Lecture 2, RESEARCH METHODOLOGY (MBA General 1st Semseter) by Dr. Qamar Zaman

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Dr. Qamruz Zaman

Associate Professor
Dept: of Statistics
University of Peshawar.
 Literature Review is the documentation of a comprehensive

review of the published and unpublished work from secondary
sources of data in the areas of specific interest to the researcher.
 The main aim is to find out problems that are already investigated
and those that need further investigation.
 It is an extensive survey of all available past studies relevant to the

field of investigation.
 It gives us knowledge about what others have found out in the

related field of study and how they have done so.
24/02/2010 Qamruz Zaman 2

Meaning
• literature refers to the knowledge of a particular area of

investigation
• review means to organize the knowledge of the specific area of

research
• In historical research, the researcher does much more than review

already published material

Definition
• According to W.R. Borg
“The literature in any field forms the foundation upon which all future work
will be built. If we fail to build the foundation of knowledge provided by the
review of literature our work is likely to be naive and will often duplicate
work that has already been done better by some one else.”
• Reviewing the literature has two phases

1. Review
2. Writing

NEED OF REVIEW OF LITERATURE
• It is very essential for every investigator to be up-to-date in his

information about the literature, related to his own problem
already done by others.
• It avoids the replication of the study.
• It provides a source of problem of study .

OBJECTIVES OF REVIEW OF
LITERATURE
• It provides theories, ideas, explanations or hypothesis.
• It provides the sources for hypothesis.
• It suggests method, procedure, sources of data and statistical

techniques appropriate to the solution of the problem.
• It locates comparative data and findings useful in the interpretation

and discussion of results.
• Discovering important variable.
• Distinguishing what has been done from what needs to be done.

SOURCES OF REVIEW OF LITERATURE
• Books and Text books Material
• Periodicals
• Abstracts
• Encyclopaedias
• Handbooks, Yearbooks and Guides
• References
• Specialized Dictionaries
• Theses & Newspaper

RECORDING THE LITERATURE
The most suitable method of recording notes is the card

system.
The recording system involves use of two sets of cards:
Source cards – used for noting bibliographic information.
Note cards – used for actual note taking.

SOURCE CARDS
Source Cards serve two purposes:
a) Provide documentary information for foot notes.
a) It is used for compiling bibliography to be given at the end

of the report.

SOURCE CARDS
Source Cards can be coded by a simple system

inorder to relate them to the corresponding note
cards.
Marking the letter ‘B’ or ‘J’ or ‘R’ (B=Books,
J=Journal, R=Report) on the left hand top
corner.

SOURCE CARDS
The recording of bibliographic information should
be made in proper bibliographic format.
The format for citing a book is:

Author’s name, (year), Title of the book, Place of
publication, Publisher’s name.
For Example; Koontz Harold (1980), Management,
New Delhi, McGraw-Hill International.
The format for citing a journal article is:

Author’s name, (year), Title of the article, Journal
name, Volume (number), pages.
For Example; Sheth J.N (1973), A Model of Industrial
Buying Behaviour, Journal of Marketing, 37(4), 50-56.
How to write the review?
There are several ways of presenting the ideas of others
within the body of the paper.
1)Sheth (1973, p-50) has suggested that, there are a number of

influencing factors ……..
2)According to Sheth (1973) model of industrial buying

behaviour, there are a number of influencing factors……..
3)In some models of industrial buying behaviour, there are a

number of influencing factors (Sheth, 1973).

SUGGESTIONS FOR REPORTING
• Continuous process
• Novel Problem
• Up-to-date

MEANING OF HYPOTHESIS
• The word hypothesis consists of two words:

Hypo + thesis = Hypothesis
‘Hypo’ means tentative or subject to the verification and ‘Thesis’ means
statement about solution of a problem.
• Another meaning of the word hypothesis which is composed of two

words:
‘Hypo’ means composition of two or more variables which is to be
verified.
‘Thesis’ means position of these variables in the specific frame of
reference.

DEFINITIONS OF HYPOTHESIS
• A tentative supposition or provisional guess “It is a tentative

supposition or provisional guess which seems to explain the situation
under observation.” – James E. Greighton
• A hypothesis states what we are looking for. A hypothesis looks

forward. It is a proposition which can be put to a test to determine its
validity. It may prove to be correct or incorrect.
• A hypothesis is defined as a statement for the tentative relationship of

two or more variables.
• The relationship of the variables may either be normative or causal

relationship. It should be based on some rationale

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN
HYPOTHESIS AND A PROBLEM
• Hypothesis is an assumption, that can be tested and can be

proved to be right or wrong.
• A problem is a broad question which cannot be directly tested. A

problem can be scientifically investigated after converting it into
a form of hypothesis.

KINDS OF HYPOTHESES
There are four kinds of hypotheses:
(a) Question
(b) Declaration Statement
(c) Directional Statement and
(d) Null form or Non-Directional.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD
HYPOTHESIS
A good hypothesis must possess the following main characteristics:
• A good hypothesis is in agreement with the observed facts.
• A good hypothesis is stated in the simplest possible term.
• A good hypothesis ensures that the methods of verification are
under control of the investigator.
• A good hypothesis guarantees that available tools and techniques
will be effectively used for the purpose of verification.
• A good hypothesis ensures that the sample is readily
approachable.
• A good hypothesis indicates clearly the role of different variables
involved in the study.
VARIABLES
 Anything that can vary be considered as a variable.
 A variable is anything that can take on differing or varying values.

For example; Age, Production units, Absenteeism, Sex, Motivation,
Income, Height, Weight etc.

Variable / Attribute
 A variable is a characteristic that takes on two or more values whereas,

an attribute is a specific value on a variable (qualitative).
For example;
 The variable SEX/GENDER has 2 attributes - Male and

Female.
 The variable AGREEMENT has 5 attributes – Strongly Agree,
Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree.

