INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS

Q1- Define the following concepts.

A) Business problem: A business problem is a situation that makes some

significant negative consequence more likely. A natural disaster can present a
problem for many firms as they face potential loss of property and personnel
and the possibility that their operations, and therefore their revenue, will be
interrupted.

B) Exploratory research: Conducted to clarify ambiguous situations or discover

ideas that may be potential business opportunities.

C) The 3 components of attitudes:

Affective component: The affective component refers to an individual’s

general feelings or emotions toward an object.

Cognitive component: The cognitive component represents an individual’s

knowledge about attributes and their consequences.

Behavioral component: The behavioral expectations (expected future

actions) of an individual toward an attitudinal object.

D) Population in sampling: A population in sampling is the entire group of

people, objects, or events that a researcher is interested in studying. It is the
group from which the researcher will draw a sample to collect data.

E) Semantic Differential Vs. Stapel Scale:

Semantic differential:
A measure of attitudes that consists of a series of seven-point rating scales
that use bipolar adjectives to anchor the beginning and end of each scale.

Stapel Scale:
A measure of attitudes that consists of a single adjective in the center of an
even number of numerical values.

F) Interviewer Error: Mistakes made by interviewers failing to record

survey responses correctly.
G) Non-response error: The statistical differences between a survey
that includes only those who responded and a perfect survey
that would also include those who failed to respond.

Q2 Name all the eight guidelines with examples that must be followed while
designing the questionnaire. What are leading, loaded, double-barrelled,
determinant-choice, filter, pivot and simple dichotomy questions. Give one
example for each.

1) Avoid Complexity: Use Simple, Conversational Language

Words used in questionnaires should be readily understandable to all
respondents. The researcher usually has the difficult task of adopting the
conversational language of people at the lower education levels without
talking down to better educated respondents.

EXAMPLE: The stock in these days are too risky.

2) Avoid Leading and Loaded Questions:

Leading and loaded questions are a major source of bias in question
wording. A leading question suggests or implies certain answers.
A study of the dry cleaning industry asked this question:
Many people are using dry cleaning less because of improved wash-and-wear
clothes. How do you feel wash-and-wear clothes have affected your use of dry
cleaning facilities in the past 4 years?
Use less No change Use more
It should be clear that this question leads the respondent to report lower
usage of dry cleaning. The potential “bandwagon effect” implied in this question
threatens the study’s validity. Partial mention of alternatives is a variation of this
phenomenon:
Do accounting graduates who attended state universities, such as Washington State
University, make better auditors?

A loaded question suggests a socially desirable answer or is emotionally

charged. Consider the following question from a survey about media influence on
politics
What most influences your vote in major elections?
My own informed opinion
Major media outlets such as CNN
Newspaper endorsements
Popular celebrity opinions
Candidate’s physical attractiveness
Family or friends
Video advertising (television or Web video)
Other

3) Avoid Ambiguity: Be as Specific as Possible

Items on questionnaires often are ambiguous because they are too general.
Consider such indefinite words as often, occasionally, regularly, frequently,
many, good, and poor. Each of these words has many different meanings.

How often does the company shut down production for sanitary
maintenance?
Annually (once a year)
Semiannually (once every six months)
Quarterly (about every three months)
At least once monthly
Less frequently (less often than once a year)
Here the researchers clarified the terms permanent, semipermanent, and
temporary by defining them for the respondent. However, the question
remained somewhat ambiguous. Beer marketers often use a variety of point-
of-purchase devices to serve different purposes—in this case, what is the
purpose? In addition, analysis was difficult because respondents were
merely asked to indicate a preference rather than a degree of preference.
Thus, the meaning of a question may not be clear because the frame of
reference is inadequate for interpreting the context of the question.

4) Avoid Double-Barreled Items:

A question that may induce bias because it covers two issues at once.
Example-
Did your plant use any commercial feed or supplement for livestock or
poultry in 2010?
Yes No
Here, the question could be thought of as a “double-double-barreled”
question. Both commercial feed or supplement and livestock or poultry are
double barreled. Interpreting the answer to
this question would be challenging.
5) Avoid Making Assumptions:

Should General Electric continue to pay its outstanding quarterly dividends?

