CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH

TOPICS DISCUSSED

Definition of Research

Hierarchy of information-Based Decision

makers.

Why Managers Should Know About

Research

Factors stimulating interest in research

Features of Research

Research
The word Research can be bifurcated in to two
words: Research = Re + Search. The word Re
means again and again and Search means to find
out something.
Research is a process by which one observes a fact
or situation repeatedly from different aspect and
collects the data and on the basis of data derives
some conclusions.

I keep six honest serving men, (they

taught me all I knew), their names are
what, and why, and when, and how,
and where and who.Rudyard Kipling
The use of the words what, why, when, how
where and who essentially summarizes what
research is?

What is Research?
Research is the process of finding
solutions to a problem after a thorough
study and analysis of the situational
factors.

Hierarchy of Information-Based Decision Makers

Top Tier

Middle Tier

Base Tier

Why Managers should know

Research?
The managers encounter big and small
problems on a daily basis, which they have to
solve by making the right decisions.
In business, research is usually conducted to
resolve problematic issues in the areas of
management.

Why Managers should know

Research?
Managers in organizations constantly engage
themselves in studying and analyzing issues
and hence are involved in some form of
research activity as they make decisions at the
workplace.

Good decision making fetches a yes answer to

the following questions:
As a manager are you in a position to identify
where exactly the problem lies?
What are the relevant factors in the situation
needing investigation?
Do you know what types of information are to be
gathered and how?

Do you know how to make use of the

information so collected and draw appropriate
conclusions to make the right decisions?
Do you know how to implement the results of
this process to solve the problem?

This is the essence of research and to be

successful manager it is important for you to
know how to go about making the right
decisions by being knowledgeable about the
various steps involved in finding solutions to
problematic issues.

Factors stimulating interest in

research
Problems in Accounting
Problems in Finance
Problems in Management
Problems in Marketing
Problems in Health Care

Features of Research
It means the discovery of new knowledge.
It is essentially an investigation.
It is related with the solution of a problem.
It is based on observation or experimental
evidences.

It
demands
accurate
experimentation.

observation

or

In research, the researchers try to find out

answers for unsolved questions.
It should be carefully recorded and reported.

Assume for the moment that you are the Health

Administrator of a hospital. You are experiencing
significant turnover in your doctors pool and some long
time patients have committed that the friendly
atmosphere, which has historically drawn them to your
door, is changing. Where will you begin to try to solve
this problem? Is this a problem for which research
should be used?
Is Research always problem-solving based?

INTERNET EXERCISES

Use

the

Web search engines

Google and Yahoo. Search using
the
key
words
business
research. Prepare a brief report
telling what you found and how it
differed on the different search
engines.

Topics for self study

Purpose. Aims or Objectives of Research
Limitations of Research

Is there any difference between research

methods and research methodology?
Research
methods
include
all
those
techniques/methods that are adopted for conducting
research.
on the other hand, research methodology is the way
in which research problems are solved
systematically. It is a science of studying how
research is conducted scientifically

Evidence based research

What is important in Healthcare Service
delivery?
How healthcare practitioners justify the care
they provide to the patient?

Factors to be considered for evidence

based research
Adequate research must have been
published in the area being researched.
The researcher must have the skill of
accessing and analysing the published
literature in his/her area of research.
The researcher must be able to
implement the changes based on EBN in
his area of practice.

Example of EBR
Nurse work-related injury
What are the evidence to be considered?

The integration of the best research evidence with

clinical expertise and patient values"

What is ethnography?
Ethnography is the study of social interactions,
behaviours, and perceptions that occur within
groups, teams, organisations, and communities.

Examples of ethnographic research within the

health services literature
Costellos examination of death and dying in elderly
care wards;
Osterlunds work on doctors and nurses use of
traditional and digital information systems in their
clinical communications.
Becker and colleagues Boys in White,
ethnographic study of medical education

an

Virtual Ethnography
Virtual ethnography is a qualitative and interpretive
methodology approach that is carried out in the online
setting (the Internet) to study the online communities
and culture. It is a research conducted on the World
Wide Web.
Example: Designing and implementing mobile
virtual communities for cancer patients

Triangulation
Triangulation is an approach to research that uses a
combination of more than one research strategy in a
single investigation.
A phenomenon under study in a qualitative research
project is much like a ship at sea. The exact
description of the phenomenon is unclear.

