Module 1

Definition of Research

 Research comprises of defining and refining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggesting

solutions, collecting, organizing and evaluating data, making deductions, relating conclusions
and carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit with the hypothesis.

Features of Research

Qualities of good research

1. Systematic: it means it should be structured
2. Logical and Objective: it should be guided by rules of reasoning
3. Empirical: it should deal with data and provides for validity of results
4. Replicable: - Results can be verified by replicating the study
5. Ethical: research should be based on ethical code of conduct… a possible example can be
Genome research leading to cloning of human beings. Genetically modified human beings

Objectives of research- 1. Solve business problem

2. Finding the unknown
3. enhancing knowledge and keeping it up to date.
Types of Research

(i) Descriptive vs. Analytical:

Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds. The major purpose
of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it exists at present. In social science and
business research we quite often use Research Methodology: The main characteristic of this method is
that the researcher has no control over the variables; he can only report what has happened or what is
happening. Most ex post facto research projects are used for descriptive studies in which the
researcher seeks to measure such items as, for example, frequency of shopping, preferences of people,
or similar data. Ex post facto studies also include attempts by researchers to discover causes even
when they cannot control the variables. The methods of research utilized in descriptive research are
survey methods of all kinds, including comparative and correlational methods. In analytical research,
on the other hand, the researcher has to use facts or information already available, and analyze these
to make a critical evaluation of the material.
(ii) Applied vs. Fundamental:

Research can either be applied (or action) research or fundamental (to basic or pure) research. Applied
research aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem facing a society or an industrial/business
organization, whereas fundamental research is mainly concerned with generalizations and with the
formulation of a theory.

“Gathering knowledge for knowledge’s sake is termed ‘pure’ or ‘basic’ research.”

Research concerning some natural phenomenon or relating to pure mathematics are examples of
fundamental research. Similarly, research studies, concerning human behaviour carried on with a view
to make generalizations about human behaviour, are also examples of fundamental research, but
research aimed at certain conclusions (say, a solution) facing a concrete social or business problem is
an example of applied research. Research to identify social, economic or political trends that may
affect a particular institution or the copy research (research to find out whether certain
communications will be read and understood) or the marketing research or evaluation research are
examples of applied research. Thus, the central aim of applied research is to discover a solution for
some pressing practical problem, whereas basic research is directed towards finding information that
has a broad base of applications and thus, adds to the already existing organized body of scientific
knowledge.

(iii) Quantitative vs. Qualitative:

Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or amount. It is applicable to

phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity. Qualitative research, on the other hand, is
concerned with qualitative phenomenon, i.e., phenomena relating to or involving quality or kind. For
instance, when we are interested in investigating the reasons for human behaviour (i.e., why people
think or do certain things), we quite often talk of ‘Motivation Research’, an important type of
qualitative research. This type of research aims at discovering the underlying motives and desires,
using in depth interviews for the purpose. Other techniques of such research are word association
tests, sentence completion tests, story completion tests and similar other projective techniques.
Attitude or opinion research i.e., research designed to find out how people feel or what they think
about a particular subject or institution is also qualitative research. Qualitative research is especially
important in the behavioural sciences where the aim is to discover the underlying motives of human
behaviour. Through such research we can analyze the various factors which motivate people to
behave in a particular manner or which make people like or dislike a particular thing.

(iv) Conceptual vs. Empirical:

Conceptual research is that related to some abstract idea(s) or theory. It is generally used by
philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing ones.
On the other hand, empirical research relies on experience or observation alone, often without due
regard for system and theory.
It is data-based research, coming up with conclusions which are capable of being verified by
observation or experiment. We can also call it as experimental type of research. In such a research it is
necessary to get at facts firsthand, at their source, and actively to go about doing certain things to
stimulate the production of desired information. In such a research, the researcher must first provide a
working hypothesis thereafter enough facts (data) is collected to prove or disprove the hypothesis.
Next step is the setting up of experimental designs which will manipulate the persons or the materials
concerned so as to bring forth the desired information. Such research is thus characterized by the
experimenter’s control over the variables under study and his deliberate manipulation of one of them
to study its effects. Empirical research is appropriate when proof is sought that certain variable affect
other variables in some way. Evidence gathered through experiments or empirical studies is today
considered to be the most powerful support possible for a given hypothesis.

