RESEARCH METHODS FOR

MANAGEMENT

Dr.R.Prabhu
 UNIT 1
Research
 Food
 Clothes
 House
 Consumer Goods
 Travel
 Medicine and Drugs
 Power
 Luxury etc etc………
Definition of Research

 Best’s Definition:

“Systematic and objective analysis and

recording of controlled observations that may
lead to the development of generalizations,
principles or thesis, resulting in prediction
and possible ultimate control of events”.
What is Research?
Research is a systematic or scientific
investigation
 to search for solutions to the existing and

future problems
 to establish relationship, if any, among

variables and
 to find something new to increase our

knowledge
Searching for solutions to problems - Examples
 A medical scientist researching to invent/ discover a medicine to cure cancer.
Here cancer is the problem and the new medicine is the solution

 A horticulturist engaging in research to find a suitable chemical/method to

improve the colour of the apple. In this case dull colour is the problem and the
new chemical/method is the solution.

 A design engineer in a car manufacturing company trying to modify the engine

to reduce fuel consumption. Here, the problem is higher consumption of fuel
and the solution is new engine design.

 The marketing team looking out for a new promotional programme to improve
sales :
Problem: Poor sales
Solution: New promotional programme

 The personnel manager in a star hotel searching for appropriate incentives

Problem: Lack of motivation or low morale
Solution: Appropriate incentive

 A financial analyst searching for a simple way of calculating VAT

Problem: Complex way of calculating VAT
Establishing relationship among variables - Examples

 Medical research undertaken to find out weather there is any true relationship
between pawn-chewing and mouth cancer, sweet eating and diabetes or
mental worries and baldness.

 Tea research station searching for correlations between shade pattern and
yield of tea, sunshine and quality of tea or rainfall and fungal diseases

 Marketing wings investigating the association between disposable income of

middle income group and sales of four-wheelers or educational background
of housewives and demand for white goods.

 Production departments analyzing the relationship between preventive

maintenance and productivity, raw materials and product quality or training
programmes and industrial accidents.

 HRD managers conducting surveys to find plausible association between

absenteeism and supervisor’s attitude, incentives and overtime work or
frequency of strikes and grievances handing mechanism.
Researching to increase knowledge - Examples

 A clinical psychologist intensely observing how a HIV-positive person

behaves in a group to add more information to group therapy

 An agricultural scientist conducting a botanical survey to improve knowledge

on plant diversity

 Govt.of India sending teams of scientists to Antarctica to explore the

possibility of any biological growth in freezing environment

 Discovery channel deploying animal enthusiasts in African jungles to add

more knowledge to animal behavior.

 A personnel manager observing through a hidden video camera the behavior

of workers in the canteen to improve his knowledge on off-the-job behavior
of workers

 A marketing researcher posting himself in a corner of a departmental store

to understand more about customer behaviors in customer relationship
management
Why to Study Research
Methodology?
A study of research methodology helps people:

 to be aware of the range of research methods that can be employed.

 to make appropriate choices [i.e to understand whether to employ a

particular technique of data collection or analysis.

 to know the ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ when using a particular approach to
collecting or analyzing data.

 to provide insights into the overall research process.

 to differentiate good research from bad research and

 to transfer the learnt skills such as sampling, designing questionnaire,

conducting interview, making observations etc to other areas.
Objectives/Purposes of Research
 to gain familiarity with a phenomenon ( buying behavior of
rural population in respect of latest electronic gadgets)
 to analyze the characteristics of an individual, group or
situation ( understanding the leadership skills of a successful
business magnate, the phenomenal expansion of a new
company or the reasons for delinquency in low-income
groups)
 to determine the frequency of occurrence of certain
phenomenon ( fatal accidents in highways and railway
crossings and alcoholisms/ absenteeism among workers)
 to test a causal relationship between variables ( different age
groups and their visits to beauty parlors or excess pocket
money and student’s absenteeism )
 to develop new techniques, concepts or theories ( new
advertisements through animation or promotional campaigns
involving physically challenged persons) and
 to find solutions to problems ( this could be the ultimate
Other Objectives

 to identify facts for critical evaluation.

 to develop new tools / techniques for studying

unknown phenomena

 to help planning and formulation of strategies

and policies.

 to promote better decision making

 to aid in forecasting and

Characteristics of a Good
Research/Researcher
The term RESEARCH itself carries the quality

of the good research. Further, the popular

term "MOVIE" supplements "RESEARCH" in

describing an ideal research

RESEARCH

 R-Rational ways of thinking

 E-Expert treatment
 S-Search for solutions
 E-Exhaustive treatment
 A-Analytical (Analysis of data)
 R-Relationship between facts and theories
 C-Constructive attitude, critical observation,

condensed generalization and cautious /

careful recording
 H-Honesty and Hard work
MOVIE

 M-Mathematical precision/accuracy

 O-Objectivity

 V-Verifiability

 I-Impartiality

 E-Exactness
Further a good research includes the following……..

