Essays on research methodology
- New Delhi; Springer; 2015
- 249 pages
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.