Introduction to

Business Research
Module 1
Introduction

Most vital function of management in

an organisation is to minimise risk &
uncertainty through systematic
decision making.
Better decisions results from
effective & timely use of information.
All decision in the modern business
organisation revolve around
marketing information.
What Research Is Not

Gathering information from resources

such books or magazines.
Merely transporting facts from one
resource to another.
No contribution to new knowledge.
What Research Is

Research is:
the systematic process of
collecting and analyzing
information (data) in order to
increase our understanding of
the phenomenon about which
we are concerned or
interested.
Research Characteristics
1. Originates with a question or problem.
2. Requires clear articulation of a goal.
3. Follows a specific plan or procedure.
4. Often divides main problem into sub-
problems.
5. Guided by specific problem, question, or
hypothesis.
6. Accepts certain critical assumptions.
7. Requires collection and interpretation of
data.
8. Cyclical in nature.
Scientific Research & Social
Research
They are different because:
1. Verifiability
2. Concentration
3. Method of research
4. Exactness
5. Prediction
Information needs in
business
BusinessResearch provides the
needed information that guides
managers to make decisions to deal
with problems successfully.

Almostevery organization has to

engage in research at some level to
stay competitive.

Companies gather data both from

within and outside the organization.
Importance of business research to
managers

Solve business problems

Decision making tool
Handle Competition
Reduces business Risk
Meaningful Investment
Determine the pattern of
consumption
What is Market
Research?
Process
of collecting information
about who, what, where, when, why
and how of actual & potential
consumers in a particular market.

Thescope of the study here is very

narrow as it pertains to studying a
single market at a time.
Marketing Research
Defined
MR is
the systematic and objective search
for and analysis of information relevant
to the identification and solution of any
problem in the field of marketing.
the function which links the
consumer, customer, and public to the
marketer through information
American Marketing Association
Definition of Marketing Research

Marketing research is the systematic and

objective
identification
collection
analysis
dissemination
and use of information
For the purpose of improving decision
making related to the identification and
solution of problems and opportunities in
Nature of MR

Economic resource
System of authority
Activity of marketing management
Team effort
Art or Science
Interdisciplinary system
 Marketing Research

Problem Problem-Solving
Identification Research Research

Market Potential Research

Market Share Research Segmentation
Market Characteristics Research
Product Research
Research
Sales Analysis Research Pricing Research
Forecasting Research Promotion Research
Business Trends Research Distribution Research
Types of Research

Basic / Pure / Fundamental

Research
Applied Research
Collative Research
Basic research

consists of investigations into a

broadly defined problem area with
the aim of gaining new knowledge.
Gathering knowledge for knowledge
sake is Basic research.
It does not include any practical
problem nor any commercial
potential.
Eg: fundamental theories.
Applied research

Conducting investigations with the

purpose of shedding new light on a
specific, well defined problem with
commercial application in mind.
It is normally conducted as an outcome
of basic research, or when a particular
problem arises during the course of a
development programme.
It aims at finding solution for an
immediate problem faced by business.
Collative research
is the gathering of information to
answer a specific question.
Market research is an aspect of
collative research.
it is usually conducted before a start
is made on a development
programme.
Does not necessarily require
specialist personnel or equipment.
Conceptual Research

Generally used by Philosophers.

Related to some abstract idea or
theory where the researcher collects
data to approve or disapprove
hypothesis.
Eg: Various ideologies or Isms
Historical Research

Itis the study of the past in order to

understand the future trends and
development.
Here, the researcher largely depends
on the conclusions or inferences
drawn in the past by the researcher.
Eg: Stock market investors, sales
estimations,
CBI Investigations
Ex-post facto research

Ex-post facto means from what is

done afterwards
Here, the relationship between
dependent and independent
variables are studied.
It is also called as Empirical
research.
Researcher cannot manipulate the
variables.
He can only report what has
Action Research

Itis conducted to address the

problem and find solution to the
problems.
Eg: test marketing
Evaluation research

It is a kind of applied research.

It is conducted to examine how well
a planned program is executed and
implemented.
It deals with evaluating the
performance of a project.
Library research

It is done to gather the secondary

data.
It includes the notes from the past
and previous reports.
Problem Formulation

"Wellbegun is half done"

--Aristotle, quoting an old
proverb

Where do research topics come

from?
What is the idea for a research
project?
one of the most common sources of
research ideas is the experience of
practical problems in the field
Steps in formulating a
problem
Definition of the problem
Scope of the problem Fix walls for
ur study
Justification of the problem Solution
to Humanity
Feasibility of the problem Possibility
of conducting the study successfully
Originality of the problem
identification of newness in the
problem.
Criteria of a good research
problem
Clear & unambiguous
Logical and systematic
Empirical
Relation between variables
Verifiable
Management
Interest driven
Research Design
 Research Design
The research design is the master plan
specifying the methods and procedures for
collecting and analyzing the needed
information.
 Three traditional categories of research
design:
Exploratory
Descriptive
Causal
The choice of the most appropriate
design depends largely on the
objectives of the research and how
much is known about the problem and
these objectives.
 Basic Research Objectives and
Research Design

Research Objective Appropriate Design

To gain background information, to define terms,

Exploratory
to clarify problems and develop hypotheses, to
establish
research priorities, to develop questions to be
answered

To describe and measure marketing phenomena at

a point Descriptive

To determine causality, test hypotheses, to make

if-then Causal
statements, to answer questions
 Research Design: Exploratory
Research

Exploratory research is most commonly unstructured,

informal research that is undertaken to gain
background information about the general nature of
the research problem.

