:- VED PRAKASH PANDA

Introduction to Research

Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. Once can also define research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. In fact, research is an art of scientific investigation.

According to the Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Research is a systematic inquiry into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, etc.

One can also express research as :

An intellectual activity of a high order;

An investigation of a phenomenon, event or activity;

Aims to discover data and facts and their interpretations;

To arrive at conclusions to formulate new theories and laws or revise the already established theories and laws;

To communicate the results for peer review; and

To be accepted or rejected before adding this new knowledge to the already existing general pool of knowledge.

OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH

The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions through the application of scientific procedures. The main aim of research is to find out the truth which is hidden and which has not been discovered as yet. Though each research study has its own specific purpose, we may think of research objectives as falling into a number of following broad groupings:

1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it (studies with this object in view are termed as exploratory or formulative research studies);

2. To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a group (studies with this object in view are known as descriptive research studies);

3. To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is associated with something else (studies with this object in view are known as diagnostic research studies);

4. To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables (such studies are known as hypothesis-testing research studies)

TYPES OF RESEARCH

The basic types of research are as follows:

(i) Descriptive vs. Analytical: Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds. The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it exists at present. In social science and business research we quite often use the term Ex post facto research for descriptive research studies. The main characteristic of this method is that the researcher has no control over the variables; he can only report what has happened or what is happening.

In analytical research, on the other hand, the researcher has to use facts or information already available, and analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the material.

(ii) Applied vs. Fundamental: Research can either be applied (or action) research or fundamental (to basic or pure) research. Applied research aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem facing a society or an industrial/business organisation, whereas fundamental research is mainly concerned with generalisations and with the formulation of a theory.

Research concerning some natural phenomenon or relating to pure mathematics are examples of fundamental research. Similarly, research studies, concerning human behaviour carried on with a view to make generalisations about human behaviour, are also examples of fundamental research, but research aimed at certain conclusions (say, a solution) facing a concrete social or business problem is an example of applied research.

(iii) Quantitative vs. Qualitative: Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or amount. It is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity. Qualitative research, on the other hand, is concerned with qualitative phenomenon, i.e., phenomena relating to or involving quality or kind.

(iv) Conceptual vs. Empirical: Conceptual research is that related to some abstract idea(s) or theory. It is generally used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing ones.

On the other hand, empirical research relies on experience or observation alone, often without due regard for system and theory. It is data-based research, coming up with conclusions which are capable of being verified by observation or experiment. We can also call it as experimental type of research.

SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Science is defined as a body of knowledge of facts and truths of all systematized knowledge (subjects, disciplines) that show the operations of general laws and others appropriate to them.

Scientific method is defined by Random House Dictionary as a method in which a problem is identified, relevant data is gathered, a hypothesis is formulated, which is empirically tested.

It can be concluded from the above definition that scientific method is a logical systematic process. Steps involved in this logical procedure are named as research process and presented in the diagram as below :

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

2. Extensive literature survey: Once the problem is formulated, a brief summary of it should be written down. For this purpose, the abstracting and indexing journals and published or unpublished bibliographies are the first place to go to. Academic journals, conference proceedings, government reports, books etc., must be tapped depending on the nature of the problem. In this process, it should be remembered that one source will lead to another. The earlier studies, if any, which are similar to the study in hand should be carefully studied. A good library will be a great help to the researcher at this stage.

3. Development of working hypotheses: After extensive literature survey, researcher should state in clear terms the working hypothesis or hypotheses. Working hypothesis is tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test its logical or empirical consequences. As such the manner in which research hypotheses are developed is particularly important since they provide the focal point for research. They also affect the manner in which tests must be conducted in the analysis of data and indirectly the quality of data which is required for the analysis.

4. Preparing the research design: The research problem having been formulated in clear cut terms, the researcher will be required to prepare a research design, i.e., he will have to state the conceptual structure within which research would be conducted. The preparation of such a design facilitates research to be as efficient as possible yielding maximal information. In other words, the function of research design is to provide for the collection of relevant evidence with minimal expenditure of effort, time and money.

5. Determining sample design: All the items under consideration in any field of inquiry constitute a ‘universe’ or ‘population’. It can be presumed that in such an inquiry when all the items are covered no element of chance is left and highest accuracy is obtained. But in practice this may not be true.

