SRM Institute of Science and

Technology, VDP
Research Methods in
Business
UNIT 2
Dr.M.Kalaivani,
Asst.Pro(Sr.G)
DOMS
 Research Methods in
Business
UNIT II
Qualitative Methods– The nature and types of
qualitative research–Data collection
methods–primary and secondary
sources–Types of data analysis
methods–Writing up qualitative research.
Qualitative research
•It is used to describe behaviours, actions, feelings,
perceptions, and interaction among people.
 Qualitative Research
•Qualitative research is defined as a market
research method that focuses on obtaining data
through open-ended and conversational
communication.
•Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing
non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to
understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can
be used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or
generate new ideas for research.
•Qualitative research is the opposite of quantitative
Qualitative research methods examples
• How does social media shape body image in teenagers?
• How do children and adults interpret healthy eating in the UK?
• What factors influence employee retention in a large organization?
• How is anxiety experienced around the world?
• How can teachers integrate social issues into science curriculums?
Characteristics of qualitative research methods
• Qualitative research methods usually collect data at the sight, where the
participants are experiencing issues or problems. These are real-time data
and rarely bring the participants out of the geographic locations to collect
information.
• Qualitative researchers typically gather multiple forms of data, such as
interviews, observations, and documents, rather than rely on a single
data source.
• This type of research method works towards solving complex issues by
breaking down into meaningful inferences, that is easily readable and
understood by all.
• Since it’s a more communicative method, people can build their trust on
the researcher and the information thus obtained is raw and
unadulterated.
When to use qualitative research
• Developing a new product or generating an idea.
• Studying your product/brand or service to strengthen your marketing
strategy.
• To understand your strengths and weaknesses.
• Understanding purchase behavior.
• To study the reactions of your audience to marketing campaigns and
other communications.
• Exploring market demographics, segments, and customer groups.
• Gathering perception data of a brand, company, or product.
1. One-on-one interview:
• Conducting in-depth interviews is one of the most common qualitative
research methods.
• It is a personal interview that is carried out with one respondent at a
time. This is purely a conversational method and invites opportunities to
get details in depth from the respondent.
• One of the advantages of this method provides a great opportunity to
gather precise data about what people believe and what their
motivations are.
• When the in-depth interview is conducted face to face it gives a better
opportunity to read the body language of the respondents and match
the responses.
2. Focus groups
• A focus group is also one of the commonly used qualitative research
methods, used in data collection. A focus group usually includes a limited
number of respondents (6-10) from within your target market.
• The main aim of the focus group is to find answers to the “why” “what”
and “how” questions. One advantage of focus groups is, you don’t
necessarily need to interact with the group in person. Nowadays focus
groups can be sent an online survey on various devices and responses can
be collected at the click of a button.
• Focus groups are an expensive method as compared to the other online
qualitative research methods. Typically they are used to explain complex
processes. This method is very useful when it comes to market research
on new products and testing new concepts.
3. Ethnographic research
• Ethnographic research is the most in-depth observational method that
studies people in their naturally occurring environment.
• This method requires the researchers to adapt to the target audiences’
environments which could be anywhere from an organization to a city or
any remote location. Here geographical constraints can be an issue while
collecting data.
• This research design aims to understand the cultures, challenges,
motivations, and settings that occur. Instead of relying on interviews and
discussions, you experience the natural settings first hand.
• This type of research method can last from a few days to a few years, as it
involves in-depth observation and collecting data on those grounds. It’s a
challenging and a time-consuming method and solely depends on the
expertise of the researcher to be able to analyze, observe and infer the
data.
4. Case study research
• The case study method has evolved over the past few years and
developed into a valuable quality research method. As the name suggests
it is used for explaining an organization or an entity.
• This type of research method is used within a number of areas like
education, social sciences and similar. This method may look difficult to
operate, however, it is one of the simplest ways of conducting research as
it involves a deep dive and thorough understanding of the data collection
methods and inferring the data.
5. Record keeping
• This method makes use of the already existing reliable documents
and similar sources of information as the data source. This data can
be used in new research. This is similar to going to a library. There one
can go over books and other reference material to collect relevant
data that can likely be used in the research.
 6. Process of observation

