BUSINESS RESEARCH
COURSE OUTLINE (MBA-524)
1.1 Research
a) Defining Research
b) Need and Importance of Research
1.2 Research in Business
a) Research and Decision Making
b) Classification of Research
c) Research Objectives
d) Research in functional Areas of business
e) The Manager Research Relationship
f) Why Study Research?
g) State of Scientific Development
1.3 Scientific Thinking
‑ Nature of Science
‑ Scientific versus unscientific methods
‑ Foundation of Scientific Method
a) Concepts
b) Definitions
c) Hypothesis
d) Theory
‑ The inference process
a) Sources of belief
b) Argument Analysis
c) Deduction
d) Induction
e) Induction ‑ Deduction Sequence
UNIT 2: RESEARCH DESIGN
2.1 The Research Process
2.1.1 Step of research process
a) Exploration
b) Data Collection
c) Analysis and Interpretation
2.1.2 The Origin of a Research Need
2.1.3 The General decision process
a) Decision Components
b) Need for research assistance
2.1.4 The value of Research Information
a) The problems of information valuation
b) Ex‑post facto Evaluation
c) Decision theory approach
2.1.5 The delineation of the research task
a) Problems of client relations
b) Research question development
2.2 Research Design
2.2.1 What is Research Design?
2.2.2 Classification of designs
a) Degree of problem crystallization
b) The topical scope
c) The research environment
d) The time dimension
e) The communication modes
f) Researcher control of variables
g) Nature of relationships among variables
2.2.3 Exploratory Research
a) Methods of Exploration
b) Experience Survey
c) The End of Exploration
d) Descriptive Studies
2.2.4 Causal Inference
a) Inductive logic
b) Linkage Relationship
c) Positional Relationships
d) Testing Casual Hypothesis.
e) Casual Inference and Experimental Design
f) Casual Inference and ex‑post facto design
UNIT 3: SAMPLING DESIGN
3.1 The Nature of Sampling
3.1.1 Why sample?
3.1.2 What is good sample?
3.1.3 Types of sample Design
3.1.4 Advantages of Sampling
3.1.5 Limitation of Sampling
3.2 Probability Sampling
3.2.1 Sampling Procedure
3.2.2 Steps in Sampling Design
3.2.3 Sampling Concepts
3.2.4 Sample Size Decision
3.2.5 Sampling of Attributes
3.3 Complex Probability Sampling
3.3.1 Systematic Sampling
3.3.2 Stratified Sampling
3.3.3 Cluster Sampling
3.3.4 E use of Non‑Probability Sampling
3.4.1 Conditions of use
3.4.2 Sampling Method
UNIT 4: MEASUREMENT AND SCALING
4.1 Measurement
4.1.1 The Nature of Measurement
a) What is measurement?
b) Measurement defined
4.1.2 Measurement Scales
a) Nominal Scales
b) Ordinal Scales
c) Interval Scales
d) Ratio Scales
4.1.3 The characteristics of Sound Measurement
a) Validity
b) Reliability
c) Practicability
4.1.4 The Development of Measurement Tools
4.2 Scaling
4.2.1 The Nature of Scaling
a) Scaling defined
b) Scale classification
4.2.2 Response Methods
a) Rating Scales
b) Attitude Scales
4.2.3 Scale Construction Techniques
a) Arbitrary Scales
b) Consensus Scaling
c) Item analysis
d) Cumulative Scales
e) Factor Scales
UNIT 5 : USE OF SECONDARY DATA
5.1 The Nature of Secondary Data Sources
5.2 The use of Secondary data
5.3 Types of Secondary data Sources
5.4 Statistical Sources
5.5 Data Search procedures
5.5.1 Use of library
a) Card Catalogue
b) Index and bibliographies
‑ Periodical Indexes
‑ Bibliographies
- National & Trade Bibliographies
‑ Subject bibliographies
- Library Catalogues
c) Reference books
‑ Dictionaries and Encyclopaedia
‑ Directories
‑ Bibliographical dictionaries
5.5.2 Evaluating Secondary Data
a) Data pertinence
b) Data quality
UNIT 6: DATA COLLECTION-I
6.1 Survey Instrument Design
6.1.1 The Survey Situation
a) The Need to Survey
b) Communication Holds
i) Personal mode
ii) Impersonal mode
iii) Mixed mode
c) Process Structure
i) Questioning Structure
ii) Response Structure
d) Objective Disguise
6.1.2 The Instrument Development Process
a) Question hierarchy
b) Schedule design process
‑ Information need determination
‑ Data gathering process decisions
‑ Instrument drafting
‑ Instrument Testing
‑ Specification of procedures
6.1.3 Question Construction
a) Question context
b) Question wording
c) Response structure
i) Two way questions
ii) Multiple choice questions
d) Question sequence
6.1.4 Reason analysis
6.2 Field Procedures
6.2.1 Personal Interviewing
a) The value of Personal Interviewing
b) Requirement for interview success
c) Interviewing Technique
‑ Increasing Respondents Receptiveness
‑ The Introduction
d) Personal interview problems
‑ Non‑response error
‑ Response error
e) Interviewer selection and training
6.2.2 Telephone Interviewing
6.2.3 Interviewing by mail
a) Evaluation of mail surveys
i) Advantages and Disadvantages
b) Mail Survey procedures
c) Improving the returns from a mail survey
6.3 Observation
6.3.1 Strength
6.3.2 Weaknesses
UNIT 7: DATA COLLECTION-II
OBSERVATION, EXPERIMENTATION AND SIMMULATION
7.1 Experimentation and Simulation
7.1.1 The Nature of experimentation
a) Validity and Experimentation
1) Internal Validity
2) External Validity
7.1.2 Experimental Research design
1) Pre‑experimental designs
2) True experimental designs
3) Quasi‑Experiments
7.1.3 Simulation
a) What is simulation?
b) Business application of simulation
7.2 Observation
7.2.1 The use of observation
a) Non‑behaviour observation
b) Behaviour observation
7.2.2 The Observer Subject Relationship
a) Directness of observation
b) Observer concealment
7.2.3 Observation Design
a) The Content of Observation
b) Rewarding Observation
c) Increasing the reliability of observation
d) The relation of observe and observed
UNIT 8: DATA ANALYSIS
8.1 Elements of Analysis
8.1.1 Data Preparation
a) Editing
b) Coding
8.1.2 Special data problem
a) Don't know responses
b) The use of percentages
8.1.3 Tabulation
a) Hand tabulation
b) Computer tabulation
8.1.4 Data presentation
Data reduction
8.1.5 Data Analysis
a) Descriptive analysis
b) Casual analysis
c) Computerized analysis
d) Cross tabulation
e) Asymmetrical relationships
UNIT 9: REPORT WRITING
9.1 The Research Proposal
9.2 The Research Report
9.2.1 Reports Types
9.2.2 Short Reports
9.2.3 Long Reports
9.2.4 Technical Reports
9.2.5 Popular Reports
9.2.6 Other Reports
9.2.2 Short Reports
9.2.3 Long Reports
9.2.4 Technical Reports
9.2.5 Popular Reports
9.2.6 Other Reports
9.3 Research Report Format
9.3.1 Logical
9.3.2 Psychological
9.3.3 Chronological
9.3.2 Psychological
9.3.3 Chronological
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
1. Business Research Methods (revised edition) by Emory.
2. Research Methodology for Business & Social Problems by Dr. Matin A. Khan.
3. Methods in Social Research by Goode & Hatt.