Business Research Methods

Session 6 to 7
Prof. Vibhas Amawate
ERRORS IN RESEARCH
Errors in
Research
Design

Random
Systematic
Sampling
Error
Error

Administrative

Respondent
RANDOM SAMPLING ERROR

▪ Random sampling error is the error caused by a particular sample not

being representative of the population due to non random selection.

▪ Even though a representative sample is taken, there is always a

minimal deviation between the true population value and the sample
value. This is due to statistical error as the sample selected is not
perfectly representative of the test population due to chance variation.
Therefore, a small random sampling error is evident. This error
cannot be altogether avoided, but it can be brought under
acceptable limits by increasing the sample size.
S Y S T E M AT I C E R R O R S
▪ Errors that occur due to the nature of the research design and during
research execution are known as systematic errors.

▪ The use of wrong techniques or wrongly designed

questionnaires/discussion guides leads to systematic errors. When the
results of a sample show consistent deviation, in a direction away from the true
value of the population parameter, it is known as a sample error or bias.

▪ There are many sources of systematic errors, which can be classified under
two broad categories, that is, administrative errors and respondent errors.
A D M I N I S T R AT I V E E R R O R S
▪ An error caused by improper administration or execution of the research task is known
as administration error. These are caused due to sample selection error or due to
other factors on the interviewer front such as carelessness, confusion, negligence,
omission, etc.

▪ Sample Selection Error

▪ Sample Frame Error

▪ Population Specification Error

▪ Data Processing Error

▪ Interviewer Error.

▪ Measurement Instrument Error

A D M I N I S T R AT I V E E R R O R S

Error Details
Sample A systematic error that occurs because of an inaccuracy in either the
Selection Error stage of formulation of sample design or the execution of the
sampling procedure resulting in an unrepresentative sample is known as
sample selection error. E.g. Mall Intercept Interviewers selecting to
interview customers who are neatly dressed
Sample Frame The list of population elements or members from which units to be
Error sampled are selected is known as the sampling frame. A sampling frame
error is said to occur when this list of members does not correspond
exactly with the target population. E.g. List of all supermarkets in Delhi
excludes few
A D M I N I S T R AT I V E E R R O R S

Error Details
Population An error that results from an incorrect definition of the universe or
Specification population from which the sample chosen is known as a population
Error specification error. E.g. Looking of electric car potential in small car
buyers
Data Processing An error that occurs because of incorrect data entry, incorrect
Error computer programming or any other error during data analysis is
called data processing error.
Interviewer Error Interviewer error is an administrative error caused by mistakes
committed by the interviewer while administering the questionnaire
or recording the responses. E.g. Interviewer influencing the
respondent, Interviewer cheating etc.
A D M I N I S T R AT I V E E R R O R S

Error Details
Measurement • Measurement instrument error or bias occurs with the questionnaire

Instrument Error itself.

• Researchers must be careful about how questions are worded to avoid
leading respondents or confusing them as to what is being asked.
• Respondent categories should be mutually exclusive, meaning respondents fit
into only one category, and categorically exhaustive.
• Questions that are clear to a researcher may not be clear to individuals
responding to the survey. By paying careful attention to the design of the
questionnaire and pretesting the survey instrument with individuals who
are similar to the survey sample, potential problems can be detected and
corrected before data collection begins, thus minimizing this form of error.
RESPONDENT ERROR

▪ Respondent error as the name suggests are those errors that are observed on the
respondents’ side. A survey requires the respondents’ cooperation in giving answers that
contain the correct information. In practice, it is very difficult to get the interviewees to
cooperate with the interviewer or reveal their true opinions.

▪ Non-Response : It is very difficult for any survey to achieve a 100 % response rate. The
statistical difference in results between a survey that includes only those who responded and
a perfect survey that would also include those who failed to respond is known as non-
response error.

▪ Response bias : A survey error that results from the inclination of people to answer a
question falsely, either through deliberate misrepresentation or unconscious falsification is
known as response bias.
RESPONDENT ERROR

▪ Deliberate Falsification : People might tend to give false answers in order to appear
intelligent or to conceal information they consider personal or embarrassing. Time pressure,
social desirability bias, courtesy bias and uninformed response errors are among other. e.g. a
respondent might remember the number of times he visited a supermarket in the last 6
months, but he might not be able to exactly recollect which supermarkets he visited and how
many times to each of them

▪ Unconscious Misrepresentation : Such situations can arise due to question format, content,
etc. It might happen that respondents misunderstand a question and give a wrong or biased
answer in the process. Prior inexperience to a subject or activity is also a reason why
unconscious misrepresentation on the part of the respondent occurs. Some respondents may
also consider it to be a prestige issue and try to answer every question thrown at them in the
best possible way rather than admitting that they do not know the answer to a question.
Overview of Measurement Scaling

▪ Once the research problem has been clearly established, the most important
part of the research, namely data collection, begins.