• Qualitative Observation is a process of research that uses subjective

methodologies to gather systematic information or data. Since, the focus
on qualitative observation is the research process of using subjective
methodologies to gather information or data. Qualitative observation is
primarily used to equate quality differences.
• Qualitative observation deals with the 5 major sensory organs and their
functioning – sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing. This doesn’t involve
measurements or numbers but instead characteristics.
Data collection methods
• Data collection is a systematic process of gathering observations or
measurements
TYPES OF DATA
1) PRIMARY DATA : Are those which are collected a fresh and for the first
time and thus happen to be original in character and known as Primary
data.

2) SECONDARY DATA : Are those which have been collected by someone

else and which have already been passed through the statistical
process are known as Secondary data.
Sources of Primary data
Interview Method
• It is the most widely used primary data collection methods wherein
the interviewer asks questions either personally, or through mail or
telephone from the respondents to obtain the insights of the problem
under study.
Delphi Technique
• It is a forecasting technique wherein the researcher elicits the
information from the panel of experts either personally or through a
questionnaire sent through the mail. Here, each expert in his
respective field is asked to give their opinions on the problem
concerned and the consolidated view of all is used to reach for the
most accurate answer.
Projective Techniques
The projective techniques are the unstructured and an indirect interview
method used where the respondents are reluctant to give answers if the
objective is disclosed. In order to deal with such situation, the respondents
are provided with the incomplete stimulus and are required to complete it
through which their underlying motivations, attitudes, opinions, feelings,
etc. related to the concerned issue gets revealed. Some of the following
projective techniques are used to discover the ‘whys’ of the market and
the consumer behavior:
 Important Projective Techniques
• Word Association Test: An individual is given a clue or hint and asked to respond to the
first thing that comes to mind. The association can take the shape of a picture or a word.
The interviewer records the responses which reveal the inner feeling of the respondents.

• Completion Test: In this the respondents are asked to complete an incomplete sentence or
story. The completion will reflect their attitude and state of mind.

• Construction Test: This is more or less like completion test. They can give you a picture and
you are asked to write a story about it. The initial structure is limited and not detailed like
the completion test. For eg: 2 cartoons are given and a dialogue is to written.

• Expression Techniques: In this the people are asked to express the feeling or attitude of
other people.
Focus Group Interview
It is one of the widely used data collection methods wherein a small group
of people, usually 6-12 members come together to discuss the common
areas of the problem. Here each individual is required to provide his
insights on the issue concerned and reach to a unanimous decision. In this
interview, there is a moderator who regulates the discussion among the
group members.
CASE STUDY METHOD
• case study is essentially an intensive investigation of the particular
unit under consideration

