Q1.

Research is a sequential method of enquiry, directed towards a clear implicit or explicit

objective. Describe in detail the steps to be carried out in a typical research study.
Answer- Research is an unbiased, structured, and sequential method of enquiry, directed towards
a clear implicit or explicit business objective. This enquiry might lead to proving existing
theorems and models or arriving at new theories and models. Fred Kerlinger (1986) stated that
Scientific research is a systematic, controlled and critical investigation of propositions about
various phenomena. Together, they form a noun describing a careful, systematic, patient study
and investigation in some field of knowledge, undertaken to establish facts or principles.
The steps that, in general, any research study might follow:
1. The management dilemma
2. Defining the research problem
3. Formulating the research hypotheses
4. Developing the research proposal
5. Research design formulation
6. Sampling design
7. Planning and collecting the data for research
8. Data refining and preparation for analysis
9. Data analysis and interpretation of findings
10. The research report and implications for the managers dilemma
The management dilemma- Any research starts with the need and desire to know more. This is
essentially the management dilemma. It could be the researcher himself or herself or it could be a
business manager who gets the study by done by a researcher.
Defining the research problem- This is the first and the most critical step of the research
journey. For example, a soft drink manufacturer who is making and selling aerated drinks now
wants to expand his business. He wants to know whether moving into bottled water would be a
better idea or he should look at fruit juice based drinks.
Formulating the research hypotheses- In the model, we have drawn broken lines to link
defining the research problem stage to the hypotheses formulation stage. The reason is that every
research study might not always begin with a hypothesis; in fact, the task of the study might be
to collect detailed data that might lead to, at the end of the study, some indicative hypotheses to
be tested in subsequent research.
Developing the research proposal- Once the management dilemma has been converted into a
defined problem and a working hypothesis, the next step is to develop a plan of investigation.
Research design formulation- Based on the orientation of the research, i.e., exploratory,
descriptive or causal, the researcher has a number of techniques for addressing the stated
objectives. These are termed in research as research designs.
Sampling design
It is not always possible to study the entire population. Thus, one goes about studying a small
and representative sub-group of the population. This sub-group is referred to as the sample of the
study. There are different techniques available for selecting the group based on certain
assumptions.
Data analysis and interpretation of findings

This stage requires selecting the analytical tools for testing the obtained information. There are a
number of statistical techniques available to the researcherfrequency analysis, percentages,
arithmetic mean, t-test and chisquare analysis.
The research report and implications for the managers dilemma
The report preparation, from the problem formulation to the interpretation, is the final part of the
research process.
Q2. What are descriptive research designs? Explain the different kinds of descriptive
research designs.
Answer- As the name implies, the objective of descriptive research studies is to provide a
comprehensive and detailed explanation of the phenomena under study. The intended objective
might be to give a detailed sketch or profile of the respondent population being studied. For
example, to design an advertising and sales promotion campaign for high-end watches, a
marketer would require a holistic profile of the population that buys such luxury products. Thus a
descriptive study, (which generates data on who, what, when, where, why and how of luxury
accessory brand purchase) would be the design necessary to fulfill the research objectives.
Descriptive research thus are conclusive studies. However, they lack the precision and accuracy
of experimental designs, yet it lends itself to a wide range of situations and is more frequently
used in business research. Based on the time period of the collection of the research
information, descriptive research is further subdivided into two categories: cross-sectional
studies and longitudinal studies.

1. Cross-sectional Studies
As the name suggests, cross-sectional studies involve a slice of the population. Just as in
scientific experiments one takes a cross-section of the leaf or the cheek cells to study the cell
structure under the microscope, similarly one takes a current subdivision of the population and
studies the nature of the relevant variables being investigated.
There are two essential characteristics of cross-sectional studies:
The cross-sectional study is carried out at a single moment in time and thus the applicability
is most relevant for a specific period. For example, one cross-sectional study was conducted in
2002 to study the attitude of Americans towards Asian-Americans, after the 9/11 terrorist attack.
This revealed the mistrust towards Asians. Another cross-sectional study conducted in 2012 to
study the attitude of Americans towards Asian Americans revealed more acceptance and less
mistrust. Thus the cross sectional studies cannot be used interchangeably.
.
Secondly, these studies are carried out on a section of respondents from the population
units under study (e.g., organizational employees, voters, consumers, industry sectors). This
sample is under consideration and under investigation only for the time coordinate of the study.

