applied research methods 3

7/23/2019 Applied Research Methods 3

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/applied-research-methods-3 1/34

Applied Research MethodsCourse code: MGT-808

by

Prof. Dr. Zahid Hussain

Departent of Mana!eent"ciences.

Preston #ni$ersit%& 'slaa(ad.



Intervening Variable:A variable that surfaces between the time the independent variable starts

operating to influence the dependent variable and its impact is felt on it, is

called intervening variable.

12/11/15 2

Amount of

Study hours

(Independent var.)

Final grade/

Test score

(Dependent var.)

Input Knoledge

In !emory

(Intervening var.)

"ther #aria$les in %esearch



Research Process• Research process consists of series of actions

or steps necessar% to e)ecti$el% carr% outresearch and the desired se*uencin! of thesesteps. 't a% (e noted that the nu(er of stepsdescri(ed (% di)erent authors+researchers$aries (et,een to 0. Ho,e$er& researchprocess in$ol$es a se*uence of hi!hl% inter-related acti$ities& therefore& research oftenfollo,s a !eneral pattern. The follo,in!steps+sta!es ,ell descri(e a research process.

• . De/ne research pro(le+Research o(ecti$es.• 1.Re$ie, the literature or 2iterature sur$e%.



• 3. 4orulate h%potheses.

• 5. Research Desi!n 6includin! saple desi!n7.

• . Collectin! the data 6e9ecution7.

• . Anal%sin! the data 6Test h%potheses if an%7.

• . 'nterpret and report.

• 1. Research Problem:

• 'n research process& the /rst ; foreost stephappens to (e that of selectin! ; properl%de/nin! a research pro(le. 2i<e a edical

doctor& a researcher ust e9aine all thes%ptos 6presented to hi or o(ser$ed (%hi7 concernin! a pro(le (efore he candia!nose correctl%.



• 't is pertinent to ention that scienti/c research!enerall% starts ,ith a (road area pro(le area,ith a de/nite ai or purpose. 'n (usiness& theresearch process in$ol$es translatin! the(usiness decision situation into speci/cresearch o(ecti$es.

• The (road pro(le area is identi/ed throu!h theprocess of o(ser$in! ; focusin! on the speci/c

situation. A pro(le does not necessaril% ipl%that soethin! is seriousl% ,ron! ,ith a currentsituation that needs to (e recti/ed. "oee9aples of (road area pro(le are: 4re*uentproduction interruptions& lac< of interest ofeplo%ees in their ,or<& trainin! pro!ra areperhaps not as e)ecti$e as anticipated or thesales $olue of a product is droppin! and so on.



• To /nd solutions for identi/ed pro(les& a pro(lestateent that states the !eneral o(ecti$e of theresearch should (e de$eloped. 't eans once ,e

ha$e identi/ed the (road area pro(le area& itneeds to (e narro,ed do,n to a speci/c pro(lestateent after soe preliinar% inforation is!athered (% researcher.

• 4or e9aple& if it is o(ser$ed that a copan% islosin! custoers& the preliinar% inforation!atherin! in$ol$es the see<in! of inforation indepth& of ,hat is o(ser$ed. This could (e done (% aliterature re$ie, 6literature on custoer s,itchin!7

or (% tal<in! to se$eral people in the ,or< settin!&to clients 6,h% do the% s,itch7& or to other rele$antsources& there(% !atherin! inforation on ,hat ishappenin! and ,h%.



• Thus ,e !et an idea of the situation andconse*uentl% this allo,s us to de$elop a speci/cpro(le stateent.

•

The research pro(le underta<en for stud% ust(e carefull% selected. Help a% (e ta<en fro aresearch !uide in this connection. =e$ertheless&e$er% researcher ust /nd his o,n sal$ation forresearch pro(le cannot (e (orro,ed. A research

pro(le ust sprin! fro the researcher>s indli<e a plant sprin!in! fro its o,n seed. 'f our e%esneed !lasses& it is not the optician alone ,hodecides a(out the nu(er of lens ,e re*uire. ?e

ha$e to see oursel$es ; ena(le hi to prescri(efor us the ri!ht nu(er (% cooperatin! ,ith hi.

