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MODULE 1 - DEFINITIONS OF RESEARCH IT IS DEFINED AS CAREFUL OR CRITICAL INQUIRY OR EXAMINATION IN SEEKING FACTS OR PRINCIPLES; DILIGENT INVESTIGATION IN ORDER TO ASCERTAIN SOMETHING. WEBSTER’S NEW INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY DEFINES RESEARCH AS A PURPOSIVE INVESTIGATION OR INQUIRY. IT HAS A SET OF OBJECTIVES TO COLLECT AND STUDY ABOUT SOMETHING RELATED TO BUSINESS. IT INVOLVES INVESTIGATION OR SEARCH CLIFFORD WOODY DEFINES RESEARCH WHICH COMPRISES OF DEFINING AND REDEFINING PROBLEMS, FORMULATING HYPOTHESIS OR SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS, COLLECTING, ORGANIZING AND EVALUATING DATA, MAKING DEDUCTIONS AND REACHING CONCLUSIONS AND AL LAST CAREFULLY TESTING THE CONCLUSIONS TO DETERMINE WHETHER THEY FIT THE FORMULATING HYPOTHESIS. D. SLESSINGER AND M. STEPHENSON DEFINE RESEARCH AS THE MANIPULATION OF THINGS, CONCEPTS OR SYMBOLS FOR THE PURPOSE OF GENERALIZING TO EXTEND, CORRECT OR VERIFY KNOWLEDGE, WHETHER THAT KNOWLEDGE AIDS IN CONSTRUCTION OF THEORY OR IN THE PRACTICE OF AN ART. RESEARCH IS DEFINED AS A MOVEMENT FROM THE KNOWN TO THE UNKNOWN. IT IS AN EFFORT TO DISCOVER SOMETHING.
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Page 1: Research Methodology

MODULE 1 - DEFINITIONS OF RESEARCH

IT IS DEFINED AS CAREFUL OR CRITICAL INQUIRY OR EXAMINATION IN SEEKING FACTS OR PRINCIPLES; DILIGENT INVESTIGATION IN ORDER TO ASCERTAIN SOMETHING.

WEBSTER’S NEW INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY DEFINES RESEARCH AS A PURPOSIVE INVESTIGATION OR INQUIRY. IT HAS A SET OF OBJECTIVES TO COLLECT AND STUDY ABOUT SOMETHING RELATED TO BUSINESS. IT INVOLVES INVESTIGATION OR SEARCH

CLIFFORD WOODY DEFINES RESEARCH WHICH COMPRISES OF DEFINING AND REDEFINING PROBLEMS, FORMULATING HYPOTHESIS OR SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS, COLLECTING, ORGANIZING AND EVALUATING DATA, MAKING DEDUCTIONS AND REACHING CONCLUSIONS AND AL LAST CAREFULLY TESTING THE CONCLUSIONS TO DETERMINE WHETHER THEY FIT THE FORMULATING HYPOTHESIS.

D. SLESSINGER AND M. STEPHENSON DEFINE RESEARCH AS THE MANIPULATION OF THINGS, CONCEPTS OR SYMBOLS FOR THE PURPOSE OF GENERALIZING TO EXTEND, CORRECT OR VERIFY KNOWLEDGE, WHETHER THAT KNOWLEDGE AIDS IN CONSTRUCTION OF THEORY OR IN THE PRACTICE OF AN ART. RESEARCH IS DEFINED AS A MOVEMENT FROM THE KNOWN TO THE UNKNOWN. IT IS AN EFFORT TO DISCOVER SOMETHING.

RESEARCH IS AN EFFORT TO KNOW MORE AND MORE ABOUT LESS AND LESS. RESEARCH IS AN ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE EXISTING STOCK OF KNOWLEDGE MAKING FOR ITS ADVANCEMENT. RESEARCH COULD BE UNDERSTOOD AS AN ORGANIZED ACTIVITY WITH SPECIFIC FOCUS (OBJECTIVES) ON A PROBLEM OR ISSUE SUPPORTED BY COMPILATION OF RELATED DATA AND FACTS INVOLVING APPLICATION OF

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RELEVANT TOOLS OF ANALYSIS AND DERIVING LOGICALLY SOUND INFERENCES BASED ON ORIGINALITY. P.V. YOUNG DEFINED SOCIAL RESEARCH AS A METHOD OF STUDYING, ANALYZING AND CONCEPTUALIZING SOCIAL LIFE IN ORDER TO EXTEND OR MODIFY, CORRECT OR VERIFY KNOWLEDGE. SOCIAL RESEARCH INVOLVES APPLICATION OF SCIENTIFIC PROCEDURES OF OBSERVATION, ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS TO THE SOCIAL HUMAN PHENOMENA WITH A VIEW TO TEST, MODIFY AND ENLARGE THE SYSTEMATIC KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SOCIAL FACTS AND SOCIAL LIFE.

RESEARCH IS A CONSCIOUS APPROACH TO FIND OUT THE TRUTH WHICH IS HIDDEN AND WHICH HAS NOT BEEN DISCOVERED BY APPLYING SCIENTIFIC PROCEDURE. EACH RESEARCH HAS ITS OWN FOCUS. BUSINESS RESEARCH IS DEFINED AS A SYSTEMATIC INQUIRY WHOSE OBJECTIVE IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO SOLVE MANAGERIAL PROBLEMS

THE ADVANCED LEARNER’S DICTIONARY OF CURRENT ENGLISH DEFINES RESEARCH AS A CAREFUL INVESTIGATION OR INQUIRY ESPECIALLY THROUGH SEARCH FOR NEW FACTS IN ANY BRANCH OF KNOWLEDGE.

REDMAN AND MORY DEFINE RESEARCH AS A SYSTEMATIZED EFFORT TO GAIN NEW KNOWLEDGE

IN SHORT, THE SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE THROUGH OBJECTIVE AND SYSTEMATIC METHODS OF FINDING SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM IS RESEARCH

FEATURES OF RESEARCHOR WHAT IS GOOD RESEARCH 1.         PURPOSE CLEARLY DEFINED :

THE PROBLEM INVOLVED OR THE DECISION TO BE MADE SHOULD BE CLEARLY DEFINED AND SHARPLY DELINEATED IN TERMS AS UNAMBIGUOUS AS POSSIBLE. THE STATEMENT OF THE DECISION PROBLEM SHOULD INCLUDE

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ITS SCOPE, ITS LIMITATIONS, AND THE PRECISE MEANINGS OF ALL WORDS AND TERMS SIGNIFICANT TO THE RESEARCH.

2.   RESEARCH PROCESS DETAILED:   THE RESEARCH PROCEDURES USED SHOULD BE DESCRIBED IN SUFFICIENT DETAIL TO PERMIT THE OTHER RESEARCHER TO REPEAT THE RESEARCH. RESEARCH REPORTS SHOULD REVEAL WITH CLARITY THE SOURCES OF DATA, AND THE MEANS BY WHICH THEY WERE OBTAINED.

3. RESEARCH DESIGN COMPLETELY PLANNED:   THE PROCEDURAL DESIGN OF THE RESEARCH SHOULD BE

CAREFULLY PLANED TO YIELD RESULTS THAT ARE AS OBJECTIVE AS POSSIBLE. DIRECT OBSERVATIONS SHOULD BE RECORDED IN WRITING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AFTER THE EVENT.

4. HIGH ETHICAL STANDARDS APPLIED:   A RESEARCH DESIGN THAT INCLUDES SAFEGUARDS

AGAINST CAUSING MENTAL OR PHYSICAL HARM TO PARTICIPANTS AND MAKES DATA INTEGRITY A FIRST PRIORITY SHOULD BE HIGHLY VALUED. ETHICAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH REFLECTS IMPORTANT MORAL CONCERNS ABOUT THE PRACTICE OF RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOR IN SOCIETY.

5. LIMITATIONS FRANKLY REVEALED:   THE RESEARCHER SHOULD REPORT FLAWS IN PROCEDURAL DESIGN AND ESTIMATE THEIR EFFECT ON THE FINDINGS. A COMPETENT RESEARCHER SHOULD BE SENSITIVE TO THE EFFECTS OF IMPERFECT DESIGN AND THE EXPERIENCE IN ANALYZING THE DATA SHOULD PROVIDE A BASIS FOR ESTIMATING THEIR INFLUENCE.

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6. ADEQUATE ANALYSIS FOR DECISION MAKERS NEEDS:  ANALYSIS OF THE DATA SHOULD BE EXTENSIVE ENOUGH TO REVEAL ITS SIGNIFICANCE AND THE METHODS OF ANALYSIS USED SHOULD BE APPROPRIATE. ADEQUATE ANALYSIS OF DATA IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PHASE OF RESEARCH. THE VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF DATA SHOULD BE CHECKED CAREFULLY.

7. FINDINGS PRESENTED UNAMBIGUOUSLY  EVIDENCE OF COMPETENCE AND INTEGRITY OF THE RESEARCHER MAY BE FOUND IN THE REPORT ITSELF. PRESENTATION OF DATA SHOULD BE COMPREHENSIVE, EASILY UNDERSTOOD BY THE DECISION MAKER AND ORGANIZED SO THAT THE DECISION MAKER CAN READILY LOCATE CRITICAL FINDINGS.

8.       CONCLUSIONS JUSTIFIED:   CONCLUSIONS SHOULD BE LIMITED TO THOSE FOR WHICH THE DATA PROVIDE AN ADEQUATE BASIS. IT IS UNDESIRABLE TO DRAW CONCLUSIONS FROM A STUDY OF A LIMITED POPULATIONS AND APPLYING THEM UNIVERSALLY.

  9.       RESEARCHERS EXPERIENCE REFLECTED:   GREATER CONFIDENCE IN THE RESEARCH IS WARRANTED

IF THE RESEARCHER IS EXPERIENCED, HAS A GOOD REPUTATION AND IS A PERSON OF INTEGRITY

DIFFERENT TYPES OF STUDY THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF STUDY REPRESENTED BY THE FOUR CASES CAN BE CLASSIFIED AS FOLLOWS  -         REPORTING

-         DESCRIPTIVE-         EXPLANATORY-         PREDICTIVE

REPORTING STUDY AT THE MOST ELEMENTARY LEVEL A REPORTING STUDY MAY BE MADE ONLY TO PROVIDE A ACCOUNT OR

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SUMMATION OF SOME DATA OR TO GENERATE SOME STATISTICS. THE TASK MAY BE QUITE SIMPLE AND DATA READILY AVAILABLE.

A REPORTING STUDY CALLS FOR KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL WITH INFORMATION SOURCES AND GATE KEEPERS OF INFORMATION SOURCES. SUCH A STUDY REQUIRES LITTLE INFERENCE OR CONCLUSION DRAWING.

EXPERTS CLAIM THAT REPORTING STUDIES DO NOT QUALIFY AS RESEARCH ALTHOUGH CAREFULLY GATHERED DATA CAN HAVE GREAT VALUE.

OTHERS ARGUE THAT AT LEAST ONE FORM, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING HAS A DEAL IN COMMON WITH WIDELY ACCEPTED QUALITATIVE AND CLINICAL RESEARCH. DESCRIPTIVE STUDY A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY TRIES TO DISCOVER ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS WHO, WHEN, WHERE AND HOW. THE RESEARCHER ATTEMPTS TO DESCRIBE OR DEFINE A SUBJECT, OFTEN BY CREATING A PROFILE OF GROUP OF PROBLEMS, PEOPLE, OR EVENTS. SUCH STUDIES MAY INVOLVE THE COLLECTION OF DATA AND CREATION OF A DISTRIBUTION OF THE NUMBER OF TIMES THE RESEARCHER OBSERVES A SINGLE EVENT OR CHARACTERISTIC KNOWN AS A RESEARCH VARIABLE OR THEY MAY INVOLVE RELATING THE INTERACTION OF TWO OR MORE VARIABLES.

DESCRIPTIVE STUDIES MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR DRAWING POWERFUL INFERENCES. ORGANIZATIONS THAT MAY MAINTAIN DATABASES OF THEIR EMPLOYEES, CUSTOMERS AND SUPPLIERS ALREADY HAVE SIGNIFICANT DATA TO CONDUCT DESCRIPTIVE STUDIES USING INTERNAL INFORMATION. THE DESCRIPTIVE STUDY IS POPULAR IN BUSINESS RESEARCH BECAUSE OF ITS VERSATILITY ACROSS DISCIPLINES. IN NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, DESCRIPTIVE

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INVESTIGATIONS HAVE A BROAD APPEAL TO THE ADMINISTRATORS FOR PLANNING, MONITORING AND EVALUATING.

EXPLANATORY STUDY EXPLANATORY STUDY GOES BEYOND DESCRIPTION AND ATTEMPTS TO EXPLAIN THE REASONS FOR THE PHENOMENON THAT THE DESCRIPTIVE STUDY ONLY OBSERVED.

IN THIS STUDY, THE RESEARCHER USES THEORIES OR AT LEAST HYPOTHESES TO ACCOUNT FOR THE FORCES THAT CAUSED A CERTAIN PHENOMENON TO OCCUR.

PREDICTIVE STUDY IF WE CAN PROVIDE A POSSIBLE EXPLANATION FOR AN EVENT AFTER IT HAS OCCURRED, IT IS DESIRABLE TO BE ABLE TO PREDICT WHEN AND IN WHAT SITUATION THE EVENT WILL OCCUR.

A PREDICTIVE STUDY IS JUST AS ROOTED IN THEORY AS EXPLANATION. WE WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO CONTROL A PHENOMENON ONCE WE CAN EXPLAIN AND PREDICT IT.

BEING ABLE TO REPLICATE A SCENARIO, AND DICTATE A PARTICULAR OUTCOME IS THE OBJECTIVE OF CONTROL. CONTROL IS THE LOGICAL OUTCOME OF PREDICTION. THE COMPLEXITY OF THE PHENOMENON AND THE ADEQUACY OF THE PREDICTION THEORY LARGELY DECIDES THE SUCCESS IN A CONTROL STUDY.

TYPES OF RESEARCH DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH:

IT INCLUDES SURVEY AND FACT FINDING ENQUIRIES OF DIFFERENT KINDS. THE PURPOSE IS TO DESCRIBE THE STATE OF AFFAIRS AS IT EXISTS AT PRESENT. IT IS ALSO KNOWN AS EX POST FACTO RESEARCH.

