Module-I

🙢
Business Research Fundamentals

🙢What is research?
🙢Types of business research
🙢Characteristics of good research
🙢Hypothesis
🙢Types of hypothesis
🙢Brief Introduction to Business Research Process
 Meaning and Definition of Research

🙢
🙢 Research in simple terms refers to search for knowledge.

🙢 It is a scientific and systematic search for information on a

particular topic or issue in any branch of knowledge.

🙢 Redman and Mory define research as a,” Systematic effort

to gain new knowledge”.

🙢 Some people consider research as a movement, a

movement from the known to the unknown.
Research Methods vs. Research Methodology
• Research Methods are those methods which are used by the
researcher during the course of studying his research problem.

And can be classified into two main groups. Data collecting tools and
Analytical tools.

• Research Methodology is a way / process to systematically solve

the research problem.

A suitable research methodology yields scientifically solid results,

whereas a poor methodology yields none.

Hence, it should highlight some basic questions of our research. Such as:
1. What was the purpose of your research?
2. What types of ‘research method’ can we use and why?
3. What types of data should we consider for your research
analysis purposed
4. What were the data collecting methods?
5. How did you analyze the collected data?
 Characteristics (Criteria) of a good research

🙢
1. Purpose should be clearly defined
2. Research process should be described in detail
3. Research design thoroughly planned
4. High ethical standards should be applied
5. The analysis of data should be adequate to reveal its
significance
7. The methods used during the analysis should be appropriate
8. The reliability and validity of the concerned data should be
checked carefully
9. Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of
the research
 Motivating Factors Behind Research

🙢
1.Desire to get a research degree along with its consequential
benefits.
2.Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved problems
i.e. concern over practical problems initiates research.
3.Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work.
4.Desire to be of service to society
5.Desire to get respectability
 Problems Encountered by Researchers in India

🙢
🙢 The lack of a scientific training in the methodology of research is a
great difficulty for researchers in our country.
🙢 Insufficient interaction between the university research departments
and industry & government departments.
🙢 Need to generate the confidence that the information/data obtained
from a business unit will not be misused.
🙢 Research studies overlapping one another are undertaken quite
often.
🙢 Library management and functioning is not satisfactory at many
places.
🙢 There is also the difficulty of timely availability of published data from
various government and other agencies.
🙢 There does not exist a code of conduct for researchers.
Types of research
1. Applied vs. Fundamental

• Applied research aims at finding solution for an immediate

problem facing a society or an industry. e.g. marketing research
or identifying various social, economical and political trends that
may affect particular industry.

• Example: A student working on a doctorate in education studies

ways to increase student involvement in the classroom. This
research focuses on a defined problem and is solution-based.

• Fundamental research is mainly concerned with generalizations

and with the formulation of a theory. It also known as Pure /
Basic research which is directed towards finding info. that has
application.

• e.g. Newton’s contributions.

2. Descriptive vs. Analytical

•Descriptive research describes the characteristics of the

population or phenomenon that is being studied. It focuses more
on the “what” of the research subject rather than the “why” of
the research subject. It includes survey & fact finding enquiries of
different kinds. This research use for social science & business
research.

e.g. study like frequency of shopping, preferences of people, etc.

•In Analytical research, researcher has to use facts or information

already available, and analyze these to make a critical evaluation
of the material.

e.g. performance of script or mutual fund on the basis of past

data & information available.
 🙢
3. Quantitative vs. Qualitative research

• Quantitative research is based on the measurement of

quantity or amount. It is applied to phenomena that can
be expressed in terms of quantity.

• Qualitative research is concerned with qualitative

phenomenon. i.e. study related to human behavior like
consumer behavior or motivation research etc. For eg.
why people think or do certain things i.e. study related to
consumer behavior or motivation research etc.
🙢 Comparative Research:
🙢
Comparative research essentially compares two groups in an
attempt to draw a conclusion about them. Researchers
attempt to identify and analyze similarities and differences
between groups, and these studies are most often
cross-national, comparing two separate people groups.
Comparative studies can be used to increase understanding
between cultures and societies.
▪ Problem Identification Research :

🙢
As the name suggests Identification of research problem refers
to the sense of awareness of most common social problem, a
social phenomenon or a concept that is worth studying. The
researcher identifies such problems through his power of
observation, knowledge and skills.

