Do Research work

Artistically & scientifically

Presented by :
A. K. MITRA

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 Why and How to start a
research work
• Why Res.? Ans.: For decision making .
Is there any problem in business / life you want to know more
about? Develop new insights within you. How?
i) Do literature survey.
ii) Study previous research papers and case studies.
iii) Study different websites; Magazines; Journals etc.
iv) Formulate tentative Research Objectives and Design unstructured
open-ended questionnaire.
10 Interview Expert of the field and develop new ideas and define the
research problem in detail and as correct as possible.

11 This is called Exploratory Research.

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Remember: Don’t be biased in anyway whatsoever 2
.
Place your ‘Research Proposal’

• Or ‘Synopsis of Research’
Contents of Research proposal.
* Title of the Research Project
Chapter – I Introduction
(a) Industry Profile
(b) Company Profile
OR Brief History of the Research topic.
(c) Define Problems in Research as detail as
possible. Diagnose the problem not the symptoms.
(d) Rational / Significance of the study.

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Chapter II – Research Methodology
(a) Write all about your Literature Survey report in detail with all the references and
quotations with sources and different web site sources..
(b) Research ObjectivesOr Objectives of the Research study [ Formulate your res.
Obj. as practicable or as focused as possible. Write them serially with 1/2/3/etc. --
collect them from some of the defined problems. Write them as -
3. To study the consumer perception on Plasma TV.
4. To know about the buying behavior of consumers of child care products.
5. To measure the attitude of the customers on the services provided by Bank of India
Etc.
(c) Formulate Research Hypothesis on the basis of your Res. Objectives. There are
two alternate statement to be written 1) Null Hypothesis (H0) & 2) Alternate
Hypothesis (H1/A) and these are to be tested through different statistical tools as
per requirement.
HYPOTHESIS: This is guess statement. For example :
H0: The advertisement has a positive correlation on increasing sales of the
Digital camera.
H1: There is no such positive correlation with advertising of a product if income and
price of the product remain static.

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Research methodology
(d) Research Design: Write just your design only. example: My res. des. is exploratory res. And
descriptive research.
RESEARCH DESIGN is a master plan for doing res.
There are basically 3 types of research design:

i) Exploratory Res.: Preliminary desk research, qualitative in nature, flexible, provide

insights and new ideas to the researcher, help in diagnosing res. Problem and to formulate
Res. Objectives more authentically. It is to clarify ambiguous problems. It is not a
conclusive res. * Relationship of uncertainty to exploratory res. Example, i) Our sales are
declining and we do not know why? ii) Would people be interested in our new product
idea?

ii) Descriptive Res. : This is conclusive res. Specially to describe the characteristics of the
population.
To determine - * Who purchases? * what customers prefer to purchase? * When the
customers purchase more? * Where from they purchase? * How the purchaser taking
the buying decision. * What is the demographic scenario of the country? * What is the life
cycle status of our target customer? *What is buying behavior of our target customer? Etc.

It become Diagnostic Res. When we bring out exact phenomena why the customer is
purchasing a particular brand ? Motive behind the purchase or Why the customer feel like
that way? Etc.
It based on some previous understanding of the problem. It tries to determine the extent of
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difference in needs, attitudes and opinion among subgroups.
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Experimental Research OR Causal
Research
• Main aim to determine the cause & effect relationships among variables.
This may be final of all researches because researcher knows or tries to explain
the relationship.
Research to infer Causality –
(i) Establish sequence of events.
(ii) Measure concomitant variation between the Presumed cause and presumed
effect.
(iii) Recognize the presence or absence of alternative (probable) explanation or
causal factors.

Usefulness: Measuring the effects of alternative courses of action.

Experimentation may be a practical means of reducing the risk involved in
deciding among the alternatives An experiment is executed when one or more
independent variables are consciously manipulated or controlled by the
researcher and their effect on the dependent variable (s) is measured. For
Example, If Lipi be asked to try a Revlon lipstick and then has her attitudes
towards it measured. Here, Lipi is Test Unit , Revlon lipstick is
Independent variable and Attitude of Lipi Is dependent
variable. 07/27/09
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 Issues in Experimental Design
1. Manipulation of Independent variable.
2. Selection and measurement of the dependent variable.
3. Selection and assignment of subjects.
& 4. Control over extraneous variables.

