Business Research Methods Notes

1 BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS UNIT I Research means a search for knowledge. It refers to a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. The term research refers to the systematic method consisting of enunciating the problem, formulating a hypothesis, collection the facts or data, analyzing the facts and reaching certain conclusions. Research is thus an original contribution to the existing stock of knowledge making for its advancement. OBJECTIVES 1. To explore a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it. 2. To discover the characteristic of a particular individual, situation or a group. 3. To examine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is associated with something else. 4. To test a hypothesis of a casual relationship between variables. RESEARCH TYPES Basic Vs Applied: Basic means the investigation of problems to further and develop existing knowledge. It is mainly concerned with generalization and formulation of theories. Gathering knowledge for knowledge’s sake is termed basic research. E.g. Physics, astronomy. Similarly, studying the behavior of individual to make some generalization about their social learning, memory pattern, and intelligence level are also examples of fundamental research. 1. Descriptive Vs analytical Research: Descriptive research describes the present state of affairs as it exists without having any control over variables. The researcher can only report what has happened or what is happening. In analytical research on the other hand the researcher has to use fact or information already available and analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the material. 2. Quantitative Vs Qualitative research: Department of Management Studies

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2 Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or amount. It is applicable to phenomenon that can be expressed in terms of quantity. Qualitative research is concerned with qualitative phenomenon. Qualitative research is especially important in the behavioural sciences where the aim is to discover the underlying motives, interest, personality and attitudes of human beings. 3. Conceptual Vs empirical Research Conceptual research is related to some abstract ideas or theory. Philosophers and thinkers generally use it to develop new concepts or to interpret existing ones. Empirical research is data based coming up with conclusions that are capable of being verified, by observation or by experiment. Empirical research is appropriate when proof that certain variables affect other variables in some way is sought. It is considered that evidence gathered through experiments or empirical studies provides the most powerful support for a given hypothesis 4. Laboratory research: The emphasis in laboratory research is on controlling certain variables in such as to observe the relationship between two or three other variables. 5. Clinical or diagnostic Research; This type of research follows case study methods or in-depth approaches to reach the basic causal relationship. This research takes only a few samples and studies the phenomenon in depth and observes the effects. 6. Exploratory research : The objective of exploratory research is the development of hypothesis rather than their testing. The major emphasis is on the discovery of ideas and insights. It is more flexible and highly informal. 7. Historical research : This type of research utilizes historical sources like documents, literature, leaflets etc 8. Panel Research Panel methods are broader than descriptive than descriptive research. These methods are normally used in sales forecasting by measuring consumer preferences for various products measuring audience size and character for media Department of Management Studies

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3 programmes, testing new products and product concepts and testing any variable in a firm’s marketing mix. Generally the survey is valid for one time period, which is known as study period and they do not reflect changes occurring over time. 9. Experimental Research: A process where events occur in a setting at the discretion of the experimenter and control are used to identify the sources of variation in subject’s response. The investigator or experimenter systematically manipulates some factor to elicit a response from the subjects. Experimentation is considered to be process of manipulating one variable constant in order to establish a casual relationship. RESEARCH PROCESS Define research Problem Review of Literature Developing Hypothesis Research Design Sample Design

Data Collection

Analysis of Data

Hypothesis Testing Interpretation

Report Preparation Department of Management Studies

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1. Defining the research problem: Defining the basic problem, constitute the first step in a scientific enquiry. While formulating the research problem there are two main issues. 1. Review Of Literature It is a stage in which the researcher makes himself familiar with all the previous studies and their findings relevant to his field of work. He learns the methodology and approach developed by these past studies. He evaluates the conclusion of the previous studies in the light of the data he has collected. He questions these conclusions and tries to develop the alternative, possible better conclusions. 2. Developing the hypothesis: Hypothesis is a statement developed on the basis of suspected or anticipated relationship among various factors studied. Normally at the beginning of the research, the scholar would formulate a working hypothesis. It enables him to avoid collecting irrelevant data and facts. It helps him in focusing his attention on a particular aspect thereby eliminating wastage of time and resources. 3. Research Design Research design is a description of conceptual structure within which the research will be conducted. Here the researcher indicates the method of data collection the skills at the command of the researcher, the execution plan collection of data, the time and other resources available the financial implication etc, 4. Sample Design The researcher has to make a careful selection of a few elements from the population and then study them intensely and reach conclusion, which can be safely applied to the population. The selection of sample is a very important task. The researcher should determine the size of sample, the method of sampling, the test of sample etc. Department of Management Studies

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5 5.

Collecting Data The researcher at this stage should clearly spell out the sources of data for his work. He could use both primary as well as secondary data. While the former refers to the data collected for the first time by the researcher himself from the informants or the sample respondents specifically for his work. The latter means the data already, published or unpublished & available for use. The quality of data collected will ultimately decide the findings of the research work and so the researcher should arrange for surprise checks and controls over the collection of field data.

6. Analysis Of data: Once the data are collected they should be classified and tabulated. Then the analysis of the data should be undertaken. At this stage, the researcher should select the tools of analysis, which are consistent with the objectives of the study. The tendency to carry out irrelevant analysis should be avoided. He should be strong in reasoning, drawing inferences and reaching conclusions. 7. Testing Hypothesis: After analyzing the data as stated above the researcher is in a position to test the hypothesis, if any he had formulated earlier. Statistician has developed various tests such as chisquare test, t-test, F- test for the purpose. The hypothesis may be tested through the use of one or more of such tests, depending upon the nature and object of research inquiry.

The test result may result in either

accepting the hypothesis to start with generalization established on the basis of data may be stated as hypothesis to be tested by subsequent researches in time to come. 8. Generalization & interpretation: If a hypothesis is tested and upheld several times it may be possible for the researcher to arrive at generalization, The real value of the researcher lies in its ability to arrive at certain generalizations. If the researcher had no hypothesis to start with he might seek to explain his findings on the basis of some theory. it is called as interpretation. The process of interpretation may quite often trigger off new questions that in turn may lead to further researchers. Department of Management Studies

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6 9. Report Preparation: Finally the researcher has to prepare the report of what has been done by him. Writing of report must be done with great care. The report should clearly indicate the justification of the study, period of study, sample size, sources of data, tools of analysis, bibliography, review of past studies etc. It should also have a separate chapter on results and discussions where the researcher would report all his findings and give his interpretations. Care should be taken to incorporate relevant tables, diagrammed etc at the appropriate places. CRITERIA OF GOOD RESEARCH: 1. The purpose of the research should be clearly defined and common concepts be used. 2. The research procedure used should be described in sufficient detail to permit another researcher to repeat the research for further advancement, keeping the continuity of what has already been attained. 3. The procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to yield results that are as objective as possible. 4. The researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in procedural design and estimate their effects upon the findings. 5. The analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance and the methods of analysis used should be appropriate. 6. Conclusion should be confined to those justified by the data of the research and limited to those for which the data provide an adequate basis. 7. Greater confidence in research is warranted if the researcher is experienced has a good reputation in research and is a person of integrity.

QUALITIES OF GOOD RESEARCHER: Good research is systematic: It means that research is structured with specified steps to be taken in a specified sequence in accordance with the well-defined set of rules. Systematic Department of Management Studies

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7 characteristics of the research do not rule out creative thinking but it certainly does reject the use of guessing and intuition in arriving at conclusions. 1. Good research is logical: This implies that research is guide by the rules of logical reasoning and the logical process of induction and deduction are of great value in carrying out research.

2. Good Research is empirical: It implies that research is related basically to one or more aspects of a real situation and deals with concrete data that provides a basis for external validity to research results. 3. Good Research is Replicable: This allows research to be verified by replicating the study and thereby building a sound basis for decisions. PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY RESEARCHER IN INDIA: 

The lack of a scientific training in the methodology of research

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Insufficient interaction between the university research departments on the side and business establishments, governments department, and research institution on the other side.

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The business unit do not have confidence that the information supplied by them to researchers will be misused and so such they are often reluctant in supplying the needed information to researchers.

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Research studies overlapping one another are undertaken quite often for want of adequate information.

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There does not exist a code of conduct for researcher

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The difficult of adequate and timely secretarial assistance.

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Library management and functioning is not satisfactory at many place.

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There is also the problem that many of our libraries are not able to get copies of old and new Acts/ rules, reports and other government publications in time.

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There is also the difficulty of timely availability of published data.

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There may at times take place the problem of conceptualization.

HYPOTHESIS •

It is a tentative generalization, the validity of which remains to be tested. At the elementary level it may be mere hunch, guess, and imaginative data, which becomes the basis for action or investigation. – Lundberg

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Hypothesis is a proposition, which can be put to test to determine validity. – Goode & Hatt.

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A tentative solution posed on a cursory observation of known and available data and adopted provisionally to explain certain events and to guide in the investigation of others. It is in fact, a possible solution to a problem.

CHARACTERISTIC OF HYPOTHESIS •

Clarity:

The hypothesis must be conceptually clear. When the researcher attempts to establish relationship among various facts and translates these relationships into concepts he succeeds in formulating the hypothesis. Hence when a hypothesis is conceptually clear it provides a clear direction to the researcher. •

Scope For Verification: Hypothesis should be amenable for verification and empirical analysis. Though

hypothesis can be verified in terms of moral judgments yet such verifications process will be questionable. •

Specific: The hypothesis should be very specific and not a general statement. It should not

be ambiguous and it should be clearly stated. It is wiser to construct a hypothesis in simple language than resorting to flowery and confusing terminology. •

Testable:

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9 It should be testable with the available technique of analysis. Even while formulating a researcher should ascertain the relevant techniques with which it could be tested. •

Linked To Theory Hypothesis should facilitate establishing relationship with a body of theory.

Therefore when the hypothesis is formulated the researcher should conform whether it is related to any existing theory or not. •

Consistent It should be consistent with a most known facts ie it must be consistent with a

substantial body of established facts. It should be one which judges accept as being the most likely. TYPES OF HYPOTHESIS: •

Crude Hypothesis: A crude hypothesis is formed to initiate the process of research. When the

researcher is commencing his research work he needs some guidelines or focus. For this purpose he might develop a hypothesis based on the available evidence or data. •

Refined hypothesis:

Hypothesis that state the existence of empirical uniformities, hypothesis that are concerned with complex ideal types and hypothesis that are concerned with complex ideal types and hypothesis that are concerned with the relation of analytical variables. •

Working hypothesis

It is formed in the process of verifying the relationship among various variables included in research. It provides useful guideline to the researcher in determining the nature of data to be collected, volume of data required, the sample technique to be used analytical tools to be selected etc. •

Statistical hypothesis

Statistical hypothesis are those, which are formulated based on the sample data or facts. They serve the usual purpose of testing any expected relationship among variables.

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10 Once these hypotheses are tested or verified the conclusion about the population is drawn. •

Null hypothesis

It is formulated only to test whether there is any relationship between variables related to the problem being studied. Usually the null hypothesis is formed as a negative statement. •

Alternative hypothesis

It is a statement, which is accepted after the null hypothesis is rejected based on the test results.

PROCEDURE FOR HYPOTHESIS TESTING: It refers to all those steps that we undertake for making a choice between the two actions ie. Rejection and acceptance of a null hypothesis. The various steps involved in hypothesis testing are stated below; 1. Making a formal statement : The step consists in making a formal statement of the null hypothesis and also of the alternative hypothesis. 2. Selecting a significance level : The hypothesis is tested on a pre- determined level of significance and as such the same should be specified. Generally 5% or 1% is adopted for the purpose. The factors that affect the level of significance are; a) the magnitude of the difference between sample means. b) Whether the hypothesis is directional or non directional. c) The variability of measurements within samples d) whether the hypothesis is directional or non directional. 3. Deciding the distribution to use: After deciding the level of significance the next step in hypothesis testing is to determine the appropriate sampling distribution. The choice generally remains between normal distribution and the t-distribution. 4. Selecting a random sample and computing an appropriate value: Department of Management Studies

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11 The next step is to select a random sample and compute an appropriate value from the sample data concerning the test statistic utilizing the relevant distribution. 5. Calculation of the probability: Then calculate the probability that the sample result would diverge as widely as it has from expectations, if the null hypothesis were in fact true. 6. Comparing the probability: In this step compare the probability thus calculated with the specified value for ∝ the significance level. If the calculated probability is equal to or smaller than the ∝ value in case of one tailed test , then reject the null hypothesis but if the calculated probability is greater then accept the null hypothesis.

SOURCES OF HYPOTHESIS •

Theory: This is one of the main sources. It gives direction to research by stating what is known. Logical deduction from theory leads to new hypothesis. Eg . the rate of return on capital employed is an index of business success.

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Observation: Hypothesis can be derived from observation . from observing price behavior in a market a hypothesis can be formulated on the relationship between price & demand for an article. •

Analogies: Julian Huxley pointed out that casual observation in nature or in the framework of another science may be fertile source of hypothesis. The hypothesis that similar human types or activities may be found in similar geophysical regions came from studying plant ecology.

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Intuition & personal experience: Personal life and experience of persons determine their perception. These may in turn direct a person to certain hypothesis more quickly. Eg Newton & falling of apple.

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12 •

Findings Of studies: Hypothesis may be developed from the findings of other studies in order to replicate and test.

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State Of Knowledge: An important source of hypothesis is the state of knowledge in any particular science. Where formal theories exist , hypothesis can be deduced from them. If the hypothesis were rejected theories would be modified. Where formal theories are scarce, hypothesis are generated from conceptual frameworks.

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Culture: another source of hypothesis is the culture in which the researcher has been nurtured. In India in socio – economic and leadership studies, hypothesis based on caste- ridden, hierarchical and segmental and the Indian economic system riddled with inequalities and privileges.

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Continuity Of research: The continuity of research in a field itself constitute an important source of hypothesis leads to the formulation of new ones capable of explaining dependent variables in a subsequent researchers on the same subject.

CHARACTERISTIC OF A GOOD HYPOTHESIS: •

Conceptual Clarity: It should be conceptually clear. It should consist of clearly defined and understandable concepts. Clarity is obtained by defining operationally the concepts in the hypothesis.

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Specificity: A hypothesis should be specific and explain the expected relations between variables and the conditions under which these relations will hold.

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Testability: A hypothesis should be testable and should not be a moral judgement. It should be possible to collect empirical evidence to test the hypothesis. Eg Bad partners produce bad children.

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Availability Of technique: Hypothesis should be related to available techniques. Otherwise they will not be researchable. Therefore the research must make sure that methods for testing his proposed hypothesis are available.

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13 •

Theoretical

relevance: It should be related to a body of theory. A

science can be cumulative only building on an existing body by building on an existing body of facts and theory. When research is systematically based upon a body of existing theory, a genuine contribution to knowledge is more likely to result. Therefore a hypothesis should posses theoretical relevance. •

Consistency: Hypothesis should be logically consistent. Two or more propositions logically derived from the same theory must not be mutually contradictory.

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Objectivity: Scientific hypothesis should be free from value judgements. However as social phenomenon are affected by the milieu in which they take place, the researcher must be aware of his values and state them explicitly.