6. Collecting the data: In dealing with any real life problem it is often found that data at hand are inadequate, and hence, it becomes necessary to collect data that are appropriate. There are several ways of collecting the appropriate data which differ considerably in context of money costs, time and other resources at the disposal of the researcher. Primary data can be collected either through experiment or through survey.

7. Execution of the project: Execution of the project is a very important step in the research process. If the execution of the project proceeds on correct lines, the data to be collected would be adequate and dependable. The researcher should see that the project is executed in a systematic manner and in time.

8. 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 of closely related operations such as establishment of categories, the application of these categories to raw data through coding, tabulation and then drawing statistical inferences.

9. Hypothesis-testing: After analysing 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 be contrary? This is the usual question which should be answered while 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 of such tests, depending upon the nature and object of research inquiry. Hypothesis-testing will result in either accepting the hypothesis or in rejecting.

10. Generalisations and interpretation: If a hypothesis is tested and upheld several times, it may be possible for the researcher to arrive at generalisation, i.e., to build a theory. As a matter of fact,the real value of research lies in its ability to arrive at certain generalisations. If the researcher had no hypothesis to start with, he might seek to explain his findings on the basis of some theory. It is known as interpretation.

11. Preparation of the report or the thesis: Finally, the researcher has to prepare the report of what has been done by him.

Research plan

Research plan has been used synonymously with proposal and synopsis. They refer to a blue print of your research. Both are used for documents that describe in detail:

What are you going to do?

Why are you going to do?

How are you going to do?

In what resources (time, money, infrastructure, etc.) are you going to do?

What are you not going to do?

A research proposal is thus, a document to your plans and ideas of carrying out your research.

The purpose of a research plan is to:

Present for him the proposed plan of action;

Present for the supervisor and other authorities also the plan of action for their approval;

The functions of a research plan are to:

give directions on what needs to be done, when and how and in what order;

provide a route from stating the topic to finalising the results;

enable to evaluate your progress during research;

define your topic to limit its scope; and

prove to your supervisor that you have gone into the fine details of your topic and will be able to conduct research.

Types of research plan

There are two types of research plans. These are: quantitative and qualitative proposals. Quantitative proposal is given for experimental and descriptive research whereas qualitative proposal is given for descriptive and exploratory research.

Structure of research plan

A research proposal is presented in the following structure:

1. Title :The title of your study (dissertation or project) is the first part of your plan. We should ensure that the title is self- explanatory. It should convey what we intend to do. There should be no ambiguity. It should be clear, precise, and grammatically correct.

2. Introduction: The introduction provides background information to the topic of your study. It includes a thorough review of what is available related to your area of study.

3. The Problem : Introduction and the problem could be visualised as occurring together in continuation as background to the study. The difference is that introduction is more general as compared to the problem. The problem starts with where introduction has left the topic.

4. Scope : After the problem has been stated, it is important to explain its scope also. In the scope one should indicate to what extent one intends to probe the topic. He should clarify the scope as far as the subject content is concerned as well as the geographical area is concerned.

5. Objectives : After the problem, the plan should state the objectives of your study. This is one of the most important parts of your plan. It helps to know what you intend to do. Anyone interested in your study gets to know the whole picture from just the objectives.

6. Hypotheses : The next section of your plan should be devoted to hypotheses. Hypothesis is an assumption, presumption, or in simple words guess towards some situation or condition. It is an assumption of relationships between the dependent and independent variables.

7. Review of Related Literature : After the hypotheses are stated, a brief review of literature is presented. It helps the researcher to know and assimilate what others have already done in the field. It gives him the direction of movement into his research.

8. Research Design : The plan of research from the point of operationalisation of hypotheses to the analysis of data is presented as research design. The research design is the blueprint of your nature of investigation, data collection methods to be used, number of contacts to be made with the subjects, and the reference period of study.

9. Tentative Chapterisation : The physical structure of the research report is also presented in the research plan as tentative chapterisation.

10. Limitations : Every research study has limitations. These could be from the point of view of the contents (coverage of the subject), geographical area, time period of study, etc. The researcher should very earnestly admit the limitations in his/her study.

Research problem

Without a problem, research cannot proceed, because there is nothing to proceed from and proceed towards. Therefore, the first step in research is to perceive a problem - either practical or theoretical. The recognition or existence of a problem motivates research. It may be noted that research is the process of repeated search for truth/facts.

