Research Manual: A Guide to Getting Started

Why do research?

Research is an essential part of many master's and all doctoral programs across the world.
The purpose of research is all or some of the following:

1. To learn the process of doing research (systematic investigation of a theoretical or

practical problem).
2. To add to the existing knowledge and build on earlier theories to create new theories.
3. To gain access and familiarity with a domain of study and the scholars in that field.
4. To explore an area of your own interest beyond the set curriculum.
5. To create evidence of research ability (in the form of research publication) which can
help secure admission to a course of higher education.

What is research?

Research is a systematic process of asking questions and answering them. Scientific research
must be based on logical reasoning, confirmable inferences, repeatable observations, and
withstand critical scrutiny (peer review) by other scientists. Hence, the most common test of
the quality of research is the kind of peer reviewed journal that it can be published in.

Before selecting your topic, it may help to get a good overview of the various types of
research. An excellent resource for this is the following book:

Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices by Anol Bhattacherjee. This
book is freely downloadable from here:
https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=oa_textbooks

How to select a research topic?

Since research requires you to make a novel or incremental contribution to the existing pool
of knowledge, it is essential for the researcher to be first aware of the existing expanse of
knowledge. This is easier said than done, for most of the academic disciplines, a lifetime may
not be enough to grasp all that has been discovered. Hence, it may help to adopt a more
pragmatic approach. That is, to familiarize oneself with the current trends and topics being
researched in the top journals and then to identify a topic that interests you.

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A common pitfall while selecting a topic is to succumb to the “streetlight effect” i.e.,
searching for literature which is easily available and making conclusions based on only that
literature which is readily available. This must be avoided at all costs.

In the figure below, imagine that the large rectangle represents all the knowledge that is
knowable in a particular discipline. The brown figure within the rectangle represents the
knowledge which is currently known in the discipline. There are three kinds of topics that one
may zero in on while selecting a topic for research.

Topic “A” is a waste of time since it is pretending to research something that is already
known. It is like “reinventing the wheel”. This is often a result of inadequate literature review
or the streetlight effect.

Topic “B” is a topic which is far away from the frontiers of the current knowledge.
Researching this topic is going to be a challenge because its theory and methods for
discovery may not be fully developed. Also publishing the findings from this research will be
difficulty because it is addressing a question which has not yet been asked.

Topic “C” is an ideal topic for research and is easy to be published. It is unknown, but not so
far off from the existing body of knowledge. It represents an ongoing question or
conversation in the research discourse.

Figure 1: Three types of research topics

Hence, your first task is to determine the contours of knowledge in the discipline of your
interest. You can achieve this by reading recent articles from top journals in the discipline.
The steps to determine a researchable topic are given in the following section.

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Step 1: Deciding your area of interest

Identify a broad area of interest. Within the area of HRM/OB there are several broad areas
e.g., macro OB, micro OB, individual behavior, group behavior, organization theory,
organization development, leadership, HRM, labour economics, labour studies, etc. Based on
your interest, select an area that you like.

Step 2: Identifying top journals

Identify the top journals in your area of interest. Since you have limited time (and reading
research articles takes a lot of time!), its best that you spend your time judiciously- reading
only those journals which are the most respected in your field. There are four sources for
identifying the top journals in your area of interest. Each of them is given below:

1. 50 Journals used in FT Research Rank. These are the top 50 management journals
compiled by Financial Times and used to determine rankings of B-Schools in USA.
This list is available on:
https://www.ft.com/content/3405a512-5cbb-11e1-8f1f-00144feabdc0
2. Australian Business Dean’s Council (https://abdc.edu.au/). This is a list of top
management journals ranked as A*, A, B, and C (in decreasing order of prestige).
While selecting your topic, it is advisable to restrict your reading to A* or A ranked
journals. The entire list is downloadable as an MS-Excel sheet from here:
https://abdc.edu.au/research/abdc-journal-list/
3. Scopus Listed Journals. Go to https://www.scopus.com/sources and select a subject
area of your interest and you will get a list of journals with their “CiteScore”. The
journals with higher CiteScore are more prestigious.
4. Speak to the experts. Before you finalize your list of top journals it helps to speak to
an expert in the discipline. There are several prestigious journals which are at the
cutting edge in their respective areas but may not have yet made it to the top lists.
There may also be some India centric journals which while relevant to your research,
may not be included in the above three lists.

At the end of this step, you should have a list of between 10-15 journals which are the top
journals related to your area of inquiry.

