RESEARCH METHODS

Module:1 Business Research

Meaning
Types
Process of research- management problem,
defining the research problem, formulating the
research Hypothesis, developing the research
proposals, research design formulation,
sampling design, planning and collecting the
data for research, data analysis and
interpretation.
Research Application in business decisions,
Features of good research study.
Meaning of Business Research
Research is a process through which we
attempt to achieve systematically and with the
support of data the answer to a question, the
resolution of a problem, or a greater
understanding of a phenomenon.
In other words, Research or Business Research
means Systematic investigative
process employed to increase or
revise current knowledge by discovering
new facts.
Definition

An organized, systematic, databased, critical,

objective, scientific inquiry or investigation into a
specific problem, undertaken with the propose of
finding answers or solutions to it.
Research provides the needed information that
guides managers to make informed decisions to
successfully deal with problems.

The information provided could be the result of a

careful analysis of data gathered firsthand or of
data that are already available (in the company).
Types of Research
1. Descriptive Research:

Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-

finding enquiries of different kinds. The major
purpose of descriptive research of the state of
affairs as it exists at present.

In social science and business research, we quite

often use term Ex post facto research for
descriptive research studies.
The main characteristic of this method is that the
researcher has no control over the variables; he
can only report what has happened or what is
happening.

Most Ex post facto research projects are used for

descriptive studies in which the researcher seeks
to measure such items as, for example, frequency
of shopping, preference of people or similar data.
2. Analytical Research:

In Analytical research, the researcher has to use

facts or information already available and analyze
these to make a critical evaluation of the material.

Analytical research attempts to explain why and

how. It usually concerns itself with cause–effect
relationships among variables.

The researcher attempts to analyze the situation

and make critical evaluation.
3. Applied Research:

Research can either be applied research or

fundamental research. Applied research aims at
finding a solution for an immediate problem
facing a society or an industry/business
organization

Research to identify social, economical or political

trends that may affect a particular institution or
the marketing research or the evaluation research
are the examples of applied research.
Thus, the central aim of applied research is to
discover a solution for some pressing practical
problem.
4. Fundamental Research:

Fundamental research is mainly concerned with

generalizations and with the formulation of a
theory. “Gathering knowledge for knowledge’s
sake is termed ‘pure’ or ‘basic’ research.”

Research concerning some natural phenomenon

or relating to pure mathematics is example of
fundamental research.
Similarly, research studies, concerning human
behaviour carried on with a view to make
generalizations about human behaviour is another
example of Fundamental Research.
5. Quantitative Research:

Quantitative research is based on the

measurement of quantity or amount. It is
applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in
terms of quantity.

This method deals with collecting all the objective

and numerical data from various resources.
Questionnaire is the basic tool, which provides
adequate information about customer behavior
and their approach towards a particular product
or company. Compiling complete statistical
investigation is the basic aim of quantitative
analysis.

Hence, the questions are also in objective sorts

that draw yes and no responses from the
customers chosen for the tests
6. Qualitative Research:

Qualitative research is concerned with qualitative

phenomena i.e., phenomena relating to or
involving quality or kind.

For instance, when we are interested in

investigating the reasons for human behaviour, we
quite of talk about ‘motivation research’, an
important type of qualitative research.
This type of research aims at discovering the
underlying motives and desires, using in depth
interviews for the purpose.

Qualitative research is especially important in the

behavioral sciences where the aim is to discover
the underlying motives of human behaviour.
Through such research we can analyze the various
factors which motivate people to behave in a
particular or which make people like or dislike a
particular thing.
7. Conceptual Research:

Conceptual research is that which is related to

some abstract idea(s) or theory. It is generally
used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new
concepts or to reinterpret existing ones.

8. Empirical Research:

Empirical research relies on experience or

observation alone, often without due regard for
system and theory.
9. Observational Research:

In this case, the data are collected by observing

some process, which may be well understood. For
example, the study of hospital records to see if
they indicate that the incidence of a disease is
related to blood groups or accident records might
be used to access the effects of changing traffic
laws.

