COMSATS University Islamabad

Department Management Sciences

Terminal Examination – Spring 2021
Research Tools and Techniques
Total Marks:
Name of Instructor: Dr. Tamania Khan

Given the situations below:  

              Discuss, with reasons, whether they fall into the category of applied or basic
research.  
 Scenario 1: Companies are very interested in acquiring other firms, even when the latter
operate in totally unrelated realms of business. For example, Coca‐Cola has announced that
it wants to buy China Huiyuan Juice Group to expand its activities in one of the world’s
fastest‐growing beverage markets. Such acquisitions are claimed to “work miracles.”
However, given the volatility of the stock market and the slowing down of business, many
companies are not sure whether such acquisitions involve too much risk.  At the same time,
they also wonder if they are missing out on a great business opportunity if they fail to take
such risks. Some research is needed here!  
Answer: The issues that is discussed for Coca Cola Company and it can be used by all the
companies. The category for research can be both Applied and Basic Research. It can be
applied research when the research is done by any organization or if they sponsor. It can be
Basic when this problem is discussed at the academic level for project or any other purpose.
Scenario 2 Reasons for absenteeism A university professor wanted to analyze in depth the
reasons for absenteeism of employees in organizations.  Fortunately, a company within 20
miles of the campus employed her as a consultant to study that very issue.  
Answer: A Basic Research as it will be done by university the professor, but it will become
applied research because if the findings of the research are applied in the organizations.
Scenario 3 Effects of service recovery on customer satisfaction A research scientist wants to
investigate the question: What is the most effective way for an organization to recover from
a service failure? Her objective is to provide guidelines for establishing the proper
“fit” between service failure and service recovery that will generalize across a variety of
service industries.
Answer: It is a basic research because This research will generate more knowledge and
understanding of this phenomenon interest, as it will be published in the medical journal to
allow other researchers in the future to build theories based on these research results. 
4. What are the steps in hypothetico‐deductive research? Explain them, using your own
example.
The seven-step process in the hypothetico-deductive method
The hypothetico‐deductive method involves the seven steps listed and discussed next.
1. Identify a broad problem area: To identify the problem that is affecting the other
variables and affection any organization or company around the world. Example,
Covid-19 is affecting MSMEs in Pakistan.
2. Define the problem statement: Research always starts with the problem statement it
defines the purpose or aim of the problem. In problem statement we identify the
Page 1 of 14
 problem, and it includes research objective and research question that need to be
developed. We gather the initial information and write our objective and question.
Example:
Research objective: To find out the effect of Covid on MSMEs.
Research question: What is the effect of covid-19 on MSMEs in Pakistan?
3. Develop hypotheses: Different Variables are examined, and we see how they can
affect the other variables. We define there relations and there impact on other
variables. These can be developed by reading different theories and there relation
with the problem that we are researching on. Example:
 Business Continuity Plan is correlated with Operations of Enterprises.
 Government Support is correlated with Operations of Enterprises.
 Profit and Impact of Profit and Cost Cutting Measures is correlated with
Operations of Enterprises.
 Business Continuity Plan has a Positive impact on Operations of Enterprises.
 Government Support has a Positive impact on Operations of Enterprises.
 Profit and Impact of Profit and Cost Cutting Measures has a Positive Impact on
Operations of Enterprises.
4. Determine measures: We need to develop some theoretical framework to test our
hypotheses that we created to see that its correct or not. Example: Using
Dependence Theory for the research to understand that what factors ae there and
what are there affects.
5. Data collection: It depends on the research from where we need to collect the data
and then we keep the data to analyze for further results. Example: We collected data
from business owners to know how covid-19 has affected their business.
6. Data analysis (Correlation regression reliability validity analysis): In the data analysis
step, the data gathered are statistically analyzed to see if the hypotheses that were
generated have been supported. To check that whether data that we collected is
valid or not and if it the variables are correlated to each other and if the hypotheses
that we assumed are correct and significant enough.
7. Interpretation of data: The Last step in which we tell if the data is reliable in it how
we interpret it that shows if our hypothesis is supported or not and show the
meaning of data that is collected. Example: To interpret reliability of every variable
that if data is reliable or not. To interpret the impact of independent variables on
dependent variables and there significance. If the data is correlated or not. Every
point is interpreted.

