MB0050 - Research Methodology

Question 1- (a) Explain the types of Research. (b) What is the significance of Research in social and business science?
Answer: (a) Types of Research: Although any typology of research is inevitably arbitrary, Research may be classified crudely according to its major intent or the methods. According to the intent, research may be classified as: 1) Pure Research: It is undertaken for the sake of knowledge without any intention to apply it in practice, e.g., Einsteins theory of relativity, Newtons contributions, Galileos contribution, etc. It is also known as basic or fundamental research. It lays foundation for applied research. It offers solutions to many practical problems. 2) Applied Research: It is carried on to find solution to a real-life problem requiring an action or policy decision. It is thus problem-oriented and action-directed. It seeks an immediate and practical result, e.g., marketing research carried on for developing a new market 3) Exploratory Research: It is also known as formulative research. It is preliminary study of an unfamiliar problem about which the researcher has little or no knowledge. It is ill-structured and much less focused on pre-determined objectives. 4) Descriptive Research: It is a fact-finding investigation with adequate interpretation. It is the simplest type of research. It is more specific than an exploratory research. It aims at identifying the various characteristics of a community or institution or problem under study. 5) Diagnostic Research: It is similar to descriptive study but with a different focus. It is directed towards discovering what is happening, why it is happening and what can be done about. It aims at identifying the causes of a problem and the possible solutions for it. 6) Evaluation Research: It is a type of applied research. It is made for assessing the effectiveness of social or economic programmes implemented or for assessing the impact of developmental projects on the development of the project area. 7) Action Research: It is a type of evaluation study. It is a concurrent evaluation study of an action programme launched for solving a problem for improving an existing situation. 1

(b) Significance of Research in Social and Business Sciences: According to a famous Hudson Maxim, All progress is born of inquiry. Doubt is often better than overconfidence, for it leads to inquiry, and inquiry leads to invention. Research encourages scientific and inductive thinking, besides promoting the development of logical habits of thinking and organizing. The role of research in applied economics in the context of an economy or business is greatly increasing in modern times. The increasingly complex nature of government and business has raised the use of research in solving operational problems. Research assumes significant role in formulation of economic policy, for both the government and business. Research helps to formulate alternative policies, in addition to examining the consequences of these alternatives. Research is also necessary for collecting information on the social and economic structure of an economy to understand the process of change occurring in the country.

Therefore, large staff of research technicians or experts is engaged by the government these days to undertake this work. Research also assumes a significant role in solving various operational and planning problems associated with business and industry. Operational research relates to the application of logical, mathematical, and analytical techniques to find solution to business problems such as cost minimization or profit maximization, or the optimization problems. Motivational research helps to determine why people behave in the manner they do with respect to market characteristics. More specifically, it is concerned with the analyzing the motivations underlying consumer behaviour. All these researches are very useful for business and industry, which are responsible for business decision making. Research is equally important to social scientist for analyzing social relationships and seeking explanations to various social problems. It gives intellectual satisfaction of knowing things for the sake of knowledge.

Question 2 What is meant by Validity? How does it differ from reliability and what are its types?
Answer: Validity means that a measurement scale should measure what it is supposed to be measured. A measurement scale may be considered to be valid if it effectively measures a specific property or characteristic that it intends to measure. The question of validity does not arise in the case of measurement of physical characteristics such as length, weight and height. This is because the measurement is direct and can be done through standard measuring devices. On the other hand, the measurement of abstract characteristics such as motivation and attitudes is more indirect and therefore poses the problem of validity. 2

Validity may be classified into different types, as described below. The degree of validity of each type is determined by applying logic, statistical procedures or both. 1. Content validity: This type of validity may be of two types a) Face validity and b) Sampling validity. Face validity is determined through a subjective evaluation of a measuring scale. For example, a researcher may develop a scale to measure consumer attitudes towards a brand and pre-test the scale among a few experts. However, the limitation of this type of validity is that it is determined by opinions, rather than through a statistical method. Sampling validity refers to how representative the content of the measuring instrument is. In other words, the measuring instruments content must be representative of the content universe of the characteristic being measured. 2. Predictive validity: This type of validity refers to the extent to which one behavior can be predicted based on another, based on the association between the results yielded by the measuring instrument and the eventual outcome. 3. Construct validity: A construct is a conceptual equation that is developed by the researcher based on theoretical reasoning. Various kinds of relationships may be perceived by the researcher between a variable under study and other variables. The instrument may be considered to have construct validity only if the expected relationships are found to be true. When determining the validity of a particular measurement instrument, all the three types of validity discussed above should be determined. Reliability relates to consistency, the measurement scale should give consistent results. This refers to the ability of a measuring scale to provide consistent and accurate results. To give a simple example, a weighing machine may be said to be reliable if the same reading is given every time the same object is weighed. Reliability and validity are closely interlinked. A measuring instrument that is valid is always reliable, but the reverse is not true. That is, an instrument that is reliable is not always valid. However, an instrument that is not valid may or may not be reliable and an instrument that is not reliable is never valid.

