A STUDY ON IMPLEMENTATION OF RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY ON “SRIRAM GROUP”

Submitted by

Jyoti Ranjan Jena

(Rollno3080)

A STUDY ON RESEARCH METHODOLOGY IN

FINANCIAL SECTOR IN INDIA
 BY

JYOTI RANJAN JENA

(ROLL NO - 3080)

Of

VISHWA VISHWANI INSTITUTE OF SYSTEMS AND

MANAGEMENT

A PROJECT REPORT

Submitted to the

FACULTY OF RESEARCH MANAGEMENT

In partial fulfillment of the requirements

For the award of the degree

Of

POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

IN

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
 BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified that this project report titled“ A STUDY ON RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY IN FINANCIAL SECTOR IN INDIA.” is the bonafide

work MR. jyoti ranjan jena

(RollNo.3080) who carried out the research under my supervision.

Certified further, that to the best of my knowledge the work

reported here in does not form part of any other project report or

dissertation on the basis of which a degree or award was conferred

earlier occasion on this or any other candidate.

ACADEMIC DIRECTOR PROJECT

GUIDE

EXTERNAL EXAMINER

ACKNOWLEDGEME
 I take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to
Mr. SRIDHAR (MANAGING DIRECTOR), Sri S Ranganathan (FINANCE
DIRECTOR), for their encouragement and support during the course
of my project work in their esteemed organization.

I express my sincere thanks to our DIRECTOR ACADEMIC

Prof. MOHAN.S.RAO. I take this opportunity to record my everlasting
thanks and hearty feelings of gratitude to my project guide, for his
valuable suggestions and continuous encouragement in doing this
project.

I express my sincere thanks to my guide Mr. M.MADANA

MOHAN lecturer for her valuable suggestion and continuous
encouragement in doing this project.

I thank my department Staff Members and my well wishers

for their involvement in helping me in completing this project.

I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to the

respondents who extended s their immense help by providing the
required information, which in turn helped me in achieving the
objective of this study.

Last But Not The Least, this work will be incomplete if I fail
to thank my family and friends for their moral support. I also thank
the almighty for making me complete this project successfully.
CHAPTER CONTENTS PAGE
NO NO
1 INTRODUCTION
2 General
3 Need for the study
4 Scope of the study
5 Company profile
6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
7 What research is
8 What research is not
9 Type of Research
10 Statement of Objectives
11 Questionnaire Design
12 Data Collection
13 Limitations of Study
14 REFERENCE

