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BBA Semester 2
BBA201 Research Methods
Assignment Set - II
1. What is Secondary data? What are the advantages of Secondary
Data?
Ans: Secondary data: Secondary data is the data that have been already collected by
and readily available from other sources. Such data are cheaper and more quickly
obtainable than the primary data and also may be available when primary data cannot
be obtained at all.
Secondary data is collecting and possibly processing data by people other than
the researcher in question. Common sources of secondary data for social science
include censuses, large surveys, and organizational records (Mintel). In sociology
primary data is data you have collected yourself and secondary data is data you have
gathered from primary sources to create new research. In terms of historical research,
these two terms have different meanings. A primary source is a book or set of archival
records. A secondary source is a summary of a book or set of records.

Advantages of Secondary Data:

Secondary data is provides a multipurpose bases to researchers.

Secondary data can be used for creating or generating new ideas by providing a
base for some core issues.

Secondary data can be very effectively used for the comparison of two statistics
and then drawing inferences based on these comparisons.

Secondary data is the best method of getting information regarding a particular

area where the direct collection of data is impossible.

Secondary data is the most easily accessible data and saves the researcher the
trouble of going through the tiresome process of collecting data personally.

Secondary data is readily available at cheap rates and is usually quite

inexpensive.

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Collecting secondary data and analysing it saves time and effort.

Secondary data is unobtrusive. It is easily available and the researcher can get it
without much struggle.

Secondary data avoids data collection problems and it provides a basis for
comparison.

Secondary data can be easily located by using printed indices.

It can be less expensive than gathering the data all over again.

This data type may allow the researcher to cover a wider geographic or temporal
range.

Secondary data can allow for larger scale studies on a small budget.

It does not exhaust people's good will by re-collecting readily available data.

Secondary data provides an opportunity for longitudinal analysis based on the

previous waves of survey.

Secondary data is a good indicator for analyzing the social change overtime.

This type of data also provides an opportunity for cross-cultural analysis with
fewer limits of time, cost and language.

Collecting secondary data leaves more time for making in depth data analysis.

Re-analysis of the same secondary data may offer different insights regarding
the analysis by focusing on one variable or subgroup.

With secondary data the researchers might be able to test hypotheses they had
not thought of, or examine the strengths of their arguments.

Secondary data may be available which is entirely appropriate and wholly

adequate to draw conclusions and answer the question or solve the problem.
Sometimes primary data collection simply is not necessary.

It is far cheaper to collect secondary data than to obtain primary data. For the
same level of research budget a thorough examination of secondary sources can
yield a great deal more information than can be had through a primary data
collection exercise.

When the researcher has collected the secondary data, there is no need to
repeat the field work necessary for the collection of data.

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The time involved in searching secondary sources is much less than that needed
to complete primary data collection.

Secondary sources of information can yield more accurate data than that
obtained through primary research. This is not always true but where a
government or international agency has undertaken a large scale survey, or even
a census, this is likely to yield far more accurate results than custom designed
and executed surveys when these are based on relatively small sample sizes.

It should not be forgotten that secondary data can play a substantial role in the
exploratory phase of the research when the task at hand is to define the research
problem and to generate hypotheses. The assembly and analysis of secondary
data almost invariably improves the researcher's understanding of the marketing
problem, the various lines of inquiry that could or should be followed and the
alternative courses of action which might be pursued.

Often the secondary data provides valuable background for the research - for
example, it enables users to judge whether a small sample they have gathered is
typical of the national population.

Government survey organizations have considerable expertise and relatively

massive resources, including the power to compel participation (e.g. in censustaking), so samples are more likely to be of large size and truly representative of
the population.

Secondary sources help define the population. Secondary data can be extremely
useful both in defining the population and in structuring the sample to be taken.
For instance, government statistics on a country's agriculture will help decide
how to stratify a sample and, once sample estimates have been calculated, these
can be used to project those estimates to the population.

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Q.2. (a). Enumerate the guidelines in designing a questionnaire.

Ans: A good questionnaire should not be too lengthy. Simple English should be used
and the question shouldnt be difficult to answer. A good questionnaire requires sensible
language, editing, assessment, and redrafting.
Questionnaire Design Process
1. State the information required- This will depend upon the nature of the
problem, the purpose of the study and hypothesis framed. The target audience
must be concentrated on.
2. State the kind of interviewing technique- interviewing method can be
telephone, mails, personal interview or electronic interview. Telephonic interview
can be computer assisted. Personal interview can be conducted at respondents
place or at mall or shopping place. Mail interview can take the form of mail panel.
Electronic interview takes place either through electronic mails or through the
internet.
3. Decide the matter/content of individual questions- There are two deciding
factors for thisa. Is the question significant? - Observe contribution of each question. Does
the question contribute for the objective of the study?
b. Is there a need for several questions or a single question? - Several
questions are asked in the following cases:

When there is a need for cross-checking

When the answers are ambiguous

When people are hesitant to give correct information.

