Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chapter
Page
1 Introduction - Meaning, Objectives and Types of research, Research Approach,
Research Process, Relevance & scope of research in management.
2
2 Research Design - Features of good Design, Types of Research Design, Basic
principles of experimental Design.
30
3 Sampling Design - Steps in sample Design, Characteristics of a good sample
Design, Probability & Non Probability sampling.
47
4 Measurement & scaling techniques - Errors in measurement. Test of sound
measurement, Scaling and scale construction technique.
68
5 Methods of data collection - Primary data questionnaire and interviews;
Collection of secondary data,
90
6 Collection and Processing data - Survey Errors, Data coding; Editing and
Tabulation.
126
7 Analysis of data - Analysis of Variance; Advanced Data Analysis Techniques-
Factor Analysis, Cluster Analysis, Discriminant Analysis, Conjoint Analysis, Multi
Dimensional Scaling.
146
8 Testing of hypothesis - Procedure for hypothesis testing; Use of statistical
techniques for testing of hypothesis.
167
9 Interpretation of data - Techniques of Interpretation, Report writing, Layout of a
project report, preparing research reports.
180
10 Research in various Functional Areas 203
Bibliography 207
11 All FAQ on Ph.D , Research Aptitude Test: Examination Pattern 208
12 Most likely asked questions in Ph.D entrance aptitude test 217
13 Most Likely asked Questions for Ph.D Interview 270
14
Enclosed CD contents: Sample Ph.D Thesis, Synopsis , Summary etc
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Chapter1: Research
Introduction
Research comprises of creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of
knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to
devise new applications.
Research can be defined to be search for knowledge or any systematic investigation to establish facts. The
primary purpose for applied research (as opposed to basic 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. Research can use the scientific method, but need not do
so.
Scientific research relies on the application of the scientific method, a harnessing of curiosity. 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. Scientific research is funded by public
authorities, by charitable organisations and by private groups, including many companies. Scientific
research can be subdivided into different classifications according to their academic and application
disciplines.
Research can be defined as a scientific and systematic search for gaining information and knowledge on a
specific topic or phenomena. In management, research is extensively used in various areas. For example,
We all know that, Marketing is the process of Planning & Executing the concepts, pricing, promotion &
distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchange that satisfy individual & organizational
objectives. Thus, we can say that, the Marketing Concept requires Customer Satisfaction rather than
Profit Maximization to be the goal of an organization. The organization should be Consumer oriented
and should try to understand consumers requirements & satisfy them quickly and efficiently, in ways
that are beneficial to both the consumer & the organization.
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This means that any organization should try to obtain information on consumer needs and gather market
intelligence to help satisfy these needs efficiently. This can only be done only by research.
Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. It is an endeavour to discover answers to
problems (of intellectual and practical nature) through the application of scientific methods. Research,
thus, is essentially a systematic inquiry seeking facts (truths) through objective, verifiable methods in
order to discover the relationship among them and to deduce from them broad conclusions. It is thus a
method of critical thinking. It is imperative that any type of organisation in the globalised environment
needs systematic supply of information coupled with tools of analysis for making sound decisions, which
involve minimum risk. In this chapter, we will discuss at length the need and significance of research,
types and methods of research, and the research process.
When research is used for decision-making, it means we are using the methods of science to the art of
management. Every organization operates under some degree of uncertainty. This uncertainty cannot be
eliminated completely, although it can be minimized with the help of research methodology. Research is
particularly important in the decision making process of various business organizations to choose the
best line of action (in the light of growing competition and increasing uncertainty).
The research process usually starts with a broad area of interest, the initial problem that the researcher
wishes to study. For instance, the researcher could be interested in how to use computers to improve the
performance of students in mathematics. However, this initial interest is far too broad to study in any
single research project (it might not even be addressable in a lifetime of research).
The researcher has to narrow the question down to one that can reasonably be studied in a research
project. This might involve formulating a hypothesis or a focus question. For instance, the researcher
might hypothesize that a particular method of computer instruction in math will improve the ability of
elementary school students in a specific district. At the narrowest point of the research hourglass, the
researcher is engaged in direct measurement or observation of the question of interest.
Meaning
Research in common context refers to a search for knowledge. It can also be defined as a scientific and
systematic search for gaining information and knowledge on a specific topic or phenomena. In
management, research is extensively used in various areas. For example, we all know that, Marketing is
the process of Planning & Executing the concepts; pricing, promotion & distribution of ideas, goods, and
services to create exchange that satisfy individual & organizational objectives. Thus, we can say that, the
Marketing Concept requires Customer Satisfaction rather than Profit Maximization to be the goal of an
organization. The organization should be Consumer oriented and should try to understand consumers
requirements & satisfy them quickly and efficiently, in ways that are beneficial to both the consumer &
the organization.
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The Random House Dictionary of the English language defines the term Research as a meticulous and
systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories,
applications, etc. This definition explains that research involves acquisition of knowledge. Research
means search for truth. Truth means the quality of being in agreement with reality or facts. It also means
an established or verified fact. To do research is to get nearer to truth, to understand the reality. Research
is the pursuit of truth with the help of study, observation, comparison and experimentation. In other
words, the search for knowledge through objective and systematic method of finding solution to a
problem/answer to a question is research. There is no guarantee that the researcher will always come out
with a solution or answer. Even then, to put it in Karl Pearsons words there is no short cut to truth no
way to gain knowledge of the universe except through the gate way of scientific method. Let us see
some definitions of Research:
L.V. Redman and A.V.H. Mory in their book on The Romance of Research defined research as a
systematized effort to gain new knowledge
Research is a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic (C.R. Kothari,
Research Methodology - Methods and Techniques)
A careful investigation or inquiry specially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge
(Advanced learners Dictionary of current English) Research refers to a process of enunciating the
problem, formulating a hypothesis, collecting the facts or data, analyzing the same, and reaching certain
conclusions either in the form of solution to the problem enunciated or in certain generalizations for some
theoretical formulation.
D. Slesinger and M. Stephenson in the Encyclopedia of Social Sciences defined research as:
Manipulation of things, concepts or symbols for the purpose of generalizing and to extend, correct or
verify knowledge, whether that knowledge aids in the construction of a theory or in the practice of an
art.
To understand the term research clearly and comprehensively let us analyze the above definition.
i) Research is manipulation of things, concepts or symbols
- manipulation means purposeful handling,
- things means objects like balls, rats, vaccine,
- concepts mean the terms designating the things and their perceptions about
- which science tries to make sense. Examples: velocity, acceleration, wealth, income.
- Symbols may be signs indicating +, , , , x , s, S, etc.
- Manipulation of a ball or vaccine means when the ball is kept on different degrees of incline how and at
what speed does it move? When the vaccine is used, not used, used with different gaps, used in different
quantities (doses) what are the effects?
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ii) Manipulation is for the purpose of generalizing
The purpose of research is to arrive at generalization i.e., to arrive at statements of generality, so that
prediction becomes easy. Generalization or conclusion of an enquiry tells us to expect something in a
class of things under a class of conditions. Examples: Debt repayment capacity of farmers will be
decreased during drought years. When price increases demand falls. Advertisement has a favourable
impact on sales.
iii) The purpose of research (or generalization) is to extend, correct or verify knowledge
Generalization has in turn certain effects on the established corpus or body of knowledge. It may extend
or enlarge the boundaries of existing knowledge by removing inconsistencies if any. It may correct the
existing knowledge by pointing out errors if any. It may invalidate or discard the existing knowledge
which is also no small achievement. It may verify and confirm the existing knowledge which also gives
added strength to the existing knowledge. It may also point out the gaps in the existing corpus of
knowledge requiring attempts to bridge these gaps.
iv) This knowledge may be used for construction of a theory or practice of an art
The extended, corrected or verified knowledge has two possible uses to which persons may put it.
a) may be used for theory building so as to form a more abstract conceptual system. E.g. Theory of
relativity, theory of full employment, theory of wage.
b) may be used for some practical or utilitarian goal. E.g. Salesmanship and advertisement increase sales
is the generalization. From this, if sales have to be increased, use salesmanship and advertisement for
increasing sales. Theory and practice are not two independent things. They are interdependent. Theory
gives quality and effectiveness to practice. Practice in turn may enlarge or correct or confirm or even
reject theory.
Some other definitions of Research are:
1. Redman and Mory define research as a systematized effort to gain new knowledge.
2. Some people consider research as a movement, a movement from known to unknown. It is actually a
voyage to discovery.
3. According to Clifford Woody
Research comprises of defining and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested
solutions; making deductions and reaching conclusions; and at last carefully testing the conclusions to
determine whether they fit the formulating hypothesis.
On evaluating these definitions we can conclude that Research refers to the systematic method consisting
of
- Enunciating the problem,
- Formulating a hypothesis,
- Collecting the fact or data,
- Analyzing the facts and
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- Reaching certain conclusions either in the form of solutions towards the concerned problem or in
certain generals for some theoretical formulation.
Research covers the search for and retrieval of information for a specific purpose. Research has many
categories, from medical research to literary research.
Research is essentially a fact-finding process, which influences decision-making. It is a careful search or
inquiry into any subject or subject matter, which is an endeavour to discover or find out valuable facts,
which would be useful for further application or utilization. Research can be a basic research or applied
research. Basic research is studies conducted toward long-range questions or advancing scientific
knowledge.
Characteristics of Research
a. Systematic Approach
Each step must of your investigation be so planned that it leads to the next step. Planning and
organization are part of this approach. A planned and organized research saves your time and money.
b. Objectivity
It implies that True Research should attempt to find an unbiased answer to the decision-making problem.
c. Reproducible
A reproducible research procedure is one, which an equally competent researcher could duplicate, and
from it deduces approximately the same results. Precise information regarding samples-methods,
collection etc., should be specified.
d. Relevancy
It furnishes three important tasks:
- It avoids collection of irrelevant information and saves time and money
- It compares the information to be collected with researchers criteria for action
- It enables to see whether the research is proceeding in the right direction
e. Control:
Research is not only affected by the factors, which one is investigating but some other extraneous factors
also. It is impossible to control all the factors. All the factors that we think may affect the study have to be
controlled and accounted for.
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For Example
Suppose we are studying the relationship between incomes and shopping behaviour, without controlling
for education and age, it will be a height of folly, since our findings may reflect the effect of education
and age rather than income.
Objectives of research
Following are the key objectives of research:
1. Exploration- an understanding of an area of concern in very general terms. Example: I want to know
how to go about doing more effective research on school violence.
2. Description - an understanding of what is going on. Example: I want to know the attitudes of potential
clients toward Air-Conditioner use.
3. Explanation - an understanding of how things happen. Involves an understanding of cause and effect
relationships between events. Example: I want to know if a group of people who have gone through a
certain program have higher self-esteem than a control group.
4. Prediction - an understanding of what is likely to happen in the future. If I can explain, I may be able to
predict. Example: If one group had higher self-esteem, is it likely to happen with another group?
5. Intelligent intervention - an understanding of what or how in order to help more effectively.
6. Awareness - an understanding of the world, often gained by a failure to describe or explain.
Types of research
Research may be classified into different types for the sake of better understanding of the concept.
Several bases can be adopted for the classification such as nature of data, branch of knowledge, extent of
coverage, place of investigation, method employed, time frame and so on. Depending upon the BASIS
adopted for the classification, research may be classified into a class or type. It is possible that a piece of
research work can be classified under more than one type, hence there will be overlapping. It must be
remembered that good research uses a number of types, methods, & techniques. Hence, rigid
classification is impossible. The following is only an attempt to classify research into different types.
i) According to the Branch of Knowledge
Different Branches of knowledge may broadly be divided into two:
a) Life and physical sciences such as Botany, Zoology, Physics and Chemistry.
b) Social Sciences such as Political Science, Public Administration, Economics, Sociology, Commerce and
Management.
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Research in these fields is also broadly referred to as life and physical science research and social science
research. Business education covers both Commerce and Management, which are part of Social sciences.
Research is a broad term which covers many areas.
The research carried out, in these areas, is called management research, production research, personnel
research, financial management research, accounting research, Marketing research etc.
a. Management research includes various functions of management such as planning, organizing,
staffing, communicating, coordinating, motivating, controlling. Various motivational theories are the
result of research.
b. Production (also called manufacturing) research focuses more on materials and equipment rather
than on human aspects. It covers various aspects such as new and better ways of producing goods,
inventing new technologies, reducing costs, improving product quality.
c. Research in personnel management may range from very simple problems to highly complex
problems of all types. It is primarily concerned with the human aspects of the business such as personnel
policies, job requirements, job evaluation, recruitment, selection, placement, training and development,
promotion and transfer, morale and attitudes, wage and salary administration, industrial relations. Basic
research in this field would be valuable as human behaviour affects organizational behaviour and
productivity.
d. Research in Financial Management includes financial institutions, financing instruments (egs. shares,
debentures), financial markets (capital market, money market, primary market, secondary market),
financial services (egs. merchant banking, discounting, factoring), financial analysis (e.g. investment
analysis, ratio analysis, funds flow / cash flow analysis) etc.,
e. Accounting research though narrow in its scope, but is a highly significant area of business
management. Accounting information is used as a basis for reports to the management, shareholders,
investors, tax authorities, regulatory bodies and other interested parties. Areas for accounting research
include inventory valuation, depreciation accounting, generally accepted accounting principles,
accounting standards, corporate reporting etc.
f. Marketing research deals with product development and distribution problems, marketing
institutions, marketing policies and practices, consumer behaviour, advertising and sales promotion,
sales management and after sales service etc. Marketing research is one of the very popular areas and
also a well established one. Marketing research includes market potentials, sales forecasting, product
testing, sales analysis, market surveys, test marketing, consumer behaviour studies, marketing
information system etc.
g. Business policy research is basically the research with policy implications. The results of such studies
are used as indices for policy formulation and implementation.
h. Business history research is concerned with the past. For example, how was trade and commerce
during the Moghul regime.
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ii) According to the Nature of Data
A simple dichotomous classification of research is Quantitative research and Qualitative research / non-
quantitative.
a. Quantitative research is variables based where as qualitative research is attributes based. Quantitative
research is based on measurement / quantification of the phenomenon under study. In other words, it is
data based and hence more objective and more popular.
b. Qualitative research is based on the subjective assessment of attributes, motives, opinions, desires,
preferences, behaviour etc. Research in such a situation is a function of researchers insights and
impressions.
iii) According to the Coverage
According to the number of units covered it can be Macro study or Micro study. Macro study is a study
of the whole where as Micro study is a study of the part. For example, working capital management in
State Road Transport Corporations in India is a macro study where as Working Capital Management in
Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation is a micro study.
iv) According to Utility or Application
Depending upon the use of research results i.e., whether it is contributing to the theory building or
problem solving, research can be Basic or Applied.
a. Basic research is called pure / theoretical / fundamental research. Basic research includes original
investigations for the advancement of knowledge that does not have specific objectives to answer
problems of sponsoring agencies.
b. Applied research also called Action research, constitutes research activities on problems posed by
sponsoring agencies for the purpose of contributing to the solution of these problems.
v) According to the place where it is carried out
Depending upon the place where the research is carried out (according to the data generating source),
research can be classified into:
a) Field Studies or field experiments
b) Laboratory studies or Laboratory experiments
c) Library studies or documentary research
vi) According to the Research Methods used
Depending upon the research method used for the investigation, it can be classified as:
a) Survey research, b) Observation research, c) Case research, d) Experimental research, e) Historical
research, f) Comparative research.
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vii) According to the Time Frame
Depending upon the time period adopted for the study, it can be
a) One time or single time period research - e.g. One year or a point of time. Most of the sample studies,
diagnostic studies are of this type.
b) Longitudinal research - e.g. several years or several time periods ( a time series analysis) e.g. industrial
development during the five year plans in India.
viii) According to the purpose of the Study
What is the purpose/aim/objective of the study? Is it to describe or analyze or evaluate or explore?
Accordingly the studies are known as.
a) Descriptive Study: The major purpose of descriptive research is the description of a person, situation,
institution or an event as it exists. Generally fact finding studies are of this type.
b) Analytical Study: The researcher uses facts or information already available and analyses them to
make a critical examination of the material. These are generally Ex-post facto studies or post-mortem
studies.
c) Evaluation Study: This type of study is generally conducted to examine /evaluate the impact of a
particular event, e.g. Impact of a particular decision or a project or an investment.
d) Exploratory Study: The information known on a particular subject matter is little. Hence, a study is
conducted to know more about it so as to formulate the problem and procedures of the study. Such a
study is called exploratory/ formulative study.
Research Approaches
The researcher has to provide answers at the end, to the research questions raised in the beginning of the
study. For this purpose he has investigated and gathered the relevant data and information as a basis or
evidence. The procedures adopted for obtaining the same are described in the literature as methods of
research or approaches to research. In fact, they are the broad methods used to collect the data. These
methods are as follows:
1) Survey Method
2) Observation Method
3) Case Method
4) Experimental Method
5) Historical Method
6) Comparative Method
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It is now proposed to explain briefly, each of the above mentioned approaches.
1. Survey Method
The dictionary meaning of Survey is to oversee, to look over, to study, to systematically investigate.
Survey research is used to study large and small populations (or universes). It is a fact finding survey.
Mostly empirical problems are investigated by this approach. It is a critical inspection to gather
information, often a study of an area with respect to a certain condition or its prevalence. For example: a
marketing survey, a household survey, All India Rural Credit Survey.
Survey is a very popular branch of social science research. Survey research has developed as a separate
research activity along with the development and improvement of sampling procedures. Sample surveys
are very popular now a days. As a matter of fact sample survey has become synonymous with survey.
For example, see the following definitions:
Survey research can be defined as Specification of procedures for gathering information about a large
number of people by collecting information from a few of them. (Black and Champion). Survey
research is Studying samples chosen from populations to discover the relative incidence,
distribution, and inter relations of sociological and psychological variables. (Fred N. Kerlinger) By
surveying data, information may be collected by observation, or personal interview, or mailed
questionnaires, or administering schedules or telephone enquiries.
Features of Survey method
The important features of survey method are as follows:
i) It is a field study, as it is always conducted in a natural setting.
ii) It solicits responses directly from the respondents or people known to have knowledge about the
problem under study.
iii) Generally, it gathers information from a large population.
iv) A survey covers a definite geographical area e.g. A village / city or a district.
v) It has a time frame.
vi) It can be an extensive survey involving a wider sample or it can be an intensive study covering few
samples but is an in-depth and detailed study.
vii) Survey research is best adapted for obtaining personal, socio-economic facts, beliefs, attitudes,
opinions.
Survey research is not a clerical routine of gathering facts and figures. It requires a good deal of research
knowledge and sophistication. The competent survey investigator must know sampling procedures,
questionnaire / schedule / opionionaire construction, techniques of interviewing and other technical
aspects of the survey. Ultimately the quality of the Survey results depends on the imaginative planning,
representative sampling, reliability of data, appropriate analysis and interpretation of the data.
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2. Observation Method
Observation means seeing or viewing. It is not a casual but systematic viewing. Observation may
therefore be defined as a systematic viewing of a specific phenomenon in its proper setting for the
purpose of gathering information for the specific study.
Observation is a method of scientific enquiry. We observe a person or an event or a situation or an
incident. The body of knowledge of various sciences such as biology, physiology, astronomy, sociology,
psychology, anthropology etc., has been built upon centuries of systematic observation.
Observation is also useful in social and business sciences for gathering information and conceptualizing
the same. For example, What is the life style of tribals? How are the marketing activities taking place in
Regulated markets? How will the investment activities be done in Stock Exchange Markets? How are
proceedings taking place in the Indian Parliament or Assemblies? How is a corporate office maintained in
a public sector or a private sector undertaking? What is the behaviour of political leaders? Traffic jams in
Delhi during peak hours?
Observation as a method of data collection has some features:
i) It is not only seeing & viewing but also hearing and perceiving as well. ii) It is both a physical and a
mental activity. The observing eye catches many things which are sighted, but attention is also focused on
data that are relevant to the problem under study.
iii) It captures the natural social context in which the persons behaviour occurs.
iv) Observation is selective: The investigator does not observe everything but selects the range of things
to be observed depending upon the nature, scope and objectives of the study.
v) Observation is not casual but with a purpose. It is made for the purpose of noting things relevant to the
study.
vi) The investigator first of all observes the phenomenon and then gathers and accumulates data.
Observation may be classified in different ways. According to the setting it can be (a) observation in a
natural setting, e.g. Observing the live telecast of parliament proceedings or watching from the visitors
gallery, Electioneering in India through election meetings or (b) observation in an artificially stimulated
setting, e.g. business games, Tread Mill Test. According to the mode of observation it may be classified as
(a) direct or personal observation, and (b) indirect or mechanical observation. In case of direct
observation, the investigator personally observes the event when it takes place, where as in case of
indirect observation it is done through mechanical devices such as audio recordings, audio visual aids,
still photography, picturization etc. According to the participating role of the observer, it can be classified
as (a) participant observation and (b) non-participant observation. In case of participant observation, the
investigator takes part in the activity, i.e. he acts both as an observer as well as a participant. For example,
studying the customs and life style of tribals by living / staying with them. In case of non-participant
observation, the investigator observes from outside, merely as an on looker. Observation method is
suitable for a variety of research purposes such as a study of human behaviours, behaviour of social
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groups, life styles, customs and traditions, inter personal relations, group dynamics, crowd behaviour,
leadership and management styles, dressing habits of different social groups in different seasons,
behaviour of living creatures like birds, animals, lay out of a departmental stores, a factory or a
residential locality, or conduct of an event like a meeting or a conference or Afro- Asian Games.
3. Case Method
Case method of study is borrowed from Medical Science. Just like a patient, the case is intensively studied
so as to diagnose and then prescribe a remedy. A firm, or a unit is to be studied intensively with a view to
finding out problems, differences, specialties so as to suggest remedial measures. It is an in-
depth/intensive study of a unit or problem under study. It is a comprehensive study of a firm or an
industry, or a social group, or an episode, or an incident, or a process, or a programme, or an institution
or any other social unit. According to P.V. Young a comprehensive study of a social unit, be that unit a
person, a group, a social institution, a district, or a community, is called a Case Study.
Case Study is one of the popular research methods. A case study aims at studying everything about
something rather than something about everything. It examines complex factors involved in a given
situation so as to identify causal factors operating in it. The case study describes a case in terms of its
peculiarities, typical or extreme features. It also helps to secure a fund of information about the unit
under study. It is a most valuable method of study for diagnostic therapeutic purposes.
4. Experimental Method
Experimentation is the basic tool of the physical sciences like Physics, Chemistry for establishing cause
and effect relationship and for verifying inferences. However, it is now also used in social sciences like
Psychology, Sociology. Experimentation is a research process used to observe cause and effect
relationship under controlled conditions. In other words it aims at studying the effect of an independent
variable on a dependent variable, by keeping the other interdependent variables constant through some
type of control. In experimentation, the researcher can manipulate the independent variables and
measure its effect on the dependent variable. The main features of the experimental method are :
i) Isolation of factors or controlled observation.
ii) Replication of the experiment i.e. it can be repeated under similar conditions.
iii) Quantitative measurement of results.
iv) Determination of cause and effect relationship more precisely.
Three broad types of experiments are:
a) The natural or uncontrolled experiment as in case of astronomy made up mostly of observations.
b) The field experiment, the best suited one for social sciences. A field experiment is a research study in
a realistic situation in which one or more independent variables are manipulated by the experimenter
under as carefully controlled conditions as the situation will permit. ( Fred N. Kerlinger)
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c) The laboratory experiment is the exclusive domain of the physical scientist.
A laboratory experiment is a research study in which the variance of all or nearly all of the possible
influential independent variables, not pertinent to the immediate problem of the investigation, is kept at a
minimum. This is done by isolating the research in a physical situation apart from the routine of ordinary
living and by manipulating one or more independent variables under rigorously specified,
operationalized, and controlled conditions. (Fred N. Kerlinger). The contrast between the field
experiment and laboratory experiment is not sharp, the difference is a matter of degree. The laboratory
experiment has a maximum of control, where as the field experiment must operate with less control.
5. Historical Method
When research is conducted on the basis of historical data, the researcher is said to have followed the
historical approach. To some extent, all research is historical in nature, because to a very large extent
research depends on the observations / data recorded in the past. Problems that are based on historical
records, relics, documents, or chronological data can conveniently be investigated by following this
method. Historical research depends on past observations or data and hence is non-repetitive, therefore it
is only a post facto analysis. However, historians, philosophers, social psychiatrists, literary men, as well
as social scientists use the historical approach. Historical research is the critical investigation of events,
developments, experiences of the past, the careful weighing of evidence of the validity of the sources of
information of the past, and the interpretation of the weighed evidence. The historical method, also called
historiography, differs from other methods in its rather elusive subject matter i.e. the past. In historical
research primary and also secondary sources of data can be used. A primary source is the original
repository of a historical datum, like an original record kept of an important occasion, an eye witness
description of an event, the inscriptions on copper plates or stones, the monuments and relics,
photographs, minutes of organization meetings, documents. A secondary source is an account or record
of a historical event or circumstance, one or more steps removed from an original repository. Instead of
the minutes of the meeting of an organization, for example, if one uses a newspaper account of the
meeting, it is a secondary source.
The aim of historical research is to draw explanations and generalizations from the past trends in order to
understand the present and to anticipate the future. It enables us to grasp our relationship with the past
and to plan more intelligently for the future.
For historical data only authentic sources should be depended upon and their authenticity should be
tested by checking and cross checking the data from as many sources as possible. Many a times it is of
considerable interest to use Time Series Data for assessing the progress or for evaluating the impact of
policies and initiatives. This can be meaningfully done with the help of historical data.
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6. Comparative Method
The comparative method is also frequently called the evolutionary or Genetic Method. The term
comparative method has come about in this way: Some sciences have long been known as Comparative
Sciences - such as comparative philology, comparative anatomy, comparative physiology, comparative
psychology, comparative religion etc. Now the method of these sciences came to be described as the
Comparative Method, an abridged expression for the method of the comparative sciences. When the
method of most comparative sciences came to be directed more and more to the determination of
evolutionary sequences, it came to be described as the Evolutionary Method.
The origin and the development of human beings, their customs, their institutions, their innovations and
the stages of their evolution have to be traced and established. The scientific method by which such
developments are traced is known as the Genetic method and also as the Evolutionary method. The
science which appears to have been the first to employ the Evolutionary method is comparative
philology. It is employed to compare the different languages in existence, to trace the history of their
evolution in the light of such similarities and differences as the comparisons disclosed. Darwins famous
work Origin of Species is the classic application of the Evolutionary method in comparative anatomy.
The whole theory of biological evolution rests on applications of evolutionary method. This method can
be applied not only to plants, to animals, to social customs and social institutions, to the human mind
(comparative psychology), to human ideas and ideals, but also to the evolution of geological strata, to the
differentiation of the chemical elements and to the history of the solar system. The term comparative
method as a method of research is used here in its restricted meaning as synonymous with Evolutionary
method. To say that the comparative method is a method of comparison is not convincing, for
comparison is not a specific method, but something which enters as a factor into every scientific method.
Classification requires careful comparison and every other method of science depends upon a precise
comparison of phenomena and the circumstances of their occurrence. All methods are, therefore,
comparative in a wider sense.
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The Research Process
Having received the research brief, the researcher responds with a research proposal. This is a document
which develops after having given careful consideration to the contents of the research brief. The
research proposal sets out the research design and the
procedures to be followed. The eight steps are set out in figure
below.
Step -I: Problem definition
The point has already been made that the decision-maker should
clearly communicate the purpose of the research to the
researcher but it is often the case that the objectives are not fully
explained to the individual carrying out the study. Decision-
makers seldom work out their objectives fully or, if they have,
they are not willing to fully disclose them. In theory,
responsibility for ensuring that the research proceeds along
clearly defined lines rests with the decision-maker. In many
instances, the researcher has to take the initiative.
In situations, in which the researcher senses that the decision-
maker is either unwilling or unable to fully articulate the
objectives then he/she will have to pursue an indirect line of
questioning. One approach is to take the problem statement supplied by the decision-maker and to break
this down into key components and/or terms and to explore these with the decision-maker. For example,
the decision-maker could be asked what he has in mind when he uses the term market potential. This is a
valid question since the researcher is charged with the responsibility to develop a research design which
will provide the right kind of information. Another approach is to focus the discussions with the person
commissioning the research on the decisions which would be made given alternative findings which the
study might come up with. This process frequently proves of great value to the decision-maker in that it
helps him think through the objectives and perhaps select the most important of the objectives.
Whilst seeking to clarify the objectives of the research it is usually worthwhile having discussions with
other levels of management who have some understanding of the marketing problem and/or the
surrounding issues. Other helpful procedures include brainstorming, reviews of research on related
problems and researching secondary sources of information as well as studying competitive products.
The nature of problems
A decision makers degree of uncertainty influences decisions about the type of research that will be
conducted. A business manager may be completely certain about the situation s/he is facing. Or, at the
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other extreme, a manager or researcher may describe a decision-making situation as absolute ambiguity.
The nature of the problem to be solved is unclear. The objectives are vague and the alternatives are
difficult to define. This is by far the most difficult decision situation. Most business decision face
situations falling in-between these two extremes.
The importance of proper problem definition
Business research is conducted to help solve managerial problems. It is extremely important to define the
business problem carefully because such definition will determine the purpose of the research and,
ultimately, the research design.
Formal qualitative research should not begin until the problem has been clearly defined. However, when
a problem or opportunity is discovered, managers may have only vague insights about a complex
situation. If quantitative research is conducted before the researchers understand exactly what is
important, then false conclusions may be drawn from the investigation.
Problem definition indicates a specific business decision area that will be clarified by answering some
research questions.
The process of defining the problem
The process of defining the problem involves several interrelated steps. They are:
1. Ascertain the decision makers objectives.
2. Understand the background of the problem
3. Isolate and identify the problem not the symptoms
4. Determine the unit of analysis
5. Determine the relevant variables
6. State the research questions (Hypotheses) and
7. Research objectives
1) Ascertain the decision makers objectives
The research investigation must attempt to satisfy the decision makers objectives. Sometimes, decision
makers are not able to articulate precise research objectives. Both the research investigator and the
manager requesting the research should attempt to have a clear understanding of the purpose of
undertaking the research. Often, exploratory researchby illuminating the nature of the business
opportunity or problemhelps managers clarify their objectives and decisions.
