Research Methodology

definition
• Research is a systematic activity directed towards discovery
and the development of an organized body of knowledge.

• Research is a systematic formal rigorous and precise process

employed to gain solutions to problems or to discover and
interpret new facts and relationship.

• Identification---- – collection ----analysis---- calculation– use of

information
Nature of research
• Systematic activity
• Logical process
• Iterative process
some time it is necessary for the researcher to review the work
of earlier stages.
• Based on empirical evidences
Why study Business Research ?
• Estimating expenses
• Price determination
• Assisting managers in the decision making process
• Evaluating market trends
• Achieving competitive advantage
Research Problem, and its formulation
• Identify a field or Area of interest
• Divide the Board Area into smaller Sub area
• Select the most interesting topic
• Raise research questions
• Formulate the objectives
• Re Evaluate
Research Proposal
• Research proposal is a written description of the fundamental
plan for any research project, it explain the reason that why
specific issues have to be resolved and what suitable research
design should be formed to examine.
 Research proposal and its elements
• Problem statement
• Research design
• Research objectives
• Schedule of working on research
• Budget
• Literature review
Pure/Basic/Fundamental Research
• The objective of this research is to provide models and theories
regarding to some phenomenon, this research is conducted to
obtain knowledge about a particular subject rather then its
practical usage.

• Concerned with generalization and with formulation of theory

gathering knowledge, A study of factors impacting each stage
of product life cycle.
Applied/Practical research
• Need based research or action based research

• Aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem faced by a

society and an industrial organization
• Playing a music have a positive impact on increasing
productivity, if the research find it yes then applying it in work
area or vice versa
Descriptive statistics
• The research conducted to explain the characteristics features of the
population under study, or is concern with answering the questions
like who, what, and how regarding a situation.
Description of the state of affairs as it exist in present
Researcher report what has happened and what is happening
Normally used in social sciences and business research
• For example, scale of shopping, preference of people
• Fluctuation of US fluctuation in international trade balance in
1974-1995 is an example of descriptive research
• What is unemployment rate of disabled people in Afghanistan?
Analytical research
• The researcher use facts and information that is already
available and analyze these information to find out the reason.

• Why and how is important word in analytical research

• Why is the unemployment rate of disabled people is high?
Quantitative research

• Based on measurement or quantity and amount

• Applicable to facts that can be expressed in term of quantity
• Example: the time a doctor spend for checking a patient in a
hospital when a patient come to hospital
• Qualitative research
• Concerned with qualitative phenomenon
• Why do people prefer to go private hospitals instead of
governmental hospital?
Empirical research
• A research which is based on experiment and verifiable
experiences
• Research based on complete experiments and practical work
• Pharmaceutical companies uses empirical research to try out a
specific drug for specific group of people
Steps in Research process
• Defining the research problem , research objective
• What is to be researched? The content and scope
• Why is it to be researched? The decision are to be made
• Example; to reduce the cost of manufacturing

• Literature survey
• Review the previous book, journals , research's, which gives you
a complete guidance for your research
Formulate the hypothesis