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Step 3: Identifying recent and relevant articles

Having identified the top 15 journals in your area, the next step is to understand which are the
recent topics and contemporary research methods being discussed in them. For this, you need
to go through the titles and abstracts of all the articles published in these journals during the
last three years. There are two ways to do this:

1. Go to the website of the journal and go through the Table of Contents of that journal
for the last three years.
2. Download and install "Harzing's Publish or Perish" from
https://harzing.com/resources/publish-or-perish
This software will help you do an “Advanced Search” on Google Scholar to ensure
that you identify only articles published in the journal of your interest and in the year
of your interest.

Step 4: Capturing citations

As you start your exploration, you will need to store your articles in a systematic way so that
they can be quickly retrieved on demand. Hence, it helps to have a referencing and indexing
software. Download and install Mendeley Software from:
https://www.mendeley.com/?interaction_required=true

It may help to familiarize yourself with this software by watching one of the several tutorials
on YouTube.

When you find an interesting title in Harzing’s search and click on it, you will be taken to
Google Scholar. When you click on the citation in Google Scholar you will re-directed to the
article where you will be able to read the Title and the Abstract of the article. If the article
seems to be of your interest, then capture its citation in your Mendeley account. You may end
up with at about 100 citations of your interest.

Once you have captured all the citations of your interest in your Mendeley account, look for
the full text i.e., the pdf of the articles of your interest. There are a couple of sources for
finding the full text of articles, as given below:

1. Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.co.in/)

2. Research Gate (https://www.researchgate.net/)
3. Academia.edu (https://www.academia.edu/)
4. Websites of authors /Writing to authors

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As a researcher, it is your responsibility to get access to the full text of the articles of your
interest. Not getting access to the full text is no excuse for doing outdated research.

Once you have downloaded all the pdfs of your interest and linked them to their respective
citations in your Mendeley account, the next step is to start reading the articles.

Step 5: Reading articles

Before you read a research article, it helps to be aware of two questions – What to look for?
and Where to look?

Consider the following:

1. A research paper usually proposes or extends a theory.

2. A theory is a set of interdependent hypotheses.
3. A hypothesis is a presumed relationship between two or more variables.
4. Hence, a research paper is essentially about some variables and their
interrelationships.

When you are reading a research article, you are not only interested in the variables and their
interrelationships but also on the method used and finally at the suggestions for further
research (since this could help you select your topic).

Rather than reading a research paper like a novel or a book (i.e., from start to end), it may
help to read selected sections in the research paper (i.e., Title, Abstract, Hypotheses, Method,
and Discussion), while carefully looking for the different variables, the sample
characteristics, the method used, the findings, and the implications for research and practice.

What to look for? Where to look?

1. Variables (independent, dependent, 1. Title
mediating, moderating) 2. Abstract
2. Sample characteristics (size, location, 3. Hypotheses
composition) 4. Method
3. Method used (survey, lab/field 5. Discussion / Conclusion
experiment, secondary data, case study)
4. Main findings & practical implications
5. Gaps in our understanding of the
phenomenon

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The above approach will help you to shortlist from your list of 100 pdf to the 20-30 pdf that
you feel that you absolutely must read. For these 20-30 pdfs, ensure that you read them
thoroughly (end-to-end) making detailed notes as you go along.

Step 6: Identifying interesting themes

While reading the research articles keep an open mind and if you find an interesting theme or
idea, allow yourself to read more on that area. If required, stray away from your initial idea or
plan if you find some contemporary area of research exciting and stimulating.

Try to map all the interesting ideas that you come across and see if it forms a pattern. Be sure
to identify at least three or four interesting threads for study. Also identify a couple of
interesting methods. Remember, it is not enough to have an interesting question, you also
need to be able to answer the question in a systematic manner through your research.

When you approach your potential guide, take with you the following:

1. Printouts of the recent articles which have shaped your thinking and have helped you
identify your topic of interest.
2. Your own notes where you have identified the patterns for study in your research.

Step 7: Selecting a research guide

While selecting a research guide, it is important to not get carried away by first impressions
and other distracting characteristics, e.g., his or her teaching style. The following
considerations are most important while selecting a research guide:

1. Is he or she skilled in doing research in the proposed subject of your interest?

For this you can search for his or her work on Google Scholar.
2. Does his or her guiding style suit your temperament?
For this you can speak to some of his or her prior students.
3. At this stage, it may also help to understand your potential guide’s preferred approach
to research and see if it matches with your own. For a taxonomy of approaches see
Figure 1: The Research Onion.