5. Explain the processes of deduction and induction, giving an example of each.

Deductive Process:
• In deductive reasoning, we work from the more general to the more specific.
• We start out with a general theory and then narrow down that theory into specific
hypotheses we can test.
• We narrow down even further when we collect specific observations to test our
hypotheses.

Page 2 of 14
 • Analysis of these specific observations ultimately allows us to confirm (or refute)
our original theory.
• Example: As a result of analysis of data collected, one infers that the problem of
turnover can be minimized by three important factors: (i) flexible work hours; (ii)
recognition of superior performance of workers through suitable merit pay raises;
and (iii) enriching certain types of jobs, this is the deductive approach.
Inductive Process:
• Inductive reasoning works in the opposite direction: it is a process where we
observe specific phenomena and, on this basis, arrive at general conclusions.
• In inductive reasoning, we work from the more specific to the more general.
• Both inductive and deductive processes are applied in scientific investigations.
• Both deductive and inductive processes can be used in quantitative and qualitative
research, deductive processes are more often used in causal and quantitative
studies,
• Inductive research processes are regularly used in exploratory and qualitative
studies.
• Example: If a manager observes that people residing at distances beyond 50 miles
from the workplace remain absent more frequently than those, he knows to reside
close by, and infers thereby that distance is a factor in absenteeism, this is an
inductive process
6. Please develop problem statement including research objectives and research questions
for the following problems:
Problem 1: Frequent and long delays may translate into much frustration among airline
passengers, to switching behavior, and to negative word‐of‐mouth communication. These
feelings and behaviors eventually have negative effects on the performance and the
profitability of the firm.
Research Question:
 What are the factors that affect the perceived waiting experience of airline
passengers and to what extent do these factors affect the perception of waiting
times?
 What are the affective consequences of waiting and how does it mediate the
relationship between waiting and service evaluations?

Research Objective:
(1) To identify the factors that influence the passengers' waiting experience.
(2) To investigate the possible impact of waiting on customer satisfaction and service
evaluations.
 Problem 2: Companies benefit through employee loyalty. Crude downsizing in organizations
during the recession crushed the loyalty of millions. The economic benefits of loyalty
embrace lower recruitment and training costs, higher productivity of workers, customer
satisfaction, and the boost to morale of fresh recruits. In order that these benefits are not
lost, some companies, while downsizing, try various gimmicks. Flex leave, for instance, is
one. This helps employees receive 20% of their salary, plus employer‐provided benefits, while

Page 3 of 14
they take a 6‐ to 12‐month sabbatical, with a call option on their services. Others try
alternatives like more communication, hand holding, and the like. 
Research objectives: To maintain the loyalty of employee during periods of downsizing.
Research questions: How can employee loyalty be maintained during periods of downsizing?
7.Given the scenarios below; please indicate whether the research type will be exploratory,
descriptive, or causal with reasons.  
Scenario 1: The manager of a multinational corporation is curious to know if the work ethic
values of employees working in its subsidiary in Pennathur City are different from those of
Americans. There is very little information about Pennathur (except that it is a small city in
southern India), and since there is considerable controversy about what work ethic values
mean to people in other cultures, the manager’s curiosity can be satisfied only by an
exploratory study, interviewing the employees in organizations in Pennathur.  Religion,
political, economic, and social conditions, upbringing, cultural values, and so on play a major
role in how people view their work in different parts of the world. 
This is an Exploratory Research, as it develops these reasoning:
 Not much is to be known about the phenomenon by the manager.
 Existing research results are unclear or has serious limitations.
 The topic is lightly complex. Due to the controversy about work ethic values.
 There is not enough theory available to guide the development of a theoretical
framework.
Scenario 2: A bank manager wants to have a profile of the individuals who have loan
payments outstanding for six months and more. The profile will include details of their
average age, earnings, nature of occupation, fulltime/ part‐time employment status, and the
like. This might help him to elicit further information or decide right away on the types of
individuals who should be made ineligible for loans in the future.  A CEO may be interested in
having a description of how companies in her industry have incorporated corporate social
responsibility into the business strategy of the organization. Such information might allow
comparison later of the performance levels of specific types of companies.  
 It is a descriptive research, because it is used to obtain data that describe the topic of
interest which is “That manager wants to know the profile of those individuals who
have outstanding payments of loans for six and more than six months.
 These studies are often designed to collect data that describe characteristics of
objectives like here average age, earnings, nature of occupation, fulltime/ part‐time
employment status.
Scenario 3: A marketing manager wants to know if the sales of the company will increase if
he increases the advertising budget. Here, the manager would like to know the nature of the
relationship that may be established between advertising and sales by testing the
hypothesis: “If advertising is increased, then sales will also go up.”
It is a Causal Research because in causal research we determine that one variable is causing
effect in another one that is “If advertising is increased, then sales will also go up.”
Scenario 4: A prevalent theory is that the diversity of the workforce increases organizational
effectiveness. A manager wants to know if this relationship holds for her organization.  

