1.Dr. SREENIVAS RAJAN AtFUTURE INNOVERSITY

2. OVERVIEW How to Frame a Research Project Title.Primary Data Collection Sources.Secondary Data Collection-Sources Analysis of Data Collected Interpretations. Suggesting Alterative Solution to Research ProjectProblems Implementing Time Lines & Milestones in ResearchProject. Conclusion How to write References 3. HOW TO FRAME A TITLE Where does the idea come from from friends, by review,by looking at newspapers, even from CNBC and ET Now. Titles should be business like and research emphasis. Exercise: Think of 10 titles for your research and choose thebest What is interesting about your title How contrary is your idea? Is your title confusing or is it too long? Exercise: Try reframing your title in three different ways 4. HOW TO FRAME A TITLE TITLE is also about keywords Make your title memorable Exercise: Use the latest buzzwords in your title There should be two- three keywords in your title For e.g. Research in FMCG Retail Brands What you imagined and what you are doing? Different reactions to your title and reworking How long should you take (1 hour/ week) Writing a couple of pages and changing your title 5. HOW TO FRAME A TITLE Will you remember your project title after five years? Imagine someone asks you after five years to talk aboutyour project, what will you say? Are there projects with similar titles on the net? Translate into your mother tongue and see if you getany sense from the translation Have you already done research on a similar title Exercise: Think of three objections to the title you havechosen. 6. Primary data collection- Sources Through contacts Think through the questions you will ask them Dont ask too long or confusing questions Always note down answers and thank them for their time Through cold calls Calling people you dont know is intimidating It is useful if they know someone you know Call them in the evening just after office hours or ask them for asuitable time When cold calling, ask them if how long they would like to talk Some people are friendly and if you are lucky, these people willhelp you a lot and always look on the positive side, 7. Primary data collection - Sources How to conduct an interview Always think of couple of things about the companybefore the interview Ask non controversial questions Ask them questions on which they are willing to talkmore Think twice before interrupting the interviewee If there is any confusions, you can always politely askthem to interview. 8. Think inLayersData is at severallevelsData and itsconnectionsshould be exploredThings are morethan they seem 9. Absorbingthe DATARead the dataseveral timesSee if there are anycontradictionsDo you have anypersonal insight? 10. Primary data collection- Sources Data is hard to reach and has to be collected patiently Try to interact with the data, listen to your emotions, gooddata is always stimulating Be very strict on what you expect your expectationmatter- The observer motivation affects what the observersees Exercise- Practice one on one interviewing skills Exercise Split in groups and then practice interviewingskills. INTERVIEWING-INTEROGGATION-INVESTIGATION-FOLLOW THE DATA 11. Secondary Data Collection Newspapers are a source of Secondary data Times of India and Economic Times are good sources ofdata Look for who has written the article Note down the main points and interesting facts Look for other articles on the subject If articles are telling different things, try to reconcile If necessary contact the paper for clarification Know the various sections including columinists andopinions, markets, business section and Corporate dossier 12. Secondary Data Collection Magazines are another source of data Magazine offer the benefit of longer articles. Business India, Business world, Business today are suitablemagazines Since magazine articles are long, try to compress the data Some times there are commercial articles that companiespay for, these articles are informative Also look for articles that give an overview of the industry Also look out for Magazine blogs that give more currentinformation. 13. Secondary Data Collection Another way to search for data is Google Think of your keywords and if required multiple keywordssuch as internet+marketing+Retail +2011 is an example ofsuch a keywords Google also has free books in Google books If you are searching for references, look in Google Scholar Look for PDF reports such Retail India Pdf which will giveyou documents with more information. You can also search for powerpoints on the topic onslideshare.net 14. Secondary data collection Another way to collect data is to ask questions on Orkut,Facebook and note down the responses. Look for videos on You tube that may be informative Journal are another source of data. Vikalpa, IIMAhmedabad is a very good journal and should be lookedinto. It is on the net. Another good source of data are museums, for example theSarabhai textile museum in Shahibagh has information ontextiles. (video on expositions) Institutions such as ATIRA, AMA, IIMA library are alsohaving extensive collections. If you are looking for international information, HarvardBusiness Review and McKinsey quarterly is very useful. 