Find all assignment at smumbasolutions.co.nf MB0050 Research Methodology Question 1. (a) Explain the types of research. Answer.

Research may be classified crudely according to its major intent or the methods. According to the intent, research may be classified as: 1 Pure Research It is undertaken for the sake of knowledge without any intention to apply it in practice 2 Applied Research It is carried on to find solution to a real-life problem requiring an action or policy decision. 3 Exploratory Research It is also known as formulative research. It is preliminary study of an unfamiliar problem about which the researcher has little or no knowledge. 4 Descriptive Study It is a fact-finding investigation with adequate interpretation. It is the simplest type of research. 5 Diagnostic Study It is similar to descriptive study but with a different focus. 6 Evaluation Studies It is a type of applied research. 7 Action Research It is a type of evaluation study. According to the methods of study, research may be classified as: 1. Experimental Research: It is designed to asses the effects of particular variables on a phenomenon by keeping the other variables constant or controlled. 2. Analytical Study: It is a system of procedures and techniques of analysis applied to quantitative data. 3. Historical Research: It is a study of past records and other information sources with a view to reconstructing the origin and development of an institution 4. Survey: It is a fact-finding study. It is a method of research involving collection of data directly from a population or a sample thereof at particular time.

(b) What is the significance of research in social and business sciences? Answer:According to a famous Hudson Maxim, All progress is born of inquiry. Doubt is often better than overconfidence, for it leads to inquiry, and inquiry leads to invention. It brings out the significance of research, increased amounts of which makes progress possible. Research encourages scientific and inductive thinking, besides promoting the development of logical habits of thinking and organization. Research also facilitates the decision making of policy-makers, although in itself it is not a part of research. In the process, research also helps in the proper allocation of a countrys scare resources. Collection of statistical information though not a routine task, involves various research problems. Therefore, large staff of research technicians or experts is engaged by the government these days to undertake this work. Thus, research as a tool of government economic policy formulation involves three distinct stages of operation which are as follows: * Investigation of economic structure through continual compilation of facts * Diagnoses of events that are taking place and the analysis of the forces underlying them; and * The prognosis. Research also assumes a significant role in solving various operational and planning problems associated with business and industry. In several ways, operations research, market research, and motivational research are vital and their results assist in taking business decisions.

Q2. What is meant by validity? How does it differ from reliability and what are its types? Answer:Validity This means that a measurement scale should measure what it is supposed to measure. Validity refers to how effective an instrument is in measuring a property which it intends to measure. There are three types of validity content validity, predictive validity and construct validity. Content validity may be of two types face validity and sampling validity. Face validity is determined by a subjective evaluation of a measuring scale. Sampling validity refers to the extent to which the measuring instruments content is representative of the content universe of the characteristic being measured. The main limitation of content validity is that it is determined in a subjective manner, rather than through a statistical method. As reliability of a measuring instrument refers to its ability to provide consistent and accurate results with repeated measurements. Reliability and validity are closely associated. An instrument that is valid is also reliable, but not vice versa. Validity may be classified into different types, as described below. 1. Content validity: This type of validity may be of two types a) Face validity and b) Sampling validity. Face validity is determined through a subjective evaluation of a measuring scale. For example, a researcher may develop a scale to measure consumer attitudes towards a brand and pre-test the scale among a few experts. If the experts are satisfied with the scale, the researcher may conclude that the scale has face validity. However, the limitation of this type of validity is that it is determined by opinions, rather than through a statistical method. Sampling validity refers to how representative the content of the measuring instrument is. In other words, the measuring instruments content must be representative of the content universe of the characteristic being measured. 2. Predictive validity: This type of validity refers to the extent to which one behavior can be predicted based on another, based on the association between the results yielded by the measuring instrument and the eventual outcome.

Question -3. (a). Why literature survey is important in research? Answer:An exploratory study is concerned with an area of subject matter in which explicit hypothesis have not yet been formulated. The researchers task then is to review the available material with an eye on the possibilities of developing hypothesis from it. In some areas of the subject matter, hypothesis may have been stated by previous research workers. The researcher has to take stock of these various hypotheses with a view to evaluating their usefulness for further research and to consider whether they suggest any new hypothesis. Sociological journals, economic reviews, the bulletin of abstracts of current social sciences research, directory of doctoral dissertation accepted by universities etc afford a rich store of valuable clues. In addition to these general sources, some governmental agencies and voluntary organizations publish listings of summaries of research in their special fields of service. Professional organizations, research groups and voluntary organizations are a constant source of information about unpublished works in their special fields.

(b) What are the criteria of good research problem?

1 Internal Criteria Internal Criteria consists of: 1) Researchers interest: The problem should interest the researcher and be a challenge to him. Without interest and curiosity, he may not develop sustained perseverance. 2) Researchers competence: A mere interest in a problem will not do. The researcher must be competent to plan and carry out a study of the problem. 3) Researchers own resource: In the case of a research to be done by a researcher on his won, consideration of his own financial resource is pertinent. 2 External Criteria 1) Research-ability of the problem: The problem should be researchable, i.e., amendable for finding answers to the questions involved in it through scientific method. 2) Importance and urgency: Problems requiring investigation are unlimited, but available research efforts are very much limited. 3) Novelty of the problem: The problem must have novelty. 4) Feasibility: A problem may be a new one and also important, but if research on it is not feasible, it cannot be selected. Hence feasibility is a very important consideration.

5) Facilities: Research requires certain facilities such as well-equipped library facility, suitable and competent guidance, data analysis facility, etc. 6) Usefulness and social relevance: Above all, the study of the problem should make significant contribution to the concerned body of knowledge or to the solution of some significant practical problem. 7) Research personnel: Research undertaken by professors and by research organizations require the services of investigators and research officers.

