is designed to capture a parent’s perspective on the parent-child relationship” (Pearson, 2012, para. 1) and was used within the proposed study for this purpose. The PRQ was utilized to triangulate the data (Bekhet & Zauszniewski, 2012) as well as to provide some additional information on the parents’ perspective of the quality of the parent-child attachment relationship in regards to communication, discipline, parenting confidence, relationship satisfaction, and time spent together (Pearson, 2012). The researcher utilized the semi-structured interview to collect information regarding the parents' perspectives of the quality of their parental caregiver behaviors during the deployment cycle, the mother's parent-child interactions while deployed, the behavior of the child or children at time of reunification, and the strategies or behaviors the parents believe may have contributed to their child's behavior at the time of reunification. The results of this study may be utilized by the military, and by civilian providers, to develop proactive and preventive measures that both providers and parents can implement, to address any potential adverse effects on the parent-child attachment relationship, identified through the proposed study. The results of this study may also be utilized to further refine and understand the integration of attachment theory and systems theory, in both clinical and research settings, within the field of marriage and family therapy.

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• Research Objectives | Definition & Examples

Research Objectives | Definition & Examples

Published on July 12, 2022 by Eoghan Ryan . Revised on November 20, 2023.

Research objectives describe what your research is trying to achieve and explain why you are pursuing it. They summarize the approach and purpose of your project and help to focus your research.

Your objectives should appear in the introduction of your research paper , at the end of your problem statement . They should:

• Establish the scope and depth of your project
• Contribute to your research design
• Indicate how your project will contribute to existing knowledge

Table of contents

What is a research objective, why are research objectives important, how to write research aims and objectives, smart research objectives, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research objectives.

Research objectives describe what your research project intends to accomplish. They should guide every step of the research process , including how you collect data , build your argument , and develop your conclusions .

Your research objectives may evolve slightly as your research progresses, but they should always line up with the research carried out and the actual content of your paper.

Research aims

A distinction is often made between research objectives and research aims.

A research aim typically refers to a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear at the end of your problem statement, before your research objectives.

Your research objectives are more specific than your research aim and indicate the particular focus and approach of your project. Though you will only have one research aim, you will likely have several research objectives.

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Research objectives are important because they:

• Establish the scope and depth of your project: This helps you avoid unnecessary research. It also means that your research methods and conclusions can easily be evaluated .
• Contribute to your research design: When you know what your objectives are, you have a clearer idea of what methods are most appropriate for your research.
• Indicate how your project will contribute to extant research: They allow you to display your knowledge of up-to-date research, employ or build on current research methods, and attempt to contribute to recent debates.

Once you’ve established a research problem you want to address, you need to decide how you will address it. This is where your research aim and objectives come in.

Step 1: Decide on a general aim

Your research aim should reflect your research problem and should be relatively broad.

Step 2: Decide on specific objectives

Break down your aim into a limited number of steps that will help you resolve your research problem. What specific aspects of the problem do you want to examine or understand?

Step 3: Formulate your aims and objectives

Once you’ve established your research aim and objectives, you need to explain them clearly and concisely to the reader.

You’ll lay out your aims and objectives at the end of your problem statement, which appears in your introduction. Frame them as clear declarative statements, and use appropriate verbs to accurately characterize the work that you will carry out.

The acronym “SMART” is commonly used in relation to research objectives. It states that your objectives should be:

• Specific: Make sure your objectives aren’t overly vague. Your research needs to be clearly defined in order to get useful results.
• Measurable: Know how you’ll measure whether your objectives have been achieved.
• Achievable: Your objectives may be challenging, but they should be feasible. Make sure that relevant groundwork has been done on your topic or that relevant primary or secondary sources exist. Also ensure that you have access to relevant research facilities (labs, library resources , research databases , etc.).
• Relevant: Make sure that they directly address the research problem you want to work on and that they contribute to the current state of research in your field.
• Time-based: Set clear deadlines for objectives to ensure that the project stays on track.

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If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

Research objectives describe what you intend your research project to accomplish.

They summarize the approach and purpose of the project and help to focus your research.

Your objectives should appear in the introduction of your research paper , at the end of your problem statement .

Your research objectives indicate how you’ll try to address your research problem and should be specific:

Once you’ve decided on your research objectives , you need to explain them in your paper, at the end of your problem statement .

Keep your research objectives clear and concise, and use appropriate verbs to accurately convey the work that you will carry out for each one.

I will compare …

A research aim is a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear in your introduction at the end of your problem statement , before your research objectives.

Research objectives are more specific than your research aim. They indicate the specific ways you’ll address the overarching aim.

Scope of research is determined at the beginning of your research process , prior to the data collection stage. Sometimes called “scope of study,” your scope delineates what will and will not be covered in your project. It helps you focus your work and your time, ensuring that you’ll be able to achieve your goals and outcomes.

Defining a scope can be very useful in any research project, from a research proposal to a thesis or dissertation . A scope is needed for all types of research: quantitative , qualitative , and mixed methods .

To define your scope of research, consider the following:

• Budget constraints or any specifics of grant funding
• Your proposed timeline and duration
• Specifics about your population of study, your proposed sample size , and the research methodology you’ll pursue
• Any inclusion and exclusion criteria
• Any anticipated control , extraneous , or confounding variables that could bias your research if not accounted for properly.

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Doing Research in Education: Theory and Practice

Student resources, 1. the purpose of research: why do we do it.

Select SAGE Journal articles are available to give you even more insight into chapter topics. These are also an ideal resource to help support your literature reviews, dissertations and assignments.

Click on the following links which will open in a new window.

Brace, M., Herriotts, P., Mccullagh, A. and Nzegwu, F. (2007) ‘Why research — what research should be done?: Report of a collaborative workshop in the UK to discuss social research priorities on visual impairment’, British Journal of Visual Impairment , 25(2): 178–189.

Hannah, D.R. and Lautsch, B.A. (2010) ‘Counting in Qualitative Research: Why to Conduct it, When to Avoid it, and When to Closet it’, in Journal of Management Inquiry , 20(1): 14–22.

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Research: Writing a Business Plan Makes Your Startup More Likely to Succeed

• Francis J. Greene
• Christian Hopp

It’s particularly important if you plan to raise money.

When asked about an opponent’s plan for their impending fight, former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson once said: “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” It is a school of thought now fashionable in entrepreneurship circles. The truth, though, is that we just don’t know if it pays to plan. For every study that shows that it does, another study comes along and says that start-ups should just learn by doing. We wanted to study entrepreneurial planning, but with more context than previous efforts. We found that it pays to plan. Entrepreneurs who write formal plans are 16% more likely to achieve viability than the otherwise identical non-planning entrepreneurs. More than that, we were also able to see what makes people write business plans in the first place.

When asked about an opponent’s plan for their impending fight, former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson once said: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

• FG Francis J. Greene is Chair in Entrepreneurship in the University of Edinburgh Business School.
• CH Christian Hopp is Chair in Technology Entrepreneurship in the TIME Research Area, the Faculty of Business and Economics, RWTH Aachen University.

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5 Reasons Why Research is Important in Business

What are the reasons why research is important in business, to better understand your customers, identifies problem areas, beneficial in comparative studies, helps design new business opportunities, minimizes loss.

The utilization of research through a WordPress survey tool is greatly beneficial to the evolution and the further development of a business. By exerting efforts in gathering data through research, a business can observe what parts of their current processes are working well and what needs to be changed. The collection of data can also be used to formulate new types of business opportunities and marketing campaigns, creating a bigger and better business for you.

Read on to learn more about reasons as to why research is important in business.

Marketing research with the use of online surveys can help you quickly and efficiently collect data from a vast group of people. In order to understand who exactly is benefiting from your products and services, you can choose to send out a survey that would ask questions regarding their demographic. Take note of the similarities in the replies in order to find out the consumers that benefit from your services. Doing so can help change up your business to better cater to the right consumers, effectively increasing your customer satisfaction.