Page 4 of 14
It is a Causal Research because manager wants to know that diversity of the workforce
increases organizational effectiveness.
Scenario 5: A manager wants to test the hypothesis that stress experienced in the job
negatively affects the job satisfaction of employees. 
It is a Causal Research because manager wants to test the hypothesis that stress
experienced in the job negatively affects the job satisfaction of employees. 
Scenario 6: A researcher is interested in testing the hypothesis that women are more
motivated for their jobs than men.
It is a Causal Research because researcher is interested in testing the hypothesis that
women are more motivated for their jobs than men.
8. What is the purpose of a critical literature review?
1. The research effort is positioned relative to existing knowledge and builds on this
knowledge.
2. You can look at a problem from a specific angle; it shapes your thinking and sparks useful
insights on the topic of your research.
3. You do not run the risk of “reinventing the wheel”, that is, wasting effort on trying to
rediscover something that is already known.
4. You can introduce relevant terminology and to define key terms used in your writing. This
is.
important because the same term may have different meanings, depending on the context
in which it is used. Definitions will also help you to give structure to your essay, article, or
report.
5. You obtain useful insights of the research methods that others have used to provide an
answer to similar research questions. Knowledge of the research methods used by others
allows you to replicate existing research, which will help you to relate your research findings
to the findings of others.
6. The research effort can be contextualized in a wider academic debate. In other words, it
allows you to relate your findings to the findings of others.
9. Research in behavioral finance has shown that overconfidence can cause investors to
underreact to new information. What is the dependent variable in this case?
DV: Underreact to new information.
10. A marketing manager believes that limiting the availability of a product increases
product desirability. What is the dependent variable here?
DV: Product desirability
11. List the variables in following two exercises individually, and label them as dependent or
independent, explaining why they are so labeled. Create diagrams to illustrate the
relationships.
Exercise 1: An investor believes that more information increases the accuracy of his
forecasts.
INFORMATION ACCURACY

Page 5 of 14
Exercise 2: A marketing manager believes that selecting physically attractive spokespersons
and models to endorse their products increases the persuasiveness of a message.

PHYSICALLY INCREASED
ATTRACTIVE PERSUASION
SPOKESPERSON AND
MODELS
12. List and label the variables in these two exercises
and explain and illustrate by means of diagrams the relationships among the variables.
Exercise 1: A manager finds that off‐the‐job classroom training has a great impact on the
productivity of the employees in her department. However, she also observes that
employees over 60 years of age do not seem to derive much benefit and do not improve
with such training.

OFF-THE -JOB EMPLOYEE

CLASSROOM PRODUCTIVITY
TRAINING

AGE OVER 60

Exercise 2: A manager of an insurance company finds that “fear appeals” in commercials are
positively associated with consumers’ behavioral intentions to insure their house. This effect
is particularly strong for people with a high inherent level of anxiety.

Consumer’s
FEAR APPEALS IN Behavioral intentions
COMMERCIALS

HIGH INHERENT
LEVEL OF
ANXIETY
13. A store manager observes that the morale of employees in her supermarket is low. She
thinks that if their working conditions are improved, pay scales raised, and the vacation
benefits made more attractive, the morale will be boosted. She doubts, however, if an
increase in pay scales would raise the morale of all employees. Her conjecture is that those
who have supplemental incomes will just not be “turned on” by higher pay, and only those
without side incomes will be happy with increased pay, with a resultant boost in morale. List
and label the variables in this situation diagrammatically. Explain the relationships among
the variables and illustrate them by means of diagrams. What might be the problem
statement or problem definition for the situation?
Problem statement:
Research obj:

Page 6 of 14
To understand the impact of low morale of employee.
Research Ques:
What is the impact of low morale of employee?

