MB0034 – Research Methodology Assignment - Spring 2010 (Jan-June)

Q1. What do you mean by research? Explain its significance in social and business sciences.

Answer: Research simply means a search for facts – answers to questions and solutions to problems. It
is a purposive investigation. It is an organized inquiry. It seeks to find explanations to unexplained
phenomenon to clarify the doubtful facts and to correct the misconceived facts.

The search for facts may be made through either:

• Arbitrary (or unscientific) Method: It’s a method of seeking answers to question consists of
imagination, opinion, blind belief or impression. E.g. it was believed that the shape of the earth
was flat; a big snake swallows sun or moon causing solar or lunar eclipse. It is subjective; the
finding will vary from person to person depending on his impression or imagination. It is vague
and inaccurate. Or
• Scientific Method: this is a systematic rational approach to seeking facts. It eliminates the
drawbacks of the arbitrary method. It is objective, precise and arrives at conclusions on the basis
of verifiable evidences.

Therefore, search of facts should be made by scientific method rather than by arbitrary method.
Then only we may get verifiable and accurate facts. Hence research is a systematic and logical study of
an issue or problem or phenomenon through scientific method.

Significance of Research in Social and Business Sciences

According to a famous Hudson Maxim, “All progress is born of inquiry. Doubt is often better than
overconfidence, for it leads to inquiry, and inquiry leads to invention”. It brings out the significance of
research, increased amounts of which makes progress possible. Research encourages scientific and
inductive thinking, besides promoting the development of logical habits of thinking and organization.

The role of research in applied economics in the context of an economy or business is greatly
increasing in modern times. The increasingly complex nature of government and business has raised the
use of research in solving operational problems. Research assumes significant role in formulation of
economic policy, for both the government and business. It provides the basis for almost all government
policies of an economic system. Government budget formulation, for example, depends particularly on the
analysis of needs and desires of the people, and the availability of revenues, which requires research.
Research helps to formulate alternative policies, in addition to examining the consequences of these
alternatives. Thus, research also facilitates the decision making of policy-makers, although in itself it is not
a part of research. In the process, research also helps in the proper allocation of a country’s scare
resources. Research is also necessary for collecting information on the social and economic structure of
an economy to understand the process of change occurring in the country. Collection of statistical
information though not a routine task, involves various research problems. Therefore, large staff of
research technicians or experts is engaged by the government these days to undertake this work. Thus,
research as a tool of government economic policy formulation involves three distinct stages of operation
which are as follows:

• Investigation of economic structure through continual compilation of facts

• Diagnoses of events that are taking place and the analysis of the forces underlying them; and
• The prognosis, i.e., the prediction of future developments

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Research also assumes a significant role in solving various operational and planning problems
associated with business and industry. In several ways, operations research, market research, and
motivational research are vital and their results assist in taking business decisions. Market research is
refers to the investigation of the structure and development of a market for the formulation of efficient
policies relating to purchases, production and sales. Operational research relates to the application of
logical, mathematical, and analytical techniques to find solution to business problems such as cost
minimization or profit maximization, or the optimization problems. Motivational research helps to
determine why people behave in the manner they do with respect to market characteristics. More
specifically, it is concerned with the analyzing the motivations underlying consumer behaviour. All these
researches are very useful for business and industry, which are responsible for business decision making.

Research is equally important to social scientist for analyzing social relationships and seeking
explanations to various social problems. It gives intellectual satisfaction of knowing things for the sake of
knowledge. It also possesses practical utility for the social scientist to gain knowledge so as to be able to
do something better or in a more efficient manner. This, research in social sciences is concerned with
both knowledge for its own sake, and knowledge for what it can contribute to solve practical problems.

Q2. What is meant by research problem? And what are the characteristics of a good research
problem?

Answer:

Research really begins when the researcher experiences some difficulty, i.e., a problem demanding a
solution within the subject-are of his discipline. This general area of interest, however, defines only the
range of subject-matter within which the researcher would see and pose a specific problem for research.
Personal values play an important role in the selection of a topic for research. Social conditions do often
shape the preference of investigators in a subtle and imperceptible way.

The formulation of the topic into a research problem is, really speaking the first step in a scientific enquiry.
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.

R.L. Ackoffs analysis affords considerable guidance in identifying problem for research. He visualizes five
components of a problem.

