NAME - SHIKHAR DEEP SINGH

ROLL NO-1411000969
Subject name Research Methodology
Subject code - MB0050
Drive - WINTER 2015
Question 1 What do you mean by Focus Group Discussion? Explain the key
elements of a focus group.
Answer A focus group discussion (FGD) is a good way to gather together people from similar
backgrounds or experiences to discuss a specific topic of interest. The group of participants is guided by a
moderator (or group facilitator) who introduces topics for discussion and helps the group to participate in
a lively and natural discussion amongst themselves.
The strength of FGD relies on allowing the participants to agree or disagree with each other so that it
provides an insight into how a group thinks about an issue, about the range of opinion and ideas, and the
inconsistencies and variation that exists in a particular community in terms of beliefs and their
experiences and practices.
FGDs can be used to explore the meanings of survey findings that cannot be explained statistically, the
range of opinions/views on a topic of interest and to collect a wide variety of local terms. In bridging
research and policy, FGD can be useful in providing an insight into different opinions among different
parties involved in the change process, thus enabling the process to be managed more smoothly. It is also
a good method to employ prior to designing questionnaires.
The key elements of a focus group.
1. Group size keep it small Focus groups are usually pretty small to allow participation from all
members. One study says that the recommended number of people per group is usually six to ten but
some groups go as high as fifteen.
2. Time keep it short Researchers generally agree on fixing a period of 1 to 2 hours .This time allows
for discussion but also accounts for potential fatigue that can set in with longer sessions.
3. Location/set-up. in a circle The place where the focus group congregates is not one of the most
important aspects of applying focus group techniques. A room, with comfortable chairs, in which people
sitting around a table can talk and keep visual contact with each other is considered good enough to
develop a discussion
4. Group composition - staying focused. The main composition issue with focus groups is that the
members have the defined characteristics that the research requires. So for at least one criterion the group
is homogenous, but may not be in many other ways.
5. Design good planning required. The good design will include not just attention to the framing of the
questions but also to strategies and tools for triggering good discussions, such as using scenarios, case
histories, visualization exercises and other methods. The design will also allow for time for check ins,
ground rules, possible breaks, as well as time for the consent forms and other logistics. The design phase

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will also consider issues such as childcare, and food. If there are focus groups being conducted in multiple
languages or if there will be translation, these issues are addressed in the design phase.
6. Facilitation process- Focus group moderating requires skills and knowledge of the topic.). There are
processes in the planning/design that can aid facilitation but a good facilitator should be at least capable
of creating a relaxes atmosphere in which people can freely talk. (ibid).
7. Ethics Focus groups are a form of social science research and face the same ethical issues of most
other social science methods. All participants must sign a consent form, and that form should be clear
about the scope and intent of the project and the right of participants to withdraw.
8. Recording data Focus groups are recorded in some way, and audio recording is usually considered
less intrusive than video recording or another persons direct observation.
9. After focus group- Data should be labeled with time, date and location of the focus group and
compiled consistently according to the research design.

Question 2 Discuss the concepts involved in Testing of Hypothesis. Also discuss

the steps involved in testing the hypothesis.
Answer A hypothesis is an assumption or a statement that may or may not be true. The hypothesis is
tested on the basis of information obtained from a sample. Instead of asking, for example, what the mean
assessed value of an apartment in a multi-storied building is, one may be interested in knowing whether
or not the assessed value equals some particular value, say `80 lakh.
Concepts in Testing of Hypothesis:
Null hypothesis: The hypotheses that are proposed with the intent of receiving a rejection for them are
called null hypotheses. This requires that we hypothesize the opposite of what is desired to be proved. For
example, if we want to show that sales and advertisement expenditureare related, we formulate the null
hypothesis that they are not related. A null hypothesis is denoted by H0.
Alternative hypotheses: Rejection of null hypotheses leads to the acceptance of alternative hypotheses.
The rejection of null hypothesis indicates that the relationship between variables (e.g., sales and
advertisement expenditure) or the difference between means (e.g., wages of skilled workers in town 1 and
town 2). The alternative hypotheses are denoted by H1. One-tailed and two-tailed tests: A test is called
one-sided (or one-tailed) only if the null hypothesis gets rejected when a value of the test statistic falls in
one specified tail of the distribution. Further, the test is called twosided (or two-tailed) if null hypothesis
gets rejected when a value of the test statistic falls in either one or the other of the two tails of its
sampling
distribution.
Steps in Testing of Hypothesis Exercise
The following steps are followed in the testing of a hypothesis:
Setting up of a hypothesis: The first step is to establish the hypothesis to be tested. As it is known, these
statistical hypotheses are generally assumptions about the value of the population parameter; the