Why do we conduct Triangulation?

Types of Triangulation

Why choose triangulation as a research

strategy?
Qualitative investigators may choose triangulation as a
research strategy to assure completeness of findings
or to confirm findings.

Assure completeness
The most accurate description of the elephant
comes from where?

A combination of all three individuals' descriptions

Confirm findings
Researchers might also choose triangulation to confirm
findings and conclusions. Any single qualitative research
strategy has its limitations.
By combining different strategies, researchers confirm findings
by overcoming the limitations of a single strategy.
Uncovering the same information from more than one vantage
point helps researchers describe how the findings occurred
under different circumstances and assists them to confirm the
validity of the findings.

Why do we conduct Triangulation?

Types of Triangulation

Types of Triangulation
1) Data Triangulation

Time, space, person

2) Method Triangulation
Design
Data collection

3) Investigator Triangulation
4) Theory Triangulation
Fifth type, multiple triangulation, which uses a
combination of two or more triangulation techniques in one
study.

DATA TRIANGUIATION
Denzin (1989) described three types of
triangulation: (1) time, (2) space, and (3) person.

data

Time triangulation
Time triangulation, researchers collect data about
a phenomenon at different points in time.
Studies based on longitudinal designs are not
considered examples of data triangulation for time
because they are intended to document changes
over time.

Space triangulation

Space triangulation consists of collecting data at more

than one site.
At the outset, the researcher must identify how time or
space relate to the study and make an argument
supporting the use of different time or space collection
points in the study.

By collecting data at different points in time and in

different spaces, the researcher gains a clearer and
more complete description of decision making and
is able to differentiate characteristics that span
time periods and spaces from characteristics
specific to certain times and spaces

Person triangulation

Using person triangulation, researchers collect data

from more than one level of person, that is, a set of
individuals, groups, or collectives.

Types of Triangulation
1) Data Triangulation

Time, space, person

2) Method Triangulation
Design
Data collection

3) Investigator Triangulation
4) Theory Triangulation

METHODS TRIANGULATION

Methods triangulation can occur at the level of design

or data collection.
Methods triangulation at the design level has also
been called between-method triangulation and
methods triangulation at the data collection level has
been called within-method triangulation.

Design Level

Design methods triangulation most often uses

quantitative methods combined with qualitative
methods in the study design.
simultaneous implementation
sequential implementation
Theory should emerge from the qualitative findings
and should not be forced by researchers into the
theory they are using for the quantitative portion of
the study.

The blending of qualitative and quantitative

approaches does not occur during either data
generation or analysis.
Rather, researchers blend these approaches at the
level of interpretation, merging findings from each
technique to derive a consistent outcome.

The process of merging findings "is an informed

thought process, involving judgment, wisdom,
creativity, and insight and includes the privilege of
creating or modifying theory.

Sometimes triangulation design method might use

two different qualitative research methods.
When researchers combine methods at the design
level, they should consider the purpose of the
research and make a logical argument for using
each method.

Methods triangulation at the level of data

collection
Using methods triangulation at the level of data collection,
researchers use two different techniques of data collection,
but each technique is within the same research tradition.
The purpose of combining the data collection methods is
to provide a more holistic and better understanding of
the phenomenon under study.
It is not an easy task to use method triangulation; it is often
more time consuming and expensive to complete a
study using methods triangulation.

Types of Triangulation
1) Data Triangulation

Time, space, person

2) Method Triangulation
Design
Data collection

3) Investigator Triangulation
4) Theory Triangulation
Fifth type, multiple triangulation, which uses a
combination of two or more triangulation techniques in one
study.

INVESTIGATOR TRIANGULATION
Investigator triangulation occurs when two or more
researchers with divergent backgrounds and expertise work
together on the same study. To achieve investigator
triangulation, multiple investigators each must have
prominent roles in the study and their areas of expertise
must be complementary.
All the investigators discuss their individual findings and
reach a conclusion, which includes all findings.
Having a second research expert examine a data set is not
considered investigator triangulation.
Use of methods triangulation usually requires investigator
triangulation because few investigators are expert in more
than one research method.