(v) Some Other Types of Research:

All other types of research are variations of one or more of the above stated approaches, based on
either the purpose of research, or the time required to accomplish research, on the environment in
which research is done, or on the basis of some other similar factor. Form the point of view of time,
we can think of research either as one-time research or longitudinal research. In the former case the
research is confined to a single time-period, whereas in the latter case the research is carried on over
several time-periods. Research can be field-setting research or laboratory research or simulation
research, depending upon the environment in which it is to be carried out.
Research can as well be understood as clinical or diagnostic research. Such research follows case-
study methods or in-depth approaches to reach the basiccausal relations. Such studies usually go
deep into the causes of things or events that interest us, using very small samples and very deep
probing data gathering devices. The research may be exploratory or it may be formalized.
The objective of exploratory research is the development of hypotheses rather than their testing,
whereas formalized research studies are those with substantial structure and with specific hypotheses
to be tested. Historical research is that which utilizes historical sources like documents, remains, etc.
to study events or ideas of the past, including the philosophy of persons and groups at any remote
point of time. Research can also be classified as conclusion-oriented and decision-oriented. While
doing conclusion oriented research, a researcher is free to pick up a problem, redesign the enquiry as
he proceeds and is prepared to conceptualize as he wishes. Decision-orientedresearch is always for the
need of a decision maker and the researcher in this case is not free to embark upon research according
to his own inclination.
Operations research is an example of decision-oriented research since it is a scientific method of
providing executive departments with a quantitative basis for decisions regarding operations under
their control.
Problems Encountered by Researchers in India

Researchers in India, particularly those engaged in empirical research, are facing several problems.
Some of the important problems are as follows:

1. Lack of Scientific Temper:

The lack of a scientific training in the methodology of research is a great impediment for researchers
in our country. There is paucity of competent researchers. Many researchers take a leap in the dark
without knowing research methods. Most of the work, which goes in the name of research is not
methodologically sound. Research to many researchers and even to their guides, is mostly a scissor
and paste job without any insight shed on the collated materials. The consequence is obvious, viz., the
research results, quite often, do not reflect the reality or realities. Thus, a systematic study of research
methodology is an urgent necessity. Before undertaking research projects, researchers should be well
equipped with all the methodological aspects. As such, efforts should be made to provide short-
duration intensive courses for meeting this requirement.

2. NO proper channel of communication between the researcher and the other influencers

There is insufficient interaction between the university research departments on one side and business
establishments, government departments and research institutions on the other side. A great deal of
primary data of non-confidential nature remains untouched/untreated by the researchers for want of
proper contacts. Efforts should be made to develop satisfactory liaison among all concerned for better
and realistic researches. There is need for developing some mechanisms of a university—industry
interaction programme so that academics can get ideas from practitioners on what needs to be
researched and practitioners can apply the research done by the academics.

3. Lack of trust on the researcher / misuse of data / No proper confidentiality of data /

information.
Most of the business units in our country do not have the confidence that the material supplied by
them to researchers will not be misused and as such they are often reluctant in supplying the needed
information to researchers. The concept of secrecy seems to be sacrosanct to business organisations in
the country so much so that it proves an impermeable barrier to researchers. Thus, there is the need
for generating the confidence that the information/data obtained from a business unit will not be
misused.

4. Research studies Overlap with each other

The overlapping research activity is very much common for want of adequate information. This
results in duplication and fritters away resources. This problem can be solved by proper compilation
and revision, at regular intervals, of a list of subjects on which and the places where the research is
going on. Due attention should be given toward identification of research problems in various
disciplines of applied science which are of immediate concern to the industries.

5. Human Behavioural issues related to ego clashes and rivalry.

There does not exist a code of conduct for researchers and inter-university and inter-departmental
rivalries are also quite common. Hence, there is need for developing a code of conduct for researchers
which, if adhered sincerely, can win over this problem.

