Summary BEM314: Chapter 5 - Research design and Proposal

Chapter 5: Research Design and Proposal

1. Introduction
 After formulating the research problem, question and objectives, the research structure or design needs to be
determined.
 The research design is a plan indicating the required data, the sampling plan and the methods of data collection
and analysis.
 Research design can help eliminate mistakes and inaccuracies.
 The purpose of a research design is to plan and structure the particular research project in a way that will
increase the ultimate validity of the research findings.

2. Research Design
 A research design is simply the outline, framework, or plan for conducting a marketing research project.
 It is a statement of only the essential elements of a study – those that provide the basic guidelines for the
details of the project.
 What is contained in a design may vary depending on the preference of the person responsible, but it should
include at least the following:
- Information on the researcher, research team and their skills.
- the nature of the problem and the study’s objectives.
- statement of the data inputs, or causal data, on the basis of which the solution is to be reached.
- the analytical method with which the inputs will be treated or calculated; and
- resources, time and money available for the research project.

, 3. Research Objective Classification
 Research Objectives are classified according to fundamental objectives of the research into conclusive and
exploratory research design
- Exploratory Research Design
- Conclusive Research Design
 Descriptive Research
 Causal Research

Exploratory research Design → secondary research
 Exploratory studies are intended to explore a relatively unknown area. Exploratory research necessary when
more information and insight is required regarding a problem, opportunity, phenomenon, and especially to
collect data that can contribute to more meaningful research questions.
 The objectives of an exploratory study are:
- To acquire new insight into the phenomenon
- To be a preliminary survey before a more structured study.
- To explain central concepts and constructs
- To determine priorities for further research.
- To develop new hypotheses about an existing phenomenon.
 The objective of an exploratory study is to acquire insight and develop understanding, rather than to collect
accurate replicable data.
 Methods for conducting exploratory research are:
- Literature surveys: a survey of existing relevant literature in libraries, via the internet and commercial
databases.
- Case studies: an analysis of examples or cases of the phenomenon that stimulates insight.
- Pilot studies: information collected from the actual subjects of the research project. The most
common categories of pilot studies are focus groups, interactive media and online research, projective
techniques and in-depth interview.

Conclusive Research Design
 Conclusive design is the deign that helps the researcher study the research problem in a conclusive form, and
then to choose a possible course of action from various alternatives.
 Descriptive Studies
- Descriptive studies are a statistical method used to identify patterns or trends in a situation.
Descriptive research can describe opportunities or threats, and answer the questions: who, what,
when, and where.
- Descriptive research is based on a measure of previous understanding of the nature of the research
problem, but the conclusive evidence necessary to answer questions and determine a course of action
has yet to be collected.
- Objective of descriptive research is to describe the research domain accurately and thoroughly.
- Methods of Descriptive Studies:
 Longitudinal studies: Also known as timeseries studies and involve a repetitive measurement
of the same sample elements over time. There are two types of longitudinal studies:
 continuous or true panels and
 discontinuous or omnibus panels.
 Crosssectional studies: Involves collecting information from any given sample of population
just once.
 Two characteristics that distinguish crosssectional studies from longitudinal studies are that,
in cross sectional studies:
 A snapshot of the variable concerned is provided at a given point in time, and
 The sample of elements is representative of the target population.
 Casual studies
- Descriptive research reveals possible links between variables, while causal research either confirms
and describes the relationship, or shows it to be false.