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CHAPTER – 3

Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Table of Contents

Name of the Sub - Titles Page No.

3.1 Introduction 111

3.2 3.4 Research Design 111
113
3.4.1 Research design adopted
3.3 Statement of the Problem 114
3.4 Need for the Study 116
3.5 Objectives of the Study 117
3.6 Scope of the Study 117
3.7 Methodology 118
3.8 Pre-testing of Questionnaire 118
3.9 Sample of the Study 118
3.10 Analysis and Interpretation 119
3.10.1 Hypothesis Testing 121-122
3.10.2 Hypothesis
3.11 Statistical Tools Employed 123
3.12 Software tool used 125
3.13 Reliability and Validity of the research 126
3.13.1 Reliability 126-127
3.13.2 Validity
3.14 Ethical considerations 127

3.15 Research Limitations 128

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3.1. INTRODUCTION

The section for methodology illustrates research approach and

design considered for current study. It has been noted as an endeavor

towards the process of elucidating as well as justifying apt mode of

research design in terms of apprehending the problem of the research.

It is the source to imply the collection of data as well as techniques to

attain analysis of the data. According to Lee and Lings

(2008)137methodology is subject to offer connection between research

problem and the procedure by which this problem can be analyzed.

This section has been categorized under two distinctive parts. These

are – implication of types of data and the method of the research; and

the in-depth analysis of collected data. The conclusion of methodology

is a brief note about the ethics related to the research and relevance of

accuracy towards the same.

This chapter on Methodology offers an overview about the

research design, types of data to be collected, sampling design and

relevant interpretation towards the conducting of respective research

and necessary statistical tools selected for proposed hypotheses of the

research.

3.2. RESEARCH DESIGN

Research design has been explored under diversified definitions.

In respect to this report, research design will be considered as a

blueprint or framework with determined procedures towards the

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collection and analysis of collected valid data, as attained from

different sources. The motive is to identify or rather react towards the

respective research problem or relevant scopes of the research. The

aim is to get the difference among cost of attaining varied accuracy

levels and expected value towards information in reference to all the

accuracy levels on a maximized structure.

According to many scholars, a successful mode of research design is

about comparing following tasks:

Define problem of the research;

Determination of data for resolving research problem as per

need;

Designing of descriptive, exploratory or causal research phases;

Specify scaling and measurement procedures;

Construct as well as pre-test questionnaire or select apt mode of

collecting data;

Specify the process of sampling and its size;

Develop data plan through analysis as well as tabulation;

Evaluate research ethics;

Specify financial and time constraints; and

Follow complete study or the research.

It is important to maintain necessary caution in order to avoid

defining symptom instead of underlying problem (Cravens, 2000)138. It

turns imperative to identify a framework as well as implement the

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same in the research design. This however, relies on the kind of

research problem and can be formulated by the application of

descriptive, exploratory or causal research.

According to Groenewald (2004)139, research design has been

noted as an advanced set of decisions that creates the master plan for

the determined methods as well as proceedings for the collection of

data and analysis of the same. Research design is about detailed types

of approaches meant for the research and the implementation of the

same. It also concentrates on the measuring of variables as well as

data collection from participants. It devises a notable strategy in order

to sample the selected participants and plans the way to analyze the

collected data.

3.2.1. Research Design adopted:

This research has followed descriptive research analysis.

According to Kothari (2005)140descriptive approach illustrates the

ideologies of population. It never stands as any literary or poetic

approach, yet offers concrete and concise illustration about originality.

Some of the collected data are quantitative in nature and are validated

through numbers and percentages, while others are qualitative with

why and how elements. Descriptive research can identify or rather

justify practical conditions. It is capable of making assessments and

can compare factual data depicting relevant phenomena. Kumar

(2005)141 states that descriptive research can assist the researchers in

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terms of creating data about similar population. Descriptive study

tries to illustrate systematically structured instance, phenomenon,

problem, service or data related to living conditions meant for the

community or to illustrate attitudes for the same. As against this,

Gregory (2002)142 illustrates descriptive research as the way to assist

researchers in terms of creating data to illustrate composition and

features of similar groups. Such groups can be that of consumers,

employees, service providers and amalgamation of some other

organizations. The process of descriptive research is liable to generate

perfect comprehensiveness about the selected inquiry groups and

thereby can establish interrelationships among the notable variables.

It is quick and is noted for identifying investigation made over

sufficient interpretation.

This research makes use of descriptive research design as it

analysis in detail the preference of consumers of Karnataka towards’

BSNL services.

