Research Methodology

st. joseph’s college of commerce (autonomous)
end semester examination – march/april 2015
BBM – IV SEMESTER
M1 11 404:  RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Duration: 3 Hours                                                                                             Max. Marks: 100
SECTION – A
I)	Answer ALL the questions.  Each carries 2 marks.                                         (10×2=20)
	1.	State any four characteristics of research.
	2.	Distinguish between fundamental research and applied research.
	3.	Give the reasons for conducting literature review.
	4.	Bring out the relationship between “Population” and “Sample”.
	5.	What is meant by Research Design? Why is it considered inevitable under scientific studies?
	6.	What is a hypothesis? What is its relevance in a research study?
	7.	What is meant by coding?
	8.	Distinguish between Variance and Co-efficient of Variation.
	9.	Differentiate between “Footnotes” and ‘Endnotes”.
	10.	A salesman is expected to effect an average sales of Rs. 3,50,000. A sample test revealed that a particular salesman had made the following sales: 3,70,000, 2,50,000, 3,40,000, 5,20,000, 3,00,000, and 2,00,000. Calculated t-value @ 5% level of significance is estimated to be 0.44, whereas Table value for v=5, t0.05 =2.57. Formulate a hypothesis for the above and take appropriate decision based on the above information
SECTION – B
II)	Answer any FOUR questions.  Each carries 5 marks.                                      (4×5=20)
	11.	Suppose you are a business manager with “Tata Ginger” group of hotels.  You receive a customer satisfaction report on your hotels from the research agency to which you have out sourced the work. How will you evaluate the quality of work done in the study?
	12.	What are the Characteristics of good sampling?
	13.	Distinguish between questionnaires and schedules.
	14.	What is meant by arithmetic mean? What are the merits of arithmetic mean that makes it the most widely used measure?
	15.	What are the different types of research reports? Discuss.
	16.	The mean population of a random sample of 400 villages in Shimoga district was found to be 400 with a standard deviation of 12. The mean population of a random sample of 400 villages in Chitradurga districts was found to be 395 with a standard deviation of 15. Is the difference between the two means statistically significant?
SECTION – C
III)	Answer any THREE questions.  Each carries 15 marks.                              (3×15=45)
	17.	A consumer product manufacturer wants to conduct a marketing survey before signing a technical collaboration with a foreign concern. Will you advise on the desired sequence of steps or the series of actions necessary to effectively carry out research?
	18.	What are the different methods of data collection? From where it is collected and what techniques are adopted?
	19.	What are Null hypothesis and Alternate hypothesis?  Enumerate the steps in testing of hypothesis.
	20.	A certain drug is claimed to be effective in curing cold. In an experiment on 500 people with cold, half of them given the drug and half of them were given the sugar pills. The patients reactions to the treatment are recorded in the following table.   Helped Harmed No Effect Drug 150 30 70 Sugar Pills 130 40 80   On the basis of the data can it be concluded that there is a significant difference in the effect of the drug and sugar pills? (Given for v= 2, X2 0.05 = 5.99).
	21.	Perform a two-way ANOVA on the data given below:              Plots of Land Treatment A B C D 1 38 40 41 39 11 45 42 49 36 111 40 38 42 42 (Use  coding method subtracting 40 form the given numbers) Note: Table value of F at 5% LOS for V1 = 2 and V2 = 6 is 5.14 and V1 = 3 and V2=6 is 4.76.
SECTION – D
IV)	Case Study                                                                                                            (1×15=15)
	22.	Keep Your City Clean: Environmental Concerns Over the last decade, recycling of household waste has become an extremely important behaviour across the nations. However, in Asian Countries this fluctuates from one country to the other. China is the leader amongst waste management while India, an equally large country, still has a long way to go. Though these are essentially policy driven or community driven initiatives, there are a large number of attitudinal and motivational barriers to recycling, acting at an individual level.   Punita Nagarajan, a business studies graduate with a keen interest in environmental issues, read about this in a special report  in the newspaper. She recognized a potential business opportunity. It seemed obvious to her that there was scope for potentially lucrative business related to some aspect of household recycling. All she had to do was work out some way of alleviating the inconvenience people associated with recycling.   Punita decided that a door-to-door recycling service may be a profitable way to get  people to recycle. She believed that households will be willing to pay a small fee to have their waste collected on a weekly basis, from outside their home.  Punita discussed this idea with a  few friends, who were very receptive, reinforcing  Punita’s views that this was indeed a good  business opportunity. However, before she developed a detailed business plan, she decided it was necessary to confirm her thoughts and suspicions regarding the consumer’s views about recycling. In particular, she needed to check that her ideas, about convenience and recycling, were on the right track. To do this she decided to conduct some research into attitudes towards household recycling.   Questions: a. Draft a questionnaire with the object of identifying the problem of household waste management. b.  Identify your variables under study. c.  Identify the population under the study.

