MODULE 1
MODULE 1
RESEARCH
The word research is composed of two syllables, re and search. The dictionary defines the former as a prefix meaning again, anew or over again and the latter as a verb meaning to examine closely and carefully, to test and try, or to probe. Together they form a noun describing a careful, systematic, patient study and investigation in some field of knowledge, undertaken to establish facts or principles. According to Robert Ross, “research is essentially an investigation, a recording and an analysis of evidence for the purpose of gaining knowledge”. It can generally be defined as a systematic method of finding solutions to problems.
A research need not lead to ideal solution but it may give rise to new problems which may require further research. In other words research is not an end to a problem since every research gives birth to a new question. It is carried on both for discovering new facts and verification of old ones.
Features of Research
· It means the discovery of new knowledge
· Is essentially an investigation
· Is related with the solution of a problem
· It is based on observation or experimental evidences.
· It demands accurate observation or experimentation.
· In research, the researchers try to find out answers for unsolved questions
· It should be carefully recorded and reported
Business Research
Business research refers to systematic collection and analysis of data with the purpose of finding answers to problems facing management. It can be carried out with the objective to explore, to describe or to diagnose a phenomenon. It involves establishing objectives and gathering relevant information to obtain the answer to a business issue and it can be conducted to answer a business related question, such as: What is the target market of my product? Business research can also be used to solve a business-related problem, such as determining how to decrease the amount of excesof social phenomena; from census survey data derived from millions of individuals, to the in-depth analysis of a single agents' social experiences; from monitoring what is happening on contemporary streets, to the investigation of ancient historical documents.
The social science research is a systematic method of exploring, analyzing and conceptualizing social life in order to expand, correct or verify knowledge whether that knowledge aids in the construction of theory or in the practice of an art.
When deciding whether business research is to be conducted or not, the firm keeps in mind factors like the availability of data, time constraints and the value of the research information to the company. Adequate planning and information-gathering are essential to derive results for business.
Social Research
Social research refers to research conducted by social scientists. It is the scientific investigation conducted in the field of social sciences and also in the behavioral sciences. Social research methods can generally vary along a quantitative/qualitative dimension. While various methods may sometimes be classified as quantitative or qualitative, most methods contain elements of both. Social scientists employ a range of methods in order to analyse a vast breadth
Educational Research
Educational Research is that activity which is directed towards development of a science of behaviour in educational situations. The ultimate aim of this research is to provide knowledge that will permit the educator to achieve his goals by most effective methods. Educational research refers to a variety of methods, in which individuals evaluate different aspects of education including: “student learning, teaching methods, teacher training, and classroom dynamics”.
Educational researchers have come to the consensus that, educational research must be conducted in a rigorous and systematic way although what this implies is often debated. There are a variety of disciplines which are each present to some degree in educational research. These include psychology, sociology, anthropology, and philosophy. The overlap in disciplines creates a broad range from which methodology can be drawn. The findings of educational research also need to be interpreted within the context in which they were discovered as they may not be applicable in every time or place.
Need For Research (Importance of Research)
The main importance of research is to produce knowledge that can be applied outside a research setting. Research also forms the foundation of program development and policies everywhere around the universe. It also solves particular existing problems of concern. Research is important because we are able to learn more about things, people, and events. In doing research, we are able to make smart decisions.
Marketing research is important because it allows consumers and producers to become more familiar with the products, goods, and services around them. Research is important to society because it allows us to discover more and more that might make are lives easier, more comfortable, and safer. It presents more information for investigation. This allows for improvements based on greater information and study. It is very important. Research encourages interdisciplinary approaches to find solution to problems and to make new discoveries. Research is a basic ingredient for development and therefore serves as a means for rapid economic development.
The main importance or uses may be listed as under:
• It provides basis for government policies
• Helps in solving various operational and planning problems of business and industry
• Research helps in problem solving
• Is useful to students, professionals, philosophers, literary men, analysts and intellectuals.
