2. What is research?
• According to the American sociologist Earl Robert Babbie, “research is a
systematic inquiry to describe, explain, predict, and control the observed
phenomenon. It involves inductive and deductive methods.”
• Research is a process of systematic inquiry that entails collection of data;
documentation of critical information; and analysis and interpretation of that
data/information, in accordance with suitable methodologies set by specific
professional fields and academic disciplines.
3. Some objectives of research are:
• To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into
it (exploratory or formulative research studies)
• To describe accurately the characteristics of a particular individual,
situation or a group. (descriptive research)
• To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with
which it is associated with something else. (studies with this object
known as diagnostic research)
• To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables. (such
studies are known as hypothesis testing research)
4. Characteristics of a good research
1. The research should focus on priority problems.
2. The research should be systematic. It emphasizes that a researcher should employ a structured procedure.
3. The research should be logical. Without manipulating ideas logically, the scientific researcher cannot make
much progress in any investigation.
4. The research should be reductive. This means that the findings of one researcher should be made available
to other researchers to prevent them from repeating the same research.
5. The research should be replicable. This asserts that there should be scope to confirm the findings of previous
research in a new environment and different settings with a new group of subjects or at a different point in
time.
6. The research should be generative. This is one of the valuable characteristics of research because
answering one question leads to generating many other new questions.
7. The research should be action-oriented. In other words, it should be aimed at reaching a solution leading to
the implementation of its findings.
8. The research should follow an integrated multidisciplinary approach, i.e., research approaches from more
than one discipline are needed.
9. The research should be participatory, involving all parties concerned (from policymakers down to community
members) at all stages of the study.
10. The research must be relatively simple, timely, and time-bound, employing a comparatively simple design.
11. The research must be as much cost-effective as possible.
12. The results of the research should be presented in formats most useful for administrators, decision-makers,
business managers, or the community members.
5. Quantitative research Qualitative Research
Focuses on testing theories and hypotheses Focuses on exploring ideas and formulating a theory
or hypothesis
Analyzed through math and statistical
analysis
Analyzed by summarizing, categorizing and
interpreting
Mainly expressed in numbers, graphs and
tables
Mainly expressed in words
Requires many respondents Requires few respondents
Closed (multiple choice) questions Open-ended questions
Key terms: testing, measurement, objectivity,
replicability
Key terms: understanding, context, complexity,
subjectivity
7. Role of Business Research in Decision Making Process
• Business research is a process of acquiring detailed information of all the areas of
business and using such information in maximizing the sales and profit of the business.
• Business Research helps businesses to understand the possible opportunities and
threats that lay ahead. Opportunities help your organization to grow & prosper, & threats
endanger your position. Using business researches can a business not only find possibly
opportunities but also assess them and choose the most viable option.
• Business research can help the management to answer questions regarding issues
varying from understanding industry trends, determining which products or services to be
offered and deliver to the market, or to better understand the ways to meet the demands
of target customer segment and satisfy them.
• For example: A mobile company wants to launch a new model in the market. But they are
not aware of what are the dimensions of a mobile that are in most demand. Hence, the
company conducts a business research using various methods to gather information and
the same is then evaluated and conclusions are drawn, as to what dimensions are most
in-demand, This will enable the researcher to make wise decisions to position his phone
at the right price in the market and hence acquire a larger market share.
10. FOUR KEY DIMENSIONS THAT CHARACTERIZE
THE TYPE OF OBSERVATION
• Participant Vs Non-Participant Observation
• Controlled Vs Uncontrolled Observation
• Direct Vs Indirect Observation
• Structured Vs Unstructured Observation
• General Vs Scientific Observation
11. Research Design
• Research design can be defined as a blue print to conduct a research
study, which confirms beforehand the research approaches, the
variables under study, population and sampling design, tools and
method of data collection, and method of analyzing data for the best
answer to research question or to test research hypothesis.
• The type of research problem the organization is facing will determine
the type of research design and not vice-versa.
13. Research process
Define the Research Problem
Review Concepts and
Theories
Review Previous Research
findings
Formulate question, objective
& hypotheses
Design Research (including
sample design)
Collect Data (Execution)
Analyze Data (Test hypotheses)
Interpret and report
14.
15.
16.
17. Questionnaire
• A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of
questions for the purpose of gathering information from
respondents.
• The main purpose of a questionnaire is to extract data from the
respondents. It's a relatively inexpensive, quick, and efficient way of
collecting large amount data even when the researcher isn't present
to collect those responses first hand.
18. Essentials of a good questionnaire:
• To be successful, questionnaire should be comparatively short and simple i.e.,
the size of the questionnaire should be kept to the minimum.
• Questions should proceed in logical sequence moving from easy to more
difficult questions.
• Personal and intimate questions should be left to the end. Technical terms
and vague expressions capable of different interpretations should be avoided
in a questionnaire.
• Questions may be dichotomous (yes or noanswers), multiple choice
(alternative answers listed) or open-ended. The latter type of questions are
often difficult to analyse and hence should be avoided in a questionnaire to
the extent possible.
• Thereshould be some control questions in the questionnaire which indicate
the reliability of the respondent.
20. Guidelines for questionnaire design
• There are nine steps involved in the development of a questionnaire:
1. Decide the information required.
2. Define the target respondents.
3. Choose the method(s) of reaching your target respondents.
4. Decide on question content.
5. Develop the question wording.
6. Put questions into a meaningful order and format.
7. Check the length of the questionnaire.
8. Pre-test the questionnaire.
9. Develop the final survey form.
21. What is a null and alternative hypothesis?
• In statistical hypothesis testing, the null hypothesis of a test always
predicts no effect or no relationship between variables, while the
alternative hypothesis states your research prediction of an effect or
relationship.
