ANS-1 The following points should be kept in mind while defining a research problem: The right question must

be addressed if research is to aid decision makers. A correct answer to the wrong question leads either to poor advice or to no advice. Very often in research problem we have a tendency to rationalize and defend our actions once we have embarked upon a particular research plan. The best time to review and consider alternative approaches is in the planning stage. If this is done needless cost of false start and redoing work could be avoided. A good starting point in problem definition is to ask what the decision maker would like to know if the requested information could be obtained without error and without cost. Another good rule to follow is "Never settle on a particular approach" without developing and considering atleast one alternative". The problem definition step of research is the determination and structuring of the decision maker's question. It must be the decision maker's question and not the researcher's question. What decision do you face? If you do not have decision to make, there is no research problem. What are your alternatives? If there are no alternatives to choose, again there is no research problem. What are your criteria for choosing the best alternative? If you do not have criteria for evaluation, again there is no research problem. The researcher must avoid the acceptance of the superficial and the obvious. ANS-2 The summative models assume that the individual items in the scale are monotonically related to the underlying attributes and a summation of the item scores is related linearly to the attitude. In a summative model, one obtains the total score by adding scores on individual items. For the statements that imply negative attitudes, the scoring is reversed. The scales allow an expression of the intensity of feeling. These scales are also called Likert scales. Here, instead of having just "agree" and "disagree" in the scale, we can have intensities varying from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree". The scale construction consists of the following steps: 1. Write a large number of statements that-concern the particular attitudinal object being investigated. For instance one may be looking at the role of voluntary agencies in providing health services. in rural areas. Most of these statements should either be moderately positive or moderately negative. Neutral items are generally avoided in these scales. The items should be evenly divided between positive and negative statements. 2. Administer the pool of statements on a group of respondents who are similar to the population on whom the scale will be used. For example, if we want to study the attitude of housewives the pool should be administered on a group of housewives with similar background to our final population. 3. Assign scale values to the degrees of agreement or disagreement with each item. The particular values may differ from one researcher to another. Sometimes one may adopt the values 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and sometimes +2, +1, 0, -1, -2. For negative items the directions should be reversed. 4. Calculate a total attitude score for each respondent using the same scaling procedure. The distribution of total, scores is then used to refine the list of items. This step is called item analysis. 5. Item analysis : Analyse the responses and select for the scale those items which most clearly differentiate between the highest and lowest scores. This can be done by dividing the respondents into the

high and the low scoring categories. The high scorers can be assumed to be with favourable attitudes and the low scorers can be taken as having the least favourable attitudes. If the statement is a good one, then it is safe to expect that the mean score for the favourable group would be greater than the mean score for the unfavourable group. If the mean scores across the two groups, for an item, are found nearly equal or equal, then that statement can be dropped from the scale. One can take the high group as the top twenty-rave per cent of all total scores and the low group as the lowest twenty-five per cent. Alternatively we can divide the respondents into Attitude Measurement and quartiles and compute the median score for each item for the highest twenty-five per cent States and the lowest twenty-five per cent of scale scores. 6. The statements remaining in the pruned fast are randomly_ ordered on the scale form. The positive and negative ones are mixed. 7. The scale is now administered on the respondents who are asked to indicate their degree of agreement with the items. A respondent's total score is generated as the sum of his scores on each statement. The summated scales have certain advantages. They are easy to construct, are highly reliable, and can be adapted to the measurement of many different kinds of attitudes. Table shown below Likert scale analysis to ascertain the image of a HP Computer Brand among some consumers. Neither Factor analysis for a HP Extremely Quite Slightly Slightly Quit Extremely Good computer Good Good Good Bad Bad Bad nor Bad Quality * Specification / configuration Originality Models Safety & security Finishing Reasonable price Credit Various Ranges Up gradation Service Experience person Care center Delivery Demos Offers Style Advertisement