• It is a tentative solution for the problem you are going to find a

solution
• A statement expectation or prediction that will be tested by the
researcher.
• It guide the researcher on the right path and prevent from
unnecessary efforts.
Develop the Research plan
• Data source, primary data , secondary data
• Research approach, descriptive, analytical, experimental
research
• Research instruments: questionnaire(open ended or which type
of question are going to be used in your questionnaire.
• Sampling plan: sampling unit, sampling size, sampling
technique….
• Contact method: Mail, Telephone , face to face discussion
Analyze the information
Coding
Editing
Tabulation
Testing the hypothesis if any T test
Chi square
Enova
Interpret and report
Factors to be considered ;
• The impact of your personal feeling and beliefs
• Access to data
• Time and other resources
• Validity and reliability of data
• Ethical issues
Attributes of a good research topic
• capability : is it feasible?
• Appropriateness: is it worth to conduct a research ?
• Relevant : is it relevant to life of the human or any other problem?
Research report
• The purpose of research report is to convey to interested person
the entire result of survey in sufficient details and to arrange as
to enable each reader to comprehend the data and to determine
himself the validity of the conclusions.
• Disseminate the information
• Facilitate decision making
• To validate the generalization
• Guidance to future research
Characteristics of a good research report
• Attractiveness printed, paper quality,
• Balance language (standard, technical, simple, mixed)
• No repetition of facts
• Accuracy of facts
• Current applicability/ Practicability.
• Description of difficulties and short comings
Format / layout of research report
• Preliminary / introductory pages
• Main text
• End matter
Format / layout of research report
Preliminary pages/introductory pages
1) Title pages (cover page)
2) Acknowledgment; thanking to those persons who have helped during
research, attaching certificates
3) Forward ( if some one out of the author of research write something
about this research)
4) Preface: (written document about any topic to explain why the research
is written and what is the reason or purpose)
5) Table of contents ( list of tables and diagrams)
6) Executive summary (an exact summary about any research for those
people who are not having much time to read the entire research)
Main text
The entire info about the research
Introduction
Research methodology
Research design
Sample size, sampling techniques, types of data, data collection
technique etc.)
Analysis of data: to mention the technique used in research
Findings
Conclusions
Recommendations
limitations
End matters
1: Appendices:
Questionnaire, interview schedule and forms
Original primary data
Long tables
Supportive legal decisions, laws, and documents( especially in
legal studies)
Examples of computation
Case studies / histories
Contd..
Bibliographies
2: List of references book , journals

3: Glossary : ( short dictionary )

Understanding the variables
• Observable characteristics that vary among individuals
• An attributes that takes a range of values,
• The numbers of genders of males and females
Types of variables
Dependent variables :
Whose value is dependent on the others variables
Independent variables:
Those variables is one that is thought to produce or cause
change in another variable.
Example : investing on digital marketing will cause on increasing
the sales
Research philosophies
Ontology: believes that there is only one reality, believe that there
is just one way of solution for the problem we are discussing the
problem
This philosophy is also called a singularity.
Epistemology: knowledge needs to be interrupted or explained, or
this theory says that truths or knowledge can be measured and
interrupted.
When both Ontology + epistemology = Research Methodology
Research idea generation
• Note book of ideas
• Self interest
• Personal preferences
• Past data
• Searching literature
Sampling, sampling techniques
A part of any thing taken or presented for inspection
Sample is a group of people, objects, or items that are taken
from the larger population for measurement
A sample refers to a smaller, manageable version of a larger
group
The sample be representative of the population
Sampling frame
• The source material or device from which a sample is drawn
and how to pick up the sample is called sampling frame
• It is a list of all those with in population who can be sampled
and may include all individuals, house holds or institutions
Sampling
• The act process or technique of selecting a suitable sample
from a larger population is called sampling.
• Probability sampling: every member of the population has a
chance of being selected, it is used mainly in quantitative
research
• Non probability sampling: not all members of the population
have an equal chance of participating in the study
Probability sampling techniques
• Simple random sampling: every member of the population has
an equal chance of selection,, lottery method
• Stratified random sampling: the population is divided into
mutually exclusive groups, such as groups , and after that
random samples are drawn from each groups, like divide the
population into subgroups( called strata ) based on the relevant
characteristics like, gender, age range, income amount.
• Systematic sampling: the entire population is arranged in a
particular order, ascending or a descending order
Non probability sampling
Convenience sampling: the researcher selects the most
accessible population members, like selecting the population
area which is nearby to the researcher.
Purposive / judgment sampling: the select population members
who are good prospects for accurate information, like a person
wants to conduct a research on life level of rural and urban level
of life then the researcher selects the specific rural and urban
respondents about the answering the questions.
Quota sampling: specific questions asked from specific genders,
selecting sampling 45% from male and asking 55% from males
Sampling selection techniques
confidence interval
• Estimate: is a specific observed numerical value to estimate
unknown population parameter.
• Point estimate: single numerical value used to estimate an
unknown population parameter, like an average weight of a
population like the average weight of this population is 60kg,
but it may be insufficient and may be accurate parameter.
• So sample mean is a point estimate of a population mean
Interval estimate
• Range of values used to estimate an unknown population
parameter.
• Interval estimate of population parameter are called confidence
intervals, and statistician also prefer interval estimate because
there are more chances it may represent the population
parameter very accurately

• Example: a researcher estimates that my confidence interval

level is 95% that my all population age lay between 55-70
Sample selection from a population
• When the number of population is specific so we can specify
the number of samples with the help of this Yamane formula.