Purpose / Aims / Objectives of Research
1. To find out the truth which is hidden and which has not been discovered so far.
2. Aims at advancing systematic knowledge and formulating basic theories about the forces influencing the relation between groups as well as those acting on personality development and is adjustment with individuals.
3. Try to improve tools of analysis or to test these against the complex human behaviour and institutions.
4. To understand social life and thereby to gain a greater measure of control over social behaviour.
5. To provide an educational program in the accumulated knowledge of group dynamics, in skills of research, in techniques of training leaders and in socialaction.
Criteria of good research
Whatever may be the types of research works and studies, one thing that is important is that they all meet on the common ground of scientific method employed by them. One expects scientific research to satisfy the following criteria:
1. The purpose of the research should be clearly defined and common concepts be used.
2. The research procedure used should be described in sufficient detail to permit another researcher to repeat the research for further advancement, keeping the continuity of what has already been attained.
3. The procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to yield results that are as objective as possible.
4. The researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in procedural design and estimate their effects upon the findings.
5. The analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance and the methods of analysis used should be appropriate. The validity and reliability of the data should be checked carefully.
6. Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of the research and limited to those for which the data provide an adequate basis.
7. Greater confidence in research is warranted if the researcher is experienced, has a good reputation in research and is a person of integrity.
Limitations of Research
- Conclusions in research are based upon data collected. Therefore when the data collected are not valid or adequate, the conclusion will not be conclusive or appropriate.
- Research results in theory
- Activities in a society are influenced by various internal and external factors
- Small organizations cannot afford to have research on various issues
- Many people in society depend on customs, traditions, routines and practices for taking decision; instead of going for research.
Research is usually based on sample studies. But in many cases samples are not true representatives. Therefore the
research reports based on these samples may not be accurate.
Research process
Before embarking on the details of research methodology and techniques, it seems appropriate to present a brief overview of the research process. Research process consists of series of actions or steps necessary to effectively carry out research and the desired sequencing of these steps. One should remember that the various steps involved in a research process are not mutually exclusive; nor they are separate and distinct. They do not necessarily follow each other in any specific order and the researcher has to be constantly anticipating at each step in the research process the requirements of the subsequent steps. However, the following order concerning various steps provides a useful procedural guideline regarding the research process: (1) formulating the research problem; (2) extensive literature survey; (3) developing the hypothesis; (4) preparing the research design;
(5) determining sample design; (6) collecting the data; (7) execution of the project; (8) analysis of data;
(9) hypothesis testing; (10) generalisations and interpretation, and (11) preparation of the report or presentation of the results, i.e., formal write-up of conclusions reached.
A brief description of the above stated steps will be helpful.
1.Formulating the research problem:
There are two types of research problems, viz., those which relate to states of nature and those which relate to relationships between variables. At the very outset the researcher must single out the problem he wants to study, i.e., he must decide the general area of interest or aspect of a
subject- matter that he would like to inquire into. Initially the problem may be stated in a broad general way and then the ambiguities, if any, relating to the problem be resolved. Then, the feasibility of a particular solution has to be considered before a working formulation of the problem can be set up. The formulation of a general topic into a specific research problem, thus, constitutes the first step in a scientific enquiry. Essentially two steps are involved in formulating the research problem, viz., understanding the problem thoroughly, and rephrasing the same into meaningful terms from an analytical point of view.
The researcher must at the same time examine all available literature to get himself acquainted with the selected problem. He may review two types of literature—the conceptual literature concerning the concepts and theories, and the empirical literature consisting of studies made earlier which are similar to the one proposed. The basic outcome of this review will be the knowledge as to what data and other materials are available for operational purposes which will enable the researcher to specify his own research problem in a meaningful context. The problem to be investigated must be defined unambiguously for that will help discriminating relevant data from irrelevant ones.
2. Extensive literature survey:
Once the problem is formulated, a brief summary of it should be written down. It is compulsory for a research worker writing a thesis for a Ph.D. degree to write a synopsis of the topicand submit it to the necessary Committee or the Research Board for approval.