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Figure 1: The Research Onion

Source: Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2016). Research Methods for Business
Students (Seventh Edition): Pearson Education. p. 124.

Resources for understanding research design

Some useful resources for understanding research design are given below:

1. Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed

Methods Approaches: Sage.
2. Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices by Anol Bhattacherjee.
This book is freely downloadable from here:
https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=oa_textbo
oks
3. Bukve, O. (2018). Designing Social Science Research: Palgrave.
4. Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in
the research process: Sage.
5. Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design:
Choosing Among Five Approaches (4th Edition). Sage.

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 6. Reavy, P. (2020). A Handbook of Visual Methods in Psychology: Using and
Interpreting Images in Qualitative Research: Routledge.
7. Yin, R. K. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods. Sage.
8. Bryant, A., & Charmaz, K. (2019). The SAGE Handbook Of Current Developments In
Grounded Theory: Sage.
9. Cozby, P. C. (2008). Methods in Behavioral Research: McGrawHill
10. Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (2008). The Craft of Research (3rd
Edition): University of Chicago Press.
11. Keppel, G., & Wickens, T. D. (2004). Design and Analysis: A Researcher's
Handbook (Fourth Edition): Pearson.
12. Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and Quasi-
Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal Inference: Houghton Mifflin Company.
13. Miller, S. (1984). Experimental Design and Statistics. Second Edition: Routledge.
14. Mason, J. (2002). Qualitative Researching (2nd Edition). London: Sage.

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 Phase 1: Research Proposal and Preliminary Literature Review

The research proposal is a document describing your proposed research design. It serves as a
plan for your research and forms a contract between you, your research advisor, and the
institute. It covers three broad questions:1

1. What is the research problem?

2. Why is the problem important?
3. What will you do to address the problem?

The research proposal must cover the following elements:2,3,4

Section Quality Check

1. Title: a short title (less than 15 words) Is the title self-explanatory? Does it
describing the research. give adequate & accurate information
about the proposed research?
2. Abstract: a brief summary of the proposal in Does the abstract include the basic
about 150-200 words. question to be addressed, the
methods, as well as the broad
theoretical framework?
3. Introduction: what is the larger literature Is the theoretical framework
where this research fits/what organizational described clearly? Does the
issues does it address. organization issue seem interesting,
current/relevant?
a. Problem statement: what is the Is a clear gap in the existing literature
specific gap in literature or identified?
understanding that this research
addresses.
b. Purpose of the study: what is the goal Does the proposed study address the
of this study, in what way does this gap identified? To what extent does
study address the problem statement this make an impact on
described earlier. theory/practice?
c. Research question/Hypotheses: what Are the questions / hypotheses free
specific relationships between from ambiguity?
variables will be investigated in this
research?
4. Literature review: provides a background of Are key sources identified? Are the
the problem, discusses past research, focusses ideas and arguments summarized and
on why we are proposing certain evaluated? Is there command over the
hypotheses/research questions. subject/topic vocabulary? Does the
literature review lead the reader to
the proposed research
questions/hypotheses?

1
Bill Kinney (1996) https://uwaterloo.ca/phd-accounting/become-student/what-expect
2
Babbie, E. (2004). The practice of social research (10th edition). Thomson, p.113-114.
3
https://www3.dbu.edu/uwc/documents/HowtoWriteaProposalTemplate.pdf
4
Hart, C. (2005). Doing your masters dissertation. Vistaar.

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 Section Quality Check
a. Definition of terms: definitions of Are all terms clearly defined?
central concepts/variables used in the
study
b. Theoretical / Conceptual framework: Is the appropriate theoretical
what are the theoretical frameworks framework identified?
that will inform this study.
5. Methodology: explains the approach in Is the selected method appropriate to
conducting the research. answer the research questions/test the
hypotheses?
a. Philosophical assumptions and Role Have the appropriate philosophical
of the Researcher assumptions been made? Is the
researcher clear about his /her role?
b. Research design: what kind of Does the research design adequately
research design is used e.g., survey, address all research
interviews, experiment, etc. questions/hypotheses?
c. Sampling: who are the participants, Are sampling methods unbiased and
how will they be selected? suitable for answering research
questions/testing hypotheses?
d. Instrumentation: what are the Are recent and valid instruments used
instruments to be used for data for data collection?
collection.
e. Data collection: how will the data be Is the data collection approach
collected (for qualitative research, also feasible?
indicate how data will be recorded and
validated)..
f. Analysis: what are the likely analysis Are analysis procedures well suited to
procedures. the nature of data collected and the
research question?
6. Ethics: what ethical considerations need to be Have all ethical concerns been
addressed in the study? How will participant addressed? Are all participants’
confidentiality be protected? rights being protected?
7. Discussion: what is the overall significance of Is the study likely to make a
this study? significant impact on our
understanding of organizations?
8. Tentative schedule: broad timelines as to Is the schedule feasible and does it fit
when various activities – data collection, in with the student’s other
analysis, and final writing will be completed. commitments?
9. Resources required: any resources required Are all resources available for doing
must be identified. this study?

