Classroom Rules
Be on time and be
always prepared for
your class. Bring your
laptop in class.
Keep your mobile
phone switched off
or in a silent mode.
Ask only relevant
questions during
teaching time.
Do not interfere with
the teaching and
learning of your
colleagues.
Be polite and
respectful of the
teacher, yourself,
your classmates and
your institution.
Always do your best.
Foundation Year Project
Week 1 – Day 2: Business Research Methods.
Session Learning Outcomes
By the end of this session you will be able to:
• Be introduced to basic methods of business research.
• Learn how to interpret and present numeric data.
Business Research
and its methods
(Romberg, 2018)
• Business research comprises of a series of
steps designed and executed to find answers
to the issues that are of concern to the
manager in the work environment (Bell et al.,
2022).
• For example, to provide insights, uncover
patterns, and make predictions.
• To build upon previous knowledge
• To understand “who, what, when, where,
why and how” to conduct business (‘knowhow’).
• Provide new strategies to bringing products
and services to the marketplace (Romberg,
2018).
Why Conduct Business Research?
(Romberg, 2018)
Attention: some magazines require paid subscriptions
– only use free resources
• Business organizations must
be able to move ahead
quickly to stay competitive
in an ever-changing global
economy.
• To roll out a new product,
make a change, gauge
customer satisfaction, or
start a new business,
companies collect and
analyze online, social media,
and mobile data.
(Romberg, 2018)
Why Conduct Business Research?
• It is about text, spoken words, images,
meanings, opinions and motivations.
• Used to uncover trends and ideas,
and dive deeper into the problem.
• Common methods: interviews, focus
groups, observations.
• Uses open questions.
• To understand the nature of a
phenomenon (Saunders et al, 2012).
Qualitative (words, images, etc)
• Collecting and analyzing numerical
data (numbers) and statistics.
• It is used to quantify attitudes,
opinions, behaviours and generalize
results from a sample population
• Uses measurable data.
• Surveys, polls, large amount of data,
experiments, questionnaires.
• Used to highlight differences and
changes (Basias & Pollalis, 2018).
Quantitative (numerical)
Quantitative vs Qualitative Research
What is the difference between quantitative
and qualitative research?
Source: Ikon (2018)
(Romberg, 2018)
Primary:
information
directly
obtained from
the source.
Business Research Types
Examples:
• Personal interviews
• Results from surveys,
focus groups,
experiments and case
studies
• Online datasets (passive)
and analytics
• From online monitoring tools
• From hashtags in your social
media
(Romberg, 2018)
Secondary:
• information obtained
from already published
materials, widely accepted
or generally known to be
true.
• Often used for
background information.
• Less expensive – better for
new businesses.
Business Research Types
Examples:
• Books, industry journals,
online newspapers,
government studies;
Useful for:
• Find information about
best practices, new
trends, competitive
markets, public opinion,
and other issues affecting
macro-environment.
Secondary Business Information
(Romberg, 2018)
Formative Activity 1:
1. Go to National Careers Service website.
2. Find careers, jobs and professions within
the Tourism Sector. Research what it
takes, what opportunities exist within the
sector, approximate salary, etc.
What type of research you just conducted?
Formative Activity 1 (cont’d):
3. Download the template for Assignment One.
4. In the Introduction part, summarize what you
found out about various professions/jobs in
Tourism in a short paragraph (100 words max).
5. Do you remember how to cite websites?
Include both the in-text and full reference to the
National Careers Website.
Formative Activity 1 (cont’d):
6. Show your paragraph to the Lecturer
or a peer.
Well done!
• According to Department for Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport, in 2019, UK
received 41 million visitors including 11%
from the US, 9% from France, 8% from
Germany, 7% from Ireland and 6% from
Spain.
• However, the outbreak of COVID-19
pandemic had significantly hampered the
movement of tourists. There was reduction
in 90% on inbound flight arrivals in 2020 as
compared to 2019, thereby resulting in
decline in international visitors.
(MarketLine, 2023)
Task: In groups,
discuss how this
information can be
used. Is it
quantitative or
qualitative? Is it
primary or
secondary?
