THE RESEARCH PROCESS:

ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN

Chapter 5
Objectives
Understand the different aspects relevant to designing a
research study
Identify the scope of any given study and the end use of
the results.
Decide, for any given situation, the type of investigation
needed the study setting, the extent of researcher
interference, the unit of analysis, and the time horizon of
the study
Identify which of the two, a causal or correlational stud,
would be more appropriate in a given situation.
 DETAILS OF STUDY MEASUREMENT

Purpose of Types of Extent of Study setting Measurement

the investigation researcher and measures
study interference Contrived
Establishing: Non- Operational
Exploration - Causal Minimal: contrived definition
P Description Relationships Studying events Items
as they normally
R Hypothesis - Correlations
occur
(measures)
DATA
Testing - Group Scaling
O differences, Categorizing ANALYSIS
Manipulation
B ranks
and/or control
Coding
1.Feel for data
L and/or
simulation
E
M 2.Goodness of
data
S
T
A 3.Hypotheses
T testing
Unit of analysis Sampling Time horizon Data collection
M (population to Design method
E be studied)
Probability One shot Observation
N /non probability (cross Interview
T Individuals sectional) Questionnaire
Dyads Sample size Physical
Groups (n) Longitudinal Measurement
Organizations Unobtrusive
Machines etc.
 Research Design
After formulating the theoretical framework and writing up
hypothesis, the NEXT STEP is to come up with our research
design

Research design is a FULL DESCRIPTION of how we are going

to CARRY OUT our research; this can only be done after we are
very clear about our research question and have identified our
theoretical framework we are going to use
 Research Design
Some of the DECISIONS we NEED to
make about our research are as follows:
o Purpose of study (what is the motivation?)
o Location of study
o Type of investigation (depends on the objective)
o Extent of manipulation by researcher (contrived verses non-contrived)
o Temporal aspect (Time horizon)
o Unit of analysis
1.Purpose of the Study: Exploratory, Descriptive, Hypothesis
testing (Analytical and Predictive), Case study analysis
a.Exploratory Study
When? when not much is known about the subject, or
no information is available
Why? To better comprehend the nature of the problem /
and advancing knowledge through subsequent theory
building and hypotheses testing
How? Qualitative studies when data are collected
through observations or interviews, focus group
interviews, online focus group interviews
Purpose of the Study: Exploratory, Descriptive, Hypothesis
testing (Analytical and Predictive), Case study analysis
b.Descriptive study
When? when we want to ascertain and be able to
describe the characteristics of the variables of interest
in a situation
Why? To offer to the researcher a profile or to describe
relevant aspects of the phenomenon of interest from an
individual, organizational, industry-oriented, or other
perspective
- Understand the characteristics of a group in a given
situation
- Think systematically about aspects in a given situation
- Offer ideas for further probe and research
 Purpose of the Study: Exploratory, Descriptive, Hypothesis
testing (Analytical and Predictive), Case study analysis

- Help make certain simple decisions (such as how

many and what kinds of individuals should be
transferred from one department to another)

How? Quantitative, descriptive statistics

(frequencies, or mean, and standard deviations),
usually conducted in natural setting
Purpose of the Study: Exploratory, Descriptive, Hypothesis
testing (Analytical and Predictive), Case study analysis
c.Hypothesis Testing
When? When the nature of certain relationships need
to be explained or establishes differences among
groups, or the independence of two or more factors in a
situation.
Why? To explain the variance in the dependent variable
or to predict organizational outcomes.
How? Quantitative (t test, etc.)
Purpose of the Study: Exploratory, Descriptive, Hypothesis
testing (Analytical and Predictive), Case study analysis
d.Case Study
When? A problem solving method, or for understanding
phenomena of interest and generating further
knowledge in that area.
Why?
How? Involve in-depth, contextual analyses of matters
relating to similar situations in other organizations.
2.Types of Investigation: Causal vs. Correlational

a.Causal
A study in which the researcher wants to delineate the
cause of one or more problems
ex variable X causes variable Y to happen
A causal study question: Does smoking cause cancer?

b.Correlational
When the researcher is interested in delineating the
important variables associated with the problem
A correlational study question: Are smoking and cancer
related?
Types of Investigation: Causal vs. Correlational

OR
Are smoking, drinking and chewing tobacco associated
with cancer? If so, which of these contributes most to
the variance in the dependent variable?