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Simplicity: A hypothesis should be a simple one requiring fewer conditions or assumptions. It demands insight. The more the insight the researcher has into a problem; the simple will be his hypothesis about it.

RULES IN HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT: 1. Search

for

variable

measurements

with

the

most

quantitative

characteristic. 2. Make the variable like properties explicit by stating all of the variable’s mutually exclusive and totally inclusive categories by degree. 3. Describe the means used to sort observation into your variable categories insufficient detail so that methods may be evaluated and replicated by others . 4. Always consider alternative operations that might be more appropriate for a given variable. 5. Analyze variable through their relationship. 6. Link two or more formal propositions through a shared independent or dependent variable where possible.

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14 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. In keeping the above stated design decisions one may split the overall research design into the following parts; 1. The sampling design: Which deals with the method of selecting items to be observed for the given study. 2. The above observational design: which relates to the conditions under which the observation is to be made? 3. The statistical Design: which concerns with the question of how many items are to be observed and how the information and data gathered are to be analysed. 4. The operational design : which deals with the techniques by which the procedures specified in the sampling , statistical and observational design can be carried out. FEATURES OF THE RESEARCH DESIGN: 1. It is a plan that specifies the source and types of information relevant to the research problem. 2. It is an outline that specifies the objectives of the study and the hypothesis Relevant to the research questions. 1) It is a blueprint specifying his methods to be adopted for gathering and analyzing data. 3. It is a scheme defining the domain of generalisability. IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF A RESEARCH PLAN: After making decisions on the above questions a formal research plan incorporating is drafted. The format may vary depending on the purpose for which the study is undertaken.

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15 Introduction: The introduction of a research plan or proposal should place the research problem in its historical perspective. It must state the need for studying it. and the research’s precise interest in studying the problem. Statement Of the problem: The research problem should be defined pointing out its core nature and its importance. The issue relating to the problem may also be stated. This statement gives direction to the research process. Review Of previous studies: There may be previous studies on the selected theme. A review of available literature will bring out information on them. The primary aspects of those studies may be briefly described and the gaps pointed out. Scope of the study: A complete study of any problem is well high non- manageable, since it would entail an overwhelming mountain of data. Therefore the scope and dimension of the study should be delimited with reference to the topical scope- breath and depth, geographical area to be covered , reference period , the type of institution Objective Of the study: The specific objectives of the study should be stated clearly. These refer to the questions to which the researcher proposes to seek answers through the study. Conceptual model: This section is the heart of the research plan. This is where the researcher formulates and develops the structure of relationship among the variables he is investigating. Hypothesis: These are logically deduced from the theoretical framework above. They refer to the anticipated outcome or possible answers to the research questions. they should be conceptually clear , specific and simple. Operational definition OF concepts: The major concepts used in the title of the study , its objectives , the investigative questions and the hypothesis should be identified. Each of them should be defined in operational terms pertinent to the measurement criteria or operations. The significance of the study: It is important to point out the relevance and significance of the investigation. A careful statement of the value of the study and the possible applications of its findings helps to justify its importance and social relevance.

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16 Geographical area to be covered: The territorial area to be covered by the study should be decided and specified in the plan. The area to be chosen depends on the purpose of the study and time and other resources. Reference Period: This depends on the nature of the study and availability of data. The period should be longer- say five or 10 years – if the study aims to make a trend analysis of an activity like production or sale or profitability. Methodology: In this section the overall topology of the design – experimental, descriptive, survey, case study or historical study – is specified. Further the method or methods to be adopted for the collection of data- observation, interviewing or mailing – are specified. Sampling Plan: If the study requires collecting primary data from the field the universe must be deliberated, and the methods of sampling to be used for drawing the sample from the universe and the sample size must be stated. Tools for gathering data; In this section the tools to be used for gathering datainterview schedule /guide , questionnaire or check list etc. are listed and each of them described. the tools chosen should be appropriate to the methods to be adopted for gathering data. Plan of Analysis: The statistical techniques proposed for data collection and analysis should be explained clearly with its suitability in the research. Chapter Scheme: The chapter scheme of the report to be prepared for communicating the findings of the study to the academic community and users should be outlined and the purpose of each chapter stated. Time budget: The time period required for each stage of work and the total time duration of the study are specified. Financial Budget: The should include an estimate of the expected costs of the project under major categories like salary, printing and stationary , postages , travel expenses , computation , secretarial & typing. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH DESIGN:  It may lead in the desired type of study with useful conclusions Department of Management Studies

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17  It may lead to more accurate results or help to reduce inaccuracy.  It may lead to optimum efficiency and reliability.  It may minimize the wastage of time and beating about the bush.  It may minimize the uncertainty, confusing and practical hazards associated with research problem.  It may be helpful for the collection of research material and testing of hypothesis.  A research design is a guidepost for research direction.

TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN:  Exploratory Studies: The major purpose of exploratory studies are: the identification of problems , the more precise formulation of problems and the formulation of new alternative courses of action. The design of exploratory studies is characteristics by great flexibility and ad-hoc versatility. By definition the researcher is involved in investigating an area or subject about which he or she is not sufficiently knowledgeable to have formulated detailed research questions and /or to state hypothesis about it. In short the researcher seeks to gain familiarity and /or achieve new insights into the problems situation. For a given problem the results of an exploratory study may indicate that further research can be reduced and /or certain aspects of the larger study can be eliminated. An exploratory study is conducted in the following situations;  To design a problem for investigation & to formulate hypothesis  To determine the priorities for further research.  To gather data about the practical problems of carrying out research on particular conjectural statements.  To increase the analyst’s interest in the problems.  To explain basic concepts. While applying this design three different methods are followed. Survey Of related Literature:

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18 By studying intensively the past studies and contributions related to the field of study the research problem could be easily formulated. Conducting Experience survey – This refers to undertaking collection of details and discussion with the experienced people in the chosen field of research. This would help the researcher to determine the extent to which he is original and can avoid duplication. Analysis Of insight –stimulating examples is yet another method in which depending upon the study on hand. In this method the experience of people would be used as a guide to develop of formulates a hypothesis. Descriptive Studies: Descriptive research design is concerned with the research studies with a focus on the portrayal of the characteristics of a group or individual or a situation. The main objective of such studies is to acquire knowledge. For example to identify the use of a product to various groups a research study may be undertaken to question whether the use varies with income, age, sex, or any other characteristics of population. Similarly such studies are used to examine the characteristics of the corporate sector or consumer behavior etc. Descriptive research is a marked by the prior formulation of specific research question. The investigator already knows a substantial amount about the research problem, perhaps as a result of an exploratory study before the project is initiated. Thus the investigator should be able to define clearly what it is that he or she wants to measure and to set up appropriate and specific means for measuring it. A researcher does a descriptive study in the following situations;  During the analysis of characteristics of certain groups , e.g users of a product of different ages ,sexes ,education etc.  To identify the proportion of people in a specified population who behave in a certain way e.g shoppers who buy from a particular shop.  To forecast future trends e.g sales of a company‘s product in each of the next five years.  To study whether certain variables are associated e.g income & use of a product. Casual Relationship/ experimental research Design:

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19 This research studies are mainly focused on focused on finding out the cause & effect relationship of the phenomenon under study. Actually when observation is arranged and controlled, it becomes experimental research. An experiment is a test or trail or an act or operation for the purpose of discovering something unknown or of testing a principle , supposition etc. It is a unconfused fashion. There are different types of experiments such as methodology, pilot study, heuristic, fact finding, boundary, simulation, theoretical , illustrative etc. FACTORS AFFECTING RESEARCH DESIGN: •

Non – Availability Of sufficient data: This is one of the basic factors affecting research design. A design developed at one stage may undergo change in the process of research as data may not be available. Then the design would be suitably method. To overcome this usually researcher conduct a pilot study to ascertain whether the required data would be available or not.

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Availability Of time: In the research process various stages are time consuming. For example problem identification data collection, analysis and interpretation etc. require a lot of time. The research design would be depending upon the availability of sufficient time to carry out all these process rigorously.

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Availability Of resources: Certainly the availability of human and financial resources will influences research design. A study which requires highly specialized skill or experience, identifying such personalities would itself consume a lot of time. Similarly the level of accuracy aimed at would also call for liberal funding of the research process. Therefore researches with ambitious objectives are usually undertaken only by organizations or with sponsors or by government, considering the volume of funds required.

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Ability Of researcher: Not every researcher is gifted with all the qualities required for conducting good research. A study which is highly analytical would call for knowledge about the analytical tools and the interpretation ability. Similarly an experimental research would require a special temperament. Hence

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20 depending upon the potential and ability of the researcher the research design would be prepared.

UNIT – II EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGN Experiment is a study in which the investigator manipulates or varies one or more variables and measures other variables. In other words It is a process of manipulating one variable in a controlled environment while holding all other variables constant in order to establish a casual relationship. All experiment involves three basic components: 1. Variable manipulated in a experiment are referred to as the independent variable or test units. 2. The actual alteration is called the treatment. 3. The actual variable chosen to measure the subject response are known as dependent variables. The result of the treatment is measured on dependent variable and these results of the treatment are given a variety of names i.e, outcome, observation change, effect etc. Advantage: 1. The researcher can manipulates the independent variable 2. Control group serves as a comparison to assess the existence and potency of the manipulation. 3. The contamination from extraneous variable can be controlled more effectively. 4. The convenience and cost of experimentation are superior to other methods. 5. The experimenter can assemble combination of variables for testing . 6. Repeating an experiment with different subject group and condition is possible. 7. Researcher can use naturally occurring events. Disadvantages: 1. The laboratory experiment is artificial Department of Management Studies

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21 2. Generalisation from non-probability samples can poses problems. 3. The experimentation can outrun the budget. 4. It is mostly effectively targeted at present or immediate future problems. 5. It is concerned with the study of people. 6. There is limits to the types of manipulation and control that are ethical. CONDUCTING AN EXPERIMENT: 1. Select relevant Variable In this step researcher will a) Select variable that are the best operational concepts. b) Determine how many variables to test c) Select or design appropriate measures for them. 2. Specify the level of the treatment: The treatment levels of the independent variables are the distinctions the researcher makes between different aspects of the treatment condition. 1.

Control

the

experimental

Environment

At this research concerned with environment control, holding constant the physical environment of the experiment. The introduction of the experiment to the subjects and the instruction would likely be videotaped for consistency. The arrangement of the room, the time of administration the experimenter’s contract with the subjects and so forth must all be consistent across each administration of the experiment. 4. Choose the experimental design: The experimental design are unique to the experimental. They serve as positional and statistical plans to designate relationships between experimental treatment and the experimenter’s observations or measurement points in the temporal scheme of the study. The design strengthen the generalizability of results beyond the experimental setting 4. Select and assign the subjects: The subject selected for the experiment should be representative of the population to which the researcher wishes to generalize. The researcher first prepares a sampling frame and then assigns the subject for the experiment to Department of Management Studies

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22 groups using a randomization technique. If randomization is used those assigned to the experimental group are likely to be similar to those assigned to the control group. Random assignment to the group is required to make the group as comparable as possible with respect to the dependent variable.

5. Pilot test –revise and test: Pilot testing is intended to reveal errors in the design and improper control of extraneous or environmental conditions. Pretesting the instrument permits the researcher to revise scripts ,look for control problems with laboratory conditions and scan the environmental for factor that might confound the results. 6. Analyse the data: If adequate planning and pretesting have occurred the experimental data will take an order and structure uncommon to surveys and unstructured observational studies. Researcher has several measurement and instrument options with experiment. Among them are 1) Observational technique and coding schemes 2) Paper and pencil tests 3) Self report instrument with open or dosed questions 4) Scaling technique 5) Physiological measure

VALIDITY IN EXPERIMENTATION: Validity refers to the extent to which the conclusions drawn from the are true experiment I - Internal validity: Refers to the extend to which the research design accurately identifies casual relationship. a) History When extraneous factors that enter the experiment process between the first and later manipulation affect measure of the dependent variable. Department of Management Studies

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23 b) Maturation : Changes in the dependent variable based on the natural function of time and not attributed to any specific event. c) Testing When learned understanding gained from the first treatment and measure of the dependent variable distort future treatment and measurement activities. d) Instrumentation : Contamination from changes in measurement processes observation technique and measuring instruments e) Selection Bias: Contamination created by inappropriate selection or assignment process of test subject to experimental treatment groups f) Statistical Regression: Contamination created when experiment group are selected on the basis of their extreme response or scores. g) Mortality : Contamination due to changing the composition of the test subjects in the experiment. h) Ambiguity : Contamination from unclear determination of cause effect relationship II - External Validity: Refer to the extent to which a casual relationship found in a study can be expected to be true for the entire target population. a)

Treatment Vs Treatment

When test subject in different treatment groups are exposed to different amount of manipulations. b)

Treatment Vs Testing

When the premeasurement process sensitizes test subject to respond in an abnormal manner to treatment manipulation. c)

Treatment Vs Selection

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24 Generalising the results to other categories of people beyond those used in the experiment d) Treatment Vs Setting Generalising the results to other environment beyond the one used in the experiment. e) Treatment Vs History Using the existing functional relationship to predict future phenomenon outcomes.

III - Construct Validity Refers to the extent to which the variables under investigation are completely and accurately identified prior to hypothesizing any functional relationships. a)

Inadequate pre-operationalization of variable Contamination due to inadequate understanding of the complete make-up of the independent and dependent variable included in the experimental design.

b) Mano operation bias Contamination created by using only one method to measure the outcome of the dependent variable. c) Mano-method bias Contamination due to assessing multi-attribute treatment manipulation using single item measuring instrument. d) Hypothesis –guessing Contamination by test subject believing they know the desired functional relationship relationship prior to the manipulation treatment. e) Evaluation Apprehension: Contamination caused by test subjects being fearful that their actions or response will become known to others. f) Demand Characteristic: Contamination created by test subjects trying behind the experiment thus abnormal socially acceptable responses or behaviour. g) Diffusion Of treatment

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25 Contamination due to test subject discussing the treatment and measurement activities with individual yet to receive the treatment. IMPROVING THE VALIDITY OF EXPERIMENT DESIGN: a) Inclusion of control group When designing an experiment the researcher must determine who will be assigned to the group that will be exposed to the manipulation and who will be assigned to the control that does not receive the manipulation. Control group represent the greatest strength of the experiment and the best way to ensure internal validity. b) Time order of the manipulation exposure: The researcher also must determine which variables, independent or dependent will occur first. This can be accomplished by using pre-experimental measure of the variables prior to manipulation or by establishing experimental treatment and control group that do not differ in terms of influencing the dependent variable before the manipulation takes place. c) Exclusion of Non similar test subject To increase internal validity the researcher can select only those test subject who have similar and controllable characteristics. d) Matching extraneous variable Through the process of matching, the researcher measure certain extraneous variable on a individual by individual basis Those who respond similarly to the variables are then allocated to the experimental and control groups. Again this process can control for both selection and statistical regression threats and enhances internal validity. e) Randomisation Of Test subjects to treatment groups Randomization of the assignment of test subjects to the experimental and control groups can help make the groups equivalent . To enhance external validity the researcher should also randomly select setting and times for the experiment based on the population or event under investigation. PRINCIPLES OF EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN a) Principle of Replication : Department of Management Studies

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26 According to this principle the experiment should be repeated more than once. So each treatment is applied in many experimental units instead of one. By this statistical accuracy of the experiment can be increased. This aims for increase in accuracy with which effects and interactions can be estimated. b) Principle of Randomisation It provides protection, against the effect of extraneous factors in experiment. This principle indicates that we should design or plan the experiment in such a way that the variations caused by extraneous factors can all be combined under the general heading of chance. c) Principal Of local control Under this method we first divide the whole unit into several homogenous parts , known as blocks and then each such block is divided into parts equal to the number of treatment. Then the treatment are randomly assigned to these parts of the block. TYPES OF EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN I - Informal experimental design 1) Before and after without control design In this design a single test group or area is selected and the dependent variable is measured before the introduction of the treatment. The treatment is then introduced and the dependent variable is measured again after the treatment has been introduced. Experimental Group

Level of [X] Performance

Training Introduced

Level of [Y] Performance

Training Effect = Y- X 2) After – Only with control design In this design two group or areas are selected and the treatment is introduced into the test area only. The dependent variable is then measured in both the areas at the same time. Treatment impact is assessed by subtracting the value of the dependent

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27 variable is then measured in both the areas at the same time.

