Contents:

• Concept & Definition, Classification of Business research viz. Basic vs. Applied Research,
Problem Identification vs. Problem Solving Research, Cross Sectional vs. Longitudinal
Research, Internal vs. External Research
• Methods of Knowing: Scientific & non-scientific methods, Differences between scientific
& non- scientific methods, Different types of non-scientific methods: Method of tenacity,
Method of appeal to authority, Method of self evident truth, Characteristics of a good
scientific research.
• Types of research design (Exploratory and Conclusive), Different types of errors in
business research,
• Meaning of Concept, Construct & Definition in relation to business research,research,
Different types of variables in business research, Definition of hypothesis, Types of
hypothesis, Role of hypothesis in research Qualities of a good hypothesis,
• Business Research Process

Reference Books:
1. Business Research Methods: Donald Cooper & Schindler, Tata McGraw Hill (Main Text)

2. Marketing Research: Naresh Malhotra, Pearson Publications ( Second Text)

4. Business Research Methods: Zikmud , CengagePublishing

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DEFINITIONS:
Business Research is the process to find out unknown variables related to business decisions or to
find out so far unknown relationships between known or unknown variables.

For example:
One can undertake market research to decide what are the factors (variables) really affecting
buying behaviors of students while purchasing pens. in the same research, if it is found that price
is the major deciding factor, it is possible to study what can be relationships between change in
price & change in demand (price elasticity of demand)

According to DONALD COOPER Business Research is a systematic inquiry that provides

information to guide in taking business decisions.
it is mainly focus on 3 aspects
• Research in formation is neither intuitive nor haphazardly gathered. it’s a scientific
investigation of pre-defined object
• There must be a clearly stated objectives
• The main aim of research is to help managers in decision making in the organization

VARIOUS CLASSIFICATION OF BUSINESS RESEARCH:

1) BASIC RESEARCH v/s APPLIED RESEARCH:- BASIC RESEARCH

• Gathering knowledge for knowledge's sake it termed 'pure' or 'basic' or 'fundamental'
research.
• Example: Research concerning some natural phenomenon or relating to pure mathematics.
• basic research is directed towards finding information that has a broad base of applications
and thus, adds to the already existing organize body of scientific knowledge.
APPLIED RESERARCH
• A research aimed at finding a solution for an immediate problem facing a society or an
industrial/business organization is called applied research

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 • Example: Research for improving production technology, employees performance,
marketing research, etc.
• it is undertaken to solve practical/real commercial problems of the modern world.
2) QUANTITATIVE v/s QUALITATIVE RESEARCH QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
• A research which produces hard number that can be turned into statistics is called
quantitative research
• it is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity.
• Example: Research on studying the impact of training program on sales performance of
employees in an organization, impact of sales promotion on consumer buying, etc.
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
• A research that produces observation, notes and description of behavior or motivation is
called qualitative research
• Example: Research on studying the consumer perception towards stock market, expert’s
opinion for economy, employee’s motivation in a firm, etc.
• Various non-statistical tools are used for data analysis in qualitative research.
3) COMPARATIVE v/s ABSOLUTE RESEARCH COMPARATIVE RESEARCH
• Research aimed at comparison between two or more things to known similarities and
uniqueness is called comparative research
• Example: comparative study on buying behavior of males and females for purchasing
perfumes in Surat city, comparative study on market share of Lux, Pears and Chinthol,
impact of advertisements on consumer buying behavior, etc.
• it is conducted to make comparison between two or more countries, economies, cities,
culture, industry, company, products, brands, etc.
ABSOLUTE RESEARCH
• Research in which comparison is absent is called comparative research
• Example: To study various factors affecting Sensex, factors affecting consumer buying
behavior for a product, etc.
• it focuses more in general research

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4) PROBLEM IDENTIFYING v/s PROBLEM SOLVING RESEARCH PROBLEM IDENTIFYING
RESEARCH
• Research that is undertaken to arrive at a solution for an existing problem is called problem
solving research
• Example: A study aimed at solving the problem of employees’ grievances in a firm, finding
measure to get out of recessionary state of diamond and textile industry in Surat City, etc.