What is Research?
Everywhere, our knowledge is incomplete and problems
are waiting to be solved. We address the void in our
knowledge and those unresolved problems by asking
relevant questions and seeking answers to them. The role
of research is to provide a method for obtaining those
answers by inquiringly studying the evidence within the
parameters of the scientific method.
The word research is used in everyday speech to cover a broad
spectrum of meaning, which makes it a decidedly confusing term
for students -- especially graduate students -- who must learn to
use the word in its specialized denotation. Much that students
have learned they must suddenly unlearn; many of the false
concepts they had previously learned they must discard.
Unfortunately, many students have been taught misconceptions
about the nature of research. From elementary school to college,
they have heard the word research used loosely and given
multiple, misleading meanings. On one hand, the word connotes
the finding of an item of information or the making of notes and
the writing of a documented paper. On the other hand, it is used
for the act of informing oneself about what one does not know or
of rummaging through available sources to retrieve a bit of
information. Merchandisers use the word to suggest the discovery
of a revolutionary product when, often, the truth is that only a
minor alteration has been made to an existing product, with the
purpose of enhancing the product's sales appeal. All these
activities have been called research but should have been called
by their appropriate names: information gathering, library skills,
documentation, self-enlightenment, and an attention-getting sales
pitch.
The word research has a certain mystique about it. It suggests to
many people an activity that is exclusive and removed from
everyday life. Researchers are sometimes regarded as esoteric
individuals who seclude themselves in laboratories, in scholarly
libraries, or within the precincts of an academic environment. The
public generally is not aware of their daily activity or of the
important contributions their work frequently makes to people's
comfort and general welfare. Many people, therefore, regard
research as a way of life dissociated from the common activities
of the everyday world.
The purpose of this chapter is to dispel these myths and
misconceptions and to present an accurate definition of research.
I define research here as the systematic process of collecting and
analyzing information (data) in order to increase our
understanding of the phenomenon with which we are concerned
or interested. Although this conception of research may seem
somewhat remote and academic, many people rely on a
truncated form of it each day to solve smaller problems than
those resolved by the more elaborate methodology of formal
research. It is with formal research, however, that we are
concerned in this text.
To appreciate the difference between people's common
understanding of research and the more accurate definition, we
can perhaps better understand the latter by first looking at the
nature of the former.
WHAT RESEARCH IS NOT
I have suggested that the word research has been so loosely employed in everyday
speech that few people have any idea of its real meaning. Here are a few guidelines
as to what research is not; accompanying each guideline is an illustration depicting
the popular concept often held about research.
1. Research is not mere information gathering. A fourth-grade child came home
from school with this announcement: "Mom, the teacher sent us to the library
today to do research, and I learned a lot about Columbus." This child has been
given the idea that research means going to the library to get information or to
glean a few facts. This may be information discovery; it may be learning reference
skills; but it certainly is not, as the teacher so termed it, research.
2. Research is not mere transportation of facts from one location to another. A
student completes a "research paper" on the Dark Lady in the sonnets of William
Shakespeare. Although the student did, indeed, go through certain activities
associated with formal research -- collecting data, assembling a bibliography,
referencing statements properly -- these activities still do not add up to a true
"research" paper. The student missed the essence of research: the interpretation of
data. Nowhere in the paper did the student say, in effect. "These facts that I have
gathered seem to indicate this about the Dark Lady." Nowhere did the student draw
conclusions or interpret the facts themselves. This student is next door to genuine
research; but the mere compilation of facts, presented with reference citations and
arranged in a series, no matter how appealingly neat the format, misses genuine
research by a hair. A little farther, and this student would have traveled from one
world to another: from the world of mere transportation of fact to the world of
interpretation of fact. The difference between the two worlds is the distinction
between transference of information and genuine research -- a distinction that is
important to understand.
Unfortunately, many students think that looking up a few facts and transferring
them to a written paper with benefit of references constitutes research. Such
activity is, of course, more realistically called fact discovery, fact transportation,
and / or fact transcription.
3. Research is not merely rummaging for information. The house across the street
is for sale. I consider buying it, and so I call my realtor to find out how much my
own home would sell for. "I'll have to do some research," the realtor says, "to find
the fair market value of your property." What the realtor calls "doing some
research" means, of course, going through files of recent sales of properties
comparable to mine to see what they have sold for; this will give the realtor an
estimate to report to me. This so-called research is little more than rummaging
through files to find what the realtor did not know. Rummaging, whether in one's
personal records or in the public or college library. is not research. It is accurately
termed an exercise in self-enlightenment.
4. Research is not a catchword used to get attention. The morning mail arrives. I
open an envelope and pull out its contents. A statement in boldface type commands
attention:
Years of Research Have Produced a New Car Wash!
Give Your Car a Miracle Shine with Soapy Suds!
The phrase "years of research" catches my attention. The product must be good, I
reason, because "years of research" have been spent on developing it. I order the
product -- and what do I get? Dish-washing detergent! No research. merely the
clever use of a catch-word that, indeed, fulfilled its purpose: to catch my attention.
"Years of research" -- what an attention-getting phrase, yet how misleading!
Formal research is entirely different from any of the above activities. I outline its
essential nature and characteristics in the following section.
WHAT RESEARCH IS

Research is a process through which we attempt to achieve

systematically and with the support of data the answer to a
question, the resolution of a problem, or a greater understanding
of a phenomenon. This process, which is frequently called
research methodology, has eight distinct characteristics:
1. Research originates with a question or problem.
2. Research requires a clear articulation of a goal.
3. Research follows a specific plan of procedure.
4. Research usually divides the principal problem into more
manageable subproblems.
5. Research is guided by the specific research problem,
question, or hypothesis.
6. Research accepts certain critical assumptions.
7. Research requires the collection and interpretation of data in
attempting to resolve the problem that initiated the
research.
8. Research is, by its nature, cyclical; or more exactly, helical.
I discuss each of these characteristics in turn so that you
appreciate more fully the precise nature of formal research.
TYPES OF RESEARCH
Research is mainly of three types;-
Qualitative research - Qualitative research allows you to explore perceptions,
attitudes and motivations and to understand how they are formed. It provides depth
of information which can be used in its own right or to determine what attributes
will subsequently be measured in quantitative studies. Verbatim quotes are used in
reports to illustrate points and this brings the subject to life for the reader.
However, it relies heavily on the skills of the moderator, is inevitably subjective
 and samples are small. Techniques include group discussions/workshop sessions,
paired interviews, individual in-depth interviews and mystery shopping (where the
researcher plays the role of a potential student, etc in order to replicate the overall
experience).