Independent Variable: The variable that can be manipulated, changed or

altered independently of any other variable.

Dependent Variable: The criterion or standard by which the results of an

experiment are judged, a variable expected to be dependent on the manipulation
of the independent variable.

Experimental treatment: Alternative manipulations of the independent

variable being investigated.

Experimental Group: The group of subjects exposed to the experimental

treatment.

Control Group: The group of subjects exposed to the control condition in07/27/09
an
experiment – that is, not exposed to the experimental treatment.
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 Issues continued:
• Internal Validity: No other plausible (reasonable) cause of the observed results
should exist except those tested. The presence of other extraneous factors
makes the experiment confounded (confused or surprised).
• External Validity: It relates to ‘generalization’ of the results obtained from the
experiments. [ change of environment from the real one].
a) History: Occurrence of non-occuring events at the time of events.
b) Maturation: Change of population involved over the passage of time of
experiment.
c) Testing: Knowledge of testing makes respondents bias and sensitize.
d) Instrumentation: Changes in measuring instruments or process or change of
investigator.
e) Selection Bias: Bias in selecting test units from the population. It is better to
be Random.
f) Test Unit Mortality: Some Test Units may drop out while experiment is in
progress.

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Quasi – Experimental Designs
Symbols Used:

X – Experimental treatment.

O – Observation (s) of the test unit [ O1, O2, O3 etc.]

R – Individual selected at random to separate treatment groups Or Groups

have been allocated at random to separate treatment.

5) Movement from left to right indicates a time sequence of events.

6) All notations in one row indicate that subjects belong to that specific
treatment group.

7) Vertical arrangements of the notations mean that the events occur

simultaneously.

Example: a) O1 X O2 b) R O1 X O2

R O2 X O3
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Quasi-Experimental Design: In these designs the researcher has control
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over data collection procedure but lacks control over the scheduling of
Types of Quasi – Experimental Design
1. After – only without control group.
2. Before – After without control group.
3. The Static – Group Comparison.
4. Longitudinal Designs ( Time Series Designs).
5. Multiple Time – Series Designs.

ELABORATION OF EACH Q-E DESIGNS:

7. After-only - Symbolically- X O . In this design, test units are either self-selected or
arbitrarily selected by the experimenter. A single group of test units are first exposed to
treatment ( X ) and then measurements are taken on the dependent variable afterwards (
O ).

8. Before-After – Symbolically – O1 X O2 . Measure test group once before they are

focused to treatment and then measure again after treatment. You can have the
difference between prior and the post treatment effect.

9. Static – Group : Symbolically – Group 1 (Experimental Group) X1 O1

Group 2 ( Control Group) X2 O2
Here, We use two Group of subjects. Gr. 1 is exposed to the treatment whereas Gr.2 has
not been exposed to it. X1 and X2 are two different treatments( marketing programs).
O1 – O2 experiment result. 07/27/09
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QUASI – EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN CONTINUES
4. Time Series: Periodic measurement for some test units . Pre – test and Post –
test both continued for a period of time. O1 O2 O3 X O4 O5 O6.

5. Multiple Time series: Experimental Group: O1 O2 O3 O4 X O5 O6 O7 O8

Control Group O’1 O’2 O’3 O’4 O’5 O’6 O’7 O’8
Take Average value and compare .