Types of Triangulation
1) Data Triangulation

Time, space, person

2) Method Triangulation
Design
Data collection

3) Investigator Triangulation
4) Theory Triangulation
Fifth type, multiple triangulation, which uses a
combination of two or more triangulation techniques in one
study.

THEORY TRIANGULATION

Theory triangulation incorporates the use of more

than one lens or theory in the analysis of the same
data set.
In qualitative research, more than one theoretical
explanation emerges from the data.
Researchers investigate the utility and power of
these emerging theories by cycling between data
generation and data analysis until they reach a
conclusion.

Deduction and Induction

Deduction: reasoning from general premises, which
are known or presumed to be known, to more
specific, certain conclusions.
Induction: reasoning from specific cases to more
general, but uncertain, conclusions.
Both deductive and inductive arguments occur
frequently and naturallyboth forms of reasoning
can be equally compelling and persuasive, and
neither form is preferred over the other (Hollihan &
Baske, 1994).

Deductive Reasoning
Theory

Hypothesis

Observation

Confirmation

Using deductive reasoning, one

starts with a given theory as the
basis for which we develop
hypotheses and then confirm
these with specific data acquired
using observation
or experimentation
(Is our theory valid or not?)

Inductive Reasoning
Observation

Pattern

Tentative Hypothesis

Theory

Using inductive reasoning, one

starts with a specific observation
as the basis for which we
develop a general pattern and
tentative hypothesis as the
foundation of a theory

Sample Deductive and Inductive Arguments

Example of Deduction
major premise: All
tortoises are vegetarians
minor premise: Bessie
is a tortoise
conclusion: Therefore,
Bessie is a vegetarian

Example of Induction
Boss to employee: Biff
has a tattoo of
an anchor on his arm.
He probably
served in the Navy.

Deduction - theory and hypothesis are developed and

tested
Induction data are collected and a theory developed
from the data analysis

Example of Inductive Reasoning

Lincoln is on a penny (Lincoln is a specific instance
of a President).
Jefferson is on a nickel (A nickel is a specific
instance of a coin).
Roosevelt is on a dime.
Washington is on a quarter.

In each of the following explain if inductive or deductive reasoning is

being used.
a.An

employee has worn a blue shirt every Friday they have worked
at a company. A person concludes they will wear a blue shirt this
Friday to work.
b.An

employee at a company must wear a uniform that has a blue

shirt. A person concludes they will wear a blue shirt this Friday to
work.
c.I

am eating at a vegetarian restaurant. I conclude all the dishes on

the menu are meatless.
d.After

reading the entire menu I conclude all of the dishes on the

Phenomenology
Phenomenological Research is a strategy of inquiry in
which the researcher identifies the essence of human
experiences about a phenomenon as described by
participants. Understanding the lived experiences
marks phenomenology as a philosophy as well as a
method, and the procedure involves studying a small
number of subjects through extensive and prolonged
engagement to develop patterns and relationships of
meaning (Moustakas, 1994).

Phenomenology (cont)

Phenomenologists attempt to understand those whom

they observe from the subjects perspective.
This outlook is especially pertinent in social work and
research where empathy and perspective become the
keys to success.

The Procedures of Phenomenological Inquiry

1.Determine

if phenomenological approach is best

1.Do several people share a common experience?
2.Can you develop policies, practices or develop deeper
understanding of the features of the phenomenon?

2. Define the phenomenon of interest to be studied

3.
Recognize
and
understand
the
philosophy
behind
phenomenology including bracketing,
objective reality and
individual experience
4. Collect data through multiple in-depth interviews or other forms
of collection
5. Begin with the broad What and How questions. Proceed
with broader open-ended questions to gather textural and
structural data

Phenomenological Data Collection

Interview-In depth interview
Participation observation
Conversation
Action research
Focus Meeting
Analysis of Personal Texts ( Diary Writing)
Interpretive (Hermeneutic) Phenomenology
To interpret the phenomena being
observed

RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY

Epistemology

Research is about the search for knowledge, but the

question is, what is knowledge and can that
knowledge be in any sense true or false?
It is a branch of philosophy that deals with knowledge
and tries to answer the question as to whether a given
body of knowledge is adequate or inadequate

Epistemology contd
Epistemology as a branch of philosophy deals with
the sources of knowledge. Specifically, epistemology
is concerned with possibilities, nature, sources and
limitations of knowledge.
Intuitive knowledge
Authoritarian knowledge
Logical knowledge
Empirical knowledge

Research process may integrate all of these sources

of knowledge within a single study.
You want to select a specific problem to be explored
within a selected research area. Which knowledge is
used?
When you gain authoritative knowledge?
logical knowledge is generated as a result of
analysing primary data findings, and conclusions of
the research can be perceived as empirical
knowledge.

