Types of Research
All researches can be broadly classified into three groups: exploratory research, descriptive research, and causal research. These three methods differ in terms of different aspects of conducting the research.
Exploratory Research
As the name indicates, exploratory research is mainly used to explore the insight of the general research problem. This is used for the following purposes:
A. B. C. D. Obtaining Background Information Research Problem Formulation or Defining it More Precisely Identifying and Defining the Key Research Variables Developing Hypotheses
Descriptive Research
As evident from the name, descriptive research is conducted to describe the business or market characteristics. The descriptive research mainly answers who, what, when, where, and how kind of questions. It attempts to address who should be surveyed, what, at what time (pre- and post-type of study), from where (household, shopping mall, market, and so on), and how this information should be obtained (method of data collection). It can be further classified into cross-sectional study and longitudinal study.
Cross-Sectional Study
Cross sectional research design involves the collection of information from a sample of a population at only one point of time. In this study, various segments of the population are sampled so that the relationship among the variables may be investigated by cross tabulation (Zikmund, 2007). Sample surveys are cross-sectional studies in which the samples happen to be a representative of the population. The cross-sectional study generally involves large samples from the population; hence, they are sometimes referred as sample surveys.
Longitudinal Study
Longitudinal study involves survey of the same population over a period of time. There is a well-defined difference between a cross-sectional study and a longitudinal study. In a longitudinal study, the sample remains the same over a period of time. In a cross-sectional design, a representative sample taken from the population is studied at only one point of time.
Causal Research
Causal research is conducted to identify the cause-and-effect relationship between two or more business (or decision) variables. Many business decisions are based on the causal relationship between the variables of interest. As discussed, the descriptive research is able to answer who, what, when, where, and how kind of questions but not the why part of the question. The causal research is designed to address the why part of the question.
Table 2.2: A relative comparison of exploratory research, descriptive research, and conclusive research
Scales of Measurement
Nominal scale Ordinal scale Interval scale Ratio scale
Scales of Measurement
Nominal Scale: When data are labels or names used to identify the attribute of an element, the nominal scale is used. Ordinal Scale: In addition to nominal level data capacities, ordinal scale can be used to rank or order objects.
Scales of Measurement
Interval Scale: In interval level measurement, the difference between two consecutive numbers is meaningful.
Figure 3.1: A comparison between the four levels of data measurement in terms of usage potential
Measurement Scales
Comparative scales are based on the direct comparison of stimulus and generally generate some ranking or ordinal data. This is the reason why these scales are sometimes referred as non-metric scales. Non-comparative scaling techniques generally involve the use of a rating sale, and the resulting data are interval or ratio in nature. This is the reason why these scales are referred as monadic scales or metric scales by some business researchers. This section is an attempt to discuss the various types of scales in the light of items included in the scales. These are single-item scales, multi-item scales, and continuous rating scales.
Limitations of Experimentation
Time Cost Secrecy Implementation problems
Sampling
A researcher generally takes a small portion of the population for
study, which is referred to as sample. The process of selecting a sample from the population is called sampling.
Sampling saves time. Sampling saves money. When the research process is destructive in nature, sampling minimizes the destruction. Sampling broadens the scope of the study in light of the scarcity of resources. It has been noticed that sampling provides more accurate results, as compared to census because in sampling, nonsampling errors can be controlled more easily. In most cases complete census is not possible and, hence, sampling is the only option left.
In random sampling, each unit of the population has the same probability (chance) of being selected as part of the sample. In non-random sampling, members of the sample are not selected by chance. Some other factors like familiarity of the researcher with the subject, convenience, etc. are the basis of selection
Secondary data sources can be broadly classified into internal and external secondary data sources. The internal secondary data are generated within the organization and the external secondary data are obtained from the sources available outside the organization. The internal secondary data are the internal records of the organization. The external secondary data can be further classified into the following four groups: books, periodicals, and other published material; reports and publication from government sources; computerized commercial and other online data sources; and media resources ( Figure 6.1 ).
Step 2: Utility of Internal Secondary Data Sources for the Research Problem
As a second step, a researcher has to examine the utility of in-house secondary data in light of
Objective Relevancy Accuracy Currency Authenticity Dependability action ability
Step 3: Utility of External Secondary Data Sources for the Research Problem
As shown in Figure 6.5, the external secondary data should also be tested for all the parameters as it is done for the internal secondary data. In addition, the authenticity of the external secondary data must also be tested, which was the matter of concern for the inhouse generated data. To address the issue of authenticity of the data, a researcher has to determine who collected the data. Some research organizations, magazines, books, periodicals, journals, and so on have got high reputation and credibility in the society or concerned field. Government data sources are also authentic.
Accurate information, sound logic, and the facts arAccurate information, sound logic, and the facts are necessary, of course, but truly effective leaders in any fieldincluding technical onesknow how to tell the story of their particular research endeavour Robert McKee author Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting
Conclusions
Summary and conclusions Recommendations
Report Modules
Bibliography
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