Research Methodology Unit 2 Problem Identification & Formulation

Measurement Issues
Error sources
Four major error sources may contaminate the results.
a. b. c. d. The Respondent Situational Factors The Measurer The Instrument

a. The Respondent
Opinion Differences of respondents Employee status, ethnicity, area of living Respondents suffering from temporary factors fatigue, boredom, anxiety, hunger, impatience, or general variations of mood or other distractions (these limit the ability to respond accurately and fully) The skilled researcher will anticipate many of these dimensions, adjusting the design to eliminate, neutralize or otherwise deal with them.

b. Situational Factors
Any condition that places a strain on the interview or measurement session can have serious effects

c. The Measurer
Rewording, paraphrasing by the interviewer Stereotypes in appearance & action introduce bias Conscious & unconscious prompting with Smiles, nods etc. may encourage or discourage certain replies. Wrong response or failure to record full replies

In data analysis stage:

Incorrect coding, careless tabulation and faulty statistical calculation

d. The Instrument
1.

A defective instrument can cause distortion in 2 major ways It can be too confusing or ambiguous The use of complex words and syntax beyond participants comprehension Leading questions, mechanical defects (inadequate space for replies, poor printing and multiple questions

2. Poor selection from the universe of content items Eg:- Working conditions

It refers to some difficulty which a researcher experiences in the context of either a theoretically or practical situation and wants to obtain a solution for the same. Components: There must be an individual or a group which has some difficulty or the problem There must be some objectives to be attained, Selecting the problem: Subject which is overdone should not be normally chosen. Too narrow or too vague problems should be avoided.

What is Research Problem?

Defining the Research Problem

A problem properly defined is half solved. It could be any of the following three areas:
Exploratory : gather preliminary information for defining the problem and suggesting hypothesis. Descriptive : describe things i.e. market potential, demography and attitude of customer. Casual: test hypothesis about cause and effect relationships.

Formulation of the Problem

Steps involved in defining a problem are:
Statement of the problem in a general way

Understanding the nature of the problem

Surveying the available literature Developing the idea through discussion Rephrasing the research problem into working proposition

ILLUSTRATION :-

The profitability of commercial banks tends to decline year after year, even though the volume of business deposits and deployment of funds is on the increase.

How

will a researcher formulate a problem when he encounters this situation?

Title of the research problem: An enquiry into the declining trend in the profitability of x commercial bank. The objective of the study:a) To identify the major factor affecting the bank's profitability

1) 2)

b) To determine the major causes of the declining trend in its profitability

c) To develop a strategy for improving the banks profitability

Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a proposition a tentative assumption which a researcher wants to test for its logical and empirical consequences. Eg:- American cities are experiencing budget difficulties - Young women (under 35 years of age) purchase more units of P & G products than women who are 35 years of age or older - An increase in the family income leads to an increase in the percentage of income saved.

Role of hypothesis
It guides the direction of the study It identifies facts that are relevant and those are not It suggests that which form of research design is likely to be most appropriate It provides a framework for organizing the conclusions that result

Characteristics of a Good Hypothesis

Conceptual clarity Specificity Testability Theoretical Relevance Consistency Objectivity Simplicity

Types of Hypothesis
Descriptive Hypothesis
Relational Hypothesis

Causal/ explanatory Hypothesis

Working Hypothesis

Descriptive Hypothesis
These are proposition that describes the characteristics ( such as size, form or distribution) of a variable. The variable may be an object, person, organization.

Eg:- The rate of unemployment among arts graduates is higher than that of commerce graduate.
The educational system is not oriented to human resource needs of a country.

Relational Hypothesis
These are propositions, which describe the relationship between two variables. The relationship suggested may be positive or negative correlation or causal relationship.
Eg:-Participative management promotes motivation among executives. The lower the rate of job turnover in a work group, the higher the work productivity.

Causal Hypothesis
States that the existence of, or a change in, one variable causes or leads to an effect on another variable. The first variable is called as independent variable and the later the dependent variable. When dealing with causal relationships b/w variables the researcher must consider the direction in which such relationship flow, i.e., Which is cause and which is effect

Working Hypothesis
While planning the study of a problem, hypothesis are formed. Initially they may not be very specific. In such cases, they are referred to as Working Hypothesis which are subject to modification as the investigation proceeds.

Null Hypothesis (H0)

Null Hypothesis (H0)

Statistical hypothesis which is started with a view of testing

or verifying its validity These are hypothetical statements denying what are

explicitly indicated in working hypotheses.

E.g. Even though there is a relationship between a family income and expenditure on recreation, a null hypothesis

may state: There is no relationship between families income

level and expenditure on recreation.

 Level of Significance ()
It is the probability of rejecting hypothesis when it is ought to be accepted The most commonly used level of significance are 5% and 1% When a decision is taken at 5% level of significance, then there are 5 chances out of 100 that we would reject the hypothesis when it should be accepted. i.e., we are 95% confident that we made the right decision. When a decision is taken at 1% level of significance, then there is only 1 chance out of 100 that we would reject the hypothesis when it should be accepted. i.e., we are 99% confident that we made the right decision.

Hypothesis Testing Logic & importance

Testing the hypothesis
It is a procedure to decide whether to accept the null hypothesis or to reject it.

Steps involved in hypothesis testing are; Set up a hypothesis Set up a suitable significance level Suitable test statistics (computation) Compare the statistics with the table value @ fixed Decide upon the acceptance or rejection of H0

Type I & Type II errors

Decision Accept Reject Ho: True Correct Decision Error H1: False Error Correct Decision

Type I error: Rejecting the null hypothesis, when it is true Type II error: Accepting the null hypothesis, when it is false

The End of II unit Thank you