𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 (𝟏𝟎 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬)

Introduction
Dinesh S. Hegde
Pages 1-7
Knowledge Claims: Approaches and Perspectives
Dinesh S. Hegde
Pages 9-24
Logical and Epistemological Norms in Scientific Theory Construction
Amitabha Gupta
Pages 25-63
Problem Formulation
R. Bandyopadhyay
Pages 65-84
Systems Approach and Soft Systems Methodology of Organization and Management Studies
R. Bandyopadhyay
Pages 85-121
Qualitative Research and Its Application in Organizational Management and Social Research
R. Bandyopadhyay
Pages 123-158
On the Role and Significance of Contextualization in Economic Research
Dinesh S. Hegde
Pages 159-168
On Using Experimental Designs
V. K. Kool, Rita Agrawal
Pages 169-183
Questionnaire Design for Survey Research
Omer Bin Sayeed
Pages 185-211
Ethics in Research with Special Reference to Social Sciences
L. M. Bhole
Pages 213-225
Back Matter
Pages 227-234

The book presents a collection of essays addressing a perceived need for persistent and logical thinking, critical reasoning, rigor and relevance on the part of researchers pursuing their doctorates. Accordingly, eminent experts have come together to consider these significant aspects of the research process, which result in different knowledge claims in different fields or subject areas. An attempt has been made to find a common denominator across diverse management disciplines, so that the broadest range of researchers can benefit from the book. The topics have been carefully chosen to cover problem formulation, contextualizing, soft & hard modeling, qualitative and quantitative analysis and ethical issues, in addition to the design of experiments and survey-based research.

The distinguishing feature of this book is that it recognizes the diverse backgrounds of scholars from different interdisciplinary areas as well as their varying needs with regard to modeling, observations, measurements, aggregation, data analyses, etc. After all, researchers are expected to deepen our understanding, expand on existing information, introduce fresh insights, present new evidence and/or disprove accepted theories, hypotheses etc. More importantly, the book cautions against the over-reliance on software packages and mechanical interpretation of results based on the size, sign and significance of the coefficients obtained. Instead, the focus is on the underlying theories, hypotheses and relationships and on establishing new ones. In doing so, due care is taken to clearly enunciate what exactly constitutes a knowledge claim and what is methodology as distinct from methods, tools and techniques.