RESEARCH METHODOLOGY IMP QUESTIONS HYPOTHESIS MULTI DIMENSIONAL SCALING CAMPARISON BETWEEN SCALING METHODS EXPERIMENTATION MEASUREMENTS IN EXPERIMENTATION

ATION SCOPE OF RESEARCH IN DECISION MAKING ? CRITERIA OF GOOD RESEARCH DESIGN PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES DATA TABULATION OBSERVATION IN RESEARCH CHARACTERISTICS OF QUESTIONIARES

FEATURES OF A GOOD DESIGN A good design is often characterised by adjectives like flexible, appropriate, efficient, economical and so on. Generally, the design which minimises bias and maximises the reliability of the data collected and analysed is considered a good design. The design which gives the smallest experimental error is supposed to be the best design in many investigations. Similarly, a design which yields maximal information and provides an opportunity for considering many different aspects of a problem is considered most appropriate and efficient design in respect of many research problems. Thus, the question of good design is related to the purpose or objective of the research problem and also with the nature of the problem to be studied. A design may be quite suitable in one case, but may be found wanting in one respect or the other in the context of some other research problem. One single design cannot serve the purpose of all types of research problems. A research design appropriate for a particular research problem, usually involves the consideration of the following factors: (i) the means of obtaining information; (ii) the availability and skills of the researcher and his staff, if any; (iii) the objective of the problem to be studied; (iv) the nature of the problem to be studied; and (v) the availability of time and money for the research work. If the research study happens to be an exploratory or a formulative one, wherein the major emphasis is on discovery of ideas and insights, the research design most appropriate must be flexible enough to permit the consideration of many different aspects of a phenomenon. But when the purpose of a study is accurate description of a situation or of an association between variables (or in what are called the descriptive studies), accuracy becomes a major consideration and a research design which minimises bias and maximises the reliability of the evidence collected is considered a good design. Studies involving the testing of a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables require a design which will permit inferences about causality in addition to the minimisation of bias and maximisation of reliability. But in practice it is the most difficult task to put a particular study in a particular group, for a given research may have in it elements of two or more of the functions of different studies. It is only on the basis of its primary function that a study can be categorised either as an exploratory or descriptive or hypothesis-testing study and accordingly the choice of a research design may be made in case of a particular study. Besides, the availability of time, money, skills of the research staff and the means of obtaining the information must be given due

weightage while working out the relevant details of the research design such as experimental design, survey design, sample design and the like. 7.2 FEATURS OF A GOOD DESIGN 1. Various sources of obtaining the information is to be clear. 2. Should be clear with the availability of information and skills of the researcher. 3. Availability of time and money for the research work must be sufficient. 4. It should be flexible, appropriate, efficient and economical. 5. Design should help to obtain maximum information and to solve the research problem.

MARKETING RESEARCH AND DECISION MAKING There are elements of uncertainty and risk attached to all business decisions and risk reduction is the main difficulty involved in the choices that are made. Common sense suggests that the availability of good information reduces the risk. After all, having perfect information all the time would make the job of exercising choice much easier since there would be no risk in making marketing decisions. Correct answers to such questions as how much to spend on advertising and what message should be contained in the advertising would always be known. The first step in the decision-making process is the identification of needed information. Incorrect specification of requirements will provide only useless information, so it is necessary to ensure that the specification is correct. Poor or misleading information not only costs time and money but also generates confusion, chaos and badly informed decisions. One must determine what information is needed to make a particular decision. Next, consideration has to be given to whether the information can be obtained within a reasonable time and at a reasonable cost, and whether one can afford to spend both the time and the money to obtain it. Information used in the right way can be a powerful aid to marketing. A competitive advantage can be achieved with the help of accurate, relevant information since it helps marketers make better decisions. Inaccurate, irrelevant information is both misleading and dangerous in the extreme. 1.2 SCOPE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH i. Decision-making tool: Whenever a decision is to be made, marketing research becomes necessary in the corporate world. The degree of dependence on research is based on the cost of decisions. If the cost of decision is high, the dependence on research is high, and vice versa. ii. Facilitates large- scale production: The MR helps large scale enterprises in the areas of production to determine: (a) What to produce? (b) How much to produce? (c) When to produce?

iii. To determine the pattern of consumption: The consumption patterns vary from place to place and time to time. The MR helps in identifying the consumption pattern and also the availability of consumer credit in that particular place. MR helps the marketer to identify: l Consumption pattern l Brand loyalty l Consumer behaviour l Market trends, etc. iv. Complex market: In a complex and dynamic environment, the role of MR is very vital. MR acts as a bridge between the consumer and the purchaser. This is because MR enables the management to know the need of the customer, the about demand for the product and helps the producer to anticipate the changes in the market. v. Problem-solving: The MR focuses on both short range and long range decisions and helps in making decisions with respect to the 4ps of marketing, namely, product, price, place and promotion. vi. Distribution: The MR helps the manufacturer to decide about the channel, media, logistics planning so that its customers and distributors are benefited. Based on the study of MR, suitable distributors, retailers, wholesalers and agents are selected by the company for distributing their products. vii. Sales promotion: The MR helps in effective sales promotion. It enlightens the manufacturer with regard to the method of sales promotion to be undertaken, such as advertising, personal selling, publicity etc. It also helps in understanding the attitude of the customers and helps how to design the advertisement in line with prevailing attitudes.