Research Design

Research Design
 Research design constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and
analysis of data.

 Research design aids the researcher in the allocation of limited resources by posing
crucial choices in methodology.

 Research design is the plan and structure of investigation so conceived as to obtain

answers to research questions. The plan is the overall scheme or program of the
research. It includes an outline of what the investigator will do from writing
hypotheses and their operational implications to the final analysis of data.

 Research design expresses both the structure of the research problem—the frame-work,
organization, or configuration of the relationships among variables of a study—and the
plan of investigation used to obtain empirical evidence on those relationships.
 Research Design
• An activity- and time-based plan.
• A plan always based on the research question.
• A guide for selecting sources and types of information.
• A framework for specifying the relationships among the study’s variables.
• A procedural outline for every research activity.
 Classification of Designs
 Degree of Research Question Crystallization
Exploratory studies tend toward loose structures, with the objective of discovering future
research tasks. – The immediate purpose is usually to develop hypotheses or questions for future
research. The Formal Study begins where the exploration leaves off—with a hypothesis or research
question and involves precise procedures and data source specifications. The goal of a formal research
design is to test the hypotheses or answer the research questions posed.
• Exploratory research is not intended to provide conclusive evidence, but helps us to have a better
understanding of the problem.
• Exploratory research “tends to tackle new problems on which little or no previous research has
been done”.
• Unstructured interviews are the most popular primary data collection method with exploratory
studies. Additionally, surveys, focus groups and observation methods can be used to collect
primary data for this type of studies.
• Exploratory research design simply explores the research questions, leaving room for further
researches.
 Examples of Exploratory Research Design
The following are some examples for studies with exploratory research design in
business studies:
• A study into the role of social networking sites as an effective marketing
communication channel
• An investigation into the ways of improvement of quality of customer services
within hospitality sector in Kerala
• An assessment of the role of corporate social responsibility on consumer
behaviour in pharmaceutical industry in the India
 Advantages of Exploratory Research
1. Lower costs of conducting the study
2. Flexibility and adaptability to change
3. Exploratory research is effective in laying the groundwork that will lead to future studies.
4. Exploratory studies can potentially save time by determining at the earlier stages the types of
research that are worth pursuing.

 Disadvantages of Exploratory Research

1. Inclusive nature of research findings
2. Exploratory studies generate qualitative information and interpretation of such type of information is
subject to bias
3. These types of studies usually make use of a modest number of samples that may not adequately
represent the target population. Accordingly, findings of exploratory research cannot be generalized to
a wider population.
4. Findings of such type of studies are not usually useful in decision making in a practical level.
 Method of Data Collection
 This classification distinguishes between Monitoring and Communication processes.
 Monitoring includes studies in which the researcher inspects the activities
of a subject or the nature of some material without attempting to elicit responses from
anyone. The researcher notes and records the information available from observations.
 Communication study, the researcher questions the subjects and collects their responses
by personal or impersonal means.
 The collected data may result from
(1) interview or telephone conversations
(2) self-administered or self-reported instruments sent through the mail, left in convenient
locations, or transmitted electronically or by other means
(3) instruments presented before and/or after a treatment or stimulus condition in an
experiment.
 Researcher Control of Variables
 In terms of the researcher’s ability to manipulate variables, we differentiate between Experimental
and Ex post facto designs.
Experimental Research Design
 In an experiment, the researcher attempts to control and/or manipulate the variables in the study. It
is enough that we can cause variables to be changed or held constant in keeping with our research
objectives.
 Experimental design is appropriate when one wishes to discover whether certain variables produce
effects in other variables. Experimentation provides the most powerful support possible for a
hypothesis of causation.
Types of Experimental Research Design
1. Pre-experimental Research Design
2. True Experimental Research Design
3. Quasi-experimental Research Design
 1. Pre-experimental Research
Design
 As the name suggests, pre-experimental research happens even before the true experiment
starts. This is done to determine the researchers’ intervention on a group of people. This
will help them tell if the investment of cost and time for conducting a true experiment is
worth a while. Hence, pre-experimental research is a preliminary step to justify the
presence of the researcher’s intervention.
 Validates the experiment in the preliminary phase itself. Pre-experimental design tells the
researchers how their intervention will affect the whole study.
 The pre-experimental design includes one or more than one experimental groups to be
observed against certain treatments. It is the simplest form of research design that follows
the basic steps in experiments.