Thus& a research !uide can at the ost onl% help aresearcher choose a su(ect.



• 't is desira(le to a<e a !ood pro(le stateent(ecause pro(le stateent introduces the <e%pro(le that is addressed in the researchproect. A pro(le stateent is clear& precise ;to the point stateent of the speci/c issue that aresearcher ,ishes to in$esti!ate. There are three<e% criteria to assess the *ualit% of the pro(lestateent: it should (e rele$ant& feasi(le ;

interestin!. A fe, e9aples of ,ell-de/nedpro(le stateent are:

• Has the social edia ad$ertisin! essa!eresulted in enhanced recall@

• ?hat are the e)ects of do,nsiin! on the lon!-

ran!e !ro,th patterns of copanies@• Ho, has the ne, pac<a!in! a)ected the sales of

the product@



2iterature Re$ie,• Bnce the pro(le is forulated& a (rief suar% of

it should (e ,ritten do,n. As a !eneral rule&researchers should /rst in$esti!ate pre$iousresearch to see ,hether or not other a% ha$ealread% addressed siilar research pro(les. Thistas< can (e carried out (% literature re$ie,& ,hich

is a step (% step process that in$ol$es theidenti/cation of pu(lished ; unpu(lished ,or< frosecondar% data sources on the topic of interest. Aliterature re$ie, should help the researcher toidentif% ; hi!hli!ht the iportant $aria(les that are

related to the pro(le.• =ote that a literature re$ie, helps the researcher to

de$elop a !ood pro(le stateent: it ensures thatno



• 'portant $aria(le is o$erloo<ed in the process ofde/nin! the pro(le. A re$ie, of the literature alsoser$es soe other functions. 4or e9aple&soeties the researcher i!ht spend considera(le

tie ; e)ort in disco$erin! soethin! that hasalread% (een thorou!hl% researched. A lit. re$ie,,ould pre$ent such a ,aste of resources. 't also!i$es a !ood (asic frae ,or< to proceed further,ith the in$esti!ation.

• A !ood lit. re$ie, thus pro$ides the foundation forde$elopin! a coprehensi$e theoretical frae,or<fro ,hich h%potheses can (e de$eloped fortestin!.

• Conducting the Lit. Review: The /rst step of thelit. re$ie, in$ol$es the identi/cation of the $ariouspu(lished ; unpu(lished aterials that area$aila(le on the topic of interest& and !ainin!access to these.



• Data sources: The *ualit% of lit. re$ie, depends ona cautious selection ; readin! of (oo<s& acadeic ;professional ournals& reports& theses& conferenceproceedin!s& unpu(lished anuscripts and the li<e.

Acadeic (oo<s ; ournals are& in !eneral& the ostuseful sources of inforation. Ho,e$er& othersources such as professional ournals& reports& and

e$en ne,s papers a% also (e $alua(le (ecausethe% can pro$ide %ou ,ith speci/c&real-,orldinforation a(out ar<ets& industries& orcopanies. Therefore& as a rule& %ou ,ill need touse a co(ination of inforation resources.

• Te9t oo<s: Te9t (oo<s are a useful source of theor%in a speci/c area. An ad$anta!e of te9t (oo<s is thatthe% can co$er a ,ide ran!e of topics6less up-to-

date than..7.



• ournals: oth acadeic ; professional ournals areiportant sources of up-to-date inforation. Articlesin acadeic ournals ha$e !enerall% (een peer-

re$ie,ed: this eans that the articles ha$e (eensu(ect to the scrutin% of e9perts in the sae /eld(efore (ein! accepted for pu(lication 6re$ie,articles- $er% useful7.