6. Lack of trained manpower / Inadequate number of staff for research

Many researchers in our country also face the difficulty of adequate and timely secretarial assistance,
including computer assistance. This causes unnecessary delays in the completion of research studies.
All possible efforts be made in this direction so that efficient secretarial assistance is made available
to researchers and that too well in time.

7. Repository of information is not easily available.

Library management and functioning is not satisfactory at many places and much of the time and
energy of researchers are spent in tracing out the books, journals, reports, etc., rather than in tracing
out relevant material from them.

1. Lack of availability of old manuscripts

There is also the problem that many of our libraries are not able to get copies of old and new
Acts/Rules, reports and other government publications in time. This problem is felt more in libraries
which are away in places from Delhi and/or the state capitals. Thus, efforts should be made for the
regular and speedy supply of all governmental publications to reach our libraries.

9. Difficulty in getting the data at appropriate time

There is also the difficulty of timely availability of published data from various government and other
agencies doing this job in our country. Researcher also faces the problem on account of the fact that
the published data vary quite significantly because of differences in coverage by the concerning
agencies. 10. There may, at times, take place the problem of conceptualization and also problems
relating to the process of data collection and related things

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH:

All Scientific Researches have two integral components viz Reliability and Validity.
A research can be said to be scientific only when it has both the components ie., Reliability and
Validity in it. Only Scientific Researches are trustworthy because they are both reliable and valid.

Definition

According to Karl Pearson, a scientific method or research is marked by the features such as:

a) Careful and accurate classification of facts and observation of their correlation

b) The discovery of scientific laws*
*Discovery of Scientific Laws and procedure will be discussed separately

In other words, scientific research follows an order and the research operations are highly
disciplined. It is empirical in nature. Hence Scientific approach is a specially systemized form of
all reflective thinking and inquiry.

Empirical means: by way of observation or by way of experience

COMPONENTS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

It is the set of procedures based upon scientific principles that need to be followed.

Scientific Research is performing a methodical study in order to approve or reject a hypothesis

Automobile have various components like Steering Wheel (4 Wheelers) or Handle (2 Wheelers),
Brake, Accelerator and Clutch (for geared vehicles)

Q: Why do we need a “Brake” in the automobile?

We need to have brakes because they are scientific devices and hence, they need to perform the
function what they are supposed to perform.

Brakes allows to drive the vehicle faster because otherwise also the vehicle will move. However, we
will not have the confidence to run the vehicle at high speed.

In short, all scientific devices have to have the component of “RELIABILITY”

RELIABILITY

Reliability is the ability of any phenomena or an object or an individual to repeat itself again and
again.

Examples: of these three are given below

Object: Mechanical Brakes, Accelerators, Electrical gadgets

Individual: Credit Rating Agencies like CIBIL (Credit and Information Bureau India Limited)

Phenomena: Rainbow will always against the Sun. Water will always fall from top of the mountain to
plunge pool.

Measurement of Reliability
The calculation of reliability is carried out through the Statistical tool of Standard Deviation which
further is a measure of dispersion.

Measures of Dispersion are: Range, Mean Deviation, Quartiles, Deciles, Percentiles (Fractiles),
Standard Deviation, Variance, Coefficient of Variation (CV).

Automatically, six sigma has to have a relationship between standard deviation.

Six Sigma means 3.4 dpmo (Defects per Million Opportunities)

How?

Products 1000 000.0

Defects 3.4

--------------------

Perfect Products 999996.6

Percentage of Perfect Items = ( 999996.6 / 1000000) *100

= 99.99966%

Properties of Standard Deviation

a) Lower is the standard deviation the higher will be the consistency (Higher will be the
reliability)
b) It always yields positive value because the formula squares the deviations.
c) Smaller standard deviation means that very low number of observations are away from the
mean. Hence, it gives certificate to the measure of the central tendency itself (Mean or
average)
d) The frequency curve plotted on a graph paper should look like Leptokurtic curve for standard
deviation to be lower.
Q: When to use standard deviation and when to use variance?