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Survey method including comparative and correlational methods are also included under this type.

ANALYTICAL METHOD:

IN THIS METHOD, THE RESEARCHER USES FACTS OR INFORMATION ALREADY AVAILABLE AND ANALYZE THESE TO MAKE A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF THE MATERIAL.

APPLIED RESEARCH:

APPLIED RESEARCH AIMS AT CERTAIN CONCLUSIONS SAY A SOLUTION FACING A BUSINESS PROBLEM. RESEARCH TO IDENTIFY SOCIAL OR ECONOMIC OR POLITICAL TRENDS THAT MAY AFFECT A PARTICULAR INSTITUTION OR COPY RESEARCH OR MARKETING RESEARCH OR EVALUATION RESEARCH ARE EXAMPLES OF APPLIED RESEARCH.

FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH:

IT IS MAINLY CONCERNED WITH GENERALIZATIONS AND WITH THE FORMULATION OF A THEORY. GATHERING KNOWLEDGE FOR KNOWLEDGE SAKE IS TERMED PURE OR BASIC RESEARCH. RESEARCH CONCERNING SOME NATURAL PHENOMENON OR RELATING TO PURE MATHEMATICS ARE EXAMPLES OF PURE OR FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH.

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH: IT IS BASED ON MEASUREMENT OF QUANTITY OR AMOUNT. IT INVOLVES GENERATION OF DATA IN QUANTITATIVE FORM WHICH CAN BE SUBJECTED TO RIGOROUS QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS IN A FORMAL OR RIGID FASHION. THIS CAN BE FURTHER CLASSIFIED INTO INFERENTIAL, EXPERIMENTAL AND SIMULATION RESEARCH INFERENTIAL RESEARCH AIMS TO FORM A DATA BASE FROM WHICH TO INFER CHARACTERISTICS OR RELATIONSHIPS OF POPULATION. THIS USUALLY MEANS SURVEY RESEARCH WHERE A SAMPLE POPULATION IS STUDIED.

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SIMULATION RESEARCH IS CONCERNED WITH THE OPERATION OF A NUMERICAL MODEL THAT REPRESENTS THE STRUCTURE OF A DYNAMIC PROCESS. GIVEN THE VALUES OF INITIAL CONDITIONS, A SIMULATION IS RUN TO REPRESENT THE BEHAVIOR OF THE PROCESS OVER TIME.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: IT IS CONCERNED WITH PHENOMENON RELATING TO QUALITY OR KIND SUCH AS REASONS FOR HUMAN BEHAVIOR WHY PEOPLE THINK OR DO CERTAIN THINGS. MOTIVATION RESEARCH IS PART OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH WHICH AIMS AT DISCOVERING THE UNDERLYING MOTIVES AND DESIRES WHICH IS SPECIALLY IMPORTANT IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES.

IT IS CONCERNED WITH SUBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT OF ATTITUDES, OPINIONS AND BEHAVIOR. IT IS A FUNCTION OF RESEARCHERS INSIGHTS OR OPINIONS. IT GENERATES RESULTS IN NON-QUANTITATIVE FORM OR IN THE FORM WHICH ARE NOT SUBJECTED TO QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS.

CONCEPTUAL RESEARCH: IT IS RELATED TO SOME ABSTRACT IDEAS OR THEORY AND USED BY PHILOSOPHERS AND THINKERS TO DEVELOP NEW CONCEPTS OR TO REINTERPRET EXISTING ONES.

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH: IT RELIES ON EXPERIENCE OR OBSERVATION ALONE. IT IS DATA BASED RESEARCH COMING UP WITH CONCLUSIONS WHICH ARE CAPABLE OF BEING VERIFIED BY OBSERVATION OR EXPERIMENT.

IT IS ALSO CALLED AS EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH. IN SUCH A RESEARCH THE RESEARCHER MUST FIRST PROVIDE HIMSELF WITH A WORKING HYPOTHESIS OR GUESS AS TO THE PROBABLE RESULTS. HE THEN WORKS TO ENOUGH FACTS TO PROVE OR DISPROVE HIS HYPOTHESIS.

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EMPIRICAL RESEARCH IS APPROPRIATE WHEN PROOF IS SOUGHT THAT CERTAIN VARIABLES AFFECT OTHER VARIABLES IN SOME WAY. DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH: IT FOLLOWS CASE STUDY METHODS OR IN-DEPTH APPROACHES TO REACH THE BASIC CAUSAL RELATIONS.

EXPLORATORY RESEARCH: THE OBJECTIVE OF EXPLORATORY RESEARCH IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF HYPOTHESIS RATHER THAN THEIR TESTING. FORMALIZED RESEARCH STUDIES ARE THOSE WITH SUBSTANTIAL STRUCTURE AND WITH SPECIFIC HYPOTHESES TO BE TESTED.

HISTORICAL RESEARCH: IT UTILIZES HISTORICAL SOURCES LIKE DOCUMENTS , REMAINS ETC, TO STUDY EVENTS OR IDEAS OF THE PAST.

THE MANAGER – RESEARCHER RELATIONSHIP THE MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION PROCESS FROM GATHERING TO REPORTING IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF ANY MANAGER’S JOB.

MANAGERS DO THEIR OWN RESEARCH AT LEAST PART OF THE TIME. THE LOWER THE MANAGER IS IN DECISION MAKING HIERARCHY, THE MOST LIKELY HE IS TO DO MOST PART OF THE RESEARCH. WHEN MANAGERS LACK EITHER RESEARCH TIME OR TALENT, THEY MAY SUB-DELEGATE THE TASK TO A RESEARCH SPECIALIST. SEPARATION OF RESEARCH USER FROM RESEARCH CONDUCTOR MAY POSE PROBLEMS IN DATA ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION, CONCLUSION FINDING AND RECOMMENDATION. IN AN ORGANIZATIONAL SETTING, THE RESEARCHER SHOULD LOOK ON THE MANAGER AS A CLIENT. AN

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EFFECTIVE MANAGER – RESEARCHER RELATIONSHIP IS NOT ACHIEVED UNLESS BOTH FULFILL THEIR RESPECTIVE OBLIGATIONS AND SEVERAL CRITICAL CARRIERS ARE OVERCOME.

STYLES OF THINKING RESEARCH IS BASED ON REASONING. GOOD MANAGER AND GOOD RESEARCHERS ALIKE PRACTICE HABITS OF THOUGHT THAT REFLECT SOUND REASONING, FINDING CORRECT PREMISES, TESTING THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THEIR FACTS AND ASSUMPTIONS, MAKING CLAIMS BASED ON ADEQUATE EVIDENCE.

DRAWING SUPPORTABLE GENERALIZATIONS FROM LIMITED DATA IS THE PRODUCT OF EXTENDING THE INFERENCE PROCESS TO STATISTICAL TESTING. LIKE ALL SPECIALTIES, RESEARCH HAS ITS OWN TERMINOLOGY.

DUE TO SELECTIVE PERCEPTION AND CONDITIONING, PEOPLE ANALYZE PROBLEMS DIFFERENTLY. SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY WHICH IS THE PREFERRED METHOD OF ANALYZING PROBLEMS IS CONTRASTED WITH OTHER “STYLES OF THINKING”.

INDUCTION AND DEDUCTION – BOTH OF THESE STYLES ARE NECESSARY FOR REASONING THROUGHOUT THE RESEARCH PROCESS.

SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE – IT RANGE FROM UNTESTED OPINION TO HIGHLY SYSTEMATIC STYLES OF THINKING.

(REFER ENCLOSED FIGURE) THE ABOVE FIGURE CLASSIFIES SIX STYLES OF THINKING AND LOCATES THEM FROM THE STAND POINT OF LOGIC.

UNTESTED OPINION

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SELF EVIDENCED TRUTH METHOD OF AUTHORITY LITERARY SCIENTIFIC METHOD POSTULATIONAL

EMPIRICISM : IT DENOTES OBSERVATIONS AND PROPOSITIONS BASED ON SENSORY EXPERIENCE OR DERIVED FROM INDUCTIVE LOGIC INCLUDING MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS. EMPIRICISTS DESCRIBE, EXPLAIN AND MAKE PREDICTIONS BY RELYING ON INFORMATION GAINED THROUGH OBSERVATIONS.

RATIONALISM : IT REFERS TO REASONING OR APPLYING JUDGEMENT AS PRIMARY SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE. RATIONALISTS BELIEVE THAT ALL KNOWLEDGE CAN BE DEDUCTED FROM KNOWN LAWS OR BASIC TRUTHS OF NATURE.

UNTESTED OPINION: RESEARCHERS CLING TO UNTESTED OPINION DESPITE CONTRARY EVIDENCE. HISTORICALLY MYTH (something imagined or untrue), SUPERSTITION (belief in magic and things which cannot be explained by reason), AND HUNCH ( a suspicion that something is untrue or is going to happen) HAVE BEEN SERIOUS COMPETITORS FOR SCIENTIFIC THINKING. MANAGERS WILL FIND LITTLE TO IMPROVE THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF REALITY FROM UNTESTED OPINIONS.

SELF EVIDENT TRUTH : Death is inevitable, it can be deduced from known laws of nature. WOMAN MAKE INFERIOR MANAGERS. EVERYONE DRIVES TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD. THIS TRUTH IS SELF-EVIDENT TO ONLY SOME OF THE WORLDS DRIVERS. MEN OF NOBLE BIRTH ARE NATURAL LEASERS. WE NOW DISMISS THESE SELF EVIDENT PROPOSITIONS.

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METHOD OF AUTHORITY:

SINCE NOT ALL PROPOSITIONS OR ASSUMPTIONS ARE SELF EVIDENT, WE RELY ON PERSONS OF AUTHORITY SERVE AS IMPORTANT SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE, BUT SHOULD BE JUDGED BY INTEGRITY, THE QUALITY OF EVIDENCE THEY PRESENT. TOO OFTEN AUTHORITY MAY DEPEND ON STATUS OR POSITION RATHER THAN ON TRUE EXPERTISE . CELEBRITY AUTHORITIES WHEN ACTING OUTSIDE THEIR AREA OF EXPERTISE ARE OFTEN WRONG.

LITERARY STYLE:

THIS PROBLEM SOLVING APPROACH OCCUPIES A VIEW POINT TOWARDS THE CENTER OF THE ABOVE FIGURE. THE LITERARY STYLE OF THINKING IS USED IN MANY CLASSIC CASE STUDIES IN SOCIAL SCIENCES.

SCIENTIFIC METHOD:

THE ABOVE FIGURE POSITIONS THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD CLOSE TO THE EMPIRICAL END OF THE HORIZONTAL AXIS. THE ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD ARE:

DIRECT OBSERVATION OF PHENOMENON CLEARLY DEFINED VARIABLES, METHODS AND PROCEDURES EMPIRICALLY TESTABLE HYPOTHESES STATISTICAL RATHER THAN LINGUISTIC

JUSTIFICATION OF CONCLUSIONS THE SELF-CORRECTING PROCESS.

POSTULATIONAL STYLE : COMPETITING STYLES OF THINKING INFLUENCE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS IN BUSINESS

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JUST AS THEY DO THROUGHOUT THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES. STUDIES IN OR AND MARKETING ARE OFTEN POSTULATIONAL. ONE GOAL OF THIS PROSPECTIVE IS TO REDUCE THE OBJECT OF STUDY TO MATHEMATICAL, FORMAL TERMS. THE POSTULATES ARE USED TO DEVICE THEOREMS THAT REPRESENTS LOGICAL PROOF. THE OBJECTIVE IS TO DEDUCE A MATHEMATICAL MODEL THAT MAY ACCOUNT FOR ANY PHENOMENON HAVING SIMILAR FORM.

THE THOUGHT PROCESS - REASONING SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS A PUZZLE SOLVING ACTIVITY. FOR THE RESEARCHER PUZZLES ARE SOLVABLE PROBLEMS THAT MAY BE CLARIFIED OR RESOLVED THROUGH REASONING.

THE SPEED OF CONCLUSION IS STARTLING, BUT THE TRIAL OF REASONING PROCESS FROM SMALL FACTS TO INDUCTIONS AND ON TO CONCLUSIONS IS A COMMON THOUGHT PROCESS FOR SCIENTISTS AND PUZZLE SOLVERS.

DEDUCTIONS : IT IS A FORM OF INFERENCE THAT PURPORTS TO BE CONCLUSIVE – THE CONCLUSIONS MUST NECESSARILY FOLLOW FROM THE REASONS GIVEN. THE REASONS ARE SAID TO IMPLY THE CONCLUSION AND REPRESENT A PROOF. FOR A DEDUCTION TO BE CORRECT, IT MUST BE BOTH TRUE AND VALID.

INDUCTION : TO INDUCE IS TO DRAW A CONCLUSION FROM ONE OR MORE PARTICULAR FACTS OR PIECES OF EVIDENCE. THE CONCLUSION EXPLAINS THE FACTS AND THE FACTS SUPPORTS THE CONCLUSION.

THE SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE : if the tools of thinking are the mind of science, then the scientific attitude is the spirit. The scientific attitude unleashes the creative drive that makes the discovery possible.

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ALL RESEARCHERS EXERCISE IMAGINATION IN THE DISCOVERY PROCESS. THE PORTRAITS OF SCIENTISTS INVOLVED IN SOME OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR DISCOVERIES ARE IMAGINATION, INTUITION, CURIOSITY SUSPICION, ANGUISH AND SELF DOUBT. UNDERSTANDING THEORY:COMPONENTS AND CONNECTIONS WHEN WE DO RESEARCH, WE SEEK TO KNOW WHAT IS IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND, EXPLAIN AND PREDICT PHENOMENON

THIS REQUIRES USE OF CONCEPTS, CONSTRUCTS AND DEFINITIONS. THESE COMPONENTS OR BUILDING BLOCKS OF THEORY ARE VERY USEFUL.

CONCEPT : A CONCEPT IS GENERALLY ACCEPTED COLLECTION OF MEANINGS OR CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH CERTAIN EVENTS, OBJECTS, CONDITIONS SITUATIONS AND BEHAVIOURS.

CLASSIFYING AND CATEGORIZING OBJECTS OR EVENTS THAT HAVE COMMON CHARACTERISTICS BEYOND ANY SINGLE OBSERVATION CREATE CONCEPTS.