Yes No
This question has a built-in assumption: that people believe the dividends
paid by General Electric are outstanding. By answering “yes,” the
respondent implies that the program is, in fact, outstanding and that things
are fine just as they are. When a respondent answers “no,” he or she implies
that GE should discontinue the dividends. The researchers should not place
the respondent in that sort of bind by including an implicit assumption in the
question.

6) Avoid Burdensome Questions That May Tax the Respondent’s Memory:

A simple fact of human life is that people forget. Researchers writing

questions about past behavior or events should recognize that certain
questions may make serious demands on the respondent’s memory. Writing
questions about prior events requires a conscientious attempt to minimize
the problems associated with forgetting.
Example :
In many situations, respondents cannot recall the answer to a question. For
example, a telephone survey conducted during the 24-hour period following
the airing of the Super Bowl might establish whether the respondent watched
the Super Bowl and then ask, “Do you recall any commercials on that
program?” If the answer is positive, the interviewer might ask, “What brands
were advertised?” These two questions measure unaided recall, because they
give the respondent no clue as to the brand of interest.

Make Certain Questions Generate Variance:

We want our variables to vary! It is important that the response categories

provided cover the breadth of possibilities (totally exhaustive), but also
critical that they yield variance across respondents.
For example, the U.S. census uses the following age categories:
Under 5 years
5 to 9 years
10 to 14 years
15 to 19 years
20 to 24 years
 25 to 29 years
....
....
....
95 to 99 years
100 years and over

Leading question: A leading question suggests or implies certain answers.

A study of the dry-cleaning industry asked this question:

Many people are using dry cleaning less because of improved wash-and-wear
clothes. How do you feel wash-and-wear clothes have affected your use of dry-
cleaning facilities in the past 4 years?

Use less No change Use more

Loaded question: A question that suggests a socially desirable answer or is

emotionally charged.
What most influences your vote in major elections?

The vast majority of respondents chose the first alternative. Although this question
is not overly emotionally loaded, many people could be reluctant to say they are
swayed by the media or advertising as opposed to their independent mindset. In
fact, a research question dealing with what influences decisions like these may best
be done by drawing some inference based on less direct questioning.

Double-barreled question: A question that may induce bias because it covers two
issues at once.
FOR EXAMPLE-
Did your plant use any commercial feed or supplement for livestock or poultry in
2010?
Yes No
Here, the question could actually be thought of as a “double-double-barreled”
question. Both commercial feed or supplement and livestock or poultry are double-
barreled.

Determinant choice: A fixed-alternative question that requires the respondent to

choose one response from among multiple alternatives.
EXAMPLE-
Please give us some information about your flight. In which section of the aircraft
did you sit?
First class Business class Coach class

Filter: A question that screens out respondents who are not qualified to answer a
second question.
EXAMPLE-
“Does your organization use a third party administrator (TPA) for your employee
health plan?” followed by “If you answered Yes to the previous question, how
would you rate your TPA on ?” would screen out the people who are not qualified
to answer.

Pivot: A filter question used to determine which version of a second question will
be asked
EXAMPLE-
“Is your total family income over or under $50,000?” IF UNDER, ASK, “Is it over
or under $25,000?” IF OVER, ASK, “Is it over or under $75,000?”
Under $25,000 $50,001–$75,000 $25,001–$50,000 Over $75,000

Simple dichotomy questions: A fixed-alternative question that requires the

respondent to choose one of two alternatives.
FOR EXAMPLE-
A good dichotomous question would be, “Are you taller than 6 feet?” While a bad
dichotomous question would be, “Do you like the songs in album X? The
respondent might not be able to express the way they feel through a Yes/No choice.

3.Describe, compare, and contrast the 4 different levels of scale measurement. For
each level give 2 examples.

