ASSIGNMENT

ON
MB0050 / RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
NAME: HEENA PURSWANI
ROLL NO. 1408007975
Ques.1: Research is a sequential method of enquiry, directed towards a clear
implicit or explicit objective. Describe in detail the steps to be carried out in a
typical research study.
Answer: Management research is an unbiased, structured, and sequential method of enquiry,
directed towards a clear implicit or explicit business objective. This enquiry might lead to
proving existing theorems and models or arriving at new theories and models.
Steps carried out in a typical research study:
1. The management dilemma
2. Defining the research problem
3. Formulating the research hypotheses
4. Developing the research proposal
5. Research design formulation
6. Sampling Design
The management dilemma: Any research starts with the need and desire to know more.
This is essentially the management dilemma. It could be the researcher himself or herself or it
could be a business manager who gets the study done by a researcher. The need might be
purely academic (basic or fundamental research) or there might be an immediate business
decision that requires an effective and workable solution (applied research).
Defining the research problem: This is the first and the most critical step of the research
journey. For example, a soft drink manufacturer who is making and selling aerated drinks
now wants to expand his business. He wants to know whether moving into bottled water
would be a better idea or he should look at fruit juice based drinks.
Formulating the research hypotheses: In the model, we have drawn broken lines to link
defining the research problem stage to the hypotheses formulation stage. The reason is that
every research study might not always begin with a hypothesis; in fact, the task of the study
might be to collect detailed data that might lead to, at the end of the study, some indicative
hypotheses to be tested in subsequent research.
Developing the research proposal: After the management dilemma has been converted into
a defined problem and a working hypothesis, the next step is to develop a plan of
investigation.
Research design formulation: On the basis of the orientation of the research, i.e.,
exploratory, descriptive or causal, the researcher has a number of techniques for addressing
the stated objectives. These are termed in research as research designs. The main task of the
design is to explain how the research problem will be investigated.
Sampling design: Study the entire population is not always possible. Hence the researcher
goes about studying a small and representative sub-group of the population. This sub-group is

referred to as the sample of the study. There are different techniques available for selecting
the group based on certain assumptions
Ques.2. What are descriptive research designs? Explain the different kinds of
descriptive research designs.
Answer: Descriptive Research Designs:
As the name implies, the objective of descriptive research studies is to provide a
comprehensive and detailed explanation of the phenomena under study. The intended
objective might be to give a detailed sketch or profile of the respondent population being
studied. For example, to design an advertising and sales promotion campaign for high-end
watches, a marketer would require a holistic profile of the population that buys such luxury
products. Thus a descriptive study. Descriptive researches thus are conclusive studies.
However, they lack the precision and accuracy of experimental designs, yet it lends itself to a
wide range of situations and is more frequently used in business research. Based on the time
period of the collection of the research information, descriptive research is further subdivided
into two categories: cross-sectional studies and longitudinal studies.
Kinds of Descriptive Research Design
There are three main types of descriptive methods:
1. Observational methods,
2. Case-study methods
3. Survey methods.
Observational Method: With the observational method (sometimes referred to as field
observation) animal and human behavior is closely observed. There are two main categories
of the observational method
1. Naturalistic observation
2. Laboratory observation.
The biggest advantage of the naturalistic method of research is that researchers view
participants in their natural environments. This leads to greater ecological validity than
laboratory observation, proponents say. Laboratory observations are usually less timeconsuming and cheaper than naturalistic observations.
Case Study Method: Case study research involves an in-depth study of an individual or
group of indviduals. Case studies often lead to testable hypotheses and allow us to study rare
phenomena. Case studies should not be used to determine cause and effect, and they have
limited use for making accurate predictions.
Survey Method: In survey method research, participants answer questions administered
through interviews or questionnaires. After participants answer the questions, researchers
describe the responses given. In order for the survey to be both reliable and valid it is

