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Research Methodology (Module:1)

Prepare By: Prof. Vijay Bhatu
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Research in life…
• A first time buyer of a car
• Buying a new house
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Introduction
• Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge.
• Once can also define research as a scientific and systematic search
for pertinent information on a specific topic.
• In fact, research is an art of scientific investigation.
• The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English lays down
the meaning of research as “a careful investigation or inquiry
specially through search for new facts in any branch of
knowledge.”
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What is Research??
• “Research is a scientific and systematic search for pertinent
(significant or relevant) information on a specific topic”
- C. R. Kothari, RM- Methods and Techniques
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An introduction to Business Research

• Business Research is a systematic inquiry that provides
information to guide managerial decisions.

• It is a process of planning, acquiring, analyzing and disseminating

relevant data, information and insights to decision makers in way
that mobilize the organization to take appropriate actions that, in
turn, maximize business performance.
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Objectives Of Research
• The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions
through the application of scientific procedures.
• The main aim of research is to find out the truth which is hidden
and which has not been discovered as yet.
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Research objectives as falling into a number of

following broad groupings
• To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights
into it - exploratory or formulative research studies
• To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual,
situation or a group - descriptive research studies
• To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with
which it is associated with something else - diagnostic research
studies
• To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables -
hypothesis-testing research studies
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Nature of Business Research

• Systematic
• Scientific
• Objective
• Planning Driven
• Clearly defined purpose
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Scope of Business Research

• All the businesses, not-for-profit and public organizations
• All the functional areas
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Determinants
Time constraints

Availability of data

Nature of the decision

Benefits versus costs

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Good Research-Characteristics
• Purpose clearly defined
• Research process detailed
• Research design thoroughly planned
• High ethical standards applied
• Limitations frankly revealed
• Adequate Analysis for decision maker’s need
• Findings presented unambiguously
• Conclusions justified
• Researcher's experience reflected
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Types of Business Research

1. Descriptive vs. Analytical
• Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of
different kinds. The major purpose of descriptive research is description of
the state of affairs as it exists at present.
• In social science and business research we quite often use the term Ex post
facto research for descriptive research studies.
• Most ex post facto research projects are used for descriptive studies in which
the researcher seeks to measure such items as, for example, frequency of
shopping, preferences of people, or similar data.
• In analytical research, on the other hand, the researcher has to use facts
or information already available, and analyze these to make a critical
evaluation of the material.
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2. Applied vs. Fundamental

• Applied research aims at finding a solution for an immediate
problem facing a society or an industrial/business organization,

• Whereas fundamental research is mainly concerned with

generalizations and with the formulation of a theory.
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3. Quantitative vs. Qualitative

• Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity
or amount. It is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in
terms of quantity.
• Qualitative research, on the other hand, is concerned with
qualitative phenomenon, i.e., phenomena relating to or involving
quality or kind. For instance, when we are interested in
investigating the reasons for human behavior (i.e., why people
think or do certain things),
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4. Conceptual vs. Empirical

• Conceptual research is that related to some abstract idea(s) or
theory. It is generally used by philosophers and thinkers to
develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing ones.
• On the other hand, empirical research relies on experience or
observation alone, often without due regard for system and
theory. It is data-based research, coming up with conclusions
which are capable of being verified by observation or experiment.
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5. Cross Sectional vs. longitudinal research

• Cross-sectional study is defined as an observational study
where data is collected as a whole to study a population at a single
point in time to examine the relationship between variables of
interest.
• Longitudinal study, like the cross-sectional study, is also an
observational study, in which data is gathered from the same
sample repeatedly over an extended period of time.
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6. Primary research vs. Secondary research

• Primary research involves the collection of primary data, i.e.
the data which is new, through primary data collection methods
such as surveys, interviews, observation etc.
• Secondary research, also called desk-based research, is based
solely on the secondary data i.e. previously conducted studies.
Data sources in secondary researches are books, magazines,
industry journals etc. In this type of studies the researcher does
not engage in primary data collection.
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The Research Process

1. Formulating and Clarifying Research Problem/ Question
2. Critically Review the Literature
3. Formulate hypotheses
4. Research Design and Strategy
5. Data Collection & Preparation
6. Data Analysis and Interpretation
7. Research Report
8. Management Decision
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1. Formulating the research problem

• At the very outset the researcher must single out the problem he
wants to study, i.e., he must decide the general area of interest or
aspect of a subject-matter that he would like to inquire into.
Initially the problem may be stated in a broad general way and
then the ambiguities.
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2. Literature Review
• A literature review is a search and evaluation of the available
literature in your given subject or chosen topic area. It documents
the state of the art with respect to the subject or topic you are
writing about.
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3. Formulate hypotheses
• After extensive literature survey, researcher should state in clear
terms the working hypothesis or hypotheses. Working hypothesis
is tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test its
logical or empirical consequences.
• As such the manner in which research hypotheses are developed is
particularly important since they provide the focal point for
research.
• They also affect the manner in which tests must be conducted in
the analysis of data and indirectly the quality of data which is
required for the analysis.
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4. Research Design and Strategy

