CHAPTER FOUR

4 Research
Methodology
4. Research Methodology
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Problem statement
4.3 Research title
4.4 Objectives of the study
4.5 Statement of hypothesis
4.6 Scope of the study
4.7 Significance of the study
4.8 Limitations
4.9 Sample design
4.10 Sources of data
4.11 Research Instrument
4.12 Research tools and techniques
4.13 Analysis of research data
4.14 Chapter scheme
* References
Chapter 4 – Research Methodology

4.1 Introduction
Research is original contribution to the current stock of knowledge making for its
progression. Clifford Woody has defined that research comprises defining and
redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions’ collecting,
organizing and evaluating the data; making deductions and research conclusions and
at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit formulating
hypothesis. Research refers to systematic method consisting of enunciating the
problem, formulating a hypothesis, collecting the facts or data, analyzing the facts and
reaching certain conclusions either in the form of solution towards the concerned
problem or in certain generalizations for some theoretical formulation (Kothari,
2013)1. A system of models, procedures and techniques used to find the results of a
research problem is called a research methodology (Panneerselvam, 2009)2. Research
methodology is a systematic to solve the research problem.

Once the research problem is identified, the further step is to design the research
which provides guidelines for data collection. According to Donald Cooper (2017)3,
there are many different definitions of research design, however they give the
essentials of research design as follows:
 An activity and time based plan
 A plan always based on research questions
 A guide for selecting sources and type of information
 A framework for specifying the relationships among the study’s variables
 A procedural outline for every research activity.

There are 2 types of research design viz. Exploratory research design and Conclusive
research design. Conclusive research design is further divided in 2 types viz.
Descriptive research design and Causal research design. For the purpose of the study,
descriptive research design is used which are usually structured with clearly stated
hypotheses or investigative questions.

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4.2 Problem statement
1. What is the growth and market penetration of smartphones in India?
2. Do consumers prefer smartphones over feature phones?
3. What factors are considered important while buying a smartphone?
4. Are there preferences for specific features of smartphones? How much is the
range of expenditure of consumers for smartphones?
5. What is the level of satisfaction in smartphone users?
6. Is preference for smartphone affected by demographic factors like age, income
and education of the consumer?

4.3 Research Title

A study on changing consumer preferences with special reference to Smartphones in
Nashik city

4.4 Objectives of the study

1. To study growth and market penetration of smartphones in India
2. To analyze the preference of consumers for smartphones over feature phones
3. To ascertain the attributes that consumer prefers while selecting a particular
smartphone and measure their importance
4. To study preferences for specific features of smartphones and the expenditure
range of customers for smartphones
5. To analyze the overall satisfaction level of smartphone users

4.5 Statement of hypotheses

H1 - Preference for smartphone is affected by education of the consumer
H2 - Preference for smartphone is affected by income of the consumer
H3 - Preference for smartphone is affected by age of the consumer
H4 - The overall satisfaction level of smartphone users is high

4.6 Scope of the research study

 Scope of the study is limited to geographical area of Nashik city
 Since the range of mobile phones is quite wide, the study covers smartphone
devices only and not otherwise.

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  Every person attains the age of majority on completing the age of 18 as per the
Indian Majority Act, 1875 (Mathiharan, 2014)4. In order to gain insights into
consumer preferences of smartphone users, the researcher sought participants
in the study who were using smartphones for at least 1 month and are major i.e
at least 18 years old. Thus it was not possible to gain insights of people using
smartphones who are below 18 years and use smartphone or influence
purchase of a smartphone.

4.7 Significance of the study

The smartphone market has evolved considerably in the last 20 years and it has
become even more complex. New and distinctive products are being developed
continuously and released almost every month. The frequency of updating operating
systems has also increased since 2009. Thus the landscape of the market can change
dramatically from one year to next or even from one month to the next. The
smartphone industry is also a relatively young industry and some of the major players
today hardly existed ten years ago.

