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Artificial Insemination (AI) is one of the most popular first generation assisted reproductive technology as well as a breeding tool, ever evolved for the genetic improvement of cattle and buffalo industry throughout the world. The advent of frozen semen has further revolutionized this technique. Presently, use of sex- sorted-semen in cattle breeding is also coming into vogue. Contrary to cattle and buffalo, use of AI in small ruminants has not gained such impetus.

It has been reported that lower pregnancy rates were obtained when ewes and does are bred with frozen or extended liquid semen using intra-vaginal or intracervical technique of insemination. The reason being anatomy of the cervix of sheep and goats; cervix is long and tortuous with presence of 4-7 cervical rings. Furthermore, these cervical rings are directed caudally hindering the lumen of the cervix thereby causing hindrance (more prominent in sheep) while passing the AI gun during intra-cervical or trans-cervical AI (TCAI). There are several reports which support the fact that, as the depth of semen deposition into the cervix increases, the pregnancy rates also improve due to availability of a greater number of motile sperms for fertilization.

The selection of breeding bucks in relation to maximizing the reproductive efficiency depends upon males. AI permits intense selection of sires with exceptional merits and provides opportunity to exploit the value of superior sires. Young males can be trained for exhibiting sexual behaviors and semen collection through the uses of male, anoestrus doe or oestrus doe as dummy. Successful AI depends on precise management of semen collection, its frequency and use. The semen collection implies mounting a teaser doe or a dummy. Artificial vagina (AV) and electro-ejaculator (EE) are the two methods for semen collection in bucks. AV method is being used as universal method for routine semen collection whereas electro-ejaculation is generally used for collecting semen from untrained and valuable sires incapable of service. Moreover, this method of collection is painful for the animals. Semen evaluation should be rapid and effective so that collected semen samples can be processed for initial quality which ultimately affects the fertility. There are several tests for the assessment of semen quality but no single test is reliable to give definite prediction of the fertility.

Goats remain an important and instant source of income as well as livelihood for the majority (70-90 %) of small and marginal farmers in India. Goats are the animals with multiple utility like milk, meat, hide, fibre and manure. They are more tolerant to harsh environment (better resistance to heat stress and drought, better utilization and digestibility of pastures) and give more production per unit investment. Goats are spontaneously ovulating, poly-estrous animals and show seasonal pattern in reproductive activity related to the annual variations of photoperiod. Onset and length of their breeding period throughout the year is dependent on different environmental and physiological factors viz. latitude and climate, feed and fodder availability, breed and breeding system. This in turn affects round the year availability of meat and milk to full fill the market demands. When kids are born out of season, adequate supply of pastures along with good management practices must be ensured in order to minimize kid’s mortality and promote their optimum growth.

All living organisms need to reproduce in order to maintain their species and improve the economics of animal husbandry. Since the beginning of time, different methods of successful reproduction have been created, including artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization. To shield sperm from damaging elements like freezing, osmotic shock, oxidative stress, and cell damage by ice crystals, semen extenders were developed. Semen extenders maintain sperm’s characteristics, such as its morphology, motility, and viability as well as its membrane, acrosomal, and DNA integrity. To improve semen quality for fertilization, semen extenders must offer a suitable pH, adenosine triphosphate, anti-cooling and anti-freeze shock, and antioxidant activity. As a result, this compilation of research offers exact information on various semen extenders, preservation mechanisms, and crucial semen extender additions in goats. By incorporating various types of additives in semen extenders for cryopreservation, significant improvement is reported in post thaw sperm quality in terms of increased % motility, viability, PMAI, MMP and reduced DNA fragmentation, capacitation like changes reflected by less CTC pattern B and AR, Tyrosine Phosphorylated pattern A, E and AE.

Biological and chemical reactions in living cells are dramatically reduced at low temperature, a phenomenon that can lead to the possible long-term preservation of cells and tissues. However, freezing is fatal to most living organisms, since both intra and extracellular ice crystals are formed and results in changes to the chemical setting of cells that lead to cellular mechanical constraints and injury. The major hurdle for cells to overcome at low temperatures is the water-to-ice phase transition. Cell injury at fast cooling rates is attributed to intracellular ice formation, whereas slow cooling causes osmotic changes due to the effects of exposure to highly concentrated intra and extracellular solutions or to mechanical interactions between cells and the extracellular ice. Cryopreservation is a process that maintains biological samples in a state of suspended animation at cryogenic temperature for any considerable period and is used to preserve the fine structure of cells (Jang et al., 2017).

