Chapter 3: Research Methodology

CHAPTER: 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT:

Research strategy is a general plan of how researcher goes about

answering the research questions that has been set by researcher. It
contains clear objectives, derived from research questions specify the
sources from which researcher intend to collect data and consider the
constraints that researcher have such as access to data, time, location and
money ethical issues.
In day-to-day life research lays the foundation for decision-making
in various aspects. Research involves important steps like- problem
definition, research design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation
and implications of the results. There are two kinds of research:
exploratory and conclusive research based on objectives. Exploratory
research encompasses assessment of relationship between the variables. It
applies a less formal method and pursues several probabilities
concurrently. Characteristic approaches in exploratory research are
literature survey, experience survey and analysis of insight-stimulating
examples.

There are many assumptions in exploratory research, which need

proper testing for the purpose of determining the conclusions and validity
of such. A hypothesis can be proved either right or wrong after testing.
These results set the basis for decision-making purpose when get tested

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for validity. Conclusive research is used for the purpose of testing the
hypotheses created by the exploratory research. It can be descriptive as
well as experimental research. Descriptive research discusses some
subjects like- characteristics of consumers of a given product, the degree
of product usage difference with income, difference in occupation, age,
gender or other demographic features etc. It allows both implicit
(inherent) and explicit hypotheses to be tested depending upon the
research problem.

In experimental research manipulation of one or more variables

under some conditions is permitted, which further permits the data
collection to show the effects. Experiments are aimed for creating
simulated situation so that the researcher can get the required information
in specific way and can calculate the data precisely. This simulation is the
core of the experimental method because it provides more control over
the factors that the researcher has been observing. This research is based
on the exploratory research model, where effect of socio-economic
factors on buying Pattern of urban youth in retail market is delved into.
In terms of its elements, sampling units, extent and time a specific
population should be properly defined. A universe or population is the
aggregate of all the elements having some specified features, which the
researcher wants to study and define prior to selecting the sample. An
element is the unit on which the information has to be collected. It offers
the standard for analysis as per the well-defined process. In this research
study, the researcher has studied the impact of socio economic factors on
purchasing pattern. A sampling unit is the element considered accessible
for selection in some phase of the sampling process. In this study, youth
from Indore were identified that represented a major chunk of urban
youth.

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The findings of the ‘State of the Urban Youth, India 2012:

Employment, Livelihoods, Skills,’ a report published by IRIS Knowledge
Foundation states that every third person in an Indian city today is a
youth. In about seven years, the median individual in India will be 29
years, very likely a city-dweller, making it the youngest country in the
world. India is set to experience a dynamic transformation as the
population burden of the past turns into a demographic dividend. By
2020, India is set to become the world’s youngest country with 64 per
cent of its population in the working age group. With the West, Japan and
even China aging, this demographic potential offers India and its growing
economy an unprecedented edge that economists believe could add a
significant 2 per cent to the GDP growth rate.

Objectives of Study:

Objectives were framed which covered the subject of research before

collecting the primary and secondary data. The objectives should be valid
and achievable. The major objective of study was to study the effect of
socio-economic factors on buying pattern of urban youth in retail market.
Other objectives were:
1. To assess the effect of demographic background of youths on their
buying pattern.
2. To find out the effect of social background of youths on their buying
pattern.
3. To know the effect of economic background of youths on their
buying pattern.
4. To study the retail market strategies towards consumers.

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The main aim of the research is to find out the truth which is being
hidden and which has not been discovered yet. So, the present study
entitled as “TITLE”.

The methodology of present study is preceded under following heads:

1. Hypothesis of the study

2. Working definition

3. Research Design

4. Tools and techniques

5. Statistical analysis

1. Hypothesis of the study: There were 3 hypotheses of study:

1. The demographic background of youths has no association with their

buying pattern.

2. The social background of youths has no association with their buying

pattern.

3. The economic background of youths has no association with their

buying pattern.