A Simple Example
Suppose I ask the question: are your friends
trustworthy?
Most of us would answer Yes
Is it that the knowledge YES is true or false,
accepted or unaccepted, or even valid?

The Objectivism vs Subjectivism

Epistemological Stance
Objectivism

Subjectivism

Positivists believe that

only
phenomena which are
observable
and
measurable
can be regarded as valid
Knowledge.
They try to maintain an
objective
and
independent stance.
This
leads
Positivism or
Realism paradigm

Phenomenologist s
believes
that knowledge is based on
the perception of the
individual.
They attempt to minimize
the distance between the
researcher and that which
is being researched.
This leads to
phenomenological or
interpretivisim
Paradigm.

Axiological Assumption
Positivists believe that science and the process is
value free i.e. the researcher is detached from
what they are researching and regard the
phenomena as an object.
Phenomenologist's considers that researchers
have values. These values help to determine what
are recognized as facts and the interpretation. The
researcher is involved with that which is being
researched

What is Ontology?
ONTOLOGY is concerned with the nature of
reality and assumptions researchers have about
the way the world operates and the commitment held
to a particular view.
In this context we are thinking of knowledge or
perhaps more correctly the particular body of
knowledge that is embedded in your research project

Is that description of Reality is external to or

within the mind of the individual?
What Do you think ?
The body of knowledge on the phenomena(reality) is
external to social actors. Objectivism or
whether the phenomena can and should be considered
social constructions built up from perceptions and
actions of social actors. Constructivism

How would describe it?

Objectively i.e. as you see it for what it is,
independent! E.g. red, small, sedan, slow engine,
etc. ( Independent of Social Actors)
Constructively i.e. built up from your perception!
E.g. cheap, poor quality, prone to theft, owned by
low income earners, driven by thieves, etc.
(Accomplished by Social actors)

Positivism

Objectivism

Phenomenology

Subjectivism/
Constructivism

Features of the two main Paradigms

Positivistic

Phenomenological

Tends to produce quantitative

data.

Tends to be qualitative data

Uses large samples

Uses small samples.

Concerned with hypothesis

Testing

Concerned with generating

Theories.

Data is highly specific and

Precise

Data is rich and subjective.

Reliability is low

Reliability is high
Validity is high.
Validity is low
Generalizes from sample

Generalizes from one setting

to another.

What is a concept?
Concepts are:
Building blocks of theory
Concept - A generalized idea about a class of objects,
attributes, occurrences, or processes.
Examples: Gender, Age, Education, brand loyalty,
satisfaction, attitude, market orientation

Most
abstract

Job Interest Construct

(Components unknown by analyst)

Level of abstraction

Language Skill Construct

Most
concrete

Vocabulary
Syntax
Spelling

Constructs
Composed of
Concepts in a Job
Redesign Example

Presentation Quality
Construct
Manuscript
errors
Format
Accuracy
Typing
speed

Concepts are useful for:

Providing an explanation of a certain aspect of
the social world
Standing for things we want to explain
Giving a basis for measuring variation

Construct - A concept that is measured with multiple

variables.
Examples: Brand loyalty, satisfaction,
attitude, market orientation, socio-economic
status.
Variable - Anything that varies or changes from
one instance to another; can exhibit differences
in value, usually in magnitude or strength, or in
direction.

Conceptual Definition
Concepts must be precisely defined for effective measurement.
E.g. consider the following definitions of brand loyalty:
The degree to which a consumer consistently purchases the
same brand within a product class. (Peter & Olson)
A favorable attitude toward, and consistent purchases of, a
particular brand. (Wilkie, p.276)
The two definitions have different implications for
measurement they imply different operationalization's of the
concept of brand loyalty

Operational Definition/Operationalization

Operational definition - A definition that gives

meaning to a concept by specifying what the researcher
must do (i.e. activities or operations that should be
performed) in order to measure the concept under
investigation.
Operationalization - The process of identifying scales
that correspond to variance in a concept.

