Research Methods for

Management LESSON

10
DATA COLLECTION

CONTENTS
10.0 Aims and Objectives
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Types of Data-Sources
10.2.1 Primary Data
10.2.2 Secondary Data
10.2.3 Internal Secondary Data
10.2.4 External Secondary Data
10.2.5 Special Techniques of Market Research or Syndicated Data
10.3 Miscellaneous Secondary Data
10.4 Tools for Data Collection
10.5 Designing the Questionnaire
10.6 Questionnaire Designing
10.6.1 Determine what Information is Required
10.6.2 Mode of Collecting the Data
10.6.3 Types of Questions
10.6.4 Question Wording
10.6.5 Applicability
10.6.6 Split Ballot Technique
10.6.7 Participation at the Expense of Accuracy
10.6.8 Pre-testing of Questionnaire
10.7 Mail Questionnaire
10.7.1 Advantages
10.7.2 Limitations
10.8 Sample Questionnaires
10.8.1 A Study of Customer Retention as Adopted by Textile Retail Outlets
10.8.2 A Study on Customer Preferences of P.C.
10.8.3 Questionnaire (Dealers)
10.9 Let us Sum up
10.10 Lesson-end Activities
10.11 Keywords
10.12 Questions for Discussion
10.13 Suggested Readings

10.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

In this lesson we will study types and sources of data collection. Here we will also
discuss the tools of data collection and method for designing questionnaire. After studying
this lesson you will be able to:
88 (i) distinguish between primary and secondary data.
(ii) understand data collection procedure Data Collection

(iii) describe types of syndicated data

(iv) design questionnaire

10.1 INTRODUCTION
Once the researcher has decided the ‘Research Design’ the next job is of data collection.
For data to be useful, our observations need to be organized so that we can get some
patterns and come to logical conclusions.
Statistical investigation requires systematic collection of data, so that all relevant groups
are represented in the data.
Depending upon the sources utilized, whether the data has come from actual observations
or from records that are kept for normal purposes, statistical data can be classified into
two categories-primary and secondary data.

10.2 TYPES OF DATA-SOURCES

10.2.1 Primary Data
Data directly collected by the researcher, with respect to problem under study, is known
as primary data. Primary data is also the first hand data collected by the researcher for
the immediate purpose of the study.

10.2.2 Secondary Data

Secondary data are statistics that already exists. They have been gathered not for
immediate use. This may be described as “Those data that have been compiled by
some agency other than the user”. Secondary data can be classified as:
l Internal secondary data
l External secondary data

10.2.3 Internal Secondary Data

Is that data which is a part of company’s record, for which research is already conducted.
Internal data are those, which are found within the organisation. Example: Sales in units,
credit outstanding, sales persons call reports, daily production report, monthly collection
report, etc.

10.2.4 External Secondary Data

The data collected by the researcher from outside the company. This can be divided into
four parts:
l Census data
l Individual project report published
l Data collected for sale on a commercial basis called syndicated data
l Miscellaneous data
l Census data: is the most important among the sources of data. The following are
some of the data that can got by census–
l Census of the wholesale trade
l Census of the retail trade 89
Research Methods for l Population census
Management
l Census of manufacturing industries
l Individual project report publicized
l Encyclopedia of business information sources
l Product finder
l Thomas registers etc.

10.2.5 Special Techniques of Market Research or Syndicated Data

These techniques involve data collection on a commercial basis i.e., Data collected by
this method is sold to interested clients, on payment. Example of such organisation is
Neilson Retail, ORG Marg, IMRB etc. These organizations provide NRS called National
Readership Survey to the sponsors and advertising agencies. They also provide business
relationship survey called BRS which estimates the following:
(a) Rating
(b) Profile of the company etc.
(c) These people also provide TRP rating namely television rating points on a
regular basis. This provides
(i) Viewership figures
(ii) Duplication between programmes etc. Some of the interesting
studies made by IMRB are SNAP- Study of Nations Attitude and Awareness
Programme. In this study, the various groups of the Indian population and
their life styles, attitudes of Indian housewives are detailed.
There is also a study called FSRP which covers children in the age group of 10 –
19 years. Beside their demographics and psychographics, the study covers those
areas such as
l Children as decision makers
l Role model of Indian children
l Pocket money and its usage
l Media reviews
l Favoured Personalities and characteristics and
l Brand awareness and advertising recall
Syndicated sources consists of market research firms offering syndicated services. These
market research organisations, collects and updates information on a continues basis.
Since data is syndicated, their cost is spread over a number of client organisations and
hence cheaper. For example: A client firm can give certain specific question to be included
in the questionnaire, which is used routinely to collect syndicated data. The client will
have to pay extra for these. The data generated by these additional questions and analysis
of such data will be revealed only to the firms submitting the questions. Therefore we
can say, customization of secondary data is possible. Some areas of syndicated services
are newspapers, magazine readership, TV channel popularity etc. Data from syndicated
sources are available on a weekly or monthly basis.

Syndicated data may be classified as

90 (a) Consumer purchase data

(b) Retailer and wholesaler data Data Collection

(c) Advertising data.

Most of these data collection methods as above are also called as syndicated data.
Syndicated data can be classified into

Consumer Purchase Data or Panel type Data

This is one type of syndicated data. In this method, there are consumer panels. Members
of this panel will be representative of the entire population. Panel members keep diaries
in which they record all purchase, made by them. Product purchased, ranges from
packaged food, to personal care products. Members submit the dairies every month to
the organizations, for which, they are paid. This panel data can be used to find out the
sale of the product. These panel data also gives an insight into repeat purchases, effect
of free samples, coupon redemption etc.
The consumer panel data also gives profile of the target audience. Nowadays, diaries
are replaced by hand held scanners. Panels also provide data on consumer buying habits
on petrol, auto parts, sports goods etc.