5) LONGITUDINAL v/s CROSS - SECTIONAL RESEARCH LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH

• When a research is carried on over several time-periods, it is called longitudinal research
• Example: Purchase of number of products by some families at regular intervals say weekly,
monthly or quarterly to determine their characteristics in switching brands.
• Some people and same variables are measured over the length of the study.
CROSS-SECTIONAL RESEACRH
• When a research is confirmed to a single time-period, it is called cross-sectional research
• Example: Study on attitude of BBA students towards QT.
• Same population is selected only once to obtain information.
6) INTERNAL v/s EXTERNAL RESEARCH INTERNAL RESEACH
• A research done at micro level or company level to solve company's problem is known as
internal research
• Example: A study on factors affecting employee motivation at Big Bazar, Surat.

EXTERNAL RESEARCH
• A research done at macro level or undertaken to study economy or solve economy level
problem as known as external research.
• Example: A study on factors affecting unemployment in Surat city.

METHODS OF KNOWING
• Knowing method gaining knowledge by interacting with the external world through the
use of our senses
• there are two methods of knowing

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 1) Scientific Method
2) Non-Scientific Method
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
• it is the way researches go about using knowledge and advice to reach objective conclusion
about the real world
• Example: water is made up of H2O
• a unique characteristics possessed by this method is self-correction.
• Generally all researches fall in scientific method
• A scientific does not believe any proportion without testing it. He has a number of built in
checks all along the way to enable him to adhere to the right path and arrive at the 'truth'.
such checks are free from personal beliefs, attitudes and values.
NON-SCIENTIFIC METHOD
• it is the way to obtain some knowledge through senses, experiences and instituions without
having any evidence
• Example: whether god exist or not? (everyone has their own view)
• there are 3 types of non-scientific methods
A. Method of Tenancy
B. Method of Appeal to Authority
C. Method of Self-Evident truth
A) METHOD OF TENANCY
• It is first nonscientific method for getting knowledge or setting on a belief.
• This method means that person simply tenaciously holds for those beliefs they already hold
and rejects beliefs they already reject
• Example: if someone believes that god exist then he/she will keep believing it
• Habit may induce us to believe a proportion to be true because we have always believed it
be so. As a result, we may close our minds to any evidence against that proposition.

B) METHOD OF APPEAL TO AUTHORITY

• it is used by people in case insufficient knowledge. instead of holding on to one's beliefs,
an appeal is made to some authority.

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 • They agree on believes they are going to buy or accept by just asking to a person or an
institution, they hold as their authority
• if our holy scriptures say so, it is true. if a noted authority on the subject say it is true, then
it must be true. Many religious propositions claim support from scriptures.
• Through superior to the method of tenacity, this method fails to lead to unanimity and
stability of belief if there is more than one authority with differing views.
C) METHOD OF SELF-EVIDENT TRUTH
• There are certain fundamental truths that need no proof, or don't have any proof for they
are simply their own proof. Hence, the statements of the skeptics that every truth requires
a proof other than itself are a myth.
• This method holds that people believe propositions if they are obvious or self-evident.
• Example: There are clear truths as the sun is lightsome, and one needs no laterns or
searchlight to go in search of noonday sun or to identify it when it is discovered
• These self-evident truths are the basis of all certainly; they give us the ultimate ground for
evidence which skepticism mistakenly says we cannot find
• such propositions 'agree with reason' and not necessarily with experience.

COMPARISON OF SCIETIFIC METHOD AND NON SCIENTIFIC METHOD:

Whilethere are several distinguishing features of the scientific method, the more important ones
are briefly described below.
1). The scientific method is more objective as compared to the non-scientific method.
This is one of the strongest points in favor of the former. over the years, a good deal of thought
and experience has gone into the development of scientific procedures as a result of which far
greater objectivity is found in the scientific method as compare to other methods.
2). The scientific method is more precise than the non-scientific method.
One great advantage of the format is that measurement and numerical analysis can be done, though
measurement is not always attempted in every scientific investigation. Qualitative concepts are
also defined precisely, which enables easier and more effective communication among researchers.