• It is a method of study in depth rather than breadth

• Case studies are in-depth investigations of a single person, group,

event or community. Typically, data are gathered from a variety
of sources and by using several different methods
 Questionnaire Method
• Questionnaire is the most evident method of data collection, which is
comprised of a set of questions related to the research problem. This
method is very convenient in case the data are to be collected from the
diverse population. It mainly includes the printed set of questions, either
open-ended or closed-ended, which the respondents are required to
answer on the basis of their knowledge and experience with the issue
concerned.
 Questionnaire question types
• Open ended questions
As the name implies, these questions are open for the respondent to answer with more
freedom. Instead of presenting a series of answers choices, the respondent writes as much
are as little as they want. This is ideal for exploratory questionnaires which collect
qualitative data.
• Multiple choice questions
This question presents the respondent with a list of answer options and they can select one
or more. The challenge with multiple-choice questions is providing incomplete answer
options.
For example, you may ask what industry do you work in and list out 5 of the most common
industries. There are more than 5 industries in the world so some people won’t be
represented in this situation. A simple solution to this problem is adding an “other” option.
• Dichotomous questions
This is a question with only two possible answers. It tends to be a yes or no question but it
can also be something like agree/disagree or true/false. Use this when all you need is basic
validation without going too deeply into the motivations.
Essentials of Good Questionnaire
• Good Questionnaire Should Short & simple Questions should
arranged in logical sequence (From Easy to difficult one)
• Technical terms should avoided
• Questions affecting the sentiments of the respondents should
avoided
• Adequate space for answers should be provided in questionnaire
Provision for uncertainty (do not know, No preference)
• Directions regarding the filling of questionnaire should be given
Physical Appearance - - Quality of paper, color
 SOME OTHER METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION
• 1. Warranty cards: Warranty cards are usually postal sized cards which are
used by dealers of consumer durables to collect information regarding their
products. The information sought is printed in the form of questions on the
‘warranty cards’ which is placed inside the package along with the product
with a request to the consumer to fill in the card and post it back to the
dealer.
• 2. Distributor or store audits: Distributor or store audits are performed by
distributors as well as manufactures through their salesmen at regular
intervals. Distributors get the retail stores audited through salesmen and
use such information to estimate market size, market share, seasonal
purchasing pattern and so on. The data are obtained in such audits not by
questioning but by observation.
3. Pantry audits:
Pantry audit technique is used to estimate consumption of the basket of goods
at the consumer level. Thus in pantry audit data are recorded from the
examination of consumer’s pantry. The usual objective in a pantry audit is to
find out what types of consumers buy certain products and certain brands, the
assumption being that the contents of the pantry accurately portray
consumer’s preferences. Quite often, pantry audits are supplemented by direct
questioning relating to reasons and circumstances under which particular
products were purchased in an attempt to relate these factors to purchasing
habits.
4. Consumer panels
a consumer panel is essentially a sample of consumers who are interviewed
repeatedly over a period of time
Attributes Qualitative research methods Quantitative research methods

This research method focuses on describing individual Quantitative research method focuses on describing
Analytical objectives
experiences and beliefs. the characteristics of a population.

Types of questions asked Open-ended questions Closed-ended questions

Use semi-structured methods such as in-depth Use highly structured methods such as structured
Data collection Instrument
interviews, focus groups, and participant observation observation using questionnaires and surveys

Form of data produced Descriptive data Numerical data

Participant responses affect how and which questions Participant responses do not influence or determine
Degree of flexibility
researchers ask next how and which questions researchers ask next
 Writing the Qualitative Research
Report

• A qualitative study is not complete until the research report is

written
• Researcher analyzes data and writes the analysis in back-and-forth
reflective steps
• Writing the report is part of developing the interpretation of
the data
Styles of qualitative writing
•Realistic
•Confessional
•Subtle realistic
•Narrative
The realistic style
•The researcher is mostly invisible
•Use of the passive voice
•Research seems invisible to the process of
research (common in scientific writing)
Confessional style

•Researchers profile themselves explicitly as

the person who did the research
•Personal reports including side-tracks,
errors, experiences and emotions
Subtle-realistic style
•Research makes clear statements on social
reality but takes responsibility for them
•Do not take themselves out of the picture
•Understand it is their interpretation that
matters
•Reflect on their work, aware of quality
Narrative style
•Reporting often includes postmodern theory
and related epistemology
•May experiment with the ‘plotting’, the
author’s stance and the characters of the
participants, voices and rhetoric.
•An attempt to reflect the complex nature of
 Qualitative Report Format:
1. Introduction
2. Literature review/summary
3. Methods section – discussion of data collection and
analysis
4. Findings/Results
5. Discussion
• Limitations
• Implications of findings
• Future research
Types of Variables
• Independent Variable

• Dependent Variables

• Control Variable

• Moderating Variables

• Intervening Variables

• Extraneous Variable
Independent Variable
• The variable that is stable and unaffected by the other variables you
are trying to measure. It refers to the condition of an experiment that
is systematically manipulated by the investigator.

• It is the presumed cause.

Dependent Variable
The variable that depends on other factors that are measured. These
variables are expected to change as a result of an experimental
manipulation of the independent variable or variables.

It is the presumed effect.