Modern Semen Evaluation Methods

1. Fluorescent Microscopic Evaluation
2. In-vitro Fertility Test
3. Enzyme Estimation

1. Fluorescent Microscopic Evaluation

1.1. Acrosomal Integrity (Giemsa method and FITC-PSA assay)

The acrosomal integrity of the spermatozoa was detected using Fluorescence isothiocyanate – Pisum sativum agglutinin (FITC-PSA) staining procedure adopting method of Mendoza et al. (1992). Pisum sativum agglutinin (PSA) when conjugated to Lectin FITC marks the intact acrosome with bright green fluorescence. PSA is an agglutinin from edible pea that binds to glycoconjugates of acrosomal matrix or outer acrosomal membrane. It has affinity for terminal α –D-glucosyl and α-D-mannosyl residues of glycoproteins and it binds specifically to sugar α-mannoside found in acrosomal content.

The semen evaluation is of great importance in predicting fertility of the male. There are several parameters to evaluate the semen quality. Usually bucks with good semen samples have good fertility and bucks with poor or very poor semen samples are invariably infertile or sterile. A single test is never sufficient to assess the semen quality and the examiner should be acquainted with several tests to evaluate the semen. The semen should be examined with in a shortest possible period after ejaculation and the ejaculate must be properly protected and handled until examination. Semen can be evaluated by following methods

1. Macroscopic test
2. Microscopic test
3. Metabolic test

The following objectives are accomplished by semen dilution/ extension

• Preservation of semen potential over a long period of time.
• Increase in the number of services per ejaculate. Ideally approximately 40 does can be inseminated from diluted/ extended semen of a single ejaculate.
• Extenders provide the spermatozoa with a medium in which they are able to remain viable and fertile for a prolonged time period. An ideal extender should be able to provide a conducive environment to facilitate sperm survival and modify the sperm structure to prepare them for freezing through the following properties:
• It should be isotonic with blood and should maintain this during preservation.
• It should have capacity of maintenance of pH (6.6-6.8) with high buffering capacity in that range.

Hygienic collection of semen is an integral part of the artificial insemination process. Semen collection implies mounting a teaser doe or a dummy. Therefore, proper semen collection deserves the utmost attention. Sexual efficiency is measured by the percentage or successful semen collections among attempted collections. When males are allowed to female teaser, the male exhibits characteristic behavioural symptoms such as sniffing, nudging or mounting at that time it is necessary for the operator to attempt an approach. This approach has to be done quietly to avoid a fear reflex in the male. The male, even if it mounts the female, deviation of its penis into the receptacle. Under the circumstances, the operator should not more from his squatting position, so that the male does not associate the two events. The animal generally comes back by itself to attempt remounting the female and will serve the artificial vagina. The operator should also stimulate the male by voice.

The animals are mostly social ones and prefer living in herds. In each species there are certain rules for group survival, cohesion, defence and also for propagation. The basic patterns of male sexual behaviour appear to be innate in nature. Kids of both sexes are very often seen exhibiting sexual display during play and mounting is seen most commonly. In females the sexual receptivity is restricted to few hours or days near the estrous phase of the estrous cycle, while in males the sexual receptivity is grossly permanent. The physiological signals for arousal of sexual motivations originate from gonadal steroid balance. However, the secretion of gonadal steroids is not permanent. In males the androgen secretion is in the form of several peaks within 24 hours reflecting the pulsatile release of pituitary gonadotropins. However, the total amount of androgen in males is almost constant practically for day to day. In females the secretions of estrogens are restricted only during few days (follicular phase) of the estrous cycle.

India has rich diversity of goat genetic resources and as per 20^th livestock census (2019), there are 148.88 million goats in India. They are mostly found in arid and semi-arid regions of the country and one of the mainstay of dryland agriculture system. Out of 148.88 million, around half of them (75 to 60 million goats) are found in Rajasthan (20.84 m), Uttar Pradesh (14.48 m), Madhya Pradesh (11.06 m), Maharashtra (10.6 m), Tamil Nadu (9.89 m) Karnataka (6.17 m) and Gujarat (4.66 m). Out of total goat population, only 35 % of the goats are of either pure breed or upgraded nature resembling the some of the local breeds. There is huge scope to improve the productivity through use of assisted reproductive tools like artificial insemination and estrus synchronization in field condition to upgrade the non-descript population in relatively shorter period of time as compared to natural services.

