Research Methodology

Research can be defined as the search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, with an open mind, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method. The primary purpose for basic research (as opposed to applied research) is discovering, interpreting, and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe.

Scientific research: This research provides scientific information and theories for the explanation of the nature and the properties of the world around us. It makes practical applications possible. Artistic research: also seen as 'practice-based research', can take form when creative works are

considered both the research and the object of research itself. Historical research : Historical research is embodied in the historical method.

METHODOLOGY:

It is a set or system of methods, principle, and rules for regulating a given discipline, as in the arts or sciences. Methodology can be:
1. 2. 3.

"the analysis of the principles of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a discipline "the systematic study of methods that are, can be, or have been applied within a discipline A documented process for management of projects that contains procedures, definitions and explanations of techniques used to collect, store, analyze and present information as part of a research process in a given discipline. the study or description of methods CONTACT METHODS:

4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

Information may be collected by Mail Telephone Personal interview

Research Methodology Process:-

1. Formulating the research problem: There are two types of research problems, viz., those which relate to states of nature and those which relate to relationships between variables. At the very outset the researcher must single out the problem he wants to study, i.e., he must decide the general area of interest or aspect of a subject-matter that he would like to inquire into.

2. Preparing the research design: The research problem having been formulated in clear cutterms, the researcher will be required to prepare a research design, i.e., he will have to state the conceptual structure within which research would be conducted. The preparation of such a design Facilitates research to be as efficient as possible yielding maximal information. 3. Determining sample design: All the items under consideration in any field of inquiry constitute universe or population. A complete enumeration of all the items in the population is known as a census inquiry. It can be presumed that in such an inquiry when all the items are covered no element of chance is left and highest accuracy is obtained. But in practice this may not be true. 4. Collecting the data: In dealing with any real life problem it is often found that data at hand are inadequate, and hence, it becomes necessary to collect data that are appropriate. There are several ways of collecting the appropriate data which differ considerably in context of money costs, time and other resources at the disposal of the researcher 5. Analysis of data: After the data have been collected, the researcher turns to the task of analyzing them. The analysis of data requires a number of closely related operations such as establishment of categories, the application of these categories to raw data through coding, tabulation and then drawing statistical inferences. The unwieldy data should necessarily be condensed into a few manageable groups and tables for further analysis. 6. Preparation of the report or the thesis: Finally, the researcher has to prepare the report of What has been done by him. Writing of report must be done with great care keeping in view the Following:

1. The layout of the report should be as follows: (i) the preliminary pages; (ii) the main text, and (iii) the end matter 7. Hypothesis-testing: After analyzing the data as stated above, the researcher is in a position to test the hypotheses, if any, he had formulated earlier. Do the facts support the hypotheses or they happen to be contrary? This is the usual question which should be answered while testing hypotheses. Various tests, such as Chi square test, ttest, F-test, have been developed by statisticians for the purpose. The hypotheses may be tested through the use of one or more of such tests, depending upon

Criteria of Good Research

1. Good research is systematic: It means that research is structured with specified steps to be taken in a specified sequence in accordance with the well defined set of rules. Systematic characteristic of the research does not rule out creative thinking but it certainly does reject the use of guessing and intuition in arriving at conclusions. . 2. Good research is logical: This implies that research is guided by the rules of logical reasoning and the logical process of induction and deduction are of great value in carrying out research. Induction is the process of reasoning from a part to the whole whereas deduction is the process of reasoning from some premise to a conclusion which follows from that very premise. In fact, logical reasoning makes research more meaningful in the context of decision making. 3. Good research is empirical: It implies that research is related basically to one or more aspects of a real situation and deals with concrete data that provides a basis for external validity to research results. 4. Good research is replicable: This characteristic allows research results to be verified by replicating the study and thereby building a sound basis for decisions

CHARACTERISTICS OF OBJECTIVES Clear +Complete +Specific + Identify main + Identify the variables to direction of be correlated relationship DATA COLLECTION METHOD:The basic concept of research methodology refers to the way in which companies conduct their research and how they collect the data they need. Whenever a company or organization needs to investigate a particular area of their business dealings, they need to adapt the most suitable research methodology for the job. Research methodology typically involves a full breakdown of all the options that have been chosen by a company in order to investigate something. This would include the procedures and techniques used to perform the research; as well as any of the terminology and explanations of how these methods will be applied effectively. A company may need to decide what format of research they want to use before the investigation begins. For example, if a company that sells a particular product needs to launch research to find out how effective or desirable a new product is, they will need to conduct what is known as primary research. This method means that the company will collect data and information themselves first hand. Alternatively, a company many only require figures or statistical Findings that can be located from an external source to themselves. This is known as secondary research, and this area of research methodology typically involves reading published journals, newspapers and other materials to give companies the information they need second hand.

Advantages of research methodology: Ease of Access:

There are many advantages to using secondary research. This includes the relative ease of access to many sources of secondary data. In the past secondary data

accumulation required marketers to visit libraries, or wait for reports to be shipped by mail. Now with the availability of online access, secondary research is more openly accessed. This offers convenience and generally standardized usage methods for all sources of secondary research. Low Cost to Acquire: The use of secondary data has allowed researchers access to valuable information for little or no cost to acquire. Therefore, this information is much less expensive then if the researchers had to carry out the research themselves. Clarification of Research Question: The use of secondary research may help the researcher to clarify the research question. Secondary research is often used prior to primary research to help clarify the research focus. May Answer Research Question: The use of secondary data collection is often used to help align the focus of large scale primary research. When focusing on secondary research, the researcher may realize that the exact information they were looking to uncover is already available through secondary sources. This would effectively eliminate the need and expense to carry out there own primary research. May Show Difficulties in Conducting Primary Research: In many cases, the originators of secondary research include details of how the information was collected. This may include information detailing the procedures used in data collection and difficulties encountered in conducting the primary research. Therefore, the detailed difficulties may persuade the researcher to decide that the potential information obtained is not worth the potential difficulties in conducting the research.

Disadvantages:
Quality of Research: There are some disadvantages to using secondary research. The originators of the primary research are largely self-governed and

controlled by the marketer. Therefore, the secondary research used must be scrutinized closely since the origins of the information may be questionable. Moreover, the researcher needs to take sufficient steps to critically evaluate the validity and reliability of the information provided. Not Specific to Researchers Needs: In many cases, secondary data is not presented in a form that exactly meets the researchers needs. Therefore, the researcher needs to rely on secondary data that is presented and classified in a way that is similar to their needs. Incomplete Information: In many cases, researchers find information that appears valuable and promising. The researcher may not get the full version of the research to gain the full value of the study. This is because many research suppliers offer free portions of their research and then charge expensive fees for their full reports. Not Timely: When using secondary research, one must exercise caution when using dated information from the past. With companies competing in fast changing industries, an out-of-date research reports many have little or no relevance to the current market situation. Conclusion: In conclusion, the use of secondary research offers many significant advantages to the researcher. It is important for the researcher to identify, reduce, and manage the disadvantages that are accompanied by the use of secondary research.