without due regard for system or theory Facts from observation or experimentation
Although commonsense can come up with some possible clues to answer the questions posed, most often, however, such inquiries cannot be based on commonsense only since it is itself based on what is familiar to the inquirer and hence likely to be not only of very limited scope, but also to lead, at times to erroneous results. Thus, understandably, conclusions based on common sense only are usually either more than or less than what is justified. The inadequacy of commonsense approach in providing answers to inquiries leads to the needs of the scientific methods of research with maximum possible accuracy, and clearly, commonsense would, almost certainly, have failed to produce. Physical and natural sciences deal with inanimate objects which does not change over time. Social science deals with human behavior which is contemporaneously affected by a number of diverse influences, e.g. Socio-economic, cultural, environmental, psychological, temporal, etc. The interplay of such a large number of influences that are themselves vulnerable to change, contributes to continuous change in human behavior . The behavior of an individual may be idiosyncratic and erratic and hence unpredictable, regularities exist in social life and therefore, group behavior can be predicted with a high degree of accuracy. Scientific methods, therefore, can be applied in social science, since pattern and regularity exist for the group. Research (Social) A systematic approach towards intellectually answering questions related to the knowable universe. Social research is concerned with Exploring, Describing, Explaining social phenomenon involving human behavior. Research (Marketing) A systematic and objective approach to the development and provision of information for the marketing management decision making process. Marketing research is the function which links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information information used to identify & define marketing opportunities & problems; generate, refine, & evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process. Exploratory Research: Undertaken when the researcher has little or no knowledge about the situation under investigation, or when s/he is unaware of the specific aspects of a general problem; such studies helps to investigate more in-depth investigations, develop hypotheses, gain familiarity with potentially significant factors to be dealt subsequently in greater detail with more structural investigations, & so on; e.g., Swine flu scenario in Bangladesh, Earthquake preparedness for the people. Descriptive Research: Describes situations and events, and are undertaken when much is known about the problem under investigation ; e.g., a national population census, or a report that families having greater number of child deaths also have greater number of children ever born than families with fewer or no child deaths. Explanatory/ Causal Research: Undertaken to explain events; e.g., a report on why families with more child deaths have greater number of children ever born. Basic (Pure or Fundamental) research: Seeks to extend the boundaries of knowledge regarding some aspects of the marketing system. These studies tend to be less organization specific, broader in purpose, guided by marketing hypotheses and theory. Applied research: Concerned with assisting managers in making better decisions. These studies are directed toward the organizations specific situation and guided by the requirements of the decision making process
Highly interrelated and continuously overlapped Difficult to correspond to a prescribed definite pattern Still following major steps are common in research Formulation of research problem Overview of relevant literature Operationalization of variables Population and sample determination Methods of data collection Processing and data analysis Interpretation of results and conclusions How to choose a research problem All social/marketing problems are not researchable Guided by the researchers own intellectual orientation, training, experience, etc. Theoretical & practical considerations Practical problems facing the society/product Once the general area of research is chosen, it becomes important to identify clearly and sharply a specific problem Discussing with persons with rich practical experience and knowledge Reviewing what is already known to pinpoint the gaps Identification of researchable problem leads to research objectives, hypotheses, definition of key variables and their measurements. Conditions for a researchable problem A perceived discrepancy between what is & what should be A question about why the discrepancy exists At least two possible and plausible answers to the question Once a problem is identified, it needs to be defined & justified by asking what is already known about it (Literature review, Expert opinion, etc.): How widespread is the problem? How often does it occur? What geographic areas & population groups are affected What are the probable reasons and solutions What are the related questions regarding the problem that seems not have been answered? What aspects of the problem needs to be researched further? Justification of research as it involves a considerable amount of time, money & efforts Is the problem current & timely How widespread is the problem Whether many people and many areas are affected Whether it affects special group of people Whether the problem is related to ongoing program activities Whether the top executives/officials are concerned with the problem Whether the problem is related to broad social & economic issues. Objectives Objectives should follow from a well defined problem Objectives describe the expected contributions of the research Provide hints as to which variables are to be measured in the process of the research Two types of Objectives Broad (Ultimate): Overall expectation from the research Specific (Immediate): Objectives that will help to answer the broad objective of the research Hypotheses From choosing the research problem and objectives the researcher proceeds to formulate hypotheses Researchers suggested solutions to the problem framed into propositional forms RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