Limitations
l Low income groups are not represented
l Some people do not want to take the trouble of keeping the record of the purchases.
Hence data is not available.
Advantages
l Use of scanner tied to the central computer helps the panel members to record
their purchases early (Almost immediately)
l It also provides reliability and speed.
l Panel can consist of only senior citizens or only children.
We also have consumer mail panel (CMP). This consists of members who are willing to
answer mail questionnaire. A large number of such households are kept on the panel.
This serves as a universe, through which panels are selected.
Retail and Wholesale Data
Marketing research is done in a retail store. These are organizations which provide
continuous data on grocery products. The procedure does not involve questioning people
and also does not rely on their memory. This requires cooperation, from the retailer to
allow auditing to be done. Generally, retail audit involves counting of stocks between two
consecutive visits. It involves inspection of goods delivered between visits. If the stock
of any product in the shop is accurately counted, on both the visits and data on deliveries
are accurately taken from the records, the collection of sales of a product over that
period can be determined accurately as follows:
Initial stock + Deliveries between visits – second time stock = sales
If this information is obtained from different shops from the representative sample of
shops, then the accurate estimates of sales of the product can be made. To do this, some
shops can be taken as a “Panel of shops” representing the universe.
Advantages
l It provides information on consumer purchase over the counter between audits in
specific units. For Example, KGs, bottles, No’s etc.
l It provides data on shop purchases i.e., the purchases made by the retailer between
audits.
l The manufacturer comes to know “How competitor is doing?” 91
Research Methods for l It is very reliable method
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Disadvantages
l Experience is needed by the market researcher
l Cooperation is required from the retail shop
l It is time consuming
Advertising Data
Since large amount of money is spent on advertising, data need to be collected on
advertising. One way of recording is, by using passive meter. This is attached to a TV
set and it records when the set was “On”. It will record “How long a channel is viewed”.
By this method, data regarding audience interest in a channel can be found out. One
thing to be noticed from the above is that, it only tells you that someone is viewing TV at
home. But it does not tell you “Who is viewing at home”. To find out “Who is viewing”
a new instrument called “People’s Meter” is introduced. This is a remote controlled
instrument with buttons. Each household is given a specific button. When the button is
pressed, it signals the control box that a specific person is viewing. This information is
recorded electronically and sent to a computer that stores this information and subsequently
it is analysed.

10.3 MISCELLANEOUS SECONDARY DATA

Includes trade association such as FICCI, CEI, Institution of Engineers, chamber of
Commerce, Libraries such as public library, University Library etc., literature, state and
central government publications, private sources such as all India Management Association
(AIMA), Financial Express and Financial Dailies, world bodies and international
organizations such as IMF, ADB etc.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Secondary Data

Advantages
(a) It is economical, no need to hire field people
(b) It saves time, normally 2 to 3 months time is saved, if data is available on hand and
it can be tabulated in minutes.
(c) They provide information, which the retailers may not be willing to give to the
researcher.
(d) No training is required to collect the data unlike primary data.
Disadvantages
Because secondary data had been collected for some other projects. So, it may not fit in
to the problem, that is being defined. In some cases, the fit is so poor that, the data
becomes completely inappropriate. It may be ill suited because of the following three
reasons:
l Unit of measurement
l Problem of Accuracy
l Recency

Unit of Measurement
It is common for secondary data to be expressed in units. Example: Size of the retail
92 establishments, for instance, can be expressed in terms of gross sales, profits, square
feet area and number of employees. Consumer income can be expressed by individual, Data Collection

family, household etc.

Secondary data available may not fit this.
Assume that the class intervals used is quite different from those which are needed.
Example: Data available with respect to age group is as follows :
<18 year
18 – 24 years
25 – 34 years
35 – 44 years
Suppose the company needs a classification less than 20, 20 – 30 and 30 – 40, the above
data classification of secondary data cannot be used.

Problem of Accuracy
The accuracy of secondary data is highly questionable. A number of errors are possible,
in collection and analysis of the data. Accuracy of secondary data depends on
(a) Who collected the data?
(b) How are the data collected?

(a) Who collected the data?

Reputation of the source decides the accuracy of the data. Assume that a private magazine
publisher conducts a survey of its readers. The main aim of the survey is to find out the
opinion of its reader about advertisement appearing in it. This survey is done by the
publisher with a hope that other firms will buy this data before inserting advertisement.
Assume that a professional M.R agency has conducted a similar survey and selling its
syndicated data on many magazines.
If you are a person, who wants information on a particular magazine, you buy the data
from M.R agency rather from the magazine publisher. Reason for this is trust on M.R
agency. The reason for trusting the MR agency is as follows.
1. Being an independent agency, there is no bias. The M.R agency is likely to provide
an unbiased data.
2. The data quality of M.R agency will be good, since they are professionals.

(b) How was the data collected?

1. What instruments was used?
2. What type of sampling was done?
3. How large was the sample?
4. What was the time period of data collection? Example: Days of the week, time of
the day.
Recency
This refers to “How old is the information?” If it is five years old, it may be useless.
Therefore, publication lag is a problem.