At this juncture the researcher should undertake extensive literature survey connected with the problem. For this purpose, the abstracting and indexing journals and published or
unpublished bibliographies are the first place to go to. Academic journals, conference proceedings, government reports, books etc., must be tapped depending on the nature of the problem.
3. Development of working hypotheses:
After extensive literature survey, researcher should state in clear terms the working hypothesis or hypotheses. Working hypothesis is tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test its logical or empirical consequences. As such the manner in which research hypotheses are developed is particularly important since they provide the focal point for research. They also affect the manner in which tests must be conducted in the analysis of data and indirectly the quality of data which is required for the analysis. In most types of research, the development of working hypothesis plays an important role. Hypothesis should be very specific and limited to the piece of research in hand because it has to be tested. The role of the hypothesis is to guide the researcher by delimiting the area of research and to keep him on the right track.
4. Preparing the research design:
The research problem having been formulated in clear cut terms, the researcher will be required to prepare a research design, i.e., he will have to state the conceptual structure within which research would be conducted. The preparation of such a design facilitates research to be as efficient as
possible yielding maximal information. In other words, the function of research design is to provide for the collection of relevant evidence with minimal expenditure of effort, time and money. But how all these can be achieved depends mainly on the research purpose. Research purposes may be grouped into four categories, viz., (i) Exploration, (ii) Description, (iii)
Diagnosis, and (iv) Experimentation. A flexible research design which provides opportunity for considering many different aspects of a problem is considered appropriate if the purpose of the research study is that of exploration. But when the purpose happens to be an accurate description of a situation or of an association between variables, the suitable design will be one that minimises bias and maximises the reliability of the data collected and analysed.
5. Determining sample design:
All the items under consideration in any field of inquiry constitute a ‘universe’ or ‘population’. A complete enumeration of all the items in the ‘population’ is known as a census inquiry. It can be presumed that in such an inquiry when all the items are covered no element of chance is left and highest accuracy is obtained. But in practice this may not be true. Even the slightest element of bias in such an inquiry will get larger and larger as the number of observations increases. Moreover, there is no way of checking the element of bias or its extent except through a resurvey or use of sample checks. Besides, this type of inquiry involves a great deal of time, money and energy. Not only this, census inquiry is not possible in practice under many circumstances. For instance, blood testing is done only on sample basis. Hence, quite often we select only a few items from the universe for our study purposes. The items so selected constitute what is technically called a sample. The sample design to be used must be decided by the researcher taking into consideration the nature of the inquiry and other related factors.
6. Collecting the data:
In dealing with any real life problem it is often found that data at hand are inadequate, and hence, it becomes necessary
to collect data that are appropriate. There are several ways of collecting the appropriate data which differ considerably in context of money costs, time and other resources at the disposal of the researcher.
Primary data can be collected either through experiment or through survey. If the researcher conducts an experiment, he observes some quantitative measurements, or the data, with the help of which he examines the truth contained in his hypothesis. The researcher should select one of these methods of collecting the data taking into consideration the nature of
investigation, objective and scope of the inquiry, finanical resources, available time and the desired degree of accuracy.
7. Execution of the project:
Execution of the project is a very important step in the research process. If the execution of the project proceeds on correct lines, the data to be collected would be adequate and dependable. The researcher should see that the project is executed in a systematic manner and in time. If the survey is to be conducted by means of structured questionnaires, data can be readily machine-processed. In such a situation, questions as well as the possible answers may be coded. If the data are to be collected through interviewers, arrangements should be made for proper selection and training of the interviewers. The training may be given with the help of instruction manuals which explain clearly the job of the interviewers at each step. Occasional field checks should be made to ensure that the interviewers are doing their assigned job sincerely and efficiently. A careful watch should be kept for unanticipated factors in order to keep the survey as much realistic as possible. This, in other words, means that steps should be taken to ensure that the survey is under statistical control so that the collected information is in accordance with the pre-defined standard of accuracy.
