Bài giảng Business Communication - Chapter 13: Conducting Research for Decision Makers

Chapter 13:Conducting Research for Decision Makers© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part. OverviewPrimary and secondary research differencesQualitative vs. quantitative researchOnline searchesEvaluating websitesSocial networking and social bookmarkingLibrariesSurveys and questionnairesExperiments, observational studies, focus groups and interviewsWhy Research Is CriticalMany business decisions are made using accurate, timely, and objective information.That information is often gathered through accurate research.Two Basic Forms of ResearchSecondarySecondary research is research using data compiled and interpreted by someone else. It is usually library and online research.Primary Primary research uses data compiled and interpreted firsthand by the writer.Quantitative and Qualitative QuantitativeResearchers begin with a hypothesis or research question and conduct primary research to find answers.QualitativeResearchers begin with a general question and study natural phenomena to gain insights.Searching the WebSearch Engines Google, Bing, Yahoo!, Search, Ask, and AOL SearchGoogle ScholarMetasearch ToolsDogpileOther Web-Based ResourcesWikipedia, WorldCat, and RSS feedsExpanding and Limiting SearchesIf you have too few citationsUse OR to add variations or synonyms to basic search terms.Check for incorrect spelling.Truncate major terms to pick up variations.If you have too many citationsUse AND to combine with another term or concept.Specify dates or other limitations.Consider narrowing with NOT.Evaluating WebsitesNo widely adopted standards are currently followed.Search engine biases are not widely understood and change with policy and algorithm updates.One solution is to link only through trustworthy collection sites.A better solution is to hone evaluation skills by habitually looking at each site’spurpose,provider’s qualifications,content validity, andstructure.Using Social NetworksFacebookUseful for surveys and finding company informationTwitterFollow topics by specific hashtags to find information relevant to a specific business problemLinkedInSearch People, Companies, and Groups to find information relevant to a business problemConducting Primary ResearchSurveyExperimentationObservationQualitative Research