basic concepts of bus res

8/2/2019 Basic Concepts of Bus Res

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/basic-concepts-of-bus-res 1/32

Basic Concepts Of

Business Research

Dr. Rabi Narayan Subudhi

Professor, KSoM, KIIT



Bus Res.Methods 2

Business Strategy & Plan

• Business Strategy

is a plan that enables an organization tomake the best use of its resources to meet

business objective.• Business Plan

is a formal document that specifies the

organizations resources, objectives,strategy and implementation and controlefforts in business of a specific product.



Bus Res.Methods 3

Business Concept & Research

• Business Concept

is an organizational philosophy that emphasizesdetermining customers’ needs first, and then

coordinating all activities to satisfy those needs.

• Business Research

is the set of techniques and principles forsystemically collecting, recording, analyzingand interpreting data to aid decision makers.



Bus Res.Methods 4

Basic Principles of Research

• Business Research has three principles orguidelines for generating information usefulto managers:

– Attend to the timeliness and relevance ofresearch.

– Define research objectives carefully and clearly.

– Do not conduct research to support decisionsalready made.



Bus Res.Methods 5

Business research applications:basic or applied research

• Basic research is conducted to generateor create knowledge.

• Applied Research is conducted to solve aproblem.



Bus Res.Methods 6

Business Research Process: Steps

• Justify the need for marketing research.• Define the research objective.

• Identify data needs.

• Identify data sources.

• Choose an appropriate research design and datacollection method.

• Design the research instrument or form.

• Identify the sample.• Collect data, including any relevant secondary data.

• Analyze and interpret the data.

• Present the research findings to decision makers



Bus Res.Methods 7

Types of Research

• Qualitative Research

is the collection analysis, and interpretation ofdata that cannot be meaningfully quantified,that is, summarized in the form of numbers.

• Quantitative Research

is the collection of data that involves larger,more representative respondent samples andthe numerical calculation of results.



Bus Res.Methods 8

Types of Research Cont.-2

• Descriptive Research

is essentially to describe something; it isintended to generate data describing thecomposition and characteristics of relevantgroups of units such as customers, salespeople and Business areas.



Bus Res.Methods 9

Types of Research Contd. -3

• Exploratory Research

helps investigators gain some initial insightsand may pave the way for further research.

• Conclusive Research

helps investigators verify insights and select the

appropriate course of action.



Bus Res.Methods 10

Research project

components

Exploratory research Conclusive research

a) Research purpose General: to generate

insights about a situation

Specific: to verify insights

and aid in selecting a course

of action b) Data needs Vague Clear

c) Data sources Ill defined Well defined

d) Data collection form Open-ended, rough Usually structured

e) Sample Relatively small;

subjectively selected to

maximize generalization

of insights.

Relatively large; objectively

selected to permit

generalization of findings.

f) Data collection Flexible; no set Procedure Rigid: well laid-outProcedure

g) Data analysis Informal; typically non-

quantitative

Formal; typically

quantitative

h) Inferences/

Recommendations

More tentative than final

More final than tentative

More final than tentative



Bus Res.Methods 11

Case Study Method:

The Case study method is an-depth examinationof a unit of interest. The unit can be a customer,

a store, salesperson, a firm, market area, web-site and so on.

By virtue of its insight-generating potential, the

case study method is a useful form ofexploratory research.



Bus Res.Methods 12

Data collection method

Observational Method: • The observational method involves human or

mechanical observation of what people actually

do or what events take place during a buying orconsumption situation.

Longitudinal Studies

• are repeated-measurement studies, that collectdata over several periods in time.



Bus Res.Methods 13

Scales

• Nominal scale, numbers are no more than

labels and are used solely to identify differentcategories of responses

• Ordinal scale is more powerful than a nominal

scale in that the numbers possess the propertyof rank order.

• Interval scale has all the properties of anordinal scale, and the differences betweenscale values can be meaningfully interpreted.

• Ratio scale possesses all the properties of aninterval scale, and the ratios of numbers on

these scales have meaningful interpretations.



Bus Res.Methods 14

Scale contd../2 • Forced-choice Scale does not give

respondents the option to express a neutral ormiddle ground.

• Non-forced-choice Scale gives respondentsthe option to express a neutral attitude.

• Balanced Scale has an equal number ofpositive/favorable and negative/unfavorableresponse choices.

• An unbalanced scale has a larger number ofresponse choices on the side of the scalewhere the overall attitude of the respondentsample is likely to fall.