These can help turn your business into a more aware one. It can even be a stepping stone to searching for a new consumer market to explore. Another reason as to why research is important is it can help you identify problem areas.

By customizing online survey tools, your business can better observe the points of improvement in each of your departments. If you opt to release a survey meant for the consumers, you can better see what factors of your products and services need to be improved upon. If you release a survey meant for your employees, then you can better see the point of improvement that you can do within your current business processes.

You could create necessary improvements, by identifying problem areas . You may also opt to release surveys every couple of months in order to track the progress of your changes. Besides your own data, you can also compare it to the data from other competitor companies.

In order for you to be a step above your competitors, you need to offer something unique to your consumers. If you observe that their sales are increasing at a relatively faster rate than yours, it may be due to a number of factors . In order to discover what exactly makes their company run more smoothly than yours, you could compare the data that you received from your market research with the growth of your competitors.

Compare your products & services and see what makes theirs more appealing to consumers. Then, adapt to this knowledge by making the necessary changes to your current business practices. These changes can be in the form of designing marketing campaigns or by exploring new business opportunities.

Research can not just help design new business opportunities, but it can help design successful ones. With the help of online surveys, you can easily ask your consumers for other things that they may need help in. If you notice a trend in the desires of your consumers, you can turn this into a good advantage for your company in terms of business opportunities. The release of this product will prove to your consumers that you care for their needs, which will ultimately boost loyalty.

Besides new products, with the help of research , you can even look into tapping new consumer markets. By releasing surveys to new and unexplored target markets for your company, you can discover what works and does not work for them. This way can help you effectively reduce your losses as online surveys are free to create.

By first sending out surveys to consumers, you are saving your company a lot of money. This is because you can already pinpoint the potential issues that could arise before you even launch a new product or service. After making the necessary changes, you can confidently release products that you know consumers will enjoy. In the case of a pre-existing product, you could send out surveys to help you find points of improvement in each one. By catering to the concerns of the consumers, it increases the chance of a product’s success.

Take note of these key reasons as to why research can be extremely beneficial to your business. This can better optimize your business processes as well as your services.

Key Takeaway

As a WordPress survey tool can be customized to better fit the needs of your business, it becomes easier to collect data from a large group of people. This, in turn, gives your business the opportunity to further improve upon current practices throughout multiple components. From sales to manufacturing, and even to employee handling.

Besides this, you can use the data you have learned about your business in order to compare how well you are faring against competitor companies. With this information, you can better improve your products and services to give you a competitive advantage.

Try and incorporate a WordPress survey tool into your business practices in order to get a better viewpoint of the success rate of your company.

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• DOI: 10.60079/acsr.v2i1.340
• Corpus ID: 271036130

The Impact of Digital Marketing on Local Businesses

• Yendra Yendra , Z. Zakaria , Ismail Noy
• Published in Advances in Community… 28 February 2024
• Business, Computer Science
• Advances in Community Services Research

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Home > ETD > Doctoral > 6025

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

General education teachers' perceptions of low-intensity behavior management strategies: a phenomenological study.

Jessica D'Orazio , Liberty University Follow

School of Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)

Alexandra Barnett

behavior management, general education teachers' perceptions, behavior plan implementation, low-intensity behavior management strategies, qualitative behavioral research

Disciplines

Education | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Recommended Citation

D'Orazio, Jessica, "General Education Teachers' Perceptions of Low-Intensity Behavior Management Strategies: A Phenomenological Study" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects . 6025. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/6025

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore general education teachers’ successes and challenges implementing low-intensity behavior management strategies while teaching in a public school setting. Guiding this study was Bernard Weiner’s attribution theory, as the theory relates to teachers’ perceptions and use of behavior management strategies. The central research question was, “How do general education teachers describe their experiences implementing low-intensity behavior management strategies?” Fifteen teachers participated in the study, and all teacher participants previously received training in low-intensity behavior management strategies from the district Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Data collection involved three approaches: open-ended surveys, individual interviews, and focus groups. Data were analyzed using van Manen’s methodological guidelines for hermeneutic phenomenology, specifically Phenomenology of Practice. Teachers’ descriptions of their challenges and successes implementing low-intensity behavior management strategies (precorrection, praise, breaks, accommodations) were organized into a hierarchal coding frame consisting of four primary themes and corresponding sub-themes: Teachers’ Perceptions of Feasibility, Teachers’ Perceptions of Effectiveness, Teachers’ Philosophical Acceptance of Strategies, and Teachers’ Use of Strategies. Findings revealed the importance of simplifying behavior plans, individualizing the behavior plan to the needs of the teacher, coaching teachers on classwide use of strategies, coaching teachers on combining strategies to maximize effectiveness, and providing a problem-solving forum for teachers districtwide.

