Unit 2: Research Design and Methods of Data Collection

Concept and types of Research Design - Exploratory, Descriptive and Experimental, Data types
and Sources: Primary Data: Focus group; Depth Interview; Projective Techniques; Surveys;
Observation; Experimentation; Secondary Data.

Research Design

Research design is the blueprint for fulfilling research objectives and answering questions. Its
essentials include 1) an activity and time-based plan, 2) a plan based on the research questions,
3) a guide for selecting sources and types of information, 4) a framework for specifying the
relationships among the study’s variables, and 5) a procedural outline for every research activity.

A number of different design dimensions exist, but no simple classification system defines all the
variations that must be considered. A brief discussion of these descriptors illustrates their nature
and contribution to research.

Degree of Research Question Crystallization

The essential distinction is on the basis of the degree of structure and the immediate objective of
the study. Exploratory studies tend toward loose structures with the objective of discovering
future research tasks. The immediate purpose of exploration is usually to develop hypotheses or
questions for further research. The formal study begins 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.

Method of Data Collection

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. In the
communication study, the researcher questions the subjects and collects their responses by
personal or impersonal means.

The Purpose of the Study

The essential difference between the various studies in this grouping - reporting, descriptive, and
causal-explanatory or causal-predictive lies in their objectives. A reporting study provides a
summation of data, often recasting data to achieve a deeper understanding or to generate
statistics for comparison. If the research is concerned with finding out who, what, where, when,
or how much, then the study is descriptive. If a study is concerned with learning why - that is,
how one variable produces changes in another - it is causal-explanatory. A causal-predictive
study attempts to predict an effect on one variable by manipulating another variable while
holding all other variables constant.

The Time Dimension

Cross-sectional studies are carried out once and represent a snapshot of one point in time.
Longitudinal studies are repeated over an extended period. The advantage of a longitudinal
study is that it can track changes over time.

The Topical Scope

The statistical study differs from the case study in several ways. Statistical studies are designed
for breadth rather than depth. Case studies place more emphasis on a full contextual analysis of
fewer events or conditions and their interrelations.

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).

Exploratory Research Design

When to be used – when the problem is not clear; a high level of uncertainty exists.
Purpose of study – clarify the problem, identification of variables and development of
hypotheses.
Methods of data collection – Secondary data, expert’s survey, focus group interview and
qualitative techniques like projective techniques, case studies.

Descriptive Research Design

When to be used – when the problem is clear; to answer questions like who, when, where and
how many
Purpose of study – to describe any phenomena, estimating frequency of any characteristics,
studying association among variables and hypothesis testing.
Methods of data collection – Survey, observation studies

Causal Research Design

When to be used – when the problem is clear, to study cause and effect relationship.
Purpose of study – to test hypothesis related cause and effect relationship.
Methods of data collection – Survey, experiments, observation studies
Primary Data
Primary data is the data that researchers collect to address the specific problem at hand - the
research question. Given the limitations of secondary data, it is often necessary to collect primary
data in order to obtain the information needed to address the management decision problem.
Obtaining primary data can be expensive and time consuming. The collection of primary data
involves all steps of the research process.

Focus group interview - A focus group interview is an unstructured, free-flowing interview

with a small group of people, usually between six and ten. Focus groups are led by a trained
moderator who follows a flexible format encouraging dialogue among respondents. Common
focus group topics include employee programs, employee satisfaction, brand meanings,
problems with products, advertising themes, or new-product concepts.
The group meets at a central location at a designated time. Participants may range from
consumers talking about products, petroleum engineers talking about problems in the “oil patch,”
children talking about toys, or employees talking about their jobs. A moderator begins by
providing some opening statement to broadly steer discussion in the intended direction. Ideally,
discussion topics emerge at the group’s initiative, not the moderator’s. Consistent with
phenomenological approaches, moderators should avoid direct questioning unless absolutely
necessary.
Advantages of Focus Group Interviews
Focus groups allow people to discuss their true feelings, anxieties, and frustrations, as well as the
depth of their convictions, in their own words. While other approaches may also do much the
same, focus groups offer several advantages:
1. Relatively fast
2. Easy to execute
3. Allow respondents to piggyback off each other’s ideas
4. Provide multiple perspectives
5. Flexibility to allow more detailed descriptions
6. High degree of scrutiny

