RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

People talk about research quite frequently these days, both in academic institutions and outside. Several research studies are undertaken and accomplished year after year. But in most of the cases very little attention is paid to an important dimension relating to research, namely, that of research methodology. The result is that much of research, particularly in social sciences, contains endless word-spinning and too many quotations. Thus a great deal of research tends to futile. It may be noted, in the context of planning and development that the significance of research lies in its quality and not in quantity. The need, therefore, is for those concerned with research to pay due attention to designing and adhering to the appropriate methodology throughout for improving the quality of research. The methodology may differ from problem to problem, yet the basic approach towards research remains the same. Keeping all this in view, the present book has been written with important objective to make students familiar with the art of using different research methods and techniques. It is hoped that the humble effort made in the form of this book will assist in the accomplishment of exploratory as well as result-oriented research studies.

We are indebted to authors and scholars whose works have guided us and formed the basis for this work. We thank profusely our professors imparting education in the field of commerce and management and also our well-wishers for encouraging us to take up this task. Finally we thank profusely to Iterative International Publishers for doing the wonderful job of bringing out this book in a record time.

We will accept the comments and suggestions from our readers with all humility.