Annual smartphone sales surpassed sales of feature phones for the first time in 2013
(Gartner, 2014)5. According to gartner report, the sales of smartphone in Indian
market increased by around 167% making India world’s fastest growing smartphone
market in last quarter of 2013.
India has surpassed USA to become the second largest smartphone market by volume
(The Hindu, 2016) 6. The reasons for India’s growing smartphone market are:
 The huge size of the market and rate of growth owing to conducive
demographics
 Availability and affordability of low cost smartphones for low and middle
income groups
 Advent of advanced 4G LTE network infrastructure
 With digital payments being promoted more by the Indian government after
demonetization in November 2016, the dependence of the people on payment
apps and e wallets is increasing.

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Consumer preferences are the key factors affecting their purchase decision. Consumer
preferences in smartphone market have drastically changed mainly owing to changing
technology. In last 10 years, the group of major players has also changed because of
changing consumer preferences. Organizations need to adjust in order to meet these
changes to remain competitive and profitable. Thus, this study focuses on how
consumers’ changing preferences are going to affect smartphone market in Indian
context and to provide marketing implications to smartphone manufacturers for the
same.

4.8 Limitations
 The research is limited to the area of Nashik city only
 The sample of consumers to study preferences for smartphones was drawn
from a single city. Therefore, results of the study may not be generalizable to
all cities.
 Though IBM had introduced the first smartphone ‘Simon’ in 1992 to the
world, the smartphones were actually commercialized and publicized around
the end of the century. In India, however, smartphones gained popularity for
business users in 2002 with Nokia’s Communicator. Till date, very little
research has been carried out in this field. Thus data is available for the period
of last 15 years only.
 The research is based on prevailing consumers’ preferences which may change
with technological developments over a period of time.
 Data analysis is done with the help of responses given by respondents.
 The study is limited to consumer preferences only.

4.9 Sample design

According to State Election Commission, Maharashtra notification regarding number
of seats to be reserved for scheduled caste, scheduled tribes and the backward class
dated 25 November 2016 (State Election Commissioner, Maharastra, 2016) 7, and
Census India 2011 (Nashik Population Census 2011)8, the total population of Nashik
city was 14,86,053. Out of this population, 782,517 are males while 703,536 are
females as per report released by Census India 2011. 11.74% of total population of
Nashik city is below the age of 6 years. According to Census 2011, there were

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174,476 children between age 0 to 6 years in Nashik. Out of which 93,533 were male
while 80,943 were female. In Nashik city, female sex ratio is of 899 and literacy rate
is 89.85%. Table 3.1 shows the occupational strucutre within municipal corporation
area of Nashik city as per census of 2011:

Table 4.1 Occupational structure in Nashik City, 2011

Sector Occupation Male Female Total Percentage

Primary Cultivator 9187 4400 3586 1.75
Agriculture 7136 53334 12470
Total 1322 9724 26056
Secondary Household 7964 6721 14685 0.99
Industries
Tertiary Other workers 401865 92215 494080 33.24
Total workers 426151 108670 534821 36.00
Non workers 356366 594866 951232 64.00
Total population 782517 703536 1486053 100.00
Source: Census India 20118 and Nashik Municipal Corporation, 20169

It can be said from the above table that 36% of the total population of Nashik city is
working and contribution of females in working population of the city is around
20.32%.

An article in the Times of India had stated that there are 18.48 lakh mobile users
across the nashik city while the population of Nashik city is close to 18 lakh (Pawar,
2015) 10. According to The Economic Times (2016) 11, the cellphone connection in
Nashik district touched 50 lakh as of June end in 2016. Out of 50 lakh conections, 19
lakh connections are within the Nashik Municipal Corporation limits. Financial
Chronicle (2016)12 had quoted IDC that for the year 2005, 19% consumers in India
use smartphone and 81% consumers use feature phones. Sampling unit for the study
was consumer in Nashik city using smartphone for atleast a month. Thus, the target
population in the Nashik city for the purpose of study was 19% of 19 lakh which
turned out to be 3,61,000.