WORKING
CONDITION

ATTRACTIVE INCREASED MORALE OF

VACATION HAPPINESS EMPLOYEES
BENEFITS

INCREASE IN
PAY SCALE

SUPPLEMENT
INCOME

14. A production manager is concerned about the low output levels of his employees. The
articles that he has read on job performance frequently mention four variables as being
important to job performance: (1) skills required for the job, (2) rewards, (3) motivation, and
(4) satisfaction. In several of the articles it was also indicated that only if the rewards were
(attractive) to the recipients did motivation, satisfaction, and job performance increase, not
otherwise. Given this situation:
1. Define the problem.
Research obj:
To understand the factors that affect the level of outputs in employees.
Research ques:
What are the factors that affect the level of outputs in employees?
2. Create a diagram.

SKILL
REQUIRED FOR
THE JOB

REWARDS
JOB
PERFORMANCE
LEVEL OF
MOTIVATION EMPLOYEES

SATISFACTION
Page 7 of 14
3. Develop at least six hypotheses. 
1) If the employees have more skill required for the job, then their job performance will
increase.
2) If employees are valent rewards, then their motivation will increase.
3) If employees get more valent rewards, it will increase motivation which enhance job
performance.
4)If the company offering valent rewards to employees, then satisfactory level of employees
will increase.
5) Employees who are more motivated will increasing their job performance.
6) Employees who are more satisfied will improve their job performance.
15. A foreman thinks that the low efficiency of the machine tool operators is directly linked
to the high level of fumes emitted in the workshop. He would like to prove this to his
supervisor through a research study.
 Would this be a causal or a correlational study? Why?

This would be a causal study because the foreman wants to prove to its supervisor that the
fumes are causing the machine tool operators to have low efficiency. As fumes cause low
efficiency in workers so it is a causal study.
 Is this an exploratory, a descriptive, or a causal study? Why?

It would be a Causal study because the foreman establishes that high level of fumes in the
workshop cause which leads to low efficiency of the machine tool operators.
 What kind of a study would this be: field study, lab experiment, or field experiment?
Why?

In my opinion it would be the field experiment because for this research study the natural
environment would be required where the work is done in routine. Whereas the level of
fumes will change with time to time to see if its effects the efficiency of the machine tool
operators and how does it effect it.
 What would be the unit of analysis? Why?

The unit of this study would be analyzed through every single operator. This would be
individual study. The data that would be analyzed will be collected from each operator. After
the collection and analysis, the conclusion can be told that if high level of fumes emitted
effects the efficiency of machine tool operators.
 Would this be a cross‐sectional or a longitudinal study? Why?

This would be longitudinal study because the data that they need will not be collected in one
go. As the efficiency of operators will be calculated based on the level of fumes, they work
in. At every level of fumes on operator the level of efficiency would be checked that if they

Page 8 of 14
drop the level of fumes so that their efficiency increases or that if they increase the level of
fumes so that their efficiency decreases.
 15. You want to investigate the specific effects of specific emotions on customers’
behavioral responses to failed service encounters across industries. Discuss the design
decisions that you as a researcher will make to investigate this issue, giving reasons for
your choices. Hint: (the diagram in chapter 6 explains research design process)
In this investigation we must observe the behaviors so the research study would be
observations and it would be probably unethical to read the behavior of the customers. But
to induce the specific behavior the study setting would be non-contrived with minimal
interference so it would be field study. To study the negative behavior some variables would
be controlled here like switching costs which can occur the biasness that would affect the
result.
16. Below are three scenarios. Indicate how the researcher should proceed in each case;
that is, determine the following, giving reasons:
a. Type of research question (exploratory, descriptive, or causal).
b. The extent of researcher interference.
c. The study setting.
d. The research strategy.
e. The time horizon for the study.
f. The unit of analysis.
Scenario 1
A specific department within an organization has a high turnover rate; employees of this
department have a shorter average tenure than those of other departments in the
company. Skilled workers are leaving, and the worker population contains a high percentage
of novice workers. MS Joyce Lynn has no idea what is going on and wants to know more
about what is happening.
a) The research question is Exploratory in nature as it explores the behavior of leaving the
firm in the employee population. HR wants to understand the reasons behind the behavior
as she has absolutely no idea on what is happening.
b) Interference from researcher is moderate in an exploratory research as it is researcher
who guides the research process and designs open ended questions.
c) Study setting is non-contrived.
(Field Experiment)
d) Research strategy – SURVEY, Identifying the reasons for ‘Employee Attrition’ based on a
set of factors like job satisfaction, salary package, motivation, innovation, responsibility etc.
e) Time horizon of the study – Before and after various events like salary hikes, awards, and
rewards etc. So, it will be longitudinal.
f) Unit of analysis – Individual employees
Scenario 2
Mr Paul Hodge, the owner of several restaurants on the East Coast, is concerned about the
wide differences in their profit margins. He would like to try some incentive plans for
increasing the efficiency levels of those restaurants that lag. But before he does this, he

