1. How is a research problem formulated?

Answer: A research problem is the first step and the most important requirement in the research process. It serves as the foundation of a research study ie. if well formulated, you expect a good study to follow. According the Kerlinger; in order for one to solve a problem, one must know what the problem is. The large part of the problem is knowing what one is trying to do. A research problem and the way you formulate it determines almost every step that follows in the research study. Formiulation of the problem is like the input into the study and the output is the quality of the contents of the research report. Steps involved in formulating a Research Problem are as below: 1. Identify a broad area of interest in your academic /professional field. 2. Dissect the broad area into sub-areas by having a brain storming session with your colleages 3. Select the sub-area in which you would like to conduct your research through the process of elimination. 4. Reverse the research wuestions that you would like to answer through your study. This can be after formulation of the objectives of can lead you to the formulation of the objective 5. Assess these objectives to ascertain the feasibility of attaining them in the light of time and other issues like finances and human resource expertise.

2. What are the characteristics of good research design? Design research investigates the process of designing in all its many fields. It is thus related to Design methods in general or for particular disciplines. A primary interpretation of design research is that it is concerned with undertaking research into the design process. Secondary interpretations would refer to undertaking research within the process of design. The overall intention is to better understand and to improve the design process. Throughout the design construction task, it is important to have in mind some endpoint, some criteria which we should try to achieve before finally accepting a design strategy. The criteria discussed below are only meant to be suggestive of the characteristics found in good research design. It is worth noting that all of these criteria point to the need to individually tailor research designs rather than accepting standard textbook strategies as is Theory-Grounded. Good research strategies reflect the theories which are being investigated. Where specific theoretical expectations can be hypothesized these are incorporated into the design. For example, where theory predicts a specific treatment effect on one measure but not on another, the inclusion of both in the design improves discriminant validity and demonstrates the predictive power of the theory.

Situational. Good research designs reflect the settings of the investigation. This was illustrated above where a particular need of teachers and administrators was explicitly addressed in the design strategy. Similarly, intergroup rivalry, demoralization, and competition might be assessed through the use of additional comparison groups who are not in direct contact with the original group. Feasible. Good designs can be implemented. The sequence and timing of events are carefully thought out. Potential problems in measurement, adherence to assignment, database construction and the like, are anticipated. Where needed, additional groups or measurements are included in the design to explicitly correct for such problems. Redundant. Good research designs have some flexibility built into them. Often, this flexibility results from duplication of essential design features. For example, multiple replications of a treatment help to insure that failure to implement the treatment in one setting will not invalidate the entire study. Efficient. Good designs strike a balance between redundancy and the tendency to overdesign. Where it is reasonable, other, less costly, strategies for ruling out potential threats to validity are utilized. This is by no means an exhaustive list of the criteria by which we can judge good research design. nevertheless, goals of this sort help to guide the researcher toward a final design choice and emphasize important components which should be included. The development of a theory of research methodology for the social sciences has largely occurred over the past half century and most intensively within the past two decades. It is not surprising, in such a relatively recent effort, that an emphasis on a few standard research designs has occurred. Nevertheless, by moving away from the notion of "design selection" and towards an emphasis on design construction, there is much to be gained in our understanding of design principles and in the quality of our research. Exploratory research provides insights into and comprehension of an issue or situation. It should draw definitive conclusions only with extreme caution. Exploratory research is a type of research conducted because a problem has not been clearly defined. Exploratory research helps determine the best research design, data collection method and selection of subjects. Given its fundamental nature, exploratory research often concludes that a perceived problem does not actually exist. Exploratory research often relies on secondary research such as reviewing available literature and/or data, or qualitative approaches such as informal discussions with consumers, employees, management or competitors, and more formal approaches through in-depth interviews, focus groups, projective methods, case studies or pilot studies. The Internet allows for research methods that are more interactive in nature: E.g., RSS feeds efficiently supply researchers with up-to-date information; major search engine search results may be sent by email to researchers by services such as Google Alerts; comprehensive search results are tracked over lengthy periods of time by services such as

