Unit II - Research Design

Meaning of Research Design Need for Research Design Features of a Good Design Important concepts relating to research design Different research designs Principles of Experimental Design

Meaning of Research Design

-

conceptual structure within which research is conducted - outline of what the researcher will do - constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data Decisions regarding what, where, how much, by what means concerning the research study constitute a research design A plan of what data to gather, from whom, how and when to collect the data, and how to analyze the data obtained constitutes research design

 

Definitions


Kothari - A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure. procedure. Miller - research design is the planned sequence of the entire process involved in conducting a research study.

Design decisions - in respect of:

         

What is the study about? Why is the study being made? Where will the study be carried out? What type of data is required? Where can the required data be found? What periods of time will the study include? What will be the sample design? What techniques of data collection will be used? How will the data be analysed? analysed? In what style will the report be prepared ?

Need for Research Design

 facilitates

smooth sailing of various research operations thereby making research as efficient as possible yielding maximal information with minimal expenditure of effort, time and money

stands for advanced planning of the methods to be adopted for collecting the relevant data and the techniques to be used in their analysis

Need for Research Design (contd)

  

has great bearing on the reliability of the results arrived at constitutes firm foundation of the entire edifice of the research work proper design helps researcher to organize his ideas and look for flaws and inadequacies thoughtlessness in designing research project may result in rendering the research exercise futile an adequate design outlines possible conclusions to be drawn from the statistical analysis. analysis.

Research process flow chart

Define problem
Review concepts and theories Review previous research finding

Formulate hypothesis Design Research Collect data Analyse data (Test hypothesis) Interpret and report

Catalyst for business research Opportunity Problem Management action Plan Implement Monitor Preliminary information gathering and literature survey

Problem definition Report preparation and presentation

BUSINESS RESEARCH PROCESS

Frame development Conceptual Theoretical

Interpretation of findings Research objectives Research questions Hypothesis

Data analysis Qualitative Quantitative Data collection Qualitative Quantitative

Research design

A good research design should satisfy the following four conditions

 a)

Objectivity :

pertains to methods of collection of data and the scoring of the responses. Closed ended questionnaires are objective tools because all the scorers can apply a scoring key Open ended questionnaires - respondents are allowed to give free responses Therefore questionnaires consisting of both the types of questions are used purposely

b) Reliability
 

refers to consistency throughout a series of measurements. If respondent gives a response to particular item, he is expected to give the same response to that item whenever he is asked subsequently. If the respondent keeps on changing his responses to the same item when he is asked repeatedly, then investigator faces difficulty in considering which one of the responses is the genuine response of the respondent. respondent.

c) Validity
 Any

measuring instrument is said to be valid when it measures what it purports to measure

 Eg.

An intelligence test, constructed for measuring intelligence should measure intelligence and nothing else.

d) Generalization


Every research design has to answer to the generalizability of the findings of the study, i.e.,

how best the data collected from a sample can be utilized for drawing certain generalizations, applicable to a larger group (population) from which the sample is drawn with how much authority and confidence, an investigator can say that the same findings will be obtained even though the data is collected from the total population from which the sample is selected.

Important concepts relating to research design

 Variable

any characteristic (of man or his environment) that can take on different values A concept which can take on different quantitative values is called a variable eg., height, weight and income length, breadth and thickness

Dependent variable
Is the variable of primary interest to researcher. The researchers goal is to understand and describe the dependent variable or to explain its variability or to predict it.  It is the main variable that lends itself as a viable factor for investigation  It has circumstances or characteristics that change, disappear or appear when the researcher implements the independent variable. For example, employee performance is the dependent variable, while the knowledge, skills, abilities and judgement are the independent variables  Dependent variables are also called response or consequent variables.
 

Independent variable


An independent variable is one that influences the dependent variable in either a positive or negative way. When the independent variable is present the dependent variable is also present, and with each unit of increase in the independent variable, there is an increase or decrease in the dependent variable also. In other words, the variance in the dependent variable is accounted for by the independent variable.

Variables
Sugar Tea leaves Milk Water Heat Added flavours

Moderating Variable
has strong effect on the dependent-independent variable dependentrelationship  presence of third variable modifies the original relationship between dependent and independent variables

Work force diversity Independent variable Organizational Effectiveness Dependent variable

Work force diversity Independent variable

Organizational Effectiveness Dependent variable Managerial Expertise Moderating variable

Intervening variable
called mediating or interfering variables.  it surfaces between the time the independent variable operates to influence the dependent variable. These enhance/distort the relationship between the dependent and independent variables.  in order to obtain the real relationship between the independent and dependent variable, the influence of the intervening variable is to be controlled.