The iceberg principle
The dangerous part of any business problem, like the submerged part of an iceberg, is neither visible to
nor understood by the business managers. If the submerged portions of the problem are omitted from
the problem definition, and subsequently from the research design, then the decision based on such
research may be less than optimal.
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2) Understand the background of the problem.
The background of the problem is vital. A situation analysis is the logical first step in defining the
problem. This analysis involves the informal gathering of background information to familiarize
researchers or managers with the decision area. Exploratory research techniques have been developed to
help formulate clear definitions of the problem (see Chapter 7).
3) Isolate and identify the problem, not the symptoms.
Anticipating the many influences and dimensions of a problem is impossible for any researcher or
executive. Certain occurrences that appear to be the problem may only be symptoms of a deeper
problem. Executive judgment and creativity must be exercised in identifying a problem.
4) What is the unit of analysis?
The researcher must specify the unit of analysis. Will the individual consumer be the source of
information or will it be the parent-child dyad? Industries, organizations, departments, or individuals,
may be the focus for data collection and analysis. Many problems can be investigated at more than one
level of analysis.
5) What are the relevant variables?
One aspect of problem definition is identification of the key variables. A variable is a quality that can
exhibit differences in value, usually magnitude or strength.
In statistical analysis, a variable is identified by a symbol such as X. A category or classificatory variable
has a limited number of distinct variables (e.g., sexmale or female). A continuous variable may
encompass an infinite range of numbers (e.g., sales volume).
Managers and researchers must be careful to include all relevant variables that must be studied in order
to be able to answer the managerial problem. Irrelevant variables should not be included.
In causal research, a dependent variable is a criterion or variable that is expected to be predicted or
explained. An independent variable is a variable that is expected to influence the dependent variable.
6 &7) State the research questions and research objectives
The research question is the researchers translation of the business problem into a specific need for
inquiry.
A. Clarity in Research Questions and Hypotheses
Research questions should be specific, clear, and accompanied by a well-formulated hypothesis.
A hypothesis is an unproven proposition or possible solution to a problem. In its simplest form, a
hypothesis is a guess. Problems and hypotheses are similar; both state relationships, but, whereas
problems are interrogative, hypotheses are declarative and more specifically related to the research
operations and testing. Hypotheses are statements that can be empirically tested.
A formal statement of hypothesis can force researchers to be clear about what they expect to find through
their study. The hypothesis can raise critical questions about the data that will be required in the analysis
stage.
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When evaluating a hypothesis, researchers should make sure that the information collected will be useful
in decision making.
B. Decision-oriented research objectives
The research objective is the researchers version of the problem. The research objective is derived from
the problem definition and it explains the purpose of the research in measurable terms, as well as
defining what standards the research should accomplish. Such objectives help ensure that the research
projects will be manageable in size.
In some instances the problems and the projects research objectives are identical. The objectives must,
however, specify the information needed to make a decision. Statements about the required precision
may be necessary to clearly communicate exactly what information is required.
It is useful if the research objective is a managerial action standard. That is, if the criterion being
measured turns out to be X, then management will do A; if it is Y, then management will do B. This
leaves no uncertainty concerning the decision to be made once the research is finished.
The number of research objectives should be limited to a manageable number so that each one can be
addressed fully.
How much time should be spent defining the problem?
It is impractical to search for every conceivable cause and minor influence of a problem. The importance
of the recognized problem will usually
dictate what is a reasonable amount of
time and money for determining which
possible explanations are most likely.
The research proposal
The research proposal is a written
statement of the research designit
explains the purpose of the study,
defines the problem, outlines the
research methodology, details the
procedures to be followed, and states all costs and deadlines.
The proposal should be precise, specific, and concrete. All ambiguities about why and how the research
will be conducted must be "ironed out" before the proposal is complete.
The research proposal can act as a communication tool. It allows managers to evaluate the proposed
research design and determine if alterations are necessary. The proposal should be detailed enough that
managers are clear about exactly how the information will be obtained.
Misstatements and faulty communication may occur if the two parties rely on each others memory of
what occurred at a planning meeting; therefore, it is wise to write down all proposals. Such a written
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proposal eliminates many problems that may arise and acts as a record of the researchers obligation. In
the case of an outside consultant, the written proposal serves as a bid to offer a specific service; a
company can then judge the relative quality of alternative research suppliers.
Anticipating outcomes
By anticipating the outcomes of a research study, possibly through the use of a dummy table (a table
filled by the researcher with fictitious data), managers may gain a better understanding of what the
actual outcome is liable to be. These tables help clarify what the findings of the research will be, and if
these findings will meet the needs of the researcher.
Step II: Hypothesis generation
Whilst it is true that the purpose of research is to address some question, nonetheless one does not test
research questions directly. For example, there may be interest in answering the question: "Does a
person's level of education have any bearing upon whether or not he/she adopts new products?" Or,
"Does a person's age bear any relation to brand loyalty behaviour?". Research questions are too broad to
be directly testable. Instead, the question is reduced to one or more hypotheses implied by these
questions.
A hypothesis is a conjectural statement regarding the relation between two or more variables. There are
two key characteristics which all hypotheses must have: they must be statements of the relationship
between variables and they must carry clear implications for testing the stated relations. These
characteristics imply that it is relationships, rather than variables, which are tested; the hypotheses
specify how the variables are related and that these are measurable or potentially measurable. Statements
lacking any or all of these characteristics are not research hypotheses.
For example, consider the following hypothesis:
1. "Red meat consumption increases as real disposable incomes increase."
This is a relation stated between one variable, "red meat consumption", and another variable,
"disposable incomes". Moreover, both variables are potentially measurable. The criteria have been
met. However for the purposes of statistical testing it is more usual to find hypotheses stated in the
so-called null form, e.g.
"There is no relationship between red meat consumption and the level of disposable incomes."
2. Consider a second hypothesis:
"There is no relationship between a farmer's educational level and his degree of innovativeness
with respect to new farming technologies."
Again there is a clear statement of the relationship being investigated but there are question marks
over the measurability with respect to at least one of the variables i.e. "...a farmer's degree of
innovativeness." We may also encounter difficulties in agreeing an appropriate measure of the other
variable, i.e. "level of education". If these problems can be resolved then we may indeed have a
hypothesis.
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Hypotheses are central to progress in research. They will direct the researcher's efforts by forcing
him/her to concentrate on gathering the facts, which will enable the hypotheses to be tested. The point
has been made that it is all too easy when conducting research to collect "interesting data" as opposed to
"important data". Data and questions, which enable researchers to test explicit hypotheses, are important.
The rest are merely interesting.
There is a second advantage of stating hypotheses, namely that implicit notions or explanations for events
become explicit and this often leads to modifications of these explanations, even before data is collected.
On occasion a given hypotheses may be too broad to be tested. However, other testable hypotheses may
be deduced from it. A problem really cannot be solved unless it is reduced to hypothesis form, because a
problem is a question, usually of a broad nature, and is not directly testable.
Problem refinement: in most cases a problem statement is refined to a hypothesis: a proposed
hypothetical relationship between two or more variables in terms of cause (independent variable) and
effect (dependent variable). The possible solutions are that the proposed relation is valid or it is invalid.
Examples of possible hypotheses are:
- Hypothesis: Gender is related to income
- Hypothesis: Crime is related to population size
- Hypothesis: Crime is related to social class structure
These are good starting points but much more refinement can be done. For example, as a start:
- Hypothesis: females will make lower annual wages then males
- Hypothesis: the crime index is related to population density
- Hypothesis: the crime index is related to the percentage of the population below the poverty level
In these we have begun to specify our variables, but even more refinement remains. The variable "female"
is indicative of some of the issues involved. We generally think we know what gender -male and female -
is, but after some consideration we realize the Olympic committees have some doubt about masculine
and feminine, and further we realize that there is biological gender, sex roles, and personal sex identity,
this just reinforces the need for clarity and specificity of definitions.
Alternative and Null hypothesis: The alternative hypothesis (H1) is simply the hypothesis statement
of problem as stated above. The null hypothesis (H0) is that there is no relationship between the
variables- crime and population density. It is a statement that there is no relationship between our
independent and dependent variables in the population.
H1, Alternative hypothesis
The CBI Crime Index is related to population density
H0, Null hypothesis
There is no relationship between the CBI Crime Index and the population density.
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The goal of research is to reject the null hypothesis and thus support the alternative, theoretical
hypothesis. The theoretical hypothesis is the hypothesis we proposed based on our review of the
literature and theoretical considerations. Incidentally, we can see that this logic will never allow us to
conclusively prove our hypothesis but it does provide support for its acceptance by rejection of the null
hypothesis.
Step III: Decision on type of study
Research can be carried out on one of three levels: a) Exploratory, b) Descriptive research and c)
Experimental research.
Step IV: Decision on data collection method
The next set of decisions concerns the method(s) of data gathering to be employed. The main methods of
data collection are secondary data searches, observation, and the survey, experimentation and consumer
panels.
Under ideal conditions the researcher would select the most appropriate method-field research, survey,
experiment, or secondary
data analysis-for the
research problem.
Realities of available
money, time, access to
information, and own
personal skills often are
decisive factors in design
choice and data
collection. Once the design is firm, follow through the steps in the design and collect the data.
All of us have collected data, not necessarily precisely and carefully in a scientific manner. Frequently we
observe people in a new situation to determine what is expected of us, such as when we first started
college, visited a new city, or started a new job; this is called participant observation, a particular type of
field research. We may ask friends how and why they are going to vote a certain way in an upcoming
election. This is known as interviewing. We may try different types or amounts of spices in a recipe to
find which combination tastes the best. This is called experimenting. Most of us have investigated sources
and data in the library to help us in making a decision about a trip, car, house or major appliance
purchase. This is known as secondary analysis, the analysis of data collected by others.
All of these are research "data collection" techniques, though they lack the rigor, care, and explicitness of
scientific research. Some may approach scientific quality for testing statements, while others would be
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considered as primarily acceptable for the generation of hypothesis, but not acceptable for drawing
conclusions.
Research techniques vary in terms of the formal aspects of their structure. Some are more open-ended
and there is less consensus on structure (field studies, content analysis, focus groups, etc.). Most of these
techniques of study are not really lacking in numbers and counting of observations; where they differ
from other techniques is in their more open approach. Additionally, they frequently lack precise agreed
upon data collection techniques and sufficient numbers in their samples to allow using statistics and
generalizing conclusions.
Step V: Development of an analysis plan
Those new to research often intuitively believe that decisions about the techniques of analysis to be used
can be left until after the data has been collected. Such an approach is ill-advised. Before interviews are
conducted the following checklist should be applied:
- Is it known how each and every question is to be analysed? (e.g. which univariate or bivariate
descriptive statistics, tests of association, parametric or nonparametric hypotheses tests, or
multivariate methods are to be used?)
- Does the researcher have a sufficiently sound grasp of these techniques to apply them with
confidence and to explain them to the decision-maker who commissioned the study?
- Does the researcher have the means to perform these calculations? (e.g. access to a computer
which has an analysis program which he/she is familiar with? Or, if the calculations have to be
performed manually, is there sufficient time to complete them and then to check them?)
- If a computer program is to be used at the data analysis stage, have the questions been properly
coded?
- Have the questions been scaled correctly for the chosen statistical technique? (e.g. a t-test cannot
be used on data which is only ranked)
There is little point in spending time and money on collecting data, which subsequently is not or cannot
be analysed. Therefore consideration has to be given to issues such as these before the fieldwork is
undertaken.
Step VI: Data collection
Research involves the collection of data to obtain insight and knowledge into the needs and wants of
customers and the structure and dynamics of a market. In nearly all cases, it would be very costly and
time-consuming to collect data from the entire population of a market. Accordingly, in market research,
extensive use is made of sampling from which, through careful design and analysis, researchers can
draw information about the market.
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i) Sample Design
Sample design covers the method of selection, the sample structure and plans for analysing and
interpreting the results. Sample designs can vary from simple to complex and depend on the type of
information required and the way the sample is selected.
Sample design affects the size of the sample and the way in which analysis is carried out. In simple terms
the more precision the market researcher requires, the more complex will be the design and the larger the
sample size.
The sample design may make use of the characteristics of the overall market population, but it does not
have to be proportionally representative. It may be necessary to draw a larger sample than would be
expected from some parts of the population; for example, to select more from a minority grouping to
ensure that sufficient data is obtained for analysis on such groups.
Many sample designs are built around the concept of random selection. This permits justifiable inference
from the sample to the population, at quantified levels of precision. Random selection also helps guard
against sample bias in a way that selecting by judgement or convenience cannot.
ii) Defining the Population
The first step in good sample design is to ensure that the specification of the target population is as clear
and complete as possible to ensure that all elements within the population are represented. The target
population is sampled using a sampling frame. Often the units in the population can be identified by
existing information; for example, pay-rolls, company lists, government registers etc. A sampling frame
could also be geographical; for example postcodes have become a well-used means of selecting a sample.
iii) Sample Size
For any sample design deciding upon the appropriate sample size will depend on several key factors.
(1) No estimate taken from a sample is expected to be exact: Any assumptions about the overall
population based on the results of a sample will have an attached margin of error.
(2) To lower the margin of error usually requires a larger sample size. The amount of variability in the
population (i.e. the range of values or opinions) will also affect accuracy and therefore the size of sample.
(3) The confidence level is the likelihood that the results obtained from the sample lie within a required
precision. The higher the confidence level that is the more certain you wish to be that the results are not
atypical. Statisticians often use a 95 per cent confidence level to provide strong conclusions.
(4) Population size does not normally affect sample size. In fact the larger the population size the lower
the proportion of that population that needs to be sampled to be representative. It is only when the
proposed sample size is more than 5 per cent of the population that the population size becomes part of
the formulae to calculate the sample size.
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iv) Types of Sampling (Discussed in details in the Chapter 3: Sampling)
Step VII: Analysis of data
The word 'analysis' has two component parts, the prefix 'ana' meaning 'above' and the Greek root 'lysis'
meaning 'to break up or dissolve'. Thus data analysis can be described as:
"...a process of resolving data into its constituent components, to reveal its characteristic elements and
structure."
Where the data is quantitative there are three determinants of the appropriate statistical tools for the
purposes of analysis. These are the number of samples to be compared, whether the samples being
compared are independent of one another and the level of data measurement.
Suppose a fruit juice processor wishes to test the acceptability of a new drink based on a novel
combination of tropical fruit juices. There are several alternative research designs which might be
employed, each involving different numbers of samples.
Test A Comparing sales in a test market and the market share of the
product it is targeted to replace.
Number of
samples = 1
Test B Comparing the responses of a sample of regular drinkers of fruit
juices to those of a sample of non-fruit juice drinkers to a trial
formulation.
Number of
samples = 2
Test C Comparing the responses of samples of heavy, moderate and
infrequent fruit juice drinkers to a trial formulation.
Number of
samples = 3
The next consideration is whether the samples being compared are dependent (i.e. related) or
independent of one another (i.e. unrelated). Samples are said to be dependent, or related, when the
measurement taken from one sample in no way affects the measurement taken from another sample.
Take for example the outline of test B above. The measurement of the responses of fruit juice drinkers to
the trial formulation in no way affects or influences the responses of the sample of non-fruit juice
drinkers. Therefore, the samples are independent of one another. Suppose however a sample were given
two formulations of fruit juice to taste. That is, the same individuals are asked first to taste formulation X
and then to taste formulation Y. The researcher would have two sets of sample results, i.e. responses to
product X and responses to product Y. In this case, the samples would be considered dependent or
related to one another. This is because the individual will make a comparison of the two products and
his/her response to one formulation is likely to affect his/her reaction or evaluation of the other product.
The third factor to be considered is the levels of measurement of the data being used. Data can be
nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio scaled. Table summarises the mathematical properties of each of these
levels of measurement.
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Once the researcher knows how many samples are to be compared, whether these samples are related or
unrelated to one another and the level of measurement then the selection of the appropriate statistical test
is easily made. To illustrate the importance of understanding these connections consider the following
simple, but common, question in research. In many instances the age of respondents will be of interest.
This question might be asked in either of the two following ways:
Please indicate to which of the following age categories you belong :
(a) 15-21 years ___
22 - 30 years ___
Over 30 years ___
(b) How old are you? ___ Years
Measurement
scale
Measurement Level Examples Mathematical properties
Nominal Frequency counts Producing grading categories Confined to a small number of
tests using the mode and
frequency
Ordinal Ranking of items Placing brands of cooking oil
in order of preference
Wide range of nonparametric
tests which test for order
Interval Relative differences of
magnitude between
items
Scoring products on a 10 point
scale of like/dislike
Wide range of parametric tests
Ratio Absolute differences of
magnitude
Stating how much better one
product is than another in
absolute terms.
All arithmetic operations
Levels of measurement
Choosing format (a) would give rise to nominal (or categorical) data and format (b) would yield ratio
scaled data. These are at opposite ends of the hierarchy of levels of measurement. If by accident or design
format (a) were chosen then the analyst would have only a very small set of statistical tests that could be
applied and these are not very powerful in the sense that they are limited to showing association between
variables and could not be used to establish cause-and-effect. Format (b), on the other hand, since it gives
the analyst ratio data, allows all statistical tests to be used including the more powerful parametric tests
whereby cause-and-effect can be established, where it exists. Thus a simple change in the wording of a
question can have a fundamental effect upon the nature of the data generated.
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Selecting statistical tests
The individual responsible for commissioning the research may be unfamiliar with the technicalities of
statistical tests but he/she should at least be aware that the number of samples, their dependence or
independence and the levels of measurement does affect how the data can be analysed. Those who
submit research proposals involving quantitative data should demonstrate an awareness of the factors
that determine the mode of analysis and a capability to undertake such analysis.
Researchers have to plan ahead for the analysis stage. It often happens that data processing begins whilst
the data gathering is still underway. Whether the data is to be analysed manually or through the use of a
computer program, data can be coded, cleaned (i.e. errors removed) and the proposed analytical tests
tried out to ensure that they are effective before all of the data has been collected.
Another important aspect relates to logistics planning. This includes ensuring that once the task of
preparing the data for analysis has begun there is a steady and uninterrupted flow of completed data
forms or questionnaires back from the field interviewers to the data processors. Otherwise, the whole
exercise becomes increasingly inefficient. A second logistical issue concerns any plan to build up a picture
of the pattern of responses as the data comes flowing in. This may require careful planning of the
sequencing of fieldwork. For instance, suppose that research was being undertaken within a particular
agricultural region with a view to establishing the size, number and type of milling enterprises which had
established themselves in rural areas following market liberalisation. It may be that the West of the
district under study mainly wheat is grown whilst in the East it is maize which is the major crop. It would
make sense to coordinate the fieldwork with data analysis so that the interim picture was of either wheat
or maize milling since the two are likely to differ in terms of the type of mill used (e.g. hammer versus
plate mills) as well as screen sizes and end use (e.g. the proportions prepared for animal versus human
food).
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Step VIII: Drawing conclusions and making recommendations
The concluding chapters of this textbook are devoted to the topic of research report writing. However,
it is perhaps worth noting that the end products of research are conclusions and recommendations. With
respect to the marketing planning function, research helps to identify potential threats and opportunities,
generates alternative courses of action, provides information to enable marketing managers to evaluate
those alternatives and advises on the implementation of the alternatives.
Too often research reports chiefly comprise a lengthy series of tables of statistics accompanied by a few
brief comments which verbally describe what is already self-evident from the tables. Without
interpretation, data remains of potential, as opposed to actual use. When conclusions are drawn from raw
data and when recommendations are made then data is converted into information. It is information
which management needs to reduce the inherent risks and uncertainties in management decision making.
Customer oriented researchers will have noted from the outset of the research which topics and issues
are of particular importance to the person(s) who initiated the research and will weight the content of
their reports accordingly. That is, the researcher should determine what the marketing manager's
priorities are with respect to the research study. In particular he/she should distinguish between what
the managers:
1. must know
2. should know
3. could know
This means that there will be information that is essential in order for the manager to make the particular
decision with which he/she is faced (must know), information that would be useful to have if time and
resources within the budget allocation permit (should know) and there will be information that it would
be nice to have but is not at all directly related to the decision at hand (could know). In writing a research
proposal, experienced researchers would be careful to limit the information which they firmly promise to
obtain, in the course of the study, to that which is considered 'must know' information. Moreover, within
their final report, experienced researchers will ensure that the greater part of the report focuses upon
'must know' type information.
Review Question:
1. Define the concept of research and analyze
its characteristics.
2. Write an essay on various types of research.
3. Explain the significance of research in
various functional areas of business.
4. What are the difficulties faced by
researchers of business in India?
5. What is meant by research process? What
are the various stages / aspects involved in
the research process?
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6. What do you mean by a method of
research? Briefly explain different methods
of research.
7. Explain the significance of research in
various functional areas of business.
8. What is Survey Research? How is it
different from Observation Research?
9. Write short note on:
a) Case Research
b) Experimental Research
c) Historical Research
d) Comparative Method of research
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Chapter 2: Research Design
Introduction
The decisions regarding what, where, when, how much, by what means concerning a research project
constitute a research design. A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and
analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in
procedure. In fact, the research design is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted; it
constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. As such the design
includes an outline of what the researcher will do from writing the hypothesis and its operational
implications to the final analysis of data. More explicitly, the design decisions happen to be in respect of:
- What is the study about?
- Why is the study being made?
- Where will the study be carried
out?
- What type of data is required?
- Where can the required data be
found?
- What periods of time will the study
include?
- What will be the sample design?
- What techniques of data collection
will be used?
- How will the data be analysed?
- In what style will the report be
prepared?
Meaning of Research Design
Research design is also known by different names such as research outline, plan, blue print. In the words
of Fred N. Kerlinger, it is the plan, structure and strategy of investigation conceived so as to obtain
answers to research questions and control variance. The plan includes everything the investigator will do
from writing the hypothesis and their operational implications to the final analysis of data. The structure
is the outline, the scheme, the paradigms of the operation of the variables. The strategy includes the
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methods to be used to collect and analyze the data. At the beginning this plan (design) is generally vague
and tentative. It undergoes many modifications and changes as the study progresses and insights into it
deepen. The working out of the plan consists of making a series of decisions with respect to what, why,
where, when, who and how of the research.
According to Pauline V.Young a research design is the logical and systematic planning and directing of
a piece of research. According to Reger E.Kirk research designs are plans that specify how data should
be collected and analyzed.
Research design is the plan, structure and strategy of investigation conceived so as to obtain answers
to research questions and to control variance. (Kerlinger)
A research is the specification of methods and procedures for acquiring the information needed. It is
the overall operational pattern or framework of the project that stipulates what information is to be
collected from which sources by what procedures. (Green and Tull).
The research has to be geared to the available time, energy, money and to the availability of data. There is
no such thing as a single or correct design. Research design represents a compromise dictated by many
practical considerations that go into research.
Why Research design is required?
Research design is needed because it facilitates the smooth sailing of the various research operations,
thereby making research as efficient as possible yielding maximal information with minimal expenditure
of effort, time and money.
For example, economical and attractive construction of house we need a blueprint (or what is commonly
called the map of the house) well thought out and prepared by an expert architect, similarly we need a
research design or a plan in advance of data collection and analysis for our research project. Research
design stands for advance planning of the methods to be adopted for collecting the relevant data and the
techniques to be used in their analysis.
2
i - Ei )
2
/ Ei
Where,
Oi = the number of observed cases in category i,
Ei = the number of expected cases in category i,
k = the number of categories,
the summation runs from i = 1 to i = k.
Before calculating the chi-square value, one needs to determine the expected frequency for each cell. This
is done by dividing the number of samples by the number of cells in the table.
To use the output of the chi-square function, one uses a chi-square table. To do so, one needs to know the
number of degrees of freedom (df). For chi-square applied to cross-tabulated data, the number of degrees
of freedom is equal to (Number of columns - 1) (Number of rows - 1)
This is equal to the number of categories minus one. The conventional critical level of 0.05 normally is
used. If the calculated output value from the function is greater than the chi-square look-up table value,
the null hypothesis is rejected.
2) The t-test for comparing two means
The t-test may be used to test a hypothesis that the mean scores on some interval- or ratio-scaled variable
will be significantly different for two independent samples or groups. It is used when the number of
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observations (sample size) in either group is small (less than 30) and the population standard deviation is
unknown. To use the t-test for difference of means, we assume the two samples are drawn from normal
distributions and the variances of the two populations or groups are equal (homoscedasticity). Further,
we assume interval data.
A pooled estimates of the standard error is a better estimate of the standard error than one based on the
variance from either sample.
In a test of two means, the degrees of freedom are calculated as follows:
d.f. = n - k
An illustration of the t-test would be to test the difference between sociology majors and business majors
on scores on a scale measuring attitudes toward business. The null hypothesis would be that there is no
difference in attitudes toward business (mean score) between the two groups.
Computer programs, such as SPSS, are commonly used to do the calculations in testing the mean
differences of two groups.
3) The z-test for comparing two proportions
When the observed statistic is a proportion, the Z-test for differences of proportions is used to test the
hypothesis that the two proportions will be significantly different for two independent samples or
groups. Again, sample size is the appropriate criterion when selecting either a t-test or a Z-test.
4) Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test ANOVA (F test)
Introduction:
The analysis of variance is a powerful statistical tool for tests of significance. The term Analysis of
Variance was introduced by Prof. R.A. Fisher to deal with problems in agricultural research. The test of
significance based on t-distribution is an adequate procedure only for testing the significance of the
difference between two sample means. In a situation where we have three or more samples to consider at
a time, an alternative procedure is needed for testing the hypothesis that all the samples are drawn from
the same population, i.e., they have the same mean. For example, five fertilizers are applied to four plots
each of wheat and yield of wheat on each of the plot is given. We may be interested in finding out
whether the effect of these fertilizers on the yields is significantly different or in other words whether the
samples have come from the same normal population. The answer to this problem is provided by the
technique of analysis of variance. Thus basic purpose of the analysis of variance is to test the
homogeneity of several means.
Another test of significance is the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test. The primary purpose of ANOVA
is to test for differences between multiple means. Whereas the t-test can be used to compare two means,
ANOVA is needed to compare three or more means. If multiple t-tests were applied, the probability of a
TYPE I error (rejecting a true null hypothesis) increases as the number of comparisons increases.
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The term analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used in the field of study called designed experiments. In
this field the goal is to try to maximize the amount of information that is collected when an
experiment (production trial) is performed.
The technique was developed by Sir Ronald Fisher in the 1930's as a way to interpret the results from
agricultural experiments.
The normal way in which things are usually done in experiments is to hold everything constant while
only varying one item at a time. This is a most inefficient way to do things and not very representative of
what happens in the real world.
In designed experimental approaches items are allowed to vary simultaneously and the respective data is
gathered and analyzed. This analysis can not only detect differences in means, but effects of interactions.
As mentioned the area of ANOVA is a whole field of study in itself, and we will only look at one of the
simpler types. One word of caution should be given before ever starting any data collection; the data
gathering should be randomized allowing equal chance of occurrence. This is necessary to prevent any
bias that might result in misinterpretation.
ANOVA is efficient for analyzing data using relatively few observations and can be used with categorical
variables. Note that regression can perform a similar analysis to that of ANOVA.
An example of an ANOVA problem might be to compare women who are working full time outside the
home, working part time outside the home, or working full time inside the home on their willingness to
purchase a microwave oven. Here there is one independent variable working statusbut there are
three groups (levels) and therefore a t-test cannot be used for the testing of statistical significance.
The null hypothesis in such a test is that all the means are equal. The logic of this technique goes as
follows. The variance of the means of the three groups will be large if these women differ from one
another in terms of purchasing intentions. If we calculate this variance within groups and compare it with
the variance of the group means about a grand mean, we can determine if the means are significantly
different.
Variation is inherent in nature. The total variation in any set of numerical data is due to a number of
causes which may be classified as:
(i) Assignable causes and (ii) Chance causes
The variation due to assignable causes can be detected and measured whereas the variation due to chance
causes is beyond the control of human hand and cannot be traced separately.
Definition:
According to R.A. Fisher , Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is the Separation of Variance ascribable to
one group of causes from the variance ascribable to other group. By this technique the total variation in
the sample data is expressed as the sum of its nonnegative components where each of these components
is a measure of the variation due to some specific independent source or factor or cause.
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Assumptions:
For the validity of the F-test in ANOVA the following assumptions are made.
(i) The observations are independent
(ii) Parent population from which observations are taken is normal and
(iii) Various treatment and environmental effects are additive in nature.
The F-Test
One-way ANOVA examines whether multiple means differ. The test is called an F-test. ANOVA
calculates the ratio of the variation between groups to the variation within groups (the F ratio). While
ANOVA was designed for comparing several means, it also can be used to compare two means. Two-
way ANOVA allows for a second independent variable and addresses interaction.
To run a one-way ANOVA, use the following steps:
1. Identify the independent and dependent variables.
2. Describe the variation by breaking it into three parts - the total variation, the portion that is
within groups, and the portion that is between groups (or among groups for more than two
groups). The total variation (SStotal) is the sum of the squares of the differences between each
value and the grand mean of all the values in all the groups. The in-group variation (SSwithin) is
the sum of the squares of the differences in each element's value and the group mean. The
variation between group means (SSbetween) is the total variation minus the in-group variation
(SStotal - SSwithin).
3. Measure the difference between each group's mean and the grand mean.
4. Perform a significance test on the differences.
5. Interpret the results.
This F-test assumes that the group variances are approximately equal and that the observations are
independent. It also assumes normally distributed data; however, since this is a test on means the Central
Limit Theorem holds as long as the sample size is not too small.
The F-Test is a procedure for comparing one sample variance with another sample variance. The key
question is whether the two sample variances are different from each other or if they are from the same
population.
The F-test utilizes measures of sample variance rather than the sample standard deviation because
summation is allowable with the sample variance.
To test the null hypothesis of no difference between the sample variances, a table of the F-distribution is
necessary.
Identifying and Partitioning the Total Amount of Variation
In the F-test there will be two forms of variation: (1) variation of scores due to random error or within-
group variation due to individual differences (within-group variance) and (2) systematic variation of
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scores between the groups as the result of the manipulation of an independent variable or due to
characteristics of the independent variable (between-group variance).
The larger the ratio the greater the value of F. If the F value is large, the results are likely to be statistically
significant.