Group Composition
The ideal size of the focus group is six to ten people. If the group is too small, one or two
members may intimidate the others. Groups that are too large may not allow for adequate
participation by each group member.
Homogeneous groups seem to work best because they allow researchers to concentrate on
consumers with similar lifestyles, experiences, and communication skills. The session does not
become rife with too many arguments and different viewpoints stemming from diverse
backgrounds.
Depth Interviews
An alternative to a focus group is a depth interview. A depth interview is a one-on-one
interview between a professional researcher and a research respondent. Depth interviews are
much the same as a psychological, clinical interview, but with a different purpose. The
researcher asks many questions and follows up each answer with probes for additional
elaboration.
Like focus group moderators, the interviewer’s role is critical in a depth interview. He or she
must be a highly skilled individual who can encourage the respondent to talk freely without
influencing the direction of the conversation. Probing questions are critical.
Each depth interview may last more than an hour. Thus, it is a time-consuming process if
multiple interviews are conducted. Not only does the interview have to be conducted, but each
interview produces about the same amount of text as does a focus group interview. This has to be
analysed and interpreted by the researcher. A third major issue stems from the necessity of
recording both surface reactions and subconscious motivations of the respondent. Analysis and
interpretation of such data are highly subjective, and it is difficult to settle on a true
interpretation. Depth interviews provide more insight into a particular individual than do focus
groups. In addition, since the setting isn’t really social, respondents are more likely to discuss
sensitive topics than are those in a focus group. Depth interviews are particularly advantageous
when some unique or unusual behavior is being studied.

Projective Research Techniques

A projective technique is an indirect means of questioning enabling respondents to project
beliefs and feelings onto a third party, an inanimate object, or a task situation. Projective
techniques usually encourage respondents to describe a situation in their own words with little
prompting by the interviewer. Individuals are expected to interpret the situation within the
context of their own experiences, attitudes, and personalities and to express opinions and
emotions that may be hidden from others and possibly themselves. Some of these techniques are
as follows.
Word or picture association
Participants are asked to match images, experiences, emotions, products and services, even
people and places, to whatever is being studied. “Tell me what you think of when you think of
Kellogg’s Special K cereal.”
Sentence completion
Participants are asked to complete a sentence. “Complete this sentence: People who buy over the
Internet . . .”
Cartoons or empty balloons
Participants are asked to write the dialog for a cartoonlike picture. “What will the customer
comment when she sees the salesperson approaching her in the new-car showroom.”
Thematic Apperception Test
Participants are confronted with a picture (usually a photograph or drawing) and asked to
describe how the person in the picture feels and thinks.
Component sorts
Participants are presented with flash cards containing component features and asked to create
new combinations.
Sensory sorts
Participants are presented with scents, textures, and sounds, usually verbalized on cards, and
asked to arrange them by one or more criteria.
Experiments are studies involving intervention by the researcher beyond that required for
measurement. The usual intervention is to manipulate some variable in a setting and observe how
it affects the subjects being studied (e.g., people or physical entities). The researcher manipulates
the independent or explanatory variable and then observes whether the hypothesized dependent
variable is affected by the intervention.
There is at least one independent variable (IV) and one dependent variable (DV) in a causal
relationship. We hypothesize that in some way the IV “causes” the DV to occur.

Advantages
The experiment comes closer than any primary data collection method to accomplishing this
goal. The foremost advantage is the researcher’s ability to manipulate the independent variable.
The second advantage of the experiment is that contamination from extraneous variables can be
controlled more effectively than in other designs. Third, the convenience and cost of
experimentation are superior to other methods. Fourth, replication - repeating an experiment with
different subject groups and conditions - leads to the discovery of an average effect of the
independent variable across people, situations, and times.
Conducting an Experiment
Seven activities the researcher must accomplish to make the endeavor successful:
1. Select relevant variables.
2. Specify the treatment levels.
3. Control the experimental environment.
4. Choose the experimental design.
5. Select and assign the subjects.
6. Pilot test, revise, and test.
7. Analyze the data.

Validity in Experimentation - Validity can be understood as whether a measure accomplishes

its claims. There are two types of validity. Internal validity - do the conclusions we draw about a
demonstrated experimental relationship truly imply cause? and external validity - does an
observed causal relationship generalize across persons, settings, and times.

