Research
 Is thus a systematic process of collecting, analyzing, and
interpreting information (data) in order to increase our
understanding of a phenomenon about which we are interested or
concerned.
What is Business Research?
 It is the application of the scientific method in searching for the
truth about business phenomena.
 It refers to systematic collection and analysis of data with the
purpose of finding answers to problems facing management.
 It helps decision makers shift from intuitive information
gathering to systematic and objective investigation
 It involves establishing objectives and gathering relevant
information to obtain the answer to a business issue and it can be
conducted to answer a business- related question
Purposes and Objectives of Research
 It provides basis for government policies
 Helps in solving various operational and planning problems of
business and industry
 To find out the truth which is hidden and which has not been
discovered so far.
 The ultimate goal of research is to supply accurate information
that reduces the uncertainty in managerial decision making.
 It decreases the risk of making wrong decisions in each area of
business.
 It is an aid to managerial decision making, never a substitute for
it.
Types of research
 Basic and applied research
 Qualitative and quantitative research
 Exploratory, descriptive, and casual
 Experimental, quasi – experimental ,
 non –experimental research
Limitations of Research
 Conclusions in research are based upon data collected. Therefore,
when the data collected are not valid or adequate, the conclusion
will not be conclusive or appropriate.
 Research results are theories
 Many people in society depend on customs, traditions, routines and
practices for taking decision instead of going for research.
 Research is usually based on sample studies. But in many cases
samples are not true representatives.
The Research Proposal may contain the following
 The purpose of the research
 The research design
 Sample design
 Data gathering methods/ tools
 data processing and analysis methods
 Budget and time schedule.
What are the distinct Features of Formal Research?
 It originates with a question or problem.
 It requires a specific plan for proceeding
 It usually divides the principal problem into more manageable
sub-problems.
 It is guided by the specific research problem, question, or
hypothesis.
 It is feasible
Feasibility of research
 is determined by its scope, costs in terms of time and money,
 the amount of subjects and samples that can be handled within
the time frame and financial resources,
 It is novel (original, different, new)
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 It is ethical (principled)
 It is relevant (applicable), and
 A good research must be verifiable
Implementation of a business strategy involves four inter-related
stages:
1. Identifying problems or opportunities
2. Diagnosing and assessing problems or opportunities
3. Selecting and implementing a course of action
4. Evaluating the course of action
Variables
 refer to a characteristics or attributes of an individual or an
organization that can be measured and that varies among the
people or organization being studied.
 often measured in studies include gender, age; socioeconomic
status and attitudes or behaviors
Independent variables
 are those that (probably) cause, influence, or affect outcomes.
They are also called treatment, manipulated, antecedent, or
predictor variables.
Dependent variables
 Other names for dependent variables are criterion, outcome,
effect, and response variables.
 are those that depend on the independent variables; they are
the outcomes or results of the influence of the independent
variables.
 They are the characteristics that appear, disappear, or change
as the experiment introduces, removes, or changes
independent variables.
 Example organization performance, profitability, market
share, efficiency, etc
Intervening or mediating variables
 Stand between the independent and dependent variables, and
they mediate the effects of the independent variable on the
dependent variable.
 Independent variables that affect the direction and the
strength of the r/s between independent and dependent
variables.
Two other types of variables are
1. control variables and
2. Confounding variables.
A. Control variables play an active role in quantitative studies.
These are a special type of independent variable that
researchers measure because they potentially influence the
dependent variable.
 They may be demographic or personal variables so that the
true influence of the independent variable on the dependent
can be determined.
B. A confounding (or spurious) variable is not actually
measured or observed in a study. It exists, but its influence
cannot be directly detected.
 Concepts are related to some abstract ideas or theory. It is
generally used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new
concepts or to interpret existing ones.
 A preposition is a statement about observable phenomena
(concepts) that may be judged as true or false.
 Variables are factors used to describe cause and effect of the
research or dependant factors in the research.
 Hypothesis is a tentative prediction about the nature of the
relationship between two or more variables and it
is formal statement of unproven proposition explaining
outcome that is empirically testable
Important of Literature review
 The literature review is a critical discussion and summary of
literature that is of general‟ and „specialized‟ relevance to the
particular area and topic of the research problem.
 You should spend a lot of time reading on your literature review
because if you do it well, you can use most of it in your
research.
Importance of Literature Review
 discover what statistical knowledge exists related to you research
topic
 increase your statistical knowledge in your research area
 find gaps (and possibly errors) in published research
 generate new original ideas
 avoid duplicating results of other researchers/
 It demonstrates your preparedness to complete the research
Four types Forms of Literature Review
1. Integrate what others have done and said,
2. criticize previous scholarly works,
3. build bridges between related topics, and
4. Identify the central issues in a field.
Sources Literature Review
1. Primary literature sources
These are the sources, which are the least accessible, often
being company literature or unpublished research, private
correspondence and can include conference proceedings.