Calculation of the F Ratio
The calculation of the F ratio requires that we partition the total variance into two parts:
Total sum of squares = Within-group sum of squares + Between-group sum of squares or
SS total = SS within + SS between
The total sum of squares, or SS total, is computed by squaring the deviation of each score from the grand
mean and summing these squares . SS within, the variability that we observe within each group, is
calculated by squaring the deviation of each score from its group mean and summing these scores .
SS between, which is the variability of the group means about a grand mean, is calculated by squaring the
deviation of each mean from the grand mean, multiplying by the number of items in the group, and
summing these scores .
The next calculation requires dividing the various sums of squares by their appropriate degrees of
freedom. The results of these divisions produce the variances, or mean squares.
To obtain the mean square between the groups, SS between is divided by c - 1 degrees of freedom, and to
obtain the mean square within the groups, SS within is divided by cn - c degrees of freedom.
Finally, the F ratio is calculated by taking the ratio of the mean square between groups to the mean
square within groups:
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There will be c - 1 degrees of freedom in the numerator and cn - c degrees of freedom in the denominator.
Various types Goal: Design:
Scale of
Measurement:
Inferential Test:
Establish that a group was drawn
from a population.
Single-Group (sample to
population)
Interval or Ratio
Z-test (Requires that
population mean and
variance are known)
Interval or Ratio T-test: Single Sample
Nominal
Chi-square: Goodness of
Fit
Establish a causal relationship
between one level of an
independent variable and a
dependent variable.
Between-Subject: Two
Samples
Interval or Ratio
T-test: Independent
Samples
Nominal
Chi-square: Test of
Independence
Establish a causal relationship
between multiple levels of an
independent variable and a
dependent variable.
Between-Subject: One
Independent Variable that
Contains Three or More
Groups
Interval or Ratio ANOVA: Fisher's F-test
Various types of inferential test
Advanced Data Analysis Techniques
Some of the Advanced Data Analysis Techniques are as follows:
1) Conjoint analysis
2) Factor analysis
3) Multi dimensional scaling
4) Discriminant analysis
5) Cluster analysis
1) Conjoint analysis
Conjoint analysis, also called multiattribute compositional models, is a statistical technique that
originated in mathematical psychology. Today it is used in many of the social sciences and applied
sciences including marketing, product management, and operations research. The objective of conjoint
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analysis is to determine what combination of a limited number of attributes is most preferred by
respondents. It is used frequently in testing customer acceptance of new product designs and
assessing the appeal of advertisements. It has been used in product positioning, but there are some
problems with this application of the technique.
When asked to do so outright, many consumers are unable to accurately determine the relative
importance that they place on product attributes. For example, when asked which attributes are the more
important ones, the response may be that they all are important. Furthermore, individual attributes in
isolation are perceived differently than in the combinations found in a product. It is difficult for a survey
respondent to take a list of attributes and mentally construct the preferred combinations of them. The task
is easier if the respondent is presented with combinations of attributes that can be visualized as different
product offerings. However, such a survey becomes impractical when there are several attributes that
result in a very large number of possible combinations.
Fortunately, conjoint analysis can facilitate the process. Conjoint analysis is a tool that allows a subset of
the possible combinations of product features to be used to determine the relative importance of each
feature in the purchasing decision. Conjoint analysis is based on the fact that the relative values of
attributes considered jointly can better be measured than when considered in isolation.
In a conjoint analysis, the respondent may be asked to arrange a list of combinations of product attributes
in decreasing order of preference. Once this ranking is obtained, a computer is used to find the utilities of
different values of each attribute that would result in the respondent's order of preference. This method is
efficient in the sense that the survey does not need to be conducted using every possible combination of
attributes. The utilities can be determined using a subset of possible attribute combinations. From these
results one can predict the desirability of the combinations that were not tested.
We can best understand Conjoint analysis with the help of an example:
Example 1
Suppose we have to design a public transport system. We wish to test the relative desirability of three
attributes:
The company aims to provide a service. They wish to test three levels of frequency, and three levels of
prices. Further they want to test the weightage given by consumer to add on features such as AC and
music. The conjoint problem can be presented as follows:
Fare (three levels ` 10, ` 15, ` 20)
Frequency of service (10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes)
AC vs non AC vs. music (Ac & music, AC, music, nothing)
A sample of 500 respondents are selected and asked to rank their preferences for all possible
combinations and for each level. These are shown below along with one respondents sample rankings.
We can present our trade off information in the form of a table:
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Basically the respondents preference ranking help reveal how desirable a particular feature is to a
respondent. Features respondents are unwilling to give up from one preference ranking to the next are
given a higher utility. Thus in the above example the
respondent gives a high weightage to service followed by AC.
the offer of music is clearly not very important as he ranks it
below AC. However he is not willing to trade off frequency of
service with either AC or music.
Conjoint analysis uses preference rankings to calculate a set of utilities for each respondent where one
utility is calculated for each respondent for each attribute or feature. The calculation of utilities is such
that the sum of utilities for a particular combination shows a good correspondence with that
combinations position in the individuals original preference rankings. The utilities basically show the
importance of each level of each importance to respondents. We can also identify the more important
attributes by looking at the range of utilities for each of the different levels.
For Example
- Frequency of service has a range from 1.6 to .04. The range is therefore equal to =1.2.A high range
implies that the respondent is more sensitive to changes in the level of this attribute.
- These utilities are calculated across all respondents for all attributes and for different levels of each
attribute.
At the end of the analysis we would identify 3-4 of the most popular combinations would be identified
for which the relative costs and benefits can be worked out.
Steps in Developing a Conjoint Analysis
1. Choose product attributes, for example, appearance, size, or price.
2. Choose the values or options for each attribute. For example, for the attribute of size, one may
choose the levels of 5", 10", or 20". The higher the number of options used for each attribute, the
more burden that is placed on the respondents.
3. Define products as a combination of attribute options. The set of combinations of attributes that
will be used will be a subset of the possible universe of products.
4. Choose the form in which the combinations of attributes are to be presented to the respondents.
Options include verbal presentation, paragraph description, and pictorial presentation.
5. Decide how responses will be aggregated. There are three choices - use individual responses,
pool all responses into a single utility function, or define segments of respondents who have
similar preferences.
6. Select the technique to be used to analyze the collected data. The part-worth model is one of the
simpler models used to express the utilities of the various attributes. There also are vector (linear)
models and ideal-point (quadratic) models.
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The data is processed by statistical software written specifically for conjoint analysis.
Conjoint analysis was first used in the early 1970's and has become an important research tool. It is well-
suited for defining a new product or improving an existing one.
Information collection
Respondents are shown a set of products, prototypes, mock-ups or pictures. Each example is similar
enough that consumers will see them as close substitutes, but dissimilar enough that respondents can
clearly determine a preference. Each example is composed of a unique combination of product features.
Rank-order preferences are obtained. The responses are codified and input into a statistical program like
SPSS or SAS.
Analysis
The computer uses monotonic analysis of variance or linear programming techniques to create utility
functions for each feature. These utility functions indicate the perceived value of the feature and how
sensitive consumer perceptions and preferences are to changes in product features.
Uses of conjoint analysis
- It is used in industrial marketing where a product can have many combinations and features and
not all features would be important to all consumers. In industrial marketing the analysis can be
done at the individual level, as each individual is important.
- In case of consumer goods the analysis should be done segment wise. To avoid unnecessarily long
questionnaires a preliminary factor analysis should be run to select only testable attributes. Also the
number of attributes should be restricted.
Advantages
- estimates psychological tradeoffs that consumers make when evaluating several attributes
together
- measures preferences at the individual level
- uncovers real or hidden drivers which may not be apparent to the respondent themselves
- realistic choice or shopping task
- able to use physical objects
- if appropriately designed, the ability to model interactions between attributes can be used to
develop needs based segmentation
Disadvantages
- designing conjoint studies can be complex
- with too many options, respondents resort to simplification strategies
- difficult to use for product positioning research because there is no procedure for converting
perceptions about actual features to perceptions about a reduced set of underlying features
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- respondents are unable to articulate attitudes toward new categories
- poorly designed studies may over-value emotional/preference variables and undervalue
concrete variables
- does not take into account the number items per purchase so it can give a poor reading of market
share
2) Factor Analysis
Factor analysis is a statistical technique that originated in mathematical psychology. It is used in the
social sciences and in marketing, product management, operations research, and other applied sciences
that deal with large quantities of data. The objective is to discover patterns among variations in the
values of multiple variables. This is done by generating artificial dimensions (called factors) that
correlate highly with the real variables.
Factor analysis is a very popular technique to analyze interdependence. Factor analysis studies the entire
set of interrelationships without defining variables to be dependent or independent. Factor analysis
combines variables to create a smaller set of factors. Mathematically, a factor is a linear combination of
variables. A factor is not directly observable; it is inferred from the variables. The technique identifies
underlying structure among the variables, reducing the number of variables to a more manageable set.
Factor analysis groups variables according to their correlation.
The factor loading can be defined as the correlations between the factors and their underlying variables.
A factor loading matrix is a key output of the factor analysis. An example of matrix is shown below.
Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3
Variable 1
Variable 2
Variable 3
Column's Sum of Squares:
Each cell in the matrix represents correlation between the variable and the factor associated with that
cell. The square of this correlation represents the proportion of the variation in the variable explained by
the factor. The sum of the squares of the factor loadings in each column is called an eigenvalue. An
eigenvalue represents the amount of variance in the original variables that is associated with that factor.
The communality is the amount of the variable variance explained by common factors.
A rule of thumb for deciding on the number of factors is that each included factor must explain at least
as much variance as does an average variable. In other words, only factors for which the eigenvalue is
greater than one are used. Other criteria for determining the number of factors include the Scree plot
criteria and the percentage of variance criteria.
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To facilitate interpretation, the axis can be rotated. Rotation of the axis is equivalent to forming linear
combinations of the factors. A commonly used rotation strategy is the varimax rotation. Varimax
attempts to force the column entries to be either close to zero or one.
The basic steps are:
- Identify the salient attributes consumers use to evaluate products in this category.
- Use quantitative research techniques (such as surveys) to collect data from a sample of potential
customers concerning their ratings of all the product attributes.
- Input the data into a statistical program and run the factor analysis procedure. The computer
will yield a set of underlying attributes (or factors).
- Use these factors to construct perceptual maps and other product positioning devices.
Typical Problem Studied Using Factor Analysis
Factor analysis is used to study a complex product or service to identify the major characteristics
considered important by consumers.
The two major uses of factor analysis
1. To simplify a set of data by reducing a large number of measures (which in some way may be
interrelated and causing multicollinearity) for a set of respondents to a smaller more manageable set
which are not interrelated and still retain most of the original information .
2. To identify the underlying structure of the data in which a very large number of variables may really
be measuring a small number of basic characteristics or constructs of our sample. For e.g. a survey may
throw up bet 15-20 attributes which a consumer considers when buying a product. However there is a
need to find out what are the key drivers. Factor analysis identifies latent or underlying factors from an
array of seemingly imp variables.
Uses of Factor Analysis
To reduce a large number of variables to a smaller number of factors for modeling purposes, where the
large number of variables precludes modeling all the measures individually. As such, factor analysis is
integrated in structural equation modeling (Sem), helping create the latent variables modeled by Sem.
However, factor analysis can be and is often used on a stand-alone basis for similar purposes.
- To select a subset of variables from a larger set, based on which original variables have the highest
correlations with the principal component factors.
- To create a set of factors to be treated as uncorrelated variables as one approach to handling
multicollinearity in such procedures as multiple regression
- To validate a scale or index by demonstrating that its constituent items load on the same factor, and
to drop proposed scale items which cross-load on more than one factor.
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- To establish that multiple tests measure the same factor, thereby giving justification for
administering fewer tests.
- To identify clusters of cases and/or outliers.
- To determine network groups by determining which sets of people cluster together (using Q-mode
factor analysis, discussed below)
Information collection
The data collection stage is usually done by research professionals. Survey questions ask the respondent
to rate a product from one to five (or 1 to 7, or 1 to 10) on a range of attributes. Anywhere from five to
twenty attributes are chosen. They could include things like: ease of use, weight, accuracy, durability,
colourfulness, price, or size. The attributes chosen will vary depending on the product being studied. The
same question is asked about all the products in the study. The data for multiple products is codified and
input into a statistical program such as SPSS or SAS.
Analysis
The analysis will isolate the underlying factors that explain the data. Factor analysis is an
interdependence technique. The complete set of interdependent relationships are examined. There is no
specification of either dependent variables, independent variables, or causality. Factor analysis assumes
that all the rating data on different attributes can be reduced down to a few important dimensions. This
reduction is possible because the attributes are related. The rating given to any one attribute is partially
the result of the influence of other attributes. The statistical algorithm deconstructs the rating (called a
raw score) into its various components, and reconstructs the partial scores into underlying factor scores.
The degree of correlation between the initial raw score and the final factor score is called a factor loading.
There are two approaches to factor analysis: "principal component analysis" (the total variance in the data
is considered); and "common factor analysis" (the common variance is considered).
The use of principle components in a semantic space can vary somewhat because the components may
only "predict" but not "map" to the vector space. This produces a statistical principle component use
where the most salient words or themes represent the preferred Basis .
Advantages
1. both objective and subjective attributes can be used
2. it is fairly easy to do, inexpensive, and accurate
3. it is based on direct inputs from customers
4. there is flexibility in naming and using dimensions
Disadvantages
1. usefulness depends on the researchers ability to develop a complete and accurate set of product
attributes - If important attributes are missed the procedure is valueless.
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2. naming of the factors can be difficult - multiple attributes can be highly correlated with no
appearent reason.
3. factor analysis will always produce a pattern between variables, no matter how random.
3) Multidimensional scaling
Multidimensional scaling (MDS) is a statistical technique often used in marketing and the social
sciences. It is a procedure for taking the preferences and perceptions of respondents and representing
them on a visual grid. These grids, called perceptual maps are usually two-dimensional, but they can
represent more than two. Potential customers are asked to compare pairs of products and make
judgements about their similarity. Whereas other techniques (such as factor analysis, discriminant
analysis, and conjoint analysis) obtain underlying dimensions from responses to product attributes
identified by the researcher, MDS obtains the underlying dimensions from respondents judgements
about the similarity of products. This is an important advantage. It does not depend on researchers
judgments. It does not require a list of attributes to be shown to the respondents. The underlying
dimensions come from respondents judgements about pairs of products. Because of these advantages,
MDS is the most common technique used in perceptual mapping.
Multidimensional Scaling Procedure
There are several steps in conducting MDS research:
1. Formulating the problem - What brands do you want to compare? How many brands do you want
to compare? More than 20 is cumbersome. Less than 8 (4 pairs) will not give valid results. What
purpose is the study to be used for?
2. Obtaining Input Data - Respondents are asked a series of questions. For each product pair they are
asked to rate similarity (usually on a 7 point Likert scale from very similar to very dissimilar). The
first question could be for Coke/Pepsi for example, the next for Coke/Hires rootbeer, the next for
Pepsi/Dr Pepper, the next for Dr Pepper/Hires rootbeer, etc. The number of questions is a function
of the number of brands and can be calculated as Q = N (N - 1) / 2 where Q is the number of
questions and N is the number of brands. This approach is referred to as the Perception data :
direct approach. There are two other approaches. There is the Perception data : derived approach
in which products are decomposed into attributes which are rated on a semantic differential scale.
The other is the Preference data approach in which respondents are asked their preference rather
than similarity.
3. Running the MDS statistical program - Software for running the procedure is available in most of
the better statistical applications programs. Often there is a choice between Metric MDS (which
deals with interval or ratio level data), and Nonmetric MDS (which deals with ordinal data). The
researchers must decide on the number of dimensions they want the computer to create. The more
dimensions, the better the statistical fit, but the more difficult it is to interpret the results.
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4. Mapping the results and defining the dimensions - The statistical program (or a related module)
will map the results. The map will plot each product (usually in two dimensional space). The
proximity of products to each other indicate either how similar they are or how preferred they are,
depending on which approach was used. The dimensions must be labelled by the researcher. This
requires subjective judgement and is often very challenging. The results must be interpreted ( see
perceptual mapping).
5. Test the results for reliability and Validity - Compute R-squared to determine what proportion of
variance of the scaled data can be accounted for by the MDS procedure. An R-square of .6 is
considered the minimum acceptable level. Other possible tests are Kruskals Stress, split data tests,
data stability tests (i.e.: eliminating one brand), and test-retest reliability.
Perceptual mapping
Perceptual mapping is a graphics technique used
by marketers that attempts to visually display the
perceptions of customers or potential customers.
Typically the position of a product, product line,
brand, or company is displayed relative to their
competition.
Perceptual maps can have any number of
dimensions but the most common is two
dimensions. Any more is a challenge
to draw and confusing to interpret.
The first perceptual map below shows
consumer perceptions of various
automobiles on the two dimensions of
sportiness/conservative and
classy/affordable. This sample of
consumers felt Porsche was the
sportiest and classiest of the cars in the study (top right corner). They felt Plymouth was most practical
and conservative (bottom left corner).
Cars that are positioned close to each other are seen as similar on the relevant dimensions by the
consumer. For example consumers see Buick, Chrysler, and Oldsmobile as similar. They are close
competitors and form a competitive grouping. A company considering the introduction of a new model
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will look for an area on the map free from competitors. Some perceptual maps use different size circles to
indicate the sales volume or market share of the various competing products.
Displaying consumers perceptions of related products is only half the story. Many perceptual maps also
display consumers ideal points. These points reflect ideal combinations of the two dimensions as seen
by a consumer. The next diagram shows a study of consumers ideal points in the alcohol/spirits
product space. Each dot represents one respondents ideal combination of the two dimensions. Areas
where there is a cluster of ideal points (such as A) indicates a market segment. Areas without ideal
points are sometimes referred to as demand voids.
A company considering introducing a new product will look for areas with a high density of ideal
points. They will also look for areas without competitive rivals. This is best done by placing both the
ideal points and the
competing products on the
same map.
Some maps plot ideal vectors
instead of ideal points. The
map below, displays various
aspirin products as seen on the
dimensions of effectiveness
and gentleness. It also shows
two ideal vectors. The slope of
the ideal vector indicates the
preferred ratio of the two
dimensions by those consumers within that segment. This study indicates there is one segment that is
more concerned with effectiveness than harshness, and another segment that is more interested in
gentleness than strength.
Perceptual maps need not come from a detailed study. There are also intuitive maps (also called
judgmental maps or consensus maps) that are created by marketers based on their understanding of
their industry. Management uses its best judgement. It is questionable how valuable this type of map is.
Often they just give the appearance of credibility to managements preconceptions.
When detailed research studies are done methodological problems can arise, but at least the information
is coming directly from the consumer. There is an assortment of statistical procedures that can be used
to convert the raw data collected in a survey into a perceptual map.
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4) Discriminant analysis
Discriminant analysis is a statistical technique used in marketing and the social sciences. It is applicable
when there is only one dependent variable but multiple independent variables (similar to ANOVA and
regression). But unlike ANOVA and regression analysis, the dependent variable must be categorical. It is
similar to factor analysis in that both look for underlying dimensions in responses given to questions
about product attributes. But it differs from factor analysis in that it builds these underlying dimensions
based on differences rather than similarities. Discriminant analysis is also different from factor analysis
in that it is not an interdependence technique: a distinction between independent variables and
dependent variables (also called criterion variables) must be made.
Discriminant analysis works by creating a new variable called the Discriminant function score which is
used to predict to which group a case belongs.
Discriminant function scores are computed similarly to factor scores, i.e. using eigenvalues. The
computations find the coefficients for the independent variables that maximize the measure of distance
between the groups defined by the dependent variable.
The discriminant function is similar to a regression equation in which the independent variables are
multiplied by coefficients and summed to produce a score.
The data structure for DFA is a single grouping variable that is predicted by a series of other variables.
The grouping variable must be nominal, which might also be a reclassification of a continuous variable
into groups. The function is presented thus:
Y = X1W1 + X2W2 + X3W3 + ...XnWn + Constant
This is essentially identical to a multiple regression, but in reality the two techniques are quite different.
Regression is built on a linear combination of variables that maximizes the regression relationship, i.e.,
the least squares regression, between a continuous dependent variable and the regression variate. In
DFA, the dependent variable consists of discrete groups, and what you want to do with the function is to
maximize the distance between those groups, i.e., to come up with a function that has strong
discriminatory power among the groups. Although logit regression does somewhat the same thing when
you have a binary (two group) variable, and the book makes a big thing of the similarities, the reality is
that the way in which they compute the functions is quite different.
Discriminant Analysis Involves:
1. Formulate the problem and gather data - Identify the salient attributes consumers use to evaluate
products in this category - Use quantitative research techniques (such as surveys) to collect data
from a sample of potential customers concerning their ratings of all the product attributes. The data
collection stage is usually done by research professionals. Survey questions ask the respondent to
rate a product from one to five (or 1 to 7, or 1 to 10) on a range of attributes chosen by the
researcher. Anywhere from five to twenty attributes are chosen. They could include things like:
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ease of use, weight, accuracy, durability, colourfulness, price, or size. The attributes chosen will
vary depending on the product being studied. The same question is asked about all the products in
the study. The data for multiple products is codified and input into a statistical program such as
SPSS or SAS. (This step is the same as in Factor analysis).
2. Estimate the Discriminant Function Coefficients and determine the statistical significance and
validity - Choose the appropriate discimininant analysis method. The direct method involves
estimating the discriminant function so that all the predictors are assessed simultaneously. The
stepwise method enters the predictors sequentially. The two-group method should be used when
the dependant variable has two categories or states. The multiple discriminant method is used
when the dependent variable has three or more categorical states. Use Wilkss Lambda to test for
significance in SPSS or F stat in SAS. The most common method used to test validity is to split the
sample into an estimation or analysis sample, and a validation or holdout sample. The estimation
sample is used in constructing the discriminant function. The validation sample is used to
construct a classification matrix which contains the number of correctly classified and incorrectly
classified cases. The percentage of correctly classified cases is called the hit ratio.
3. Plot the results on a two dimensional map, define the dimensions, and interpret the results. The
statistical program (or a related module) will map the results. The map will plot each product
(usually in two dimensional space). The distance of products to each other indicate either how
different they are. The dimensions must be labelled by the researcher. This requires subjective
judgement and is often very challenging.
Applications of Discriminant Function Analysis
General Purpose
Discriminant function analysis is used to determine which variables discriminate between two or more
naturally occurring groups. For example, an educational researcher may want to investigate which
variables discriminate between high school graduates who decide
(1) to go to college, (2) to attend a trade or professional school, or (3) to seek no further training or
education. For that purpose the researcher could collect data on numerous variables prior to students
graduation. After graduation, most students will naturally fall into one of the three categories.
Discriminant Analysis could then be used to determine which variable(s) are the best predictors of
students subsequent educational choice. A medical researcher may record different variables relating to
patients backgrounds in order to learn which variables best predict whether a patient is likely to recover
completely (group 1), partially (group 2), or not at all (group 3). A biologist could record different
characteristics of similar types (groups) of flowers, and then perform a discriminant function analysis to
determine the set of characteristics that allows for the best discrimination between the types.
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5) Cluster analysis
Cluster analysis is a class of statistical techniques that can be applied to data that exhibits natural
groupings. Cluster analysis sorts through the raw data and groups them into clusters. A cluster is a
group of relatively homogeneous cases or observations. Objects in a cluster are similar to each other.
They are also dissimilar to objects outside the cluster, particularly objects in other clusters.
The diagram below illustrates the results of a survey that studied drinkers perceptions of spirits
(alcohol). Each point represents the results from one respondent. The research indicates there are four
clusters in this market.
Another example is the vacation travel market. Recent research has identified three clusters or market
segments. They are the: 1) The
demanders - they want exceptional
service and expect to be pampered; 2)
The escapists - they want to get away
and just relax; 3) The educationalist -
they want to see new things, go to
museums, go on a safari, or experience
new cultures.
Cluster analysis, like factor analysis and
multi dimensional scaling, is an
interdependence technique : it makes no
distinction between dependent and independent variables. The entire set of interdependent relationships
is examined. It is similar to multi dimensional scaling in that both examine inter-object similarity by
examining the complete set of interdependent relationships. The difference is that multi dimensional
scaling identifies underlying dimensions, while cluster analysis identifies clusters. Cluster analysis is the
obverse of factor analysis. Whereas factor analysis reduces the number of variables by grouping them
into a smaller set of factors, cluster analysis reduces the number of observations or cases by grouping
them into a smaller set of clusters.
In marketing, cluster analysis is used for:
1. Segmenting the market and determining target markets
2. Product positioning and New Product Development
3. Selecting test markets
The basic procedure is:
1. Formulate the problem - select the variables that you wish to apply the clustering technique to
2. Select a distance measure - various ways of computing distance:
o Squared Euclidean distance - the square root of the sum of the squared differences in value
for each variable
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o Manhattan distance - the sum of the absolute differences in value for any variable
o Chebychev distance - the maximum absolute difference in values for any variable
3. Select a clustering procedure (see below)
4. Decide on the number of clusters
5. Map and interpret clusters - draw conclusions - illustrative techniques like perceptual maps,
icicle plots, and dendrograms are useful
6. Assess reliability and validity - various methods:
o repeat analysis but use different distance measure
o repeat analysis but use different clustering technique
o split the data randomly into two halves and analyze each part separately
o repeat analysis several times, deleting one variable each time
o repeat analysis several times, using a different order each time
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Chapter 8: Testing of Hypothesis
Introduction
Many a time, we strongly believe some results to be true. But after taking a sample, we notice that one
sample data does not wholly support the result. The difference is due to (i) the original belief being
wrong, or (ii) the sample being slightly one sided.
Tests are, therefore, needed to distinguish between the two possibilities. These tests tell about the likely
possibilities and reveal whether or not the difference can be due to only chance elements. If the difference
is not due to chance elements, it is significant and, therefore, these tests are called tests of significance. The
whole procedure is known as Testing of Hypothesis.
Setting up and testing hypotheses is an essential part of statistical inference. In order to formulate such a
test, usually some theory has been put forward, either because it is believed to be true or because it is to
be used as a basis for argument, but has not been proved. For example, the hypothesis may be the claim
that a new drug is better than the current drug for treatment of a disease, diagnosed through a set of
symptoms.
In each problem considered, the question of interest is simplified into two competing claims/hypotheses
between which we have a choice; the null hypothesis, denoted by H0, against the alternative hypothesis, denoted
by H1. These two competing claims / hypotheses are not however treated on an equal basis; special
consideration is given to the null hypothesis. We have two common situations :
(i) The experiment has been carried out in an attempt to disprove or reject a particular
hypothesis, the null hypothesis; thus we give that one priority so it cannot be rejected unless
the evidence against it is sufficiently strong. For example, null hypothesis H0: there is no
difference in taste between coke and diet coke, against the alternate hypothesis H1: there is a
difference in the tastes.
(ii) If one of the two hypotheses is simpler, we give it priority so that a more complicated
theory is not adopted unless there is sufficient evidence against the simpler one. For
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example, it is simpler to claim that there is no difference in flavour between coke and diet
coke than it is to say that there is a difference.
The hypotheses are often statements about population parameters like expected value and variance. For
example, H0, might be the statement that the expected value of the height of ten year old boys in the
Indian population, is not different from that of ten year old girls. A hypothesis might also be a statement
about the distributional form of a characteristic of interest; for example, that the height of ten years old
boys is normally distributed within the Indian population.
What is a Hypothesis?
A hypothesis is the assumption that we make about the population parameter. This can be any
assumption about a population parameter not necessarily based on statistical data. For example it can
also be based on the gut feel of a manager. Managerial hypotheses are based on intuition; the market
place decides whether the managers intuitions were in fact correct.
In fact managers propose and test hypotheses all the time. For example:
- If a manager says if we drop the price of this car model by ` 15000, well increase sales by 25000
units is a hypothesis. To test it in reality we have to wait to the end of the year to and count sales.
- A manager estimates that sales per territory will grow on average by 30% in the next quarter is also
an assumption or hypotheses.
To understand the meaning of a hypothesis, let us see some definitions:
A hypothesis is a tentative generalization, the validity of which remains to be tested. In its most
elementary stage the hypothesis may be any guess, hunch, imaginative idea, which becomes the basis for
action or investigation. (G.A.Lundberg)
It is a proposition which can be put to test to determine validity. (Goode and Hatt).
A hypothesis is a question put in such a way that an answer of some kind can be forth coming -
(Rummel and Ballaine).
These definitions lead us to conclude that a hypothesis is a tentative solution or explanation or a guess or
assumption or a proposition or a statement to the problem facing the researcher, adopted on a cursory
observation of known and available data, as a basis of investigation, whose validity is to be tested or
verified.
How would the manager go about testing this assumption?
Suppose he has 70 territories under him.
- One option for him is to audit the results of all 70 territories and determine whether the average is
growth is greater than or less than 30%. This is a time consuming and expensive procedure.
- Another way is to take a sample of territories and audit sales results for them. Once we have our sales
growth figure, it is likely that it will differ somewhat from our assumed rate. For example we may get
a sample rate of 27%. The manager is then faced with the problem of determining whether his
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assumption or hypothesized rate of growth of sales is correct or the sample rate of growth is more
representative. To test the validity of our assumption about the population we collect sample data
and determine the sample value of the statistic.
We then determine whether the sample data supports our hypotheses assumption regarding the average
sales growth.
How is this Done?
If the difference between our hypothesized value and the sample value is small, then it is more likely that
our hypothesized value of the mean is correct. The larger the difference the smaller the probability that
the hypothesized value is correct. In practice however very rarely is the difference between the sample
mean and the hypothesized population value larger enough or small enough for us to be able to accept or
reject the hypothesis prima-facie. We cannot accept or reject a hypothesis about a parameter simply on
intuition; instead we need to use objective criteria based on sampling theory to accept or reject the
hypothesis. Hypotheses testing is the process of making inferences about a population based on a sample.
The key question therefore in hypotheses testing is: how likely is it that a population such as one we have
hypothesized to produce a sample such as the one we are looking at.
