RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY
UNIT ONE
 BUSINESS RESEARCH
Research
• Common Language: “ search for knowledge”.
• Research is an art of scientific investigation.
• It is also a systematic design, collection, analysis and the reporting the findings and solutions for the business
problems of a company.
 WHAT IS RESEARCH?
“Research is the systematic approach to obtaining and confirming new and reliable
knowledge”
– Systematic and orderly (following a series of steps)
– Purpose is new knowledge, which must be reliable

Research is not----
1. Accidental discovery
2. Data Collection
3. Searching out published research results
 MEANING OF RESEARCH
1. Searching for explanation of events, phenomena, relationships and causes
– What, how and why things occur
– Are there interactions?
2. A process
– Planned and managed – to make the information generated credible
– The process is creative
 MEANING OF RESEARCH
• According to Clifford Woody, research comprises defining and
redefining problems, formulating hypothesis , collecting, organising
and evaluating data; making deductions and reaching conclusions;
and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether
they fit the formulated hypothesis.
WHY RESEARCH IS REQUIRED?

• To identify and find the solution to the problems

• To help decision making
• To develop new concepts
• To find alternative strategies.
 OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH
• Promotes better decision making
• Research is basis for innovation
• Research identifies the problem area
• Research helps in forecasting
• Research helps in formulation of policies and strategies
• Research helps in the development of new products
• It helps in optimal utilization of resources
• It helps in evaluating the marketing plans
TYPES OF RESEARCH
1. Exploratory research
2. Descriptive research
3. Applied research
4. Pure/fundamental or basic research
5. Conceptual research
6. Casual research
7. Historical research
8. Ex-post facto research
9. Action research
10. Evaluation research
11. Library research
 EXPLORATORY RESEARCH

• This type of research is carried out at the very beginning when the problem is not
clear or is vague

Eg: Sales declined in a company may de due to

• Inefficient service
• Improper price
• Inefficient sales force
• Ineffective production
• Improper quality
APPLIED RESEARCH

• Applied research aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem faced

by any business organization
• This research deals with real life situation
Eg: Why sales have decreased in last quarter?
To develop a new market for the product
 PURE/ FUNDAMENTAL OR
BASIC RESEARCH
• Gathering knowledge for the knowledge sake is known as basic research
• It is not directly involved in practical problems
• It does not have any commercial potentials
• There is no intention to apply this research in practice
• Example :
A study looking how attachment styles among children of divorced parents
compare to those raised by married parents
CONCEPTUAL RESEARCH

• It is generally used by philosophers

• It is related to some abstract idea or theory
• In this research , the researcher should collect the data to prove or
disprove his hypothesis.
CASUAL RESEARCH

• Casual research is conducted to determine the cause and effect relationship between
the two variables
• Eg: effect of advertisement on sales
 HISTORICAL RESEARCH
• Historical study is a study of past records and data in order to understand the future
trends and developments of the organization or market.
Eg:
•Crime branch police study the past records or the history of the criminals in order to
arrive at some conclusion
• The main objectives of this study is to derive explanation and generalization from the
past trends in order to understand the present and anticipate the future.
 EX-POST FACTO RESEARCH/
EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

• In this type of research, an examination of relationship that exists between independent

and dependent variable is studied
• We may call this empirical research
• The researcher has no control over an independent variable.
• For example, a researcher is interested in how weight influences self-
esteem levels in adults. So the participants would be separated into
differing groups (underweight, normal weight, overweight) and their
self esteem levels measured. This is an ex post facto design because
a pre-existing characteristic (weight) was used to form the groups.
 EVALUATION RESEARCH

• This research is conducted to find out how well a planned programme is

implemented.
• Evaluation research deals with evaluating the performance or assessment of a
project.
Eg: Rural Employment Programme
Success Of Midday Meal Programme
 LIBRARY RESEARCH

• This is done to gather secondary data

• This includes notes from the past data or review of reports already
conducted
 DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

• The main purpose of descriptive research is to describe the state of view as it exists at
present.
• It is a fact finding investigation
• In descriptive research, definite conclusions can be arrived at, but it does not establish
the cause and effect relationship.
• This type of research tries to describe the characteristics of the respondent in relation to
a particular product.
• Descriptive research deals with demographic characteristics of the consumer.
 RESEARCH PROCESS

• Defining The Research Problem

• Formulate The Research Hypothesis
• Develop The Research Proposal
• Research Design Formulation
• Sampling Design
• Collection Of Data
• Data Analysis And Interpretation
• Report Writing
 DEFINING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

• A research problem refers to some difficulty which an organization faces and wishes to obtain a
solution to the same
• It is believed that “problem clearly stated is half solved”.
• For a researcher, the problem formulation means converting the management problem into
research problem
• While problem is formulating , the following should be considered
1. Determine the objective of the study
2. Consider the various environmental factors
3. Nature of the problem
4. Stating the alternatives
 FORMULATE THE RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

• “Hypotheses are single tentative guesses, good hunches –assumed for use in devising theory or
planning experiments intended to be given a direct experimental test when possible”. (Eric
Rogers, 1966)
• “It is a tentative prediction about the nature of the relationship between two or more variables.”
• A hypothesis is an assumption or suggested explanation about how two or more variables are
related.
• A hypothesis will generally provide a causal explanation or propose some association between two
variables.
 Develop The Research
Proposal
It is a draft of the first chapter of the study.

It is planning in advance about how to do a research and designing its

methodology.