Example:
Fears of an earthquake predicted recently in the New Madrid fault zone were
instrumental (i.e. causal) in an unprecedented number of house owners in the
Midwest region taking out an earthquake insurance policy.

Increases in interest rates and property taxes, the recession, and the predicted
earthquake considerably slowed down the business of real estate agents in the
Midwest.
3.Extent of Researcher Interference with
the Study
The extent of interference by the researcher with
the natural surrounding has a direct bearing on
whether the study undertaken is CAUSAL OR
CORRELATIONAL
Interfere causal
No interference correlation
A researcher may choose to observe or
distribute questionnaires to collect data what is
naturally happening and to see if there are
relationships between the independent variables
and the dependent variables
Extent of researcher interference in the study;
Study Setting: Contrived and Non Contrived
Researcher Interference
Minimum interference
Moderate interference
Maximum interference

Study Setting
Non Contrived ( in natural setting; ex correlational
study)
Contrived Setting (away from the natural setting lab
experiment)
 4.Study Setting
Contrived (artificial) and Non contrived
Research can be done in a NATURAL SETTING
where objects of study is in their natural
environment or in an artificial environment
Natural environment is referred to as NON
CONTRIVED SETTING while an artificial
environment is referred to as a contrived setting
Correlational studies are invariably conducted in
NON CONTRIVED settings whereas most rigorous
causal studies (like experiments) are done in
CONTRIVED SETTINGS
 Study Setting
Contrived and Non contrived
Correlational studies done in natural settings are called
FIELD STUDIES
Studies conducted to establish cause and effect
relationship in natural setting is called FIELD
EXPERIMENTS (ALSO CALLED QUASI-
EXPERIMENTS)
Studies conducted in artificial, contrived environment in
which extraneous factors are strictly controlled is called
LAB EXPERIMENTS
 Study Setting- summary

Type of Study Setting

Field survey Variables not controlled
Non-contrived setting
Quasi-experiment Variables controlled
Non contrived setting
Experiment Variables controlled
Contrived setting
5.Unit of analysis: individuals, dyads, groups,
organizations, culture
Unit of analysis the level of aggregation of the data
collected during the subsequent data analysis stage

Individual
Ex motivational level of employees unit of analysis is
individual employee

Dyads
Pair interactions, example husband and wife
Unit of analysis: individuals, dyads, groups,
organizations, culture
Groups
Ex group decision making patterns

Organizations
A study of multinational companies in Malaysia unit of
analysis organizations

Cultures
- A study of differences in initiation ceremonies into
adulthood among boys in African countries
6.Time horizon: cross-sectional versus longitudinal
studies
Longitudinal Studies
Data collected at different points in time to study
change, trends or associations (Miller, 1997)

- Trend studies (general populations sampled at each

point- same individuals are not sampled) (Miller, 1997)
A longitudinal study is a study of a phenomena at MORE
THAN one point in time to answer the research question
For example, we may want to see if there is a difference
in performance before and after employees go through
training
Medical studies of the effects of a specific medicine can
be designed where data is collected before and after
patients consume the medicine
 Time Horizon
Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Studies

Time1 Time2 Time3

Collect Collect Collect
data data data

Significant
Time1 event Time2
Collect Compare Collect
data data
Time horizon: cross-sectional versus longitudinal
studies
- Cohort study A specific population is followed over a
period of years and sampled at each data collection
(L Miller, 1997)

- Panel studies A sample is selected from the

population at the initial data collection point and the
same sample is used at each data collection point,
Allow us to look at changes in individuals as well as
the group (L Miller, 1997)
Managerial Implications

Discuss managerial implications in understanding about

research design.
Summary

1. Write/Explain in one sentence what are the elements of

research design.
2. Briefly explain elements of research design.