Course Code : MBA-202

Course Title : Research Methodology

Assignment No. : MBA-202/ 2022
Maximum Marks : 30

Q4. How is research report written?

Ans. A research report is a publication that reports on the findings of a research project or alternatively scientific
observations on or about a subject. Normally the research assignments like projects, investigations, explorations,
theses, dissertations fall in this category. A research report is a well-crafted document that outlines the processes,
data, and findings of a systematic investigation. It is an important document that serves as a first-hand account of
the research process, and it is typically considered as an objective and accurate source of information.

FEATURES OF A RESEARCH REPORT

A good research report is marked by certain features:

1. A good research report should be written lucidly, precisely in simple language and should provide a detailed
presentation of the whole of research processes. It should present the data in tables and figures with
suitable objective explanations. The end part should include the concluding remarks, the prime findings and
recommendations, if any.
2. The language and style should be academic, formal, less flaunting and simple.
3. The report is normally based on the first hand information collected by the researcher. However, the reports
written on the basis of secondary data are also presented in a systematic and lucid manners.
4. A research report should normally be written in the third person and avoid use of pronouns like, ‘I’, ‘Me’,
‘My’ etc.
5. The report should facilitate the reader with systematic presentation like proper headings, title, sub-tiles,
tables, graphs, parts and even bullet points where required.
6. The reports normally forward recommendations too as the solutions to the problems and policy making by
the concerned authorities, corporate organizations, institutions and governments.

TYPES OF RESEARCH REPORT

the research report is classified based on 2 things; nature of research and target audience.

 Qualitative Research Report-: This is the type of report is written for qualitative research. It outlines the
methods, processes, and findings of a qualitative method of systematic investigation. In educational
research, a qualitative research report provides an opportunity for one to apply his or her knowledge
and develop skills in planning and executing qualitative research projects. A qualitative research report
is usually descriptive in nature. Hence, in addition to presenting details of the research process, you
must also create a descriptive narrative of the information.
 Quantitative Research Report –: A quantitative research report is a type of research report that is written
for quantitative research. Quantitative research is a type of systematic investigation that pays attention
to numerical or statistical values in a bid to find answers to research questions.

In this type of research report, the researcher presents quantitative data to support the research process and
findings. Unlike a qualitative research report that is mainly descriptive, a quantitative research report works with
numbers; that is, it is numerical in nature.
Q6. Discuss Descriptive and casual research designs.

Ans. Descriptive research as the name suggests is used for description or to describe phenomenon or idea. It is
generally used in the following conditions:

1. To describe the traits of specific groups like our largest customers who account for more than 60 percent of our
sales and based upon the results design future marketing efforts.
2. Covariance of two variables - like does consumption of our services vary by income range.
3. To estimate the size of consumer groups in a population that act in a specific manner. How often do newly
married like to shop from our brand?
4. for specific predictions. Forecasting the number of companies switching to new CRM software.

Compared to exploratory research, descriptive research follows a very rigid approach. Its data collection methods
are highly rigid as compared to the unstructured and flexible approach used in exploratory research. Exploratory
research often forms the basis for descriptive research and the knowledge acquires through exploratory research is
used to select respondents, setting priority issues, framing and asking questions as well as setting the time and place
for the respondents like when and where to ask questions. While exploratory research can provide the hypotheses,
you need to conduct descriptive research to prove the hypotheses. Exploratory research will answer the basic
questions related to who, where, what when, why and how if descriptive research but then descriptive research will
answer the final questions related to the market. The main difference between exploratory and descriptive research
is that the first does not follow standardized methods but the second does.
So, descriptive research does the task of putting the picture created by exploratory research into the frame. Two
basic types of descriptive research studies for collecting data are cross sectional and longitudinal studies.

Cross sectional studies:

Cross sectional designs are the most used and popular descriptive research design. It involves sampling the
population at a given point of time. Also referred to as sample surveys, it follows a high degree of structure in both
data collection process and instrument.

Longitudinal studies:
While cross sectional studies sample the population at a point of time, longitudinal studies sample it over a period of
time. The difference is just like that between a still photo and video film. The main objective of longitudinal studies is
to observe behavioural changes occurring over period of time. Also known as true panels, these studies provide the
same information at various specific points of time. This information can be combined with other information to
know if some specific behaviour change was triggered by a particular act like brand switching was caused due to
exposure to a particular advertisement.

Causal research:
Casual research is effective in terms of identifying variation between variables but when it comes to identifying
causality. Causal research helps identify if there is a causal relationship between two or more variables. It is highly
structured like descriptive research and is also known for use of control procedures used during experimental
designs related to tests of causal relationships. In most of such cases the researcher is concerned with knowing the
impact the independent variable has on the dependent variable. Following are the main things that we are
concerned with when using causal research:

Manipulation:
manipulation of the independent variable like price

Measurement:
Measuring the dependent variable like profit.

Control:
Controlling the variable that affects the dependent variable
Good marketing decisions and great strategy are always based upon useful market intelligence and such information
can be obtained through research. Organisational problems can be carefully translated into research problems to
find a solution. Research design is an essential and important component of research that helps you reach your
destination and arrive at great decisions by getting actionable information. Research design includes one or more of
the above categories. It is the research objectives that help us establish that whether one or more of the research
designs must be used.

Q7. Draft a standard structure of a report.

Ans. Following are the parts of a report format that is most common.

1. Executive summary – highlights of the main report.

2. Table of Contents – index page.
3. Introduction – origin, essentials of the main subject.
4. Body – main report.
5. Conclusion – inferences, measures taken, projections.
6. Reference – sources of information.
7. Appendix.

Let us understand each one of them in detail.

