Words: 3496
MBA SEMESTER III MB0050 –Research Methodology- 4 Credits (Book ID: B1206) Assignment Set- 2 (60 Marks) 1. a. Explain the General characteristics of observation. [ 5 marks] b. What is the Utility of Observation in Business Research? [ 5 marks] Ans- (a) General Characteristics of Observation Method Observation as a method of data collection has certain characteristics. 1. It is both a physical and a mental activity: The observing eye catches many things that are present. But attention is focused on data that are pertinent to the given study. 2.
Observation is selective: A researcher does not observe anything and everything, but selects the range of things to be observed on the basis of the nature, scope and objectives of his study. For example, suppose a researcher desires to study the causes of city road accidents and also formulated a tentative hypothesis that accidents are caused by violation of traffic rules and over speeding. When he observed the movements of vehicles on the road, many things are before his eyes; the type, make, size and color of the vehicles, the persons sitting in them, their hair style, etc.
All such things which are not relevant to his study are ignored and only over speeding and traffic violations are keenly observed by him. 3. Observation is purposive and not casual: It is made for the specific purpose of noting things relevant to the study. It captures the natural social context in which persons behavior occur. It grasps the significant events and occurrences that affect social relations of the participants. 4. Observation should be exact and be based on standardized tools of research and such as observation schedule, social metric scale etc. and precision instruments, if any. (b) What is the Utility of Observation in Business Research? Observation means viewing or seeing. Observation may be defined as a systematic viewing of a specific phenomenon in its proper setting for the specific purpose of gathering data for a particular study. Observation is suitable for a variety of research purposes. It may be used for studying … (a) The behaviour of human beings in purchasing goods and services. : life tyle, customs, and manner, interpersonal relations, group dynamics, crowd behaviour, leadership styles, managerial style, other behaviours and actions; (b) The behaviour of other living creatures like birds, animals etc. (c) Physical characteristics of inanimate things like stores, factories, residences etc. (d) Flow of traffic and parking problems (e) Movement of materials and products through a plant. 2. a. Briefly explain Interviewing techniques in Business Research? [5 marks] b. What are the problems encountered in Interview? [5 marks] Ans- a) Interviewing techniques in Business Research The interview process consists of the following stages: · Preparation · Introduction · Developing rapport · Carrying the interview forward · Recording the interview · Closing the interview 1. Preparation The interviewing requires some preplanning and preparation. The interviewer should keep the copies of interview schedule/guide (as the case may be) ready to use. He should have the list of names and addresses of respondents, he should regroup them into contiguous groups in terms of location in order to save time and cost in traveling.
The interviewer should find out the general daily routine of the respondents in order to determine the suitable timings for interview. Above all, he should mentally prepare himself for the interview. He should think about how he should approach a respondent, what mode of introduction he could adopt, what situations he may have to face and how he could deal with them. The interviewer may come across such situations as respondents; avoidance, reluctance, suspicion, diffidence, inadequate responses, distortion, etc.
The investigator should plan the strategies for dealing with them. If such preplanning is not done, he will be caught unaware and fail to deal appropriately when he actually faces any such situation. It is possible to plan in advance and keep the plan and mind flexible and expectant of new development. 2. Introduction The investigator is a stranger to the respondents. Therefore, he should be properly introduced to each of the respondents. What is the proper mode of introduction? There is no one appropriate universal mode of introduction.
Mode varies according to the type of respondents. When making a study of an organization or institution, the head of the organization should be approached first and his cooperation secured before contacting the sample inmates/employees. When studying a community or a cultural group, it is essential to approach the leader first and to enlist cooperation. For a survey or urban households, the research organization’s letter of introduction and the interviewer’s identity card can be shown.
In these days of fear of opening the door for a stranger, residents cooperation can be easily secured, if the interviewer attempts to get him introduced through a person known to them, say a popular person in the area e. g. , a social worker. For interviewing rural respondents, the interviewer should never attempt to approach them along with someone from the revenue department, for they would immediately hide themselves, presuming that they are being contacted for collection of land revenue or subscription to some government bond.