Question-4. Explain the procedure for Testing Hypothesis. Answer :The various steps involved in hypothesis testing are stated below: 1 Making a Formal Statement The step consists in making a formal statement of the null hypothesis (Ho) and also of the alternative hypothesis (Ha). For instance, Mr. Mohan of the Civil Engineering Department wants to test the load bearing capacity of an old bridge which must be more than 10 tons, in that case he can state his hypothesis as under: Null hypothesis HO: =10 tons Alternative hypothesis Ha: >10 tons The formulation of hypothesis is an important step which must be accomplished with due care in accordance with the object and nature of the problem under consideration. It also indicates whether we should use a tailed test or a two tailed test. If Ha is of the type greater than, we use alone tailed test, but when Ha is of the type whether greater or smaller then we use a two-tailed test. 2 Selecting a Significant Level The hypothesis is tested on a pre-determined level of significance and such the same should have specified. Generally, in practice, either 5% level or 1% level is adopted for the purpose. The factors that affect the level of significance are: * The magnitude of the difference between sample ; * The size of the sample; * The variability of measurements within samples; 3 Deciding the Distribution to Use After deciding the level of significance, the next step in hypothesis testing is to determine the appropriate sampling distribution. 4 Selecting A Random Sample & Computing An Appropriate Value Another step is to select a random sample(S) and compute an appropriate value from the sample data concerning the test statistic utilizing the relevant distribution. In other words, draw a sample to furnish empirical data. 5 Calculation of the Probability One has then to calculate the probability that the sample result would diverge as widely as it has from expectations, if the null hypothesis were in fact true.

6 Comparing the Probability Yet another step consists in comparing the probability thus calculated with the specified value for , the significance level.

Question -5. (a) Explain the components of a research design. Answer:Components of Research Design are as below: There are 4 types of research design are there, which is explained below. 1) Dependent and Independent variables: A magnitude that varies is known as a variable. The concept may assume different quantitative values, like height, weight, income, etc. Qualitative variables are not quantifiable in the strictest sense of objectivity. However, the qualitative phenomena may also be quantified in terms of the presence or absence of the attribute considered. Phenomena that assume different values quantitatively even in decimal points are known as continuous variables. But, all variables need not be continuous 2. Extraneous variable: The independent variables which are not directly related to the purpose of the study but affect the dependent variable are known as extraneous variables 3. Control: One of the most important features of a good research design is to minimize the effect of extraneous variable. Technically, the term control is used when a researcher designs the study in such a manner that it minimizes the effects of extraneous independent variables. 4. Confounded relationship: The relationship between dependent and independent variables is said to be confounded by an extraneous variable, when the dependent variable is not free from its effects.

(b) Briefly explain the different types of research designs. Answer The various research designs are: 1 Research design in case of exploratory research studies Exploratory research studies are also termed as formulative research studies. The main purpose of such studies is that of formulating a problem for more precise investigation or of developing the working hypothesis from an operational point of view Generally, the following three methods in the context of research design for such studies are: 1. The survey of concerning literature 2. Experience survey 3. Analyses of insight-stimulating 2 Research design in case of descriptive and diagnostic research studies Descriptive research studies are those studies which are concerned with describing the characteristics of a particular individual, or of a group, where as diagnostic research studies determine the frequency with which something occurs or its association with something else.. With due concern for the economical completion of the research study, the design in such studies must be rigid and not flexible and must focus attention on the following: 1. Formulating the objective of the study 2. Designing the methods of data collection 3. Selecting the sample 4. Collecting the data 5. Processing and analyzing the data 6. Reporting the findings. 3 Research Design in case of Hypothesis-Testing Research Studies Hypothesis-testing research studies (generally known as experimental studies) are those where the researcher tests the hypothesis of causal relationships between variables. experiments.

Question -6 (a) What are the assumptions of Case Study Method? Answer :1. Case study would depend upon wit, commonsense and imagination of the person doing the case study. The investigator makes up his procedure as he goes along. 2. If the life history has been written in the first person, it must be as complete and coherent as possible. 3. Life histories should have been written for knowledgeable persons. 4. It is advisable to supplement case data by observational, statistical and historical data since these provide standards for assessing the reliability and consistency of the case material. 5. Efforts should be made to ascertain the reliability of life history data through examining the internal consistency of the material. 6. A judicious combination of techniques of data collection is a prerequisite for securing data that are culturally meaningful and scientifically significant.

(b) Explain the Sampling process. Answer: Sampling Process. The researcher has to first identify the limiting factor or factors and must judiciously balance the conflicting factors. The various criteria governing the choice of the sampling technique: 1. Purpose of the Survey: What does the researcher aim at? If he intends to generalize the findings based on the sample survey to the population, then an appropriate probability sampling method must be selected. 2. Measurability: The application of statistical inference theory requires computation of the sampling error from the sample itself. 3. Degree of Precision: Should the results of the survey be very precise, or even rough results could serve the purpose. 4. Information about Population: How much information is available about the population to be studied. 5. The Nature of the Population: In terms of the variables to be studied, is the population homogenous or heterogeneous. 6. Geographical Area of the Study and the Size of the Population: If the area covered by a survey is very large and the size of the population is quite large, multi-stage cluster sampling would be appropriate.

7. Financial resources: If the available finance is limited, it may become necessary to choose a less costly sampling plan like multistage cluster sampling or even quota sampling as a compromise. 8. Time Limitation: The time limit within which the research project should be completed restricts the choice of a sampling method. 9. Economy: It should be another criterion in choosing the sampling method. It means achieving the desired level of precision at minimum cost.