Quantitative research - Quantitative research is descriptive and provides hard data

on the numbers of people exhibiting certain behaviours, attitudes, etc. It provides
information in breadth and allows you to sample large numbers of the population.
It is, however, structured and does not yield the reasons behind behaviour or why
people hold certain attitudes. Techniques commonly used in HE/FE include postal
surveys (particularly appropriate in the case of student populations where name
and address information is available), telephone surveys (appropriate for surveys of
employers), on-line or web-based surveys (very cost-effective for reaching
audiences where e-mail penetration is high, such as students and university/college
staff) and mystery shopping (in this case to test quantifiable aspects of the
service).
Secondary or desk research - The collating and analysis of secondary data is
called desk research. Secondary data is data that already exists and may be found
within your own organisation or is published by another party and readily
available. The types of research outlined here are by no means exclusive

SRIRAM GROUP
COMPANY OVERVIEW

Established in the year 1974, the Shriram Group,

comprising 750 Branches and Service Centres, is India's premier
financial services chain. We are the largest player in Truck
Financing and Chit funds in the Indian subcontinent.

Our group, having an annual turnover of Rs. 6,000 crores (USD 1.3
billion), has a significant presence in the Insurance Consultancy,
Consumer Durable Finance and Stock Broking businesses. We also
have diversified investments in areas such as Information
Technology, Pharmaceuticals, Property Development, Project
Engineering, Packaging and Auto Components.

We employ over 11,000 employees across the country who are

committed to providing excellent customer service. We also have
over 75,000 agents nationwide who reach out to our customers in
even the most remote areas.
The Shriram Group's business ventures are built on providing the
most efficient and customer-focused services based on the simple
principle of putting people first. This 'People First' business
philosophy has earned us unstinted customer loyalty through
many generations.

BUSINESS AREA

Shriram Truck Financing Companies: The wheels of progress

Largest NBFC in the country exclusively engaged in financing of
heavy commercial vehicles.
Monopoly position in financing of used vehicles.
All India presence with a branch network of over 300 offices
and employing over 4000 people
Growing at the rate of 30% per annum.
Positioned itself not merely as a loan giving entity, but as a
financing partner to the truck operator.
Funds managed - Rs.9000 crores.
Equity investors - Citicorp, UTI Bank and FMO-Netherlands have
added tremendous value and strength.
Shriram Transport Finance Company Limited was established in
1979 to finance the much neglected Small Truck Owner.
Over 70% of India's freight moves on trucks. A majority of these
trucks, amounting to over 90%, are owned and operated by
independent operators. Of the over 25 lakh truck operators in the
country, less than 8 lakh operators have access to fair and
equitable credit, thus making credit support to the majority truck
operators inadequate, expensive, inequitable and exploitative.

Many private NBFC's started the concept of truck financing in

order to address this enormous need to support the private truck
operators and make it easier for new entrants to enter the
business, but with limited success.

Enter the Shriram Group. We began financing individuals who

wanted to purchase trucks in 1979. Today, Shriram is amongst the
largest financiers of individual truck purchasers in the country.
More than 300 active Shriram Group branches across the country
have successfully managed to transform over 5 lakh truck drivers
into proud truck owners. We have deployed close to Rs.9000
crores (US$ 2 Billion)

AN OVERVIEW OF THE SHRIRAM GROUP TRUCK

FINANCING BUSINESS IN
INDIA
Area of Operation All India
Branch Offices 300
Employees 4000
Depositors 14 Lacks
15,000 plus Resident Representatives –
Agency Force
1300
Funds Managed Rs.9000 crores
Net worth Rs.732 crores
Stock Exchange Major Exchanges including the BSE and the
Listing NSE

Shriram Chits - prosperity for the grassroots

Shriram Chits is the largest chits fund in the country. We have

grown to become a trusted household investment option. The
growth registered by Shriram Chits in recent years not only
indicates the usefulness of this savings instrument, but is also a
reflection our customers' trust in us.