A problem in simple words is “some difficulty experienced by the researcher in a theoretical or practical situation. Solving this difficulty is the task of research”.

A problem exists when we do not have enough information to answer a question (problem). The answer to the question or problem is what is sought in the research.

The problem for research should ordinarily be expressed in an interrogative form. For example :

– Why is product X more popular than product Y?

– How to increase labour productivity?

– Does illumination increase productivity?

– Why is factory A earning profits and factory B incurring losses?

– Is the audio-visual system of teaching more effective than the audio system?

These are all searchable problems/questions. Finding answers to the problems is what is endeavoured in research. One question/problem may give rise to number of/series of sub-questions too.

Sources of Research Problems

If the researcher / research organization has a ready problem on hand, he/she can proceed further in the research process or else you have to search for a problem. Where can you search for research problems? Your own mind, where else? You have to feel the problem and think about it. However, the following sources may help you in identifying the problem / problem areas.

1) Business Problems: A research problem is a felt need, the need may be an answer, or a solution or an improvement in facilities / technology eg. Cars Business experiences, various types of problems. They may be business policy problems, operational problems, general management problems, or functional area problems. The functional areas are Financial Management, Marketing Management, Production Management and Human Resources Management. Every business research problem is expected to solve a management problem by facilitating rational decision-making.

2) Day to Day Problems: A research problem can be from the day to day experience of the researcher. Every day problems constantly present some thing new and worthy of investigation and it depends on the keenness of observation and sharpness of the intellect of the researcher to knit his daily experience into a research problem. For example, a person who travels in city buses every day

finds it a problem to get in or get out of the bus. But a Q system (that is the answer to the problem) facilitates boarding and alighting comfortably.

3) Technological Changes: Technological changes in a fast changing world are constantly bringing forth new problems and thus new opportunities for research. For example, what is the impact or implications of a new technique or new process or new machine?

4) Unexplored Areas: Research problems can be both abstract and of applied interest. The researcher may identify the areas in which much work has been done and the areas in which little work has been done or areas in which no work has been done. He may select those areas which have not been explored so far/explored very little.

5) Theory of One’s Own Interest: A researcher may also select a problem for investigation from a given theory in which he has considerable interest. In such situations the researcher must have a thorough knowledge of that theory and should be able to explore some unexplained aspects or assumptions of that theory. His effort should revalidate, or modify or reject the theory.

6) Books, Theses, Dissertation Abstracts, Articles: Special assignments in textbooks, research theses, investigative reports, research articles in research journals etc., are rich sources for problem seekers. These sources may suggest some additional areas of needed research. Many of the research theses and articles suggest problems for further investigation which may prove fruitful.

7) Policy Problems: Government policy measures give rise to both positive and negative impact. The researcher may identify these aspects for his research. For example, what is the impact of the Government’s new industrial policy on industrial development?

8) Discussions with Supervisor and Other Knowledgeable Persons: The researcher may find it fruitful to have discussions with his/her proposed supervisor or other knowledgeable persons in the area of the topic.

Points to be Considered while Selecting a Problem

The topic or problem which the researcher selects among the many possibilities should meet certain requirements. Every problem selected for research must satisfy the following criteria.

1) The topic selected should be original or at least less explored. The purpose of research is to fill the gaps in existing knowledge or to discover new facts and not to repeat already known facts.

2) It should be of significance and socially relevant and useful.

3) It should be interesting to the researcher and should fit into his aptitude.

4) It should be from an area of the researcher’s specialization.

5) It should correspond to the researcher’s abilities - both acquired and acquirable.

6) It should be big enough to be researchable and small enough to be handled – the topic should be amenable for research with existing and acquirable skills.

7) It should have a clear focus or objective.

8) The feasibility of carrying out research on the selected problem should be checked against the following considerations.

a) Whether adequate and suitable data are available?

b) Whether there is access to the organization and respondents?

c) Whether cooperation will be forth coming from the organization and respondents?

d) What are the resources required and how are they available?

e) Whether the topic is within the resources (money and man power) position

of the researcher?

9) It should be completed with in the time limits permissible.

Research objective

Having selected and specified the research problem, the next step is to formulate the objectives of research. Thus, research is a goal-oriented activity. We have to identify the goal / goals to be achieved and they must be specified in order to give direction to the research study. Hence, formulation of research objectives is equally important. Once research objectives are stated, then the entire research activity will be geared to achieving those objectives.