Examples
• Low intake of food causes underweight.
(IV) (DV)
• Smoking enhances the risk of lung cancer.
(IV) (DV)
• Level of education influences job satisfaction.
• Advertisement helps in sales promotion.
• Previous job experiences determine the initial salary.
CONTROL VARIABLES
• control variables aren’t a part of the experiment, but they are important because they could affect the
outcome. Eg

• Duration of the experiment

• Size and composition of containers

• Temperature

• Humidity

• Sample volume

• Pressure

• Experimental technique

• Chemical purity or manufacturer

• Species (in biological experiments)

 Moderating Variables
• A moderating variable is one that has a strong contingent effect on
the independent variable-dependent variable relationship. That is,
the presence of a third variable (the moderating variable) modifies the
original relationship between the independent and the dependent variable.
 Eg
• For example, a strong relationship has been observed between
the quality of library facilities (X) and the performance of
the students (Y). Although this relationship is supposed to be true generally, it is
nevertheless contingent on the interest and inclination of
the students. It means that only those students who have the interest
and inclination to use the library will show improved performance in their studies.
In this relationship interest and inclination is moderating variable i.e. which mode
rates the strength of the association between X and Y variables
Intervening Variable
• An intervening variable is something that impacts the relationship
between an independent and a dependent variable. Usually, the
intervening variable is caused by the independent variable, and is itself a
cause of the dependent variable.
Eg
 Eg
• For example, there is an observed positive correlation between level of education
and level of income, such that people with higher levels of education tend to earn
higher levels of income. This observable trend, however, is not directly causal in
nature. Occupation serves as the intervening variable between the two, since
education level (the independent variable) influences what kind of occupation one
will have (the dependent variable), and therefore how much money one will earn. In
other words, more schooling tends to mean a higher status job, which in turn tends
to bring a higher income.
Extraneous Variable
• Extraneous variables are any variables that you are not intentionally
studying in your experiment or test.

• Eg Students are writing the test the temperature inside the room which
may or may not affect the students in their writing performance. So
temperature is the Extraneous variable here.
 Hypothesis
•Hypothesis simply means a mere assumption or some supposition
to be proved or disproved.
•for a researcher hypothesis is a formal question that he intends to
resolve.
•hypothesis may be defined as a proposition or a set of proposition
set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified
group of phenomena either asserted merely as a provisional
conjecture to guide some investigation or accepted as highly
probable in the light of established facts.
•Research hypothesis is a predictive statement, capable of being
tested by scientific methods, that relates an independent variable
to some dependent variable.
 Characteristics of Hypothesis
• Hypothesis should be clear and precise.
• Hypothesis should be capable of being tested.
• Hypothesis should state relationship between variables, if it happens to be a
relational hypothesis.
• Hypothesis should be limited in scope and must be specific. A researcher
must remember that narrower hypotheses are generally more testable and
he should develop such hypotheses.
• Hypothesis should be consistent with most known facts i.e., it must be
consistent with a substantial body of established facts. In other words, it
should be one which judges accept as being the most likely.
• Hypothesis should be amenable to testing within a reasonable time.
• Hypothesis must explain the facts that gave rise to the need for explanation.
Basic concepts concerning testing of hypotheses
• Null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis: In the context of statistical
analysis, we often talk about null hypothesis and alternative
hypothesis.
• The Null and Alternative Hypotheses There are two hypotheses that
are made: the null hypothesis, denoted H 0, and the alternative
hypothesis, denoted H 1 or H A. The null hypothesis is the one to be
tested and the alternative is everything else
The level of significance
• This is a very important concept in the context of hypothesis testing.
It is always some percentage (usually 5%) which should be chosen wit
great care, thought and reason. In case we take the significance level
at 5 per cent, then this implies that Ho will be rejected.