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hypothesis specifies a single value or a range of values for two different hypotheses rather than
constructing a single hypothesis. These two hypotheses are generally referred to as (1) the null hypotheses
denoted by H0 and (2) alternative hypothesis denoted by H1.
Setting up of a suitable significance level: The level of significance denoted by is chosen before
drawing any sample. The level of significance denotes the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis
when it is true. The value of varies from problem to problem, but usually it is taken as either 5 per cent
or 1 per cent. A 5 per cent level of significance means that there are 5 chances out of hundred that a null
hypothesis will get rejected when it should be accepted. When the null hypothesis is rejected at any level
of significance, the test result is said to be significant. if a hypothesis is rejected at 1 per cent level, it must
also be rejected at 5 per cent significance level.
Determination of a test statistic: This step is to determine a suitable test statistic and its distribution. As
would be seen later, the test statistic could be t, Z, 2 or F, depending upon various assumptions to be
discussed later in the book.
Determination of critical region: it is very important to specify the values of test statistic that will lead
to rejection or acceptance of the null hypothesis. The one that leads to the rejection of null hypothesis is
called the critical region. Given a level of significance, , the optimal critical region for a two-tailed test
consists of that /2 per cent area in the right hand tail of the distribution plus that /2 per cent in the left
hand tail of the distribution where that null hypothesis is rejected.
Computing the value of test-statistic: This step is to compute the value of the test statistic based upon a
random sample of size n. Once the value of test statistic is computed, one needs to examine whether the
sample results fall in the critical region or in the acceptance region.
Making decision: The hypothesis may be rejected or accepted depending upon whether the value of the
test statistic falls in the rejection or the acceptance region. Management decisions are based upon the
statistical decision of either rejecting or accepting the null hypothesis.

Question 3 What do you mean by Exploratory research design? Explain the

types of exploratory research design.
Answer An exploratory design is conducted about a research problem when there are few or no earlier
studies to refer to. The focus is on gaining insights and familiarity for later investigation or undertaken
when problems are in a preliminary stage of investigation.
The goals of exploratory research are intended to produce the following possible insights:

Familiarity with basic details, settings and concerns.

Well grounded picture of the situation being developed.

Generation of new ideas and assumption, development of tentative theories or hypotheses.

Determination about whether a study is feasible in the future.

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Issues get refined for more systematic investigation and formulation of new research questions.

Direction for future research and techniques get developed.

the types of exploratory research design.

Literature Search: It is one of the fastest and least expensive means to discover hypotheses. There is
enormous quantity of information available in libraries, via internet sources, in commercial data bases,
and so on. The literature search may include newspapers, magazines, trade literature, academic literature,
or published statistics from research organizations or governmental agencies Census Bureau. Example:
Assume an issue is Why are product sales lower? This can easily be evaluated with the aid of published
data which should indicate whether the issue is an industry problem or a firm problem. If we
acknowledge the specific situation that our companys sales and profits are lower regardless of the market
showing an up trend, then we must evaluate the marketing mix variables.
Depth Interviews: Its important to start with a good literature search, but at some point it is desirable to
talk to persons who are well informed in the area being investigated. These people could be professionals
or persons outside the organisation. Here, we dont need questionnaire. The approach adopted should be
highly unstructured, so that the participant can give divergent views. Depth interviews are widely used to
tap the knowledge and experience of individuals with information strongly related the situation or
opportunity at hand. Anybody with related information is a potential candidate for a depth interview, such
as existing clients, members of the target market, executives and supervisors of the client organization,
sales representatives, suppliers, retailers, and so on.
Focus Group: Yet another frequently used method in exploratory research is the focus group. In a focus
group, only a few people are brought together to study and talk over some theme of interest. The
discussion is directed by a moderator who is in the room with the focus group participants. The group
usually is of 8-12 persons. While choosing these individuals, care must be taken to see that they should
have a common background and have comparable experiences in buying. This is certainly needed since
there should not be a conflict among the group members on the common problems that are being talked
about. Throughout the discussion, future buying attitudes, present buying opinion etc., are collected.
Case Analyses: Researchers can understand a lot in regards to a problem by studying carefully selected
examples or cases of the phenomenon. Case histories of businesses that have gone through an identical
problem may be available. These case studies are suitable to undertake exploratory research. A researcher
must examine carefully the previously published case studies with regard to variables like price,
advertisement, changes in the trend, etc.

Question 4 Explain the Structure of the Research Report. What are the
guidelines for effective report writing?
Answer:- Structure of the Research 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.

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The process of report formulation and presentation is present. As can be observed, 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.

Guidelines for effective report writing

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: There is a debate about whether or not one makes use of personal pronoun while
reporting. The use of personal pronoun such as I think.. or in my opinion.. lends a subjectivity and
personalization of judgement. Thus, the tone of the reporting should be neutral.
.
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,
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 construed in the same manner throughout the report.
The researcher can provide data relief and variation by adequately supplementing the text with graphs and
figures

