INTRODUCTION

TO
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Dr. Soumendra Kumar Patra
Department of Business Administration
Ravenshaw University, Odisha
[email protected]
93376611420
 What is research?
(re + search)
❖Research is an unbiased, structured, and
sequential method of enquiry in a systematic
way.
❖Directed towards a clear implicit or explicit
research objective.
❖This enquiry might lead to validating
existing hypothesis or arriving at new
theories and models.
HOW TO READ RESEARCH

1. Locate and read a few articles from within a field you

are comfortable with.
2. Read studies that are of interest to you.
3. Read the abstract first.
4. Identify the research question and objectives.
5. Why did the researcher(s) choose a particular setting
or sample?
6. What were the methods chosen to collect data?
7. What were the most important findings?
8. Do not be over-concerned with statistical analysis.
9. Be critical but objective.
WHAT IS RESEARCH - SUMMARY

1. There are a number of definitions of research. Defining

research is less important than understanding its nature.

2. Research is important for the advancement of any

academic field or discipline.

3. Research can be classified as exploratory, descriptive,

explanatory or predictive depending upon its purpose. It
can also be classified as either theoretical or applied
depending upon the level of application of the findings to
‘real life’ situations.
SUMMARY

4. Research may involve the collection of new data

(primary research) or the use of existing data (secondary
research).

5. The best way to begin to develop your understanding of

research, its role, and the types of research is to
undertake some reading. Choose some appropriate
articles, and begin to read!
 Qualitative & Quantitative Research
1. Qualitative Research:
1. Data Type: Qualitative research deals with non-numerical data, such as language, text, images, and
sounds.
2. Purpose: It aims to understand concepts, thoughts, or experiences from a subjective perspective.
3. Methods:
• Interviews: Open-ended questions are used to gather in-depth insights.
• Observations: Researchers describe phenomena in words.
• Literature Reviews: Exploration of concepts and theories.
4. Focus: Rich and detailed descriptions of the phenomenon being studied.
5. Biases: May be affected by biases like the Hawthorne effect, observer bias, recall bias, and social
desirability bias.
2. Quantitative Research:
1. Data Type: Quantitative research deals with numerical data expressed in numbers and graphs.
2. Purpose: Used to test or confirm theories, establish generalizable facts, and predict outcomes.
3. Methods:
• Surveys: Closed or multiple-choice questions distributed to a sample.
• Experiments: Controlled manipulation of variables to establish cause-and-effect relationships.
• Observations: Recording observations as numbers.
4. Focus: Objective, empirical data for statistical analysis.
5. Biases: May be affected by information bias, omitted variable bias, sampling bias, or selection bias.
• In summary, qualitative research seeks depth and understanding, while quantitative research focuses on
numerical patterns and generalizability. Both approaches are valuable for gaining different kinds of knowledge .
 RESEARCH PROCESS
• The process of gathering information for the purpose of initiating, modifying
or terminating a particular TOPIC OF SUBJECT.

STEPS OF RESEARCH PROCESS

Step One: Define research problem
Step Two: Review of literature
Step Three: Formulation of objectives
Step Four: Formulate hypotheses
Step Five: Preparing the research design
Step Six: Data collection
Step Seven: Data analysis
Step Eight: Interpretation and report writing
Research applications in marketing
• Market & consumer analysis
• Product research
• Pricing research
• Promotional research

• Place research
 Research applications in finance
• Asset pricing, capital markets and corporate finance

• Financial derivatives and credit risk modeling research

• Market-based accounting research

• Auditing and accountability

• Other areas: financial forecasting, behavioural finance, volatility

analysis
 Research applications in
Human resources
• Training & development studies

• Selection and staffing studies

• Performance appraisal–design and evaluation

• Organization planning and development

• Incentive and benefits studies

• Emerging areas–critical factor analysis, employer branding studies

 Research applications in
production & operations management
• Operation planning and design
• Demand forecasting and demand estimation
• Process planning
• Project management and maintenance effectiveness studies
• Logistics and supply chain-design and evaluation
• Quality estimations and assurance studies
 Research applications in Tourism

•Ecotourism and biodiversity conservation

•Carbon footprint of tourism activities
•Responsible Tourism
•Farm Tourism
•Motivations behind travel choices
•Post-pandemic changes in tourist preferences
•Psychological impacts of travel
•Community-based tourism development
•Carrying capacity of tourist destinations
•Customer satisfaction and loyalty in tourism services
•Influence of social media influencers on travel decisions
Formulating a Research problem
• The first step in beginning a research project is to decide “ What is the Research
Question”?

• A “Research Question” is a question about the problem to be addressed , it is therefore

focused on the content of the topic of interest.

• First identifying & then specifying a research problem might seem like research tasks
that ought to b easy & quality accomplished. However, such is often not the case
(Yegidis & Weinback,1991,35)

• It is essential for the problem you formulate to be able to withstand scrutiny in terms of
the procedures required to be undertaken.