Other evaluation criteria:

It is expected that the proposal should contain at least 30 academic references which are
relevant and recent. The proposal must be between 8,000 to 10,000 words and the referencing
and formatting must follow American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines.

For more details on research design, see: Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research
design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches (5th edition). SAGE.

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Writing as Research5

Although research activities tend to be organised in sequential stages, research happens in an

iterative, non-linear manner. For example, a researcher might believe that all introductory
concepts are clearly articulated, only to find during data-collection that some concepts could
have been defined better; or some aspects may emerge during analysis whereby researchers
wish they had included certain questions for data-collection.

In the above context, the most powerful device to concurrently engage with multiple stages of
research is that of Writing. When you actually write a definition, you will notice how it can
be improved. When you put words to paper, fascinating questions will emerge leading you to
examine unexplored angles and refine (re-look, re-search) your study. In other words, the
process of writing is itself a process of research.

So, do not leave the writing to the end. Rather, reverse the process and start writing in the
very first week in which you identify your topic. I recommend that you write three chapters
simultaneously i.e., introduction, literature review, and research design. As you write
regularly, especially in the early stages, you will find that your research achieves a higher
standard and will also be easier to complete.

Version Control and Data Back ups

Your dissertation is a two-year long journey. During this journey there will be several
iterations and you may want to go back to an earlier version of your work. Hence, it is
recommended that you save different versions of your work in an easily identifiable and
retrievable manner. Also ensure that you take regular back ups of your work so that in the
event of a hardware/software malfunction, you do not lose your work.

Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism is serious academic misconduct, and it is important for you to know what
constitutes plagiarism and how it should be avoided. Plagiarism includes including the ideas
or words of another person and presenting them as if they were your own. Plagiarism also
including using your own prior work submitted to a journal or for evaluation of one subject
again to another journal or for the evaluation of another subject.

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This section has been written by Dr. Noel Machado.

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Plagiarism can be avoided by ensuring that you always credit the source for everything that is
included in your submission.

In case you have taken only the ideas from a source and written those ideas in your own
words then you may simply cite the author’s name and the year of publication in the text and
put the complete reference at the end of your manuscript in the reference list.

In case you have taken both the idea and the words from a particular source, then you need to
enclose the borrowed words in quotation marks and mention the page number along with the
author’s name and the year of publication in the text and put the complete reference at the
end of your manuscript in the reference list.

A common error made by students who are learning to write is to borrow not just the idea but
also the broad sentence construction from the original source and merely mention the
author’s name and year of publication in the text. This is plagiarism and academic dishonesty
because you are merely crediting the author for the idea but attempting to pass off some
words and sentence construction as your own. The best way to avoid this kind of plagiarism
is to read the original source, make notes in your own words without looking at the original
source, write your paraphrase by referring to your notes, and finally compare your writing
with the original to ensure that you have paraphrased it correctly i.e., capturing the same
meaning but using your own words.

Another common error made by students is to cite material which they have not personally
read but which is cited in another source. For example, let us say that you have read an essay
by Tihanyi (2020) in which the author mentions this:

Davis’s (1971) position about theoretical contribution, the focus of Academy of

Management Journal (AMJ), is undoubtedly provocative. He argued, “A
theorist is considered great, not because his theories are true, but because they
are interesting. . . . In fact, the truth of a theory has very little to do with its
impact, for a theory can continue to be found interesting even though its truth
is disputed—even refuted!” (Davis, 1971: 309).

Now if you want to include either Davis’s idea or his quote in your own manuscript, you
cannot do so unless you read the original paper written by Davis (1971). Only after reading
Davis (1971) and understanding what he has said can you include either a paraphrase of his
work with due credit to Davis or cite his words verbatim by putting them in inverted commas
and then citing Davis with page numbers.

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If you have read Tihanyi (2020) then you can only cite what Tihanyi has said on his own or
found out through empirical data. Tihanyi (2020) may lead you to refer to various materials,
but you cannot cite material used by Tihanyi as his citations of others which are used to build
his arguments unless you have read the original papers by yourself.