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Research Methods for Secondary data used to choose a TV movie channel for advertising products & services.
Management

Top 10 Advertisers in English General

Entertainment channels
HLL
L'Oreal
Coca Cola
Nestle
Nokia
Pepsi
Brooke Bond Lipton
Titan Industries
Tata Motors
Ponds

Secondary data of a print media to unable the advertisers to choose suitable magazines.
Top ten magazines (All India - urban+rural):
l Saras Salil leads here with a readership of 6981 thousand
l India Today (Hindi) - 4314 thousand (Exhibit 12.4)
l India Today (English) - 4188 thousand
l Grihshobha - 3757 thousand
l Vanitha - 3270 thousand
l Pratiyogita Darpan - 2743 thousand
l Readers' Digest - 2566 thousand
l Filmfare - 2542 thousand
l Meri Saheli - 2405 thousand
l Sarita - 2189 thousand
Secondary data of radio stations to choose a broad cast channel for inserting an ad.
Total Radio Stations after phase II rollout
Player Total Stations Of the top 13 towns
(A + and A Category)

Adlabs 44 7
South Asia/Kaal Radio 40 10
ENIL 32 13
Radio City 20 11
Dainik Bhaskar 17 4
Bag Films 10 0
Zee/Century 8 0
Thanthi/Today/Midday 7 1/3/7
HT/Positive/Raj Pat 4 40/1
Red FM 3 3

10.4 TOOLS FOR DATA COLLECTION

Observation and Questioning are two broad approaches available for primary data
collection. The major difference between the two approaches is that, in questioning
process, respondent play an active role, because of interaction with the researcher.

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Observation Method Data Collection

In observation method, only present / current behaviour can be studied. Therefore many
researchers feel that this is a great disadvantage. A causal observation can enlighten the
researcher to identify the problem. Such as length of the queue in front of a food chain,
price and advertising activity of the competitor etc. observation is the least expensive of
data collection.
Example 1: Suppose a safety week is celebrated and public is made aware of safety
precautions to be observed while walking on the road. After one week, an observer can
stand at a street corner and observe the No. of people walking on footpath and those
walking on the road during a time period. This will tell him whether the campaign on
safety is successful or unsuccessful.
Sometimes observation will be the only method available to the researcher.
Example 2: Behaviour or attitude of children, and also of those who are inarticulate.

Types of Observation Methods

There are several methods of observation of which, any one or a combination of some of
them, can be used by the observer. They are:
l Structured or unstructured observation methods
l Disguised or undisguised observation methods
l Direct-indirect observation
l Human-mechanical observation

Structured-Unstructured Observation Methods

Whether the observation should be structured or unstructured depends on the data needed.
Example 1: A Manager of a hotel wants to know "How many of his customers visit the
hotel with family and how many visits as single customer". Here observation is structured,
since it is clear "what is to be observed". He may tell the waiters to record this. This
information is required to decide the tables and chairs requirement and also the layout.
Suppose, the Manager wants to know how single customer and customer with family
behave and what is their mood. This study is vague, it needs non-structured observation.
It is easier to record structured observation than non structured observation.
Example 2: To distinguish between structured and unstructured observation, consider a
study, investigating the amount of search that goes into a "soap purchase". On the one
hand, the observers could be instructed to stand at one end of a supermarket and record
each sample customer's search. This may be observed and recorded as follows.
"Purchaser first paused after looking at HLL brand". He looked at the price on of the
product, kept the product back on the shelf, then picked up a soap cake of HLL and
glanced at the picture on the pack and its list of ingredients, and kept it back. He then
checked the label and price for P&G product, kept that back down again, and after a
slight pause, picked up a different flavor soap of M/S Godrej company and placed it in
his trolley and moved down the aisle. On the other hand, observers might simply be told
to record the "First soap cake examined", by checking the appropriate boxes in the
observation form. The "second situation" represents more structured than the first.
To use more structured approach, it would be necessary to decide precisely, what is to be
observed and the specific categories and units that would be used to record the observations.
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Research Methods for Disguised-Undisguised Observation Methods
Management
In Disguised observation, the respondents do not know that they are being observed. In
non disguised observation, the respondents are well aware that they are being observed.
In disguised observation, many times observers pose as shoppers. They are called as
"mystery shoppers". They are paid by the research organisations. The main strength of
disguised observation is that, it allows for maintaining the true reactions of the individuals.
In undisguised method, observation may be contained due to induced error by the objects
of observation. The ethical aspect of disguised observations is still questionable.
Direct-Indirect Observation
In direct observation, the actual behaviour or phenomenon of interest is observed. In
Indirect observation, results of the consequences of the phenomenon are observed.
Suppose, researcher is interested in knowing about the soft drink consumption of a student
in a hostel room. He may like to observe empty soft drink bottles dropped into the bin.
Similarly, the observer may seek the permission of the hotel owner, to visit the kitchen or
stores. He may carry out a kitchen / stores audit, to find out the consumption of various
brands of spice items being used by the Hotel. It may be noted that, the success of an
indirect observation largely depends on "How best the observer is able to identify physical
evidence of the problem under study".
Human-Mechanical Observation
Most of the studies in marketing research based on human observation, wherein trained
observers are required to observe and record their observations. In some cases,
mechanical devices such as eye cameras are used for observation. One of the major
advantages of electrical / mechanical devices is that, their recordings are free from
subjective bias.
Advantages of Observation Method
1. The original data can be collected at the time of occurrence of the event.
2. Observation is done in natural surroundings. Therefore facts are known, where
questionnaire, experiments have environmental as well as time constraint.
3. Sometimes the respondents may not like to part with some of the information.
Those information can be got by the researcher by observation.
4. Observation can be done on those who cannot articulate.
5. Bias of the researcher is greatly reduced in observation method.
Limitations
1. The observer might be waiting at the point of observation. Still the desired event
may not take place i.e. observation is required over a long period of time and hence
delay may occur.
2. For observation, extensive training of observers is required.
3. This is an expensive method.
4. External observation gives only surface indications. To go beneath the surface it is
very difficult. So only overt behaviour can be observed.
5. Two observers, may observe the same event but may draw inference differently.
6. It is very difficult to gather information on (1) Opinions (2) Intentions etc.