Page 9 of 14
would like to be assured that the idea will work. He asks a researcher to help him on this
issue.
a) This would be a causal, hypothesis-testing study.
b) Because of the manipulation of the incentive plans data, there will be some
researcher interference with the natural flow of events will be moderate.
c) It will be a Non contrived (field experiment), using one or two restaurants to
manipulate incentive plans and see if this causes an increase in profit margins in
those restaurants.
d) Research strategy would be Experiment.
e) The time horizon for the study would be longitudinal since data will be obtained on
sales, profits, etc., both before and after the manipulation.
f) The unit of analysis would be the restaurant(organizations).

Scenario 3
A manager is intrigued as to why some people seem to derive joy from work and get
energized by it, while others find it troublesome and frustrating.
a. Correlational study because manager wants to study the relation of work with
people.
b. Minimal INTEREFENCE
c. The type of investigation: This will be a field study because you will want to study the
people at the job and try and determine what causes the workers to act different at
work.
d. Research strategy Observations
e. The time horizon for the study: One Shot
f. The unit of analysis. The unit of analysis for this study would be Individuals.

17. Under which circumstances would you prefer observation as a method to collect
data over other methods of data collection such as interviews and questionnaires?

ANSWER: Observation shows accurate results. Participants are unaware of being closely
inspected and behave naturally. Observation requires precise analysis by the researcher and
often produces most accurate results although it is very time consuming. Interviewing is
easier but suffers from the fact that participants may not come up with honest replies.
19. What are the differences between causal and correlational studies?
Co relational studies: It describes the relationship between variables. it does not mean one
variable causes a change in another variable for example ice cream sales and crime in
summer cigarettes and ice cream.
Causal studies: These studies test whether one variable causes another variable to change in
causal study the research is interested in delineating one or more factors that are causing
problems example is what is the effect of reward system on productivity how does
perceived value affect consumer purchase intention.
20. In what ways do lab experiments differ from field experiments?

Page 10 of 14
The distinguishing characteristics of field experiments are that they are conducted real-
world settings and often unobtrusively. This contrasts with laboratory experiments, which
enforce scientific control by testing a hypothesis in the artificial and highly controlled setting
of a laboratory.
Field Experiments are done in the everyday environment of the participants. The
experimenter still manipulates the independent variable, but in a real-life setting. Behavior in
a field experiment is more likely to reflect life real because of its natural setting, i.e., higher
ecological validity than a lab experiment.
21. Define the terms control and manipulation.
Variable control means when we keep the factors constant and check the effect of
independent variable with dependent variable, manipulation s means that we created
different levels of the independent variable to assess the impact on the dependent variable.