• Theses: Ph.D theses often contain an e9hausti$e

re$ie, of the lit. in a speci/c area. Most thesesinclude se$eral epirical chapters.

• Conference proceedin!s: Conference proceedin!scan (e useful in pro$idin! the latest research& or

research that has not 6%et7 (een pu(lished. Theseare $er% up-to-date & ; for this reason thisinforation source is *uite $alua(le if one is ,or<in!in a relati$el% ne, area.



• #npu(lished anuscripts: The APA de/nes anunpu(lished anuscript as an% inforation sourcethat is not oEciall% released (% an indi$idual&

pu(lishin! house& or other copan%. F9aples ofthis a% include papers accepted for pu(lication(ut still in press& data fro an unpu(lishedstud%& letters and personal counications 6often

$er% up-to-date7.• Reports: Go$t. departents ; corporations carr%

out a lar!e aount of research. Their pu(lished/ndin!s pro$ide a useful source of speci/c ar<et&industr% or copan% inforation.

• =e,spaper: =e,spaper pro$ide up-to-date(usiness inforation. The% are a useful source ofspeci/c ar<et& industr%& or copan% inforation.



• 'nternet: The aount of inforation thatcan (e found on ,orld ,ide ,e( isenorous. Iou can search for (oo<s&

ournals ; ournal articles& and conferenceproceedin!s as ,ell as for specialied datasuch as copan% pu(lications ; reports.

•

=ote that the internet is unre!ulated ;unonitored.

• Relia(ilit%@

• "earch en!ines : Goo!le search& Iahoocan help %ou to /nd rele$ant inforation.



• Jaria(les in research.

• F9aples: 6i7 Production unit- Bne ,or<er in theanufacturin! departent a% produce one (olt

per inute& a second i!ht produce t,o per inute&• 6ii7 A(senteeis: Bn Monda% t,o e(ers in the

sale dept. a% (e a(sent& on Tuesda%& /$e e(ersa% not sho, up for ,or<K on ?ednesda%& there

a% (e no one a(sent. Ran!e fro L0> to Lall>(ein! ..

• 6iii7 Moti$ation: The le$els of oti$ation of e(ersin the class or in a ,or< tea i!ht ta<e on $ar%in!$alues ran!in! fro $er% lo, to $er% hi!h. Thus

oti$ation is a $aria(le.

• F9ercises: A researcher ,ants to increase theperforance of (an< eplo%ees in a particular



• ranch. ?hat is the dep. Jar. in this case@



• Theoretical Framework

• After conductin! the inter$ie,s& de/nin! thepro(le and copletin! a lit. re$ie,& one is read%

to de$elop a theoretical frae,or<. A theoreticalf,or< is the foundation of research as it is the(asis of h%potheses one ,ill de$elop. A theoreticalf,or< represents %our (eliefs on ho, certain

phenoena 6or $aria(le7 are related to each other6a odel7 ; an e9planation of ,h% %ou (elie$e thatthese $aria(les are associated ,ith each other 6atheor%7. The process of (uildin! a theoretical f,or<includes:

• 6i7 'ntroducin! de/nition of the concepts or$aria(les in %our odel.

• 6ii7 De$elopin! a conceptual odel that pro$ides a



• descripti$e representation of %our theor%.

• Coin! up ,ith a theor% that pro$ides ane9planation for relationship (+t the $aria(les in

%our odel.

• 4ro the theoret. 4,or<& the testa(le h%pothesescan (e de$eloped to e9aine ,hether %ourtheor% is $alid or not. The h%pothesised

relationship can therefore (e tested throu!happropriate statistical anal%ses. Hence the entireresearch rests on the (asis of theoret. 4,or<& i.e.it is the foundation on ,hich the entire research

proect is (ased. 't is a lo!icall% de$eloped&descri(ed& and ela(orated net,or< of associationsaon! the $aria(les deeed rele$ant to thepro(le situation ; identi/ed



• throu!h such processes as inter$ie,s& o(ser$ations&p is to ela(orate the (ecoes e$ident that to arri$eat !ood solution to the pro(le& one should /rst

correctl% identif% the pro(le ; then the $aria(lesthat contri(ute to it. After identif%in! theappropriate $aria(les& the ne9t step is to ela(oratethe net,or< of associations aon! the $aria(les& sothat the rele$ant h%potheses can (e de$eloped and

su(se*uentl% tested. ased on the results ofh%pothesis testin!& the e9tent to ,hich the pro(lecan (e sol$ed (ecoes e$ident. The theoret. f,or<is thus an iportant step in the research process.