Chits, one of the earliest investment instruments known to man,

were founded by the enlightened rural communities of India.
These have, ever since, worked to the advantage of communities
that are battling with scarce capital resources.

Shriram Chits started its operations in the year 1974 with a single
branch that has quickly grown into a trusted household name for
making Chits a viable form of saving and borrowing to all sections
of the society.

Shriram Chits operates in four States. Tamil Nadu, Andhra

Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra, where it has a reputation
for timely disbursement of funds and excellent customer service
which differentiates it from other companies.

Using state of the art Computer Systems / Networks and a

transparent accounting system, Shriram chits have transformed
this contemporary method of Savings into an attractive
personalized alternative to the Banking System.
CHIT BUSINESS AT A GLANCE

Area of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil

operation Nadu, Pondicherry & Maharashtra
Branch offices 465
Employees Over 5,000
Subscribers 22,00,000
Agency Force 75,000
Auction Turnover Rs.3,240 crores per annum
Funds
and Prize money distributed Rs.2500
Managed
crores per annum
Net worth Rs.91 crores
Collection
97.40%
efficiency

We entered the Consumer Durable Finance business in early 2002

through 'Shriram City Union Finance Ltd., the consumer finance
arm of the group. Within a short span of 2 years, we have
managed a portfolio of over Rs.584 crores in this business.

Our monthly business amounts to over Rs.25 crores in individual

loans, ranging from as little as Rs.8,000 to Rs.1,00,000, and with
tenures ranging from 12 months to 36 months.

Since its inception, we have financed over 2,15,000 white goods

and two-wheelers, with over 90% of the business arising out of
the non-metro markets.

This financing is backed by lines of credit extended by ICICI Bank,

UTI Bank and Development Credit

The Shriram Life Insurance Company is the Joint venture between

the Shriram Group and the Sanlam Group

Sanlam Life Insurance Limited, a part of the Sanlam Group, is

one of the largest providers of life insurance in South Africa with
3.2 million individual polices under administration. It is significant
presence across South Africa, United Kingdom and Namibia and
is a major provider of life insurance, retirement annuities, saving
and investment products, personal loans, home loans and trust
services to individuals. The shareholder's funds of Sanlam Life
equates to USD 4.4 billion.

The Sanlam Group was established in 1918 and has a leadership

position in financial services in South Africa. Demutualized in
1998, the group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in
Johannesburg and on the Namibian Stock Exchange. It has a
current market capitalization of USD 5.4 billion. The Sanlam
Group also operates in the areas of group schemes, retirement
funds, short-term insurance, asset management and other
financial services. It has an employee strength of 8,000 and has
shareholder funds in excess of USD 4.6 billion. On 31st December
2004 it had more than USD 48 billion assets under management.
Our stock-broking arm operates under the name Insight Share
Brokers Pvt. Ltd. It is a Member of the National Stock Exchange,
India and the Multi Commodity Exchange. This unit has expanded
its network by nearly 150% over the last year and today it has
more than 230 terminals spread across the length and breadth of
the country.

It has a retail customer base of around 50,000. The company

launched its new products like Derivatives and Commodity
Trading in early 2004.
A quick look at some of the salient features:
Insight's risk-management team monitors the gross exposure,
marked-to-market loss limit, margin money etc.
Limits of all clients are fixed at a pre-calculated level.
This is beneficial to them in the long run as it prevents
overtrading.
Timely payments and direct share transfer facility from NSE
Adequate risk control and research support
The clincher: Proactive and preventive risk control
A centralized risk control mechanism helps in taking preventive
steps for the client's protection, particularly during panic trading
at the Exchange. This powerful mechanism has met with
resounding success with the clients and has been useful to them
in many crisis situations.
Trading in futures, the future:
Trading in Derivatives (Futures and Options) and Wholesale Debt
Market (WDM) products will be introduced shortly. This will
include, a highly sophisticated CTCL trading software facilitates
execution of contracts. Our clients will be constantly updated on
the notional or realized profit or loss, depending on the latest
market price. Thus, it will act as a reliable information system
that will enable our clients to take informed and effective
decisions during trading hours. Furthermore, the presence of a
Wide Area Network ensures that clients can trade and make
deliveries or payments from or to any part of India.