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
a) After – only with one control Group.
b) Before- After with One Control Group.
c) The Solomon Four Group Design .
d) Completely Randomized Design.
e) Randomized Block Design.
f) Latin Square Design.
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g) Factorial Design 11
 Elaboration of Experimental Design
a)After-Only: Here, two groups are experimental and one control group are set up by
randomization procedure. The design requires only one treatment and post test measurement
of both experimental and the control group. The design Symbolically –

Experimental Group R X O1
Control Group R O2
No Pre- Test Measurement. The difference between the post treatment measurement of the
two groups is taken as a treatment effect.
O1- O2 = ( Treatment effect + Extraneous factors) – ( Extraneous factors)
= Treatment effect.

b) Before-After:This Design is also called Pre-Test & Post-Test Design. Symbolically –

Experimental Groups R O1 X1 O2
Control Groups R O3 O4
One ‘Experiment’ and One ‘Control’ Group are set up by randomization process. The
extraneous factors operate equally on both the groups. Thus the result of treatment effect is:
Let A = Change in the measurement of the experimental group ( O2 – O1 )
Let B = Change in the measurement of the control group ( O4 – O3 )

Therefore, Treatment Effect = A – B = ( O2 – O1 ) – ( O4 – O3 )

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Experimental Design Continued
c) Solomon Four Groups: This design is also called the Four group six study design. This design is
Symbolically presented as:
Experimental Groups 1 R O1 X O2 [Before-After with one control group]
Control Groups 1 R O3 O4
Experimental Groups 2 R X O5 [After only with one control group]
Control Groups 2 R O6
Analysis: testing (i)
Experimental Groups 1: O2 - O1 = Treatment effect + extraneous factors + sensitizing^ effect
Control Groups 1: O4 – O3 = extraneous factors ( ii )
Experimental Groups 2: O5 – O1 = Treatment effect + extraneous factors ( iii )
O5 – O3 = Treatment effect + extraneous factors ( iv )
Control Groups 2 : O6 – O1 = extraneous factors (v)
O6 – O3 = extraneous factors ( vi )
Now, Average of equation (iii) & ( iv ) : O5 – (O1+ O3) / 2 = TR. Effect + extraneous factors (vii)
And Average of ( v ) & ( vi ) : O6 – ( O1 + O3 ) / 2 = extraneous effect ( viii )
Treatment effect = Equation ( vii ) – Equation ( viii ) = O5 – O6 = Treat. Effect
Sensitizing testing effect = Eq. ( i ) – Eq. ( vii )
This is the ideal control experiment. But it is costly, time consuming,& highly technical.
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d) Completely Randomized Design: To study the effect of one Independent variable (with no.
of categories in a Nominal scale) on the Dependent variable.
Example: Three different level of prices and its effect on sales of the product.
e) Randomized Block Design: A single extraneous variable that might affect test units’
response to the treatment is identified and the effects of this variable are isolated by being
blocked out.
Example: Independent variable – Price --- 3 different slabs.
Shop size: Small, Medium & Large
Select 9 shops from each category . Now place your product with different prices in three shops
each. So, We have 27shops - 3 small, 3 medium & 3 large with each price tag. Then study
the variations in sales.
We can use analysis of variance to separate out the effect of extraneous variable ( size of
shop) and also analyze the effect of treatment ( Price Level ) on sales ( dependent
variable ).
f) Latin Square Design: To control and measure the effect of two extraneous variables on the
dependent variable. For Example:
Packaging I II III IV | Do Analysis of Variance to separate
1,2,3,4 Cities A B C D ( ADVERTISES ) | out & measure effect of extraneous
variables in question and the effect of treatments ( Advertising ) on dependent variable ( sales).
It is very expensive.
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g) Factorial Designs :
An experiment that investigates the interaction of two or more independent
variables on a single dependent variable.
For Example:
A Marketer wants to test the effect of TV Advertising and Price reduction on
the sales of a product. Suppose he considers 3 Levels of price reduction
and 4 Levels of TV Advertising . Then it would be 3x4 design. Hence 12
markets have to be chosen to test the combinations. Keeping the Time
period of the test constant.

It may be done with more than two variables also.

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Sources of Information
Exploratory Res.: i) Expert Opinion; ii) Depth Interview; iii) Delphi
Technique; iv) Focus Group Interview; v) Projective technique; vi) Case study
analysis vii) Syndicated sources viii) Govt. publications.

Descriptive Res.: i) Interrogation of respondents; ii) Secondary sources; iii)

Simulations.

Causal Res.: i) Time & order of occurrence of variables; ii) Concomitant

variations; iii) Elimination of other possible causal factors.