 

 

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1. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE OF COMMERCE (AUTONOMOUS)

_{End Semester Examination – April 2015}

BM 401: BBM (Fourth Semester)

BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY – ANSWER KEY

Ans. 1.  i. systematic, ii. critical investigation,  iii. describe, interpret and explain a problem, iv. Logical, v. based observation, experience or empirical evidence,  v. finding answers to pertinent questions, vi. Development of principle or theories.

 

Ans. 2. Fundamental research aims at enriching theoretical knowledge (Seeks generalization). Applied research aims enriching the field of application (Tries to solve a practical problem which  are immediately useful).

 

Ans. 3. Reasons:  i. identifying gaps in literature,  ii. to build platform of existing knowledge and ideas,  iii. a valuable resource of knowledge,  iv. Identifying opposing views,  v. identify the methodology and tools used by others to conduct the study,   vi.  Identify the variables used in the study

 

Ans. 4. Population is the set of individuals, items, or data from which a statistical sample is taken it is also called universe Sample is representative part of the population which contains each characterizes that entire population possesses.

 

Ans. 5.  Research Design: “the plan, structure, and strategy of investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to research questions and to control variance.” Importance: i. helps researcher to channelize energies in the right work,  ii.  Systematic progress  of research,  iii. helps to anticipate potential problems of data gathering, operationalization of concepts, measurements so on.

 

Ans. 6.  Hypothesis is an assumption, presumption, or in simple words guess towards some situation or condition. It is an assumption of relationships between the dependent and independent variables. Relevance: i. Provides tentative explanation for the study, ii. Provides direction for the study,  iii. provides a testable relationship between variables, iv. Enables more specific predictions

 

Ans. 7. Coding is the process of assigning some symbols (either) alphabetical or numerals or (both)to the answers so that the responses can be recorded into a limited number of classes or categories. The classes should be appropriate to the research problem being studied.

 

Ans. 8: Variance: Variance is the square of the standard deviation. Co-efficient of Variation: The standard deviation expressed as a percentage to its mean value is known as co-efficient of variation.

 

Ans. 9.  “Footnotes”:  A reference, explanation, or comment placed below the main text on a printed page.  Endnotes printed at the bottom of the same page on which the referenced points appear.

 

Ans.10.  H₀:  There is no significant difference between the observed and expected sales

H₁:  There is significant difference between the observed and expected sales

Decision rule: Calculated value of t is less than the table value. Accept Null hypothesis.

 

 

Ans. 11. The quality of work done in the customer satisfaction study will need to consider whether the report fulfils the criteria of a sound research study i.e. :  i. A clearly stated research purpose/ objective,  ii.  A sequential plan of execution ,   iii.  A logical and explicitly stated justification for the selected methods,  iv.  An unbiased and neutral method of conduct and reporting,  v. Complete transparency and ethical conduction of the research process,  vi. Most essentially, it must be reliable and replicable.

 

Ans. 12.  Characteristics of sampling:  i. Should be representative of the universe,  ii. The size of the sample should be adequate,  iii. The No. of samples should be such that the variation between them could lie between explainable limits,  iv. Much reliable,  v. Very suitable for carrying out different surveys,  vi. Scientific in nature,  vii. There should be no bias in selecting a sample,  viii. It should be possible to measure or estimate the sampling errors.

 

Ans. 13.

	Questionnaire	Schedule
1	Filled by informants	Filled by enumerators
2	Simple questions	Complex questions can be asked
3	More chances of non response	Less chances of non response
4	Relatively economical	Relatively expensive
5	Identity of respondent not known	Identity of respondent known
6	No personal contact	Direct personal contact
7	Can be used only when respondents are literate	Can be used even when respondents are illiterate

 

 

Ans. 14. Arithmetic mean: adding together all items and dividing the total by number of items. Merits:  i. Simplest average,  ii. affect ted by the value of every item the series,  iii. defined by rigid mathematical formula,  iv. Capable of subsequent algebraic treatment,  v. reliable,  vi. Calculated value , not based on position

 

Ans. .  i. Technical Report:  suitable for a target audience of Researchers, research managers or other people familiar with and interested in the technicalities such as research design, sampling methods, statistical details etc.,  ii.  Popular Report:  suitable for: A more general audience, interested mainly in the research findings as it is non-technical in nature.

 

Ans. 16. H₀: The difference between the mean population of the two villages is not statistically significant.

H₁: The difference between the mean population of the two villages is statistically significant.

S.E. =  √ σ₁² / n₁  +   √ σ₂² / n₂²              = σ_{1  =} 12, n₁ =400,   σ₂ =  15, n₂  = 400

SE  = 0.96.         z =   X – µ /SE   =  400 – 395 =   5/0.96  = 5.21

Decision Rule: Calculated value  Z is more than table value of Z_0.01 , 2.58. Reject Null Hypothesis.