Independent Variable Main Effects and Interaction – Main effect refers to the experimental
difference in means between the different levels of any single experimental variable. An
interaction effect is due to a specific combination of independent variables.

Experimental and Control Groups - An experimental group is one in which an experimental

treatment is administered. A control group is one in which no experimental treatment is
administered.

Randomization - The random assignment of subject and treatments to groups - is one device for
equally distributing the effects of extraneous variables to all conditions.

Experimental Research Designs - The many experimental designs vary widely in their power
to control contamination of the relationship between independent and dependent variables.
Symbolism for Diagramming Experimental Designs - The following symbols will be used in
describing the various experimental designs:
X = exposure of a group to an experimental treatment
O = observation or measurement of the dependent variable; if more than one observation or
measurement is taken, O1, O2, etc. indicate temporal order
R = random assignment of test units; R symbolizes that individual selected as subjects for the
experiment are randomly assigned to the experimental groups

After-Only Study
This may be diagrammed as follows:

X O
Treatment or manipulation Observation or measurement
of independent variable of dependent variable

One-Group Pretest - Post test Design

O1 X O2
Pretest Manipulation Posttest
The difference between O2 and O1 (O2 – O1) is the measure of the influence of the experimental
treatment.

Static Group Comparison

This design provides for two groups, one of which receives the experimental stimulus while the
other serves as a control.

Experimental group: X O1
Control group: O2

The results of the static group design are computed by subtracting the observed results in the
control group from those in the experimental group (O1 – O2).

Pretest–Post test Control Group Design

This design consists of adding a control group to the one-group pretest–post test design and
assigning the subjects to either of the groups by a random procedure (R). As the diagram
indicates, the subjects in the experimental group are tested before and after being exposed to the
treatment. The control group is tested at the same two times as the experimental group, but
subjects are not exposed to the experimental treatment.

R O1 X O2
R O3 O4

The effect of the experimental treatment equals: (O2 – O1) – (O4 – O3)
Observation
In business research, observation is a systematic process of recording behavioral patterns of
people, objects, and occurrences as they happen. Observation becomes a tool for scientific
inquiry when it meets several conditions:
■The observation serves a formulated research purpose.
■The observation is planned systematically.
■The observation is recorded systematically and related to general propositions, rather than
simply reflecting a set of interesting curiosities.
■The observation is subjected to checks or controls on validity and reliability.

What can be observed

The Nature of Observation Studies

Business researchers can observe people, objects, events, or other phenomena using either
human observers or machines designed for specific observation tasks. Human observation best
suits a situation or behavior that is not easily predictable in advance of the research. Mechanical
observation, as performed by supermarket scanners or traffic counters, can very accurately
record situations or types of behavior that are routine, repetitive, or programmatic.
A situation in which an observer’s presence is known to the subject involves visible
observation. A situation in which a subject is unaware that observation is taking place is hidden
observation. Hidden, unobtrusive observation minimizes respondent error. Asking subjects to
participate in the research is not required when they are unaware that they are being observed.

Mechanical Observation
In many situations, the primary - and sometimes the only - means of observation is mechanical
rather than human. Video cameras, traffic counters, and other machines help observe and record
behavior.
Television monitoring - Computerized mechanical observation used to obtain television ratings.
A click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who are exposed to an advertisement
who actually click on the corresponding hyperlink which takes them to the company’s website.
Measuring Physiological Reactions

Eye-tracking monitor - A mechanical device used to observe eye movements; some eye
monitors use infrared light beams to measure unconscious eye movements.

Pupilometer - A mechanical device used to observe and record changes in the diameter of a
subject's pupils.