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 Data Collection
10.5 DESIGNING THE QUESTIONNAIRE

Questionnaire, its Importance and Characteristics

Questionnaire: A questionnaire is a tool used to collect the data.
Importance of Questionnaire in MR: To study
1. Behavior, past and present
2. Demographic characteristics such as age, sex, income, occupation
3. Attitudes and opinions
4. Level of knowledge
Characteristics of Questionnaire
1. It must be simple. Respondent should be able to understand the questions
2. It must generate replies, which can be easily recorded by the interviewer
3. It should be specific, so as to allow the interviewer to keep the interview to the
point
4. It should be well arranged, to facilitate analysis and interpretation
5. It must keep the respondent interested throughout

Different Types of Questionnaire

1. Structured non disguised Questionnaire
2. Structured disguised Questionnaire
3. Non structured disguised Questionnaire
4. Non structured-Non disguised Questionnaire
1. Structured non disguised Questionnaire: Here, questions are structured so as to
get the facts. The interviewer will ask the questions strictly as per the pre arranged
order. E.g: What are the strengths of soap A in comparison with soap B?
l Cost is less
l Lasts longer
l Better fragrance
l Produces more lather
l Comes in more convenient sizes
Structured, non disguised is widely used in market research. Questions are presented
with exactly the same wording and same order to all the respondents. The reason for
standardizing question is, to ensure that all respondents reply the same question. The
purpose of the question is clear. The researcher wants the respondent to choose one of
the five options given above. This type of questionnaire is easy to administer. The
respondents have no difficulty in answering. Because it is structured, the frame of
reference is obvious.
In a non-disguised type, the purpose of the questionnaire is known to the respondent.
Example: "Subjects attitude towards cyber laws and need for government legislation to
regulate it."
Certainly not needed at present
Certainly not needed 97
Research Methods for I can't say
Management
Very urgently needed
Not urgently needed
2. Structured disguised Questionnaire: This type of questionnaire is least used in
Marketing research. This type of Questionnaire is used to find, peoples' attitude,
when a direct undisguised question produces a bias. In this type of questionnaire
what comes out is "What does the respondent know rather than what he feels".
Therefore attempt in this method is to find the respondent's attitude.
Currently the "office of profit" bill is
(a) In the Loksabha for approval.
(b) Approved by Loksabha and pending in Rajyasabha.
(c) Passed by both the houses, pending presidential approval.
(d) Bill passed by the president.
Depending on which answer, respondent chooses, his knowledge on the subject is decided.
In a disguised type, the respondent is not revealed the purpose of the questionnaire.
Here the purpose is to hide "What is expected from the respondent?" E.g. (1) "Tell me
your opinion about Mr. Ben's healing effect show conducted at Bangalore?" E.g. (2)
"What do you think regarding Babri Masjid demolition?"
3. Non-Structured and disguised Questionnaire: The main objective is to conceal
the topic of enquiry by using a disguised stimulus. Though the stimulus is standardized
by researcher, respondent is allowed to answer in an unstructured manner. The
assumption made here is that individuals reaction is an indication of respondent's
basic perception. Projective techniques are examples of Non structured disguised
technique. The techniques involve the use of a vague stimulus, that an individual is
asked to expand or describe or build a story, three common types under this category
are (a) Word association (b) Sentence completion (c) Story telling.
4. Non structured - Non disguised Questionnaire: Here the purpose of the study is
clear, but the responses to the question is open ended. Example: "How do you feel
about the cyber law currently in practice and its need for further modification"?
The initial part of the question is constant. After presenting the initial question, the
interview becomes very unstructured as the interviewer probes more deeply.
Respondents subsequent answer determines the direction the interviewer takes
next. The question asked by interviewer varies from person to person. This method
is called "Depth interview". The major advantage of this method is freedom permitted
to the interviewer. By not restricting the respondents for a set of replies, the
experienced interviewers will be above to get the information from the respondent
fairly and accurately. The main disadvantage of this method of interviewing is that,
it takes time, and respondents may not co-operate. Another disadvantage is that
coding of open ended question may pose a challenge. E.g.: When a researcher
asked the respondent "Tell me something about your experience in this hospital".
The answer may be "Well, the nurses are "slow" to attend and Doctor is "rude".
'Slow' and 'rude' are different qualities needing separate coding. This type of
interviewing is extremely helpful in exploratory studies.