Types of Hypothesis
Hypotheses can be classified in a variety of ways into different types or kinds. The following are some of
the types of hypotheses:
i) Explanatory Hypothesis: The purpose of this hypothesis is to explain a certain fact. All hypotheses are
in a way explanatory for a hypothesis is advanced only when we try to explain the observed fact. A large
number of hypotheses are advanced to explain the individual facts in life. A theft, a murder, an accident
are examples.
ii) Descriptive Hypothesis: Sometimes a researcher comes across a complex phenomenon. He/ she does
not understand the relations among the observed facts. But how to account for these facts? The answer is
a descriptive hypothesis. A hypothesis is descriptive when it is based upon the points of resemblance of
something. It describes the cause and effect relationship of a phenomenon e.g., the current
unemployment rate of a state exceeds 25% of the work force. Similarly, the consumers of local made
products constitute a significant market segment.
iii) Analogical Hypothesis: When we formulate a hypothesis on the basis of similarities (analogy), it is
called an analogical hypothesis e.g., families with higher earnings invest more surplus income on long
term investments.
iv) Working hypothesis: Sometimes certain facts cannot be explained adequately by existing hypotheses,
and no new hypothesis comes up. Thus, the investigation is held up. In this situation, a researcher
formulates a hypothesis which enables to continue investigation. Such a hypothesis, though inadequate
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and formulated for the purpose of further investigation only, is called a working hypothesis. It is simply
accepted as a starting point in the process of investigation.
v) Null Hypothesis: It is an important concept that is used widely in the sampling theory. It forms the
basis of many tests of significance. Under this type, the hypothesis is stated negatively. It is null because it
may be nullified, if the evidence of a random sample is unfavourable to the hypothesis. It is a hypothesis
being tested (H0). If the calculated value of the test is less than the permissible value, Null hypothesis is
accepted, otherwise it is rejected. The rejection of a null hypothesis implies that the difference could not
have arisen due to chance or sampling fluctuations.
vi) Statistical Hypothesis: Statistical hypotheses are the statements derived from a sample. These are
quantitative in nature and are numerically measurable. For example, the market share of product X is
70%, the average life of a tube light is 2000 hours etc.
Criteria for Workable Hypothesis
A hypothesis controls and directs the research study. When a problem is felt, we require the hypothesis
to explain it. Generally, there is more than one hypothesis which aims at explaining the same fact. But all
of them cannot be equally good. Therefore, how can we judge a hypothesis to be true or false, good or
bad? Agreement with facts is the sole and sufficient test of a true hypothesis. Therefore, certain conditions
can be laid down for distinguishing a good hypothesis from bad ones. The formal conditions laid down
by thinkers provide the criteria for judging a hypothesis as good or valid. These conditions are as follows:
i) A hypothesis should be empirically verifiable: The most important condition for a valid hypothesis is
that it should be empirically verifiable. A hypothesis is said to be verifiable, if it can be shown to be either
true or false by comparing with the facts of experience directly or indirectly. A hypothesis is true if it
conforms to facts and it is false if it does not. Empirical verification is the characteristic of the scientific
method.
ii) A hypothesis should be relevant: The purpose of formulating a hypothesis is always to explain some
facts. It must provide an answer to the problem which initiated the enquiry. A hypothesis is called
relevant if it can explain the facts of enquiry.
iii) A hypothesis must have predictive and explanatory power: Explanatory power means that a good
hypothesis, over and above the facts it proposes to explain, must also explain some other facts which are
beyond its original scope. We must be able to deduce a wide range of observable facts which can be
deduced from a hypothesis. The wider the range, the greater is its explanatory power.
iv) A hypothesis must furnish a base for deductive inference on consequences: In the process of
investigation, we always pass from the known to the unknown. It is impossible to infer anything from the
absolutely unknown. We can only infer what would happen under supposed conditions by applying the
knowledge of nature we possess. Hence, our hypothesis must be in accordance with our previous
knowledge.
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v) A hypothesis does not go against the traditionally established knowledge: As far as possible, a new
hypothesis should not go against any previously established law or knowledge. The new hypothesis is
expected to be consistent with the established knowledge.
vi) A hypothesis should be simple: A simple hypothesis is preferable to a complex one. It sometimes
happens that there are two or more hypotheses which explain a given fact equally well. Both of them are
verified by observable facts. Both of them have a predictive power and both are consistent with
established knowledge. All the important conditions of hypothesis are thus satisfied by them. In such
cases the simpler one is to be accepted in preference to the complex one.
vii) A hypothesis must be clear, definite and certain: It is desirable that the hypothesis must be simple
and specific to the point. It must be clearly defined in a manner commonly accepted. It should not be
vague or ambiguous.
(viii) A Hypothesis should be related to available techniques: If tools and techniques are not available
we cannot test the hypothesis. Therefore, the hypothesis should be formulated only after due thought is
given to the methods and techniques that can be used to measure the concepts and variables related to
the hypothesis.
Stages in Hypothesis
There are four stages. The first stage is feeling of a problem. The observation and analysis of the
researcher reveals certain facts. These facts pose a problem. The second stage is formulation of a
hypothesis or hypotheses. A tentative supposition/ guess is made to explain the facts which call for an
explanation. At this stage some past experience is necessary to pick up the significant aspects of the
observed facts. Without previous knowledge, the investigation becomes difficult, if not impossible. The
third stage is deductive development of hypothesis using deductive reasoning. The researcher uses the
hypothesis as a premise and draws a conclusion from it. And the last stage is the verification or testing of
hypothesis. This consists in finding whether the conclusion drawn at the third stage is really true.
Verification consists in finding whether the hypothesis agrees with the facts. If the hypothesis stands the
test of verification, it is accepted as an explanation of the problem. But if the hypothesis does not stand
the test of verification, the researcher has to search for further solutions.
To explain the above stages let us consider a simple example. Suppose, you have started from your home
for college on your scooter. A little while later the engine of your scooter suddenly stops. What can be the
reason? Why has it stopped? From your past experience, you start guessing that such problems generally
arise due to either petrol or spark plug. Then start deducing that the cause could be: (i) that the petrol
knob is not on. (ii) that there is no petrol in the tank. (iii) that the spark plug has to be cleaned. Then start
verifying them one after another to solve the problem. First see whether the petrol knob is on. If it is not,
switch it on and start the scooter. If it is already on, then see whether there is petrol or not by opening the
lid of the petrol tank. If the tank is empty, go to the near by petrol bunk to fill the tank with petrol. If there
is petrol in the tank, this is not the reason, then you verify the spark plug. You clean the plug and fit it.
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The scooter starts. That means the problem is with the spark plug. You have identified it. So you got the
answer. That means your problem is solved.
Reliability and validity
Research should be tested for reliability, generalizability, and validity.
- Generalizability is the ability to make inferences from a sample to the population.
- Reliability is the extent to which a measure will produce consistent results. Test-retest reliability
checks how similar the results are if the research is repeated under similar circumstances.
Stability over repeated measures is assessed with the Pearson coefficient. Alternative forms
reliability checks how similar the results are if the research is repeated using different forms.
Internal consistency reliability checks how well the individual measures included in the research
are converted into a composite measure. Internal consistency may be assessed by correlating
performance on two halves of a test (split-half reliability).
- Validity asks whether the research measured what it intended to. Content validation (also called
face validity) checks how well the content of the research are related to the variables to be
studied. Are the research questions representative of the variables being researched. It is a
demonstration that the items of a test are drawn from the domain being measured. Criterion
validation checks how meaningful the research criteria are relative to other possible criteria.
When the criterion is collected later the goal is to establish predictive validity. Construct
validation checks what underlying construct is being measured. There are three variants of
construct validity. They are convergent validity (how well the research relates to other measures
of the same construct), discriminant validity (how poorly the research relates to measures of
opposing constructs), and nomological validity (how well the research relates to other variables
as required by theory) .
Internal validation, used primarily in experimental research designs, checks the relation
between the dependent and independent variables. Did the experimental manipulation of the
independent variable actually cause the observed results? External validation checks whether
the experimental results can be generalized.
Validity implies reliability : a valid measure must be reliable. But reliability does not necessarily imply
validity :a reliable measure need not be valid.
Testing of Hypothesis
When the hypothesis has been framed in the research study, it must be verified as true or false.
Verifiability is one of the important conditions of a good hypothesis. Verification of hypothesis means
testing of the truth of the hypothesis in the light of facts. If the hypothesis agrees with the facts, it is said
to be true and may be accepted as the explanation of the facts. But if it does not agree it is said to be false.
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Such a false hypothesis is either totally rejected or modified. Verification is of two types viz., Direct
verification and Indirect verification.
1. Direct verification may be either by observation or by experiments. When direct observation shows
that the supposed cause exists where it was thought to exist, we have a direct verification. When a
hypothesis is verified by an experiment in a laboratory it is called direct verification by experiment. When
the hypothesis is not amenable for direct verification, we have to depend on indirect verification.
2. Indirect verification is a process in which certain possible consequences are deduced from the
hypothesis and they are then verified directly. Two steps are involved in indirect verification. (i)
Deductive development of hypothesis: By deductive development certain consequences are predicted
and (ii) finding whether the predicted consequences follow. If the predicted consequences come true, the
hypothesis is said to be indirectly verified. Verification may be done directly or indirectly or through
logical methods.
Testing of a hypothesis is done by using statistical methods. Testing is used to accept or reject an
assumption or hypothesis about a random variable using a sample from the distribution. The assumption
is the null hypothesis (H0), and it is tested against some alternative hypothesis (H1). Statistical tests of
hypothesis are applied to sample data. The procedure involved in testing a hypothesis is A) select a
sample and collect the data. B) Convert the variables or attributes into statistical form such as mean,
proportion. C) formulate hypotheses. D) select an appropriate test for the data such as t-test, Z-test. E)
perform computations. F) finally draw the inference of accepting or rejecting the null hypothesis.
Procedure for hypothesis testing
Hypothesis testing involves the following steps:
1. Formulate the null and alternative hypotheses.
2. Choose the appropriate test.
3. Choose a level of significance (alpha) - determine the rejection region.
4. Gather the data and calculate the test statistic.
5. Determine the probability of the observed value of the test statistic under the null hypothesis
given the sampling distribution that applies to the chosen test.
6. Compare the value of the test statistic to the rejection threshold.
7. Based on the comparison, reject or do not reject the null hypothesis.
8. Make the research conclusion.
In order to analyze whether research results are statistically significant or simply by chance, a test of
statistical significance can be run.
How do we use Sampling to accept or Reject Hypothesis?
Again we go back to the normal sampling distribution. We use the result that there is a certain fixed
probability associated with intervals from the mean defined in terms of number of standard deviations
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from the mean. Therefore our problem of testing a hypothesis reduces to determining the probability that
a sample statistic such as the one we have obtained could have arisen from a population with a
hypothesized mean m. In the hypothesis tests we need two numbers to make our decision whether to
accept or reject the null hypothesis:
- an observed value or computed from the sample
- a critical value defining the boundary between the acceptance and rejection region
.
Instead of measuring the variables in original units we calculate a standardized z variable for a standard
normal distribution with mean x =0.The z statistic tells us how many how many standard deviations
above or below the mean standardized mean (z,<0, z>0) our observation falls. We can convert our
observed data into the standardized scale using the transformation:
The z statistic measures the number of standard deviations away from the hypothesized mean the sample
mean lies. From the standard normal tables we can calculate the probability of the sample mean differing
from the true population mean by a specified number of standard deviations.
For example:
o we can find the probability that the sample mean differs from the population mean by two or more
standard deviations.
It is this probability value that will tell us how likely it is that a given sample mean can be obtained
from a population with a hypothesized mean m. .
o If the probability is low for example less than 5% , perhaps it can be reasonably concluded that the
difference between the sample mean and hypothesized population mean is too large and the chance
that the population would produce such a random sample is too low.
What probability constitutes too low or acceptable level is a judgment for decision makers to make.
Certain situations demand that decision makers be very sure about the characteristics of the items being
tested and even a 2% probability that the population produces such a sample is too high. In other
situations there is greater latitude and a decision maker may be willing to accept a hypothesis with a 5%
probability of chance variation.
In each situation what needs to be determined are the costs resulting from an incorrect decision and the
exact level of risk we are willing to assume. Our minimum standard for an acceptable probability, say,
5%, is also the risk we run of rejecting a hypothesis that is true.
Hypothesis errors:
- type I error (also called alpha error)
o the study results lead to the rejection of the null hypothesis even though it is actually true
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- type II error (also called beta error)
o the study results lead to the acceptance (non-rejection) of the null hypothesis even though it is
actually false
The choice of significance level affects the ratio of correct and incorrect conclusions which will be drawn.
Given a significance level there are four alternatives to consider:
Type I and type II errors
Correct Conclusion Incorrect Conclusion
Accept a correct hypothesis
Reject an incorrect hypothesis
Reject a correct hypothesis
Accept an incorrect hypothesis
Consider the following example. In a straightforward test of two products, we may decide to market
product A if, and only if, 60% of the population prefer the product. Clearly we can set a sample size, so as
to reject the null hypothesis of A = B = 50% at, say, a 5% significance level. If we get a sample which
yields 62% (and there will be 5 chances in a 100 that we get a figure greater than 60%) and the null
hypothesis is in fact true, then we make what is known as a Type I error.
If however, the real population is A = 62%, then we shall accept the null hypothesis A = 50% on nearly
half the occasions as shown in the diagram overleaf. In this situation we shall be saying "do not market
A" when in fact there is a market for A. This is the type II error. We can of course increase the chance of
making a type I error which will automatically decrease the chance of making a type II error.
Obviously some sort of compromise is required. This depends on the relative importance of the two types
of error. If it is more important to avoid rejecting a true hypothesis (type I error) a high confidence
coefficient (low value of x) will be used. If it is more important to avoid accepting a false hypothesis, a
low confidence coefficient may be used. An analogy with the legal profession may help to clarify the
matter. Under our system of law, a man is presumed innocent of murder until proved otherwise. Now, if
a jury convicts a man when he is, in fact, innocent, a type I error will have been made: the jury has
rejected the null hypothesis of innocence although it is actually true. If the jury absolves the man, when
he is, in fact, guilty, a type II error will have been made: the jury has accepted the null hypothesis of
innocence when the man is really guilty. Most people will agree that in this case, a type I error, convicting
an innocent man, is the more serious.
In practice, of course, researchers rarely base their decisions on a single significance test. Significance tests
may be applied to the answers to every question in a survey but the results will be only convincing, if
consistent patterns emerge. For example, we may conduct a product test to find out consumers
preferences. We do not usually base our conclusions on the results of one particular question, but we ask
several, make statistical tests on the key questions and look for consistent significances. We must
remember that when one makes a series of tests, some of the correct hypotheses will be rejected by
chance. For example, if 20 questions were asked in our "before" and "after" survey and we test each
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question at the 5% level, then one of the differences is likely to give significant results, even if there is no
real difference in the population.
No mention is made in these notes of considerations of costs of incorrect decisions. Statistical significance
is not always the only criterion for basing action. Economic considerations of alternative actions are often
just as important.
These, therefore, are the basic steps in the statistical testing procedure. The majority of tests are likely to
be parametric tests where researchers assume some underlying distribution like the normal or binomial
distribution. Researchers will obtain a result, say a difference between two means, calculate the standard
error of the difference and then ask "How far away from the zero difference hypothesis is the difference
we have found from our samples?"
To enable researchers to answer this question, they convert their actual difference into "standard errors"
by dividing it by its standard deviation, then refer to a chart to ascertain the probability of such a
difference occurring.
Uses of Hypothesis
If a clear scientific hypothesis has been formulated, half of the research work is already done. The
advantages/utility of having a hypothesis are summarized here underneath:
i) It is a starting point for many a research work.
ii) It helps in deciding the direction in which to proceed.
iii) It helps in selecting and collecting pertinent facts.
iv) It is an aid to explanation.
v) It helps in drawing specific conclusions.
vi) It helps in testing theories.
vii) It works as a basis for future knowledge.
Use of statistical techniques for testing of hypothesis
A hypothesis test is a statistical method that uses sample data to evaluate a hypothesis about a
population parameter.
The hypothesis testing is standard and it follows a specific order;
(i) first state a hypothesis about a population (a population parameter, e.g. mean ),
(ii) obtain a random sample from the population and also find its mean
x , and
(iii) compare the sample data with the hypothesis on the scale (standard z or normal distribution).
A hypothesis test is typically used in the context of a research study, i.e. a researcher completes one
round of a field investigation and then uses a hypothesis test to evaluate the results. Depending on the
type of research and the type of data, the details will differ from one research situation to another.
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The following are some of the statistical techniques for testing of hypothesis
1. Z-Score Statistics
Z-Score is called a test statistics. The purpose of a test statistics is to determine whether the result of a
research study (the obtained difference) is more than what would be expected by the chance alone.
chance to due Difference
difference Obtained
= z
Now suppose a manufacturer, produces some type of articles of good quality. A purchaser by chance
selects a sample randomly. It so happens that the sample contains many defective articles and it leads the
purchaser to reject the whole product. Now, the manufacturer suffers a loss even though he has produced
a good article of quality. Therefore, this Type-I error is called producers risk.
On the other hand, if we accept the entire lot on the basis of a sample and the lot is not really good, the
consumers are put in loss. Therefore, this Type-II error is called the consumers risk.
In practical situations, still other aspects are considered while accepting or rejecting a lot. The risks
involved for both producer and consumer are compared. Then Type-I and Type-II errors are fixed; and a
decision is reached.
2. Students t-distribution
This concept was introduced by W. S. Gosset (1876 - 1937). He adopted the pen name student.
Therefore, the distribution is known as students t-distribution.
It is used to establish confidence limits and test the hypothesis when the population variance is not
known and sample size is small (< 30).
If a random sample x1, x2, . . . , xn of n values be drawn from a normal population with mean and
standard deviation o then the mean of sample
n
x
x
i
=
3. Chi-square test
Tests like z-score and t are based on the assumption that the samples were drawn from normally
distributed populations or more accurately that the sample means were normally distributed. As these
tests require assumptions about the type of population or parameters, these tests are known as parametric
tests.
There are many situations in which it is impossible to make any rigid assumption about the distribution
of the population from which samples are drawn. This limitation led to search for non-parametric tests.
Chi-square (Read as Ki-square) test of independence and goodness of fit is a prominent example of a non-
parametric test. The chi-square (_
2
) test can be used to evaluate a relationship between two nominal or
ordinal variables.
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_
2
(chi-square) is measure of actual divergence of the observed and expected frequencies. In sampling
studies, we never expect that there will be a perfect coincidence between actual and observed frequencies
and the question that we have to tackle is about the degree to which the difference between actual and
observed frequencies can be ignored as arising due to fluctuations of sampling. If there is no difference
between actual and observed frequencies then _
2
= 0. If there is a difference, then _
2
would be more than
0. But the difference may also be due to sample fluctuation and thus the value of _
2
should be ignored in
drawing the inference. Such values of _
2
under different conditions are given in the form of tables and if
the actual value is greater than the table value, it indicates that the difference is not solely due to sample
fluctuation and that there is some other reason.
On the other hand, if the calculated _
2
is less than the table value, it indicates that the difference may have
arisen due to chance fluctuations and can be ignored. Thus _
2
-test enables us to find out the divergence
between theory and fact or between expected and actual frequencies.
If the calculated value of _
2
is very small, compared to table value, then expected frequencies are very
little and the fit is good.
If the calculated value of _
2
is very large as compared to table value then divergence between the
expected and the observed frequencies is very big and the fit is poor.
We know that the degree of freedom r (df) is the number of independent constraints in a set of data.
Suppose there is a two _
2
association table and actual frequencies of the various classes are as follows :
B
A a
AB aB
22 38 60
b
Ab ab
8 32 40
30 70 100
Now the formula for calculating expected frequency of any class (cell)
colum cell the containing row for total Row =
ns observatio of number total The
cell the containing column for Total
In notations : Expected frequency
N
C R
=
For example, if we have two attributes A and B that are independent then the expected frequency of the
class (cell) AB would be 18
100
60 30
=
= .
Once the expected frequency of cell (AB) is decided the expected frequencies of remaining three classes
are automatically fixed.
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Thus, for class (aB) it would be 60 18 = 42
for class (Ab) it would be 30 18 = 12
for class (ab) it would be 70 42 = 28
This means that so far as two _
2
association (contingency) table is concerned, there is
1 degree of freedom.
In such tables, the degrees of freedom are given by a formula n = (c 1) (r 1),
where c = Number of columns and r = Number of rows.
Thus in 2 2 table df = (2 1) (2 1) = 1
3 3 table df = (3 1) (3 1) = 4
4 4 table df = (4 1) (4 1) = 9 etc.
If the data is not in the form of contingency tables but as a series of individual observations or discrete or
continuous series then it is calculated by n = n 1 where n is the number of frequencies or values of
number of independent individuals.
(
(
= _
frequency Expected
) frequency Expected frequency Observed (
2
2
(
= _
E
E O
2
2
) (
where O = Observed frequency and E = Expected frequency.
Review questions
1. Distinguish between Estimation and testing
of hypothesis.
2. Explain the procedure for testing a statistical
hypothesis.
3. Discuss the role of normal distribution in
interval estimation and also in testing
hypothesis.
4. Discuss how far the sample proportion
satisfies the desirable properties of a good
estimator.
5. How do you proceed to set confidence limits
to population mean ?
6. Describe how you could set confidence
limits to population proportion on the basis
of a large sample.
7. Explain how you would test for population
mean.
8. Describe the different steps for testing the
significance of population proportion.
9. Describe a situation where you can apply t-
distribution.
10. How would you distinguish between a t-test
for independent sample and a paired t-test?
11. Distinguish between large samples and
small samples.
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Chapter9: Interpretation of Data
Introduction
Statistics are not an end in themselves but they are a means to an end, the end being to draw certain
conclusions from them. This has to be done very carefully, otherwise misleading conclusions may be
drawn and the whole purpose of doing research may get vitiated. A researcher/statistician besides the
collection and analysis of data, has to draw inferences and explain their significance. Through
interpretation the meanings and implications of the study become clear. Analysis is not complete without
interpretation, and interpretation cannot proceed without analysis. Both are, thus, inter-dependent. In
this unit, therefore, we will discuss the interpretation of analysed data, summarizing the interpretation
and statistical fallacies.
Meaning of interpretation
The following definitions can explain the meaning of interpretation.
- The task of drawing conclusions or inferences and of explaining their significance after a careful
analysis of selected data is known as interpretation.
- It is an inductive process, in which you make generalizations based
on the connections and common aspects among the categories and
patterns.
- Scientific interpretation seeks relationship between the data of a
study and between the study findings and other scientific
knowledge.
- Interpretation in a simple way means the translation of a statistical
result into an intelligible description.
Thus, analysis and interpretation are central steps in the research
process. The purpose of analysis is to summarize the collected data,
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where as interpretation is the search for the broader meaning of research findings. In interpretation, the
researcher goes beyond the descriptive data to extract meaning and insights from the data.
Why interpretation?
A researcher/ statistician is expected not only to collect and analyse the data but also to interpret the
results of his/ her findings. Interpretation is essential for the simple reason that the usefulness and utility
of research findings lie in proper interpretation. It is only through interpretation that the researcher can
expose relations and patterns that underlie his findings. In case of hypothesis testing studies the
researcher may arrive at generalizations. In case the researcher had no hypothesis to start with, he would
try to explain his findings on the basis of some theory. It is only through interpretation that the researcher
can appreciate why his findings are what they are, and can make others understand the real significance
of his research findings.
Interpretation is not a mechanical process. It calls for a critical examination of the results of ones analysis
in the light of all the limitations of data gathering. For drawing conclusions you need a basis. Some of the
common and important bases of interpretation are: relationships, ratios, rates and percentages, averages
and other measures of comparison.
Essentials for interpretation
Certain points should be kept in mind before proceeding to draw conclusions from statistics. It is
essential that:
a) The data are homogeneous: It is necessary to ascertain that the data are strictly comparable. We must
be careful to compare the like with the like and not with the unlike.
b) The data are adequate: Sometimes it happens that the data are incomplete or insufficient and it is
neither possible to analyze them scientifically nor is it possible to draw any inference from them. Such
data must be completed first.
c) The data are suitable: Before considering the data for interpretation, the researcher must confirm the
required degree of suitability of the data. Inappropriate data are like no data. Hence, no conclusion is
possible with unsuitable data.
d) The data are properly classified and tabulated: Every care is to be taken as a pre-requisite, to base all
types of interpretations on systematically classified and properly tabulated data and information.
e) The data are scientifically analyzed: Before drawing conclusions, it is necessary to analyze the data by
applying scientific methods. Wrong analysis can play havoc with even the most carefully collected data.
If interpretation is based on uniform, accurate, adequate, suitable and scientifically analyzed data, there is
every possibility of attaining a better and representative result. Thus, from the above considerations we
may conclude that it is essential to have all the pre-requisites/pre-conditions of interpretation satisfied to
arrive at better conclusions.
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Precautions in interpretation
It is important to recognize that errors can be made in interpretation if proper precautions are not taken.
The interpretation of data is a very difficult task and requires a high degree of skill, care, judgement and
objectivity. In the absence of these, there is every likelihood of data being misused to prove things that
are not true. The following precautions are required before interpreting the data.
1) The interpreter must be objective.
2) The interpreter must understand the problem in its proper perspective.
3) He / she must appreciate the relevance of various elements of the problem.
4) See that all relevant, adequate and accurate data are collected.
5) See that the data are properly classified and analyzed.
6) Find out whether the data are subject to limitations? If so what are they?
7) Guard against the sources of errors.
8) Do not make interpretations that go beyond the information / data.
9) Factual interpretation and personal interpretation should not be confused. They should be kept apart.
If these precautions are taken at the time of interpretation, reasonably good conclusions can be arrived at.
Techniques of Interpretation
There are many different of tnterpretation techniques like graph or chart, but most are not used in
business research.
Those used most often include:
1. pie charts
2. vertical bar charts (histograms)
3. horizontal bar charts (also histograms)
4. pictograms
5. line charts
6. area charts
Some other types of charts, well suited to audience research, but less often used, include
- perceptual maps ( Discussed in data analysis techniques)
Though many different kinds of graph are possible, if a report includes too many types, its often
confusing for readers, who must work out how to interpret each new type of graph, and why it is
different from an earlier one. It is recommended using as few types of graph as are necessary.
If you have a spreadsheet or graphics program, such as Excel or Deltagraph, its very easy to produce
graphs. You simply enter the numbers and labels in a table, click a symbol to show which type of graph
you want, and it appears before your eyes. These graphs are usually not very clear when first produced,
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but the software has many options for changing headings, scales, and graph layout. You can waste a lot
of time perfecting these graphs. Excel (actually, Microsoft Graph, which Excel uses) has dozens of
options, and it takes a lot of clicking of the right-hand mouse button to discover them all. If you dont
have a recent and powerful computer, Excel can be a very slow and frustrating program to use.
The main types of graph include pie charts, bar charts (histograms), line charts, area charts, and several
others.
1) Pie chart
A round graph, cut (like a pie) into slices of varying size, all adding to 100%. Because a pie chart is round,
its useful for communicating data which takes a
"round" form: for example, the answers to "How
many minutes in each hour would you like FM
RADIOMIRCHI to spend on each of the following
types of program...?" In this case, the pie
corresponds to a clock face, and the slices can be
interpreted as fractions of an hour.
Pie charts are easily understood when the slices are
similar in size, but if several slices are less than 5%, or lots of different colours are used, it can be quite
difficult to read a pie chart. In that case the chart has to be very big, taking perhaps half a page to convey
one set of numbers. Not a very efficient way to display information.
2) Vertical bar chart
Also known as a histogram. A very common type of graph, easily understood. But when one of these
charts has more than about 6 vertical bars, theres very little space below each bar to explain what its
measuring.
3) Horizontal bar chart
Exactly like a vertical bar chart, but turned
sideways. The big advantage of the
horizontal bar chart is that you can easily
read a description with more than one word.
Unfortunately, most graphics software displays the bars upside down youre expected to read from
the bottom, upwards to the top. A standard bar chart looks like this. (Like the two above charts, this was
created with Excel.)
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You dont need graphics software to produce a
horizontal bar chart: you can do it easily with a
word processing program. One of the easiest
ways to do this is to use the | symbol to
produce the bars. This symbol is usually found
on the \ key; it is not a lower-case L or upper-
case I or number 1. It stands out best in bold
type. This is what we call a blobbogram.
For example:
Q14. SEX OF RESPONDENT
Male 47.4% |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Female 52.6% |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total 100.0% = 325 cases
If each symbol represents 2% of the sample, you can usually fit the graph on a single line. Round each
figure to the nearest 2% to work out how many times to press the symbol key. In the above example,
47.4% is closer to 48% than to 46%, so I pressed the | key 24 times to graph the percentage of men. This is
a very clear layout, and quick to produce, so it is well suited to a preliminary report.
A more elaborate looking graph can be made by using special symbols. For example, if you have the font
Zapf Dingbats or Wingdings, you can use the shaded-
This is wider than the | symbol, and no more than about 20 will fit on a normal-width line, if half the line
Q14. SEX OF RESPONDENT
Male 47.4%
Female 52.6%
Total 100.0% = 325 cases
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4) Pictograms
Like a bar chart, a pictogram can be either vertical or horizontal, but instead of showing a solid bar, a
pictogram shows a number of symbols - e.g. small diagrams of people. In fact, the above bar chart with
pictograms show partial symbols. If one little man
means 10%, and the number to be graphed is 45%,
you see four and a half little men...
5) Line chart
This is used when the variable you are graphing is a numeric one. In audience research, most variables
are nominal, not numeric, so line charts arent needed much. But to plot the answers to a question such as
"How many people live in your household?" you could produce a graph like this:
Its normal to show the measurement (e.g. percentage) upwards, and the scale (e.g. hours per week) on
the horizontal scale. Unlike a bar chart, it will confuse people if the scales are exchanged. Youll find that
almost every line chart has a peak in the middle, and falls off to each side, reflecting whats known as the
"normal curve."
A line chart is really another form of a vertical bar chart. You could turn a vertical bar chart into a line
chart by drawing a line connecting the top of each bar, then deleting the bars.
A line chart can have more than one line. For example, you could have a line chart comparing the number
of hours per week that men and women watch TV. Thered be two lines, one for each sex. Each line needs
to be shown with a different style, or a different colour. With more than 3 or 4 lines, a line chart becomes
very confusing, specially when the lines cross each other.
