Assignment 1

Q.1 Meaning of Research .

Solution.
Kothari (2004) defnes that the research is an original contribution to the existing stock of
knowledge making for its development. he s!stematic approach concerning
generalisations and formulation of a theor! is also research. "s such the term #research$
refers to the s!stematic method consisting of enunciating the problem% formulating a
h!pothesis% collecting the data% anal!sing the facts and reaching certain conclusions
either in the form of solutions(s) towards the concerned problem or in certain generation
for some theoretical formulation.& "ccording to 'reenfeld (&(())% *esearch is an art
aided b! skills of in+uir!% experimental design% data collection% measurement and
anal!sis% b! interpretation% and b! presentation. " further skill% which can be ac+uired
and developed% is creativit! or invention. "lso ,oltingk (&()-) believes that *esearch is in
essence an investigation into processes. herefore a research is the fnding of answers
related to the +uestions. .t is a s!stematic search for truth% fnding new knowledge about
our world through combination of ideas and facts.
*esearch in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. /nce can also defne
research as a scientifc and s!stematic search for pertinent information on a specifc
topic. .n fact% research is an art of scientifc investigation. he "dvanced 0earner$s
1ictionar! of 2urrent 3nglish la!s down the meaning of research as 4a careful
investigation or in+uir! speciall! through search for new facts in an! branch of
knowledge.5 *edman and 6or! defne research as a 4s!stemati7ed e8ort to gain new
knowledge.5 9ome people consider research as a movement% a movement from the
known to the unknown. .t is actuall! a vo!age of discover!. :e all possess the vital
instinct of in+uisitiveness for% when the unknown confronts us% we wonder and our
in+uisitiveness makes us probe and attain full and fuller understanding of the unknown.
his in+uisitiveness is the mother of all knowledge and the method% which man emplo!s
for obtaining the knowledge of whatever the unknown% can be termed as research.
*esearch is an academic activit! and as such the term should be used in a technical
sense. "ccording to 2li8ord :ood! research comprises defning and redefning problems%
formulating h!pothesis or suggested solutions; collecting% organising and evaluating
data; making deductions and reaching conclusions; and at last carefull! testing the
conclusions to determine whether the! ft the formulating h!pothesis. 1. 9lesinger and 6.
9tephenson in the 3nc!clopaedia of 9ocial 9ciences defne research as 4the manipulation
of things% concepts or s!mbols for the purpose of generalising to extend% correct or verif!
knowledge% whether that knowledge aids in construction of theor! or in the practice of an
art.5 *esearch is% thus% an original contribution to the existing stock of knowledge making
for its advancement. .t is the persuit of truth with the help of stud!% observation%
comparison and experiment. .n short% the search for knowledge through ob<ective and
s!stematic method of fnding solution to a problem is research. he s!stematic approach
concerning generalisation and the formulation of a theor! is also research. "s such the
term #research$ refers to the s!stematic method consisting of enunciating the problem%
formulating a h!pothesis% collecting the facts or data% anal!7ing the facts and reaching
certain conclusions either in the form of solutions(s) towards the concerned problem or in
certain generalisations for some theoretical formulation.
Q.2 Types of Research.
Solution
he basic t!pes of research are as follows=
(i) Descriptive vs. Analytical: Descriptive research includes surve!s and fact>fnding
en+uiries of di8erent kinds. he ma<or purpose of descriptive research is description of
the state of a8airs as it exists at present. .n social science and business research we
+uite often use the term Ex post facto research for descriptive research studies. he
main characteristic of this method is that the researcher has no control over the
variables; he can onl! report what has happened or what is happening. 6ost ex post
facto research pro<ects are used for descriptive studies in which the researcher seeks to
measure such items as% for example%
fre+uenc! of shopping% preferences of people% or similar data. Ex post facto studies also
include attempts b! researchers to discover causes even when the! cannot control the
variables. he methods of research utili7ed in descriptive research are surve! methods of
all kinds% including comparative and correlational methods. .n analytical research% on the
other hand% the researcher has to use facts or information alread! available% and anal!7e
these to make a critical evaluation of the material.
(ii) Applied vs. Fundamental: *esearch can either be applied (or action) research or
fundamental (to basic or pure) research. Applied research aims at fnding a solution for
an immediate problem facing a societ! or an industrial?business organisation% whereas
fundamental research is mainl! concerned with generalisations and with the formulation
of a theor!. 4'athering knowledge for knowledge$s sake is termed #pure$ or #basic$
research.54 *esearch concerning some natural phenomenon or relating to pure
mathematics are examples of fundamental research. 9imilarl!% research studies%
concerning human behaviour carried on with a view to make generalisations about
human behaviour% are also examples of fundamental research% but research aimed at
certain conclusions (sa!% a solution) facing a concrete social or business problem is an
example of applied research. *esearch to identif! social% economic or political trends that
ma! a8ect a particular institution or the cop! research (research to fnd out whether
certain communications will be read and understood) or the marketing research or
evaluation research are examples of applied research. hus% the central aim of applied
research is to discover a solution for some pressing practical problem% whereas basic
research is directed towards fnding information that has a broad base of applications and
thus% adds to the alread! existing organi7ed bod! of scientifc knowledge.
