Master of Business Administration- MBA Semester 3 MB00 50 Research Methodology Assignment Set 1

Ans-1 (a) Types of Research 1) Pure research : Pure Research is undertaken for the sake of knowledge without any intention to apply it in practice. It is also known as fundamental research. 2) Applied Research : Carried on to find solution to a real-life problem requiring an action or policy decision. It is thus problem-oriented and actiondirected. 3) Exploratory Research : Also known as formulate research. It is preliminary study of an unfamiliar problem about which the researcher has little or no knowledge. 4) Descriptive Study : Fact finding investigation with adequate interpretation. 5) Diagnostic Study : Similar to descriptive study but with a different focus. 6) Evaluation Studies : Type of applied research. 7) Action Research : Type of evaluation study. Ans 1 (b) Significance of Research in Social and Business Sciences 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. 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. 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. Thus, research as a tool of government economic policy formulation involves three distinct stages of operation which are as follows:

underlying them.

structure through continual compilation of facts. of the forces .

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. 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. 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. Ans 2 Validity - Validity refers to how effective an instrument is in measuring a property which it intends to measure. There are three types of validity content validity, predictive validity and construct validity. 1 -Content validity may be of two types face validity and sampling validity. Face validity is determined by a subjective evaluation of a measuring scale. Sampling validity refers to the extent to which the measuring instruments content is representative of the content universe of the characteristic being measured. 2 - Predictive validity of a measuring instrument refers to the extent to which it may be used to predict a particular behavior, based on another behavior. 3 -Construct validity of a measuring instrument is determined by testing the relationships between the variables in the study and other variables. Reliability of a measuring instrument refers to its ability to provide consistent and accurate results with repeated measurements. Reliability and validity are closely interlinked. A measuring instrument that is valid is always reliable, but the reverse is not true. That is, an instrument that is reliable is not always valid. However, an instrument that is not valid may or may not be reliable and an instrument that is not reliable is never valid. Ans 3(a) Importence of Litereture Survey Literature reviews are important as research tools, especially in emerging areas, with populations that typically yield small samples (e.g., special education research often does), or in areas that represent value-laden positions adopted by advocacy groups. Literature reviews are also valuable

in light of the knowledge explosion and the consequent impossibility of reading everything. Therefore, it is good that someone does literature reviews. The literature review is important because: It describes how the proposed research is related to prior research in statistics. It shows the originality and relevance of your research problem. It justifies your proposed methodology. It demonstrates your preparedness to complete the research. Ans 3 (b) Criteria of good research problem

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. 5. Objectivity: That is free being from all biases and vested interests. It means observation is unaffected by the observers values, beliefs and preferences to the extent possible 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: 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.

Ans 4 Procedure for Testing Hypothesis To test a hypothesis means to tell whether or not the hypothesis seems to be valid. Procedure for hypothesis testing refers to all those steps that we undertake for making a choice between the two actions i.e., rejection and acceptance of a null hypothesis. The various steps involved in hypothesis testing are stated below: 1- Making a Formal Statement The step consists in making a formal statement of the null hypothesis (Ho) and also of the alternative hypothesis (Ha). If Ha is of the type greater than, we use alone tailed test, but when Ha is of the type whether greater or smaller then we use a two-tailed test. 2 -Selecting a Significant Level The hypothesis is tested on a pre-determined level of significance and such the same should have specified. Generally, in practice, either 5% level or 1% level is adopted for the purpose. 3 -Deciding the Distribution to use After deciding the level of significance, the next step in hypothesis testing is to determine the appropriate sampling distribution. 4 -Selecting A Random Sample & Computing An Appropriate Value Another step is to select a random sample(S) and compute an appropriate value from the sample data concerning the test statistic utilizing the relevant distribution. 5 - Calculation of the Probability One has then to calculate the probability that the sample result would diverge as widely as it has from expectations, if the null hypothesis were in fact true. 6 - Comparing the Probability Another step consists in comparing the probability thus calculated with the specified value for , the significance level. If the calculated probability is equal to smaller than value in case of one tailed test (and /2 in case of two-tailed test), then reject the null hypothesis (i.e. accept the alternative hypothesis), but if the probability is greater then accept the null hypothesis. Ans 5(a) Components of Research Design It is important to be familiar with the important concepts relating to research design. They are:

1. Dependent and Independent variables: When changes in one variable depends upon the changes in one or more other variables, it is known as a dependent or endogenous variable, and the variables that cause the changes in the dependent variable are known as the independent or explanatory or exogenous variables. 2 . Extraneous variable: The independent variables which are not directly related to the purpose of the study but affect the dependent variable are known as extraneous variables. 3. Control: One of the most important features of a good research design is to minimize the effect of extraneous variable. The term control is used in experimental research to reflect the restrain in experimental conditions. 4. Confounded relationship: The relationship between dependent and independent variables is said to be confounded by an extraneous variable, when the dependent variable is not free from its effects. Research hypothesis: When a prediction or a hypothesized relationship is tested by adopting scientific methods, it is known as research hypothesis. Experimental and control groups: When a group is exposed to usual conditions in an experimental hypothesis-testing research, it is known as control group. On the other hand, when the group is exposed to certain new or special condition, it is known as an experimental group. Treatments: Treatments are referred to the different conditions to which the experimental and control groups are subject to. Experiment: An experiment refers to the process of verifying the truth of a statistical hypothesis relating to a given research problem. Experiment unit: Experimental units refer to the predetermined plots, characteristics or the blocks, to which the different treatments are applied. Ans 5 (b) Different Research Designs There are a number of crucial research choices, some of which are: 1. Experimental, historical and inferential designs (American Marketing Association). 2. Exploratory, descriptive and causal designs (Selltiz, Jahoda, Deutsch and Cook). 3. Experimental, and expost fact (Kerlinger) 4. Historical method, and case and clinical studies (Goode and Scates)

5. Sample surveys, field studies, experiments in field settings, and laboratory experiments (Festinger and Katz) 6. Exploratory, descriptive and experimental studies (Body and Westfall) 7. Exploratory, descriptive and casual (Green and Tull) 8. Experimental, quasi-experimental designs (Nachmias and Nachmias) 9. True experimental, quasi-experimental and non-experimental designs (Smith). 10. Experimental, pre-experimental, quasi-experimental designs and Survey Research (Kidder and Judd). Ans 6 (a) Assumptions of Case Study Method person doing the case study. The investigator makes up his procedure as he goes along. complete and coherent as possible.

historical data since these provide standards for assessing the reliability and consistency of the case material. through examining the internal consistency of the material. for securing data that are culturally meaningful and scientifically significant. Ans 6 (b) Sampling Process The process of sampling is complicated. The various criteria governing the choice of the sampling technique: 1. Purpose of the Survey: What does the researcher aim at? If he intends to generalize the findings based on the sample survey to the population, then an appropriate probability sampling method must be selected. 2. Measurability: Where the research objective requires statistical inference, the sample should be drawn by applying simple random sampling method or stratified random sampling method, depending on whether the population is homogenous or heterogeneous.

3. Degree of Precision: The desired level of precision as one of the criteria of sampling method selection. Where a high degree of precision of results is desired, probability sampling should be used. 4. Information about Population: How much information is available about the population to be studied? Where no list of population and no information about its nature are available, it is difficult to apply a probability sampling method. 5. The Nature of the Population: In terms of the variables to be studied, is the population homogenous or heterogeneous? In the case of a homogenous population, even a simple random sampling will give a representative sample. If the population is heterogeneous, stratified random sampling is appropriate. 6. Geographical Area of the Study and the Size of the Population: If the area covered by a survey is very large and the size of the population is quite large, multi-stage cluster sampling would be appropriate. But if the area and the size of the population are small, single stage probability sampling methods could be used. 7. Financial resources: If the available finance is limited, it may become necessary to choose a less costly sampling plan like multistage cluster sampling or even quota sampling as a compromise. Where the finance is not a constraint, a researcher can choose the most appropriate method of sampling that fits the research objective and the nature of population. 8. Time Limitation: The time limit within which the research project should be completed restricts the choice of a sampling method. Then, as a compromise, it may become necessary to choose less time consuming methods. 9. Economy: It should be another criterion in choosing the sampling method. It means achieving the desired level of precision at minimum cost. A sample is economical if the precision per unit cost is high or the cost per unit of variance is low. The above criteria frequently conflict and the researcher must balance and blend them to obtain to obtain a good sampling plan.