1. Research-consumer: There must be an individual or a group which experiences some difficulty.

2. Research-consumer’s Objectives: The research-consumer must have available, alternative
means for achieving the objectives he desires.
3. Alternative Means to Meet the Objectives: The research-consumer must have available,
alternative means for achieving the objectives he desires.
4. Doubt in Regard to Selection of Alternatives: The existence of alternative courses of action in not
enough; in order to experience a problem, the research consumer must have some doubt as to
which alternative to select.
5. There must be One or More Environments to which the Difficulty or Problem Pertains: A change
in environment may produce or remove a problem. A research-consumer may have doubts as to
which will be the most efficient means in one environment but would have no such doubt in
another.

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Criteria of Good research Problem

Horton and Hunt have given following characteristics of scientific research:

1. Verifiable evidence: That is factual observations which other observers can see and check.
2. Accuracy: That is describing what really exists. It means truth or correctness of a statement or
describing things exactly as they are and avoiding jumping to unwarranted conclusions either by
exaggeration or fantasizing.
3. Precision: That is making it as exact as necessary, or giving exact number or measurement.
This avoids colourful literature and vague meanings.
4. Systematization: That is attempting to find all the relevant data, or collecting data in a systematic
and organized way so that the conclusions drawn are reliable. Data based on casual recollections
are generally incomplete and give unreliable judgments and conclusions.
5. Objectivity: That is free being from all biases and vested interests. It means observation is
unaffected by the observer’s values, beliefs and preferences to the extent possible and he is able
to see and accept facts as they are, not as he might wish them to be.
6. Recording: That is jotting down complete details as quickly as possible. Since human memory is
fallible, all data collected are recorded.
7. Controlling conditions: That is controlling all variables except one and then attempting to
examine what happens when that variable is varied. This is the basic technique in all scientific
experimentation – allowing one variable to vary while holding all other variables constant.
8. Training investigators: That is imparting necessary knowledge to investigators to make them
understand what to look for, how to interpret in and avoid inaccurate data collection.

Q3. What is hypothesis? Examine the procedures for testing hypothesis.

Answer:

A hypothesis is an assumption about relations between variables. It is a tentative explanation of the

research problem or a guess about the research outcome. Before starting the research, the researcher
has a rather general, diffused, even confused notion of the problem. It may take long time for the
researcher to say what questions he had been seeking answers to. Hence, an adequate statement about
the research problem is very important. What is a good problem statement? It is an interrogative
statement that asks: what relationship exists between two or more variables? It then further asks
questions like: Is A related to B or not? How are A and B related to C? Is A related to B under conditions
X and Y? Proposing a statement pertaining to relationship between A and B is called a hypothesis.

Testing of Hypothesis

The hypothesis testing determines the validity of the assumption (technically described as null
hypothesis) with a view to choose between the conflicting hypotheses about the value of the population
hypothesis about the value of the population of a population parameter. Hypothesis testing helps to
secede on the basis of a sample data, whether a hypothesis about the population is likely to be true or

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false. Statisticians have developed several tests of hypothesis (also known as tests of significance) for the
purpose of testing of hypothesis which can be classified as:

• Parametric tests or standard tests of hypothesis ;

• Non Parametric test or distribution – free test of the hypothesis.

Parametric tests usually assume certain properties of the parent population from which we draw samples.
Assumption like observations come from a normal population, sample size is large, assumptions about
the population parameters like mean, variants etc must hold good before parametric test can be used. But
there are situation when the researcher cannot or does not want to make assumptions. In such situations
we use statistical methods for testing hypothesis which are called non parametric tests because such
tests do not depend on any assumption about the parameters of parent population. Besides, most non-
parametric test assumes only nominal or original data, where as parametric test require measurement
equivalent to at least an interval scale. As a result non-parametric test needs more observation than a
parametric test to achieve the same size of Type I & Type II error.

Important Parametric Tests

The important parametric tests are:

• z-test
• t-test
• x2-test
• f-test

All these tests are based on the assumption of normality i.e., the source of data is considered to be
normally distributed. In some cases the population may not be normally distributed, yet the test will be
applicable on account of the fact that we mostly deal with samples and the sampling distributions closely
approach normal distributions.