3). The scientific method considers the existing knowledge in a particular field, carries out further
investigations in it and compares thr results with those obtained earlier. This lead to the expansion

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of knowledge. The process which is continues and unending, systematic knowledge while the non-
scientific method may not be able to do so.

TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGNS

Research design is the plan, structure and strategy of investigation so as to obtain answers to
research questions and control variances
Research Design is specification of methods and procedures for acquiring the information needed.
It is the overall operational pattern or framework of the project that stipulates what information is
to be collected, from which sources and by what procedures.
There are basic two types of research designs
1) Exploratory Research
2) Conclusive Research

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1) EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
In the case of exploratory research, the focus is on the discovery of ideas.
Example: In business where sales have been declining for the past few months, the management
my conduct a quick study to find out what could be the possible explanations- the sales might
decline on account of a number of factors, such as the deterioration in the quality of the product,
increased competition, inadequate or ineffective advertising, lack of efficient and trained salesman
or use of the wrong channels of distribution. In such a case an exploratory study may be conducted
to find the most likely cause.
Purpose of Exploratory Research are as follows:
a) To formulate problem or define problem more precisely
b) To identify alternative course of action
c) To isolate key variables and relationships
d) To gain insight for developing an approach to the problem
e) To establish priorities for further research
Exploratory research does not have a formal and rigid design as the researcher may have to change
his focus or direction, depending on the availability of new ideas and relationship among variables.
It is in the nature of preliminary investigation wherein the research himself is not sufficiently
knowledgeable and is , therefore, unable to frame detailed research questions.

2) CONCLUSIVE RESEARCH
• Conclusive Research provides information which helps the manager decide on correct
decision. It consists of formal research procedures including clearly defined goals and needs.
• As the term suggests conclusive research is meant to provide information that is useful in
reaching conclusions or decision making.
• It tends to be quantitative in nature, that is to say in the form of numbers that can be quantified
and surmised.
• It relies on both primary data and secondary data.

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• The purpose of conclusive research is to provide a reliable or representative picture of the
population/ phenomenon through the use of valid research instrument. In case of formal
research, it will also test hypothesis.
• Conclusive research is divided into two sub-parts
a. Descriptive Research
b. Causal Research
a) DECRIPTIVE RESEARCH
• Descriptive studies re undertake in many circumstances. When the researcher is interested in
knowing the characteristics of certain groups such as age, sex, education level, occupation or
income, a descriptive study may be necessary.
• Other cases when a descriptive study could be taken up are when he is interested in knowing
the proportion of people in given population who have behaved in a particular manner, making
projections of a certain thing; or determining the relationship between two or more variables.
• The objective of such a study is to answer the “who, what, when, where, and how” of the
subject under investigation.
• There is general feeling that descriptive studies can be complex, demanding a high degree of
scientific skill on the part of the researcher.
• Descriptive studies are well-structured.
• As was mentioned earlier, an exploratory study needs to be flexible in its approach, but a
descriptive study, in contrast, tends to be rigid and its approach cannot be changed every now
and then.
• Descriptive studies can be divided into two broad categories
- Cross-sectional Research and
- Longitudinal Research

1) CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDIES
• A cross-sectional study is concerned with a sample of elements from a given population.
• Thus, it may be with household dealers, retail stores or other entities. Data on a number of
characteristics from the sample elements are collected and analyzed.
• Cross-sectional studies are of two types
- Field studies and