Never cite anything that you have not personally read.

Prior to submitting your work make sure you tally each of the citation appearing in the text
with the full references at the end of the manuscript.

References:

Davis, M. S. 1971. That’s interesting!: Towards a phenomenology of sociology and a

sociology of phenomenology. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 1: 309–344.

Tihanyi, L. (2020). From “That’s Interesting” to “That’s Important”. Academy of

Management Journal, 63(2), 329-331. doi:10.5465/amj.2020.4002

Resources for Avoiding Plagiarism:

You can refer to some of these resources for a more detailed treatment of plagiarism with
specific examples.

1. https://ori.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/plagiarism.pdf
2. https://www.purdue.edu/gradschool/documents/rcr/ori-plagiarism-guidelines.pdf
3. https://cmsw.mit.edu/writing-and-communication-center/avoiding-plagiarism/
4. https://ori.hhs.gov/28-guidelines-glance-avoiding-plagiarism
5. https://guides.library.ucla.edu/citing/plagiarism/avoid
6. https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/steps-avoiding-plagiarism

Writing Style and Academic Referencing

When readers are accessing your work, they are interested in its content and scientific
contribution. Idiosyncratic or arbitrary writing/referencing styles and formatting distract
readers from the content of your work. Hence, while doing academic writing you need for
follow standard conventions and practices.

The most established convention for academic writing is from the American Psychological
Association (APA). APA Style is the gold standard for academic writing.

It is strongly recommended that you procure a copy of this book:

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Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition (2020) (See:
https://apastyle.apa.org/products/publication-manual-7th-edition). The manual is also
available on amazon.in.

Some resources for APA Style are given below:

1. https://apastyle.apa.org/
2. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduction.ht
ml

Some good resources for writing are:

1. Strunk, W., & White, E. B. (2019). The Elements of Style (4th Edition). Turtleback
Classics.
2. Monippally, M. M., & Pawar, B. S. (2008). Academic writing: A guide for
management students and researchers: SAGE Publications India.

Use features of MS-Word to improve your formatting

You are advised to use the “Styles” feature in MS-Word. By using this feature, you can
ensure that MS-Word understands the different kinds of headings and text that are included in
your manuscript and how each one of these texts has a different format. This will help you
navigate your thesis using the “Navigation Pane” (past of “View” in the top ribbon of MS-
Word).

See: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/customize-or-create-new-styles-d38d6e47-
f6fc-48eb-a607-1eb120dec563

It is also useful to use “Tab Marks” in MS-Word to identify problems in your formatting.
See: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/show-or-hide-tab-marks-in-word-84a53213-
5d02-404a-b022-09cae1a3958b

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Ethical Standards for Data Collection

Since specific ethical standards expected of your research may differ depending on the nature
of your topic and the nature of you data collection, it is important for you to discuss this issue
with your research guide well before starting the data collection.

Note: Starting your data collection without the explicit permission of your guide is a
serious violation of research ethics.

In general, your data collection processes must confirm to the following principles:

1. Informed consent by all participants: Unless you are collecting secondary data from
public sources, you will need to get data from individuals. You are obliged to obtain their
informed consent to participating in your study. Participants must be aware of what is
expected of them and how you plan to use their data. Wherever possible participants must
explicitly provide their consent through a written and signed document.
2. Freedom to withdraw: All participants must have the freedom to withdraw from the
research at any time. This must be explicitly informed to them.
3. Anonymity of participants: To the extent possible data must be anonymous and all
records of name or any identifying information must be destroyed as soon as possible
based on your research requirements.
4. Data integrity: The data should be collected by you should be current and unique. You are
not permitted to work with other students to collect data. That is, no two students may use
the same respondents or share data for dissertation You are also not permitted to collect
data from the following three sources: (i) any current students of TISS; (ii) students from
the immediate senior batch, and (iii) students from the immediate junior batch of TISS.
5. Students are required to provide details of their data sources and evidence of original data
collected to their guides.

Note: Submitting fabricated or invalid data is a serious academic offense and will invite
strict punishment.

A useful guide to follow for research ethics is Patton’s check list. See
https://748431695416501012.weebly.com/pattons-checklist.html

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 Resources for Research

YouTube Channels

1. Scribbr
2. Grad Coach
3. tamuwritingcenter
4. Surviving and Thriving in Higher Education
5. UChicago Social Sciences

See this playlist – Research Resources

(https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsymqXm0roTeMqcVBmDO8nvBIPjmol3jF)

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