Unit – 1

Introduction of Research
Meaning of Research
Research means “search again” ,is a scientific an a systematic search
for info on a specific topic.
Research includes any gathering of data ,info and facts for the
advancement of knowledge
Objectives of Research
• To achieve new insights
• To extend knowledge of human beings, social life and environment
• To promote better decision making
• To identify problem areas and form basis for innovation
• To develop new tools , concepts and theories
Types of Research
1.Descriptive Research
• Provide accurate description of observations
• Investigation with interpretation
• Gather descriptive info and provide info for formulating studies
Ex.questionaire method
2.Exploratory Research
• Preliminary study of unfamiliar problem abt which rcher has little or no
knowledge
• Generate new ideas
• Formulation of problem, info of concepts
3.Applied Research/Action Research
• To improve the human condition
• Analysis and solving social and real life problems
ex: world Bank,UNICEF,UGC
a. Prb oriented rch
• sorting out problems faced by companies – done by industry apex
body
Ex: WTO and APEDA done benefit of agri – industry
b.Prb solving rch
• Prb will be solved by one company
Ex: Big Bazaar, Samsung
4.Fundamental rch / Pure rch
• Generates new ideas,principles and theories but not utilized
immediately
5.Quantitative rch
• Rch based on measurement of quantity
• Investigation of quantitative properties and their relations
Ex: sales of TV industry based on model
6.Qualitative Research
• Rch based on qualitative phenomenon
• It is collecting,analyzing and interpreting data by observing what
people say
Ex: in depth interview, individual interview
Classification in Qualitative Rch
a.Phenomenology – Rcher interview 20 victims of Bhopal gas tragedy
b.Ethnography – Describe culture of group of people,live sharing
values,norms,language and materials used
c.Case study – providing a case and give solution to them
7.Conceptual Rch
• Investigate old thoughts and ideas based on logical reasoning
• Mostly used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts
8.Empirical Rch
• It is data based rch, with conclusions, which is verified
by observation or experiment
• It is proof based rch and cant changable
9.Experimental Rch
• To define dependent and independent variables
• To find cause and effect relationships(labs exp)
10.Historical Research
• To identify the relationship that past has to the
present
• To understand the culture
• To uncover the unknown
Scope of Research
1.Business Competition – know abt
customers – To know needs,customer loyalty
Products – Decide abt price,packaging,branding sales promotion
Industry competition – To increase market share and trends in industry growth
2.Business Environment – Factors which affects the business such as manuf, govt
policies, society and trading
3.Maturing of management as a group of disciplines – This results in
HR,finance,operations and help mgrs to understand models in specific situation
4.Stakeholders demanding greater influence – customers, workers,shareholders and
general public demand to be included in company DM
5. Global Competition – Re focus on primary competencies ,seek to improve
operations by reducing costs
6.Govt intervention – It protects segments of society with various policies
Eg.vicks,maggi
7.Economial data collection – computers and telecommunication lowered the costs
of data collection
Approaches to research
i.Quantitative Approach – Collecting and converting data into numerical form
to make statistical calculations
Process – Daily exercise have BP or not
Principles - Background Music for restlessness
ii.Qualitative Approach – collecting ,analysing data to uncover deeper
understanding of human behaviour
Process – Indepth interviews
Principles – Smaller number of people bcoz of time and labour intensive
iii.Pragmatic Approach – Combination of qualitative and quantitative approach
iv.Advocacy / Participatory Approach –  is an activity by an individual or group
which aims to influence decisions within political, economic, and social
systems and institutions,where a direct approach is made to legislators on
an issue which plays a significant role in modern politics.
Process of Research
1.Defining the Research Problem