He should not also approach them through a local political leader, because persons who do not belong to his party will not cooperate with the interviewer. It is rather desirable to approach the rural respondents through the local teacher or social worker. After getting himself introduced to the respondent in the most appropriate manner, the interviewer can follow a sequence of procedures as under, in order to motivate the respondent to permit the interview: 1. With a smile, greet the respondent in accordance with his cultural pattern. 2. Identify the respondent by name. 3.
Describe the method by which the respondent was selected. 4. Mention the name of the organization conducting the research. 5. Assure the anonymity or confidential nature of the interview. 6. Explain their usefulness of the study. 7. Emphasize the value of respondent’s cooperation, making such statements as “You are among the few in a position to supply the information”. “Your response is invaluable. ” “I have come to learn from your experience and knowledge”. 3. Developing Rapport Before starting the research interview, the interviewer should establish a friendly relationship with the respondent. This is described as “rapport”.
It means establishing a relationship of confidence and understanding between the interviewer and the respondent. It is a skill which depends primarily on the interviewer’s commonsense, experience, sensitivity, and keen observation. Start the conversation with a general topic of interest such as weather, current news, sports event, or the like perceiving the probable of the respondent from his context. Such initial conversation may create a friendly atmosphere and a warm interpersonal relationship and mutual understanding. However, the interviewer should “guard against the over rapport” as cautioned by Herbert Hyman.
Too much identification and too much courtesy result in tailoring replied to the image of a “nice interviewer. ” The interviewer should use his discretion in striking a happy medium. 4. Carrying the Interview Forward After establishing rapport, the technical task of asking questions from the interview schedule starts. This task requires care, self-restraint, alertness and ability to listen with understanding, respect and curiosity. In carrying on this task of gathering information from the respondent by putting questions to him, the following guidelines may be followed: 1.
Start the interview. Carry it on in an informal and natural conversational style. 2. Ask all the applicable questions in the same order as they appear on the schedule without any elucidation and change in the wording. Ask all the applicable questions listed in the schedule. Do not take answers for granted. 3. If interview guide is used, the interviewer may tailor his questions to each respondent, covering of course, the areas to be investigated. 4. Know the objectives of each question so as to make sure that the answers adequately satisfy the question objectives. 5.
If a question is not understood, repeat it slowly with proper emphasis and appropriate explanation, when necessary. 6. Talk all answers naturally, never showing disapproval or surprise. When the respondent does not meet the interruptions, denial, contradiction and other harassment, he may feel free and may not try to withhold information. He will be motivated to communicate when the atmosphere is permissive and the listener’s attitude is non judgmental and is genuinely absorbed in the revelations. 7. Listen quietly with patience and humility. Give not only undivided attention, but also personal warmth.
At the same time, be alert and analytic to incomplete, non specific and inconsistent answers, but avoid interrupting the flow of information. If necessary, jot down unobtrusively the points which need elaboration or verification for later and timelier probing. The appropriate technique for this probing is to ask for further clarification in such a polite manner as “I am not sure, I understood fully, is this…. what you meant? ” 8. Neither argue nor dispute. 9. Show genuine concern and interest in the ideas expressed by the respondent; at the same time, maintain an impartial and objective attitude. 10.
Should not reveal your own opinion or reaction. Even when you are asked of your views, laugh off the request, saying “Well, your opinions are more important than mine. ” 11. At times the interview “runs dry” and needs re-stimulation. Then use such expressions as “Uh-huh” or “That interesting” or “I see” “can you tell me more about that? ” and the like. 12. When the interviewee fails to supply his reactions to related past experiences, represent the stimulus situation, introducing appropriate questions which will aid in revealing the past. “Under what circumstances did such and such a phenomenon occur? or “How did you feel about it and the like. 13. At times, the conversation may go off the track. Be alert to discover drifting, steer the conversation back to the track by some such remark as, “you know, I was very much interested in what you said a moment ago. Could you tell me more about it? ” 14. When the conversation turns to some intimate subjects, and particularly when it deals with crises in the life of the individual, emotional blockage may occur. Then drop the subject for the time being and pursue another line of conversation for a while so that a less direct approach to the subject can be made later. 5. When there is a pause in the flow of information, do not hurry the interview. Take it as a matter of course with an interested look or a sympathetic half-smile. If the silence is too prolonged, introduce a stimulus saying “You mentioned that… What happened then? ” 5. Additional Sittings In the case of qualitative interviews involving longer duration, one single sitting will not do, as it would cause interview weariness. Hence, it is desirable to have two or more sittings with the consent of the respondent. 6. Recording the Interview It is essential to record responses as they take place.