A sample survey, which is used to gain peoples’

attitudes to political questions or consumer goods,
is also a type of observational study.
10. Longitudinal and Laboratory Research:

Longitudinal Research is confined to a single time

period research, where as Laboratory Research is
carried on over a several time periods.

11. Clinical, Exploratory and Formalized Research:

Research can be well understood as clinical or

diagnostic research. Such research follows case
study methods or in-depth approaches to reach
the basic casual relations. Such studies usually go
deep into causes of things or events that interest
us, using very small samples and very deep
probing data gathering devices.
The research may be exploratory or it may be
formalized. The objective of exploratory research
is the development of hypotheses rather than their
testing.

Formalized research studies are those with

substantial structure and with specific hypotheses
to be tested.
12. Historical, Conclusion-oriented and Decision-
oriented Research:

Historical research is that which utilizes historical

sources like documents to study events or ideas of
the past, including the philosophy of persons and
groups at any remote point of time.

In Conclusion-oriented research, researcher is

free to pick up a problem, redesign the enquiry as
he proceeds and is prepared to conceptualize as he
wishes.
Decision-oriented research is always for the need
of a decision-maker and the researcher in this case
is not free to embark upon the research according
to his own inclination. Operation research is an
example of decision oriented research.
Process of Research
1. Management problem
2. Defining the research problem
3. Formulating the research Hypothesis
4. Developing the research proposals
5. Research design formulation
6. Sampling Design
7. Planning and collecting the data for research
8. Data analysis and interpretation
1. Management problem:
The process begins with the management dilemma—
the problem or opportunity that requires a business
decision.

The management dilemma is usually a symptom of an

actual problem, such as:
Rising costs / Declining sales.
Increasing tenant move-outs from an apartment
complex.
A larger number of product defects during the
manufacture of an automobile.
An increasing number of letters and phone
complaints about post purchase.
2. Defining the Research Problem:
It is important to define the problem in a precise
manner. A well-defined problem gives the
researcher a proper direction for carrying out
investigation. It also helps in utilizing the
resources provided for the research effectively. A
researcher can focus his efforts on collecting
relevant information, if the problem is defined
properly.
Some research problems such as conducting a
survey on the newspaper reading habits of a given
set of the population can be clearly defined. But if
a company wants to define a research problem
such as declining sales, it needs to explore the
research problem further through exploratory
research.
3. Formulating the Research Hypothesis:

A hypothesis is a statement based on some

presumptions about the existence of a relationship
between two or more variables that can be tested
through data.

When a researcher is developing a

hypothesis, he/ she will try to assume an answer
for a particular research question and then test it
for its validity.
A hypothesis normally makes the research
question clearer to the researcher. For instance, if
the research question is—‘Why are the sales of
refrigerators going up in winter? In this case, the
hypothesis could be—‘The sales of refrigerators
are going up during winter due to off-season
discounts’ This makes the research question much
clearer.

The formulation of a hypothesis allows the

researcher to make a presumption or ‘guess’ and
can thus ensure that all the relevant aspects of the
research are included in the research design.
However, a hypothesis cannot be developed for
every research question. Moreover, a vague
hypothesis may be of no use at all.
4. Developing Research Proposals:
Various research proposals must be developed in
order to find the solution to a problem more
accurately.
Before proceeding to the next stage, it is essential
to consider two points. The first one is to assess
the value of information that is being sought. In
this stage, it is important to conduct a cost-benefit
analysis, wherein the costs incurred on obtaining
the needed information are compared with the
benefits accruing to the organization.
If the costs are more than the benefits, then it is
better to halt the research, while the subsequent
phases of the research process can be carried on if
the benefit is greater than the cost. The second
point is to ensure that the required information
does not already exist as it would make the
research effort futile.
5. Research Design Formulation
Planning the research design is a crucial step in
the research process. A research design is the
actual framework of a research that provides
specific details regarding the process to be
followed in conducting the research.

The research is designed based on the objectives

formulated during the initial phases of the
research.
The research design includes all the details
regarding the research such as where the
information should be obtained from, the time
and budget allotted for conducting the research,
the appropriate measurement techniques and the
sampling process.