important that the questions are constructed properly. Questions should be written so they are
clear and easy to comprehend.
Ques.3. The procedure of testing hypothesis requires a researcher to adopt several
steps. Describe in brief all such steps.
Answer: A hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or
more variables. A hypothesis is a specific, testable prediction about what you expect to
happen in your study. For example, a study designed to look at the relationship
between sleep deprivation and test performance might have a hypothesis that states,
"This study is designed to assess the hypothesis that sleep deprived people will
perform worse on a test than individuals who are not sleep deprived.
Steps for procedure of testing hypothesis:
1. Specify the Null Hypothesis
2. Specify the Alternative Hypothesis
3. Set the Significance Level (a)
4. Calculate the Test Statistic and Corresponding P-Value
5. Drawing a Conclusion
Step 1: Specify the Null Hypothesis: The null hypothesis (H0) is a statement of no
effect, relationship, or difference between two or more groups or factors. In research
studies, a researcher is usually interested in disproving the null hypothesis.
Examples:
There is no difference in intubation rates across ages 0 to 5 years.
The intervention and control groups have the same survival rate (or, the intervention
does not improve survival rate).
There is no association between injury type and whether or not the patient received
an IV in the prehospital setting
Step 2: Specify the Alternative Hypothesis: The alternative hypothesis (H1) is the
statement that there is an effect or difference. This is usually the hypothesis the
researcher is interested in proving. The alternative hypothesis can be one-sided (only
provides one direction, e.g., lower) or two-sided. We often use two-sided tests even
when our true hypothesis is one-sided because it requires more evidence against the
null hypothesis to accept the alternative hypothesis.
Step 3: Set the Significance Level (a): The significance level (denoted by the Greek
letter alpha a) is generally set at 0.05. This means that there is a 5% chance that you
will accept your alternative hypothesis when your null hypothesis is actually true. The
smaller the [Type text] Page 5 significance level, the greater the burden of proof
needed to reject the null hypothesis, or in other words, to support the alternative
hypothesis.
Step 4: Calculate the Test Statistic and Corresponding P-Value: In another section
we present some basic test statistics to evaluate a hypothesis. Hypothesis testing
generally uses a test statistic that compares groups or examines associations between
variables. When describing a single sample without establishing relationships between
variables, a confidence interval is commonly used.

Step 5: Drawing a Conclusion:

1. P-value <= significance level (a) => Reject your null hypothesis in favour of your
alternative hypothesis. Your result is statistically significant.
2. P-value > significance level (a) => Fail to reject your null hypothesis. Your result is
not statistically significant.
Hypothesis testing is not set up so that you can absolutely prove a null hypothesis.
Therefore, when you do not find evidence against the null hypothesis, you fail to reject
the null hypothesis. When you do find strong enough evidence against the null
hypothesis, you reject the null hypothesis.
Ques.4. a. Distinguish between:
i. Schedules and Questionnaires
ii. Open ended and closed ended questions
b. Explain the questionnaire design process.
Answer:
1. Schedules and Questionnaires
QUESTIONNAIRES
Questionnaire is generally sent through
mail to informants to be answered as
specified in a covering letter, but
otherwise without further assistance
from the sender
Data collection is cheap and economical
as the money is spent in preparation of
questionnaire and in mailing the same to
respondents
Non response is usually high as many
people do not respond and many return
the questionnaire without answering all
questions. Bias due to nonresponse often
remains indeterminate.
It is not clear that who replies
The questionnaire method is likely
to be very slow since many
respondents do not return the
questionnaire

SCHEDULES
A schedule is generally filled by the
research worker or enumerator, who can
interpret the questions when necessary
Data collection is more expensive as
money is spent on enumerators and in
imparting trainings to them. Money is
also spent in preparing schedules
Non response is very low because this is
filled by enumerators who are able to get
answers to all questions. But even in this
their remains the danger of interviewer
bias and cheating
Identity of respondent is not known
Information is collected well in time as
they are filled by enumerators