Treatment impact is

assessed by subtracting the value in the test area. Experimental Group

Level of performance after training [Y]

Training Introduced

Experimental Group

Level of performance after training [Z]

No Training

Training Effect = Y- Z 3) Before and After with control design In this design two areas are selected and the dependent variable is measured in both the areas for an identical time period before the treatment. The treatment is then introduced into the test area only, and the dependent variable is measured in both for an identical time period after the introduction of the treatment. The treatment effect is determined by subtracting the change in the dependent variable in the control area from the change in the dependent variable in the test area. Time Period – I Experimental Group

Control Group

Level of Performance [X]

Level of Performance [A]

Time Period - II Training Introduced

Level of Performance [Y]

No Training

Level of Performance [Z]

Training Effect [Y-X] – [Z-A] II Formal Experimental Design 4) Completely Randomized design Department of Management Studies

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28 In this design the subjects are randomly assigned to experimental treatments. It involues two basic principle , ie principle of replication and principle of randomization of experimental designs. a) Two group simple randomization design In this design all the population is defined and then from population a sample is selected randomly. Then the samples are randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The two groups ie experimental & control , of such a design are given different treatments of the independent variable. This design is common in behavioural sciences. It is simple & randomize the differences among the sample items. But this does not control extraneous variable. a. Two Group Simple Randomized Design

Randomly Selected

Population

Treatment [A]

Treatment [B]

Sample

Randomly Assigned

Experimental Group

Control Group

b) Random replication design: In previous design extraneous variable was not controlled. But in this method the effect of such variable are minimized by providing a number of repetitions for each treatment. Each repetition is technically called a replication. In this design sample is taken randomly from the population available to conduct experiments and randomly Department of Management Studies

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29 assigned to four experimental & four control groups. Generally equal number of items are put in each group so that the size of the group is not likely to affect the results of the study. Due to repetitions the results are more reliable and population differences is also reduced as it is randomized.

Population

Population

Random Selection Random Selection

Sample Random assignment

Sample

Random assignment

Group 1

E

Group 2

E

Group 3

E

Group 4

E

Group 5

C

Treatment A Group 6

C

Treatment B

Independent Variable (or) Casual Variable

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30

Group 7

C

Group 8

C

5) Randomized Block design It is an improvement over the completely randomized design. In this local control can be applied along with other principles of experimental design. The subjects are divided groups known as blocks. , within each group the subjects are relatively homogeneous in respect to some selected variable. The number of subjects in a given block would be equal to the number of treatments and one subject in each block would be randomly assigned to each treatment. In general blocks are the level at which we hold the extraneous factor fixed. So that its contribution to the total variability of data can be measured. The main feature of the R.B. design is that in this each treatment appears the same number of times in each block. Randomized Block Design:

Student

Very Low

Very Low

Very Low

Very Low

Very Low

I.Q

I.Q

I.Q

I.Q

I.Q

A

B

C

D

E

Form 1 Form 2 Form 3 Form 4 Form 5 6) Latin Squares design It is used in agricultural research. For eg an experiment has to be made through which the effects of five different varieties of fertilizers on the yield of a certain crop say wheat is to be judged. In such case the varying fertility of the soil in different blocks in which the experiment has to be performed must be taken into consideration otherwise the Department of Management Studies

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31 results obtained may not be very dependable because the output happens to be the effect not only of fertilizers, but it may also be the effect of fertility of soil , varying seeds. To overcome such difficulties the L.S design is used when there are two major extraneous factors such as the varying soil fertility & varying seeds. The merit of this design is it enables differences in fertility gradients in the field to be eliminated in comparision to the effects of different varieties of fertilizers on the yield of the crop. But it has a limitation , that there is no interation between treatments and blocking factors and it requires rows & columns to be equal I

II

III

IV

V

X1 X2 X3 X4 X5

Fertility Level 7) Factorial Design It is used in experiment where the effects of varying than one factor be determined. a) Simple factorial Designs; It is also termed as a two –factor factorial design. In this design the extraneous variable to be controlled by homogeneity is called the control variable and the independent variable, which is manipulated is called the experimental variable. Then there are two experimental variable and two levels of the control variable. Subjects are assigned at random to each treatment just like Random design. Means of different cells represent the mean scores for the dependent variable. The column means represent the effect for treatments without taking in account of control variable. The row means represent the effect for levels without regard to treatment. Thus we can study the main effect of Department of Management Studies

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32 treatments as well as the main effect of levels. It is also possible to examine the interactions between treatment and levels, whether they are independent of each other nor they are not so. Training Control

Treatment A

Treatment B

Row Mean

Intelligence Level I Level II Column Mean

155 35.8 256

23.3 30.2 26.7

19.4 33.0

Control

Treatment A

Treatment B

Row Mean

Intelligence Level I Level II Column Mean

10.4 30.6 20.5

20.6 40.4 80.5

15.5 35.5

Training

40

B A

30 20 10 A

B

b) Complex Factorial design:

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33 Experiment with more than two factors at a time involve the use of complex factorial design. A design which considers three or more independent variables simultaneously is called a complex factorial design. When three factors with one experimental variable having two treatments and two control variable each one of which having two levels, the design used will be termed complex factorial design. In this method it is possible to determine the main effect for three variables ie one experimental and two control variables. The researcher can also determine the interactions between each possible pair of variables.

Control

Experimental Variable Treatment A C.V. 2 C.V. 2

Treatment B C.V. 2 C.V.

Level 1

Level 1

Level 2

2

Level 2

Level I Level II

Variable

MEASUREMENT Measurement can be defined as a standardized process of assigning numbers or other symbols to certain characteristics of the objects of interest, according to some prespecified rules. The definition implies that measurement is a three part process 1)

Selecting observable events

2)

Using numbers or symbols to represent aspects of the events.

3)

Applying a mapping rule to connect the observation to the symbol.

Data Type Data classifications employ the real numbers system. The most accepted basis for scaling has three characteristics. 1) Numbers are ordered Department of Management Studies

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34 2) Differences between numbers are ordered. 3) Number series origin Combination of these characteristics of order, distance and origin provide the following widely used classification of measurement scales. 1)

Nominal Data Nominal scale is simply a system of assigning number symbols to events in order to label them. It provides convenient ways of keeping track of people object and events. The counting of members in each group is the only possible arithmetic operation when a nominal scale is employed. Chi-square test is the most common test of statistical significance that can be utilized and for the measure of correlation , the contingency co-efficient can be worked out .

2)

Ordinal Scale It places events in order, but there is no attempt to make the intervals of the scale equal in terms of some rule. A rank order represents ordinal scales and are frequently used in research relating to qualitative phenomenon. It have no absolute values and the real differences between adjacent ranks may not be equal. All that can be said that one person is higher or lower on the scale than another but more precise comparisons cannot be made.

3) Internal Scale It has the power of nominal and ordinal data plus one additional strength. It incorporates the concept of equality of interval. The intervals are adjusted in terms of some rule that has been established as a basis for making the units equal. Interval units are equal only in so far as one accepts the assumptions on which the rule is based .eg Centigrade and Fahrenheit temperature scales Mean, standard of deviation is appropriate measures. The generally used test for statistical significance are the “T” test “F” test & other parametric test are the statistical procedures of choice. 4) Ratio Scale Ratio scale has an absolute or true zero of measurement. The term “absolute zero” is not as precise. We can conceive of an absolute zero length and also absolute zero of Department of Management Studies

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35 time. It represents the actual amount of variables. Geometric & harmonic mean can be used as measures of central tendency & coefficient of variation may also be calculated. CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND MEASUREMENT 1) Validity It is the extend to which difference found with a measuring tool reflect true differences among respondents being tested. The difficulty in meeting this test is that usually one does not know what the true difference a) Content Validity Degree to which extent content of the item adequately represents the universe of all relevant items under study. b) Criterion Validity Degree to which the predictor is adequate in capturing the relevant aspects of the criterion. i) Concurrent Validity Description of the present criterion data is available at same time as predictor Scores. ii) Predictive Validity Prediction of the future criterion is measured after the passage of time. c) Construct Validity It tries to answer the question what accounts for the variance in the measure. Attempt to identify the underlying construct being measured and determine how well the test represents them. 2) Reliability It is concerned with estimates of the degree to which a measurement is free of random or unstable error. A measure is reliable to the degree that it supplies consistent results. a) Stability A measure is said to be stable if you can secure consistent results with repeated measurement of the same person with the same instrument. b) Equivalence Department of Management Studies

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36 Degree to which alternative forms of the same measure produce same or similar results. c) Internal consistency: Degree to which instrument items are homogenous and reflect the same underlying construct. 3)Practicality It is concerned with how far it economical , convenience and interpretability a) Economy There should be a trade off between ideal research project and the budget. b) Convenience test Degree to which the measuring instrument is easy to administer. c)Interpretability Degree to which the person other researcher is able to interpret the results

SCALING It is a procedure for the assignment of numbers to a property of objects in order in order to impart some of the characteristics of numbers to the properties in question. Scaling Techniques: I - Rating scale: It involves qualitative description of a limited number of aspects of a thing or of traits of a person. Here we judge an object in absolute terms against some specified criteria There is no rules with points of scales, in practice 3 to 7 points scales are generally used. There are various types of rating scale; a)

Simple category scale : It has two responses eg YES, NO. This scale is particularly useful for

demographic question or where dichotomous response is adequate. b) Multiple Choice – Single When there are multiple options for the respondent and only one answer is sought this scale is preferred. Department of Management Studies

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37 c) Multiple Choice – Multiple response scale It allows the respondent to select one or more alternatives from multiple choices. e) Likert Scale – It is a mostly used summated rating scale. It consists of statements that express either a favorable or unfavorable attitude

toward the object of interest. The

respondent is asked to agree or disagree with each statement. Each response is given a numerical score to reflect its degree of attitude favorableness and the scores may be totaled to measure the respondent’s attitude. This data provides interval data. f) Semantic differential It helps to measure the psychological attitude. It is used in marketing problems, political issues, and personalities. This method consist of bipolar rating scales, usually with seven points by which one or more respondents rate one or more concepts on each scale item. It produces interval data. The total set of response provides a comprehensive picture about the respondent rating and object which is measured.

g) Numerical Scale It has equal intervals that separate their numeric scale points. The verbal statement serves as the labels for the extreme points. It is often five point scale. The scale provides absolute & relative measure of the subject. h) Multiple rating scale: It is similar to numerical scale, but differs in two ways 1) It accepts a circled response from the rater 2) The layout allows visualization of the results. The advantage is that a mental map of the respondent evaluation is evident to both the rater and the researcher. This scale produces interval data. i) Fixed sum scale In this scale two categories are presented that must sum to 100 upto 10 categories can be used. The advantage is its compatibility. It provides continuous data. The scale is used to record to attitudes, behaviour and behavioural intent. j) Graphic rating scale:

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38 It was created to enable researcher to discern fine differences. It uses pictures , icons or other visuals to communicate with the respondents. Ranking Scales In this the subject directly compares two or more objects and makes choices among them. The respondents were asked to select one as best or most preferred. a) Paired –comparison In this respondent can express attitudes clearly by choosing between two objects. b) Forced Ranking Scale: The list of objects are ranked relative to each other .This method is faster than paired comparisons and is usually easier and more motivating to the respondent. c) Comparative Scales Another version of the preceding scale would label the categories “excellent”, ”very good”, “Good”, “fair” and “poor”. Thereby eliminating the implicit comparison. The problem with comparative scale is that the reference point is unclear and different reference points or standards.

SCALE CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES In research while measuring attitudes of the people we generally follow the technique of preparing the opinonnaire (attitude scale) in such a way that the score of the individual responses assigns him a place on a scale. In this respondent express his opinion on various statements. While developing such statement the researcher must note the following points; 1) That the statement must elicit responses which are psychologically related to the attitude being measured. 2) That the statements need be such that they discriminate not merely between extremes of attitude but also among individual who differ slightly. DIFFERENT SCALES FOR MEASURING ATTITUDES OF PEOPLE Name of the scale construction approach 1. Arbitrary approach Department of Management Studies

Name of the scales developed Arbitrary scales Jeppiaar Engineering College

39 2. Consensus scale approach

Differential scales (Thurstone Differential scale )

3. Item analysis approach 4. Cumulative scale approach 5. Factor analysis approach

Summated ( Likert Scale ) Cumulative Scale (Guttman’s Scalogram) Factor scales (Semantic differential, Multi-dimensional scaling)

1. Arbitrary Scale; It is developed on ad hoc basis and are designed largely through the researcher’s own subjective selection of items. The researcher select few statement or item which he believes are appropriate to a given topic and it is include in measuring instrument.. Then people are asked to check in a list for their opinion. Merits: 1. It is easy to develop quickly with less expense. 2. It can be designed highly specific and adequate

Demerits 1. It is not reliable 2. It rely on researcher’s insight and competence. 3. Differential scale (Thustone – type scale) It is associated with differential scale which have been developed using consensus scale approach. In this selection is made by panel of judges The procedure is 1. The researcher gather a large number of statements 2. The statements are submitted to panel of judges. 3. Each judge is request to arrange in position according to opinion. 4. Each judge is request to place the statement in first, second groups etc according to his favorableness.

