types of research, questionnaire, sampling,process of research, project work

1. GUEST LECTURE
ON
PROJECT WORK AND RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
Dr. J. Jayapradha
Head, Department of Commerce
MJPTBC Welfare Residential Degree College
Wargal

2. DEFINITIONS
- A Search for knowledge
- Research is a “careful investigation on inquiry
specially through search for new fact in any branch
of knowledge”. - OXFORD UNIVERSITY
 “Social research is the investigation of the underlying
process operative in the lives of the persons who
are in association”.
 BOGARDUS
- “A systematic, controlled and critical investigation of
hypothetical prepositions about the presumed
relations among natural phenomena”.
- KERLINGER
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3. RESEARCH
 “The process which included defining and re-defining
problems, collecting data, organization of data,
making deductions of the data and reaching
conclusions and at last carefully critically evaluating
the data to determine whether they (conclusions) fit
for the formulation of hypotheses”.
-Clifford Woddy
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4. OBJECTIVES OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCE
RESEARCH
• The main aim of the SS research is to discover new facts
or verify and test the observations.
• It should understand the human behavior
• It should interact with Business Environment/policies/social
institutions.
• The prime objective is to develop new scientific models/
theories/
• It should facilitate reliable and valid study of HUMAN
beings based on social life.
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5. CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH
1) Systematic and critical investigation.
2) Purposive investigation
3) Scientific method
4) Objective/Logical
5) Observable experiences/ empirical evidences.
6) Solution to Problem
7) Generalization.
8) Test of criticism
9) Un-hurried activity
10) Statistical proved activity
11) Not against to natural phenomenon.
12) Research is a carefully recorded and reported activity. 5

6. Research Process
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7. STEP1: ESTABLISHING THE NEED FOR
RESEARCH
 Information is not available.
 Decision is needed to be taken.
 Organization is needed.
 Government is interested/ entrusted.
 Universities/Research institutes are entrusted.
 Society is facing the problem.
 Scholarly interested.
 Inquisitiveness.
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8.  What is the purpose of the research?
 What are your units of analysis?
 What are your points of focus?
 What is the time dimension?
 Designing a research project:
 conceptualisation
 operationalisation.
 Reliability, replication and validity.
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9. STEP 2: DECIDING GENERAL AREA OF
SUBJECT.
•Marketing
•Finance
•Accounting
•Science
•Taxation
•Government policies
•Social science
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10. STEP 3:
DEFINE THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
 State your research problem.
 Are there any sub-problems?
 What is the background (literature review) on this
problem?
 What is good about tackling this problem?
 Why should we be interested in answering the research
question?
 Discuss your problem with peers, supervisor and
experts.
 Have you looked at this problem from all sides to
minimize unwanted surprises?
 Think through the process.
 Are you capable of addressing the issue?
 Can you foresee any pitfalls in data collection and
analysis?
 What tools are available for you to use?
 What research procedure will you follow?
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11. STEP 4: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
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12. STEP 5: ESTABLISHING RESEARCH
OBJECTIVES
 To know the background of
theory/fundamentals/concepts.
 To get the clarity on the research problem.
 To develop research priorities within the
research problem.
 To study “if-then; if-else; if-not” conditions.
 To describe the measures of phenomenon.
 To test the hypothesis and develop inferences.
 To solve the research goal.
 To answer the research questions.
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13. METHODS OF STATING OBJECTIVES
While stating objectives of the study, the following guidelines
must be taken care of:
 The objectives should be presented briefly & concisely.
 They cover the different aspects of the problem & its
contributing factors in a coherent way & in a logical sequence.
 The objectives are clearly phrased in operational terms,
specifying exactly what researcher is going to do, where, & for
what purpose.
 They are realistic considering local conditions.
 Use action verbs that are specify enough to be evaluated.
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14. COUNT…
 Examples of action verbs are: to assess, to identify,
to find out, to determine, to compare, to find, to
verify, to calculate, to describe, to analyse, to
establish, etc.
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15. STEP 6: FORMULATING HYPOTHESIS
 Definition: a statement about the predicted or
expected relationship between at least two
variables.
 NOT simply a question, notion, or vague idea
 That is, a level of precision/specification is required
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16. CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD HYPOTHESIS
 Testable
 The means for manipulating the variables and/or measuring the
outcome variable must potentially exist
 Falsifiable
 must be able to reject the hypothesis with data
 Parsimonious
 should be stated in simplest adequate form
 Precise
 Should be specific (operationalized)
 Useful
 Relate to existing theories and/or “point” toward new theories
 it should lead to studies beyond the present one (often hard to
determine in advance)
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17. CLEAR, CONCISE, PRECISE
• Vague words or indefinite words should be avoided.
– may - this may affect that
– somewhat - this will increase somewhat
– often - this often affects that
– likely - this will likely influence that
– enough - if there is enough of this, then …
– sometimes - this will sometimes affect that
• Be specific when using these:
– affect
– influence
– interact with
– related to
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18. STATISTICAL HYPOTHESES
 The Null Hypothesis (H0)
 What you are trying to falsify
 The Alternate Hypothesis (Ha)
 What you think is true
 Example (One-tailed): Students will remember more items from a word list if
they learn the list in the quiet, rather than in the presence of intense (100 dB
SPL) music (Rolling Stones, “Satisfaction”).
 H0: q≤m
 Ha: q>m
 Example (Two-tailed): Students will perform differently on word list recall if
they learn the list in the quiet, rather than in the presence of intense (100 dB
SPL) music (Rolling Stones, “Satisfaction”).
 H0: q=m
 Ha: q≠ m
 Less Power
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19. STEP 7: DETERMINING RESEARCH
DESIGN
A) The Research Question
B) The Theory
C) The Model
D) The Data
E) The Use of the Data
F) Analysis and Interpretations of
the data
G) Major findings and conclusions
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20. STEP 8: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 Sample size
 Sample units.
 Sample location
 Method of selecting sample
 A) Random
 B) Non-random.
 Scope of the study
 Limitations of the study
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21. STEP 9: COLLECTION OF DATA
 A) Direct method/ Primary method
 B) Indirect method/ Secondary Method
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22. STEP 10: ANALYSIS OF THE DATA
 Entering the data into computers
 Running the tables
 Making frequencies
 Cross-tabulation
 Calculating suitable tests
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23. STEP 11. REPORT WRITING
 A research report has seven
components:
1. Abstract or Summary
2. Introduction
3. Review of Literature
4. Methods (Research
methodology)
5. Results
6. Conclusions and Discussion
7. References 23