SOURCES OF CONCEPTS : CONCEPTS THAT ARE IN FREQUENT AND GENERAL USE HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED OVER TIME THROUGH SHARED USAGE. WE HAVE ACQUIRED THEM THROUGH PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. ORDINARY CONCEPTS MAKE UP THE BULK OF THE COMMUNICATION EVEN IN RESEARCH. WE RUN INTO DIFFICULTY TRYING TO DEAL WITH AN UNCOMMON CONCEPT OR A NEWLY ADVANCED IDEA. ONE WAY TO HANDLE THIS PROBLEM IS TO BORROW FROM OTHER LANGUAGES.

IMPORTANCE TO RESEARCH : CONCEPTS ARE BASIC TO ALL THOUGHT AND COMMUNICATION, YET IN EVERYDAY USE WE PAY LITTLE ATTENTION TO THE PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN THEIR USE.

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THE SUCCESS OF RESEARCH DEPENDS ON HOW CLEARLY WE CONCEPTUALIZE AND HOW WELL OTHERS UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPTS WE USE. THE CHALLENGE IS TO DEVELOP CONCEPTS THAT OTHERS WILL CLEARLY UNDERSTAND.

PROBLEMS IN CONCEPT USE: THE USE OF CONCEPTS PRESENT DIFFICULTIES IN A RESEARCH STUDY. PEOPLE DIFFER IN THE MEANINGS THEY INCLUDE UNDER ANY PARTICULAR LABEL.

THIS PROBLEM IS SO GREAT IN NORMAL HUMAN COMMUNICATION THAT WE OFTEN SEE CASES WHERE PEOPLE USE THE SAME LANGUAGE BUT DO NOT UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER.

CONSTRUCTS : A CONSTRUCT IS AN IMAGE OR IDEA SPECIFICALLY INVENTED FOR A GIVEN THEORY BUILDING PURPOSE. WE BUILD CONSTRUCTS BY COMBINING THE SIMPLER CONCEPTS ESPECIALLY WHEN THE IDEA OR IMAGE WE INTEND TO CONVEY IS NOT DIRECTLY SUBJECT TO OBSERVATION.

DEFINITIONS : AN OPERATIONAL DEFINITION IS A DEFINITION STATED IN TERMS OF SPECIFIC TESTING OR MEASUREMENT CRITERIA. THESE TERMS MUST HAVE EMPIRICAL REFERENTS. WHETHER THE OBJECT TO BE DEFINED IS PHYSICAL OR HIGHLY ABSTRACT THE DEFINITION MUST SPECIFY CHARACTERISTICS AND HOW THEY ARE TO BE OBSERVED

VARIABLE : A VARIABLE IS USED AS SYNONYM FOR CONSTRUCT OR THE PROPERTY BEING TESTED. A VARIABLE IS A SYMBOL TO WHICH WE ASSIGN NUMERALS OR VALUES.

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PROPOSITIONS AND HYPOTHESES: PROPOSITION IS DEFINED AS A STATEMENT ABOUT CONCEPTS THAT MAY BE JUDGED AS TRUE OR FALSE IF IT REFERS TO OBSERVABLE PHENOMENA.

WHEN A PROPOSITION IS FORMULATED FOR EMPIRICAL TESTING, WE CALL IT HYPOTHESIS.

HYPOTHESIS IS DESCRIBED AS STATEMENTS IN WHICH WE ASSIGN VARIABLES TO CASES. A CASE IS DEFINED AS THE ENTITY OR THING THE HYPOTHESIS TALKS ABOUT.

VARIABLE : THE VARIABLE IS THE CHARACTERISTIC, TRAIT, OR ATTRIBUTE THAT IN THE HYPOTHESIS IS IMPUTED TO THE CASE.

DESCRIPTIVE HYPOTHESIS : THESE ARE PROPOSITIONS THAT TYPICALLY STATE THE EXISTENCE, SIZE, FORM OR DISTRIBUTION OF SOME VARIABLE.

RELATIONAL HYPOTHESES : THE RESEARCH QUESTION FORMAT IS LESS FREQUENTLY USED WITH A SITUATION CALLING FOR RELATIONAL HYPOTHESES.

THESE ARE STATEMENTS THAT DESCRIBE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TWO VARIABLES WITH RESPECT TO SOME CASE.

CORRELATIONAL HYPOTHESES: It states merely that the variables occur together in some specified manner without implying that one causes the other.

Such weak claims are often made when we believe there are more basic causal forces that affect both variables or when we have not developed enough evidence to claim a stronger linkage.

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EXPLANATORY (causal) HYPOTHESES : THERE IS AN IMPLICATION THAT THE EXISTENCE OF, OR A CHANGE IN, ONE VARIABLE CAUSES OR LEADS TO A CHANGE IN THE OTHER VARIABLE.

THE CAUSAL VARIABLE IS TYPICALLY CALLED INDEPENDENT VARIABLE (IV) AND THE OTHER THE DEPENDENT VARIABLE (DV).

ROLE OF HYPOTHESES : IN RESEARCH HYPOTHESES SERVES MANY IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS

IT GUIDES THE DIRECTION OF THE STUDY IT IDENTIFIES FACTS THAT ARE RELEVANT AND THOSE THAT ARE NOT IT SUGGESTS WHICH FORM OF RESEARCH DESIGN IS LIKELY TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE. IT PROVIDES A FRAMEWORK FOR ORGANIZING THE CONCLUSIONS THAT RESULT

WHAT IS A GOOD HYPOTHESES: IT SHOULD FULFILL THE FOLLOWING THREE CONDITIONS

ADEQUACY FOR THE PURPOSE TESTABLE BETTER THAN ITS RIVALS

THEORY : Hypotheses play an important role in the development of theory. A person not familiar with research uses the term theory to express the opposite of fact.

A THEORY IS A SET OF SYSTEMATICALLY INTERRELATED CONCEPTS, DEFINITIONS AND PROPOSITIONS THAT ARE ADVANCED TO EXPLAIN ABD PREDICT PHENOMENON (FACTS).

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THEORY AND RESEARCH: THEORY SERVES IN MANY USEFUL WAYS. THEORY NARROWS THE RANGE OF FACTS WE NEED TO STUDY. THEORY SUGGESTS WHICH RESEARCH APPROACHES ARE LIKELY TO YIELD THE GREATEST MEANING. THEORY SUGGESTS A SYSTEM FOR THE RESEARCHER TO IMPOSE ON DATA IN ORDER TO CLASSIFY THEM IN THE MOST MEANINGFUL WAY. THEORY SUMMARIZES WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT AN OBJECT OF STUDY AND STATES THE UNIFORMITIES THAT LIE BEYOND IMMEDIATE OBSERVATION. THEORY CAN BE USED TO PREDICT FURTHER FACTS THAT SHOULD BE FOUND.

MODELS : A MODEL IS DEFINED AS A REPRESENTATION OF A SYSTEM THAT IS CONSTRUCTED TO STUDY SOME ASPECT OF THAT SYSTEM OR SYSTEM AS A WHOLE.

A THEORY’S ROLE IS EXPLANATION WHEREAS A MODEL’S ROLE IS REPRESENTATION.

DESCRIPTIVE MODELS DESCRIBE THE BEHAVIOR OF ELEMENTS IN A SYSTEM WHERE THEORY IS INADEQUATE OR NONEXISTENT.

EXPLICATIVE MODELS EXTEND THE APPLICATION OF WELL DEVELOPED THEORIES OR IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR KEY CONCEPTS.

SIMULATION MODELS CLARIFY THE STRUCTURAL RELATIONSHIP OF CONCEPTS AND ATTEMPT TO REVEAL THE PROCESS RELATION AMONG THEM.

STATIC - REPRESENT A SYSTEM AT ONE POINT IN TIME DYNAMIC- REPRESENT THE EVOLUTION OF A SYSTEM OVER TIME

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MODULE – 2  THE RESEARCH PROCESS RESEARCHERS USUALLY TREAT THE RESEARCH TASK AS A SEQUENTIAL PROCESS INVOLVING SEVERAL CLEARLY DEFINED STEPS. RESEARCH DOES NOT REQUIRE COMPLETION OF EACH STEP BEFORE GOING TO THE NEXT.

RECYCLING, CIRCUMVENTING AND SKIPPING OCCUR. SOME STEPS BEGIN OUT OF SEQUENCE, WHILE SOME ARE CARRIED OUT SIMULTANEOUSLY AND SOME MAY BE OMITTED. IN SPITE OF THESE VARIATIONS, THE IDEA OF A SEQUENCE IS USEFUL FOR DEVELOPING A PROJECT AND KEEPING THE PROJECT ORDERLY AS IT PROGRESSES.

THE RESEARCH PROCESS INCLUDES THE MANAGEMENT DILEMMA (Question), ITS ORIGIN, SELECTION, STATEMENT, EXPLORATION AND REFINEMENT IN SEQUENCE.THE MANAGEMENT – RESEARCH QUESTION HIERARCHY.

THE SUGGESTED WAY TO APPROACH RESEARCH PROCESS IS TO STATE THE BASIC DILEMMA (Question) THAT PROMPTS THE RESEARCH AND THEN TRY TO DEVELOP OTHER QUESTIONS PROGRESSIVELY BREAKING DOWN THE ORIGINAL QUESTION INTO MORE SPECIFIC ONES. THE OUTCOME OF THIS PROCESS IS MANAGEMENT-RESEARCH QUESTION HIERARCHY.

THE PROCESS BEGINS AT THE MOST GENERAL LEVEL WITH THE MANAGEMENT DILEMMA WHICH IS REFERRED TO AS THE MANAGEMENT PROBLEM.

THE MANAGEMENT QUESTION:

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THE MANAGER MUST MOVE FROM THE MANAGEMENT DILEMMA TO THE MANAGEMENT QUESTION TO PROCEED WITH THE RESEARCH PROCESS.

THE DIRECTION OF THE MANAGEMENT QUESTION SETS THE RESEARCH TASK. WE CAN GROUP THEM AS

CHOICE OF PURPOSE OR OBJECTIVE GENERATION AND EVALUATION OF SOLUTION TROUBLESHOOTING AND CONTROL SITUATION

THE NATURE OF MANAGEMENT QUESTION The management question does not specify what kind of research is to be done.

THIS QUESTION IS STRICTLY MANAGERIAL IN THRUST. THE QUALIFIED RESEARCHER KNOWS THAT MANAGEMENT QUESTION AS STATED IS TOO BROAD TO GUIDE A DEFINITIVE RESEARCH PROJECT. THIS NEEDS A REFINEMENT.

EXPLORATION : IT TYPICALLY BEGINS WITH A SEARCH OF PUBLISHED DATA. RESEARCHERS OFTEN SEEK OUT PERSONS WHO ARE WELL INFORMED OF THE TOPIC AND THOSE WHO HAVE CLEARLY STATED POSITIONS ON CONTROVERSIAL ASPECTS OF THE PROBLEM.

THE RESEARCH QUESTION: ONCE THE RESEARCHER HAS A CLEAR STATEMENT OF THE MANAGEMENT QUESTION, HE/SHE AND THE MANAGER MUST TRANSLATE IT INTO A RESEARCH QUESTION.

IT IS AT THIS POINT OF FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTION WHERE THE INSIGHT AND EXPERTISE OF MANAGER COME INTO PLAY. THE MANAGER’S direction to the researcher is most important.

A RESEARCH QUESTION IS THE HYPOTHESIS OF CHOICE THAT BEST STATES THE OBJECTIVE OF RESEARCH. IT IS A

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MORE SPECIFIC MANAGEMENT QUESTION THAT MUST BE ANSWERED.

FINE TUNING THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS: IT IS PRECISELY WHAT THE PRACTITIONER MUST DO AFTER THE EXPLORATION IS COMPLETE. AT THIS POINT A CLEARER PICTURE OF THE MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH QUESTION BEGINS TO EMERGE.

AFTER A PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE OR A BRIEF EXPLORATORY STUDY OR BOTH THE PROJECT BEGINS TO CRYSTALLIZE IN ONE OF TWO WAYS. IT IS APPARENT THE QUESTION HAS BEEN ANSWERED AND THE PROCESS IS FINISHED OR A QUESTION DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE ORIGINALLY ADDRESSED HAS APPEARED.

INVESTIGATIVE QUESTIONS: They are questions the researcher must answer to satisfactorily arrive at a conclusion about the research question. TO FORMULATE THEM, THE RESEARCHER TAKES A GENERAL RESEARCH QUESTION AND BREAKS IT INTO MORE SPECIFIC ONES ABOUT WHICH TO GATHER DATA.

INVESTIGATIVE QUESTIONS SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL FOR THEY GUIDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RESEARCH DESIGN.

MEASUREMENT QUESTIONS: CONSTITUTE THE FIFTH LEVEL OF THE HIERARCHY. IN SURVEYS THESE QUESTIONS ARE ASKED TO THE RESPONDENTS. THEY SHOULD BE OUTLINED BY COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT PLANNING ACTIVITIES BUT USUALLY AWAIT PILOT TESTING FOR REFINEMENT.

THERE ARE TWO TYPES PRE DESIGNED AND PRE TESTED QUESTIONS AND CUSTOM DESIGNED QUESTIONSTHE FAVORED TECHNIQUE SYNDROME:

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SOME RESEARCHER ARE METHOD BOUND. THEY RECAST THE MANAGEMENT QUESTION SO IT IS AMENABLE TO THEIR FAVORITE METHODOLOGY- A SURVEY, FOR EXAMPLE. OTHER MIGHT PREFER TO EMPHASIZE THE CASE STUDY, WHILE STILL OTHERS WOULD NOT CONSIDER EITHER APPROACH. NOT ALL RESEARCHERS ARE COMFORTABLE WITH EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS.

THE AVAILABILITY OF TECHNIQUE IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN DETERMINING HOW RESEARCH WILL BE DONE OR WHETHER A GIVEN STUDY CAN BE DONE. PERSONS KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT AND SKILLED IN SOME TECHNIQUE BUT NOT IN OTHERS ARE TOO OFTEN BLINDED BY THEIR SPECIAL COMPETENCIES. THEIR CONCERN FOR TECHNIQUE DOMINATES THE DECISION CONCERNING WHAT WILL BE STUDIED.

IT IS THE ROLE OF THE MANAGER SPONSORING THE RESEARCH TO SPOT AN INAPPROPRIATE TECHNIQUE DRIVEN RESEARCH PROPOSAL.