2. Open ended & Closed Ended questions

The main difference between a closed-ended question and an open-ended question is the type
of response that can be given. With a closed-ended question there are a limited number of
choices to choose from when answering, but with an open-ended question the respondent can
answer in their own words allowing for a wide variety of answers.
Another difference between a closed-ended question and an open-ended question is the
difficulty level of statistical analysis. The closed-ended question allows researchers to analyse

the data at a much faster rate than the open-ended question, because there is a limited number
of responses. However, the open-ended question allows for a variety of responses, so it takes
a large amount of time to categorize all these responses into workable data.
Example: Closed-ended: Multiple choice question: How many hours are there is a day?
A. 23
B. 20
C. 21
D. 24
Application: For this example of a multiple choice question, it is clear to see that there are a
fixed number of ways in which one can answer this question. The respondent can only
answer by circling either A., B., C., or D.
Example: Open-ended question: Describe what you did to deal with harassment at school?
Application: This question allows the respondent to answer the question in their own words.
One participant may say that they went to the school counselor, while another participant may
say that they did not report the sexual harassment. As a result, the open-ended question would
provide researchers with loads of information.

b. Explain the questionnaire design process.

Basically there are seven steps in designing the questionnaire:
1. Decide the information required: decide the things which should be collected from the
respondents. Thus, a small number of informal interviews should be taken from the
respondents which help in making a clear picture about what information is needed.
2. Define the target respondents: a researcher should define the population from whom data
will be collected. While deciding the population, a researcher must keep in mind the various
factors such as family, age group, and education etc. of the respondents.
3. Choose the method(s) of reaching your target respondents: there are lots of alternatives
to collect the data for a research study. It may include personal interviews, group interviews,
telephonic interviews, etc. normally a researcher use first two methods.
4. Decide on question content: Decide the type and nature of questions in such a way that it
arise the interest of the respondents while answering them. Dont frame those questions
which have no use for your research purpose.
5. Develop the question wording: frame out the questions in such a way that it seems to be
simpler, easier and interpretable to your respondents. Frame out only those questions which a
respondent clearly remember.
6. Put questions into a meaningful order and format: make a sequence of your questions
properly so as it may give a meaningful order to your respondents and they may not feel
confused while answering them.

7. Check the length of the questionnaire: always put 12-15 questions maximum in your
questionnaire so that it will not take more time of your respondents and they may not feel
boredom also while answering.
8. Pre-test the questionnaire: before finalizing the questionnaire, make a pre-test of your
questionnaire in a sample or a small group of people so that if problem arises you can rectify
at the right time.
9. Develop the final survey form: after getting positive response of pretesting, develop the
final questionnaire and present it in front of your targeted respondents to collect your relevant
data.
Quest.5. What is the analysis of variance? What are the assumptions of the technique?
Give a few examples where this technique could be used.
Answer:
a) Meaning of analysis of variance
Suppose we know that the sales of a product is influenced by the price level. In this case,
sales are a dependent variable and the price is the independent variable. Let there be three
levels of price, namely, low, medium and high. We wish to determine the most effective price
level i.e. at which price level the sale is highest. Here, the test units are the stores which are
randomly assigned to the three treatment level. The average sales for each price level is
computed and examined to see whether there is any significant difference in the sale at
various price levels. The statistical technique to test for such a difference is called analysis of
variance (ANOVA).
Assumptions of the technique
This design is used when a researcher is investigating the effect of one independent variable
on the dependent variable. The independent variable is required to be measured in nominal
scale i.e. it should have a number of categories. Each of the categories of the independent
variable is considered as the treatment. The basic assumption of this design is that there are
no differences in the test units. All the test units are treated alike and randomly assigned to
the test groups. This means that there are no extraneous variables that could influence the
outcome.
b).The following data represents the number of units produced by four operators
during three different shifts:
Shifts

Operator

A
10
10
12

I
II
III

B
8
12
10

C
12
14
11

D
13
15
14

Perform a two-way analysis of variance and interpret the result.