24. 24

25. TYPES OF RESEARCH
1. Pure research:
pure research is undertaken for the sake of
knowledge without any intention to apply it in
practice.
Pure research is also known as basic or
fundamental Research. It is undertaken out of
intellectual curiosity or inquisitiveness. It is
not necessarily a problem- oriented. It aims at
extension of knowledge.
Ex: Newton’s contribution. 25

26. 2. APPLIED RESEARCH
 Applied research is carried out to find solution to a
real-life problem requiring an action or policy
decision. It is problem-oriented and an action-
oriented. It seeks an immediate and practical
results.
 Ex: Marketing survey
 Post- purchase experiences of the customers.
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27. 3.EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
 Exploratory research is preliminary study of an
unfamiliar problem about which the researcher as
little or no knowledge. It is ill-structured and much
less focused on objectives. It usually takes in the
form of a pilot study.
 Ex: 1. to generate new idea (black money)
 2. to explore unknown things (demanding for bill; VAT)
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28. 4.DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
 Descriptive study is a fact finding investigation with
adequate interpretation. It is the simplest type of
research.
It aims at answering the question of all “WH”.
Ex.1. What are the level of job satisfaction
2. Why are they not satisfied…….
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29. 5. DIAGNOSTIC STUDY
 It is directed towards discovering what is
happening. Why it is happening ans what can be
done about it. It aims at identifying the causes of a
problem and possible solution about it.
 Ex: Fire accident in a factory.
 continuous losses to the company.
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30. 6. EVALUATION STUDY
 Evaluation study is one type of applied research. It
is made for assessing the effectiveness of social or
economic programmes implemented by the govt.
 Ex: 1. To study the impact of Free power
 Aarogyasri Scheme.
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31. 6. EVALUATION STUDY
 Types
 A)Concurrent Evaluation ( Continuous evaluation)-science
 B) Periodic Evaluation ( One, Five Years)
 C) Terminal Evaluation (after completion of the Project)
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32. 7. EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
 It is designated to assess the effects of particular
variable on a phenomenon by keeping the other
variable constant or controlled. It aims at
determining whether and in what manner variables
are related to each others.
 Ex: Profits/ expenditure
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33. 8. ANALYTICAL STUDY/STATISTICAL
METHOD
 Analytical study is a system of procedures and
techniques of analysis applied to quantitative data.
It may consist of systematic mathematics or
statistical models.
 It aims at TESTING OF HYPOTHESES and
specifying and interpreting of the results. It
concentrates on data in-depth analysis and
examine the relationship between relevant
variables.
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34. 9. HISTORICAL RESEARCH
 It is a study of past records. It helps us to know the
ROOTS, HISTORICAL FACTS and TRENDS.
10. SURVEY METHOD
 Survey is FACT-FINDING study. Data is to be
calculated from the population directly.
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35. 11. CASE STUDY
 A case study is an in-depth comprehensive study
of a person, a social-group, an episode, a
process, a situation, a programme and any other
social events.
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36. 12. COMPARATIVE STUDY
Comparison between variables/ attributes etc,.
Ex: Profits/ Losses
 Rural/Urban
 Rich/Poor
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37. SAMPLE SURVEY VS. CENSUS SURVEY
METHOD
 When data is to be collected from each member of
the population, it is known as Census Survey
 When data is to be collected only from some
members of the population, it is known as Sample
Survey
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38. Simple Random Sampling Accidental Sampling
Systematic Sampling Convenience Sampling
Stratified Sampling Judgment Sampling
Cluster Sampling Purposive Sampling
Area Sampling Quota Sampling
Multistage and Multiphase Snow-Ball Sampling
Sampling
PROBABILITY
METHOD
NON PROBABILITY
METHOD
METHODS OF SAMPLING
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39. Nominal Scales
Ordinal Scales
Interval Scales
Ratio Scales
FOUR BASIC SCALES OF MEASUREMENT
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40. QUESTIONNAIRE METHOD
This is the most popular and widely used method of data
collection in survey research world wide.
Used by individual social researchers, research
organisations, firms, market research agencies,
government organisations, non-governmental
organisations etc.
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41. WHAT IS QUESTIONNAIRE?
 A questionnaire method is that method in
which a number of printed questions is used for
collecting data. This list of questions is sent by
mail or personally administered to the
respondents.