Longitudinal Studies
A single sample of the identified population that is studied over a longer period of time is termed
as a longitudinal study design. A panel of consumers specifically chosen to study their grocery
purchase pattern is an example of a longitudinal design. There are certain distinguishing
features of the same:
The study involves the selection of a representative panel, or a group of individuals that
typically represent the population under study.
The second feature involves the repeated measurement of the group over fixed intervals of
time. This measurement is specifically made for the variables under study.
A distinguishing and mandatory feature of the design is that once the sample is selected, it
needs to stay constant over the period of the study.

That means the number of panel members has to be the same. Thus, in case a panel member
due to some reason leaves the panel, it is critical to replace him/her with a representative
member from the population under study.

Q3. The procedure of testing hypothesis requires a researcher to adopt several steps.
Describe in brief all such steps.
AnswerQ4. a. Distinguish between:
i. Schedules and Questionnaires
ii. Open ended and closed ended questions
b. Explain the questionnaire design process.
AnswerAnswer.
a) Differences
i) Schedules and Questionnaires
S.No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Questionnaire is generally sent through mail to informants to

Data collection is cheap and economical as the money is spe
Non response is usually high as many people do not respond
It is not clear that who replies.
The questionnaire method is likely to be very slow since ma

ii) Open ended and closed ended questions

Open-ended questions
In open-ended questions, the openness refers to the option of answering in ones own words.
They are also referred to as unstructured questions or freeresponse or free-answer questions.
Some illustrations of this type are listed
What is your age?
Which is your favourite TV serial?
I like Nescafe because ________________________
My career goal is to ________________________
Closed-ended questions
In closed-ended questions, both the question and response formats are structured and defined.
There are three kinds of formats as we observed earlier dichotomous questions, multiple
choice questions and those that have a scaled response.

Q5. a. What is the analysis of variance? What are the assumptions of the technique? Give a
few examples where the techniques could be used.
b. The following data represents the number of units produced by four operators during
three different shifts:

Perform a two-way analysis of variance and interpret the result.

Answer.
a) Meaning of analysis of variance
Suppose we know that the sales of a product is influenced by the price level. In this case, sales
are a dependent variable and the price is the independent variable. Let there be three levels of
price, namely, low, medium and high. We wish to determine the most effective price level i.e. at
which price level the sale is highest. Here, the test units are the stores which are randomly
assigned to the three treatment level. The average sales for each price level is computed and
examined to see whether there is any significant difference in the sale at various price levels. The
statistical technique to test for such a difference is called analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Assumptions of the technique
This design is used when a researcher is investigating the effect of one independent variable on
the dependent variable. The independent variable is required to be measured in nominal scale i.e.
it should have a number of categories. Each of the categories of the independent variable is
considered as the treatment. The basic assumption of this design is that there are no differences
in the test units. All the test units are treated alike and randomly assigned to the test groups. This
means that there are no extraneous variables that could influence the outcome.
b.

Col 1

Col 2

Col 3

Col 4

Row 1

10

12

13

Row 2

10

12

14

15

Row 3

12

10

11

14

Summary Data

Within each box:

Item 1 = N
Item 2 = X
Item 3 = Mean
2
Item 4 = X
Item 5 = Variance
Item 6 = Std. Dev.
Item 7 = Std. Err.

C1

C2

C3

C4

Tot.

R1

1
10
10
100
NaN
NaN
NaN

1
8
8
64
NaN
NaN
NaN

1
12
12
144
NaN
NaN
NaN

1
13
13
169
NaN
NaN
NaN

4
43
10.75
477
4.92
2.22
1.11

R2

1
10
10
100
NaN
NaN
NaN

1
12
12
144
NaN
NaN
NaN

1
14
14
196
NaN
NaN
NaN

1
15
15
225
NaN
NaN
NaN

4
51
12.75
665
4.92
2.22
1.11

R3

1
12
12
144
NaN
NaN
NaN

1
10
10
100
NaN
NaN
NaN

1
11
11
121
NaN
NaN
NaN

1
14
14
196
NaN
NaN
NaN

4
47
11.75
561
2.92
1.71
0.85

Tot.