Occasionally some diseases can be noticed in male animals, which are responsible for the reduced reproductive performance of the bucks. Sometimes these diseases can damage or obstruct the male reproductive passage and responsible for the infertility and sterility in the bucks. This type of infertility may be associated with pathology of testes, epididymis, vas deferens, accessory sex glands, and urethra or may be associated with abnormal semen production due to congenital or hereditary causes or due to acquired causes.

Nutrition is the key factor affecting the production as well as the reproduction efficiency in all the animals therefore proper and balanced nutrition is the prerequisite to attain and utilize the full reproductive potential of the animals. All the nutrients like energy, protein, minerals and vitamins need to be properly balanced in the diet of animals. Energy and protein are the major nutrients required in the greatest amounts and should be in the topmost priority in order to optimize reproduction. Although minerals and vitamins are required in low amount, but very much essential as a cofactor and coenzymes in the reproductive process of the animals and deficiency of these nutrients might affect the overall reproductive efficiency of the animals.

The goat rearing on extensive rearing system has been practiced since ancestry for livelihood and nutritional security of poor, landless and marginal farmers of our country with the flock size ranging from 2-10 goats. However, in the recent past, goat rearing is shifting towards semi-intensive and intensive rearing systems for commercial purposes with flock size ranging from 25 to 500. The goats reared in small flocks needs minimal housing facilities following the scientific principles with low-cost structures. On the other hand, elaborate housing is generally recommended for goats raised under large scale commercial production systems. Separate housing arrangements for different categories of animals viz. growers, pregnant females, lactating females, breeding males, etc. are to be ensured for rearing goats scientifically for harnessing maximum output sustainably.

Ian Donald in the year 1956 used the one-dimensional A-mode (amplitude mode) to measure the parietal diameter of the fetal head and thus introduced the ultrasound in diagnostic and medicine. Ultrasonography does not use radiation or powerful magnetic field as source of energy and the equipment cost is usually affordable. This modality involves the use of sound waves in viewing the longitudinal, sagittal and transverse planes for both testes . Sound is measured in cycles per second or hertz (Hz); the audible range of sound is from 20-20,000 Hz. Diagnostic ultrasound is usually in the range of 1–20 megahertz (MHz).

The speed of sound depends on the tissues through which it propagates because density and compressibility change the speed, the sound wave travels. On an average the assumed speed of sound in soft tissue is 1540 m/s.

India is the largest goat producing countries in the world exhibiting rich diversity between and within goat breeds. The implementation of a genetic improvement programme requires a clear breed-based breeding objectives and selection criteria, tailored to the needs of goat farming community. Indigenous goat breeds bear a great degree of adaptability for climatic stress, tropical diseases and low quality feed resources, require low inputs for enhancing productivity, thus, little investment along with use of high merit bucks bring a great change in the economy of the farmers. There are currently 37 recognized goat breeds in the country which are kept mostly in small herds on extensive or partial semi-intensive feeding system. Productivity of Indigenous goats, however, observed less than their actual genetic potential and attributed to low input system, lack of suitable breed specific structural genetic improvement programme and poor adoption of technologies. A buck is the most important animal in the herd. A breeding male or buck contributes 50% of the genetic merit of the herd and also determine the future improvement rate.

• In male animals, endocrine regulation of reproduction is mainly controlled by pituitary gonadotrophins and gonadal androgens. It is not same as in females as there is only negative feedback controls in case of male while it is positively as well as negatively feedback control in females. In other words the synchrony of pituitary gonadotrophins with gonads in male is non cyclic while in female it is cyclic i.e. after castration the pulse frequency of LH and FSH is retained
• Sex Hormones are sex specific e.g. estrogen and progesterone works primarily in females and testosterone in males but sex specificity is limited as far as sexual behaviour is concern. As estrogen injection in castrated buck recovers the maleness while testosterone injection in ovariectomized female maintain the receptivity for male up to certain extent.
• Hypothalamus acts as interface between nervous system and endocrine system. GnRH synthesized in neurons in hypothalamus, released at nerve endings episodic manner and transferred via hypophyseal portal system to anterior pituitary to stimulate the secretion of gonadotrophins.

