Chapter 6 - Elements of Research Design
Learning Objectives:
1. Explain what is meant by a research design
2. Develop an appropriate research design for any given study
3. Explain why a researcher might be constrained to settle for less than the
‘ideal’ research design.
4. Demonstrate awareness of the role of the manager in the area of research
design.
The Research Design
A research design is a blueprint or plan for the collection, measurement, and analysis of
data, created to answer your research questions.
We can see the various issues in the research design above, issues relating to decisions
regarding the research strategy, the extent to which the study is manipulated and controlled
by the researcher, location, the level at which the data will be analyzed, and temporal
aspects are integral to research design. Each component of the research design offers
several critical choice points. There is no single design that is superior in all circumstances.
Instead, you will have to make choices and create a design that is suitable for the job at
hand. The quality of research design depends on how carefully you choose the appropriate
design alternatives, taking into consideration the specific objectives, research questions, and
constraints of the project, such as access to data, time and/or money.
Elements of Research Design
, Research Strategies
A strategy is a plan for achieving a certain goal. A research strategy will help you to meet
your research objectives and to answer the research question of your study. The choice for a
particular research strategy will, therefore, depend on the research objectives and research
questions of your study, but also your viewpoints on what makes a good research and on
practical aspects such as access to data sources and time constraints.
Experiments
Experiments are usually associated with a hypothetico-deductive approach to research. The
purpose of an experiment is to study causal relationships between variables. Experimental
designs are less useful or appropriate for answering exploratory and descriptive research
questions. In an experiment, the researcher manipulates the independent variable to study
the effects of this manipulation on the dependent variable. In other words, the researcher
deliberately changes a certain variable to establish whether this change will produce a
change in another variable.
Survey research
A survey is a system for collecting information from or about people to describe, compare, or
explain their knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. The survey strategy is very popular in
business research because it allows the researcher to collect quantitative and qualitative
data on many types of research questions. Indeed surveys are commonly used in
exploratory and descriptive research to collect data about people, events, or situations.
Ethnography
Ethnography is 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.” Ethnography
involves immersion in the particular culture of the social group that is being studied,
observing behavior, listening to what is said in conversations, and asking questions. It thus
aims to generate an understanding of the culture and behaviors of a social group from an
“insider’s point of view.” Observation is regarded as one of the several methods for
ethnographic research. Other methods, such as interviews and questionnaires, may also be
used to collect data in ethnographic research.
Case Studies
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
group, the organization, the event, or the situation the researcher is interested in. The idea
behind a case study is that in order to obtain a clear picture of a problem one must examine
the real-life situation from various angles and perspectives using multiple methods of data
collection. One may define a case study as a research strategy that involves an empirical
investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context using
multiple methods of data collection. It should be noted, that case studies may provide both
qualitative and quantitative data for analysis and interpretation.
Grounded Theory
Grounded theory is a systematic set of procedures to develop an inductively derived theory
from the data. Important tools of grounded theory are theoretical sampling, coding, and
Learning Objectives:
1. Explain what is meant by a research design
2. Develop an appropriate research design for any given study
3. Explain why a researcher might be constrained to settle for less than the
‘ideal’ research design.
4. Demonstrate awareness of the role of the manager in the area of research
design.
The Research Design
A research design is a blueprint or plan for the collection, measurement, and analysis of
data, created to answer your research questions.
We can see the various issues in the research design above, issues relating to decisions
regarding the research strategy, the extent to which the study is manipulated and controlled
by the researcher, location, the level at which the data will be analyzed, and temporal
aspects are integral to research design. Each component of the research design offers
several critical choice points. There is no single design that is superior in all circumstances.
Instead, you will have to make choices and create a design that is suitable for the job at
hand. The quality of research design depends on how carefully you choose the appropriate
design alternatives, taking into consideration the specific objectives, research questions, and
constraints of the project, such as access to data, time and/or money.
Elements of Research Design
, Research Strategies
A strategy is a plan for achieving a certain goal. A research strategy will help you to meet
your research objectives and to answer the research question of your study. The choice for a
particular research strategy will, therefore, depend on the research objectives and research
questions of your study, but also your viewpoints on what makes a good research and on
practical aspects such as access to data sources and time constraints.
Experiments
Experiments are usually associated with a hypothetico-deductive approach to research. The
purpose of an experiment is to study causal relationships between variables. Experimental
designs are less useful or appropriate for answering exploratory and descriptive research
questions. In an experiment, the researcher manipulates the independent variable to study
the effects of this manipulation on the dependent variable. In other words, the researcher
deliberately changes a certain variable to establish whether this change will produce a
change in another variable.
Survey research
A survey is a system for collecting information from or about people to describe, compare, or
explain their knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. The survey strategy is very popular in
business research because it allows the researcher to collect quantitative and qualitative
data on many types of research questions. Indeed surveys are commonly used in
exploratory and descriptive research to collect data about people, events, or situations.
Ethnography
Ethnography is 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.” Ethnography
involves immersion in the particular culture of the social group that is being studied,
observing behavior, listening to what is said in conversations, and asking questions. It thus
aims to generate an understanding of the culture and behaviors of a social group from an
“insider’s point of view.” Observation is regarded as one of the several methods for
ethnographic research. Other methods, such as interviews and questionnaires, may also be
used to collect data in ethnographic research.
Case Studies
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
group, the organization, the event, or the situation the researcher is interested in. The idea
behind a case study is that in order to obtain a clear picture of a problem one must examine
the real-life situation from various angles and perspectives using multiple methods of data
collection. One may define a case study as a research strategy that involves an empirical
investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context using
multiple methods of data collection. It should be noted, that case studies may provide both
qualitative and quantitative data for analysis and interpretation.
Grounded Theory
Grounded theory is a systematic set of procedures to develop an inductively derived theory
from the data. Important tools of grounded theory are theoretical sampling, coding, and
