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Clarifying the research question through secondary data and exploration -…
Clarifying the research question through secondary data and exploration
A Search Strategy for Exploration
Interviews with those knowledgeable about the problem or its possible solutions (called expert interviews).
Discovery and analysis of secondary sources.
Published studies (usually focused on the results of surveys or on case studies featuring one
or a few incidents).
Retrieval of information from organization’s database(s).
Document analysis.
Interviews with individuals involved with the problem (called individual depth interviews, or IDIs).
Group discussions with individuals involved with the problem or its possible solutions (includ- ing informal groups, as well as formal techniques such as focus groups or brainstorming).
exploratory research
Expand your understanding of the management dilemma by looking for ways others have addressed and/or solved problems similar to your management dilemma or management question.
gather background information on your topic to refine the research question.
Identify information that should be gathered to formulate investigative questions.
Identify sources for and actual questions that might be used as measurement questions.
Identify sources for and actual sample frames (lists of potential participants) that might be used in sample design.
literature search has five steps:
Define your management dilemma or management question.
Consult encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, and textbooks to identify key terms, people, or events relevant to your management dilemma or management question.
Apply these key terms, names of people, or events in searching indexes, bibliographies, and the Web to identify specific secondary sources.
Locate and review specific secondary sources for relevance to your management dilemma.
Evaluate the value of each source and its content.
Levels of Information
Primary sources are original works of research or raw data without interpretation or pro- nouncements that represent an official opinion or position.
Secondary sources are interpretations of primary data. Encyclopedias, textbooks, handbooks, magazine and newspaper articles, and most newscasts are considered secondary information sources.
Tertiary sources may be interpretations of a secondary source but generally are represented by indexes, bibliographies, and other finding aids (e.g., Internet search engines).
Types of Information Sources
Indexes and bibliographies are the mainstay of any library because they help you identify and locate a single book or journal article from among the millions published. :
Dictionaries are so ubiquitous that they probably need no explanation
Researchers use an encyclopedia to find background or historical information on a topic or to find names or terms that can enhance search results in other sources.
A handbook is a collection of facts unique to a topic. Handbooks often include statistics, directory in- formation, a glossary of terms, and other data such as laws and regulations essential to a field.
Directories are used for finding names and addresses as well as other data
Evaluating Information Sources
Purpose—the explicit or hidden agenda of the information source.
Scope—the breadth and depth of topic coverage, including time period, geographic limitations, and the criteria for information inclusion.
Authority—the level of the data (primary, secondary, tertiary) and the credentials of the source
author(s).
Audience—the characteristics and background of the people or groups for whom the source was created.
Format—how the information is presented and the degree of ease of locating specific information within the source.
Mining Internal Sources
The term data mining describes the process of discovering knowledge from databases stored in data marts or data warehouses.
A data warehouse is an electronic repository for databases that organizes large volumes of data into categories to facilitate retrieval, interpretation, and sorting by end users.
Evolution of Data Mining
Pattern Discovery
Predicting Trends and Behaviors
Data-Mining Process
Modify: Modify or transform data.
Assess: Test the model’s accuracy.
Sample: Decide between census and sample data.
Explore: Identify relationships within the data.
Model: Develop a model that explains the data relationships.