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 - Surveys
Field Studies
• Field studies are ex-post-facto scientific inquiries that aim at finding the relation and
interrelation among variables in a real setting.
• Such studies are done in life situations like communities, school, factories, organization and
institutions.
Surveys
• Another type of cross-sectional study is survey research.
• A major strength of survey is its wide scope. Detailed information can be obtained from a
sample of a large population.
2. LONGITUDINAL STUDIES
• Longitudinal studies are based on panel data and panel methods.
• A panel is sample of respondents who are interviewed and then re-interviewed from time to
time. Generally, panel data relate to the repeated measurements of the same variables.
• Each family included in the panel, records its purchases of a number of a products at regular
intervals, say, weekly, monthly or quarterly. Over a period of time, such data will reflect
changes in the buying behavior of families.
b) CAUSAL RESEARCH
• As the name implies, a causal design investigates the cause and effect relationship between two
more variables.
• Example: Impact of training program on the sales performance of sales representatives in a
company.
• The purposes of causal Research are
i) To understand which variables are the cause and which are effect.
ii) To determine the nature of relationship between the causal variables and the effect to be
predicted.

ERRORS IN THE RESEARCH PROCESS

• The research should ensure that the research does not have a high degree of error. If no care is
exercised in minimizing errors that are likely to arise at every stage.

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• Broadly speaking, the errors are of two types-sampling error and non-sampling errors. These
two together constitute the total error.

MEANING OF TERMS:
CONCEPT, CONSTRUCT AND DEFINITION IN RELATION TO BUSINESS
RESEARCH

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CONCEPT
A concept is a bundle of meaning of characteristic associated with certain event objectives,
Condition and so on.
Concept is used to understand and communicate information about objects and events.
Example: investors, bank, etc.
Construct
• A construct is an image or idea specifically invested for a given research and theory building
purpose
• We can build construct by combining the simpler concept especially where the idea or image
with intend to convey is not directly subject to observation
• Example: customer satisfaction, investor’s perception etc.
Definition
• An operational definition is a definition stated in terms of specific testing criteria or operation
We must be able to count measure or in other way gather information through senses.
• Whether the objective to be defined is physical or high abstract, the definition must specify the
characteristic to study and how they are to be observed.

TYPES OF VARIABLE IN BUSINESS RESEARCH:

• A Variable is a measurable characteristic that varies. It may change from group to group, Person
to person, or even within one person over time.
• A variable is symbol to which value are assigned.
• Variables can be classified as QUANTITATIVE or QUANTITATIVE.
• Quantitative variable are sometime called continuous variable because they have a Variable of
characteristics.
• Example: - Height, income, temperature ,age or score in test qualitative variable are referred
as categorical variable because they classify by categorical. Such as gender, religion, or eye
color are categorical variable.
• A special case of a categorical variable is a dichotomous variable .Dichotomous variable have
only two characteristic (male or female generally speaking.
• Qualitative / categorical variable are groups like religion.

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• Qualitative/continuous variable are number that have a range like height .when we analyze
data e do turn the categorical variable into number but only for identification purposes .
• There are 5 types of variable
1. Independent variable (IV)
2. Dependent variable ( DV)
3. Moderating variable (MV)
4. Extraneous variable (EV)
5. Intervening variable (IVV)

1. INDEPENDENT VARIABLE (IV)

• Independent variables are those variables which are measured, manipulated, or selected by the
researcher to determine its relationship with dependent variable.
• It is the cause for dependent variable to occur.
• Example: - the introduction of 5 days per work week (IV) will lead to increase productivity per
worker (DV).
2. DEPENDENT VARIABLE
• Dependent variable are those variables which are observed and measured to determine the
effect of the independent variable
• The dependent variable is the outcome, it is resultant variable.
• Ex- student who receive pizza coupons as a reward read more books then students who do not
receive pizza coupon rewards. In this example independent variable is reward status and
dependent variable is number of books.
3. MODERATING VARIABLES
• Moderating variables are those variables which are measured, manipulated or selected by the
researcher to discover whether it modifies the relationship of the independent & dependent
variable. It is special type of independent variable.
• The independent variable’s relationship with the dependent variable my change under different
condition. That condition is the moderator variable it is also called as explanatory variable.
• EX- The introduction of 5 days work week will lead to higher productivity especially among
younger workers. The reason is that there is a diffrent pattern of relationship between 5 days
week & productivity that is the result of age differences among the workers.