15. Secondary Data Collection Other sources of data are Surveys, Censuses, Case Studies,National Data such as GDP figures. For economic figures, look at the website of CMIE, Centrefor Monitoring Indian Economy Census data is available that gives the population data ofthe country If you are looking for information on Indian economy,Economic Survey of India is useful The United Nations also has lot of data on world economy Try to get several sources so that you verify the wholepicture. 16. Analysis of DataCollected.One of the best ways ofanalysis of the Data isthrough Microsoft Excel.Arrange the Data intotables and look out forpatterns in the data.Check for missing data andcollect equivalent dataFind out the mean,standard deviation andmedian and do the basisprocessing of the dataFor text data, check if thereare any propositions andargue for whether the datasupports the propositionsare not.Come up with a plot thatexplains the main flow ofyour arguments. 17. Analysis of Data Collected Regression analysis is the main way of checking forrelationships in data If you want to find out if retail sales is affected byadvertising, the best way to check this is through regressionanalysis. Video on regression analysis Another interesting analysis is to come up with KeyPerformance Indicators and track these analytics. Checkout websites on business intelligence to find out how to dothis type of analysis. Video on business intelligence The best analysis comes from the data and satisfies thehighest expectations of our analytical mind. Analysis in companies is done by investment analysts,consultants, general managers, business analysts and CEOs 18. Analysis of Data Collected Business model analysis is carried out to find the attractivenessof the data. The most famous example of Business model is thatof Fedex which used a hub and spoke model to change thenature of business in air cargo. Industry analysis is carried out to get an overview of the industry,technology and competition. Look out for indicators such asshare of industry profits, stages in the industry life cycle. Network analysis is carried out to find out who is in the network,growth in the network and how the network is influencing theparticular company. Competitor analysis is bases on finding out the strength ofcompetition, market shares of the competition as well as themoves required to beat competitors. Read the famous guruMichael Porter for insight on competitive analysis. 19. Analysis of Data Collected Competence analysis checks for the capability of theorganization, the core competence, distinctivecapability as well as the dynamics of the competence.Read the famous guru CK Prahalad for furtherinformation on competence analysis. Values analysis checks for what are the main values ofthe company, whether they are able to follow thevalues and what are the challenges. Retail analysis checks for what is the retail presence,the attractiveness of display, price and promotions. 20. Analysis of Data Collected International analysis is conducted by comparing withinternational companies, turnover, spread and capabilities.Also the growth of the particular country is studied. Growth analysis checks for what are the prospects ofgrowth, main action required, what experts say andwhether the company can achieve it. Financial analysis is done to check the balance sheet,annual reports, debentures, stock analysis and the financialgrowth of the company Brand analysis is done to check the goodwill of thecompany, ad popularity, profitability of the brand andsegments in which the brand is popular. 21. INTERPRETATIONS How to Interpret? Think of the various ways Mahabharat isinterpreted from Dharmic, Artha, Karma and Mokshapoint of view. The Bhagwat Gita interprets life itself andgives a succinct view of the whole There can be hard, soft, difficult, simple, positive andnegative interpretations of the analysis. Interpretations is all about what you add to the analysis. Exercise: Try to tell a story from the analysis. If the analysisis to be brave and attack hard, try to tell the story ofDabangg Exercise: Use your general knowledge to add to theinterpretation. 22. INTERPRETATIONS General Knowledge Which is the largest retail company in the world? Which is the fastest growing market in the world? Who is the founder of Future group? Which is the biggest jewellery retailer in India? Who is the biggest watch retailer in India? Which is the biggest coffee retailer in India? What are grocery stores called in India? What happens when the prices of goods go up? What is the full form of MSP? Which sector does the retail industry belong to? Which country does Carrefour belong to? General Knowledge adds depth to your interpretation. 23. Interpretations Often how you interpret your analysis is different from your ownfriends, ask your friends and relatives what they though of theresults. Use numbers to give more definition to you Interpretations. Does your interpretation add value to the company or brand? Isit implementable? What will happen in the future? Did you get enough from the analysis? Spend atleast a week ongetting more from your analysis Interpretations are usable and the more simple the interpration,the more doable it is. Go to your data sources and see if something more is required Research is an iterative process and interpretations change withrepetition. 