MS-95: Research Methodology for Management Decisions

2. Distinguish between secondary and primary methods of data collection. Is it possible to use
secondary data methods as substitutes of primary methods? Justify your answer with suitable
illustrations.

Answer Data collection plays a very crucial role in the statistical analysis. In
research, there are different methods used to gather information, all of which
fall into two categories, i.e. primary data, and secondary data. As the name
suggests, primary data is one which is collected for the first time by the
researcher while secondary data is the data already collected or produced by
others. There are many differences between primary and secondary data,
which are discussed in this article. But the most important difference is that
primary data is factual and original whereas secondary data is just the analysis

and interpretation of the primary data. While primary data is collected with an
aim for getting solution to the problem at hand, secondary data is collected for
other purposes.

IGNOU INFO PALLAV SETHI PALLAVSETHI1989@YAHOO.COM

Information which has been collected previously, by someone else, other than the researcher.
Secondary data can either be qualitative, such as diaries, newspapers or government reports, or
quantitative, as with official statistics, such as league tables.

Strengths of using secondary data in social research

 There is a lot of it! It is the richest vein of information available to researchers in many topic
areas. Also, some large data sets might not exist if it wasn’t for the government collecting
data.
 Sometimes documents and official statistics might be the only means of researching the
past.
 Official statistics may be especially useful for making comparisons over time. The U.K.
Census for example goes back to 1851.
 At a practical level, many public documents and official statistics are freely available to the
researcher.

3. Explain an itemized rating scale. What are the various issues involved in constructing an
itemized rating scale?

AnswerBusiness JargonsMarketingItemized Rating Scale

IGNOU INFO PALLAV SETHI PALLAVSETHI1989@YAHOO.COM

 Itemized Rating Scale
Definition: The Itemized Rating Scale is an Ordinal Scale that has a brief description or
numbers associated with each category, ordered in terms of scale positions. The respondents
are asked to select the category that best describes the stimulus object being rated.

The following are the most commonly used itemized rating scales:

1. Likert Scale: A Likert Scale is a scale with five response categories that ranges from “strongly
disagree” to “strongly agree”, wherein the respondent is asked to indicate the degree of agreement
or disagreement with each of the statements related to the stimulus object under analysis.
2. Semantic Differential Scale: The semantic differential scale is a seven-point rating scalewith the
extreme points having the semantic meaning. The scale is used to measure the meaning or
semantics of words, especially the bi-polar adjectives (such as “evil” or “good”, “warm” or
“cold”) to derive the respondent’s attitude towards the stimulus object.
3. Stapel Scale: Stapel scale is a single adjective rating scale with 10 categoriesranging from -5 to
+5 with no zero points. This scale is usually a vertical scale in which the single adjective is placed in
the middle of the even-numbered range (-5 to +5). The respondent is asked to identify how correctly
or incorrectly each term describes the stimulus object by choosing an appropriate response
category.

The itemized rating scale is widely used in marketing research and serve as a basic
component of more complex scales, such as Multi-Item Scales.

The itemized rating scale is an ordinal rating scale that has a brief description or numbers associated
with each category, ordered in terms of scale positions, It requires respondents to select from
limited number of ordered alternatives.

Scaling refers to the process of assigning numbers or symbols to measure the intensity of abstract
attitudes.

The various issues which are normally involved include the attitudes, behaviors and the rating
scale. In attitude we have the affective which deals with the person emotions and feelings, cognitive
which deals with the knowledge and awareness and behavioral dealings with a persons actions.

Rating involves the process of asking the respondents the extend to which an item of interest
possesses a characteristics. Scale that require respondents to rank an item result in a quantitative
score.

4. What are non-parametric tests? How are they different from parametric tests? Explain the

advantages and disadvantages of the non-parametric tests.

IGNOU INFO PALLAV SETHI PALLAVSETHI1989@YAHOO.COM

Answer
To make the generalisation about the population from the sample, statistical
tests are used. A statistical test is a formal technique that relies on the
probability distribution, for reaching the conclusion concerning the
reasonableness of the hypothesis. These hypothetical testing related to
differences are classified as parametric and nonparametric
tests.The parametric test is one which has information about the population
parameter.