HYPOTHESES (Starting the Research)
PARAMETERS (Broad Items of Analysis)
COMPLEX VARIABLES (Complex Unit of Analysis)
SIMPLE VARIABLES (Simple Unit of Variable)
VALUES (Unit of Measurement)
CATEGORY OF INFORMATION
PRIMARY DATA TERTIARY DATA SECONDARY DATA PARAMETER COMPLEX VARIABLE SIMPLE VARIABLE VALUE Q. NO. Means of communicatio n Mass Media Published materials Training Program Demonstration plot Yes/no Frequency of activity Personal Communicatio n Friends Relations Neighbors CD Workers Head of the village Religious leaders Traders Other Yes/no Frequency Flow of Communicatio n One-way communication Two-way communication Chance to consult or communicate with others PARAMETER COMPLEX VARIABLE SIMPLE VARIABLE VALUE Q. NO. Means of communicatio n Mass media Newspaper Radio TV Published materials Training Program Demonstration plot Yes/no Frequency of activity Personal communication Friends Relations Neighbors CD Workers Head of the village Religious leaders Traders Others Yes/no Frequency of contact Flow of communicatio n One-way communication Two-way communication Chance to consult or communicate with others Frequency PARAMETER COMPLEX VARIABLE SIMPLE VARIABLE VALUE Q. NO. Means of communication Mass media Newspaper Reading intensity Radio broadcast Listening habit TV Program Viewing habit Published materials Training Program Demonstration plot Frequency of activity 19 Personal communication Friends Relations Neighbors CD Workers Head of the village Religious leaders Traders Others Yes/no Frequency of contact 20 21 Individuals in same cluster same village study area project area outside study and project area Frequency 22 Flow of communication One-way communication Two-way communication Three-way communication Chance to consult or communicate with others Identification of steps Frequency Checklist 23 PARAMETER COMPLEX VARIABLE SIMPLE VARIABLE VALUE Q. NO. Means of communication Information through mass media Newsprint Checklist of items 27 Reading intensity Frequency checklist 28 Radio broadcast Checklist of items 29 Listening habit Frequency checklist 30 TV program Checklist of items 31 Viewing habit Frequency checklist 32 Personal communication with individual In same cluster Friends Relatives Neighbors CD Workers Head of the village Religious leaders Traders Others 33 34 In same village In study area In project area Outside study and project area Published materials Frequency of exposure Checklist 35 Training programs Frequency of participation Checklist 36 Demonstration plot Frequency of visit Checklist 37 Flow of information One step Identification Checklist 38 Two steps Identification of step 1 Checklist 39 40 Identification of step 2 Three steps Identification of step 1 Checklist 41 42 43 Identification of step 2 Identification of step 3 Opportunity to consult with each other Active involvement Checklist 44 Passive involvement Checklist 45 Sampling is the process of selecting a subset of individuals from a large group of individuals (Population/ Universe), with a view to drawing inferences about the larger group on the basis of the information obtained from the subset. Advantages Time (Saves time) Cost (Economical) Accuracy (Sampling is more accurate than Census) Destructive Nature
Non Probability Sampling Is a sample drawn from a population in which there is no known specified probability for each element to be included in the sample. Probability Sampling Is a sample which is drawn in such a way that every element in the population has a known non-zero probability of being included in the sample. The likelihood for a sample to be representative of the parent population is higher because of its unbiased character Convenient/ Accidental Chosen from anyone in sight in a street, market place, bus station, etc. Judgmental/ Purposive Uses the experience to select the elements that best will best serve the purpose of the research. Quota Based on the prior knowledge about the population the quotas for various segments of the population are specified. Snow Ball Hardly anything is known about the population. From the indication of very few picked up samples, the sampling procedures moves further, and likewise goes on.
Simple Random Sampling Every element in the population has an equal chance of being included Systematic Sampling Well organized population Stratified Sampling Population is divided into a number of mutually exclusive non- overlapping groups (strata) which are homogenous within the strata but heterogeneous among themselves and samples are selected from those groups Cluster Sampling Clusters are groups which are heterogeneous within the strata but homogenous among themselves and samples are selected from some of these groups
Element: An unit of a population about which information or data are to be collected in a particular research. Population: Aggregate of all the elements of the research topic/ Area. Sampling Unit: An element or a collection of a number of elements (Multistage Sampling). Sampling Frame: Actual list of all sampling units. Multistage Sampling: Selecting a sample in different stages, e.g., to draw a national sample of households at three stages First stage: Select few provinces from all provinces (Primary sampling unit) Second stage: Select few districts from all districts (Secondary sampling unit) Third stage: Select few households from all households (Ultimate sampling unit) n = (Nz 2 pq)/(Nd 2 + z 2 pq) = (z 2 pq)/d 2
where, n: Sample Size N: Population size z: Reliability (depends on level of significance) d: Precision p: proportion (0.5 for maximum variance) q: 1 p