Psychogalvanometer - A device that measures galvanic skin response, a measure of involuntary

changes in the electrical resistance of the skin. Excitement increases the body’s perspiration rate,
which increases the electrical resistance of the skin. The test is an indicator of emotional arousal
or tension.
Survey is a research method used for collecting data from a predefined group of respondents to
gain information and insights into various topics of interest.
Respondents - People who verbally answer an interviewer’s questions or provide answers to
written questions.
A structured question limits the number of allowable responses. For example, the respondent
may be instructed to choose one alternative response such as under 18, 18–35, or over 35 to
indicate his or her age. An unstructured question does not restrict the respondent’s answers. An
open-ended, unstructured question such as, “Why do you shop at Walmart?” allows the
respondent considerable freedom in answering.
Undisguised questions - Straightforward questions that assume the respondent is willing to
answer.
Disguised questions - Indirect questions that assume the purpose of the study must be hidden
from the respondent.
Personal interview - Face-to-face communication in which an interviewer asks a respondent to
answer questions. Mall intercept interviews allow many interviews to be conducted quickly.
Often, respondents are intercepted in public areas of shopping malls and then asked to come to a
more private research facility within the mall to taste new food items or to view advertisements.
Telephone interviews - Personal interviews conducted by telephone, the mainstay of
commercial survey research.

Comparison of Communication Approaches

Self-Administered Survey Telephone Survey Survey via Personal
Interview
Description Questionnaires are: People selected to be People selected to be
a. Mailed or couriered to be part of the sample are part of the sample are
self-administered - interviewed on the interviewed in
with return mechanism telephone by a trained person by a trained
generally included. interviewer. interviewer.
Advantages • Allows contact with • Lower costs than • Good cooperation
otherwise inaccessible personal interview. from participants.
participants (e.g., CEOs). • Expanded geographic • Interviewer can
• Incentives may be used to coverage without answer questions
increase response rate. dramatic increase in about survey, probe
• Often lowest-cost option. costs. for answers, use
• Expanded geographic • Uses fewer, more follow-up questions,
coverage without increase in highly and gather
costs. skilled interviewers. information by
• Requires minimal staff. • Reduced interviewer observation.
• Perceived as more bias. • Special visual aids
anonymous. • Fastest completion and scoring devices
• Allows participants time to time. can be used.
think about questions. • Illiterate
participants can be
reached.
Disadvantage • Low response rate in some • Response rate is lower • High costs.
s modes. than for personal • Need for highly
• No interviewer interview. trained interviewers.
intervention available for • Interview length must • Longer period
probing or explanation. be limited. needed in the field
• Cannot be long or • Many phone numbers collecting data.
complex. are unlisted or not • May be wide
• Accurate mailing lists working, making geographic
needed. directory listings dispersion.
• Often participants unreliable.
returning survey represent
extremes of the population –
skewed responses.
Secondary data - Data that has been previously collected for some purpose other than the one at
hand. Following are the advantages of secondary data.
The primary advantage of secondary data is their availability. Obtaining secondary data is almost
always faster and less expensive than acquiring primary data. This is particularly true when
researchers use electronic retrieval to access data stored digitally. In many situations, collecting
secondary data is instantaneous and free.
An inherent disadvantage of secondary data is that they were not designed to meet the
researchers’ specific needs. Thus, researchers must ask how pertinent the data are to their
particular project. To evaluate secondary data, researchers should ask questions such as these:
Is the subject matter consistent with our problem definition?
Do the data apply to the population of interest?
Do the data apply to the time period of interest?
Do the secondary data appear in the correct units of measurement?
Do the data cover the subject of interest in adequate detail?
Secondary data often do not adequately satisfy research needs because of (1) variation in
definitions of terms, (2) the use of different units of measurement, (3) inadequate information to
verify the data’s validity, and (4) data that are too old.

When secondary data are reported in a format that does not exactly meet the researcher’s needs,
data conversion may be necessary (also called data transformation), is the process of changing
the original form of data to a format more suitable for achieving a stated research objective.

Broad objective Specific Research Example

Fact-finding Identifying consumption patterns
Tracking trends
Model building Estimating market potential
Forecasting sales
Selecting trade areas and sites
Database marketing Enhancing customer databases
Developing prospect lists

Sources of Secondary Data

Internal and proprietary data - Secondary data that originate inside the organization. Most
organizations routinely gather, record, and store internal data to help them solve future problems.
An organization’s accounting system can usually provide a wealth of information.

External data are generated or recorded by an entity other than the researcher’s organization. The
government, newspapers and journals, trade associations, and other organizations create or
produce information. Traditionally, this information has been in published form, perhaps
available from a public library, trade association, or government agency. Libraries and the
internet are also the source of secondary data. Some of the producers of secondary data are
government sources, media sources, trade association sources and commercial sources.