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Fall 2015 MBA Semester 3

MB0050: Research Methodology

Q1. Research is a sequential method of enquiry, directed towards a clear implicit or explicit objective. Describe in detail the steps to be carried out in a typical research study. Management research is an unbiased, structured, and sequential method of enquiry, directed towards a clear implicit or explicit business objective. This enquiry might lead to proving existing theorems and models or arriving at new theories and models.

Figure: The Process of Research

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Steps carried out in a typical research study The management dilemma Any research starts with the need and desire to know more. This is essentially the management dilemma. It could be the researcher himself or herself or it could be a business manager who gets the study done by a researcher. The need might be purely academic (basic or fundamental research) or there might be an immediate business decision that requires an effective and workable solution (applied research). Defining the research problem This is the first and the most critical step of the research journey. For example, a soft drink manufacturer who is making and selling aerated drinks now wants to expand his business. He wants to know whether moving into bottled water would be a better idea or he should look at fruit juice based drinks. Formulating the research hypotheses In the model, we have drawn broken lines to link defining the research problem stage to the hypotheses formulation stage. The reason is that every research study might not always begin with a hypothesis; in fact, the task of the study might be to collect detailed data that might lead to, at the end of the study, some indicative hypotheses to be tested in subsequent research. Developing the research proposal After the management dilemma has been converted into a defined problem and a working hypothesis, the next step is to develop a plan of investigation. Research design formulation On the basis of the orientation of the research, i.e., exploratory, descriptive or causal, the researcher has a number of techniques for addressing the stated objectives. These are termed in research as research designs. The main task of the design is to explain how the research problem will be investigated. There are different kinds of designs available to you while doing a research. Sampling design Study the entire population is not always possible. Hence the researcher goes about studying a small and representative sub-group of the population. This sub-group is referred to as the sample of the study. There are different techniques available for selecting the group based on certain assumptions. The most important criteria for this selection would be the representativeness of the sample selected from the population under study. Q2. What are descriptive research designs? Explain the different kinds of descriptive research designs. The objective of descriptive research studies is to provide a comprehensive and detailed explanation of the phenomena under study as the name itself suggests. The intended

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objective might be to give a detailed sketch or profile of the respondent population being studied. For example, to design an advertising and sales promotion campaign for high-end watches, a marketer would require a holistic profile of the population that buys such luxury products. Thus a descriptive study, (which generates data on who, what, when, where, why and how of luxury accessory brand purchase) would be the design necessary to fulfill the research objectives. Cross-sectional Studies Cross-sectional studies involve a slice of the population as the name implies. Just as in scientific experiments one takes a cross-section of the leaf or the cheek cells to study the cell structure under the microscope, similarly one takes a current subdivision of the population and studies the nature of the relevant variables being investigated. There are two important characteristics of cross-sectional studies:

• This study is carried out at a single point in time and thus the applicability is most relevant for a specific period. For example, one cross-sectional study was conducted in 2002 to study the attitude of Americans towards Asian-Americans, after the 9/11 terrorist attack. This revealed the mistrust towards Asians. Another cross-sectional study conducted in 2012 to study the attitude of Americans towards Asian- Americans revealed more acceptance and less mistrust. Thus the cross sectional studies cannot be used interchangeably.

• Cross-sectional studies are carried out on a section of respondents from the population units under study (e.g., organizational employees, voters, consumers, industry sectors). This sample is under consideration and under investigation only for the time coordinate of the study.

Longitudinal Studies Only one sample of the identified population that is under study over a longer period of time is termed as a longitudinal study design. A panel of consumers specifically chosen to study their grocery purchase pattern is an example of a longitudinal design. There are certain distinguishing features of the same:

• Longitudinal study involves the selection of a representative panel, or a group of individuals that typically represent the population under study.

• Another feature of this study is it involves the repeated measurement of the group over fixed intervals of time. This measurement is specifically made for the variables under study.

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Q3. Discuss the concepts involved in Testing of Hypothesis. Also discuss the steps involved in testing the hypothesis. Q4. a. Distinguish between:

i. Schedules and Questionnaires ii. Open ended and closed ended questions

b. Explain the questionnaire design process.

Q5. a. What is the analysis of variance? What are the assumptions of the technique? Give a few examples where the techniques could be used. b. The following data represents the number of units produced by four operators during three different shifts: Shifts Operators

A B C D I 10 8 12 13 II 10 12 14 15 III 12 10 11 14

Perform a two-way analysis of variance and interpret the result. Q6. Explain the Structure of the Research Report. What are the guidelines for effective report writing? Remaining answers are available in the full assignments. For full assignments contact us: Global Education Rajdeep: 098662 48187 / 077958 40110 Email: support@smuassignments.com /

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