3
32
10.6667
344

3
30
10
308

3
37
12.3333
461

3
42
14
590

12
141
11.75
1703

1.33
1.15
0.67

4
2
1.15

2.33
1.53
0.88

1
1
0.58

4.2
2.05
0.59

ANOVA Summary
Source

SS

df

MS

NaN

28.92

9.64

NaN

NaN

rxc

9.33

1.56

NaN

NaN

Error

NaN

Total

46.25

11

Rows
Columns

Critical Values for the Tukey HSD Test

HSD[.05] HSD[.01] HSD=the absolute [unsigned] difference
Rows [3]

NaN

NaN

Columns [4]

NaN

NaN

Cells [12]

NaN

NaN

between any two means (row means,

column means, or cell means) required for
significance at the designated level:
HSD[.05] for the .05 level; HSD[.01] for
the .01 level. The HSD test between row
means can be meaningfully performed only if
the row effect is significant; between column
means, only if the column effect is
significant; and between cell means, only if
the interaction effect is significant.

Q6. Explain the Structure of the Research Report. What are the guidelines for effective
report writing?
Answer- Structure of the Research Report
Whatever the type of report, the reporting requires a structured format and by and large, the
process is standardized. As stated above, the major difference amongst the types of reports is that
all the elements that make a research report would be present only in a detailed technical report.
Usage of theoretical and technical jargon would be higher in the technical report and visual
presentation of data would be higher in the management report.
1 Preliminary Section
This section mainly consists of identification information for the study conducted.
It has the following individual elements:
Title page: The title should be crisp and indicative of the nature of the project, as illustrated in
the following examples.

Comparative analysis of BPO workers and schoolteachers with reference to their worklife
balance
Segmentation analysis of luxury apartment buyers in the National Capital Region (NCR)
Letter of transmittal: This is the letter that broadly refers to the purpose behind the study. The
tone in this note can be slightly informal and indicative of the rapport between the client-reader
and the researcher
Letter of authorization: The author of this letter is the business manager who formally gives the
permission for executing the project. The tone of this letter, unlike the above document, is very
precise and formal.
Table of contents: All reports should have a section that clearly indicates the division of the
report based on the formal areas of the study as indicated in the research structure. The major
divisions and subdivisions of the study, along with their starting page numbers, should be
presented. Once the major sections of the report are listed, the list of tables come next, followed
by the list of figures and graphs, exhibits (if any) and finally the list of appendices.
Executive summary: The summary of the entire report, starting from the scope and objectives
of the study to the methodology employed and the results obtained, has to be presented in a brief
and concise manner. The executive summary essentially can be divided into four or five sections.
It begins with the study background, scope and objectives of the study, followed by the
execution, including the sample details and methodology of the study.
Acknowledgements: A small note acknowledging the contribution of the respondents, the
corporates and the experts who provided inputs for accomplishing the study is included here.
Guidelines for effective report writing:
Clear report mandate: While writing the research problem statement and study background, the
writer needs to be absolutely clear in terms of why and how the problem was formulated.
Clearly designed methodology: Any research study has its unique orientation and scope and
thus has a specific and customized research design, sampling and data collection plan. In
researches, that are not completely transparent on the set of procedures, one cannot be absolutely
confident of the findings and resulting conclusions.
Clear representation of findings: Complete honesty and transparency in stating the treatment
of data and editing of missing or contrary data is extremely critical.
Representativeness of study finding: A good research report is also explicit in terms of extent
and scope of the results obtained, and in terms of the applicability of findings.
Thus, some guidelines should be kept in mind while writing the report.
Command over the medium: A correct and effective language of communication is critical in
putting ideas and objectives in the vernacular of the reader/decision-maker.
Phrasing protocol: There is a debate about whether or not one makes use of personal pronoun
while reporting. The use of personal pronoun such as I think.. or in my opinion.. lends a
subjectivity and personalization of judgement. Thus, the tone of the reporting should be neutral.
Simplicity of approach: Along with grammatically and structurally correct language, care must
be taken to avoid technical jargon as far as possible. In case it is important to use certain
terminology, then, definition of these terms can be provided in the glossary of terms at the end of
the report.
Report formatting and presentation: In terms of paper quality, page margins and font style and
size, a professional standard should be maintained. The font style must be uniform throughout

the report. The topics, subtopics, headings and subheadings must be construed in the same
manner throughout the report.