RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY

MODULE 2
Module 2 Syllabus
2.1The management research question hierarchy
Research process problems
2.2The Favoured technique syndrome
2.3Problem definition
2.4Designing the study
2.5Sampling design
2.6Resource allocation and budgets
2.7Valuing research information
2.8Research proposal
2.9Pilot testing
2.10 Data collection
2.11 Analysis and interpretation
2.12 Reporting the results
2.13 Ethics in research
THE RESEARCH
PROCESS
2.1 The Management-
Research
Question Hierarchy
6. Management Decision

5. Measurement Questions

4. Investigative Questions

3. Research Questions

2. Management Questions

1. Management Dilemma
Working with the
Hierarchy
 Management Dilemma
 The symptom of an actual problem

 Not difficult to identify a dilemma,

however choosing one to focus on may

be difficult
Working with the Hierarchy
 Management Question Categories
 Choice of purposes or objective

 Generation and evaluation of solutions

 Troubleshooting or control situation

Working with the Hierarchy
 Fine tune the research question
 Examine concepts and constructs
 Break research questions into specific second-
and-third-level questions
 Verify hypotheses with quality tests
 Determine what evidence answers the various
questions and hypothesis
 Set the scope of your study
Working with the Hierarchy
 Investigative Questions
 Questions the researcher must answer to

satisfactorily arrive at a conclusion about

the research question
Working with the Hierarchy
 Measurement Questions
 The questions we actually ask or extract

from respondents
Other Processes in the
Hierarchy
 Exploration

 Recent developments
 Predictions by informed figures
about the prospects of the
technology
 Identification of those involved in
the area
 Accounts of successful ventures
and failures by others in the field
THE LANDMARK
CASE
LANDMARK
 Pioneered the concept of family centric multi-
product Leisure stores
 Offers a vast assortment of books, music,
movies and stationery
 Presently has 5 physical stores and an online
store
 Current revenue levels of approximately Rs.
80 crores
 Commenced its operation in 1987 at Apex
plaza, Nungambakkam, Chennai with a floor
space of 5500 sqft.
 In December 1996, the Chennai store
underwent renovation and was expanded to
12,000 sq. ft by taking up the adjacent facility.
 With the expansion in space Landmark also
added a new product line viz., music, the first
of its kind with open displays, listening
stations etc.
 The store today sells toys, gift items and
home products apart from Books, music,
stationery and greeting cards.
 Landmark opened its store in 1999 in
Calcutta on a 5500 sq.ft. selling area
located in Emami Shoppers City, Lord
Sinha Road.
 Landmark in 2001 set up its flagship
stores of 37000 sqft own property at
Spencers plaza, Chennai
 2003 witnessed opening of shop at Hotel
Residency Towers, Chennai.
 Landmark opened its largest store in Feb
2004 in a leased premises in Bangalore's
premier shopping mall "The Forum".
Corporate Philosophy
 Supply creates Demand - Firm Belief of the
Management at Landmark.
 Brand to promise Product quality - All products
are subjected to religious quality checks.
 Constant Innovation and path breaking actions -
Landmark has since its inception been the first
mover to adopt any path breaking technologies.
 Constant enhancement of customer experience -
Make Shopping an Entertainment - Warm and
friendly experience for customer.
 Continuously nurture and develop strong supplier /
vendor relationship.
Management Dilemma

Does Landmark enjoy a

loyal customer base?
Management Question

Does satisfaction exist?

Does quality exist?
Is it a preferred Store?
Is there competition?
Research Questions
Level of customer satisfaction?
Level of service quality?
Expectation versus perception?
Improve service quality &
satisfaction?
Ensure loyalty?
Methodology Highlights
 Descriptive Research Design
 Non-probability Sampling – Judgement /
Purposive / Deliberate
 Data Collection Method: Survey
 Data Collection Instrument: Structured
Questionnaire
 Location: Nungambakkam Store
 Sample Size: 300
Limitations / Assumptions
 Restricted to the Nungambakkam branch in
the city of Chennai due to time and cost
constraints
 Findings cannot be extrapolated for other
branches across the country.
 Focused on customer satisfaction and
quality only
 May be changes in the service sector
environment in the future which in turn may
influence changes in service levels and
customer perceptions and expectations.
Investigative Questions
 Types of stores visited?
 Popular stores?
 Frequency of visits to such stores?
 Frequency of visits to Landmark?
 Frequently bought items?
 Sections visited in the store?
Investigative Questions
 Ratings for Service attributes? –
Measurable attributes?
 How does Landmark differ from other
stores? – USP?
 Suggestions for improvement?
 Demographic profile?
Measurement
Questions
Ambient conditions such as
temperature, ventilation, noise
and odour prevailing in the
premises
 Physical layout of the various
sections
 Cleanliness
 Visually appealing signs,
symbols, advertisement boards
other artefacts
 Neat and professional
appearance of employees
 Measurement

