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Research Methodology. Definition: Business Research. Systematic and Scientific inquiry aimed at providing information to solve managerial problems. Basic (Fundamental) Research. Generalization of natural phenomenon or human behavior - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Definition: Business Research
Systematic and Scientific inquiry aimed at providing information to solve managerial problems
Basic (Fundamental) Research
Generalization of natural phenomenon or human behavior
Conducted to solve perplexing questions of a theoretical nature
E.g. Cars running on compressed air
Applied Research
Solution to some practical problems Conducted to reveal answers to
specific questions related to action or policy needs
E.g. Study of declining sales of particular car model
Why business research?
Manager wants improve decision making skill by widening his knowledge
to reduce uncertainty to justify his decision
Business Research
Corporate research: Forecasting Economic trends Business & Industry trends Technology trends Global environment
Financial Research: Portfolio analysis Business opportunities & threats
analysis Cost analysis
Production: Total quality management
Sales & Marketing: Market potential Market share Market segmentation Sales analysis Sales forecasting New product testing Effectiveness of marketing strategies
Human resources: Morale & job satisfaction Employee productivity Organizational effectiveness Training needs
Information system: Data mining Technical support satisfaction Enterprise Resource Planning
(ERP)/Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems
Exploratory Research
Gather Information around the topic at elementary level
Leads to insights into the problem
E.g. a pharmaceutical company wants to expand
Descriptive Research
Fact finding inquiries Who, what, when, how, where etc No powerful inference is drawn
E.g. mining company databases for describing the nature customer complaints.
Predictive Research
Cause –effect relationship Conducted for well understood
problems
E.g. sale of small cars depends on price, fuel efficiency, engine
Research Process
Formulating Research problem Select Research design Data collection and presentation Data analysis and interpretation Research reporting
Problem:Dilemma faced by manager
E.g. Software consulting firm is witnessing high attrition of employees
Management Question
What are the reasons for high attrition rate?
What steps to be taken to control it?
Research Question
What is the employee satisfaction level in the organisation?
What are the corrective measures available?
Investigating Question
Timings, travelling, facilities available, work culture
Annual increment, additional incentives, permission to pursue higher education
Measurement Question
Questions to be asked to employees regarding timings, travelling, facilities available, work culture, additional incentives, permission to pursue higher education etc.
Formulated Research Problem
What characteristics are to be studied?
What data is to be collected? What relations need to be explored?
Research Design
Research design is a plan and structure of investigation to obtain answers to research questions
Exploratory Studies
Aim is to find the practicality to do formal research in this area
The techniques used are Secondary data analysis Experience Survey Focus groups Depth interviews
Secondary Data Analysis Review of prior research studies Survey of concerned literature: Catalogs,
subject guides and electronic indexes in libraries help to identify periodicals and books
Online service using computerThis method supplies excellent background,
identifies suitable methodology and decision making patterns.
Experience Survey
Seeking information from persons experienced in the area of study by interviewing
This technique gives practicality of doing study, facilities available, factors need to be controlled
Focus Groups
Panel of people led by a trained moderator
Facilitator introduces the topic and encourages the group to discuss it among themselves
Quickly and inexpensively grasp the core issues
Depth Interviews
Carried out to obtain information on sensitive issues to discover motives and desires
Respondent is taken in confidence Answers are obtained by probing Indirect questions provide information
on attitude towards the subject
Descriptive Studies
The research design in such studies should be rigid ,no bias ,reliable and should aim at
Description of the characteristics associated with the population
Estimates of the proportion of the population possessing the characteristics
Studying association among these characteristics
Causal Studies
If Changes in one variable are responsible for changes in another variable then the former variable is independent and later is dependent
Drawing inferences about causal relationship require procedures that will reduce bias and increase reliability
Design of Experiments
Replication: repetition of observation Random assignment: each person
must have equal chance of exposure Control: All other factors must be held
constant
Before and after without control Design
Level before--treatment-- level after X Y
treatment effect : Y-X
After only control Design
Level control group after ZLevel test group after Y
treatment effect : Y-Z
Before and after with control Design
Control groupLevel before ------------ level after A ZTest groupLevel before--treatment-- level after
X Y
treatment effect : (Y-X)-(Z-A)
Formal Experimental Designs
Completely randomised design Randomised block design Latin square design Factorial design
Randomised block Design
Det/Mat Det. A Det. B Det. C
Cotton
Poly.
Ter.
Randomisation, Replication, Local control
Latin square Design
Mat/Cat worker Assistant manager
Cotton A B C
Poly. B C A
Terr. C A B
Randomisation, Replication, Local control
Factorial Design
Treatments are combination of factors at different levels.
Effects of the factors rather than treatments are studied.
Ex Post Facto Design
Widely used in business research Not possible to assign treatments Study of subjects exposed to
treatments to seek causal explanation
Sampling Design Census versus sample
Census: small population
Sample: greater speed, less cost, greater accuracy, inevitable
Sample must represent all characteristics of the population. (no bias, precise)
Probability Sampling
Simple random sampling Systematic sampling Stratified sampling Cluster sampling Multi-stage sampling
Sample Size
Sample size should be proportional to population size
Larger sample is required if Greater dispersion within population High confidence level in the estimates Narrow interval range
budget constraint may influence sample size
Measurement and Scaling
Measurement: assigning numbers to objects with a set of rules
Data types: Classification - nominal Order - ordinal Distance - interval Origin - ratio
Tests of Measurement
Validity: the extent to which the measuring tool measures what we are interested in measuring
Reliability: Accuracy and precision of measurement procedure
Practicality: economy, convenience and interpretability
Scaling
Procedure for assignment of numbers to objects
Types of measurement scale Rating Ranking Categorization
Simple category Scale
Which payment scheme are you currently using for your mobile?
