Question Bank

MGT 303 – Business Research Methods

Ch 1: Introduction to Business Research

1. Define Business research and discuss the managerial value of the same.

2. What is the difference between applied and basic research?

3. Define the terms a. Theory , b. Concept, c. Proposition, d. Hypothesis

, e. Deductive reasoning, f. Inductive reasoning

4. Describe at-least two theories established in your area of specialization.

Ch 2: The Research Process

5. Quoting an example describe how business research facilitates decision

making

6. Explain and differentiate between Exploratory studies, Descriptive Research

& Causal research.

7. Using a neat flowchart describe briefly the various stages in a Research

Process

8. List the ethics to be followed at each phase of a research process.

9. List the rights and obligations of the participant, researcher and the sponsor
for business research.

Ch 3: Problem Definition and Research Proposal

10.Describe the process of problem definition

11.What is a research proposal? What is the purpose and significance of

preparing a research proposal?

12.Briefly outline the components of a research proposal.

Ch 4: Quantitative Analysis, Primary & Secondary Data

13.Explain the following terms:

a. Exploratory research

b. Experience Surveys

c. Secondary data Analysis

 d. Case studies

e. Pilot studies

f. Internal/External Sources of Secondary data

14.“Exploratory research has three interrelated purposes: a. Diagnosing a

situation; b. Screening Alternatives; c. Discovering new ideas.” Explain
using an example from an area of your choice how an exploratory study will
be provide for the purposes mentioned.

15.Explain the terms ‘Fact finding’, “Model building’ & ‘Data mining’ with respect
to secondary data research design.

Ch 5: Research Methods for collecting Primary data:

16.Describe briefly the following

a. Objectives of a survey

b. Sampling error / Random error

c. Systematic error/Non-Sampling error

d. Advantages & disadvantages of Human interaction for survey

e. Different Electronic interaction methods used for survey

17.List and explain the types of response biases

18.What are the objectives of Cross-sectional studies?

19.Explain classification of survey research methods based on structure &

disguise.

20.“ ...The observer may choose to be visible or hidden while the environment of
the observation may be natural or scientifically contrived…” Explain the four
types of observations discussed here while elaborating on the 7-types of
variables that can be observed.

21.What is an experimental design? Describe three types of designs with

suitable examples

Chapter 6: Sample Design & Measurement concepts

 22.Differentiate between

a. Complete Census and Sampling

b. Probability and Non probability sampling techniques (list the various

types/refer to links posted in previous mail)

c. Different types of scales used in measurement system using relevant

examples

23.Write a brief note on the importance of proper Questionnaire design

explaining the significance of phrasing the questions, the sequencing of the
questions and the layout.

Chapter 7 : Hypothesis Testing

24.Define the following:

a. Null & Alternative Hypotheses

b. Type 1 & Type II errors

c. Sampling distribution ( In statistics, a sampling distribution or finite-sample

distribution is the distribution of a given statistic based on a random sample of
size n. It may be considered as the distribution of the statistic for all possible
samples of a given size. The sampling distribution depends on the underlying
distribution of the population, the statistic being considered, and the sample size
used. The sampling distribution is frequently opposed to the asymptotic
distribution, which corresponds to the limit case n → ∞.

For example, consider a normal population with mean μ and variance σ². Assume
we repeatedly take samples of a given size from this population and calculate the
arithmetic mean for each sample — this statistic is called the sample mean.
Each sample has its own average value, and the distribution of these averages is
called the “sampling distribution of the sample mean”. This distribution is normal
since the underlying population is normal. : Wikipedia)

d. Critical region & Critical value

The following definitions are mainly based on the exposition in the book by Lehmann and
Romano:[7]

a. Simple hypothesis :Any hypothesis which specifies the

population distribution completely.

b. Composite hypothesis :Any hypothesis which does not

specify the population distribution completely.
 c. Statistical test : A decision function that takes its values in
the set of hypotheses.

d. Region of acceptance : The set of values for which we fail

to reject the null hypothesis.

e. Region of rejection / Critical region :The set of values of

the test statistic for which the null hypothesis is rejected.

f. Power of a test (1 − β) :The test's probability of correctly

rejecting the (false)null hypothesis. The complement of this is the
probability of Type II error = β.

g. Size / Significance level of a test (α) For simple

hypotheses, this is the test's probability of incorrectly rejecting
(Type I error) the (false)null hypothesis. The complement of this is
the level of confidence of correctly accepting the (true) null
hypothesis = 1-α

Follow this link: http://stattrek.com/Lesson5/HypothesisTesting.aspx

25.Describe the steps in hypothesis testing procedure :

(State the hypothesis, Define the test statistic, Identify the critical region, make the
inference)