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4. EXTRANEOUS VARIABLE
• Extraneous variable are the variable in the research environment which may have little impact
on the dependent variable but which are not controlled.
• Extraneous variable are dangerous. They may damage a study’s validity, making it impossible
to know whether the effects were caused by the independent and moderator variable or some
extraneous factor.
• Unlike extraneous variable. Moderator variable are measured and taken into consideration
• EX- The introduction of 5 days week will lead to higher productivity especially among younger
workers.
5. INTERVENING VARIABLE
• Refers to abstract processes that are not directly observable but that link the independent and
dependent variable. We can say in other way is the variable which affects the dependent
variable but can’t be seen, measured, or variable; its effect must be inferred from the effects of
independent & moderator variables on the dependent variables
• EX- The introduction of 5 days week will lead to higher productivity but it is difficult to
understand the relationship.

Types of errors

Respondent selection errors

1. population specification error
2. sampling errors
3. selection errors
4. frame errors
5. survey non-response errors

Accuracy of response errors

1. non-response errors
2. surrogate information errors
3. measurement errors from interviewers

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4. measurement errors from questions 5. measurement errors from respondents

understanding the possible errors that can taint the accuracy of information in your study
is key to avoiding and correcting sampling errors. below is a brief explanation of possible
errors.

Respondent Selection Errors

Population specification error

This type of error occurs when the researcher selects an inappropriate population or universe
from which to obtain data. example: packaged goods manufacturers, for example,
frequently survey housewives because they are an easy contact. also, it is assumed housewives
decide what is to be purchased and do the actual purchasing for a household. however, in this
situation, there often is population specification error.
Increasingly, husbands may purchase a significant share of the packaged goods and have
significant influence over what is bought.

Sampling error
sampling error occurs when a sample does not accurately represent the population.
example: suppose that we used tweets (twitter) to recruit a random sample of 500 people
from the general adult population. after an analysis, though, we find our study was
composed only of people aged 18 to 35. because the sampling pool shares so many age
group specific traits, the data isn’t accurate in representing the general population. the more
homogeneous the population (meaning people who are similar), the smaller the sampling
error; and as sample size increases, sampling error decreases. if a census were conducted
(i.e., all elements of the population were included) there would be no sampling error.
Surrogate information error in some research situations, the needed information cannot be
obtained. instead, you may accept substitute data that will act as a surrogate for the required
information. the need for substitute information arises from either the inability or
unwillingness of respondents to provide the information requested. for example, decision-
oriented behavioral research is always concerned with the prediction of behavior. this limits

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most marketing research projects since one cannot observe future behavior. typically,
researchers obtain one or more kinds of surrogate information useful in predicting behavior.

examples: you might obtain information on past behavior if you believe it is indicative of
future behavior. for example, if you wanted to market home computers in developing
countries, you would investigate, among other factors, education levels, income, and
electricity in the home. these variables affect home computer sales in developing countries
errors related to accuracy of responses Measurement error measurement error is the
difference between the measurements you obtain and the truth. this error comes up at many
points throughout the research process, from the development of your survey to analyzing
your findings. measurement error can be introduced by the interviewer, the questionnaire,
or the respondent. examples of measurement error from the interviewer and questionnaire
might include: faulty wording of questions; bias in representative graphics materials;
unintentional interviewer modification of the question’s wording; interviewer
misinterpretation or misrecording of the response. on the respondent side, measurement
error includes the way a respondent interprets the question, and the respondent giving
incorrect information. Question non-response error some potential respondents refuse to
answer the entire survey. perhaps it pertains to a sensitive topic. some may choose not to
answer specific questions. most often, respondents refuse to provide personal information
that may place them at risk, including information about banking and finances, private
personal behaviors, and information capable of identifying them.

HYPOTHESIS:
Definition of Hypothesis. Types of Hypothesis. Role of Hypothesis In Research Quality Is
of A Good Hypothesis.
• A hypothesis is a proposition which the researcher wants to it is tentative answer to a researcher
question.