Discuss how to use statistical data
• According to the World Economic
Forum’s Travel and Tourism
Competitiveness Report 2019 (the latest
available report), the UK ranks sixth out
of 140 countries and it remains one of
the most visited nations in Europe and
Eurasia.
• The strength of the UK industry is
attributed to its unique offering of
cultural resources and its world class
infrastructure, as well as its enabling
business environment.
(MarketLine, 2023)
Task: In groups,
discuss how this
information can be
used. Is it
quantitative or
qualitative? Is it
primary or
secondary?
Discuss how to use statistical data
Task: In groups,
discuss how this
information can be
used. Is it
quantitative or
qualitative? Is it
primary or
secondary?
Discuss how to use statistical data
(Google Trends, 2023.)
https://youtu.be/4WXs3sKu41I
How to describe
numeric data
Thanks to Ian Brocklehurst to help prepare this part
Means to Present Data
Source: Academic-englishuk.com
Introducing Data
As can be seen
It can be seen
from
chart,
diagram,
table,
graph,
figures,
statistics,
Graph 3,
Figure 2,
Table 1,
in
…
that …
the
Gillett, 2012
Summarising from Data
From
Table 1
Figure 2
can
the
that …
seen
concluded
shown
estimated
calculated
inferred
be
it
figures
chart
diagram
may
Gillett, 2012
Summarising from Data
The graph
Figure 1
shows
that
Gillett, 2012
Describing Change
There was a(n) (very)
barely noticeable
slight
slow
gradual
steady
marked
dramatic
steep
sharp
rapid
sudden
Fluctuation.
rise.
increase.
upward tend.
downward trend.
decrease.
decline.
reduction.
fall.
drop.
Describing Change
There was a(n)
rise
increase
Of …
decrease
decline
reduction
fall
drop
Gillett, 2012
Describing Change
X
increased
shot up
grew
rose
by …
declined
reduced
decreased
dropped
fell
X
increased
shot up
grew
rose
slightly
slowly
gradually
steadily
markedly
dramatically
steeply
sharply
rapidly
suddenly
declined
reduced
decreased
dropped
fell
Gillett, 2012
Describing Change
X
reached a peak
levelled off
plateaued
Gillett, 2012
Direction of Language Choices
(Black and Sharp, 2006, p. 31.)
Black & Sharp, 2006.
Any questions about the module are welcome
• Romberg, S. (2018) Business Research : A QuickStudy Laminated Reference Guide. [S.l.]:
QuickStudy Reference Guides. Available at:
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=e020mww&AN=
2803701&site=eds-live (Accessed: 5 January 2023).
• Basias, N. and Pollalis, Y. (2018) Quantitative and Qualitative Research in Business &
Technology: Justifying a Suitable Research Methodology. Review of Integrative Business and
Economics Research, 7(1), pp. 91-105. Available at:
https://sibresearch.org/uploads/3/4/0/9/34097180/riber_7-s1_sp_h17-083_91-105.pdf.
(Accessed: 5 January 2023).
• Bell, E., Bryman, A. and Harley, B., 2022. Business research methods. Oxford university press.
References
• Ikon International (2018) Qualitative vs Quantitative Research. Available at:
https://www.ikoninternational.org/news/2018/2/26/qualitative-vs-quantitative-research.
(Accessed: 5 January 2023).
• Saunders, M., Lewis, P., Thornhill, A. (2012) Research methods for business students. 6th ed.
Essex: Financial Times, Prentice Hall.
• ‘MarketLine Industry Profile: Travel & Tourism in United Kingdom’ (2020) Travel & Tourism
Industry Profile: United Kingdom, pp. 1–71
References
• Academic English (2019) Different Graph Types. Available at: https://academicenglishuk.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Different-graph-types-AEUK.png (Accessed:
6 January 2023).
• Gillet, A. (2012) Using English For Academic Purposes for Students in Higher Education
(website). Available at: http://uefap.com/writing/writfram.htm. (Accessed: 6 January 2023).
• Black, M. and Sharp, W. (2006). Objective IELTS: Student’s Book: Intermediate.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
References