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Thembekile P. Myeni Da Vinci Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa Paul Singh Da Vinci Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa Myeni, T.P., & Singh, P. (2024). Implementing B-BBEE: Leader Experiences in the South African Banking Industry. (0), a2673. 20 May 2024; 20 Aug. 2024; 18 Sept. 2024 © 2024. The Author(s). Licensee: AOSIS. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Large banking institutions in South Africa remain complex organisations facing a myriad of challenges as they navigate the Fifth Industrial Revolution (5IR) and strive to remain relevant. A significant challenge relates to how these organisations can utilise Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) to create diverse and inclusive teams for organisational success and sustainability. To explore the experiences and sense-making processes of senior leaders tasked with the implementation of affirmative action as part of a B-BBEE strategy as they navigate this responsibility within a South African bank. To shine on the complex experiences of senior leaders tasked with implementing affirmative action within a B-BBEE strategy in a large financial institution. A qualitative interpretivist case study was applied to explore senior leaders’ negotiation of their perceptions and experiences of leading the implementation of B-BBEE in a large bank. Ten semi-structured interviews were utilised as the main data generation tool. Study reveals how senior leaders hold strong convictions about the value of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This included the continued necessity for legislation such as B-BBEE given South Africa’s racial history and existing personal biases that impact workplace diversity and inclusion. The study further reveals that senior leaders believe that B-BBEE is poorly implemented and attribute this to the tension leaders experience between diversity and performance, a lack of organisational policies and practices required to hold leaders accountable for B-BBEE implementation and leaders who lack the skills and expertise required to successfully create diverse and inclusive work environments. Positive contributions to diversity and inclusion policies and practices, leadership development and transformation of the banking organisations in South Africa and the industry at large. Banking institutions as large market players can play a significant role in leading workplace transformation through improved implementation of diversity and inclusion legislation and principles within B-BBEE. Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE); affirmative action; leadership; transformation; employment equity; leader experiences. South Africa’s first democratically elected government was tasked with addressing the political, social, and economic disparities created by the harsh apartheid regime, using a detailed set of laws for this purpose (Pike et al., ). In pursuit of this, the government rolled out the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) initiative in 1994, urging the nation’s businesses to promote and enhance economic involvement among black individuals (Nhemachena et al., ). The was subsequently enacted to promote socio-economic transformation and increase the economic involvement of the black majority in South Africa’s economy (B-BBEE, ). The term ‘black people’ as defined in the encompasses Africans, Coloureds and Indians where Coloured is used as an ethnic label for people of mixed racial or ethnic origin within South Africa (The DTIC, ). The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has broadened the scope of B-BBEE beneficiaries through its codes of good practice to include women, disabled persons, youth and residents of rural areas (Pike et al., ). The B-BBEE serves as a tool for socio-economic advancement in a country marked by extreme socio-economic inequality and significant income disparities (Nyameza, ). It is seen not just as an ethical requirement, but as a logical strategy to unlock South Africa’s economic potential by ensuring the black majority’s access to the economic mainstream (Nhemachena et al., ). Within the , a B-BBEE scorecard assesses the structure of a business according to ownership, management control, skills development, enterprise and supplier development, and socio-economic development. The B-BBEE scorecard is designed to ensure economic transformation and redistribution within the South African corporate sector, to the benefit of racial groups who were previously discriminated against. There is a general scorecard and sector-specific scorecards for varying requirements within the sector. The points an organisation earns on its scorecard determine its B-BBEE Level and as a result the business opportunities it can obtain, especially in dealing with the government. This research focusses on South Africa’s banking sector, thereby making the general scorecard inapplicable; instead, the scorecard under the Financial Sector Code is relevant (The DTIC, ). The updated Financial Sector Code ( ), under the amended , outlines several elements pertinent to banks, which include ownership, management control, skills development, procurement and enterprise skills development, socio-economic development, empowerment financing and access to financial services. This research examines the management control aspect of B-BBEE, which includes employment equity (EE). This component assesses the presence of black individuals at various management levels – from board members to junior managers – using payroll data analysis (The DTIC, ). In the financial services sector scorecard, management control carries an additional weight of five points compared to the generic scorecard, underscoring its heightened importance and focus within the industry. Despite the many years since the advent of democracy, socio-economic transformation focussed on racial and gender diversity within the banking industry has been slow. According to the Banking Association of South Africa, diversity targets were not met across all levels of management across 20 surveyed banks in the country (BASA, ). This lack of adequate transformation is pertinent to the study as it explores the experiences of leaders responsible for enhancing black and female representation across different management tiers, driven by an affirmative action mandate as part of implementing a B-BBEE strategy to identify insights which could move the industry towards the achievements of these targets. The study seeks to investigate and characterise the experiences of senior leaders charged with executing EE, specifically affirmative action, within a B-BBEE strategy. This inquiry aims to highlight how these leaders perceive B-BBEE and affirmative action, and how they interpret their leadership roles based on their views and application of these principles. The objectives of this study are to: In organisational frameworks, leadership has been established as a key factor in developing inclusive work cultures for organisational success and sustainability (Weiss et al., ). In the African context, transformational leadership styles have been the most relevant in actualising the intent of mechanisms such as affirmative action and EE within B-BBEE, that is, the creation of diverse and inclusive work environments that are free of discrimination for all employees regardless of race, gender and disability (Mungai, ). Diversity is defined as the range of differences among individuals based on various attributes such as colour, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language and physical ability (Patrick & Kumar, ). In the workplace, diversity entails proactive efforts to increase representation from varied backgrounds in all job categories through recruitment, development and retention strategies to ensure the workforce mirrors the broader population demographics (Banks & Banks, ). Inclusion is about how well employers connect with and provide significant opportunities for all employees to learn, grow and utilise their skills, and it relates to an employee’s sense of being treated with fairness, justice, equality and acceptance within their workgroup (Nair & Vohra, ). In South Africa, diversity and inclusion emerge from a difficult past as a result of apartheid and the extensive ways in which people of colour were excluded from meaningful participation in the economy (Shackleton & Gwedla, ). Following a number of legislative changes from the advent of democracy, the was enacted to foster racial, gender and economic transformation, and enhance the inclusion of the black majority in the South African economy (The DTIC, ). The B-BBEE comprises a number of elements namely, ownership, management control, skills development, socio-economic development, enterprise development and supplier development aimed at enabling racial, gender and ability equality. which includes affirmative action, and the are therefore key components of the B-BBEE in the management control and skills development components (The DTIC, ). The is a broad and comprehensive piece of legislation that extends the South African government’s socio-economic aims beyond increasing the number of black people in employment to include the support of black people in business by investing in black businesses, increasing the number of black people with ownership, management and control of enterprises, and facilitating this through collective ownership models and preferential procurement (Shai et al., ). Within the scope of the Act, ‘black people’ are classified as Africans, Coloureds and Indians (The DTIC, ) Additionally, the B-BBEE codes of good practice explicitly designate black youth, women, disabled person, and rural area residents as key beneficiary groups (Pike et al., ). The success of B-BBEE has been that it has significantly expedited reforms in recruitment and pay practices in the private sector beyond what voluntary transformation would have achieved (Shai et al., ). The employment of women rose from 38% in 1994 to 45% in 2015, with black women holding 40% of top positions among black individuals that year (Mosomi, ). Although the rise in female leadership has lagged behind males, B-BBEE has boosted women’s presence in executive and board roles, with women occupying 27.0% of director positions in Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed companies in 2021, up from 5.9% in 2004 (BWASA, ). On the other hand, B-BBEE has not sufficiently enabled the majority of black people to access job opportunities, as unemployment rates are climbing, with black individuals, especially black women, experiencing disproportionately higher rates than their white counterparts (Ranchhod & Daniels, ; STATSSA, ). Wachira ( ) notes that EE, a key aspect of B-BBEE, has not significantly changed the top leadership in JSE-listed companies, where white individuals dominate chief executive officer (CEO) and executive director positions, while black people often hold non-executive roles with lesser authority. This reflects the broader trend of white individuals comprising about 11% of the economically active population yet holding around 73% of top management positions (Syed & Ozbiligin, ). Leadership is a dynamic interaction of influence between a leader and follower, within a specific context, aimed at reaching mutual objectives and the leader’s role is to motivate the follower to contribute both required and extra