COMPANY DATABASE STRIP-MINING: THE EXISTENCE OF A POOL OF INFORMATION OR A DATABASE CAN DISTRACT A MANAGER, SEEMINGLY REDUCING THE NEED FOR OTHER RESEARCH. MANAGERS FREQUENTLY HEAR FROM THEIR SUPERIORS WE SHOULD USE THE INFORMATION ALREADY AVAILABLE BEFORE COLLECTING MORE.

MODERN MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS ARE CAPABLE OF PROVIDING MASSIVE VOLUMES OF DATA. MINING MANAGEMENT INFORMATION DATABASE IS FASHIONABLE AND ALL TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS INCREASINGLY VALUE THE ABILITY TO EXTRACT MEANINGFUL INFORMATION.

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WHILE SUCH DATA MINING IS OFTEN A STARTING POINT IN DECISION BASED RESEARCH, RARELY WILL SUCH ACTIVITY ANSWER ALL MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS RELATED TO A PARTICULAR MANAGEMENT DILEMMA.

UNRESEARCHABLE QUESTIONS: NOT ALL MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS ARE RESEARCHABLE AND NOT ALL RESEARCH QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERABLE.

TO BE RESEARCHABLE, A QUESTION IS ONE FOR WHICH OBSERVATION OR OTHER DATA COLLECTION CAN PROVIDE THE ANSWER. MANY QUESTIONS CANNOT BE ANSWERED ON THE BASIS OF INFORMATION ALONE.

ILL-DEFINED MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS: SOME CATEGORIES OF PROBLEMS ARE SO COMPLEX, VALUE-LADEN AND BOUND BY CONSTRAINTS THAT THEY PROVE TO BE INTRACTABLE TO TRADITIONAL FORMS OF ANALYSIS.

THESE QUESTIONS HAVE CHARACTERISTIC THAT ARE VIRTUALLY THE OPPOSITE OF THOSE OF WELL DEFINED QUESTIONS. POLITICALLY MOTIVATED RESEARCH: SOMETIMES A RESEARCH STUDY MAY NOT BE REALLY BE DESIRABLE DESIRABLE BUT IS AUTHORIZED ANY WAY MAINLY BECAUSE ITS PRESENCE MAY WIN APPROVAL FOR A CERTAIN MANAGERS PET IDEA. AT OTHER TIMES RESEARCH MAY BE AUTHORIZED AS A MEASURE OF PERSONAL PROTECTION FOR A DECISION MAKER IN CASE HE IS CRITICIZED LATER.

DESIGNING THE STUDY: THE RESEARCH DESIGN IS THE BLUE PRINT FOR FULFILLING THE OBJECTIVES AND ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS. SELECTING A DESIGN MAY BE COMPLICATED BY

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THE AVAILABILITY OF A LARGE VARIETY OF METHODS, TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES.

BY CREATING A DESIGN USING DIVERSE METHODOLOGIES, RESEARCHERS ARE ABLE TO ACHIEVE GREATER INSIGHT THAN IF THEY FOLLOWED THE MOST FREQUENT METHOD ENCOUNTERED IN LITERATURE OR SUGGESTED BY A DISCIPLINARY BIAS. SAMPLING DESIGN: ANOTHER STEP IN PLANNING THE DESIGN IS TO IDENTIFY THE TARGET POPULATION AND SELECT THE SAMPLE IF A CENSUS IS NOT DESIRED.

THE RESEARCHER MUST DETERMINE WHO AND HOW MANY PEOPLE TO INTERVIEW, WHAT AND HOW MANY EVENTS TO OBSERVE OR WHAT AND HOW MANY RECORDS TO INSPECT.

A SAMPLE IS PART OF THE TARGET POPULATION, CAREFULLY SELECTED TO REPRESENT THAT PART OF THE POPULATION. WHEN RESEARCHERS UNDERTAKE SAMPLING STUDIES, THEY ARE INTERESTED IN ESTIMATING ONE OR MORE POPULATION VALUES AND OR TESTING ONE OR MORE STATISTICAL HYPOTHESES.RESOURCE ALLOCATION AND BUDGETS: RESEARCH BUDGETS HAVE A TENDENCY TO SINGLE OUT DATA COLLECTION AS THE MOST COSTLY ACTIVITY. DATA COLLECTION REQUIRES SUBSTANTIAL RESOURCES BUT PERHAPS LESS OF THE BUDGET THAN CLIENTS EXPECT.

THE GEOGRAPHIC AREA TO BE COVERED AND THE NUMBER OF OBSERVATIONS REQUIRED DO AFFECT THE COST. MUCH OF THE COST IS RELATIVELY INDEPENDENT OF THE SIZE OF THE DATA GATHERING EFFORT. THUS A GUIDE MIGHT BE THAT (1) PROJECT PLANNING (2) DATA GATHERING

(3) ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND REPORTING EACH SHARE EQUALLY IN THE BUDGET.

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WITHOUT BUDGETARY APPROVAL, MANY RESEARCH EFFORTS ARE TERMINATED FOR LACK OF RESOURCES.

RULE OF THUMB BUDGETING:

IT INVOLVES TAKING A FIXED PERCENTAGE OF SOME CRITERION – A PERCENTAGE OF THE PREVIOUS YEAS SALES REVENUES.

DEPARTMENTAL OR FUNCTIONAL AREA BUDGETING: IT ALLOCATES A PORTION OF TOTAL EXPENDITURE IN THE UNIT TO RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. MANY ORGANIZATIONS FREQUENTLY MANAGE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES OUT OF FUNCTIONAL BUDGETS.

FUNCTIONAL AREAS SUCH AS HUMAN RESOURCES, MARKETING AND ENGINEERING HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO APPROVE THEIR OWN PROJECTS. TASK BUDGETING: IT SELECTS SPECIFIC RESEARCH PROJECTS TO SUPPORT ON AN AD-HOC BASIS. THIS TYPE IS LEAST PROACTIVE BUT DOES PERMIT DEFINITIVE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS.

VALUING RESEARCH INFORMATION: THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BUDGETING AND VALUE ASSESSMENT IN ANY MANAGEMENT DECISION TO CONDUCT RESEARCH.

AN APPROPRIATE RESEARCH STUDY SHOULD HELP MANAGERS AVOID LOSSES AND INCREASE SALES AND PROFITS. IN A BUSINESS SITUATION, THE RESEARCH SHOULD PRODUCE ADDED REVENUES OR REDUCE EXPENSES. EVALUATION METHODS:

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EX-POST FACTO EVALUATION: IF THERE IS ANY MEASUREMENT OF THE VALUE OF RESEARCH, IT IS USUALLY AN AFTER-THE-FACT EVENT.

THE EFFORT AT COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS IS COMMENDABLE EVEN THOUGH THE RESULTS COME TOO LATE TO GUIDE A CURRENT RESEARCH DECISION.

SUCH ANALYSIS MAY SHARPEN THE MANAGERS ABILITY TO MAKE JUDGMENTS ABOUT FUTURE RESEARCH PROPOSALS. HOWEVER THE CRITICAL PROBLEM REMAINS THAT OF PROJECT EVALUATION BEFORE THE STUDY IS DONE. PRIOR OR INTERIM EVALUATION: A PROPOSAL TO CONDUCT A THOROUGH MANAGEMENT AUDIT OF OPERATIONS IN A COMPANY MAY BE A WORTHY ONE, BUT NEITHER ITS COSTS NOR ITS BENEFITS ARE EASILY ESTIMATED IN ADVANCE.

THE MANAGEMENT INFORMATION NEED MAY BE SO GREAT AS TO ENSURE THAT THE RESEARCH IS APPROVED. IN SUCH CASES, MANAGERS MAY DECIDE TI CONTROL THE RESEARCH EXPENDITURE RISK BY DOING A STUDY IN STAGES. THEY CAN THEN REVIEW COSTS AND BENEFITS AT THE END OF EACH STAGE AND GIVE OR WITHHOLD FURTHER AUTHORIZATION.

OPTION ANALYSIS: IF THE RESEARCH DESIGN CAN BE STATED CLEARLY, ONE CAN ESTIMATE AN APPROXIMATE COST. THE CRUCIAL TASK IS TO QUANTIFY THE BENEFITS FROM THE RESEARCH. AT BEST, ESTIMATES OF BENEFITS ARE CRUDE AND LARGELY REFLECT AN ORDERLY WAY TO ESTIMATE OUTCOMES UNDER UNCERTAIN CONDITIONS.

DECISION THEORY:

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WHEN THERE ARE ALTERNATIVES FROM WHICH TO CHOOSE, A RATIONAL WAY TO APPROACH DECISION IS TO TRY TO ASSESS THE OUTCOMES OF EACH ACTION.

THE DECISION RULE MAY BE CHOOSE THE COURSE OF ACTION WITH THE LOWEST LOSS PROBABILITY OR CHOOSE THE ALTERNATIVE THAT PROVIDES THE GREATEST ANNUAL PROFIT.

THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL: A WRITTEN PROPOSAL IS OFTEN REQUIRED WHEN A STUDY IS BEING SUGGESTED. IT ENSURES THAT THE PARTIES CONCERNED CONCUR ON THE PROJECT’S PURPOSE ON THE PROPOSED METHOD OF INVESTIGATION. TIME AND BUDGES ARE OFTEN SPELLED OUT.

THE LENGTH AND COMPLEXITY OF RESEARCH PROPOSAL RANGE WIDELY. BUSINESS RESEARCH PROPOSALS RANGE FROM 1 TO 10 PAGES.

PROPOSAL CONTENT: EVERY PROPOSAL, REGARDLESS OF LENGTH, SHOULD INCLUDE TWO BASIC SECTIONS

STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH QUESTION BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY

IN A BRIEF MEMO-TYPE PROPOSAL, THE RESEARCH QUESTION MAY BE INCORPORATED INTO A PARAGRAPH THAT ALSO SETS OUT THE MANAGEMENT DILEMMA, MANAGEMENT QUESTION AND CATEGORIES OF INVESTIGATIVE QUESTIONS. A SECOND SECTION INCLUDES A STATEMENT OF WHAT WILL BE DONE:

THE BARE BONES OF THE RESEARCH DESIGN. OFTEN RESEARCH PROPOSALS ARE MUCH MORE DETAILED AND DESCRIBE SPECIFIC MEASUREMENT DEVICE THAT’S THAT

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WILL BE USED, TIME AND COST BUDGETS, SAMPLING PLANS AND MANY OTHER DETAILS.

PILOT TESTING: THE DATA GATHERING PHASE OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS TYPICALLY BEGINS WITH PILOT TESTING. A PILOT TEST IS CONDUCTED TO DETECT WEAKNESS IN DESIGN AND INSTRUMENTATION AND TO PROVIDE PROXY DATA FOR SELECTION OF A PROBABILITY SAMPLE.

IT SHOULD THEREFORE DRAW SUBJECTS FROM THE TARGET POPULATION AND SIMULATE THE PROCEDURES AND PROTOCOLS THAT HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED FOR DATA COLLECTION.

IF THE STUDY IS A SURVEY TO BE EXECUTED BY MAIL, THE PILOT QUESTIONNAIRE SHOULD BE MAILED. THE SIZE OF THE PILOT GROUP MAY RANGE FROM 25 to 100 SUBJECTS, DEPENDING UPON THE METHOD TO BE TESTED. THE RESPONDENTS NEED NOT BE STATISTICALLY SELECTED.

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF VARIATIONS ON PILOT TESTING. SOME OF THEM ARE INTENTIONALLY RESTRICTED TO DATA COLLECTION ACTIVITIES.

ONE FORM, PRETESTING, MAY RELY ON COLLEAGUES, RESPONDENTS SURROGATES OR ACTUAL RESPONDENTS TO REDEFINE A MEASURING INSTRUMENT. PRETESTING MAY BE USED OR REPEATED SEVERAL TIMES TO REFINE QUESTIONS, INSTRUMENTS OR PROCEDURES

DATA COLLECTION: THE GATHERING OF DATA MAY RANGE FROM A SIMPLE OBSERVATION AT ONE LOCATION TO A SURVEY OF MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS AT DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD.

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DATA IS DEFINED AS FACTS PRESENTED TO THE RESEARCHER FROM THE STUDY. DATA MAY BE FURTHER CHARACTERIZED BY THEIR ABSTRACTNESS, VERIFIABILITY AND CLOSENESS TO THE PHENOMENON. DATA ARE EDITED TO ENSURE CONSISTENCY ACROSS RESPONDENTS AND TO LOCATE OMISSIONS. IN THE CASE OF SURVEY METHODS, EDITING REDUCES ERRORS IN THE RECORDING. EDITED DATA ARE THEN PUT IN TO A FORM THAT MAKES ANALYSIS POSSIBLE.

ANALYSIS AND NTERPRETATION: DATA ANALYSIS USUALLY INVOLVES ACCUMULATED DATA TO A MANAGEABLE SIZE, DEVELOPING SUMMARIES, AND APPLYING STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES.

RESEARCHERS MUST INTERPRET THESE FINDINGS IN THE LIGHT OF THE CLIENTS RESEARCH QUESTION AS WELL AS TO EXPLORE RELATIONSHIP AMONG VARIABLES.REPORTING THE RESULTS: FINALLY IT IS NECESSARY TO PREPARE THE REPORT AND TRANSMIT THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE INTENDER PURPOSE OF DECISION MAKING.

RESEARCH REPORT SHOULD CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING: AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CONSISTING OF A SYNOPSIS OF

THE PROBLEMS, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS, AN OVER VIEW OF THE RESEARCH: THE PROBLEM’S

BACKGROUND, LITERATURE SUMMARY METHODS AND PROCEDURES.

A SECTION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIES FOR THE RECOMMENDATION.

A TECHNICAL APPENDIX WITH ALL THE MATERIALS NECESSARY TO REPLICATE A PROJECT.

RESEARCH ETHICS: ETHICS ARE NORMS OR STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOR THAT GUIDE MORAL CHOICES ABOUT OUR BEHAVIOR AND OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS.

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THE GOAL OF ETHICS IN RESEARCH IS TO ENSURE THAT NO ONE IS HARMED OR SUFFERS ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES FROM THE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.

UNETHICAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDE VIOLATING NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS, BREAKING RESPONDENT CONFIDENTIALITY, MISREPRESENTING RESULTS, DECEIVING PEOPLE AND AVOIDING LEGAL LIABILITY.

