NORTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

NAME:

REG NO:

COURSE CODE: LAD 843

COURSE TITLE: QUANTITATIVE TECHNIQUES

Question One

Briefly explain the contents of a research proposal.

Question Two

Identify and explain the various types of variables researchers have to use during the process of
undertaking research.

Question Three

Research designs take the form of exploratory, experience survey, analysis of insight, focus
groups, descriptive research, cohort analysis, longitudinal research, sample survey and survey of
literature. Briefly explain each of these concepts.
Question One

Briefly explain the contents of a research proposal.

Research project proposals must contain, but not necessarily be limited to, the following
essentials:

i) Statements

Introduction / Problem Statement - A clear, concise statement of the problem to be solved by

the proposed research, usually in one to three sentences. Justifications and explanations belong in
the "background" section.

Objectives - A concise statement identifying the purpose or products of the research. The
objective(s) should be phrased in positive terms (e.g.,to determine, to analyze, to measure, rather
than broad generalities, such as, to investigate, to study).

Background - A statement placing the research project in its proper context with ODOT's or
other potential user operations. Here we include-;

 Include the findings of the literature search. These findings should demonstrate either that
there has been no other research on the problem with the same approach or that the
proposed research project will extend, modify or refine prior research. Relate the
proposed research to past research accomplishments either by the ODOT or others, and as
appropriate show how it builds upon rather than duplicates any previous research. A
complete literature search that includes TRID is required for all project proposals.
 A statement indicating the researcher's understanding of the underlying principles
involved and supporting the approach being taken.
 This section should be written so that a person with a technical background, not
necessarily in the subject being researched, can understand it. It should define key terms,
such as, processes, equipment, so the reader quickly grasps the picture. Images are often
very helpful in this process. This section should explain the options for approaching and
solving the problem, then explain which approach will be taken in the project and why.
The scope of the research and the basic parameters being investigated should also be
included.
 ii) Work Plan

The plan or approach intended to be used should be fully described and specify in detail how the
research project will be structured and performed to meet each research objective. The work plan
must identify major operational phases and relate these phases to manpower requirements, time
schedule and cost estimates and provide the following information as applicable:

Applied Research (problem oriented)

o Principles or theories to be used in the solution.

o Possible solutions of the problem.
o Critical experiments to test the applicability of the theory.
o The kind and range of variables to be tested.
o Criteria to be used for acceptance or rejection of possible solutions.
o Experimental facilities available.
o Data analysis and statistical procedures.

Basic Research (concept oriented)

o The basic approach to the development of the theory.

o Specific hypothesis derived from the theory.
o Criteria for acceptance or rejection of hypothesis.
o Theoretical framework (experimental design) for study.
o Significant variables to be tested.
o Data analysis and statistical procedures.

Development

o The device, process, or system to be developed.

o The applied research upon which the development is to be based.
o Method(s) to solve the problem.
 o The kind and range of variables considered in the development.
o Facilities available for the development.
o Data analysis procedures, including adequate statistical methods.
o Criteria to be used for acceptance or rejection.

Test and Evaluation

o Item to be evaluated or measured.

o The extent of the development of the item.
o Testing procedures for the item.
o Conditions under which evaluation will be made.
o Control to be used.
o Data analysis procedures, including adequate explanation of statistical methods.
o Criteria to be used for acceptance or rejection.

Tasks to be Performed

Describe the proposed tasks that will be followed to complete the project.

Anticipated Benefits

Enumerate the benefits anticipated from the research, such as better service to the public, savings
of time or money, increased safety, improved aesthetic quality, or preservation of the
environment. Cost-benefit ratios, net-present value, and cost effectiveness measures should be
considered. All assumptions, data, and calculations must be shown.

Implementation

A statement identifying specific areas of potential application of the research findings such as:
changes in specifications, standards, policy, training, practice, procedure, software and
instructions for computer application, and how the findings will ultimately resolve / reduce the
problems. If the research findings cannot be applied immediately, this portion of the research
proposal should identify the additional steps necessary to complete in order for application to
begin (additional research, field testing).

Expected Deliverables
Describe the proposed deliverables, such as software, databases, specification changes, etc. as a
result of the project, including the reports to be prepared such as monthly, annual, and final
reports. Research project reports should document the research performed and indicate what
project objectives have been met.