8. Analysis of data:
After the data have been collected, the researcher turns to the task of analysing them. The analysis of data requires a number of closely related operations such as establishment of categories, the application of these categories to raw data through coding, tabulation and then drawing statistical inferences. The unwieldy data should necessarily be condensed into a few manageable groups and tables for further analysis. Thus, researcher should classify the raw data into some purposeful and usable categories. Coding operation is usually done at this stage through which the categories of data are transformed into symbols that may be tabulated and counted. Editing is the procedure that improves the quality of the data for coding. With coding the stage is ready for tabulation. Tabulation is a part of the technical procedure wherein the classified data are put in the form of tables. The mechanical devices can be made use of at this juncture. A great deal of data, specially in large inquiries, is tabulated by computers. Computers not only save time but also make it possible to study large number of variables affecting a problem simultaneously. Analysis work after tabulation is generally based on the computation of various percentages, coefficients, etc., by applying various well defined statistical formulae.
9. Hypothesis-testing:
After analysing the data as stated above, the researcher is in a position to test the hypotheses, if any, he had formulated earlier. Do the facts support the hypotheses or they happen to be contrary? This is the usual question which should be answered while testing hypotheses. Various tests, such as Chisquare test, t-test, F-test, have been developed by statisticians for the purpose. The hypotheses may be tested through the use of one or more of such tests, depending upon the nature and object of research inquiry.
10. Generalisations and interpretation:
If a hypothesis is tested and upheld several times, it may be possible for the researcher to arrive at generalisation, i.e., to build a theory. As a matter of fact, the real value of research lies in its ability to arrive at certain generalisations. If the researcher had no hypothesis to start with, he might seek to explain his findings on the basis of some theory. It is known as interpretation. The process of interpretation may quite often trigger off new questions which in turn may lead to further researches.
11. Preparation of the report or the thesis:
Finally, the researcher has to prepare the report of what has been done by him. Writing of report must be done with great care keeping in view the following:
1.The layout of the report should be as follows: (i) the preliminary pages; (ii) the main text, and (iii) the end matter.
In its preliminary pages the report should carry title and date followed by acknowledgements and foreword. Then there should be a table of contents followed by a list of tables and list of graphs and charts, if any, given in the report.
2.Report should be written in a concise and objective style in simple language avoiding vague expressions such as ‘it seems,’ ‘there may be’, and the like.
3.Charts and illustrations in the main report should be used only if they present the information more clearly and forcibly.
4.Calculated ‘confidence limits’ must be mentioned and the various constraints experienced in conducting research operations may as well be stated.
Research Problem
Problem means a question or an issue to be examined. A research problem refers to some kind of problem which a researcher experiences or observes in the context of either a theoretical or practical situation. The researcher has to find out suitable course of action by which the objective can be attained optimally in the context of given environment. Thus, selection of research problem has high value to the society and the researcher must be able to identify those problems that need an urgent solution.
Requisites or Characteristics of a Good Research Problem
• clear and unambiguous
• logical and systematic
• empirical
• relation between variables
• verifiable
• interesting
Various Aspects of a Research Problem
For an effective formulation of the problem following aspects of the problem are to be considered by the researcher.
• Definition of the problem: - Before one takes up a problem for the study one needs to define it properly. The issues for inquiry are to be identified clearly and specified in details. If any existing theoretical framework is tested, the particular theorem or theories must be identified.
Similarly if there are any assumptions made and terms used the meaning of them must be madeclear. As far as possible the statement of the problem should not give any scope for ambiguity.
• Scope of the problem: - The research scholar has to fix up the four walls of the study. The researcher must identify which of the aspects he is trying to prove. Taking the example of sickness he should specify. (1) Whether his study extends to all types of small scale industries, or limited to only few of them. (2) Whether the study is limited to find cause for sickness or also to prescribe certain prescriptions etc.