▪ A proper measurement system has to be developed before actually

venturing into the field to collect data. At this stage, a researcher has to
address some fundamental issues relating to the variables that need to be
measured, and the different measurement scales that have to be used for
measuring the characteristic that are relevant to the research study.
Concept of Measurement

▪ Managers seek information from marketing research in order to make

intelligent decisions. To obtain the necessary information, marketers are often
engaged in measuring various phenomena or characteristics of a respondent
or an entity. These might include demographic characteristics, product
ownership characteristics, and attitudes toward various things. Measurement
is the process of assigning numbers or labels to those variables or
characteristics.
Concept of Measurement

▪ The process of measurement involves two important concepts

▪ First, it is not the person, object, or event that is being measured. It is an attribute or a
characteristic, such as the income of an individual, sales produced by an advertising campaign,
or degree of willingness of a person to purchase a product.

▪ Second, the numbers are assigned by rules and/or process specified by the researcher. While
the way the numbers are assigned can impact the types of analyses that can be done, the
process of assigning values is determined by the researcher. For instance, the number 1 does
not have to be assigned to females and 2 to males . So long as all females are designated by the
same number, and that number differs from the one assigned to males, the actual numbers used
are irrelevant
Types of Measurement Scales used in Research

▪ Researchers have four different types of scales that can be used for
measurements:

▪ Nominal

▪ Ordinal

▪ Interval

▪ Ratio
Nominal Scale

▪ With nominal scales numbers are assigned to objects or sets of objects for the purpose of
identification and classification. It is the lowest order of the four scales since the numbers
have no meaning other than identifying a particular characteristic. The number used for
each object or set is entirely up to the discretion of the researcher. The number have no
meanings.

▪ A scale to capture number of times a particular groups

has occurred.
Properties of Nominal Scale

▪ In developing nominal scales, it is highly desirable for the scale choices to be mutually
exclusive and collectively exhaustive.

▪ Mutually exclusive means that each response is uniquely different from other possible
responses. Thus, respondents fit into either one category or another, but cannot belong to
multiple categories.

▪ Categorically exhaustive means that all possible responses are included in the
answer categories.
Examples of Nominal Scales
▪ Gender: (1) Female (2) Male

▪ Preferred Fast Food: (1) McDonald's (2) Burger King (3) Wendy's (4) Taco Bell (5) KFC

▪ How did you hear about our business? (Check all that apply):

▪ _____ Yellow pages

▪ _____ Radio

▪ _____ TV

▪ _____ Newspaper

▪ _____ Internet

▪ _____ Friend or relative

▪ _____ Other (please specify): _____

Nominal Scale Sample Report
Ordinal Scales

▪ With ordinal scales numbers are assigned for the purpose of identification, but also have the
property of being arranged in some type of array or order. As with nominal scales, response
options should be mutually exclusive and categorically exhaustive. The sequence of
numbers means something in terms of one response category being larger or better than
another.

▪ A scale that has numbers assigned to groups to indicate

some order or relative standings
Examples of Ordinal Scales

▪ Age: (1) 18–24 (2) 25–34 (3) 35–44 (4) 45–54 (5) 55+

▪ Number of websites visited: (0) None (1) 1 or 2 (2) 3 to 5 (3) 6 to 9 (4) 10 or more

▪ Please rank the following search engines in terms of your personal preference with 1 indicating your first choice, 2
indicating your second choice, 3 indicating your third choice, and 4 indicating your fourth choice.

▪ Bing: _____

▪ Google: _____

▪ WebCrawler: _____

▪ Yahoo: _____
Ordinal Scale Sample Reports
Interval Scales

▪ With interval scales the distance, or space between the numbers assigned to
objects or sets of objects, is considered to be equal.

▪ So if a scale from 1 to 5 is being used, then the distance between 1 and 2 is

the same as between 2 and 3 as well as any other set of consecutive numbers
that is chosen.

▪ Interval scales subsume the properties of both the nominal and ordinal scales
in that numbers are assigned to objects or sets of objects and the numbers
chosen represent an ordered progression.
Interval Scales

▪ The difference between the ordinal and interval scales is that the distance
between scale points cannot be assumed to be equal with ordinal scales, while
with interval scales this assumption does hold true. While an ordinal ranking
question can tell us that something is ranked more favorably than something
else, we don't know by how much. The advantage of interval scales is that
they allow us to determine the degree to which something is preferred. For
this reason, interval scales are the scale of choice when measuring attitudes.

▪ It has characteristics of nominal and ordinal and also includes the power of
equality of interval
Interval Scales

▪ The difference between the ordinal and interval scales is that the distance between scale
points cannot be assumed to be equal with ordinal scales, while with interval scales this
assumption does hold true. While an ordinal ranking question can tell us that something is
ranked more favorably than something else, we don't know by how much. The advantage
of interval scales is that they allow us to determine the degree to which something is
preferred. For this reason, interval scales are the scale of choice when measuring attitudes.

▪ It has characteristics of nominal and ordinal and also includes the power of equality of
interval
Examples of Interval Scales
Please evaluate each of the following appetizers served at the Riverfront Grill
on a scale of 1 to 5 according to how well you like the appetizer.
Dislike a lot Somewh Neither Somewh Like a Lot
at Dislike Like nor at Like
Dislike
Cheese sticks 1 2 3 4 5
Coconut shrimp 1 2 3 4 5
Chicken fingers 1 2 3 4 5

Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.