22. What is internal validity and what are the threats it stands exposed to?
History effects. The action of the two members in the participative group by way of
unexpectedly moving around in an excited manner and remarking that participative
leadership is “great” and the “performance is bound to be high in this group” might have
boosted the morale of all the members in the group. It would be difficult to separate out
how much of the increase in morale was due to the participative condition alone and how
much to the sudden enthusiasm displayed by the two members.
2. Maturation effects. It is doubtful that maturation had any effect on morale in this situation
since the passage of time may not have anything much to do with increases or decreases in
morale.
3. Testing effects. The pretests are likely to have sensitized the respondents to both the
treatment and the posttest. Thus, main, and interactive testing effects exist. However, if all
the groups had been given both the pre‐ and the posttests, the main testing effects (but not
the interactive testing effects!) across all groups would have been taken care of (i.e.,
nullified) and the posttests of each of the experimental groups could have been compared
with that of the control group to detect the effects of the treatment. Unfortunately, the
control group was not given the pretest, and thus this group’s posttest scores were not
biased by the pretest – a phenomenon that could have occurred in the experimental groups.
Hence, it is incorrect, on the face of it, to compare the experimental groups’ scores with
those of the control group. Interactive testing poses a threat to the external validity of the
findings.
4. Selection bias effects. Since members were randomly assigned to all groups, selection bias
should not have affected the internal validity of the findings. The external validity of the
findings should also not have been threatened by selection: there is no reason to assume
that the participants selected for the experiment are different from the other employees of
the organization.
5. Mortality effects. Since members dropped out of two experimental groups, the effects of
mortality could affect internal validity.
6. Statistical regression effects. Though not specifically stated, we can assume that all the
members participating in the experiment were selected randomly from a normally
distributed population, in which case the issue of statistical regression contaminating the
experiment does not arise.
Page 11 of 14
7. Instrumentation effects. Since the same questionnaire measured morale both before and
after the treatment for all members, there should not have been any instrumentation bias.
23. Explain the concept of “trade‐off between internal validity and external validity.”
Trade-off between internal and external validity
There is thus a trade‐off between internal validity and external validity. If we want high
internal validity, we should be willing to settle for lower external validity and vice versa. To
ensure both types of validity, researchers usually try first to test the causal relationships in a
tightly controlled artificial or lab setting, and once the relationship has been established,
they try to test the causal relationship in a field experiment. Lab experimental designs in the
management area have thus far been done to assess, among other things, gender
differences in leadership styles and managerial aptitudes. However, gender differences and
other factors found in the lab settings are frequently not found in field studies (Osborn &
Vicars, 1976). These problems of external validity usually limit the use of lab experiments in
the management area. Field experiments are also infrequently undertaken because of the
resultant unintended consequences – personnel becoming suspicious, rivalries and
jealousies being created among departments, and the like.
24. Explain how the selection of participants may affect both the internal and external
validity of your experiments.
Selection bias effects
Another threat to both the internal and external validity of our findings is the selection of
participants. First, we will discuss how selection may affect the external validity of our
findings. Then, we will discuss how selection may affect the internal validity.
In a lab setting, the types of participants selected for the experiment may be very different
from the types of employees recruited by organizations. For example, students in a
university might be allotted a task that is manipulated to study the effects on their
performance. The findings from this experiment cannot be generalized, however, to the real
world of work, where the employees and the nature of the jobs are both quite different.
Thus, subject selection poses a threat to external validity.
The threat to internal validity comes from improper or unmatched selection of subjects for
the experimental and control groups. For example, if a lab experiment is set up to assess the
impact of the working environment on employees’ attitudes toward work, and if one of the
experimental conditions is to have a group of subjects work for about two hours in a room
with a mildly unpleasant smell, an ethical researcher might disclose this condition to
prospective subjects, who may decline to participate in the study. However, some
volunteers might be lured through incentives (say, a payment of $70 for the two hours of
participation in the study). The volunteers so selected may be quite different from the
others (since they may come from an environment of deprivation)
and their responses to the treatment might be quite different. Such bias in the selection of
the subjects might contaminate the cause‐and‐effect relationships and pose a threat to
internal validity as well. Hence, newcomers, volunteers, and others who cannot be matched
with the control groups pose a threat to internal validity in certain types of experiment. For
this reason, randomization or matching groups is highly recommended.
25. What is meant by operational definition, when is it necessary, and why is it necessary?
Despite the lack of physical measuring devices to measure the more nebulous variables,
there are ways of tapping these types of variables. One technique is to reduce these
Page 12 of 14
abstract notions or concepts to observable behavior and/or characteristics. In other words,
the abstract notions are broken down into observable behavior or characteristics.
For instance, the concept of thirst is abstract; we cannot see it. However, we would expect a
thirsty person to drink plenty of fluids. In other words, the expected reaction of people to
thirst is to drink fluids. If several people say they are thirsty, then we may determine the
thirst levels of each of these individuals by the measure of the quantity of fluids that they
drink to quench their thirst. We will thus be able to measure their levels of thirst, even
though the concept of thirst itself is abstract and nebulous. Reduction of abstract concepts
to render them measurable in a tangible way is called operationalizing the concepts.
Operationalizing is done by looking at the behavioral dimensions, facets, or properties
denoted by the concept. These are then translated into observable and measurable
elements to develop an index of measurement of the concept. Operationalizing a concept
involves a series of steps. The first step is to come up with a definition of the construct that
you want to measure. Then, it is necessary to think about the content of the measure; that
is, an instrument (one or more items or questions) that measures the concept that one
wants to measure must be developed. Subsequently, a response format (for instance, a
seven‐point rating scale with endpoints anchored by “strongly disagree” and “strongly
agree”) is needed, and, finally, the validity and reliability of the measurement scale must be
assessed.
26. Name the type of measuring instrument you would use to tap the following:
a) Which brands of toothpaste are consumed by how many individuals?
NOMINAL Scale
b) Among the three types of exams – multiple choice, essay type, and a mix of both –
which is the one preferred most by students?
ORDINAL Scale
c) To what extent do individuals agree with your definition of accounting principles?
INTERVAL Scale
d) How much people like an existing organizational policy?
INTERVAL Scale
e) The age of employees in an organization.
RATIO Scale
f) The number of employees in each of the 20 departments of a company.
RATIO SCALE
27. “Use of a sample of 5000 is not necessarily better than one of 500.” How would you
react to this statement?
Not only is a sample of 5,000 not necessarily better, but it could also be detrimental, since
the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis becomes too large i.e., every trivial difference
becomes significant. We could compare this to using an electron microscope to examine the
differences between two atoms. The differences will be enormously magnified if we use the
“power” of the electron microscope when, the difference between two atoms is negligible.
In fact, statistical tables are available which specify the appropriate sample size for desired
levels of confidence. Too big a sample size is likely to lead to erroneous conclusions, since
with larger sample sizes, even small correlations reach statistical significance, and thus, the
probability of our committing Type 1 error is high.