ADVOCATING STRICT ADHERENCE TO A SET OF LAWS IS DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF THE UNFORESEEN CONSTRAINTS PUT ON RESEARCHES.

BECAUSE INTEGRITY IN RESEARCH IS VITAL ETHICAL BEHAVIOR IS VERY IMPORTANT. FIRST WE MUST THINK OF PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF THE PARTICIPANT, RESPONDENT OR SUBJECT.

TO SAFEGUARD THIS, THE RESEARCHER SHOULD FOLLOW THREE GUIDELINES: 1. EXPLAIN STUDY BENEFITS 2. EXPLAIN RESPONDENT RIGHTS AND PROTECTION 3. OBTAIN INFORMED CONSENT.

DECEPTION : IT OCCURS WHEN RESPONDENTS ARE TOLD ONLY PART OF THE TRUTH OR WHEN THE TRUTH IS FULLY COMPROMISED. TWO REASONS FOR DECEPTION ARE: TO PREVENT BIASING THE RESPONDENTS BEFORE THE SURVEY AND TO PROTECT THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF A THIRD PARTY.

INFORMED CONSENT: FULLY DISCLOSING TO THE RESPONDENTS THE PROCEDURES OF THE PROPOSED SURVEY BEFORE REQUESTING PERMISSION TO PROCEED WITH THE STUDY.

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DEBRIEFING : IT INVOLVES FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES WHILE COLLECTING DATA. EXPLANATION OF ANY DECEPTION, DESCRIPTION OF HYPOTHESIS, GOAL OR PURPOSE OF THE STUDY, POST STUDY SHARING OF RESULTS.

A RIGHT TO PRIVACY MEANS ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO REFUSE TO BE INTERVIEWED OR TO REFUSE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTION. POTENTIAL PARTICIPANTS HAVE A RIGHT TO PRIVACY.

TO ADDRESS THESE RIGHTS ETHICAL RESEARCHERS DO THE FOLLOWING: OBTAIN PERMISSION TO INTERVIEW RESPONDENTS, INFORM THE RESPONDENTS OF THEIR RIGHT TO REFUSE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTION, LIMIT THE TIME REQUIRED FOR PARTICIPATION AND RESTRICT OBSERVATION TO PUBLIC BEHAVIOR ONLY.

RIGHT TO QUALITY RESEARCH: AN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION FOR THE RESEARCHER AND THE SPONSOR IS THE SPONSOR’S RIGHT TO QUALITY RESEARCH. THE RIGHT ENTITLES 1.PROVIDING A RESEARCH DESIGN APPROPRIATE TO RESEARCH QUESTION. 2.MAXIMISING THE SPONSOR’S VALUE FOR THE RESOURCES EXPENDED. 3.PROVIDING DATA HANDLING AND REPORTING TECHNIQUES APPROPRIATE FOR THE DATA COLLECTED.

MODULE 3RESEARCH DESIGN DEFINITION : THE RESEARCH DESIGN CONSTITUTES THE BLUE PRINT FOR COLLECTION, MEASUREMENT AND ANALYSIS OF DATA.

RESEARCH DESIGN IS THE PLAN AND STRUCTURE OF INVESTIGATION SO CONCEIVED AS TO OBTAIN ANSWERS TO

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RESEARCH QUESTIONS. THE PLAN IS THE OVERALL SCHEME OR PROGRAM OF RESEARCH.

IT INCLUDES AN OUTLINE OF WHAT THE RESEARCHER WILL DO FROM WRITING HYPOTHESIS AND THEIR IMPLICATION TO THE FINAL ANALYSIS OF DATA.

THE STRUCTURE IS THE FRAMEWORK, ORGANIZATION OR CONFIGURATION OF THE RELATIONS AMONG VARIABLES OF A STUDY.

A RESEARCH DESIGN EXPRESSES BOTH THE STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND THE PLAN OF INVESTIGATION USED TO OBTAIN EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON RELATIONS OF THE PROBLEM. A RESEARCH STUDY MAY BE VIEWED AS EXPLORATORY OR FORMAL. EXPLORATORY STUDIES TEND TOWARDS LOOSE STRUCTURES WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF DISCOVERING FUTURE RESEARCH TASKS.

THE IMMEDIATE PURPOSE OF EXPLORATION IS USUALLY TO DEVELOP HYPOTHESIS OR QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH.

THE FORMAL STUDY BEGINS WHERE THE EXPLORATION LEAVES OFF. IT BEGINS WITH A HYPOTHESIS OR A RESEARCH QUESTION AND INVOLVES PRECISE PROCEDURES AND DATA SOURCE SPECIFICATIONS.

THE GOAL OF A FORMAL RESEARCH IS TO TEST THE HYPOTHESES OR ANSWER THE RESEARCH QUESTION POSED. METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION: MONITORING AND INTERROGATION AND COMMUNICATION PROCESS. MONITORING INCLUDES STUDIES IN WHICH THE RESEARCHER INSPECTS THE ACTIVITIES OF A SUBJECT OR

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THE NATURE OF SOME MATERIAL WITHOUT ATTEMPTING TO ELICIT RESPONSES FROM ANYONE. RESEARCHER NOTES AND RECORDS THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM OBSERVATIONS.

IN THE INTERROGATION STUDY, THE RESEARCHER QUESTIONS THE SUBJECTS AND COLLECTS THEIR RESPONSES BY PERSONAL OR IMPERSONAL MEANS.

THE COLLECTED DATA MAY RESULT FROM INTERVIEW OR TELEPHONE CONVERSATIONS AND SELF-ADMINISTERED OR SELF-REPORTED INSTRUMENTS SENT THROUGH THE MAIL, LEFT IN CONVENIENT LOCATIONS OR TRANSMITTED ELECTRONICALLY.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS:

THE RESEARCHER ATTEMPTS TO CONTROL OR MANIPULATE THE VARIABLES IN THE STUDY. IT IS ENOUGH THAT WE CAN CAUSE VARIABLES TO BE CHANGED OR HELD CONSTANT IN KEEPING WITH OUR RESEARCH OBJECTIVES. EXPERIMENTATION PROVIDES MOST POWERFUL SUPPORT FOR A HYPOTHESIS OF CAUSATION.

EX POST FACTO DESIGN: INVESTIGATORS HAVE NO CONTROL OVER THE VARIABLES IN THE SENSE OF BEING ABLE TO MANIPULATE THEM. THEY CAN ONLY REPORT WHAT HAS HAPPENED OR WHAT IS HAPPENING. THE PURPOSE OF STUDY

DESCRIPTIVE STUDY: IF THE RESEARCH IS CONCERNED WITH FINDING OUT WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN OR HOW MUCH, THEN THE STUDY IS DESCRIPTIVE.

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CAUSAL STUDY: IT IS CONCERNED WITH LEARNING WHY – THAT IS, HOW ONE VARIABLE PRODUCES CHANGES IN ANOTHER. 

THE TIME DIMENSION:

CROSS - SECTIONAL STUDIES : THEY ARE CARRIED OUT ONCE AND REPRESENT A SNAPSHOT OF ONE POINT IN TIME. LONGITUDINAL STUDIES: THEY ARE REPEATED OVER AN EXTENDED PERIOD.

THE TOPICAL SCOPE: STATISTICAL STUDIES: THEY ARE DESIGNED FOR BREADTH RATHER THAN DEPTH. THEY ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE A POPULATION’S CHARACTERISTICS BY MAKING INFERENCES FROM A SAMPLE’S CHARACTERISTICS. CASE STUDIES: THEY PLACE MORE EMPHASIS ON A FULL CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF FEWER EVENTS OR CONDITIONS AND THEIR INTERRELATIONS.

THE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT: DESIGNS ALSO DIFFER AS TO WHETHER THEY OCCUR UNDER ACTUAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS – FIELD CONDITIONS OR UNDER STAGED OR MANIPULATED CONDITIONS – LABORATORY CONDITIONS. SIMULATIONS: THEY ARE INCREASINGLY USED IN RESEARCH. TO SIMULATE IS TO REPLICATE THE ESSENCE OF A SYSTEM OR A PROCESS.

PARTICIPANT’S PERCEPTIONS: IT INFLUENCES THE OUTCOMES OF RESEARCH DRAMATICALLY AS WE LEARNED FROM HAWTHORNE STUDIES OF LATE 1920s.

THERE ARE THREE LEVELS OF PERCEPTION:

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PARTICIPANTS PERCEIVE NO DEVIATION FROM EVERYDAY ROUTINE PARTICIPANTS PERCEIVE DEVIATIONS, BUT AS UNRELATED TO THE RESEARCHER PARTICIPANTS PERCEIVE DEVIATIONS AS RESEARCHER INDUCED.

EXPLORATORY STUDIES: THROUGH EXPLORATION, RESEARCHERS DEVELOP CONCEPTS MORE CLEARLY, ESTABLISH PRIORITIES, DEVELOP OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS AND IMPROVE THE FINAL RESEARCH DESIGN.

THE AREA OF INVESTIGATIONS MAY BE SO NEW THAT A RESEARCHER NEEDS TO DO AN EXPLORATION JUST TO LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT THE DILEMMA FACING THE MANAGER.

EXPLORATION IS SOMETIMES LINKED TO OLD BIASES ABOUT QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: SUBJECTIVENESS, NON-REPRESENTATIVENESS AND NON-SYSTEMATIC DESIGN. EXPLORATION SAVES TIME AND MONEY AND SHOULD NOT BE SLIGHTED.

QUALITATIVE TECHNIQUES : THE OBJECTIVES OF EXPLORATION MAY BE ACCOMPLISHED BY QUALITATIVE OR QUANTITATIVE TECHNIQUES. EXPLORATION RELIES MORE HEAVILY ON QUALITATIVE TECHNIQUES. QUALITATIVE REFERS TO THE MEANING, DEFINITION OR MODEL CHARACTERIZING SOMETHING. QUANTITATIVE ASSUMES THE MEANING AND REFERS TO A MEASURE OF IT.

THE VARIOUS APPROACHES ADOPTABLE FOR EXPLORATORY INVESTIGATIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWING, PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION, FILMS, PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEOTAPE, PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING, CASE STUDIES, STREET ETHNOGRAPHY, ELITE OR EXPERT INTERVIEWING, DOCUMENT ANALYSIS, PROXEMICS AND KINESICS.

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WHEN THESE APPROACHES ARE COMBINED 4 EXPLORATORY TECHNIQUES EMERGE: SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS EXPERIENCE SURVEYS FOCUS GROUPS TWO-STAGE DESIGN

SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS: THE FIRST STEP IN EXPLORATORY STUDY IS A SEARCH OF SECONDARY LITERATURE. STUDIES MADE BY OTHERS FOR THEIR OWN PURPOSES. THE SECOND SOURCE OF SECONDARY DATA IS PUBLISHED DOCUMENTS PREPARED BY AUTHORS OUTSIDE THE SPONSOR ORGANIZATION.

EXPERIENCE SURVEY: WHEN WE INTERVIEW PERSONS IN AN EXPERIENCE SURVEY, WE SHOULD SEEK THEIR IDEAS ABOUT IMPORTANT ISSUES OF THE SUBJECT AND DISCOVER WHAT IS IMPORTANT ACROSS THE SUBJECT’S RANGE OF KNOWLEDGE

PEOPLE WHO MIGHT PROVIDE INSIGHTFUL INFORMATION INCLUDE - NEWCOMERS TO THE COMPANY, MARGINAL OR PERIPHERAL INDIVIDUALS AND TRANSITION, DEVIANTS & ISOLATES, PURE CASES, THOSE WHO FIT WELL THOSE WHO DO NOT AND THOSE WHO REPRESENT DIFFERENT POSITIONS IN THE SYSTEM.

FOCUS GROUPS: A FOCUS GROUP IS A PANEL OF PEOPLE LED BY A TRAINED MODERATOR WHO MEET FOR 90 MINUTE TO 2 HOURS THE MODERATOR GROUP DYNAMICS TO FOCUS THE GROUP IN AN EXCHANGE OF IDEAS & EXPERIENCES ON A SPECIFIC TOPIC.

FOCUS GROUP PANEL CONSISTS OF 6 TO 10 RESPONDENTS. THE MODERATOR INTRODUCES THE TOPIC & ENCOURAGES

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THE GROUP TO DISCUSS IT AMONG THEMSELVES .

HOMOGENEITY WITH IN THE FOCUS GROUP:

IT IS OFTEN PREFERABLE DEPENDING ON THE TOPIC TO FORM SEPARATE FOCUS GROUPS TO DIFFERENT SUBSETS OF POPULATION. THIS TYPE OF HOMOGENOUS GROUPING TENDS TO PROMOTE MORE INTENSE DISCUSSIONS AND FREE INTERACTIONS.

TELEPHONE FOCUS GROUPS: WITH MODERN TELEPHONE CONFERENCING FACILITIES, TELEPHONE FOCUS GROUPS CAN BE PARTICULARLY EFFECTIVE ON CERTAIN OCCASIONS. THEY ARE LESS EXPENSIVE THAN FACE-TO-FACE FOCUS GROUPS.

ONLINE FOCUS GROUPS: AN EMERGING TECHNIQUE FOR EXPLORATORY RESEARCH IS TO APPROXIMATE GROUP DYNAMICS USING E-MAIL, WEBSITES, USENET NEWSGROUPS OR AN INTERNET CHAT ROOM. EMERGING TECHNOLOGY ALSO MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO DO LIVE VOICE CHATS ONLINE REDUCING OR ELIMINATING THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH TELEPHONE FOCUS GROUPS.

VIDEOCONFERENCING FOCUS GROUPS: THE THIRD TYPE OF NON-FACE-TO-FACE FOCUS GROUP IS CONDUCTED VIA VIDEOCONFERENCING, WHICH ENABLES SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS. BY REDUCING TRAVEL TIME FOR THE FACILITATOR AND THE CLIENT MORE FOCUS GROUPS CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED IN SHORTER TIME.

TWO-STAGE DESIGN : IT COMPRISES OF (1) CLEARLY DESIGNING THE RESEARCH QUESTION (2) DEVELOPING THE RESEARCH DESIGN.

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DESCRIPTIVE STUDIES: IN CONTRAST TO EXPLORATORY STUDIES, MORE FORMALIZED STUDIES ARE TYPICALLY STRUCTURED WITH CLEARLY STATED HYPOTHESIS OR INVESTIGATIVE QUESTIONS. FORMAL STUDIES SERVE A VARIETY OF RESEARCH OBJECTIVES.