2.Review of Literature

3.Formulation of Hypothesis

4.Developing the Research Design

5.Data Collection

6.Data Analysis and Interpretation

7.Rsearch Reporting
1.Defining the research problem
Components of research problem
• objectives
• Too vague prbs avoided
• Must have basic knowledge abt the problem
2. Review of literature
• Identifying the sources
• Gathering relevant information
• Presenting review of literature
3.Formulation of Hypothesis
• Guides direction of the study
• Suggest research design as most appropriate
Types of Hypothesis
i.Descriptive Research – Contains only one variable eg.whats the level of
commitment of officers in your org?
ii.Relational Hypothesis – Relationshp bt two variables ,may be positive or
negative
iii.Explanatory Hypothesis – Which is dependent on other variable
iv.Null hypothesis – No relationship bt the variables
v.Alternative hypothesis – It has relationship bt the variables
4.Developing the Research design
i.Sampling methodology and procedure
ii.Time schedule and Budget
iii.Preparing research Proposal
5.Collection of Data
i.Observation
ii.Personal Interview
iii.Telephone Interview
iv.Mailing the Questionaires
6.Data Analysis and Interpretation – Statistical Representation
7.Research Reporting
• Introduction
• Summary of Findings
• Main Report
• Conclusion
Limitation of the research
• Lack of training
• Lack of confidence
• Lack of Interaction
• Lack of resources
• Lack of time
Research Design
It is the specification of methods and procedures for acquiring the
information needed.
Features of Research Design
i.Objectivity – It is findings related to method of data collection
and scoring of the responses
ii.Reliability – It refers the consistency throughout the series and
should not be change after repeatations
iii.Validity – Need to measure only the expected one.eg.IQ test
iv.Generalizability – It consists of population,sample,statistical
analysis.
Steps in Research Design
1.Selection and Defining the problem

2.Sources of data

3.Nature of study

4.Object of study

5.Temporal context

6.Dimension

7.Basis of Selection

8.Technique of Data Collection

• source
Types of Research Design
1.Exploratory Design
2.Conclusive Research Design
i.Descriptive Research
a.Longitudinal research
b.Cross sectional research
• Field studies
• Surveys
ii.Casual Research
3.Experimental Design
i.Informal experimental designs
a.Before and without control design
b.After only with control design
c.Before and after with control design
ii.Formal experimental designs
a.Completely randomized design
b.Randomized block design
c.Latin square design
d.Factorial design
1.Exploratory Research Design – It was conducted when the researcher
does not know how and why certain phenomenon occurs
Eg. Evaluation of quality of service of a bank/hotel/airlines
2.Conclusive Research design – It is based on large sampes and mkt
info obtained is subjected to quantitative analysis
i.Descriptive research design – To describe the characteristics of
relavant groups such as consumers,salespeople and market shares
a.Longitudinal research design - It relies on data consisting of fixed
sample of subjects that are measured repeatedly
b.Cross sectional research – study involving a sample of elements from
the population of interest at a single point of time
Eg. survey and field studies
i and ii.Field study and survey – Both are same but
Survey is larger scope and field study is in depth study
ii.Casual research – It deals abt cause and effect relationship bt two
variables
3.Experimental research design – It studies abt the testing of hypothesis
for casual relationship amongst the variables
i.Informal experimental designs – These use less sophisticated form of
statistical procedues
a.Before and without control design – A single test done and
dependent variable is measured. eg.bacteria in swimming pool before
and after
b.After only with control design – Two areas selected one test area and
other control area, deduct the variable from test area
Eg.fertilizer and crops
c.Before and after with control design – Two areas are selected and
measure the dependent variable before the treatment and after the
treatment
ii.Formal experimental designs – It offer the researcher more control and use
of precise statistical procedures for analysis of study
a.Completely randomized design –A completely randomized design is
probably the simplest experimental design, in terms of data analysis and
convenience. With this design, subjects are randomly assigned to
treatments.eg .8 patients in a group
b.Randomized block design – Several variables are applied to different blocks
of land to study the effect of replication on experimental effort. Eg .different
blocks of sugarcane
c.Latin square Design – The design is arranged with an equal number of rows
and columns, so that all combinations of possible values for the two
variables can be tested multiple times. This design is used to reduce the
effect of random or nuisance factors.
d.Factorial design – It allows researcher to evaluate the combined effect of
two or more variables at a time
Eg.calculate the noisy level according to age group
Research methods vs Research Methodology

Research methods
• Collection of data
• Statistical analysis
• Evaluate the results
Research methodology
• solving research problem
• statistical techniques– mean, median, chi square,annova
• Type of research
• Type of data collected
• Reasons behind using the type of data
• Hypothesis formulations
Ethics in research
• Breaking respondent confidentiality
• misrepresenting the results
• Adjust design and procedures
• Non disclosure of data
• schedule field and phone interview
• limit the time required for participation
Business Research
• Intense competition – worldwide competition
• Global markets,Global Sourcing and global financing
– companies need to know foreign environment
• Importance of strategy – to strengthen competitive
position
• product variety and customization – innovations of
product and services
• Emphasis on quality – It improves packaging
research, distributoin rch, product rch
• Advances in technology - Tchly will make rapid rate
• worker participation – success of future companies