Celebrities Free Accessories Web sites information Guarantee Warrantee Additional Warrantee Risk less Product Availability components Availability * Please fill the above table while you are writing answer in your assignment. ANS 4. A - REGRESSION ANALYSIS Regression analysis is probably the most widely applied technique amongst the analytical models of association used in business research. Regression analysis attempts to study the relationship between a dependent variable and a set of independent variables (one or more). For example, in demand analysis, demand is versely related to price for normal commodities. We may write D = A - BP, where D is, the demand which is the dependent variable, P is the unit price of the commodity, an independent variable. This is an example of a simple linear regression equation. The multiple linear regressions model is the prototype of single criterion/ multiple predictor association model where we would like to study the combined influence of several independent variables upon one dependent variable. In the above example if P is the consumer price index, and Q is the index of industrial production, we may be able to study demand as a function of two independent variables P and Q and write D = A - BP + C Q as a multiple linear regression model. The objectives of the business researchers in using Regression Analysis are : To study a general underlying pattern connecting the dependent variable and independent variables by establishing a functional relationship between the two. In this equation the degree of relationship is derived which is a matter of interest to the researcher in his study. To use the well-established regression equation for problems involving prediction and forecasting. To study how much of the variation in the dependent variable is explained by the set of independent variables. This would enable him to remove certain unwanted variables from the system. For example, if 95% of variation in demand in a study could be explained by price and consumer rating index, the researcher may drop other factors like industrial production, extent of imports, substitution effect etc. which may contribute only 5% of variation in demand provided all the causal variables are linearly independent. We proceed by first discussing bivariate (simple) regression involving the dependent variables as a function of one independent variable and then onto multiple regression. Simple linear regression model is given by

ANS 4. B - DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS It has been pointed out earlier, that the discriminant analysis is a useful tool for situations where the total sample is to be divided into two or more mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive groups on the basis of a set of predictor variables. For example, a problem involving classifying sales people into successful and unsuccessful; classifying customers into owners or and non-owners of video tape recorder, are examples of discriminant analysis. Objectives of two group discriminant analysis: Finding linear composites of the predictor variables that enable the analyst to separate the groups by maximising among groups relative to with in-groups variation. Establishing procedures for assigning new individuals, whose profiles but not group identity are known, to one of the two groups. Testing whether significant differences exist between the mean predictor variable profiles of the two groups. Determining which variables account most for intergroup differences in mean profiles. ANS 4. C - FACTOR ANALYSIS Factor analysis is a generic name given to a class of techniques whose purpose is data reduction and summarisation. Very often market researchers are overwhelmed by the plethora of data. Factor analysis comes to their rescue in reducing the number of variables. Factor analysis does not entail partitioning the data matrix into criterion and predictor subsets; rather interest is centred on relationships involving the whole set of variables. In factor analysis : The analyst is interested in examining the "strength" of the overall association among variables in the sense that he would like to account for this association in terms of a smaller set of linear composites of the original variables that preserve most of the information in the full data set. Often his interest will emphasize description of the data rather than statistical inference. No attempt is made to divide the variables into criterion versus prediction sets. The models are primarily based on linear relationships.

Factor analysis is a "search" technique. The researcher-decision maker does not typically have a clear priori structure of the number of factors to be identified. Cut off points with respect to stopping rules for the analysis are often ad hoc as the output becomes available. Even where the procedures and rules are stipulated in advance, the results are more descriptive than inferential. The procedure involved in computation of factor analysis is extremely complicated and cannot be carried out effectively without the help of computer. Packages like SPSS, SAS and Biomedical programs (BMD) can be used to analyse various combinations leading to factor reduction. We will make an attempt to conceptualise the scenario of factor analysis with emphasis on the interpretation of figures. The term "factor analysis" embraces a variety of techniques. Our discussion focuses on one procedure : principal component analysis and the factors derived from the analysis are expressed as linear equations. These linear equations are of the form

The i factors are derived, and each variable appears in each equation. The a-co-efficients indicate the importance of each variable with respect to a particular factor. Co-efficient of zero indicating the variable is of no significance for the factor. In principal component analysis, the factors are derived sequentially, using criteria of maximum reduction in variance and non-correlation among factors. ANS 5. The major elements of communication dimension, which are relevant to a presentation, are : Purpose, Audience, Media, Message, Time, Place and Cost. While preparing for presentation, the presenter has to ask searching questions to understand each of the above mentioned dimensions of communication and find the right mix to serve his purpose. This process makes the presentation both a science and an art. 1) Purpose The first step to think through the purpose of the presentation and to focus it sharply. The presenter can try to achieve a variety of purposes. Some instances of presentation purposes are as follows: Informing? Selling? Exploring? Decision making? Persuading? Changing attitude or behaviour? Within each of these, the focus can be sharpened by breaking them into subsets. For example, if it is a decision making, situation, would the presenter be interested in persuading the audience to a) accept a decision which has already been 'taken b) vole on a decision c) provide feedback for decision making d) take a decision, or e) explore areas which need attention for decision making at a later time.