6) Area chart
In a line chart with several lines such as the above example, with two sexes each line starts from the
bottom of the table. That way, you can compare the height of the lines at any point. An area chart is a
little different, in that each line starts
from the line below it. So you dont
compare the height of the lines, but the
areas between them. These areas always
add to 100% high. You can think of an
area chart as a lot of pie charts, flattened
out and laid end-to-end.
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A common use of area charts in audience research is to show how peoples behaviour changes across the
24 hours of the day. The horizontal scale runs from midnight to midnight, and the vertical scale from 0 to
100%. This area chart, taken from a survey in Vietnam, shows how people divide their day into sleep,
work, watching TV, listening to radio, and work and everything else.
An area chart needs to be studied closely: the results arent obvious at a glance. However, area charts
provide a lot of information in a small space.
Which type of graph is best?
There are dozens of other chart types not mentioned above, and also dozens of variations on the above
types - specially bar charts. However the above graph types cover most situations. It becomes confusing
to readers of reports if many different types of graph are presented, so it is recommended that any report
should include no more different graph types than necessary.
The most appropriate type of graph to present depends on the number of variables being displayed, and
whether these are nominal variables (with a limited number of separate values) or metric variables
(whose value can be any number). It is suggested to use a horizontal bar chart whenever possible. In a
normal audience survey, less than a third of the graphs are unsuited to being shown as horizontal bar
charts.
Variables Recommended chart type
number type
1 nominal bar chart, pictogram, or pie chart
1 metric line graph, or box and whisker plot
2 both nominal multiple bar chart, or domino chart
2 both metric bubble chart, or scattergram
2 1 metric, 1 nominal box and whisker plot, or area chart
3-D charts can look very impressive, but It is strongly suggested to avoid using them its just too easy
to misread them. The simpler a graph is, the more effective it is at communicating
Statistical fallacies
Interpretation of data, as we stated earlier, is a very difficult task and requires a high degree of care,
objectivity, skill and judgement. In the absence of these things, it is likely that the data may be misused.
In fact, experience shows that the largest number of mistakes are committed knowingly or unknowingly
while interpreting statistical data which may lead to misinterpretation of data by most of the readers.
Statistical fallacies may arise at any stage in the collection, presentation, analysis and interpretation of
data. The following are some of the (i) specific examples illustrating how statistics can be misinterpreted,
(ii) Sources of errors leading to false generalizations, (iii) examples how fallacies arise in using statistical
data and statistical methods.
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1. Bias: Bias, whether it is conscious or unconscious, is very common in statistical work and it leads to
false generalizations. It is found that wrong interpretations are made want only to prove their point.
Sometimes deliberately statistical information is twisted as to grind ones own axe. For example, a
business man may use statistics to prove the superiority of their firm over others by saying that our firm
earned a profit of ` 1,00,000 where as firm X earned only ` 80,000 this year. On the face of it, it appears
that firm X has not performed well. But a little thinking reveals that many other variables have to be
considered before drawing such a conclusion, such as what is the capital employed? If the capital
employed is same, then the quality of product and so on. Unconscious bias is even more insidious.
Perhaps, all statistical reports contain some unconscious bias, since the statistical results are interpreted
by human beings after all. Each may look at things in terms of his own experience and his attitude
towards the problem under study. People suffer from several inhibitions, prejudices, ideologies and
hardened attitudes. They cannot help reflecting these in their interpretation of results. For example: A
pessimist will see the future as being dark, where as an optimist may see it as being bright.
2. Inconsistency in Definitions: Sometimes false conclusions are drawn because of failure to define
properly the object being studied and hold that definition in mid for making comparisons. When the
working capital of two firms is compared, net working capital of one must be compared with only net
working capital of the other and not with gross working capital. Even within the organization, for
facilitating comparison over a period of time it is necessary to keep the definition constant.
3. Inappropriate Comparisons: Comparisons between two things cannot be made unless they are really
alike. Unfortunately, this point is generally forgotten and comparisons are made between two dissimilar
things, thereby, leading to fallacious conclusions. For example, the cost of living index of Bangalore is 150
(with base year 1999) and that of Hyderabad is 155 (with base 1995). Therefore, Hyderabad is a costlier
city than Bangalore city. This conclusion is misleading as the base years of the Indices are different.
4. Faulty Generalizations: Many a time people jump to conclusions or generalizations on the basis of
either too small a sample or a sample that is not representative of the population. For example, if a
foreigner came to Delhi and his purse was stolen by a pick pocket and he comments that there is no safety
and security for foreigners in India. This is not true as thousands of foreigners come to India. They are
safe and secure. Sometimes the sample size may be adequate but not representative.
5. Drawing Wrong Inferences: Sometimes wrong inferences may be drawn from the data. For example,
the population of a town has doubled in 10 years. From this it is interpreted that the birth rate in the town
has doubled. Obviously, this is a wrong inference, as the population of the town can double in many
ways (example: exodus from villages, migration from other places etc.) than doubling of birth rate only.
6. Misuse of Statistical Tools: The various tools of analysis such as measures of central tendency,
measures of variation, measures of correlation, ratios, percentages etc., are very often misused to present
information in such a manner as to convince the public or to camoaflage things. In a company there are
1,00,000 shares and 1,000 share holders. The company claims that their shares are well distributed as the
average share holding is 100. But a close scrutiny reveals that 10 persons hold 90,000 shares where as 990
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persons hold 10,000 shares, average being about 10. Similarly, range can be misused to exaggerate
disparities. For example, in a factory the wages may range between ` 1,000 to ` 1,500 a month and the
Manager gets ` 20,000 a month. It is reported that the earnings of their employees range from ` 1,000 to `
20,000.
7. Failure to Comprehend the Data: Very often figures are interpreted without comprehending the total
background of the data and it may lead to wrong conclusions. For example, see the following
interpretations:
o The death rate in the army is 9 per thousand, where as in the city of Delhi it is 15 per thousand.
Therefore, it is safer to be in the army than in the city.
o Most of the patients who were admitted in the intensive care (IC) ward of a hospital died.
Therefore, it is unsafe to be admitted to intensive care ward in that hospital.
Concluding remarks on interpretation
The task of interpretation is not an easy job. It requires skill and dexterity on the part of the researcher.
Interpretation is an art that one learns through practice and experience. The researcher may seek the
guidance of experts for accomplishing the task of interpretation.
The element of comparison is fundamental to all research interpretations. Comparison of ones findings
with a criterion, or with results of other comparable investigations or with normal (ideal) conditions, or
with existing theories or with the opinions of a panel of judges / experts forms an important aspect of
interpretation.
The researcher must accomplish the task of interpretation only after considering all relevant factors
affecting the problem to avoid false generalizations. He/she should not conclude without evidence.
He/she should not draw hasty conclusions. He/she should take all possible precautions for proper
interpretation of the data.
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Report writing
The last and final phase of the journey in research is writing of the report. After the collected data has
been analyzed and interpreted and generalizations have been drawn the report has to be prepared. The
task of research is incomplete till the report is presented.
Writing of a report is the last step in a research study and requires a set of skills somewhat different from
those called for in respect of the earlier stages of research. This task should be accomplished by the
researcher with utmost care.
Purpose of a report
The report may be meant for the people in general, when the investigation has not been carried out at the
instance of any third party. Research is essentially a cooperative venture and it is essential that every
investigator should know what others have found about the phenomena under study. The purpose of a
report is thus the dissipation of knowledge, broadcasting of generalizations so as to ensure their widest
use.
A report of research has only one function, it must inform. It has to propagate knowledge. Thus, the
purpose of a report is to convey to
the interested persons the results
and findings of the study in
sufficient detail, and so arranged
as to enable each reader to
comprehend the data, and to
determine for himself the validity
of conclusions. Research results
must invariably enter the general
store of knowledge. A research report is always an addition to knowledge. All this explains the
significance of writing a report. In a broader sense, report writing is common to both academics and
organizations. However, the purpose may be different. In academics, reports are used for comprehensive
and application-oriented learning. Whereas in organizations, reports form the basis for decision making.
Meaning
Reporting simply means communicating or informing through reports. The researcher has collected some
facts and figures, analyzed the same and arrived at certain conclusions. He has to inform or report the
same to the parties interested. Therefore reporting is communicating the facts, data and information
through reports to the persons for whom such facts and data are collected and compiled.
A report is not a complete description of what has been done during the period of survey/research. It is
only a statement of the most significant facts that are necessary for understanding the conclusions drawn
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by the investigator. Thus, a report by definition, is simply an account. The report thus is an account
describing the procedure adopted, the findings arrived at and the conclusions drawn by the investigator
of a problem.
Types of reports
Broadly speaking reporting can be done in two ways:
a) Oral or Verbal Report: reporting verbally in person, for example; Presenting the findings in a
conference or seminar or reporting orally to the superiors.
b) Written Report: Written reports are more formal, authentic and popular.
Written reports can be presented in different ways as follows.
i) Sentence form reports: Communicating in sentence form
ii) Tabular reports: Communicating through figures in tables
iii) Graphic reports: Communicating through graphs and diagrams
iv) Combined reports: Communicating using all the three of the above. Generally, this is the most
popular
Research reports vary greatly in length and type. In each individual case, both the length and the form
are largely dictated by the purpose of the study and problems at hand. For example, business
organizations generally prefer reports in letter form, that too short in length. Banks, insurance and other
financial institutions generally prefer figure form in tables. The reports prepared by government bureaus,
enquiry commissions etc., are generally very comprehensive on the issues involved. Similarly, research
theses/dissertations usually prepared by students for Ph.D. degree are also elaborate and methodical.
It is, thus, clear that the results of a research enquiry can be presented in a number of ways. They may be
termed as a technical report, a popular report, an article, or a monograph.
1) Technical Report: A technical report is used whenever a full written report (ex: Ph.D. thesis) of the
study is required either for evaluation or for record keeping or for public dissemination. The main
emphasis in a technical report is on :
a) the methodology employed.
b) the objectives of the study.
c) the assumptions made / hypotheses formulated in the course of the study.
d) how and from what sources the data are collected and how have the data been analyzed.
e) the detailed presentation of the findings with evidence, and their limitations.
2) Popular Report: A popular report is one which gives emphasis on simplicity and attractiveness. Its aim
is to make the general public understand the findings and implications. Generally, it is simple. Simplicity
is sought to be achieved through clear language and minimization of technical details. Attention of the
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readers is sought to be achieved through attractive layout, liberal use of graphs, charts, diagrams and
pictures. In a popular report emphasis is given on practical aspects and policy implications.
3) Research Article: Sometimes the findings of a research study can be published in the form of a short
paper called an article. This is one form of dissemination. The research papers are generally prepared
either to present in seminars and conferences or to publish in research journals. Since one of the
objectives of doing research is to make a positive contribution to knowledge, in the field, publication
(publicity) of the work serves the purpose.
4) Monograph: A monograph is a treatise or a long essay on a single subject. For the sake of convenience,
reports may also be classified either on the basis of approach or on the basis of the nature of presentation
such as:
i) Journalistic Report
ii) Business Report
iii) Project Report
iv) Dissertation
v) Enquiry Report (Commission Report), and
vi) Thesis
Reports prepared by journalists for publication in the media may be journalistic reports. These reports
have news and information value. A business report may be defined as report for business
communication from one departmental head to another, one functional area to another, or even from top
to bottom in the organizational structure on any specific aspect of business activity. These are
observational reports which facilitate business decisions. A project report is the report on a project
undertaken by an individual or a group of individuals relating to any functional area or any segment of a
functional area or any aspect of business, industry or society. A dissertation, on the other hand, is a
detailed discourse or report on the subject of study. Dissertations are generally used as documents to be
submitted for the acquisition of higher research degrees from a University or an academic institution.
The thesis is an example in point.
An enquiry report or a commission of enquiry report is a detailed report prepared by a commission
appointed for the specific purpose of conducting a detailed study of any matter of dispute or of a subject
requiring greater insight. These reports facilitate action, since they contain expert opinions.
Preparing research report
Research reports are the product of slow and painstaking and accurate work. Therefore, the preparation
of the report may be viewed in the following major stages.
1) The logical understanding and analysis of the subject matter.
2) Planning/designing the final outline of the report.
3) Write up/preparation of rough draft.
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4) Polishing/finalization of the Report.
Logical Understanding of the Subject Matter: It is the first stage which is primarily concerned with the
development of a subject. There are two ways to develop a subject viz. a. logically and b. chronologically.
The logical development is done on the basis of mental connections and associations between one aspect
and another by means of logical analysis. Logical treatment often consists of developing material from the
simple to the most complex. Chronological development is based on a connection or sequence in time or
happening of the events. The directions for doing something usually follow the chronological order.
Designing the Final Outline of the Report: It is the second stage in writing the report. Having
understood the subject matter, the next stage is structuring the report and ordering the parts and
sketching them. This stage can also be called as planning and organization stage. Ideas may pass through
the authors mind. Unless he first makes his plan/sketch/design he will be unable to achieve a
harmonious succession and will not even know where to begin and how to end. Better communication of
research results is partly a matter of language but mostly a matter of planning and organizing the report.
Preparation of the Rough Draft: The third stage is the write up/drafting of the report. This is the most
crucial stage to the researcher, as he/she now sits to write down what he/she has done in his/her
research study and what and how he/she wants to communicate the same. Here the clarity in
communicating/reporting is influenced by some factors such as who the readers are, how technical the
problem is, the researchers hold over the facts and techniques, the researchers command over language
(his communication skills), the data and completeness of his notes and documentation and the
availability of analyzed results. Depending on the above factors some authors may be able to write the
report with one or two drafts. Some people who have less command over language, no clarity about the
problem and subject matter may take more time for drafting the report and have to prepare more drafts
(first draft, second draft, third draft, fourth draft etc.,)
Finalization of the Report: This is the last stage, perhaps the most difficult stage of all formal writing. It
is easy to build the structure, but it takes more time for polishing and giving finishing touches. Take for
example the construction of a house. Up to roofing (structure) stage the work is very quick but by the
time the building is ready, it takes up a lot of time. The rough draft (whether it is second draft or n th
draft ) has to be rewritten, polished in terms of requirements. The careful revision of the rough draft
makes the difference between a mediocre and a good piece of writing. While polishing and finalizing one
should check the report for its weaknesses in logical development of the subject and presentation
cohesion. He/she should also check the mechanics of writing language, usage, grammar, spelling and
punctuation.
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Characteristics of a good report
Research report is a channel of communicating the research findings to the readers of the report. A good
report is one which does this task efficiently and effectively. As such it should have the following
characteristics/qualities.
i) It must be clear in informing the what, why, who, whom, when, where and how of the research study.
ii) It should be neither too short nor too long. One should keep in mind the fact that it should be long
enough to cover the subject matter but short enough to sustain the readers interest.
iii) It should be written in an objective style and simple language, correctness, precision and clarity
should be the watchwords of the scholar. Wordiness, indirection and pompous language are barriers to
communication.
iv) A good report must combine clear thinking, logical organization and sound interpretation.
v) It should not be dull. It should be such as to sustain the readers interest.
vi) It must be accurate. Accuracy is one of the requirements of a report. It should be factual with objective
presentation. Exaggerations and superlatives should be avoided.
vii) Clarity is another requirement of presentation. It is achieved by using familiar words and
unambiguous statements, explicitly defining new concepts and unusual terms.
viii) Coherence is an essential part of clarity. There should be logical flow of ideas (i.e. continuity of
thought), sequence of sentences. Each sentence must be so linked with other sentences so as to move the
thoughts smoothly.
ix) Readability is an important requirement of good communication. Even a technical report should be
easily understandable. Technicalities should be translated into language understandable by the readers.
x) A research report should be prepared according to the best composition practices. Ensure readability
through proper paragraphing, short sentences, illustrations, examples, section headings, use of charts,
graphs and diagrams.
xi) Draw sound inferences/conclusions from the statistical tables. But dont repeat the tables in text
(verbal) form.
xii) Footnote references should be in proper form. The bibliography should be reasonably complete and
in proper form.
xiii) The report must be attractive in appearance, neat and clean whether typed or printed.
xiv) The report should be free from mistakes of all types viz. language mistakes, factual mistakes, spelling
mistakes, calculation mistakes etc.,
The researcher should try to achieve these qualities in his report as far as possible.
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Layout of a Report
Under this head, the format/outline/sketch of a comprehensive technical report or research report is
discussed below. A research report has a number of clearly defined sections. The headings of the sections
and their order may differ from one situation to another. The contents of a report can broadly be divided
into following parts as :
A) Front Matters
1. Title Page
2. Certificate
3. Declaration
4. Acknowledgments
5. Executive Summary
6. Table of Contents
7. List of Illustrations and List of Tables
8. List of abbreviations used
B) Main Text
1. Introduction
2. Research methodology
3. Background to the research problem
Objectives
Hypotheses
4. Data collection
5. Sample and sampling method
Statistical or qualitative methods used for data analysis
Sample description
6. Tabulation and Analysis of Data
7. Finding of study
8. Conclusions
9. Recommendations of study
C) Reference Matters
1. Bibliography
2. Appendices (optional)
3. Glossary (optional)
4. References (optional)
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A) Front Pages
1) Title Page
The cover page should display full name of researcher, guide along with qualification, and the title of
report.
2) Certificate
Format for same given in sample page at the last of book
3) Declaration
Format for same given in sample page at the last of book
4) Acknowledgments
The researcher may wish to acknowledge people who helped in preparation of report. For example, you
may wish to thank someone you interviewed, or someone who provided you with some special
information.
5) Table of Contents and List of Figures
Report should have a Table of Contents that lists the report's sections and page numbers. If figures
include in report (charts, tables, diagrams), one must also include a list of figures, indicating titles and
page numbers. Figures should be numbered, titled, and mentioned in the text preceding them.
6) List of tables and illustrations used
7) Executive Summary
One of the most important components of the report is the Executive Summary. It answers the
question, "What does the report contain?" and should be written after the rest of the report is
complete. The Executive Summary should be complete in itself and may be consulted by readers who
wish to determine whether they need to read the whole report.
Limit the Executive Summary to two-three pages and discuss:
- Purpose and extent of the report
- Major points contained in the body of the report
- Highlights of key conclusions
- Highlights of key recommendations
B) Main Text
1) Introduction:-The Introduction should establish the purpose of the report and should convey what is
in the body of the report. One should provide the reader with the following information:
- Necessary background information
- major points that will be covered in the report
- the situation or problem that will be analyzed
- what your aims are in compiling the report Analysis
- Why does a problem exist?
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- How does the problem affect the environment?
- What efforts may solve this problem?
- What aspects of the problem have been measured and improved? How?
- What problems does the potential solution not solve? Why not?
- What could be improved?
2) Research Methodology: -
- Goals of the study, specific objectives, and purpose of the study.
- Statistical design:- Universe of study, sampling method, sample size and unit , secondary data
sources ,and Limitations of study.
- Tools of Data collection, and the response rate
3) Tabulation and Analysis: -
Analysis is the most important part of report because it contains "workings out" - how one reaches the
conclusions. Analysis should contain the thoughts, reasons, judgments based on the facts and figures and
data t collected. In analysis one makes INFERENCES, conclusions that are drawn from the research.
4) Finding, Conclusions and Recommendations of study: -
The conclusions are the final results of analysis. They should be brief and should contain no new
information. They should not make direct reference to sources, figures, or tables. The conclusions should
be listed and numbered, with brief explanation for each. Each conclusion should follow logically from the
facts and arguments presented in the main text (body). RECOMMENDATIONS are suggestions, based on
the conclusions reached from the research. These should brief and should follow logically from the
conclusions.
C) Reference Matter
I) BIBLIOGRAPHY
A bibliography is an alphabetical list of all materials consulted in the preparation of research.
II) APPENDICES CONTAINING COPIES OF THE QUESTIONNAIRES, ETC.
Why do a bibliography?
Some reasons:
1. To acknowledge and give credit to sources of words, ideas, diagrams, illustrations, and quotations
borrowed, or any materials summarized or paraphrased.
2. To show that you are respectfully borrowing other peoples ideas, not stealing them, i.e. to prove that
you are not plagiarizing (Copying).
3. To offer additional information to readers who may wish to further pursue the topic.
4. To give readers an opportunity to check out the sources for accuracy. An honest bibliography inspires
reader confidence in writing.
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What must be included in a bibliography?
1. Author
2. Title
3. Place of publication
4. Publisher
5. Date of publication
6. Page number(s) (for articles from magazines, journals, periodicals, newspapers,
encyclopaedias etc.)
1. Author
Ignore any titles, designations or degrees, etc. which appear before or after the name, e.g., The
Honourable, Dr., Mr., Mrs., Ms., Rev., S.J., Esq., Ph.D., M.D., Q.C., etc. Exceptions are Jr. and Sr. Do
include Jr. and Sr. as John Smith, Jr. and John Smith, Sr. are two different individuals. Include also I, II,
III, etc. for the same reason.
Examples:
a) Last name, first name:
Kotlar, Philip.
Christensen, Asger.
Wilson-Smith, Anthony.
b) Last name, first and middle names:
Wyse, Cassandra Ann Lee.
c) Last name, first name and middle initial:
Schwab, Charles R.
d) Last name, initial and middle name:
Holmes, A. William.
e) Last name, initials:
Meister, F.A.
f) Last name, first and middle names, Jr. or Sr. designation:
Davis, Benjamin Oliver, Jr.
g) Last name, first name, I, II, III, etc.:
Stilwell, William E., IV.
2. Title and subtitle
a) If the title on the front cover or spine of the book differs from the title on the title page, use the title on
the title page for your citation.
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b) UNDERLINE the title and subtitle of a book, magazine, journal, periodical, newspaper, or
encyclopaedia, e.g., What to Do When Things Go Wrong, Sports Illustrated, New York Times,
Encyclopaedia Britannica.
c) If the title of a newspaper does not indicate the place of publication, add the name of the city or town
after the title in square brackets, e.g. National Post [Toronto].
Freeze, Colin. "Illinois Puts the Death Penalty Itself on Trial." Globe and Mail [Toronto]
29 Oct. 2002: A3.
Furuta, Aya. "Japan Races to Stay Ahead in Rice-Genome Research." Nikkei Weekly [Tokyo]
5 June 2000: 1+.
d) DO NOT UNDERLINE the title and subtitle of an article in a magazine, journal, periodical, newspaper,
or encyclopedia; put the title and subtitle between quotation marks:
Baker, Peter, and Susan B. Glasser. "No Deals with Terrorists: Putin." Toronto Star
29 Oct. 2002: A1+.
Fisher, Dennis. "Safe Data: At What Price?" eWeek 21 Oct. 2002: 26.
Penny, Nicholas B. "Sculpture, The History of Western." New Encyclopaedia Britannica.
1998 ed.
e) CAPITALIZE the first word of the title, the first word of the subtitle, as well as all important words
except for articles, prepositions, and conjunctions, e.g., Flash and XML: A Developer's Guide, or The Red
Count: The Life and Times of Harry Kessler.
f) Use LOWER CASE letters for conjunctions such as and, because, but, and however; for prepositions
such as in, on, of, for, and to; as well as for articles: a, an, and the, unless they occur at the beginning of a
title or subtitle, or are being used emphatically, e.g., "And Now for Something Completely Different: A
Hedgehog Hospital," "Court OKs Drug Tests for People on Welfare," or "Why Winston Churchill Was The
Man of The Hour."
g) Separate the title from its subtitle with a COLON (:), e.g. "Belfast: A Warm Welcome Awaits."
3. Place of publication - for books only
a) DO NOT use the name of a country, state, province, or country as a Place of Publication, e.g. do not list
India, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Great Britain, United States of America, California, or
Maharashtra as a place of publication.
b) Use only the name of a city or a town.
c) Choose the first city or town listed if more than one Place of Publication is indicated in the book.
d) It is not necessary to indicate the Place of Publication when citing articles from major encyclopaedias,
magazines, journals, or newspapers.
e) If the city is well known, it is not necessary to add the State or Province after it, e.g.:
New Delhi:
Mumbai:
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London:
New York:
f) If the city or town is not well known, or if there is a chance that the name of the city or town may create
confusion, add the abbreviated letters for State, Province, or Territory after it for clarification. Example:
Amravati, MS
Hyderabad, AP
Austin, TX:
g) Use "n.p." to indicate that no place of publication is given.
4. Publisher - for books only
a) Be sure to write down the Publisher, NOT the Printer.
b) If a book has more than one publisher, not one publisher with multiple places of publication, list the
publishers in the order given each with its corresponding year of publication, e.g.: Conrad, Joseph. Lord
Jim. 1920. New York: Doubleday; New York: Signet, 1981.
c) Shorten the Publisher's name, e.g. use Macmillan, not Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
d) No need to indicate Publisher for encyclopaedias, magazines, journals, and newspapers.
e) If you cannot find the name of the publisher anywhere in the book, use "n.p." to indicate there is no
publisher listed.
5. Date of publication
a) For a book, use the copyright year as the date of publication, e.g.: 2003, not 2003 or Copyright 2003,
i.e. do not draw the symbol for copyright or add the word Copyright in front of the year.
b) For a monthly or quarterly publication use month and year, or season and year. For the months May,
June, and July, spell out the months, for all other months with five or more letters, use abbreviations: Jan.,
Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. Note that there is no period after the month. For
instance, the period after Jan. is for the abbreviation of January only. See Abbreviations of Months of the
Year, Days of the Week, and Other Time Abbreviations. If no months are stated, use Spring, Summer,
Fall, Winter, etc. as given, e.g.:
Alternatives Journal Spring 2004.
Classroom Connect Dec. 2003/Jan. 2004.
Discover July 2003.
Scientific American Apr. 2004.
c) For a weekly or daily publication use date, month, and year, e.g.:
Newsweek 11 Aug. 2003.
d) Use the most recent Copyright year if two or more years are listed, e.g., 1988, 1990, 2004. Use 2004.
e) Do not confuse Date of Publication with Date of Printing, e.g., 7th Printing 2004, or Reprinted in 2004.
These are not publication dates.
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f) If you cannot find a publication date anywhere in the book, use "n.d." to indicate there is "No Date"
listed for this publication.
g) If there is no publication date, but you are able to find out from reliable sources the approximate date
of publication, use [c. 2004] for circa 2004, or use [2003?]. Always use square brackets [ ] to indicate
information that is not given but is supplied by you.
6. Page number(s)
a) Page numbers are not needed for a book, unless the citation comes from an article or essay in an
anthology, i.e. a collection of works by different authors.
Example of a work in an anthology (page numbers are for the entire essay or piece of work):
Fish, Barry, and Les Kotzer. "Legals for Life." Death and Taxes: Beating One of the Two Certainties in
Life. Ed. Jerry White. Toronto: Warwick, 1998. 32-56.
b) If there is no page number given, use "n. pag."
(Works Cited example)
Schulz, Charles M. The Meditations of Linus. N.p.: Hallmark, 1967.
(Footnote or Endnote example)
1
Charles M. Schulz, The Meditations of Linus (N.p.: Hallmark, 1967) n. pag.
c) To cite a source with no author, no editor, no place of publication or publisher stated, no year of
publication, but you know where the book was published, follow this example:
Full View of Temples of Taiwan - Tracks of Pilgrims. [Taipei]: n.p., n.d.
d) Frequently, page numbers are not printed on some pages in magazines and journals. Where page
numbers may be counted or guessed accurately, count the pages and indicate the page number or
numbers.
WORKING LIST OF BOOKS (BIBLIOGRAPHY)
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WORKING LIST OF JOURNALS, MAGAZINE, NEWSPAPERS (BIBLIOGRAPHY)
Presentation of research report
The research report should be typed following the requirements detailed below:
1. Use Executive bond A-4 size paper, type on one side of the paper only.
2. Use 1.5 spacing
3. Include margins: left-hand 3.8 cm (1&1/2 inches)
Right-hand 2.5 cm (1 inch)
4. Paragraphs should not be indented.
5. Pages should be numbered.
6. Tables should be numbered
7. Figures (e.g. diagrams and graphs) should be treated in a similar way to tables but should be
numbered "Figure 2" etc
8. Headings: Section Heading : upper case (e.g. INTRODUCTION), Subsection Heading: lower case
underlined, numbered 1.1, 1.2 etc indented to start of lettering on main heading
Example:
1. INTRODUCTION: Technological advances have opened many doors in education.....
1.1 The model presented: In the final year the occupational therapy course is being
developed.....
1.2 The task: A tutorial workbook.....
1.2.1 Using the programs: The programs designed are very varied....
9. Length of project: The project should be approximately 15,000 - 22,000 words (For project at Post
graduate level)
10. Submitted copies of the project should be hard-bound volume only.
11. If you wish to acknowledge any individual's contribution to the project, this should be stated on a
separate acknowledgement page.
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12. Your project should contain a list of contents which states the page number of each section of the
project.
13. Appendices should not be considered part of the project report (for example, raw data could be
included in this way). Appendices should be placed at the very end of the project and referred to in the
contents section.
Review questions
1. What are the preconditions for drawing
better conclusions?
2. State any five precautionary steps to be
taken before interpretation.
3. What is meant by interpretation of statistical
data? What precautions should be taken
while interpreting the data?
4. What do you understand by interpretation
of data? Illustrate the types of mistakes
which frequently occur in interpretation.
5. Explain the need, meaning and essentials of
interpretation.
6. What is reporting? What are the different
stages in the preparation of a report?
7. What is a report? What are the
characteristics/qualities of a good report?
8. Briefly describe the structure of a report.
9. What are the various aspects that have to be
checked before going to final typing?
10. What are the points to be kept in mind in
revising the draft report?
11. Give a brief note on the prefatory items.
12. What are the various items that will find a
place in the text / body of the report?
13. Describe briefly how a research report
should be presented.
14. Describe the considerations and steps
involved in planning a report writing work.
15. Write short notes on:
a) Characteristics of a good report.
b) Research article
c) Sources of data
d) Chapter plan
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Chapter 10: Research in various Functional Areas
Introduction
Through research, an executive can quickly get a synopsis of the current scenario, which improves his
information base for making sound decisions affecting future operations of the enterprise. The following
are the major areas in which research plays a key role in making effective decisions.
There are many topics that benefit from research. Some major topics are: general business, economic,
and corporate research; financial and accounting research; management and organizational research;
sales and marketing research; information systems research; and corporate responsibility research.
