Amity School of Business

Amity School of Business

BBA, Semester III
Research Methodology
Dr. Deepa Kapoor

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What is Research?
• Research is one of the ways used to
finding out Answers to Questions.
• Research is a two syllables word -
RE and SEARCH
• RE ( a prefix) meaning: again, anew
• SEARCH means: to examine closely,
to test and try, to probe
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• Re and Search put together mean:

 A careful and systematic study.

A Systematic Investigation to find Answers

to a Problem

An investigation of a problem to gain

knowledge on a particular topic

It establishes facts and principles

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Definitions
• Grinnell (1993), “Research is a structured
inquiry that utilises acceptable Scientific
Methodology to solve problems and creates
new knowledge that is generally applicable”.

• Kerlinger (1986), “Scientific Research is a

Systematic, Controlled Empirical and Critical
Investigation of Propositions about the
Presumed Relationships about various
Phenomena”
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Need of Research
(i) Fast paced changes in the Business
Environment
(ii) Changes in Demand of the Customers
(iii) Explosive Technology Growth
(iv) Requirement for new Managerial Knowledge
(v) Increased Risk Associated with Decision
Making
(vi) Presence of Large number of variables,
constraints, alternatives and competition

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Objectives of Research
To create awareness or gain familiarity with a
Phenomenon or to achieve new insight into it.

To accurately portray the Characteristics of a

particular individual, situation or group.

To determine the frequency with which

something occurs or with which it is associated
with something else.
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To understand the Social Environment

and Buying Behaviour.

To Provide Information for Managerial

Decision Making

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Types of Research

• Exploratory Research

• Descriptive Research
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Basic vs. Applied Research

• Basic research, also called “pure” research is the
task of scholars and academicians. Its goal is to
further the knowledge of mankind.

• Applied research, while calling upon basic

research as its foundation, is meant to answer a
specific question concerning a real world
problem. Ultimate goal is to enhance decision
making.
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Basic Research Expands Knowledge

• What are the characteristics of successful people?

“Successful people share many characteristics. They are
constantly learning how to do their jobs better and take
responsibility for their own training in order to do so. They
empower themselves, are self-motivated, and take control
of their lives, rather than waiting for someone else to lead
them down the path to success. .”

• What are the characteristics of effective sales people?

motivation; customer orientation; team orientation; and
sales support orientation.
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Applied Research
• Should company increase the price of its
product?
• What are the reason for decline in sales of
the product?
• Should company provide discount at
particular movement of time?
• When new product should be launched?
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Quantitative Vs. Qualitative

• Quantitative Research is employed for

measuring the quantity or amount of a
particular phenomena by the use of
statistical analysis.

• Qualitative Research is a non-quantitative

type of analysis which is aimed at finding
out the quality of a particular phenomenon.
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Descriptive Vs. Analytical

• Descriptive Research is a fact finding

investigation which is aimed at describing the
characteristics of individual, situation or a group
(or) describing the state of affairs as it exists at
present.
• Analytical Research is primarily concerned with
testing hypothesis and specifying and
interpreting relationships, by analyzing the facts
or information already available.
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Research Methodology
It is a way by which a Research Problem is
Systematically being Solved.

It is the Science of Studying how Research

is being done Scientifically.

It is the Study of the Various Steps

Generally Adopted by a Researcher in the
course of doing Research.
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What is Meant by a Scientific

Research?
• Scientific research focuses on solving
problems and pursues a step-by-step logical,
organized, and rigorous method to identify the
problems, gather data, analyze them, and draw
valid conclusions there from.
• Thus, scientific research is not based on
hunches, experience, and intuition.

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What is Meant by a Scientific

Research?
• Scientific research helps researchers to state
their findings with accuracy and confidence.
• This helps various other organizations to apply
those solutions when they encounter similar
problems.
• Scientific investigation tends to be more
objective than subjective, and helps managers to
highlight the most critical factors at the
workplace that need specific attention so as to
avoid, minimize, or solve problems.
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The Hallmarks of Scientific Research

• Purposiveness
• Precision
• Rigor
• Objectivity
• Testability

• Generalizability
• Replicability
• Parsimony 17
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Purposiveness
• The research must have a definite aim or
purpose
• It should be problem-based
• Not pointless and random
• Formulate a research question that is
meaningful, narrow and clear.

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2. Rigor
• A good theoretical base and a sound
methodological design would add rigor to
a purposive study.
• Rigor means carefulness, and the degree
of exactitude in research investigations.

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Following factors enable the researcher to

collect the right kind of information
• from an appropriate sample
• with the minimum degree of bias and
• facilitate suitable analysis of the data
gathered.

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3. Testability

• Scientific research tends itself to testing

logically developed hypotheses to see
whether or not the data support the
hypotheses that are developed.

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 4. Replicability Amity School of Business

• The results of the tests of hypotheses

should be supported again and again
when the same type of research is
repeated in other similar circumstances.
• If the results are repeated, we will gain
confidence in the scientific nature of our
research.

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5. Precision and Confidence

• Precision refers to the closeness of the

findings to reality based on a sample.
• Precision reflects the degree of accuracy
of the results on the basis of the sample,
to what really exists in the universe.

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Precision and Confidence

In business research, we are not able to draw
“definitive” conclusions on the basis of the
results of data analysis. The reasons are:
1. We have to base our findings on a sample
that we draw from the universe. The
sample may not reflect the exact
characteristics of the phenomenon we try
to study.
2. Measurement errors and other problems
are bound to introduce an error in our
findings.
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Precision and Confidence

• Confidence refers to the probability that our
estimations are correct.
• It is not enough to be precise, but it is also
important that we can confidently claim that 95%
of the time our results would be true and there is
only a 5% chance of our being wrong. This is
also known as confidence level.
• The greater the precision and confidence we aim
at in our research, the more scientific is the
investigation and the more useful are the results.

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6. Objectivity
• The conclusions drawn through the
interpretation of the results of data analysis
should be objective.
• The conclusions should be based on the facts of
the findings derived from actual data, and not on
our own subjective or emotional values.
• The more objective the interpretation of the data,
the more scientific the research investigation
becomes.
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7. Generalizability

• Generalizability refers to the scope of

applicability of the research findings in one
organizational setting to other settings.
• The wider the range of applicability of the
solutions generated by research, the more
useful the research is to the users.

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 8. Parsimony Amity School of Business

• Parsimony refers to simplicity in explaining the

phenomena or problems that occur, and in
generating solutions for the problems.
• Economy in research models is achieved when
we can build into our research framework a
lesser number of variables that would explain
the variance far more efficiently than a complex
set of variables.

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Parsimony
• Parsimony can be introduced with a good
understanding of the problem and the
important factors that influence it.
• A good conceptual theoretical model can
be realized through interviews with the
concerned people, and a thorough
literature review of the previous research
work in the particular problem area.
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