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40 5. In case of disagreement between the judges in assigning a position to an item that item is discarded. 6. A final selection of statements is then made . 7. The position of statements on the scale is determined by judges. Merits 1. It appropriate when we measure single attitude. 2. It is very reliable method Demerits 1. It is costly method 2. Judge own attitude may reflect in arrangement 3. Summated Scale (Likert Scale) It developed by utilizing the item analysis approach wherein in a particular item is evaluated on the basis of how well it discriminates between those persons whose total score is high and those whose score is low. Those items or statements that best meet this sort of discrimination test are included in the final instrument. Procedure: 1. Researcher collect a number of statements relevant to the attitude being studied. 2. A trial test should be made with small group of people 3. The response to various statements are scored in such a way that a response of most favorable attitude is given the highest score of 5, and the most unfavorable attitude is given the lowest score of 1. 4. Then the total score of each respondent is obtained by adding his scores for separate statements. 5. Then arrange these scores & find out with those statements which have a high discriminating power. This way we determine which statement consistently co relate with high favorability & which with low favorability. 6. Only those statements that correlate with total test, should be retained in the final statement. And others must be removed. Merits: 1. it is easy to construct in comparison to differential scale. 2. It is more reliable. Department of Management Studies

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41 3. Each statement in this is given a test for discriminating ability, so it permits the use of only those statements that have direct relationship to the attitude being studied. 4. We can study how responses differ between people & how response differ between stimuli. 5. It takes less time to construct. Demerits: 1. In this method we can examine whether respondents are more or less favorable to the topic, but we can’t tell how much or less they are. 2. The interval between strongly agree & agree may not be equal to the interval between agree & undecided. 3. Often the total score of an individual respondent has little clear meaning since the given score can be secured by a variety of answer pattern. 4. Cumulative scale or scalogram: It consists of a series of statements to which a respondents expresses his agreement or disagreement. The special feature of this scale is that statements in it form a cumulative series. The individual score is worked out by counting the number of points concerning number of statement he answered favorably. The major scale of this type of cumulative scales is the gutt man’s scalogram. The scalogram refers to the procedure for determining whether a set of items form a unidimensional scale. A scale is said to be unidimensional if response fall into a pattern in extreme and also less extreme points. Procedure; 1. The layout in clear terms the issue we want to deal in our study. 2. Develop a number of items relating the issue and to eliminate by inspection the items that are irrelevant or those that happen to be extreme items. 3. Pre-test the items whether the issue at hand is scalable. The respondent are asked to record their opinion on all items ranging from ‘strongly agree to strongly disagree. The score like 5 -1 was assigned. If there is 5 items in all, total, score can be from 75- 15. 4. Respondent opinionnaires are then arrayed according to total score for analysis and evaluation. If the responses of an item form a cumulative scale, its response category scores should decrease in an orderly fashion. After analyzing the preset results, a few items may be chosen. Department of Management Studies

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42 5. Then total scores for the various opininnoires and to rearray them to reflect any shift in order resulting from reducing the items. Merits; 1. It assures that only a single dimension of attitude is measured. 2. Researcher’s subjective judgment is not allowed to creep in the development of scale since the scale is determined by the replies of respondent. 3. It can be appropriately be used for personal, telephone or mail surveys. Demerits: 1. It is very tedious & complex in preparation. 2. Conceptually is more difficult in comparison to other scaling methods. 3. It very a reliable source for assessing attitudes of persons towards complex objects. 5. Factor Scales: It is developed on the basis of intercorrelations of items which indicate the degree of interdependence. It include a variety of technique that have been developed for two problem. 1) How to deal with the universe of content that is multidimensional. 2) How to uncover underlying dimension that have not been identified.

An important factor scale is semantic differential and multidimensional scaling. a) Semantic differential scale: It is an attempt to measure the psychological meanings of an object to an individual. b) Multidimensional scaling It is characterized as a set of procedures for portraying perceptual or affective dimension of substantive interest. It is used when all the variables are to be analysed are happened to be independent. Through MDS techniques one can represent geometrically the locations and interrelationship among a set of points. Merits: 1. It is used in psychological survey.

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43 2. It is used to measure the perceptual structure of a set of stimuli and cognitive processes underlying the development of this structure. 3. It is an important measurement tool for attitude. Demerits: 1. It is complicated in calculation. It is laborious in collection of data & analysis. GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING A MULTIPLE ITEM SCALE Determine Clearly What You Are Going To Measure

General As Many Items As Possible Ask Expert In The Field To Evaluate The Initial Pool Of Items

Determine The Type Of Attitudinal Scale To Be Used

•

Include Some Items That Will Help In The Validation The Scale Determine clearly what it isOf that you want to measure: The scale should be well grounded in theory. The construct to be measured and

the scale itself should be specific. The construct should be clearly distinguishable Administer The Items To An Initial Sample from other construct. •

Generate as many items as possible:

Items essentially are statements that are relevant of the construct. The greater the Evaluate And Redefine The Items number of initial items generated. The better the final scale will be. The items that are developed should not be too long nor should they pose any reading difficulty to the respondent. •

Finally Optimize The Scale Length

Ask expert to evaluate the initial pool of items:

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44 Experts are people who have worked one are currently working on the phenomenon that is being studied. They can give inputs on the relevancy clarity and conciseness of the items. Based on the experts’ evaluation the initial pool of items is modified. •

Determine the type of attitudinal scale to be used The various scales such as the likert scale, semantic differential scale, Thurston

and associative scale has already been discussed should be selected. The type of attitudinal scale to be used has to be decided quite early, because the wording of the items varies with each scale format. •

Include validation item in the scale: Certain items are added to the scale in order to improve the scales validity and

also to detect certain flaw in it. •

Administer the item to an initial sample: Once it has been determined which construct related items are to be included in

the scale, the next step is to administer the scale to an initial sample. This is done to check the validity of the items. •

Evaluate and refine the item of the scale: The ultimate quality that is sought in an item is high conctation with the true score

of the latent variable that is being measured. The properties that the items of a scale should possess are high interconctation, high item scale conctation high item variance, a mean close to the center of ht range of possible scores, and a high coefficient alpha. •

Optimize scale length: The larger the scale, the greater the reliability but shorter scales are easier he

respondent to answer. Hence balance has to be struck between briefly and reliability and the optimal scale length have to be determined. SAMPLING DESIGN •

Population A population is an identifiable total group of aggregation of elements.

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45 For Example:

People, Products, Organizations, Physical Entities that are of

interest to the researcher and pertinent to the specified information problem. •

Element: An element is a person or object from which data and information are sought.

•

Sampling units:

Are the target population elements available for selection during the sampling process. •

Sampling frame: After defining the target Population the researcher must assemble a list of all

eligible sampling units, referred to as a sampling frame. Characteristic of a good sample design 1. Goal orientation: The sample design should be oriented to the research objectives, tailored to the survey design, and filtered to the survey conditions. 2. Measurability: A sample design should enable the computation of valid estimates of its sampling variability normally this variability is expressed in the form of standard errors in surveys. 3. Practicality: This implies that the sample design can be followed properly in the survey as it also refers to simplicity of the design. 4. Economy: It implies that the objectives of the survey should be achieved with minimum cost and effort. ADVANTAGES OF SAMPLING: 1. Sampling is cheaper than a census survey. It is obviously more economical for instance to cover a sample of household than the entire household in a territory although the cost per unit of study may be higher in a sample survey than in a census survey.

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46 2. Since magnitude of operation involved in a sample survey is small, both the execution of the fieldwork and the analysis of the results can be carried out speedily. 3. Sampling results in greater economy of effort, as a relatively small staff is required to carry out the survey and to tabulate and process the survey data. 4. A sample survey enables the researcher to collect more detailed information than would otherwise be possible in a census survey. Also information of a more specialized type can be collected which would not be possible in census survey on account of the availability of a small number of specialist. 5. Since the scale of operation involved in a sample survey is small. The quantity of the interviewing supervision and other related activities could be better than the quality in a census survey. LIMITATIONS OF SAMPLING: 1. When the information is needed on every unit in the population such as individual, dwelling units a business establishment a sample survey cannot be of much help for it fails to provide information on individual count. 2. Sampling gives rise to certain errors of these errors are too large, the results of the sample survey will be of extremely limited use. 3. While in a census survey it may be easy to check the omissions of certain units in view of complete coverage this is not so in the case of a sample survey.

UNIT III DATA COLLECTION

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47 Data refers to information or facts. Often researcher understands by data only numerical figure. It also includes descriptive facts, non-numerical information, qualitative and quantitative information. Data could be broadly classified as: Primary Data: It is known as the data collected for the first time through field survey. Such data are collected with specific set of objectives to assess the current status of any variable studied. Primary data are generally information gathered or generated by the researcher for the purpose of the project immediately at hand. When the data are collected for the first time, the responsibility for their processing also rests with the original investigator. Secondary data It refers to the information or facts already collected. Such data are collected with the objective of understanding the past status of any variable. Secondary data can be obtained internally ie within the firm or external from one or more outside agencies. Sources I. Internal Sources A. Accounting Record  Sales Invoice  Sales record  Cost detail  Level of profit  Advertisig expenditure  Budget etc. B. Sales force Report 

Marketing information



Customers opinion



Competitor information



AreaWise Sales

C. Internal Expert Experts working in the company like product manager, marketing research Department of Management Studies

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48 managers, public relation personnel and advertising personnel etc. C. Miscellaneous  Company history  Company background  Market share  Pamplet  Prospectus  Annual General Body Meeting Report.  Organization manual, chart.  Organisation report. External Sources i) Publication of (Government) a. Reserve Bank of India Bulleting b.

Census Report

c.

Registrar general of India

d.

Central Statistical organization

e.

Director general of commercial intelligence

f.

Minisry of commerce & industry

g.

Economic Advisor Office

h.

Ministry of Agriculture

i.

Labour Bureau.

ii) Non-government Publication a. Private agencies b. Stock –exchange directories c. Chamber of commerce d. Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce e. Associate Chamber of commerce & Industry Of India f. Indo- Amercian Chamber of Commerce etc g. Promotion h. Market Research & Statistical Bureau Department of Management Studies

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49 iii) Syndicated Services These are provided provided by certain organization which collect and tabulate marketing information on a continuing basis. Report based on the marketing information collected by such organization is sent periodically to clients who are subscribers. Apart from syndicated services a number of research agencies, offer and customized research services to their clients. iv) Technical and trade journals v) Books, magazines & newspapers vi) Reports prepared by research scholars universities economists etc in diff

fields

vii) Public records and statistics, historical documents and other sources of published information viii) Various publications of foreign government or of international bodies and their subsidiary organizations. CHARACTERISTCS OF SECONDARY DATA 1. Reliability of Data : The reliability can be treated by finding out such things about the said data a. Who collected the data? b. What were the sources of data? c. Were they collected by using proper methods? d. At what time were they collected? e. Was there any bias of the compiler? f. What level of accuracy was desired? 2. Suitability of Data The data that are suitable for one enquiry may not necessarily be found suitable for one enquiry may not necessarily be found suitable in another enquiry. Hence if the available data are found to be unsuitable. The researcher should not use them. 3. Adequacy of Data

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50 If the level of accuracy achieved in data is found inadequate for the purpose of the present enquiry they will be considered as inadequate and should not used by the researcher. The data will also be considered adequate. 4. Continuity of Data This is another problem in using secondary data. For eg, the format used for providing some date may not be consistently followed by the source. Depending upon the page constraints or availability of material the data presentaion in a format is decided. So frequent change in the format would only add to confusion to the people using the data from such sources. SPECIAL SOURCES Computer Search & Internet Applications Generally most databases allow the researcher to undertake precise searches using combination of key words in the website. 1. Scanning & Browsing : New publications such as journals are unlikely to be indexed immediately in tertiary literature so you will need to browse through these publications to gain an idea of their content. In contrast scanning involves going through individual items such as journal articles to pick out points that are related to your own research. 2. Searching the Internet The Internet is a worldwide network of computers that provides access to a vast range of literature and other resources stored on computer around the world. Searching these will uncover further material with which you can compare and contrast your ides. The places where these resources are stored are known as websites. 3. Home Page Access to a website is through its home page. The home page, which has links to other pages in the site, is similar to a title or contents page. Although they often contain publicity for a company or institution they are an excellent way of navigating the site. Department of Management Studies

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51 4. Search Tools: It often referred to as search engines, are probably the most important way of searching the internet for reviewing the literature on your research subject as they enable you to locate the most current and up to date items. 5. Book marking Once you have found a useful internet site, you will need to note its address. This process termed bookmarking uses the internet browser to note the address so that you will be able to access it again directly.

Sources of Primary Data Advantages:1. It provide a first hand account of the situation. We can observe the phenomenon as it takes place. 2. The information is more reliable as the investigator collects the data himself, he can take all precautions to ensure their reliability 3. These are the logical starting point for research in several disciplines. 4. Primary data are the only way of finding out opinions, personal qualities, attitudes etc. Disadvantages:1. Collecting primay data is expensive in terms of both time & money. 2. There is greater scope for researcher bias creeping in unless the research investigator is fair to the respondent and methods of data collection the result of the study will not be reliable. 3. Sample selection is yet another problem.

METHODS OF COLLECTING PRIMARY DATA 1. Questionnaire :In this method to pre-printed list of questions arranged in sequence is used to elicit response from the informant. Department of Management Studies

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52 2. Interview: This is a method in which the investigator and the respondent meet and questions raised are answered and recorded. This method is adopted when personal opinion or view point are to be gathered as a part of data. 3. Observation: A method which requires familiarity and experience, in this method the observer applies his sense organs to note down whatever that he could observe in the field and relate these data to explain some phenomena. 4. Feedback In the case of some of the consumer goods, the supplier or the manufacturer send the product along with a pre-paid reply cover in which questions on the product and its usage are raised and the customer is required to fill it up and send. 5. Sales force opinion The sales representatives visit the distributor or the retailers shop to note down the detail of stock movement, availability of items etc which give valuable information. 6. Schedule This method of data collection is very much like the questionnaire with little difference which lies in the fact that schedules are being filled in by the enumerators who are specially appointed for the purpose. 7. Warranty Card Warranty Card are usually postal sized card which are used by dealers of consumer durables to collect information regarding their products. The information sought is printed in the form of question on the warranty cards which is placed insided the package along with the product with a request to the consumer to fill in the card and post it back to the dealer. 8. Distributor or store Audit Distributors get the retail stores audited through salesman and use such information to estimate market size, market share, seasonal purchasing pattern & so on. Department of Management Studies

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53 9. Pantry Audit Pantry audit technique is used to estimate consumption of the basker of goods at the consumer level. The investigators stay at the consuming point and observe the purchasing behavior or the people like price response, quality consciousness, response to price & incentive schemes, who take buying decision, credit facility required. 10. Consumer Panel It refers to an arrangement with select consumers to maintain details of their consumption behavior in their diaries based on these recorded information, useful first hand information is collected about the product & behavior of the consuming public. 11. Collection through mechanical devices The Use of mechanical devices has been widely made to collect information by way of indirect means. Eye camera, pupilometric camera, psychgalvanameter, motion picture camera and audiometer etc are principal devices, commonly used for the purpose for collecting the required information. 12. Projective technique This technique is adopted to study the consumers through various methods like recalling advertisement theme, story completion tests, quizzes, thematic appreciation tests etc. Through this technique it is possible to compile information to be used as the basis for projecting the demand for the product at different points of time. i. Word association test In this the respondent asked to mention the first word that comes to mind, without thinking as the interviewer reads out each word from a list. j. Sentence Completion test In this informant may asked to complete a sentence analysis of replies from the same informant reveals his attitude toward that subject and the combination of these attitudes of all the sample members is then taken to reflect the views of the population.