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
 Market Equations offers Industry Analysis services to
organizations globally contributing to fact based decision
making. From Simple Data Mining solutions to Data Analysis
out solutions help companies take enduring decision. We
keep organizations in touch with the alerts and signals
produced by their respective industries as it goes through its
life cycle. We provide valuable information on how the
industry is changing, growing, consolidating, keeping an eye
on the competition, helping you understand how your
products will perform and the need for new products and
what is going to be the defining factor for your company for
the next few years. It helps you in identifying and responding
to major changes in your macro environment.

Industry Analysis Solutions at Market Equations is a

combination of Database services and Data Analysis services
giving you customized solutions based on your need. Our
Analysts delve deep into your Industry to give you
information and insights that help you take the right
decisions at the right time.

Liabilities and Assets of Financial Institutions

(As at end-March)

(Amount in Rs. crore)

Item Amount
Percentage Variation
2006 2007
2005-06 2006-07
1 2 3
4 5
Liabilities
1. Capital 5,431 4,888
1.9 -10.0
(3.7) (2.9)
2. Reserves 15,211 15,886
8.1 4.4
(10.5) (9.5)
3. Bonds and 67,145 72,766
11.6 8.4
Debentures (46.2) (43.5)
4. Deposits 14,520 21,998
8.7 51.5
(10.0) (13.2)
5. Borrowings 18,950 22,401
8.8 18.2
(13.0) (13.4)
6. Other Liabilities 24,217 29178
0.5 20.5
(16.7) (17.5)
Total Liabilities/Assets 1,45,474 1,67,117
8.2 14.9
(100.0) (100.0)
Assets
1. Cash and Bank 9,915 10,125
-39.9 2.1
Balance (6.8) (6.1)
2. Investments 10423 8,922
-23.5 -14.4
(7.7) (5.3)
3. Loans and Advances 1,11,441 1,32,424
21.3 18.8
(76.6) (79.2)
4. Bills Discounted/ 1,810 1,922
72.7 6.2
Rediscounted (1.2) (1.2)
5. Fixed Assets 1,088 1,489
-5.0 36.9
(0.8) (1.0)
6. Other Assets 10,797 12,235
5.2 13.3
(7.4) (7.3)

Note : 1. Data pertain to six FIs, viz., IFCI Ltd., TFCI Ltd.
NABARD, NHB, SIDBI and EXIM Bank. IIBI Ltd. Was under voluntary
winding up as on March 31, 2007. Data including IIBI Ltd. are only
for the year ended March 31, 2006.
2. Figures in parentheses are percentages to total
liabilities/assets.
Source : Balance sheets of respective FIs, unaudited off-site
returns for NHB and audited limited supervisory return for TFCI
Ltd.

SCOPE OF RESEARCH
Recognizing the immense scope for analytical chemistry in
research and development activities, the Division of
Ecotoxicology, Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural
History (SACON), has been conducting training programs on
'Instrumentation and Analytical Techniques' for the last two years.
"The objective of the program is to give students an exposure to
an analytical environment," said S.Muralidharan, Senior Scientist,
Division of Ecotoxicology, SACON.
For those who have had some exposure to analytical chemistry,
opportunities are plenty in pharmaceutical companies, Ph.D
research programs and industry-based and pure research, he
added.
About 30 students belonging to different disciplines such as
chemistry, biochemistry, physics, microbiology, environmental
sciences, biotechnology and wildlife Biology participated in the
program.
Working principles and demonstration on the operation of many
sophisticated analytical instruments including Atomic Absorption
Spectrophotometer, Graphite Furnace Spectrophotometer, UV-Vis
Spectrophotometer, Microwave Digestion system, High Pressure
Liquid Chromatograph, Gas Chromatograph and Ultra centrifuge
were provided to the participants.
Data validation through quality control measures, data
management and statistical analysis of the information generated
also formed part of the course curriculum.
"With newer chemicals entering the market to keep pace with
industrial and agricultural needs, quantifying their environmental
residue levels has become a challenge to analytical chemists," Mr.
Muralidharan said.
Students from many colleges, scientists and technicians from
industries and research institutions participated. The response
from colleges had been good, Mr. Muralidharan said. PSGR
Krishnammal College had three exclusive programs conducted for
their chemistry students this year.

