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The Research Process: Elements of Research Design: Group 6 Apekshya Bhusal Dixa Shrestha Erika Koirala

This document discusses elements of research design. It outlines key considerations in designing a research study such as purpose, type of investigation, extent of researcher interference, unit of analysis, and time horizon. Descriptive, exploratory, hypothesis testing, and case study are identified as common study purposes. Causal and correlation studies are two main types. Researcher interference varies from minimal in correlation studies to manipulating variables in causal studies. Cross-sectional and longitudinal time horizons as well as different units of analysis like individual, group, and organization are also covered. The importance of carefully selecting research design elements based on the research problem is emphasized.

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56 views37 pages

The Research Process: Elements of Research Design: Group 6 Apekshya Bhusal Dixa Shrestha Erika Koirala

This document discusses elements of research design. It outlines key considerations in designing a research study such as purpose, type of investigation, extent of researcher interference, unit of analysis, and time horizon. Descriptive, exploratory, hypothesis testing, and case study are identified as common study purposes. Causal and correlation studies are two main types. Researcher interference varies from minimal in correlation studies to manipulating variables in causal studies. Cross-sectional and longitudinal time horizons as well as different units of analysis like individual, group, and organization are also covered. The importance of carefully selecting research design elements based on the research problem is emphasized.

Uploaded by

erikericash
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The research process:

elements of research design


Group 6
Apekshya Bhusal
Dixa Shrestha
Erika Koirala

Research Design
Detailed outline of how a research shall be

conducted
Road map that gives direction to the

researcher for solving the problem in hand

Elements/Issues related to Research Design


1. Purpose of the study
2. Location
3. Types of investigation
4. Extent of researcher interference
5. Time horizon (Cross sectional and longitudinal)
6. Unit of analysis
7. Sampling Design

Issues contd..
8. Data Collection Method
9. Measurement and measures
10. Data analysis

Research Design
Emphasis on the elements of research design

depends upon the purpose of the study

Example 1: If a critical financial decision to invest

millions of dollars in a project is based on the results


of research investigation, then careful attention to
detail is necessary to ensure that the study has
acceptable level of confidence

Example 2: Purpose of the research is to

generate a profile of managers in an


organization to publish a newsletter
Researcher should ensure that added

sophistication and rigor of research should


add benefit and commensurate with larger
investment of resources

1. Purpose of the study


A. Exploratory Study
B. Descriptive Study
C. Hypothesis Testing
D. Case study analysis

A. Exploratory study
Undertaken when not much is known about the situation
Undertaken to better comprehend the nature of problem

Example: A service provider would want to know

why his customers are switching to other service


providers

Exploratory study- Example


1. Manager of MNC is curious to know if work
ethic values of employees working in its
subsidiary in Pennathur city are different
from those of Americans
2. Researcher want to know the factors that
influence the advancement of woman in
organizations

A.Exploratory Study
Can be undertaken
Interview
Focus group discussion

Doing a study for the first time in a

particular organization does not make the


research exploratory in nature

Descriptive study
Undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe

the characteristics of variables in a situation


Example
A bank manager wants to have a profile of the individuals

who have loan payments outstanding for 6 months and


more. It would include details of their average age,
earnings, nature of occupation. This might help him to
elicit further information or decide right away on the types
of individuals who should be made ineligible for loans in
the future.

Descriptive study
Undertaken to learn about and describe the

characteristics of a group of a employee


Undertaken to understand the characteristics of

organization that follow certain characteristics


Goal
Provide a researcher a profile or to describe

relevant aspect of phenomenon of interest from an


individual, organizational, industry perspective etc

B. Descriptive Study
Descriptive study helps to:
Understand the characteristics of a group

in a situation
Think systematically about aspects in a

given situation
Offer ideas for further probe and research

Situation warranting Descriptive


Study
Marketing Manager want to develop pricing,

sales, distribution and advertising strategy


Might ask information regarding the
competitors
1. Percentage of company that have prices higher and
lower than the industry average, terms of sale, control
of price
2. Percentage of competitors hiring in-house staff and
independent agents
3. Types of distribution channel used, percentage of
customers using each
4. Percentage of competitors spending more on
advertising than the firm using less
5. Percentage of those using web to sell the product

B. Descriptive study
Quantitative data in terms of frequency,

mean, standard deviation are essential for


descriptive study

C. Hypothesis Testing
Explain the nature of certain relationship
Establish the differences among the group
Establish the independence of two or more

factors in a situation

Explain the nature of


relationship

Marketing manager wants to know if the

sales will double if he doubles advertising


dollars
Hypothesis: If advertising is increased sales will go up

Establish the differences among


groups

Hypothesis: More men than women are

whistle blowers

Establish the independence of two


or more factors

Hypothesis: Working the night shift (as

opposed to day shift) is related to whether


or not one is married.