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54 k.

Story Completion Test It is a step further, where in the researcher may contrive stories instead of sentences and ask the informant to complete them.

l. Verbal Projection Test These are the test where in the respondent is asked to comment on or explain what other people do. m. Pictorial Technique * Thematic Apperception Test: It consist of a set of pictures that are shown to respondents

who are asked to describe what they think the pictures

represent.

•

Rosenzweig Test : This test uses a cartoon format wherein we have a series of cartoons with words inserted in balloon’s above. The respondent is asked to put his own words in an empty balloon space provided for the purpose in the picture.

•

Rorschach Test It consists of ten cards having prints of ink blots. The respondents are asked to describe what they perceive in such inkblot, and responses are interpreted on the basis of predetermined psychological framework.

•

Holtzman Inkblot Test It consists of 48 inkblot cards, which are based on color movement, shading and other facts involved in inkblot perception.

•

Tomkins- Horn Picture Arrangement Test It consist of twenty five plates each containing three sketches that may be arranged in different ways to portray a sequence of events. The respondent is asked to arrange them in a sequence.

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55

•

Play Technique In this the respondents are asked to act out a situation in which they have been assigned various roles. The researcher may observe such traits as hostility, dominance, sympathy prejudice or the absence of traits.

•

Quizzes, tests & examination This is also a technique of extracting information regarding specific ability of candidates indirectly. Through this, the memorizing and analytical ability of candidates.

•

Sociometry It is a technique for describing the social relationship among individual in a group. It attempts to describe attraction or repulsions between individual by asking them to indicate whom they would choose or reject in various situations.

13. In-depth Interview These are those interview that are designed to discover underlying motives and desires and are often used in motivational research. Such interview are held to explore needs, desires and feelings of respondents. 14. Content Analysis It consists of analyzing the contents of documentary materials scuah as books, magazines, newspapers and the content of other verbal materials which can be either spoken or printed. OBSERVATION METHOD It may be defined as “sensible application of sense organs in understanding less explained or unexplained phenomena”.

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56 Using the sense organs, one could see and understands things. Whenever a researcher is unable to compile information through any other method, then he has to effectively apply his sense organs to observe and explain So it may be said that observation involves recording of information applying visual understanding backed by alert sense organs. TYPES 1. Structured Observation When observation takes place strictly in accordance with a plan or a design prepared in advance, it is called structured observation. In such a type the observer decided what to observe what to focus on, who are all to be observed etc. 2. Unstructured Observation In this type of observation there is no advance designing of what, how, when, who etc of observation. The observer is given the freedom to decide on the spot, to observe everything that is relevant. 3. Participant Observation In this, the observer is very much present in the midst of what is observed. He is physically present on the spot to observe and not influencing the activities. It will help him to continuously observe and not everything that is happening around him. 4. Non Participant Observation In this observer remains detached from whatever is happening around and does involve himself in any activities taking place. He is present only to observe and not to take part in the activities. 5. Controlled Observation In this case, the observer performs his work in the environment or situation, which is very much planned or designed or set. 6. Uncontrolled Observation The observer is at freedom to observer whatever is taking place around him in the natural set up.

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57 MERITS:1. The scope for bias is very much minimized. 2. The current scenarios in which anything is happening, notices & explained. 3. As there is no need to get any reply or details from the respondent observation does not required any co-operation of the respondents. 4. This is a fairly reliable method. 5. Whenever respondent are illetrate or incapable of answering any question it is only method of data collection available. LIMITATION: 1. This is a relatively costly method of data collection, because the observer has to be present on the spot to observer whatever is happening. 2. Training an observer is the additional cost to be incurred.] 3. The scope for the biases of the observe interfering in what is observed and understood is high. 4. It could be noticed that what is observed may bring out only part of the facts. 5. It may not be possible to observe what is targeted. 6. There is a lot of scope for the observer to get distracted by function. 7. The observer can effectively establish link among whatever he has observed to give a meaningful interpretation. INTERVIEW Interview method involves direct or indirect meeting of the respondent by the researcher. The researcher determines the questions to be raised at the time of interview and then elicit the response for them. The reply given is either written down in a notebook or recorded in audio or videocassette. TYPES OF INTERVIEW 1. Direct Interview In this type of interview, the interviewer and the interviewee meet personally either with prior appointment or not. This method requires a interviewer to ask questions in a face to face contact to the other person or persons. Department of Management Studies

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58 a. Structured Interview In this type of interview the person collecting information decided in advance the nature, scope, questions to be asked the persons to be contacted etc in advance. At the time of interview no deviation is made from the questions to be asked. b. Unstructured Interview In this type of interview, interview is conducted on the spot without any preparation or advance information to the respondent. It does not follow a system of pre-determined questions standardized techniques of recording information. The interviewer has much freedom to ask in case of need supplementary questions or at time he may omit certain question of the situation so required. c. Focused Interview In this type of interview the object of the interviewer is to focus the attention of the respondent on a specific issue or point. The interviewer has the freedom to plan the interview and conduct it they way wants it. The interviewer on the spot decides all the question sequence, wording of questions etc. d. Clinical Interview The clinical interview is concerned with broad underlying feeling a motivations or with the course of individuals life experience. e. Non-Directive In this interviewer’s function is simply to encourage the respondent to talk about the given topic with a bare minimum of direct questioning. f. Telephonic Interview This method of collecting information consists in contacting respondent on telephone itself. It is not a very widely used method but play, important part in industrial survey. There is no scope for physical presence of both the partial to the interview.

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59 Merits 1. Interview enables personal contact with which factual information could be obtained. 2. The interviewer can guide the respondent to understand the question and suitably rephrase or modify the question. 3. The non response in this category of data collection is low 4. Spontaneous reply of the respondent can be obtained which would truly reflect their opinion. 5. Interviewer has the flexibility to handle the interview to collect relevant information. 6. The interviewer can combine observation with interview so that a lot of additional information about the environment, nature, behavior and attitude of the respondent could also be noted. 7. The interviewer can be persuasive to obtain the response of the respondent while this may not be possible in the case of questionnaire method of data collection. 8. The interviewer can adopt himself better by using the language with which he can reach the respondents better and the educational level of the respondent. 9. It is also possible to obtain personal information which will not be revealed through questionnaire. Demerits: 1. This method presupposes the existence of rapport between the respondent and the interviewer. 2. It is costly method of data collection, as the interviewer should be trained, oriented and supported. 3.

The time taken for covering a large sample of respondents is more than what it is under questionnaire method.

4.

It is possible for a respondent to conceal his real opinion or views and so genuine data may not be available.

5.

The interviewer may also be biased and thereby his bias may influence the interview outcome.

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60 6. 7.

Interview method requires an elaborate organizational arrangement. Sometimes this method cannot be followed as it would require fixing up appointment, specifying the questions that are to be answered duration of interview, the person interviewing the organizational background, the purpose of interview etc. Inspite of providing all these information it may not be possible to get an appointment to conduct the interview.

HOW TO MAKE INTERVIEW SUCCESSFUL? 1. The interviewer should be carefully selected. 2. The interviewer should be trained properly. 3. Different methods of obtaining the response from the informants have to be explored and the interviewer should be trained in all these aspects. 4. Unless the interviewer is experienced he would not be able to conduct the interview properly. But without conducting interview he cannot be experience co care, should be taken while selecting this method of data collection. 5. Honesty and integrity of the interviewer determine the outcomes of the interview so the qualities of the interviewer should be objectively studied. 6. The interviewer should be fully equipped to clarify any questions raised by the informant. 7. The interviewer must first create a report with the respondent and ensures presence of cordial atmosphere to conduct the interview. 8. Qualities like courteousness, politeness, friendliness, conversational, unbiased are all necessary to make the interview successful. 9. The interviewer should avoid showing his reaction to the response of the respondent as otherwise the replies given may be biased. 10. The interviewer should be alert and intelligent with presence of mind to keep the interview focused on the subject matter. QUESTIONNAIRE A questionnaire is the sheets of paper containing questions relating to certain specific aspect regarding which the researcher collects the data. The questionnaire is Department of Management Studies

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61 given to the informant or respondent to be fitted up. This method of data collection is quite popular, particularly in case of big enquiries. Merits: 1. It involves lesser cost as questionnaire could be send by post to a wide area. 2. It does not interfere with the respondent while answering the question. 3. The bias of the investigator is completely eliminated. 4. Respondents are given sufficient time to fill up the questionnaire. 5. If respondents cannot be reached personally,

questionnaire is the alternative

method available. 6. This method is useful when the sample size is very large. 7. if the questionnaire is designed properly with instructions then the training, supervising and controlling the investigators is saved. 8. Confidentiality is ensured as the respondents directly send the filled up questionnaire to the researcher. Demerits: 1. It is always found that the response rate in questionnaire is very poor compared to using schedules. 2. Bias of the respondent cannot be determined easily. 3. Only if the respondent is educated questionnaire could be used for collecting information. 4. Follow up of non-response or unfilled questionnaire only adds to the cost and time. 5. There is no scope for giving any clarification to the respondent in case of need. 6. Accuracy of response cannot be ensured. 7. A lot of care is required to design and structure a questionnaire. Hence unless a scholar is good at drafting a questionnaire, this method cannot be adopted for data collection. TYPES OF QUESTIONNAIRES

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62

QUESTIONNAIRE

SELF ADMINISTERED

INTERVIEWER ADMINISTERED

DELIVERY & COLLECTION QUESTIONNAIRE

POSTAL QUESTIONNAIRE

TELEPHONE QUESTIONNAIRE

STRUCTURED INTERVIEW 1. Structured Questionnaire It pose definite, concrete and preordained questions. Additional questions may be thought of and asked only when some clarification is needed or additional information is sought from the respondent. Answers to these questions are normally very precise without any vagueness & ambiguity. 2. Closed Form Questionnaire Questions are set in such a manner that leaves only a few alternatives answers. 3. Open Ended Questionnaire Here the respondent has the choice of using his own style. Diction, expression of language, length and perception. The respondent are not restricted, his replies to the questions, and his answers may be free and spontaneous 4. Unstructured Questionnaire These contain a set of questions that are not structured in advance. It gives sufficient scope for a variety of answers. It is used mainly for conduction Department of Management Studies

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63 interview.

Its merit is flexibility.

It aims to secure the maximum possible

information from the respondent. 5. Pictorial Questionnaire In a pictorial questionnaire alternative answer in the form of pictures are given and the respondent is required to tick the picture concerned to indicate his selection. This type of questionnaire is useful for illiterate and less knowledgeable respondent. MAIN ASPECT OF QUESTIONNAIRE The questionnaire is considered as the heart of a survey operation. Hence it should be very carefully constructed. If it is not properly set up then the survey is bound to fail. This fact requires us to study the main aspect of a questionnaire. 1. General Form The questionnaire can either be structured or unstructured questionnaire. The form of the question may be either closed or open, but should be stated in advance and not constructed during questioning. The question is presented with exactly the same wording and in the same order to all respondents. 2. Question Sequence The question-sequence must be clear and smoothly moving meaning thereby that the relation of one question to another should be readily apparent to the respondent with question that are easiest to answer being put in the beginning. The opening questions should be such to arouse human interest after that questions that are really vital to the research problem and a connecting thread should run through successive questions. 3. Question formulation and Wording: Questions should be constructed with a view to their forming a logical plan. The questions can be of any forms like :i.

Multiple Choice It refers to one which provides several set alternatives for its answer.

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64 ii.

Dichotomous It refers to one which offers the respondent a choice between only two alternatives, and reduces the issue to its simplest terms.

iii.

Close End Question: It refers to those questions in which the respondent is given a limited number of alternative responses from which he is to select the one that most closely matches his/ her opinion or attitude.

iv.

Open Ended Question It refers to a quesdtion that has no fixed alternatives to which the answer must conform.

v.

Direct Question They explicitly ask for the desired data.

vi.

Indirect Data It refers to those whose responses are used to indicate or suggests data about the respondent other than the actual facts given in the answer.

vii.

Checklists It is simply a statement on a problem followed by a series of answers from which the respondent can choose. A single questionnaire may contain all type of questions. Researcher must pay proper attention to the wordings of questions since reliable and meaningful returns depend on it to a large extent. Simple words which are familiar to all respondent should be employed. Words with ambiguous meanings must be avoided.

ESSENTIALS OF A GOOD QUESTIONNAIRE: 1. It should be comparatively short and simple. 2. Questions should proceed in logical sequence moving from easy to more difficult questions. 3. Personal and intimate questions should be left to the end. 4. Technical terms and vague expressions capable of different interpretations should be avoided in a questionnaire. Department of Management Studies

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65 5. Questions affecting the sentiments should be avoided. 6. Adequate space for answers should be provided in the questionnaire to help editing and tabulation. 7. It should be attractive looking. 8. The quality of the paper, along with its colour, must be good so that is may attract the attention of recipients. 9. The first part of the questionnaire should specify the object or purpose for which the information is required. 10. It should not force the respondent to recall from his memory anything to answer. 11. If there I is instruction, it should be given separately specifying the question number and the related instructions. 12. It should not require any referencing before replying. 13. Repetition of questions should be eliminated. 14. Questions which cross check the response, could be built in to the questionnaire. PILOT STUDY: It is a process of testing the questionnaire before it is finalized, the questionnaire before it is finalized, that is after the questionnaire is drafted, to decide whether it is comprehensive or not, it is used with a few respondents. Their responses are studied to determine the need for restructuring the questionnaire, re-sequencing the questions, addition or deletion of questions, giving more instructions for filing up etc can also be decided. It will bring to light the weaknesses of the questionnaire. Basis Usage

Questionnaire Schedule Respondent himself records the Researcher/ enumerator records answers obtained.

Cost

the answers obtained.

Relatively cheaper as it is sent by Costlier, as the investigator has mail to the targeted respondent.

to be appointed, trained and meet every informant at the

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66 latter’s place. Coverage

Wide coverage possible as it can be Relatively limited coverage as sent to any place by post.

the investigator cannot be sent to every place.

Degree

of Less all the respondents, do not Relatively

Freedom

respondent

better

investigator

as

the

guides

the

respondents in understanding the questions in right context. Quality

of Not good, as the respondent answers Relatively

response

the questions the way it understood.

better

investigator

as

the

guides

the

respondents in understanding the questions in right context. Identify

of It

respondent

is

not

known

clearly

answered the questionnaire and this enumerator himself elicits the in

turn

might

affect

accuracy information so the accuracy of

information obtained. Time

who It is clearly known, as the

information is more.

Taken It cannot be established as the It is possible to plan the enquiry

for reply

respondent

may

reply

at

convenience.

his &

depute

accordingly

the

investigators &

collect

information within a targeted time Personal

It is completely absent and to that It is absolutely possible and so

contact

extent there is to no scope for giving the quality of response is better. any clarification to respondents.

The investigator can understand the questions clearly.