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Robert V Krejcie and Daryle W Morgan came up with a table in 1970, for
determining sample size for research activities (Kenya Projects Organization, 2012)13.
The table is based on a formula originally developed by US Office of Education.
(Fred Lunenburg, 2008)14

Table no. 4.2 Krejcie and Morgan table for sample size determination

Source: (Kenya Projects Organization, 2012)13

According to Krejcie and Morgan table, for a population greater than or equal to
10,00,000; the required sample size is 384. The sample size doesn’t change much
when the population is greater than or equal to 30,000. For the purpose of study,
target population was 3,23,000. Thus, according to Krejcie and Morgan table the
minimum recommended sample size was 384.

The sample size recommended for target population of 3,61,000 smartphone

consumers at 3.5% margin of error and 95% confidence level, was 782 (Raosoft Inc,

46
2004) 15. For the purpose of convenience, the sample size for the study was rounded
off to 800.

Stratified convenience sampling was selected to represent the entire population of

Nashik city for the purpose of the study. To divide the population in groups, the strata
was defined according to parliamentary assembly constituencies defined by Electoral
office. According to Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra (2013) 16, Nashik district
has 15 parliamentary assembly constituencies as follows:
1) 113 - Nandgaon
2) 114 - Malegaon (Central)
3) 115 - Malegaon (Outer)
4) 116 - Baglan (ST)
5) 117 - Kalwan (ST)
6) 118 - Chandwad
7) 119 - Yevla
8) 120 - Sinnar
9) 121 - Niphad
10) 122 - Dindori (ST)
11) 123 - Nashik East
12) 124 - Nashik (Central)
13) 125 - Nashik West
14) 126 - Deolali (SC)
15) 127 - Igatpuri (ST)

The study conducted was limited to Nashik city only. Thus only 3 parliamentary
assembly constituencies were considered for the purpose of study viz. 123 - Nashik
East, 124 - Nashik (Central) and 125 - Nashik West. The segments comprising of
these assembly constituencies is as follows.

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Table no. 4.3 Assembly constituencies and their segments

Sr. Assembly Segments

No. constituency
1. 123 - Nashik East Mhasrul, Makhmalabad, Adgaon, Dindori Road,
Phule nagar, Panchavati, Hirawadi, Pethroad,
Makhmalabad naka, Kranti Nagar, Adgaon naka,
Ganeshwadi, Nanduragaon, Panchak, Dasak,
Jailroad, Nehru Nagar, Shikharewadi, Nashikroad,
Muktidham, Dattamandir
2. 124 - Nashik (Central) Anumanwadi, Ashokstambh, Goraram galli, Old
Nashik,Nagazari Kathada, Rangaravada, Ravivar
Peth, Gangapur road, Jalaka wada, P.S. Hall, Badi
Darga, Dwarka, Maniksha Nagar, Sarda Circle,
GPO, Dongre Vastigruh, Kathegalli, Pakhalaroad,
Pandit Colony, Sharanpur road, College Road,
Gadkari Chowk, Golf ground, Tidke Colony,
Gandhinagar, Upnagar, DGP Nagar, Wadala,
Wadala gaon
3. 125 - Nashik West Gangapur, Anandvalli, Untwadi, Cidco, Bhaba
Nagar, Mahadevwadi, Satpur, Pawan nagar, Old
Cidco, Shivaji Choek, Raigad Chowk, MHB
Colony, Ashoka Nagar, Kamatavade, Moravadi,
Indiranagar, Ganesh chowk, Uttam Nagar, Torana
Nagar, Rane Nagar, Pathardi, Ambad Link Road,
Chunchale
Source: Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra (2013)

4.10 Sources of data

4.10.1 Primary data

960 participants from the target population were contacted personally to participate in
the study. From the areas mentioned in table 4.5, respondents were contacted
personally at prominent public places like jogging track, hospitals, markets, mobile

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phone shops, schools and colleges and other prominent commercial establishments.
320 questionnaires were distributed in each assembly constituencies representing
disproportionate stratified sampling. Following table shows data collected from
different zones for the purpose of study:

Table no. 4.4 Sample selected from different zones

Sr. Assembly Areas Number of

No. constituency respondents
1. 123 - Nashik East Mhasrul, Makhmalabad, Adgaon, 245
Dindori Road, Phule nagar, Panchavati,
Hirawadi, Pethroad, Makhmalabad
naka, Kranti Nagar, Adgaon naka,
Panchak, Dasak, Jailroad, Nehru Nagar,
Nashikroad, Muktidham, Dattamandir
2. 124 - Nashik Ashokstambh, Goraram galli, Old 318
(Central) Nashik, Ravivar Peth, Gangapur road,
P.S. Hall, , Dwarka, Maniksha Nagar,
Sarda Circle, GPO, Dongre Vastigruh,
Kathegalli, Pandit Colony, Sharanpur
road, College Road, Gadkari Chowk,
Golf ground, Tidke Colony, DGP
Nagar, Wadala
3. 125 - Nashik West Anandvalli, Untwadi, Cidco, Bhaba 253
Nagar, , Satpur, Pawan nagar, Old
Cidco, Ashoka Nagar, Kamatavade,
Moravadi, Indiranagar, Ganesh chowk,
Uttam Nagar, Rane Nagar, Pathardi,
Ambad Link Road
TOTAL 816
Source: Primary data
Every respondent was briefed about the purpose of the study. It was also explained to
them that the data provided by them will be used for academic purpose only. They
were also assured that their personal information will be strictly kept confidential.

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A note regarding the same was also put at the beginning of the questionnaire duly
signed by the researcher.

For avoiding non-sampling error, the researcher had taken 20% buffer on the sample
size of 800 for the study. Thus, 960 questionnaires (800 + 160 (i.e.20% of 800)) were
circulated to collect data for the study. Data was collected from respondents over the
period from 19 July 2016 to 27 July 2017. At the end of the survey in July 2017, 816
usable responses were collected representing a response rate of 85%.

4.10.2 Secondary data

Secondary data for research can be collected from different sources of information
and their value depends on source of information. These sources of information are
classified in 3 types as follows:

a) Primary sources
These are original research work without interpretation that represent an
official opinion like letters, interviews, speeches, laws and government data.
For the purpose of the study, primary sources include data from Census 2011,
Nashik Municipal Corporation and Chief Electoral Office (2013),
Maharashtra.

b) Secondary sources
Secondary sources are interpretation of primary data like encyclopedias,
textbooks, magazines, newspapers, journals and all other reference materials.
For the purpose of the study, various sources like books, printed and online
journals, websites, newspaper articles, reports of research firm like
International Data Corporation and Gartner Inc. were used. Journals referred
includes Asian Journal of Research in Marketing, International Journal of
Management Research & Review, Journal of Euromarketing, International
Review of Social Sciences and Humanities, International Journal of
Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, International Journal of
Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences, International
Journal on New Computer Architectures and their Applications, European
Journal of Business and Management, Global Journal of Management and
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 Business Research, International Journal of Asian Social Science, Journal of
Contemporary Management Research, International Journal of Managing
Value and Supply Chains, The IUP Journal of Marketing Management, IUP
Journal of Brand Management, Global Business and Management Research:
An International Journal and Galaxy International Interdisciplinary Research
Journal. Details of the secondary sources are mentioned in the references
chapter separately.

c) Tertiary sources
Tertiary sources are interpretations of a secondary source but are represented
by indexes, bibliographies, internet search engines, etc. Google scholar alerts
were also activated to review literature of consumer preferences of
smartphone users.

4.11 Research Instrument

The instrument used to collect data for the study was questionnaire. A structured non-
disguised questionnaire was prepared to measure consumer preferences of smartphone
users in Nashik city. The questionnaire was prepared after extensive literature review
as presented in chapter 2. The questionnaire had 15 close ended questions
(dichotomous and multiple choice questions), seeking to achieve research objectives
and test hypothesis, along with demographic details viz. gender, age, education,
occupation and annual family income. The questionnaire was constructed using very
basic and simple English language.