Factors like the research objective, the importance

of the decision, costs involved in conducting the
research and the availability of data sources
determine the selection of an appropriate research
design.
6. Sampling Design:
Sampling is a process that uses a small number of
items or a small portion of a population to draw
conclusions regarding the whole population.
Alternately, a sample can be considered as a
subset of a larger set called the population.
A well-defined sample has the same
characteristics as the population as a whole, and
therefore, when a research is conducted on such
sample, the results obtained will represent the
characteristics of the whole population.
But if errors are made in selecting the sample, then
the research results will be wrong, since a wrongly
selected sample does not represent the characteristics
of the population as a whole.

For instance, to study the petrol and diesel

consumption patterns of people, if a sample is
selected from a list of vehicle owners, it may not
represent the whole population, since there are
several others who use petrol or diesel for running
generators or for purposes other than travelling. It is
therefore very important to define the population
before selecting the sample; otherwise, the research
results may not be helpful for the manager in taking
effective decisions.
Another important aspect of sampling is to decide
the size of the sample. How big should a sample
be? The bigger the sample size the greater will be
its precision. But for practical reasons, it is not
feasible to select large samples.

Therefore, a sample that is selected using

probability sampling techniques will be sufficient
for getting effective results.
7. Planning and Collecting the Data for
Research:
After preparing a suitable sample, the researcher
collects the data from the units in this sample. As
there are several research techniques, there are a
number of data collection methods as well.

For instance, in the survey method, the data are

collected by asking the respondents to fill out a
questionnaire administered to them, while in the
observation technique, the respondents are just
observed without their direct participation in the
research.
Whatever the method used to collect the data, it is
very important that the data are collected without
any errors.

Errors may creep in during the data collection

process in several forms. Potential data collection
errors may arise if the interviewee does not
understand the question or if the interviewer
records the answers inaccurately.
Data collection is done in two stages—pre-testing
and the main study.

Pre-testing involves collecting data from a small

sub-sample to test whether the data collection
plan for the main study is appropriate. This helps
the researchers to minimize any potential errors
that may crop up during the main study.
The pre-test results may also be used to decide on
a way of tabulating the collected data. If the
results of a pre-test are not appropriate for
decision-making, then the researcher may
consider altering the research design.
8. Data Analysis and Interpretation:
The interpretation of the data that have been
collected by using different analytical techniques
according to the requirements of the management
is called analysis.

Several statistical tools are used for data analysis,

in order to make the analysis suitable for effective
decision-making. The statistical analysis of the
data may range from simple frequency
distribution tables to complex multivariate
analysis.
After the evaluation of the data, the last and the
major phase that comes into picture is the
preparation of a research report.

The research reports can be presented either in

oral or in written format. The research report
should contain a brief description of the objectives
of the research, a summary of the research design
adopted, a summary of the major findings and
conclude with the limitations and
recommendations.
The purpose of conducting any research is to
obtain information that can aid in efficient
decision-making.

Therefore, it is very important to carefully analyze

the information obtained and present it according
to the requirements of the management of the
company.
Research Application in Business Decisions
Research is a strategy that seeks to make basic
discoveries and uncover new principles or factors
so far not unknown or unrecognized.

A business research program is an increasingly

popular way for companies to train and educate
their managers and other employees in a vast
array of different fields.
Business research can pertain to economics,
business strategy and ethics, in fact, anything
related to modern business and trade.

Research is applicable in business decisions in

many different ways as follows:

Testing a new product or service

Development of new product
Adequate distribution of the products
Identification of new risks, if any.
To study the competition
Research creates benchmarks and helps the
organizations to measure the progress.

Research helps the business to improve the

productivity.

Research helps to the business to continually

revise their design and range the product due to
continuous technological changes and changing
preference of customers.
Features of good research study
Should be systematic in nature.

Should be logical.

Should be empirical and replicable in nature.

Should be according to plans.

Should be according to the rules and the
assumptions should not be based on the false
bases or judgments.

Should be relevant to what is required.

Procedure should be reproducible in nature.

Controlled movement of the research procedure