On the other hand, the nonparametric test is one where the researcher has no idea regarding the
population parameter. So, take a full read of this article, to know the significant differences between
parametric and nonparametric

IGNOU INFO PALLAV SETHI PALLAVSETHI1989@YAHOO.COM

IGNOU INFO PALLAV SETHI PALLAVSETHI1989@YAHOO.COM
IGNOU INFO PALLAV SETHI PALLAVSETHI1989@YAHOO.COM
IGNOU INFO PALLAV SETHI PALLAVSETHI1989@YAHOO.COM
5. What are the guidelines for effectively presenting the research results through oral

presentation? How can a researcher make his presentation more effective? What are the

audio-visual aids available for the purpose?

IGNOU INFO PALLAV SETHI PALLAVSETHI1989@YAHOO.COM

Answer An oral presentation is more than just reading a paper or set of slides
to an audience. How you deliver your presentation is at least as important in
effectively communicating your message as what you say. Use these
guidelines to learn simple tools that help you prepare and present an effective
presentation, and design PowerPoint slides that support and enhance your
talk.

Preparing an Effective Presentation

An effective presentation is more than just standing up and giving information.
A presenter must consider how best to communicate the information to the
audience. Use these tips to create a presentation that is both in formative and
interesting:
 Organize your thoughts. Start with an outline and develop good transitions
between sections. Emphasize the real-world significance of your research.
 Have a strong opening. Why should the audience listen to you? One good way to
get their attention is to start with a question, whether or not you expect an answer.
 Define terms early. If you are using terms that may be new to the audience,
introduce them early in your presentation. Once an audience gets lost in unfamiliar
terminology, it is extremely difficult to get them back on track.
 Finish with a bang. Find one or two sentences that sum up the importance of your
research. How is the world better off as a result of what you have done?
 Design PowerPoint slides to introduce importan t information. Consider doing a
presentation without PowerPoint. Then consider which points you cannot make
without slides. Create only those slides that are necessary to improve your
communication with the audience.
 Time yourself. Do not wait until the last minute to time your presentation. You only
have 15 minutes to speak, so you want to know, as soon as possible, if you are
close to that limit.
 Create effective notes for yourself. Have notes that you can read. Do not write out
your entire talk; use an outline or other brief reminders of what you want to say.
Make sure the text is large enough that you can read it from a distance.
 Practice, practice, practice. The more you practice your presentation, the more
comfortable you will be in front of an audience. Practice in front of a friend or two
and ask for their feedback. Record yourself and listen to it critically. Make it better
and do it again.
PowerPoint Tips
Microsoft PowerPoint is a tremendous tool for presentations. It is also a tool
that is sometimes not used effectively. If you are using PowerPoint, use these
tips to enhance your presentation:
 Use a large font. As a general rule, avoid text smaller than 24 point.
 Use a clean typeface. Sans serif typefaces, such as Arial, are generally easier to
read on a screen than serif typefaces, such as Times New Roman.
 Use bullet points, not complete sentences. The text on your slide provides an
outline to what you are saying. If the entire text of your presentation is on your
slides, there is no reason for the audience to listen to you. A common standard is
the 6/7 rule: no more than six bulleted items per slide and no more than seven
words per item.
 Use contrasting colors. Use a dark text on a light background or a light text on a
dark background. Avoid combinations of colors that look similar. Avoid red/green
combinations, as this is the most common form of color blindness.
 Use special effects sparingly. Using animations, cool transition effects, sounds and
other special effects is an effective way to make sure the audience notices your