Question 5 Explain the any three types of comparative and non-comparative

scales of each in

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detail.
Comparative scales Definition: it is assumed that respondents make use of a standard frame of reference
before answering the question. For example: A question like How do you rate Barista in comparison to
Cafe Coffee Day on quality of beverages? is an example of the comparative rating scale. It involves the
direct comparison of stimulus objects.
Types of Comparative scales:
Paired comparison scales: Here a respondent is presented with two objects and is asked to select one
according to whatever criterion he or she wants to use. The resulting data from this scale is ordinal in
nature. As an example, suppose a parent wants to offer one of the four items to a childchocolate, burger,
ice cream and pizza.
Rank order scaling: In the rank order scaling, respondents are presented with several objects
simultaneously and asked to order or rank them according to some criterion.
Constant sum rating scaling: In constant sum rating scale, the respondents are asked to allocate a total of
100 points between various objects and brands. The respondent distributes the points to the various
objects in the order of his preference.
Q-sort technique: This technique makes use of the rank order procedure in which objects are sorted into
different piles based on their similarity with respect to certain criterion. Suppose there are 100 statements
and an individual is asked to pile them into five groups, in such a way, that the strongly agreed statements
could be put in one pile, agreed statements could be put in another pile, neutral statement form the third
pile, disagreed statements come in the fourth pile and strongly disagreed statements form the fifth pile,
and so on.

Definition of Non-comparative scales: In the non-comparative scales, the respondents do not make use
of any frame of reference before answering the questions. The resulting data is generally assumed to be
interval or ratio scale
Non-comparative scale -- 1 two types of scaling techniques in which each stimulus object is scaled
independently
of
the
other
objects
in
the
stimulus
set
continuous rating scale -- also referred to as graphic rating scale, this measurement scale has the
respondents rate the objects by placing a market the appropriate position on a line that runs from one
extreme
of
the
criterion
variable
to
the
other
itemized rating scale -- a measurement scale having numbers and/or brief descriptions associated with
each
category.
The
categories
are
ordered
in
terms
of
scale
position
Likert scale -- a measurement scale of five response categories ranging from strongly disagree to
strongly agree, which requires the respondents to indicate a degree of agreement or disagreement with
each
of
a
series
of
statements
related
to
the
stimulus
objects

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semantic differential -- a seven-point rating scale with endpoint associated with bipolar labels that have
semantic
meaning
Stapel scale -- a scale for measuring attitudes that consists of a single objective in the middle of an even
numbered range of values, from negative five to positive five, without a neutral point (zero)

Question 6
What do you mean by Research Problem? Explain the steps involved in
research problem identification process.
Answer Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. Once can also define research as
a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. In fact, research is an art of
scientific investigation. The Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English lays down the meaning of
research as a careful investigation or inquiry especially through search for new facts in any branch of
knowledge
The process of problem identification with an example are :Step 1: Identify the Problem
The first step in the process is to identify a problem or develop a research question. The research problem
may be something the agency identifies as a problem, some knowledge or information that is needed by
the agency, or the desire to identify a Recreation trend nationally. In the example in table 2.4, the problem
that the agency has identified is childhood obesity, which is a local problem and concern within the
community. This serves as the focus of the study.
Step 2: Review the Literature
Now that the problem has been identified, the researcher must learn more about the topic under
investigation. To do this, the researcher must review the literature related to the research problem. This
step provides foundational knowledge about the problem area. The review of literature also educates the
researcher about what studies have been conducted in the past, how these studies were conducted, and the
conclusions in the problem area.
Step 3: Clarify the Problem
Many times the initial problem identified in the first step of the process is too large or broad in scope. In
step 3 of the process, the researcher clarifies the problem and narrows the scope of the study. This can
only be done after the literature has been reviewed. The knowledge gained through the review of
literature guides the researcher in clarifying and narrowing the research project. In the example, the
programmer has identified childhood obesity as the problem and the purpose of the study.
Step 4: Clearly Define Terms and Concepts
Terms and concepts are words or phrases used in the purpose statement of the study or the description of
the study. These items need to be specifically defined as they apply to the study. Terms or concepts often
have different definitions depending on who is reading the study. To minimize confusion about what the
terms and phrases mean, the researcher must specifically define them for the study. In the obesity study,
the concept of individuals health can be defined in hundreds of ways, such as physical, mental,
emotional, or spiritual health.
Step 5: Define the Population

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Research projects can focus on a specific group of people, facilities, park development, employee
evaluations, programs, financial status, marketing efforts, or the integration of technology into the
operations. For example, if a researcher wants to examine a specific group of people in the community,
the study could examine a specific age group, males or females, people living in a specific geographic
area, or a specific ethnic group. Literally thousands of options are available to the researcher to
specifically identify the group to study.
Step 6: Develop the Instrumentation Plan
The plan for the study is referred to as the instrumentation plan. The instrumentation plan serves as the
road map for the entire study, specifying who will participate in the study; how, when, and where data
will be collected; and the content of the program.
Step 7: Collect Data
Once the instrumentation plan is completed, the actual study begins with the collection of data. The
collection of data is a critical step in providing the information needed to answer the research question.
Every study includes the collection of some type of datawhether it is from the literature or from
subjectsto answer the research question.
Step 8: Analyze the Data
All the time, effort, and resources dedicated to steps 1 through 7 of the research process culminate in this
final step. The researcher finally has data to analyze so that the research question can be answered. In the
instrumentation plan, the researcher specified how the data will be analyzed