DESCRIPTIONS OF PHENOMENA ASSOCIATED WITH A SUBJECT POPULATION (WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE AND HOW). ESTIMATES OF PROPORTIONS OF POPULATION THAT HAVE THESE CHARACTERISTICS. DISCOVERY OF ASSOCIATIONS AMONG DIFFERENT VARIABLES.

THE DESCRIPTIVE STUDY CONCERNS QUESTION OR HYPOTHESIS IN WHICH WE ASK ABOUT OR STATE SOMETHING ABOUT THE SIZE, FORM OR EXISTENCE OF A VARIABLE.

CAUSAL STUDIES: THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF CAUSAL STUDY IS THAT ‘A’ PRODUCES ‘B’ OR ‘A’ FORCES ‘B’ TO OCCUR. THEY ARE PROBABILISTIC STATEMENTS BASED ON WHAT WE OBSERVE AND MEASURE. BUT WE CANNOT AND MEASURE ALL THE PROCESSES THAT MAY ACCOUNT FOR ‘A’ & ‘B’ RELATIONSHIP.

IF WE CONSIDER THE POSSIBLE RELATIONSHIP THAT CAN OCCUR BETWEEN TWO VARIABLES WE CONCLUDE THAT THERE ARE THREE POSSIBILITIES, SYMMETRICAL, RECIPROCAL AND ASYMMETRICAL.

THE POST HOC FALLACY:

WHILE RESEARCHERS USE EX-POST FACTO RESEARCH DESIGNS TO ADDRESS CAUSAL QUESTIONS, A WORD OF WARNING IS IN ORDER. CLUB MEMBERSHIP AMONG PERSONS WITH HIGH ABSENTEE RECORDS IS WEAK EVIDENCE FOR CLAIMING CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP.

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SIMILARLY THE CO-VARIATION FOUND BETWEEN VARIABLES MUST BE INTERPRETED CAREFULLY WHEN THE RELATIONSHIP IS BASED ON EX-POST FACTO ANALYSIS. THE TERM POST HOC FALLACY IS USED TO DESCRIBE THESE FREQUENTLY UNWARRANTED CONCLUSIONS. SAMPLING DESIGN THE BASIC IDEA OF SAMPLING IS THAT BY SELECTING SOME OF THE ELEMENTS IN A POPULATION, WE MAY DRAW CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE ENTIRE POPULATION.

A POPULATION ELEMENT IS THE SUBJECT ON WHICH THE MEASUREMENT IS TAKEN. IT IS THE UNIT OF STUDY.

A POPULATION IS TOTAL COLLECTION OF ELEMENTS ABOUT WHICH WE WISH TO MAKE SOME INFERENCES.

THERE ARE SEVERAL REASONS FOR SAMPLING SUCH AS LOWER COST, GREATER ACCURACY OF RESULTS, GREATER SPEED OF DATA COLLECTION AND AVAILABILITY OF POPULATION ELEMENTS.

WHAT IS A GOOD SAMPLE:

THE ULTIMATE TEST OF A SAMPLE DESIGN IS HOW WELL IT REPRESENTS THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POPULATION IT INTENDS TO REPRESENT. IN MEASUREMENT TERMS, THE SAMPLE MUST BE VALID AND IT DEPENDS ON ACCURACY PRECISION.TYPES OF SAMPLE DESIGN:

THE SAMPLING DECISIONS FLOW FROM TWO DECISIONS MADE IN THE FORMATION OF MANAGEMENT-RESEARCH QUESTION HIERARCHY AND SPECIFIC INVESTIGATIVE QUESTIONS.

A VARIETY OF SAMPLING TECHNIQUES ARE AVAILABLE. WHAT THE RESEARCHER SHOULD SELECT DEPENDS ON THE

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REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROJECT, ITS OBJECTIVES AND THE FUNDS AVAILABLE. IN DECISIONS OF SAMPLE DESIGN THE REPRESENTATION BASIS AND THE ELEMENT SELECTION TECHNIQUES ARE ARRIVED FROM DIFFERENT APPROACHES.

PROBABILITY SAMPLING: THE UNRESTRICTED SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLE (SRS) IS THE SIMPLEST FORM OF PROBABILITY SAMPLING.

THE SRS IS CONSIDERED A SPECIAL CASE IN WHICH EACH POPULATION ELEMENT HAS A KNOWN AND EQUAL CHANCE OF SELECTION. STEPS IN SAMPLING DESIGN: WHAT IS THE RELEVANT POPULATION, WHAT ARE THE PARAMETERS OF INTEREST, WHAT IS THE SAMPLING FRAME, WHAT IS THE TYPE OF SAMPLE, WHAT SIZE OF SAMPLE IS NEEDED, HOW MUCH IT WILL COST.

COMPLEX PROBABILITY SAMPLING: SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING IS OFTEN IMPRACTICAL BECAUSE (1) IT REQUIRES A POPULATION LIST (SAMPLING FRAME) THAT IS OFTEN NOT AVAILABLE. (2) IT FAILS TO USE ALL THE INFORMATION ABOUT A POPULATION AND (3) IT MAY BE EXPENSIVE TO IMPLEMENT IN BOTH TIME AND MONEY.

A MORE EFFICIENT SAMPLE IN A STATISTICAL SENSE IS ONE THAT PROVIDES A GIVEN PRECISION WITH A SMALLER SAMPLE SIZE. FOUR ALTERNATIVE PROBABILITY SAMPLING APPROACHES ARE: SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING STRATIFIED SAMPLING CLUSTER SAMPLING DOUBLE SAMPLING

SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING: IN THIS APPROACH, EVERY kth ELEMENT IN THE POPULATION IS SAMPLED BEGINNING

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WITH A RANDOM START OF AN ELEMENT IN THE RANGE OF 1 to k.

THE kth ELEMENT IS DETERMINED BY DIVIDING THE SAMPLE SIZE INTO THE POPULATION SIZE TO OBTAIN THE SKIP PATTERN APPLIED TO THE SAMPLING FRAME. STRATIFIED SAMPLING: MOST POPULATIONS CAN BE SEGREGATED INTO SEVERAL MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE SUB-POPULATIONS OR STRATA. THE PROCESS BY WHICH THE SAMPLE IS CONSTRAINED TO IMPROVE ELEMENTS FROM EACH OF THE SEGMENTS IS CALLED STRATIFIED RANDOM SAMPLING.

AFTER A POPULATION IS DIVIDED INTO THE APPROPRIATE STRATA, A SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLE CAN BE TAKEN WITHIN EACH STRATUM.

CLUSTER SAMPLING: IN A SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLE, EACH POPULATION ELEMENT IS SELECTED INDIVIDUALLY. THE POPULATION CAN ALSO BE DIVIDED INTO GROUPS OF ELEMENTS WITH SOME GROUPS RANDOMLY SELECTED FOR STUDY.

AREA SAMPLING: MUCH RESEARCH INVOLVES POPULATIONS THAT CAN BE IDENTIFIED WITH SOME GEOGRAPHIC AREA. IT IS POSSIBLE TO USE CLUSTER SAMPLING, THE MOST IMPORTANT FORM OF CLUSTER SAMPLING.DOUBLE SAMPLING: IT MAY BE MORE CONVENIENT OR ECONOMICAL TO COLLECT SOME INFORMATION BY SAMPLE AND USE THIS INFORMATION AS THE BASIS FOR SELECTING A SUB-SAMPLE FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS. THIS PROCEDURE IS CALLED DOUBLE SAMPLING, SEQUENTIAL SAMPLING OR MULTI-PHASE SAMPLING. IT IS FOUND WITH STRATIFIED AND ARE CLUSTER DESIGNS.NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLING: IN NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLING, THE PROBABILITY OF SELECTING POPULATION ELEMENTS IS UNKNOWN.

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THERE ARE A VARIETY OF WAYS TO CHOOSE PERSONS OR CASES TO INCLUDE IN THE SAMPLE. WE CANNOT ESTIMATE ANY RANGE WITHIN WHICH TO EXPECT THE POPULATION PARAMETER.

WE MAY USE NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLING BECAUSE THEY SATISFACTORILY MEET SAMPLING OBJECTIVES. WHILE A RANDOM SAMPLE WILL GIVE US A TRUE CROSS-SECTION OF THE POPULATION, THIS MAY NOT BE THE OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH. OTHER REASON TO CHOOSE NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLING IS COST AND TIME. NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLES THAT ARE UNRESTRICTED ARE CALLED CONVENIENCE SAMPLES. THEY ARE THE LEAST RELIABLE DESIGN. RESEARCHERS HAVE THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE WHOMEVER THEY FIND.PURPOSIVE SAMPLING: A NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLE THAT CONFORMS CERTAIN CRITERIA IS CALLED PURPOSIVE SAMPLES. THERE ARE TWO MAJOR TYPES: JUDGMENT SAMPLING AND QUOTA SAMPLING.

JUDGMENT SAMPLING: IT OCCURS WHEN A RESEARCHER SELECTS SAMPLE MEMBERS TO CONFORM TO SOME CRITERION. WHEN USED IN THE EARLY STAGES OF AN EXPLORATORY STUDY, JUDGMENT SAMPLE IS APPROPRIATE.

QUOTA SAMPLING: THE LOGIC BEHIND QUOTA SAMPLING IS THAT, CERTAIN RELEVANT CHARACTERISTICS DESCRIBE THE DIMENSIONS OF THE POPULATION. IN MOST QUOTA SAMPLES RESEARCHERS SPECIFY MORE THAN ONE CONTROL DIMENSION. EACH SHOULD MEET TWO TESTS. (1) IT SHOULD HAVE A DISTRIBUTION IN THE POPULATION THAT WE CAN ESTIMATE AND (2) BE PERTINENT TO THE TOPIC STUDIED.SNOWBALL SAMPLING: INDIVIDUALS ARE DISCOVERED AND MAY OR MAY NOT BE SELECTED THROUGH PROBABILITY METHODS. THIS GROUP IS THEN USED TO LOCATE OTHERS WHO POSSESS

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SIMILAR CHARACTERISTICS AND WHO IN TURN IDENTIFY OTHERS.MEASUREMENT MEASUREMENT IN RESEARCH CONSISTS OF ASSIGNING NUMBERS TO EMPIRICAL EVENTS IN COMPLIANCE WITH A SET OF RULES. MEASUREMENT IS A 3 PART PROCESS: SELECTING OBSERVABLE EMPIRICAL EVENTS DEVELOPING A SET OF MAPPING RULES – A SCHEME FOR ASSIGNING NUMBERS OR SYMBOLS TO REPRESENT ASPECTS OF THE EVENT BEING MEASURED APPLYING THE MAPPING RULE TO EACH OBSERVATION OF THAT EVENT

ALL RESEARCHERS WOULD CALL THE OPINION RATING SCALE A FORM OF MEASUREMENT. NUMBERS AS SYMBOLS WITHIN A MAPPING RULE CAN REFLECT BOTH QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE CONCEPTS.

WHAT IS MEASURED? VARIABLES BEING STUDIED IN RESEARCH MAY BE CLASSIFIED AS OBJECTS OR AS PROPERTIES. OBJECTS INCLUDE THINGS SUCH AS TABLES, PEOPLE, BOOKS, AUTOMOBILES, ETC. PROPERTIES ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OBJECTS. A PERSON’S PHYSICAL PROPERTIES MAY BE STATED IN TERMS OF WEIGHT, HEIGHT AND POSTURE. PSYCHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES INCLUDE ATTITUDES AND INTELLIGENCE. SOCIAL PROPERTIES INCLUDE LEADERSHIP ABILITY, CLASS AFFILIATION OR STATUS.

IT IS NOT EASY TO MEASURE PROPERTIES LIKE ABILITY TO STAND STRESS, MOTIVATION TO SUCCEED, PROBLEM SOLVING ABILITY AND PERSUASIVENESS.

DATA TYPES IN MEASURING, ONE DEVICES SOME MAPPING RULE AND THEN TRANSLATES THE OBSERVATION OF PROPERTY INDICANTS USING THIS RULE. FOR EACH CONCEPT OR

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CONSTRUCT, SEVERAL TYPES OF DATA ARE POSSIBLE, THE APPROPRIATE CHOICE DEPENDS ON WHAT RESEARCHER ASSUMES ABOUT MAPPING RULES.

MAPPING RULES HAVE FOUR CHARACTERISTICS

CLASSIFICATION : NUMBERS ARE USED TO GROUP RESPONSES NO ORDER EXISTS ORDER NUMBERS ARE ORDERED. ONE NUMBER IS GREATER THAN, LESS THAN ARE EQUAL TO ANOTHER NUMBER DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NUMBERS ARE ORDERED. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANY PAIR OF NUMBERS IS GREATER THAN, OR LESS THAN, ARE EQUAL TO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANY OTHER PAIR OF NUMBERS ORIGIN THE NUMBER SERIES HAS A UNIQUE ORIGIN INDICATED BY THE NUMBER ZERO.

COMBINATION OF THESE CHARACTERISTICS PROVIDE FOUR WIDELY USED MEASUREMENT SCALES 1. NOMINAL 2. ORDINAL 3. INTERVAL 4. RATIO

NOMINAL DATA: IN BUSINESS AND SOCIAL RESEARCH NOMINAL DATA ARE WIDELY COLLECTED THAN ANY OTHER DATA.

WITH NOMINAL DATA THE RESEARCHER COLLECTS INFORMATION ON A VARIABLE THAT NATURALLY CAN BE GROUPED INTO TWO OR MORE CATEGORIES THAT ARE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE AND COLLECTIVELY EXHAUSTIVE. NOMINAL SCALES ARE THE LEAST POWERFUL OF THE FOUR DATA TYPES THEY SUGGEST NO ORDER OR DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP AND HAVE NO ARITHMETIC ORIGIN.

ORDINAL DATA: IT INCLUDES THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NOMINAL SCALE PLUS AN INDICATOR OF ORDER.

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ORDINAL ARE POSSIBLE IF THE TRANSITIVITY POSTULATE IS FULFILLED. THE USE OF AN ORDINAL SCALE IMPLIES A STATEMENT OF GREATER THAN OR LESS THAN WITHOUT STATING HOW MUCH GREATER OR LESS. OTHER DESCRIPTORS MAY ALSO BE USED SUCH AS SUPERIOR TO, HAPPIER THAN, POORER THAN OR ABOVE. ANOTHER EXTENSION OF ORDINAL CONCEPT OCCURS WHEN MORE THAN ONE PROPERTY IS OF INTEREST.