Google Trends; and Web sites may be created to attract worldwide feedback on any subject. The results of exploratory research are not usually useful for decision-making by themselves, but they can provide significant insight into a given situation. Although the results of qualitative research can give some indication as to the "why", "how" and "when" something occurs, it cannot tell us "how often" or "how many." Exploratory research is not typically generalizable to the population at large. Applied research in administration is often exploratory because there is need for flexibility in approaching the problem. In addition there are often data limitations and a need to make a decision within a short time period. Qualitative research methods such as case study or field research are often used in Exploratory research.. There are three types of objective in a marketing research project. Exploratory Research or Formulative Research Descriptive research Causal research Exploratory Research or Formulative Research 'The objective of exploratory research is to gather preliminary information that will help define problems and suggest hypotheses.' Descriptive Research 'The objective of descriptive research is to describe things, such as the market potential for a product or the demographics and attitudes of consumers who buy the product. 3. How case study method is useful to Business Research? Case study of particular value when a complex set of variables may be at work in generating observed results and intensive study is needed to unravel the complexities. For example, an in-depth study of a firms top sales people and comparison with worst salespeople might reveal characteristics common to stellar performers. Here again, the exploratory investigation is best served by an active curiosity and willingness to deviate from the initial plan when findings suggest new courses of inquiry might prove more productive. It is easy to see how the exploratory research objectives of generating insights and hypothesis would be well served by use of this technique. In-depth analysis of selected cases is of particular value to business research when a complex set of variables may be at work in generating observed results and intensive study is needed to unravel the complexities. For instance, an in-depth study of a firms top sales people and comparison with the worst sales people might reveal characteristics common to stellar performers. The exploratory investigator is best served by the active curiosity and willingness to deviate from the initial plan, when the finding suggests new courses of enquiry, might prove more productive.

Case studies recount management or real life business. The cases confront the business executives with a dilemma or uncertain outcomes. These are used to evaluate business program to find out their prospects for success or failure. Many strategies are formulated after going through case studies pertaining to business intelligence. It enables the users to calculate many financial indicators like Return on Investment (ROI) on its plans like expansion or shrinkage. 4. Distinguish between Schedules and questionnaires.
1. Questionnaire can be sent via mail but schedule is done only Personally 2. Questionnaire is cheaper method than schedule (for schedule you have to move everywhere 3. Questionnaire can be returned without answering all the questions but, in schedule, enumerator ensures the filling all the questions. 4. Questionnaire can be filled by anyone but schedule is always filled by enumerator. 5. Respondent should be literate & co-operative in Questionnaire but schedule can be filled by illiterate. 6. Risk of incomplete & wrong information is more in Questionnaire. 7. Physical appearance of Questionnaire has to be attractive but not such case is necessary with schedule. 8.Success of Questionnaire depends on its design but in case of Schedule it depends on honesty & competency of Enumerator.

Reasons To Use A Questionnaire Marketing Campaigns - Commonly, marketing executives will use questionnaires to get valuable feedback from customers or potential clients. By getting answers to questions that pertain to a business concern or market sub-segment, marketing executives can prepare timely and relevant ad campaigns that meet the needs of their target demographic. Sometimes, marketing executives will pay people to fill out questionnaires. At other times, these will be filled out voluntarily, for no compensation. Healthcare - In clinics or hospitals, patients seeking healthcare are often asked to fill out questionnaires that outline their medical histories, habits, and needs. These sorts of questionnaires allow medical professionals to achieve accurate diagnoses, and to design courses of treatment that are safe and effective. Reasons For Using Schedules Organization - A schedule can be an essential component of time management; for example, knowing what is happening during a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly period will allow a person to plan ahead and be prepared for every circumstance. Without a schedule, appointments may be forgotten, or important events may be missed. Goal Setting - By analysing a schedule, a person can determine whether or not they are moving closer to his or her goals. For example, if a person wants to get fitter, he or she can track their workouts via a schedule, and record results based on the success of their regimen over time. Questionnaires and schedules are different; each services a unique purposes and an individual function.

Contents of the Research Report

5. What are the contents of research reports?

The outline of a research report is given below: I. Prefatory Items Title page Declaration Certificates Preface/acknowledgements Table of contents List of tables List of graphs/figures/charts Abstract or synopsis II. Body of the Report Introduction Theoretical background of the topic Statement of the problem Review of literature The scope of the study The objectives of the study Hypothesis to be tested Definition of the concepts Models if any Design of the study Methodology Method of data collection Sources of data Sampling plan Data collection instruments Field work Data processing and analysis plan Overview of the report Limitation of the study Results: findings and discussions

 Summary, conclusions and recommendations III. Reference Material Bibliography Appendix Copies of data collection instruments Technical details on sampling plan Complex tables Glossary of new terms used.

6. Write short notes on the following: a. Median Median is the middlemost item of a given series. In individual series, we arrange the given data according to ascending or descending order and take the middlemost item as the median. When two values occur in the middle, we take the average of these two values as median. Since median is the central value of an ordered distribution, there occur equal number of values to the left and right of the median. Individual series Median = (N+ 1 / 2) th item b. Standard Deviation