If the note taking is done after the interview, a good deal of relevant information may be lost. Nothing should be made in the schedule under respective question. It should be complete and verbatim. The responses should not be summarized or paraphrased. How can complete recording be made without interrupting the free flow of conversation? Electronic transcription through devices like tape recorder can achieve this. It has obvious advantages over note-taking during the interview. But it also has certain disadvantages. Some respondents may object to or fear “going on record”.
Consequently the risk of lower response rate will rise especially for sensitive topics. If the interviewer knows short-hand, he can use it with advantage. Otherwise, he can write rapidly by abbreviating word and using only key words and the like. However, even the fast writer may fail to record all that is said at conversational speed. At such times, it is useful to interrupt by some such comment as “that seems to be a very important point, would you mind repeating it, so that I can get your words exactly. ” The respondent is usually flattered by this attention and the rapport is not disturbed.
The interviewer should also record all his probes and other comments on the schedule, in brackets to set them off from responses. With the pre-coded structured questions, the interviewer’s task is easy. He has to simply ring the appropriate code or tick the appropriate box, as the case may be. He should not make mistakes by carelessly ringing or ticketing a wrong item. 7. Closing the Interview After the interview is over, take leave off the respondent thanking him with a friendly smile. In the case of a qualitative interview of longer duration, select the occasion for departure more carefully.
Assembling the papers for putting them in the folder at the time of asking the final question sets the stage for a final handshake, a thank-you and a good-bye. If the respondent desires to know the result of the survey, note down his name and address so that a summary of the result could be posted to him when ready. 8. Editing At the close of the interview, the interviewer must edit the schedule to check that he has asked all the questions and recorded all the answers and that there is no inconsistency between answers. Abbreviations in recording must be replaced by full words.
He must ensure that everything is legible. It is desirable to record a brief sketch of his impressions of the interview and observational notes on the respondent’s living environment, his attitude to the survey, difficulties, if any, faced in securing his cooperation and the interviewer’s assessment of the validity of the respondent’s answers. (b) Problems encountered in Interview… In personal interviewing, the researcher must deal with two major problems, inadequate response, interviewer’s bias and non-response. 1. Inadequate response
Kahn and Cannel distinguish five principal symptoms of inadequate response. They are: · partial response, in which the respondent gives a relevant but incomplete answer · non-response, when the respondent remains silent or refuses to answer the question · irrelevant response, in which the respondent’s answer is not relevant to the question asked · inaccurate response, when the reply is biased or distorted and · verbalized response problem, which arises on account of respondent’s failure to understand a question or lack of information necessary for answering it. . Interviewer’s Bias The interviewer is an important cause of response bias. He may resort to cheating by ‘cooking up’ data without actually interviewing. The interviewers can influence the responses by inappropriate suggestions, word emphasis, tone of voice and question rephrasing. His own attitudes and expectations about what a particular category of respondents may say or think may bias the data. Another source of response of the interviewer’s characteristics (education, apparent social status, etc) may also bias his answers.
Another source of response bias arises from interviewer’s perception of the situation, if he regards the assignment as impossible or sees the results of the survey as possible threats to personal interests or beliefs he is likely to introduce bias. As interviewers are human beings, such biasing factors can never be overcome completely, but their effects can be reduced by careful selection and training of interviewers, proper motivation and supervision, standardization or interview procedures (use of standard wording in survey questions, standard instructions on probing procedure and so on) and standardization of interviewer behaviour.
