3 .

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 RESEARCH

“Research means a search for knowledge”, sometimes, it may refer to scientific and
systematic search, pertinent information on a specific topic, in fact research is an art or a
scientific investigation. Morey defines” research as a` systemized effort to gain new
knowledge”.

According to Clifford research comprises, “defining and redefining problem,

formulating hypothesis or suggested solution; collecting organizing a devaluating data
making deductions and reaching conclusion an at last carefully testing the conclusion to
determine whether they fit the formulating hypothesis”.

LOCATION OF THE STUDY

“Factors influencing customer brand loyalty with reference to hero bike in chennai”
was carried out in Southern Motors, dealer of Hero Motorcorp Medavakkam, Chennai.

3.2 RESEARCH PROCESS

In research process, the first and foremost step is defining and selecting a research
problem. A researcher should find the problem first, and then he should formulate it so that it
becomes susceptible to research. For a systematic presentation, the process of research may
be classified under three stages- primary stage, secondary stage, and the tertiary stage.

THE PRIMARY STAGE INCLUDES

 Observation
 Formulating research problems
 Documentation
 Research design
THE SECONDARY STAGE INCLUDES
 Project planning
 Data collection
 Questionnaire preparation
 Analysis of data
 Testing of hypothesis

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  Inference
THE TERTIARY STAGE INCLUDES
 Report writing
 Observation, suggestion and conclusion
 Preparation of bibliography

OBSERVATION
Research starts with observation, which leads to curiosity to learn more about what
has been observed. The observation method is mainly used because of simplicity, usefulness
in the framing of hypothesis, its accuracy; the possibility of getting convincing results, the
possibility of rest of validity etc, to be precise observation tends to the basis of any research.

FORMULATING RESEARCH PROBLEM

The research problem undertaken for study must be carefully selected. The problem
must be defined thoroughly and should be framed in to meaningful terms from the analytical
point of view. The area of working must be decided.

DOCUMENTATION
The documentary source is an important source of information for a researcher. A
document is anything in writing a record, files or diaries, published or unpublished which can
be extracted and used in research. It is very valuable source of information for a research.
Documentation is the process of collecting and extracting the documents which are relevant
to research.

3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN

After identifying the variables in the problem situation we can create the theoretical
framework of the study, the next step is to design the research in the way that the requisite
data can be gathered and analyzed to arrive at a solution. Preparation of research design
involves selection of means of obtaining information, time available for research and
selection of method of tabulation and presentation of data. The various method and
techniques that are adopted to extract the most reliable information given below.
 Type of research : Descriptive research.
 Research approach : Survey method.
 Source of data : Primary and Secondary data.
  Sample size 200
 Mode of data collection : Personal interview method
 Data collection instrument : Questionnaire.
 Sampling design : Convenience sampling.

This research design is arrangement of condition for collection and analysis of data in
the manner that aim to combine relevance to the research purpose and the procedure.
3.4 TYPE OF RESEARCH

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH DESIGN

Descriptive research includes surveys and fact, findings, enquiries. It is a descriptive

of affairs existing at present. The important characteristic of is method is that the researcher
has no control over the variables. He can report about what is happening and what has
happened.

The term descriptive research refers to the type of research question, design, and data
analysis that will be applied to a given topic. Descriptive statistics tell what is, while
inferential statistics try to determine cause and effect.

METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

The study involves collection of both primary data and secondary data for making a
meaningful inference on the topic of the study.

PRIMARY DATA

The primary data has collected for the study was through questionnaire.

METHODS OF PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION

There are 2 methods for collecting primary data

 Questionnaire survey method

 Experiments

SECONDARY DATA

The secondary data refer to the information gathered by researcher from the sources
already existing.
METHODS OF SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION

Secondary data was collected through the following

 Websites/search engines
 Books
 Company previous records

QUESTIONNAIRE PREPARATION
The basic requisite of any research study is the appropriate data which can be
collected with the help of a schedule or questionnaire. With the help of questionnaire it is
easy to determine the involvement level of so many employees in the organisation.

PILOT SURVEY
Before collecting the relevant data to test the hypothesis, it is essential to ascertain the
applicability of the instrument to the population being studied. Hence, a pilot study was
undertaken with an objective to evaluate the tools prepared for the study and to find whether
they are providing the information required.