• The research problem having been formulated in clear cut terms,
the researcher will be required to prepare a research design, i.e.,
he will have to state the conceptual structure within which
research would be conducted.
• The preparation of such a design facilitates research to be as
efficient as possible yielding maximal information.
• In other words, the function of research design is to provide for
the collection of relevant evidence with minimal expenditure of
effort, time and money
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5. Data Collection & Preparation

• There are several ways of collecting the appropriate data which
differ considerably in context of money costs, time and other
resources at the disposal of the researcher.
• Primary Data
• Secondary data
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6. Data Analysis and Interpretation

• Data analysis and interpretation is the process of assigning
meaning to the collected information and determining the
conclusions, significance, and implications of the findings.
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7. Research Report
• Research reports are recorded data prepared by researchers or
statisticians after analyzing information gathered by conducting
organized research.
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8. Management Decision
• Based on Research report
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Problem Identification, Problem Statement

• A problem statement is a concise description of an issue to be
addressed or a condition to be improved upon.

• It identifies the gap between the current (problem) state and

desired (goal) state of a process or product.

• The first condition of solving a problem is understanding the

problem, which can be done by way of a problem statement.
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Why define the Research Problem?

• The main purpose of the problem statement is to identify and explain
the problem.

• This includes describing the existing environment, where the problem

occurs, and what impacts it has on users, finances.

• Additionally, the problem statement is used to explain what the

expected environment looks like.

• Defining the desired condition provides an overall vision for the

process or product
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Writing the problem statement

• It is useful to design and follow a specific format when writing a problem statement.
• While there are several options for doing this, the following is a simple and
straightforward template often used in Business Analysis to maintain focus on
defining the problem.
• IDEAL: This section is used to describe the desired or “to be” state of the process or
product.
• REALITY: This section is used to describe the current or “as is” state of the process
or product.
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Con…
• CONSEQUENCES: This section is used to describe the impacts
on the business if the problem is not fixed or improved upon. This
includes costs associated with loss of money, time, productivity,
competitive advantage, and so forth.

• PROPOSAL: This section is used to describe potential solutions.

Once the ideal, reality, and consequences sections have been
completed, understood, and approved, the project team can start
offering options for solving the problem.
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Errors in Defining the Market Research Problem

Common Errors

Problem Definition is too Broad Problem Definition is too Narrow

Does Not Provide Guidelines for May Miss Some Important Components of
Subsequent Steps the Problem
e.g., Improving the Company’s Image e.g. Changing Prices in Response to a
Competitor’s Price Change.
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Research Objective
• A research objective addresses the purpose of the investigation
and types of knowledge to be generated out of one’s investigation.

• Looking at the objectives of the research, one can anticipate what

is to be achieved by the study.

• A research objective indicates the population of interest, the

independent variable, and the dependent variable.
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Reasons for formulating the objectives

• Focus the study on narrowing it down to essentials;
• Avoid collection of data that are not strictly necessary for
understanding and solving the problem in hand;
• Organize the study in clearly defined components or phases.
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Objectives criteria
• They are realistic to fit the local environment.
• They cover the different aspects of the problem.
• They consider the contributing factors in a coherent way and in a
logical sequence.
• They consider ethical issues if any.
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Hypothesis formulation
• In conducting research, the important consideration after the
formulation of a research problem is the construction of hypothesis.

• As you know, any scientific inquiry starts with the statement of a

solvable problem, when the problem has been stated, a tentative
solution in the form of testable proposition is offered by the researcher.

• Hypothesis is often considered a tentative and testable statement of the

possible relationship between two or more events / variables under
investigation.
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Characteristics of a good research hypothesis

• Hypothesis should be conceptually clear;
• Hypothesis must be testable;
• Hypothesis should be related to the existing body or theory and
impact;
• Hypothesis should have logical unity and comprehensiveness;
• Hypothesis should be capable of verification.
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The Null Hypothesis

• Is the starting point of a scientific investigation
• It tries to account for patterns in the data in the simplest way
possible, which often means initially attributing variation in the
data to randomness or measurement error.
• The statistical null hypothesis is usually one of “no pattern”, such
as no difference between groups or no relationship between two
continuous variables.
• Ex. H0: There is no significant relationship between
advertisement and sales.
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The Alternate (research) Hypothesis

• In contrast, the alternative hypothesis is that pattern exists.
• Once we state the statistical null hypothesis, we then define one or
more alternatives to the null hypothesis
• The alternative hypothesis is focused simply on the pattern that is
present in the data
• Examples:
• H1: Increase in the advertisement campaign leads to increase in
the sales
• H2: A poor advertisement campaign leads to decrease in the sales.
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ERRORS IN TESTING A HYPOTHESIS

• You have already learned that hypotheses are assumptions that
may be prove to be either correct or incorrect. It is possible to
arrive at an incorrect conclusion about a hypothesis for the
various reasons if –
• Sampling procedure adopted faulty
• Data collection method inaccurate
• Study design selected is faulty
• Inappropriate statistical methods used
• Conclusions drawn are incorrect
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Two common errors exist when testing a hypothesis

• Type I error – Rejection of a null hypothesis when it is true.
• Type II error - Acceptance of a null hypothesis when it is false.
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Five Steps in Hypothesis Testing:

1.Specify the Null Hypothesis
2.Specify the Alternative Hypothesis
3.Set the Significance Level (a)
4.Calculate the Test Statistic
5.Drawing a Conclusion
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