Research Methodology
KNOWLEDGE
Non-Empirical:
Authority,
Logic
Empirical:
Scientific: Techniques or procedures used to analyse
empirical evidence in an attempt to confirm or
disprove prior conceptions.
Business Research
The systematic & objective process of gathering, recording &
analysing data for aid in making business decisions.
Scope: The purpose of business research is to fulfil the need for
knowledge of the organization, market, economy or any other
area of uncertainty.
Limitations: ?????
Basic research: Research that is intended to
expand the boundaries of knowledge itself or to
verify the acceptability of given theory e.g. hope as
buying behaviour
Applied research: Research undertaken to answer
questions about specific problems or to make
decisions about a particular course of action or
policy decisions.
Ladder of Abstraction
Concept: A generalized idea about a class of objects, attributes,
occurrences or processes. (An abstraction of reality).
Reality (Empirical level)
Concepts (Abstract level)
Propositions & Hypothesis
Proposition: A statement which gives a relationship between
concepts.
Hypothesis: An unproven proposition or supposition that
tentatively explains certain facts or phenomena (A proposition
that is empirically testable).
Proposition: Trained employees give better
productivity.
Hypothesis: The employees who attended XYZ
sales training program have increased their
conversion rate.
Types of business research
• Exploratory: Initial research conducted to clarify & define
the nature of a problem.
• Descriptive: Research designed to describe the
characteristics of a population or a phenomenon.
• Causal: Research conducted to identify cause and effect
relationships when the research problem has already been
narrowly defined.
Terminology used in
business research
• Variables (Dependent/Independent)
• Data/Information
• Sampling
• Pilot study
• Survey
• Forward/Backward linkage
• Unit of analysis
EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
• Experience survey
• Secondary data analysis
• Case studies
• Pilot Studies
Projective techniques
Focus group interview
Depth interview
Projective Techniques
• Word association test
• Sentence completion
• Third Person & Role playing
• TAT (THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST)
RESEARCH PROCESS
RESEARCH DESIGN: A master plan
specifying the methods and procedures for
collecting and analysing the needed information.
The four methods for collecting data for
descriptive & casual research are:
• Surveys
• Observation
• Secondary data studies
• Experiments
Surveys
• Cross-sectional research design
• Longitudinal design
• Panel studies
Survey Methods
• Personal interviews
Door to Door
Mall intercept
• Telephonic interviews
• Self administrative questionnaires
Mail
Internet
Survey errors
• Random sampling error
• Systematic error
Systematic errors
• Administrative errors
Data processing
Sample selection
Interviewer error
Interviewer cheating
Systematic errors
Respondent error
Non response
Response error:
1. Extremity bias
2. Acquiescence bias
3. Interviewer bias
4. Auspices bias
5. Social desirability bias
Experimental research
• A research method in which conditions are controlled
so that one or more variables can be manipulated in
order to test the hypothesis.
• Experimental research method allows the evaluation of
casual relationship among variables.
• It can be done in laboratory or on field.
Basic elements of
experimental research
Manipulation of the independent variable
• Independent variables
• Experimental & control group
• Multiple experimental treatment
Selection & measurement of dependent variables
Selection & assignment of test units
• Test units
• Randomization
• Matching
• Sampling errors
Control over extraneous variables
• Constant error
• Experimenter bias
• Extraneous variables
Establishing control
• Constancy
• Presentation order
• Counterbalancing
• Blinding/double blind
Validity
• Internal: It indicates whether the independent variable was
the sole cause of the change in the dependent variable.
• External: It indicates the extent to which the results of the
experiment are applicable in the real world.
Extraneous variables that effect the
internal validity of the experiment
• History effect
• Maturation
• Testing
• Instrumentation
• Selection
• Mortality
Experimental designs
X – exposure of a group to an experiment.
O – Observation or measurement of dependent
variable.
O, O2, O3, O4.....if more than 1 observation is taken.
R – Random assignment of the subjects to
experiment groups.
Quasi-experimental design
On-shot design (After-only design)
X O1
Quasi-experimental design
One-group Pretest - posttest design or
Before-and-after without control design
O1 X O2
Result/effect = O2 - O1
Quasi-experimental design
Static group design
Experimental group: X O1
Control group: O2
Result/effect = O1-O2
True experimental design
Before-after with contol group or
Pretest-posttest control group
Experimental group: R O1 X O2
Control group: R O3 O4
Result/effect=(O2-O1)-(O4-O3)
True experimental design
Posttest-only control group design or
After-only with control design
Experimental group: R X O1
Control group: R O2
Result/effect = O2-O1
True experimental design
Solomon four group design
Experimental group 1: R O1 X O2
Control group 1: R O3 O4
Experimental group 2: R X O5 Control
group 2: R O6
Other designs
Compromise design
Time series design
O1 O2 O3 X O4 O5 O6
Complex/statistical research designs
Complete Randomized Design
Randomized Block Design
Latin Square Design
Factorial Design
Complete Randomized Design
An experimental design that uses a random process
to assign experimental units to treatment in order to
investigate the effects of a single independent
variable.
Example: Incentives for mail survey.
Measurement scales
Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
Ration
Attitude Rating Scales
Simple
Category
Likert
Constant Sum
Numerical
Semantic Differential
Stapel
Graphic rating