4. Overcome the respondents inability and unwillingness to answer- The

respondents may be unable to answer the questions because of following
reasons

The respondent may not be fully informed

The respondent may not remember

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He may be unable to express or articulate

The respondent may be unwilling to answer due to

There may be sensitive information which may cause embarrassment or

harm the respondents image.

The respondent may not be familiar with the genuine purpose

The question may appear to be irrelevant to the respondent

The respondent will not be willing to reveal traits like aggressiveness

(For instance - if he is asked Do you hit your wife, sister, etc.)

To overcome the respondents unwillingness to answer:

h. Place the sensitive topics at the end of the questionnaire
i.

Preface the question with a statement

j.

Use the third person technique (For example - Mark needed a job badly
and he used wrong means to get it - Is it right?? Different people will have
different opinions depending upon the situation)

k. Categorize the responses rather than asking a specific response figure

(For example - Group for income levels 0-25000, 25000-50000, 50000
and above)
Decide on the structure of the question- Questions can be of two types:
. Structured questions- These specify the set of response alternatives and
the response format. These can be classified into multiple choice
questions (having various response categories), dichotomous questions
(having only 2 response categories such as Yes or No) and scales
(discussed already).
a. Unstructured questions- These are also known as open-ended question.
No alternatives are suggested and the respondents are free to answer
these questions in any way they like.
Determine the question language/phrasing- If the questions are poorly
worded, then either the respondents will refuse to answer the question or they may give
incorrect answers. Thus, the words of the question should be carefully chosen. Ordinary
and unambiguous words should be used. Avoid implicit assumptions, generalizations
and implicit alternatives. Avoid biased questions. Define the issue in terms of who the

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questionnaire is being addressed to, what information is required, when is the

information required, why the question is being asked, etc.
Properly arrange the questions- To determine the order of the question, take
decisions on aspects like opening questions (simple, interesting questions should be
used as opening questions to gain co-operation and confidence of respondents), type of
information (Basic information relates to the research issue, classification information
relates to social and demographic characteristics, and identification information relates
to personal information such as name, address, contact number of respondents),
difficult questions (complex, embarrassing, dull and sensitive questions could be
difficult), effect on subsequent questions, logical sequence, etc.
Recognize the form and layout of the questionnaire- This is very essential for
self-administered questionnaire. The questions should be numbered and pre-coded.
The layout should be such that it appears to be neat and orderly, and not clattered.
Reproduce the questionnaire- Paper quality should be good. Questionnaire
should appear to be professional. The required space for the answers to the question
should be sufficient. The font type and size should be appropriate. Vertical response
questions should be used, for example:
Do you use brand X of shampoo ?

Yes

No

Pre-test the questionnaire- The questionnaire should be pre-tested on a small

number of respondents to identify the likely problems and to eliminate them. Each and
every dimension of the questionnaire should be pre-tested. The sample respondents
should be similar to the target respondents of the survey.
Finalize the questionnaire- Check the final draft questionnaire. Ask yourself
how much will the information obtained from each question contribute to the study.
Make sure that irrelevant questions are not asked. Obtain feedback of the respondents
on the questionnaire.

Q.2. (b). What are the guidelines that have to be followed in the
coding process?

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Ans: Coding refers to those activities which help in transforming edited

Questionnaires into a form that is ready for analysis. Coding speeds up the
tabulation, while editing eliminates errors. Coding involves assigning
numbers or other symbols to answers, so that the responses can be
grouped into a partial number of classes or categories.
Coding helps the researcher to condense several thousand replies to a few
categories containing the essential information needed for analysis. In
coding, categories are the partitioning of a set; and categorization is the
process of using rules to partition a body of data.
Examples: 1 is used for male and 2 for female.
Some guidelines to be followed in coding are as follows:
1. Establishment of appropriate category.
2. Mutual exclusivity.
3. Single dimension.
4. Exhaustive.
1. Establishing of appropriate category:
Categories must provide the best partitioning of data for testing hypotheses
and viewing relationships. Year-by-year age differences may be significant
to the question being researched. If so, wider age classifications hamper the
investigation. If specific income, attitude, or reason categories are crucial to
the testing relationship, then we must choose the most excellent groupings.
Example: Suppose the researcher is analysing the inconvenience that a
car owner is facing with his current model. As a result, the factor chosen for
coding may be Problem. Under this there could be 4 types
(1) problem in entering the backseat
(2) difficulty due to inadequate legroom
(3) trouble with respect to the interior
(4) inconvenience in door locking, and opening the dickey.
Now the researcher may classify these four answers based on
internal inconvenience and other inconveniences referring to the exterior.