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 Data Collection
10.6 QESTIONNAIRE DESIGNING
The following are the 7 steps:

1
Determine what information
is needed

2
What type of Questionnaire
to be used questionnaire

3
Decide on the type of
Questions

4
Decide on the wording of
Questions

5
Deciding on layout

6
Pretest

7
Revise and prepare final
Questionnaire

10.6.1 Determine what Information is Required

The first question to be asked by market researcher is "What type of information he
needs from the survey?" This is valid because, if he omits some information on relevant
and vital aspects, his research is not likely to be successful. On the other hand, if he
collects information which is not relevant, he is wasting his time and money.
At this stage, information required, and the scope of research should be clear. Therefore
the steps to be followed at the planning stage is,
1. Decide the research issue
2. Get additional information on the research issue, from secondary data and exploratory
research. The exploratory research will suggest "what are the relevant variables?"
3. Gather, what has been the experience with similar study
4. The type of information required. There are several types of information such as
a) awareness, b) facts, c) opinions, d) attitudes, e) future plans, f) reasons.
Facts are usually sought out in marketing research 99
Research Methods for Example 1: Which television programme did you see last Saturday? This needs memory
Management
and respondent may not remember. This is known as recall loss. Therefore Questioning
the distant past should be avoided. Memory of events depends on 1) Importance of the
events (2) Whether it is necessary for the respondent to remember. In the above case,
both the factors are not fulfilled. Therefore the respondent does not remember. On the
contrary birthday or wedding day of individuals is remembered without effort since the
event is important. Therefore researcher should be careful while asking questions of the
past. First, he must make sure that, the respondent has the answer.
Example 2: Do you go to club? He may say 'yes', though it is not true. This may be
because the respondent wants to impress upon the interviewer that he belongs to a well-
to do family and can afford to spend money on club. To get facts, the respondents must
be conditioned (by good support) to part with the correct facts.

10.6.2 Mode of Collecting the Data

The Questionnaire can be used to collect information either through personal interview,
mail or telephone. The method chosen depends on the information required and also the
type of respondent. If the information is to be collected from illiterate, questionnaire
would be a wrong choice.

10.6.3 Type of Questions

Open Ended Questions

These are questions, where respondents are free to answer, in their own words. Example:
"What factor do you consider to buy a suit"? If multiple choices are given, it could be
colour, price, style, brand etc., but some respondents may mention items which may not
occur to the researcher.
Therefore open ended questions are useful in exploratory research, where all possible
alternatives are explored. The greatest disadvantage of open ended questions is that,
researcher has to note down the answer of the respondents verbatim. Therefore, there
is a possibility of researcher failing to record some information.
Another problem of open ended question is that, the respondents may not use the same
frame of reference.
Example: "What is the most important attribute in a job?"
Ans: Pay
The respondent meant "Basic pay" but interviewer may think that, the respondent is
talking about "Total pay including dearness allowance and incentive". Since both of them
refer to pay, it is impossible to separate two different frames.

Dichotomous Questions
These questions have only two answers, "Yes" or "no", "true" or false" "use" or "don't
use".
Do you use toothpaste? Yes ……….. No …………
There is no third answer. However, some times, there can be a third answer: Example:
"Do you like to watch movies?"
Ans: Neither like nor dislike
Dichotomous question are most convenient and easy to answer.
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Close End Questions Data Collection

There are two basic formats in this type:

l Make one or more choices among the alternatives
l Rate the alternatives
Choice among Alternatives:
Which one of the following words or phrase best describes the kind of person you feel
would be most likely to use this product based on what you have seen in the commercial.
(a) Young ………… old …………….
Single ………… Married ………..
Modern ………… Old fashioned ……………...
(b) Rating Scale
(I) Please tell us your overall reaction to this commercial?
1. A great commercial, would like to see again
2. Just so, so like other commercials
3. Another bad commercial
4. Pretty good commercial
(II) Based on what you saw in the commercial, how interested do you feel, you would
be buying the products?
l Definitely
l Probably would buy
l May or may not buy
l Probably would not buy
l Definitely would not buy
Closed ended questionnaire are easy to answer. It requires less effort by the interviewer.
Tabulation, analysis is easier. There is less error, since same questions are asked to
everyone. Time taken to respond is less. We can compare the answer of one respondent
to another respondent.
One basic criticism of closed ended questionnaire is that, middle alternatives are not
included in this. Such as "don't know". This will force the respondents, to choose among
the given alternative.

10.6.4 Question Wording

Wordings of particular questions can have a large impact on how respondent interprets.
Even a small shift in the wording can shift respondent's answer.
Example 1: "Don't you think that, Brazil played poorly in the FIFA cup?" The answer
will be "yes". Many of them, who do not have any idea about the game, will also say
"yes". If the question is worded slightly differently, the response will be different.
Example 2: "Do you think that, Brazil played poorly in the FIFA cup?" This is a straight
forward question. The answer could be "yes", "no" or "don't know" depending on the
knowledge the respondents have about the game.
One word change as above, different responses will be given by respondents. 101
Research Methods for Guidelines towards the use of correct wording
Management
Is vocabulary simple, and familiar to the respondents?
Example 1: Instead of using the work "reasonably", "usually", "occasionally", "generally",
"on the whole".
Example 2: "How often do you go to a movie? Often, may be once a week, once a
month, once in two months or even more.
Avoid Double Barreled Questions
These are questions, in which respondent can agree with one part of the question, but
not agree with the other or cannot answer without making a particular assumption.
Example 1: "Do you feel, firms today are employee oriented and customer oriented"
There are two separate issues here - [yes] [No]
Example 2: "Are you happy with the price and quality of Branded shampoo?" [yes]
[No]
Avoid Leading And Loading Questions

Leading
Leading question is one, which suggests the answer to the respondent. The question
itself will influence the answer, when respondents get an idea that the data is being
collected by a company, respondents have a tendency to respond positively. Example 1;
"How do you like the programme on "Radio Mirchy"? The answer is likely to be "yes".
The unbiased way of asking is "which is your favorite FM Radio station? The answer
could be any one of the four stations namely 1. Radio City 2. Mirchy 3. Rainbow 4.
Radio-One.