PRE-TESTING
Initially a questionnaire was prepared comprising of open and closed ended to study
the problem. The questionnaire was distributed and tested among respondents to check for its
effectiveness. That is the effectiveness was checked with the respect to the following:
 Correct wordings
 Understanding of phrases
 Sequence of questions
 Any inclusion of jargons
 The time factor of respondents
To pre-test these aspects of the questionnaire it was distributed to the actual target
group i.e, to one person from each department. After testing the questionnaire the areas of
difficulties faced by respondent were spotted and necessary changes were made.
TYPE OF QUESTIONS
 Linker‟s scaling question

HYPOTHESIS TESTING
Ho – Null hypothesis (there is no significant relationship between the variables)
Ha – Alternate hypothesis (there is significant relationship between the variables)
After analyzing the data, hypothesis testing is done. It will result in either accepting or
rejecting the hypothesis.
INFERENCE
After testing the hypothesis, the researcher comes out with his conclusion. The
explanation of theory can also be considered as inference.
PREPARATION OF REPORT AND PRESENTATION OF REPORT
Finally, the researcher has to prepare a final report along with conclusion and
suggestion.

3.6 STATISTICAL TOOLS USED FOR ANALYSIS

The data collected are classified, analyzed and collected. The statistical tools are
applied for the analysis of the data. The tools used are percentage analysis, chi – square test,
ANOVA ( One Way classification) and Correlation.

1) PERCENTAGE ANALYSIS
Percentage refer is a special kind ratio. Percentage is used in making comparison
between two or more series of data. They are used to describe relationship. More over
percentages can be use to compare the relative terms of the distribution of two or more
series of data.

FORMULAS
Percentage of respondents = no. of respondents*100/total no. of respondents

2) CHI – SQUARE TEST

Chi –square is a non-parametric technique; most commonly used for a research to test
the analysis. The main objective of chi-square is to determine whether significant difference
exist among group of data. The chi square test provides a method testing the association
between the row and column in a two way table.
 Formula:

CHI-SQUARE TEST = ∑[(Oi – Ei)2]/Ei

Oi=Observed frequency

Ei=Expected frequency

Degree of freedom= (r-1)(c-1)

Where r represents the number of rows in two way table and c represent the number
of columns.

3) ANOVA

In statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA) is a collection of statistical models, and

their associated procedures, in which the observed variance in a particular variable is
portioned into components attributable to different sources of variance. In its simplest form
ANOVA provides a statistical test of whether or not the means of several groups are all
equal, and therefore generalizes t-test to more than two groups. Doing multiple two-sample
t-tests would result in an increased chance of committing a type I error. For this reason,
ANOVAs as useful in comparing two, three or more means.

ONE WAY ANOVA

In the one-way ANOVA, there is just one factor, and the null hypothesis is that the
population means are equal for the respective treatments, or factor levels. Treatments are
randomly assigned to the persons or test units in the experiment, so this method is also
referred to as the components: an overall mean, the effect of a treatment, and a random error
due to sampling.
 SOURCES DEGREE
SUM OF MEAN SUM VARIANCE
OF OF
SQUARE OF SQUARE RATIO
VARIATION FREEDOM

BETWEEN
SSB C-1 MSB=SSB/C-1
SAMPLES

WITHIN
SSW N-C MSW=SSW/N-C F=MSB/MSW
SAMPLES

TOTAL
SST N-1 MST=SST N -1
SAMPLES

The variance ratio is

F = Between column variance/ Within column variance

(Or)

= Greater variance/ smaller variances

Where Oi = observed cumulative frequency

Ei = expected observed cumulative relative frequency.

4.) CORRELATION

Correlation analysis deals with the association between two or more variables. It does
not tell anything about cause and effect relationship. Correlation is described or classified in
several different ways. Three of the most important ways of classifying correlation are:

1. Positive and Negative

2. Simple, Multiple and Partial
3. Linear and Non-Linear
 Karl Pearson‟s method is popularly known as Pearson‟s coefficient of correlation. It is
denoted by the symbol „r‟.

Σxy
Formula for Karl Pearson‟s coefficient
√Σ *

The value of the coefficient of correlation as obtained by the above formula shall
always lie between +1 and -1. When r = 1, it means there is perfect positive correlation
between variables. When r = -1, it means there is perfect negative correlation between
variables. When r = 0, it means there is no correlation between variables.