Pre-paid Post-paid
Nominal data
Multiple choice Single response Scale
Which mobile service according to you is the best?
Vodafone BPL Airtel Reliance Tata Indicom Dolphin/Trump Nominal data
Multiple choice Multiple response Scale
What factors influence you while choosing mobile service? Network Brand name Price Customer service nominal data
Likert scale Summated Rating
“Mobile users are spending on unnecessary calls “
Strongly agree Neither disagree strongly agree agree nor disagree
disagree
interval
Semantic Differential Scale
Reliance service Good __:__:__:__:__:__:__: BadHandset HandsetHigh __:__:__:__:__:__:__: Lowquality qualityNetwork Network
interval
Numerical Scale
Extremely 5 4 3 2 1 Extremelyfavorable
unfavorable
Handset with camera:__More than one handset per person:__
interval
Multiple Rating List Scale
“Please indicate how important or unimportant each parameter is”
ImportantUnimportant
Network congestion 5 4 3 2 1Billing errors 5 4 3 2 1Clarity 5 4 3 2 1Advertiser’s SMS 5 4 3 2 1
interval
Fixed sum Scale
Considering web services and all services other than calling, what is their relative importance to you?
Web services : ____ All other services: ____
sum = 100 ratio
Graphic Rating Scale
Rate the satisfaction level from the current service. (Place an X at the position along the line that reflects your judgment)
Very good _______________ Very bad
ratio
For each pair of Mobile service provider, put a tick besides the one you would most prefer
-- Vodafone -- Airtel-- BPL -- BPL
-- Vodafone -- Airtel
Paired comparison ScaleComparison between Vodafone, BPL, Airtel
SuggestionVodafone BPL Airtel
Vodafone --- 60 20BPL 40 --- 50Airtel 80 50 ---Total 120 110 70Rank order 1 2 3M=(C+0.5N)/nN 0.5667 0.5333 0.4Z 0.17 0.08 -0.25R 0.42 0.33 0 ratio
Forced Rank Scale Rank the following mobile services. Place the number 1 next to most preferred, 2by the second choice etc. Vodafone BPL
AirtelRelianceTata IndicomDolphin/Trump
ordinal
Comparative Scale
Compared to NOKIA 3310,how do you rate the your handset?
Superior all the same inferior1 2 3 4 5
ordinal
Measurement Scale Construction
Arbitrary scaling Consensus scaling Item analysis scaling Cumulative scaling
Arbitrary Scaling
Designed by collecting several items appropriate to the given topic
Each item is scored from 1 to 5 depending degree of favorableness
Total represents respondent’s view
Consensus Scaling
Panel of judges evaluate items on the basis of relevance to topic, potential for ambiguity and level of attitude
Time consuming, costly ,rarely used in management research
Item analysis Scaling Designed by collecting several items
appropriate to the given topic Each item is scored from 1 to 5
depending degree of favorableness On the basis of total score two groups
are formed (top 25% and bottom 25%)
Comparative analysis of each statement of members of these two groups is carried out
Item analysis Scaling
Low HighResponse X f fStrongly agree 5 5 20Agree 4 10 18 Neither ag.nor dis. 3 22 25Disagree 2 25 12Strongly disagree 1 23 10If calculated value of t>1.75 the statement is said to be a good discriminator of the measured attitude
Cumulative Scaling
From total score it is possible to estimate which items were answered positively and negatively
Scalogram i) Vodafone service is good: agree/disagree ii) I prefer Vodafone service over other
services: agree/disagree iii) Vodafone service suits me: agree/disagree iv) I strongly recommend Vodafone: agree/disagreeAgree=1, disagree=0Score: 4-aggreed to all,3 agreed to i),ii),iii) 2 agreed to i),iii) 1 agreed to iii)
Data collection and Presentation
Primary sources (original work of research): Government data (census, economic, labour) laws, regulations
Secondary sources (interpretation of primary data): magazines, newspapers, newscasts, annual reports
Government Sources
National sample survey Economic survey Census survey
http://www.censusindia.net Central Statistical organisation:
Statistical Outlines of India, annual survey of industries
http://mospi.nic.in
Other databases to Business Researchers
CRISIL INFAC www.crisil.com NSE publications National readership survey (cinema, TV,
radio, newspaper) A C Nielsen company ( consumer products) www2.acnielsen.com ORG (pharmaceutical products)Mining Internal sources
TAM (Television Audience measurement)
Adex ( advertising exposures ) IRS (Indian Readership survey) NRS (National Readership survey) indiacar.com autocarindia.com
Survey Methods
Observation method Interview method Questionnaire/schedules Projective techniques Case study method
Observation Method
Information obtained by direct observation without asking the respondents
Scientific tool when systematically planned and recorded
No non-response
Interview Method
Personal interview: Information directly obtained from person concerned
Use of set of predetermined questions: structured interview
Telephone interview
Questionnaire/schedules Method
Questionnaire is mailed to the respondents and replies collected
Schedules are similar to questionnaire but are being filled in by the enumerators
Case Study Method
Qualitative analysis Observation on a social unit or a
person or an institution or a community
An exhaustive study of each and every aspect of the concerned unit and its relationship to other units