Few of the above important areas are covered in detail below:
1. Marketing
Marketing research is undertaken to assist the marketing function. Marketing research stimulates the
flow of marketing data from the consumer and his environment to marketing information system of the
enterprise. Market research involves the process of
- Systematic collection
- Compilation
- Analysis
- Interpretation of relevant data for marketing decisions
This information goes to the executive in the form of data. On the basis of this data the executive develop
plans and programmers. Advertising research, packaging research, performance evaluation research,
sales analysis, distribution channel, etc., may also be considered in management research. Research tools
are applied effectively for studies involving:
1. Demand forecasting
2. Consumer buying behaviour
3. Measuring advertising effectiveness
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4. Media selection for advertising
5. Test marketing
6. Product positioning
7. Product potential
Marketing Research
i. Product Research: Assessment of suitability of goods with respect to design and price.
ii. Market Characteristics Research (Qualitative): Who uses the product? Relationship between buyer
and user, buying motive, how a product is used, analysis of consumption rates, units in which product is
purchased, customs and habits affecting the use of a product, consumer attitudes, shopping habits of
consumers, brand loyalty, research of special consumer groups, survey of local markets, basic economic
analysis of the consumer market, etc.
iii. Size of Market (Quantitative): Market potential, total sales quota, territorial sales quota, quota for
individuals, concentration of sales and advertising efforts; appraisal of efficiency, etc.
iv. Competitive position and Trends Research
v. Sales Research: Analysis of sales records.
vi. Distribution Research: Channels of distribution, distribution costs.
vii. Advertising and Promotion Research: Testing and evaluating, advertising and promotion
viii. New product launching and Product Positioning.
2. Production
Research helps you in an enterprise to decide in the field of production on:
- What to produce
- How much to produce
- When to produce
- For whom to produce
Some of the areas you can apply research are:
- Product development
- Cost reduction
- Work simplification
- Profitability improvement
- Inventory control
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Materials
The materials department uses research to frame suitable policies regarding:
- Where to buy
- How much to buy
- When to buy
- At what prices to buy?
3. Human Resource Development
You must be Aware that The Human Resource Development department uses research to study wage
rates, incentive schemes, cost of living, employee turnover rates, employment trends, and performance
appraisal. It also uses research effectively for its most important activity namely manpower planning.
4. Solving Various Operational and Planning Problems of Business and
Industry
Various types of researches, e.g., market research, operations research and motivational research, when
combined together, help in solving various complex problems of business and industry in a number of
ways. These techniques help in replacing intuitive business decisions by more logical and scientific
decisions
i. Government and Economic System
Research helps a decision maker in a number of ways, e.g., it can help in examining the consequences of
each alternative and help in bringing out the effect on economic conditions. Various examples can be
quoted such as problems of big and small industries due to various factorsup gradation of technology
and its impact on lab our and supervisory deployment, effect of governments liberal policy, WTO and its
new guidance, ISO 9000/14000 standards and their impact on our exports allocation of national resources
on national priority basis, etc. Research lays the foundation for all Government Policies in our economic
system.
We all are aware of the fact that research is applied for bringing out union finance budget and railway
budget every year. Government also uses research for economic planning and optimum utilization of
resources for the development of the country. For systematic collection of information on the economic
and social structure of the country, you need Research. Such types of information indicate what is
happening to the national economy and what changes are taking place.
ii. Social Relationships
Research in social sciences is concerned with both-knowledge for self and knowledge for helping in
solving immediate problems of human relations. It is a sort of formal training, which helps an individual
in a better way, e.g.
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- It helps professionals to earn their livelihood
- It helps students to know how to write and report various findings.
- It helps philosophers and thinkers in their new thin kings and ideas.
- It helps in developing new styles for creative work.
- It may help researchers, in general, to generalize new theories.
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Bibliography and Suggested readings
Aaker D A, Kumar V & Day G S - Marketing
Research (John Wiley &Sons Inc, 6th ed.)
- Agresti A., Categorical Data Analysis. New
York: John Wiley & Sons 1990.
- Backstrom H. and Hursh-Cesar G.: Survey
Research, 2nd edition. Wiley, 1981.
- Boehm W., Brown J. R., Kaspar H., Liplow
M., Macleod G. J., and Merrit M. J. ,
- C.R.Kothari, Research Methodology
(Methods and Techniques), New
AgeInternational Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi
- Cauvery Research Methodology (S.
Chand & Co.)
- Characteristics of Software Quality.
Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1978.
- Dillard, J., Hunter, J., & Burgoon, M. (1984).
Sequential request persuasive strategies:
Meta-analysis of foot-in-the-door and door-
in-the-face. Human Communication
Research, 10, 461-488.
- Dwivedi Research Methods in Behavioral
Science, ( Macmillan)
- Flower , Floyed J. Jr. : Survey methods, Sage
Publication 1993
- Fred N. Kerlinger. Foundations of
Behavioural Research, Surjeet
Publications,Delhi
- Golde, Biddle, Koren : Composing
Qualitative Research, Sage Publication
- Gupta S.P. : Statistical Methods, Sultan
Chand, New Delhi 2001
- Gy, P (1992) Sampling of Heterogeneous and
Dynamic Material Systems: Theories of
Heterogeneity, Sampling and Homogenizing
- http://www.unipune.ac.in/
- J.F.Rummel & W.C.Ballaine. Research
Methodology in Business, Harper &Row,
Publishers, Newyork
Kothari C R Quantitative Techniques (Vikas
Publishing House 3rd Ed.)
- Nowak, R. (1994). Problems in clinical trials
go far beyond misconduct. Science. 264(5165):
1538-41.
- P.Saravanavel. Research Methodology, Kitab
Mahal, Allahabad.
- P.V.Young. Scientific Social Surveys and
Research, Prentice-Hall of India,New Delhi
- Resnik, D. (2000). Statistics, ethics, and
research: an agenda for educations and
reform. Accountability in Research. 8: 163-88
- Spiegel, M R, 1992. Statistics, Schaums
Outline Series, Mc Graw Hill, Singapore.
- Sue ZayacAcademic Information Systems
March, 2003
- T.S. Wilkinson & P.L.Bhanarkar.
Methodology and Techniques of
SocialResearch, Himalaya Publishing House,
Mumbai
- www.indiabix.com
- www.nagpuruniversity.org/pdf/Ordinance
- www.sgbau.ac.in/
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 208
Frequently asked questions(FAQs) on Ph.D
[ University directions and rules on PdD made easy ]
1. Do I need to clear the Research
aptitude Test/Entrance Test for enrolling
myself as Ph.D student?
Yes, UGC has made it mandatory to clear the
entrance test for Ph.D enrolment. The format
and the pattern of test may vary from one
University to other University.
- Check the website of the respective
University for more details.
e.g.
http://www.nagpuruniversity.org/news
http://www.unipune.ac.in/
2. Who shall be exempted from Ph.D.
entrance test ?
The candidates fulfilling one of the following
conditions shall be exempted from PET.
(i) Qualified in GATE/SET/NET/JRF
examination of the apex bodies such as IIT/
CSIR / UGC /ICAR/CMR/DBT etc.
(ii) Candidates holding M.Phil. degree in the
concerned subject from any Statutory
University.
(iii) Full time teacher of any statutory University
or full time approved teacher in an affiliated
college of any statutory University with
minimum 7 years of teaching experience.
(iv) Scientists/ Officers working in Government
organizations, National laboratories and
research institutions having 7 years research/
professional experience,
The Ph.D. registration form shall be submitted
by the candidates exempted from PET with
relevant supporting documents, to the Head,
Place of Research.
3. How do I register for the online
entrance test?
You can register for online entrance test by
logging on to the website of the University and
after filling the form, submitting the hardcopy of
the same to the university along with relevant
documents [ e.g. Draft for entrance fees specified
by the University, Mark sheet & degree
certificate of you PG , Caste certificate ( if
applicable ) etc.]
4. What will be the pattern of the
Entrance test?
Two Solved Model question Papers along with
explanation are given from page no 216 in this
text book for your ready reference and two
additional Solved Model question Papers are
also written in the CD enclosed.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 209
5. Who are eligible for Ph.D. programme ?
a) Persons should have valid score in Ph.D.
Entrance Test (PET) as prescribed in the rules.
(Candidates who score 50% and more shall be
declared as successful) and
b) Persons having passed Post Graduate Degree
(Masters Degree) Examination with at least 50%
marks or equivalent Grade Point Average (GPA)
of this university or any other examination
recognized as equivalent thereto.
Provided that, relaxation of 5% marks shall be
provided in case of (a) & (b) above for the
candidates belonging to reserved category in the
State of Maharashtra.
OR
c) Persons working in National Laboratories/
Institutes /Government / Private organizations
nominated/sponsored by the respective
employers. Such persons should have a Post
Graduate Degree and should be holding rank of
Assistant Director or above. The candidates who
have obtained Masters degree of any statutory
Indian University but working outside India
shall be included in this category,
OR
d) Persons with exceptional research abilities/
contribution to be judged by Research and
Recognition Committee who have passed
Graduate Degree Examination with 50% of
marks and with 15 years experience after
graduation in related fields.
OR
e) The fellow members of the Institute of
Chartered Accountants and/ or Institute of Cost
and Works Accountants and/ or having
qualification of C.S. shall be held eligible for
registration for Ph.D. in the subject in the
concerned Board of Studies in the faculty of
Commerce provided that they possess a
Bachelors Degree of any statutory University.
Such candidate should have at least 5 years of
professional experience.
or
f) A Graduate in any faculty who has developed
important new techniques (new for the country)
or designed and fabricated special instruments
or apparatus which are deemed by competent
judge to be a valuable contribution to
Engineering/Pharmacy field may be permitted
by the Research and Recognition Committee of
concerned faculty. Such a candidate must have
at least five years of experience after obtaining
Bachelors degree in the concerned faculty.
6. Is there any age bar for taking Ph.D
entrance examination?
There is no maximum or minimum age bar for
doing Ph.D. The basic eligibility criteria is a
TWO Master Degrees with at least 50% marks or
equivalent Grade Point Average (GPA) of this
University or any other examination recognized
as equivalent thereto in respective faculty.
There shall be relaxation of 5% for reserved
category candidates in the state of Maharashtra.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 210
7. How many marks I need to score to
clear the Ph.D entrance exam?
You need to score 50% marks to clear the exam.
There shall be relaxation of 5% for reserved
category candidates in the state of Maharashtra.
8. What if I have Post graduated from
other University?
If you have post graduated from other
University then you need to get an Eligibility
Certificate from RTMNU Nagpur University
and Migration Certificate from Home
University before you are finally enrolled for
Ph.D.
9. Once I clear my entrance , what shall I
do?
The eligible candidate who is declared to be
successful in the PET or the candidate who is
exempted from PET shall approach the Place of
Research where he/she intends to do the
research work. On the basis of number of seats
available with the approved Ph.D. Guides, the
available specialization among the Ph.D. Guides
and the research interest of the candidate, the
guide shall be allotted by Head of the Place of
Research to the candidate in consultation with
the guide and student in formal way.
While granting admission to candidates for
Ph.D. programme, due attention shall be paid to
the State Reservation Policy.
10. How long will my PhD Entrance exam
result will be valid?
The result of PET shall be valid for a period of
12 months from the date of holding of entrance
examination. The candidate who has been
decided to be successful shall be eligible to
submit application(s) for registration within the
period of 12 months. However, after expiry of
period of 12 months , the candidate shall be
required to appear for PET afresh if he fails to
submit application or if the application for
registration is not approved by Research and
Recognition Committee.
11. Will I get a suitable supervisor of my
Choice?
Normally a candidate shall be required to
complete his/her doctoral research under the
supervision of allotted (original) approved
guide. However, the Research & Recognition
Committee concerned may allow change of
guide on the production of a No Objection
Certificate from the original guide and an
acceptance letter from the new guide. In case of
such a change, the candidate shall work for a
minimum period of one calendar year under the
new guide before he/she submits the thesis. The
requirement of No Objection Certificate shall
not be necessary if the candidate justifies the
non-availability of his original guide. The
justification will have to be endorsed by the
Head, place of research.
Provided further that in specific cases Co-
guide/ second Supervisor shall also be
permitted for justified reasons. However, Guide
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 211
and Co-guide shall not be from the same
specialization.
12. What after I Get my supervisor ?
(1) Every registered candidate shall submit to
the Controller of Examinations of the University
through the Head, place of research and the
guide the progress report of his/her research
after every six months. If a candidate fails to
submit three reports consecutively, his/her
registration may be cancelled by Research and
Recognition Committee on recommendation of
guide and of Head of place of Research.
(2) The Head, Place of Research after the
completion of the given period (one and a half
years) shall send to the University office within
15 days a report on the noncompliance of the
condition.
13. What is synopsis and how do I
prepare that? Are there any Specific guide
lines for that ?
No, there are no specific guidelines for the same
. Refer enclosed CD for general format.
14. What are the numbers of synopsis
copies to be submitted to the University?
The applicant shall submit along with the
application synopsis of the proposed research
work in eight copies(8) to the University.
15. Do I need to register myself with a
Research Institute before submission of
my synopsis?
Yes, you are required to register yourself with a
Research Institute before submission of your
synopsis.
16. Is it compulsory for me to secure
admission at a Research Institute for
carrying out my research?
A big Yes, without the endorsement of the
head of the Research Institute you cannot carry
out your research.
17. What is the last date for securing
admission in research cell?
The entrance examination is usually conducted
twice a year, tentatively on 15
th
July & 15
th
January. So the admissions can be secured after
you clear the entrance test.
18. What facilities are available in the
Research Institute to conduct research?
The Institute provides well stocked library with
latest books, journals & other secondary data for
the use the scholar. The Research Institute
usually has well equipped computer laboratory
with broadband internet connection for the use
of research scholars.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 212
19. What about COURSE WORK for
Ph.D?
(a) The course work is compulsory and it is
treated as pre Ph.D. preparation. The course
work must include topics on research
methodology , quantitative methods of
computer application , seminars, review of
published research work in the relevant field.
(b) The evaluation of course work is done by the
concerned Guide. Completion report of the
Course work shall be submitted by Guide to
Head of the Place of Research in duplicate. Copy
of completion report shall be thereafter
forwarded by Head of the Place of Research to
the University Ph.D. Cell.
(c) If found necessary by guide with consent of
Head of the Place of Research, course work may
be carried out by the candidates in sister
departments/institutes either within or outside
the University In such case, completion report of
the course work shall be submitted by the Head
of the concerned sister department/institute to
the guide who shall forward it to the Head of
the Place of Research. Copy of the completion
report shall be thereafter forwarded by the Head
of Place of Research to University Ph.D. Cell.
20. How do I choose my research topic?
PhD students can choose research topic of their
area of interest under the supervision and
guidance of a suitable supervisor of their
faculty. The research cell helps the students to
narrow down on these areas of interest and
formulate a well designed research topic.
21. What is the procedure for taking
admission in the research cell of the
Institute?
The student should either be a registered scholar
with RTM Nagpur University or should have
passed the Ph.D entrance examination
conducted by the University or has cleared the
test. The student has to then buy the prospectus
from the Institute & pay the required fees for
enrolment & secure admission.(Kindly refer to
question no 5)
22. What is the Progress Report and when
it is to be submitted?
It is a report wherein the researcher has to show
the progress of his research work and it has to
be submitted every 6 months along with the
retention fees and in prescribed format. (Format
enclosed in CD)
23. What are some of the common
mistakes/ errors committed by the
researcher?
The following are few of the most common
mistakes/errors committed by the researcher.
- Faulty/wrong problem definition.
- Objectives of the study without starting
with To e.g. To find, To know, To analyze etc.
- Improper Hypothesis formulation.
24. What is the right time for submission
of Ph.D thesis?
The researcher has to mandatorily carry out
his/her research work for minimum period of
TWO years. After that at any point of time after
the thesis and summary is ready you can submit
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 213
the same to Ph.D cell. There is no fixed date for
submission of Ph.D thesis.
The summary and thesis shall be processed for
final viva-voce/open defense examination by
the University through a RRC (Research &
Recognition Committee) meetings.
25. What shall be my tenure of
registration and When do I submit my
thesis?
The registration of the candidate shall be valid
and shall remain in force for a period of 5 years
from the date of registration and shall stand
cancelled automatically on expiry of 5 years.
Provided that extension upto maximum period
of 12 months shall be permissible in those cases
which are recommended by the Guide and
Head of the Place of research and the decision
for extension shall be taken by Research and
Recognition Committee . The application for
extension is required to be submitted at least 3
months prior to the date of expiry of
registration. After expiry of extended period of
registration the candidate shall be required to
apply for registration a fresh following the
denovo procedure.
And
(1) The submission of summary of the thesis
may be permitted only after completion of
twenty two months from the date of
registration. The summary should contain
introduction, chapter wise brief account of the
work done and overall conclusions. Ph.D.
candidate has to publish one research paper in a
standard refereed journal/ monograph before
the submission of the thesis for adjudication,
and produce evidence for the same in the form
of acceptance letter or the reprint. The list of the
reputed journals in the subject shall be prepared
and maintained by the respective Research and
Recognition Committee.
(2) The thesis can be submitted after two months
from the date of submission of summary. At
least three months before the date of submission
of the thesis each candidate shall give a pre-
submission seminar to be arranged by the Head
of the place of research on the request of the
candidate duly endorsed by the guide. The
relevant suggestions if any given by other
research scholars, other research guides and the
Head Place of Research or his/her nominee
present for such a seminar may be considered
while preparing the final draft of the thesis.
(3) On the basis of discussions and suggestions
made in the pre submission seminar the
candidate shall submit to the Controller of
Examinations ten copies of the summary of
his/her thesis through his/her guide within one
month from the date of seminar. (The guide may
suggest list of referees to the Research and
Recognition Committee.)
(4) The candidate shall be allowed to submit
his/her thesis after the completion of a period of
two months and before six months from the date
of submission of the summary, failing which the
candidate will have to pay the prescribed fine to
be decided by the University from to time for
late submission. Late submission of thesis shall
be allowed up to the completion of one year
from the date of submission of the summary or
till the expiry of the registration period,
whichever is earlier.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 214
26. What should be the colour of the
cover page?
The colour of cover page of thesis should be
black in Hardbound volume.
27. What are the specifications for
submission of final thesis?
The final thesis shall be presented in accordance
with the following specifications:
(a) The paper used for printing shall be A4
size paper.
(b) Printing shall be in a standardized form on
one side of the paper and with minimum
of one and half spacing.
(c) A margin of one and a half inches shall be
on the left hand side.
(d) The title of the thesis, name of the
candidate, degree, name of the guide,
place of research, the month and year of
submission shall be printed on the title
page and front cover.
(e) Side cover (Spin) should mention Ph.D
thesis on the top , name of the candidate
and month and year.
(f) There is on binding on the use of executive
bond paper.
(g) All the pages should be properly
numbered.
28. What is the ideal font size and font
type for the contents of Ph.D?
As such there is no specified guidelines given,
but generally Times New Roman with font size
of 12 is followed with spacing between the line
as 1.5 or Book Antique with font size 11 is
followed with spacing between the line as 1.5.
29. Is there any thumb rule on the
number of pages of Ph.D thesis?
No, but the coverage of the topic should be
adequate, self-explanatory and must justify your
research for the award of the said degree.
30. Is the Certificate and Declaration
format specified by the University?
Yes, RTMNU has prescribed format for the
same. Soft copy of the same is available in the
CD enclosed.
31. How many copies of summary the
researcher has to submit for final
submission?
TEN(10) copies of summary shall be submitted
to the Controller of Examination.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 215
32. What are the documents that are
needed at the time of final submission of
thesis?
(a) Ten Copies(10) of Summary & Five Copies
(5)of thesis along with one soft copy in CD.
(b) Receipt of submission fees
(c) Photocopy of receipts of retention fees.
(d) Photocopy of progress reports.
(e) Photocopy of Ph.D. Registration Certificate.
(f) NOC of University library.
(g) Photocopy of PG mark sheet and degree
certificate.
33. What is the fee for thesis submission
and how many copies has to be submitted
during final submission?
The fee for thesis submission may change one
University to other and five copies(5) of the
thesis have to be submitted during final
submission. Along with a soft copy (CD)
through the research guide and Head of Place of
Research.
34. After submission of the summary and
thesis, when will be the PhD awarded to
me?
On successfully passing the open-defense
examination, the University usually in a
fortnight issues notification regarding the same.
You will get your PhD degree at the time of
Convocation function organized by the
University.
35. As a approved teacher for UG and PG
by profession , what benefits shall I get
once I am awarded PhD?
As per 6th Pay Commission you are entitled to
get three increments in your salary.
N.B:- All the answers provided to questions in
FAQ on Ph.D are generalized in nature and are
not for any specific University and based on the
directions issued by the various University from
time to time. This directions may change based
on the norms and act set by UGC and other
Govt. Agencies.
Candidates are advised to refer to the respective
University website for latest directions and
norms. The authors do not take any legal or
other responsibility for change in the same.
For more detail about RTMNU PET ( Ph.D
Entrance Test) and Direction regarding the
same refer to the Soft copy enclosed in the CD.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 216
Research Aptitude Test: Examination Pattern
In most of the University the Research Aptitude Examination usual consists of :
Paper-I :- Research Aptitude Test and Paper-II : - Subject specific Test
Some University (e.g. RTMNU & SGBAU) do follows only Research Aptitude Test for qualifying
Ph.D entrance test. This is because of the fact that they offer large number of Ph.D options in
different faculties compared to various other University.
Paper-I :- Research Aptitude Test
Paper-I consists of 4 Parts : Time : 90 minutes Total Marks : 100
Part-1 :- Analytical Reasoning Part-2:- Numerical Ability and
Part-3:- Language Competency/ Computer/ Environment/ Logical Reasoning
Part-4:- Data Interpretation
Maximum marks required to clear Paper-I : a) OPEN Category: 50% b) Reserved Category: 45%
Paper-II : - Subject specific Test Total Marks : 100
Paper-II consists of 2 Parts :
a) Multiple Choice Question : 20 Marks b) Theoretical/Descriptive Questions : 80 Marks
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 217
Online Ph.D Entrance Test (PET) : Sample Test Paper I(Solved with explanation)
Time: 90 minutes] [Max Marks: 100
(a) N.B:- a) There are in all 100 multiple Choice Questions
(b) Each correct answer carries 1 Mark.
(c) There is No negative marking system.
(d) Click online the correct option for each question.
(e) Use of Electronic / Scientific calculator is not allowed
(f) Multiple Choice Questions are divided into four parts
1. Analytical Reasoning,
2. Numerical Ability
3. Language Competency/ Computer/ Environment/ Logical Reasoning
4. and Data Interpretation
Part-1 :- Analytical Reasoning
Logical Sequence of Words
1.In each of the following questions, arrange the given words in a meaningful sequence and thus find
the correct answer from alternatives.
1. Arrange the words given below in a meaningful sequence.
1. Key 2. Door 3. Lock 4. Room 5. Switch on
A.5, 1, 2, 4, 3 B. 4, 2, 1, 5, 3
C. 1, 3, 2, 4, 5 D. 1, 2, 3, 5, 4
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
The correct order is :
Key Lock Door Room Switch on
1 3 2 4 5
2. Arrange the words given below in a meaningful sequence.
1. Word 2. Paragraph 3. Sentence 4. Letters 5. Phrase
A.4, 1, 5, 2, 3 B. 4, 1, 3, 5, 2
C. 4, 2, 5, 1, 3 D. 4, 1, 5, 3, 2
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 218
Explanation:
The correct order is :
Letters Word Phrase Sentence Paragraph
4 1 5 3 2
3. Arrange the words given below in a meaningful sequence.
1. Police 2. Punishment 3. Crime 4. Judge 5. Judgement
A.3, 1, 2, 4, 5 B. 1, 2, 4, 3, 5
C. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 D. 3, 1, 4, 5, 2
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
The correct order is :
Crime Police Judge Judgement Punishment
3 1 4 5 2
4. Arrange the words given below in a meaningful sequence.
1. Family 2. Community 3. Member 4. Locality 5. Country
A.3, 1, 2, 4, 5 B. 3, 1, 2, 5, 4
C. 3, 1, 4, 2, 5 D. 3, 1, 4, 5, 2
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
The correct order is :
Member Family Community Locality Country
3 1 2 4 5
5. Arrange the words given below in a meaningful sequence.
1. Poverty 2. Population 3. Death 4. Unemployment 5. Disease
A.2, 3, 4, 5, 1 B. 3, 4, 2, 5, 1
C. 2, 4, 1, 5, 3 D. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
The correct order is :
Population Unemployment Poverty Disease Death
2 4 1 5 3
Seating Arrangement
6. A, P, R, X, S and Z are sitting in a row. S and Z are in the centre. A and P are at the ends. R is sitting
to the left of A. Who is to the right of P ?
A.A B. X
C. S D. Z
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 219
Explanation:
The seating arrangement is as follows:
Therefore, right of P is X.
7. There are 8 houses in a line and in each house only one boy lives with the conditions as given
below:
1. Jack is not the neighbour Siman.
2. Harry is just next to the left of Larry.
3. There is at least one to the left of Larry.
4. Paul lives in one of the two houses in the middle.
5. Mike lives in between Paul and Larry.
If at least one lives to the right of Robert and Harry is not between Taud and Larry, then which one of
the following statement is not correct ?
A.Robert is not at the left end.
B. Robert is in between Simon and Taud.
C. Taud is in between Paul and Jack.
D. There are three persons to the right of Paul.
Answer: Option C
8. A, B, C, D and E are sitting on a bench. A is sitting next to B, C is sitting next to D, D is not sitting
with E who is on the left end of the bench. C is on the second position from the right. A is to the right
of B and E. A and C are sitting together. In which position A is sitting ?
A.Between B and D B. Between B and C
C. Between E and D D. Between C and E
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Therefore, A is sitting in between B and C.
9. Six friends P, Q, R, S, T and U are sitting around the hexagonal table each at one corner and are
facing the centre of the hexagonal. P is second to the left of U. Q is neighbour of R and S. T is second
to the left of S.
1. Which one is sitting opposite to P ?
A.R B. Q
C. T D. S
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
S is sitting opposite to P.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 220
10.Who is the fourth person to the left of Q ?
A.P B. U
C. R D. Data inadequate
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
P is the fourth person to the left of Q.
Verification of Truth
11. A train always has
A.Rails B. Driver
C. Guard D. Engine
Answer: Option D
12. Which one of the following is always found in 'Bravery'?
A.Experience B. Power
C. Courage D. Knowledge
Answer: Option C
13. A song always has
A.Word B. Chorus
C. Musician D. Tymbal
Answer: Option A
14. Yesterday I saw a ice cube which had already melted due to heat of a nearby furnace.
A.Always B. Never
C. Often D.Sometimes
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Since the ice cube had already melted due to the heat of a nearby furnace so after this ice cannot remain
as ice cube.
15. What is found necessarily in milk?
A.Cream B. Curd
C. Water D. Whiteness
Answer: Option D
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 221
Cause and Effect
Below in each of the questions are given two statements I and II. These statements may be either
independent causes or may be effects of independent causes or a common cause. One of these
statements may be the effect of the other statements. Read both the statements and decide which of
the following answer choice correctly depicts the relationship between these two statements.
Mark answer
(A) If statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect.
(B) If statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect.
(C) If both the statements I and II are independent causes.
(D) If both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes.
(E) If both the statements I and II are effects of some common cause.
16. Statements:
1. Standard of living among the middle class society is constantly going up since part of few years.
2. Indian Economy is observing remarkable growth.
A.Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect.
B. Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect.
C. Both the statements I and II are independent causes.
D.Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes.
E. Both the statements I and II are effects of some common cause.
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Since the standard of living among the middle class society is constantly going up so Indian Economy is
observing remarkable growth.
17. Statements:
1. The meteorological Department has issued a statement mentioning deficient rainfall during
monsoon in many parts of the country.
2. The Government has lowered the revised estimated GDP growth from the level of earlier estimates.
A.Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect.
B. Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect.
C. Both the statements I and II are independent causes.
D. Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes.
E. Both the statements I and II are effects of some common cause.
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes.
18. Statements:
1. The staff of Airport Authorities called off the strike they were observing in protest against
privatization.
2. The staff of Airport Authorities went on strike anticipating a threat to their jobs.
A.Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect.
B. Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect.
C. Both the statements I and II are independent causes.
D. Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes.
E. Both the statements I and II are effects of some common cause.
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes.
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19. Statements:
1. A huge truck overturned on the middle of the road last night.
2. The police had cordoned of entire area in the locality this morning for half of the day.
A.Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect.
B. Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect.
C. Both the statements I and II are independent causes.
D.Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes.
E. Both the statements I and II are effects of some common cause.
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Since a huge truck overturned on the middle of the road last night, so, the police had cordoned off the
entire area in the locality last morning for half of the day.
20. Statements:
1. Importance of Yoga and exercise is being realized by all sections of the society.
2. There is an increasing awareness about health in the society particularly among middle ages group
of people.
A.Statement I is the cause and statement II is its effect.
B. Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect.
C. Both the statements I and II are independent causes.
D. Both the statements I and II are effects of independent causes.
E. Both the statements I and II are effects of some common cause.
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
As the awareness about health in the society is increasing particularly among middle-aged group of
people, the importance of Yoga and exercise is being realized by all sections of the society.
Data Sufficiency
In each of the questions below consists of a question and two statements numbered I and II given
below it. You have to decide whether the data provided in the statements are sufficient to answer the
question. Read both the statements and
Give answer
(A) If the data in statement I alone are sufficient to answer the question, while the data in statement II
alone are not sufficient to answer the question
(B) If the data in statement II alone are sufficient to answer the question, while the data in statement I
alone are not sufficient to answer the question
(C) If the data either in statement I alone or in statement II alone are sufficient to answer the question
(D) If the data given in both statements I and II together are not sufficient to answer the question and
(E) If the data in both statements I and II together are necessary to answer the question.
21. Question: In which year was Rahul born ?
Statements:
1. Rahul at present is 25 years younger to his mother.
2. Rahul's brother, who was born in 1964, is 35 years younger to his mother.
A.I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient
B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option E
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Explanation:
From both I and II, we find that Rahul is (35 - 25) = 10 years older than his brother, who was born in 1964.
So, Rahul was born in 1954.
22. Question: What will be the total weight of 10 poles, each of the same weight ?
Statements:
1. One-fourth of the weight of each pole is 5 kg.
2. The total weight of three poles is 20 kilograms more than the total weight of two poles.
A.I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient
B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D.Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
From I, we conclude that weight of each pole = (4x5) kg = 20 kg.