 A method used for collecting data; a set of
written questions which calls for responses on
the part of the client; may be self-administered
or group-administered (Grinnell)
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42. PURPOSE
 To collect information from the respondents who are
scattered in vast area.
 To achieve success in collecting reliable and dependable data.
 To gather information about the people’s attitudes, thoughts,
behaviors, and so forth. The researchers compile the answers
of the people in the sample in order to know how the group
as a whole thinks or behaves.
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43. TYPES OF QUESTIONNAIRES
1. Structured questionnaire contains definite,
concrete and preordained questions.
This type of questionnaire is prepared in advance
and not on the spot during the questioning period.
The structured questionnaires are used in a wide
range of projects.
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44. 2. Non-Structured Questionnaire is used as a guide
at the time of interview.
In this method, the interviewer is free to arrange
the form and timing of enquiry. Flexibility is the
main advantage of this method.
This method is applied to studies of of personal
experiences, beliefs, attitudes and the like.
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45. QUESTIONNAIRE IS ALSO DIVIDED INTO DIFFERENT
TYPES ON THE BASIS OF NATURE OF THE
QUESTIONS
1. Open Questionnaire is used in cases where new facts are
to be searched out.
This method is mainly used for intensive studies of a
limited number of cases. In this type, a respondent is free
to express his views and ideas.
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46. 2. Closed Questionnaire is used when categorised data are
required.
Here, the informant chooses the answer from a set of
provided responses. He/She has no liberty to express
his/her own judgement.
3. Mixed Questionnaire consists of both close and open
type questionnaires. For social research, this method is
very useful.
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47. 4. In the Pictorial Questionnaire, pictures are used to
promote interest in answering questions. It is used
extensively in studies of social attitudes and
prejudices in children.
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48. DECIDING ON CONTENT
 Decide what information is required.
 Draft some questions to gather that information.
 Put them into meaningful order and format (e.g.
open ended, closed ended)
 Pretest the result on a sample of potential
respondents.
 Make necessary changes to the final form of the
questionnaire.
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49. WORDING MATTERS
 The most important thing to consider in evaluating
the findings of a survey is the wording of the
questions asked.
 The answers a survey respondent gives are obviously
affected by the questions he or she is asked.
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50. FORM OF A QUESTIONNAIRE
 Proper size and form of a questionnaire plays a
vital role in social research.
 Hence, before preparing a questionnaire, certain
points are to be considered.
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51.  Size of Questionnaire: The size of the questionnaire must be small
and manageable.
 Appearance: Good quality paper, attractive printing and layout have
great importance in the questionnaire method.
 Clarity: To obtain correct answers, the questions should be clear
and precise. There should not be any ambiguity about the idea of
the questions.
 Sequence: The questions should be in proper sequence, lucid and
interesting to the respondent.
 Margin: A proper margin on one side gives a neat look to the
questionnaire and it makes filling easy.
 Spacing: The lines should not be very closely printed. Sufficient
space should be left out to demarcate one question from the other.
 Length of Questions: The questions must not be too lengthy.
 Technical Terms: Technical terms as well as abbreviations should not
be used in a questionnaire.
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52. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GOOD
QUESTIONNAIRE
 The preparation of a good questionnaire is a highly
skilled art. The requisites of a good questionnaire are
as follows.
 Analytical questions.
 Should be compatible to data processing software.
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53.  A lucid heading to the questionnaire, along with the
indication on the objectives/purpose and nature of
the enquiry.
 Clear and short questions.
 Necessary instructions regarding filling-up the form
must be given.
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54.  Limited number of questions.
 Questions should be capable of being answered without
prejudice.
 The questions must be well arranged.
 Answers to the question should be objective and capable
of tabulation.
 Good presentation of schedule of questions
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55. TYPES OF QUESTIONS
 1. Yes / No / Don’t know questions.
 2. Multiple choice questions.
 3. Rankings /Preferences
 4. Periodicity / frequency
 5. Open ended questions.
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