NAME - RAJAN KUMAR

ROLL NU. – 2214501673

PROGRAMME - BBA SEMESTER - 3

COURSE NAME- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

CODE - DBB2103
 SET-1

Que.1 What do you understand by research? Explain the process of conducting research with the
help of taking a research problem into consideration.
Ans. Different scholars have interpreted the term ‘research’ in many ways. For instance, Fred
Kerlinger (1986) stated that ‘Scientific research is a systematic, controlled and critical
investigation of propositions about various phenomena.’ Grinnell (1993) has simplified the
debate and stated ‘The word research is composed of two syllables, ‘re’ and ‘search’.
The dictionary defines the former as a prefix meaning ‘again’,
‘anew’, or ‘over again’. Search is defined as a verb meaning ‘to examine closely and carefully,
‘to test and try,’ or ‘to probe’. Together, they form a noun describing a careful, systematic, patient
study and investigation in some field of knowledge, undertaken to establish facts or principles.’
for research to be of value, it must possess the following characteristics:
(a) It must have a clearly stated purpose. This not only refers to the objective of the study but
also the precise definition of the scope and domain of the study.
(b) It must follow a systematic and detailed plan for investigating the research problem. The
systematic conduction also requires that all the steps in the research process are interlinked and
follow a sequence.
(c) The selection of techniques for collecting information, sampling plans, and data analysis
techniques must be supported by a logical justification about why the methods were selected.
(d) The results of the study must be presented in an unbiased, objective, and neutral manner.
(e) The research at every stage and any cost must maintain the highest ethical standards.
(f) And lastly, the reason for a structured, ethical, justifiable, and objective approach is the fact
that the research carried out by you must be replicable. This means that the process followed by
you must be ‘reliable’, i.e., in case the study is carried out under similar conditions it should be
able to reveal similar results.
Que.2 What do you understand by a research design? Briefly explain the different types of
research designs with the help of two examples under each.
Ans. Green et al. (2008) define research design as ‘the 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 by what
procedures. If it is a good design, it will ensure that the information obtained is relevant to the
research questions and that it was collected by objective and economical procedures.’
Thyer (1993) states, ‘A traditional research design is a blueprint or detailed plan for how a
research study is to be completed—operationalizing variables so they can be measured, selecting
a sample of interest to study, collecting data to be used as a basis for testing hypotheses, and
analyzing the results.’ Sellitz et al. (1962) state, ‘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.’]
Types of Research design:
Exploratory Research Designs: Exploratory designs, as stated earlier, are the simplest and most
loosely structured designs. As the name suggests, the basic objective of the study is to explore
and obtain clarity about the problem situation. It is flexible in its approach and mostly involves a
qualitative investigation. The sample size is not strictly representative and at times it might only
involve unstructured interviews with a couple of subject experts. The essential purpose of the
study is to:
• Define and understand the research problem to be investigated.
• Explore and evaluate the diverse and multiple research opportunities.
• Assist in the development and formulation of the research hypotheses.
• Define the variables and constructs under study.
For example, a university professor might decide to do an exploratory analysis of the new
channels of distribution that are being used by marketers to promote and sell products and
services. To do this, a structured and defined methodology might not be essential as the basic
objective is to understand how to teach this to students of marketing. The researcher can make
use of different methods and techniques in exploratory research- like secondary data sources,
unstructured or structured observations, expert interviews, and focus group discussions with the
concerned respondent group. Here, we will discuss them in brief in light of their use in
exploratory research.
Que.3 Explain the role of sampling method in business research. Differentiate between
probability and non-probability sampling techniques along with the suitable examples under each
method.
Ans. The process of selecting the right individuals, objects, or events for a study is known as
sampling. Sampling involves the study of a small number of individuals, objects chosen from a
larger group. Before we get into the details of various issues about sampling, it would be
appropriate to discuss some of the sampling concepts. Population: Population refers to any group
of people or objects that form the subject of study in a particular survey and are similar in one or
more ways. For example, the number of full-time MBA students in a business school could form
one population. If there are 200 such students, the population size would be 200. We may be
interested in understanding their perceptions about business education. If in any organization,
there are 1,000 engineers, out of which 350 are mechanical engineers and we are interested in
examining the proportion of mechanical engineers who intend to leave the organization within
six months, all the 350 mechanical engineers would form the population of interest. If the
interest is in studying how the patients in a hospital are looked after, then all the patients of the
hospital would fall under the category of the population. Element: An element comprises a single
member of the population. Out of the 350 mechanical engineers mentioned above, each
mechanical engineer would form an element of the population. Sampling frame: The sampling
frame comprises all the elements of a population with proper identification that is available to us
for selection at any stage of sampling. For example, the list of registered voters in a constituency
could form a sampling frame; the telephone directory; the number of students registered with a
university; the attendance sheet of a particular class, and the payroll of an organization are
examples of sampling frames. When the population size is very large, it becomes virtually
impossible to form a sampling frame. We know that the number of consumers of soft drinks is
very large and, therefore, it becomes very difficult to form the sampling frame for the same.
Sample: It is a subset of the population. It comprises only some elements of the population. If out
of the 350 mechanical engineers employed in an organization.
There are two types of errors that may occur while we are trying to estimate the population
parameters from the sample. These are called sampling and non-sampling errors. Sampling error:
This error arises when a sample is not representative of the population. It is the difference
between the sample mean and population means. The sampling error reduces with the increase in
sample size as an increased sample may result in increasing the representativeness of the sample.
Non-sampling error: This error arises not because a sample is not representative of the
population but because of other reasons. Some of these reasons are listed below: • The
respondents when asked for information on a particular variable may not give the correct
answers. If a person aged 48 is asked a question about his age, he may indicate the age to be 36,
which may result in an error in estimating the true value of the variable of interest.
• The error can arise while transferring the data from the questionnaire to the spreadsheet on the
computer.
• There can be errors at the time of coding, tabulation, and computation.
• If the population of the study is not properly defined, it could lead to errors.
• The chosen respondent may not be available to answer the questions or may refuse to be part
of the study.
SET-2
