ResearchMethodology Week12

RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
(Business Research Methods)
Week 12
29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 1
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics (1)
Descriptive statistics – The branch of statistics

which describes or summarizes information
about a population or sample
Examples:
 The number of employees with MBA degrees in an

organization
 The number of students who failed to qualify their final
examination at CIIT
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics (2)
Inferential statistics – The branch of statistics

which is used to make inferences or judgments
about a population on the basis of a sample
Examples:
 The demand for a new Product X based on a sample

conducted in Region Y
 The general election result based on a representative
survey of voters in electoral district Z
Statistical Data Analysis
 Collecting data on the basis of surveys
and questionnaires is the first step towards
interpreting and utilizing the data for
decision-making
 After data has been collected, it must be

organized and analysed using various
statistical tools and techniques
(Frequency Distribution (absolute distribution))
 A frequency distribution (or frequency table) is a set of data which
records the number of times a particular vlaue of a variable, or
range of values of a variable, occurs
 Example:
Amount Deposited (Rs.) Frequency
Less than 50,000 6700

50,000 – 100,000 1240
Above 100,000 375
Total = 8,315
(Frequency Distribution (relative distribution))
Relative
Less than 50,000 80%

50,000 – 100,000 15%
Above 100,000 5%
Total = 100%

Probability
Less than 50,000 0.80

50,000 – 100,000 0.15
Above 100,000 0.05
Total = 1
Proportions
Proportions are the percentage of popluation

elemts that succesfully fulfill some specific
criteria
Examples:
– The proportion of CIIT Management Science students

who are in the evening programme
– The proportion of jeweller shops in Islamabad who
have an annual revenue exceeding 50 million Rupees
Measures of Central Tendency
 The purpose of „measures of central tendency“

is to determine the average value in a set of
values
 There are three measures of central tendency:
– (Arithmetic) Mean
– Median
– Mode
(Arithmetic Mean)
 The arithmetic mean is the average of all the values under
consideration
Branch Revenue
1 50,000,000
2 150,000,000
3 40,000,000
4 60,000,000
Total = 300,000,000
Arithmetic
Arithmetic Mean
Mean == 300,000,000
300,000,000 // 44 == 75,000,000
75,000,000
(Median)
 The Median is the midpoint of the distribution of values under
consideration
Salesperson Number of Sales

Calls
1 4
2 3
Median
Median == 33
3 2
4 5
5 3 11 22 33 33 33 44 55 55
6 3
7 1
8 5
(Mode)
 The Mode is the value that occurs most frequently in the
distribution of values under consideration
Salesperson Number of Sales

Calls
1 4
2 3
Mode
Mode == 33
3 2
4 5
5 3
6 3
7 1
8 5
Measures of Dispersion
 Measures of dispersion provide an indication of the

tendency of value to depart from their central
tendency
 Two sets of values may have the same central

tendency, but their dispersion may differ
significantly
 See example table 17.5 on page 407 of the text

book
(The Range)
 The Range is the simplest measure of dispersion of values and is defind as the
distance between the smallest and the highest value (i.e. the extreme values) in a
frequency distribution
 Refer again to table 17.5 on page 407 of your text book for an example
 See the deviation score (the distance of a value from the arithmetic mean, e.g.
deviation score = 500 – 750 = - 250)
 The deviation score is used as the basis of computing the „average deviation“
which is simply the summation of all deviation scores divided by the sample size.
The absolute values of the deviation scores should be used
(The Variance)
 The variance is another very useful measure of the level of
dispersion or variability in a set of values
 The variance is computed by squaring the deviation scores,

summing them all up, and then dividing by the sample size
minus one
 The larger the value of the variance, the larger is the distance
from the arithmetic mean
(The Standard Deviation)
 The standard deviation is simply the square root of the
variance and is considered a very accurate measure of
variation or dispersion in a set of values
 The standard deviation is preferred by business researchers

over the variance
 If the set of values is based on a sample, it is important to note

that the standard deviation of the sample may differ from the
standard deviation of the whole population
Fieldwork (1)
 The gathering of data by individuals, such as,
personal or telephone interviewers and
observers is, broadly speaking, referred to as
fiedwork
 The selection of fieldworkers with adequate

training and experience is essential the success
of the research project
 A research study is only as good as the data

input
Fieldwork (2)
 There are organizations to whom the task of gathering data and
information can be outsourced, which are refffered to as „field
interviewing services“
 Such organizations gather data (e.g. through personal and

telephone interviews or observation) for a fee, and they may also
offer training and supervision services and selecting fieldworkers
 It is important for fieldworkers to have certain characteristics

when gathering data, for e.g., being well-dressed and well-
groomed, pleasant in disposition, outgoing, keen to interact with
strangers
Training Fieldworkers
 Briefing Session (provides all interviewers with identical
background information about the project
 Training Interview (a practice session in which an