There is need for more research on ways to minimize bias in the interview. 3. Non-response Non-response refers to failure to obtain responses from some sample respondents. There are many sources of non-response; non-availability, refusal, incapacity and inaccessibility. 4. Non-availability Some respondents may not be available at home at the time of call. This depends upon the nature of the respondent and the time of calls. For example, employed persons may not be available during working hours. Farmers may not be available at home during cultivation season. Selection of appropriate timing for calls could solve this problem.
Evenings and weekends may be favourable interviewing hours for such respondents. If someone is available, then, line respondent’s hours of availability can be ascertained and the next visit can be planned accordingly. 5. Refusal Some persons may refuse to furnish information because they are ill-disposed, or approached at the wrong hour and so on. Although, a hardcore of refusals remains, another try or perhaps another approach may find some of them cooperative. Incapacity or inability may refer to illness which prevents a response during the entire survey period.
This may also arise on account of language barrier. 6. Inaccessibility Some respondents may be inaccessible. Some may not be found due to migration and other reasons. Non-responses reduce the effective sample size and its representativeness. 3. a. What are the various steps in processing of data? [5 marks] b. How is data editing is done at the Time of Recording of Data? [5 marks] Ans – (a) Various steps in processing of data… Data is an integral part of all business processes. It is the invisible backbone that supports all the operations and activities within a business.
Without access to relevant data, businesses would get completely paralyzed. This is because quality data helps formulate effective business strategies and fruitful business decisions. Therefore, the quality of data should be maintained in good condition in order to facilitate smooth business proceedings. In order to enhance business proceedings, data should be made available in all possible forms in order to increase the accessibility of the same. Data processing refers to the process of converting data from one format to another.
It transforms plain data into valuable information and information into data. Clients can supply data in a variety of forms, be it . xls sheets, audio devices, or plain printed material. Data processing services take the raw data and process it accordingly to produce sensible information. The various applications of data processing can convert raw data into useful information that can be used further for business processes. Companies and organizations across the world make use of data processing services in order to facilitate their market research interests.
Data consists of facts and figures, based on which important conclusions can be drawn. When companies and organizations have access to useful information, they can utilize it for strategizing powerful business moves that would eventually increase the company revenue and decrease the costs, thus expanding the profit margins. Data processing ensures that the data is presented in a clean and systematic manner and is easy to understand and be used for further purposes. Here are the 5 steps that are included in data processing: Editing There is a big difference between data and useful data. While there are huge olumes of data available on the internet, useful data has to be extracted from the huge volumes of the same. Extracting relevant data is one of the core procedures of data processing. When data has been accumulated from various sources, it is edited in order to discard the inappropriate data and retain relevant data. Coding Even after the editing process, the available data is not in any specific order. To make it more sensible and usable for further use, it needs to be aligned into a particular system. The method of coding ensures just that and arranges data in a comprehendible format.
The process is also known as netting or bucketing. Data Entry After the data has been properly arranged and coded, it is entered into the software that performs the eventual cross tabulation. Data entry professionals do the task efficiently. Validation After the cleansing phase, comes the validation process. Data validation refers to the process of thoroughly checking the collected data to ensure optimal quality levels. All the accumulated data is double checked in order to ensure that it contains no inconsistencies and is utterly relevant. Tabulation This is the final step in data processing.
The final product i. e. the data is tabulated and arranged in a systematic format so that it can be further analyzed. All these processes make up the complete data processing activity which ensures the said data is available for access. (b. ) How is data editing is done at the Time of Recording of Data? [5 marks] The next step in the processing of data is editing of the data instruments. Editing is a process of checking to detect and correct errors and omissions. Data editing happens at two stages, one at the time of recording of the data and second at the time of analysis of data.
Data Editing at the Time of Recording of Data Document editing and testing of the data at the time of data recording is done considering the following questions in mind. * Do the filters agree or are the data inconsistent? * Have missing values been set to values, which are the same for all research questions? * Have variable descriptions been specified? * Have labels for variable names and value labels been defined and written? All editing and cleaning steps are documented, so that, the redefinition of variables or later analytical modification requirements could be easily incorporated into the data sets.