For example:
Conceptual definition # 1 for brand loyalty in the previous
slide implies that in order to measure loyalty for brand A
(operational definition), you will need to:
1) Observe consumers brand purchases over a period of time,
and
2) Compute the percent of purchases going to brand A
For conceptual definition # 2 you will need to:
1) Observe consumers brand purchases over a period of time,
2) Compute the percent of purchases going to brand A, and
3) Ask consumers questions to determine their attitudes toward
brand A

Rules of Measurement
Guidelines established by the researcher for assigning numbers or scores to
different levels of the concept (or attribute) that different individuals (or
objects) possess
The process is facilitated by the operational definition.
For example, if you operationalized brand loyalty as purchase sequences
(conceptual definition # 1), then you may establish the following rules for
assigning scores:
If consumer purchased brand A:
90% or more > loyalty for brand A = 1 (Extremely loyal)
80 - 89% > loyalty for brand A = 2 (Very loyal)
70 - 79% > loyalty for brand A = 3 (Loyal)
Etc.

Putting Reliability and Validity Together

Every instrument can be evaluated on two

dimensions:
Reliability
How consistent it is given the same
conditions
Validity
If it measures what it is supposed to and
how accurate it is

Reliability and Validity

?What is Reliability
:Reliability is
the consistency of your measurement
instrument
the degree to which an instrument measures the
same way each time it is used under the same
condition with the same subjects

What in the world is a measurement

?instrument
Any tool that you use to measure with
What instrument might you use to measure the following items?
How heavy the apples are

How tall the wall is

More on Instruments
?What would the following instruments measure

The size of
someones foot
Eyesight

More on Instruments
Often there are many different instruments that
.could be used to measure the same thing
Take distance for example

Or an odometer
Measure it out on a map

Or walk it
with a
pedometer

You could use a measuring tape

Use a distance

What instrument you choose depends on

several factors
Ease of Use
Access
Appropriateness
Accuracy
Cost

Reliability

Imagine that you are using a ruler measure a book.

What do you think would happen if you waited 10
minutes and measured the book again, how long would
it be then?
Probably still 7 inches
What if you spun the ruler around!
And shook it up really good?!

Reliability

Your ruler
was consistent
measured the same way each time it was used under
the same condition with the same object
The book did not change and therefore the ruler
reported back the same measurement
Your ruler is RELIABLE

Reliability

Every time the water begins to

boil the kettle whistles

Every time it is 6:30 my alarm

clock goes off
All of these tools of measurement are reliable given the same
temperature, time and volume, they measure the same
consistently

Reliability
Reliability alone does not mean that you have a good instrument
. however

:Imagine the following reliable instrument

Every morning I get on the
scale and every morning it
reads 165 lbs.
It seems pretty reliable
since I havent gained or
lost any weight.

0
165

One day an elephant got

on the weighing scale and
it still read 165 lbs.!
How is this scale reliable?
It does measure the same
way under the same
conditions (mine) but a
lot of other conditions too
(the elephant).

Reliable but not Valid

?Remember our reliable ruler

Can it measure how

loud the radio is?

how full the

glass is?

The ruler may be reliable (and perhaps even

valid) but not in these situations!
A. Taylor
Do not duplicate without

Itauthors
is only
valid for measuring length.
permission

how smart
the girl is?

This brings us to Validity

Putting Reliability and Validity Together

Every instrument can be evaluated on two

dimensions:
Reliability
How consistent it is given the same
conditions
Validity
If it measures what it is supposed to and
how accurate it is

Putting Reliability and Validity Together

Imagine that I have 3 fish tank thermometers, a blue

one, a red one, and a green one.
The blue one always reads the same temperature
no matter how hot or cold the water is.
The red one shows a different temperature every
time even if I just measured it 5 seconds earlier.
The green one seems to read accurately, warm
when the water is warm and cold when the water is
cool.

Complete the chart below

Is it consistent?
Blue always reads
the same
temperature no
matter what
Red different
temperature every
time even if
nothing has
changed
Green warm when
the water is warm
and cold when the
water is cool

Is it measuring
what it is
supposed to?