When Risk is to be measured Standard Deviation is Used (Volatility, financial risks etc)

When there is a measurement of variation in the targets, profits or costs, the tool used is variance.

Q: Calculate the standard Deviation and Skewness from the following data:

Series A (Tata Motors): 150, 165, 180, 185, 180

Series B (Ashok Leyland): 85, 90, 75, 80, 90

Sk = [ (Mean – Mode) / standard Deviation]

VALIDITY

It is the ability of an individual or an object or a phenomenon to measure correctly what it claims to

measure
RELIABILITY: ABILITY OF A PHENOMENA OR AN OBJECT OR AN INDVIDIUAL TO
REPEAT ITSELF AGAIN AND AGAIN

INCORPORATE RELIABILITY AT THE TIME OF QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGINGING

VALIDITY: ABILITY OF AN PHENOMENA OR OBJECT OR INDVIDIUAL TO MEASURE

CORRECTLY WHAT IT CLAIMS TO MEASURE

VALIDITY IS TESTED BY USING STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES.

SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO RESEARCH

The concept building process of Scientific Approach to Research

PHENOMENA (It is the occurrence of an event)

OBSERVATION
 FACT

(An empirically verifiable phenomena are known as FACT)

Finding of Group of FACTS

 Waterfall from top of the hill to plunge pool

 Apple Falls from Tree to ground
 Mobile Falls (at times)

Generalization

Anything which is at Higher Altitude will have a free fall till

it hits earth

HYPOTHESIS1

INDUCTIVE APPROACH2 DEDUCTIVE APPROACH3

Theory is developed Theorem is formulated

Hypothesis is a declarative statement, validity of which is ascertained through numerical data. Only
with the help of numerical data, a hypothesis can be accepted or rejected.
2
Sequential progression in a specified manner. It is a slow process from observation to finalization of
THEORY. (THEORY is considered as universal truth). The subject matter of Physics is considered as
inductive in nature. Physics starts with observation of phenomena and finally ends in formulation of
Theories (or Laws)

Examples of theories:

 Laws of Motion (First Law, Second Law and Third Law).

 Deductive approach leads to development of formulas based upon theories. It further can be
understood by the branch of study of Mathematics. The branch of study of Mathematics
 finally lead to the development of Theorem. Theorems are considered as universal truths. It is
formulized process of reasoning.
 All the laws of Physics finally get converted into Mathematical formulas by ways formulized
process of reasoning.
 Examples:
 First Law of Motion: V = u + at
 Second Law of Motion: S = ut + ½ at2
 Third Law of Motion: V2 = u2 + 2 aS

Features of scientific research

1. ObjectivityScientific
knowledge is objective. Simple objectivity means the ability to see and accept
facts as they are, not as one might wish they were.

2.Systematic explorationA scientific investigation adopts a certain sequential procedure, an organized plan or a research
design to collect and analyze data about the problem under study. In general, this plan includes some scientific steps:
formulation of hypotheses, compilation of facts, analysis of facts (classification, coding and tabulation) and generalization
and scientific prediction.

3. Reliable or reliableScientific knowledge must occur under the prescribed circumstances not once
but repeatedly. It is replicable in the indicated circumstances in any place and at any time. The
conclusions based on casual memories are not very reliable.

a) Objectivity of the Researcher: The researcher has to remain very clear to the objective
behind the research. It helps in drawing right sample for data analysis. If the objectives are
clearly defined and samples are correctly chosen the chances of subjectiveness or biasness can
be eliminated.

Examples of Objectivity of the Researcher

i) A business house wants to forecast the future demand of their products hence they will
clearly send communication to all sales points to ascertain the next year’s possible
demand levels. The information collected will be passed on to the production department
for estimate of the working capital requirements for the purchase of raw materials to meet
the demand. The estimate received from the Production Operation department will be sent
to the finance department for the arrangement of funds or budgetary allocations.
Example: For Practice

A manufacturer has come up with a new high-end laptop. They are not sure about the pricing of their
product hence they decide to keep the base price at Rs 1 lakhs and thereafter will determine the price
by using sampling technique. They will ask the respondents about their willingness to pay an amount
for buying the product.
Mention in the light of the above situation:

 What is the objective of the researcher?