 Types of Pre-experimental
Designs
One-shot case study design
1. This design practices the treatment of a single group.
2. It only takes a single measurement after the experiment.
3. A one-shot case study design only analyses post-test results.
Example:
 A team leader wants to implement a new soft skills program in the firm. The
employees can be measured at the end of the first month to see the improvement
in their soft skills. The team leader will know the impact of the program on the
employees.
One-group pretest-posttest design
1. Like the previous one, this design also works on just one experimental group.
2. But this one takes two measures into account.
3. A pre-test and a post-test are conducted.
Example:
 Following the previous example, the team leader here will conduct two tests. One
before the soft skill program implementation to know the level of employees before
they were put through the training. And a post-test to know their status after the
training.
Static-group comparison
1. This compares two experimental groups.
2. One group is exposed to the treatment.
3. The other group is not exposed to the treatment.
4. The difference between the two groups is the result of the experiment.
Example:
 The team lead decides one group of employees to get the soft skills
training while the other group remains as a control group and is not
exposed to any program. He then compares both the groups and finds
out the treatment group has evolved in their soft skills more than the
control group.
 2. True Experimental Research Design
 A true experimental research design relies on statistical analysis to prove or disprove a
researcher’s hypothesis. It is one of the most accurate forms of research because it provides
specific scientific evidence.
 True experimental design can establish a cause-effect relationship within a group.
 In a true experiment, a researcher must satisfy these three factors —
1. There is a control group that is not subjected to changes and an experimental group that will
experience the changed variables
2. A variable that can be manipulated by the researcher
3. Random distribution of the variables
 Example:
 Let’s say you are interested in the impact of a new psychological therapy on patients
with depression. In True experimental design ,to run a true experiment, you randomly
assign half the patients in a mental health clinic to receive the new treatment. The other
half—the control group—receives the standard course of treatment for depression.
Every few months, patients fill out a sheet describing their symptoms to see if the new
treatment produces significantly better (or worse) effects than the standard one.
 3. Quasi-experimental Research Design
 The word “Quasi” means similarity. A quasi-experimental design is similar to a true
experimental design. However, the difference with others is the assignment of the
control group. In this research design, an independent variable is manipulated, but the
participants of a group are not randomly assigned. This type of research design is used in
field settings where random assignment is either irrelevant or not required.

 Example: You discover that a few of the psychotherapists in the clinic have decided to try
out the new therapy, while others who treat similar patients have chosen to stick with the
normal protocol. You can use these pre-existing groups to study the symptom progression
of the patients treated with the new therapy versus those receiving the standard course of
treatment. Although the groups were not randomly assigned, if you properly account for
any systematic differences between them, you can be reasonably confident any
differences must arise from the treatment and not other confounding variables.
 Ex post facto design
 Ex post facto design, investigators have no control over the variables in the sense of being
able to manipulate them.
 They can only report what has happened or what is happening.
 An ex post facto research design is a method in which groups with qualities that already exist are
compared on some dependent variable. Also known as "after the fact" research, an ex post facto
design is considered quasi-experimental because the subjects are not randomly assigned - they are
grouped based on a particular characteristic or trait.
 Example, a researcher is interested in how weight influences self-esteem levels in adults. So the
participants would be separated into differing groups (underweight, normal weight, overweight) and
their self esteem levels measured. This is an ex post facto design because a pre-existing characteristic
(weight) was used to form the groups.
 The Purpose of the Study
 Reporting
 Descriptive
 Causal-explanatory and Causal-predictive
 A Reporting study provides a summation of data, often recasting data to achieve a deeper understanding or to
generate statistics for comparison.
Eg- In a study of crime, for example, a reporting study might tally the number of employee thefts
that take place in shopping malls versus free-standing stores.
 If the research is concerned with finding out who, what, where, when, or how much, then the study is Descriptive.
Descriptive research on employee theft would measure the types of theft committed (clothing vs. electronics vs.
housewares),how often, when (time of year, time of day, day of week), where (receiving dock, stockroom, sales
floor), and by whom (gender, age, years of service, departmental assignment).
 If a study is concerned with learning why—that is, how one variable produces changes in another - it is Causal
explanatory.
 Causal-explanatory study try to explain relationships among variables—for instance, why the crime
rate is higher in mall A than in mall B or why male employees steal more than female employees.
A Causal-predictive study attempts to predict an effect on one variable by manipulating another variable
while holding all other variables constant. In our crime example, researchers using a causal-predictive
study might be interested in whether installation of video surveillance cameras on the receiving dock
and in stockrooms would reduce employee theft in mall stores.

