PowerPoint Slides for the Instructors Resource Manual for

Business Research for Decision Making

Sixth Edition
by

Duane Davis
Chapter 6
Fundamentals of Research Design

Research Design
Is the structure of the research project to solve a particular problem?
Its purpose is to guide researchers in answering problems.
Is a series of tradeoffs and compromises.
Potential Sources of Error in the Design Process:
1. Planning faulty designs
2. Collection actual collection of data
3. Analytical the way the data is analyzed
4. Reporting- errors in interpretation

MaxiMinCon Principle

Researchers are guided by the MaxiMinCon Principle

Maximize systematic variance
Minimize error variance
Control extraneous variance

Design is the researchers attempt at variance control.

MaxiMinCon Principle, continued

Four Primary Means to Control Variance
1. Build the variable into the study
2. Exclude the variable from the study
3. Statistically control the variable(s) through covariance
analysis
4. Randomization

Table 6.1

Potential Sources of Error in the

Research Design Process

Managerial Strategies for Dealing with

Error
Planning Error - well thought out proposals that
are specific in design aspects evaluated
impartially
Collection Error careful execution of planned
design periodic managerial evaluations
Analytical Error justification of analytical
methods outside evaluation
Reporting Error unbiased and knowledgeable
reviewers commonplace in rigorous research
environments

Figure 6.1

Schematic
Diagrams
Illustrating
Moderation &
Intervening
Variables

Source: Adapted from Uma Sekaran,

Research Methods for Managers
(New York: Wiley, 1984), pp. 5058.

Internal Validity

Are the results of the study true?

Is what has taken place due to the variables the researcher claims to be
operating or could something else have taken place?

Internal Validity
History: events outside the study affect the
results. E.g. high unemployment
Maturation: changes in respondents over time
Testing: halo effect, Hawthorne effect are the
respondents tipped about what your are
studying?
Instrumentation: changes in the instrument over
time.
Selection: differences among groups;
respondents vs. non-respondents
Mortality: people drop out of a study over time

External Validity

What is causality and

proof?
Can anything be
proven?

Causality
Theory a reason why one variable
should cause an effect in another
Correlation
Time order: cause MUST proceed effect
Rule out other explanations for the effect
or spurious variables

Comparison of the Major Types of Research

Designs

Table 6.2

2005 by Duxbury
A division of Thomson Learning

Table 6.3

Sources of Invalidity for Basic Research Designs*

Source: Donald T. Campbell and Julian C. Stanley: Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for
Research, copyright 1963, Houghton Mifflin Company, used by permission.

R - Randomly
A - Assign to conditions of
I - Independent variable, then observe on
D - Dependent variable, for
E- Experimental
R - Research

major research
methods tend to
have strengths, as
well as
weaknesses.
Ability to
Represent
Real-life
Situations
(EXTERNAL
VALIDITY)

Ability to Infer
Causality
(INTERNAL VALIDITY)

Low

Low

High

High

EXPERIMENTS

SURVEYS

This would
be the ideal
strong in
both areas

Managerial Concerns
No single correct design
Design to answer the research
problem
All research design represents a
compromise
A design is not a framework to be
followed blindly

Key Managerial Questions Pertaining to

Research Design