 What can be possible sampling units?
(Answer: By using demand and supply curves and BEP / CVP analysis –)

b) Accuracy of Measurement: Scientific devices and equipment can measure very sensitive
data easily. There are many scientific devices which are used in day to day life as well as for
precision measurements. For example,
i) Time measured in nano-seconds
ii) Atmospheric pressure measured through barometer
iii) Temperature measured through thermometer
iv) Altitude measured in all the aircrafts through Altimeter.
v) There are many such devices like Speedometer, Amperemeter, Voltmeter etc.

Examples by Participants:

Vernier Callipers:

Spherometer:

Compass:

Common point between all these devices is the fact that they have scales inbuilt which shows the
value to the reader.

Since, these scientific instruments are trustworthy hence, all management researches need to have
scales on which values can be shown. Since, there multiple possibility of researches in social sciences
hence there are not many readymade scales. Hence, we create our own scale for the research purpose.

The social researches or management researches does not have any scientific devices or scales hence
we measure through our own created scales. In short, scales are created for specific purpose of
research in social researches while readymade scales are available in the scientific researches.

Examples:

i) Measures of consumer behaviour towards a particular type, pattern, colour of T Shirts

ii) Examples by Participants: Compass, Solar Panel, Barometer, Pulse Oximeter, sphygmomanometer,
anemometer

Wind Speed is measured on Beaufort Scale (Range 0 to 10), Earthquakes are measured on Richter
Scale (Range is 0 to 10).

c) Continuous and Exhaustive nature of research:

Examples: Molecule to discovery of Atom

Atom to discovery of Neutrons, Protons and Electrons

Further discovery of Parton, God Particles

Module 2
Steps in Designing a research problem

1. Specifying research objectives

2. Preparing a list of the needed information
3. Designing the data collection project (Research Design)
4. Selecting a sample size
5. Determining sample size
6. Organizing and carrying out field work
7. Analysing the collected data and reporting the findings (It will be discussed separately with
chapters of the report)

Steps in Research process-

MODULE 3 A research problem can be defined as a gap or uncertainty in the
decision makers’ existing body of knowledge which inhibits efficient decision
making. The gap could be academic & theoretical (basic) or real time and
action oriented (applied).
 DECISION PROBLEM RESEARCH PROBLEM*
1. What should be done to increase the 1. What is the awareness and purchas
customer base of organic products in the intention of health conscious consumers fo
domestic market? organic products?

2. What is the impact of shift duties on work

2. How to reduce turnover rates in the BPO exhaustion and turnover intentions of the BPO
sector? employees?

3. How does Widex/ industry leader manage its

3. How to improve the delivery process of supply chain in India/Asia?
Widex hearing aids in India?
4. What is the satisfaction level of the company
4. Should the company continue with its with the existing vendor? Are there any gaps
existing security services vendor or look at an Can they be effectively handled by the vendor?
alternative?
5. What is the current investment in Real Estate
5. Can the Housing and real estate growth be and Housing? Can the demand in the sector b
accelerated? forecasted for the next six months?

ELEMENTS OF A RESEARCH PROBLEM

 Unit of analysis
 Independent variable
 Dependent variable
 Extraneous independent variable
 Intervening variables
Moderating variables
 THE RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
A hypotheses is any assumption/presupposition that the researcher makes about the probable
direction of the results that might be obtained on the completion of the research process

 Descriptive hypotheses: This is simply a statement about the magnitude, trend, or behaviour
of a population under study.
 Relational hypotheses: These are the typical kind of hypotheses which state the expected
relationship between two variables.

CRITERIA FOR HYPOTHESIS FORMULATION

 In simple, declarative statement form
 Measurable and quantifiable
 Is essentially a conjectural statement
 Has underlying assumptions on the testing of the stated relationships
SOCIAL RESEARCH

Social Research is a macro level concept which includes Management Research also. Management
research can further be broken down into the following:

a) Consumer Behaviour studies (Marketing Research)

Examples:

 It provides information related to increase in sales on Y-o-Y basis.