Strongly Somewhat Neither Somewhat Strongly Agree

Disagree Disagree Agree nor Agree
Disagree
I like to eat Mexican 1 2 3 4 5
food
I eat only healthy 1 2 3 4 5
food
The quality of 1 2 3 4 5
service is excellent
Interval Scale Sample Reports
 Limitations of Interval Scales

▪ Because interval scales do not have an absolute zero point, in which 0 (zero) indicates a
total absence of the property being measured, you cannot compare means and say that one
is twice as much as another.

▪ For instance, if the mean for one appetizer is 4.0 and the mean for another one is 2.0, you
can't say that one appetizer is liked twice as much as the other. While the distances on an
interval scale are assumed to be equal, the absence of an absolute zero prevents such
comparisons.
Statistical Analysis on Different Scales

Type of scale Measures of Measures of Some tests of

central Dispersion significance
tendency
Nominal Mode - Chi Square , binomial test

Ordinal Median Semi –inter- Rank order correlations

quartile range
Interval Arithmetic mean Standard t, F, product moment
deviation, correlations, t tests,
variance, regression and factor
coefficient of analysis
variation
Statistical Analysis on Different Scales

Type of Measures Measures of Some tests of

scale of central Dispersion significance
tendency
Ratio Arithmetic Standard t, F
mean deviation,
variance,
coefficient of
variation

1. Nominal and Ordinal Scales are called non-metric scales and the data distribution would
be most likely be binomial and non-normal. The type of data analysis you could do is
limited
2. Interval and Ratio Scales are called metric scales and the data distribution would be
normal. All type of data analysis could be done.
Which Scale to Use When

▪ In some situations, researchers do not have a choice on which scale can be

used. For instance, gender will always be a nominal scale. So will ethnicity
and the college or university you are now attending. But, for other questions,
researchers may have a choice. When they do, it is advisable to use higher-
order scales to increase the types of analyses that can be conducted.

▪ When developing questions for a survey, it is advisable to use the highest

scale possible. This allows for higher-order analyses. It also provides more
in-depth information. Data can be reduced to lower levels, but cannot be
increased.
Characteristics of a Good Scale

▪ Relatively Easy for respondents to Understand : Scales should be relatively easy for
respondents to understand. Wording is important. It is advisable to use language that is
used by respondents, but also important to ensure the scale items are clear and concise.
Clarity and language familiarity are important, because these factors help to ensure that
respondents understand the question, and interpret it correctly, thus minimizing measurement
error.

▪ Clear and Concise : The scale needs to provide useful data, so in addition to being clear
and concise.

▪ Discriminates well between its Items : If a 5-point scale is used to measure attitude toward
a brand, and if 95% of the respondents check the same response category, then the question
does not discriminate adequately because it doesn't identify differences in attitudes.
Characteristics of a Good Scale

▪ Limited Response Bias : Asking individuals to evaluate fast-food restaurants in

terms of food quality may produce response bias because respondents know the
food is not the healthiest, even though they really like eating at fast-food restaurants.
Thus, they may provide answers that are not completely honest.

▪ Sample Selection Error: Scale items can be developed or borrowed from existing
scales that produce a wide range of responses. In rare cases when a given scale
does not discriminate well among respondents, the problem may be not with the
scale but with the sample selected. If avid Apple users are surveyed, they are very
likely to rate the Apple brand as a 5 on a 5-point rating scale.
 Characteristics of a Good Scale

▪ Scale need to be reliable or have Reliability : A measurement

instrument that provides the same results time and time again is
said to be reliable. Scales that show an object weighs 150 pounds
are said to be reliable if every time the object is weighed on the
scale it indicates it is 150 pounds. So from a marketing perspective,
reliability is defined as the degree to which a measurement is
free from error and provides consistent results over time.
Characteristics of a Good Scale

▪ Scale need to be valid or have Validity : The ability of the scale

to measure what is intended to be measured is called as Validity.
Thus when we are developing a scale to measure a
concept/construct how can we sure that we are actually
measuring the concept/construct. Validity refers to the ability of
a measurement scale to measure what it proposes to
measure and the degree to which it is free of both systematic
and random error.
Types of Marketing Scales

▪ Scales can be divided into two primary categories: comparative scales and non-comparative

scales. With comparative scales respondents are asked to evaluate or

rate a brand, a product, an object, a concept, or a person relative to
other brands, products, objects, concepts, or individuals or to an ideal
item. Non-comparative scales involve respondents making judgments
about a brand, a product, an object, a concept, or a person without
reference to another item or an ideal item.
Types of Marketing Scales
Main Categories of scales
Scale Definition Classification Examples

Dichotomous A scale used to elicit a yes or Nominal E.g. do you own a TV-Yes or No
no answer.

Category Uses multiple item to elicit a Nominal Where in India do you reside?-
single response. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai,
Bangalore, Others

Likert scale It measures how strongly Interval How strongly you agree or
subjects agree or disagree disagree with each of these
with statements on a 5 point statements on a five point
scale scale?