A proposal is like a lay out plan or design an architecture has made.

 COMPONENTS OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

• Title:
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Methods:
• Results:
• Discussion/Conclusion:
 RESEARCH DESIGN

• A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that
aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure.

• Decisions regarding what, where, when, how much, by what means concerning an inquiry or a research
study constitute a research design.
 RESEARCH DESIGN

• Definition
• A framework for conducting the research project

• Components
• Information needed
• Data collection methods
• Measurement and scaling procedures
• Sampling process and sample size
• Data analysis procedures
FEATURES OF A GOOD RESEARCH DESIGN
A research design appropriate for a particular research problem, usually involves
the following features.
• The mean of obtaining information.
• The availability and skills of the researcher and his staff, if any.
• The objective of the problem to be studied.
• The nature of the problem to be studied .
• The availability of time and money for the research work.
 DEFINITION OF SAMPLING:
• Measuring a small portion of something and then making a
general statement about the whole thing.

• Process of selecting a number of units for a study in such a

way that the units represent the larger group from which
they are selected.
• Sample design covers all aspects of how the samples in our surveys are specified and selected.
• Topics include:
• sample frames, which list the businesses and household addresses we might select for a survey
• types of sampling (for example, stratified and clustered designs), which specify how we group
businesses and households when sampling to provide more efficient and effective designs)
• sample size specification, with implications for cost, respondent burden, and output quality
• sample selection mechanisms, which are used for choosing, with a random element, the particular
units (households, people, businesses, schools, etc) that will make up any given survey sample.
 SOURCES OF DATA
The sources of information are generally classified as primary or
secondary.

PRIMARY DATA
When the researcher himself is trying to collect the data for his
particular purpose from the sources available it becomes primary
data.
 Direct
Personal
Investigation
(i.e. interview
method)

Meth
Investigati
on through
ods Indirect oral
investigation
(i.e. through
observatio
n
of enumerators
)
collec
ting
prima
ry
Investigatio data Investigation
n through through local
mailed reporters
questionnai questionnair
re e
 Secondary Data
• Secondary data are those that have already been collected by
others.

• These are usually in journals, periodicals, research

publication ,official record etc.

• Secondary data may be available in the published or

unpublished form. When it is not possible to collect the data by
primary method,the investigator go for secondary method.

• This data collected for some purpose other

than the problem at hand.
Method of collection
secondary data Published
Sources

International

Government

Municipal corporation

Institutional/ commercial

Unpublished
sources
 DATA ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION

1. Presentation
2. Analysis
3. Interpretation
• Presentation: is the process of organizing data into logical,
sequential and meaningful categories and classifications to make
them amenable to study and interpretation.
1. Textual - (statements with numerals or numbers that serve as
supplements to tabular presentation)
2. Tabular - (a systematic arrangement of related idea in which classes
of numerical facts or data are given each row and their subclasses are
given each a column in order to present the relationships of the sets or
numerical facts or data in a definite, compact and understandable form)
• Analysis : Separation of a whole into its constituent
parts.
• The process of breaking up the whole study into its
constituent parts of categories according to the specific
questions under the statement of the problem
1. Social analysis;
1.From the biggest to the smallest class; 2.Most important
to the least important; 3.Ranking of students according to
brightness;
2. Quantitative Analysis – is employed on data that have
been assigned some numerical value
• Interpretation :
• This section answers the question, “So
what?” in relation to the results of the study.
What do the results of the study mean? This
part is, perhaps, the most critical aspect of
the research report.
• The findings are compared and contrasted
with that of other previous studies and
interpretations are made thereof.
 REPORT WRITING

• A means to convey some information to others.

• An organized, factual, objective presentation of
information.
• ‘Organized’ since it follows a systematic pattern.
• ‘Objective' means it should not be influenced by
our personal feelings.
• Report is a comprehensive document and covers all
aspects of the subject matter of study.
 FEATURES OF A WELL
WRITTEN REPORT:
o A Good Report has a Clarity of Thought
o A Good Report is Complete and Self-
explanatory
o A Good Report is Comprehensive but
Compact
o A Good Report has a Proper Date and
Signature
o A Good Report is Presented in a Lucid
Style
 CRITERIA OF GOOD RESEARCH
• Whatever may be the types of research works and
studies, one thing that is important is that they all
meet on the common ground of scientific method
employed by them. One expects scientific
research to satisfy the following criteria
 The purpose of the research should be clearly defined and common
concepts be used.
 The research procedure used should be described in sufficient detail to
permit another researcher to repeat the research for further advancement,
keeping the continuity of what has already been attained.
 The procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to
yield results that are as objective as possible.
 The researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in
procedural design and estimate their effects upon the findings.
 The analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance and
the
 Methods of analysis used should be appropriate. The validity and reliability of the
data should be checked carefully.
 Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of the research and
limited to those for which the data provide an adequate basis.
 Greater confidence in research is warranted if the researcher is experienced, has a
good Reputation in research and is a person of integrity.
 QUALITIES OF A GOOD RESEARCH

• Good research is systematic

• Good research is logical
• Good research is empirical
• Good research is replicable
 RESEARCH APPLICATION IN BUSINESS
DECISIONS

1. Possibility of the business to survive and succeed in a new geographical region

2. Assessment about competitors
3. Adopting a suitable market approach for a product
4. Businesses use research to ascertain the success of their advertising
5. Business can make well-informed decisions due to research
6. Research is important for managerial decision making
7. Research helps in testing the potential success of new products.