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• A hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more
variables. It is a specific, testable prediction about what you expect to happen in
a study.
• Purpose of Hypothesis:
• Hypothesis is used in an experiment to define the relationship between two
variables. The purpose of a hypothesis is to find the answer to a question. A
formalized hypothesis will force us to think about what results we should look
for in an experiment.
• The type of hypothesis are:
1. Null hypothesis
2. Alternative hypothesis

it is also classified in several ways

1. Descriptive hypothesis
2. Relative hypothesis
3. Casual hypothesis Null hypothesis v/s Alternative hypothesis
Null Hypothesis:
Null hypothesis is contrary to the positive statement of a working hypothesis. According to null
hypothesis there is no relationship between dependent and independent variable. It is denoted by
‘HO”.

Alternative Hypothesis
Firstly many hypotheses are selected then among them select one which is more workable and
most efficient. That hypothesis is introduced latter on due to changes in the old formulated
hypothesis. It is denote by “HI”.

• In this type of hypothesis, two statements are made for indicating relationship between two
variable or properties of population. These two statements are manually exclusive in nature.
• Usually we have to make to take null hypo which may usually be not accepted as fear possible.
Alternative hypo is the hypothesis which is accepted when the null is rejected

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• Example: Marketing manager wants to identify the co elation between advertisement
expenditure & sales generally use know that there is positive correlation between them.

Descriptive Hypothesis
• There are proposition that describe the characteristic of variable may be an object, person,
organization, situation, or event. This hypothesis is descriptive research Ex- Educational
system is not oriented to human resource needs of a country.
• Ex- Government employees are corrupted.
Relative Hypothesis
• It is also known as relation hypothesis. This is proposition which describe the relationship. This
is This is proposition which describe the relationship between two variables
• The relationship suggested may be positive or negative. It may be for two different kinds of
products.
Ex-
1. Girls consume more chocolate then boys
2. Foreign cars are better quality then Indian cars
Casual Hypothesis
• This explain cause – effect relationship between two variables
• Ex- independent variable & dependent variable
• Ex-
1. Yield per hector is increased by use of chemical fertilizer.
2. Demand is proportionally related to advertisement expenditure.

Meaning of terms: “Concept“, “Construct” and “Definition“ in relation to

business research Concept:

Concepts or generalizable properties or characteristics associated with objects, events, or people.

While objects such as a person, a firm, or a car are not concepts, their specific characteristics or
behavior such as a person’s attitude toward immigrants, a firm’s capacity for innovation, and a
car’s weight can be viewed as concepts.

Construct

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A construct is an abstract concept that is specifically chosen (or “created”) to explain a given
phenomenon. A construct may be a simple concept, such as a person’s weight, or a combination
of a set of related concepts such as a person’s communication skill, which may consist of several
underlying concepts such as the person’s vocabulary, syntax, and spelling. The former instance
(weight) is a unidimensional construct, while the latter (communication skill) is a
multidimensional construct (i.e., it consists of multiple underlying concepts). The distinction
between constructs and concepts are clearer in multi-dimensional constructs, where the higher
order abstraction is called a construct and the lower order abstractions are called concepts.
However, this distinction tends to blur in the case of unidimensional constructs.

Definition

Scientific research requires operational definitions that define constructs in terms of how they will
be empirically measured. For instance, the operational definition of a construct such as temperature
must specify whether we plan to measure temperature in Celsius, Fahrenheit, or Kelvin scale. A
construct such as income should be defined in terms of whether we are interested in monthly or
annual income, before-tax or after-tax income, and personal or family income. One can imagine
that constructs such as learning, personality, and intelligence can be quite hard to define
operationally.

THE PROCESS OF BUSINESS RESEARCH:

The major steps involved in a business are as follows:
1) Formulation of research problem
2) Choice of a research design
3) Determination of sources of data & method of collection
4) Sampling design & sample size determination
5) Design of data collection instruments
6) Organizing & conducting a field survey
7) Editing, tabulation, classification & coding of data
8) Processing & analysis of data

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9) Conclusion & suggestion & actions
10) Preparation of research report

1) FORMULATING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

• The first step in research is formulating a research problem.
• It is most important stage in applied research as poorly defined problem will not yield useful
results.
• It is rightly said that “a problem well defined is half-solved”. Poorly defined problem cause
confusion and do not allow the researcher to develop a good research design.
A research problem is a statement about an area of concern, a condition to be improved, a difficulty
to be eliminated, or a troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or in practice
that points to the need for meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation. In some social
science disciplines the research problem is typically posed in the form of a question. A research
problem does not state how to do something, offer a vague or broad proposition, or present a value
question.