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67

Sample

It is possible to cover a wide range This is not possible as the

Coverage

of

sample

elements

as

the investigator has to personally

questionnaire is only sent by post.

contact each respondent.

Pre-condition

The respondent should be a literate The

for use

and co-operative

literacy

status

of

the

respondent si not a limitation. The investigator can explain the question & obtain the response.

Accuracy

of It is not likely to be high, as it Relatively accuracy is better in

Information

depends on the structure of the this method as the investigator questionnaire itself

can determine the accuracy on the field and adopt appropriate methods to ensure accuracy.

Presentation

Questionnaire should be designed No such requirements is a

requirement

properly and made attractive to condition encourage the respondent to fill it.

Scope

for This

is

not

possible

application of questionnaire

is

sent

as

the There is a lot of scope for the

to

the investigator

to

apply

other methods respondent.

observation method or interview

of

method of data collection along

data

collection.

with the use of schedules.

Field control This & testing.

is

not

questionnaire

possible

as

the There

filled

by

the controlling

is

respondent himself

is

good

scope

editing

for and

monitoring information on the field itself

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68 Bias

in There is no way to test the extent of If the investigator is trained and

information

bias of the information given by the experienced then there is very

collected

respondent.

little

scope

for

bias

in

information content. SELECTION OF APPROPRIATE METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION: There are various methods of data collection; as such the researcher must judiciary selects the method of his own study. 1. Nature, Scope and Object of enquiry: This constituted the most important factory affecting the choice of a particular method. The method selected should be such that it suits the type of enquiry that is to be conducted by the researcher. 2. Availability of Funds: Availability of funds for the research project determines to a large extent the method to be used for the collection of data. When funds at the disposal of the researcher are very limited, he will have to select a comparatively cheaper method, which may not be as efficient and efficient as some other costly method. 3. Time Factor: Availability of time has also to be taken into account in deciding a particular method of data collection. Some method, take relatively more time whereas with others the data can be collected in a comparatively shorter duration. 4. Precision Required: The very important condition is the level of accuracy of the data collected. In cases of compilation of data regarding the deviation from the standard measurements in a workshop, the data should be cent % accurate. Similarly the data regarding the patient condition explained through various parameters should be very accurate. 5. Period of Study: A study based on historical data requires secondary data source while the study on the patient status in a hospital require primary data. TYPES OF SAMPLING PLAN Sampling techniques are classified into two broad categories of probability samples or non- probability samples. Probability Sampling Technique Probability samples are characterized by the fact that, the sampling units are Department of Management Studies

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69 selected by chance. In such case, each member of the population has a known, non-zero probability of being selected. However, it may not be true that all samples would have the same probability of selection, but it is possible to say the probability of selecting any particular sample of a given size. It is possible that one can calculate the probability that any given population element would be included in the sample. This requires a precise definition of the target population as well as the sampling frame. Probability sampling techniques differ in terms of sampling efficiency which is a concept that refers to trade off between sampling cost and precision. Precision refers to the level of uncertainty about the characteristics being measured. Precision is inversely related to sampling errors but directly related to cost. The greater the precision, the greater the cost and there should be a tradeoff between sampling cost and precision. The researcher is required to design the most efficient sampling design in order to increase the efficiency of the sampling. Probability sampling techniques are broadly classified as simple random sampling, systematic sampling, and stratified sampling. Simple Random Sampling This is the most important and widely used probability sampling technique. They gain much significance because of their characteristic of being used to frame the concepts and arguments in statistics. Another important feature is that it allows each element in the population to have a known and equal probability of selection.

This means that every

element is selected independently of every other element. This method resembles lottery method where a in a system names are placed in a box, the box is shuffled, and the names of the winners are then drawn out in an unbiased manner. Simple random sampling has a definite process, though not, so rigid. It involves compilation of a sampling frame in which each element is assigned a unique identification number. Random numbers are generated either using random number table or a computer to determine which elements to include in the sample. For example, a researcher is interested in investigating the behavioural

pattern

of

customers while making a decision on purchasing a computer. Accordingly, Department of Management Studies

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70 the researcher is interested in taking 5 samples from a sampling frame containing 100 elements. The required sample may be chosen using simple random sampling technique by arranging the 100 elements in an order and starting with row 1 and column 1 of random table, and going down the column until 5 numbers between 1 and 100 are selected. Numbers outside this range are ignored. Random number tables are found in every statistics book. It consists of a randomly generated series of digits from 0 – 9. To enhance the readability of the numbers, a space between every 4 digit between every 10 row is given. The researcher may begin reading from anywhere in the random number table, however, once started the researcher should continue to read across the row or down a column. The most important feature of simple random sampling is that it facilitates representation of the population by the sample ensuring that the statistical conclusions are valid Stratified Sampling Stratified sampling is a two-way process. It is distinguished from the simple random sampling and systematic sampling, in that: a) It requires division of the parent population into mutually exclusively and exhaustive subsets; b) A simple random sample of elements is chosen independently from each group or subset. Therefore, it characterises that, every population element should be assigned to one and only Stratum and no population elements should be omitted. Next, elements are selected from each stratum by simple random sampling technique. Stratified sampling differs from quota sampling in that the sample elements are selected probabilistically rather than based on convenience or on judgmental basis. Strata are created by a divider called the stratification variable. This variable divides the population into strata based on homogeneity, heterogeneity, relatedness or cost. Sometimes, more than one variable is used for stratification purpose. This type of sampling is done in order to get homogenous elements within each strata and, the elements between each strata should have a higher degree of heterogeneity. The Department of Management Studies

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71 number of strata to be formed for the research is left to the discretion of the researcher, though, researchers agree that the optimum number of strata may be 6. The reasons for using stratified sampling are as follows: a) It ensures representation of all important sub-populations in the sample; b) The cost per observation in the survey may be reduced; c) It combines the use of simple random sampling with potential gains in precision d) Estimates of the population parameters may be wanted for each subpopulation and; e) Increased accuracy at given

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72 Non-probability

Sampling

Methods Non-probability sampling does not involve random selection. It involves personal judgement of the researcher rather than chance to select sample elements. Sometimes this judgement is imposed by the researcher, while in other cases the selection of population elements to be includes is left to the individual field workers. The decision maker may also contribute to including a particular individual in the sampling frame. Evidently, non probability sampling does not include elements selected probabilistically and hence, leaves a degree of sampling error‟ associated with the sample. Sampling error is the degree to which a sample might differ from the population. Therefore, while inferring to the population, results could not be reported plus or minus the sampling error. In non-probability sampling, the degree to which the sample differs from the population remains unknown However, we cannot come to a conclusion that sampling error is an inherent of non probability sample. Non-probability samples also yield good estimates of the population characteristics. Since, inclusion of the elements in the sample are not determined in a probabilistic way, the estimates obtained are not statistically projectable to the population. The most commonly used non-probability sampling methods are convenience sampling, judgment sampling, quota sampling, and snowball sampling. Convenience Sampling Convenience samples are sometimes called accidental samples because the elements included in the sample enter by „accident‟. It is a sampling technique where samples are obtained from convenient elements. This refers to happening of the element at the right place at the right time, that is, where and when the information for the study is being collected. The selection of the respondents is left to the discretion of the interviewer. The popular examples of convenience sampling include (a) respondents who gather in a church (b) students in a class room (c) mall intercept interviews without qualifying the respondents for the study (d) tear-out questionnaire included in magazines and (e) people on the street. In the above examples, the people Department of Management Studies

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73 may not be qualified respondents, however, form part of the sample by virtue of assembling in the place where the researcher is conveniently placed. Convenience sampling is the least expensive and least time consuming of all sampling techniques. The disadvantage with convenience sampling is that the researcher would have no way of knowing if the sample chosen is representative of the target population. Judgment Sampling This is a form of convenience sampling otherwise called as purposive sampling because the sample elements are chosen since it is expected that they can serve the research purpose. The sample elements are chosen based on the judgment that prevails in the researcher’s mind about the prospective

individual. The

researcher may use his wisdom to conclude that a particular individual may be a representative of the population in which one is interested. The distinguishing feature of judgment sampling is that the population elements are purposively selected. Again, the selection is not based on that they are representative, but rather because they can offer the contributions sought. In judgement sampling, the researcher may be well aware of the characteristics of the prospective respondents, in order that, he includes the individual in the sample. It may be possible that the researcher has ideas and insights about the respondents requisite experience and knowledge to offer some perspective on the research question. Quota Sampling Quota sampling is another non-probability sampling. It attempts to ensure that the sample chosen by the researcher is a representative by selecting elements in such a way that the proportion of the

sample

elements

possessing

a

certain

characteristic is approximately the same as the proportion of the elements with the characteristic in the population. Quota sampling is viewed as two-staged restricted judgemental sampling technique. The first stage consists of developing control categories, or quotas, of population elements. Control characteristics involve age, sex, and race identified on the basis of judgement. Then the distribution of these characteristics in the Department of Management Studies

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74 target population is determined. For example, the researcher may use control categories in that, he/she intends to study 40% of men and 60% of women in a population. Sex is the control group and the percentages fixed are the quotas. In the second stage, sample elements are selected based on convenience or judgement. Once the quotas have been determined, there is considerable freedom to select the elements to be included in the sample. For example, the researcher may not choose more than 40% of men and 60% of women in the study. Even if the researcher comes across qualified men after reaching the 40% mark, he/she would still restrict entry of men into the sample and keep searching for women till the quota is fulfilled. Snowball sampling This is another popular non-probability technique widely used, especially in academic research. In this technique, an initial group of respondents is selected, usually at random. After being interviewed, these respondents are asked to identify others who belong to the target population of interest. Subsequent respondents are selected based on the information provided by the selected group members. The group members may provide information based on their understanding about the qualification of the other prospective respondents. This method involves probability and non-probability methods. The initial respondents are chosen by a random method and the subsequent respondents are chosen by non-probability methods.

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75 UNIT IV MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS I. UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS It focus on the level coverage and distribution (variance) of a single variable II. BIVARIATE ANALYSIS It focuses on the degree of relationship (correlation or covariance) between two variables. III. MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS It is the analysis of the simultaneous relationship among three or more variables. In a multivariate analysis, the focus shift from paired relationships to the more complex simultaneous relationships among three or more variables. The multivariate technique can be broadly classified as dependence technique as dependence technique or interdependence techniques. Dependence techniques are appropriate when one or more variables can be identified as dependent variable and the remaining as independent variables. In the interdependence techniques the variables are not classified as dependant or independent.

UNIVARIATE TECHNIQUE

NON PARAMETRIC STATISTIC

ONE SAMPLE - Chi-Square  Kolomogorov Smirnov  Run

TWO OR MORE SAMPLES

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PARAMETRIC TECHNIQUE

ONE SAMPLE  T-TEST  Z-TEST

TWO OR MORE SAMPLES

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76

INDEPENDENT  Chi-Square  RANK-SUM TEST  K-S  ANOVA

DEPENDENT  SIGN  WILCOXON  MCNEMAR  COCHRANQ

INDEPENDENT  T-TEST  Z-TEST  ANOVA

DEPENDENT PAIRED TEST

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77 MULTIVARIATE TECHNIQUE

ARE SOME VARIABLES DEPENDENT YES

NO

DEPENDENCE METHODS

INTERDEPENDENCE METHODS

HOW MANY VARIABLES ARE DEPENDENT

ONE

MULTIPLE REGRESSION

YES

SEVERAL

IS IT METRIC

YES

ARE INPUTS METRIC

NO

ARE THEY METRIC

YES

MULTIPLE DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS

 FACTOR ANALYSIS  CLUSTER ANALYSIS  METRIC MDS

NO

MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE

CANONICAL ANALYSIS

NON METRIC METHODS

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NO

LATENT STRUCTURE ANALYSIS

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78 VARIABLE IN MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS 1. Exploratory Variable Explanatory variables are called external or exogenous variables. If

x

a

considered t be the cause of y, then x is the explanatory variable (or) causal or independent variables. 2. Criterion Variable These are called endogenous variables. In the above stated case y is called as criterion (or) dependent resultant variable. 3. Observable & Latent variable When explanatory variable are directly observable variable, they are termed observable variable.

However some unobservable variable may influence criterion

variable in which case they are called latent variables. 4.

Discrete variable & Continuous Variable Discrete variables are those that lake only the integer value when measured.

Continuous variables are those that when measured, can assume any real volume. 5. Dummy Variable This term is used in a technical sense and is useful in algebraic manipulations in the context of multivariate analysis TECHNIQUES I. MULTIPLE REGRESSION When there are two or more than two independent variables, the equation describing such a relationship is the multiple regression equation. In this situation the results are interpreted as Y= a + b1 x1+ b2 x2 X1, x2 = independent variable

y = dependent variable

a, b1, b2 = constant

The constant can be solved by solving the following equation Department of Management Studies

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79 •

The no of normal equation would depend upon the number of independent variable. If there are two independent variables, then three equations, if there are three independent variable then four equations and so on are used.

•

In multiple regression analysis the regression co-efficient (b1,b2) become less reliable as the degree of correlation between the independent variable (x1,x2).

•

If there is high degree of correlation between independent variables. We have what is commonly described as the problem of multicollinearity.

In such a

situation we should use only one set of the independent variable to make our estimate. •

Adding a second variable say x2 which is correlated with the first variable say x1 distorts the values of the regression co-efficient.

•

The main objective in using this technique is to predict the variability the dependent variable based on its covariance with all the independent variables.

•

One can predict the level of the dependant variable through the multiple regression analysis model given the levels of independent variables.

•

When multiple independent variables are measured with different scales, it is not possible to make relative comparisons between regressions co-efficient to see which independent variables have the most influence on the dependent variable.

•

To solve this problem, we calculate the standardized regression co-efficient. It is called beta co-efficient and it is calculated from the normal regression coefficient.

•

The beta co-efficient allows direct comparison between independent variables to determine which variables have the most influence on the dependant measure.

•

When using multiple regression analysis, it is important to examine the overall statistical significance of the regression model. The amount of variation in the dependant variable that you have been able to explain with the independent measures is compared with total variation in the dependant measure.

This

comparison result in a statistic allied a mode F Statistic

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80 Application: Used to predict the dependent variable, given knowledge of independent

 variable.

To understand the relationship between the dependent variable and



independent variable. Inputs: Variable value for dependent and the independent variable. Output: It will output the regression coefficients and their associated beta coefficient and tValues which can be used to evaluate the strength of the relationship between the respective independent variable and the dependent variable. Statistical Test: The hypothesis that a regression parameter obtained from the sample evidence is zero or not is based on the t-value. Limitation  The knowledge of a regression coeffient and it’s t-value can suggest the extent of association or influence that an independent variable has on the dependent variable.  The regression coeffient will reflect the impact of the omitted variable on the dependent variable.  The model is based on collected data that represent certain environmental conditions.  The model is limited by the methodology associated with the data collection including the sample size and measures used. II. MULTIPLE DISCRIMINATE ANALYSIS •

It is a multivariate technique used for predicting group membership on the basis of two or more independent variables. A discriminate function is a regression equation with a dependant variable that represents group membership.