Z-test is based on the normal probability distribution and is used for judging the significance of several
statistical measures, particularly the mean. The relevant test statistic is worked out and compared with its
probable value (to be read from the table showing area under normal curve) at a specified level of
significance for judging the significance of the measure concerned. This is a most frequently used test in
research studies. This test is used even when binomial distribution or t-distribution is applicable on the
presumption that such a distribution tends to approximate normal distribution as ‘n’ becomes larger. Z-test
is generally used for comparing the mean of a sample to some hypothesis mean for the population in
case of large sample, or when population variance is known as z-test is also used for judging the
significance of difference between means to of two independent samples in case of large samples or
when population variance is known z-test is generally used for comparing the sample proportion to a
theoretical value of population proportion or for judging the difference in proportions of two independent
samples when happens to be large. Besides, this test may be used for judging the significance of median,
mode, co-efficient of correlation and several other measures

T-test is based on t-distribution and is considered an appropriate test for judging the significance of
sample mean or for judging significance of difference between the two means of the two samples in case
of samples when population variance is not known (in which case we use variance of the sample as an
estimate the population variance). In case two samples are related, we use paired t-test (difference test)
for judging the significance of their mean of difference between the two related samples. It can also be
used for judging the significance of co-efficient of simple and partial correlations. The relevant test
statistic, t, is calculated from the sample data and then compared with its probable value based on t-
distribution at a specified level of significance for concerning degrees of freedom for accepting or rejecting

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the null hypothesis it may be noted that t-test applies only in case of small sample when population
variance is unknown.

X2-test is based on chi-square distribution and as a parametric test is used for comparing a sample
variance to a theoretical population variance is unknown.

F-test is based on f-distribution and is used to compare the variance of the two-independent samples.
This test is also used in the context of variance (ANOVA) for judging the significance of more than two
sample means at one and the same time. It is also used for judging the significance of multiple correlation
coefficients. Test statistic, f, is calculated and compared with its probable value for accepting or rejecting
the H0.

Q4. Write an essay on the need for research design and explain the principles of experimental
designs.

Answer:

The research designer understandably cannot hold all his decisions in his head. Even if he could, he
would have difficulty in understanding how these are inter-related. Therefore, he records his decisions on
paper or record disc by using relevant symbols or concepts. Such a symbolic construction may be called
the research design or model. A research design is a logical and systematic plan prepared for directing a
research study. It specifies the objectives of the study, the methodology and techniques to be adopted for
achieving the objectives. It constitutes the blue print for the collection, measurement and analysis of data.
It is the plan, structure and strategy of investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to research
questions. The plan is the overall scheme or program of research. A research design is the program that
guides the investigator in the process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting observations. It provides a
systematic plan of procedure for the researcher to follow elltiz, Jahoda and Destsch and Cook describe,
“A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that
aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure.”

Needs of Research Design

The need for the methodologically designed research:

a- In many a research inquiry, the researcher has no idea as to how accurate the results of his study
ought to be in order to be useful. Where such is the case, the researcher has to determine how much
inaccuracy may be tolerated. In a quite few cases he may be in a position to know how much
inaccuracy his method of research will produce. In either case he should design his research if he
wants to assure himself of useful results.

b- In many research projects, the time consumed in trying to ascertain what the data mean after they
have been collected is much greater than the time taken to design a research which yields data
whose meaning is known as they are collected.

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c- The idealized design is concerned with specifying the optimum research procedure that could be
followed were there no practical restrictions.

Principles of Experimental Designs

Professor Fisher has enumerated three principles of experimental designs:

1. The principle of replication: The experiment should be reaped more than once. Thus, each
treatment is applied in many experimental units instead of one. By doing so, the statistical accuracy of
the experiments is increased. For example, suppose we are to examine the effect of two varieties of
rice. For this purpose we may divide the field into two parts and grow one variety in one part and the
other variety in the other part. We can compare the yield of the two parts and draw conclusion on that
basis. But if we are to apply the principle of replication to this experiment, then we first divide the field
into several parts, grow one variety in half of these parts and the other variety in the remaining parts.
We can collect the data yield of the two varieties and draw conclusion by comparing the same. The
result so obtained will be more reliable in comparison to the conclusion we draw without applying the
principle of replication. The entire experiment can even be repeated several times for better results.
Consequently replication does not present any difficulty, but computationally it does. However, it
should be remembered that replication is introduced in order to increase the precision of a study; that
is to say, to increase the accuracy with which the main effects and interactions can be estimated.