Definitely Agree, Tend to

agree, Neither agree or
disagree, Tend to disagree
and Definitely Disagree………
37
Likert Scales
▪ Likert scales are among the most popular for marketing research.

▪ Likert scales list a series of statements, and respondents are asked to indicate their level of

agreement or disagreement with each statement.

▪ One reason Likert scales are used frequently is their ease of construction.

▪ Likert scales avoid the difficulty of finding the right anchor words or phrases that are

commonly encountered when creating a semantic differential or Stapel scale.

▪ Likert scales are easy for respondents to read and understand. They are also easy to answer

as subjects can respond to a whole series of statements that utilize the same scale.
Likert Scales-Example
Likert Scales-Example
Likert Scales
▪ Likert scales can be either comparative or noncomparative. A comparative Likert scale may ask
individuals to respond to a series of statements about a particular retail store, such as the Gap, as it
compares to other clothing retail stores or a specific store.

▪ Likert scales often include both reversed (negatively phrased) and nonreversed (positively phrased)
items. Doing so is thought to reduce response bias due to acquiescent respondents who are likely to
be agreeable and rate everything positively

▪ Mixing positive and negative items is also important because some argue it helps to alert lazy or less
attentive respondents that the question content varies

▪ Unfortunately, reversing scale items has been found to diminish the reliability of scales and may result
in respondents selecting the exact opposite of their true attitude.
Main Categories of scales
Scale Definition Classification Examples

Semantic Several bipolar attributes Interval Indian cricket team is

Differential Scale are identified at the strong…………..weak
extreme of the scale and
respondents are asked to
indicate their attributes.

Numerical scale Is similar to Semantic Interval How pleased are you with the hostel
differential scale with a facilities?
difference that numbers Extremely Extremely
on a 5 or 7 point scales Pleased Displeased
are provided.
7 6 5 4 3 2 1

42
Semantic Differential Scales
▪ A semantic differential scale can be either comparative or non-comparative depending on
how the question is worded. The semantic differential scale involves a finite number of
choices anchored by dichotomous words or phrases. Most semantic differential scales have
5 or 7 points, which allows for a neutral position. In some cases the neutral position is
eliminated, and a 4- or 6-point scale is used to force respondents to choose one side or the
other of the scale. The key to good semantic differential scales is choosing the anchor
phrases or words that will produce discriminate answers among respondents. Scale anchors
should be bipolar, meaning that the anchors are perceived as “opposites” by
respondents.

▪ When properly constructed, a major advantage of the semantic differential scale is

its ability to discriminate differences in the direction and intensity of attitudes
Semantic Differential Scales-Example
Semantic Differential Scales-Example
Semantic Differential Scales
▪ The key is choosing anchor phrases or words that reflect opposite meanings.
This isn't always an easy task. For example, most people would agree that love
and hate are bipolar opposites. But, what would be the appropriate opposite of
angry? If you answered happy, then what word would you choose as the
opposite of sad? If the anchors are chosen well, the semantic differential is
relatively easy for respondents to understand and therefore easy to answer. If
the anchors are not chosen well, it will lead to respondent confusion and scores
that tend to drift to the midpoint. Also, if anchors are too strong, then the
majority of responses will tend to be in the middle. However, if anchors are too
weak, then all of the answers will be at one extreme or the other.
Semantic Differential Scales
▪ Semantic differential scales produce interval data. Researchers assume there
is equal distance between each of the points on the scale. Therefore, the
appropriate descriptive measures would be a mean and standard deviation.

▪ Semantic differentials are often used to develop brand and image profiles
Semantic Differential Scales-Example
Main Categories scales
Scale Definition Classification Example
Staple scale It measures both the direction and Interval scale Q. State how you would rate Maruti with
the intensity of the attitude towards respect to product innovation.
the item under the study. The -3 -2 -1 Maruti +1 +2 +3
characteristic of the study is placed
in the centre and a numerical scale
of +3 to -3 is indicated on both sides.

49
Stapel Scales

▪ The Stapel scale is similar to the semantic differential, but uses

only one anchor and both a positive and a negative numeric
scale
Stapel Scales - Examples
Stapel Scales - Examples
Stapel Scales- Advantages and Disadvantages
▪ One of the challenges of the semantic differential scale is choosing
bipolar anchors. The advantage of the Stapel scale is that only one
anchor is needed. By using both positive and negative numbers, the
scale produces both positive and negative evaluations. It is easy for
respondents to use since they can signify negative evaluations by
circling or checking a negative response.
Stapel Scales- Advantages and Disadvantages
▪ The major disadvantage is the impact the one-word anchor can have. The word or phrase used as an

anchor can be expressed in positive terms, in neutral terms, or in a negative format. Whichever format

is used will impact the results. Using the anchor “value” produces different results than using anchors

such as “poor value” or “good value.”

▪ An additional disadvantage of the Stapel scale is that some respondents find it difficult to understand,

and may circle the anchor itself, rather than the positive or negative number that expresses the degree

to which the anchor reflects their positive or negative opinion. Misunderstandings of this nature are

more likely to occur when non-neutral anchors are used. Finally, Stapel scales may take up more

space on self-administered surveys, and thus be less desirable than semantic differentials. In practice,

Stapel scales are not frequently used by marketing research practitioners.