Research Methodology

EDITO
From recorded history it is obvious that providers of medical
services are forever trying to devise better and
more efficient medicines, and surgical procedures for healing the
sick faster and with greater success. In earlier
times a physician would experiment with newer methods of
treatment based on trial and error, anecdotes, and
information from peers. Experiments and clinical trials gradually
evolved over thecenturies. Clinical experiments, controlled
trials,randomized studies, field surveys, and developing and
trying out of medicines or new surgical technics etc. constitute
medical research which is going on since centuries. However, in
the last 50-60 years the way we conduct research is radically
changed.Until the middle of 20th century the patient was taken
for
granted. He trusted the doctor completely and expected that all
the actions of the doctor will be entirely in his
interest. Hippocratic dictum of primum non nocere is as valid and
relevant today as it was 2500 years back. While
this was followed to a large extent researchers often gave priority
to their research interest over the welfare of the
patient even ignoring the harm likely to be caused to the patient
involved in research. The Tuskegee study, a
clinical research for studying the natural evolution of syphilis in
patients to whom all treatment was denied which
was conducted in USA for decades since the 1930s is a classic
and very sad example of this. But what shook the
conscience of the entire world out of its complacency is the cruel
experiments conducted by Hitler’s physicians
on Jew prisoners during the second world war. This resulted in the
Nuremberg code in 1948. Subsequently
World Medical Association devised Ethical Principals for Medical
Research involving human subjects in the form
of Helsinki Declaration in June 1964. The Declaration was revised
periodically in 1975, 1983, 1989, 1996, 2000,
2002 and 2004. The Indian Council of Medical Research
formulated guidelines for Research Scientists in 1980. As
a result Ethics Committees have come into existence. All clinical
research must be approved by the ethics committee
of the institution / hospital. In fact, even research studies on
animals need to be approved by the ethics committee
to prevent unnecessary suffering of the animals. Besides, these
are the days of empowerment of the patients. Every
patient is entitled to make a decision regarding his choice of
treatment based on the complete and relevant
information provided by his physician. Besides every person, has
a total freedom to decide regarding his
participation in a clinical trial after obtaining all the requisit
information from the researcher. He also has a right to
walk out of the research study at any time without his treatment
being affected in any way. No research trial
can be conducted on any person without providing him full
information and obtaining his consent in writing.
Empowerment and autonomy of patients under care and of
persons participating in any research must be duly
respected without any compromise by clinicians and researchers.

Basic steps of a research project

► Find a topicàWhat, When

► Formulate questionsàWhat, Why
► Define populationàWho, When
► Select design & measurementàHow
► Gather evidenceàHow
► Interpret evidenceàWhy
► Tell about what you did and found out

Figuring out your study

► What?
► Who?
► When?
► Why?
► And How?

STATEMENT OF COMPANIES OBJECTIVES

Misson & vision,values

The Shriram Group set out with the objective of reaching out to
the common man with a host of products and services that would
be helpful to him in his path to prosperity. Over the decades, the
Group has achieved significant success in executing this objective
and has created a tremendous sense of

loyalty amongst its customers.

Efficiency in operations, integrity and a strong focus on catering
to the needs of the common man, by offering him high quality
and cost-effective products & services, are the values driving the
organization. These core values are deep-rooted within the
organization and have been strongly adhered to over the
decades.
The group prides itself on its perfect understanding of the
customer. Each product or service is tailor-made to perfectly suit
the needs of the customer. It is this guiding philosophy of putting
people first that has brought the Group closer to the grassroots
and has made it the preferred choice for all financing
requirements amongst the customers.

Types of methodologies
► QuaLitative Measures
● Descriptive
● Numbers not the primary focus
● Interpretive, ethnographic, naturalistic
► QuaNtitative Measures
● N for numbers
● Statistical
● Quantifiable

DATA COLLECTION METHODS

Effective marketing strategies are based on planning. Planning
involves assessing historical and current market conditions,
setting objectives, developing marketing programs, and analyzing
the results.
Collection and analysis of data about markets and customers is an
important part of the process. Factors such as sales trends, size
and growth of a market, product life cycles, market share data,
seasonality, profits, and industry capacity can be analyzed
to develop marketing strategies.
Using Primary and Secondary data, researchers can identify
marketing opportunities and problems such as the following:

· Measurement of market potential

· Determination of market characteristics
· Market share analysis
· Sales analysis
· Business trends
· Competitive product studies
· Short-range forecasting
· New product acceptance and potential
· Long-range forecasting
· Pricing studies
· Testing of existing products
· Establishing of sales quotas and territories
· Measurement of advertising effectiveness
Primary and Secondary Data
The Research Process Uses Both Primary and Secondary Data.
Primary research is original data collected for the problem at
hand, usually at a significant cost. Typical examples are sampling
and focus groups. Most marketing research consists of
surveying samples of people either by personal interview, by mail,
by telephone, or these days, via computer.
Secondary research makes use of existing, publicly available
data.Although the match between the problem and the data is not
likely to be exact with secondary research, there are some
significant benefits. You can save time and money by utilizing
existing information, and often the secondary research process
will clarify the amount and kind of primary research that will be
needed.
Secondary research data includes the following resources
available from libraries, government agencies, and trade
associations:
· Trade journals
· Newspapers
· Press releases
· Demographic data
· Industry analysts’ reports
· Marketing research reports
· Public opinion polls
Primary Data Collections
The various methods by which primary data can be collected are:
1. Personal Interviewing
The different methods of conducting personal interviews can be
classified based on the respondents to be contacted and on the
means of contacting them.
The different methods are:
· Door-to-Door Interviewing
· Executive Interviewing
· Mall Internet Surveys
· Self-Administered Questionnaires
· Purchase Intercept technique
· Omnibus Surveys
The personal interviewing process is characterized by the
interaction of four entities; the researcher, the interviewer, the
interviewee, and the interview environment.
The interviewer and interviewee interact and simultaneously
influences one another in an interview environment
· Door-to-Door Interview
Here the consumers are interviewed in person in their homes.
The conclusion is based on number of factors:
The door-to-door interview is personal, face-to face interview with
all the attendant advantages, feedback from respondents, the
ability to explain the complicated task, the ability to use special
questionnaire technique that requires visual contact and so on
The consumer is best seen as being at ease in a familiar,
comfortable, secure environment
· Executive Interview
This type of survey involves interviewing business people at their
offices concerning industrial products or services. This type of
interviewing is very expensive. First individuals involved in the
purchase decision for the product in question must be
identified and located and then the next step is to get that person
to agree to be interviewed and to set time for interview. Long
waits, cancellations are very common.
· Mall Intercept Surveys
Shopping-center interviews are a popular solution when funds are
limited and the respondents must see, feel or taste something.
Interviewers stationed at entrances or selected locations in a
mall, randomly approach them and either question them at
that location or invite them to be interviewed at a special facility
in a mall.

