Business Research: Business Analytics and Business Intelligence

• Articles
  • Business Analytics Vs Business Intelligence - http://timoelliott.com/blog/2011/03/business-analytics-vs-business-intelligence.html

Concepts on Business Research

What is Business Research?

Types of Business Research

• Market research is broader in scope and examines all aspects of a business environment. It asks questions about competitors, market structure, government regulations, economic trends, technological advances, and numerous other factors that make up the business environment (see environmental scanning). Sometimes the term refers more particularly to the financial analysis of companies, industries, or sectors. In this case, financial analysts usually carry out the research and provide the results to investment advisors and potential investors.
• Product research — This looks at what products can be produced with available technology, and what new product innovations near-future technology can develop (see new product development).
• Advertising research - is a specialized form of marketing research conducted to improve the efficacy of advertising. Copy testing, also known as "pre-testing," is a form of customized research that predicts in-market performance of an ad before it airs, by analyzing audience levels of attention, brand linkage, motivation, entertainment, and communication, as well as breaking down the ad’s flow of attention and flow of emotion. Pre-testing is also used on ads still in rough (ripomatic or animatic) form.

How to Conduct Business Research?

Key Considerations when Planning your Business Research

• Why am I doing this Research? What important decision am I trying to make?
  • Focus. Always have an important decision in mind. Do not waste time collecting information to help make a decision that is not vital.
• When do I need to make my decision?
  • Timing is everything in Business. Having 60% of questions answered in time to make your decision is better than having 100% of answers after the deadline.
• What questions do I really need to answer to make my decision? What information do I really need to answer my questions?
  • Most people get lost here.
• Where is the best place, people to get the information I really Need?
  • Selecting between low cost or free secondary information, or getting primary information?
• What options and Resources do I have to collect the information?
  • The Time you are willing to commit?
  • Friends and Family members who are willing to assist?
  • Money you are willing to spend?
  • Access to the internet
  • Other resource people in the community
• When and How will I exactly do it?
  • Commit to a plan of action.

Overview of Research Methods

4 Levels of Information that can be gathered from customers or clients

1. Reactions and feelings (feelings are often poor indicators that your service made lasting impact)
2. Learning (enhanced attitudes, perceptions or knowledge)
3. Changes in skills (applied the learning to enhance behaviors)
4. Effectiveness (improved performance because of enhanced behaviors)

The farther your research gets down the list, the more useful is the research results, but the more difficult it is to obtain.

Research Methods

• Appreciative Inquiry (AI)
  • A philosophy and its derived models, tools and techniques
  • Main Idea: Problems are result of our own perspectives and perceptions of phenomena.
  • A Major breakthrough in Strategic Planning, organisation development, training and development, problem solving.
  • Example: In Strategic Planning, to identify best times during best situations in the past, wishing and thinking what worked best then and visioning what we want in the future, and building from what worked best to guide us towards the vision.
• Case Study Design
  • Useful in depicting a holistic portrayal of a client's experiences and results with a program.
  • Organise a wide range of information about a case and then analyse the contents by seeking patterns and themes in the data, and further analyse through cross comparison with other cases such as individuals, programs or units.
  • Example: to evaluate effectiveness of a program's processes.
  • Developing a Case Study
    • All data about the case is gathered
    • Data is organised into a approach to highlight the focus of the study
    • A case study narrative is developed
    • The narrative might be validated by review from program participants
    • Case studies might be cross-compared to isolate themes or patterns
• Focus Groups
  • Used to evaluate services or test new ideas.
  • Usually interviews of 6-10 people at same time in same group.
  • Steps in a Focus Groups Session
    • Preparing for the session: Identify major objective, develop 5-6 questions, plan the session, invite the members and let them know they will have a copy of the report, remind them 3 days before event.
    • Developing Questions: What problem or need will be addressed/
    • Planning the Session: Schedule, Settings and Refreshments, Ground Rules, Agenda, Membership, Recording
    • Facilitating the Session: Introduction of facilitator, Explain means to record sesion, carry out agenda, carefully word each question, carefully reflect a summary of what was said, ensure even participation, close session
    • Immediately After the Session: Make notes on written notes, write down observations
• Interview Design
  • (Currently incomplete. See http://managementhelp.org/businessresearch/interviews.htm)
  • Usefull in getting story behind a participant's experiences. Can pursue in-depth information or as follow-up to certain respondents to questionnaires.
  • Steps in an Interview
    • Preparation for Interview: Choose settings with little distractions, explain purpose of interview, adress terms of confidentiality, explain format of interview, indivate how long the interview takes, how they can get in touch with you later, if they have any questions before starting, and get permission to record
  • Types of Interviews
    • Informal, conversational interviews
    • General interview guide approach
    • Standardised, open-ended interview
    • Closed, fixed response interview
  • Types of Topics in Questions
    • Behaviours: What a person has done or is doing
    • Opinions/Values: what a person thinks
    • Feelings: Emotions
    • Knowledge: To get facts about a topic
    • Sensory:
    • Background/ Demographics
  • Sequence of Questions
  • Wording of questions
  • Conducting Interviews
  • Immediately after Interviews
  • See
    • CASAnet's overview of interviewing principles
    • Competency-based Interviewing
• Listening Research
  • (See http://managementhelp.org/communicationsskills/listening-skills.htm)
  • How to Really Listen to Others
  • How to make sure your Employees really listen to you.
  • Habits to Differentiate Good from Poor Listening
• Face to Face Questioning/ Skills in Questioning/ How to Question Others
  • See http://managementhelp.org/communicationsskills/questioning-skills.htm
  • Traits of Destructive Questions
  • Traits of Useful Questions
  • How Powerful Are your Questions?
  • Traits of Strategic Questions
  • Examples of Powerful Questions to Ask
  • Types of Questions
    • 5 Basic Types of QUestions
    • Question Types
    • Examples of Open, Closed and Disturbing Types of Questions
    • The Open Ended Questions
  • Some Questions used and avoided by Coaches
• Questionnaires/ Basics of Developing Questionnaires
  • See http://managementhelp.org/businessresearch/questionaires.htm
  • Types of Information Collected BY Questions
  • 2 Types of Questions
    • Open-ended
    • Closed
  • Directions to Respondents
  • Content of Questions
  • Wording of Questions
  • Order of Questions
• Surveys
  • See http://managementhelp.org/businessresearch/surveys.htm

Analysing and Interpreting and Reporting Results

• See http://managementhelp.org/businessresearch/analysis.htm
• Contents of a Research report
• Analysising and Interpreting Information
  • Always start with your Research Goals
  • Basic Analysis of "Qualitative" Information
  • Basic analysis of "Quantitative" Information
  • Interpreting Information
• Reporting Results

General Information and Resources

Ethics and Conducting Research

• See http://managementhelp.org/businessresearch/#anchor1695410
• Sample Consent Forms/ Release-of-informaiton form
• Ethics (Guidelines to ensure ethical behavior)
• Social Science Standards and Ethics

Vendors

• SAP Community Network
• SAS

Reference

• Articles
  • Business Analytics Vs Business Intelligence - http://timoelliott.com/blog/2011/03/business-analytics-vs-business-intelligence.html
• Guides
  • Basic Business Research Methods - http://managementhelp.org/businessresearch/
• Books
  • Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design
  • Marketing and Evaluation
  • Filed Guide to Consulting and Organisational Development
• Web reference
  • Web Center for Social Research Methods - http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/

ReSearch

CONTEXT

From my Experiences (Blog)

DETAILS

From my Research (Outlines)