 Defining the purpose clearly.

 Detailing the research process
 Planning the research design
 Revealing the limitations frankly
 Maintaining high ethical standards.
 Analyzing the decision marking need

adequately
 Presenting the findings without confusion
 Justifying the conclusions
Criteria in Business Research
 Reliability

 Replicability

 Validity
Limitations of Scientific Research in
Business
 Uncertainity

 Unexplained principles

 Difficulties in replication

 Complex Human Behaviour

 Controlling in Scientific method

Continued
 Bias in Observation or Interpretation

 Difficulties in measurement

 Lack of actionable results

 Inadequacy

 Manager’s Apathy
Research Process
Research process is the methodology or well
defined procedure of conducting a research.

 it is a rigorous and impersonal mode of procedure

dictated by the demands of logic and objectives.

 it is systematic, logical, empirical and replicable

 it involves various steps which are neither mutually
exclusive nor are they separate or distinct.

 in brief, research process is a scientific enquiry

 Give diagram of research process – flow chat
fig 1.2
Step 1: Defining the research problem:

It is the process of identifying and pin-

pointing a specific problem which requires a
detailed investigation
Step 2: Review of Literature

Review includes collection of facts, details on

concepts/theories and importantly the
findings of earlier investigations/researches
relevant to the problem in the process.
Step 3: Formulating Hypotheses:

Hypothesis, which is a proposition,

assumption or a tentative answer, is
formulated to focus the research and to keep
the researcher on the right track.

Hypotheses (null hypothesis or alternative

hypothesis) are either accepted or rejected
based on the significance of statistical results
Step 4: Research Design
Research design includes

Operational design : Collection of data from entire population

(census) or a sample.

Sampling design: A definite plan for obtaining a sample from a

given population

Observation design: Methods or tools such as interview schedule,

questionnaire, personal / telephonic interview, participant/non-
participant observations and etc. to collect information.

Statistical Design: Selection of appropriate statistical tests to analyse

the data collected. The designs are flexible to accommodate the
needs of various types of research
Step 5: Data Collection

Adequate and reliable data are collected

employing appropriate technique –

observation, interview, questionnaire and etc.

Step 6: Data Processing and Analysis

Data processing includes editing, coding ( if

necessary) and tabulation.

The tabulated data are analysed employing

appropriate statistical tools (tests of significance).

Statistical analysis determines whether the

effects, relationships or differences are significant
or not. Hypotheses are either accepted or rejected
based on statistical analysis
Step 7: Interpretation and Inference

` An interpretation demands a thorough

subject knowledge, analytical ability and
common sense. Inferences are drawn from
the interpreted data. Inferences are the final
findings of the investigations
Step8: Solution and Conclusion

 Solutions are derived from

interpretations/inferences. Solution is the
answer to a problem in question.

 Conclusions are arrived at based on the

findings. It is generalization of the findings
which is the essence of the whole study.


 Fig 1.3: Flowchart of Research Process (Zikmund, 2009)
 Fig 1.4: Steps in conducting a social survey (Bryman and Bell, 2010)
DEFINING RESEARCH PROBLEM
Conditions for the existence of a problem

(i) There must be an organization, a group of people or

an individual experiencing some difficulties due to
one reason or other.

(ii) There must be some objectives, personal or

organizational, to be attained. If one does not desire
anything there cannot be any problem.

(iii) There must be at least two ways to attaining the

objective; if there is only way, there is no confusion
and hence no problem.
 (iv) There must be some dilemma or confusion
in selecting the best alternative to achieve
objectives

 (v) There must be an environment which

influences either the researcher or his/her
ways.

 (vi) There must be some outcomes (results /

findings) which may have positive or negative
values
Problem identification and selection
 1. Sources for identification of problems

a. Professional literature
b. Professional experience (self and others
c. Discussion with experts
d. inferences from theories and laws
e. General Sources
2. Justification for selecting a problem

a.Researcher’s suitability (Internal Criteria)

b.General Rule (External Criteria)

