Chapter 6: “Elements or research design”
Research design: A blueprint or plan for the collection, measurement, and analysis of date,
created to answer you research questions.
Strategy plan: is a plan for achieving a certain goal.
A research strategy will help you to meet your research objective and to answer the
research questions of your study.
Research strategies:
Experiments
Survey research
Observation
Case studies
Grounded theory
Action research
Mixed methods
Experiment: The researcher manipulates the independent variable to study the effect of his
manipulation on the dependant variable. In other word the researcher deliberately changes
a certain variable to whether this changer will produce a change in another variable.
Under the right circumstances, an experimental design is a very strong design to use.
However, experimental designs are not always feasible in an applied research context where
the researcher tries to solve a management problem.
Survey: A system to collect information from or about people to describe, compare or
explain their knowledge, attitudes and behaviour.
The survey research is very popular in business research, because it allows the researcher
to collet quantitative and qualitative data on many types of research questions.
Ethnography (observation): A research strategy that has its roots in anthropology. It is a
strategy in which the researcher “closely observes, records and engages in the daily life of
another culture […] and then writes accounts of this culture, emphasizing descriptive detail”.
Participant observation is closely related to ethnography.
Methods as interviews and questionnaires may also be used to collect data in
ethnography research.
Case studies: Focus on collecting information about a specific object, event or activity, such
as a particular business unit or organization.
In case studies, the case is the individual, the groups, the organizations, the event, or the
situation the researcher is interested in.
Action research: A research strategy aimed at effecting planned changes. ( Sometimes
undertaken by consultants who want to imitate change processes in organizations).
The researchers begin with a problem that is already identified, and gather relevant data
to provide a tentative problem solution.
Research design: A blueprint or plan for the collection, measurement, and analysis of date,
created to answer you research questions.
Strategy plan: is a plan for achieving a certain goal.
A research strategy will help you to meet your research objective and to answer the
research questions of your study.
Research strategies:
Experiments
Survey research
Observation
Case studies
Grounded theory
Action research
Mixed methods
Experiment: The researcher manipulates the independent variable to study the effect of his
manipulation on the dependant variable. In other word the researcher deliberately changes
a certain variable to whether this changer will produce a change in another variable.
Under the right circumstances, an experimental design is a very strong design to use.
However, experimental designs are not always feasible in an applied research context where
the researcher tries to solve a management problem.
Survey: A system to collect information from or about people to describe, compare or
explain their knowledge, attitudes and behaviour.
The survey research is very popular in business research, because it allows the researcher
to collet quantitative and qualitative data on many types of research questions.
Ethnography (observation): A research strategy that has its roots in anthropology. It is a
strategy in which the researcher “closely observes, records and engages in the daily life of
another culture […] and then writes accounts of this culture, emphasizing descriptive detail”.
Participant observation is closely related to ethnography.
Methods as interviews and questionnaires may also be used to collect data in
ethnography research.
Case studies: Focus on collecting information about a specific object, event or activity, such
as a particular business unit or organization.
In case studies, the case is the individual, the groups, the organizations, the event, or the
situation the researcher is interested in.
Action research: A research strategy aimed at effecting planned changes. ( Sometimes
undertaken by consultants who want to imitate change processes in organizations).
The researchers begin with a problem that is already identified, and gather relevant data
to provide a tentative problem solution.