Loading
A leading question is also known as loaded question. In loading, special emphasis is
given to a word or a phrase, which acts as a lead to respondent. Example: "Do you own
a kelvinator refrigerator". Better question would be "what brand of refrigerator do you
own? Don't you think the civic body is "incompetent". Here incompetent is 'loaded'.
Are The Questions Confusing?
If there is a question, which is not clear or confusing, then the respondent gets more
biased rather that getting enlightened. Example: "Do you think that the Government
published book is distributed effectively"? This is not the correct way, since respondent
does not know what is the meaning of the word effective distribution. This is confusing.
The correct way of asking questions is "Do you think that the Government published
books are readily available when you want to buy?" Example: "Do you think whether
value price equation is attractive"? Here respondents may not know the meaning of
value price equation.

10.6.5 Applicability
"Is the question applicable to all respondents"? Respondents may try to answer a question
even though, they don't qualify to do so or may lack opinion. Example 1: "What is your
present education level" 2. "Where are you working" (assume he is employed) 3. "From
which bank have you taken housing loan" (assume he has taken loan).

Avoid implicit assumptions

An implicit alternative, is one that is not expressed in the options. Consider the 2 following
102 questions,
Would you like to have a job, if it is possible? Data Collection
Would you prefer to have a job, or do you prefer to do just domestic work.
Even though, we may say that the 2 questions look similar, they vary widely. The difference
is that, in Q-2 makes explicit the alternative implied in Q-1.

10.6.6 Split Ballot Technique

This is a procedure used wherein 1. The question is split into two halves and
2. Different sequencing of questions is administered to each half. There are occasions
when a single version of questions may not derive the correct answer and the choice is
not obvious to the respondent.
Example: "Why do you use Ayurvedic soap"? One respondent might say "Ayurvedic
soap is better for skin care". Another may say "Dermatologist recommended". Third
might say "It is a soap used by the entire family for several years". The first respondent
is answering "The reason for using it at present". The second responded is answering.
"How he started using". The third respondent, "Stating family tradition for using". As can
be seen, different reference frames are used. The question may be balanced and asked.
Are The Questions Too Long?
Generally as a thumb rule it is advisable to keep the number of words in a question not
exceeding 20. The question given below is too long for the respondent to comprehend, to
answer.

10.6.7 Participation at the expense of Accuracy

Some times the respondent may not have the information that is necessary by the researcher.
Example 1: The husband is asked a question "How much does your family spend on
groceries in a week" Unless the respondent does the grocery shopping himself, he will
not know what he has spent. In a situation like this, it will be helpful to ask "filtered
question". Example of filtered question may be "Who buys grocery in your family"?
Example 2: "Do you have the information of Mr. Ben's visit to Bangalore"? Not only
should the individual have the information but also he or she should remember it. The
inability to remember the information is called as "recall loss".

10.6.8 Pre-testing of Questionnaire

Pre-testing of a questionnaire is done to detect any flaws as follows. E.g. Word used by
the researcher must convey the same meaning to all the respondents. Are instructions to
skip questions clear? One of the prime conditions for pre testing is, sample chosen for
pre testing should be similar to the respondents who are going to participate ultimately.
Just because, a few chosen respondents fill in all the questions, it does not mean that,
questionnaire is sound.
How Many Question To Be Asked?
Questionnaire should not be too long as response will be poor. There is no rule to decide
this. However, the researcher should know that if he was the respondent, how would he
react to a lengthy questionnaire. One way of deciding the length of the questionnaire is
to calculate the time taken to complete the questionnaire. He can give the questionnaire
to a few known people to seek their opinion.

10.7 MAIL QUESTIONNAIRE

10.7.1 Advantages
1. Easier to reach large number of respondents throughout the country
2. Since interviewer is not present face to face, influence of interviewer on the
respondent is eliminated. 103
Research Methods for 3. Where the questions asked, is such that, it cannot be answered immediately, and
Management
needs some thinking on the part of the respondent, Respondent can think over
leisurely and give the answer
4. Saves cost (cheaper than interview)
5. No need to train interviewers
6. Personal and sensitive questions are well answered

10.7.2 Limitations
1. It is not suitable, when questions are difficult and complicated. Example: "Do you
believe in value price relation ship"?
2. When the researcher is interested in spontaneous response, this method is unsuitable.
Because, thinking time given to respondent will influence the answer. Example:
"Tell me spontaneously, what comes to your mind if I ask you about cigarette
smoking".
3. In case of mail questionnaire, it is not possible to verify whether the respondent
himself / herself has filled the questionnaire. If questionnaire is directed towards
the housewife, to find expenditure on kitchen items, she is supposed to answer it.
Instead if her husband answers the questionnaire, the answer may not be correct.
4. Any clarification required by the respondent regarding questions, is not possible.
Example: Prorated discount, product profile, marginal rate etc. may not be understood
by the respondents.
5. If the answers are not correct, the researcher cannot probe further
6. Poor response (30%) - Not all reply.

