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Spring 2015

MBA Semester 3
MB0050: Research Methodology
Q1. Research is a sequential method of enquiry, directed towards a clear implicit or
explicit objective. Describe in detail the steps to be carried out in a typical research
study.
Management research is an unbiased, structured, and sequential method of enquiry,
directed towards a clear implicit or explicit business objective. This enquiry might lead to
proving existing theorems and models or arriving at new theories and models.

Figure: The Process of Research


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Steps carried out in a typical research study


The management dilemma
Any research starts with the need and desire to know more. This is essentially the
management dilemma. It could be the researcher himself or herself or it could be a business
manager who gets the study done by a researcher. The need might be purely academic
(basic or fundamental research) or there might be an immediate business decision that
requires an effective and workable solution (applied research).
Defining the research problem
This is the first and the most critical step of the research journey. For example, a soft drink
manufacturer who is making and selling aerated drinks now wants to expand his business.
He wants to know whether moving into bottled water would be a better idea or he should
look at fruit juice based drinks.
Formulating the research hypotheses
In the model, we have drawn broken lines to link defining the research problem stage to the
hypotheses formulation stage. The reason is that every research study might not always
begin with a hypothesis; in fact, the task of the study might be to collect detailed data that
might lead to, at the end of the study, some indicative hypotheses to be tested in subsequent
research.
Developing the research proposal
After the management dilemma has been converted into a defined problem and a working
hypothesis, the next step is to develop a plan of investigation.
Research design formulation
On the basis of the orientation of the research, i.e., exploratory, descriptive or causal, the
researcher has a number of techniques for addressing the stated objectives. These are
termed in research as research designs. The main task of the design is to explain how the
research problem will be investigated. There are different kinds of designs available to you
while doing a research.
Sampling design
Study the entire population is not always possible. Hence the researcher goes about
studying a small and representative sub-group of the population. This sub-group is referred
to as the sample of the study. There are different techniques available for selecting the
group based on certain assumptions. The most important criteria for this selection would be
the representativeness of the sample selected from the population under study.

Q2. What are descriptive research designs? Explain the different kinds of descriptive
research designs.
The objective of descriptive research studies is to provide a comprehensive and detailed
explanation of the phenomena under study as the name itself suggests. The intended
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objective might be to give a detailed sketch or profile of the respondent population being
studied. For example, to design an advertising and sales promotion campaign for high-end
watches, a marketer would require a holistic profile of the population that buys such luxury
products. Thus a descriptive study, (which generates data on who, what, when, where, why
and how of luxury accessory brand purchase) would be the design necessary to fulfill the
research objectives.
Cross-sectional Studies
Cross-sectional studies involve a slice of the population as the name implies. Just as in
scientific experiments one takes a cross-section of the leaf or the cheek cells to study the
cell structure under the microscope, similarly one takes a current subdivision of the
population and studies the nature of the relevant variables being investigated.
There are two important characteristics of cross-sectional studies:

This study is carried out at a single point in time and thus the applicability is most
relevant for a specific period. For example, one cross-sectional study was conducted
in 2002 to study the attitude of Americans towards Asian-Americans, after the 9/11
terrorist attack. This revealed the mistrust towards Asians. Another cross-sectional
study conducted in 2012 to study the attitude of Americans towards AsianAmericans revealed more acceptance and less mistrust. Thus the cross sectional
studies cannot be used interchangeably.

Cross-sectional studies are carried out on a section of respondents from the


population units under study (e.g., organizational employees, voters, consumers,
industry sectors). This sample is under consideration and under investigation only for
the time coordinate of the study.

Longitudinal Studies
Only one sample of the identified population that is under study over a longer period of time
is termed as a longitudinal study design. A panel of consumers specifically chosen to study
their grocery purchase pattern is an example of a longitudinal design. There are certain
distinguishing features of the same:

Longitudinal study involves the selection of a representative panel, or a group of


individuals that typically represent the population under study.

Another feature of this study is it involves the repeated measurement of the group
over fixed intervals of time. This measurement is specifically made for the variables
under study.

Q3. Discuss the concepts involved in Testing of Hypothesis. Also discuss the steps
involved in testing the hypothesis.

Q4.

a. Distinguish between:
i. Schedules and Questionnaires
ii. Open ended and closed ended questions
b. Explain the questionnaire design process.

Q5. Explain the any three types of comparative and non-comparative scales of each in
detail.

Q6. Explain the Structure of the Research Report. What are the guidelines for effective
report writing?

Remaining answers are available in the full assignments.

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