Research Objectives

Research objective must be SMART ie, they must be

 - Specific

 - Measurable

 - Achievable

 - Realistic and

 - Timely
TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN
1. Exploratory design
It is an unstructured design to gain familiarity with an unknown population or phenomenon
 to generate new ideas
 to familiarize the researcher with the problem
 to make a precise formulation of the problem (formulation of
hypotheses)
 to gather background information for clarifying a concept
 to decide whether a particular study is feasible or not
 to clarify and define the nature of a problem
 to screen alternatives.
 to expand the understanding of management dilemma.
 to identify information that should be gathered to formulate
investigative questions and
 to find our sources for and actual sample frames that might be used
in sampling design.
 Examples of exploratory design
 Space scientists exploring the possibility of
existence of living organisms in other planets
 Zoologists/ecologists observing the

behaviour of wild animals at close quarters in

African jungles for ‘Animal Planet’ channel
 A marketing researcher feeling the pulse of

rural population to explore the possibility of

large scale retailing of micro-oven or
computers
2. Descriptive Design
As the name suggests descriptive design describes an
organization, industry, people, situation, phenomenon and
etc.
 Example:
 To study the market share of a company’s product or
services vis-à-vis that of the competitors to devise a
strategic plan for further expansion.
 To describe the dealers’ network of a company in respect of
their size, turnover, products, infrastructure facilities,
workforce and etc for effective management of company-
dealers relationship
 To observe the consumers’ behaviour towards a particular
service for further refinement of the service
3. Diagnostic Design

 Diagnostic design tries to find out the

relationships, if any, among the various
variables, dimensions or parameters.
 It aims at identifying the causes of a problem

to enable the researcher search for a solution

 It helps in testing of hypotheses
Examples of Diagnostic design are

 To study to reasons for the low/high market

share of a particular product/service
 To find out why the dealers’ interest in a

particular product/company is on the decline.

 To understand why the consumers behave in

a particular way towards a particular

service/product
4. Analytical Design

This design is a part of diagnostic design.

It is presumed that analysis is a pre-requisite

for diagnosis. In medical profession, the
physician subjects the patient to a number of
tests (analyses) such as measurement of blood
pressure, blood/urine sugar, hemoglobin,
cholesterol and etc. for diagnosis of the
ailment.
5. Causal Research Method

Known as explanatory research, causal

research method is a design to
identify cause-and-effect
relationships among variables
6. Experimental Design

Experiment is a research method in which

conditions are controlled so that one or more
variables can be manipulated to test a
hypothesis.
Examples of Experimental design

 A physician administering different medicines

on groups of patients to find out the most
curative medicine

 An agricultural scientist applying various

types of fertilizers in the field to choose the
best fertilizer for improvement of yield of a
crop
Case study method

A case study is an in-depth and thorough

study of an organization, a group of people,

an industry, an individual or a phenomenon.

Sampling
In the sampling method instead of every unit

of the population, only a part of the

population is studied and conclusions are

based on the data/information collected from

that part of the population

Principles of sampling
There are two important principles which
govern the theory of sampling

1. Principle of statistical regularity

2. Principle of ‘Inertia of large numbers’

1. Principle of statistical regularity

The law of statistical regularity states that ‘a

moderately large number of items chosen at
random from a large group, are almost sure
on the average to possess the characteristics
of the large group’.
2. Principle of ‘Inertia of large
numbers’
It states that, other things being equal, larger
the size of the sample, more accurate the
results are likely to be.

This points out to the fact that conclusion

drawn based on a larger sample is more
reliable than that of a smaller sample.
Terms used in Sampling
 Population: A population is the total
collection of elements/units about which
some inferences are drawn. It is also known
as universes.
 Finite population: If the number of

elements/units in a population is limited and

accessible to the researcher for data
collection, it is known as a finite population
(car manufacturers in a country, exclusive
dealers of a popular brand of white goods,
students in a class)
 Infinite population: If the researcher has no
definite idea of the total number of units of a
population and accessibility to all the units is
not easy for data collection it is an infinite
population (TV viewers, bicycle owners, black
money launderers, drug addicts, cell-phone
users in a city, income tax evaders,
customers of a departmental store or
consumers of pizza)
 Target population: It is part of the total
population about which the study is
concentrated (users of a particular network
among the mobile phone owners, students
with commerce degree among the MBA
students, computer-savvy employees in an
organization or post-graduates among the
call-centre employees).
 Subject: It is a single member of a sample as

element in population.
 Census: It is the study or collection of
information/data from all the units/elements of a
population.
 Sample: A sample is the portion of the population
which is supposed to truly represent the population.
Some of the cancer-patients in the medical research,
few of the mango trees in an orchard for the
horticultural research, a group of customers of a store
in the CRM study, a section of the students in a class
in the teaching method study, a small number of
bolts/nuts in the quality control research or a handful
of rice grains from a bagful of rice constitute a
sample.
 Sampling: It is the process of selection of a
sample (a part of the population) with a view
to obtain information or draw inference about
a population.
 Sampling Technique/Design: It is the procedure
adopted to select a sample (probability or non-
probability)
 Sampling frame: It is a list containing all sampling
units from which the sample is to be drawn. In finding
out the satisfaction level of customers of BSNL in
Coimbatore, the Coimbatore Telephone Directory is
the sampling frame. In studying the performance level
of a particular brand of car the list of buyers
maintained by the dealer is the sampling frame. For
the study on income tax payers, the list of IT payers
maintained at It office is the sampling frame
 Sampling fraction: It is expressed as n/N where
‘n ’ is the sample size and ‘N’ is the population
size.
 Estimator: Any sample statistic that is used to
estimate a population parameter is called an
estimator. That is, an estimator is a sample
statistic used to estimate a population parameter.
Example: The sample mean can be a an estimator
of the population mean µ.
 Estimate: An estimate is a specific numerical value
of the estimator. That is, an estimate is a specific
observed value of a statistic.
Parameters vs. Statistics
A parameter is a characteristic of a
population, whereas a statistic is a
characteristic of a sample.