3.3. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Research is essentially an investigation, a record and an

analysis of evidence for the purpose of gaining knowledge. In other

words, research is an organized enquiry to find out facts. The

inherent aim of every research is gaining knowledge. Knowledge is a

tool to solve the problems of individuals, institutions, and the society

at large.
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In research problem means a question which is put forward to

be answered. In business there are plenty of problems which require

immediate solution. The problems may be pertaining to production,

marketing, finance and the like. These problems need immediate

solution and the research and development wing of the business

organization offer the enterprise expertise to solve such problems.

Today’s global market witnesses a cut-throat competition.

Many new products enter the market, stay for a while, and then go

obsolete. Fads come into existence and vanish even quicker than they

appear. Rapid changes in the consumers’ choices, increases in their

disposable income, globalization, media exposure, and influence of

global and psychological trends attribute to this behaviour. In order

to sustain themselves in the market, it is necessary for every telecom

operator to know the consumer perception and attitude towards

telecom services. Consumer tastes and preferences keep on changing.

In keeping with the changing tastes and preferences of consumes, the

telecom operators have to constantly innovative and offer features and

services to match. The survival and the growth of any enterprise

largely depend on meeting the requirements and aspirations of

present and future consumers. Hence, the study of consumer

behaviour is the key for the success of cellular industry.

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3.4. NEED FOR THE STUDY

As the average revenue per user is decreasing because of cut

throat competition, the cellular service providers are increasingly

looking for an additional revenue stream. This study outcome

contributes valuable learning about the field of mobile communication

to the broader academic knowledge base. This research may serve as

useful input to telecommunication companies, researchers and media

futuristic. The advantage of present study is that it will make

available hither to unavailable data to the existing body of knowledge.

The Changing competitive structure brought in by the

liberalization of Telecom Industry necessitates that any enterprise

engaged in providing telecom services need to adopt marketing

orientation in providing telecom services. The adoption of services

marketing concepts is a precondition for the survival and growth of

enterprises engaged in this sector. Keeping in view the strategic

nature of Telecom Industry in view and the adoption of marketing

concepts to provide effective services as means to create and expand

markets. Hence the research study entitled “A study on Consumer

Behaviour in telecom industry with reference to BSNL” has been

undertaken.
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3.5. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To study the growth and development of Telecom Industry in

India.

2. To study in detail the preference of consumers of Karnataka

towards’ BSNL services

3. To examine the perception of customers on BSNL telecom

services in Karnataka.

4. To examine the level of customer satisfaction of BSNL telecom

service in Karnataka.

5. To evaluate the effectiveness of BSNL services in Karnataka.

6. To offer suitable suggestions for the effective functioning of

BSNL telecom services in Karnataka

3.6. SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study is related to the services rendered by

Telecom service provider in the Karnataka state namely BSNL. The

study has been conducted to know the consumer preference and

perception towards BSNL in Bangalore, Tumkur, Chickballapur,

Kolar.

Period of the Study: The primary data for the study has been

collected from April, 2012 to March, 2013.

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3.7. METHODOLOGY

For the purpose of the research study, both the primary and

secondary data have been collected. Primary data has been collected

through comprehensive questionnaire administered to the customers

of BSNL.

Secondary data has been collected from the various research

publications, journals, magazines, daily newspapers, pamphlets,

published reports and published and unpublished literature related to

the above mentioned service providers.

3.8. PRE-TESTING OF QUESTIONNAIRE

The questionnaire has been pre-tested on a sample of 50

customers of BSNL cellular service provider in Bangalore, Karnataka

State. The pre-testing of questionnaire has helped the researcher to

modify some questions and alternative answers. Some of the

respondents were happy to reveal their experiences and asked the

researcher to make provision for other alternative answers which were

duly incorporated. The final (modified) questionnaire after pre-testing

was used for collecting the data.

3.9. SAMPLE OF THE STUDY

Sample size of the study was 400. The customer sample after

leaving out not properly filled questionnaires the real sample size was

383. The area of the study was restricted to BSNL service provider
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operating in Karnataka. All 400 respondents have been administered

with a structured questionnaire for the purpose of the study. The

selection of the respondents has been randomly made from the cities

like Bangalore, Tumkur, Chickballapur, Kolar of Karnataka State. The

sample size for the survey has been drawn from various categories of

consumers, and thus appropriate representation of all market

segments has been ensured. The size and the length of the survey

questionnaire have been kept optimum. Convenience sampling

method has been adopted for selection of the respondents.