inexperienced fieldworker records answers on a
questionnaire to develop his or her skills, and clarify the
requirements of the research project in question)
 The purpose of the briefing session and training

interview is to ensure that data is gathered by the
fieldworkers in a uniform manner
Major Themes in Training Fieldworkers
1) Making initial contact with the respondent

and securing the interview
2) Asking survey questions
3) Probing
4) Recording Responses
5) Terminating the interview
Making Initial Contact
• Polite introduction
• Try to convince the person being
interviewed that cooperation is important
• Use of ID cards
• Avoid using certain words which give the
respondent a means of quickly ending the
interview (e.g.: may I ...)
• Do not be too aggressive
Asking Survey Questions
 Questions must be asked in a manner that avoids
interviewer bias
 Asking questions must take 5 major principles into

consideration, i.e.:
– ask the questions exactly as they are worded in the

questionnaire,
– read each question very slowly,
– ask the questions in the order in which they are presented in the
questionnaire,
– ask every question specified in the questionnaire and
– repeat questions that are easily misunderstood or misinterpreted
Probing
 Probing is about verbal prompts by the fieldworker or
interviewer when the respondent must be motivated to
communicate his or her answer or to enlarge on, clarify,
or explain an answer
 Interviewers must try to ensure that answers provided by

the respondents are complete and unambiguous and
they must ensure that the respondent does not lose track
of the questions they are asked
 Interviewers must ensure that they do not influence the

respondents when probing (neutrality)
Recording Responses
 All fieldworkers should use the same
procedure for recording responses
 In case of open-ended questions,

responses should be recorded in the
respondent‘s own words (no summarizing
or paraphrasing) and should include an
indication as to whether probing was
required
Terminating the Interview
 Interview should not be terminated before all the
information has been gathered from the respondent
 Hasty departure by the interviewer should be avoided

because sometimes after formal interviewing, the
respondents may offer valuable information. Moreover, a
hasty departure is considered impolite and the
respondent may have to be reinterviewed
 Interviewers should have the courtesy to answer

questions which the respondent may have after the
interview
Principles of Good Interviewing
The Basics
 Integrity and honesty (for interviewers)
 Patience and tactfulness (in dealing with respondents)
 Accuracy and detail (record responses that are
understood, clarify and ask respondents for detailed
answers if necessary, and record answers verbatim)
 Impartiality (keep your opinions to yourself and remain
neutral)
 Listen more, talk less (respondents are expected to
provide the information)
 Maintain confidentiality and privacy (do not disclose
information on respondents to anyone else)
 Be respectful of the rights of respondents
Required Practices (1)
 Complete the number of interviews according to the
assigned sampling plan
 Follow the directions given to you
 Keep your schedules
 Keep control of the interview (no deviation to other
subjects, avoid talking too much, keep time frame in
mind)
 Complete the questionnaires and follow the prescribed
sequence in asking questions
Required Practices (2)
 Ask questions as they are written (no summarizing or
paraphrasing)
 Do not leave questions blank
 Use all aids (props, photographs etc.) provided to the
interviewer for conducting the interview
 Check each questionnaire (preferably immediately) after
the interview has finished
 Check how many questionnaires were you assigned to
complete with the number you actually completed
 Clarify any questions with the research initiator or
fieldwork supervisor

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RESEARCH

Descriptive statistics – The branch of statistics

 The number of employees with MBA degrees in an

Inferential statistics – The branch of statistics

 The demand for a new Product X based on a sample

 After data has been collected, it must be

Amount Deposited (Rs.) Frequency

Less than 50,000 6700

Less than 50,000 80%

Amount Deposited (Rs.) Frequency

Less than 50,000 0.80

Proportions are the percentage of popluation

– The proportion of CIIT Management Science students

 The purpose of „measures of central tendency“

 There are three measures of central tendency:

Salesperson Number of Sales

Salesperson Number of Sales

 Measures of dispersion provide an indication of the

 Two sets of values may have the same central

 See example table 17.5 on page 407 of the text

 The variance is computed by squaring the deviation scores,

 The standard deviation is preferred by business researchers

 If the set of values is based on a sample, it is important to note

 The selection of fieldworkers with adequate

 A research study is only as good as the data

 Such organizations gather data (e.g. through personal and

 It is important for fieldworkers to have certain characteristics

 Training Interview (a practice session in which an

 The purpose of the briefing session and training

1) Making initial contact with the respondent

 Asking questions must take 5 major principles into

– ask the questions exactly as they are worded in the

 Interviewers must try to ensure that answers provided by

 Interviewers must ensure that they do not influence the

 In case of open-ended questions,

 Hasty departure by the interviewer should be avoided

 Interviewers should have the courtesy to answer

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