• defined as the probability of rejecting a null hypothesis by the test

when it is really true, which is denoted as α
Type I and Type II errors
In the context of testing of hypotheses, there are basically two types of errors we can make. We may reject Ho when Ho
is true and we may accept Ho when in fact Ho is not true. The former is known as Type I error and the latter as Type II
error.
In other words, Type I error means rejection of hypothesis which should have been accepted and Type II error means
accepting the hypothesis which should have been rejected.
Type I error is denoted by α (alpha) known as α error, also called the level of significance of test; and Type II error is
denoted by β (beta) known as β error. In a tabular form the said two errors can be presented as follows:

Decision

Accept H o Reject Ho

Ho (true) Correct decision Type I error ( α error)

Ho(False) Type II error (β Correct decision

error)
 Type I Error
• A type I error appears when the null hypothesis (H0) of an experiment is
true, but still, it is rejected. It is stating something which is not present
or a false hit. A type I error is often called a false positive (an event that
shows that a given condition is present when it is absent). In words of
community tales, a person may see the bear when there is none (raising
a false alarm) where the null hypothesis (H0) contains the statement:
“There is no bear”.
• The type I error significance level or rate level is the probability of
refusing the null hypothesis given that it is true. It is represented by
Greek letter α (alpha) and is also known as alpha level. Usually, the
significance level or the probability of type i error is set to 0.05 (5%),
assuming that it is satisfactory to have a 5% probability of inaccurately
rejecting the null hypothesis.
 A type II error
• A type II error appears when the null hypothesis is false but mistakenly fails
to be refused. It is losing to state what is present and a miss. A type II error
is also known as false negative (where a real hit was rejected by the test
and is observed as a miss), in an experiment checking for a condition with a
final outcome of true or false.

• The rate level of the type II error is represented by the Greek letter β (beta)
and linked to the power of a test (which equals 1−β).
• If the P-value is less than or equal to the α, there should be a
rejection of the null hypothesis in favour of the alternate hypothesis.
In case, if P-value is greater than α, the null hypothesis is not rejected.
Types of Hypothesis

• Simple hypothesis
• Complex hypothesis
• Directional hypothesis
• Non-directional hypothesis
• Null hypothesis
• Associative and causal hypothesis
• Alternative Hypothesis
Simple Hypothesis
Simple hypothesis is that one in which there exits relationship between two
variables one is called independent variable or cause and the other is
dependent variable or effect.

• Smoking leads to cancer

• The higher ratio of unemployment leads to crimes.

• Drinking sugary drinks daily leads to obesity

• Smoking cigarettes daily leads to lung cancer.

Complex Hypothesis
• It shows the relationship between two or more dependent variables and two or
more independent variables. Eating more vegetables and fruits leads to weight
loss, glowing skin, reduces the risk of many diseases such as heart disease, high
blood pressure and some cancers.

• In this type dependent and independent variables are more than two

• Eg -The people who are older and living in rural areas are happier than people
who are younger and who live in the city or suburbs

• Ex. Smoking and other drugs leads to cancer, tension, chest infections etc. • The
higher ration of unemployment poverty illiteracy leads to crimes like dacoit etc
Directional Hypothesis
• Directional Hypothesis predicts the direction of the relationship
between the independent and dependent variable
• It shows how a researcher is intellectual and committed to a
particular outcome. The relationship between the variables can
also predict its nature.
• For example- children aged four years eating proper food over a
five-year period are having higher IQ levels than children not
having a proper meal. This shows the effect and direction of
effect.
• Eg – High quality of nursing education will lead to hig quality of
nursing skills
Non-directional Hypothesis
• Non -directional Hypothesis predicts the relationship between the
independent variable and the dependent variable but does not
specific the directional of the relationship.

• It is used when there is no theory involved. It is a statement that a

relationship exists between two variables, without predicting the
exact nature (direction) of the relationship.

• Eg – teacher student relationship will influence the students learning

• Null Hypothesis

• It provides the statement which is contrary to the hypothesis. It’s a negative

statement, and there is no relationship between independent and
dependent variables. The symbol is denoted by “HO”.

• Associative and Causal Hypothesis

• Associative hypothesis occurs when there is a change in one variable

resulting in a change in the other variable. Whereas, causal hypothesis
proposes a cause and effect interaction between two or more variables.
Unit End