2. Working definition:

 Advertising: It is a form of marketing communication used to

persuade an audience to take or continue some action, usually with
respect to a commercial offering, or political or ideological support.
 Brand preference: One of the indicators of the strength of a brand in
the hearts and minds of customers, brand preference represents which

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brands are preferred under assumptions of equality in price and

availability.
 Demographics: are the quantifiable statistics of a given population.
Demographics are also used to identify the study of quantifiable
subsets within a given population which characterize that population
at a specific point in time.
 Electronic Commerce (E-commerce): It is trading in products or
services using computer networks, such as the Internet. Electronic
commerce draws on technologies such as mobile
commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain
management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing,
electronic, electronic data interchange (EDI).
 Foreign direct investment: (FDI) is a controlling ownership in a
business enterprise in one country by an entity based in another
country. Broadly, foreign direct investment includes "mergers and
acquisitions, building new facilities, reinvesting profits earned from
overseas operations and intra company loans".
 Joint family: It is a family that extends beyond the immediate family,
consisting of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all living nearby
or in the same household.
 Market: It is regular gathering of people for the purchase and sale of
provisions, livestock, and other goods. It’s a place where buying and
selling occurs.
 Multiplex: It is a movie theater complex with multiple screens,
typically more than one screen within a single complex. They are
usually housed in a specially designed building.
 Nuclear family: It is a term used to define a family group consisting
of a pair of adults and their children.

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 Online marketing: is a form of marketing and advertising which uses

the Internet to deliver promotional marketing messages to consumers.
It includes email marketing, search engine marketing (SEM), social
media marketing, many types of display advertising (including web
banner advertising), and mobile advertising.
 Religion: It is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems,
and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence. Many
religions have narratives, symbols, and sacred histories that aim to
explain the meaning of life and/or to explain the origin of life or
the Universe.
 Retail management: The various processes which help the customers
to procure the desired merchandise from the retail stores for their end
use refer to retail management. Retail management includes all the
steps required to bring the customers into the store and fulfill their
buying needs.
 Retail: Retail is the sale of goods and services from individuals or
businesses to the end-user. Retailers are a part of an integrated system
called the supply chain.
 Shopping Mall: shopping center, shopping arcade, shopping precinct,
or simply just a mall, is one or more buildings forming a complex
of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways
enabling visitors to walk from unit to unit.
 Socioeconomic status (SES) is an economic and sociological
combined total measure of a person's work experience and of an
individual's or family's economic and social position in relation to
others, based on income, education, and occupation.
 Urban: An urban area is a location characterized by high
human population density and vast human-built features in

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comparison to the areas surrounding it. Urban areas may

be cities, towns or conurbations,
 Youth: Youth is best understood as a period of transition from the
dependence of childhood to adulthood’s independence and awareness
of our interdependence as members of a community. Youth is a more
fluid category than a fixed age-group.

3. Research Design:

The universe included shoppers in Indore, who are regular visitors

of retails shops. Indore is known as the business capital of M.P. Situated
in western Madhya Pradesh, the city has been well connected with
airways, roadways and railways. The sampling method applied by the
researcher was non-probability judgement sampling method, also known
as purposive sampling. In this sampling, the researcher picks a sample
from the population, which he/she considers a representative of the
population. All elements of the population are not having equal
opportunity to get included in the sample. Judgement of the researcher
becomes major factor.

Among the youth in Indore city, there were 300 who were selected
for the purpose of primary data collection. These were either the
inhabitants or Indore or other places from Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand,
UP, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Uttaranchal and Chhattisgarh states.
There were 312 respondents selected from Indore, out of which 305 gave
response in the form of filled questionnaire. Due to insufficient and
ambiguous information, 5 responses were not included in the research.
Finally, a sample of 300 was included in the study. Composition of
respondents is as follows:

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Table 3.1: Respondents’ Composition: Total 300 respondents

No. of
Variable Indices
respondents
25-30 years 179
Age Group (yrs)
30-35 years 121
Male 150
Gender
Female 150
Living in City Area 146
Resident’s Locale Living in Colony 128
Living in Sub-Urban areas 26
Self-employed 111
Occupation
Service 189
Married 150
Marital Status
Unmarried 150
Up To 8th 8
Education Up To 12th 44
UG/PG 248
Up To 2 157
Adult Family Members 2-4 97
>4 46
No Children 86
Children Up To 2 185
>2 29
Traditional 91
Lifestyle
Semi- modern 187
Upto 50,000/- 132
50,000/- To 1 Lac 63
Monthly Income (Rs.)
1 Lac To 1.50 Lac 53
1.50 lac + 52
Husband 164
Wife 21
Earning Member
Both 77
Other 38
More Earning 169
Earning To Dependent
Equal 53
Ratio
More Dependent 78

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4. Tools and techniques:

Before conducting the research secondary data are always collected

and stored. These are also known as historical data which are earlier
collected and recorded by researchers across the world. This collected
data is of great significance in exploratory research. In the research,
secondary data were collected from various sources like- textbooks,
journals, business magazines, newspapers, Internet, brochures etc.