3.10. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

The classification of raw data was essential for analysis and

interpretation. The computer system was used for classification of

data. As most of the questions, included in the questionnaire were

close-ended, classification was not complex.

The classified raw data had to be displayed in compact form for

analysis. This was done through tabulation. The tabulation has been

done using excel sheet in the computer. All the tables were prepared

from the questionnaire using SPSS package specially designed

software. Cross- tabulation has also been done for the sake of

analysis. For the data analysis various statistical techniques such as

regression analysis, percentages and Chi square Test, factor analysis

etc. have been employed depending upon the requirements.

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As per Groves (1989)143interpretation and analysis of data is

relevantly connected to the operations performed for summarizing the

process of collecting data and thereby organizing the same to meet the

demands of the research problem. It is also liable to offer research

hypothesis or relevant kinds of questions. Data analysis is inclusive of

objective material within the researcher’s possession as well his

subjective reaction added by desires in order to derive inherent data to

resolve research problem. In order to avoid conclusions from

insufficient or relevantly noted invalid data, the mode of final analysis

should get anticipated under detailed aspects as the plans are made

to collect data. It is necessary to analyze the research problems in

detail; so that necessary data with solution as well as confirmed

methods are used for definite answers. It is the responsibility of the

researcher to determine if the selected factors can satisfy the problem

of the research. He must decide if the collected sources offer requisite

data. This is an effort as well as time consuming aspect in analyzing

data and the same depends on the selected research methodology. As

the analysis finishes the researcher needs to step back and thereby

make assumptions for invented resolutions. It is the role of the

researcher to determine perfect analysis with valid internal and

external interpretations (David and Mathew, 2002)144.

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3.10.1. Hypothesis testing:

Couper (2000)145 described that hypothesis testing is a well-

defined procedure which supports to decide objectively whether to

reject or accept the hypothesis based on the available information

from the sample. When a researcher establishes an assumption or

hypothesis then the sample statistics will be close to the parameter of

hypothesized population. A hypothesis is a formalized procedure that

succeeds a standard series of performances. In this way the

researcher has a standardized method for calculating the research

studies outcomes. Other researchers will understand and identify

exactly how the data were evaluated and how the conclusions were

reached.

Similarly Dillman and Bowker (2001)146in hypothesis testing two

kinds of hypotheses are involved. The first kind is called null

hypothesis which can be evaluated in terms of probabilities provided

by the sample statistics. The second is research hypothesis which is

intended to test the research prediction. The null hypothesis is the

logical opposite to the research hypothesis. Thus if the null hypothesis

is rejected then the research hypothesis is considered acceptable.

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3.10.2. Hypotheses:

H01: Consumers who prefer BSNL services are not influenced by

deposit amount, brand image, tariff rates on SMS and MMS facility,

mode of payment, company responsiveness in dealing with customers

and regarding quality and performance of service provider.

H02: Consumers who are loyal to the BSNL services are not influenced

by deposit amount, availability of mobile connection, promotional

activities, SMS and MMS tariffs and Image of BSNL.

H03: BSNL customers are not satisfied when compare to others

service providers in terms of monthly rental charges, charges for cell

phone to landlines.

H04: Consumers who are satisfied about BSNL services are not

influenced by brand image, availability of mobile connection, customer

care services, services charges, company delivery on time performance

and their commitment to meet their delivery expectations.

H05: Promotional activities of BSNL do not have a positive relation

with call tariff and network coverage of BSNL in Karnataka.

H06: Consumers of Karnataka are not satisfied about BSNL services

in relation to brand name, easy process, and signal strength of

network coverage.
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3.11. STATISTICAL TOOLS EMPLOYED:

The statistical tools that are used for the analysis of the primary

data are given below:

Factorial analysis

Graphical method

Simple percentage method

Mann-Whitney U test

Chi-square test

Regression analysis

Graphical Method: After the measurements the gathered data are

organized, examined and displayed by using different graphical

techniques. There are several graphical representation forms such as

bar charts, histograms, scatter figures and pie charts.

Simple percentage analysis: The analysis of simple percentage is

used in comparing between more than two collections of data. In this

method the percentages are used to represent relationship

percentages can also be used to compare similar terms.

Percentage = No. of responses X 100 / Total number of

responses

Mann Whitney U Test: The Mann – Whitney U test is non –

parametric test that could be utilized in the place of an unpaired t –

test. It is utilized to test the hypothesis which is null in that two

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samples come from the similar population or otherwise, whether the

observations in the one sample be inclined to be greater than the

remarks in the other. Even though it is a test of non - parametric it

does presume that the two distributions are alike in shape. Even

though Mann and Whitney had developed the test of Mann – Whitney

U test under the postulation of constant replies with the alternative

hypothesis being that one of the distributions is stochastically higher

than that of the other, there are numerous other ways to create the

alternative and null hypotheses such that the test of Mann – Whitney

U test may provide a applicable test (Daymon, 2002)147.