Since interviewers do not travel and respondents are plentiful,

survey costs are low
Such Surveys, known for their low cost, have recently been
plagued by cost/quality issues. The desire to provide “better,
faster, and cheaper” services has cost the research industry
money, quality and efficiency of items and resources, and the
satisfaction of the customer.
· Self-Administered Questionnaires
In the self-administered interview method, no interviewer
isinvolved. Self-administered interviews are often used in malls or
other central locations. Airline frequently uses this technique to
get information about their services; the questionnaires are
administered in flight. Even though this reduces the cost of the
interview process, there is one disadvantage, there is on one
present to explain
things to the respondent and clarify responses to open-ended
questions. The result in the answers to most of the openended
questions is totally useless.
· Purchase Intercept Technique
The purchase Intercept technique (PIT) is different from but
related to the mall intercept approach. This technique combines
both in-store observation and in store interviewing to assess
shopping behavior and the reasons behind that behavior.
Though the PIT involves intercepting consumers while they are in
a shopping environment, however the PIT is administered at the
time of an observable, specific product selection. The researcher
observes the customer make a purchase in a particular product
category, then interview him/her. The major disadvantage of the
PIT it aids buyer recall. Interviewing at the point of purchase
minimizes the time lapse between the purchase and data
collection and can provide neutral set of memory cues for the
respondents while the purchase is still salient. The other
disadvantage is it samples only purchases and not everyone else
who might be influencing the decision on what to buy or where to
shop
· Omnibus Surveys
Omnibus Surveys are regularly scheduled (weekly, monthly or
quarterly) personal interview surveys with questions providedby a
number of separate clients.
The questionnaires, based on which the interviews are conducted,
will contain sequences of questions on different topics. Each
sequence is provided by one client, and the whole questionnaire
is made up of such sequences of questions, on
diverse topics from different clients. Omnibus Survey is useful
when limited number of personal interview questions is needed.
The total costs are minimized. Advantages of Personal Interviews
Personal interview arouse initial interest and thereby increase the
rate of participation It is preferred when large amount of
information is required
and the questions are complex. The personal interview
questionnaire has a high degree offlexibility.Useful when an
explicit or current list of households or individuals is not available.
Limitations of Personal Interview
Personal interview studies are time consuming, administratively
difficult and costly.Only 30-40% of an Interviews time is devoted
to interviewing
itself.If the number of interviewers increases, the problem of
quality control will also increase Because of the time and
administrative problems, the cost per completed interview is tend
to be higher.
2. Telephonic Interview
With the introduction of technology, the telephonic methodhas
become dominant for obtaining information from largesamples.
The telephone interview is very similar to personal interview. Only
certain unique aspects of telephone interviewing, such as
selecting the telephone numbers, the call outcomes, the
introduction, when to call and call reports are considered.
· Selecting the Telephone Numbers
A researcher can use prespecified list, a directory or random
dialing procedure.
Prespecified lists include membership rosters, customer lists, or
lists purchased from commercial suppliers of telephone numbers.
The tradional approach to obtaining numbers has been the use of
directories. Other method, random dialing of numbers, is used to
overcome the non-representative ness in the directory. This
Process is time consuming and does not lead to valid results. And
not all possible telephone numbers are in service, so the attempt
gets wasted.
· Call Outcomes
Once the telephone number is obtained, a call is made. There are
various possible outcomes like the telephone is not in service,
number busy; number called is a fax number, answered by the
right person. Advantages of Telephone Interviews
· It can be conducted either from a central location or from
interviewer’s house
· More interviews can be conduced in a given period of time.
· More hours of day are productive, especially the evening hours
when working women or singles are at home.
· Repeated callbacks at different times of the day can be made at
very low cost.
· Effective method for gaining access to hard-to-reach people such
as busy executives.

Limitations

· Inability to employ visual aids or complex tasks.

· E.g. it’s not feasible to ask the respondents to retain the names
of nine dept. stores and ask them to choose one from them.
· The interviewers rely solely on verbal cues to judge the reaction
and understanding of respondents.
· There is potential for sample bias, which is a consequence of
some people being without phones, having unlisted phones, and
telephone directories being able to keep up with a mobile
population.
3. Mail Surveys
In this survey mode, questions traditionally are mailed to
potential study participants, who complete and return them by
mail. Interviewing by mail consists of identifying and locating
potential study participants, mailing them questionnaires, and
waiting for completed questionnaires to be returned. This survey
requires broad identification of the individuals to be sampled
before data collection begins Some decision that are to be
considered:
· Type of return envelope
· Postage
· Method of addressing
· Cover letter
· Questionnaire length, content, layout, color and format
· Method of notification
· Incentive to be given
Advantages
1. This process gives better results including shortening of the
period for collecting the data and more reliable answers.
2. Mail survey yields accurate results because they are answered
at the respondent’s discretion.
3. They are generally superior when sensitive or potentially
embarrassing topics such as finances etc are covered
Limitations
1. The identity of the respondent is ambiguous, whom the
respondent consult for help in answering questions.
2. There are no: of possible flaws in the mailing list such as
obsolescence, omissions, duplications and so forth.
3. The response rate is very slow.
Interactive Session
· What kind of data collection procedure would you recommend to
research the question of why female shoppers choose a
particular retail store at which to buy clothing?
· What can an interview do during the first 30 seconds of an
interview to maximize the cooperation rate of (a) a personal
interview and (b) a telephone interview?
· (Assume the appropriate respondent is the head of the
household.)
· You are a publisher of national repute and you would like to find
the potential for an academic book. You have decided to conduct
a survey among college professors for this purpose. What form of
survey method would you use? What trend do you see in the
future for this survey method?
· What are the advantages and disadvantages of computer
interactive interviewing compared to traditional method of
surveying?

Reference

www.google.com

www.shriram.com

www.AnnualPublications.aspx%20RBI.htm
www.MarketEquations.com
www.netmba.com
www.wikipedia.com