• The relationship (+, lit. re$ie, ; theoret. f,or< isthat the forer pro$ides a solid foundation forde$elopin! the latter. That is the lit. re$ie, identi/es



• the $aria(les that i!ht (e iportant& asdeterined (% pre$ious research /ndin!s. Thetheoret f,or< represents ; ela(orates relationship

aon! the $aria(les& e9plains the theor%underl%in! these relations& and descri(es thenature ; direction of the relationship.

• A !ood theoret f,or< identi/es ; de/nes theiportant $aria(les in the situation that arerele$ant to the pro(le ; su(se*uentl% descri(es ;e9plains the interconnection aon! the $aria(les. The relationships aon! the ind. Jars.& the dep.Jar6s7& ; if applica(le& the oderatin! ;

inter$enin! $aria(les are ela(orated. "hould there(e an% oderatin! $ar6s7& it is iportant to e9plainho, ; ,hat speci/c relationships the% oderate."iilarl% for ediatin!..



• 't a% (e noted that a !ood theoret f,or<is not necessaril% a cople9 frae,or<.

•

There are three (asic features that should(e incorporated in an% theoret f,or<.

• 6i7 The $aria(les considered rele$ant to thestud% should (e clearl% de/ned

• 6ii7



• H%pothesis De$elopent:

• After e9tensi$e lit.sur$e%& researcher should

indicate in clear ters the ,or<in!h%pothesis6es7. ?or<in! h%pothesis is atentati$e assuption ade in order to dra,out ; test its lo!ical or epiricalconse*uences. As such the anner in ,hichresearch h%potheses are de$eloped isparticularl% iportant since the% pro$ide thefocal point for research. The de$elopent of,or<in! h%pothesis pla%s an iportant role.

• H%pothesis should (e $er% speci/c ; liited topiece of research in hand (ecause it has to (etested.

C ll t d t hi h h t (



• Collect data ,hich ha$e not (eenor!anied nuericall% are called raw data.4or e9aple& the ,ei!ht of 10 randol%selected students 6recorded to the nearest

<.! 7 fro a uni$ersit% is !i$en as (elo,.



Main di$ision of statistics

• 6i7 Descripti$e "tatistics 6ii7 'nferential"tatistics

• 6i7 Descripti$e statistics is that (ranch of

statistics ,hich deals ,ith concepts ; ethodsconcerned ,ith suariation ; description ofthe iportant aspects of nuerical data. 'tconsists of condensation of data, their!raphical displa%s& coputation of nuerical*uantities such as specialied a$era!es& ratios&proections ; other easures ,hich aid ina<in! decisions.



• 6ii7 'nferential statistics or statisticalinference coprisin! those ethods

concerned ,ith the anal%sis of a su(set6saple7 of data leadin! to predictions orinferences a(out the entire set of data6population7.

•'t in$ol$es the estiation of populationparaeters and testin! of statisticalh%pothesis. This area of statistics is (asedon pro(a(ilit% theor%& and lies in the heart

of statistics. =ote that lar!er !roup of data6or the ,hole7 is called population and onl%a part of data is <no,n as saple. Theseare de/ned (elo,.