Que.4 Discuss the different situations in which primary and secondary methods of data
collection will be used. Explain the different methods of collecting primary data with suitable
examples.
Ans. To understand the number of choices available to a researcher for collecting the study
specific information, one needs to be fully aware of the resources available for the study and the
level of accuracy required. To appreciate the truth of this statement, one needs to examine the
variety of methods available to the researcher. The data sources could be either problem-specific
and primary or historical and secondary Primary data, as the name suggests, is original, problem-
or project-specific and collected for the specific objectives and needs to be spelt out by the
researcher. The accuracy and relevance are reasonably high. The time and money required for
this are quite high and sometimes a researcher might not have the resources or the time or both to
go ahead with this method. In this case, the researcher can look at alternative sources of data that
are economical and reliable enough to take the study forward. These include the second category
of data sources— namely the secondary data. Secondary data as the name implies is that
information which is not topical or research specific and has been collected and compiled by
some other researcher or investigative body. This type of data is recorded and published in a
structured format, and thus, is quicker to access and manage. Secondly, in most instances, unless
it is a data product, it is not too expensive to collect. The information required is readily available
as a data product or as information which the researcher or the organization can get and use it for
arriving at quick decisions. In comparison to the original research-centric data, secondary data
can be economically and quickly collected by the decision-maker in a short period. However,
one must remember that this is a little low on accuracy as what is primary and original for one
researcher would essentially become secondary and historical for someone else.
. PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION: OBSERVATION METHOD
The researcher has available to him/her a wide variety of data collection methods that are
primary or problem-specific in nature. However, in this unit, we would be discussing the major
and most often used methods like the observation method, focus group discussion, and interview
method. The questionnaire method is the most commonly used method of primary data
collection. We will focus on the questionnaire method in detail in Unit 6. Let us discuss some of
the other widely used methods now. Observation is a direct method of collecting primary data. It
is one of the most appropriate methods to use in the case of descriptive research. The method of
observation involves viewing and recording individuals, groups, organizations, or events in a
scientific manner in order to collect valuable data related to the topic under study. The mode of
observation could be a standardized and structured observation. Here, the nature of content to be
recorded, the format, and the broad areas of recording are predetermined. Thus, the observer’s
bias is reduced and the authenticity and reliability of the information collected are higher. For
example, Fisher-Price toys carry out an observational study whenever they come out with a new
toy. The observer is supposed to record the appeal of the toy to a child. The opposite of this is
called unstructured observation. Here, the observer is supposed to make a note of whatever he
understands as relevant to the research study. This kind of approach is more useful in exploratory
studies Since it lacks structure, the chances of observer bias are high. An example of this is the
observation of consumers at a bank, a restaurant, or a doctor’s clinic. However, it is critical here
to understand that the researcher must have a preconceived plan to capture the observations
made. It is not to be treated as a blank sheet where the observer reports what he sees. The aspects
to be observed must be clearly listed in an audit firm, or they could be indicative areas on which
the observation is to be made. Another way of distinguishing observations is the level of
respondents being aware of being observed or not. This might be disguised; here the observation
is done without the respondent’s knowledge who has no idea that he/she is being observed. This
can also be done with devices like a one-way mirror or a hidden camera or a recorder. The only
disadvantage is that this is ethically an intrusion of an individual’s right to privacy. On the other
hand, the knowledge that the person is under observation can be conveyed to the respondent, and
this is undisguised observation. The decision to choose one over the other depends upon the
nature of the study. The observation method can also be distinguished on the basis of the setting
in which the information is being collected. This could be natural observation, which as the name
suggests, is carried out in actual real-life locations, for example, the observations of how
employees interact with each other during lunch breaks. On the other hand, it could be an
artificial or simulated environment in which the respondent is to be observed. This is actively
done in the armed forces where stress tests are carried out to measure an individual’s tolerance
level. There is another differentiation where the observation could be done by a human observer
or a mechanical device. Human observation: As the name suggests, this technique involves
observation and recording done by human observers. The task of the observer is simple and
predefined in the case of a structured observation study as the format and the areas to be
observed and recorded are clearly defined. In an unstructured observation, the observer records
in a narrative form the entire event that he has observed. Mechanical observation: In these
methods, man is replaced by a machine. Some examples are
• Store cameras and cameras in banks and other service areas.
• Universal product code (UPC) scanned by electric scanners in stores.
 • Psychogalvanometer, which measures galvanic skin response (GSR) or changes in the
electrical resistance of the skin. Thus, the respondent could be exposed to different kinds of
packaging, advertisements, and product composition, to note his/her reaction to them.
Que.5 What do you mean by a Questionnaire? Discuss the detailed process of designing a
questionnaire of on assessing customer satisfaction of any product.
Ans. he questionnaire is a research technique that consists of a series of questions asked to
respondents, to obtain statistically useful information about a given topic. It is one of the most
cost-effective methods of collecting primary data, which can be used with considerable ease by
most individual and business researchers. It has the advantage of the flexibility of approach and
can be successfully adapted for most research studies. The instrument has been defined
differently by various researchers. Some take the traditional view of a written document
requiring the subject to record his/her responses (Kervin,1999). Others have taken a broader
perspective to include structured interviews also as a questionnaire (Bell, 1999). It is essentially a
data-collection instrument that has a predesigned set of questions, following a particular structure
(De Vaus, 2002). Since it includes a standard set of questions, it can be successfully used to
collect information from a large sample in a reasonably short period ever, the use of a
questionnaire is not always the best method in all research studies. For example, at the
exploratory stage, rather than a questionnaire, it is advisable to use a more unstructured
interview. Secondly, when the number of respondents is small and one has to collect more
subjective data, then a questionnaire is not advisable.
PROCESS OF QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGNING: Even though the questionnaire method is most
used by researchers, designing a well structured instrument needs considerable skill. Presented below is
a standardized process that a researcher can follow.