2. The principle of randomization: It provides protection, when we conduct an experiment,

against the effect of extraneous factors by randomization. In other words, this principle indicates that
we should design or plan the ‘experiment in such a way that the variations caused by extraneous
factors can all be combined under the general heading of “chance”. For instance if we grow one
variety of rice say in the first half of the parts of a field and the other variety is grown in the other half,
then it is just possible that the soil fertility may be different in the first half in comparison to the other
half. If this is so, our results would not be realistic. In such a situation, we may assign the variety of
rice to be grown in different parts of the field on the basis of some random sampling technique i.e., we
may apply randomization principle and protect ourselves against the effects of extraneous factors. As
such, through the application of the principle of randomization, we can have a better estimate of the
experimental error.

3. Principle of local control: It is another important principle of experimental designs. Under it the
extraneous factors, the known source of variability, is made to vary deliberately over as wide a range
as necessary and this needs to be done in such a way that the variability it causes can be measured
and hence eliminated from the experimental error. This means that we should plan the experiment in
a manner that we can perform a two-way analysis of variance, in which the total variability of the data
is divided into three components attributed to treatments, the extraneous factor and experimental
error. In other words, according to the principle of local control, we first divide the field into several
homogeneous parts, known as blocks, and then each such block is divided into parts equal to the
number of treatments. Then the treatments are randomly assigned to these parts of a block. In
general, blocks are the levels at which we hold an extraneous factors fixed, so that we can measure
its contribution to the variability of the data by means of a two-way analysis of variance. In brief,
through the principle of local control we can eliminate the variability due to extraneous factors from
the experimental error.

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Q5. Distinguish between primary and secondary of data collection. Explain the features, uses,
advantages and limitations of secondary data. Which is the best way of collecting the data for
research “Primary or secondary”. Support your answer.

Answer:

The sources of data may be classified into (a) primary sources and (b) secondary sources.

Primary Sources of Data

Primary sources are original sources from which the researcher directly collects data that have not been
previously collected e.g.., collection of data directly by the researcher on brand awareness, brand
preference, brand loyalty and other aspects of consumer behaviour from a sample of consumers by
interviewing them,. Primary data are first hand information collected through various methods such as
observation, interviewing, mailing etc.

Advantage of Primary Data

• It is original source of data

• It is possible to capture the changes occurring in the course of time.
• It flexible to the advantage of researcher.
• Extensive research study is based of primary data

Disadvantage of Primary Data

1. Primary data is expensive to obtain

2. It is time consuming
3. It requires extensive research personnel who are skilled.
4. It is difficult to administer.

Methods of Collecting Primary Data

Primary data are directly collected by the researcher from their original sources. In this case, the
researcher can collect the required date precisely according to his research needs, he can collect
them when he wants them and in the form he needs them. But the collection of primary data is
costly and time consuming. Yet, for several types of social science research required data are not
available from secondary sources and they have to be directly gathered from the primary
sources.

In such cases where the available data are inappropriate, inadequate or obsolete, primary data
have to be gathered. They include: socio economic surveys, social anthropological studies of
rural communities and tribal communities, sociological studies of social problems and social
institutions. Marketing research, leadership studies, opinion polls, attitudinal surveys, readership,
radio listening and T.V. viewing surveys, knowledge-awareness practice (KAP) studies, farm
managements studies, business management studies etc.

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There are various methods of data collection. A ‘Method’ is different from a ‘Tool’ while a method
refers to the way or mode of gathering data, a tool is an instruments used for the method. For
example, a schedule is used for interviewing. The important methods are

(a) observation, (b) interviewing, (c) mail survey, (d) experimentation,

(e) simulation and (f) projective technique.

Secondary Sources of Data

These are sources containing data which have been collected and compiled for another purpose. The
secondary sources consists of readily compendia and already compiled statistical statements and reports
whose data may be used by researchers for their studies e.g., census reports , annual reports and
financial statements of companies, Statistical statement, Reports of Government Departments, Annual
reports of currency and finance published by the Reserve Bank of India, Statistical statements relating to
Co-operatives and Regional Banks, published by the NABARD, Reports of the National sample survey
Organization, Reports of trade associations, publications of international organizations such as UNO,
IMF, World Bank, ILO, WHO, etc., Trade and Financial journals newspapers etc.