Question 3 (a) Why Literature survey is important in research? (b) What are the criteria of good research problem?
Answer: Literature Survey: Exploratory studies is concerned with an area of subject matter for with explicit hypothesis have not been formulated. The work of a researcher is to study about that field, search for possibilities of innovation and then derive hypothesis.

In some areas of the subject matter, hypothesis may have been stated by previous research workers. The researcher has to take stock of these various hypotheses with a view to evaluating their usefulness for further research and to consider whether they suggest any new hypothesis. Sociological journals, economic reviews, the bulletin of abstracts of current social sciences research, directory of doctoral dissertation accepted by universities etc afford a rich store of valuable clues. In addition to these general sources, some governmental agencies and voluntary organizations publish listings of summaries of research in their special fields of service. Professional organizations, research groups and voluntary organizations are a constant source of information about unpublished works in their special fields.

Criteria of good research problem (by Horton and Hunt):

1. Verifiable evidence: That is factual observations which other observers can see and check. 2. Accuracy: That is describing what really exists. It means truth or correctness of a statement or describing things exactly as they are and avoiding jumping to unwarranted conclusions either by exaggeration or fantasizing. 3. Precision: That is making it as exact as necessary, or giving exact number or measurement. This avoids colorful literature and vague meanings. 4. Systematization: That is attempting to find all the relevant data, or collecting data in a systematic and organized way so that the conclusions drawn are reliable. Data based on casual recollections are generally incomplete and give unreliable judgments and conclusions. 5. Objectivity: That is free being from all biases and vested interests. It means observation is unaffected by the observers values, beliefs and preferences to the extent possible and he is able to see and accept facts as they are, not as he might wish them to be. 6. Recording: That is jotting down complete details as quickly as possible. Since human memory is fallible, all data collected are recorded. 7. Controlling conditions: That is controlling all variables except one and then attempting to examine what happens when that variable is varied. This is the basic technique in all scientific experimentation allowing one variable to vary while holding all other variables constant. 8. Training investigators: That is imparting necessary knowledge to investigators to make them understand what to look for, how to interpret in and avoid inaccurate data collection.

Question 4 Explain the procedure for testing hypothesis.

Answer: Procedure for hypothesis testing refers to all those steps that we undertake for making a choice between the two actions i.e., rejection and acceptance of a null hypothesis. Procedure: 1.) Making a formal statement: The step consists in making a formal statement of the null hypothesis (Ho) and also of the alternative hypothesis (Ha). This means that hypothesis should clearly state, considering the nature of the research problem. Example: The average score in an aptitude test administered at the national level is 80. To evaluate a states education system, the average score of 100 of the states students selected on the random basis was 75. The state wants to know if there is a significance difference between the local scores and the national scores. In such a situation the hypothesis may be state as under: Null hypothesis HO: =80 Alternative hypothesis Ha: 80 The formulation of hypothesis is an important step which must be accomplished with due care in accordance with the object and nature of the problem under consideration. 2.) Selecting a significant level: The hypothesis is tested on a pre-determined level of significance and such the same should have specified. The factors that affect the level of significance are: The magnitude of the difference between sample The size of the sample The variability of measurements within samples Whether the hypothesis is directional or non directional.

3.) Deciding the distribution to be used: The choice generally remains between distribution and the t distribution. The rules for selecting the correct distribution are similar to those which we have stated earlier in the context of estimation. 4.) Selecting a random sample and computing an appropriate value: Depending on the data that has been collected and the distribution that has been performed on the data, select and appropriate sample to furnish the empirical data.

5.) Calculation of probability: It is necessary to calculate the probability that the sample will diverge from the expectations as widely as it has done, if the null hypothesis is in fact true. 6.) Comparing the probability: Comparing the probability thus calculated with the significance level (). If the calculated probability is equal to or less than (one tailed test) and /2 (two tailed test) null hypothesis is rejected and the alternate hypothesis is accepted.