Questions
Providing service as promised
 Effectiveness of employees’
skills and ability (critical
incidents)
 Apprising customers of the
nature and schedule of services
 Willingness to help customers
 Readiness to respond to
customers’ requests
 Use of customer feedback to
improve service standards
 Measurement

Questions
Courtesy shown by staff
 Provision of reliable information
 Standardised & simplified delivery
process
 Technological capability -
computerisation, networking, etc.
 Adequate personnel for good
customer service
 Adequate facilities for good
customer service
 Measurement

Questions
Diversity and range of goods /
services
 Service innovation – (offers, tie-
ups, promotional campaigns, etc.)
 Convenience of operating hours
and days
 Equal treatment to all customers
 Service transcendence (delight) –
giving customers more than what
they expect
 Quality service at a reasonable
cost
Measurement Questions
 AGE
 GENDER
 OCCUPATION: Industry
(Product / Service), Not
Working, Government (Central /
State), Self Employed, Retired
(Voluntary / Superannuation)
 AVERAGE MONTHLY
PERSONAL INCOME:Upto Rs.
10,000 ; Rs. 10,001 – Rs. 20,000
; Above Rs. 20,000 ; No income
2.2 Research Process
Problems
Research Process Problems -1
 The Favored Technique Syndrome

- Some researchers are method-bound

- They convert the management question so
that it fits their favourite methodology
- Could be a survey, case study, experiment
- Researchers who are experts in one method
are blinded by their special skills
 Research Process Problems -2
 Company Database Strip-Mining

- Presence of info or database could distract a

manager
- They feel that research is an expense and not an
inestment
- Each database is created for a specific reason
- May not be compatible for current management
question
Research Process Problems -3
 Unresearchable Questions

- Not all management questions can be

researched
- Not all research questions are answerable
- Many questions cannot be answered on the
basis of info alone
Research Process Problems -4
 Ill-Defined Management Problems

- Some problems are complex, value-based,

bound by constraints
- May have too many interrelated factors to be
measured and handled accurately
- Methods may not exist or invented methods
may not supply adequate info
 Research Process
Problems -5 Research
Politically Motivated

- Manager’s motivation may not be obvious

- Aim is to win approval for a manager’s pet
idea
- Just authorised to avoid criticism later
2.4 PROBLEM
DEFINITION
Refer Module 1
 2.5 Designing the Study
 Select a research design from the large
variety of methods, techniques, procedures,
protocols, and sampling plans
 Research design is a blueprint for
fulfilling objectives and answering
questions
 Type of study?
 Type of data collection method?
 Type of data collection instrument?
 Time frame?
 Structure of instrument?
 Type of questions?
 Training for enumerators?
 Sampling required?...........
2.6 SAMPLING DESIGN

 Sampling Method (Probability Methods or

Non-Probability Methods)
 Population
 Frame
 Size (Use appropriate Formulae)
2.7 Resource Allocation
& Budgets
 Guides to plan a budget
 Project planning
 Data gathering
 Analysis, interpretation, and reporting

 Types of budgeting
 Rule-of-thumb
 Departmental or functional area
 Task
Rule-of-Thumb Budgeting

 Involves taking a fixed percentage

of some criterion
 Departmental of Functional
Area Budgeting
 Allocates a portion of total expenditure in the
unit to research activities
Task Budgeting

 Selects specific research projects to support

on an ad-hoc basis
2.8 Evaluation Methods
 Ex Post Facto Evaluation

 Prior or Interim Evaluation

 Option Analysis
 Decision Theory
Ex Post Facto Evaluation

 Sometimes correct decisions are made

without the benefit of research information
 Cost-benefit analysis is good even though
analysis may a bit late
 Perhaps helps managers for future
research projects
Prior or Interim Evaluation