efforts towards these common goals (Northouse, ). Extensive research has been conducted on leadership traits, behaviours and actions that significantly impact employee engagement, wellness and performance, ultimately enhancing organisational effectiveness (Bosiok, ). Although there is ongoing debate about what makes leadership effective, there is a general agreement that leadership is crucial, and when it is negative or toxic, it can severely harm follower engagement, wellbeing and performance (Gandolfi & Stone, ). Organisational change has the potential to increase employee emotional stress and diminish overall wellbeing due to overwhelming uncertainty. This can be mitigated through change management (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, ). Effective change management practices allow for better agility by establishing standard procedures for decision-making, resource allocation and communication between leaders and employees (Calder, ). These practices not only mitigate negative impacts on employees, teams and organisational performance, such as anxiety, stress and misalignment with goals, but also create learning opportunities to develop best practices (Galli, ). Successful change management depends on leaders who recognise the significance of change and are competent in leading it effectively (Coetzee et al., ). Effective leadership is crucial for realising the potential of B-BBEE to integrate black South Africans, women and people with disabilities into the economy. Nonetheless, leaders are divided on B-BBEE, some applauding its success in driving transformation in the country and conversely, some leaders question its legislative merit and effectiveness (Juggernath, ). Leaders who are proponents of B-BBEE claim it offers a legislative method for removing barriers that hinder women’s advancement in leadership, particularly in male-dominated fields (Smith & Gayles, ). Vilakazi and Bosiu ( ) note that organisations executing B-BBEE effectively recognise its necessity in South Africa, where despite a predominantly black population, economic control remains largely with white individuals, aiming to restructure the economy and enhance competition and productivity. Leaders who support EE and affirmative action understand that excluding individuals based on race, gender or disability not only disrupts social cohesion but also threatens organisational and national stability and sustainability (Khan, ). In the negative perspectives, some black leaders argue that B-BBEE only meets the minimum requirements for transformation, thus widening the racial wealth gap, as evidenced by South Africa’s high Gini coefficient, indicating extreme income inequality (Statistica, ). Additionally, pay disparities persist, with black and female workers often earning less than their white and male counterparts for equivalent work (Francis & Valodia, ). Additionally, some white leaders oppose B-BBEE, citing that it leads to hiring underqualified black employees to fulfil quotas, adversely affecting business performance. This situation is compounded by the challenge of retaining skilled black employees in senior positions, necessitating unsustainable salary increases for compliance (Moraka & Van Rensburg, ). Leaders’ perceptions and beliefs about B-BBEE profoundly influence their commitment to its implementation, which can either drive or hinder progress in EE in South Africa’s corporate sector (Moraka & Van Rensburg, ). The depth to which the leaders’ perceptions and beliefs about B-BBEE influence their leadership behaviour and contribution to racial and gender transformation is influenced by the leader’s sensemaking of what B-BBEE is intended to do and how it is implemented within their reality. Sensemaking is a dynamic cognitive process where individuals interpret complex or ambiguous situations by incorporating information from their social environments. This involves accepting or rejecting inputs to guide future actions (Golob, ). It requires actively constructing meaning from fragmented or contradictory information, especially during uncertain or changing circumstances (Gilson, ). The iterative process of sensemaking includes gathering data, identifying patterns, framing interpretations and reconciling inconsistencies to form a coherent narrative or mental model (Barton & Kahn, ). Influenced by factors such as individual beliefs, prior experiences, cultural norms and contextual cues, sensemaking in South Africa is particularly significant because of the country’s racial history as it integrates cognitive efforts with emotional, motivational and social elements (Robert & Ola, ). Effective sensemaking helps individuals and organisations manage complexity, foresee challenges and make well-informed decisions, enhancing adaptation and learning in dynamic settings which is especially important for leaders (Pentilla et al., 2020). It ties into social constructivist, interpretivist and phenomenological approaches by revealing the meaning leaders within this study attribute to socio-economic transformation and how these perceptions influence their future actions in terms of B-BBEE implementation (Dervin & Naumer, ). Sensemaking has various typologies, which have the potential to serve as a lens through which the leader’s implementation of B-BBEE can be viewed. details the types of sensemaking as detailed by Sandberg and Tsoukas ( ) in their study aimed at arriving at a broader understanding of sensemaking through phenomenology.  Types of sensemaking. Within this research, the importance of sensemaking is emphasised for leaders managing B-BBEE initiatives amid challenges such as post-pandemic employee fatigue, economic downturns, cost-cutting and the backdrop of South Africa’s racial injustices (Christianson & Barton, 2020 ). Despite the length of time since the advent of democracy and the introduction of components of B-BBEE to drive socio-economic transformation, the pace of change affecting the business world means that there are more complex issues for leaders to consider, and diversity and inclusion is not a simple component for which leaders can just engage in inherent sensemaking (Kezar, 2023 ). Leaders are required to exercise deeper consideration in diversity and inclusion matters and the successful implementation of B-BBEE requires leaders to possess a deeper leadership skillset or risk failure. Key leadership skills required to drive diversity and inclusion through affirmative action In a rapidly evolving and complex world, organisations strive for sustainable success and growth. However, achieving sustainable success requires more than talent and resources; it demands effective leadership and the development of robust capacities (Hashimy et al., 2023 ). Leaders aiming for success in diversity and inclusion and successfully implementing affirmative action through B-BBEE must possess key skills such as emotional, social and cultural intelligence, along with capabilities in inclusive leadership and group facilitation (Ince, 2023 ). These are detailed as follows: Emotional intelligence Emotional intelligence involves recognising and managing one’s own emotions and understanding others’ emotions to build effective relationships (Issah, 2018 ). It encompasses emotional self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management, crucial for organisational leadership, particularly during change (Goleman, 2021 ). This intelligence allows leaders to use emotions effectively for self-motivation, resilience and impulse control, which in turn helps positively influence stakeholders for the organisation’s benefit (Foltin & Keller, 2012 ). Social intelligence Social intelligence is the capability to engage positively in social interactions, understand non-verbal cues and emotions of others, and use this understanding to anticipate behaviours (Goleman, 2011 ). Those with social intelligence can collaborate effectively towards common goals as it promotes understanding and empathy, reduces conflicts and helps in building strong relationships with others (Serrat, 2017 ). Cultural intelligence Cultural intelligence is described as the ability to effectively operate in culturally diverse environments, recognising cultural differences and using this awareness to behave appropriately within such contexts (Akhal & Liu, 2019). This form of intelligence involves adapting communication and interaction styles to fit different cultural norms, enhancing cross-cultural understanding and effectiveness. Research design Research design philosophy and approach. This study adopts an interpretivist approach to explore subjective experiences and interpretations regarding leading B-BBEE implementation, employing a phenomenological stance to grasp participants’ lived experiences. Inductive reasoning is used for qualitative research, aligning with the study’s bottom-up approach (Creswell & Creswell, 2018 ). A case study design within a single banking institution in Gauteng, South Africa, is chosen to collect detailed real-world data on leaders implementing B-BBEE. This design best suits the study’s focus on leaders’ experiences (Hancock et al., 2021 ). Research participants and sampling method Ten senior executive leaders from the study population, reflecting the profile of black and white leaders tasked with implementing affirmative action, were purposively sampled. Interviews in December 2022 involved equal gender representation and included South African-born and foreign national participants with extensive local experience. An analysis of the research participant demographics shows that all of the 10 participants interviewed operate in executive roles across different business areas within the bank. The majority of the participants (9 out of 10) are South African-born and only one participant is a foreign-national. However, all have been selected purposefully as all have lived and worked in South Africa for almost two decades each and have a perspective to provide on the phenomena under study. The foreign-national participant was further selected to provide views on being an African but not being considered African for the purposes of B-BBEE in South Africa. Data collection methods Semi-structured interviews lasting 45 min to an hour, conducted via Teams or in-person, allowed in-depth exploration of leaders’ experiences. An interview guide ensured comprehensive coverage of research questions, with recordings transcribed and pseudonymised for confidentiality (Alshenqeeti, 2014 ). Strategies for data quality and integrity Maintaining objectivity despite the researcher’s leadership role involved suspending personal biases, upholding ethical principles and transparent documentation. Participant review of analysis elements ensured accuracy, while an external audit in the form of a review of collated meeting notes and generated themes by an independent researcher verified dependability (Creswell & Creswell, 2018 ). Data analysis Preliminary analysis after each interview identified emerging themes and included a reflection on any to confirm that the questions asked in the interview were leading to the formation of a response to the research question (Moser & Korstjens, 2017 ). Thematic analysis was used to code, generate and interpret patterns within the interview transcripts and notes (Bazeley, 2013 ). Transcriptions were reviewed to deepen understanding and identify relationships. Further analysis was performed by linking the developed codes to constructs and