 What are the different types of shirts preferred by office going professional?
 What are the different types of T-shirts preferred by students?
b) Equity Research (Fundamental and Technical Research)

c) Operations Research

d) Human Resource based Research

Social Research

It is the study of human behaviour that is the relationship between and among people in smaller
groups like families, neighbours, kinships, club member, batch mates etc and study of human
behaviour in large groups like people living in countries, continents, cultural landscapes etc.

In the words of Prof P V Young

Social Research is the systematic method of discovering new facts or verifying old facts, their
sequence, inter-relationships and other factors impacting the relationships

Thus, the difference between social research and scientific research is the fact that social research is
conducted for discovering new facts and also for verifying old facts while in scientific research, old
facts are not anymore searched.

For example, consumer behaviour pattern changes from time to time hence they need to be studied
again to understand change in attitude, preferences and need (demand of the customers). However, in
scientific researches once a discovery is made, it becomes universal truth and it is no longer searched
again like discovery of Amperemeter, Voltmeter, Speedometer etc.

In the light of the above said facts, in scientific researches, we have readymade devices or
measurement scales while in social research we have to make our own scales.

Features of Social Research

a) Social research deals with social phenomena and hence it focusses on human behaviour. Few
of the elements of human behaviour that are studied includes Attitude, Feelings, Responses,
inter-personal relationships and many more
b) Social Research is carried out for both: discovering new facts and verifying old facts (as
stated above).
Why to conduct Social Research / Objectives of Social Research:

(i) to gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into a phenomenon

Illustration 1:

There is a company which is witnessing continuous decline in sales revenue and it is contemplating
the reasons behind the declining sales revenue like change in customer’s preferences, higher
expectation of customer’s more than currently provided by the company, availability of alternative
products etc.

A routine research can be carried out to find out the actual reasons and accordingly, curative actions
can be initiated.

To remain aware of changes in the preference of customer, routine research can be carried out to gain
insights.

These types of periodic researches are known as Longitudinal Research.

Longitudinal Research (Also refer the section of Sources of Data)

They are observational in nature. It means that the researches do not influence the responses rather
only collects information from the respondents. They conduct multiple observations of the same
subjects or same focus groups over a period of time, sometimes even decades.

In this method, the researchers gain insights into the periodic changes occurring in the characteristics
of the target subjects or focus groups both at the individual and group levels. The benefits that are
derived from longitudinal studies is the fact that it establishes the entire sequence of changes
happening in the intervals of time.

The information collected represents time series data and can be used for predicting the future trend
by using auto-regressive methods.

A typical example can be sales revenue at different intervals of the product life cycle.

Illustration 2:

Example: Sale of umbrella will be high in Summer seasons – to gain familiarity

Not understanding completely, the Indian customer’s mindset, almost all foreign banks have failed in
India in the retail segment.

Insights in to the phenomenon.

Among the umbrellas, the light weight and having smaller diameter is preferred.

The customers mostly are females hence colourful umbrella remain more in demand

Illustration

There is a company which is continuously making losses for past few years (say 5-6 years). They
have conducted a small research and have concluded that the Sales Revenue has increased in the
given period, Number of branches have also increased and there increase in number of employees as
well as the advertisements carried out by the company.

Question:

a) Give possible reasons for the recurrent losses.

b) What is the research problem here?
c) What type of research can be conducted?

Solution:

1. Fixed cost can be very high for the company and achievement of BEP is very high in terms of units
produced and sold. All large capital-based industries like Iron and Steel, Automobiles and others
witness the same situation.

1. Continuous expansion by inorganic (Huge capital investment for the Acquisition of another
company – Tata Corus) or organic manner (Natural growth of the company, they open new
branches for first few years- CCD)
2. It can be due to Systematic risk (Impact of Inflation on the economy): Increase in operations
expenditure, profit margin is low and cost of production has increases)
3. Impact of Government policies (Fiscal policies)

What is the Management Problem (Also explain research problem):

Generalization (Management problem):

Why profits are negative if these 4 factors are positive?