. Convert the research objectives into information areas: This is the first step of the design process. By this
time the researcher is clear about the research questions; research objectives; variables to be studied;
research information required and the characteristics of the population being studied. Once these tasks
are done, one can prepare a tabled framework so that the questions which need to be developed
become clear.

Method of administration: Once the researcher has identified his information area; he needs to
specify how the information should be collected. The researcher usually has available to him a
variety of methods for administering the study. The main methods are personal schedule
(discussed earlier in the unit), self-administered questionnaire through the mail, fax, e-mail, and
web based questionnaire.
Content of the questionnaire low low low The next step is to determine the matter to be included
as questions in the measure. The researcher needs to do an objective quality check to see what
research objective/information need the question would be covering before using any of the
framed questions. How essential is it to ask the question? You must remember that the time of
the respondent is precious and it should not be wasted. Unless a question is adding to the data
needed for getting an answer to the research problem, it should not be included. For example, if
one is studying the usage of plastic bags, then demographic questions on age group, occupation,
education, and gender might make sense but questions related to marital status, family size, and
the state to which the respondent belongs are not required as they have no direct relationship
with the usage or attitude towards plastic bags.
Que.6 (a)Hypothesis and its types
(b)Structure of a report writing
Ans. Hyphothesis: Hypothesis is usually considered as the principal instrument in research. The main
goal in many research studies are to check whether the data collected support certain statements or
predictions. A statistical hypothesis is an assertion or conjecture concerning one or more populations. Test
of hypothesis is a process of testing of the significance regarding the parameters of the population on the
basis of sample drawn from it. Thus, it is also termed as “Test of Significance’. In short, hypothesis
testing enables us to make probability statements about population parameter. The hypothesis may not be
proved absolutely, but in practice it is accepted if it has withstood a critical testing. Points to be
considered while formulating Hypothesis
• Hypothesis should be clear and precise.
• Hypothesis should be capable of being tested.
• Hypothesis should state relationship between variables.
• Hypothesis should be limited in scope and must be specific.
• Hypothesis should be stated as far as possible in most simple terms so that the same is easily
understandable by all concerned.
• Hypothesis should be amenable to testing within a reasonable time.
• Hypothesis must explain empirical reference. Types of Hypothesis: There are two types of
hypothesis, i.e., Research Hypothesis and Statistical Hypothesis 1. Research Hypothesis: A
research hypothesis is a tentative solution for the problem being investigated. It is the
supposition that motivates the researcher to accomplish future course of action. In research, the
researcher determines whether or not their supposition can be supported through scientific
investigation.
Structure of a report writing: The process of report formulation and presentation is presented
in Figure 8.1. As can be observed, the preliminary section includes the title page, followed by the
letter of authorization, acknowledgments, executive summary, and the table of contents. Then
come to the background section, which includes the problem statement, introduction, study
background, scope and objectives of the study, and the review of the literature (depending on the
purpose). This is followed by the methodology section, which, as stated earlier, is again specific
to the technical report. This is followed by the findings section and then comes to conclusions.
The technical report would have a detailed bibliography at the end. In the management report,
the sequencing of the report might be reversed to suit the needs of the decision-maker, as here
the reader needs to review and absorb the findings. Thus, the last section on the interpretation of
findings would be presented immediately after the study objectives and a short report on
methodology could be presented in the appendix.