So, total weight of 10 poles = (20 x 10) kg = 200 kg.
From II, we conclude that:
Weight of each pole = (weight of 3 poles) - (weight of 2 poles) = 20 kg.
So, total weight of 10 pojes = (20 x 10) kg = 200 kg.
23. Question: How much was the total sale of the company ?
Statements:
1. The company sold 8000 units of product A each costing ` 25.
2. This company has no other product line.
A.I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient
B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D.Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option E
Explanation:
From I, total sale of product A = ` (8000 x 25) = ` 200000.
From II, we know that the company deals only in product A.
This implies that sale of product A is the total sale of the company, which is ` 200000.
24. Question: The last Sunday of March, 2006 fell on which date ?
Statements:
1. The first Sunday of that month fell on 5th.
2. The last day of that month was Friday.
A.I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient
B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D.Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
From I, we conclude that 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th of March, 2006 were Sundays.
So, the last Sunday fell on 26th.
From II, we conclude that 31st March, 2006 was Friday. Thus, 26th March, 2006 was the last Sunday of the
month.
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25. One morning Udai and Vishal were talking to each other face to face at a crossing. If Vishal's
shadow was exactly to the left of Udai, which direction was Udai facing?
A. East B. West
C. North D. South
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Part-2:- Numerical Ability
Problems on Ages
1. Father is aged three times more than his son Ronit. After 8 years, he would be two and a half times
of Ronit's age. After further 8 years, how many times would he be of Ronit's age?
A. 2 times B. 2
1
times
2
C. 2
3
times
4
D. 3 times
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Let Ronit's present age be x years. Then, father's present age =(x + 3x) years = 4x years.
(4x + 8) =
5
(x + 8)
2
8x + 16 = 5x + 40
3x = 24
x = 8.
Hence, required ratio =
(4x + 16)
=
48
= 2.
(x + 16) 24
2. The sum of ages of 5 children born at the intervals of 3 years each is 50 years. What is the age of the
youngest child?
A. 4 years B. 8 years
C. 10 years D. None of these
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Let the ages of children be x, (x + 3), (x + 6), (x + 9) and (x + 12) years.
Then, x + (x + 3) + (x + 6) + (x + 9) + (x + 12) = 50
5x = 20
x = 4.
Age of the youngest child = x = 4 years.
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3. A father said to his son, "I was as old as you are at the present at the time of your birth". If the
father's age is 38 years now, the son's age five years back was:
A. 14 years B. 19 years
C. 33 years D. 38 years
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Let the son's present age be x years. Then, (38 - x) = x
2x = 38
x = 19
Son's age 5 years back (19 - 5) = 14 years.
4. A is two years older than B who is twice as old as C. If the total of the ages of A, B and C be 27, the
how old is B?
A. 7 B. 8
C. 9 D. 10
E. 11
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Let C's age be x years. Then, B's age = 2x years. A's age = (2x + 2) years.
(2x + 2) + 2x + x = 27
5x = 25
x = 5.
Hence, B's age = 2x = 10 years.
5. Present ages of Sameer and Anand are in the ratio of 5 : 4 respectively. Three years hence, the ratio
of their ages will become 11 : 9 respectively. What is Anand's present age in years?
A. 24 B. 27
C. 40 D. Cannot be determined
E. None of these
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Let the present ages of Sameer and Anand be 5x years and 4x years respectively.
Then,
5x + 3
=
11
4x + 3 9
9(5x + 3) = 11(4x + 3)
45x + 27 = 44x + 33
45x - 44x = 33 - 27
x = 6.
Anand's present age = 4x = 24 years.
Percentage
6. A batsman scored 110 runs which included 3 boundaries and 8 sixes. What percent of his total score
did he make by running between the wickets?
A. 45% B. 45
5
%
11
C. 54
6
%
11
D. 55%
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
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Explanation:
Number of runs made by running = 110 - (3 x 4 + 8 x 6)
= 110 - (60)
= 50.
Required percentage =
50
x 100
% = 45
5 %
110 11
7. Two students appeared at an examination. One of them secured 9 marks more than the other and his
marks was 56% of the sum of their marks. The marks obtained by them are:
A. 39, 30 B. 41, 32
C. 42, 33 D. 43, 34
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Let their marks be (x + 9) and x.
Then, x + 9 =
56
(x + 9 + x)
100
25(x + 9) = 14(2x + 9)
3x = 99
x = 33
So, their marks are 42 and 33.
8. A fruit seller had some apples. He sells 40% apples and still has 420 apples. Originally, he had:
A. 588 apples B. 600 apples
C. 672 apples D. 700 apples
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Suppose originally he had x apples.
Then, (100 - 40)% of x = 420.
60
x x = 420
100
x =
420 x 100
= 700.
60
9. What percentage of numbers from 1 to 70 have 1 or 9 in the unit's digit?
A. 1 B. 14
C. 20 D. 21
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Clearly, the numbers which have 1 or 9 in the unit's digit, have squares that end in the digit 1. Such
numbers from 1 to 70 are 1, 9, 11, 19, 21, 29, 31, 39, 41, 49, 51, 59, 61, 69.
Number of such number =14
Required percentage =
14
x 100
% = 20%.
70
10. If A = x% of y and B = y% of x, then which of the following is true?
A. A is smaller than B. B. A is greater than B
C.
Relationship between A and B cannot be
determined.
D. If x is smaller than y, then A is greater than B.
E. None of these
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Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option E
Explanation:
x% of y =
x
x y
=
y
x x
= y% of x
100 100
A = B.
Clock
11. An accurate clock shows 8 o'clock in the morning. Through how may degrees will the hour hand
rotate when the clock shows 2 o'clock in the afternoon?
A. 144 B. 150
C. 168 D. 180
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Angle traced by the hour hand in 6 hours =
360
x 6
= 180.
12
12. The reflex angle between the hands of a clock at 10.25 is:
A. 180 B. 192
1
2
C. 195 D. 197
1
2
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Angle traced by hour hand in
125
hrs =
360
x
125
= 312
1
.
12 12 12 2
Angle traced by minute hand in 25 min =
360
x 25
= 150.
60
Reflex angle = 360 -
312
1
- 150
= 360 - 162
1
= 197
1
.
2 2 2
13. A clock is started at noon. By 10 minutes past 5, the hour hand has turned through:
A. 145 B. 150
C. 155 D. 160
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Angle traced by hour hand in 12 hrs = 360.
Angle traced by hour hand in 5 hrs 10 min. i.e.,
31
hrs =
360
x
31
= 155.
6 12 6
14. A watch which gains 5 seconds in 3 minutes was set right at 7 a.m. In the afternoon of the same
day, when the watch indicated quarter past 4 o'clock, the true time is:
A. 59
7
min. past 3
12
B. 4 p.m.
C. 58
7
min. past 3
11
D. 2
3
min. past 4
11
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
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Time from 7 a.m. to 4.15 p.m. = 9 hrs 15 min. =
37
hrs.
4
3 min. 5 sec. of this clock = 3 min. of the correct clock.
37
hrs of this clock =
1
hrs of the correct clock.
720 20
37
hrs of this clock =
1
x
720
x
37
hrs of the correct clock.
4 20 37 4
= 9 hrs of the correct clock.
The correct time is 9 hrs after 7 a.m. i.e., 4 p.m.
15. How much does a watch lose per day, if its hands coincide ever 64 minutes?
A. 32
8
min.
11
B. 36
5
min.
11
C. 90 min. D. 96 min.
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
55 min. spaces are covered in 60 min.
60 min. spaces are covered in
60
x 60
min.
= 65
5
min.
55 11
Loss in 64 min. =
65
5
- 64
=
16
min.
11 11
Loss in 24 hrs =
16
x
1
x 24 x 60
min.
= 32
8
min.
11 64 11
Calendar
16. It was Sunday on Jan 1, 2006. What was the day of the week Jan 1, 2010?
A. Sunday B. Saturday
C. Friday D. Wednesday
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
On 31
st
December, 2005 it was Saturday.
Number of odd days from the year 2006 to the year 2009 = (1 + 1 + 2 + 1) = 5 days.
On 31
st
December 2009, it was Thursday.
Thus, on 1
st
Jan, 2010 it is Friday.
17. What was the day of the week on 28
th
May, 2006?
A. Thursday B. Friday
C. Saturday D. Sunday
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
28 May, 2006 = (2005 years + Period from 1.1.2006 to 28.5.2006)
Odd days in 1600 years = 0
Odd days in 400 years = 0
5 years = (4 ordinary years + 1 leap year) = (4 x 1 + 1 x 2) 6 odd days
Jan. Feb. March April May
(31 + 28 + 31 + 30 + 28 ) = 148 days
148 days = (21 weeks + 1 day) 1 odd day.
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Total number of odd days = (0 + 0 + 6 + 1) = 7 0 odd day.
Given day is Sunday.
18. What was the day of the week on 17
th
June, 1998?
A. Monday B. Tuesday
C. Wednesday D. Thursday
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
17
th
June, 1998 = (1997 years + Period from 1.1.1998 to 17.6.1998)
Odd days in 1600 years = 0
Odd days in 300 years = (5 x 3) 1
97 years has 24 leap years + 73 ordinary years.
Number of odd days in 97 years ( 24 x 2 + 73) = 121 = 2 odd days.
Jan. Feb. March April May June
(31 + 28 + 31 + 30 + 31 + 17) = 168 days
168 days = 24 weeks = 0 odd day.
Total number of odd days = (0 + 1 + 2 + 0) = 3.
Given day is Wednesday.
19. What will be the day of the week 15
th
August, 2010?
A. Sunday B. Monday
C. Tuesday D. Friday
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
15
th
August, 2010 = (2009 years + Period 1.1.2010 to 15.8.2010)
Odd days in 1600 years = 0
Odd days in 400 years = 0
9 years = (2 leap years + 7 ordinary years) = (2 x 2 + 7 x 1) = 11 odd days 4 odd days.
Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug.
(31 + 28 + 31 + 30 + 31 + 30 + 31 + 15) = 227 days
227 days = (32 weeks + 3 days) 3 odd days.
Total number of odd days = (0 + 0 + 4 + 3) = 7 0 odd days.
Given day is Sunday.
20. Today is Monday. After 61 days, it will be:
A. Wednesday B. Saturday
C. Tuesday D. Thursday
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Each day of the week is repeated after 7 days.
So, after 63 days, it will be Monday.
After 61 days, it will be Saturday.
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Odd Man Out and Series
21.Find the odd man out.
1. 3, 5, 11, 14, 17, 21
A. 21 B. 17
C. 14 D. 3
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Each of the numbers except 14 is an odd number.
The number '14' is the only EVEN number.
22. 8, 27, 64, 100, 125, 216, 343
A. 27 B. 100
C. 125 D. 343
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
The pattern is 2
3
, 3
3
, 4
3
, 5
3
, 6
3
, 7
3
. But, 100 is not a perfect cube.
23. 10, 25, 45, 54, 60, 75, 80
A. 10 B. 45
C. 54 D. 75
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Each of the numbers except 54 is multiple of 5.
24. 396, 462, 572, 396, 427, 671, 264
A. 396 B. 427
C. 671 D. 264
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
In each number except 427, the middle digit is the sum of other two.
25. 6, 9, 15, 21, 24, 28, 30
A. 28 B. 21
C. 24 D. 30
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Each of the numbers except 28, is a multiple of 3.
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Part-3:- (a) Language Competency
Spotting Errors
Read the each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error in it. The error, if any will
be in one part of the sentence. The letter of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is
'D'. (Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any).
1. (solve as per the direction given above)
A.We discussed about the problem so thoroughly
B. on the eve of the examination
C. that I found it very easy to work it out.
D. No error.
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
We discussed the problem so thoroughly
2. (solve as per the direction given above)
A.An Indian ship
B. laden with merchandise
C. got drowned in the Pacific Ocean.
D. No error.
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
sank in the Pacific Ocean
3. (solve as per the direction given above)
A.I could not put up in a hotel
B. because the boarding and lodging charges
C. were exorbitant
D. No error.
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
'I could not put up at a hotel'
4. (solve as per the direction given above)
A.The Prime Minister has said that India would not have spent so much on defence
B. if some of the neighbouring countries
C. adopted the policy of restricting defence expenditure
D. No error.
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
The Prime Minister has said that India would not have had to spend so much on defence
5. (solve as per the direction given above)
A.The Indian radio
B. which was previously controlled by the British rulers
C. is free now from the narrow vested interests.
D. No error.
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Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
is now free from the narrow vested interests.
Selecting Words
Pick out the most effective word(s) from the given words to fill in the blank to make the sentence
meaningfully complete.
6. Fate smiles ...... those who untiringly grapple with stark realities of life.
A.with B. over
C. on D. round
Answer: Option C
7. The miser gazed ...... at the pile of gold coins in front of him.
A.avidly B. admiringly
C. thoughtfully D. earnestly
Answer: Option A
8. Catching the earlier train will give us the ...... to do some shopping.
A.chance B. luck
C. possibility D. occasion
Answer: Option A
9. I saw a ...... of cows in the field.
A.group B. herd
C. swarm D. flock
Answer: Option B
10. The grapes are now ...... enough to be picked.
A.ready B. mature
C. ripe D. advanced
Answer: Option C
(b) Computer Competency
11) The various cards in a PC requires _______ voltage to function. A) AC B) DC
Answer: Option B
12) Which has more storage capacity CD or DVD A) DVD B) CD
Answer: Option A
13) LCD monitor is also known as___________ a) TFT b) CRT
Answer: Option A
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14) Acronym of HDD? A) Hard Disk Drive B) Hard Drive Disk
Answer: Option A
15) What type of memory is a PEN drive...? A) FLASH Memory B) Catch Memory
Answer: Option A
(C)Environment Competency
16. Branch of Biology which is concerned with the inter-relationship between plants and animals is
called :
(A) Physiology
(B) Ecology
(C) Anatomy
(D) Morphology
Answer: Option B
17. The largest unit of living organisms on earth is :
(A) Ecosystem
(B) biome
(C) Biosphere
(D) Population
Answer: Option C
18. The two components of an ecosystem are :
(A) Plants and animals
(B) Biotic and abiotic
(C) Plants and light
(D) Weeds and micro-organisms
Answer: Option B
19. The green plants are called :
(A) Producers
(B) Consumers
(C) Decomposers
(D) None of these
Answer: Option A
20. Total organic matter present in an ecosystem is called :
(A) Biome
(B) Biomass
(C) Biotic community
(D) Litter
Answer: Option B
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(d) Logical Reasoning Competency
Each problem consists of three statements. Based on the first two statements, the third statement may
be true, false, or uncertain.
1. Tanya is older than Eric.
Cliff is older than Tanya.
Eric is older than Cliff.
If the first two statements are true, the third statement is
A.true
B. false
C. uncertain
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Because the first two statements are true, Eric is the youngest of the three, so the third statement must be
false.
2. Blueberries cost more than strawberries.
Blueberries cost less than raspberries.
Raspberries cost more than both strawberries and blueberries.
If the first two statements are true, the third statement is
A.true
B. false
C. uncertain
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Because the first two statements are true, raspberries are the most expensive of the three.
3. All the trees in the park are flowering trees.
Some of the trees in the park are dogwoods.
All dogwoods in the park are flowering trees.
If the first two statements are true, the third statement is
A.true
B. false
C. uncertain
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
All of the trees in the park are flowering trees, So all dogwoods in the park are flowering trees.
4. Mara runs faster than Gail.
Lily runs faster than Mara.
Gail runs faster than Lily.
If the first two statements are true, the third statement is
A.true
B. false
C. uncertain
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
We know from the first two statements that Lily runs fastest. Therefore, the third statement must be false.
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5. Apartments in the Riverdale Manor cost less than apartments in The Gaslight Commons.
Apartments in the Livingston Gate cost more than apartments in the The Gaslight Commons.
Of the three apartment buildings, the Livingston Gate costs the most.
If the first two statements are true, the third statement is
A.true
B. false
C. uncertain
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Since the Gaslight Commons costs more than the Riverdale Manor and the Livingston Gate costs more
than the Gaslight Commons, it is true that the Livingston Gate costs the most.
Part-4:- Data Interpretation
Pie Charts
The following pie-chart shows the percentage distribution of the expenditure incurred in publishing a
book. Study the pie-chart and the answer the questions based on it.
Various Expenditures (in percentage) Incurred in Publishing a Book
1. If for a certain quantity of books, the publisher has to pay ` 30,600 as printing cost, then what will
be amount of royalty to be paid for these books?
A. ` 19,450 B. ` 21,200
C. ` 22,950 D. ` 26,150
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Let the amount of Royalty to be paid for these books be ` r.
Then, 20 : 15 = 30600 : r r = `
30600 x 15
= ` 22,950.
20
2. What is the central angle of the sector corresponding to the expenditure incurred on Royalty?
A. 15 B. 24
C. 54 D. 48
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Central angle corresponding to Royalty = (15% of 360)
=
15
x 360
100
= 54.
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3. The price of the book is marked 20% above the C.P. If the marked price of the book is ` 180, then
what is the cost of the paper used in a single copy of the book?
A. ` 36 B. ` 37.50
C. ` 42 D. ` 44.25
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Clearly, marked price of the book = 120% of C.P.
Also, cost of paper = 25% of C.P
Let the cost of paper for a single book be ` n.
Then, 120 : 25 = 180 : n n = `
25 x 180
= ` 37.50 .
120
4. If 5500 copies are published and the transportation cost on them amounts to ` 82500, then what
should be the selling price of the book so that the publisher can earn a profit of 25%?
A. ` 187.50 B. ` 191.50
C. ` 175 D. ` 180
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
For the publisher to earn a profit of 25%, S.P. = 125% of C.P.
Also Transportation Cost = 10% of C.P.
Let the S.P. of 5500 books be ` x.
Then, 10 : 125 = 82500 : x x = `
125 x 82500
= ` 1031250.
10
S.P. of one book = `
1031250
= ` 187.50 .
5500
5. Royalty on the book is less than the printing cost by:
A. 5% B. 33
1
%
5
C. 20% D. 25%
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Printing Cost of book = 20% of C.P.
Royalty on book = 15% of C.P.
Difference = (20% of C.P.) - (15% of C.P) = 5% of C.P.
Percentage difference =
Difference
x 100
%
Printing Cost
=
5% of C.P.
x 100
% = 25%.
Printing Cost
6. If the difference between the two expenditures are represented by 18 in the pie-chart, then these
expenditures possibly are
A. Binding Cost and Promotion Cost
B. Paper Cost and Royalty
C. Binding Cost and Printing Cost
D. Paper Cost and Printing Cost
Answer & Explanation
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 237
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Central angle of 18 =
18
x 100
% of the total expenditure
360
= 5% of the total expenditure.
From the given chart it is clear that:
Out of the given combinations, only in combination (d) the difference is 5% i.e.
Paper Cost - Printing Cost = (25% - 20%) of the total expenditure
= 5% of the total expenditure.
7. For an edition of 12,500 copies, the amount of Royalty paid by the publisher is ` 2,81,250. What
should be the selling price of the book if the publisher desires a profit of 5%?
A. ` 152.50 B. ` 157.50
C. ` 162.50 D. ` 167.50
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Clearly, S.P. of the book = 105% of C.P.
Let the selling price of this edition (of 12500 books) be ` x.
Then, 15 : 105 = 281250 : x x = `
105 x 281250
= ` 1968750.
15
S.P. of one book = `
1968750
= ` 157.50 .
12500
8. If for an edition of the book, the cost of paper is ` 56250, then find the promotion cost for this
edition.
A. ` 20,000 B. ` 22,500
C. ` 25,500 D. ` 28,125
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Let the Promotion Cost for this edition be ` p.
Then, 25 : 10 = 56250 : p p = `
56250 x 10
= ` 22,500.
25
9. Which two expenditures together have central angle of 108?
A. Biding Cost and Transportation Cost
B. Printing Cost and Paper Cost
C. Royalty and Promotion Cost
D. Binding Cost and Paper Cost
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Central angle of 108 =
108
x 100
% of the total expenditure
360
= 30% of the total expenditure.
From the pie chart it is clear that:
Binding Cost + Transportation Cost = (20% + 10%) of the total expenditure
= 30% of the total expenditure.
Binding Cost and Transportation Cost together have a central angle of 108.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 238
The pie chart shows the distribution of New York market share by value of different computer
companies in 2005.
The pie chart shows the distribution of New York market share by volume of different computer
companies in 2005.
Number of units sold in 2005 in New York = 1,500
Value of units sold in 2005 in New York = US $1,650,000.
1. For the year 2005, which company has realised the lowest average unit sales price for a PC ?
A. Commodore B. IBM
C. Tandy D. Cannot be determined
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Although it seems to be Commodore, the answer cannot be determined due to the fact that we are
unaware of the break-up of the sales value and volume of companies compromising the other
categories.
2. Over the period 2005-2006, if sales (value-wise) of IBM PC's increased by 50% and of Apple by 15%
assuming that PC sales of all other computer companies remained the same, by what percentage
(approximately) would the PC sales in New York (value-wise) increase over the same period ?
A. 16.1 % B. 18 %
C. 14 % D. None of these
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
If we assume the total sales to be 100 in the first year, IBM's sales would go up by 50% (from 28 to 42)
contributing an increase of 14 to the total sales value.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 239
Similarly, Apple's increase of 15% would contribute an increase of 2.1 to the total sales value. The net
change would be 14 + 2.1 on 100. (i.e., 16.1%)
3. In 2005, the average unit sale price of an IBM PC was approximately (in US$)
A. 3180 B. 2800
C. 393 D. 3080
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
IBM accounts for 28% of the share by value and 10% of the share by volume.
28% of 1650000 = 28 x 1650000/100 = 462000
10% of 1500 = 10 x 1500/100 = 150
Therefore, average unit sale price = 462000/150 = 3080.
Bar Charts
Study the following bar charts and answer the questions.
Foreign Trade (Imports and Exports) by countries for the year (1993 - 1994)
1. The ratio of the maximum exports to the minimum imports was closest to ?
A. 64 B. 69
C. 74 D. 79
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 240
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
The value of maximum exports = 6045.
The value of minimum imports = 87.
Therefore, the required ratio (6045/87) = 69.48 = 69 (approximately).
2. How many countries exhibited a trade surplus ?
A. 5 B. 4
C. 3 D. 6
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Out of a total of 12 countries, 8 showed a deficit while 4 showed a surplus.
3. The total trade deficit/surplus for all the countries put together was ?
A. 11286 surplus B. 11286 deficit
C. 10286 deficit D. None of these
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Sum of exports - Sum of imports = deficit(11286).
4. The highest trade deficit was shown by which country ?
A. C B. G
C. H D. L
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Visually its clear that L has the highest trade deficit.
5. The ratio of Exports to Imports was highest for which country ?
A. A B. I
C. J D. K
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
I has a ratio of 4002/2744 = 1.45, which is the highest.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 241
The following bar chart shows the composition of the GDP two countries (India and Pakistan).
Composition of GDP of Two Countries
1. If the total GDP of Pakistan is ` 10,000 crore, then a GDP accounted for by Manufacturing is ?
A. `200 crore B. `600 crore
C. `2,000 crore D. `6,000 crore
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
20% of 10000 = 2000
2. What fraction of India's GDP is accounted for by Services ?
A. (6/33)th B. (1/5)th
C. (2/3)rd D. None of these
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Service accounts for 20%, i.e., (1/5)th of the GDP of India.
3. If the total GDP of India is `30,000 crores, then the GDP accounted for by Agriculture, Services and
Miscellaneous is ?
A. `18,500 crore B. ` 18,000 crore
C. ` 21,000 crore D. ` 15,000 crore
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
(40 + 20 + 10)% of 30,000 = ` 21,000 crore.
4. Which country accounts for higher earning out of Services and Miscellaneous together ?
A. India B. Pakistan
C. Both spend equal amounts D. Cannot be determined
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Although the percentage on Services and Miscellaneous put together is equal for both the countries, we
cannot comment on this since we have no data about the respective GDP's.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 242
5. If the total GDP is the same for both the countries, then what percentage is Pakistan's income
through agriculture over India's income through Services ?
A. 100 % B. 200 %
C. 133.33 % D. None of these
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Since the GDP is same, the answer will be got by (40 - 20)/20 = 100%.
Table Charts
The following table shows the number of new employees added to different categories of employees
in a company and also the number of employees from these categories who left the company every
year since the foundation of the Company in 1995.
Year Managers Technicians Operators Accountants Peons
New Left New Left New Left New Left New Left
1995 760 - 1200 - 880 - 1160 - 820 -
1996 280 120 272 120 256 104 200 100 184 96
1997 179 92 240 128 240 120 224 104 152 88
1998 148 88 236 96 208 100 248 96 196 80
1999 160 72 256 100 192 112 272 88 224 120
2000 193 96 288 112 248 144 260 92 200 104
1. What is the difference between the total number of Technicians added to the Company
and the total number of Accountants added to the Company during the years 1996 to
2000?
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Required difference
= (272 + 240 + 236 + 256 + 288) - (200 + 224 + 248 + 272 + 260)
= 88.
2. What was the total number of Peons working in the Company in the year 1999?
A. 1312 B. 1192
C. 1088 D. 968
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Total number of Peons working in the Company in 1999
= (820 + 184 + 152 + 196 + 224) - (96 + 88 + 80 + 120)
= 1192.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 243
Online Ph.D Entrance Test (PET) : Sample Test Paper I(Solved with explanation)
Time: 90 minutes] [Max Marks: 100
(a) N.B:- a) There are in all 100 multiple Choice Questions
(b) Each correct answer carries 1 Mark.
(c) There is No negative marking system.
(d) Click online the correct option for each question.
(e) Use of Electronic / Scientific calculator is not allowed
(f) Multiple Choice Questions are divided into four parts
1. Analytical Reasoning,
2. Numerical Ability
3. Language Competency/ Computer/ Environment/ Logical Reasoning
4. and Data Interpretation
Part-1 :- Analytical Reasoning
Series Completion
Choose the correct alternative that will continue the same pattern and replace the question mark in the
given series.
1. 120, 99, 80, 63, 48, ?
A. 35 B. 38
C. 39 D. 40
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
The pattern is - 21, - 19, - 17, - 15,.....
So, missing term = 48 - 13 = 35.
2. 589654237, 89654237, 8965423, 965423, ?
A. 58965 B. 65423
C. 89654 D. 96542
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
The digits are removed one by one from the beginning and the end in order alternately
so as to obtain the subsequent terms of the series.
3. 3, 10, 101,?
A.10101 B. 10201
C. 10202 D.11012
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 244
Explanation:
Clearly, 2 x 3 = 6, 6 x 3 = 18, 18 x 3 = 54,.....
So, the series is a G.P. in which a = 2, r = 3.
Therefore 8th term = ar
8-1
= ar
7
= 2 x 3
7
= (2 x 2187) = 4374.
4. In the series 2, 6, 18, 54, ...... what will be the 8th term ?
A.4370 B. 4374
C. 7443 D.7434
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Clearly, 2 x 3 = 6, 6 x 3 = 18, 18 x 3 = 54,.....
So, the series is a G.P. in which a = 2, r = 3.
Therefore 8th term = ar
8-1
= ar
7
= 2 x 3
7
= (2 x 2187) = 4374.
5. 125,80,45,20,?
A.5 B. 8
C. 10 D.12
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
The pattern is - 45, - 35, - 25, .....
So, missing term = 20 - 15 = 5.
Classification
In each of the following questions, five words have been given out of which four are alike in some
manner, while the fifth one is different. Choose the word which is different from the rest.
6. Choose the word which is different from the rest.
A.Chicken B. Snake
C. Swan D. Crocodile
E. Frog
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
All except Chicken can live in water.
7. Choose the word which is different from the rest.
A.Cap B. Turban
C. Helmet D.Veil
E. Hat
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
All except Veil cover the head, while veil covers the face.
8. Choose the word which is different from the rest.
A.Kiwi B. Eagle
C. Emu D.Ostrich
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
AH except Eagle are flightless birds.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 245
9. Choose the word which is different from the rest.
A.Rigveda B. Yajurveda
C. Atharvaveda D.Ayurveda
E. Samveda
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
All except Ayurveda are names of holy scriptures, the four Vedas. Ayurveda is a branch of medicine.
10. Choose the word which is different from the rest.
A.Curd B. Butter
C. Oil D. Cheese
E. Cream
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
All except Oil are products obtained from milk.
Blood Relation Test
11. Pointing to a photograph of a boy Suresh said, "He is the son of the only son of my mother." How
is Suresh related to that boy?
A.Brother B. Uncle
C. Cousin D. Father
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
The boy in the photograph is the only son of the son of Suresh's mother i.e., the son of Suresh. Hence,
Suresh is the father of boy.
12. If A + B means A is the mother of B; A - B means A is the brother B; A % B means A is the father of
B and A x B means A is the sister of B, which of the following shows that P is the maternal uncle of Q?
A.Q - N + M x P B. P + S x N - Q
C. P - M + N x Q D. Q - S % P
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
P - M P is the brother of M
M + N M is the mother of N
N x Q N is the sister of Q
Therefore, P is the maternal uncle of Q.
13. If A is the brother of B; B is the sister of C; and C is the father of D, how D is related to A?
A.Brother B. Sister
C. Nephew D.Cannot be determined
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
If D is Male, the answer is Nephew.
If D is Female, the answer is Niece.
As the sex of D is not known, hence, the relation between D and A cannot be determined.
Note: Niece - A daughter of one's brother or sister, or of one's brother-in-law or sister-in-law. Nephew - A
son of one's brother or sister, or of one's brother-in-law or sister-in-law.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 246
Character Puzzles
14. Which one will replace the question mark ?
A.L10 B. K15
C. I15 D.K8
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
How the number is obtained?
2 + 4 = 6
5 + 9 = 14
Similarly,
3 + 5 = 8
Therefore, the answer is K8.
15. Which one will replace the question mark ?
A.1 B. 4
C. 3 D. 6
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
(5 + 4 + 7)/2 = 8
(6 + 9 + 5)/2 = 10
(3 + 7 + 2)/2 = 6.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 247
16. Which one will replace the question mark ?
A.18 B. 12
C. 9 D. 6
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
(12 + 18 + 30)/10 = 6
(16 + 24 + 40)/10 = 8
Similarly, (45 + 18 + 27)/10 = 9.
