What is Research?

16 Feb 2015

Togar Alam Napitupulu, PhD

Research basically is a scientific [Note 1] investigation, inquiries, or organized activities in order to answer a question(s), a research question(s).

Note 1: Scientific (Sekaran, 2010, pp 19--23) means: (1) purposive, (2) rigorous, (3) testable, (4) replicable, (5) precision and confidence, (6) objective, (7) generizable, (8) parsimonial.

Example 1: Research Questions

  1. A particular company which is heavily dependent on knowledge in fostering their competitiveness has implemented a knowledge management system (KMS) for the past five years. Has the company’s competitiveness been improved after implementation of the KMS?
  2. Is it true that KMS could improve competitiveness and innovativeness of a company?
  3. Which of the several systems design methods would bring about the highest productivity of programmers?
  4. Is there significant contribution of interaction between systems design menthods and experience level of programmers in determining programmers productivity?
  5. Is satisfaction of customers determines their loyalty?

Reference: [1] Uma Sekarang, Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach, Fourth Edition, Wiley International Edition