Transcript Research Methodology PowerPoint Slides for Week 13

RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
(Business Research Methods)
Week 13
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
1
Editing and Coding Data
 Editing is the process of checking data for errors such as
omissions, illegibility and inconsistency, and correcting
data where and when the need arises
 Example 1: A questionnaire meant to be answered by
adults over the age of 30 years has also been answered
by some persons under the age of 30 years
 Example 2: A respondent gives her birthday as 1865 or
claims to have a car insurance but says she doesn‘t own
a car
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
2
Field Editing and In-House Editing
 Field Editing is a prelimary form of data editing
which is undertaken by the field supervisor on
the day of the interview with a view to finding
omissions, checking the legibility of handwriting,
and clarifying responses by respondents that are
logically or conceptually inconsistent
 In-House Editing is a form of data editing which
is more rigorous than field editing in nature, and
which is performed by a centralized office staff
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
3
Data Consistency and Completeness
 The data obtained from a questionnaire must be logically
consistent, especially when questions are related
 Sometimes inconsistency of data may not be readily
apparent. In this case, the data editor must judge what
action to take (example: Salary of the CEO of a big
corporation is given as USD 25,000 per annum)
 Circumstances permitting, the data editor may have to
insert data if answers to questions have been omitted by
the respondent, but which can be answered on the basis
of the other data obtained (example: respondent does
not answer a question asking if his organization has a
website, but somewhere later answers that the
organization has three websites)
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
4
Non-Responses and Out-Of-Order
Answers
 Often, questions are left unanswered by
respondents (Item Non-Response). In such
cases, where data must be inserted, the data
editor has some options such as using a „plug
value“ according to some prespecified rule
 Sometimes respondents give answers to (openended) questions in other questions. In such
cases, data has to be shifted around the
questions
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
5
Some Observations on Editing
 Editing of data should, deally, be done wih a coloured
pencil and the original data must not be erased in case it
is required for future reference
 Data editing should be conducted systematically on the
basis of procedures made by professionals
 Data editing should be included in the pretest phase of a
questionnaire, in order to improve the quality of a
questionnaire
 Data editing has drawbacks, such as, the editor does not
possess the required level of intelligence, experience
and objectivity
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
6
Data Coding
 Data Coding follows data editing and is the
means by which data can be converted into a
format that enables its processing and analysis
by the computer
 Data Coding incorporates a number of technical
steps and can be a tedious proceess
 For details of data coding process, refer to your
text book pp. 457 ff.
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
7
Research Report, Presentation,
Follow-Up
 The research report is the crucial means for communicating the
whole project to those individuals or entities who or which
commissioned the research
 A research report may be in writing, verbal, or a combination of both
 It is essential that great effort is put into writing a good research
report because it is often the only part of the research cycle that end
users get to see!
 A great research based on a well-conceived approach will go to
waste if the research report leaves a bad impression on the end
users of that research
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
8
Communicating the Research
Report
 The business researcher should carefully
consider how he or she is going to communicate
the information to the end user
 The business researcher should take pains to
ensure that he/she and the research end-user
are at the same communicational level, i.e., that
the terminology used in the report is
understandable and that the end-user is
presented with all the information neded to make
an informed decision
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
9
Research Report Templates
There is no universally applied template
for writing a research report, rather, there
is a general consensus on what
constitutes a good research report
Many organizations have designed their
own in-house formats for reports and
specified what aspects must be included
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
10
Research Report Design Template
Research Report
Prefatory
Parts
29 August 2005
Main
Body
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Appended
Parts
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
11
Research Report Components (1)
PREFATORY PARTS
Title Page
Summary
Letter of
Transmittal
Objectives
Results
Letter of
Authorization
Table of
Contents
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Conclusions
Recommendations
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
12
Research Report Components (2)
MAIN BODY
Introduction
Methodology
Results
Area 1
Area 2
Limitations
Conclusions
and
Recommendations
Final Area
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
13
Research Report Components (3)
APPENDED PARTS
Data Collection
Forms
Detailed
Calculations
General Tables
Bibliography
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
14
Graphic Aids in Research Reports
 In research reports, several types of graphical
components may be used, including, for example: tables,
charts and graphs in their diverse manifestations,
diagrams, maps, photographic or computer-generated
images, sketches etc.
 Graphical components are a useful supplement to – but
not a substitute for – written text because they can
convey a lot of information and are visually appealing,
particularly if they are in colour
 Software programmes like MS Excel make the task of
creating graphics from raw data easy and quick
 See text book examples, pp. 506 ff.
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
15
Oral Presentations (1)
 Oral presentations are a useful supplement to written
research reports because they enable the salient
findings of the research to be presented at any time, and
they give listeners the opportunity to raise questions and
clarify any ambiguous issues or points
 The researcher giving the oral presentation must be very
well prepared to defend the results of his or her written
report in a confident and competent manner so that the
individuals who will be making decisions on the basis of
the report are convinced of its importance and accuracy
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
16
Oral Presentations (2)
 The researcher should try to maintain good
communication with the listeners by avoiding excessive
technical jargon if and when dealing with persons from
other disciplines
 The researcher should avoid simply reading out text,
maintain eye contact with his or her listeners, and
gesture occasionaly
 Multimedia aids can be considered as can posters or
handouts
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
17
Research Follow-Up Work
 After the research has been completed, and
information submitted to the manager or
decision-makers concerned, follow-up work may
be necessary
 Follow-up includes recontacting the managers or
decision-makers concerned and asking them if
the research has met their informational
requirements, or whether additional input is or
may be needed
29 August 2005
MBA III (Research Methodology)
Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan
18