Answer:
Sources of

Degrees of

Sum of

Variation

freedom

Squares

Treatments

Blocks

k-1

n-1

TrSS

SSB

Mean Square

MSTr=TrSS

k-1

MSTr

k-1

MSB= SSB

(k-1)(n-1)
n-1

n-1

= MSE

MSE

(k-1)(n-1)
Error

(k-1) (n-1)

SSE

MSE= SSE
(k-1)(n-1)

Total

Kn-1

TSS

The Error sum of squares would be obtained as

SSE= TSS TrSS SSB
The required computations for the two-way ANOVA are as under:
T.1

10 + 10 + 12 = 32

T.2 = 8 + 12 + 10 = 30
T.3

= 12 + 14 + 11 = 37

T.4

= 13 + 15 + 14 = 42

SSB = 1/3 * [322 + 302 + 372 + 422] 1/12 (141)2

MSB

= 1/3 [ 1024+900+ 1369+1764] 1/12 (19881)

=1685.66 1656.75 = 28.92
Therefore, SSE= TSS-TrSS-SSB
Ques.6: Explain the Structure of the Research Report. What are the guidelines for
effective report writing?
Answer: Report Writing: Structure of the Research Report
Whatever the type of report, the reporting requires a structured format and by and large, the
process is standardized. As stated above, the major difference amongst the types of reports is
that all the elements that make a research report would be present only in a detailed technical
report. Usage of theoretical and technical jargon would be higher in the technical report and
visual presentation of data would be higher in the management report.
The preliminary section includes the title page, followed by the letter of authorization,
acknowledgements, executive summary and the table of contents. Then come the background
section, which includes the problem statement, introduction, study background, scope and
objectives of the study and the review of literature (depends on the purpose). This is followed
by the methodology section, which, as stated earlier, is again specific to the technical report.
This is followed by the findings section and then come the conclusions. The technical report
would have a detailed bibliography at the end. In the management report, the sequencing of
the report might be reversed to suit the needs of the decision-maker, as here the reader needs
to review and absorb the findings. Thus, the last section on interpretation of findings would
be presented immediately after the study objectives and a short reporting on methodology
could be presented in the appendix.
Report Writing: Formulation Rules for Writing the Report
Listed below are some features of a good research study that should be kept in mind while
documenting and preparing the report.
Clear report mandate: While writing the research problem statement and study background,
the writer needs to be absolutely clear in terms of why and how the problem was formulated.
Clearly designed methodology: Any research study has its unique orientation and scope and
thus has a specific and customized research design, sampling and data collection plan. In
researches, that are not completely transparent on the set of procedures, one cannot be
absolutely confident of the findings and resulting conclusions.

Clear representation of findings: Complete honesty and transparency in stating the

treatment of data and editing of missing or contrary data is extremely critical.
Representativeness of study finding: A good research report is also explicit in terms of
extent and scope of the results obtained, and in terms of the applicability of findings.
Thus, some guidelines should be kept in mind while writing the report.
Command over the Medium
A correct and effective language of communication is critical in putting ideas and objectives
in the vernacular of the reader/decision maker.
Phrasing Protocol
The use of personal pronoun such as I think, or In my opinion lends a subjectivity
and personalization of judgment. Thus, the tone of reporting should be neutral. Whenever the
writer is reproducing the verbatim information from another document or comment of an
expert or published source, it must be in inverted commas or italics and the author or source
should be duly acknowledged.
Simplicity of Approach
Along with grammatically and structurally correct language, care must be taken to avoid
technical jargon as far as possible. In case it is important to use certain terminology, then, the
definition of these terms can be provided in the glossary of terms at the end of the report.
Report Formatting and Presentation.
In terms of paper quality, page margins and font style and size, a professional standard should
be maintained. The font style must be uniform throughout the report. The topics, subtopics,
headings and subheadings must be constructed in the same manner throughout the report. The
researcher can provide data relief and variation by adequately supplementing the text with
graphs and figures.