BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS

Course Objectives

At the end of this course the learner is expected to

  • To familiarize the students to the principles of scientific methodology in business enquiry
  • To develop analytical skills of business research

UNIT - I

Business Research – Definition and Significance – Research process – Types of Research – Exploratory and causal Research – Theoretical and empirical Research – Cross –Sectional and time – Series Research – Research questions -Problems – Research objectives – Research hypotheses – Characteristics – Research in an evolutionary perspective – Role of theory in research.

UNIT - II

Research design – Definition – Types of research design – Exploratory and causal research design – Descriptive and experimental design – Different types of experimental design – Validity of findings – internal and external validity – Variables in Research – Measurement and scaling – Different scales – Construction of instrument – Validity and Reliability of instrument.

UNIT - III

Types of data – Primary Vs Secondary data – Methods of primary data collection – Survey Vs Observation – Experiments – Construction of questionnaire and instrument – Validation of questionnaire – Sampling plan – Sample size – Determinants optimal sample size – Sampling techniques – Probability Vs Non–probability sampling methods.

UNIT - IV

Data Preparation – Editing – Coding –Data entry – Validity of data – Qualitative Vs Quantitative data analyses – Bivariate and Multivariate statistical techniques – Factor analysis – Discriminant analysis – Multiple regression and correlation.

UNIT - V

Research report – Different types – Contents of report – Need of executive summary – Chapterization – Contents of chapter – Report writing – Role of audience – Readability –Comprehension– Final proof – Report format –Ethics in research – Ethical behavior of research.

REFERENCES

  • Sadhu and Singh, “Research Methodology in Social Science”.
  • Wilkinson and Bhandarkar, “Methodology and Techniques of Social Research”.
  • Beri .G, “Marketing Research”, Tata McGraw Hill Publishers Limited, New Delhi.

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