2. Secondary literature sources
They include published books and articles in journals, news
media and published business, government and international
body publications.
3. Tertiary literature sources
Include encyclopedias, dictionaries, citation indexes,
catalogues and web-based portals, databases and journals‟
contents pages.
Applied and Basic Business Researches
 is conducted to address a specific business decisions for a
specific firm or organization.
 is concerned with the solution of particular problems.
 It is empirical and practical.
 It is concerned with applied aspects of life.
Basic Business Research pure research)
 is conducted without a specific decision in mind, and it
usually does not address the needs of a specific organization.
 It attempts to expand the limits of knowledge in general and
is not aimed at solving a particular pragmatic problem.
 It is a research concerning principles or laws or rules. It aims
at the achievement of knowledge and truth.
Qualitative research
 It involves the careful planning of a research design that
encompasses all aspects of the study,
Types of Qualitative Researches
1. Narrative research:
2. Phenomenological research
3. Case studies
Types of Qualitative Researches
1. Narrative research: is a design of inquiry from the
humanities in which the researcher studies the lives of
individuals and asks one or more individuals to provide
stories about their lives
2. Phenomenological research is a design of inquiry coming
from philosophy and psychology in which the researcher
3. Case studies are a design of inquiry found in many fields,
especially evaluation, business, law, education,
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Quantitative
 The aim is to count things in an attempt to explain what is
observed.
 Generalize ability, prediction, causal
Explanations
 Researcher uses tools, such as surveys, to collect numerical
data.
 Structured
 Data is in the form of numbers and statistics.
 Usually a large number of cases
 representing the population of interest. Randomly selected
respondents
 Objective – seeks precise measurement & analysis
 Researcher tends to remain objectively separated from the
subject matter
 Statistical
Qualitative
 The aim is a complete, detailed description of what is observed
 Contextualization, interpretation,
Understanding perspectives
 Unstructured
 Data is in the form of words, pictures
 Usually a small number of non representative cases. Respondents
 selected on their experience
 Subjective - individuals‟ interpretation of events is important
 Researcher tends to become subjectively immersed in the subject
matter
 Interpretive
Descriptive Research and Analytical Research
 Descriptive research includes survey and fact finding enquiries
of different kinds.
 It describes the state of affairs as it exists at present. The
researcher has no control over the variables.
 He can only report what has happened or what is happening.
 In an Analytical research one has to use facts or information
already available and analyze these to make a critical evaluation
of the material
Conceptual Research and Empirical Research
Conceptual research is that related to some abstract ideas or theory.
 It is generally used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new
concepts or to interpret existing ones.
Empirical research
 Relies on experience or observation alone. It is data based
research coming up with conclusions capable of being verified by
observation or experiment.
 It can be experiment research.
 the researcher has to first set up a hypothesis as to the probable
results.
Descriptive Research and Analytical Research
 Descriptive research includes survey and fact finding enquiries
of different kinds.
 It describes the state of affairs as it exists at present.
 He can only report what has happened or what is happening.
A research design is a “Blue Print” for collection, measurement and
analysis of data.
 It outlines how the research will be carried out.
 It is like glue which sticks together the entire process of
research.
 It provides answers to various questions
Three traditional categories of research design:
1. Exploratory
2. Descriptive
3. Causal
Exploratory Research
 is most commonly unstructured, research that is undertaken to
gain background information
 Conducted when the researcher does not know much about
the problem and needs additional
 helps diagnose the dimensions of the problem so that
successive research
Exploratory research is used in a number of situations:
o To gain background information
o To clarify problems
o To establish research priorities
Categories of Exploratory Research
1. Experience Surveys: - Issues and ideas may be discussed with
persons who have had personal experience in the field.
2. Secondary data analysis:- source of background information is
existing literature containing data that has been compiled for some
purpose other than the purpose.
3. Case Study method: -obtains information from one or a few
situations that are similar to the problem situation.
4. Pilot Studies: are used in different types of designs.
Historical Research / Predictive Research
 History, the meaningful record of human achievement, helps
us to understand the present and to some extent, to predict the
future.
 Used to “prevent reinventing the wheel” every few years.
Descriptive Research
 Descriptive research is undertaken to provide answers to
questions of who, what, where, when, and how – but not why.
Two basic classifications of Descriptive Research
• Cross-sectional studies
• Longitudinal studies
Survey
 Surveys are a popular method of collecting primary data.
 The broad area of survey research encompasses any
measurement
Sampling frame
 A sampling frame is a list of members of a population from
which members of a sample are then selected.