Method of Data collection:

Secondary Sources: Same as Exploratory Res. Sources and Company’s
internal MIS source; Industry Association sources; Global sources etc.

Primary Sources: i) Observation Method & ii) Survey Method ( Interview ).

Observation Method: Manually OR Mechanically
Manually: By trained observer who make and record direct observations of
respondent behavior.
Mechanically: Hidden Motion picture cameras, Audiometer, Close circuit cameras,
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etc.
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 Observation & Interview
Information may be collected by observation such as:-
b) Who actually is the buyer for the product ?
c) To what extent do they seem to have predetermined idea of buying the
product?
d) Did they appear to be influenced by the person accompanying them?
e) How many of them checked the price and/or compared it with that of
competitor?
f) How many of them studied the package before buying?
Interview Method: Questionnaire form
h) Structured and Direct
i) Unstructured and Direct
j) Structured and Indirect
k) Unstructured and Indirect 07/27/09
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Other forms of questionnaire
• Word Association test
• Sentence completion test
• Thematic appreciation ( Picture interpret ) test
• Focus Group
Media Used in Interviews: Mail; Telephone; Fax; e-mail etc.
Types of Questions:
• Open Ended and/ or Close Ended
• Multiple choice Or Dichotomous questions
Take care of the following during questionnaire preparation –
• Wording of the question
• Sequence of the question
• Lay out of the question
• Avoid Ambiguous and unethical issues
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• Pretest – Final draft of questionnaire
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QUESTINNAIRE PREPARATION
What is a Questionnaire?
Questionnaire can be defined as a schedule/list of questions to be asked
and spaces provided to record the answers.
Features of a good questionnaire
•It must be able to translate researcher’s objectives into specific questions
which the respondents can answer.
•It must be able to motivate respondents to co-operate with the survey.
•It must be as easy and simple as possible, while still covering all the
relevant aspects of the study.
•It should be unambiguous.
•It should facilitate answer recording as well as data analysis and
interpretation.
Questionnaire Preparation Procedure
Questionnaire preparation is an art rather than a science. Much depends
on the experience and ability of the researcher. Major steps involved in
preparing a questionnaire along with a list of ‘ Dos ‘ and ‘ Don’ts ‘ are
discussed below: 07/27/09
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Regarding questionnaire
•Determine what information is needed.
•Determine nature of respondents.
•Determine method of contacting respondents, i.e., personal, mail,
telephonic etc.
•Develop a tentative list of questions.
•Evaluate individual questions
- Is the question necessary?
- Are several questions needed instead of one?
( Avoid double barreled / multi-element questions )
-Will the needed information be supplied by the respondents?
* Is the point within the respondents’ experience?
* Is the point within the respondents’ memory?
* Will the respondents have to do a lot of work to get the information?
* Will the respondents give the information?
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Regarding Questionnaire
•Determine the type of questions to be used, i.e., whether open – ended or close
ended? Dichotomous or Multiple choice questions would be used?
•Decide about the wording / phrasing of questions
- Decide whether questions should be positively or negatively worded.
- Decide whether questions should be directly or indirectly asked.
- Use simple language or words.
- Provide explanation of technical or unfamiliar terms.
- Avoid ambiguous words / questions.
- Avoid leading questions.
- Avoid loaded questions.
- Use split ballot method where it is not clear as to which one of the two or more
words should be used.
- Use appropriate units of measurement.
•Determine question sequence.
- Opening / lead-in questions must be such as are easy to answer and are not too
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Regarding Questionnaire
- Place difficult or personal or socially embarrassing questions in the
middle.
- Arrange questions in the logical order.
- Consider influence of question on succeeding questions.
- Don’t forget to add a ‘ thank you ‘ in the end.
•Decide whether questionnaire should be pre-coded or not.
•Decide about the lay-out and printing of the questionnaire.
•Give instructions as to how the questionnaire should be filled in and in
case of mail survey, to whom and by what date the questionnaire should be
sent back.
•Develop a suitable covering letter if mail survey method is being used.
•Pretest the draft questionnaire.
•Revise and develop the final draft of the questionnaire.
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