Population and "aples

•

A population or statistical population is acollection or set of all possi(leo(ser$ations ,hether /nite or in/nite&aniate or inaniate& rele$ant to soecharacteristic of interest. 'n e$er% da%

lan!ua!e& the ,ord population eans allthe people in a speci/c area. Ho,e$er& the,ord population has a (roader eanin! instatistics. 4or e9aple& population of (an<accounts& all the houses in a cit%& all thestudents in a uni$ersit%& all the (oo<s in ali(rar%& all the patients in a hospital etc.



• Fach indi$idual ite in a population is calledan element of the correspondin! population.

• "tatistical population a% (e real such as the

hei!ht of colle!e students or h%potheticalsuch as all the possi(le outcoes fro thetoss of a coin or thro, of a dice.

• A saple is a part or su(set of a population.

• =o. of o(ser$ations in a /nite population iscalled the sie of the population-denoted (%=.

• 't consists of soe o(ser$ations or ,hole of

the population. The no. of o(ser$ations in asaple is called the sie of the saple isdenoted (% n.



• The inforation deri$ed fro sapledata is used to dra, conclusions a(out

the population for e9aple..• PARAMFTFR ; "TAT'"T'C

– A nuerical *uantit% coputed fro a popn.6i.e. data o(tained fro a popn.7 is called a

paraeter& and is denoted (% Gree< letter

– Jalues of paraeters are !enerall% un<no,n(ut a% (e estiated (% usin! certainestiation ethod. 4or e9aple

– A nuerical *uantit% coputed fro asaple& is called a statistic---- represented (%ordinar% 2atin letter.



• The inforation deri$ed fro sapledata to dra, conclusions a(out

the popn. 4or e9aple• JAR'A2F ; CB="TA=T

– A characteristics that $aries fro indi$idualto indi$idual in a popn. 4or e9aple& a!e isa $aria(le as it $aries fro person toperson. "iilarl%& other e9aple are.

– Gi$en set of all possi(le $alues fro ,hich

the $aria(le ta<es on $alue. doain – Constant: 'f the doain of a $aria(le

contains onl% one $alue then the $aria(le isreferred . Constant or /9ed $alue



• RA=DBM JAR'A2F

– A $aria(le ,hose $alue is o(tained (%chance---- or its $alue cannot (e e9actl%deterined. 4or e9aple& suppose ,e toss acoin t,ice and call heads on a toss a success60&&17.

– Here& the occurrence of a particular $alue is aatter of chance& so the nu(er of heads is arando $aria(le. "iilarl%& the su of dotso(tained ,ith a pair of die..e9aple of r.$.

•

N#A=T'TA'JF A=D N#A2'TAT'JF JAR'A2F – Jaria(les a% (e classi/ed into *uantitati$e

and *ualitati$e accordin! to the for ofcharacteristics of interest.



– Nuantitati$e $aria(le--------- nuerical $alue.4or e9aple.

– Nualitati$e $aria(le------not capa(le of ta<in!nuerical easureents. 4or e9aple&education& intelli!ence..A *ualitati$echaracteristic is also called an Attri(ute.

– Another de/nition: A characteristic ,hich$aries onl% in a!nitude fro one indi$idualto another is called a *uantitati$e $aria(le.

– A characteristic ,hich $aries onl% in *ualit%

fro one indi$idual to another is called a*ualitati$e $aria(le or an attri(ute.

Percent chan!e or



Percent chan!e ordi)erence

• A nuerical chan!e is a chan!e fro

one nu(er to another. An increase ischan!e fro the saller of t,o nu(ersto lar!er nu(er. "iilarl% a decrease isa chan!e fro the lar!er..

•A percent increase is coputed (%di$idin! the di)erence in t,o nu(ers(% the saller one. ut a percentdecrease is coputed (% di$idin! the

di)erence (% the lar!er of t,o nu(ers.F9aple: Durin! 1 ,or<in! da%s thisonth& output of a plant ,as 8 units.2ast onth had ..



• 15 ,or<in! da%s and output ,asO85 units. Copute percent chan!e

in output per ,or<in! da%.



Nuadratic F*uation

applied research methods 3

Documents