Principles of research objective:

1. It should be logically derived from the research objective.

2. It should be simple and specific.

3. It should be stated in advance to the research process.

4. It should be stated clearly phrased in operational terms. i.e., it should clearly specify

What exactly researcher is going to do?

Where exactly he want to go?

What is the purpose of the study?

5. It should make the use of action verbs that are specific enough to be evaluated.

Benefits of having a research objective:

Brings focus into the study / concentrates the study

Avoids thae collection of data which are not essential for the study

Arranges the study into clearly defined segments.

Research hypothesis

To understand the meaning of a hypothesis, let us see some definitions:

“A hypothesis is a tentative generalization, the validity of which remains to be tested. In its most elementary stage the hypothesis may be any guess, hunch, imaginative idea, which becomes the basis for action or investigation”. (G.A.Lundberg)

“It is a proposition which can be put to test to determine validity”. (Goode and Hatt).

“A hypothesis is a question put in such a way that an answer of some kind can be forth coming” - (Rummel and Ballaine).

These definitions lead us to conclude that a hypothesis is a tentative solution or explanation or a guess or assumption or a proposition or a statement to the problem facing the researcher, adopted on a cursory observation of known and available data, as a basis of investigation, whose validity is to be tested or verified.

Types of Hypothesis

Hypotheses can be classified in a variety of ways into different types or kinds. The following are some of the types of hypotheses:

i) Explanatory Hypothesis: The purpose of this hypothesis is to explain a certain fact. All hypotheses are in a way explanatory for a hypothesis is advanced only when we try to explain the observed fact. A large number of hypotheses are advanced to explain the individual facts in life. A theft, a murder, an accident are examples.

ii) Descriptive Hypothesis: Sometimes a researcher comes across a complex phenomenon. He/ she does not understand the relations among the observed facts. But how to account for these facts? The answer is a descriptive hypothesis. A hypothesis is descriptive when it is based upon the points of resemblance of something. It describes the cause and effect relationship of a phenomenon e.g., the current unemployment rate of a state exceeds 25% of the work force. Similarly, the consumers of local made products constitute a significant market segment.

iii) Analogical Hypothesis: When we formulate a hypothesis on the basis of similarities (analogy), it is called an analogical hypothesis e.g., families with higher earnings invest more surplus income on long term investments.

iv) Working hypothesis: Some times certain facts cannot be explained adequately by existing hypotheses, and no new hypothesis comes up. Thus, the investigation is held up. In this situation, a researcher formulates a hypothesis which enables to continue investigation. Such a hypothesis, though inadequate and formulated for the purpose of further investigation only, is called a working hypothesis. It is simply accepted as a starting point in the process of investigation.

v) Null Hypothesis: It is an important concept that is used widely in the sampling theory. It forms the basis of many tests of significance. Under this type, the hypothesis is stated negatively. It is null because it may be nullified, if the evidence of a random sample is unfavourable to the hypothesis. It is a hypothesis being tested (H0). If the calculated value of the test is less than the permissible value, Null hypothesis is accepted, otherwise it is rejected. The rejection of a null hypothesis implies that the difference could not have arisen due to chance or sampling fluctuations.

vi) Statistical Hypothesis: Statistical hypotheses are the statements derived from a sample. These are quantitative in nature and are numerically measurable. For example, the market share of product X is 70%, the average life of a tube light is 2000 hours etc.

Criteria for developing the Hypothesis

i) A hypothesis should be empirically verifiable:

ii) A hypothesis should be relevant: The purpose of formulating a hypothesis is always to explain some facts. It must provide an answer to the problem which initiated the enquiry.

iii) A hypothesis must have predictive and explanatory power: Explanatory power means that a good hypothesis, over and above the facts it proposes to explain, must also explain some other facts which are beyond its original scope.The wider the range, the greater is its explanatory power.

iv) A hypothesis must furnish a base for deductive inference on consequences: In the process of investigation, we always pass from the known to the unknown.

v) A hypothesis does not go against the traditionally established knowledge: As far as possible, a new hypothesis should not go against any previously established law or knowledge. The new hypothesis is expected to be consistent with the established knowledge.

vi) A hypothesis should be simple: A simple hypothesis is preferable to a complex one.

vii) A hypothesis must be clear, definite and certain: It is desirable that the hypothesis must be simple and specific to the point.

viii) A Hypothesis should be related to available techniques: If tools and techniques are not available we cannot test the hypothesis. Therefore, the hypothesis should be formulated only after due thought is given to the methods and techniques that can be used to measure the concepts and variables related to the hypothesis.