(iii) Quantitative vs. Qualitative: @uantitative research is based on the measurement
of +uantit! or amount. .t is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of
+uantit!. @ualitative research% on the other hand% is concerned with +ualitative
phenomenon% i.e.% phenomena relating to or involving +ualit! or kind. Aor instance% when
we are interested in investigating the reasons for human behaviour (i.e.% wh! people
think or do certain things)% we +uite often talk of #6otivation *esearch$% an important
t!pe of +ualitative research. his t!pe of research aims at discovering the underl!ing
motives and desires% using in depth interviews for the purpose. /ther techni+ues of such
research are word association tests% sentence completion tests% stor! completion tests
and similar other pro<ective techni+ues. "ttitude or opinion research i.e.% research
designed to fnd out how people feel or what the! think about a particular sub<ect or
institution is also +ualitative research. @ualitative research is speciall! important in the
behavioural sciences where the aim is to discover the underl!ing motives of human
behaviour. hrough such research we can anal!se the various factors which motivate
people to behave in a particular manner or which make people like or dislike a particular
thing. .t ma! be stated% however% that to appl! +ualitative research in practice is
relativel! a diBcult <ob and therefore% while doing such research% one should seek
guidance from experimental ps!chologists.
(iv) Conceptual vs. Empirical: 2onceptual research is that related to some abstract
idea(s) or theor!. .t is generall! used b! philosophers and thinkers to develop new
concepts or to reinterpret existing ones. /n the other hand% empirical research relies on
experience or observation alone% often without due regard for s!stem and theor!. .t is
data>based research% coming up with conclusions which are capable of being verifed b!
observation or experiment. :e can also call it as experimental t!pe of research. .n such a
research it is necessar! to get at facts frsthand% at their source% and activel! to go about
doing certain things to stimulate the production of desired information. .n such a
research% the researcher must frst provide himself with a working h!pothesis or guess as
to the probable results. Ce then works to get enough facts (data) to prove or disprove his
h!pothesis. Ce then sets up experimental designs which he thinks will manipulate the
persons or the materials concerned so as to bring forth the desired information. 9uch
research is thus characterised b! the experimenter$s control over the variables under
stud! and his deliberate manipulation of one of them to stud! its e8ects. 3mpirical
research is appropriate when proof is sought that certain variables a8ect other variables
in some wa!. 3vidence gathered through experiments or empirical studies is toda!
considered to be the most powerful support possible for a given h!pothesis.
(v) Some Other Types of Research: "ll other t!pes of research are variations of one or
more of the above stated approaches% based on either the purpose of research% or the
time re+uired to accomplish research% on the environment in which research is done% or
on the basis of some other similar factor. Aorm the point of view of time% we can think of
research either as one-time research or longitudinal research. .n the former case the
research is confned to a single time>period% whereas in the latter case the research is
carried on over several time>periods. *esearch can be feld-setting research or laboratory
research or simulation research% depending upon the environment in which it is to be
carried out. *esearch can as well be understood as clinical or diagnostic research. 9uch
research follow case>stud! methods or indepth approaches to reach the basic causal
relations. 9uch studies usuall! go deep into the causes of things or events that interest
us% using ver! small samples and ver! deep probing data gathering devices. he
research ma! be exploratory or it ma! be formali7ed. he ob<ective of explorator!
research is the development of h!potheses rather than their testing% whereas formali7ed
research studies are those with substantial structure and with specifc h!potheses to be
tested. Historical research is that which utili7es historical sources like documents%
remains% etc. to stud! events or ideas of the past% including the philosoph! of persons
and groups at an! remote point of time. *esearch can also be classifed as conclusion-
oriented and decision>oriented. :hile doing conclusionoriented research% a researcher is
free to pick up a problem% redesign the en+uir! as he proceeds and is prepared to
conceptuali7e as he wishes. 1ecision>oriented research is alwa!s for the need of a
decision maker and the researcher in this case is not free to embark upon research
according to his own inclination. /perations research is an example of decision oriented
research since it is a scientifc method of providing executive departments.
