Scribd
Upload
12 views17 pages

Lecture 10

Uploaded by

kzaidnba
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
12 views17 pages

Lecture 10

Uploaded by

kzaidnba
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 17

B TECH Open Elective (VII SEM)

Research Methods in Management

Elements of research design


Learning Objectives
• Explain what is meant by a research design.
• Develop an appropriate research design for any given study.
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.
ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN

• Research strategies
• Extent of researcher interference with the study
• Study setting
• Unit of analysis
• Time horizon
ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
Research strategies
A research strategy is a plan that will help you to meet your research
objective(s) and to answer the research questions of your study.
Research strategies

• Experiments
• Surveys
• Ethnography
• Case studies
• Grounded theory
• Action research
Experiments
• The purpose of an experiment is to study causal relationships between variables.

• Experimental designs are less useful or appropriate for answering _______ and _______e research
questions.

• 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 effect of this
manipulation on the dependent variable.

• An experimental design is a very strong design to use.

• Experimental Designs are not always feasible in an applied research context where the researcher
tries to solve a management problem.

• The simplest experimental design is a two‐group, post‐test‐only, randomized experiment. (Eg. Piece
wages V/s Hourly wages)
Survey research
• A survey is a system for collecting information from or about people to describe, compare, or explain
their knowledge, attitudes, and behavior (Fink, 2003).
• Surveys are commonly used in exploratory and descriptive research to collect data about people,
events, or situations.
• A large number of such surveys are one‐time surveys. Other surveys are continuing, allowing the
researcher to observe changes over time.
• The questions in survey instruments are typically arranged into self‐administered questionnaires that a
respondent completes on his or her own, either on paper or via the computer.
• Other survey instruments are interviews and structured observation.
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” (Markus & Fischer, 1986, p. 18).
• Ethnography involves immersion in the particular culture of the social group that
is being studied
• It thus aims to generate an understanding of the culture and behavior of a social
group from an “insider’s point of view.”
Grounded theory

• Grounded theory is a systematic set of procedures to develop an


inductively derived theory from the data (Strauss & Corbin, 1990).
• Important tools of grounded theory are theoretical sampling, coding,
and constant comparison.
Action research
• Action research is a research strategy aimed at effecting planned changes.

• The researcher begins with a problem that is already identified, and gathers relevant
data to provide a tentative problem solution. This solution is then implemented. The
effects are then evaluated, defined, and diagnosed, and the research continues on an
ongoing basis until the problem is fully resolved.
Extent of researcher interference with the study

• A correlational study is conducted in a natural environment (for instance, a


supermarket or the factory floor) with minimal interference by the
researcher with the normal flow of events.
• In studies conducted to establish cause‐and‐effect relationships, the
researcher tries to manipulate certain variables so as to study the effects of
such manipulation on the dependent variable of interest. In other words,
the researcher deliberately changes certain variables in the setting and
interferes with the events as they normally occur.
Study setting: contrived and non-contrived
• Business research can be done in the natural environment where events proceed normally (i.e., in
non-contrived settings) or in artificial, contrived settings.
• Exploratory and descriptive (correlational) studies are invariably conducted in non‐contrived
settings, whereas most causal studies are done in contrived lab settings.
• Studies done in non‐contrived settings are called field studies. Studies conducted to establish
relationships using the same natural environment in which the subjects under study (employees,
consumers, managers, and the like) normally function are called field experiments.
• Experiments done to establish a cause‐and‐effect relationship require the creation of an artificial,
contrived environment in which all the extraneous factors are strictly controlled. Similar subjects
are chosen carefully to respond to certain manipulated stimuli. These studies are referred to as
lab experiments.
Unit of analysis: individuals, dyads, groups, organizations, cultures

• The unit of analysis refers to the level of aggregation of the data collected during the subsequent
data analysis stage.
• If the researcher is interested in studying two‐person interactions, then several two‐person groups,
also known as dyads.
• If the problem statement is related to group effectiveness, then the unit of analysis will be at the
group level.
• It is necessary to decide on the unit of analysis even as we formulate the research question, since
the data collection methods, sample size, and even the variables included in the framework may
sometimes be determined or guided by the level at which data are aggregated for analysis.
• The Chief Financial Officer of a manufacturing company wants to know how many of the staff would be
interested in attending a three‐day seminar on making appropriate investment decisions.
• Having read about the benefits of mentoring, a human resources manager wants to first identify the
number of employees in three departments of the organization who are in mentoring relationships, and
then find out what the jointly perceived benefits of such a relationship are.
• The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a multinational corporation wants to know the profits made during
the past five years by each of the subsidiaries in England, Germany, France, and Spain.
• A manager wants to see the patterns of usage of the newly installed information system (IS) by the
production, sales, and operations personnel.
• Procter & Gamble wants to see which of its various divisions (soap, paper, oil, etc.) have made profits of
over 12% during the current year.
• An employment survey specialist wants to see the proportion of the workforce employed by the health
care, utilities, transportation, and manufacturing industries. In this case, the researcher has to
aggregate the data relating to each of the subunits comprised in each of the industries
Time horizon: cross-sectional versus longitudinal studies

Cross-sectional studies
• A study can be undertaken in which data are gathered just once, perhaps over a period of days or
weeks or months, in order to answer a research question. Such studies are called one-shot or
cross-sectional studies
Longitudinal studies
• When data on the dependent variable are gathered at two or more points in time to answer the
research question, are called longitudinal studies.
• Well‐planned longitudinal studies can, among other things, help to identify cause‐and‐effect
relationships.
• Experimental designs invariably are longitudinal studies, since data are collected both before and
after a manipulation. Field studies may also be longitudinal.

You might also like