The purpose of a problem statement is to:

1. Introduce the reader to the importance of the topic being studied. The reader is oriented to the
significance of the study and the research questions or hypotheses to follow.
2. Places the problem into a particular context that defines the parameters of what is to be
investigated.
3. Provides the framework for reporting the results and indicates what is probably necessary to
conduct the study and explain how the findings will present this information.

Basic characteristics of research problem

For your research problem to be effective, make sure that it has these basic characteristics:

• Reflecting on important issues or needs;

• Basing on factual evidence (it’s non-hypothetical);
• Being manageable and relevant;
• Suggesting a testable and meaningful hypothesis (avoiding useless answers).

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Most instructors prefer to set general topics. To formulate a powerful research problem and impress
them, it should be:

• Interesting;
• Relevant;
• Specific and focused; Researchable.

2) CHOICE OF RESEARCH DESIGN

• A research design specifies the method and procedures for conducting a particular study.
• The researcher should specify the approach he intends to use with respect to the proposed study.
• Research designs can be grouped into three categories - exploratory research, descriptive
research and causal research.
1. An exploratory research focuses on the discovery of ideas and is generally based on secondary
data. It is preliminary investigation which does not have a rigid design. This is because a
researcher engaged in an exploratory study may have to change his focus as a result of new
ideas and relationship among the variables.
2. A descriptive study is undertaken when the researcher wants to know the characteristics of
certain groups such as age, sex, educational level, income, occupation, etc. In contrast to
exploratory studies, descriptive studies are well-structured.
3. A causal research is undertaken when the researcher is interested in knowing the cause and
effect relationship between two or more variables. Such studies are based on reasoning along
well tested lines.

3) DETERMINING SOURCES OF DATA & METHOD OF COLLECTION

• The next step is to determine the sources of data to be used.
• There are two types of sources for collecting the data – primary and secondary data.
• The study may be based on exclusive primary or secondary data or combination of both.
• When a study is to be based on secondary data, the researcher should be familiar with the
authentic sources of relevant data, their periodicity, publishing or having such data, the concept
used in compilation and their limitations, if any.

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• For primary data, there are three main methods
a) Observation Methods (disguised and undisguised observation methods)
b) Survey Methods (personal interview, mail interview, telephonic interview, internet survey)
c) Experiment Methods (Natural and controllable experiment)

4) Sampling design and sample size determination

• Once the decision in favor of collection of primary data is taken, one has to decide on sampling
design.
• A sample is a subset of whole population being studied. It represents the larger population and
is used to draw interfaces about the population.
• It is a research technique widely used in the business research as a way to gather information
about a population without having to measure the entire population.
• There are mainly two types of to choose a sample from a population.

a) Non-probability sampling technique

Non-probability sampling is a technique where the samples are gathered in a process that does
not given all the individuals in the population equal chance of being selected.
b) Probability Sampling Technique
Probability sampling is a technique where the samples are gathered in a process that gives all
the individuals a equal chance of being selected.

• There are several types in each of these techniques.

• There is no clear cut thumb rule to set up sample size but some criteria need to be considered
while selected appropriate techniques to select the sample and size so it become easy and
convenient the defined problem.

5) DESIGN OF DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT

• Questionnaire are set of the questions to be investigate predefined problem.
• There are two types of questionnaire

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 a) Structured questionnaire (sequence well defined) b) Unstructured questionnaire (no sequence defined)
• Researcher has to keep in mind proper wording and quality of question while designing the
questionnaire.
• Question can be open ended and close ended (dichotomous multiple choice questions)
Pretesting of questionnaire id always required before the actual survey is conducted.