Secondary sources consist of not only published records and reports, but also unpublished records. The
latter category includes various records and registers maintained by the firms and organizations, e.g.,
accounting and financial records, personnel records, register of members, minutes of meetings, inventory
records etc.

1. Features of Secondary Sources

Though secondary sources are diverse and consist of all sorts of materials, they have certain
common characteristics.

First, they are readymade and readily available, and do not require the trouble of constructing
tools and administering them.

Second, they consist of data which a researcher has no original control over collection and
classification. Both the form and the content of secondary sources are shaped by others. Clearly,
this is a feature which can limit the research value of secondary sources.

Finally, secondary sources are not limited in time and space. That is, the researcher using them
need not have been present when and where they were gathered.

Use of Secondary Data

The second data may be used in three ways by a researcher. First, some specific information
from secondary sources may be used for reference purpose. For example, the general statistical
information in the number of co-operative credit societies in the country, their coverage of
villages, their capital structure, volume of business etc., may be taken from published reports and
quoted as background information in a study on the evaluation of performance of cooperative
credit societies in a selected district/state.

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Second, secondary data may be used as bench marks against which the findings of research
may be tested, e.g., the findings of a local or regional survey may be compared with the national
averages; the performance indicators of a particular bank may be tested against the
corresponding indicators of the banking industry as a whole; and so on.

Finally, secondary data may be used as the sole source of information for a research project.
Such studies as securities Market Behaviour, Financial Analysis of companies, Trade in credit
allocation in commercial banks, sociological studies on crimes, historical studies, and the like,
depend primarily on secondary data. Year books, statistical reports of government departments,
report of public organizations of Bureau of Public Enterprises, Censes Reports etc, serve as
major data sources for such research studies.

Advantages of Secondary Data

Secondary sources have some advantages:

1. Secondary data, if available can be secured quickly and cheaply. Once their source of
documents and reports are located, collection of data is just matter of desk work. Even
the tediousness of copying the data from the source can now be avoided, thanks to
Xeroxing facilities.
2. Wider geographical area and longer reference period may be covered without much cost.
Thus, the use of secondary data extends the researcher’s space and time reach.
3. The use of secondary data broadens the data base from which scientific generalizations
can be made.
4. Environmental and cultural settings are required for the study.
5. The use of secondary data enables a researcher to verify the findings bases on primary
data. It readily meets the need for additional empirical support. The researcher need not
wait the time when additional primary data can be collected.

Disadvantages of Secondary Data

The use of a secondary data has its own limitations.

1. The most important limitation is the available data may not meet our specific needs. The
definitions adopted by those who collected those data may be different; units of measure
may not match; and time periods may also be different.
2. The available data may not be as accurate as desired. To assess their accuracy we need
to know how the data were collected.
3. The secondary data are not up-to-date and become obsolete when they appear in print,
because of time lag in producing them. For example, population census data are
published tow or three years later after compilation, and no new figures will be available
for another ten years.
4. Finally, information about the whereabouts of sources may not be available to all social
scientists. Even if the location of the source is known, the accessibility depends primarily
on proximity. For example, most of the unpublished official records and compilations are
located in the capital city, and they are not within the easy reach of researchers based in
far off places.

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Q6. Describe interview method of collecting data. State the conditions under which it is
considered most suitable. You have been assigned to conduct a survey on the reading habits
of the house wives in the middle class family. Design a suitable questionnaire consisting of
20 questions you propose to use in the survey.

Answer:

Interviewing is one of the prominent methods of data collection. It may be defined as a two way
systematic conversation between an investigator and an informant, initiated for obtaining information
relevant to a specific study. It involves not only conversation, but also learning from the respondent’s
gesture, facial expressions and pauses, and his environment. Interviewing requires face to face contact or
contact over telephone and calls for interviewing skills. It is done by using a structured schedule or an
unstructured guide.

Interviewing as a method of data collection has certain features. They are:

The Participants: The interviewer and the respondent – are strangers. Hence, the investigator has to get
him introduced to the respondent in an appropriate manner.

The Relationship between the Participants is a Transitory one: It has a fixed beginning and
termination points. The interview proper is a fleeting, momentary experience for them.

Interview is not a mere casual conversational exchange: Interview is a conversation with a specific
purpose, viz., obtaining information relevant to a study.