1. Executive Summary

You summarize the main points of the report, such as the report topic, the data obtained, the data analysis methods,
and recommendations based on the data. The summary could be as short as a paragraph or as long as five pages,
depending on the length of the full report.
Usually, the recipient of the report doesn’t always have the time to read through the entire report. This summary
gives the reader a gist of the important points.
Remember that although attached as the first page, this summary is always putting a perspective for the entire
report, meaning that effort-wise, the writer always needs to include it at the end.

Most importantly, the summary should contain:

 the purpose of the report

 what you did (analysis) and what you found (results)
 your recommendations; these recommendations should be short and not go beyond a page

2. Table of Contents

The report should begin with a table of contents. This explains the audience, author, and basic purpose of the
attached report. It should be short and to the point.

3. Introduction

This section is the beginning of your report. It highlights the major topics that are covered and provides background
information on why the data in the report was collected. It also contains a top view of what’s covered in the report.

4. Body

The body of the report describes the problem, the data that was collected, sometimes in the form of table or charts,
and discusses with reasons. The body is usually broken into subsections, with subheadings that highlight the further
breakdown of a point. Report writing format is very specific that way about clear and crisp headings and
subheadings.
This just structures out readers clarity in understanding and further enhances the logical flow that can get hard to
follow. Since a report has no personal bias or opinions, you can imagine that reading through a report can be a bit
boring and people may find it hard to follow through. In such a case, it’s always best to create pointers and lay out
the points in short and simple methods.

5. Conclusion

At the end of our main body lies the tying of ends together in the much-awaited conclusion. The conclusion explains
how the data described in the body of the document may be interpreted or what conclusions may be drawn. The
conclusion often suggests how to use the data to improve some aspect of the business or recommends additional
research.
This solution then may be implemented to solve a given problem the report was made for in the first place. Big
consultancies or service providers prepare reports in the form of Microsoft PowerPoint or the Keynote in Mac to
present to the stakeholders. At the end of which lies the conclusive suggestion section.

6. Reference

If you used other sources of information to help write your report, such as a government database, you would
include that in the references. The references section lists the resources used to research or collect the data for the
report. References provide proof for your points. Also, this provides solid reasoning for the readers so that they can
review the original data sources themselves. Also, credit must be given where credit is due.

7. Appendix

Lastly, comes the appendix. Although this one is not necessary, more like an optional element. This may include
additional technical information that is not necessary to the explanation provided in the body and conclusion but
further supports the findings, such as tables or charts or pictures, or additional research not cited in the body but
relevant to the discussion. Note: Tables and figures must all be labelled.

Q8. Discuss use of two software packages in data analysis.

Ans. There are several types of Data Analysis Software that exist based on business and technology. The major Data
Analysis Software are:

1. NVivo

NVivo is employed for data analysis. It is a program that supports qualitative and mixed strategies analysis. It also
helps users to arrange, analyse, and find insights in qualitative data such as interviews, open-ended survey
responses, articles, social media, and web sites.

 Analyse and organize unstructured text, audio, video or image information.

 Easily manage your information and enhance your internal workflow and coverage processes.

 Deliver quality outputs backed by a clear discovery and analysis method.

 Increase productivity and scale back project timeframes.

 With NVivo, you can import articles and make transcripts from the reference management code.

2. Transana

Transana is an open source software designed for each – the transcription and analysis of transmission information.
With Transana, multiple approaches to the qualitative data analysis of still pictures, audio, and video area unit are
possible.

 Transana’s graphical and text-based reports are extremely versatile and customizable.

 It permits users to explore analytic relationships in their data and preserve their insights during a sort of
different way.

 Transana Multi-User version allows synchronous access to multiple researchers to figure on the constant
data at the same time, even from completely different locations.

 Explore coded information through text/graphical reports.

 With transana, you can code still images using cryptography shapes, including screenshots from video
information.
Q10. What are the various types of research design? Explain.

Ans. A researcher must be well-versed in different types of research design. Moreover, a clear understanding of
different research designs helps choose the proper technique for the research.
Research design is broadly divided into quantitative and qualitative research design. We’ll walk you through them in
detail below.

 Quantitative research design

Quantitative research design aims at finding answers to who, what, where, how, and when through the course of
research. Moreover, the outcome of the quantitative analysis is easy to represent in the form of statistics, graphs,
charts, and numbers.

 Qualitative research design

Qualitative research design focuses on finding answers to how and why. It uses open-ended questions and helps the
subjects express their views clearly.
Qualitative research is ideal for businesses that aim to understand customers’ behaviour and requirements.
You can further break the types of research designs into five categories.

 Experimental design

This type of research design looks at a problem scientifically by establishing a clear cause and effect of every event. It
also tries to understand the impact of the independent variable on the dependable variable.
Often social sciences use it to observe human behaviours and understand the social psychology of human being
better.

 Correlational design

Correlation research design establishes a relationship between two related variables. The researcher observes the
variables over time and then draws conclusions based on them. This type of research design requires two different
groups.
A correlation coefficient determines the relationship between two variables. The value of the correlation coefficient
ranges between -1 and +1. If the correlation coefficient is +1, it indicates a positive relationship between the two
variables, and -1 means a negative relationship.

 Descriptive design

Descriptive design is a theory-based research method describing the research’s primary subject matter. This type of
research design uses data collection techniques like natural observation, case studies, and surveys to derive results.
This type of research design provides insight into the why and how of research.

 Diagnostic design

In diagnostic research, the design strives to explore the reason behind an issue and find solutions to solve it. This
type of research design tries to solve the problems in a structured form divided into three phases- the issue’s
inception, diagnosis of the issue, and solution for the issue.

 Explanatory design

In this research design, the researcher explores concepts and ideas on a subject to explore more theories. The main
aim of the research is to explore the subjects’ undiscovered aspects and answer questions like what, how, and why.