Main Categories of attitudinal scales
Scale Definition Classification Example
Itemized rating A 5 point and 7 point scale similar to Interval scale How likely are to purchase a Maruti?
scale numerical scale with the difference Very Likely 5
that it each of these 1, 2, 3,4 and 5 Somewhat Likely 4
have a meaning.
Neither Likely

Nor Unlikely 3

Somewhat Unlikely 2

Very Unlikely 1

55
 Itemized Rating Scales
▪ With an itemized rating scale, respondents choose a response from a select number
of items or categories. It is also a noncomparative rating scale.

▪ The primary advantages of the itemized rating scale are it is easy for respondents to
understand and easy for researchers to code. No subjective judgment is needed to
identify what number should be given to a person's response. As a result, itemized rating
scales are used extensively in marketing research. They can be used in all types of survey
methods from telephone surveys to online surveys.

▪ Most itemized rating scales produce interval data because it is assumed there is equal
distance between each of the categories or items in the response.
Itemized Rating Scales-Example
Itemized Rating Scales-Example
Main Categories of attitudinal scales
Scale Definition Classification Example
Fixed or constant Here the respondents distribute Ordinal scale Q. In choosing a car indicate the importance
sum scale some points amongst the different that you attach to each of the following by
items. allotting points out of 100 in all.

59
Constant Sum
▪ The constant sum scale asks respondents to allocate points among various attributes
or brands to indicate their importance or preference relative to one another. Typically,
researchers will ask respondents to divide 100 points, but any number of points can be
used, such as 10 or 20. Because the total points must add to 100 (or another specified
number), the number of items to be ranked must remain small, usually under 10.

▪ The primary advantage of the constant sum scale over rank-order and the other comparative
scales is that the relative distance between rankings can be determined .

▪ Another advantage of constant sum scales is that they produce ratio data, which are the
highest order of data. In addition to rankings, researchers can compare the relative
magnitude of the rankings.
Constant Sum-Example
Constant Sum-Example
Main Categories of attitudinal scales
Scale Definition Classification Examples
Graphic rating A graphical representation helps respondents Ordinal On a scale of 1 to 10 how
scale to indicate their answer to a particular would rate the supervisor?
question. Excellent 10

All right 5

Very bad 1

The faces scale is also a

graphic rating scale as it
depicts faces from happy to
sad

63
 Graphical Rating Scales
▪ Graphical rating scales are noncomparative scales that allow respondents to place
a response anywhere on a continuous line. Respondents are not making any
comparisons, but are asked to make a judgment or an evaluation. The scale is
normally anchored at each end with antonyms or words with highly different
meanings, such as poor and excellent or friendly and unfriendly.

▪ Because of the continuous nature of a graphical scale, it will produce interval data.
It cannot be ratio data since there is no absolute zero. Descriptive results would be
reported in terms of a mean and standard deviation.
Graphical Rating Scales- Example
COMPARITIVE SCALES
Comparative Scales
Scale Definition Classification

Paired comparison Among a small group of objects the respondents are asked to choose Ordinal
between two objects at a time. Thus if there are four cars you can
have =(n(n-1))/2=(4x(4-1))/2=6 paired comparisons.

Forced Ranking scale The respondent here ranks the different objects relative to each Ordinal
other. Lets say there are 5 brand to choose from. The respondent is
asked to assign a value of 1 to the least preferred choice and 5 to the
most preferred choice.

Comparative scale Often the researcher is interested in benchmarking provided the Interval scale
respondents are aware of the benchmarks. E.g How would you rate the
new Maruti Zen when compared with the earlier model?

1 3 5

Much Worse Same Much Better

67
Paired Comparisons
▪ Rather than ask individuals to rank order a set of items, researchers may use a series of
paired comparisons. With the paired comparison scale, respondents choose one of two
items in a set based on a specific criterion or attribute.

▪ The key advantage of the paired comparison scale is that it is typically easier for
respondents to choose between two items than it is to rank a series of items. The
paired comparison scale also tends to overcome order bias that may be created in listing
the items for a rank-order scale. Respondents may be influenced by the order in which
items are listed in the rank-order scale, even if the list is alphabetical.

▪ A major disadvantage is that its difficult to implement in case of too many comparisions.
Paired Comparisons- Example
Paired Comparisons- Example
Rank-Order Scales

▪ When researchers want to evaluate brands in relation to competing brands,

rank-order scales are often used. Rank-order scales involve respondents
comparing two or more objects, concepts, or persons and ranking
them in some type of order sequence. Because respondents are asked
to make comparisons, rank-order scales are classified as comparative
scales. They are relatively easy for respondents to answer and tend to mimic
reality somewhat because consumers often will rank brands, products, or
attributes mentally when faced with purchase decisions.
Rank-Order Scales- Example
Rank-Order Scales- Example
Limitations of Rank Order Scales
▪ List May not be categorically exhaustive

▪ Respondent May not have knowledge or experience of all the items listed

▪ Difficult to rank the middle terms in a long list.

