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Research Methodology

Research can be defined as the search forknowledge, or as any

systematic investigation, with an open mind, to establish novel

facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, ordevelop new theories, usually using a scientific method. The

primary purpose forbasic research (as opposed to applied

research) is discovering, interpreting, and the developmentof

methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge

on a wide variety ofscientific matters of our world and the

universe.

Scientific research : This research provides scientificinformation and theories for the explanation of the natureand the properties of the world around us. It makes

practical applications possible.

Artistic research: also seen as 'practice-basedresearch', can take form when creative works are

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considered both the research and the object of researchitself.

Historical research : Historical research is embodied inthe historical method.

METHODOLOGY :

It is a set or system of methods, principle, andrules for regulating a given discipline, as in the arts or sciences.

Methodology can be:

1. "the analysis of the principles of methods, rules, and

postulates employed by a discipline2. "the systematic study of methods that are, can be, or have

been applied within a discipline

3. A documented process for management of projects thatcontains procedures, definitions and explanations oftechniques used to collect, store, analyze and presentinformation as part of a research process in a givendiscipline.

4. the study or description of methods

CONTACT METHODS:

5. Information may be collected by6. Mail7. Telephone8. Personal interview

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Research Methodology Process:-

1. Formulating the research problem:There are two types of research problems, viz., those which relateto states of nature and those which relate to relationshipsbetween variables. At the very outset the researcher must singleout the problem he wants to study, i.e., he must decide thegeneral area of interest or aspect of a subject-matter that hewould like to inquire into.

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2. Preparing the research design:The research problem having been formulated in clear cutterms,the researcher will be required to prepare a research design, i.e.,

he will have to state the conceptual structure within whichresearch would be conducted. The preparation of such a designFacilitates research to be as efficient as possible yielding maximalinformation.

3. Determining sample design:All the items under consideration in any field of inquiry constituteuniverse or population. A complete enumeration of all the itemsin the population is known as a census inquiry. It can bepresumed that in such an inquiry when all the items are covered

no element of chance is left and highest accuracy is obtained. Butin practice this may not be true.

4. Collecting the data:In dealing with any real life problem it is often found that data at

hand areinadequate, and hence, it becomes necessary to collect data thatare appropriate. There are severalways of collecting the appropriate data which differ considerably

in context of money costs, time andother resources at the disposal of the researcher

5. Analysis of data:After the data have been collected, the researcher turns to the

task of analyzing them. The analysis of data requires a number ofclosely related operations such as establishment of categories,the application of these categories to raw data through coding,tabulation and then drawing statistical inferences. The unwieldydata should necessarily be condensed into a few manageablegroups and tables for further analysis.6. Preparation of the report or the thesis:Finally, the researcher has to prepare the report of What has

been done by him. Writing of report must be done with great carekeeping in view the Following:

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1. The layout of the report should be as follows: ( i) the preliminarypages; (ii) the main text, and (iii) the end matter7. Hypothesis-testing:After analyzing the data as stated above, the researcher is in a

position to test the hypotheses, if any, he had formulated earlier.Do the facts support the hypotheses or they happen to becontrary? This is the usual question which should be answeredwhile testing hypotheses. Various tests, such as Chi square test, t-test, F-test, have been developed by statisticians for the purpose.

The hypotheses may be tested through the use of one or more ofsuch tests, depending upon

Criteria of Good Research

1. Good research is systematic:It means that research is structured with specified steps to be

taken in a specified sequence in accordance with the well definedset of rules. Systematic characteristic of the research does notrule out creative thinking but it certainly does reject the use ofguessing and intuition in arriving at conclusions..2. Good research is logical:

This implies that research is guided by the rules of logical

reasoning and the logical process of induction and deduction areof great value in carrying out research. Induction is the process ofreasoning from a part to the whole whereas deduction is theprocess of reasoning from some premise to a conclusion whichfollows from that very premise. In fact, logical reasoning makesresearch more meaningful in the context of decision making.

3. Good research is empirical:It implies that research is related basically to one or more aspectsof a real situation and deals with concrete data that provides a

basis for external validity to research results.4. Good research is replicable:This characteristic allows research results to be verified byreplicating the study and thereby building a sound basis fordecisions

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CHARACTERISTICS OF OBJECTIVESClear +Complete +Specific + Identify main + Identify thevariables to direction ofbe correlated relationship

DATA COLLECTION METHOD:-The basic concept of research methodology refers to the way in

which companies conduct their research and how they collect thedata they need. Whenever a company or organization needs toinvestigate a particular area of their business dealings, they needto adapt the most suitable research methodology for the job.

Research methodology typically involves a full breakdownof all the options that have been chosen by a company in

order to investigate something. This would include theprocedures and techniques used to perform the research; aswell as any of the terminology and explanations of howthese methods will be applied effectively.

A company may need to decide what format ofresearch they want to use before the investigation begins.For example, if a company that sells a particular productneeds to launch research to find out how effective ordesirable a new product is, they will need to conduct what is

known as primary research. This method means that thecompany will collect data and information themselves firsthand.

Alternatively, a company many only require figuresor statistical

Findings that can be located from an external source to

themselves. This is known as secondary research, and this area of

research methodology typically involves reading published

journals, newspapers and other materials to give companies the

information they need second hand.Advantages of research methodology:

Ease of Access : There are many advantages to usingsecondary research. This includes the relative ease of access to

many sources of secondary data. In the past secondary data

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accumulation required marketers to visit libraries, or wait for

reports to be shipped by mail. Now with the availability of online

access, secondary research is more openly accessed. This offers

convenience and generally standardized usage methods for all

sources of secondary research.

Low Cost to Acquire : The use of secondary data has allowed

researchers access to valuable information for little or no cost to

acquire. Therefore, this information is much less expensive then if

the researchers had to carry out the research themselves.

Clarification of Research Question: The use of secondary

research may help the researcher to clarify the research

question. Secondary research is often used prior to primary

research to help clarify the research focus.

May Answer Research Question: The use of secondary data

collection is often used to help align the focus of large scale

primary research. When focusing on secondary research, the

researcher may realize that the exact information they were

looking to uncover is already available through secondary

sources. This would effectively eliminate the need and expense tocarry out there own primary research.

May Show Difficulties in Conducting Primary Research : In

many cases, the originators of secondary research include details

of how the information was collected. This may include

information detailing the procedures used in data collection and

difficulties encountered in conducting the primary research.

Therefore, the detailed difficulties may persuade the researcher

to decide that the potential information obtained is not worth the

potential difficulties in conducting the research.

Disadvantages:

Quality of Research:

There are some disadvantages to using secondary research. The

originators of the primary research are largely self-governed and

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controlled by the marketer. Therefore, the secondary research

used must be scrutinized closely since the origins of the

information may be questionable. Moreover, the researcher

needs to take sufficient steps to critically evaluate the validity

and reliability of the information provided.

Not Specific to Researchers Needs:

In many cases, secondary data is not presented in a form that

exactly meets the researchers needs. Therefore, the researcher

needs to rely on secondary data that is presented and classified

in a way that is similar to their needs.

Incomplete Information :

In many cases, researchers find information that appears

valuable and promising. The researcher may not get the full

version of the research to gain the full value of the study. This is

because many research suppliers offer free portions of their

research and then charge expensive fees for their full reports.

Not Timely:

When using secondary research, one must exercise caution when

using dated information from the past. With companies

competing in fast changing industries, an out-of-date research

reports many have little or no relevance to the current marketsituation.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the use of secondary research offers many

significant advantages to the researcher. It is important for the

researcher to identify, reduce, and manage the disadvantages

that are accompanied by the use of secondary research.

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