6) ORGANIZING AND CONDUCTING THE FIELD SURVEY

• Having prepared the questionnaires and selected the sample design and size of sample, the next
step is to organize and conduct field survey.
• Two important aspects should be looked into-interviewing and the supervision of field work.
• The task of interviewing seems to be simple but, in really, it is one of the most difficult task in
marketing research. This is because respondent are generally hesitant in giving information
unless approached with tact, initiative and intelligence.
• Supervision of field work is equally important to ensure timely and properly completion of the
field survey.

7) EDITING, TABULATION, CLASSIFICATION AND CODING OF DATA

• After conducting survey, editing, takes place
• Editing means rectification done by researcher in few questionnaires where he/she finds data
is missing or responses are contradictory so as to minimize or avoid errors.
• Tabulation means task of maintaining tally table from questionnaire for each close ended
question.
• After tabulation, as per the response, researcher has to segregate data for each questions.
• Coding is allocation of some numbers or digits or alphabets to option in the questions to make
it easy for processing it.

8) PROCESSING AND ANALYZING THE COLLECTED DATA

• In order to drive meaning full result from the statistical tables, the researcher calculate. o
Relevant measures of central tendency highlighting the major aspect of data, o The correction
coefficient and

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 o Undertake a regression analysis between variables
• While designing a research study, the researcher should give adequate thought to the use of
particular analytical techniques.
• It is necessary that the researcher gives as much important to the analysis and interpretation of
data as he has given to their collection. In the absence of proper analysis, data may be rendered
useless resulting in a waste of time and money.

9) CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS AND ACTIONS

• Conclusion is based on result of data analysis.
• It should be straight forward and unambiguous.
• Suggestions are based on conclusion and data analysis. If some loopholes and opportunity are
there then correction suggestions should be given.
• Action is based on suggestion, that it, when to complete which task, with how much of man
power and money power. Which policy should be appropriate and so on.

10) PRE PARING THE RESEARCH REPORT

• It is necessary that the researcher gives sufficient thought and care to its preparation because
sometime good ends up with poor reporting.
• The essence of a good research report is that it effectively communicates its research findings.
• Although report writing needs some skill which can be develop with practice, the researcher
should follow the main principle of writing a report. Some of these principles are objectivity,
coherence, clarity in the presentation of ideas and use of chart and diagrams.
• The researcher has to exercise extra care to make the report a useful and a worthwhile document
for the management.

UNIVERSITY QUESTIONS:
LONG QUESTIONS:
1. Defines the term Variable. Discuss various types of variable with suitable example?
(Nov/Dec 2014)
2. Discuss any two non-scientific method of collecting information.
3. Discuss any five qualities of scientific business research. (2015)

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4. Define the term concept. Discuss various sources of concept. (March/April 2015)
5. Discuss various causal research design. (Mar/Apr 2015, 2016)
6. Explain following terms in relation to business research. (Nov/Dec 2015)
Concept, Construct and Definition
7. Explain longitudinal research design in details.
8. Explain any three research error in detail. (March 2015, 2016)
9. Define the term business research. Explain various features of a good scientific research. (Mar
2016)

SHORT QUESTIONS:

1. Explain problem identification research and problem solving research by giving suitable
example. (Nov/Dec 2015)
2. Identify various variables in this research statement.
• If farmer used fertilizers, yield of crop will increase. This will happen because planted
saplings will get better nourishment. Farmer however must use suitable type of fertilizers as
per types of crop. The yield can also get affected by many other factors like regularity of
monsoon and climate change. (2015)
• Because of counseling session result of students will improve. This will happen because
counseling session shall cause improvement in attendance and sincerity. There are however
other measures also using which students can improve result.
(Mar/Apr 2015,2016) (Nov/Dec 2014)
3. Explain population definition error.(Mar 2016,2015)
4. Explain various reasons of unwillingness error.(Mar 2016)
5. Explain the term telescopic error and creation error.(Mar 2015) (Nov/Dec 2014) 6. Explain
various types of data collection error. (Nov/Dec 2014)

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