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This

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81 function maximally discriminate between

members of the group. It tells us to

which group each member probably belong. •

It can be used to assign individual to groups on the basis of their scores on two or measure. From those scores the best composite score based on least squares is calculated. Then the higher R2 is the better predictor of the group membership.

•

One can use discriminate analysis to classify objects into two groups (ie.,) success, failure, default, non-default.

•

In discriminate analysis a scoring system is used on the basis of which an individual is classified as category.

•

Suppose an individual is 25 years of age earns an annual income of Rs.60000/and has undergone formal education for a period of 17years. Each of three variables is given a weight indicating its relative importance. Y=dependant variable.

•

A certain limit is fixed of the value of y below which all values will be classified in Group I and the others in Group II. The values of b1,b2 and b3 indicae their importance. The numerical value of y can be transformed into t probability of the individual being credit worthy.

•

It may be noted that in the linear discriminate, the “b” co-efficient are similar to the regression co-efficient. However the main differences is that while the regression co-efficient are used to predict the value of the dependant variable. The discriminate co-efficient are used to classify correctly as many individual or object as possible.

•

One major advantage of linear discriminate analysis is that it enables the researcher to know, by a simple device whether an individual is likely to belong to one or the other category on the basis of his overall score. In this context, it is not only the values of the discriminate coefficient but also their positive or negative signs that are equally relevant.

•

Given a certain minimum vale of Z and credit worthiness, it should be clear that the higher the values of the independent variable provided the discriminate

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82 coefficient are positive, the more chances there are for the individual to be classified under this category.

Application: Used to identify variables that contribute to differences in the a priori defined groups with the use of discriminate functions. It classify objects into one or more groups that are already defined. Inputs: Variables values for the independent variable and dependent variable. Output: It provide the characteristics of the discriminate fuction., such as the variables that contribute to each discriminate fuction. The significance of the fuction is also given. Statistical Tests: The significance of the discriminant fuction and the variables are evaluated through through an F-statistic. Limitation :  It is similar to regression analysis such as intervariable correlations in the model, correlation of variables with the omitted variables,and change of environment condition.  The assumption of the discriminant analysis has to be tested and it is often possible that the assumption of equal variance –covariance matrices of the Independent variable in each group is not met. III. FACTOR ANALYSIS It is a multivariate statistical technique that is used to summarize the information contained in a large number of variables into smaller number of subsets or factors. The purpose of factor analysis is to simplify the data with factory analysis there is no distinction between dependent and independent variables rather all variables under investigation are analyzed together to identify underlying factor. There are two objects of factor analysis:Department of Management Studies

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83 1. It simplifies the data by reducing a large number of variable to a set of a small number of variables. 2. It analyses the interdependence of interrelationship among a total set of variables. Factor analysis is an appropriate technique in case where the variables have a high degree of Interco relation. METHODS OF FACTOR ANALYSIS: I

The Centroid method It was developed by L.L. Thurstone in 1950. It tends to maximize the

sum of loadings, disregarding signs, it is the method which extracts the largest sum f absolute loadings for each factor in turn. It is defined by linear conmbination in which all weights are either + 1 or -1. Steps: 1. Compute a matrix of correlations, R where unities are placed in the diagonal spaces. 2. If correlation matrix happens to be positive manifold the centriod method requires that the weights for all variables be +1. 3. The first centroid can be calculated as a) Sum of the coefficients in each column of the correlation matrix is worked out b) Then sum of these column sums (T) is obtained c) The sum of each column obtained as per is divided by the square root of T . This way each centroid loading is ( one loadings for one variable) computed. The full set of loadings so obtained constitute the first centriod factor. 4. To calculate second centriod , obtain a matrix of residual coefficients. It can be obtained by multiplying the loading for the two variables on the first centriod factor. 5. This second matrix Q1, is subtracted element by element from the original matrix R. 6. The resultant matrix may have negative signs for variables. 7. For those reflected variable signs for all column & row are changed. Department of Management Studies

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84 8. From this reflected matrix loadings , the second centriod factor loadings are computed just like first centroid factor. 9. For subsequent factor the same process is repeated. II . The Principal Components Method It is developed by H.Hotelling. It seeks to maximize the sum of squared loadings of each factor extracted in turn. The aim of the principal components method is the construction out of a given set of variables X j ‘s ( j = 1,2,3 …….k) of new variables (pi) called principal components which are linear combinations of the X. The method is being applied mostly by the using the standardized variables, The aij are called loadings and are worked out in such a way that the extracted principal components satisfy two conditions i) Principal components are uncorrelated ii) The first principal pi has the maximum variance, the second principal component p2 has the next maximum variance and so on. III .The Maximum likelihood method It consist in obtaining sets of factor loadings successively in such a way that each in turn explains as much as possible of the correlation matrix. It is a statistical approach in which one maximize some relationship between the sample of data and the population from which the sample was drawn. The loading obtained on the first factor are employed in the usual way to obtain a matrix of the residual coefficient. A significance test is then applied to indicate whether it would be reasonable to extract a second factor. This goes on repeatedly in search of one factor after another. This method is very difficult in comparison to the other methods. Merits: 1. The technique of factor analysis is quite useful when we want to condense and simplify the multivariate data. 2. the technique is helpful in pointing out important and interesting that were there all the time, but not easy to see from the data alone 3. The technique can reveal the latent factors that determine relationship among several variables. Department of Management Studies

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85 4. the technique may be used in the context of empirical clustering of products, media or people ie., for providing a classification for providing a classification scheme when data scored on various rating scales have to be grouped together. Application : It is used to identify underlying dimensions or constructs in the data and to reduce the number of variables by eliminating redundancy. Inputs : Usually a set of variables values for each individual or object in the sample. Output ; The factor loadings ie correlation between the factors and the variables are used to interpret the factors. Key assumptions: The list of variables are complete and adequate for each factor. Limitation 1. It involves laborious computations involving heavy cost burden. 2. the results of a single factor analysis are considered generally less reliable. 3. It can be used only when researchers has good knowledge and experience in handling. 4. It is highly subjective process. 5. No statistical tests are regularly employed in factor analysis. IV. CLUSTER ANALYSIS •

The basic idea of cluster analysis is to group similar objects together.

•

A cluster is consists of variables that have high correlation with one another and Comparatively low correlation with variables other clusters.

•

The objective of cluster analysis is to determine how many mutually and exhaustive groups or clusters, based on the similarities profiles among entities really exist in the population and then to state the composition of such groups.

•

There are two approach to clustering. Hierarchical and Non-Hierarchical.

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86 •

Hierarchical clustering can start and divide and in one cluster and divide and sub divide them until all objects are in their own singly object cluster. This is called the top-down or decision approach.

•

In contrast the bottom up or agglomerate approach can start with each object in its own cluster and systematically combine cluster until all objects are in one cluster.

•

When one objects is associated with another in a cluster, it remains clustered with that object.

•

The non-Hierarchical clustering differs from clustering only in that it permits objects to leave one cluster and join another as clusters are being formed if the clustering criterion is improved by doing so.

•

Instead of using the tree like construction process found Pn Hierarchical clustering, cluster seeds are used to group objects within a pre-specified distance of the seeds. Cluster seeds are initial centroids or starting points of the cluster.

•

Hence in this approach a cluster center is initially selected and all objects within a pre-specified threshold distance are included in that cluster.

•

There are several methods of groupings objects into cluster.

In the

Hierarchical approach the commonly used methods are singly linkage, complete linkage ,average linkage, ward’s method & the centroid method. •

In Non-Hierarchical methods the three most commonly used approaches are sequential threshold parallel threshold and optimizing procedures. Methods of Grouping Clusters I. Hierarchical

Clustering

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87 a. Single Linkage It is based on the shortest distance. It finds the two individual separated by the shortest distance and places them in the first cluster and places them in the first cluster. Then the next shortest distance PS found and either a third individual joins the first wo to form a cluster or a new two individual cluster is formed. The process continues until all individual are in one cluster. This procedure is also referred to as the nearest neighbor approach. b. Complete Linkage This procedure is similar to singly linkage except that the clustering criterion is based on the longest distance.

For this reason, it is

sometimes referred to as the farthest neighbor approach. The distance between tow clusters is the longest distance from a point in the first cluster to a point in the second clusters. c.

Average Linkage It start out the same as single linkage and complete linkage but the

clustering criterion is the average distance from individuals in one clusters to individuals in another such technique do not use extreme values as do single linkage or complete linkage and partitioning is based on all members of the clusters rather than on a single pain of extreme members. d. Ward’s Method It is based on the loss of information resulting from grouping objects into clusters as measured by the total sum of square deviation of every object from the mean of the cluster to which the object is assigned. As more clusters are formed the total sum of squared deviations increases. At each stage in the clustering procedure the error sums of square is minimized over all partitions obtainable by combining tow clusters from the previous stage. This procedure tends to combine clusters with a small number of observations. It is also biased toward producing clusters with approximate the same number of observations. e. Centroid Method In the centroid method the distance between the group centroid is measured. The centroid is the point whose co-ordinates are the means of all the Department of Management Studies

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88 observations in the cluster when two clusters combine a new cluster is computed. Thus cluster centroids migrate or move as the clusters are combined. II. Non-Hierarchical Clustering 1. Sequential Threshold In this case a cluster centroid is selected and all objects within a pre-specified threshold value are grouped. Then a new cluster center is selected and the process is repeated for the unflustered objects, and so on for unclustered objects, and son on. Once objects enter a cluster, they are moved from further procession. 2. Parallel Threshold This method is similar to the proceeding one except that severe cluster centers are selected simultaneously and objects within the threshold level are assigned to the nearest center. The threshold level can then be adjusted to admit fewer or more objects to the cluster. 3. Optimizing This method modified the previous two procedures in that objects can later be reassigned to clusters by optimizing some overall criterion measure. Such as the average within cluster distance for a given number of cluster. Number of Clusters 1. The analyst can specify the number 2. He can specify the level of clustering with respect to the clustering criterion. 3. Determine the number from the pattern of clusters, the program generates. 4. The rate of total withing group variance to between grouped variance can be plotted against the number of cluster. 1. Application Cluster analysis is used to group variables, objects or people 2. Input It is any valid measure of similarity between objects such as correlations 3. Output Department of Management Studies

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89 The output is the formation of clusters. 4. Key assumptions  The basic measure similarity on which the clustering is based is a valid measure of the similarity between the objects.  There is theoretical justification for structuring the objects into clusters. Advantages: 1. Main use of cluster analysis in marketing is market segmentation 2. It provides better understanding of buyers behaviour. 3. It can also be used in the development of potential new products. 4. It helps for reducing a large mass of data into meaningful aggregate which are far more manageable than a large number of individual observation. Limitation 1.

the lack of specificity has resulted into several methods of cluster analysis

2.

cluster analysis lacks standard statistical tests

3.

It requires a good deal of computational time almost as much as factor analysis needs.

CANONICAL CORRELATION ANALYSIS When the researcher has two criterion variables (dependant variable) and multiple predictors variables (independent variable) canonical correlation analysis is an appropriate statistical technique. Multiple regression analysis investigates the linear relationship between a singly dependant or criterion variable and multiple independant variables. Canonical correlation is a extension of multiple regression. It focuses on the relationship between two sets of interval scale variables. For eg. The relationship between the performance of a brand (measured as sales, marker share, growth in sales, profit etc) and marketing-mix variables (price, promotion, distribution, advertising etc) can evaluated through canonical analysis. Application Suppose we wish evaluate the association between a set of export-interest variable (criterion set) and some firm characteristic (predictive set) e want to know how several from characteristic such as willingness to export (y 1) and level of interest on Department of Management Studies

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90 seeking government assistance (y2) influence export interest behavior. Computing the canonical correlation assesses the relationship between the y-set and x-set of variable. Canonical correlation can be defined as the correlation between the linear combination of the dependant variables and the linear combinations of the independent variables. Calculations of the canonical correlation maximize the correatlion between two linear combinations for eg. The linear combination for firm characteristics might and the linear combination for the export interest variables might be Then the correlation between W and Y is defined as canonical correlation.

Application Canonical analysis is a technique to assess relationship between multiple dependant and multiple independent variables. Input The inputs are the variables value for both the dependant and the independent variables. Output It helps to assess relationship between the linear composites of the dependant variable s with linear composite of the independent variables. Statistical Test The significance of canonical function and the variable are evaluated with an F- Statistic. LIMITATIONS

1. Canonical weight is derived to maximize the correlation between the linear composites and not the variance extracted. 2. It reflects shared variance between the linear composites and not the variance extracted. Department of Management Studies

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91 3. Canonical weights are subject to a great degree of instability.

UNIT - V RESEARCH REPORT Research report is a written document through which the researcher intimates to the world the findings of this study, the design of the study, his conclusions, the suggestion and recommendations based on his findings, the details of data collected, the method he has adopted for selecting the sample, the tools he used for analysis the hypotheses he has set his set objectives, the limitation of his study etc..It is the end product of research activity. It is a technical activity that demands all the skills and patience of the researcher. A vast amount of planning and preparation is necessary for organizing and writing the report. Perfection in a research report is achieved by continuous and persistent thought and creative and intelligent writing.

There are no standard criteria for the

organization of a report. They depend on problem, novelty, familiarity, nature, volume of facts, technique of analysis and so on. Objectives of a Report:1. Reports provide information to those who are in need of it. 2. It provides information for planning and co-ordination o business activities. 3. Reports give information to investors speculators, government, customers and the people at large. Department of Management Studies

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92 4. This provides base to formulate alternative proposals relating to an issue. 5. Reports act as an a historical document to take decision in future. 6. Report normally presents facts and suggestions to an enquiry. 7. It acts as a tool in conducting performance appraisal. 8. An effective report should be simple, clear, brief and should be based on reliable factual information.

TYPES OF BUSINESS REPORTS: I. On the Basis Of Legal Formalities: a. Informal Report: It is usually in the form of a person-to-person communication. It may range from a short almost fragmentary statement of facts on a singly page to a more developed presentation taking several pages. b.

Formal Reports: A Formal report is one which is prepared in a prescribed form and is presented according to an established procedure to a prescribed authority.

II. On the Basis Of Frequency: a.Periodic or Routine: These are prepared and presented at regular prescribed interval in the usual routine of business. b. Special Reports: These are related to a singly occasion or situation. A report on the desirability of opening a new branch or on the unrest among staff in a particular branch is special reports. III. On the Bases of Function: a. Information: If a report merely present facts pertinent to an issue or a situation it is informative. b. Interpretative:

If it analyses the fact, draws conclusions and makes

recommendations it is analytical or interpretative or investigative. IV. On the Bases of the Nature of the Subject dealt with Department of Management Studies

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93 b. Problem determining report: It determine causes the underlying a problem or to ascertain whether or not the problem actually exists. c. Technical Report: In this present data on a specializes subject with or without comments. V. On the Basis of the Number of Persons entrusted with Drafting of Reports: a. Report by Individual: Report submitted by an individual like personnel manager and related to the work in their own department. b. Report By Committee: The report prepared by a group members ie., committee in formal style.

