Process of Research

Define Research Problem

Extensive literature survey

Steps of Development of working hypotheses

Research Preparing the Research Design

Process
Data Collection

Data Analysis

Interpretation and Report

Define Research Problem
• Researcher must decide the general area of interest or aspect that he
would like to inquire into.
• The formulation of a general topic into a specific research problem
constitutes the first step in a scientific enquiry.
• Two steps are involved in formulating the research problem
(1) understanding the problem thoroughly
(2) Rephrasing the same into meaningful terms from an analytical point
of view.
• In private business units or in governmental organisations, the
problem is usually earmarked by the administrative agencies with
whom the researcher can discuss as to how the problem originally
came about and what considerations are involved in its possible
solutions.
Problems
• Rising costs.
• The discovery of an expensive chemical compound that would
increase the efficacy of a drug.
• Declining sales.
• A larger number of product defects during the manufacture of an
automobile.
• An increasing number of letters and phone complaints about post
purchase service
• At the same time the researcher examine all available literature to
get himself acquainted with the selected problem. He may review two
types of literature
1) the conceptual literature concerning the concepts and theories
2) the empirical literature consisting of studies made earlier which are
similar to the one proposed.
• The basic outcome of this review will be the knowledge as to what
data and other materials are available for operational purposes which
will enable the researcher to specify his own research problem in a
meaningful context.
• After this the researcher rephrases the problem in as specific terms as
possible.
• The problem to be investigated must be defined clearly for that will
help discriminating relevant data from irrelevant ones.
Review of Literature
• A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles, and any other
sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory,
and by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical
evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being
investigated.
• Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources
you have explored.
• The literature review section examines recent (or historically
significant) research studies, company data, or industry reports that
act as a basis for the proposed study.
Important points for Literature review:
1. Do a brief review of the information not a comprehensive report.
2. Always refer to the original source.
3. Emphasize the important results and conclusions of other studies,
the relevant data and trends from previous research.
3. Discuss how the literature applies to the study you are proposing;
show the weaknesses or faults in their design, discussing how you
would avoid similar problems.
4. The literature review may also explain the need for the proposed
work to appraise the shortcomings and/or informational gaps in
secondary data sources.
5. Close the literature review section by summarizing the important
aspects of the literature and interpreting them in terms of your
problem
Hypothesis Formulation
• After extensive literature survey, researcher should state in clear terms
the working hypothesis or hypotheses.
• HYPOTHESIS FORMULATION begins with an assumption called
HYPOTHESIS
• A research hypothesis is a statement of expectation or prediction that
will be tested by research.
Importance of Hypothesis Formulation
• Research hypotheses are particularly important since they
provide the focal point for research
• The role of the hypothesis is to guide the researcher to keep him
on the right track.
• Hypothesis Formulation sharpens the thinking of a researcher
and focuses attention on the more important aspects of the
problem.
How to develop working hypotheses?
• Discussions with colleagues and experts about the problem, its origin
and the objectives in seeking a solution
• Examination of data and records, if available, concerning the problem
for possible trends, peculiarities and other clues.
• Review of similar studies in the area or of the studies on similar
problems.
• Exploratory personal investigation which involves original field
interviews on a limited scale with interested parties and individuals
with a view to secure greater insight into the practical aspects of the
problem
Research Design
• The research design is the blueprint for fulfilling objectives and
answering questions
• Research design is the plan and structure of investigation
adapted to obtain answers
to research questions.
• Research design is defined as a master plan specifying the
methods and procedures for collection and analyzing the needed
information.
• It includes an outline of what the investigator will do from writing
hypotheses to the final analysis of data.
• Selecting a design is crucial due to the availability of a large
variety of methods, techniques, procedures, protocols, and
sampling plans
• For example:
you may decide on a secondary data study, case study, survey,
experiment, or simulation?
Simulation is a technique used to
model real-world processes or systems
using a computer program, allowing
businesses to simulate various
scenarios and make informed
decisions based on the outcomes.
If a survey is selected, should it be administered by mail,
computer, telephone, the Internet, or personal interview?
Should all relevant data be collected at one time or at regular
intervals?
What kind of structure will the questionnaire or interview guide
possess?
Should the responses be scaled or open-ended?
and so on………
Important concepts relating to research
design
• Variable: A concept which can take on different values is called a
variable.
Example: concepts like weight, height, income are all examples of
variables.
Continuous Variable
• A continuous variable is
something that can take any
value within a certain range and
these values can be any number,
including fractions or decimals.
OR
That can be Measured
Discrete Variable:
• A variable that can be counted
OR can take a certain value.

Example 2
Experiment
• The process of examining the truth of a statistical hypothesis, relating
to some research problem, is known as an experiment.
• For example, we can conduct an experiment to examine the
usefulness of a certain newly developed drug.
Experiments can be of two types:
1. Absolute Experiment: If we want to determine the impact of a
fertilizer on the yield of a crop, it is a case of absolute experiment
Comparative experiment.
2. Comparative Experiment: if we want to determine the impact of
one fertilizer as compared to the impact of some other fertilizer, our
experiment then will be termed as a comparative experiment.
Exploratory Research Design
• Exploration is particularly useful when researchers lack a clear
idea of the problems they will meet during the study.
• Through exploration researchers develop concepts more clearly,
establish priorities, and improve the final research design.
• Exploration relies more heavily on qualitative techniques.
When we consider the scope of qualitative research, several
approaches are adaptable for exploratory investigations of
management questions:
Data Collection
Various methods of collecting data are employed by social scientists.
PRIMARY DATA : Are those which are collected a fresh and for the first
time and thus happen to be original in character and known as
Primary data.
SECONDARY DATA : Are those which have been collected by someone
else and which have already been passed through the statistical
process are known as Secondary data
Analysis of Data
• Data analysis is the most crucial part of any research.
• Data analysis summarizes collected data.
• It involves the interpretation of data gathered through the use of
analytical and logical reasoning to determine patterns, relationships
or trends.
Hypothesis Testing
Various tests, such as Chi-square test, t-test, F-test, have been
developed by experts for this purpose.
The hypothesis may be tested through the use of one or more of such
test, depending upon the nature and object of research enquiry.
Hypothesis testing will result in either accepting the hypothesis or in
rejecting.
Interpretation and Report Writing
• After collecting and analyzing the data, the researcher has to
accomplish the task of drawing inferences followed by report
writing.
• This has to be done very carefully, otherwise misleading conclusions
may be drawn and the whole purpose of doing research may get
wasted.
• It is only through interpretation that the researcher can expose
relations and processes that underlie his findings.