Primary data is first-hand data collected freshly by the researcher.

For the purpose of collecting primary data, questionnaire is a common
instrument. A questionnaire contains a set of questions (open-ended and
closed-ended) for the purpose of collecting primary data from the
respondents. Questionnaires as data collection tool are more often used in
case the data are to be collected from a large population about their
variables like: awareness, perception, expectations, taste & preferences,
effectiveness and behaviour [See appendix 1].

Administering the questionnaire for collecting data can be done in

many ways. It can vary in terms of format and the channel through which
it is administered to the respondents. It can be administered personally,
by mailer, by email or telephonically as well. A questionnaire may be
structured or unstructured depending on the need of the researcher. In
structured questionnaire, the questions and probable responses are visibly
pre-specified; whereas in non-structured questionnaire, the questions are
kept flexible in their words and the respondents are allowed to use
flexibility to answer the questions in their own way.

The response pattern of respondents may differ in terms of open-

ended and close-ended questions. Open-ended questions are time

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consuming; but respondents feel comparatively free to choose their

tentative responses. In close-ended questionnaire the researcher pre-
specifies the alternatives and the respondents are supposed to choose any
one from among the specified alternatives given to them. In this study, it
was a self-administered questionnaire that consisted of most of the
closed-ended and few open-ended questions. It facilitated the respondents
in filling their opinion about retailing. There was no ambiguity in any
portion of the questionnaire. The questionnaire was tested by using pilot
study on 19 respondents. After making minor changes, it was finalized
for study.

Structure of the Questionnaire: The first part of questionnaire

contained brief information about the response in terms of gender, age,
education, occupation, number of family member, family status, earning
members, native place, marital status, lifestyle, source of income, total
income etc. This was highly useful in getting useful information about the
demography of respondents. The main part of questionnaire was divided
into two parts: overall purchase preferences and purchase criteria. Under
purchase preferences, the response was measured in terms of frequency
and the choices given to the respondents ranged from always, often,
sometimes, never to not sure. The respondent was asked to tick any of the
five choices. The aspects/ criteria covered aspects like- cost /price,
necessity /need, social status, religious reason, tradition reason, choice of
family members, personal choice, quality, brand preference,
advertisement, experience, luxury/comfort. The second part covered
purchase criteria like- source of information, time of purchase,
accompanying with, place of buying, location preference, availability of
shopping facility etc. Against these criteria, the respondents were asked to

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rank from among options ranging from always, often, sometimes and
never.

5. Statistical analysis

The data analysis process involves applying the reasoning method

for comprehending and interpreting the data collected by the researcher.
The choice of analytical techniques depends on the characteristics of
research design and nature of the collected data. The collected data from
300 respondents were valuable and important because it contained all the
relevant information needed to fulfill the objectives of research. Before
applying statistical techniques for data analysis, the data collected was
tabulated to facilitate interpretation process.

The primary collected data was converted into a user-friendly

format by coding method. Using MS Excel, the data transformation was
done in a spreadsheet. The relevant data were transferred from the
collected questionnaires to the computer. The excel sheet was prepared
where the response of all 300 respondents against relevant questions was
entered. It was further arranged in a tabular manger in rows and columns.
The rows represented respondents and the columns indicated relevant
questions against which the response was recorded. Finally, a rectangular
data matrix was formed on spreadsheet.

The selection of suitable statistical technique gives appropriate

directions for data interpretation and implications. The correct choice of
technique gives significant suggestion for the probable findings and
implications. After the tabulation process of data in MS Excel sheet, the
analysis of data was performed by applying various statistical tools
depending upon their applicability. Descriptive statistics used in this

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study included mean, frequencies and standard deviations. The selection

of tools was done on the basis of objectives of the research work and the
nature of respondents. With the help of SPSS factors were sorted and
analysis was done based on the percentage and chi value and hypothesis
testing was done accordingly.

By applying the appropriate statistical techniques, data analysis and

interpretation process was carried out thoroughly and significant results
were determined by the researcher. Due to appropriate selection of
statistical techniques, the results were validated and justified. These
results were translated into user-friendly manner from the statistical data.
It was very important from the point of view of objectives of the research.

The interpretation of the data gives useful insights into the subject
matter, which are valuable for the government, the farmers and the
society at large. Each and every aspect of the subject matter has been
derived in the results section. Detailed results of data analysis along with
their interpretations have been mentioned in forthcoming chapters.

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