UNIT-1

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 Origin of the Word “Research”
From the French word "recherche" which means
to travel through or survey
Re : Again,
Search : Examine closely and carefully
 Meaning of research
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”.

Redman and Mory define research as a “systematized effort

to gain new knowledge.”Some people consider research as a
movement, a movement from the known to the unknown

It is considered as carefully investigation or inquiry to find

out new facts in any field of knowledge
 What is a Problem?
• Any situation where a gap exists between the
actual and the desired state.
• A problem does not necessarily mean that
something is seriously wrong. It could
simply indicate an interest in improving an
existing situation. Thus, problem definitions
can include both existing problems in the
current situation as well as the quest for
idealistic states in the future.
 How are problems identified?
A. Observation – Manager/Researcher senses that changes are
occurring, or that some new behaviors, attitudes, feelings,
communication patterns, etc., are surfacing in one’s environment. The
manager may not understand exactly what is happening, but can
definitely sense that things are not what they should be.

B. Preliminary Data Collection – use of interviews, both unstructured

and structured, to get an idea or “feel” for what is happening in the
situation.

C. Literature Survey – a comprehensive review of the published and

unpublished work from secondary sources of data in the areas related to
the problem.
A literature survey ensures that:
1. Important variables likely to influence the problem are not left out
of the study.
2. A clearer idea emerges regarding what variables are most
important to consider, why they are important, and how they
should be investigated.
3. The problem is more accurately and precisely defined.
4. The interviews cover all important topics.
5. The research hypotheses are testable.
6. The research can be replicated.
7. One does not “reinvent the wheel”; that is, time is not wasted
trying to rediscover something that is already known.
8. The problem to be investigated is perceived by the scientific
community as relevant and significant.
 Objectives of Research
 The purpose of research is to discover answers through the application of
scientific procedures.

 The objectives are:

• To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it –
Exploratory or Formulative Research.
• To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a
group – Descriptive Research.
• To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is
associated with something else – Diagnostic Research.
• To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables – Hypothesis-
Testing Research.
 Motivation in Research
• What makes people to undertake research? This is a question
of fundamental importance. The possible motives for doing
research may be either one or more of the following:
• Desire to get a research degree along with its consequential benefits;
• Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved problems, i.e.,
concern over practical problems initiates research;
• Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work;
• Desire to be of service to society;
• Desire to get respectability
• To develop new products
• To save costs
• Human desires
 Research Types
• Explorative/ Formulative

• Descriptive Vs Analytical Diagnostic

• Quantitative Vs Qualitative

• Applied/ Action Vs Fundamental/ Basic/Pure

purpose Process outcome
• Conceptual Vs Empirical
 Types of research
• Explorative: When you use no earlier study for your reference. When you
study any of the topic in depth and which is done for the first time.

• Descriptive Research : aims at facts finding of different kind and is more

based on surveys. The main purpose of descriptive research is description
of state of affairs as it exists at present. The main characteristics of this
method is that the researcher has no control over the variables, he can only
report only what has happened or what is happening. (no hypothesis)

• Example: What was the turnover of the organization last year? What are
the levels of job satisfaction of the employees? What are the number of
complaints of an employee from the customers? What is the absentee rate
amongst a particular group? Frequency of arrival of vehicles for repairs in
a workshop
 Types of research
• Analytical research: On the other hand uses the facts and figures provided by
the descriptive research or which is already available and analyses and
evaluates them critically. An analytical research primarily aims at testing
hypothesis and specifying and interpreting relationships.

• Examples On the basis of last year’s figure setting hypothesis: What will be
the turnover for this year? How can the absentee rate among the employees
be reduced? How can the number of complaints be reduced?

• Quantitative research: Is based on quantity or amount. It is applicable to

phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity.
• This can be expressed in terms of quantity, amount, size, weight etc
• Example: Some organizations give more emphasis on quantity rather than
quality. What are number of complaints of an employee at the work spot.
 Types of research
• Qualitative research: on the other hand is concerned with qualitative
phenomena.
• Example: Motivation in research
• Research design to find out how people feel or what they think about
particular subject or institution in quantitative research

• Fundamental research: Is gathering information just for the sake of

knowledge. There is no application or commercial aspect involved.
• It is with generalization with formulation of a theory.

• Example: Research concerning some natural phenomena or relating to

pure mathematics. How does the memory system work? How is
language skills developed? Discovery Channel
 Types of research
• Applied research: Aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem
facing a society or an industry. It may accidentally contribute to
development of a new theory.
• The purpose is to test theories and other ideas in the context of naturally
occurring educational settings. Usually focused on a problem that needs to
be solved to improve educational practice
• Example: Does computer aided instruction improve student learning?
– Administrative plans need actions so as to give perfection. Company
adopts promotional activities. Buy one get one free
 Types of research
• Conceptual research: Is related to some abstract ideas or theories. It is
generally used by the philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or
to interpret the existing ones.
• Empirical research: Relies on daily experiences and observation alone often
at the cost of neglecting theory or systems. hypothesis formulation is there.
• Many engineering oriented research works are of empirical type involving
physical experiments or simulation

• In this the experimenter has control over the variables under study and can
deliberately manipulate any one of them to study its effects.

• Evidence gathered through experiments or empirical studies is considered to

be the most powerful support for a given hypothesis
• Example: Boiling point of water.
 Types of research
• Diagnostic research aims to identify the
causes of a problem and its possible solutions.
To test the frequency with which some thing is
associated with something else.
• Historical research: is that which utilizes
historical sources like documents to study
events or ideas of the past, including the
philosophy of persons and groups.
 Research Approaches
The above description of the types of research brings to
light the fact that there are two basic approaches to
research, viz.,
A. Quantitative approach and
B. Qualitative approach

Quantitative approach involves the generation of data in

quantitative form which can be subjected to rigorous
quantitative analysis in a formal and rigid fashion.
Qualitative approach to research is concerned with subjective
assessment of attitudes, opinions and behavior
 Significance Of Research
• The quality of life of a citizen of a country greatly depends on overall
development of the country achieves.
• The economic development of many countries is an account of sustained and
substantial investment in Research and Development activities both by state and
private sectors among other measures.
• Research inculcates scientific and inductive thinking and it promotes the
development of logical habits of thinking and organization.”
• Research provides the basis for nearly all government policies in our economic
system.
• The role of research in several fields of applied economics, whether related to
business or to the economy as a whole, has greatly increased in modern times.
• Research is equally important for social scientists in studying social relationships
and in seeking answers to various social problems.
 To those students who are to write a master’s or Ph.D. thesis, research may mean
a careerism or a way to attain a high position in the social structure