codes in existing literature facilitating the development of theoretical categories (Braun & Clarke, 2014 ). Reporting style The themes that were generated are described in the findings section. The findings are presented for each of the research questions. Some of the findings corroborated previous research, while others differed, thereby making a theoretical contribution to the current body of knowledge. Ethical considerations Ethical approval to conduct this study was obtained from the Da Vinci Institute Ethics Committee with reference: 01422. The research participants were informed of the motivation of the study and their role in the study to enable informed consent and voluntary participation (Pike et al., 2018 ). An invitation email was sent to all participants, explaining the motivation of the study, the role of the research participant, anonymity, confidentiality, method of data collection and right of withdrawal. This e-mail was accompanied by a Microsoft Teams invitation for a research interview and acceptance of the invitation was deemed to be acceptance of voluntary participation in the study. The themes that were developed for the research questions are presented in the following sections. Perceptions of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Participants noted that in the South African context, when people think of affirmative action, racial inclusion is the primary focus, followed by gender and lastly disability, if considered at all. Other diversities listed under the Employment Equity Act of 1998 are often overlooked. Participants felt this approach underserves the Act’s goal of inclusive economic empowerment and devalues workplace diversity. They advocated for affirmative action to broaden its scope to include diverse skills needed in today’s job market as roles evolve towards skill adaptability and transferability. Despite varying views on affirmative action, there was a shared recognition of the value of diverse teams in enhancing business performance through varied perspectives and ideas. Participants expressed mixed feelings about affirmative action’s current implementation, criticising it for being overly focussed on numerical targets rather than merit. They argued that focussing solely on legislative compliance can detract from the goal of creating genuinely inclusive environments that reflect the country’s demographic diversity. In South Africa, historical biases and a tendency to promote similarity necessitate legislation such as affirmative action to ensure fairness and humanism across racial lines, as biases continue to influence leadership decisions negatively. Participants highlighted that while affirmative action is crucial for promoting fairness in recruitment and retention, its misapplication can lead to perceptions of corruption and inefficiency, calling for a balanced approach that aligns diversity with qualifications and organisational performance: ‘The focus on legislation when we talk about creating inclusive work environments can distract people from the necessity to have teams that are representative of everyone in our country in terms of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and all other points of difference. If the moral imperative for diversity does not appeal to a leader, the bottom-line view should: It’s good for business to have people around the decision-making table who think differently and see the world differently.’ (RP7, white person, Male) ‘My perception of Affirmation Action is mixed. We need more diversity in teams, that’s a no brainer. It makes great business sense to have divergent thinking when making decisions. When you build a team, you want people with different backgrounds and experiences so you can leverage a broad spectrum of strengths. However, my perception is mixed because I have seen that the way we implement Affirmative Action is not right. We focus on numbers and do not always hire the best person for the role.’ (RP1, black African person, Male) ‘Legislated diversity is crucial in a country like ours where most private companies are still led by white males. What is scary that when we see a black leader in a senior position these days, we question who is really pulling the strings and making the decisions in the background. That means while we know the intent of B-BBEE and its related legislation, we know that how its applied in practice is for show.’ (RP10, Indian person, Female) These quotes illustrate that affirmative action remains crucial in the South African private sector, where black, female and disabled employees are notably underrepresented in influential positions. However, attitudes towards affirmative action are often negative among leaders responsible for its implementation to determine the pace of transformation. The study underscores a need to realign affirmative action with its original intent, focussing not just on filling quotas but on creating meaningful opportunities for everyone, ensuring that those advanced through such initiatives contribute significantly to their organisations. Sensemaking of leader experiences while implementing Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment The role of personal conscious and unconscious bias in leadership. Participants expressed that recognising and challenging personal biases is essential for leaders to effectively promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace. They noted that both conscious and unconscious biases significantly impact diversity management. Leaders who fail to confront their biases tend to favour hiring individuals who resemble themselves in appearance and speech, thereby limiting opportunities for others. This practice often results in the overrepresentation of similar individuals in teams and a lack of accountability for such biases: ‘In the workplace we hire for comfort first. We want to hire the people who will be less difficult for us to manage. We want people that we can trust quickly, get along with quickly and in our minds, produce great results with quickly too. So, we remove barriers caused by differences which predominantly include race, gender, language, and culture because we don’t want to have to watch what we say and how we say it. I have come to learn that as a leader, I am an imperfect human and want this comfort, so I have been intentional about building the skills that for me are foundational for true diversity and inclusion: self-awareness, empathy, patience, tolerance, understanding, and acceptance.’ (RP3, white person, Female) ‘I have seen our organisation, and many other organisations hire disabled people to meet targets but keep those disabled individuals in the same roles for decades. There was no concern for the aspirations of these individuals and no regard for the skills that these individuals could bring given the opportunity. It is so hard for some leaders to see beyond someone’s disability and more needs to be done to ensure organisations don’t pay lip service to transformation.’ (RP6, Coloured person, Female) The challenges leaders face in implementing affirmative action are often personal, stemming from their biases and experiences with diversity management in the workplace. In today’s fast-paced, disruptive volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity (VUCA) environment, there is a strong demand for leaders to enhance diversity and inclusion efforts and foster collaboration within teams. This requires leaders to set aside their egos and personal views on diversity for the success of the organisation. The perceived tension between transformation and performance Participants discussed how high attrition rates as a result of a negative organisational climate caused by endless restructures forced them as leaders to make difficult decisions that appeared to compromise B-BBEE transformation goals – focussed on race, gender and disability – for immediate team performance and goal achievement. This revealed a perception that transformation and performance goals are misaligned in the short term, requiring a choice between them. However, they recognised that in the long term, the benefits of transformation could enhance overall organisational performance: ‘Our people are battling burnout, exhaustion and poor mental health because of the never-ending restructures that increase anxiety and increase team load as vacancies are generally put on hold and teams must make do with reduced resources. The endless restructures led to high employee churn, and as a result, we are constantly dealing with resignations, retirements, and international relocations. It is hard to deal with that and still be concerned with transformation numbers.’ (RP2, Indian person, Male) ‘I am all for diversity and inclusion, and having teams where everyone in the team feels acknowledged and accepted, and where the team can benefit from our varying experiences and expertise because we openly share these with each other. However, I also know that my senior leadership team is not diverse at all, it is all white [ people ]. We are losing emerging talent of colour because when they look at us at the top, they don’t see a single face that looks like theirs and they feel they don’t belong. It’s a very difficult thing to navigate right now.’ (RP4, white person, Male) In this study, it was interesting to note that the views related to the negative tension between transformation and performance emerged from interviews with male participants with the majority being white males. Female participants did not appear to factor this into their sense-making process. This was a curious finding as other researchers have found that white leaders in South Africa tend to feel that affirmative action is designed to unfairly reward people of colour in the workplace without consideration of merit and achievement. While black South African leaders tend to feel that affirmative action perpetuates the stereotype that black employees are of inferior quality and did not work hard for their achievements (Myeza & April, 2021). The perceived conflict between diversity and performance stems from the misconception that group homogeneity enhances cohesion and effectiveness. Studies, however, show that diverse teams often surpass homogeneous ones by leveraging varied perspectives, experiences and skills; this is supported by Wang ( 2023 ). This is because while it remains that diversity can introduce challenges such as communication barriers or differing viewpoints, well-managed diverse teams can use these differences to boost creativity, innovation and problem-solving. Embracing diversity not only improves organisational adaptability and resilience but also enhances performance and competitiveness in a complex, interconnected world (Kim & Lee, 2023 ). Therefore, the conflict between diversity and performance can be viewed as a growth opportunity when diversity is effectively utilised. The obligation to challenge the status quo Participants in this study explained that leading diversity and inclusion through affirmative action in recruitment, development and promotion practices was challenging yet rewarding. They described the reward as opportunities to demonstrate the true value of diversity and inclusion and to use their leadership to address behaviours that do not align with the organisation’s diversity and inclusion goals: ‘As a senior leader, my leadership duty includes ensuring that the leaders within my team, also understand the value of diversity and demonstrate this understanding in who they hire, develop, and promote. My responsibility is to call out bias when I see it and guide my team towards recruitment decisions that will benefit the team and organisation. I have had many instances where I have had to challenge my team when we have vacancies, and they say they cannot find anyone in the market with the right skills, experiences, and exposures. I have come to learn that this is code for “I cannot find anyone in the market [who looks like me, has a similar background to mine and qualified in the same {level of} firm as me]”.’ (RP9, black African person, Female) The quote illustrates that leaders who champion diversity foster a culture of openness, respect, and collaboration, which not only attracts top talent but also enhances organisational adaptability and resilience. By standing firm in their commitment to diversity and inclusion, leaders not only promote social justice and equality but also position their organisations for long-term success in a dynamic and competitive landscape: ‘The experiences that have positively shaped my views on leading diversity and inclusion within the bank have been when I have managed to shift the views of my peer senior leaders in three things: We need to stop looking for unicorns (perfect people when we hire). We should hire people who have 70% of the things we need and have the willingness and ability to learn the rest. We need to stop centring development efforts and career progression around extroverts and embrace the quiet wisdom of introverts. We lose out on the potential of so many people because of this. We must challenge the status quo and not be afraid of the brand perception around challenging other senior leaders when they misuse diversity legislation.’ (RP8, white person, Male) The quote illustrates leaders who believe in the value of diversity feel internally accountable to organisational transformation efforts and in turn, organisations that believe in the business rationale for a diverse workforce put in measures to ensure leaders are acting in accordance with that belief. Participants shared that a significant leadership challenge exists to ensure that affirmative action measures are followed up by appropriate learning, development and talent management measures so as to not set black employees up for failure in the workplace. Guidelines for future implementations Organisational structures to support diversity and inclusion. Participants relayed obstacles to successful leadership of B-BBEE initiatives. These include endless operating model changes leading to organisational restructures which negatively affect employee numbers, the ability to recruit, team performance and morale. Furthermore, a lack of accountability for leaders who do not meet transformation targets, a lack of accountability for leaders who are abusing legislation by oversubscribing teams with black or white team members and a lack of recognition and reward for leaders who do the right thing, meet transformation targets and move towards building inclusive team environments. Participants detailed that these would set the tone at an organisational level for accepted behaviour and actions that will not be tolerated: ‘My biggest challenge in leading transformational change in my space as a senior leader is that there aren’t enough people assigned to this task in the organisation. I sometimes feel like I am fighting alone against old leaders stuck in old mindsets. In an organisation of over 40 000 people, there are only six people in the Diversity and Inclusion team. These six people, work with smaller forums within business however these forums do not have a seat, voice, or power at executive decision-making tables and as a result fail to hold executives accountable for sluggish progress towards transformation and adequately support the leaders to make the required leaps.’ (RP5, black African person, Female) The experiences shared by participants highlighted honest assessments of transformation within their teams and the bank, leading to a realisation that every leader’s actions significantly impact the progress towards genuine diversity and inclusion. Interviews revealed that challenges in leading B-BBEE initiatives were acknowledged by both white and black leaders, as well as male and female leaders, although to different extents. Leaders’ reactions to these challenges varied: some felt disempowered, while others saw them as opportunities to innovate and promote diversity and inclusion amid continuous organisational change. Skills required by leaders to successfully implement Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment As participants shared their reflections on how they make sense of their experiences, what emerged are the lessons that the leaders have taken out of each experience for themselves as individuals and for the leadership of their teams going forward: ‘The thing we really need to change is how we develop leaders in the organisation. If we want upcoming or growing leaders within the organisation to do things differently, we need to encourage transformational leadership skills from the get-go. We need to expose young leaders to diverse environments through secondments early on in their careers so they can speak about cultural intelligence and the value of diversity from experience.’ (RP10, Indian person, Female) ‘We need to role model the right behaviours as senior leaders so that younger leaders do not face the challenges we face. We need to demonstrate integrity, speaking up and holding each other accountable without the fear of career suicide.’ (RP5, black African person, Female) ‘Our training covers how to hire, that is, how to go through [ curricula vitae ] CVs, run interviews, the process … it does not adequately cover diversity and inclusion considerations, self-awareness, conscious and unconscious biases as well as ethical dilemmas. Nothing is going to change if these things don’t change.’ (RP1, black African person, Male) The skills described in Table 2 reflect the skills indicated by the participants in their reflections with definitions pulled from legislation to provide a clear sense of the meaning of these skills.  Skills required by leaders to successfully implement Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment. The aforementioned skills reflect the participants’ perspectives about senior leaders who serve as crucial role models within organisations, embodying the values, behaviours, and principles that shape the organisational culture. As such, it is imperative for senior leaders to actively invest in the growth and development of junior leaders. By providing mentorship, guidance, and opportunities for skill-building and leadership experience, senior leaders cultivate a pipeline of talent that can drive future success and innovation. The research objectives that guided the study towards its aim were to explore and describe the experiences of senior leaders responsible for implementing EE, particularly affirmative action, as part of a B-BBEE strategy. This exploration revealed leaders’ perceptions of B-BBEE and affirmative action and how they make sense of their roles based on their views on these policies, both in principle and practice. The findings outlined next demonstrate how the research objectives were met to achieve the research aim. The first research objective focussed on the exploration of the views and perspectives senior leaders hold on B-BBEE and in particular affirmative action within B-BBEE. The authors argued that when it comes to the essence of B-BBEE, which is diversity and the meaningful inclusion of black people in the economy, all senior leaders agree that this remains a worthy cause. However, senior leaders unanimously agree that B-BBEE is poorly implemented in the country including the organisation which they lead, leaving the leaders unconvinced of the appropriateness of the legislation in its present and envisioned future form. From the interviews, it was noted that senior and executive leaders highly value both physical (gender, race, ethnicity, ability) and cognitive (skills, competence, beliefs, values) diversity, recognising its importance for business innovation, creativity and performance, especially when organisations must leverage all strengths to stay competitive. The interviews highlighted that the measurable components of diversity, that is, the physical, are the primary focus for individuals and organisations alike. Cognitive differences on the other hand are assumed to come along as a result of the physical diversity, that is, it is assumed that a white male and black female bring differing levels of intellect, creativity and innovation to a team because of their race and gender. This may be a fallacy and a critical unrealised gap in the current thinking regarding diversity and inclusion within South Africa and in fact the world. The interviews also highlighted that an organisation’s culture significantly impacts its diversity levels. A positive and inclusive culture that values diversity helps attract and retain a diverse workforce, while a negative or discriminatory culture can lead to underrepresentation and high turnover among minority groups. A positive culture ensures all employees feel valued and respected, enhancing their sense of belonging and willingness to contribute their unique insights, which in turn promotes greater collaboration and innovation. However, the interviews revealed that senior leaders are conscious of their personal biases and how these biases affect decisions related to recruitment, development and succession. These biases can lead to unequal representation within the organisation, skewed allocation of opportunities and potentially discriminatory behaviour, resulting in a less inclusive work environment and affecting employee morale and retention. This underscores the ongoing necessity for policies such as B-BBEE, EE, and affirmative action to counteract these biases. The continuation of legislation such as B-BBEE was a resounding request from most research participants as leaders explained that without the legislation to guide their actions, personal biases may continuously prevail leading to unintentional exclusive work environments. The second research objective focussed on the understanding of the sense-making processes that leaders engage in, in order to place meaning on their experiences while leading a B-BBEE strategy implementation. On a personal level, participants reflected on their experiences, recognising their inherent biases related to race, gender, language, cultural background and other factors. This self-awareness prompted them to question the type of leaders they were, the leaders they aspired to be and the legacy they hoped to leave at the end of their careers. On a professional level, participants reasoned the implementation of B-BBEE as an additional task alongside their regular duties. They needed to actively manage affirmative action decisions as part of their daily work, either directly or by influencing others. The interviews also indicated that because of South Africa’s historical context and the established B-BBEE legislation, affirmative action decisions are now integral to business operations in the country. At an organisational level, participants assessed their experiences in relation to the actions and behaviours of their peers, particularly noting instances where recruitment, promotion and development