Interview is a mode of obtaining verbal answers to questions put verbally: The interaction between
the interviewer and the respondent need not necessarily be on a face-to-face basis, because interview
can be conducted over the telephone also. Although interview is usually a conversation between two
persons, it need not be limited to a single respondent. It can also be conducted with a group of persons,
such as family members, or a group of children or a group of customers, depending on the requirements
of the study.

Interview is an inter-actionable process: The interaction between the interviewer and the respondent
depends upon how they perceive each other.

The respondent reacts to the interviewer’s appearance, behaviour, gestures, facial expression and
intonation, his perception of the thrust of the questions and his own personal needs. As far as possible,
the interviewer should try to be closer to the social-economic level of the respondents. Moreover, he
should realize that his respondents are under no obligations to extend response.

One should, therefore, be tactful and be alert to such reactions of the respondents as lame-excuse,
suspicion, reluctance or indifference, and deal with them suitably. One should not also argue or dispute.
One should rather maintain an impartial and objective attitude. Information furnished by the respondent in
the interview is recorded by the investigator. This poses a problem of seeing that recording does not
interfere with the tempo of conversation.

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Interviewing is not a standardized process: Like that of a chemical technician; it is rather a flexible
psychological process. The implication of this feature is that the interviewer cannot apply unvarying
standardized technique, because he is dealing with respondents with varying motives and diverse
perceptions. The extent of his success as an interviewer is very largely dependent upon his insight and
skill in dealing with varying socio-physiological situations.

The interview process consists of the following stages:

• Preparation
• Introduction
• Developing rapport
• Carrying the interview forward
• Recording the interview
• Closing the interview

Merits of Interview Method

There are several real advantages to personal interviewing.

• First the greatest value of this method is the depth and detail of information that can be secured.
When used with well conceived schedules, an interview can obtain a great deal of information. It
far exceeds mail survey in amount and quality of data that can be secured.
• Second, the interviewer can do more to improve the percentage of responses and the quality of
information received than other method. He can note the conditions of the interview situation, and
adopt appropriate approaches to overcome such problems as the respondent’s unwillingness,
incorrect understanding of question, suspicion, etc.
• Third, the interviewer can gather other supplemental information like economic level, living
conditions etc. through observation of the respondent’s environment.
• Fourth, the interviewer can use special scoring devices, visual materials and the like in order to
improve the quality of interviewing.
• Fifth, the accuracy and dependability of the answers given by the respondent can be checked by
observation and probing.
• Last, interview is flexible and adaptable to individual situations. Even more, control can be
exercised over the interview situation.

Demerits of Interview Method

Interviewing is not free limitations.

• Its greatest drawback is that it is costly both in money and time.

• Second, the interview results are often adversely affected by interviewer’s mode of asking
questions and interactions, and incorrect recording and also by the respondent’s faulty
perception, faulty memory, inability to articulate etc.

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• Third, certain types of personal and financial information may be refused in face-to face
interviews. Such information might be supplied more willingly on mail questionnaires, especially if
they are to be unsigned.
• Fourth, interview poses the problem of recording information obtained from the respondents. No
full proof system is available. Note taking is invariably distracting to both the respondent and the
interviewer and affects the thread of the conversation.
• Last, interview calls for highly interviewers. The availability of such persons is limited and the
training of interviewers is often a long and costly process.

Questionnaire to conduct survey on reading habits of house wives in middle class families:

1. Why do you read?

2. How old were you when you learned how to read?
3. Were you a big reader growing up?
4. Are there any books that left a big impression on you as a kid?
5. Favourite genres? (Do you read mainly fiction or non-fiction? Do you have a soft spot for horror,
sci-fi or romance?)
6. Top 5 favourite authors.
7. Top 5 favourite books.
8. What do you typically wear when you read?
9. On average, how many books do you read a month?
10. How do get hold of the book? Do you buy them at a bookstore, visit an online store, borrow from
a friend or family member, or do you use the library?
11. Paperback or hardcover?
12. At what point do you give up on a book?
13. How do you find about new books or authors?
14. Best reading related memory.
15. Worst reading related memory.
16. What was the last book(s) you bought?
17. What was the last book you checked out from library?
18. On average, how many hours a week do you spend reading?
19. Do you sometimes read more than one book at a time?
20. What is the longest duration you have gone without reading?

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