Depending on the purpose, the elements of the communication mix, presentation package, and AV aids have to be adjusted to get the right effect. 2) Audience In a presentation, multiple audiences interact at the same time. The sender and the receivers of the message keep changing roles through clarification queries, question and answer, dialogue, and discussion. It is a live and dynamic situation in which the presenter shapes the message in the open. The audience interest can be held on if the presenter focuses on issues of their immediate interest and allows them to participate in understanding the information. One way monologue is a sure way to dampen the audience enthusiasm and interest. 3) Media In a presentation, sound, sight, and body language come into play. Therefore, the coordination of all three at one shot becomes an important aspect of presentation. Moreover, a presentation helps to broaden or open up the horizon of thought. Therefore, to treat presentation as an extension of written medium by projecting written data on the screen and making the audience read it is a self-defeating and expensive proposition. Also concentrating on any one medium-sight or sound-failing to take full advantage of the potentialities of presentation. Since presentation is more suited for interaction, reading from a prepared text or delivering a memorized speech puts a barrier between the audience and the presenter. However, notes, as memory aids, cannot be dispensed with for an organized presentation. The notes can be telegraphic and on 3x5 inch cards which the presenter can see at one glance and be on his way. Often, the OHP transparencies are sufficient as memory aids. A notecard may look as follows: Outline 1) Communication mix 2) Presentation package 3) AV tools 4) Presenter's poise 4) Message The presenter has to think of the focus of the message-its breadth and depth-as much as a writer does. But the dimensions are different. The presenter cannot get as much depth and complexity as a writer can achieve. Therefore, the focus of a presentation has to be different from that of a report. A presentation concentrating on a single theme or a few major strands of a theme is more comprehensible to the audience and leaves a more lasting impression than the one with too many diverse issues. Organization of the message is as important in presentation as in writing. Confused organization confuses the audience and leads them to focus their attention on unimportant or unintended issues. Next, concretization of the message in presentation is as important as in good writing. However, the presentation, because it combines sound and sight media, helps to concretize the message more than the written medium. Ore step further in concretization leads to visualization of ideas and hearing of actual sounds : only the presentation medium helps, to achieve this level of concretization. Since the presentation situation is built on interaction between the presenter and the audience, the emotional content of the message and the audience should be considered. Concretization at the emotional level reinforces the logical concretization of the message. Even simple words like "our company", "my company", "your company", and "the company" carry emotional and attitudinal connotations. These phrases reflect in a way where the presenter stands in respect to the company and the audience. In this respect, the presenter's body language also comes into play. 5) Time

The element of time in a presentation situation depends on various factors like availability of the room, audience, and presenter. The presenter can select the right time if he has the choice. Presentations immediately after lunch, for instance, fail to hold the attention of the audience. Another major aspect is how much time is given to the presenter to make the presentation. This is a crucial dimension which decides the length and the overall communication mix. The timing or sequencing of the message or its various parts is also significant. Is your audience prepared for it? When can you get their maximum attention? 6) Place The presenter may not have much choice in selecting the place. But to make the best use of the place and the facilities available will depend on the presenter. Whet-tear the room is square or rectangular, whether it is large or small enough for the audience, whether the seating arrangement is fixed or movable are some examples of the questions which bother a presenter. On the room arrangement depend the kind of audiovisual tools that can be used and the type of interaction that the presenter can have with the audience. An examination of the following elements of a room will help in finding the right mix for an effective presentation: 1) Room dimensions 2) Seating 3) Number of people expected 4) Space available for the presenter 5) AV equipments available 7) Cost The preparation of a good presentation is time consuming and expensive. The presenter should ask himself a) whether he is trying to achieve through presentation what he could have easily achieved through written communication and b) whether he could use cheaper production methods and aids than the ones he has chosen to put across the message.