Introduction to Research Methodology

Research is common parlance refers to a search for knowledge.

One can also define research as a scientific and systematic search
for pertinent information on a specific topic. In fact, research is an
art of investigation. According to Clifford Woody research
comprises defining and redefining problems, formulating
hypothesis or suggested solutions, collecting, organizing and
evaluating data, making deductions and reaching conclusions; and
at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they
fit the formulating hypothesis. Like every subject this topic of the
handloom sector has also been thoroughly researched and the
relevant information has been rightly used.

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/qualitative-data.html

Quantitative Data

The term qualitative data is used to describe a type of information that can be
counted or expressed numerically. This type of data is often collected in
experiments, manipulated and statistically analyzed. Quantitative data can be
represented visually in graphs, histograms, tables and charts.

Some examples of quantitative data include exact counts ('there were 789
students who attended the rally') or a type of measurement ('it was 78 degree
Fahrenheit yesterday at 2 PM').

Quantitative data can be contrasted with qualitative data, which involves

describing things in terms of categorizations or qualities.

qualitative data

Definition
'Soft' data that approximates but does not measure the attributes,
characteristics, properties, etc., of a thing or phenomenon.

The term qualitative data is used to describe certain types of

information. This is almost the converse of quantitative data, in
which items are more precisely described data in terms of quantity
and in which numerical values are used. However, data originally
obtained as qualitative information about individual items may give
rise to quantitative data if they are summarised by means of counts.
Qualitative data described items in terms of some quality or
categorization that may be 'informal' or may use relatively ill-defined
characteristics such as warmth and flavor. However, qualitative data
can include well-defined aspects such as gender, nationality or
commodity type. Qualitative data can be a pass-fail, yes-no, or
categorical data.
If qualitative data use categories that are based on subjective or
intangible ideas, then these are generally of less value to scientific
research than quantitative data. It is sometimes possible to obtain
approximate quantitative data from qualitative data - for instance,
asking people to rate their perception of a sensation on a Likert
scale.

1. ^ Dodge Y. (2003) The Oxford Dictionary of Statistical Terms,

OUP. ISBN 019920613-9

Regression
What Does Regression Mean?
A statistical measure that attempts to determine the strength of the relationship
between one dependent variable (usually denoted by Y) and a series of other
changing variables (known as independent variables).

The two basic types of regression are linear regression and multiple regression.
Linear regression uses one independent variable to explain and/or predict the
outcome of Y, while multiple regression uses two or more independent variables
to predict the outcome. The general form of each type of regression is:

Linear Regression: Y = a + bX + u
Multiple Regression: Y = a + b1X1 + b2X2 + B3X3 + ... + BtXt + u

Where:
Y= the variable that we are trying to predict
X= the variable that we are using to predict Y
a= the intercept
b= the slope
u= the regression residual.

In multiple regression the separate variables are differentiated by using

subscripted numbers.

Regression takes a group of random variables, thought to be predicting Y, and tries

to find a mathematical relationship between them. This relationship is typically in
the form of a straight line (linear regression) that best approximates all the
individual data points. Regression is often used to determine how much specific
factors such as the price of a commodity, interest rates, particular industries
or sectors influence the price movement of an asset.

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/regression.asp