Q. Signi!cance of Research.
Solution
*esearch inculcates scientifc and inductive thinking and it promotes the development of
logical habits of thinking and organisation. he role of research in several felds of applied
economics% whether related to business or to the econom! as a whole% has greatl!
increased in modern times. he increasingl! complex nature of business and government
has focused attention on the use of research in solving operational problems. *esearch%
as an aid to economic polic!% has gained added importance% both for government and
business. *esearch provides the basis for nearl! all government policies in our economic
s!stem. Aor instance% government$s budgets rest in part on an anal!sis of the needs and
desires of the people and on the availabilit! of revenues to meet these needs. he cost of
needs has to be e+uated to probable revenues and this is a feld where research is most
needed. hrough research we can devise alternative policies and can as well examine the
conse+uences of each of these alternatives 1ecision>making ma! not be a part of
research% but research certainl! facilitates the decisions of the polic! maker. 'overnment
has also to chalk out programmes for dealing with all facets of the countr!$s existence
and most of these will be related directl! or indirectl! to economic conditions. he plight
of cultivators% the problems of big and small business and industr!% working conditions%
trade union activities% the problems of distribution% even the si7e and nature of defence
services are matters re+uiring research. hus% research is considered necessar! with
regard to the allocation of nation$s
resources. "nother area in government% where research is necessar!% is collecting
information on the economic and social structure of the nation. 9uch information
indicates what is happening in the econom! and what changes are taking place.
2ollecting such statistical information is b! no means a routine task% but it involves a
variet! of research problems. hese da! nearl! all governments maintain large sta8 of
research technicians or experts to carr! on this work. hus% in the context of government%
research as a tool to economic polic! has three distinct phases of operation% vi7.% (i)
investigation of economic structure through continual compilation of facts; (ii) diagnosis
of events that are taking place and the anal!sis of the forces underl!ing them; and (iii)
the prognosis% i.e.% the prediction of future developments. Research has its special
signifcance in solving various operational and planning problems of business and
industry. /perations research and market research% along with motivational research% are
considered crucial and their results assist% in more than one wa!% in taking business
decisions. 6arket research is the investigation of the structure and development of a
market for the purpose of formulating eBcient policies for purchasing% production and
sales. /perations research refers to the application of mathematical% logical and
anal!tical techni+ues to the solution of business problems of cost minimisation or of
proft maximisation or what can be termed as optimisation problems. 6otivational
research of determining wh! people behave as the! do is mainl! concerned with market
characteristics. .n other words% it is concerned with the determination of motivations
underl!ing the consumer (market) behaviour. "ll these are of great help to people in
business and industr! who are responsible for taking business decisions. *esearch with
regard to demand and market factors has great utilit! in business. 'iven knowledge of
future demand% it is generall! not diBcult for a frm% or for an industr! to ad<ust its suppl!
schedule within the limits of its pro<ected capacit!. 6arket anal!sis has become an
integral tool of business polic! these da!s. Dusiness budgeting% which ultimatel! results
in a pro<ected proft and loss account% is based mainl! on sales estimates which in turn
depends on business research. /nce sales forecasting is done% eBcient production and
investment programmes can be set up around which are grouped the purchasing and
fnancing plans. *esearch% thus% replaces intuitive business decisions b! more logical and
scientifc decisions. Research is equally important for social scientists in studying social
relationships and in
seeing ans!ers to various social problems. .t provides the intellectual satisfaction of
knowing a few things <ust for the sake of knowledge and also has practical utilit! for the
social scientist to know for the sake of being able to do something better or in a more
eBcient manner. *esearch in social sciences is concerned both with knowledge for its
own sake and with knowledge for what it can contribute to practical concerns. 4his
double emphasis is perhaps especiall! appropriate in the case of social science. /n the
one hand% its responsibilit! as a science is to develop a bod! of principles that make
possible the understanding and prediction of the whole range of human interactions. /n
the other hand% because of its social orientation% it is increasingl! being looked to for
practical guidance
.n addition to what has been stated above% the signifcance of research can also be
understood
keeping in view the following points=
(a) o those students who are to write a master$s or Eh.1. thesis% research ma! mean a
careerism or a wa! to attain a high position in the social structure;
(b) o professionals in research methodolog!% research ma! mean a source of livelihood;
(c) o philosophers and thinkers% research ma! mean the outlet for new ideas and
insights;
(d) o literar! men and women% research ma! mean the development of new st!les and
creative
work;
(e) o anal!sts and intellectuals% research ma! mean the generalisations of new theories.
hus% research is the fountain of knowledge for the sake of knowledge and an important
source
of providing guidelines for solving di8erent business% governmental and social problems.
.t is a sort of
formal training which enables one to understand the new developments in one$s feld in a
better wa!.