AN INTRODUCTION TO MARKET RESEARCH

Prof. Somnath Dutta- MR

&A

WHAT IS RESEARCH?

Management research is an unbiased,

structured, and sequential method of
enquiry, directed towards a clear implicit or
explicit business objective. This enquiry might
lead to validating existing postulates or
arriving at new theories and models.

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

TYPES OF RESEARCH

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

TYPES OF RESEARCH

Basic research : the basic premise is the need to

KNOW and the concern is primarily academic in

nature.
Applied research: Solution or action oriented

research, that
approach.

is

contextual

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

and

practical

in

TYPES OF RESEARCH

Exploratory research is loosely structured and

the basic premise is to provide direction to

subsequent, more structured method of enquiry.
Conclusive research is structured and definite

in orientation. These studies are usually

conducted to validate formulated hypotheses and
specified relationships.
Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

EXPLORATORY VS CONCLUSIVE RESEARCH

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

CONCLUSIVE RESEARCH

Descriptive research: The main goal of this type

of research is to describe the data and

characteristics about what is being studied.
Causal research: Explores the effect of one or
more variables on other variable(s), with
reasonable level of certainty by controlling the
impact of other influencing variables.
Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

THE RESEARCH PROCESS

The management decision problem

Defining the research problem
Formulation of the working hypotheses
Construction of the research proposal

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

SLIDE 1-9

THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Formulating the research design

Sampling considerations
Collecting the data for the study
Data analysis and interpretation of

findings

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

SLIDE 1-10

RESEARCH APPLICATIONS IN MARKETING

Market & consumer analysis
Product research
Pricing research
Promotional research
Place research

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

RESEARCH APPLICATIONS IN FINANCE

Asset pricing, capital markets and corporate finance

Financial derivatives and credit risk modeling research
Market-based accounting research
Auditing and accountability
Other areas: financial forecasting, behavioural finance,

volatility analysis

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

SLIDE1-12

RESEARCH APPLICATIONS IN
HUMAN RESOURCES
Training & development studies
Selection and staffing studies
Performance appraisaldesign and evaluation
Organization planning and development
Incentive and benefits studies
Emerging areascritical factor analysis, employer branding

studies

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

RESEARCH APPLICATIONS IN
PRODUCTION & OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Operation planning and design
Demand forecasting and demand estimation
Process planning
Project management and maintenance effectiveness

studies
Logistics and supply chain-design and evaluation
Quality estimations and assurance studies

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

CRITERIA FOR RESEARCH

MUST have: a clearly stated research purpose/ objective
MUST have: a sequential plan of execution
MUST have: a logical and explicitly stated justification for

the selected methods

MUST have: an unbiased and neutral method of conduct
and reporting
MUST have: complete transparency and ethical conduction
of the research process
MUST have: provision for being reliable & replicable
Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

DEFINING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

A research problem can be defined as a gap or

uncertainty in the decision makers existing
body of knowledge which inhibits efficient
decision making. The gap could be academic
& theoretical (basic) or real time and
action oriented (applied).

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION PROCESS

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

DECISION PROBLEMS

RESEARCH PROBLEMS

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

SLIDE 2-4

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION PROCESS

Management decision problem: the issue/decision that needs to

be resolved through research

Discussion with experts: to get the right perspective on the issue,
discussion/dialogue is held with subject/industry expert.
Review of literature: the most valuable source of framing the
research question is to review the past work done on related topic(s).
Qualitative surveys: primary exploratory loosely structured surveys
to attain the environmental context.

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION PROCESS

Management research problem: the four steps might

lead to multiple directions/research problems the researcher

can take.
The researcher has to identify THE alternative he/she will
undertake
Theoretical model building (optional)
Statement of research objectives
Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

ELEMENTS OF A RESEARCH PROBLEM

Unit of analysis
Independent variable
Dependent variable
Extraneous independent variable
Intervening variables
Moderating variables

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

THE RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

A hypotheses is any assumption/presupposition that the
researcher makes about the probable direction of the results
that might be obtained on the completion of the research
process
Descriptive hypotheses: This is simply a statement about
the magnitude, trend, or behaviour of a population under
study.
Relational hypotheses: These are the typical kind of
hypotheses which state the expected relationship between
two variables.
Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)

CRITERIA FOR HYPOTHESES FORMULATION

In simple, declarative statement form

Measurable and quantifiable
Is essentially a conjectural statement
Has underlying assumptions on the testing of the stated

relationships

Prof.Somnath Dutta (MR & A)