The Time Dimension

• Cross-sectional studies are carried out once and represent a snapshot of one point in time. It is an
observational study where data is collected as a whole to study a population at a single point in time to
examine the relationship between variables of interest.
• Example - a researcher wants to understand the relationship between joggers and level of cholesterol, he/she
might want to choose two age groups of daily joggers, one group is below 30 but more than 20 and the other,
above 30 but below 40 and compare these to cholesterol levels amongst non-joggers in the same age
categories.
• Longitudinal studies are repeated over an extended period. The data is gathered from the same sample
repeatedly over an extended period of time. Longitudinal study can last from a few years to even decades
depending on what kind of information needs to be obtained.
Example, in longitudinal study a researcher wishes to look at the changes in cholesterol level in women
above the age of 30 but below 40 years who have jogged regularly over the last 10 years. In longitudinal
study setup, it would be possible to account for cholesterol levels at the start of the jogging regime,
therefore longitudinal studies are more likely to suggest a cause-and-effect relationship.
 Cross-sectional study Longitudinal study
Cross-sectional studies are quick to conduct Longitudinal studies may vary from a few
as compared to longitudinal studies. years to even decades.
A longitudinal study requires a researcher to
A cross-sectional study is conducted at a
revisit participants of the study at proper
given point in time.
intervals.
Cross-sectional study is conducted with Longitudinal study is conducted with the
different samples. same sample over the years.
Cross-sectional studies cannot pin down Longitudinal study can justify cause-and-
cause-and-effect relationship. effect relationship.
Multiple variables can be studied at a single Only one variable is considered to conduct the
point in time. study.
Cross-sectional study is comparatively Since the study goes on for years longitudinal
cheaper. study tends to get expensive.
 The Topical Scope
 Statistical Design : Statistical studies are designed for breadth rather than depth. They attempt to capture a
population’s characteristics by making inferences from a sample’s characteristics. Hypotheses are tested
quantitatively. Generalizations about findings are presented based on the representativeness of the sample and the
validity of the design.
 Case studies place more emphasis on a full contextual analysis of fewer events or conditions and
their interrelations. Although hypotheses are often used, the reliance on qualitative data makes support
or rejection more difficult. An emphasis on detail provides valuable insight for problem solving, evalu-
ation, and strategy. This detail is secured from multiple sources of information. It allows evidence to be
verified and avoids missing data
 The Research Environment
 Designs also differ as to whether they occur under actual environmental conditions (field conditions)
or under staged or manipulated conditions (laboratory conditions).
 To simulate is to replicate the essence of a system or process. Simulations are increasingly used in research,
especially in operations research. The major characteristics of various conditions and relationships in actual
situations are often represented in mathematical models. Role-playing and other behavioral activities may also be
viewed as simulations.
 Participants’ Perceptual Awareness
 The usefulness of a design may be reduced due to a participant’s perceptual
awareness when people in a disguised study perceive that research is being
conducted. Participants’ perceptual awareness influences the outcomes of the
research in subtle ways.
 Research Design

1. Exploratory studies : Exploratory research is a research design that is used to investigate a research
problem that is not clearly defined or understood. It provides researchers with a deeper understanding of
a research problem and its context before further research can be carried out.
2. Descriptive studies: The descriptive research design is used to describe a phenomenon and its different
characteristics. It is concerned with gaining a deeper understanding of what the phenomenon is rather
than why or how it takes place. It, therefore, describes the subject of the research without addressing
why it happens.
3. Causal/Explanatory studies:Causal Research is a type of conclusive research, which attempts to
establish a cause-and-effect relationship between two or more variables. Causal Research is widely
employed by several companies. It assists in determining the impact of a change in process and existing
methods. It is easy to narrow down the cause and effect relationship by making sure that both variables
are not affected by any force other than each other. In causal-comparative research, the research subjects
are already in groups because the action or event has already occurred, whereas subjects in experimental
research designs are randomly selected prior to the manipulation of the variables.
 Sampling Design
This subprocess of research design answers the question:
1. From whom or What (target population) does the data need to be collected
2. How and from how many (Cases)
Steps in Sampling Design
 Define the target population and a case
 Define the population parameters
 Identify and evaluate the sample frame
 Define the number of cases needed
 Define the appropriate sampling method
 Define the sampling selection and recruitment protocols