▪ Criteria used in the ranking may not be clear

▪ Produces Ordinal Data so limitations in terms of analysis

Hypothesis development and questionnaire design
What is a Research Hypothesis

▪ The research objectives comprise the research question/s or information areas and the
hypothesis

▪ Once the objectives and the research questions are identified, a researcher has to
develop a hypothesis statement that reflects these research objectives.

▪ A hypothesis is a statement based on some presumptions about the existence of a

relationship between two or more variables that can be tested through empirical
data.

▪ If the objective of the research is to study the perceptions of the customer, a typical
research question could be: ‘Do the customers perceive the radiations from their
cell phones to be hazardous to health?’
Research Objectives, Questions and Hypothesis
Research Objectives Research Question Hypothesis

Understanding the ‘Why are the sales of Hypothesis “The sales of

demand fluctuations of refrigerators going refrigerators are
refrigerator sales in a year up in winter? going up during winter due to off-
season discounts’

Understanding the “Different areas in India Hypothesis “‘Consumption of tea is

differences in have different higher in North
consumption patterns of consumption patterns India and coffee in South India
tea and coffee in India of tea and coffee” because of the varying lifestyles of
these two
Regions”
 Nature of Hypothesis
▪ Descriptive Hypothesis : These are propositions that typically state the existence,
size, form or distribution of some variable. e.g. “The current inflation rate in India
is 6%”

▪ Relational Hypothesis : These are statements that describe a relationship between

the two variables. Thus E.g. “A highly satisfied customers is highly loyal to you”

▪ Consider hypothetically, a researcher is studying a correlation between

cancer and marriage. In this study, there are two variables: cancer and
marriage. Let us say marriage has a negative correlation with cancer. This
means that people who are married are less likely to develop cancer
78
Features of a Correct Hypothesis
▪ A research hypothesis that states “Tobacco advertising is bad for society” is judgmental and

does not specify the variable to be investigated. Conversely, one that proposes that “Greater

exposure to tobacco advertising increases the likelihood of smoking” indicates the

variables to be investigated (level of tobacco advertising exposure, likelihood of smoking) and

their expected relationship, without passing judgment or jumping ahead to implications.

▪ Research hypotheses that compare groups (users vs. nonusers, males vs. females, etc.) should

be stated in the plural form, and the subgroups to be compared specifically identified. “Women

rather than men are more likely to make a decision in purchase of refrigerators”
Features of a Correct Hypothesis

▪ Furthermore, when the hypothesis features a stated comparison (lower,

higher, more, less, etc.), the variables being compared should be explicitly
referenced, using consistent terminology. “There exists positive
relationship between attitudes towards brand image and Patronage
Intention”.

▪ Significant should not be incorporated in the research hypothesis, since it is

understood that tests of significance will be used during hypothesis testing
Null and Alternate Hypothesis

▪ The concept of null and alternative hypotheses is a basic statistics principle, although often
confusing.

▪ Null Hypothesis : Represented by the symbol H0, the null hypothesis is a statement or
claim that can be statistically tested. When the subject of a research hypothesis is a single
variable, the null hypothesis is stated in terms of equality. For instance, a research hypothesis
might propose that “Individuals most likely to purchase a yacht for personal use have an
average annual income of $5 million or more”.

▪ This research hypothesis would be rephrased into the following null hypothesis: “Individuals
most likely to purchase a yacht for personal use have an average annual income equal
to $5 million.”
Null and Alternate Hypothesis

▪ Alternative Hypothesis: The alternative hypothesis, designated

as H1, states that which must be true when the null hypothesis is
false. In the example above, H1 would be designated as
▪ “Individuals most likely to purchase a yacht for personal use have an
average annual income not equal to $5 million.” Or

▪ Two separate alternative hypotheses specifying income levels of less than $5

million and greater than $5 million, respectively, could be created (so long
as both were included).
Summarizing Research Hypothesis-Identify the Alternative
Hypothesis
Questionnaire Design Process
 Decisions to be considered before designing a questionnaire
▪ A researcher has to take many decisions before framing the actual questionnaire.
These decisions relate

▪ to the information required : In framing a questionnaire, the researcher must ensure

that the questions are designed to draw information that will fulfil research
objectives.

▪ the target respondents : the researcher must make sure of the target population for
the survey. For example, in case of market research, a researcher has to decide
whether to include both users and non-users of a product or service. This is a
crucial step, as the sampling frame would be drawn after the target respondents
are defined.
Decisions to be considered before designing a questionnaire
▪ A researcher has to take many decisions before framing the actual
questionnaire. These decisions relate

▪ choice of survey or research method : The format and type of questions will be
different for personal interviews, focus groups, telephonic interviews and
mailed questionnaires
Factors to consider for Question Content

▪ Irrespective of the type of research, a researcher has to find answers to five

major questions while deciding the question content. They are

▪ What is the utility of the data collected?

▪ How effective is a question in producing the required data?

▪ Can the respondent answer the question accurately?

▪ Is the respondent willing to answer the question accurately?