Time Schedule

Include a bar chart to illustrate the interrelationship and scheduling of the operational phases and
tasks of the research project. If properly prepared, this chart can also be used as a progress chart
in semi-annual reporting where required.

iii) Literature Cited / References

Include a list of all literature cited within the proposal. Additionally, include a list of all
references suggested in the proposal.

iv) Budget and Justification

Include the proposed budget for the project, listing the budget sheet for each year separately,
followed by a cumulative budget sheet combining the total number of years. Facilities and
Administrative Costs of 26% are allowed. Include a budget justification describing each
proposed budget line item.

v) Personnel Qualifications

Include a statement of the qualifications of the principal investigator and other key personnel
including their experience, capability, and past performance of research work in relation to the
contracted organization. The Principal Investigator (PI) or any substitutes to the PI shall
preferably be a Professional Engineer registered in the State of Oklahoma. In addition, any
substitute shall have equivalent or higher qualifications than the PI selected in the original
contract.

The research personnel who will be conducting the research shall have been deemed qualified by
the PI prior to the start of the research. Include a statement on the availability of skilled
personnel for the research project, and an availability time frame.

Lab Qualifications / Quality Management System (QMS)

The PI performing the work shall have a documented Quality Management System (QMS)
acceptable to ODOT. The intent of the QMS is to document to ODOT that the lab has the
necessary calibrated and/or verified equipment, competent technicians, and quality system in
place to properly conduct testing on highway construction materials used in the research. The
QMS is a project specific document, and each PI is required to submit a QMS describing the
laboratory equipment that will be utilized for their research project prior to the award of a
contract to proceed with work activities. As a means of achieving this goal, it is recommended
that the PI and his/her staff refer to AASHTO R-18 for guidance in developing the QMS for
conformance with this policy.

Describe the facilities to be used to conduct the research project. Periodic lab inspections by
ODOT representatives may be conducted during the performance of the contract. Any infractions
noted at the time of such inspections will be brought to the attention of the PI, who is responsible
for taking the corrective actions. In some cases, data from testing may require certification.
Question Two

Identify and explain the various types of variables researchers have to use during the
process of undertaking research.

A variable represents a measurable attribute that changes or varies across the experiment whether
comparing results between multiple groups, multiple people or even when using a single person
in an experiment conducted over time. This include-;

- Independent and Dependent Variables

In general, experiments purposefully change one variable, which is the independent variable. But
a variable that changes in direct response to the independent variable is the dependent variable.
Say there’s an experiment to test whether changing the position of an ice cube affects its ability
to melt. The change in an ice cube's position represents the independent variable. The result of
whether the ice cube melts or not is the dependent variable.

- Intervening and Moderator Variables

Intervening variables link the independent and dependent variables, but as abstract processes,
they are not directly observable during the experiment. For example, if studying the use of a
specific teaching technique for its effectiveness, the technique represents the independent
variable, while the completion of the technique's objectives by the study participants represents
the dependent variable, while the actual processes used internally by the students to learn the
subject matter represents the intervening variables.

By modifying the effect of the intervening variables -- the unseen processes -- moderator
variables influence the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
Researchers measure moderator variables and take them into consideration during the
experiment.

- Constant or Controllable Variable

Sometimes certain characteristics of the objects under scrutiny are deliberately left unchanged.
These are known as constant or controlled variables. In the ice cube experiment, one constant or
controllable variable could be the size and shape of the cube. By keeping the ice cubes' sizes and
shapes the same, it's easier to measure the differences between the cubes as they melt after
shifting their positions, as they all started out as the same size.

- Extraneous Variables

A well-designed experiment eliminates as many unmeasured extraneous variables as possible.

This makes it easier to observe the relationship between the independent and dependent
variables. These extraneous variables, also known as unforeseen factors, can affect the
interpretation of experimental results. Lurking variables, as a subset of extraneous variables
represent the unforeseen factors in the experiment.

Another type of lurking variable includes the confounding variable, which can render the results
of the experiment useless or invalid. Sometimes a confounding variable could be a variable not
previously considered. Not being aware of the confounding variable’s influence skews the
experimental results. For example, say the surface chosen to conduct the ice-cube experiment
was on a salted road, but the experimenters did not realize the salt was there and sprinkled
unevenly, causing some ice cubes to melt faster. Because the salt affected the experiment's
results, it's both a lurking variable and a confounding variable.
Question Three

Research designs take the form of exploratory, experience survey, analysis of insight, focus
groups, descriptive research, cohort analysis, longitudinal research, sample survey and
survey of literature. Briefly explain each of these concepts.