Construction of questionnaire was begun by writing statements and listing factors to

measure consumer preferences on the basis of review of literature. To measure the
preference of consumers for smartphone over feature phone, 13 items with response
categories in a 5 point Likert scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree was used.
To measure importance of factors that are considered important while purchasing a
smartphone, a 31 items with response categories in a 5 point Likert scale from very
important to very unimportant was used. Likewise, a 31 items with response
categories in a 5 point Likert scale from extremely satisfied to extremely dissatisfied
was used to measure consumer satisfaction of smartphone users. To measure

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consumers’ preferences for specific features of smartphones and expenditure range,
multiple choice questions were used.

The instrument then were screened for vagueness, language, sequencing of questions
and content overlap. To ensure content validity, the questionnaire constructed was
subjected to scrutiny and evaluation of three experts as follows:
 A professor of Computer Management and Statistics at Savitribai Phule Pune
University
 An associate professor of Marketing Management at Savitribai Phule Pune
University
 An owner of 3 multi brand outlets of mobile phones in Nashik city

A pilot study was conducted in January 2015 to test the adequacy of the
questionnaire. 30 questionnaires were distributed to the respondents. All 30
questionnaires were administered personally thus ensuring 100 percent response rate
for in person survey. Google forms was used to conduct online survey. Questionnaire
was sent to many people and in turn these people forwarded it to their contacts thus
enabling snow ball effect. 75 usable responses were recorded using online survey.
Thus, in all sample of 105 respondents was used for the purpose of pilot survey.
Following were the main findings related to methodology from pilot study:
 It took around 12 to 17 minutes to completely fill the questionnaire by a
respondent.
 Response rate for online survey was very less and delayed.
 The list of population could not be found from any source.
 The Cronbach alpha was 0.753, which is quite high and indicates strong
internal consistency among the items used to measure preference. Thus all
items related to measuring preference for smartphone over feature phone were
retained.
 2 factors viz. features and connectivity in Question no. 7 and 14 were found to
be irrelevant and ambiguous.

On the basis of pilot study following changes were made in the questionnaire:
 As the response rate for online survey was poor, it was decided to use in
person survey for the main study.
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  As the population list was not available from any source, the sampling type
was changed from stratified random sampling to stratified convenience
sampling for the study.
 2 items viz. features and connectivity were deleted from Question no. 7 and 14
to have relevant and unambiguous questionnaire.

Thus, the questionnaire developed was a reliable and valid measure of changing
consumer preferences for smartphones in Nashik city.

4.12 Research tools and techniques

The research instrument used for collection of primary data for the study was a
structured non disguised questionnaire. In this modern technological era, there are
several techniques available for display of data. For the purpose of the study,
frequency tables were used for arraying data. For the purpose of simplification, data
was reduced by converting it into percentages. Bar charts were used to graphically
represent data related to consumer preferences of smartphone users in Nashik city.

4.13 Analysis of research data

Chi square is an important non-parametric test and as such no rigid assumptions are
necessary in respect of the type of population. As a non- parametric test, chi square
can be used to test goodness of fit and as a test of independence. As a test of
independence, χ2 test explains whether two attributes are associated or not (Kothari,
2013)1. For testing of hypothesis of the study, Pearson’s chi square test was used to
analyze associations between the following:
 Preference for a smartphone and education of the consumer
 Preference for a smartphone and income of the consumer
 Preference for a smartphone and age of the consumer

IBM SPSS Statistics 20 was used to analyze the data using Pearson’s chi square test
for testing of hypotheses.

4.14 Chapter Scheme

The thesis is presented in five chapters. Chapter no. 1 includes Introduction of the

53
study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, significance of the study,
definition of terms, conceptual framework, research questions, limitations and
delimitations of the study.

Chapter no. 2 presents a Review of literature, which includes theory of consumer,

consumer behavior, consumer preference and changing consumer preferences,
smartphone and smartphone industry in global and Indian context. An extensive
literature review of preference for smartphones over feature phones, factors
considered before purchase of smartphone, customer satisfaction and activities done
on smartphone is also done.

Chapter no. 3 presents the History of Smartphone industry. This chapter contains
sections on history and evolution of smartphone, global and Indian smartphone
industry and major players in global and Indian smartphone industry.