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Each is assigned a different number for the purpose of codification.

2. Mutually exclusive:
This is important because the answer given by the respondent should be
placed under one category. Example: Profession of an individual may be
responded to as (1) specialized (2) sales (3) managerial (4) supervisor etc.
Sometimes, respondents think that they might belong to more than one
category. This is because sales personnel may be doing a sales job and
therefore should be placed under the sales category. Also, he may
supervise the work of other sales executives. In this case, he is doing a
managerial function. Viewed in this context, he should be placed under the
managerial category, which has a different code. Therefore, he can only be
put under one category, which is to be decided. One way of deciding this
could be to analyse in which of the two functions does he spend most
time?
Yet another situation assumes that there is a salesman who is currently
employed. Under the column of occupation, he will indicate it as sales,
while under the present employment column; he will mark as without a job.
How does one codify this? Under which category should he be placed? One
of the solutions is to have a classification, such as employed salesman,
jobless salesman to represent the two separate categories.

3. Single dimension:

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The need for a group set to follow a single classificatory opinion means
every class in the group set is defined in terms of one theory. Returning to
the work survey example, the person in the study might be both a
salesperson and jobless. The salesperson tag expresses the thought,
occupation type, and the response unemployed is a different measurement
concerned with current service (sentence not clear) set uses more than one
dimension, it will usually not be evenly exclusive unless the cells in the set
combine the scope (employed manager, unemployed manager and so on).
4. Exhaustiveness:
A large number of other responses suggest our classification set may be
too limited. In such cases, we may not be tapping the full range of
information in the data. Failure to present an adequate list of alternatives is
especially damaging when multiple-choice questions are used. Any answer
that is not specified in the set will surely be under-represented in the tally.
While the exhaustiveness requirement in a sole category set may be clear, a
second aspect is less clear. Is the one set of categories fully confined to all
the information in the data? For instance, responses to an open-ended
question about family economic prospects for the next year may initially be
classified only in terms of being confident or negative. It may be informative
to classify responses in terms of other thoughts such as the precise focus of
these expectations (income or jobs) and variations in responses among
family heads and others in the family.

Q.3. What are the different guidelines for writing the research report?

Ans:Researchers who are effective in report writing agree that there are a series
of guidelines which should be followed. Such guidelines can be listed as:
Consider the Audience: make the report clear; use only words familiar to the readers
and define all technical terms. To make the comparison of figures easier, use
percentages, rounded off figures, ranks of ratios; put the exact data within the text or in

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the appendix. Use graphic aids (charts, graphs, pictures, etc) wherever they help clarify
the presentation of data.
Address the Information Needs:

remember the research report is designed to

communicate information to decision makers. Make sure that it clearly relates the
research findings to the objectives of the management.
Be concise, Yet complete: most managers will not want to read about the details of a
research report. Knowing what to include and what to leave out is a difficult task. It is
up to you, the researcher, to take into account the information needs of the decision
maker when writing your report.
Be objective: You will probably face at least one situation in which you know that the
client will not easily accept the results. The findings may conflict with the decision
makers experience and judgement or they may reflect unfavourably on the wisdom of
previous decisions. In these circumstances, there is a strong temptation to start the
report by making the result more acceptable to the management.
A professional researcher, however, will the present the research findings in an
objective manner (therefore without bias) and will defend their validity if they are
challenged by the client.
Style: The style of writing a research report is important because it shows a
way of presentation.
Here are a few a tips to help you write a report that is easy to read.

Write in brisk, business-like English.

Use short words and sentences.

Be concise.

Use the active voice.

Consider appearance- space makes a long report easier to read.

Avoid clichs.

Write in the present tense.

The most important aspect to be kept in mind while developing a research report is the
communication with the audience. The report should be able to draw the interest of the
readers. Therefore, the report should be reader centric. Other aspects to be considered
while writing report are accuracy and clarity.

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The points to be remembered while doing oral presentation are thelanguage used, time
management, use of graph, purpose of the report etc. Visual aids used must be
understandable to the audience. The presenter must make sure that the presentation is
completed within the time allotted.
Sometime should be set apart for questions and answers.Written reports may be
classified based on whether the report is a short report or a long report. It can also be
classified as technical report or non-technical report. A written report should contain title
page, contents, executive summary, body, conclusion and appendix. The last part is the
bibliography.