Time: t1 t2 Creative Synergy Intervening variable t3 Organizational Effectiveness Dependent variable

Work force diversity Independent variable

Hypothesis
-

a tentative supposition or provisional guess which seems to explain the situation under observation  - states what we are looking for  - it looks forward  - It is an assumption which may be put to test to determine its validity  - It may prove to be correct or incorrect

Definition of Hypothesis


GA Lundberg, A hypothesis is a tentative generalization, the validity of which remains to be tested. In its most elementary stage, the hypothesis may be any hunch, guess, imaginative idea, which becomes the basis for action or investigation.
Eg. Eg. All athletes are tall and thin Automobile A performs better than automobile B

Types of Research Designs

 Observation

Research  Experimental Studies  Field Studies  Case Studies  Historical Research  Internet Research  Ex-post Facto Research Ex-

Observation Research
 

the researcher carefully watches how people act and behave in different situations. situations. primary objective is to systematically, without questioning or communicating, collect data about individuals as they act naturally. naturally. Participants include humans, laboratory animals, chimpanzees, any beings. beings. Interviews and/or questionnaires often encourage individuals, to provide biased information about themselves. Important tool for sample who cannot articulate

Field Studies


research in a realistic situation in which one or more independent variables are manipulated by the experimenter under as carefully controlled conditions as the situation will permit. Any scientific studies, large or small, that are done in life situations like communities, schools, factories, organizations and institutions will be considered field studies. the large sample sizes increase confidence in findings.

Case Studies
Case studies have become very popular recently because they help students connect their knowledge with practical situations.  In this researcher systematically gathers in-depth ininformation on a single entity- individual, group, entityorganization or community in a unique setting as intensely as possible - using variety of data gathering methods.  Communities, racial groups, school systems, families, clubs, gangs, businesses, churches, social service programs, hospitals, provide case study material.  favorite research method of physicians, psychologists, organizational theorists.


Case study (contd)



 

Harvard Business School uses case study method for much of its course material. Students analyze cases of business organizations; eg, why they fail, why they succeed, what were eg, the causes and so on? It is an extensive data collection and analysis method, intense focus, detail orientation, both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, lengthy time commitment. examines in-depth practices or trends of single/ limited no. of ingroups. focuses on one or limited number of phenomenon in order to construct an in-depth account of what happens or happened inThe emphasis here is on depth rather than breadth of study. Examples of possible case studies: Why has University of Chicago produced so many Nobel Laureates? Why is the leukemia rate so high in community X? What are the career paths of women graduates of elite MBA programs who enter the vast Proctor and Gamble empire? Why is the customer service program not working well in company X but is favorable in its peers in the same region

   

Historical Research
 

is research based on describing the past. includes investigations like recording, analysis and interpretation of events in the past for discovering generalizations and deductions that can be useful in understanding past, present and to an extent, anticipate the future (Landman). Landman). Sheik Ali - Historical research is digging into the past in order to re-enact and reconstruct the past reevents as fully as they have happened to explain the meaning and significance of these events, to correct any wrong notions so long prevalent, and to analyse and philosophise the ideas in the light of the present day knowledge

Historical research (contd)

 Historical

researchers work with primary documents, artifacts, and records found in archives, libraries, other specialized institutional collections, and elsewhere.

 Historical

researchers also use secondary sources which provide other people's descriptions of original events or sources.

Historical Research (contd)



By examining past events and procedures, attempts are made to predict future events or make suggestions for future actions. mere compilation of chronological events is not considered research in itself. An investigation can only be regarded as scientific research when the researcher interprets the events that took place by pointing out their relationship to the problem investigated, and explaining their meaning. Types of historical or interpretive research studies include: biographies, histories of institutions and organizations; editing and translating historical documents; studying the history of ideas; or compiling bibliographies

Internet research
fast and relatively inexpensive way of gaining access to a wider range of sources of data than most conventional research approaches could manage  can include internet searches for existing databases and sources, also using the internet to collect new data through e-mail and web-based enquiries and ewebquestionnaires.  potential advantages have to be weighed against the potential problems: biased samples, lack of quality control, difficulties in checking the trustworthiness of some of the data available on the net,  ethical issues associated with plagiarism, guaranteeing confidentiality to providers of data


Ex post facto-research facto(after the fact research)



 

researcher does not have any control over independent variables, as they have already been manifested or because they are not manipulable. Inferences about relationships between variables are made without direct intervention. This research is based on scientific and analytical examination of dependent and independent variables. Independent variables are studied in retrospect for seeking possible relations and likely effects that the changes in independent variables produce in on a single or set of dependent variables.

Ex post facto-research factoAcc to Landman, ex post facto is used to refer to an experiment in which the researcher, rather than creating the treatment, examines the effect of a naturally occurring treatment after it has occurred.  study that attempts to discover the pre-existing causal preconditions between groups. In this researchers control over independent variables is very weak / no control at all. Yet they attempt to discover causes for the outcome.
 

Ex post facto-research, therefore, has to take things as factothey are and examine separately or wholly their impact on the explained variables. This type of research is useful in social scientific research which is based on the conclusion that because two factors go together, one is the cause and the other is the effect. Eg.Eg.- transport problems due to heavy rains in Mumbai - increase in shopping on declaration of monsoon sale

Principles of Experimental Design Principle of Replication; Principle of Randomization; Principle of Local Control.

Replication
According to the Principle of Replication, the experiment should be repeated more than once. Thus, each treatment is applied in many experimental units instead of one. By doing so the statistical accuracy of the experiment is increased.

Randomization
The Principle of Randomization provides protection, against the effects of extraneous factors. This principle indicates that the design should be planned in such a way that the variations caused by extraneous factors can all be combined under the general heading of chance.

Local Control
The extraneous factor, variability, is made to vary deliberately over as wide a range as necessary in such a way that the variability it causes can be measured and hence eliminated from the experimental error. Plan the experiment to perform a two-way analysis of variance, in which the total variability of the data is divided into three components attributed to treatments, the extraneous factor and experimental error.