CHARACTERISTIC OF A GOOD REPORT 1. Precision In a good report the writer is very clear about the exact purpose of writing it. Precision gives a kind of unity an coherence to the report and makes it a valuable document. 2. Accuracy Of Facts The scientific accuracy of facts is very essential to a good report since reports invariable lead to decision-making, inaccurate facts may lead to disastrous decisions. 3. Relevance The facts presented in a report should be not only accurate but relevant also. While it is essential that every fact included in a report has a bearing on the central purpose it is equally essential to see that nothing relevant has escaped inclusion. 4. Reader-Orientation A good report is always reader oriented while drafting a report it is necessary to keep in mind the person who is going to read it. 5. Objectivity of Recommendation If recommendations are made at the end of a report, they must be impartial and objective.

They should come as a logical conclusion to investigation and

analysis. They must not reveal and self interest on the part of the writer. Department of Management Studies

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94 6. Simple and Unambiguous Language A good report is written in a simple, unambiguous language. It is a kind of scientific document of practical utility, hence it should be free from various forms of poetic embellishment. 7. Clarity A good report is absolutely clean clarity depends on proper arrangement of facts. The report writer must process systematically. 8. Brevity A report should be brief. It is not difficult to define brevity in absolute terms nor can brevity be laid down as a rule. All that can be said is that a good report is as brief as possible. 9. Grammatical Accuracy The grammatical accuracy of language though listed at last in the characteristics of a good report is of fundamental importance. It is one of the basic requisites of a good report as of any other piece of composition.

RESEARCH REPORT- TYPE a. Technical Report In this type of report the scholar should focus on 1. The methods employed. 2. assumptions made in the course of the study 3. The detailed presentation of the findings. Output 1. Summary of results (executive summary) 2. Nature of the Study 3. Objectives, hypothesis 4. Data types, & analysis 5. Tools of analysis 6. Methodology – sample design, size, selection. 7. Data – Sources, characteristics & limitation Department of Management Studies

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95 8. analysis of data & presentation of findings. 9. Conclusions 10. Bibliography 11. Technical apprentices 12. Index The order presented may vary in different reports even the different sections outlined above will not always be the same, nor will all these sections appear in any particular report.

b. Popular Report The popular report is one, which gives emphasis on simplicity and attractiveness. The simplification should be sought through clear writing, minimization of technical, particularly mathematical details and liberal use of charts and diagrams. Attractive layout along with large print, many subheadings over an occasional cartoon is the characteristic feature of the popular report. Outline 1. The findings and their implication. 2. Recommendation for action 3. Objective of the study 4. Methods employed 5. Results 6. Technical appendices. There can be several variations of the form in which a popular report can be prepared, the only important thing about such a report is that it gives emphasis on simplicity and policy implications from the operational point of view avoiding the technical details of all sorts to the extent possible. c. Oral Presentation

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96 This type of reporting takes place in public viva voce examination. The researcher would present the details of his work orally.

He may use different

methods of presentation like overhead projector , slide projector, simple presentation on board, printed matter etc. The flow of language style adopted, delivery speed, gestures and gesticulation, body language etc will all determine the effectiveness of oral presentation.

In such presentation, the researcher should avoid unnecessary

elaborations, affecting sentiments, creating controversies attack on any ideals or beliefs and most important details which are not most important details which are not supported by facts or evidences.He should maintain a logical sequence in his presentations.

MECHANICS OF WRITING A RESEARCH REPORT 1. Size and Physical Design The report should have a margin of at least one and one-half inches should be allowed at the left hand and of at least half an inch at the right hand of the paper. There should also be one-inch margin, top and bottom. The paper should be double spaced on one side of the page. 2. Procedure The subject matter of a report can be arranged either logical sequence or chronologically. 3. Layout Keeping in view the objective and nature of the problem, the layout of the report should be thought of and decided and accordingly adopted eg. Technical, popular 4. Quotations It should be placed in quotation marks and double spaced forming an immediate part of the text. But if a quotation is of a text. But if a quotation is of a considerable length then it should be single-spaced and indented at least half an inch to the right of the normal text margin. 5. The footnotes Department of Management Studies

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97 The footnote serve two purpose viz., the identification of materials used in quotations in the report and the notice of materials not immediately necessary to be body of the research text but still of supplemental value. In other words, footnotes are meant for cross-references, citation of authorities and sources, acknowledgement and elucidation or explanation of a point of view. It should always be kept in view that footnote is neither an end nor a means of the display of scholarship. The modern tendency is to make the minimum use of footnotes for scholarship does not need to be displayed. 6. Documentation Style Regarding documentation, the first footnotes reference to any given works should be completed in its documentation, giving all the essential facts about the edition used. Such documentary footnotes follow a general sequence. The common order may be described as under. i. Regarding the single volume reference a. Author’s name in normal order followed by comma b. Title of work, underline to indicate italics c. Place and date of publication. d. Pagination references (The page number). ii. Regarding multivolumed references. a. Author’s name in normal order b. Title of work, underline to indicate italics c. Place and date of publication d. Number of Volume e. Pagination references. iii.

Regarding works arranged alphabetically. For works arranged alphabetically such as encyclopedia and dictionaries, no pagination reference is usually needed.

7. Punctuation and Abbreviations in Footnotes: The first item after the number in the footnote is the author’s name, given in the normal signature order. This is followed by comma. After the comma, the title of the book is given : the article is omitted and only the Department of Management Studies

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98 first word and proper nouns and adjectives are capitalized. A comma follows the title. Information concerning the edition is given next. A comma follows this entry.

The place of publication is then stated; it may be mentioned in an

abbreviated form, if the place happens to be a famous one such as Lond. For London, N.Y for New York and so on. This entry is followed by comma. Then the name of the publisher is mentioned and a comma closes this entry. 8. Use of Statistics, Charts and Graphs A judicious use of statistics in research reports if often considered a virtue for it contributes a great deal towards the clarification and simplification of the material and research results. One may well remember that a good picture is often worth more than thousand words. Statistics are usually presented in the form of tables, charts, bars and line – graphs and pictograms. Such presentation should be self explanatory and complete in itself. It should be suitable and appropriate looking to the problem at hand. Finally, statistical presentation should be neat and attractive. 9. The final draft: Revising and rewriting the rough draft of the report shuld be done ith great care before writing the final draft. For the purpose, the researcher should put to himself questions like. Are the sentences written in the report clear ? are they grammatically correct ?

Do they say what is meant ?

Do the various points

incorporated in the report fit together logically ? “ Having at least one colleague read the report just before the final revision is extremely helpful.. sentences that seem crystal clear to the writer may prove quite confusing to other people ; a connection that had seemed self evident may strike others as non-sequitur. 10. Bibliography Bibliography should be prepared and appended to the research report as discussed earlier. 11. Preparation of Index At the end of the report, an index should invariably be given, the value of which lies in the fact that it acts a good guide to the reader. Index may be prepared both as subject index and as author index. The former gives the names of the subject-topics or concepts are long with the number of pages on which they have appeared or discussed in Department of Management Studies

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99 the report, whereas the latter gives the similar information regarding the names of authors. The index should always be arranged alphabetically. Some people prefer to prepare only one index common for names for authors, subject-topics, concepts and the like ones. PRECAUTIONS FOR WRITING RESEARCH REPORTS Research Report is a channel of communicating the research findings to the readers of the report. A good research report is one which does this task efficiently and effectively. As such it must be prepared keeping the following precautions in view : 1. While determining the length

of the report (since research reports vary

greatly in length), one should keep in view the fact that it should be long enough to cover the subject but short enough to maintain interest. In fact, report writing should not be a means to learning more and more about less and less. 2. A research report should not, if this can be avoided, be dull; it should be such as to sustain reader’s interest. 3. Abstract terminology and technical jargon should be avoided in a research report. The report should be able to convey the matter as simply as possible. This, in other words, mean that report should be written in an objective style in simple language, avoiding expression such as “it seems”, “there may be” and the like. 4. Readers are often interested in acquiring a quick knowledge of the main findings and such the report must provide a ready availability of the findings. For this purpose, charts, graphs and the statistical tables may be used for the various results in the main report in addition to the summary of important findings. 5. The layout of the report should be well thought out and must be appropriate and in accordance with the objective of the research problem. 6. Appendices should be enlisted in respected of all the technical data in the report.

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100 7. Bibliography of sources consulted is a must of a good report and must necessarily be given. 8. Index is also considered an essential part of a good report and as such must be prepared and appended at the end. 9. Report must be attractive in appearance, neat and clean, whether typed or printed. 10. Calculated confidence limits must be mentioned and the various constraints experienced in conducting the research study may also be stated in the report.

STEPS IN WRITING REPORT 1. Logical Analysis of the subject Matter It is mainly concerned with the development of a subject. A research subject matter may be arranged in two ways •

Logical It is concerned with the mental connections and associations between the one thing and another by means of analysis. Among other things it h develops a material from the simple possible to the most complex structures.

•

Chronological It is based on a connection or sequences in time or occurrence. The direction for doing or making something usually follows the chronological order.

2

Preparation of the Report Outline Outlines are the framework upon which long written works are constructed. They are an aid to the logical organization of the material and a reminder of the points to be stressed in the report.

3. Preparation of the rough draft. Here the researcher enumerates what he has done in the context of his research study. Here he explain the procedure adopted by him in collecting the material for his study along with various limitations faced by him, the technique of Department of Management Studies

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101 analysis adopted by him. The broad findings and generalization and the various suggestions he wants to offer regarding. 4. Redrafting the report Here the researcher has to spend more time than the writing of the rough draft. Here the researcher also examines the weakness in logical development or presentation. He should check the mechanics of writing, grammar, & usage. 5. Final Settings including bibliography It is the last part of the research report which contains alost of books in some way pertinent to the research which has been done. It should contain all those works which the researcher has consulted. Te bibliography should be arranged alphabetically and may be divided into two parts the first part may contain the names of book and pamphlets and the second part may contain the names of magazine and newspaper articles. 6. Preparation of the Final Draft A researcher has to write the final draft in a concise and objective style and in simple language, avoiding vague expressions. In the final draft the researcher should not use technical jargons. LAYOUT OF THE RESEARCH REPORT The layout of the report means as to what the research report should contain. A comprehensive layout of the research report should comprise. 1. PRELIMNARIES  Title Page  Certificate from the Guide  Declaration by the scholar  Preface, Acknowledgement  Table of Contents.  List of Tables.  List of Figures  List of Appendixes. Department of Management Studies

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102 2. CONTENT OF THE REPORT a. Introduction 

Objectives of the Study



Statement of the problem.



Hypothesis & definition of concepts



Review literature & research studies.



Time, Place and materials of the survey



Scope, assumptions and limitations.



Organisation and sampling procedures.



Methods, tools and techniques employed for data collection.

c. Analysis & Presentation of Results 

Report of facts, nature , volume and dimension



Statistical analysis of data



Summary of findings and recommendations.

3. END MATTER •

Bibliography

•

Appendices : a) Questionnaire b) Statistical table.

•

Glossary of terms

•

Index.

1. Title Of The Page The title page must give the title of the research project. It must give information about who prepared it, who supervised it, who sponsored it, date on which it was presented and place where it was presented. 2. Certificate From The Guide Normally this is issued and signed by the guide/supervisor stating that the theses is the contribution made by the scholar and that the the guide has provided only general guidance in shaping the work. 3. Declaration By The Candidate Department of Management Studies

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103 This is a certificate submitted by the scholar in which he states, that the thesis is the result of his own efforts and is not a copy of any theses or publication already submitted or published to any agency. 4. Foreword It is generally given by a person whim the researcher think is highly a expert on the pursued research project. 5. Preface It gives a general introduction to the project and says a few words about its importance. The researcher express his gratitude to others, he puts his signature, place and date at the end of the preface. 6. Table Of Content The chapters, sections and other headings used in the report and the pages on which each of them is found 7. List Of Tables All the tables used to present the data must be given along with the pages on which they appeared in the report. 8. List Of Figures All the figures, charts, diagrams, pictures etc given within the report must be indicated along with the pages on which they have appeared. 9. List Of Appendixes In this part of the contents the scholar would specify items included under the appendixes. He would indicate the items in serial order, its title and the page number where it is found eg. Govt policy, questionnaire etc. 10. Acknowledgement In this page, the scholar expresses his gratefulness to all those who have helped him in the course his research work. 11. Objectives Of The Study The objectives established and to be accomplished during the research are to be highlighted in this problem. 12. Hypothesis These are the assumptions the researcher holds regarding the problem. Department of Management Studies

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104 13. Statement Of The Problem It gives the background of the problem, importance of the problem, dimensionality of the problem. The problem is fully explained here. 14. Review Of Literature A review of earlier researcher done in relation to the research project is given in this chapter 15. Period Of Study This refers to the duration of the study ie. Whether the study is analyzing the fact for a period of 10 years or is it focusing on the current status alone must be indicated. 16. Place Or Area Of The Study The area where the study was undergone should be mentioned. This should also be supported by the reasons why this specific area was taken up for the research. 17. Limitation Of The Study In this section the scholar should be honest to state the limitation of the data used, analyses applied, validity of conclusions etc. 18. Sample Design It refers to the method of sampling adopted for data collection. He should explain how the sample characteristic was established, how the sample size was determined and how the data was collected. 19. Methodology It deals with the research design to be used, data collection methods to be used. Sampling techniques to be used, field work to be carried out, analysis and interpretation to be done. 20. Research Design It gives details about the exploratory, explanatory or descriptive or experimental nature of the research work. Why a particular design is used and what is its importance.

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105 21. Scope What aspects are to be covered in the research are to be highlights in brief in the section of methodology. 22. Tools Of Analysis In this researcher explain the tools that he has adopted for analyzing the data.

The researcher should select the tools of analysis by considering the

objectives set for the study. 23. Report Of Results, Facts The researcher will present the results of the analyses he had adopted in his study. Each result will be discussed and interpreted. 24. Statistic Tools Various statistical tools to be used to analyze and interpret the collected data are mentioned. Eg. Average, percentage, measures of dispersion etc. The advance analysis like factor analysis, cluster analyses are to be used. These must be mentioned and justification for their use must be put forward in this section. 25. Findings Here results and findings are given and discussed. The information which have bearing on the objectives of the research should be included in the report. 26. Recommendation The recommendation must not be made just on assumption basis. The resources of the company to which recommendation are being made must be kept in mind. It should not be a very expensive proposition which company cannot implement owing to lack of funds. The recommendations must be such that could be implemented. 27. Appendices The information which is not directly related to the main body of the research report should be included in the appendices for those readers who want to go in depth of certain aspects of the research work. 28. Bibliography It will contain the details of journal and books used and referred in the course of the study. The details like, name of the book, author name, title of the Department of Management Studies

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106 book; publisher’s name, year of publication, place of publication and edition are all provided. 29. Index

It

refers to an alphabetical list of name of author or subject matter provided at the end of research reports. It enables the reader to locate the author of subject matter easily. 30. Glossary It refers to the definition of the technical terms used in the report.

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