Hence the difference between the mean population of the two villages is statistically significant.

 

 

Ans. 17. i. Formulating the research problems, aims and objectives.  ii. Extensive literature survey. iii. Development of working hypothesis. iv. preparing research design. v. Determining sample design.  vi. Collecting the data.  vii. Analyzing the data.  viii. Hypothesis testing. ix. Generalizations and interpretation.   xi. Preparation of report.

 

Ans. 18. 1. Primary methods  and 2. secondary methods.  Primary methods: People- organizations,- Settings – Environment- Events – Happenings- Media.  Techniques: i. Survey,   ii. Interview,  iii. Questionnaire,   iv. Schedule, v. Observation,  vi. Focus group interview,  vii. Focus group discussion, viii.  Brain storming,   ix. Case study,  x. Pilot study, xi. Panel discussion. 2. secondary methods: internal and external sources- web sites

 

 

Ans.  19. Null Hypothesis: States that there is no difference between the population parameter and sample statistics compared.  Alternate Hypothesis: States that there is difference between the population parameter and sample statistics compared.

The steps:  1) State the research hypothesis (H₁),  2) Formulate the null hypothesis (H₀),  3) Choose a statistical test.  4) Specify a significance level,  5) Compute the statistical test, 6) Reject/accept the H₀ .  7) Draw the inference i.e. Accept/Reject H₁

 

 

Ans.  20.         H₀: There is no significant difference in the effect of the drug and sugar pills.

H₀: There is no significant difference in the effect of the drug and sugar pills.

The given observed  frequencies are:

150	30	70	250
130	40	80	250
280	70	150	500

 

Expected frequencies are:

140	35	75	250
140	35	75	250
280	70	150	500

 

O	E	(O-E)2	(O-E)2/E
150	140	100	0.714
130	140	100	0.714
30	35	25	0.714
40	35	25	0.714
70	75	25	0.333
80	75	25	0.333
∑(O-E)2/E  =  3.522

X²   =    ∑(O-E)2/E  =  3.522

V = (r-1) (c-1)  = (2-1) (3-1)  =  2

For   v =2,   X²_0.05   = 5.99,  the calculated value  of X²  (3.522), is less than the table value. Accept Null hypothesis. There is no significant difference in the effect of the drug and sugar pills.

 

 

 

Ans. 21.             H₀: There is no significant difference in the plots of land

H₁: There is significant difference in the plots of land

H₀: There is no significant difference in the treatments

H₁: There is significant difference in the treatments

 

Plots of Land	Treatment				Total
	A	B	C	D
1	-2	0	+1	-1	-2
11	+5	+2	+9	-4	+12
111	0	-2	+2	+2	+2
Total	+3	0	+12	-3	+12

 

Correction factor, i.e., CF= T²/N  = (12)² /12 = 12

 

Sum of Squares Between Treatments  =

(∑X₁)²/N) + (∑X₂)²/N) + (∑X₃)²/N) + (∑X₃)²/N) –C.F.

[(3)²/3] + [(0)²/3]+ [(12)²/3] + [(-3)²/3] – 12  =          3 + 0 + 48 + 3 –  12 = 42

V = 4 -1 =3 

 

Sum of Squares Between   Plots of land =    [(-2)²/4]+ [(12)²/4]+ [(2)²/4] – 12

=   1 + 36  + 1 – 12  =  26

V =( 3- 1) =2

 

Total sum of squares (SSE) = [(-2)² +(5)² +(0)² +(0)² +(2)² +(-2)² +(1)² +

(9)² +(2)² +(-1)² +(-4)² +(2)² – 12  =  132

 

ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE TABLE

Source of Variation	Sum of Squares	v	Mean Sum of Squares	F
Between Columns (Treatments)	42	3	14	14 /10.67  =  1.312
Between Rows (Plots)	26	2	13	13 /10.67  =  1.218
Residual	64	6	10.67
Total	132	11

1.218

F (Treatments)  = 1.312

Table value of F @ 5% for v₁ = 3 and v₂ = 6 is 4.76. since the Calculated value is less than the table value, Accept null Hypothesis. There is no significant difference in the plots of land

F (Plots)  = 1.218

Table value of F @ 5% for v₁ = 2 and v₂ = 6 is 5.14. Since the Calculated value is less than the table value, Accept null Hypothesis. There is no significant difference in the treatments

 

Section – D

1. Compulsory Case Study (1 x 15 = 15)
2. Keep Your City Clean: Environmental Concerns

 

Ans. 21. 2. Variables: Environmental consciousness, Waste management, Concern for hygiene and cleanliness, Perception about recycling (or any other)

Population under study:

Any person residing in (——————–) who is responsible for waste management in his/her house.