The male genital system consists of:

1. The pair gonads, the testes
2. Epididymis
3. Vas deference or ductus deference
4. Accessory glands (Seminal vesicles, prostate glands, & bulbo-urethral glands)

The goats play a vital role in the economy of the poor and marginal farmers of rural India. Notwithstanding the fact that the goat population has shown a steady growth over the year’s very little effort has been taken for genetic improvement at farm level. As per 20th Livestock Census, 27.74% of the livestock population is Goats. Out of 148.88 million Indigenous Goats (Including Non-descript), 27.4% are pure breed, 9.1% are graded breeds and the remaining 63.5% are non-descript breeds. So, to increase the productivity per goat, we need to improve the breed quality scientifically. Artificial insemination (AI) using frozen semen is practiced to produce superior progeny and to accelerate the up gradation of stock. The conception rate with AI is lower but it has great potential to multiply superior quality of goat with faster rate. This technique also spread elite genetic material throughout a population with increased rate of genetic improvement. This technique is also important for the breed conservation process and has paved the way for other reproductive biotechnologies. The sufficient elite germplasm of male buck is not available throughout the country to cover breeding programmed by natural mating. AI is the best solution to improve the quality and productivity per goat.

Globally there is growing demand for small ruminant production especially, goats for meat and milk purposes to feed the ever-increasing human population. As per 20^th Livestock Census released by Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, the Goat population in the country in 2019 is 148.88 million showing an increase of 10.1% over the previous census Out of 148.88 million Indigenous Goats (Including Non-descript), 27.4% are pure breed, 9.1% are graded breeds and the remaining 63.5% are non-descript breeds. The goat population has increased at a faster growth rate in India and varied from 0.94 to 5.10% with an average of 3.05% during 1951-2013 in spite of about 41% slaughter and about 15% natural annual mortality. India produced 21.71% of the milk, 10.47% of the meat and 13.15% of the fresh skins of the world goat production worth of Rs. 1,06,335 million per annum. The goat husbandry also generates about 4.2% rural employment over 500,000 remote villages. It contributes nearly 8.5% of the total GDP from livestock sector to Indian agriculture production system. So, to increase the productivity per goat, we need to improve the breed quality scientifically.

1. Market information includes

a) Market intelligence

b) Market news

c) Both a and b

d) Marketing

2. Historical nature of market information is

a) Market intelligence

b) Market news

c) Market information

d) Marketing

3. Current information about markets is

a) Market intelligence

b) Market news

c) Market information

d) Marketing

1. International trade contributes and increases the world _________

a) Population

b) Inflation

c) Economy

d) Trade Barriers

2. Free international trade maximizes world output through________.

a) Countries reducing various taxes imposed.

b) Countries specializing in production of goods they are best suited for.

c) Perfect competition between countries and other special regions

d) The diluting the international business laws & conditions between countries.

3. Domestic company limits it’s operations to ___________ political boundaries.

a) International

b) National

c) Transnational

d) Global

1. Government is concerned with the marketing system for

a) The quality of commodities at the lowest price

b) Maximum price for surplus produce

c) Steady income from marketing of commodities

d) Safeguard the interests of the groups associated in marketing

2. Which of the following statements are correct ?

i) The Jute Corporation of India is providing minimum price support that assists jute cultivators in all the states of India.

ii) The company purchases jute at the fixed minimum price when market prices declined and later sells to jute mills.

iii) The jute industry suffers from wide fluctuations in supply and price due to changes in the cultivated area and due to the effects of the factors associated with weather.

a) i and ii only

b) i and iii only

c) ii and iii only

d) All of the above

1. In ____________ market, future buying and selling of commodities will take place at current time

a) Forward

b) International

c) Perfect

d) Spot

2. Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act

a) 1952

b) 1962

c) 1958

d) 1963

3. _____________ had also recommended strengthening of existing commodity exchanges and forward markets commission