24. Interpretations and ContrastsGrowth Divest Long term Short Term Opportunities Weaknesses Profits Losses Develop new products Cutbacks Increase the prices Reduce the prices Bullish Bearish Values Crimes Discuss Conceal Continuous Begin elsewhere 25. INTERPRETATIONSFACT BASEDSCIENTIFICRATIONALUSINGSOFTWAREAND INTERNETUSING MATHS 26. Suggesting Alternative Solutions YOU ARE THE BOSS BOSS should have told us what to do So what will you suggest? Boss told us to do this but nothing is happening? So come up with realistic solutions which can beimplemented Mistakes are made but be prepared to correct them Patience is required and solutions might not beimmediately found. Of course if there is no option, then always insist on whatyou want to say. 27. Suggesting Alternative Solutions This is the 21 st Century Rajiv Gandhi used to say that deshko 21st century mein lehjaaonga. Criticise karna aasaan hai but khud karna mushkil hai. Try to incorporate things such as the BRTS, Green economy,Traditional Technologies, Biotechnology, Nano technology inyour solutions. The 21st century belongs to those who have the vision, do youhave the vision? Leadership has to be done at the ordinary level and what you doat this level will help you lead the organizations into the future. You are a proud student of Future group, come up with solutionsthat will make you a proud member of Future group and willlaunch your career in the retail industry. 28. Suggesting Alternative Solutions Be creative, lateral and imaginative The solution should be innovative and practical. Exercise: Think for example on an alternative solution tohow US government caught Osama Bin Laden Exercise: Think for example on an alternative solution tohow the Babri Masjid issue was handled. Exercise: If the Future group wanted to handle thecompetition from Reliance Retail, think of creative ways inwhich the competition could be handled. That means that you have to keep your cool and use yourright brain in a calm manner. Youth is to be excited butwisdom is to retain your excitement. 29. Come up with IdeasIdeas that workIdeas that grow improveWork the netIdeas and the article netNet and theoryideasImproveHonestly andContinuously 30. SuggestingAlternativeSolutionsImplementableNo complicationsForce MultipliersImplications 31. Implementing timelines andmilestones Time is always short. Plan your time. Allocate some time inthe end for finishing. Monitor your work through a timeline. If anythingsignificant is achieved use a milestone list. A good soldier knows what to achieve and in what time Always there are challenges and experience is an expensiveway to learn. In the beginning it is good to be open while schedules gettighter towards the end. Things never happen as planned and be prepared forsurprises. 32. ImplementingTimelinesTime is MoneyMake the most of your timeMake the differencebetween short trends,seasonal changes and longterm trendsContact the retailmanagers to get timelinesof that companyUse Indian Standard Time 33. ImplementingMilestonesMilestones are multiple innatureFinancial milestones such asdoubling of turnover,reaching millions, billions andtrillions should be notedManagement milestones suchas Changes in CEO should benotedCustomer Milestones such asthe millionth customerRetail Milestones such newstores, closing should be dulynoted. 34. ImplementingTimelines andMilestonesTimelines that areinformative ofwhat to do arepreferableMilestones whichinform us how todo are preferable 35. ImplementingTimelines andMilestonesUse photographs,poster pens and A3size papers to get abroad ideaKeep all thematerial collectedin foldersMake a dossier ondifferent subjects. 36. Conclusion Write a summary of your findings. What is the take away from your project. Communicate to friends and try to correct the findings The more accurate your conclusion, the better yourproject. Also you must investigate the validity of your findings. Validity can be checked by cross verifying otherreports, journals and asking the concerned managers. Do not hesitate to go back and make changes if thereare changes in conclusions. 37. Conclusion What is impact of your studies? Is it useful to you, to your friends, to the FUTUREinnoversity, to managers, and indeed to the nation. What is required the most? What is one thing that you would want to conclude? Is there any problem that you were able to solve? What is the impact in money terms is your study ableto save millions of rupees or increase sales What else do you think would add to the conclusions? 38. ConclusionsThe end isoften thebeginning oflifetime ofretailSpend sometime readingyour finishedreport 39. ConclusionsWhat you concludemust be supported bythe Report Clarity Ambition Impact True or How Big Power of False How Long conclusionsThe more clear the Forget or Simplicityconclusions the better Remember ofthe impactConclusionsHowever ambitious youare, be honest and clearabout what you haveachieved. 40. ConclusionsInvestigate the limits ofyour report and whatyou dont want to say.What does your reportrule out and What neednot be done.When do you expectthings to develop at theproject company. 41. Writing References Write the Title of the article, the name of the author, theyear in which published and where the author is and theparticular page number Whenever reading articles write down the details of thearticle. Sometimes these details cant be found Try searching on Google Scholar First of all write a short note on what you got from theparticular article When you cite you must understand why and how theparticular article is useful to you.