10.8 SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRES

10.8.1 A Study of Customer Retention as Adopted by Textile Retail Outlets

Note: Information gathered will be strictly confidential. We highly appreciate your
cooperation in this regard.
1. Name of the outlet:
2. Address:
3. Do you have regular customers?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
4. How often your regular customer visits your outlet?
Weekly [ ] Once in a month [ ] Twice in a month [ ]
Once in 2 months [ ] 2 - 3 months [ ] Once in 6 months [ ]
5. Do you maintain any records of your regular customers?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
6. What percentage of your customers are regular? %[ ]
7. Do you think that we can use the above as a retention strategy of customers for
your outlets?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
8. What are the different products that you handle in your outlets?
Formals [ ] Casuals Kids wear [ ] Ladies dress materials [ ]
104 Sarees [ ] Others (Specify)
9. What type of customers (socio-economic) visits your outlets? Data Collection

Low income [ ] Middle income [ ] High income [ ]

10. Why do you think they come to your outlet?
Product variety [ ] Price discount [ ] Easy gain to products [ ]
Parking facility [ ]Store layout [ ] Quality [ ] Reasonable price [ ]
Others (Specify)
11. Rank the factors that influence the customer to visit your outlet:
Credit facility [ ] Price discount [ ] Gifts [ ] Easy gain to products [ ]
Parking facility [ ] Store layout [ ] Product variety [ ]
Quality and reasonable price [ ] Others (Specify) ----------------------
12. What do customers expect from the retail outlet?
Credit facility [ ] Gift coupon [ ] Price discount [ ]
Price reduction easy accessibility of product [ ] Quality and reasonable price [ ]
Other (Specify) -------------------------
13. Do you have any retention strategy adopted to keep in touch with the customer?
Gifts on special occasion
(a) Birthday gift [ ] (b) Anniversary [ ] (c) Festivals Customer relationship [ ]
Others (Specify) --------------------------
14. Which one do you think is most effective, please rank them?
(a) Birthday gift [ ] (b) Anniversary [ ] (c) Festivals Customer relationship [ ]
Others (Specify) --------------------------
Thanking You for Sparing Your Valuable Time

10.8.2 A Study on Customer Preferences of P.C.

Date:
Place:
Form No: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
1. Personal Profile
(a) Name: [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
(b) Address: [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
(c) Sex: Male [ ] Female [ ]
(d) Age: [ ] [ ] years
(e) Occupation: Self-employed [ ] Professional [ ] Service [ ] Housewife [ ]
2. Do you own a P.C? Yes [ ] No [ ]
(a) If yes, whether: Branded [ ] unbranded [ ]
(b) If no, do you plan to buy it? Near future [ ] Distant future [ ] Can't say [ ]
(Less than 6 months) (Less than a year)
If so, whether: Branded [ ] unbranded [ ] 105
Research Methods for 3. What is the utility of the PC to you?
Management
Education [ ] Business [ ] Entertainment [ ] Internet /
Communication [ ]
4. What is the most important factor that matters while buying a PC?
Quality [ ] Price [ ] Service [ ] Finance facility [ ]
5. Before deciding on vendor, which factor goes into your consideration?
Vendors Reputation [ ] Technical Expertise [ ] Client Base [ ]
6. How did you come to know about the vendor?
Friendly / Family [ ] Press Adds [ ] Direct Mailers [ ]
Reference Website [ ]
7. Which configuration would you decide on while buying a PC?
Standard [ ] Intermediate [ ] Latest / Advanced [ ]
8. In your PC, would you prefer? Conventional Design [ ] Innovative Design [ ]
if new, Why: New design distract attention -
New design means increased price -
New design is hard to adapt -
If Innovative, why: To create own identify
Out of business need -
Space management -
9. Rate the following four factors important for innovative design, starting with the
most preferred:
A) Size B) Shape C) Colour / ordinary D) Portability and Sturdiness
1. ---------------------------------------- 3. -----------------------------------
2. --------------------------------------- 4. -----------------------------------
10. To what extent the computer would increase your efficiency?
Negligible [ ] 20 - 40% [ ] 40 - 60% [ ] More [ ]
11. How many hours on an average per week would you use your PC?
0 to 5 hours [ ] 6 to 12 hours [ ] 13 to 18 hours [ ] More [ ]
12. While using your PC most of the time would be given for:
Education [ ] Accounting [ ] Net surfing [ ] correspondence [ ]
13. Remarks ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Signature of Respondent ---------------------

10.8.3 Questionnaire (Dealers)

" Survey on dealers / consumers preference of different brands of cements in Tumkur"
Dear Sir / Madan,
106 The information gathered is strictly used for academe purpose. We highly appreciate
your co-operation in this regard. Data Collection

Name ……………………………………..
Address …………………………………..
…………………………………..
Phone No. ………………………………..
1. How long are you in Cement Business ?
Below 1 Year
1 - 5 years
5 - 10 years
Above 10 years
2. Rank your major consumers ?
Consumers Rank
Institutions / companies
Individuals
Building Promoters / Construction Companies
Government Agencies
Small contractors

3. Rank the following brands do you sell according to volume ?

Brands Rank
1. Diamond
2. L&T
3. Ramco
4. Rassi
5. Birla Super
6. Shankar
7. ACC
8. Coramandel
9. Others
4. Rank the following brands that are mostly preferred by consumers.
Brands, Institutions, Individuals, Govt. Small Building, Companies, Agencies
Contractors, Promoters
1. Diamond
2. L&T
3. Ramco
4. Raasi
5. Birla Super
6. Shankar
7. ACC
8. Coramandel
9. Others 107
Research Methods for 5 Rank you're the factors that influence you to stock and sell the following brands.
Management
Factors Rank
1. Quality
2. Consumer requirements
3. Attractive Margins
4. Dealer Incentive
5. Others
6. Mention any promotional activities from your end
Promotional Yes No
Activities
Quantity discount
Price discount
Free Transportation
Free technical advise / information
7. Rank the following qualities that consumers look forward during their purchase of
cements.
Qualities, Institutions, Individuals, Govt. Small Building, Companies, Agencies,
Contractors, Promoters, Quick setting
Price
Durability
Availability
Brand
8. Mention the level of influence of the following factors on your sales behaviour
Factors, Extremely, Somewhat, Indifferent, Not very, Not at all, Influence

Quality
Consumers
Requirements
Attractive
Margin
Dealers
Incentives
Price
Others

Check Your Progress

Design a questionnaire for survey on consumer’s preferences of mobile phone.