D l f i



Bus Res.Methods 15

Develop a few questions to measure

(Res. project) variables/ attributes

• First choice of consumers of Packaged water• Marital status of respondents

• Annual Income of family

• Relevance of malls, like Bigbazar (to the locals)

Importance of price factor while buying Mobile, edible oil• Use of credit cards

• Attitude (I)/ Preference (O)*,(fruit juice Vs soft drink)

• Newspaper popularity• Packaging [study on shape of a bottle – for deodorant]

• Selecting a trusted Hospital[Note (*) I : Interval; O : Ordinal ]



Bus Res.Methods 16

Scaling Techniques

• A. Comparative Scales

– Paired comparison, Rank order, Constantsum, Q-Sort

• B. Non-Comparative scales

– Continuous rating, Itemized rating (Likert,Semantic differential, Staple scale)

C S



Bus Res.Methods 17

Comparative Scales• 1. Paired comparison Scales: mostly for two

brands (on various attributes) or can beextended to many brands on single attribute;[TOI vs Ind. Exp.]

• 2. Rank order scale: ranking several objects

on some criterion/ attribute; tooth paste brandson mouth freshening effect [1.close-up, 2..3…]

• 3. Constant sum scale: giving weight to diff

attributes of an object; wts add up to constantsum [10/ 100 ..] eg. Soap –dirt removal (.4), care (.2), price

(.2), smell (.1), foam(.1)=1

4.Q –Sort: very large number of objects(>60); to group them to 2/3



Bus Res.Methods 18

Non-Comparative scales

• Continuous rating (or Graphic rating) scale

• Likert Scale(due to Rensis Likert) 5 point, degree of

agreement (strongly agree/ disagree), liking or choice

• Semantic differential – 7 point with specific bi-polar

adjectives (like, warm – cold, careful –careless)• Staple scale (due to Jan Stapel) unipolar 10 point scale, -5

to +5, without a neutral point (zero),to scale attitude/ attributeconsisting of single adjective in the middle of 10 point range

101



Bus Res.Methods 19

Stapel Scale - example• Prices of items available in Bigbazar

(respondents are asked to indicate how accurate/ inaccurate is the term [best price offered], describingthe object [Bigbazar ], by putting a cross mark

Best price in market

5

4

3

2

1

-1

-2

-3

-4

-5

X

Accurate

Not accurate

R h P j t i t



Bus Res.Methods 20

Research Project assignment:Questionnaire

• 1. Names (group members, 3 or 4)*

• 2.Project Topic/ title – *

• 3.Objectives – (just in 3/4 lines)*

• 4.Res. Questions/ issues; Information need

•5. Res. Plan/ methodology

• *Deadline: By Sunday evening (7 PM)



Bus. Res. Methods 22

MDS

• Detergent cake – 1.dirt removal, 2. fabric care, 3. value for money

• Tooth paste

– 1. whitening of teeth, 2. stopping bad breath, 3.fighting tooth decay

• News paper

– 1. Political coverage, 2. regional coverage, 3.entertainment & leisure.

Highly competitive market (so many good brands)

:issue of positioning vs perception




Small Car: Service Vs Spare parts

Service (Excellent –Poor)

Spare parts’ availability Very Good




Branded shirts: popularity

variety

Value for money (quality Vs Price)




Second stage analysis

• Perception maps/ graphs

• Mean difference tests

• Independence tests• Non-parametric tests (Sign Tests, Run Test,

Rank-Sum Test)

• ANOVA




Perception graph of mean rank-score of attributes

In a Market Research survey of newspaper readers,respondents were asked to Rank their Preferences,

from [1 to 9],out of the following variety/ sections of a newspaper:

1. Sports ( ) 2. National News ( ),3. International News ( ) 4. Regional News ( )5. Entertainment ( ), 6. Life styles ( )7. Cartoons ( ) 8. Cross Word/ puzzle ( ),9. Supplements ( ).




4.53

3.20

4.704.88

4.50

5.58

7.18 7.17

6.40

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

8.00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Series1



Bus Res.Methods 28

• A Graphic rating scale presents a continuum,in the form of a straight line, along which atheoretically infinite number of ratings are

possible.

• Itemized rating scale has a set of distinctresponse categories; any suggestion of an

attitude continuum underlying the categories isimplicit.



Bus Res.Methods 29

• A Comparative Rating Scale provides allrespondents with a common frame of reference.

• A Non-Comparative Rating Scale implicitlypermits respondents to use any frame ofreference, or even none at all.



Bus Res.Methods 30

• A Constant-sum scale has a natural startingpoint (zero) and asks respondents to allocate agiven set of points amongst several attitude

objects.

• A Paired-comparison rating scale consists ofa question seeking comparative evaluations of

two objects at a time.



Bus Res.Methods 31

• A Single-item scale attempts to measurefeelings through just one rating scale.

• A Likert scale consists of a series of evaluativestatements (or items) concerning an attitudeobject; respondents are asked to rate the objecton each statement (or item) using a five-point

agree-disagree scale.



Bus Res Methods 32

• Semantic-differential scale is similar to the likertscale in that it consists of a series of items to be ratedby respondents; how ever, the items are presented asbipolar adjectival phrases or words that are placed asanchor labels of a seven category scale with no other

numerical or verbal labels.

• Stapel scale is a variation of the semantic-differentialscale; however, each item consists of just one word orphrase, on which respondents rate the attitude objectusing a ten-item scale with just numerical labels.

basic concepts of bus res

Documents