17. Which one will replace the question mark ?
A.25 B. 37
C. 41 D. 47
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
(5 x 3) + 4 = 19
and (6 x 4) + 5 = 29
Therefore, (7 x 5) + 6 = 41
18. Which one will replace the question mark ?
A.45 B. 41
C. 32 D. 40
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
(15 x 2 - 3) = 27,
(31 x 2 - 6) = 56
and (45 x 2 - 9) = 81
19. Y is in the East of X which is in the North of Z. If P is in the South of Z, then in which direction of
Y, is P?
A.North B. South
C. South-East D. None of these
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 248
Explanation:
P is in South-West of Y.
20. If South-East becomes North, North-East becomes West and so on. What will West become?
A.North-East B. North-West
C. South-East D.South-West
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
It is clear from the diagrams that new name of West will become South-East.
21. A man walks 5 km toward south and then turns to the right. After walking 3 km he turns to the left
and walks 5 km. Now in which direction is he from the starting place?
A.West B. South
C. North-East D. South-West
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Hence required direction is South-West.
22. Rahul put his timepiece on the table in such a way that at 6 P.M. hour hand points to North. In
which direction the minute hand will point at 9.15 P.M. ?
A.South-East B. South
C. North D.West
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 249
Explanation:
At 9.15 P.M., the minute hand will point towards west.
23. Rasik walked 20 m towards north. Then he turned right and walks 30 m. Then he turns right and
walks 35 m. Then he turns left and walks 15 m. Finally he turns left and walks 15 m. In which
direction and how many metres is he from the starting position?
A.15 m West B. 30 m East
C. 30 m West D. 45 m East
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
24. Two cars start from the opposite places of a main road, 150 km apart. First car runs for 25 km and
takes a right turn and then runs 15 km. It then turns left and then runs for another 25 km and then
takes the direction back to reach the main road. In the mean time, due to minor break down the other
car has run only 35 km along the main road. What would be the distance between two cars at this
point?
A.65 km B. 75 km
C. 80 km D.85 km
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 250
Explanation:
25. Starting from the point X, Jayant walked 15 m towards west. He turned left and walked 20 m. He
then turned left and walked 15 m. After this he turned to his right and walked 12 m. How far and in
which directions is now Jayant from X?
A.32 m, South B. 47 m, East
C. 42 m, North D. 27 m, South
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Part-2:- Numerical Ability
Numbers
1. Which one of the following is not a prime number?
A.31 B. 61
C. 71 D. 91
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
91 is divisible by 7. So, it is not a prime number.
2. (112 x 5
4
) = ?
A.67000 B. 70000
C. 76500 D.77200
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 251
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
(112 x 5
4
) = 112 x
10
4
=
112 x 10
4
=
1120000
= 70000
2 2
4
16
3. It is being given that (2
32
+ 1) is completely divisible by a whole number. Which of the following
numbers is completely divisible by this number?
A.(2
16
+ 1) B. (2
16
- 1)
C. (7 x 2
23
) D. (2
96
+ 1)
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Let 2
32
= x. Then, (2
32
+ 1) = (x + 1).
Let (x + 1) be completely divisible by the natural number N. Then,
(2
96
+ 1) = [(2
32
)
3
] = (x
3
+ 1) = (x + 1)(x
2
- x + 1), which is completely divisible by N, since (x + 1) is divisible
by N.
4. What least number must be added to 1056, so that the sum is completely divisible by 23 ?
A.2 B. 3
C. 18 D. 21
E. None of these
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
23) 1056 (45
92
---
136
115
---
21
---
Required number = (23 - 21)
= 2
5. 1397 x 1397 = ?
A.1951609 B. 1981709
C. 18362619 D. 2031719
E. None of these
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
1397 x 1397= (1397)
2
= (1400 - 3)
2
= (1400)
2
+ (3)
2
- (2 x 1400 x 3)
= 1960000 + 9 - 8400
= 1960009 - 8400
= 1951609.
6. How many of the following numbers are divisible by 132 ?
264, 396, 462, 792, 968, 2178, 5184, 6336
A.4 B. 5
C. 6 D. 7
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 252
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
132 = 4 x 3 x 11
So, if the number divisible by all the three number 4, 3 and 11, then the number is divisible by 132 also.
264 11,3,4 (/)
396 11,3,4 (/)
462 11,3 (X)
792 11,3,4 (/)
968 11,4 (X)
2178 11,3 (X)
5184 3,4 (X)
6336 11,3,4 (/)
Therefore the following numbers are divisible by 132 : 264, 396, 792 and 6336.
Required number of number = 4.
7. (935421 x 625) = ?
A. 575648125 B. 584638125
C. 584649125 D. 585628125
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
935421 x 625 = 935421 x 5
4
= 935421 x
10
4
2
=
935421 x 10
4
=
9354210000
2
4
16
= 584638125
8. The largest 4 digit number exactly divisible by 88 is:
A.9944 B. 9768
C. 9988 D.8888
E. None of these
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Largest 4-digit number = 9999
88) 9999 (113
88
----
119
88
----
319
264
---
55
---
Required number = (9999 - 55) = 9944.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 253
Problems on Trains
1. A train running at the speed of 60 km/hr crosses a pole in 9 seconds. What is the length of the train?
A. 120 metres B. 180 metres
C. 324 metres D. 150 metres
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Speed=
60 x
5
m/sec
=
50
m/sec.
18 3
Length of the train = (Speed x Time) =
50
x 9
m = 150 m.
3
2. A train 125 m long passes a man, running at 5 km/hr in the same direction in which the train is
going, in 10 seconds. The speed of the train is:
A. 45 km/hr B. 50 km/hr
C. 54 km/hr D. 55 km/hr
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Speed of the train relative to man =
125
m/sec
10
=
25
m/sec.
2
=
25
x
18
km/hr
2 5
= 45 km/hr.
Let the speed of the train be x km/hr. Then, relative speed = (x - 5) km/hr.
x - 5 = 45 x = 50 km/hr.
3. The length of the bridge, which a train 130 metres long and travelling at 45 km/hr can cross in 30
seconds, is:
A. 200 m B. 225 m
C. 245 m D. 250 m
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Speed =
45 x
5
m/sec
=
25
m/sec.
18 2
Time = 30 sec.
Let the length of bridge be x metres.
Then,
130 + x
=
25
30 2
2(130 + x) = 750
x = 245 m.
4. Two trains running in opposite directions cross a man standing on the platform in 27 seconds and 17
seconds respectively and they cross each other in 23 seconds. The ratio of their speeds is:
A.1 : 3 B. 3 : 2
C. 3 : 4 D. None of these
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 254
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Let the speeds of the two trains be x m/sec and y m/sec respectively.
Then, length of the first train = 27x metres,
and length of the second train = 17y metres.
27x + 17y = 23
x+ y
27x + 17y = 23x + 23y
4x = 6y
x = 3 .
y 2
5. A train passes a station platform in 36 seconds and a man standing on the platform in 20 seconds. If
the speed of the train is 54 km/hr, what is the length of the platform?
A. 120 m B. 240 m
C. 300 m D. None of these
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Speed =
54 x
5
m/sec = 15 m/sec.
18
Length of the train = (15 x 20)m = 300 m.
Let the length of the platform be x metres.
Then,
x + 300
= 15
36
x + 300 = 540
x = 240 m.
Probability
1. Tickets numbered 1 to 20 are mixed up and then a ticket is drawn at random. What is the probability
that the ticket drawn has a number which is a multiple of 3 or 5?
A.
1
2
B.
2
5
C.
8
15
D.
9
20
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Here, S = {1, 2, 3, 4, ...., 19, 20}.
Let E = event of getting a multiple of 3 or 5 = {3, 6 , 9, 12, 15, 18, 5, 10, 20}.
P(E) =
n(E)
=
9
.
n(S) 20
2. A bag contains 2 red, 3 green and 2 blue balls. Two balls are drawn at random. What is the
probability that none of the balls drawn is blue?
A.
10
21
B.
11
21
C.
2
7
D.
5
7
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 255
Total number of balls = (2 + 3 + 2) = 7.
Let S be the sample space.
Then, n(S) = Number of ways of drawing 2 balls out of 7
=
7
C2 `
=
(7 x 6)
(2 x 1)
= 21.
Let E = Event of drawing 2 balls, none of which is blue.
n(E) = Number of ways of drawing 2 balls out of (2 + 3) balls.
=
5
C2
=
(5 x 4)
(2 x 1)
= 10.
P(E) =
n(E)
=
10
.
n(S) 21
3. In a box, there are 8 red, 7 blue and 6 green balls. One ball is picked up randomly. What is the
probability that it is neither red nor green?
A.
1
3
B.
3
4
C.
7
19
D.
8
21
E.
9
21
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Total number of balls = (8 + 7 + 6) = 21.
Let E = event that the ball drawn is neither red nor green
= event that the ball drawn is blue.
n(E) = 7.
P(E) =
n(E)
=
7
=
1
.
n(S) 21 3
4. What is the probability of getting a sum 9 from two throws of a dice?
A.
1
6
B.
1
8
C.
1
9
D.
1
12
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
In two throws of a die, n(S) = (6 x 6) = 36.
Let E = event of getting a sum ={(3, 6), (4, 5), (5, 4), (6, 3)}.
P(E) =
n(E)
=
4
=
1
.
n(S) 36 9
5. Three unbiased coins are tossed. What is the probability of getting at most two heads?
A.
3
4
B.
1
4
C.
3
8
D.
7
8
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 256
Here S = {TTT, TTH, THT, HTT, THH, HTH, HHT, HHH}
Let E = event of getting at most two heads.
Then E = {TTT, TTH, THT, HTT, THH, HTH, HHT}.
P(E) =
n(E)
=
7
.
n(S) 8
Simplification
1. A man has ` 480 in the denominations of one-rupee notes, five-rupee notes and ten-rupee notes. The
number of notes of each denomination is equal. What is the total number of notes that he has ?
A.45 B. 60
C. 75 D. 90
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Let number of notes of each denomination be x.
Then x + 5x + 10x = 480
16x = 480
x = 30.
Hence, total number of notes = 3x = 90.
2. There are two examinations rooms A and B. If 10 students are sent from A to B, then the number of
students in each room is the same. If 20 candidates are sent from B to A, then the number of students
in A is double the number of students in B. The number of students in room A is:
A.20 B. 80
C. 100 D. 200
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Let the number of students in rooms A and B be x and y respectively.
Then, x - 10 = y + 10 x - y = 20 .... (i)
and x + 20 = 2(y - 20) x - 2y = -60 .... (ii)
Solving (i) and (ii) we get: x = 100 , y = 80.
The required answer A = 100.
3. The price of 10 chairs is equal to that of 4 tables. The price of 15 chairs and 2 tables together is `
4000. The total price of 12 chairs and 3 tables is:
A. ` 3500 B. ` 3750
C. ` 3840 D. ` 3900
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Let the cost of a chair and that of a table be ` x and ` y respectively.
Then, 10x = 4y or y =
5
x.
2
15x + 2y = 4000
15x + 2 x
5
x = 4000
2
20x = 4000
x = 200.
So, y =
5
x 200
= 500.
2
Hence, the cost of 12 chairs and 3 tables = 12x + 3y
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 257
= ` (2400 + 1500)
= ` 3900.
4. If a - b = 3 and a
2
+ b
2
= 29, find the value of ab.
A. 10 B. 12
C. 15 D. 18
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
2ab = (a
2
+ b
2
) - (a - b)
2
= 29 - 9 = 20
ab = 10.
5. The price of 2 sarees and 4 shirts is ` 1600. With the same money one can buy 1 saree and 6 shirts. If
one wants to buy 12 shirts, how much shall he have to pay ?
A. ` 1200 B. ` 2400
C. ` 4800 D. Cannot be determined
E. None of these
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Let the price of a saree and a shirt be ` x and ` y respectively.
Then, 2x + 4y = 1600 .... (i)
and x + 6y = 1600 .... (ii)
Divide equation (i) by 2, we get the below equation.
=> x + 2y = 800. --- (iii)
Now subtract (iii) from (ii)
x + 6y = 1600 (-)
x + 2y = 800
----------------
4y = 800
----------------
Therefore, y = 200.
Now apply value of y in (iii)
=> x + 2 x 200 = 800
=> x + 400 = 800
Therefore x = 400
Solving (i) and (ii) we get x = 400, y = 200.
Cost of 12 shirts = ` (12 x 200) = ` 2400.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 258
Part-3:- Language Competency
Ordering of Words
In each question below, there is a sentence of which some parts have been jumbled up. Rearranage these
parts which are labelled P, Q, R and S to produce the correct sentence. Choose the proper sequence.
1. When he
P : did not know
Q : he was nervous and
R : heard the hue and cry at midnight
S : what to do
The Proper sequence should be:
A.RQPS B. QSPR
C. SQPR D. PQRS
Answer: Option A
2. It has been established that
P : Einstein was
Q : although a great scientist
R : weak in arithmetic
S : right from his school days
The Proper sequence should be:
A.SRPQ B. QPRS
C. QPSR D. RQPS
Answer: Option B
3. Then
P : it struck me
Q : of course
R : suitable it was
S : how eminently
The Proper sequence should be:
A.SPQR B. QSRP
C. PSRQ D. QPSR
Answer: Option C
4. I read an advertisement that said
P : posh, air-conditioned
Q : gentleman of taste
R : are available for
S : fully furnished rooms
The Proper sequence should be:
A.PQRS B. PSRQ
C. PSQR D. SRPQ
Answer: Option B
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5. Since the beginning of history
P : have managed to catch
Q : the Eskimos and Red Indians
R : by a very difficulty method
S : a few specimens of this aquatic animal
The Proper sequence should be:
A.QRPS B. SQPR
C. SQRP D. QPSR
Answer: Option D
Completing Statements
In each question, an incomplete statement (Stem) followed by fillers is given. Pick out the best one
which can complete incomplete stem correctly and meaningfully.
6. Despite his best efforts to conceal his anger ......
A.we could detect that he was very happy
B. he failed to give us an impression of his agony
C. he succeeded in camouflaging his emotions
D.he could succeed in doing it easily
E. people came to know that he was annoyed
Answer: Option E
7. Even if it rains I shall come means ......
A.if I come it will not rain
B. if it rains I shall not come
C. I will certainly come whether it rains or not
D.whenever there is rain I shall come
E. I am less likely to come if it rains
Answer: Option C
8. His appearance is unsmiling but ......
A.his heart is full of compassion for others
B. he looks very serious on most occasions
C. people are afraid of him
D. he is uncompromising on matters of task performance
E. he is full of jealousy towards his colleagues
Answer: Option A
9. She never visits any zoo because she is strong opponent of the idea of ......
A.setting the animals free into forest
B. feeding the animals while others are watching
C. watching the animals in their natural abode
D. going out of the house on a holiday
E. holding the animals in captivity for our joy
Answer: Option E
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10. I felt somewhat more relaxed ......
A.but tense as compared to earlier
B. and tense as compared to earlier
C. as there was already no tension at all
D. and tension-free as compared to earlier
E. because the worry had already captured by mind
Answer: Option D
Computer Competency
11) What is the name of the printed circuit board? A) Ram B) Mother Board
Answer: Option A
12) TO write, erase, rewrite data on a CD RAM what type of CD ROM you should use?
A) CD-RW B) CD R
Answer: Option A
13) A byte is equivalent to...? A) 8 bits B) 10 bits
Answer: Option A
14) Which of the following retains the information it's storing when the power to the system is turned
off? a) CPU b) ROM c) DRAM d) DIMM
Answer: Option B
15) Hard Disk, DVD, CD-ROM are the examples of what type of Memory? a) Primary b) Secondary
Answer: Option B
Environment Competency
16. Plants are killed at low temperature because :
(A) Desiccation takes place owing to the withdrawal of water from vacuolated protoplasm
(B) Precipitation of cell proteins
(C) Cells rupture due to the mechanical pressure of ice
(D) All the above three are correct
Answer: Option D
17. Which one of the chemicals is responsible for the reduction of ozone content of the atmosphere?
(A) SO2 (B) Chlorofluoro carbon (C) HCl (D) Photochemical smog
Answer: Option B
18. Acid rains occur when atmosphere is heavily polluted with :
(A) CO, CO2 (B) Smoke particles (C) Ozone (D) SO2 and NO2
Answer: Option D
19. Spraying of DDT on crops causes pollution of:
(A) Soil and Water (B) Air and Soil (C) Crops and Air (D) Air and Water
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 261
Answer: Option A
20. Soil erosion can be prevented by :
(A) Increasing bird population(B) Afforestation(C) Removal of vegetation (D) Over grazing
Answer: Option B
Logical Reasoning Competency
In these series, you will be looking at both the letter pattern and the number pattern. Fill the blank in the
middle of the series or end of the series.
1. SCD, TEF, UGH, ____, WKL
A. CMN B. UJI
C. VIJ D. IJT
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
There are two alphabetical series here. The first series is with the first letters only: STUVW. The second
series involves the remaining letters: CD, EF, GH, IJ, KL.
2. B2CD, _____, BCD4, B5CD, BC6D
A. B2C2D B. BC3D
C. B2C3D D. BCD7
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Because the letters are the same, concentrate on the number series, which is a simple 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 series,
and follows each letter in order.
3. FAG, GAF, HAI, IAH, ____
A. JAK B. HAL
C. HAK D. JAI
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
The middle letters are static, so concentrate on the first and third letters. The series involves an
alphabetical order with a reversal of the letters. The first letters are in alphabetical order: F, G, H, I , J.
The second and fourth segments are reversals of the first and third segments. The missing segment
begins with a new letter.
4. ELFA, GLHA, ILJA, _____, MLNA
A. OLPA B. KLMA
C. LLMA D. KLLA
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
The second and forth letters in the series, L and A, are static. The first and third letters consist of an
alphabetical order beginning with the letter E.
5. CMM, EOO, GQQ, _____, KUU
A. GRR B. GSS
C. ISS D. ITT
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
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Explanation:
The first letters are in alphabetical order with a letter skipped in between each segment: C, E, G, I, K.
The second and third letters are repeated; they are also in order with a skipped letter: M, O, Q, S, U.
Part-4:- Data Interpretation
Bar Charts
The bar graph given below shows the sales of books (in thousand number) from six branches of a
publishing company during two consecutive years 2000 and 2001. Sales of Books (in thousand
numbers) from Six Branches - B1, B2, B3, B4, B5 and B6 of a publishing Company in 2000 and 2001.
1. What is the ratio of the total sales of branch B2 for both years to the total sales of branch B4 for both
years?
A.2:3 B. 3:5
C. 4:5 D.7:9
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Required ratio =(75 + 65)=140 = 7 .
(85 + 95) 180 9
2. Total sales of branch B6 for both the years is what percent of the total sales of branches B3 for both
the years?
A. 68.54% B. 71.11%
C. 73.17% D. 75.55%
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Required percentage =
(70 + 80)
x 100
%
(95 + 110)
=
150
x 100
%
205
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= 73.17%.
3. What percent of the average sales of branches B1, B2 and B3 in 2001 is the average sales of branches
B1, B3 and B6 in 2000?
A. 75% B. 77.5%
C. 82.5% D. 87.5%
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Average sales (in thousand number) of branches B1, B3 and B6 in 2000
=
1
x (80 + 70 + 95) =
245
.
3 3
Average sales (in thousand number) of branches B1, B2 and B3 in 2001
=
1
x (105 + 65 + 110) =
280
.
3 3
Required percentage =
245/3
x 100
% =
245
x 100
% = 87.5%.
280/3 280
4. What is the average sales of all the branches (in thousand numbers) for the year 2000?
A.73 B. 80
C. 83 D. 88
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Average sales of all the six branches (in thousand numbers) for the year 2000
=1 x [80 + 75 + 95 + 85 + 75 + 70]
6
= 80.
5. Total sales of branches B1, B3 and B5 together for both the years (in thousand numbers) is?
A. 250 B. 310
C. 435 D. 560
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Total sales of branches B1, b2 and B5 for both the years (in thousand numbers)
= (80 + 105) + (95 + 110) + (75 + 95)
= 560.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 264
Pie Charts
The following pie-chart shows the percentage distribution of the expenditure incurred in publishing a
book. Study the pie-chart and the answer the questions based on it.
Various Expenditures (in percentage) Incurred in Publishing a Book
6. If for a certain quantity of books, the publisher has to pay ` 30,600 as printing cost, then what will
be amount of royalty to be paid for these books?
A.` 19,450 B. ` 21,200
C. ` 22,950 D. ` 26,150
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Let the amount of Royalty to be paid for these books be ` r.
Then, 20 : 15 = 30600 : r r = `
30600 x 15
= ` 22,950.
20
7. What is the central angle of the sector corresponding to the expenditure incurred on Royalty?
A. 15 B. 24
C. 54 D. 48
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Central angle corresponding to Royalty = (15% of 360)
=
15
x 360
100
= 54.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 265
8. The price of the book is marked 20% above the C.P. If the marked price of the book is ` 180, then what
is the cost of the paper used in a single copy of the book?
A. ` 36 B. ` 37.50
C. ` 42 D. ` 44.25
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Clearly, marked price of the book = 120% of C.P.
Also, cost of paper = 25% of C.P
Let the cost of paper for a single book be ` n.
Then, 120 : 25 = 180 : n n = `
25 x 180
= ` 37.50 .
120
9. If 5500 copies are published and the transportation cost on them amounts to ` 82500, then what
should be the selling price of the book so that the publisher can earn a profit of 25%?
A. `. 187.50 B. ` 191.50
C. ` 175 D. ` 180
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
For the publisher to earn a profit of 25%, S.P. = 125% of C.P.
Also Transportation Cost = 10% of C.P.
Let the S.P. of 5500 books be ` x.
Then, 10 : 125 = 82500 : x x = `
125 x 82500
= ` 1031250.
10
S.P. of one book = `
1031250
= ` 187.50 .
5500
10. Royalty on the book is less than the printing cost by:
A. 5% B. 33
1
%
5
C. 20% D. 25%
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Printing Cost of book = 20% of C.P.
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Royalty on book = 15% of C.P.
Difference = (20% of C.P.) - (15% of C.P) = 5% of C.P.
Percentage difference =
Difference
x 100
%
Printing Cost
=
5% of C.P.
x 100
% = 25%.
Printing Cost
Line Charts
The following line graph gives the percentage of the number of candidates who qualified an
examination out of the total number of candidates who appeared for the examination over a period of
seven years from 1994 to 2000.
Percentage of Candidates Qualified to Appeared in an Examination Over the Years
11. The difference between the percentage of candidates qualified to appeared was maximum in which
of the following pairs of years?
A. 1994 and 1995 B. 1997 and 1998
C. 1998 and 1999 D. 1999 and 2000
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
The differences between the percentages of candidates qualified to appeared for the give pairs of years
are:
For 1994 and 1995 = 50 - 30 = 20.
For 1998 and 1999 = 80 - 80 = 0.
For 1994 and 1997 = 50 - 30 = 20.
For 1997 and 1998 = 80 - 50 = 30.
For 1999 and 2000 = 80 - 60 = 20.
Thus, the maximum difference is between the years 1997 and 1998.
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12. In which pair of years was the number of candidates qualified, the same?
A. 1995 and 1997 B. 1995 and 2000
C. 1998 and 1999 D. Data inadequate
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
The graph gives the data for the percentage of candidates qualified to appeared and unless the
absolute values of number of candidates qualified or candidates appeared is know we cannot
compare the absolute values for any two years.
Hence, the data is inadequate to solve this question.
13. If the number of candidates qualified in 1998 was 21200, what was the number of candidates
appeared in 1998?
A. 32000 B. 28500
C. 26500 D. 25000
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
The number of candidates appeared in 1998 be x.
Then, 80% of x = 21200 x =
21200 x 100
= 26500 (required number).
80
14. If the total number of candidates appeared in 1996 and 1997 together was 47400, then the total
number of candidates qualified in these two years together was?
A. 34700 B. 32100
C. 31500 D. Data inadequate
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
The total number of candidates qualified in 1996 and 1997 together, cannot be determined until we
know at least, the number of candidates appeared in any one of the two years 1996 or 1997 or the
percentage of candidates qualified to appeared in 1996 and 1997 together.
Hence, the data is inadequate.
15. The total number of candidates qualified in 1999 and 2000 together was 33500 and the number of
candidates appeared in 1999 was 26500. What was the number of candidates in 2000?
A. 24500 B. 22000
C. 20500 D. 19000
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
The number of candidates qualified in 1999 = (80% of 26500) = 21200.
Number of candidates qualified in 2000 = (33500 - 21200) = 12300.
Let the number of candidates appeared in 2000 be x.
Then, 60% of x = 12300 x =
12300 x 100
= 20500.
60
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 268
Table Charts
Study the following table and answer the questions based on it.
Expenditures of a Company (in Lakh Rupees) per Annum Over the given Years.
Year
Item of Expenditure
Salary Fuel and Transport Bonus Interest on Loans Taxes
1998 288 98 3.00 23.4 83
1999 342 112 2.52 32.5 108
2000 324 101 3.84 41.6 74
2001 336 133 3.68 36.4 88
2002 420 142 3.96 49.4 98
16. What is the average amount of interest per year which the company had to pay during
this period?
A. ` 32.43 lakhs B. ` 33.72 lakhs
C. ` 34.18 lakhs D. ` 36.66 lakhs
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Average amount of interest paid by the Company during the given period
= `
23.4 + 32.5 + 41.6 + 36.4 + 49.4
lakhs
5
= `
183.3
lakhs
5
= ` 36.66 lakhs.
17. The total amount of bonus paid by the company during the given period is approximately what
percent of the total amount of salary paid during this period?
A. 0.1% B. 0.5%
C. 1% D. 1.25%
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Required percentage =
(3.00 + 2.52 + 3.84 + 3.68 + 3.96)
x 100
%
(288 + 342 + 324 + 336 + 420)
=
17
x 100
%
1710
= 1%.
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 269
18. Total expenditure on all these items in 1998 was approximately what percent of the total
expenditure in 2002?
A. 62% B. 66%
C. 69% D. 71%
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Required percentage =
(288 + 98 + 3.00 + 23.4 + 83)
x 100
%
(420 + 142 + 3.96 + 49.4 + 98)
=
495.4
x 100
%
713.36
= 69.45%.
19. The total expenditure of the company over these items during the year 2000 is?
A. ` 544.44 lakhs B. ` 501.11 lakhs
C. ` 446.46 lakhs D. ` 478.87 lakhs
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Total expenditure of the Company during 2000
= ` (324 + 101 + 3.84 + 41.6 + 74) lakhs
= ` 544.44 lakhs.
20. The ratio between the total expenditure on Taxes for all the years and the total expenditure on Fuel
and Transport for all the years respectively is approximately?
A. 4:7 B. 10:13
C. 15:18 D. 5:8
Answer & Explanation
Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Required ratio =
(83 + 108 + 74 + 88 + 98)
(98 + 112 + 101 + 133 + 142)
=
451
586
=
1
1.3
=
10
.
13
[More Solved MS-Word PET/PAT Question
Papers can be found in the enclosed CD ]
[ 2011-12 : A Complete textbook on PhD (along with CD)] Page 270
Most Likely asked Questions for PhD Entrance Interview(at the time of
synopsis submission) and final Open Defense viva voce examination.
Few Breaking the Ice Questions
1. Tell me about yourself.
2. What are your strengths and
weaknesses?
3. What is the difference between
confidence and over confidence?
4. What is the difference between hard
work and smart work?
5. What are your goals? What motivates
you to do a good job?
6. Give me an example of your creativity.
7. Who has inspired you in your life and
why?
8. What was the toughest decision you ever
had to make?
Few Research appetite Questions
9. Why do you want to do Ph.D? What will
be your Ph.D topic? Why you have
chosen this topic?
10. What are going to be the steps of your
research work?
11. What is your aim behind doing this
research?
12. What are the objectives behind your
study? What is the importance of this
study?
13. What is the scope and limitations of your
study?
14. What is going to be your research area?
15. What benefits the masses are going to
derive from your study?
16. Have you chosen any specific area or
sector to conduct your research work?
17. Have you chosen any particular
organization or institution for conducting
the research work?
18. Whether this organization will give you
the permission to conduct this study?
19. Why you want to do your research work
in this particular sector?
20. If you are not in the education sector then
why you want to do Ph.D?
21. Do you have a work experience? If you
have a work experiences then how this
will help in your research work?
22. What do you understand by the term
Research ? Which are the various stages
in the development of a research?
23. Explain the stages in the research process
with the help of a flow chart of research
process.
24. Define the term 'hypothesis'. What will
be your hypothesis?
25. Define a Hypothesis Discuss the
importance of hypothesis in research and
the process of a formation of hypothesis.
26. What are your primary and secondary
sources for data collection?
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27. What do you think how much time will
be required to complete the research
work?
28. What is going to be the sample size?
Have you decided upon the
demographics of the sample size?
29. What is going to be the research
methodology of your study?
30. How you will do the analysis of the data
collected during the research work?
31. Explain few sources of primary and
secondary data collection methods.
32. How the analysis of your study is going
to help or guide future researchers.
33. The textbook says that one does not start
by writing questions. How should the
researcher begin?
34. Define sampling state briefly various
methods of sampling.
35. A researcher is interested in knowing the
answer to a why question, but does not
know what sort of answer will be
satisfying. Is this exploratory,
descriptive, or casual research? Explain.
36. What are the major characteristics in
sampling? State the type of sampling
with suitable illustrations.
37. What is the task of problem definition?
The city police wishes to understand its
image from the publics point of view.
Define the business problem.
38. How do you recognize a research
problem? Describe the criteria of a good
research problem
39. With the help of examples, classify
survey research methods.
40. Discuss the use of self administered
questionnaires along with their
classifications.
41. Design a complete questionnaire to
evaluate job satisfaction of entry level
marketing executives.
42. Define the interviewing and the
questionnaire techniques of data
collection.
43. Define and classify secondary data.
Discuss the process of evaluating
secondary data.
44. Discuss various contents required in the
layout of Internet questionnaire.
45. Discuss various factors that influence the
validity of experimental studies in
research.
46. What type of research should be
conducted? Give reasons to support your
answer.
47. Design the research process in detail.
Support your answer with flow diagram.
48. Explain the significance of statistical tools
in the interpretation of data. What its
limitations?
49. Discuss briefly the various methods of
data collection. What steps will you
follow while writing a Research Report?
50. Define Research Report. Explain the
characteristics of a good research report?