▪ What is the chance of the responses being influenced by external events?

Factors to consider for Question Content- Utility of the data
collected

▪ A researcher should ensure that each question in the questionnaire

contributes to the survey. For this, every question needs to be screened
before it is added to the questionnaire.

▪ Does it significantly contribute towards answering the research question

▪ Will its omission affect the analysis of any other data?’

▪ Can the same information be gathered through any other question?

 Factors to consider for Question Content- Effectiveness in
Producing Data
▪ After it is decided to include the question in the questionnaire

 it should be assessed whether the question will be able to generate

the required information

 if it needs to be broken down into two specific questions (double-

barrelled questions) to elicit better and accurate answers from

respondents.

▪ In simple words, the question should be effective enough to extract

the required information from the interviewee.
Factors to consider for Question Content- The Participant’s Ability to
Answer Accurately
▪ It is necessary that respondents understand the question in a way that the researcher wants.
This will eliminate the probability of potentially incorrect responses. This can be tackled by
using simple words to frame the questions.

▪ A respondent’s inability to answer a question may arise from three sources

▪ Genuine ignorance about the topic : As respondents rarely admit the lack of knowledge of the
topic if you test there knowledge

▪ Inability to recollect the answer : What was your expenditure on grocery items in the last
week?’

▪ Inability to verbalize the response : This refers to the respondents’ inability to verbalize
factors influencing their buying motives. It is not quite possible to answer questions like, ‘Why
did you buy that car?’, ‘What made you buy that brand of shoes?’ This is because many
times people buy things for reasons other than what they admit to themselves.
 Factors to consider for Question Content- The Respondent’s
Willingness to Answer Accurately

▪ This refers to the researcher assessing the likelihood of the respondent

answering a particular question accurately. A respondent’s unwillingness to
answer a specific question can result in item non-response (where the
respondent completes the rest of the questions other than those he or she is
uncomfortable with), refusal to complete the rest of the questionnaire or in
deliberate falsification.

▪ This refusal can be because of the question being offending, too personal
and embarrassing, reflecting on prestige, or when the respondents
decide the topic is irrelevant to their interests.
 Factors to consider for Question Content- External Content

▪ Sometimes the respondent’s answer to a particular question is exaggerated or understated

due to the interference of external events.

▪ Example of external events is weather or time. For example, a questionnaire designed to find
the potential footfalls for a big apparel showroom that is to come up in a business district
investigated the shopping patterns of women by asking them ‘how many times did you go
shopping in the past 1 week?’. The survey was conducted just after a week of heavy rain in
the particular city. Though the answers were right for the particular question, it was not truly
representative of the shopping frequency of the respondents. Hence, questions should be
framed after considering external events.
Types of Questions –Open Ended Questions

▪ Open-Ended Questions : A type of question that requires participants to

respond in his/her own words without being restricted to pre-defined
response choices is known as an open-ended question.

▪ Types of Open Ended Questions are as follows

▪ Free Response : Free-response questions typically fluctuate in the

degree of freedom they give to the interviewee
▪ Q What do you think of the performance of the Indian hockey team in the recent Athens
Olympics?

▪ Q How would you evaluate Dhanraj Pillay’s performance in the Athens Olympics?
Types of Questions –Open Ended Questions

▪ Probing : Probing open-ended questions are those where the actual open-ended
questions are reached a little later in the process. Consider the following example

▪ Projective : A vague question or stimulus used by the researcher to project a

person’s attitudes from the responses is known as a projective open-ended
question. Such questions are primarily used in projective techniques
 Types of Questions –Close Ended Questions

▪ Close-Ended Questions : Questions, which restrict the interviewee’s answers to pre-

defined response options, are called close-ended questions. Close-ended questions give
respondents a finite set of specified responses to choose from.

▪ Four major types of close ended questions are:

▪ Binary

▪ Ranking questions

▪ Multiple choice

▪ Checklist
Types of Questions –Close Ended Questions

▪ Binary Questions : These are also known as dichotomous questions as they permit only
two possible answers. The respondent has to choose one of the two permissible answers.
Binary Questions are mostly used in classification of the respondents.

▪ Ranking Questions : These questions require the participant to rank the response options
listed on a continuum basis in order of preference. Ranking questions are used to get
information that reveals participants’ attitudes and opinions. These questions list several
alternatives that might influence an individual’s decision-making.
Types of Questions –Close Ended Questions

▪ Multiple-Choice Questions : These questions cover all significant degrees of

response. The respondent has to select an option that best describes their
feelings.