decisions contradicted the transformative goals of B-BBEE and organisational values. This contributed to the participants raising the point of view that organisational structures of performance management, recognition and reward must support transformation for B-BBEE strategy implementation to work effectively. Furthermore, participants opined that the workplace has become increasingly complex and volatile because of rapid digital transformation and globalisation, and that there is ever increasing pressure to ensure business performance, making diversity and inclusion a barrier to rapidly filling vacancies, upskilling and ultimately meeting high performance targets. The third research objective focussed on the lessons that might be learnt from the experiences of the leaders participating in the study in aid of future B-BBEE strategy implementations. The interviews revealed that in the context of implementing affirmative action within an organisation’s B-BBEE strategy, the adage by John E. Jones, ‘what gets measured, gets done; what gets measured and fed back, gets done well; and what gets rewarded is repeated’, is essential (Gray et al., 2015 ). Measurement and feedback are parts of the solution: B-BBEE targets are regularly assessed and reported to leadership and employees, but this often results in targets being met only at junior levels, not in senior management. The critical missing element is reward. Effective strategies should include both recognition for leaders who promote inclusivity and human-centred leadership, and performance contracts that tie the achievement of diversity and inclusion targets, including affirmative action, to monetary outcomes such as bonuses and promotions. A further insight emerging from the interviews was that an intentional leadership development plan could effectively promote diversity and inclusion beyond mere compliance with EE laws. This plan should foster a consistent organisation-wide discussion on diversity and inclusion, clearly defining leaders’ roles and responsibilities at all levels. Aligned with organisational values, the plan would guide leaders in practically embodying these values, making diversity and inclusion a tangible reality for all employees across different business segments. This would be achieved through leaders being equipped with self-awareness, integrity, cultural intelligence, grit and emotional intelligence, adopting a transformational leadership style. Competencies such as critical thinking, a growth mindset, problem-solving, collaboration, and digital proficiency are equally crucial for maintaining competitiveness in any market. Figure 1 details the leadership development plan that emerged from the study as a means to develop the behaviours, attitudes and skills leaders need to effectively implement affirmative action within a B-BBEE strategy. Leadership development plan. In terms of the strategic context, interpreting and discussing the observations from the provided plan within the context of the South African banking environment entails understanding the unique challenges and opportunities present in the industry. South African banks operate in a highly competitive market where differentiation can be critical as competition is high, pricing is fairly inflexible, and customers are quite price sensitive (Ntimane, 2020 ). Diversity and inclusion may present as a key enabler for differentiation in the market. When looking at the anchoring at an organisational level, it is important to note that banking institutions in South Africa such as the one under study often have well-defined values and a strong organisational culture anchored on a societal impact purpose and a people-centric leadership philosophy. By anchoring B-BBEE implementation to the organisational purpose, values and leadership philosophy, banks can ensure alignment with their overall strategic direction. This will ensure consistent messaging across the organisation that embeds diversity and inclusion matters into the fabric of the organisational culture rather than a task to be completed in isolation (Manoharan et al., 2021 ). Interventions during leadership inductions, transitions, dialogues and connect sessions serve as meaningful moments where leaders are convened. These can help maintain continuity in diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts and prevent setbacks because of misaligned messaging related to B-BBEE implementation. During these moments, discussions on B-BBEE as a vehicle for diversity and inclusion matters should become common place in the workplace to build psychological safety around bold conversations on the topic. These discussions should be coupled with self-led digital learning, coaching, mentoring and communities of practices as delivery modes which most leaders are familiar with within corporate. The above-stated plan makes mention of the knowledge that leaders require and should be disseminated during these moments that matter and delivered in the flow of work of the leader. Understanding B-BBEE legislation, EE targets and the value of diversity and inclusion in a VUCA world is crucial in the South African context. This will ensure that leaders recognise the continuing need for B-BBEE legislation, remain focussed on the intent of this legislation and recognise that the implementation of strategies aligned to B-BBEE is not designed to hinder performance but accelerate it through effective diversity and inclusion within teams. Lastly, the plan refers to the skills that leaders need to develop and the supporting practices to ensure that the business environment is conducive to the successful implementation of B-BBEE. Given the diverse demographics of South Africa, leaders in banking and all other industries need strong social and cultural intelligence to effectively engage with clients and employees from different backgrounds. Emotional intelligence and a transformational leadership style can foster inclusive environments where all employees feel valued and empowered. Performance management, rewards and benefits are areas where South African banks can reinforce D&I initiatives by holding leaders accountable for their role in creating inclusive work environments and rewarding the leaders who are most effective in this regard. The participants responses to the research questions enabled the researcher to provide concrete recommendations for the implementation of transformational diversity and inclusion-related change within an organisation, starting with the leader as an influencer of employee behaviour. Adoption of the proposed organisational practices and the proposed leadership development plan could facilitate significant gains through meaningful diversity and inclusion within teams leading to enhanced organisational performance. Significance of the study Limited research has been done on the perspectives and experiences of leaders responsible for implementing B-BBEE strategies (Grobler et al., 2019 ; Prinsloo, 2017). This study enhances theoretical knowledge on B-BBEE by examining the experiences of executive leaders implementing affirmative action within the South African banking sector, and how these insights can inform future B-BBEE implementations. Additionally, the study improves practices in organisational transformation and leadership development through a transformational change leadership guideline. It identifies discrepancies between the organisation’s transformation goals and their actual execution, pinpoints leadership development needs and suggests reevaluating leader performance management and reward policies to better align intentions with actions. Limitations of the study The study aimed to examine the experiences of senior executive leaders implementing affirmative action as part of a B-BBEE strategy within a major South African retail bank. Although this bank is a key player in the market and one of Africa’s largest banks, it represents just one institution within the financial services sector. The exploratory qualitative nature of the study meant that the study was limited to 10 leaders, and it is important to note that a possible desirability bias may have deterred other leaders from participating in the study as some leaders who were invited to participate, declined the request to participate. Given the study’s limited scope, its findings cannot be generalised to a broader population and may not apply to other contexts. Suggestions for future research This study employed a qualitative approach to capture and interpret participant experiences. However, there is potential for a quantitative study to explore senior leaders’ recommendations on practices and policies that organisations should adopt to better facilitate the implementation of affirmative action within a B-BBEE strategy. Such a study could also examine the skills necessary for leaders to effectively drive transformational change in this context. The current research was confined to one organisation and 10 senior leaders, suggesting an opportunity for a quantitative approach to broaden the sample to include more organisations and possibly other sectors. This expansion could help identify trends and variances that offer deeper insights into the leadership of racial and gender transformation across various industries in South Africa. The findings of this study highlight the pivotal role leaders play in fostering inclusive work environments, especially amid the rapid changes of the Fifth Industrial Revolution (5IR), which integrates technology and human experiences. The study argues that organisations committed to transformational change and building genuinely diverse teams will succeed if they create supportive systems for inclusion. This involves revising policies on diversity and inclusion, establishing recognition and rewards aligned with these policies, and implementing consequence management for non-compliance. Furthermore, it is recommended that organisational leadership development practices be re-evaluated and re-shaped through a transformational leadership plan that develops the requisite skills at all levels. Acknowledgements Competing interests. The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article. Authors’ contributions T.P.M. designed and developed the research concepts, methodology, data collection and analysis in conjunction with P.S. in his role as supervisor. Funding information This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors. Data availability The data that supports the findings of this study cannot be made available because of the terms of the ethical clearance obtained. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and are the product of professional research. 