INTERVAL DATA: THEY HAVE THE POWER OF NOMINAL AND ORDINAL DATA PLUS ONE ADDITIONAL STRENGTH. THEY INCORPORATE THE CONCEPT OF EQUALITY OF INTERVAL . CALENDAR TIME IS SUCH A SCALE. WHEN A SCALE IS INTERVAL, WE USE ARITHMETIC MEAN AS A MEASURE OF CENTRAL TENDENCY.

RATIO DATA : IT INCORPORATES ALL THE POWERS OF THE PREVIOUS DATA TYPES PLUS THE PROVISION FOR ABSOLUTE OR ORIGIN . RATION DATA REPRESENT THE ACTUAL AMOUNTS OF A VARIABLE MEASURES OF PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS SUCH AS HEIGHT, WEIGHT, DISTANCE AND AREA ARE EXAMPLES.

SOURCES OF MEASUREMENT DIFFERENCES: THE IDEAL STUDY SHOULD BE DESIGNED AND CONTROLLED FOR PRECISE AND UNAMBIGUOUS MEASUREMENT OF VARIABLES.

SINCE100 PERCENT CONTROL IS UNATTAINABLE ERRORS OCCUR. MUCH POTENTIAL ERROR IS SYSTEMATIC (RESULTS FROM A BIAS) WHILE THE REMINDER IS RANDOM (OCCURS ERRATICALLY).

ANY VARIATION OF SCORES AMONG THE RESPONDENT WOULD REFLECT TRUE DIFFERENCES IN THEIR OPINION ABOUT THE COMPANY. FOUR MAJOR ERROR SOURCES MAY CONTAMINATE THE RESULTS. 1. THE RESPONDENT 2. THE

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SITUATION 3. THE MEASURER 4. THE DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT.

ERROR SOURCES – THE RESPONDENT: OPINION DIFFERENCES THAT AFFECT MEASUREMENT COME FROM RELATIVELY STABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESPONDENT. THE SKILLED RESEARCHER WILL ANTICIPATE MANY OF THESE DIMENSIONS, ADJUSTING THE DESIGN TO ELIMINATE OR DEAL WITH THEM.

SITUATIONAL FACTORS: ANY CONDITION THAT PLACES A STRAIN ON INTERVIEW OR MEASUREMENT SESSION CAN HAVE SERIOUS EFFECTS ON INTERVIEWER-RESPONDENT RAPPORT.

THE MEASURER: THE INTERVIEWER CAN DISTORT RESPONSES BY REWORDING, PARAPHRASING OR REORDERING QUESTIONS. STEREOTYPES IN APPEARANCE AND ACTION INTRODUCE BIAS.

INFLECTIONS OF VOICE AND CONSCIOUS OR UNCONSCIOUS PROMPTING WITH SMILES, NODS AND SO FORTH MAY ENCOURAGE OR DISCOURAGE CERTAIN REPLIES.

IN DATA ANALYSIS STAGE, INCORRECT CODING, CARELESS TABULATION AND FAULTY STATISTICAL CALCULATION MAY INTRODUCE FURTHER ERRORS.

THE INSTRUMENT : A DEFECTIVE INSTRUMENT CAN CAUSE DISTORTION IN TWO MAJOR WAYS. FIRST IT CAN BE TOO CONFUSING AND AMBIGUOUS. THE USE OF COMPLEX WORDS AND SYNTAX BEYOND RESPONDENT COMPREHENSION IS TYPICAL.

LEADING QUESTIONS, AMBIGUOUS MEANINGS, MECHANICAL DEFECTS (INADEQUATE SPACE FOR REPLIES,

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RESPONSE CHOICE OMISSIONS AND POOR PRINTING) AND MULTIPLE QUESTIONS SUGGEST THE RANGE OF PROBLEMS.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND MEASUREMENT THERE ARE THREE MAJOR CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING A MEASUREMENT TOOL: VALIDITY, RELIABILITY AND PRACTICALITY.

VALIDITY : REFERS TO THE EXTENT TO WHICH A TEST MEASURES WHAT WE ACTUALLY WISH TO MEASURE.  RELIABILITY : IT IS CONCERNED WITH THE ACCURACY AND PRECISION OF A MEASUREMENT PROCEDURE. PRACTICALITY : IT IS CONCERNED WITH A WIDE RANGE OF FACTORS OF ECONOMY, CONVENIENCE AND INTERPRETABILITY.

VALIDITY : IN THIS CONTEXT IS THE EXTENT TO WHICH DIFFERENCES FOUND WITH A MEASURING TOOL REFLECT TRUE DIFFERENCES AMONG RESPONDENTS BEING TESTED. ONE WIDELY ACCEPTED CLASSIFICATION CONSISTS OF THREE MAJOR FORMS OF VALIDITY 1. CONTENT VALIDITY 2. CRITERION RELATED VALIDITY AND 3. CONSTRUCT VALIDITY

CONTENT VALIDITY: it is the extent to which it provides adequate coverage of the investigative questions guiding the study. To evaluate the content validity of an instrument, one must first agree on what elements constitute an adequate coverage.

CRITERION -RELATED VALIDITY: IT REFLECTS THE SUCCESS OF MEASURES USED FOR PREDICTION OR ESTIMATION. THESE ARE PREDICTIVE AND CONCURRENT VALIDITY. THEY DIFFER ONLY IN TIME PERSPECTIVE. THE RESEARCHER MUST ENSURE THAT THE VALIDITY CRITERION USED IS ITSELF VALID. ANY CRITERION MEASURE MUST BE

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JUDGED IN TERMS OF FOUR QUALITIES: Relevance, Freedom from Bias, Reliability & Availability.

CONSTRUCT VALIDITY: ONE MAY ALSO WISH TO MEASURE OR INFER THE PRESENCE OF ABSTRACT CHARACTERISTICS FOR WHICH NO EMPIRICAL VALIDATION SEEMS POSSIBLE. FOR EVALUATING CONSTRUCT VALIDITY, WE CONSIDER BOTH THE THEORY AND THE MEASURING INSTRUMENT BEING USED.

RELIABILITY : IN MOST CONTEXTS, THE NOTION OF CONSISTENCY EMERGES. A MEASURE IS RELIABLE TO THE DEGREE THAT IT SUPPLIES CONSISTENT RESULTS. RELIABILITY IS A NECESSARY CONTRIBUTOR TO VALIDITY.

RELIABILITY IS CONCERNED WITH ESTIMATES OF THE DEGREE TO WHICH A MEASUREMENT IS FREE FROM RANDOM OR UNSTABLE ERROR. RELIABLE INSTRUMENTS CAN BE USED WITH CONFIDENCE THAT TRANSIENT AND SITUATIONAL FACTORS ARE NOT AFFECTING OR INTERFERING.

STABILITY : A MEASURE IS SAID TO POSSESS STABILITY IF YOU CAN SECURE CONSISTENT RESULTS WITH REPEATED MEASUREMENTS OF THE SAME PERSON WITH THE SAME INSTRUMENT.

AN OBSERVABLE PROCEDURE IS STABLE IF IT GIVES THE SAME READING ON A PARTICULAR PERSON WHEN REPEATED ONE OR MORE TIMES. SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES THAT CAN OCCUR IN THE TEST – RETEST METHODOLOGY AND CAUSE A DOWNWARD BIAS IN STABILITY INCLUDE:

Time delays between measurements Insufficient time between measurements Respondents discernment of a disguised purpose Topic Sensitivity

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Introduction of extraneous moderating variables between measurements

EQUIVALENCE : WHILE STABILITY IS CONCERNED WITH PERSONAL AND SITUATIONAL FLUCTUATIONS FROM ONE TIME TO ANOTHER, EQUIVALENCE IS CONCERNED WITH VARIATIONS AT ONE POINT IN TIME AMONG OBSERVERS AND SAMPLES OF ITEMS.

A GOOD WAY TO TEST FOR EQUIVALENCE OF MEASUREMENTS BY DIFFERENT OBSERVERS IS TO COMPARE THEIR SCORING OF THE SAME EVENT.

INTERNAL CONSISTENCY: A THIRD APPROACH TO RELIABILITY USES ONLY ONE ADMINISTRATION OF AN INSTRUMENT OR TEST TO ASSESS THE INTERNAL CONSISTENCY OR HOMOGENEITY AMONG ITEMS. THE SPLIT-HALF TECHNIQUE CAN BE USED WHEN THE MEASURING TOOL HAS MANY SIMILAR QUESTIONS OR STATEMENTS TO WHICH THE SUBJECT CAN RESPOND.

THE INSTRUMENT IS ADMINISTERED AND THE RESULTS ARE SEPARATED BY ITEM INTO EVEN AND ODD NUMBERS OR INTO RANDOMLY SELECTED HALVES. WHEN THE TWO HALVES ARE CORRELATED, IF THE RESULTS OF THE CORRELATION ARE HIGH, THE INSTRUMENT IS SAID TO HAVE HIGH RELIABILITY IN AN INTERNAL CONSISTENCY SENSE. IMPROVING RELIABILITY: THE RESEARCHER CAN IMPROVE RELIABILITY BY CHOOSING AMONG THE FOLLOWING:

MINIMIZING THE EXTERNAL SOURCES OF VARIATION

STANDARDIZING CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH MEASUREMENTS OCCURS

IMPROVE INVESTIGATORS CONSISTENCY BY USING ONLY WELL TRAINED, SUPERVISED, AND

MOTIVATED PERSONS TO CONDUCT THE RESEARCH

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BROADEN THE SAMPLE OF MEASUREMENT QUESTIONS USED BY ADDING SIMILAR QUESTIONS TO

THE DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT OR ADDING MORE OBSERVERS OR OCCASIONS TO AN OBSERVABLE STUDY.

IMPROVE INTERNAL CONSISTENCY OF AN INSTRUMENT BY EXCLUDING DATA FROM ANALYSIS DRAWN FROM MEASUREMENT QUESTIONS ELICITING EXTREME RESPONSES. THIS APPROACH REQUIRES THE ASSUMPTION THAT A HIGH SCORE REFLECTS HIGH PERFORMANCE AND A LOW SCORE, LOW PERFORMANCE.

PRACTICALITY : THE SCIENTIFIC REQUIREMENTS OF A PROJECT CALL FOR THE MEASUREMENT PROCESS TO BE RELIABLE AND VALID, WHILE THE OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS CALL FOR IT TO BE PRACTICAL. PRACTICALITY IS DEFINED AS ECONOMY, AND INTERPRETABILITY.

ECONOMY : THE CHOICE OF DATA COLLECTION METHOD IS OFTEN DICTATED BY ECONOMIC FACTORS. THE RISING COST OF PERSONAL INTERVIEWING FIRST LED TO AN INCREASED USE OF LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE SURVEYS AND SUBSEQUENTLY TO THE CURRENT RISE IN ONLINE SURVEYS.

CONVENIENCE : A MEASURING DEVICE PASSES THE CONVENIENCE TEST IF IT IS EASY TO ADMINISTER. A QUESTIONNAIRE WITH A SET OF DETAILED BUT CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS, WITH EXAMPLES IS EASIER TO COMPLETE CORRECTLY THAN ONE THAT LACKS THESE FEATURES. WE CAN ALSO MAKE THE INSTRUMENT EASIER TO ADMINISTER BY GIVING CLOSE ATTENTION TO ITS DESIGN AND LAYOUT.

INTERPRETABILITY : THE ASPECT OF PRACTICALITY IS RELEVANT WHEN PERSONS OTHER THAN THE TEST DESIGNERS MUST INTERPRET THE RESULTS. IT IS USUALLY

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BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY AN ISSUE WITH STANDARDIZED TESTS. IN SUCH CASES, THE DESIGNER OF THE DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT PROVIDES SEVERAL KEY PIECES OF INFORMATION TO MAKE INTERPRETATION POSSIBLE.

CONCLUSION : A MEASURE IS RELIABLE IF IT PROVIDES CONSISTENT RESULTS. RELIABILITY IS PARTIAL CONTRIBUTOR TO VALIDITY, BUT A MEASUREMENT TOOL MAY BE RELIABLE WITHOUT BEING VALID.

THREE FORMS OF RELIABILITY ARE STABILITY, EQUIVALENCE, AND INTERNAL CONSISTENCY.

A MEASURE HAS PRACTICAL VALUE FOR THE RESEARCH IF IT IS ECONOMICAL, CONVENIENT AND INTERPRETABLE.MEASUREMENT SCALES SCALING: IT IS DEFINED AS A PROCEDURE FOR THE ASSIGNMENT OF NUMBERS (OR OTHER SYMBOLS) TO A PROPERTY OF OBJECTS IN ORDER TO IMPART SOME OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF NUMBERS TO THE PROPERTIES IN QUESTION.

WHAT IS SCALED? : PROCEDURALLY, WE ASSIGN NUMBERS TO INDICANTS OF THE PROPERTIES OF OBJECTS. THUS ONE ASSIGNS A NUMBER SCALE TO THE VARIOUS LEVELS OF HEAT AND COLD AND CALLS IT A THERMOMETER.

SCALE SELECTION: SELECTION AND CONSTRUCTION OF A MEASUREMENT SCALE REQUIRES DECISION IN SIX KEY AREAS.

STUDY OBJECTIVES, RESPONSE FORM, DEGREE OF PREFERENCE, DATA PROPERTIES, NUMBER OF DIMENSIONS, SCALE CONSTRUCTION

STUDY OBJECTIVES: RESEARCHERS FACE TWO GENERAL STUDY OBJECTIVES

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TO MEASURE CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESPONDENTS WHO COMPLETE THE STUDY TO USE RESPONDENTS AS JUDGES OF THE OBJECTS OR INDICANTS PRESENTED TO THEM

RESPONSE FORM: MEASUREMENT SCALES ARE OF THREE TYPES – RATING, RANKING AND CATEGORIZATION

A RATING SCALE IS USED WHEN RESPONDENTS SCORE AN OBJECT OR INDICANT WITHOUT MAKING A DIRECT COMPARISON TO ANOTHER OBJECT OR ATTITUDE.