▪ Three issues that should be considered while framing such questions are

▪ the response options should be collectively exhaustive to qualify it as a valid

question

▪ the position of the responses should be varied to avoid the selection of any
particular response due to position bias

▪ the response options offered should be distinct from one another

Types of Questions –Close Ended Questions

▪ Checklist Questions : These are questions where the participant has the freedom to
choose one or more of the response options available. This is different from multiple-
choice questions in that it gives freedom to the respondents to choose one or more of
the options available.
Designing a Questionnaire-Question Wording

Question Wording Details

Avoid objectionable and 1. Objectionable: How often do you travel in a bus without a
sensitive questions ticket?
2. Unobjectionable: How often do you forget to take a ticket
while travelling by bus? (Disguised)
Avoid biased questions 1. Biased: Do you think that TV has a negative effect on
children?
2. Unbiased: What are your views about the effects of TV on
children?
Avoid vague questions 1. Vague: How satisfied are you with Celebrity Resorts?
2. Better: How would you describe the hospitality in Celebrity
Resorts in your own words?
Designing a Questionnaire-Question Wording

Question Wording Details

Avoid unwarranted 1. Presumptive: How satisfied are you with the speed of response for
Presumptions on-site technical support? (assumes that customers are satisfied)
2. Better: How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the speed of
response for on-site technical support?
Avoid the use of leading 1. Leading: Would you prefer a supermarket nearer your home?
questions that prompt the 2. Better: How often would you shop from a supermarket based on
respondent to a particular its distance from your house?
Answer
Avoid asking negative 1. Negative: Sales persons should not be allowed to make visits in
Questions the evening. Agree/Disagree
2. Positive: Sales persons should be allowed to make visits at any
time. Agree/Disagree
Designing a Questionnaire-Question Wording

Question Wording Details

Ensure that the wording is 1. Ambiguous: How seldom, occasionally and frequently do you
completely purchase stock?
unambiguous 2. Unambiguous: How often do you purchase stock? a) Seldom b)
Occasionally c) Frequently
Avoid double-barrelled 1. Double-barrelled: Do you drive or take the bus everyday to office?
questions Yes/No
2. Better: How do you go to your office everyday? Drive or take a
bus?
Have as narrow a reference 1. Too broad a time period: How many times have sales promotions
range as influenced you to switch brands over the last 1 year?
Possible 2. Better: How many times in the last month have sales promotions
influenced you to switch brands?
Questionnaire Sequence

▪ The structure of a questionnaire is an important aspect in questionnaire

design. The questionnaire structure is framed depending upon whether
it is self-administered or the administration is facilitated by an
interviewer. Questionnaire structure pertains to the proper sequencing
for better and effective responses. The sequencing tends to drive the
interview through a ‘funnel-shaped’ process, starting with general
questions and progressing to more specific ones. The interviewer,
before moving to sequential steps, gives a brief introduction about the
survey’s basic purpose survey and client confidentiality.
Questionnaire Sequence

▪ This sequencing is explained through the following steps:

▪ Lead-in questions

▪ Qualifying questions

▪ Warm-up questions

▪ Specifics questions

▪ Demographics questions
Lead-in questions

▪ This is the introductory phase of the interview and consists of tactfully

designed ice-breakers. These can prove crucial in gaining the participant’s
confidence and cooperation. The questions should be simple, non-
threatening and not too personal at this stage.

▪ A typical lead-in question is given below.

▪ Q It is often said that the economic condition in India is a by-product of

the political situation. Do you agree with this?

▪ YES/NO
 Qualifying Questions

▪ These are questions that slowly lead to the survey’s objective. This stage is
characterized by questions that evaluate the respondent and qualify him/her for
further questioning.

▪ A survey for estimating market potential for a new fluoride-based toothpaste brand
should ask qualifying questions like the following

Q Which type of toothpaste do you like?

A Fluoride Herbal Calcium

Warm-Up Questions
▪ This stage plays on the respondent’s mind by making him/her think of certain facts related
to the survey questions.

▪ Questions like,

▪ ‘When was the last time you bought toothpaste?’

▪ ‘Was it fluoride content or herbal?’

▪ ‘Looking back, can you recollect how many times you might have used fluoride toothpastes over
the last 1 year?’ tend to make the respondent think and recollect past experiences
Specific Questions

▪ This stage consists of questions that are specific to the research objectives.

▪ As such, they are asked of participants who show a favourable response or

are end users of the product, in this case, fluoride toothpastes. These
questions tend to estimate the usage pattern and influential factors in using
fluoride content toothpaste.

▪ These specific questions play a major role in data collection and analysis.
After ensuring that enough rapport has been established, this section can
probe to gain insight into sensitive issues.
 Demographic Questions

▪ These are a necessary part of every survey. Responses to survey questions cannot
be analysed until they are sorted out according to the different characteristics
pertaining to the study. This is especially true for surveys that analyse responses
based on the demographic characteristics of respondents. These usually consist of
a set of questions related to age, sex, location, occupation, etc. These questions
are kept to the end to avoid interviewee resistance and to prevent the interviewee’s
attention from being diverted.
Stages of Questionnaire Testing

▪ Pre-testing refers to testing the questionnaire on a small sample of respondents

selected on a convenient basis that is not too divergent from the actual
respondents. The aim is to identify and eliminate flaws and problems.

▪ The responses gathered from pre-testing are coded to facilitate analysis.

Pretesting enables the researcher to revise the questionnaire by identifying flaws
and eliminating any ambiguous questions. It also helps researchers to verify if
interviewers resort to proper sample selection procedures.

▪ After the revision, the research instrument is ready for its final draft, which is
to be used for the actual survey.