▪ Problem Solving Research :

Problem solving research refers to solve or find solution for the
identified research problem in a systematic way.
 Hypothesis:

🙢
🙢 A research hypothesis is a specific, clear, and testable predictive
statement about the possible outcome of a scientific research.

🙢 A hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two

or more variables.

🙢 Hypothesis should be very specific.

🙢 It sharpens attention of researcher on the important facts of the problem.

🙢 It also indicates the type of data required and the type of methods of data
analysis to be used.
 Types of hypothesis:

🙢
Descriptive Hypothesis
It describes the characteristics of an object , situation or
distribution of some variable. Researchers often use a research
question rather than a descriptive hypothesis.

Examples of Descriptive Hypothesis:

🙢 American cities facing budget difficulties.
🙢 Why do youngsters prefer “X” soft drink?
🙢 Students of Business Schools are placed faster than any other
course.
 🙢
Relational Hypothesis

The Relational Hypothesis are statements that describe a

relationship between two variables with respect to some
case.

Relational hypotheses may be correlational or explanatory

(causal).
Correlational Hypothesis

🙢
A Correlational Hypothesis state that the variables occur
together in some specified manner without implying that one
causes the other.

For eg.:
🙢 Young women (<35years) purchase more units of cosmetic
products than women who are of 35 years or older.
Explanatory / Causal Hypothesis

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With Explanatory / Causal Hypothesis, there is an implication
that the existence of or a change in one variable causes or
leads to a change in the other variable.

For eg.:
🙢 An increase in family income leads to an increase in the
percentage of income saved.
 Null and Alternative Hypothesis

🙢
🙢 The null and alternative hypotheses are two mutually
exclusive statements about a population. A hypothesis test
uses sample data to determine whether to reject the null
hypothesis.
🙢 Null hypothesis (H0): The null hypothesis states that a
population parameter (such as the mean, the standard
deviation, and so on) is equal to a hypothesized value. (i.e.,
there is no difference)
🙢 Alternative Hypothesis (H1): The alternative hypothesis states
that a population parameter is smaller, greater, or different
than the hypothesized value in the null hypothesis. (i.e., there
is some difference)
 Business Research Problem

🙢
🙢 The ability to take an informed decision is generated through
a systematic study that is conducted through various
interrelated stages.
🙢 All the steps in a research are interrelated and no
independent activity is launched without considering the
decisions on the previous stages.
🙢 One has to really understand that, from problem
identification to presentation of findings, every step is
interlinked and interrelated.
 “8 Steps of Research”

🙢
The research process consists of a series of systematic procedures
that a researcher must go through in order to generate knowledge
that will be considered valuable by the project and focus on the
relevant topic.

A good research is conducted using 8 steps:

1.Identifying and defining the research problem

2.Initial review of literature
3.Developing the hypothesis
4.Creating a research design
5.Determining sample design
6.Collecting the data
•Analysis of data
•Reporting the results (Report/Thesis)
🙢 Identify the Problem :
🙢
Finding an issue or formulating a research question is the first
step. A well-defined problem will guide the researcher
through all stages of the research process, from setting
objectives to choosing a technique.
🙢 Evaluate the Literature :
A thorough examination of the relevant studies is essential to
the research process. It enables the researcher to identify
the precise aspects of the problem. Once a problem has been
found, the investigator or researcher needs to find out more
about it.
🙢 Create Hypotheses :
🙢
Formulating an original hypothesis is the next logical step after
narrowing down the research topic and defining it. A belief
solves logical relationships between variables. In order to
establish a hypothesis, a researcher must have a certain
amount of expertise in the field.
🙢 The Research Design :
Research design is the plan for achieving objectives and
answering research questions. It outlines how to get the
relevant information. Its goal is to design research to test
hypotheses, address the research questions, and provide
decision-making insights.
🙢 Sample Design :
🙢
The researcher must decide the way of selecting a sample or
what is popularly known as the sample design. In other
words, sample design is a definite plan determined before any
data are actually collected for obtaining a sample from a given
population.

🙢 Data Collection :
Data collection is important in obtaining the knowledge or
information required to answer the research issue. Every
research collected data, either from the literature or the
people being studied.
🙢 Data Analysis:
🙢
During research design, the researcher plans data analysis. After
collecting data, the researcher analyzes it. The data is
examined based on the approach in this step. Data analysis
involves a number of closely related stages, and then drawing
statistical conclusions.

🙢 The Report-writing :
After completing these steps, the researcher must prepare a
report detailing his findings. The report must covers all the
steps of research process.