 A sampling frame needs to be accurate, complete, up-to-date
and relevant to the purposes of the survey for which it is to be
used.
There are three basic types of experimental research designs.
1. experimental designs,
2. true experimental designs, and
3. quasi-experimental designs
Causal Research
o Causality may be thought of as understanding a phenomenon in
terms of conditional statements of the form “If x, then y.”
o Causal relationships are typically determined by the use of
experiments, but other methods are also used.
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Case study is a method of exploring and analyzing the life of a social
unit including:
 a person
 a family
 an institution
 an organization
 even a community
Process of constructing case studies
Step 1. Collect/ assemble the raw case data
Step 2: Condensation of the raw case data
Step 3: Writing a final case study narratives
Sources of Case Study
1) Personal / organizational / program documents
2) Life history
Phases of Case Study
1. The researcher has to select the problem to be studied
2. The researcher has to describe the course of events,
situations.
3. Materials about each of the units or aspects are collected
(collecting materials/data).
4. Studying the materials critically
5. Analyzing and drawing conclusions about the case
Typology of Mixed Research
1. Partially mixed concurrent equal status design
2. Partially mixed concurrent dominant status design
3. Partially mixed sequential equal status
4. Partially mixed sequential dominant status design
5. Fully mixed concurrent equal status design
6. Fully mixed concurrent dominant status design
7. Fully mixed sequential equal status design
8. Fully mixed sequential dominant status design
Relate the following mixed research type with the aforementioned
types:
1. Convergent parallel mixed methods
2. Explanatory sequential mixed methods
3. Exploratory sequential mixed methods
4. Transformative mixed methods
An embedded mixed methods design involves as well either the
convergent or sequential use of data, but the core idea is that either
quantitative or qualitative data is embedded within a larger design.
A multiphase mixed methods design is common in the fields of
evaluation and program interventions.
Two f Quantitative Research Criteria
1. Validity and 2. Reliability
Validity
 is the ability of an instrument or test to measure what was intended
to be measured.
 Project and instruments measure what is intended to measure.
Reliability
 is the degree to which measures yield consistent and stable results.
 is a necessary but not sufficient condition for validity
 Findings are replicable or repeatable.
The Validity of an instrument or a Study
1. Internal Validity
 The degree to which changes in the dependent variable are
affected by the manipulated independent variable.
 Maintaining high internal validity means controlling for all
other independent variables other than the one(s) being studied.
2. External Validity
  The degree to which the results of a study can be generalized
to the “real world”. Qualitative Research Criteria
 Factors that negatively affect external validity also negatively 1. Dependability
affect the generalize ability of the results. 2. Reflexivity
Instrument Validity Dependability: Researchers account for the ever-changing context
 Does an instrument measure what it is supposed to measure? within which the research occurs.
Answer to this question explain to validityFour types of
instrument validity: Reflexivity: Researcher examine their own biases and make them
1) Construct validity known (trustworthiness).
2) Criterion related validity
3) Content validity Probability Sampling methods including
4) Inter-rater / Intra-rater validit  Simple random sampling .
Construct validity  Systematic sampling
 (do items measure hypothetical constructs or concepts?) (also  Stratified, cluster, sampling . and
see the previous slides)
 Multistage sampling .
Content validity
 It is the most important type of validity. Construct validity is Simple Random Sampling
the degree to which the instrument actually measures whether  Each element in the population has an equal chance of being
or not an underlying construct/concept is being measured selected.
 For large population sample selection is based on tables of random
Criterion Related Validity: numbers or computer-generated random numbers.
It is of two types:-
1. Concurrent validity – Degree to which scores on one test are Systematic Sampling
correlated with scores on another test administered at the same
 A starting point is selected by a random process; and then every
2. Predictive validity – Degree to which scores on one test
nth number on the list is selected
predicts scores on a test administered in the future. Only one
group is used
Stratified sampling:
Reliability of the instrument of data refers to the consistency with
 Subdividing a population into groups which are internally
which an instrument measures the construct or content area it is
intended to measure homogeneous but have comparative differences between groups.
 A subsample is drawn using simple random,sampling within each
Measures of Reliability stratum
1. Stability (test / re-test)
2. Equivalence (alternate forms) Three –Dimensional Typology of Mixed Methods Designs.
3. Equivalence and Stability Combined 1) Level of mixing (azpartially mixed vs fully mixed)
4. Internal consistency 2) Time orientation (concurrent/the same point in time vs
5. Scorer / Rater sequential/one after the other), and
3) Emphasis of approaches (equal status vs dominant
Internal Consistency: refers to questions on tests should be equally status/approach) with respect to addressing the research
difficult throughout entire instrument question/s (priority).