Question 5 (a) Explain the components of Research Design. (b) Briefly explain the different types of research Designs.
Answer: Components of Research Design: 1.) Dependent and Independent Variables: When changes in one variable depends upon the changes in one or more other variables, it is known as a dependent or endogenous variable, and the variables that cause the changes in the dependent variable are known as the independent or explanatory or exogenous variables. For example, if demand depends upon price, then demand is a dependent variable, while price is the independent variable. 2.) Extraneous Variables: The independent variables which are not directly related to the purpose of the study but affect the dependent variable are known as extraneous variables. For instance, assume that a researcher wants to test the hypothesis that there is relationship between childrens school performance and their self-concepts, in which case the latter is an independent variable and the former, the dependent variable. In this context, intelligence may also influence the school performance. However, since it is not directly related to the purpose of the study undertaken by the researcher, it would be known as an extraneous variable. 3.) Control: One of the most important features of a good research design is to minimize the effect of extraneous variable. Technically, the term control is used when a researcher designs the study in such a manner that it minimizes the effects of extraneous independent variables. 4.) Cofounded Relationships: The relationship between dependent and independent variables is said to be confounded by an extraneous variable, when the dependent variable is not free from its effects. Research Hypothesis Experimental and control groups Treatments Experiment Experiment Unit

Different types of research Designs: There are a number of crucial research choices, various writers advance different classification schemes, some of which are: 1. Experimental, historical and inferential designs (American Marketing Association). 2. Exploratory, descriptive and causal designs (Selltiz, Jahoda, Deutsch and Cook). 3. Experimental and expost fact (Kerlinger) 4. Historical method, and case and clinical studies (Goode and Scates) 5. Sample surveys, field studies, experiments in field settings, and laboratory experiments (Festinger and Katz) 6. Exploratory, descriptive and experimental studies (Body and Westfall) 7. Exploratory, descriptive and casual (Green and Tull) 8. Experimental, quasi-experimental designs (Nachmias and Nachmias) 9. True experimental, quasi-experimental and non-experimental designs (Smith). 10. Experimental, pre-experimental, quasi-experimental designs and Survey Research (Kidder and Judd)

Question 6 (a) What are the assumptions of case study? (b) Explain the sampling process
Answer: Assumptions of case Study: Case study would depend upon wit, commonsense and imagination of the person doing the case study. The investigator makes up his procedure as he goes along. If the life history has been written in the first person, it must be as complete and coherent as possible. Life histories should have been written for knowledgeable persons. It is advisable to supplement case data by observational, statistical and historical data since these provide standards for assessing the reliability and consistency of the case material. Efforts should be made to ascertain the reliability of life history data through examining the internal consistency of the material. 7

A judicious combination of techniques of data collection is a prerequisite for securing data that are culturally meaningful and scientifically significant.

Sampling process: The researcher has to identify the limiting factors and must judiciously balance the conflicting factors. The various criteria governing the choice of sampling technique: Purpose of survey: (What does the researcher aim at?) If he intends to generalize the findings based on the sample survey to the population, then an appropriate probability sampling method must be selected. Measurability: Where the research objective requires statistical inference, the sample should be drawn by applying simple random sampling method or stratified random sampling method, depending on whether the population is homogenous or heterogeneous. Degree of precision: The desired level of precision is one of the criteria of sampling method selection. Where a high degree of precision of results is desired, probability sampling should be used. Information about population: Where no list of population and no information about its nature are available, it is difficult to apply a probability sampling method. Then exploratory study with non-probability sampling may be made to gain a better idea of population. The nature of the population: In the case of a homogenous population, even a simple random sampling will give a representative sample. If the population is heterogeneous, stratified random sampling is appropriate. Geographical area of the study and the size of the population: If size of the population is large Multistage Cluster sample would be appropriate else single stage probability sampling can be used. Financial resource: If the available finance is limited, it may become necessary to choose a less costly sampling plan like multistage cluster sampling or even quota sampling as a compromise. Time limitation: The time limit within which the research project should be completed restricts the choice of a sampling method. Then, as a compromise, it may become necessary to choose less time consuming methods. Economy: It should be another criterion in choosing the sampling method. It means achieving the desired level of precision at minimum cost.