Research Process

Research Process 

Research is a search for knowledge. It helps in taking appropriate decisions. Research involves asking a question and then trying to find an answer to it. Research is essentially a systematic, scientific and structured inquiry seeking facts through objective methods. Therefore a research must have a clearly defined step-by-step process. A knowledge of the research process is essential both for those who conduct the research and for those who wish to be benefited by the conclusions drawn from the research. A meaningful knowledge should have a definite purpose and direction.

In developing a research process, one would like to list the sequence of step-by step activities. In a research process these steps are inter- dependent and may overlap each other. They may not follow a strict sequence and the researcher has to be vigilant of their order continuously through out the research process. However, one can broadly enlist the main steps involved in a research process as a procedural guideline to the researcher. These steps are:

1.     Problem formulation

2.     Literature survey

3.     Development of hypothesis

4.     Research design

5.     Choice of sample design

6.     Data collection

7.     Analysis and interpretation of data

8.     Hypothesis testing

9.     Interpretation of results

10.  Report writing

 

Problem formulation - Formulation of a problem is the first and foremost step in a research process. It is not always easy to identify and define a problem in an ever-changing business environment. A researcher not only discovers and defines a problem area but also a specific problem within that area concerning his interest in business. The problem should be clearly and precisely stated. The statement of the problem must be complete. The problems in a business may sometimes be obvious and one can pinpoint them. Many a problems is not so apparent and needs explorations. Thus, first of all one has to identify a problem specifically and thoroughly, and then it has to be expressed in scientific terms so that statistical analysis can be performed on that problem.

Literature survey - After the formulation and identification of a problem, the next important step is the review of literature survey. An exhaustive and critical review of professional literature familiarizes the researcher with the current state of knowledge. It helps in understanding of the problems and hypothesis that others have studied. It clarifies the concepts, theories, major variables involved, operational definitions and research methods used in the past. This contributes to the cumulative nature of scientific knowledge. Every year thousands of articles, books and monographs are published in any field of study. Therefore, it is important to sort out the relevant literature connected with the field of one’s interest. It is best to begin any search for literature with one of the guides to published literature. These guides are increasingly computerized and include bibliographies, indexes and abstracts.

Development of hypothesis - Once a problem is defined and a review of literature is made, the next step is to define clearly the hypothesis in a research problem. A hypothesis is a tentative assumption in a research problem, which has to be tested empirically with the help of observed data. When formulating a hypothesis, a researcher does not know whether it will be rejected or accepted. A hypothesis is constructed and tested; if it is rejected, another one is formulated; if it is accepted, it is incorporated in the scientific body of knowledge. One should arrive at a clear and specific working hypothesis for which research methods already exist. A good hypothesis states a research problem in concise and precise terms so that the researcher is focused on the problem at hand.

Research design - A research design is a well-defined plan of action. It is a planned sequence of the entire research process. It is a blue print of research activity. In a big business scenario designing a research study is very complex. Therefore, a research design may change during the operation of a project. A good research design must use minimum of resources like time, money and manpower. A research design must be able to translate the general scientific model into a practical research operation. A scientifically developed research design possess the characteristics like (i) objectivity (ii) Reliability ( iii) Validity (iv) Generalization.

Choice of sample design - In any investigation the group of all items, objects or individuals under study is called ‘population’ or ‘universe’. For all purpose of determining population characteristics, instead of enumerating entire population, some items of the population, called a sample, are observed. Then the sample characteristics are utilized to approximately determine or estimate the population. For example, on examining the sample of particular product, we arrive at a decision of purchasing or rejecting that product. There will be surely some error in such an approximation and is inherent and unavoidable in any and every sampling scheme. But samples results in considerable gains in terms of time, money, accuracy and efforts. Depending on the requirement of a situation one can choose one of the following sample designs: 1. Purposive or Judgment Sampling 2. Simple Random Sampling 3. Stratified Random Sampling 4. Systematic Sampling 5. Cluster Sampling 6. Area Sampling 7. Multi-stage Sampling 8. Multi-phase Sampling

Data collection - Once a sample design is formulated, the next step in a research process is the collection of relevant data. There can be two sources of data (i) Internal data, that refers to the happenings and functions of a business organization. For example, the salepurchases details of a company. (ii) External data, which is related to outside sources and external agencies. There are two types of data (a) Primary data (b) Secondary data. Primary data are those observations, which are collected by an investigator for the first time, Secondary data are already available in the records and have been collected by some other researcher for the purpose of studying a similar problem. Methods of collecting primary data are: (i) by direct observation and experimentations (ii) by direct personal interview (iii) by direct interviews through phone, sms and email. (iv) by indirect personal interview (v) by mailed / emailed Questionnaire (vi) by schedules through enumerators. Methods of collecting secondary data: (i) International organizations like WHO, UNO etc. (ii) Government publications like economic survey, CSO, NSSO. (iii) Journal and Newspapers (iv) Research articles (v) Reports of business organization and financial institutions. A method and source of data collection is chosen by an investigator taking into account the objectives and requirements of the inquiry. The adopted method should incur minimum cost and time should have a reasonable level of accuracy and unbiasedness.

Analysis and interpretation of data - After the collection of data, what we have is a huge chunk of observations and numerical values. The data at the beginning are in raw form. For the purpose of applying further statistical techniques, one has to put the raw data in a useful form by classification, tabulation and categorization of data. If one has to feed the data in a computer, the data should bear the same form as required by the software used. This kind of processing of data involves one or more of the following activities: (i) coding (ii) labeling (iii)editing (iv) tabulation (v) classification.

Hypothesis testing - After analyzing and processing of data, it is time now to test the hypothesis that were formed in step 3 of the research process. A hypothesis is skeptically formulated regarding the relationship between phenomena and variables involved in a study. Then by empirical investigation the hypothesis is tested for possible acceptance or rejection. In other words, the researcher decides on the basis of the observed facts that he has collected, whether or not an assumption is valid. A hypothesis is tested by making use of a predefined decision rules established in statistical methods. Some of the popular statistical tests are, Z- test, Chi- square test, t- test and F- test. In a situation where no hypothesis is formulated in a study, the observations are made on the data directly and conclusions are drawn to formulate new generalizations and assumptions for future purposes.

Interpretations of results - After the data collection and testing of hypothesis one has to reach to the conclusions of the research study. These conclusions are the most vital outcomes of the study and have to be dealt with very carefully. On the basis of findings of the research work done we draw inferences about the phenomenon under study. This is a useful activity as without any outcome a research study is fruitless. The results obtained from the analysis of data are to be interpreted skillfully. A wrong interpretation my lead to wrong decisions. Interpretation may also lead to generalizations of the phenomena understudy. It may also help in developing new theories and can suggest new research problems to be explored in future.

Report writing - Last but not the least is the step of reporting the facts and findings of the research study. A report is a summary of the whole research process. The layout of a report must be attractive. The words used in the text must be easily comprehensive to a reader. Even a non- technical person understands a good report. In the beginning of the report one should give the title, time period of work, acknowledgement and preface. In the main text an introduction to the problem, summary of findings, results and inferences, and then the recommendations of the researcher are given. The report should conclude with appendices, bibliography and a subject or / and author indexes.

 

 Pankaj Mandape