Is it reliable?
Is it valid?

What can be said of the reliability and validity

of the following?
A spelling test with the following item: 2 + 5 = ____
Probably reliable, if you get it wrong once you will probably get
it wrong again (assuming no new learning) same with getting it
right.
Lacks validity, this is more appropriate for a math test, not a
spelling test.
An elastic ruler (every time you use it is stretches to a
different length)
Lack reliability
You cant have validity without reliability

Thinking More about Validity

Validity is whether or not the instrument measures what it is

designed to measure.
Below are three constructs that you can use to evaluate the
validity of a measure:
Face Validity
Predictive Validity
Concurrent Validity

Face Validity
Do the questions look like they measure what they are supposed
to?
What does the question below look like it would measure ?
Choose the item that best describes
you:
(0) I do not feel sad.
(1) I feel sad.
(2) I am sad all the time and I can't
snap out of it.
(3) I am so sad or unhappy that I
can't stand it.

If you said depression you

would be correct. It looks
like an item from a
depression scale and it is!
It has face validity.
If someone said this was
from a parental attachment
scale, then you could say
that it lacks face validity.

Predictive Validity`
Does the measure predict something that it logically should?
The CAT
According to their website, the CAT is the one test that shows
colleges what you know. College admissions officers use this
test to determine who will do well in college.
What future measures do you expect that the CAT would be
correlated with?
If you said grades in college you would be right, and the CAT
is correlated with that! somewhat
It has predictive validity

Concurrent Validity

Does this measure correlate strongly with something that

it logically should right now?
Unlike predictive validity, concurrent validity compares
measures taken at the same time.
What current measures do you imagine that GPA should
correlate with?

If you said current test scores and teacher ratings you would
be correct.
GPA has some concurrent validity

Proposition
Statements concerned with the relationships among concepts.
The logical linkage among concepts.
Assert a universal connection between properties.
We define a proposition as a statement about concepts which
may be judged as true or false if it refers to observable
phenomena -- Cooper & Schindler.
When a proposition is formulated for empirical testing, we call
it a hypothesis.

Variable Any factor that

can change in a scientific
investigation or experiment.

Types of Variables

Dichotomous
Dichotomous

Male/Female
Male/Female
Employed/
Employed/Unemployed
Unemployed

Discrete
Discrete

Ethnic
Ethnicbackground
background
Educational
Educationallevel
level
Religious
Religiousaffiliation
affiliation

Continuous
Continuous

Income
Income
Temperature
Temperature
Age
Age

Independent Variable
(also called the manipulated
predictor variable)

variable,

The condition that is intentionally changed

by the investigator in an experiment.
There can be only one independent variable in
an experiment.

Dependent Variable
(also called the responding variable, criterion
variable)
The factors or conditions that will change as a
result of the independent variable.
The factors that you measure or observe as
data.
There can be one or more dependent variables
in an experiment.

Independent and Dependent Variable Synonyms

Independent
Variable (IV)
Predictor
Presumed cause
Stimulus
Predicted from
Antecedent
Manipulated

Dependent Variable (DV)

Criterion
Presumed effect
Response
Predicted to.
Consequence
Measured outcome

Relationships Among Variable Types

Whether a given variable is treated as an independent or

moderating variable depends on the hypothesis under
investigation. If you were interested in studying the impact of the
length of working week, you would make the length of the week
the IV. If you were focusing on the relationship of worker and
productivity, you might use working week length as MV.

For example, if you are researching whether lack of exercise leads to

weight gain, lack of exercise is your independent variable and weight
gain is your dependent variable. Confounding variables are any other
variable that also has an effect on your dependent variable. They are
like extra independent variables that are having a hidden effect on
your dependent variables. Confounding variables can cause two major
problems:
Increasevariance
Introducebias.

The switch to commission from a salary

compensation system will lead to increased
sales
per worker, especially more
experienced workers .
The loss of mining jobs leads to acceptance
of higher-risk behaviors to earn a familysupporting income particularly among those
with a limited education.