• Justification of the problem: - Many a time research studies are put to the test of justification or relevance. In the scientific curiosity of the problems, th problem that needs urgent solution must be given preference.
• Feasibility of the problem: - Although a problem needs urgent attention and is justifiable in several respects, one has to consider the feasibility of the same. Feasibility means the possibility of conducting the study successfully. The elements of time, data, Cost is to be taken into consideration before a topic is selected for study.
• Originality of the problem: - In social sciences, particularly in commerce and management, there is no systematic compilation of the works already done or on hand. Two people may be doing a work more or less on similar topic. In such situations it is not advisable to continue work in the same manner. What is advisable is that, each of them should try to focus ondifferent aspects, so that they could enrich the field of knowledge with their studies. Another problem faced
by a researcher is that a problem which he intends to do is already worked out. Should he repeat the same or not? This depends upon the situation or circumstances which engage his attention.
Relevant Variables
A variable is a measurable concept such as height, age, income etc. it takes quantitative values. It may vary from individuals to individuals or groups to groups. When there are two variables in a study such that the values of one variable change in response to the change in the values of the other variable, then the former is said to be depending variable and latter is said to be independent variable. A variable may be discrete or continuous. When a variable assumes only certain specified values in an interval, it is called discrete variable. But a continuous variable is one which can assume any number of values in an interval.
Extraneous variables: Besides the independent variable, a dependent variable can be influenced by other variables, which are not part of the study. They are called extraneous variable. They are variables working from outside.
Unit of analysis: A variable can be measured and analyzed by statistical units. The statistical units used for analysis and interpretation are known as units of analysis. Rations percentages, coefficients etc are such units. They can be used for the purpose of comparison.
Proposition
Propositions are statements concerned with the logical relationships among concepts. A proposition explains the logical linkage among certain concepts by a universal connection between concepts. Concepts are the basic units of theory development.
Types of Research
Research may be broadly classified as (1) Fundamental and Applied Research (2) Descriptive and Analytical Research or (3) Quantitative and Qualitative Research or (4) Conceptual and Empirical Research
Fundamental (or Basic) and Applied Research
Fundamental research is mainly concerned with generalization with the formulation of a theory. It is a research concerning principles or laws or rules. It aims at the achievement of knowledge and truth. Research studies concentrating on some natural phenomenon or relating to pure mathematics are examples of fundamental research. It aims at some theoretical conclusions. It may verify the old theory or establish a new one. It tries to explain the cause and effect relationship in social phenomena. It is essentially positive and not normative. That is, it explains the phenomena as they are and not as they should be.
Applied research is concerned with the solution of particular problems. It aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem facing a society or an industrial organization. It is empirical and practical. It is concerned with applied aspects of life. Research to identify social, economic or political trends that may affect a particular institution or the marketing research are examples of applied research.
Exploratory research and causal research
Exploratory research is research conducted for a problem that has not been studied more clearly, intended to establish priorities, develop operational definitions and improve the final research design. Exploratory research helps determine the best research design, data-collection method and selection of subjects. It should draw definitive conclusions only with extreme caution.
Causal research: The objective of causal research is to test hypotheses about cause-and-effect relationships. If the objective is to determine which variable might be causing a certain behavior, i.e. whether there is a cause and effect relationship between variables, causal research must be undertaken. In order to determine causality, it is important to hold the variable that is assumed to cause the change in the other variable(s) constant and then measure the changes in the other variable(s). This type of research is very complex and the researcher can never be completely certain that there are not other factors influencing the causal relationship, especially when dealing with people's attitudes and motivations. There are often much deeper psychological considerations, that even the respondent may not be aware of this is not true.
Descriptive Research and Analytical Research
Descriptive research includes survey and fact finding enquiries of different kinds. It describes the state of affairs as it exists at present. The researcher has no control over the variables. He can only report what has happened or what is happening.
In Analytical research one has to use facts or information already available and analyse these to make a critical evaluation of the material.