ANS)
Nominal Data
1)Categorical data with no order to the categories.
2)Cannot perform mathematical operations on the data.
-Examples: eye color, blood type

Example -A researcher is conducting a survey to learn about the demographics of

their participants. They ask participants to indicate their gender, race, and ethnicity.
These are all examples of nominal data, as the categories are mutually exclusive
and there is no order to them.
Ordinal Data

1)Categorical data with a ranked order.

2)Cannot perform mathematical operations on the data that involve subtraction or
division, as the intervals between the rankings may not be equal.
Examples: customer satisfaction survey results, Olympic medal rankings

EXAMPLE: A teacher is giving a quiz to their students. The quiz questions are
multiple choice, and the students are instructed to select the best answer for each
question. The teacher then grades the quizzes and assigns each student a score.
This is an example of ordinal data, as the scores are ranked from highest to lowest,
but the intervals between the scores may not be equal.

Interval Data

1)Numerical data with a ranked order and equal intervals

2)Can perform mathematical operations on the data that involve subtraction and
addition, but not multiplication or division, as there is no true zero point.

Example: A scientist is measuring the temperature of a beaker of water. The

scientist uses a thermometer to record the temperature in degrees Celsius. This is
an example of interval data, as the temperature is measured on a numerical scale
with equal intervals. However, there is no true zero point, as the temperature could
theoretically be negative infinity.

Ratio Data

1)Numerical data with a ranked order, equal intervals, and a true zero point
2)Can perform all mathematical operations on the data
Examples: weight, height

Example : A doctor is measuring the weight of a patient. The doctor uses a scale to
record the patient's weight in kilograms. This is an example of ratio data, as the
weight is measured on a numerical scale with equal intervals and a true zero point.
4.A restaurant is conducting research in an attempt to predict the type of dishes
consumers will desire in the year 2024. Is this the basic or applied research?
Explain. Outline the steps undertaken in this research.

ANS) This is applied research because the research outcome is expected to give
actionable insights that the restaurant can use to modify and develop its menu. The
research aims to influence business strategies and decisions.

THE STEPS UNDERTAKEN IN THIS RESEARCH ARE-

1)DEFINING RESEARCH OBJECTIVES-

Research objectives are the goals to be achieved by conducting research. In this

research the objective is to predict the dishes the consumers will desire.

2) PLANNING THE RESEARCH DESIGN-

A master plan that specifies the methods and procedures for collecting and
analyzing the needed information.

3) SAMPLING-
Involves any procedure that draws conclusions based on measurements of a portion
of the population. In other words, a sample is a subset from a larger population.

4) GATHERING DATA-
The data gathering stage begins once the sampling plan has been formalized. Data
gathering is the process of gathering or collecting information. Data may be
gathered by human observers or interviewers, or they may be recorded by
machines as in the case of scanner data and Web-based surveys.

5) ANALYSING DATA-
The gathered the data has to be synthesized to get meaningful insights.

6)FORMULATING THE CONCLUTIONS AND PREPARING THE

REPORT-
One of the most important jobs that a researcher performs is communicating the
research results. This is the final stage of the research project, but it is far from the
least important. The conclusions and report preparation stage consists of
interpreting the research results, describing the implications, and drawing the
appropriate conclusions for managerial decisions.
5) What are the major components of a research proposal ? How does a research
proposal assist researcher
What are the techniques used in qualitative research? Discuss any five with the
help of examples.

ANS) 1)Understand the situation-identify the key symptoms.

2)Identify key Problem from the symptoms.
3)Write managerial decision statement and corresponding research objectives.
4)Determine the unit of analysis.
5)Determine relevant variables.
6)Write research questions and/or research hypothesis.

Ques-6 What are the techniques used in qualitative research? Discuss any five with
the help of examples.

ANS- Techniques used in qualitative research include-

1) FREE-ASSOCIATION TECHNIQUES-

•Record a respondent’s first cognitive reactions (top-of-mind) to some stimulus.

•Allow researchers to map a respondent’s thoughts or memory.
EXAMPLE-
What comes to your mind when asked about cereals?
What comes to your mind when asked about alcohol?