IGNOU INFO PALLAV SETHI PALLAVSETHI1989@YAHOO.COM

 slides. Unfortunately, that means that they are not listening to what you are
saying. Use special effects only when they are necessary to make a point.
Presenting Effectively
When you start your presentation, the audience will be interested in what you
say. Use these tips to help keep them interested throughout your presentation:
 Be excited. You are talking about something exciting. If you remember to be
excited, your audience will feel it and automatically become more interested.
 Speak with confidence. When you are speaking, you are the authority on your
topic, but do not pretend that you know everything. If you do not know the answer
to a question, admit it. Consider deferring the question to your mentor or offer to
look into the matter further.
 Make eye contact with the audience. Your purpose is to communicate with your
audience, and people listen more if they feel you are talking directly to them. As
you speak, let your eyes settle on one person for several seconds before moving
on to somebody else. You do not have to make eye contact with everybody, but
make sure you connect with all areas of the audience equally.
 Avoid reading from the screen. First, if you are reading from the screen, you are
not making eye contact with your audience. Second, if you put it on your slide, it is
because you wanted them to read it, not you.
 Blank the screen when a slide is unnecessary. A slide that is not related to what
you are speaking about can distract the audience. Pressing the letter B or th e
period key displays a black screen, which lets the audience concentrate solely on
your words. Press the same key to restore the display.
 Use a pointer only when necessary. If you are using a laser pointer, remember to
keep it off unless you need to highlight something on the screen.
 Explain your equations and graphs. When you display equations, explain them
fully. Point out all constants and dependent and independent variables. With
graphs, tell how they support your point. Explain the x - and y-axes and show how
the graph progresses from left to right.
 Pause. Pauses bring audible structure to your presentation. They emphasize
important information, make transitions obvious, and give the audience time to
catch up between points and to read new slides. Pauses always feel much longer
to speakers than to listeners. Practice counting silently to three (slowly) between
points.
 Avoid filler words. Um, like, you know, and many others. To an audience, these
are indications that you do not know what to say; you sound uncomfortable, so
they start to feel uncomfortable as well. Speak slowly enough that you can collect
your thoughts before moving ahead. If you really do not know what to say, pause
silently until you do.
 Relax. It is hard to relax when you are nervous, but your audience will be
much more comfortable if you are too.
 Breathe. It is fine to be nervous. In fact, you should be all good presenters are
nervous every time they are in front of an audience. The most effective way to
keep your nerves in check aside from a lot of practice before hand is to
remember to breathe deeply throughout your presentation.
 Acknowledge the people who supported your research. Be sure to thank the
people who made your research possible, including your mentor, research
team, collaborators, and other sources of funding and support.
Sharing your work can help you expand your network of contacts who share
your research interests. For undergraduate researcher who intend to complete
a graduate degree, presenting can be an invaluable experience. We
recommend discussing your interest in sharing your research with your faculty
advisor. They can help match your interests with the appropriate venue.

IGNOU INFO PALLAV SETHI PALLAVSETHI1989@YAHOO.COM

 Se

Audio Visual Aids are also called instructional material. Audio literally means “hearing” and “visual”
means that which is found by seeing. So all such aids, which endeavor to make the knowledge
clear to us through our sense are called “Audio Visual Aids” or Instructional Material. All these
learning material make the learning situations as real as possible and give us firsthand knowledge
through the organs of hearing and seeing. Therefore, any device which can be used to make the
learning experience more concrete and effective, more realistic and dynamic can be considered
audio visual material.
We learn through our sense organs. Senses are the ways of knowledge. All the sense organs help
us in understanding the environment. Most of the knowledge, which we acquire from the school,
comes through our ears and eyes.

Audio Visual Aids Definition

According to Burton. These are sensory objectives and images which stimulate and
emphasis on learning process. Carter V. Good. It is a trainable (motivation,
classification and stimulation) process of learning.
Objectives of Teaching Aids
1. To enhance teachers skills which help to make teaching-learning process effective
2. Make learners active in the classroom
3. Communicate them according to their capabilities
4. Develop lesson plan and build interest
5. To make students good observer
6. Develop easy and understandable learning material
7. Follow child cornered learning process
8. Involve intimation in objectives
9. To create interest in different groups
10. To make teaching process more effective

1“The manager/ researcher is not equipped to arrive at a focused the precise research Question,
till he carries out a thorough inventory check of the problem area”. Examine the Above statement
and justify with examples why you agree/disagree with it.

IGNOU INFO PALLAV SETHI PALLAVSETHI1989@YAHOO.COM

IGNOU INFO PALLAV SETHI PALLAVSETHI1989@YAHOO.COM
IGNOU INFO PALLAV SETHI PALLAVSETHI1989@YAHOO.COM
IGNOU INFO PALLAV SETHI PALLAVSETHI1989@YAHOO.COM
IGNOU INFO PALLAV SETHI PALLAVSETHI1989@YAHOO.COM