Quantitative Research and Qualitative Research
Quantitative research is applicable to phenomena that are measurable so that they can be expressed in terms of quantity.
Qualitative research is concerned with qualitative phenomenon. Research designed to find out how people feel or what they think about a particular subject is a qualitative research. Qualitative research is especially important in the behavioural sciences where the aim is to discover underlying motives of human behaviour.
Conceptual Research and Empirical Research
Conceptual research is that related to some abstract ideas or theory. It is generally used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or to interpret existing ones.
Empirical research relies on experience or observation alone. It is data based research coming up with conclusions capable of being verified by observation or experiment. It can be experiment research. In empirical research, the researcher has to first set up a hypothesis or guess as to the probable results. He then works out to get enough facts to prove or disprove his hypothesis. Empirical studies have a great potential for they lead to inductions and deductions. Thus research enables one to develop theories and principles and to arrive at generalizations. As research is based on observations and empirical evidences it improves knowledge and understanding as well as decision making skill and ability.
Phases of business research
The important phases of business research consists of
• Problem definition
• Development of an approach to the problem
• Research design formulation
• Data collection
• Data preparation and analysis
• Report preparation and presentation
Research hypothesis
Ordinarily, when one talks about hypothesis, one simply means a mere assumption or some supposition to be proved or disproved. But for a researcher hypothesis is a formal question that he intends to resolve. Thus a hypothesis may be defined as a proposition or a set of proposition set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena either asserted merely as a provisional conjecture to guide some investigation or accepted as highly probable in the light of established facts. Quite often a research hypothesis is a predictive statement, capable of being tested by scientific methods, that relates an independent variable to some dependent variable.
Characteristics of hypothesis:
Hypothesis must possess the following characteristics:
(i) Hypothesis should be clear and precise. If the hypothesis is not clear and precise, the inferences drawn on its basis cannot be taken as reliable.
(ii) Hypothesis should be capable of being tested. In a swamp of untestable hypotheses, many a time the research programmes have bogged down. Some prior study may be done by researcher in order to make hypothesis a testable one. A hypothesis “is testable if other deductions can be made from it which, in turn, can be confirmed or disproved by observation.”1
(iii) Hypothesis should state relationship between variables, if it happens to be a relational hypothesis.
(iv) Hypothesis should be limited in scope and must be specific. A researcher must remember that narrower hypotheses are generally more testable and he should develop such hypotheses.
(v) Hypothesis should be stated as far as possible in most simple terms so that the same iseasily understandable by all concerned. But one must remember that simplicity of hypothesishas nothing to do with its significance.
(vi) Hypothesis should be consistent with most known facts i.e., it must be consistent with a substantial body of established facts. In other words, it should be one which judges accept as being the most likely.
(vii) Hypothesis should be amenable to testing within a reasonable time. One should not use even an excellent hypothesis, if the same cannot be tested in reasonable time for one cannot spend a life-time collecting data to test it.
(viii) Hypothesis must explain the facts that gave rise to the need for explanation. This means that by using the hypothesis plus other known and accepted generalizations, one should be able to deduce the original problem condition. Thus hypothesis must actually explain what it claims to explain; it should have empirical reference.
Different Types of Hypothesis
• Descriptive Hypothesis – Describing the characteristics of a variable (may be an object, person, organisation, event, and situation) • Eg. Employment opportunity of commerce graduates is more than the arts students.
• Relational Hypothesis – Establishes relationship between two variables. It may be positive,
negative or nil relationship. • Eg. High income leads to
high savings.
• Causal Hypothesis – The change in one variable leads to change in another variable i.e. Dependent and independent variables, one variable is a cause and the other one is the effect.
• Statistical Hypothesis – association or difference between two variables are hypothesized
• Null Hypothesis – it points out there is no difference between two populations in respect of same property.
• Alternative Hypothesis- when we reject the null hypothesis, we accept another hypothesis known as alternate hypothesis.