Dependent Variable: Profits

Independent variables: Advertising expenditure, Employee strength, Branches, Sales Revenue

(ii) To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular person, situation or a group

Examples:

Consumer Behaviour studies in the domain of Marketing Research like:

 To define the potential market for a particular product (say KIA SUV)
 To estimate the potential buying power of the consumers for any particular product say
D’Damas Diamond Jewellery
 To estimate the potential buying power along with the inclination for purchase of a particular
item
 To estimate future sales of the product, say FMCG
  To establish relationship between various marketing activities and demand creation.
 To understand whether the preference of customers have changed or not?
(iii) to determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is associated
with something else (CAUSAL RESEARCH).

Examples:

 Will there be any change in the demand of designer wear post COVID-19 situations?
 Will there be more demand of luxury cars, hotels and items once there will be control of
the pandemic?
Both the above examples will have deep impact on the Sales revenue of the companies as we all
know sales revenue is considered as top line of any company. If the top line increases
automatically, there will be an increase in the EPS of the company thereby impacting the share
price of the companies share.

For example, if there will be resumption of tour and travel (Tourism), there can be big gains for
the companies operating in Hotel business Examples, The Park, ITC and many more.

(iv) To test a hypothesis for finding out relationship between variables based upon cause-
and-effect relationships generally post-facto

Examples:

 Relationship between sale of Invertors and Generators with frequent power cuts
 Sales of Medicines after a natural hazard like floods, earth quakes, avalanches, mud slides
etc
 Growth of economies post COVID -19
 Sale of specific types of medicines for pandemic situation

Use of Scientific Methods in Social Research

Social research on its own is neither trustworthy not acceptable because of the reason that there are
chances of incorrect information being provided / supplied by the respondents. It may also happen
that, the researcher itself has a biasness and collects information only from those units which are not
proper. To come out of this situation, social research needs to follow the lines of scientific research.
As we have already studied earlier that scientific researches are trustworthy as well as acceptable. The
reason of acceptability of scientific research are the two components namely Reliability and
Validity.

Hence, if we incorporate both these two components in the social research, it will become trustworthy
and acceptable.

The component of reliability is incorporated at the time of questionnaire design or construction.

The component of validity is incorporated through hypothesis testing. We have already studied
earlier that hypothesis can be constructed by inductive and deductive methods.

The hypothesis is tested with the numerical data that has been collected through the questionnaire.
Once hypothesis is proved to be correct, we start believing the outcome of social research.
There are many statistical techniques to test these hypotheses which can be classified into two broad
categories – Parametric and non-parametric methods. These methods use statistical tests like t-test, Z-
test*, F-test, Sign test, U-test, Chi-square* test etc

* Very basic level numerical question appears in the examination.

EXAMINATION QUESTION
CASE 1: [December 2020]
Television Rating Points - TRP is the criterion that indicates the popularity of a channel or
programme and this data is extremely useful for the advertisers. Television ratings provide
information about the viewers TV watching habits and the socio-economic background of the
audience. This helps advertisers and corporate media planners in selecting the right media at the right
time. 

Doordarshan has its own ratings system DART (Doordarshan Audience Ratings). DART is a diary-
based system of ratings. Each week, DD people distribute diaries in sample homes and the viewers are
asked to note down each programme as and when watched by family members. In the end of the
week a person collects all the diaries and sends them to the head office, where popularity of
programmes is calculated.

Question: Explain Descriptive Research Design. Also, briefly explain Longitudinal and Cross-
Sectional studies. Which method is implemented by Doordarshan? Justify (05 Marks)
Answer Key:

Descriptive Research design: Describes the situation that is being studied. Answers the question:
Who, What, Where, When and How?

Longitudinal Studies: Data collected by a panel multiples times at different periods of time on
the same variables.

Cross Sectional Studies: Data collected from a sample only once at a particular period of time.

In the case  Longitudinal