A research design is an important part of research that serves as a road map letting you know
your position and where you will stand once you have completed the research. Researchers must
keep their ultimate objectives in mind even if they have to take detours and change direction
during the research process. The road map helps them reach their destination.

i) Exploratory.

Researchers should use their instincts to find clues and venture into new territories in search of
information. Flexibility is important in exploratory research and it is bound to result in new
ideas, revelations and insights.These are some of the objectives that warrant the need for
exploratory research:

o To define an ambiguous problem more precisely like why sales of a specific product are
declining.
o Develop hypotheses that can explain the occurrence of specific phenomena.
o For providing insights like what political changes in the international environmental are
going to affect our business.
ii) experience survey

Is a set of questions designed to gauge the overall satisfaction of a group of people who have
shared a common experience. Businesses commonly distribute these surveys among customers,
and educational institutions often distribute surveys among students.

iii) analysis of insight

Analysing select cases also helps achieve the objectives of exploratory research. By doing an in-
depth analysis of elect cases related to the topic one can reach his objectives. This approach is
suitable when there are complex variables at work and to understand these complexities one may
need to conduct intensive study. For example you want to know the reason or traits related to his
level performance among your sales managers. You compare the top performers and bottom
performers to check out which traits are common to the best performing salespeople.

iv) Focus Groups.

A group of people works on addressing a topic introduced by the moderator and the researcher.
Focus groups have proved to be of special importance in :

- Letting marketing managers see how consumers respond to the company’s efforts.
- Generating hypothesis that can be tested through the use of descriptive and causal
research.

The popularity of focus groups is because of their effectiveness and efficiency as well as because
researchers or decision makers can themselves attend them and observe the response of the
participants live.

v) descriptive research

is used for description or to describe phenomenon or idea. It is generally used in the following
conditions:

1. To describe the traits of specific groups like our largest customers who account for more
than 60 percent of our sales and based upon the results design future marketing efforts.
2. Covariance of two variables – like does consumption of our services vary by income
range.
3. To estimate the size of consumer groups in a population that act in a specific manner.
How often do newly married like to shop from our brand?
4. For specific predictions. Forecasting the number of companies switching to new CRM
software.

Compared to exploratory research, descriptive research follows a very rigid approach. Its data
collection methods are highly rigid as compared to the unstructured and flexible approach used
in exploratory research. Exploratory research often forms the basis for descriptive research and
the knowledge acquires through exploratory research is used to select respondents, setting
priority issues, framing and asking questions as well as setting the time and place for the
respondents like when and where to ask questions. While exploratory research can provide the
hypotheses, you need to conduct descriptive research to prove the hypotheses. Exploratory
research will answer the basic questions related to who, where, what when, why and how if
descriptive research but then descriptive research will answer the final questions related to the
market.

So, descriptive research does the task of putting the picture created by exploratory research into
the frame. Two basic types of descriptive research studies for collecting data are cross sectional
and longitudinal studies.

vi) Cohort Analysis.

A cohort analysis is a particular form of longitudinal study that samples a cohort (a group of
people who share a defining characteristic, typically those who experienced a common event in a
selected period, such as birth or graduation), performing a cross-section at intervals through time.
It is a type of panel study where the individuals in the panel share a common characteristic.

vii) Longitudinal research

Longitudinal research sample population over a period of time. The main objective of
longitudinal studies is to observe behavioral changes occurring over period of time. Also known
as true panels, these studies provide the same information at various specific points of time. This
information can be combined with other information to know if some specific behavior change
was triggered by a particular act like brand switching was caused due to exposure to a particular
advertisement.

viii) Sample survey.

Survey research is often used to assess thoughts, opinions, and feelings. Survey research can be
specific and limited, or it can have more global, widespread goals. A survey consists of a
predetermined set of questions that is given to a sample. With a representative sample, that is,
one that is representative of the larger population of interest, one can describe the attitudes of the
population from which the sample was drawn. Further, one can compare the attitudes of different
populations as well as look for changes in attitudes over time.

ix) Survey literature.

Is the process of analyzing, summarizing, organizing, and presenting a research conclusion from
the results of technical review of large number of recently published scholarly articles. The
results of the literature survey can contribute to the body of knowledge when peer-reviewed and
published as survey articles

REFERENCES.

Charmaz, K. (2003). Grounded theory. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative psychology: A practical

guide to proposal writing methods (pp. 81-110). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Durrheim, K. (1999). Research design. In M. Terre Blanche, & K. Durrheim (Eds.), Research in
practice: Applied methods for the social sciences (pp. 29-53). Cape Town: University of Cape
Town Press.