Exploratory research is usually conducted when the

researcher does not know much about the problem
and needs additional information or desires new or
more recent information.
 Research Design: Exploratory
Research

Exploratory research is used in a number of

situations:
To gain background information
To define terms
To clarify problems and hypotheses
To establish research priorities
 Research Design: Descriptive
Research

Descriptive research is undertaken to provide

answers to questions of who, what, where, when, and
how

Two basic classifications:

Cross-sectional studies
Longitudinal studies
 Research Design: Cross-sectional &
Longitudinal Studies

Cross-sectional studies measure units from a

sample of the population at only one point in time.

Where as, Longitudinal studies repeatedly draw

sample units of a population over time.
 Research Design: Causal Research

Causality may be thought of as understanding a

phenomenon in terms of conditional statements of the
form If x, then y.

Causal relationships are typically determined by the

use of experiments, but other methods are also used.
Qualitative Vs Quantitative Research

Qualitative research involves collecting, analyzing, and

interpreting data by observing what people say or do.
Uses a smaller number of individuals and observes them for a
time span of between 1 and 2 hours. -----soft approach

Quantitative research is the traditional mainstream of

marketing research.
It is also called survey research. Involves the use of questions
and large number of respondents within a brief span of time, say
15 to 45 minutes.
Its purpose is very specific
 THE MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS

Every research project is different and

unique.
However, research procedures and activities
are common and constitute the marketing
research process .
This process:
is an well-organized sequence of ten steps
involved in the systematic collection and analysis
of marketing data.
provides a description of how a marketing
investigation is designed and implemented, and
helps to guide the execution of a research project.
Ten Steps in the Marketing Research
Process

1. Define the Problem

2. Establish Research Objective
3. Determine Research Design
4. Identify Information Needs and
Sources
5. Determine Methods of Data Collection
6. Design Instrument for Data Collection
7. Determine Sample Plan and Sample
Size
8. Collect Data
9. Analyze Data
Hypothesis Testing
Conceptual framework

Hypothesis is the principal

instrument in research.
Hypothesis is an internal part of
research.
It is one of the key component in
marketing research.
The validity of a research can be
judged through the level at which an
hypothesis is selected and tested.
Meaning

It is a mere assumption or some

supposition to be proved or
disproved.
A hypothesis is a statement
regarding a characteristic of one or
more populations.
It can be defined as a proposition or
a set of proposition set forth as an
explanation for the occurrence of
some phenomena in light of
Examples of hypothesis
Students who receive counseling
will show a greater increase in
creativity than students not
receiving counseling.
Scorpio performs better than TATA
Safari.
Consumers in Bangalore prefer to
shop at hypermarkets than
anywhere else.
Bankers assumed high-income
earners are more profitable than
Characteristics of
Hypothesis
Clear & precise.
Capable of being tested.
State the relationship between
variables.
Limited in scope & must be specific.
Stated in simple terms to avoid
ambiguity.
Amenable to test within a reasonable
time.
Explain facts that gave rise to the
Types of Hypothesis

Descriptive:
It is concerned with the existing
phenomena like size, form etc
Eg: half of Bangalore youth spend
time in malls.

Relational
Are proposed in order to test the
relationship or linkage between two
variables.
Types of hypothesis
Hypotheses always pertain to population
parameters or characteristics rather than
to sample characteristics.
It is the population, not the sample, that
we want to make an infernece about from
limited data.
Hence there are two types of hypothesis:
1. Null (H0 -> Null )
2. Alternative (H1 -> Alternative)
The null hypothesis, denoted Ho (read H-
naught), is a statement to be tested.
The null hypothesis is assumed true until
evidence indicates otherwise.
The alternative hypothesis, denoted, H1
(read H-one), is a claim to be tested.
Researchers try to find evidence for the
alternative hypothesis through testing null
hypothesis.
Types of errors in hypothesis
tests
Type I error.
a type I error occurs when we reject the null
hypothesis for a population where the null
hypothesis is true.

Type II error.
type II error is the error of not rejecting the
null hypothesis, when the null is false.
Consequences of errors in
hypothesis tests
Consequences of type I error:
misleads other researchers
social costs of incorrect information
damages your reputation as a careful
researcher

Consequences of type II error:

no publication
the truth stays hidden, with possible social
consequences
Steps in Conducting a
Hypothesis Test

Step 1. Set up H0 and Ha

Step 2. selecting a significance level
Step 3. Determine whether the
hypothesis test is in distribution test
Step4: select a random sample
Step 5: calcualte probability
Step 6: compare