 Thorough Management audit of operations

in a company
 Possibly conduct audit in stages and
review costs and benefits at the end of
each stage
 Decide on continuation
Option Analysis

 Availability of alternatives
 Formal analysis of each alternatives
 Costs can be estimated
 Benefits approximately predicted
 Decision
 theory
Decision variable
 Decision rule
2.9 Research Proposal
 Statement of the research question
 Brief description of research
methodology
Purpose of the Research
Proposal
 To present the question to be researched
and its importance
 To discuss the research efforts of others
who have worked on related questions
 To suggest the data necessary for solving
the question
The Research Sponsor

 All research has a sponsor in one form or

another:
 In a corporate setting, management
sponsors research
 In an academic environment, the student
is responsible to the class instructor
What are the Benefits of
the Proposal to a
Researcher?
 Allows the researcher to plan and review
the project’s steps
 Serves as a guide throughout the
investigation
 Forces time and budget estimates
Types of Research
Proposals
 Internal
 External
Proposal Complexity

 3 levels of complexity:
 The exploratory study is used for the
most simple proposals
 The small-scale study is more complex
and common in business
 The large-scale professional study is the
most complex, costing more
How to Structure the
Research Proposal?

 Create proposal modules

 Put together various modules to
tailor your proposal to the
intended audience
Flowchart
 Research question (revise)
 Budget & Value Estimation (Discard if
costs exceeds value)
 Develop research proposal
 Obtain Budget & design approval (revise
or reject)
 Execute research designs if approval is
given
Modules in a Research
Proposal
 Executive Summary
 Problem Statement
 Research Objectives
 Literature Review
 Importance of the Study
 Research Design
 Data Analysis
 Nature and Form of Results
 Qualifications of Researcher
 Budget
 Schedule
 Facilities and Special Resources
 Project Management
 Bibliography
 Appendices
What to include in the
Appendices?
 A glossary of concepts, constructs, and
definitions
 Samples of the measurement instrument
 Other materials that reinforce the body of the
proposal
Evaluating the Research
Proposal
 Proposal must be neatly written in
appropriate writing style
 Major topics should be easily found and
logically organized
 Proposal must meet specific guidelines set
by the sponsor
 Technical writing style must be clearly
understood and explained
2.10 PILOT TESTING

A trail collection of data to detect

weaknesses in design and instrumentation
and provide proxy data for selection of a
probability sample (pre-testing)
2.11 Data Collection
 Characterized by
 abstractness
 verifiability
 elusiveness
 closeness to the phenomenon
 Types
 Secondary data
 Primary data
2.12 ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION
 Univariate Analysis
 Bivariate Analysis
 Multivariate Analysis
 Tables
 Figures
 Pictograms
 Cartograms
 Statistical Presentation Techniques
 Statistical tests
2.13 REPORTING THE
RESULTS
 Executive summary
 Overview of the research

 Implementation strategies for the

recommendations
 Technical appendix
2.14 ETHICS IN
BUSINESS
RESEARCH
What are Research Ethics?

 Ethics are norms or standards of behavior

that guide moral choices about our
behavior and our relationships with others

 The goal is to ensure that no one is

harmed or suffers adverse consequences
from research activities
Ethical Treatment of
Participants
 Begin data collection by explaining to

the participant the benefits expected

from the research
 Explain to the participants that their
rights and well-being will be
adequately protected, and say how
this will be done
 Be certain that interviewers obtain the
informed consent of the participant
Deception
 The participant is told only part of the truth
or when the truth is fully compromised
 To prevent biasing the participants before
the survey or experiment
 To protect the confidentiality of a third
party
Issues Related to Protecting
Participants
 Informed consent
 Debriefing
 Right to Privacy/Confidentiality
 Data Collection in Cyberspace
Ethical Issues related to
the Client
 Sponsor non-disclosure
 Purpose non-disclosure
 Findings non-disclosure
 Right to quality research
 Ethics Related to Sponsor
 Sometimes researchers will be asked by
sponsors to participate in unethical
behavior.
 To avoid coercion by sponsor the
researcher should:
 Educate sponsor to the purpose of

research
 Explain researcher’s role

 Explain how distortion of the truth leads

to future problems
 If necessary, terminate relationship with

sponsor
Ethical Issues related to
Researchers and Team
Members
 Safety

 Ethical behavior of assistants

 Protection of anonymity