a) Kuhsro committee

b) Rangarajan committee

c) Forward market committee

d) Kabra committee

1. In developed countries, the major objective of price policy is to____________

a) Prevent drastic fall in agricultural income

b) Increase the agricultural production

c) Both a & b

d) None of the above

2. In developing economies it is to _____

a) Prevent drastic fall in agricultural income

b) Increase the agricultural production

c) Both a & b

d) None of the above

3. The important objectives of the new agricultural policy are _____

a) Augment facilities for All-Round Development

b) Infrastructural Development

c) Reviving and strengthening Co-operatives and local communities

d) All the above

1. The expansion of firms by consolidating supplementary marketing functions and activities under a single management

a) Market Segment

b) Market integration

c) Market channel

d) Market Regulation

2. When a firm gains control over other firms which performing similar marketing functions are __________

a) Vertical co-ordination

b) Horizontal integration

c) Vertical integration

d) conglomeration

3. When a firm performs more than one activity in the order or sequence of the marketing process is known as _________

a) Vertical co-ordination

b) Conglomeration

c) Horizontal integration

d) Vertical integration

GK Enterprise –Profile in brief

• Established in 2000 to provide Management Consultancy to all types of industries
• Centrally Located in Mumbai
• Consists of Group of Engineers having Industry Experience of more than 20 years
• Completed more than 500 plus ISO Certifications all over India & abroad.
• Certifications done for following areas –manufacturing, service, Education, Medical and projects business
• Established with a purpose of improving work efficiency of all types of business in India & abroad.

1. Price spread will be the minimum in

a) Coconut

b) Rice

c) Milk

d) Green leaves

2. Farmers share in consumer rupee will be the minimum in

a) Gram

b) Milk

c) Cotton

d) Rice

3. Marketable surplus is equal to

1. What does the term PLC stands for?

a) Product long cycle

b) Production life cycle

c) Product life cycle

d) Production long cycle

2. Which of the following is not the stage of Product Life Cycle?

a) Introduction Stage

b) Peak stage

c) Decline stage

d) Mature stage

3. When a new product enter into the market with higher quality and new features better than its competitors, those products are known as__________

1. At times of distress sales

a) Marketed surplus < Marketable surplus

b) Marketed surplus > Marketable surplus

c) Marketed surplus = Marketable surplus

d) Zero marketed surplus

2. For durable goods, under normal pricing conditions

a) Marketed surplus < Marketable surplus

b) Marketed surplus > Marketable surplus

c) Marketed surplus = Marketable surplus

d) Zero marketed surplus

1. _____ is the study of all the activities, agencies and policies involved in the procurement of farm inputs by the farmers and the movement of agricultural products from the farms to the consumers.

a) Agricultural marketing

b) Supply chain

c) Agricultural production

d) Value chain

2. The subject of agricultural marketing comprises of _____

a) Product marketing

b) Input marketing

c) Both a & b c) None of the above

3. Changing the raw material into a finished good creates ____

a) Form utility

b) Time utility

c) Place utility

1. ____________ aims at elimination of unhealthy and unscrupulous practices, reducing the marketing charges and providing facilities to producer and sellers in the market

a) Regional market

b) Controlled market

c) Regulated market

d) Revised market

2. The market charges are paid by the _____ of agricultural commodities in a regulated market.

a) Buyers

b) Traders

c) Farmers

d) Sellers

3. __________ is a voluntary business organization established by its members to market the farm products jointly to reap the direct benefit out of it.

a) Regulated market

1. Village market is based on the classification of ________________

a) Volume of transaction

b) Location

c) Time span

d) Area coverage

2. Regional Markets are based on ___________

a) Location

b) Time span

c) Area coverage

d) Volume of transaction

3. The prices of commodities are controlled mainly by the extent of demand for the commodity rather than the supply of the commodity.

The word ‘market’ is a derivative of the Latin word _____

a) Marcatus

b) Markus

c) Marcat

d) Martus

2. ‘Marcatus’ is a _____ word.

a) Greek

b) Latin

c) French

d) Spanish

3. The word ‘Marcatus’ means 

The full form of ‘ISO’ is the International Organization for Standardization. ISO -QMS was founded in the year 1987. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland, operating in 162 plus countries.

• The ISO is an international standard-setting body that consists of the representatives from various national standards organizations.
• The ISO works on formulating the standards and guidelines for a variety of businesses and other purposes and publishes technical reports.
• The word ‘ISO’ is derived from the Latin term ‘isos’ which means ‘Equal for everyone’. It simply means that all the elements of the international std are equally applicable to all types of business.

As the population of the world rises, there is an increase in the demand for food production. Agricultural packaging helps farmers and makers to deliver food in the handiest approach with no loss. It eliminates unnecessary wastage of food during post-harvest treatment procedures, production process, storage, and transportation. It ensures short and long-term stability between the farmers and the consumers. Pesticides are completely toxic and reactive and thus need correct packaging. In agricultural packaging of pesticides, pouches with excellent quality standards are used that improve sealing and handling issues and avoid any malfunctioning. Ventilation is very important in agricultural packaging that permits the warmth and to cool quickly. Loss of water of the products should be minimized to let them stay fresh for a longer time.