D. Case Analysis
Involves in-depth, contextual analysis of

matters related to similar situations in


other organizations
Case Analysis as a problem solving

technique are not used frequently


Qualitative in nature

2. Type of Investigation
I.

Causal study

II.

Correlation study

III. Causal Study:


. To establish a definite cause and effect

relationship
. Researcher interest is to delineate the factors

undoubtedly causing the problem

II. Correlational Study


Conducted when a researcher is interested

in delineating the important variables


associated with the problem

Example: Causal and Correlational


study
Causal study question: Does smoking

causes cancer?
Correlational study question: Are smoking

and cancer related


Are smoking, drinking, chewing tobacco

associated with cancer? If so, which of


these contributes most to the variance in

Extent of Researcher Interference


with the Study
Correlation study: normal flow of work
E.g.: factor influencing training effectiveness-

develop a theoretical framework, collect relevant


data and analyze them to come up with the findings
Researcher interference in the routine flow of work

is minimal

Causal study: manipulate variables to study

effect on dependent variable of interest


E.g. : influence of lighting in the work

performance
Considerable researcher interference with

the natural and normal setting

Study Setting : Contrived and Non


contrived
Field study: correlational studies done in organization
Field experiment : studies conducted to establish

cause and effect relationship using the same natural


environment in which employees normally function
Lab experiment: experiment done to establish a

cause and effect relationships creating an artificial


environment in which all the extraneous factors are
strictly controlled

Unit of Analysis
Level of aggregation of the data collected

during the subsequent data analysis stage


Individual: motivational level of employees

in general
Dyad: husband-wife interaction in families/

supervisor subordinate relationships in


workplace

Unit of Analysis
Group: # of employees from each department

using the new IS


Division: P&G- divisions (soap, paper, oil, etc) that

made profit over 12% during the current year


Industry: job placement cell which industry

employed most of their graduating students


Countries: MNC- profit of various regional centers

for each country are aggregated

Time horizon : Cross sectional


studies
Data gathered just once , over a period of days

or weeks or months.
Also known as cross sectional studies .
Example :
Data collected by stock broker to study

turbulence in stock market at that period of time .


Drug companys research for new obesity pill .
( how many obese people are interested in
buying new pill ? )
In both example data collected at one period of

time was sufficient .

Time horizon: Longitudinal studies


Study of people or phenomena at more than one

point in time in order to answer research question


Example Study of employee behavior before and

after the hange in top management .


Study is carried out longitudinally across the

period of time .
It takes more time , cost , resources than cross

sectional study

Cont. (Longitudinal studies)


Well planned longitudinal relationship help

find cause and effect relationship


Like sales volume of product before and

after advertisement .
Experiential design are longitudinal study

since data are collected before and after


manipulation .

Review of the element of research


design
The researcher makes the appropriate decision to

be made in the study design based upon problem


definition
Decision regarding :
Propose of the study
Type of investigation
Extent of researchers interference
Study setting
Unit analysis and time horizon

Contd.
Compromise ideal research design due to

cost and time constraint


Rigorous and costly research design is
necessary if result of the study are critical
for making important decision .
Researcher has to be clear about each
aspect discussed in the chapter before
collecting the data

Managerial implication
Knowledge about research design issue help the

manager to :

Understand what researcher is trying to do


Why report sometimes indicate small sample

size when lot of time is spent to collect data


from different sources .
Help the manager to know what type of design

will yield acceptable result in efficient manner .

For example
Which variable is needed /which is not

needed and directly effects or does not


effect the employee performance .
This decision might give economy in

resources
Knowledge about interconnection among

various aspect of research design help


manager to
Call for the most effective study

Main advantage
Understand relationship between casual and

correlational studies
Manager wont make casual assumption
A could cause B
B could cause A
Both A and B could convary ( because of third

variable )
Study and intelligently comment on research proposal .

THANK YOU

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