Chi-square Test: The Chi-Square distribution is merely the

distribution of the sum of the squares of a set of normally distributed

random variables. Its value stems from the fact that the sum of

random variables from any distribution can be closely approximated

by a normal distribution as the sum includes a greater and greater

number of samples. Thus the test is widely applicable for all

distributions. A chi-squared test, also referred to as chi-square test or

test, is any statistical hypothesis test in which the sampling

distribution of the test statistic is a chi-squared distribution when the

null hypothesis is true. Also considered a chi-squared test is a test in

which this is asymptotically true, meaning that the sampling

distribution (if the null hypothesis is true) can be made to

approximate a chi-squared distribution as closely as desired by

making the sample size large enough.

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3.12 .SOFTWARE TOOL USED

The following tools are used to analyze the primary data

collected and test the proposed research hypothesis

Microsoft Excel 2007: To produce graphs for the calculated

percentages from the gathered primary data Microsoft Excel 2007 is

used.

SPSS: SPSS is the acronym for Statistical Package for Social Sciences.

It is a famous statistical package used in different scientific

disciplines. SPSS is used for making statistical analysis in research

and social science practices. The most similar area of SPSS uses are

product research, marketing research, government research,

marketing organizations, medical and health research, companies

survey, educational research and so on. The data analysis and

management can be handled well with SPSS. Using SPSS the user can

make graphs, manipulate data and perform statistical techniques

varying from means to regression.

3.13. RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE RESEARCH

The results obtained by the primary data analysis are validated

for correctness with the support of two parameters like validity and

reliability of the research.

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3.13.1. Reliability:

Reliability is referred as the extent to which a test,

measurement procedure or a questionnaire generates common

outcomes on repeated trials. Shortly it is the consistency or stability of

scores across raters or over time (Sandelowski, 2000)148. Similarly

(Hooley et al. 2008)149 has mentioned that reliability is the degree to

which the measures yield stable results and are free from error i.e. the

measurement procedure stableness. If a procedure or measurement

device stably assigns similar score to objects or individuals with

common values, the components is assumed reliable. Reliability

involves the reproducibility or consistency of scores test i.e., the

degree to which one can expect similarly stable individual’s deviation

scores across testing situations on parallel or verifying components

Reliability is adopted in this study by ensuring that no question is

answered twice by the same respondent and all respondents have

answered all the questions in the questionnaire.

Table.3.1 - Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.827 17

Scale Statistics

Mean Variance Std. Deviation N of Items

51.91 67.044 8.188 17

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Inference: Cronbach’s alpha has been run to check their

reliability. The above table displays some of the results obtained. The

overall alpha for the all items is 0.827, which is very high and

indicates strong internal consistency among the given items.

3.13.2. Validity:

According to Bryman and Bell (2003)150 Questionnaires are

referred to always lack validity for many reasons. Several individuals

may lie; give responses that are desired and so on. Reliable

measurement instruments are free of random error. Validity is a

degree to which an instrument or test measures what is needs to

measure can be classified as content, criterion, logical or construct

validity. Similarly Myers (2009)151 has mentioned that validity of

measurement denotes the degree to which the scores from the test or

instrument measures what it is supposed to measure. Validity is

adopted in this study by ensuring that the questions in the

questionnaires are relevant to that of the proposed research objectives

and literature review.

3.14. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Ethics is an important aspect in any research. There has to be

some basic ethics to be adopted in any research. In the study ethics is

handled by the researcher by keeping the answers acquired strictly

confidential. Besides, a prior permission was taken by the researcher

from the target respondents before conducting the research.

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3.15. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS

Every care has been taken to study the stated objectives in

detail; however the study has been subjected to the following

limitations.

Since the study is a sample based and undertaken in

Karnataka, the findings of the study may have the limitation of

generalization to the entire population.

Despite the care taken to understand the feelings and opinions

of the respondents, some articulation error may have crept into

the study.

The areas selected were few and as such the scope of the study

is limited.

Since the sample is represented by various strata of the

universe, they may be biased in certain responses.

The conclusion may or may not be generalized since the study is

confined to Karnataka only.

In spite of the above limitations, the study throws some light on

the consumer behaviour towards telecom service providers in

Karnataka.