Supply Chain is defined as the movement of materials as they flow from their source to the end customer. SCM is a continuously evolving management philosophy that seeks to unify the collective productive competencies and resources of the business functions found both within the enterprise and outside in the firm’s allied business partners located along intersecting supply channels into a highly competitive, customer-enriching supply system focused on developing innovative solutions and synchronizing the flow of marketplace products, services, and information to create unique, individualized sources of customer value.

Agricultural policies in the past have witnessed a series of iterative changes following the economic reforms during the 1990s that marked a Division of Agricultural Economics. Though many of the reform processes were not initiated to directly affect the agriculture sector, it was affected indirectly (Chand, 2004). The mounting stock of food grains has partly been due to the weak purchasing power of the poor in the country. Nevertheless, the problem associated with buffer stock management and degradation of natural resources in some regions has triggered a debate to redefine the agricultural policies. As a remedial measure, it has been suggested that India should diversify its agriculture and get a foothold in the world market (Radhakrishna and Reddy, 2004).

An agriculture supply chain system comprises organizations/cooperatives that are responsible for the production and distribution of vegetable/Fruits/Cereals/ Pulses or animal-based products. In general, we distinguish two main types:

‘Agriculture food supply chains for fresh agricultural products’ (such as fresh vegetables, flowers, fruit). In general, these chains may comprise growers, auctions, wholesalers, importers and exporters, retailers and speciality shops and their input and service suppliers. Basically, all of these stages leave the intrinsic characteristics of the product grown or produced untouched. The main processes are the handling, conditioned storing, packing, transportation and especially trading of these goods.

Mentzer et al. (2001) defined SCM as ‘the systematic, strategic coordination of the traditional business functions within a particular organization and across businesses within the supply chain, for the purposes of improving the long-term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole’. According to Walters and Lancaster (2000), supply chain management is the management of the interface relationships among key stakeholders and business functions that occur in the maximization of value creation which is driven by customer needs satisfaction and facilitated by efficient logistics management.

z-test: The z-test is based on the assumption of normality. The z-test is based on the normal probability distribution and is used for judging the significance of several statistical measures, particularly the men.

Yates’ correction: Yates has suggested a correction for continuity in χ² value calculated in a 2×2 table, predominantly when cell frequencies are small and χ² is just on the significance level. The correction suggested is known as Yates’ correction, which involves the reduction of the deviation of observed from expected frequencies that reduces the value of χ².

χ^2-test: The χ² test (chi square test) is based on the assumption of normality. The χ^2-test is based on chi-square distribution and as a non-parametric test, it is used for comparing a sample variance to a theoretical population variance.

Wilcoxon Matched-pairs Test: The Wilcoxon Matched-pairs Test can be used if the research situations where two-related samples, i.e. case of matched pairs such as a study where husband and wife, or the output of two similar machines or some subjects are studied in context of before-after experiment, the magnitude of difference between matched values in both the directions are to be determined.

Validity: The concept of validity can be applied to every aspect of the research  process. In its simplest form, validity refers to the appropriateness of each step in finding out what is set out to. However, the concept of validity is more associated with measurement procedures.

Uncontrolled observation: Uncontrolled observation is the observation when it takes place in the natural setting and the situations cannot be controlled by the research worker.
Unethical: Any professional activity that is not in accordance with the acceptedcode of conduct for that profession is considered unethical.

Table of random numbers: Most books on research methodology and statistics have tables that contain randomly generated numbers. There is a specific way of selecting a random sample using these tables.

Sample: A sample is a subgroup of the population, which is the focus of research inquiry and is selected in such a way that it represents the study population. A sample is composed of a few individuals from whom the required information is collected. It is done to save time, money and other resources.

Random design: In a random design, the study population groups as well as the experimental treatments are not predetermined, but randomly assigned to become controlling or experimental groups. Random assignment in experiments means that any individual or unit of the study, the population has an equal and independent chance of becoming a part of the experimental or control group or, in the case of multiple treatment modalities; any treatment has an equal and independent chance of being assigned to any of the population
groups.

Qualitative approach to research: Qualitative approach to research is concerned with subjective assessment of attitudes, opinions and behaviour. This type of approach to research generates findings either in non-quantitative form or in the form which are not concerned with the rigorous quantitative analysis. Commonly, the techniques of focus group interviews, projective techniques, and depth interviews are used.