10.9 LET US SUM UP

Sometimes, secondary data may not be able to solve the research problem. In that case
researcher need to turn towards primary data. Primary data may pertain to life style,
income, awareness or any other attribute of individuals or groups. There are 2 ways of
108
collecting primary data namely. (a) Observation (b) By questioning the appropriate sample. Data Collection
Observation method has a limitation i.e., certain attitudes, knowledge, motivation etc.
cannot be measured by this method. For this reason, researcher needs to communicate.
Communication method is classified based on whether it is structured or disguised.
Structured questionnaire is easy to administer. This type is most suited for descriptive
research. If the researcher wants to do exploratory sturdy, unstructured method is better.
In unstructured method questions will have to be framed based on the answer by the
respondent. In disguised questionnaire, the purpose of research is not disclosed to
respondents. This is done so that the respondents might speak the truth instead of giving
some answer which satisfies the researcher.
Questionnaire can be administered either in person or on-line or Mail questionnaire.
Each of these methods have advantages and disadvantages. Questions in a questionnaire
may be classified into (a) Open question (b) Close ended questions (c) Dichotomous
questions etc. While formulating questions, care has to be taken with respect to question
wording, vocabulary, leading, loading and confusing questions should be avoided. Further
it is desirable that questions should not be complex, nor too long. It is also implied that
proper sequencing will enable the respondent to answer the question easily. The
researcher must maintain a balanced scale and must use a funnel approach. Pretesting
of the questionnaire is preferred before introducing to a large population. Personal
interview to gather information is very costly. Therefore sometimes mail questionnaire
is used by researcher to collect the data. However it has its own limitations.
Secondary data are statistics that already exists. These may not be readily used because
these data are collected for some other purpose. There are 2 types of secondary data
(1) Internal and (2) External secondary data. Census is the most important among
secondary data. Syndicated data is an important form of secondary data which may be
classified into (a) Consumer purchase data (b) Retailer and wholesale data (c) Advertising
data. Each has advantages and disadvantages. Secondary data has its own advantages
and disadvantages.

10.10 LESSON-END ACTIVITIES

(i) List some major secondary sources of information for the following:
“Market research manager of a tea manufacturing company has to prepare a
comprehensive report on the tea industry as a whole.”
(ii) What observation technique would you use to gather the following information:
“How do discounts influence the purchase behaviour of customers buying colour
TV?”

10.11 KEYWORDS
Depth interview
Disguised
Undisguised
Unstructured observation
Mail questionnaire
Open ended questions
Closed ended questions
Dichotomous question 109
Research Methods for Double barrel question
Management
Leading question
Split ballot technique
Pretest mail questionnaire
Internal data
External data
Syndicated data
Census panel
Retail / Wholesale data
Consumer purchase data
C.M.P

10.12 QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What is primary data?
2. What are the various methods available for collecting primary data?
3. What are the several methods used to collect data by observation method?
4. What are the advantages and limitations of collecting data by observation method?
5. What is a questionnaire? What are its different types?
6. What are the characteristics of a good questionnaire?
7. What are the limitations of a questionnaire?
8. Explain the steps involved in designing a questionnaire.
9. Explain Open ended & Closed ended questions in a questionnaire.
10. What is a split ballot method? When is it employed?
11. What is questionnaire pretesting?
12. What is a dichotomous question? When is it most appropriate?
13. How does a questionnaire suffer compared to experimentation on account of validity
& reliability?
14. What is meant by pre testing of questionnaire? Why is it required?
15. Distinguish qualitative and quantitative method of data collection.
16. What is mail questionnaire? Explain the advantages and limitations of the same.
17. What is meant by leading / loading question give example?
18. What is meant by double barreled questions?
19. Design a questionnaire to study brand preference for a consumer durable product.
20. What is meant by secondary data?
21. What are the sources of secondary data?
22. What are the types of secondary data?
23. What are the special techniques of secondary data?
24. What are the classification of syndicated data?
25. What are the advantages and limitations of syndicated data?
110
26. What are the advantages and disadvantages of secondary data? Data Collection

27. Discuss the sources of secondary data for the study on "consumer purchasing a
white good".
28. Who are the top 10 advertisers in English movie channels?
29. What are the top 10 magazines?
30. What are the total radio stations of different companies after phase II roll out?

10.13 SUGGESTED READINGS

S. N. Murthy and U. Bhojanna, Business Research Methods, Excel Books, 2007.
Boyd, Westfall, and Stasch, "Marketing Research Text and Cases", All India Traveller
Bookseller, New Delhi.
Brown, F.E., "Marketing Research, a structure for decision-making", Addison-
Wesley Publishing Company.
Kothari, C.R., "Research Methodology- Methods and Techniques", Wiley Eastern
Ltd.
Stockton and Clark, "Introduction to Business and Economic Statistics", D.B.
Taraporevala Sons and Co. Private Limited, Bombay.

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