• Always researcher should send a considerable time in thinking it through

• Researcher should always have a clear idea with regard to what is that want to find out
about & not what they think they much find

• This is the most critical step in the Research

 Sources of Research Problem

• If the Researcher has already selected the topic or

question, next step is to identify the sources of Research
Problem.
• Most research in the humanities resolves around four “P”s
• People - Study Population
• Problems
• Programs Subject Area
• Phenomena
 • Every Research study has 2 aspects,
1. The Study Population
2.The Subject Area
Aspects of a study About Study of

Study Population People Individuals, They provide with

organizations, rte required
groups, information or
communities collect information
from or about them

Subject area Problem Issues, Situations,

Needs,
Associations,
Profiles etc

Program Contents, Structure, Information that

outcomes, need to collect to
attributes, find answers to the
satisfaction, research question
consumers

Phenomenon
Cause and effect
relationships
Considering in selecting a Research problem
• Interest – should be the most important consideration in selecting a problem

• Magnitude – Having sufficient knowledge about the research process

• Measurement of process- It the researcher is using a concept in the study

should make sure to be very clear about its indicators & measurements

• Level of Expertise – Having adequate level of expertise for the task which is
proposed

• Relevance- Select a topic that is of relevance to as a professional

• Availability of data

• Ethical Issues- Formulating a research problem is the Ethical issues involved

 Steps in the formulation of a Research Problem
• Step 1 – Identify a broad field or subjects are of
interest to you
• Step 2-Dissect the broad are into a sub areas
• Step 3 –Select what is of most interest to you
• Step 4-Raise research question
• Step 5 –Formulate Objectives
• Step 6 – Assess your objectives
• Step 7- Double –check
 The formulation of Objectives
• Objectives are the goals Researcher set out to attain in the study

• Objectives should b listed under 2 headings

1.Min objectives – An overall statement of the thrust of the study

2. Sub objectives –Specific aspects of the topic should be listed numerically

• Characteristics of Objectives:-

• 1.Clear
• 2.Complete
• 3.Spcific
• 4.Identify the min variables to be correlated
• 5.Identify the directions of the relationship
 Establishing Operational Definitions
• The Researcher needs to develop operational definitions for the major
concepts you are using in the study & develop a framework for the study
population enabling the researcher to select appropriate respondents
• Operational definitions give an operational meaning to the study population
& the concepts used
• Eg:- The main objective is ,
• To measure the effectiveness o a retraining program designed to help Young
People
• It is equally important to decide exactly what you mean by “young” up to
what age will you consider a person to be Child, Who would you consider
Young?
• Operationalisation of concepts & the study population :-
Stud Concept Issues Population
y to be
studied
1 Effectiveness What The Young Who would
constitutes consider a
”Effectiveness” Young
person
 Identifying Variables
The Definition of a Variable
• An image , perception or concept that is capable of
measurement , hence capable of taking on different values is
called a variable
Or
• A concept that can be measured
Eg : 1. This program is effective
2.We are providing a Quality service to our clients
3.This product is doing well
 The difference between a concept & a variable
Concepts Variables
• Concepts are mental
images or perceptions
and therefore their Effectiveness Gender
meanings vary Satisfaction (Male/female)
Rich Attitude
markedly from Weight
Excellent
individual to individual Height

Where as ,
• Variables are -Subjective
impression
Measurable through
the degree of
measurable , of course No uniformity as to precision varies
its understanding from scale to scale
with varying degrees of among different from variable to
accuracy people variable
As such cannot be
measured
 Concepts , indicators and Variables

• If a concept is used in a study , the researcher need to

consider its operationalisation, that is , how it will be
measured
• To operationlise a concept , first need to go through the
process of identifying indicators, a set of criteria
reflective of the concept which can then be converted
into variables.
Types of Variable

• Independent variable – The cause supposed to be

responsible for bringing about changes in a phenomenon
or situation
• Dependent variable – The outcome of the changes
brought about by introduction of an independent variable
• Extraneous variable- several other factors operating in a
real life situation may affect changes in the dependent
variable. These factors , not measured in the study, may
increase or decrease the magnitude or strength of the
relationship between independent and dependent
variables
• Intervening variable – This links the independent and
dependent variable.
 Types of research
BUSINESS RESEARCH

BASIC RESEARCH APPLIED RESEARCH

EXPLORATORY CONCLUSIVE RESEARCH

RESEARCH

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH CAUSAL RESEARCH

 Types of research
• Basic research : the basic premise is the need to KNOW and
the concern is primarily academic in nature.
• Applied research: Solution or action oriented research, that is
contextual and practical in approach.
• Exploratory research is loosely structured and the basic
premise is to provide direction to subsequent, more structured
method of enquiry.
• Conclusive research is structured and definite in orientation.
These studies are usually conducted to validate formulated
hypotheses and specified relationships.
 Exploratory vs Conclusive Research
EXPLORATORY RESEARCH CONCLUSIVE RESEARCH
• Loosely structured in design • Well structured and systematic in
design
• Are flexible and investigative in • Have a formal and definitive
methodology methodology that needs to be followed
and tested
• Do not involve testing of hypotheses • Most conclusive researches are carried
out to test the formulated hypotheses
• Findings might be topic specific and • Findings are significant as they have a
might not have much relevance outside theoretical or applied implication.
the researcher’s domain
 Conclusive research

• Descriptive research: The main goal of this type of

research is to describe the data and characteristics about
what is being studied.

• Causal research: Explores the effect of one or more

variables on other variable(s), with reasonable level of
certainty by controlling the impact of other influencing
variables.
 Criteria for research
• MUST have: a clearly stated research purpose/ objective

• MUST have: a sequential plan of execution

• MUST have: a logical and explicitly stated justification for the

selected methods

• MUST have: an unbiased and neutral method of conduct and

reporting

• MUST have: complete transparency and ethical conduction of the

research process

• MUST have: provision for being reliable & replicable