Types of Variables
 Explanatory vs Extraneous Variable
The variables selected for analysis are called explanatory variables and
all other variables that are not related to the purpose of the study but
may affect the dependant variable are extraneous.
 Dependant vs Independent Variable

The variable that changes in relationship to changes in another
variable(s) is called dependant variable.
An independent variable is the one that influences the dependant
variable in either a positive or negative way.

VARIABLES IN A HYPOTHESIS
In such a hypothesis the variables which must be considered are:
(i) Independent variable –
(ii) Dependent variable –
(iii) Moderator variable –
(iv) Control variable –

SOURCES OF HYPOTHESIS
 Discussions with colleagues and experts about the problem, its origin
and objectives in seeking a solution.
 Examination of data and records for possible trends, peculiarities.
 Review of similar studies.
 Exploratory personal investigation / Observation.
 Continuity of research.
 Intuition and personal experience.

TYPES OF HYPOTHESIS
 Descriptive Hypothesis
These are assumptions that describe the characteristics (such as
size, form or distribution) of a variable. The variable may be an
object, person, organisation, situation or event.
Examples:
 “Public enterprises are more amenable for centralized planning”.

 Relational Hypothesis [Explanatory Hypothesis]
These are assumptions that describe the relationship between two

variables. The relationship suggested may be positive, negative or
causal relationship.
Examples:
 “Families with higher incomes spend more for recreation”.
Causal Hypothesis state that the existence of or change in one

variable causes or leads to an effect on another variable. The first
variable is called the independent variable and the latter is the
dependant variable.

Testing of hypothesis
• The purpose of testing a hypothesis is to determine the probability that it is

supported by fact.
• Validity of a hypothesis is established in two stages:
1. Test of logic
2. Empirical test
• A hypothesis is never proved it is merely sustained or rejected. If it fails to
meet the test of its validity, it must be modified or rejected.

FORMAL CONDITIONS FOR
TESTING HYPOTHESES
• There are two types of hypothesis statements:
(a) Null hypothesis, and
(b) Hypothesis prediction form.
There are certain formal conditions which must be met in order for the hypothesis to
be considered testable. These are listed below:
1. It should be worded clearly
2. It should be specific and testable
3. It should have simplicity. If it is too complex, consideration should be given to
dividing it into sub-hypothesis.
4. It should be directly related to the empirical phenomena.
5. It should be so designed that its test will provide an answer to the original
problem which forms the primary purpose of the investigation.
6. It must be related to available techniques of design procedure, and statistical
analysis.

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING
HYPOTHESIS
1. The variables should be defined operationally and the predicted relations

among them can be tested empirically.
2. A hypothesis is of greater value if it establishes a generalization that can be

applied in many areas of education or in many fields.
3. Hypotheses need not be the correct answers to problems to be useful.
4. A useful educational hypothesis, therefore, adds something to previously

established knowledge by supporting, qualifying, refuting or enlarging upon
existing theories.
5. If two hypotheses are capable to explain the same facts, the simpler one is the
better hypothesis.

Lecture 2, RESEARCH METHODOLOGY (MBA General 1st Semseter) by Dr. Qamar Zaman

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REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Dr. Qamruz Zaman

 Literature Review is the documentation of a comprehensive

 It is an extensive survey of all available past studies relevant to the

 It gives us knowledge about what others have found out in the

24/02/2010 Qamruz Zaman 2

• literature refers to the knowledge of a particular area of

• review means to organize the knowledge of the specific area of

• In historical research, the researcher does much more than review

24/02/2010 Qamruz Zaman 3

• Reviewing the literature has two phases

24/02/2010 Qamruz Zaman 4

• It is very essential for every investigator to be up-to-date in his

• It avoids the replication of the study.

• It provides a source of problem of study .

24/02/2010 Qamruz Zaman 5

• It provides the sources for hypothesis.

• It suggests method, procedure, sources of data and statistical

• It locates comparative data and findings useful in the interpretation

• Discovering important variable.

• Distinguishing what has been done from what needs to be done.

24/02/2010 Qamruz Zaman 6

• Handbooks, Yearbooks and Guides

• Theses & Newspaper

24/02/2010 Qamruz Zaman 7

The most suitable method of recording notes is the card

The recording system involves use of two sets of cards:

Source cards – used for noting bibliographic information.

Note cards – used for actual note taking.

24/02/2010 Qamruz Zaman 8

Source Cards serve two purposes:

a) Provide documentary information for foot notes.

a) It is used for compiling bibliography to be given at the end

24/02/2010 Qamruz Zaman 9

Source Cards can be coded by a simple system

24/02/2010 Qamruz Zaman 10

The format for citing a book is:

The format for citing a journal article is:

1)Sheth (1973, p-50) has suggested that, there are a number of

2)According to Sheth (1973) model of industrial buying

3)In some models of industrial buying behaviour, there are a

24/02/2010 Qamruz Zaman 12

24/02/2010 Qamruz Zaman 13

• The word hypothesis consists of two words:

• Another meaning of the word hypothesis which is composed of two

24/02/2010 Qamruz Zaman 14

• A tentative supposition or provisional guess “It is a tentative

• A hypothesis states what we are looking for. A hypothesis looks

• A hypothesis is defined as a statement for the tentative relationship of

• The relationship of the variables may either be normative or causal

24/02/2010 Qamruz Zaman 15

• Hypothesis is an assumption, that can be tested and can be

• A problem is a broad question which cannot be directly tested. A

24/02/2010 Qamruz Zaman 16

There are four kinds of hypotheses:

(b) Declaration Statement

(c) Directional Statement and

(d) Null form or Non-Directional.

24/02/2010 Qamruz Zaman 17