Moderating variable is one that influences the strength

of a relationship between two other variables, and
a mediator (intervening) variable is one that explains
the relationship between the two other variables
Let's consider the relation between social class (SES)
and frequency of breast self-exams (BSE). Age might
be a moderator variable, in that the relation between
SES and BSE could be stronger for older women and
less strong or non existent for younger women.
Education might be a mediator variable in that it
explains why there is a relation between SES and BSE.
When you remove the effect of education, the relation
between SES and BSE disappears.

Hypothesis
Hypothesis is a tentative statement showing the
relationship between two or more variables, the
reliability and validity of which is to be tested and
verified. It expresses the nature and degree of
relationship between variables.

Types of Hypothesis
Descriptive hypotheses: Describing the characteristics of
a variable (may be an object, person, organisation, event,
and situation).
Eg. Employment opportunity of MBA graduates is more
than the arts students.
The current unemployment rate in Udupi exceeds 6
percent of the labor force

Researchers will often use a research question rather

than a descriptive hypothesis.
What is the unemployment rate in Udupi?

Relational Hypotheses
Establishes relationship between two variables. It may
be positive, negative or nil relationship.
Example
Foreign cars are perceived by Indian consumers to be
of better quality than domestic cars.
Correctional relationships
Young machinists are less productive than those who
are 35 years or older
Explanatory, or causal relationships (Causal
Hypothesis)
An increase in family income leads to an increase in

Null Hypothesis it points out there is no difference

between two populations in respect of same property.
No differences between the groups being
studied (e.g., experimental vs. control
group) or
No relationship between the variables
being studied
Example: There is no significant difference in
the anxiety level of children of High IQ and
those of low IQ.

Alternative Hypothesis- when we reject the null

hypothesis, we accept another hypothesis known as
alternate hypothesis.
Alternate Hypothesis can further be classified as
Directional
Hypothesis
and
Non-directional
Hypothesis.

Directional Hypothesis
Is a type of alternative hypothesis that specifies the
direction of expected findings.
Sometimes directional hypothesis are created to
examine the relationship among variables rather than
to compare groups.
Directional hypothesis may read,is more than..,
will be lesser..
Example: Children with high IQ will
exhibit more anxiety than children with
low IQ

NON-DIRECTIONAL HYPOTHESIS Is a type of alternative

hypothesis in which no definite direction of the expected
findings is specified. The researcher may not no what can be
predicted from the past literature. It may read, ..there is a
difference between.
Example: There is a difference in the anxiety
level of the children of high IQ and those of low
IQ

Inductive and Deductive Hypotheses(Theory

Building and Theory Testing)
Classified in terms of how they were derived: - Inductive hypothesis - a
generalization based on observation

Deductive hypothesis - derived from theory

Hypotheses Are the Empirical Counterparts of

Propositions

Abstract
Level

Empirical
Level

Concept A

Concept B

(Reinforcement)

(Habit)

Rupee bonus
for sales
volume over
quota

Always
makes four
sales call a
day

The Role of Hypothesis

It guides the direction of the study
It limits what shall be studied and what shall not
It suggests which form of research design is likely to
be most appropriate
It provides a framework for organizing the conclusions
that result.
Example
Husbands and wives(who should be studied)
agree in their perceptions of their respective
roles(what shall be studied) in purchasing
decisions(what context shall be studied)

Theory
A theory is a set of interrelated constructs (concepts),
definitions, and propositions that present a systematic
view of phenomena by specifying relations among
variables, with the purpose explaining and predicting
the phenomena --Kerlinger
A theory is a statement or set of
statements about the relationships
among variables

The role of theory

Organizing knowledge and explaining laws
Predicting new laws
Guiding research

Example of a Theory: Voluntary Job

Turnover

Job Performance

Labour market conditions, number of

organizations, personal characteristics,
And other partial determinants
of ease of movement

Perceived ease of movement (e.g.

Expectation of finding alternatives,
unsolicited opportunities)
Intention Voluntary
Job
To
Turnover
Quit
Perceived desirability of movement
(e.g. job satisfaction)

Equity of pay, job complexity, participation

In decision-making, and other partial
Determinants of desirability of movement

Model
A model is defined here as a representation of a system which is
constructed for the purpose of studying some aspect of that
system or the system as a whole
Models differ from theories in that a theorys role is explanation
whereas a models role is representation
A model is not an explanation; it is only the result of taking the
structure or function of one object or process and using that as a
model for the second --Cooper&Schindler