2) SENTENCE COMPLETION METHOD-

In sentence completion method the respondents are given some sentences which
are required to complete and those are recorded.
EXAMPLE-
People who drink beer are ________
A man who drinks a dark beer is _______

3) FOCUS GROUPS-

It is an unstructured, free-flowing interview with a small group of people, usually

between six and ten. Focus groups are led by a trained moderator who follows a
flexible format encouraging dialogue among respondents.
EXAMPLE- Employee programs, Employee satisfaction, problems with product.
4) DEPTH INTERVIEW-

A depth interview is a one-on-one interview between a professional researcher and

a research respondent. Depth interviews are much the same as a psychological,
clinical interview, but with a different purpose.
EXAMPLE- Judging adolescent behavior, shopping, smoking

5) THEMATIC APERCEPTION TEST-

In this test subjects are presented with an ambiguous picture and they are asked to
describe what is happening in the picture and what might happen next.

EXAMPLE-

The first picture might portray a person working at their desk; in the second
picture, a person that could be a supervisor is talking to the worker; the final
picture might show the original employee and another having a discussion at the
water cooler.

Ques-7 Using the rifle example mentioned in your book (Chapter 13), elucidate on
the three criteria for good measurement.
ANS- The 3 criteria for good measurement are-

1)RELIABILTY-

Reliability basically refers to consistency. A measure is reliable when different

attempts at measuring something converge on the same result. For instance,
consider a weighing scale, when you get on it and reads 65kgs, when you get off
and get on it again you expect it to read 65kgs again.

2)VALIDITY-

Validity refers to accuracy, It is extent to which a score truthfully represents a

concept. In other words, are we accurately measuring what we want to measure.
For Example- A driver is clocked at 83 mph in a 55mph zone, but the same radar
gun aimed at a house register 28 mph. The error occurred because the radar gun
had picked up impulses from the electrical system of the squad car’s idling engine.
In this case, we would certainly question if the accusation that the car was actually
going 83 mph is completely valid.
3)SENSITIVITY-

Sensitivity refers to an instrument’s ability to accurately measure variability in a

concept. For example, adding “strongly agree,” “mildly agree,” “neither agree nor
disagree,” “mildly disagree,” and “strongly disagree” will increase the scale’s
sensitivity.

Ques-8 Do you think Likert scale fulfils the sensitivity criteria for good
measurement? Explain

ANS- Likert scale is a measure of attitudes designed to allow respondents to rate

how strongly they agree or disagree with carefully constructed statements, ranging
from very positive to very negative attitudes toward some object.

Yes, Likert scales fulfil the sensitivity criteria of measurement because they
typically consist of several response questions, often ranging from “Strongly
Disagree” to “Strongly Agree”. The sensitivity of a Likert scale can be influenced
by the number of response options. A scale with more response categories (e.g.,7 or
9 points) can potentially capture more nuanced responses and may be more
sensitive than a scale with fewer options (e.g., 3 or 5 points).

Ques-9 Compare and contrast the four techniques of attitude measurement, with
examples.
ANS- The four techniques of attitude measurement are-

1)RANKING-

It is a measurement task that requires respondents to rank order a small number of

stores, brands, or objects based on overall preference or some characteristic of the
stimulus.

FOR EXAMPLE- the taste of the cold coffee, the taste of the desert, etc.

2)RATING-

It is a measurement task that requires respondents to estimate the magnitude of a

characteristic or quality that a brand, store, or object possesses.
FOR EXAMPLE-

quality of Mother Diary ice-cream is poor then Not Good is a negative statement
and Strongly Agree with this means the quality is not good.

3)SORTING-

It is a measurement task that presents a respondent with several objects or product

concepts and requires the respondent to arrange the objects into piles or classify the
product concepts.

FOR EXAMPLE-

In this respondent is given two brands (in footwear) like Nike and adidas, he can
sort one of the brand according to his preference.

4)CHOICE-

It is asking a respondent to choose one alternative from among several alternatives;

it is assumed that the chosen alternative is preferred over the others.

FOR EXAMPLE-

an attitude researcher for a calculator manufacturer may ask respondents what they
think about the firm's new digital solar calculator's styling and design.