• Working Hypothesis.
Theory
Theory is defined as a set of systematically interrelated concepts, definitions and propositions that are advanced to explain and predict a phenomenon. It may also specify causal relationship among variables. A theory is an integrated body of definitions, assumptions, and general propositions covering a given subject matter from which a comprehensive and consistent set of specific and testable principles can be deducted logically. This theory provides a basis for studying consumer behaviour and formulating appropriate marketing strategies.
Requisites (Criteria) of Theory
Theory starts out as ideas. The criteria to be met by the set of ideas are:
1. They must be logically consistent.
2. They must be interrelated.
3. The statements must be exhaustive.
4. The propositions should be mutually exclusive.
5. They must be capable of being tested through research.
Methods of Formation of Theory
Deduction: It is one of the important methods employed in theory building. It is a process of drawing generalizations, through a process of reasoning on the basis of certain assumptions which are either self evident or based on observation. By deduction, is meant reasoning or inference from the general to particular or from the universal to the individual.
Eg., All men are mortal (Major Premise) A is a man (Minor premise)
Therefore A is mortal (Conclusion)
The conclusion follows from the two premises logically. Therefore it is valid. The deduction is the logical conclusion obtained by deducting it from the statements, called premise of the argument. The argument is so constructed that if the premises are true, conclusion must also be true. The logical deduction derives only conclusions from given premises and it cannot affirm the truth of given statements. It serves in connecting different truths and thus logical derivation is not a means to find ultimate truth.
Induction: It is the process of reasoning from a part to the whole, from particular to general or from the individual to the universal. It gives rise to empirical generalizations. It is a passage from observed to unobserved. It involves two processes namely observation and generalization. Induction may be regarded as a method by means of which material truth of the premises is established. Generating ideas from empirical observation is the process of induction. As a matter of fact, concepts can be generated from experience which justifies the description of particular situations towards theory- building. It is generally observed that experience is regarded as a sum of individual observations held together by the loose tie of association and constantly extended by the idea of inductive inferences.
It is generally stated that knowledge is based on the foundations of particular facts. In empirical sciences, we start from the consideration of a single case, go on to prove many cases. Consider the following illustration. “I saw a raven in black colour. Other revens seen by me were also black in colour”. “All ravens are therefore black”.
Inductive method is classified into two types enumerative induction and analytical induction. Retroduction: It is a technique of successive approximation by which, the concepts and assumptions of theories are brought into closer alignment with relevant evidence. At the same time it maintains the logical consistency required of deductive systems.
Research in an evolutionary perspective
A research is the gathering of information or evidence for ascertaining an assumption or verifying some hypothesis. No research can be purely new, as even original discoveries are an extension of the research already undertaken, being shaped generally as expressing agreement or denial or natural addition. The following examples indicate the contribution done by eminent researchers in different fields. Archimedes introduced the Archimedes principles. AryaBhatta found digit
0. In management Hamel and CK Prahld introduced core competence model. In marketing four P’s was introduced by EJ McCarthy. There is no end for this list. Research is an on going activity in every field. Research helps to acquire knowledge and it helps to change the world into global village. Acquired human knowledge does not flow backwards. It will flow. So it’s a continuum.
When deciding whether business research is to be conducted or not, the firm keeps in mind factors like the availability of data, time constraints and the value of the research information to the company. Adequate planning and information-gathering are essential to derive results for business.
Social Research
Social research refers to research conducted by social scientists. It is the scientific investigation conducted in the field of social sciences and also in the behavioral sciences. Social research methods can generally vary along a quantitative/qualitative dimension. While various methods may sometimes be classified as quantitative or qualitative, most methods contain elements of both. Social scientists employ a range of methods in order to analyse a vast breadth
നിങ്ങൾക്ക് ഉപകാരപ്പെട്ടെങ്കിൽ നിങ്ങളുടെ കൂട്ടുകാർക്ക് കൂടി ഷെയർ ചെയ്യുക
Share This