Testing of Hypothesis

When the hypothesis has been framed in the research study, it must be verified as true or false. Verifiability is one of the important conditions of a good hypothesis. Verification of hypothesis means testing of the truth of the hypothesis in the light of facts. If the hypothesis agrees with the facts, it is said to be true and may be accepted as the explanation of the facts. But if it does not agree it is said to be false. Such a false hypothesis is either totally rejectedor modified. Verification is of two types viz., Direct verification and Indirect verification.

Direct verification may be either by observation or by experiments. When direct observation shows that the supposed cause exists where it was thought to exist, we have a direct verification. When a hypothesis is verified by an experiment in a laboratory it is called direct verification by experiment. When the hypothesis is not amenable for direct verification, we have to depend on indirect verification.

Indirect verification is a process in which certain possible consequences are deduced from the hypothesis and they are then verified directly. Two steps are involved in indirect verification. (i) Deductive development of hypothesis: By deductive development certain consequences are predicted and (ii) finding whether the predicted consequences follow. If the predicted consequences come true, the hypothesis is said to be indirectly verified. Verification may be done directly or indirectly or through logical methods.

Testing of a hypothesis is done by using statistical methods. Testing is used to accept or reject an assumption or hypothesis about a random variable using a sample from the distribution. The assumption is the

null hypothesis (H0), and it is tested against some alternative hypothesis (H1). Statistical tests of hypothesis are applied to sample data. The procedure involved in testing a hypothesis is

A) select a sample and collect the data.

B) convert the variables or attributes into statistical form such as mean, proportion.

C) formulate hypotheses.

D) select an appropriate test for the data such as t-test, Z-test.

E) perform computations.

F) finally draw the inference of accepting or rejecting the null hypothesis.

Uses of Hypothesis

If a clear scientific hypothesis has been formulated, half of the research work is already done. The advantages/utility of having a hypothesis are summarized here underneath:

i) It is a starting point for many a research work.

ii) It helps in deciding the direction in which to proceed.

iii) It helps in selecting and collecting pertinent facts.

iv) It is an aid to explanation.

v) It helps in drawing specific conclusions.

vi) It helps in testing theories.

vii) It works as a basis for future knowledge

Research design

Research design is also known by different names such as research outline, plan, blue print.

Definition:

A research design is the arrangement of condition for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to accomplish the research objective with economy in procedure.

Overall research design can be split down into following parts.

a. Sampling design: deals with the methods of selecting items to be observed for the given study.

b. Observation design: relates to the condition under which the observation are to be made.

c. Statistical design: concern with the question of how many items are to be observed and how the data gathered will be analysed.

d. Operational design: deals with the techniques by which the procedures specified in sampling, statistical and observational design can be carried out.

Functions of Research Design

Regardless of the type of research design selected by the investigator, all plans perform one or more functions outlined below.

i) It provides the researcher with a blue print for studying research questions.

ii) It dictates boundaries of research activity and enables the investigator to channel his energies in a specific direction.

iii) It enables the investigator to anticipate potential problems in the implementation of the study.

iv) The common function of designs is to assist the investigator in providing answers to various kinds of research questions.

STEPS IN PLANNING THE RESEARCH DESIGN: There are four broad steps involved in planning the research design as explained below: (1) Determining work involved in the project: The first step in planning research design is determining the work involved in the project- and designing a workable plan to carry out the research work within specific time limit.

The work involved includes the following:(a) To formulate the problem(b) To determine information requirement(c) To identify information sources(d) To prepare detailed plan for the execution of research project.

This preliminary step indicates the nature and volume of work involved in the research work.

(2) Estimating costs involved:

The second step in planning research design is estimating the costs involved in the research project. The researcher has to estimate the expenditure required for the execution of the project.

(3) Preparing time schedule:

Time factor is important in the execution of the research project. Planning of time schedule is essential at the initial stage. Time calculation relates to the preparation of questionnaire and its pre-testing, training of interviewers, actual survey work, tabulation and analysis of data and finally reports writing.

(4) Verifying results:

Research findings need to be dependable to the sponsoring organisation.

TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGNS

1. Exploratory Research:

A research study may be either exploratory or full scale. Exploratory research is conducted when the researcher does not know how and why certain phenomenon occurs. Here, the hypothetical solutions or actions are explored and evaluated by the decision-maker, e.g. evaluation of quality of service of a bank/hotel/airline. Here, the quality cannot be accessed directly as tangible features are not available.

The purpose of exploratory research is to know the unknown. Exploratory research determines fruitful alternatives that the executive would not have perceived. Exploratory Research is used:

• To define the problem more precisely • To identify relevant courses of action i.e. find the most likely alternatives, which are

then turned into hypotheses. • Isolate key variables and relationships for further examinations.• Gain insights for developing an approach to a problem.• Establish priorities for further research.

2. Conclusive Research Design

Conclusive Research Design is typically more formal and structured than exploratory research. It is based on large representative samples, and the data obtained are subjected to quantitative analysis. Conclusive Research is designed to assist the decision maker in determining, evaluating and selecting the best course of action to take in a given situation. Conclusive research designs may be either descriptive or causal and descriptive designs may be either cross-sectional or longitudinal.

(A) Descriptive Research: Descriptive research is undertaken when the researcher desires to know the characteristics of certain

groups such as age, sex, occupation, income or education. Descriptive studies are well structured. It tends to be rigid and its approach cannot be changed often and again. In descriptive studies, the researcher has to give adequate thought to framing research questions and deciding the data to be collected and the procedure to be used for this purpose.

Uses of Descriptive Research:

Descriptive research is conducted for the following reasons

• To describe the characteristics of relevant groups, such as consumers, salespeople, or organizations, or market areas. For e.g. we could develop a profile of the "heavy users" (frequent shoppers) of prestigious department stores such as Shoppers Stop.

• To estimate the percentage of units in a specified population exhibiting a certain behavior e.g. the percentage of heavy users of prestigious department stores who also patronize discount department stores.

• To determine the " perceptions of product characteristics. For e.g. how do households • perceive the various department stores in terms of salient factors of the choice criteria? • To determine the degree to which variables are associated. For e.g.: to what • extent is shopping at department stores related to eating out? • To make specific predictions. For e.g. what will be retail sales of Shoppers stop (specific store) for

fashion clothing (specific product category) in the Mumbai area (specific region)? • To collect demographic information of consumers/users of a product under study. • For finding out views and attitudes of customers, e.g. how many customers prefer branded goods or ISI

marked goods. • Make predictions about future trends, consumer needs or expectations or possible sales after ‘n’ years.

Descriptive research can be divided into the following two categories: (a) Cross-sectional studies

Cross-sectional study is a study involving a sample of elements from the population of interest at a single point of time. It is a study concerned with a sample of elements from a given population. Cross sectional studies include field studies and surveys.

(b) Longitudinal studies Longitudinal studies are based on panel methods and panel data. A panel is a sample of respondents who are interviewed not only once but thereafter from time to time. Here data to be collected relate to same variables but the measurements are taken repeatedly

Panel data are suitable when the researcher undertake detailed analysis. Similarly, panel data are more comprehensive as compared to data collected from individual families. Finally, panel data collected is more accurate as compared to data collected through survey. These advantages of panel data improve the quality of research findings and conclusions. (B) Casual Research:

Casual research design is the third type of research design. As the name indicates, casual design investigates the cause and effect relationship between two or more variables. This design measures the extent of relationship between the variables. Casual research designs attempt to specify the nature of functional relationship between two or more variables. Casual research is useful to show the impact of one variable on the other. The casual research design is based on reasoning. The designs for casual research can be divided into three categories:

(a) Historical (b) Survey (c) Experimental. IMPORTANCE / UTILITY OF RESEARCH DESIGN

Research design is important as it prepares proper framework within which the research work/activity will be actually carried out Research design acts as a blue print for the conduct of the whole research project. It introduces efficiency in investigation and generates confidence in the final outcome of the study. Research design gives proper direction and time-table to research activity. It keeps adequate check on the research work and ensures its completion within certain time limit. It keeps the whole research project on the right track.

Research design avoids possible errors as regards research problem, information requirement and so on. It gives practical orientation to the whole research work and makes it relevant to the problems faced by the sponsoring organisation. Finally, it makes the whole research process compact and result-oriented. A researcher should not go ahead with his research project unless the research design is planned properly.