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SA Journal of Human Resource Management    |    ISSN: 1683-7584 (PRINT)    |    ISSN: 2071-078X (ONLINE) ISSN: 2071-078X 189 IMAGES Purpose of Business Research Stock Illustration Introduction to Research and 10 Purposes of Research Lecture 2 Purpose of Business Research Stock Image Purpose of Research Importance of Research in Business VIDEO study tips #class 10th#exam_2025 #bseb_board #studyadvice #video #shortvideo #vvi information #upsc Why Study Business Ethics? Business research meaning, definition, types, nature and scope Lecture#3|types of business research| Applied Research Meaning, Scope, Characteristics And Need Of Business Research Purpose of Business Research, Business Research Methodology #bba #bcom #shortnotes COMMENTS Business Research: Methods, Types & Examples Business research: Definition. Business research is a process of acquiring detailed information on all the areas of business and using such information to maximize the sales and profit of the business. Such a study helps companies determine which product/service is most profitable or in demand. In simple words, it can be stated as the acquisition of information or knowledge for professional or ... What Is Business Research? (With Methods and Examples) Case study research: This type of business research aims to assess customer satisfaction by discovering the main challenges that customers face when buying or using a specific product or service. Their purpose is to help company stakeholders gain a better understanding of the respective issues so they can provide effective solutions. Purpose of Research The purpose of research can vary depending on the field of study, the research question, and the intended audience. In general, research can be used to: Generate new knowledge and theories. Test existing theories or hypotheses. Identify trends or patterns. Gather information for decision-making. Evaluate the effectiveness of programs, policies ... Case Study Method: A Step-by-Step Guide for Business Researchers This article is written with a specific purpose to provide a case study guide to research students of business and management disciplines specifically. Authors share their experiences that they gained while conducting case studies. The issues and challenges that were faced by the authors are pointed out in the form of practical solutions. What is Business Research: Methods, Types & Examples In business research methodology, there are two main types. These are quantitative research and qualitative research. In the simplest terms, quantitative research is about collecting numerical and factual data, whereas qualitative research is about collecting data by using open-ended questions. These two methods can be divided into more ... Business research: Definition, types & methods Business research helps companies make better business decisions by gathering information. The scope of the term business research is quite broad - it acts as an umbrella that covers every aspect of business, from finances to advertising creative. It can include research methods which help a company better understand its target market. PDF An Introduction to Business Research Research can be defined as a 'step-by-step process that involves the collecting, recording, analyzing and interpreting of information'. As researchers, we are inter-ested in improving our knowledge and understanding of our chosen topic. To do this effectively, researchers must have a clear set of research questions. Nature, Scope, and Significance of Business Research Here are some major benefits of business research: Informed Decision Making: Business research provides accurate and reliable data, enabling managers to make well-informed decisions. Market Understanding: It helps businesses understand market dynamics, customer preferences, and emerging trends. Risk Reduction: By identifying potential risks and ... PDF Research Methods in Business Studies Challenges and Ambiguities of Business Research 1 1 Introduction 3 1.1 Purpose of the Book 3 1.2 Readership 5 1.3 On the Use of the Book 7 2 Research in Business Studies 8 2.1 The Nature of Knowledge Development 9 2.2 Why We Do Research 10 2.3 Research versus Common Sense 12 2.4 Different Research Orientations 16 2.5 Induction, Deduction, and ... Business Research Process Business research is conducted in five stages. The first stage is problem formation where the objectives of the research are established. The second stage is research design. In this stage, the researcher identifies the variables of interest and possible relationships among those variables, decides on the appropriate data source and measurement ... Business Research: It's Meaning, Process and Objectives Meaning of Business Research. Business research is the process of studying a company's competitors, stakeholders, and profit & loss to meet the company objectives and maximize revenue & profits. The research involves identifying the target market, estimating their current needs & wants, and then conducting product planning to meet those demands. PDF Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Research Chapter 1Introduction to Business ResearchIn the present fast track business environment marked by cut-throat competition, many organizations rely on business research to gain a com. etitive advantage and greater market share. A good research study helps organizations to understand processes, products, customers, markets and competition, to ... Research Questions, Objectives & Aims (+ Examples) Research Aims: Examples. True to the name, research aims usually start with the wording "this research aims to…", "this research seeks to…", and so on. For example: "This research aims to explore employee experiences of digital transformation in retail HR.". "This study sets out to assess the interaction between student ... Business Research: Types, Methods, Examples Business Research Report. The purpose of a report is to inform the other members, junior and subordinates of the team to provide information on the specific topic. ... ethnographic research, case study research, and quantitative research methods, amongst others. What is the importance of business research? It is essentially important for ... What Are Research Objectives and How to Write Them (with Examples) Formulating research objectives has the following five steps, which could help researchers develop a clear objective: 8. Identify the research problem. Review past studies on subjects similar to your problem statement, that is, studies that use similar methods, variables, etc. Nature, Scope and Significance of Business Research To learn about our business market research services, call +91 124 424 5210/+91 9870 377 557 or email [email protected]. Business market research is a dynamic concept. The significance of business research is that it is a fact-finding mission that fuels successful decision-making in a corporate environment. What Is a Research Design Purpose and characteristics; Case study: Detailed study of a specific subject (e.g., a place, event, organization, etc). Data can be collected using a variety of sources and methods. Focuses on gaining a holistic understanding of the case. Ethnography: Detailed study of the culture of a specific community or group. Purpose Statement In PhD studies, the purpose usually involves applying a theory to solve the problem. In other words, the purpose tells the reader what the goal of the study is, and what your study will accomplish, through which theoretical lens. The purpose statement also includes brief information about direction, scope, and where the data will come from. Research Objectives Example: Research aim. To examine contributory factors to muscle retention in a group of elderly people. Example: Research objectives. To assess the relationship between sedentary habits and muscle atrophy among the participants. To determine the impact of dietary factors, particularly protein consumption, on the muscular health of the ... Research Paper Purpose Statement Examples A purpose statement clearly defines the objective of your qualitative or quantitative research. Learn how to create one through unique and real-world examples. 1. The Purpose of Research: Why do we do it? by Ioanna Palaiologou, David Needham and Trevor Male. 1. The Purpose of Research: Why do we do it? Select SAGE Journal articles are available to give you even more insight into chapter topics. These are also an ideal resource to help support your literature reviews, dissertations and assignments. Click on the following links which will open in ... Research: Writing a Business Plan Makes Your Startup More Likely to Succeed Research: Writing a Business Plan Makes Your Startup More Likely to Succeed. Summary. When asked about an opponent's plan for their impending fight, former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson ... 5 Reasons Why Research is Important in Business To Better Understand Your Customers. Identifies Problem Areas. Beneficial in Comparative Studies. Helps Design New Business Opportunities. Minimizes Loss. The utilization of research through a WordPress survey tool is greatly beneficial to the evolution and the further development of a business. By exerting efforts in gathering data through ... The Impact of Digital Marketing on Local Businesses How digital marketing impacts local businesses is investigated, focusing on its role in enhancing customer engagement, sales performance, and brand building, and the need for local businesses to integrate digital marketing and invest in continuous skill development strategically. Purpose: This study investigates how digital marketing impacts local businesses, focusing on its role in enhancing ... FINAL PROJECT (pptx) Business document from Nexford University, 6 pages, FINAL PROJECT 2 THE RESEARCH PROCESS USED TO PREPARE THE REPORT 1 4 7 10 I clearly outlined the purpose of the report and define the scope of the research Organize and synthesize information and findings Wrote my recommendations Finalize the report 2 Dev A Phenomenological Study on the Experiences ofWomen Suffering From The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of postnatal women suffering from Postpartum depression (PPD) in the Ho Municipality. The researchers aimed to understand the impact of PPD on mothers, their babies, and families, as well as the coping strategies employed by these women. Examining the Impact of Special Education Teacher Attrition on Student The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to determine if there was a difference between the achievement of Georgia special education students on the Ninth Grade Literature and American Literature Georgia Milestones Test in school districts with high and low special education teacher (SET) attrition rates. This study provided quantifiable data that measured the impact of ... Exploring School Counselors' Perceptions of How Poverty Impacts The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate school counselors' viewpoints regarding poverty's influence on elementary school students' executive functioning, self-regulation abilities, and academic performance. The impact of poverty on children's academic achievement is widely acknowledged, and school counselors' assistance to students from low-income families is ... General Education Teachers' Perceptions of Low-Intensity Behavior The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore general education teachers' successes and challenges implementing low-intensity behavior management strategies while teaching in a public school setting. Guiding this study was Bernard Weiner's attribution theory, as the theory relates to teachers' perceptions and use of behavior management strategies. The central research ... SA Journal of Human Resource Management The research participants were informed of the motivation of the study and their role in the study to enable informed consent and voluntary participation (Pike et al., 2018). An invitation email was sent to all participants, explaining the motivation of the study, the role of the research participant, anonymity, confidentiality, method of data ... assignment essay homework paper phd report resume review speech thesis