Parameters are characteristics which describe

a population. Statistics are characteristics
which describe a sample. Mean, Variance,
S.D. and etc are the characteristics to
describe a population or sample
show table 6.1 in
chapter 6
Steps in the sampling process
These are a few sequential steps in taking
samples.
 Deciding the target population
 Identifying the parameters of interest (mean,

variance, proportion etc)

 Selecting the sampling frame
 Finalizing the appropriate sampling method
 Fixing the sample size
 Executing the sampling process
Sampling designs: (Sampling
techniques or sampling methods)
The different types or methods of sampling
are governed by two factors

1. Basis of representation: The sample may be

a probability sample or a non-probability
sample.

2. Technique of selection of units: The

sampling may be either unrestricted or
restricted.
Table of Sampling methods
The various sampling methods are shown in
the following table

show Table 6.2 chapter 6

Probability Sampling
(i) Simple random sampling
This refers to the sampling technique in
which each and every item of the population
is given an equal chance of being included in
the sample.

That is why, random sampling is sometimes

refered to as ‘representative sampling’.
Methods of obtaining simple random samples
A. Lottery method:
Under this method all the elements of the
population are numbered or named on
separate slips of paper of identical size,
colour and shape. These slips are folded
and mixed up thoroughly in a container.
From this a blind-fold selection is made of
the number of slips required to constitute
the desired size of the sample.
b. Using table of random numbers:

Tippett’s table of random numbers, Fisher

and Yates numbers or Kendall and Balington
Smith can be used.

c. Using computer:
ii.) Complex probability sampling

a.)Systematic sampling:

This method is used in those cases where a

complete list of the population is available.
This method involves selection of every kth
item from the list where k refers to the
sampling interval or skip interval.
b.)Stratified sampling:

In this method, the heterogeneous population

is divided into smaller homogenous groups
or strata and from each stratum, random
sample is drawn.
c.) Cluster sampling:

In this technique the units of population are

divided into a number of groups or clusters
and each cluster will be considered as a
sample unit. Thus the large numbers of units
are reduced to manageable cluster.
d.) Multi-Stage Sampling:

As the name suggests this method refers to a

sampling method which is carried out in several
stages. The population is regarded as made up of a
number of first stage sampling units, each of which
is made of a number of second stage units and so
on. At first, the first stage units are sampled by
random sampling. Then a sample of second stage
units is selected from each of the selected first
stage units again by random sampling. Further
stages may be added as required.
e.) Multiphase Sampling

Here a sample is drawn to collect some

information which is convenient or
economical. Based on the information a
subsample is taken for further study.
Non- Probability Sampling
a. Convenience Sampling:

Here, the sample is selected neither by

probability nor by judgement but by
convenience.

Researchers or field workers have the

freedom to choose whomever or whatever
they find and thus the name “convenience”.
b. Judgement sampling

In this method the population units getting into

the sample depend exclusively on the
judgement of the researcher.

Sometimes the researcher can take the opinion

of experts in the field. In other words, the
researcher exercises his judgement in the
choice of sample units
c.) Quota Sampling

In a quota sample quotas (proportions) are

set up and within each quota the sample
units are selected according to the
convenience or judgement of the researcher.
d. Snowball Sampling

It is a technique of ‘building up’ a list or a

sample of a special population by using an
initial set of sample units or members as
indicators/informants
Probability vs Non-probability
sampling

Show table 6.6 in chapter 6

Sample Size
There is no fixed number of units or
percentage of population that determines the
optimum size of a sample.

The so called ‘thumb-rule’ of 10% of the

population is not based on any scientific
proof.
Determinants of sample size
The size of the sample depends on many
factors.
1. Nature of the population
2. Nature of the study/objective
3. Type of sampling
4. Level of accuracy
5. Confidence level
6. Availability of target population
7. Type of measuring techniques
8. Time
9. Availability of resources
10. Kind of analysis
Sampling error

It is the standard error in sampling contexts.

It is also known as random sampling error.

It is a statistical fluctuation that occurs

because of chance variation in the elements
selected for a sample.
Sampling errors arise

 if the sampling is done by a non –random

method
 if the sampling frame is incomplete or

inaccurate
 if some sections of the population are not

available/refuse to co-operate
 if the sample size is too small