Page 13 of 14
28. Nonprobability sampling designs ought to be preferred to probability sampling
designs in some cases. Explain with an example.
Non-probability sampling techniques are a more conducive and practical method for
researchers deploying surveys in the real world. Although statisticians prefer probability
sampling because it yields data in the form of numbers, however, if done correctly, it can
produce similar if not the same quality of results. Getting responses using non-probability
sampling is faster and more cost-effective than probability sampling because the sample is
known to the researcher. The respondents respond quickly as compared to people randomly
selected as they have a high motivation level to participate. Sample selection based on the
subjective judgment of the researcher. Finding respondents is easy.
An example of convenience sampling would be using student volunteers known to the
researcher. Researchers can send the survey to students belonging to a particular school,
college, or university, and act as a sample.
In an organization, for studying the career goals of 500 employees, technically, the sample
selected should have proportionate numbers of males and females. Which means there
should be 250 males and 250 females. Since this is unlikely, the researcher selects the groups
or strata using quota sampling.
Researchers also use this type of sampling to conduct research involving a particular illness
in patients or a rare disease. Researchers can seek help from subjects to refer to other
subjects suffering from the same ailment to form a subjective sample to carry out the study.
29. Explain reliability and validity of research instrument.
Reliability and validity are concepts used to evaluate the quality of research. They indicate
how well a method, technique, or test measure something. Reliability is about the
consistency of a measure, and validity is about the accuracy of a measure.
It is important to consider reliability and validity when you are creating your research design,
planning your methods, and writing up your results, especially in quantitative research.
The extent to which the results can be reproduced when the research is repeated under the
same conditions.
The extent to which the results really measure what they are supposed to measure.
How is it assessed?
By checking the consistency of results across time, across different observers, and across
parts of the test itself.
By checking how well the results correspond to established theories and other measures of
the same concept.
30. A consultant had administered a questionnaire to some 285 employees using a simple
random sampling procedure. As she looked at the responses, she suspected that two
questions might not have been clear to the respondents. She would like to know if her
suspicion is well‐founded. What analysis technique might help her in this case?
A double sampling design will be used in this case. That is, a sub‐sample of the
original sample can be approached to see whether the two questions were clear to them.

Page 14 of 14