RESEARCH PROPOSAL

What are the features that the students are

looking for in smartphones?

COURSE
Methods in Business Research
SECTION - C
SUBMITTED TO
Miss Saadiyeh Said

SUBMITTED BY
Azhar Hussain
(ID: 14113)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Pakistan has seen a rapid growth in electronic media in the last decade. With the proliferation
of TV news channels and growing number of TV sets ownership, newspaper readership among
students has become an academic debate. According to a recent research, after the
proliferation of 24 hours TV news channels, students' preference of getting news details from
TV, 24.66%, is higher than newspaper, i.e. 21.33%.
Through the research we aim to find the main reasons for decline in the students newspaper
readership. Moreover, we want to explore the effective ways for the revival of newspaper so
that students readership can increase. For the research a review of the psychographics and
demographics will also be taken into account to target our potential respondents for the
research.
The analysis will be done on the statistical basis where the results will be generalized for the
whole population. This research will list out the reasons for the decline in the students
newspaper readership and it will also list effective ways in the view of the respondents for the
revival of newspaper so that students readership can increase.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
It is a general perception among the people these days that the students newspaper
readership has declined after the proliferation of TV News Channels. By this research we want
to know as to what extent this perception is right and what are the main reasons for decline in
the students newspaper readership. Moreover, we have to find the effective ways for the
revival of newspaper so that students readership can increase. We will also study the existent
substitution effect between TV news channels and newspaper.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this research are:

To find the reasons for decline of students newspaper readership

Effective ways to increase students newspaper readership

To study the existent substitution effect between TV news channels and newspaper

DESK RESEARCH
Pakistan has seen a rapid growth in electronic media in the last decade. Old stalwarts in the
field of journalism coupled by a complete new breed of media enthusiasts, Satellite TV channels
have proliferated magnanimously. With the proliferation of TV news channels and growing
number of TV sets ownership, newspaper readership among students has become an academic
debate.
According to Newspaper Readership Survey (NRS) 2006 by Aftab Associates Pvt. Ltd. (AAL) TV
has the highest exposure across all media followed by newspaper and then radio. The overall
incidence of newspaper readership is 54 per cent of which 35.4 per cent are frequent readers
while 18.6 per cent are occasional readers. Interestingly, the survey shows that newspaper
readership in cities is higher. The readership is higher in Karachi followed by Rawalpindi
Islamabad and then Lahore.
However, according to a similar study NRS-2007 conducted by MEMRB, a private research
organization, the incidence of readership dropped down to 39.2 per cent. This is significantly
lower than the study by Aftab Associates Pvt. Ltd. AAL. However the results of NRS-2007 shows

that readership in Karachi dropped to 36 per cent with Lahore taking the lead at 54 per cent.
Newspaper readership is higher in males as compare to females.
Trends in media consumption of individuals have changed with the proliferation of new media.
Internet access, TV channels and now mobile phones have given consumers a wide choice of
media to gather news and information from. With so much of choice for news gathering,
priorities differ among younger generation or more precisely students.
It is evident from the results of a recent research that there is a decline in newspaper
readership. After the proliferation of 24 hours TV news channels, students' preference of
getting news details from TV, 24.66%, is higher than newspaper, i.e. 21.33%. However, a
significant number of population, 51.33%, prefers using both medium for getting news details.

BENEFITS OF THE STUDY

This study will be beneficial for the concerned authorities of various newspapers like Dawn,
Jang, The News, Express etc. because they can see the statistics about what the reasons are for
the decline in the students newspaper readership. They will be interested in this research
because the majority of the population of Pakistan is youth and it is a big segment so if young
students are not reading newspapers then it is an alarming situation.
Moreover, this research will also give the results about what effective measures can be taken to
improve students newspaper readership in the minds of the respondents. These outcomes will
aid the newspaper firms to work on the suggestions to increase students newspaper
readership in the years to come.

RESEARCH DESIGN
The research design will include the following:

Research Method
1. Exploratory Research: In exploratory research, we will collect secondary data from
the internet in the form of articles and previous researches on related topics. Then
we will conduct 2-3 focus groups and the respondents will be students. One of our
group members will be the moderator and the entire session will be recorded. The
outcomes of exploratory research will give us a clearer picture in order to proceed
with the descriptive research.

2. Descriptive Research: In descriptive research, we will do survey for which we will

design a comprehensive questionnaire which will be given to our respondents and
we will also conduct personal interviews. Moreover, we will also seek help from the
secondary data.
Unit of Analysis: The unit of analysis are individual students because we want to know
the reasons for decline of students newspaper readership
Sampling Plan: Our sampling plan will be to use Quota sample which is a non-probability
sample. We will interview an adequate number of students from engineering
universities, medical universities, and business schools.
Sample Size:
Total sample size = 500
Gender

Age (years)

Quantity

Males

18-28

250

Females

18-28

250

DATA ANALYSIS
We will use statistical tools like regression and chi square test. The results will be generalized
for the whole population from samples of our respondents.

NATURE AND FORM OF RESULTS

The research will be presented in the form of printed report as well as a PowerPoint
presentation.

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE RESEARCHER

We are a group of MBA students. I had done causal research for the reduction of defects for
Atlas Engineering during my internship in 2010. We had done a market research for the concept
testing of biscuit recently for our course of Marketing Management.

BUDGET
The budget of this research will be Rs. 2500. The break up is as follows:

Particulars

Cost (Rs.)

Transportation

1500

Printing

500

Refreshment for respondents

500

SCHEDULE
Stages of Research Process

Time Duration

Desk research

1 week

Doing exploratory research: conducting focus groups

2 weeks

Preparing a comprehensive questionnaire

1 week

Descriptive research: conducting interviews

2 weeks

Analysis and conclusion

1 week

report formation and Final Presentation

1 week

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Azhar Hussain
(Project Manager)

Danish Khalil
(Focus group )

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Muhammad
Tahir
(Data Collector)

Jawaid Alam
(Data Analysis)

http://issuu.com/ibilu/docs/national_readership_survey
http://www.pas.org.pk/newsprint-in-pakistan-independent-but-underutilized/
http://ihelpf9.com/printing-media-vs-electronic-media-in-pakistan

APPENDICES