Chapter no. 4 presents the Research methodology followed for this research study.
It includes elaboration on research design, sampling details, research instrument and
data collection techniques.

Chapter no. 5 presents the Data analysis and interpretation of the data collected
for the purpose of the study including demographic information, results of the data
analysis for the objectives and testing the research hypothesis.

Chapter no. 6 presents Conclusion in terms of findings of the study and

recommendations.

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Map No. 1: Map of Maharashtra State

Source: https://www.mapsofworld.com/india/maharashtra/ 17

55
Map No. 2: Map of Nashik District

Source: https://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/maharashtra/districts/nashik.htm 18

56
Map No. 3: Map of Nashik City

Source: https://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/maharashtra/nasik.html 19

57
Map No. 4: Map of Nashik city zone wise- East

Source: https://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/maharashtra/nasik.html 20

58
Map No. 5: Map of Nashik city zone wise- Central

Source: https://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/maharashtra/nasik.html 21

59
Map No. 6: Map of Nashik city zone wise- West

Source: https://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/maharashtra/nasik.html 22

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References

1. Kothari, C. (2013). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques. New

Age International (P) Ltd., Publishers.
2. Panneerselvam, R. (2009). Research Methodology. New Delhi: PHI Learning
Private Limited.
3. Donald Cooper, P. S. (2017). Business Research Methods. Chennai: McGraw
Hill Education (India) Private Limited.
4. MATHIHARAN, K. (2014). Law on consent and confidentiality in India: A
need for clarity. THE NATIONAL MEDICAL JOURNAL OF INDIA, 27(1),
39-42.
5. Gartner. (2014, February 13). Gartner Says Annual Smartphone Sales Surpassed
Sales of Feature Phones for the First Time in 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2017, from
http://www.gartner.com: http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2665715

6. The Hindu. (2016, February 3). With 220mn users, India is now world’s
second-biggest smartphone market. Retrieved from http://www.thehindu.com:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/business/with-220mn-users-
india-is-now-worlds-secondbiggest-smartphone-market/article8186543.ece
7. State Election Commissioner, Maharastra. (2016, November 25). Annexure
17. 53-93. Nashik, Maharshtra, India: Shri Parshuram Jagannath Gosavi.
8. Nashik Population Census 2011. (2012). Retrieved from
http://www.census2011.co.in:
http://www.census2011.co.in/data/town/802776-nashik-maharashtra.html
9. Nashik Municipal Corporation. (2016). Nashik Draft Revised Development
Plan 2016-2036. Nashik: PUBLISHED U/S 28(4) OF MAHARASHTRA
REGIONAL AND TOWN PLANNING ACT, 1966.
10. Pawar, T. (2015, August 11). Internet demand props mobile business in
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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nashik/Internet-demand-props-mobile-
business-in-Nashik/articleshow/48429680.cms
11. The Economic Times. (2016, October 20). Mobile phone connections touch
50L-mark in Nashik district. Retrieved November 28, 2017, from
https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com:

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 https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/mobile-phone-
connections-touch-50l-mark-in-nashik-district/54950089

12. Financial Chronicle. (2016). With price cuts, smartphones cannibalise feature
phones. Hyderabad.
13. Kenya Projects Organization. (2012, August 25). Sample Size Determination
Using Krejcie and Morgan Table. Retrieved from http://www.kenpro.org:
http://www.kenpro.org/sample-size-determination-using-krejcie-and-morgan-
table/
14. Fred Lunenburg, B. I. (2008). Writing a successful thesis or dissertation.
Corwin Press.
15. Raosoft Inc. (2004). Sample size calculator. Retrieved from
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Constituencies. Retrieved from
https://ceo.maharashtra.gov.in/Lists/ListACs.aspx
17. Map of Maharashtra state (2017, August 15) accessed from:
https://www.mapsofworld.com/india/maharashtra/
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https://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/maharashtra/districts/nashik.htm
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Source: http://psleci.nic.in/default.aspx
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Source: http://psleci.nic.in/default.aspx
22. Map of Nashik City zone wise-West (2017, August 15) accessed from:
Source: http://psleci.nic.in/default.aspx

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