RANKING SCALES CONSTRAIN THE STUDY PARTICIPANT TO MAKE COMPARISON AMONG TWO OR MORE INDICANTS OR OBJECTS.

CATEGORIZATION ASKS RESPONDENTS TO PUT THEMSELVES OR PROPERTY INDICANTS IN GROUPS OR CATEGORIES. DEGREE OF PREFERENCE: MEASUREMENT SCALES MAY INVOLVE PREFERENCE MEASUREMENT OR NON PREFERENCE EVALUATION. In the former, each respondent is asked to choose the object he or she favors or the solution he or she would prefer.

IN THE LATTER, RESPONDENTS ARE ASKED TO JUDGE WHICH OBJECT HAS MORE OF SOME CHARACTERISTIC OR WHICH SOLUTION TAKES THE MOST RESOURCES, WITHOUT REFLECTING ANY PERSONAL PREFERENCE TOWARDS OBJECTS OR SOLUTIONS. DATA PROPERTIES: Measurement scales also may be viewed in terms of the data properties generated by each scale. The assumption underlying each data type determine how a particular measurement scale’s data can be handled statistically.

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NUMBER OF DIMENSIONS: MEASUREMENT SCALES ARE EITHER UNI-DIMENSIONAL OR MULTI-DIMENSIONAL. WITH A UNIDIMENSIONAL SCALE, ONE SEEKS TO MEASURE ONLY ONE ATTRIBUTE OF THE RESPONDENT OBJECT. ONE MEASURE OF EMPLOYEE POTENTIAL IS PROMOTABILITY. IT IS A SINGLE DIMENSION. SEVERAL ITEMS MAY BE USED TO MEASURE THIS DIMENSION AND BY COMBINING THEM INTO A SINGLE MEASURE, A MANAGER MAY PLACE EMPLOYEES ALONG A LINEAR CONTINUUM OF PROMOTABILITY.

MULTIDIMENSIONAL SCALING: IT RECOGNIZES THAT AN OBJECT MIGHT BE BETTER DESCRIBED IN AN ATTRIBUTE SPACE OF N DIMENSIONS RATHER THAN ON A UNIDIMENSIONAL CONTINUUM.

SCALE CONSTRUCTION: WE CAN CLASSIFY MEASUREMENT SCALES BY THE METHODS USED TO BUILD THEM. FIVE CONSTRUCTION APPROACHES ARE USED IN RESEARCH PRACTICE.

ARBITRARY : A SCALE IS CUSTOM DESIGNED TO MEASURE A PROPERTY OR INDICANT

RATING SCALES: ONE USES RATING SCALES TO JUDGE PROPERTIES OF OBJECTS WITHOUT REFERENCE TO OTHER SIMILAR OBJECTS. THESE RATINGS MAY BE IN SUCH FORMS AS LIKE – DISLIKE, APPROVE – INDIFFERENT – DISAPPROVE OR OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS USING EVEN MORE CATEGORIES.

ALTERNATE SCALES: THE SIMPLE CATEGORY SCALE ALSO CALLED A DICHOTOMOUS SCALE OFFERS TWO MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE RESPONSE CHOICES.

MULTIPLE CHOICE, SINGLE – RESPONSE SCALE: WHEN THERE ARE MULTIPLE OPTIONS FOR THE RESEARCHER BUT

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ONLY ONE ANSWER IS SOUGHT, THIS TYPE OF SCALE IS USED. MULTIPLE CHOICE, MULTIPLE-RESPONSE SCALE (CHECK LIST): IT ALLOWS THE RESEARCHER TO SELECT ONE OR SEVERAL ALTERNATIVES. THE CUMULATIVE FEATURE OF THE SCALE CAN BE BENEFICIAL WHEN A COMPLETE PICTURE OF THE RESPONDENT CHOICES IS DESIRED.

RANKING SCALES: IN RANKING SCALE, THE SUBJECT DIRECTLY COMPARES TWO OR MORE OBJECTS AND MAKES CHOICES AMONG THEM. THE RESPONDENT IS ASKED TO SELECT ONE AS THE BEST OR THE MOST PREFERRED. WHEN THERE ARE ONLY TWO CHOICES, THIS APPROACH IS SATISFACTORY, BUT IT OFTEN RESULTS IN TIES WHEN MORE THAN TWO CHOICES ARE FOUND.

PAIRED COMPARISON SCALE: THE RESPONDENT CAN EXPRESS ATTITUDES UNAMBIGUOUSLY BY CHOOSING BETWEEN TWO OBJECTS. TYPICAL PAIRED COMPARISONS WOULD BE THE SPORTS CAR PREFERENCE IN EXHIBIT 9-2, PAGE 258.

FORCED RANKING SCALE: IT LISTS ATTRIBUTES THAT ARE RANKED RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER. THE METHOD IS FASTER THAN PAIRED COMPARISONS AND IS USUALLY EASIER AND MORE MOTIVATING TO THE RESPONDENTS.

COMPARATIVE SCALE: IT IS IDEAL FOR SUCH COMPARISONS IF THE RESPONDENTS ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE STANDARD.

NONE OF THE RANKING METHODS COVERED IS PARTICULARLY USEFUL WHEN THERE ARE MANY ITEMS. THE METHOD OF SUCCESSIVE INTERVALS IS USED TO SORT THE ITEMS INTO GROUPS REPRESENTING A SUCCESSION OF VALUES.MEASUREMENT SCALE CONSTRUCTION:

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ARBITRARY SCALING: THEY ARE DESIGNED BY COLLECTING SEVERAL ITEMS THAT WE BELIEVE ARE UNAMBIGUOUS AND APPROPRIATE FOR A GIVEN TOPIC. SOME ARE CHOSEN FOR INCLUSION IN THE INSTRUMENT.

CONSENSUS SCALING: IT REQUIRES ITEMS TO BE SELECTED BY A PANEL OF JUDGES AND THEN EVALUATED ON RELEVANCE TO THE TOPIC AREA, POTENTIAL FOR AMBIGUITY AND THE LEVEL OF ATTITUDE THEY REPRESENT.

A WIDELY KNOWN FORM OF THIS APPROACH IS THE THRUSTSTONE EQUAL APPEARING SCALE. THIS APPROACH RESULTED IN AN INTERVAL RATING SCALE FOR ATTITUDE MEASUREMENT. ITEM ANALYSIS SCALING: IT IS A PROCEDURE FOR EVALUATING AN ITEM BASED ON HOW WELL IT DISCRIMINATES BETWEEN THOSE PERSONS WHOSE TOTAL SCORE IS HIGH AND THOSE WHOSE TOTAL SCORE IS LOW. THE MOST POPULAR SCALE USING THIS APPROACH IS THE SUMMATED OR THE LIKERT SCALE.

CUMULATIVE SCALES: TOTAL SCORES ON CUMULATIVE SCALES HAVE THE SAME MEANING. GIVEN A PERSON’S TOTAL SCORE, IT IS POSSIBLE TO ESTIMATE WHICH ITEMS WHERE ANSWERED POSITIVELY AND NEGATIVELY. A SCALE OF THIS TYPE IS KNOWN AS SCALOGRAM.

FACTOR SCALING: IT INCLUDES A VARIETY OF TECHNIQUES THAT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO ADDRESS TWO PROBLEMS. ONE, HOW TO DEAL WITH THE UNIVERSE OF CONTENTS THAT IS MULTI-DIMENSIONAL AND TWO, HOW MUCH TO UNCOVER UNDERLYING DIMENSIONS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED BY EXPLORATORY RESEARCH.TYPES OF SCALES THERE ARE FOUR WIDELY ACCEPTED LEVELS OF MEASUREMENTS CALLED MEASUREMENT SCALES. THESE ARE:

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NOMINAL SCALE, ORDINAL SCALE, INTERVAL SCALE & RATIO SCALE.

NOMINAL SCALE: IT IS THE LEAST POWERFUL LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT AND IS APPLIED TO QUALITATIVE DATA WHERE THE OBJECTS OR ITEMS ARE CLASSIFIED INTO VARIOUS DISCRETE AND DISTINCTIVE GROUPS WITHOUT ANY RANKING OR ORDER ASSOCIATED WITH THEM.

ORDINAL SCALE: ALSO KNOWN AS RANKING SCALE. THESE SCALES POSSESS THE ATTRIBUTE OF MAGNITUDE ONLY. THIS MEANS THAT VARIOUS CATEGORIES OF ITEMS CAN BE COMPARED WITH EACH OTHER ONLY IN ORDER OF RANK ASSIGNED TO THESE CATEGORIES. HOWEVER, ONLY THESE RANKS INDICATED AS TO WHICH CATEGORY IS GREATER OR BETTER, BUT DOES NOT INDICATE THE MAGNITUDE OF THE DIFFERENCE AMONG THEM.

INTERVAL SCALE: IT IS STRONGER THAN THE ORDINAL SCALE BECAUSE IT POSSESSES NOT ONLY THE MAGNITUDE ATTRIBUTE BUT ALSO THE EQUAL INTERVAL ATTRIBUTE AS IT MEASURE THE VALUES OF QUANTITATIVE RANDOM VARIABLES AND IDENTIFIES AS TO WHICH CATEGORY IS GREATER OR BETTER BUT ALSO BY HOW MUCH.

RATIO SCALE: THE RATIO SCALE IS ALSO USED FOR MEASUREMENT OF QUANTITATIVE RANDOM VARIABLES BUT IT DIFFERS FROM INTERVAL SCALE IN THAT, IT HAS A TRUE ZERO POINT MEANING THAT THE VALUES OF SUCH VARIABLES CAN BE ZERO ALSO.

COMMONLY USED ATTITUDE MEASUREMENT SCALES: ATTITUDE SCALES MEASURE ONE OR MORE ASPECTS OF AN INDIVIDUAL’S OR GROUP’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS SOME

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OBJECT. INDIVIDUAL RESPONSES TO THE VARIOUS SCALES MAY BE AGGREGATED OR SUMMED TO PROVIDE A SINGLE ATTITUDE FOR THE INDIVIDUAL. COMMONLY USED ATTITUDE SCALES ARE OF THREE TYPES:

Likert’s summated rating scale Thrustone’s equal appearing Interval Scale Guttman’s Cumulative Scales

LIKERT’S SUMMATED SCALE: A SUMMATED RATING SCALE IS A SET OF ATTITUDE STATEMENT OF WHICH ALL ARE CONSIDERED OR APPROXIMATED AS HAVING EQUAL ATTITUDE VALUE AND TO EACH OF WHICH SUBJECT’S RESPOND WITH A DEGREE OF AGREEMENT OR DISAGREEMENT CARRYING DIFFERENT SCORES. THEE SCORES ARE SUMMED AND AVERAGED TO YIELD AN INDIVIDUAL’S ATTITUDE SCORE.

LIKERT’S ITEM ANALYSIS: IN THIS PROCEDURE, RESPONDENTS ARE ASKED TO RESPOND TO A CERTAIN NUMBER OF STATEMENTS (WHICH IS USUALLY RESTRICTED TO 15). REPLY TO EACH STATEMENT IS GIVEN IN TERMS OF FIVE DEGREES OF AGREEMENT OR DISAGREEMENT VIZ., STRONGLY AGREE, AGREE, UNDECIDED, DISAGREE, STRONGLY DISAGREE.

EACH STATEMENT THUS BECOMES A SCALE IN ITSELF HAVING FIVE POINTS ON IT. AT ONE END OF THIS SCALE IS STRONG APPROVAL AND THE OTHER END IS STRONG DISAPPROVAL, BETWEEN THEM ARE MANY INTERMEDIATE POINTS.

THE RESPONDENT INDICATES WITH REFERENCE TO EACH STATEMENT, WHERE HE STANDS ON HIS SCALE. THE TOTAL OF HIS SCORE ON ALL STATEMENTS IS TAKEN AS THE MEASUREMENT OF HIS ATTITUDE.THURSTONE’S EQUAL APPEARING INTERVALS SCALE:

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THIS SCALE ATTEMPTS TO REPRESENT THE ATTITUDE OF A GROUP ON A SPECIFIED ISSUE IN THE FORM OF FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION.

THE VARIOUS OPINIONS OR ITEMS ON A SCALE ARE ALLOCATED TO DIFFERENT POSITIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ATTITUDES THEY EXPRESS.GUTTMAN’S CUMULATIVE SCALE: THIS SCALE IS MADE OF A RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER OF STATEMENTS WHICH HAVE BEEN TESTED FOR THEIR UNI-DIEMENSIONALITY.

THIS SCALE IS ALSO KNOWN AS SCALOGRAM ANALYSIS OR LOUIS AND GUTTMAN ANALYSIS. A UNI-DIMENSIONAL SCALE MEASURES ONLY ONE VARIABLE.

THE SCALE IS KNOWN AS CUMULATIVE AS RESPONDENTS AGREEING WITH THE MOST FAVOURABLE STATEMENTS ARE THEORETICALLY PRESENTED TO AGREE WITH ALL OTHER STATEMENTS EXPRESSING LESSER DEGREE OF FAVOURABILITY. USE OF THIS SCALE IS AVOIDED FOR ITS COMPLEXITY.

THE SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL: CHARLES OSGOOD HAS DEVELOPED A SCALING PROCEDURE KNOWN AS THE SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL (SD) BASED ON FACTOR ANALYSIS.

E- AN EVALUATION FACTOR REPRESENTED BY SCALES LIKE GOOD – BAD, KIND – CRUEL, HONEST – DISHONEST.

P- A POTENCY FACTOR REPRESENTED BY SCALES LIKE STRONG – WEAK, HARD – SOFT, HEAVY – LIGHT.

A- AN ACTIVITY FACTOR REPRESENTED BY SCALES LIKE ACTIVE – PASSIVE, FAST – SLOW, HOT – COLD.

FACTORS WHICH MUST BE CONSIDERED FOR DEVELOPING A SUITABLE SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL SCALE:

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WHETHER THE CUES SHOULD BE BALANCED OR UNBALANCEDA SCALE IS BALANCED IF BOTH THE SIDE OF THE INDIFFERENT CUE, HAVE EQUAL NUMBER OF CUES.STRONGLY AGREE, AGREE, NEUTRAL, DISAGREE, STRONGLY DISAGREE.WHICH TYPE OF CUE SHOULD BE USED: NUMERIC, GRAPHIC, VERBAL OR SOME COMBINATION OF THESE. IN ORIGINAL FORM, IT IS GRAPHIC EFFICIENT