Types of Variables. Type of designs

1. Discrete Variable A. Triangulation Designs
2. Continuous Variable B. Embedded Design
C. Explanatory Designs
Types of data included continuous variable
a. Ordinal Data Importance of Literature Review
 Ordinal data consists of numbers which function as ranking.  discover what statistical knowledge exists related to you
b. Interval Data research topic
Interval data is types of data in form of numbers which has interval  increase your statistical knowledge in your research area
and already can be used in arithmetic operation.  find gaps in published research
c. Ratio Data  generate new original ideas
Ratio data is types of data which is very complex and definitely  avoid duplicating results of other researchers/
can be used in arithmetic operation.  justify the relevance of your proposed research

convenience Data sampling Collection Methods used Data gathering methods for the primary data:
1. Observation
1. Purposive (Judgment) sampling : selecting the sample based 2. Interview
on expert‟s judgment 3. Questionnaire/survey
4. Schedule
2. Quota sampling: sampling to ensure that the various subgroups 5. Experimentation
in a population are represented 6. Simulation
7. Use of telephone
3. Snowball sampling: selecting respondents based on 8. Panel method
9. Mail survey
information provided by the initial respondent

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 10. Projective technique Format for a Proposal
11. Sociometry Chapter I: Introduction
12. Focus group discussion  Background of the Study
13. Content analysis  Statement of the problem
Types of observation  Research questions or hypotheses
1. Complete observer  Objective /purpose of the study
2. Observer as participant  Significant of the Study
3. Participant as observer  Delimitation/Scope of the Study
4. Complete Participant  Operational Definition of Terms
Characteristics of a Good Questionnaire
 It deals with a significant topic and it should be clearly and Chapter II: Review of the related Literature
carefully stated on the questionnaire
 It is as short as possible and only long enough to get the Chapter III: Research Methods
essential data.
 It is attractive in appearance, neatly arranged, and clearly • Type of research design ( descriptive, experimental, survey)
duplicated or printed • Sources and Types of Data
 It is easy to tabulate and interpret • Population, sample, and sampling techniques
• Data collection instruments, variables, and materials
Collection of Secondary Data • Data analysis procedures
 Secondary data are those which have been collected by some • Validity and reliability of the instruments of data gathering or
other persons for his/her purpose and published. data to be collected
 They are usually in the shape of finished products. • Preliminary studies or pilot tests
Advantages of Secondary data • References
1. The information can be collected by incurring least cost. Appendixes: Instruments, timeline, and proposed budget
2. The time requires for obtaining the information is very less
(for the participants) .
3. Most of the secondary data are those published by big
institutions. So they contain large quantity of information and
reliable one. Difference between a probability sample and a non probability
Disadvantages of Secondary data sample
1. Since the secondary data is a result of some other person‟s
attempt, it might not be suitable for a researcher, who makes Probability Sampling
use of it.  Probability sampling is a sampling technique, in which the
2. It may be inaccurate and unreliable. subjects of the population get an equal opportunity to be selected
3. It may contain certain errors ( as a representative sample
 The sampling method in which all the members of the population
Sources of Secondary Data has a pre-specified and an equal chance to be a part of the sample.
1. Official report of the central, state and local government.  This technique is based on the randomization principle, wherein
2. Official publications of the foreign governments and the procedure is so designed, which guarantees that each and
international bodies every individual of the population has an equal selection
3. Reports and publications of Trade Associations, Banks, opportunity.
Cooperative Societies and Similar Semi Government and  This helps to reduce the possibility of bias.
Autonomous Organizations.
4. Technical journals, News papers, Books, Periodicals, etc The methods of probability sampling:
5. Publications of research Organizations, Centers, Institutes,  Simple Random Sampling
and reports submitted by Economists, Research scholars etc.  Stratified Sampling
 Cluster Sampling
Difference between Primary data and Secondary data  Systematic Sampling
a. Originality
b. Expense = Collection of data in the case of primary data Non-Probability Sampling
while in secondary data is less expensive.  Non probability sampling is a method of sampling wherein, it
c. Shape =the shape of raw materials vs shape of finished is not known that which individual from the population will
products. be selected as a sample.
d. Primary data is adequate and suitable. Secondary data need  When all the individuals of the population are not given an
not be ample and appropriate equal opportunity of becoming a part of the sample, the
The following factors are to be considered while choosing between method is said to be Non-probability sampling.
primary and secondary methods.  There is no probability attached to the unit of the population
a. Nature and scope of the enquiry and the selection relies on the subjective judgment of the
b. Availability of time and money researcher
c. Degree of accuracy desired. The methods of non-probability sampling:
d. Status of the investigator
Type of statistics • Convenience Sampling
1. descriptive statistics • Quota Sampling
2. inferential statistics • J judgment or Purposive Sampling
• Snowball Sampling

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