THE RESEARCH PROCESS:
ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
The Research Process
The Research Design
• Many definitions of research design:
• Constitutes the blueprint for collection, measurement,
and analysis of data
• Aids the researcher in the allocation of limited
resources by posing crucial choices in methodology
• The plan and structure of investigation so conceived as
to obtain answers to research questions
• Express both the structure of the research problem and
the plan of investigation used to obtain empirical
evidence on those relationships
The Research Design (Cont’d)
• The essentials of research design:
• An activity- and time-based plan
• A plan always based in the research question
• A guide for selecting sources and type of
information
• A framework for specifying the relationships
among the study’s variables
• A procedural outline for every research activity
The Research Design (Cont’d)
• Issues relating to decisions regarding:
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The purpose for the study
Study setting
Type of investigation
Extent of researcher interference
Time horizon
Unit of analysis
The Research Design (Cont’d)
• Issues relating to decisions regarding
(Cont’d):
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Sampling design
Data collection methods
Measurement
Data analysis
The Research Design (Cont’d)
DETAILS OF STUDY
Purpose of the study
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Exploration
Description
Hypothesis testing
Type of investigation
Establishing:
1. Causal relationship
2. Correlations
3. Group differences,
ranks, etc
Extent of researcher
interference
Minimal: studying
events as they
normally occur
Manipulation and/or
control and/or
simulation
MEASUREMENT
Study Setting
Contrived
Non contrived
Measurement and
measures
Operational definition
Items (measure)
Scaling
Categorizing
Coding
DATA ANALYSIS
1. Feel for data
2. Goodness of
data
Unit of analysis
(population to be
studied)
Individuals
Dyads
Groups
Organizations
Etc
Sampling design
Time horizon
Probability/
nonprobability
Cross sectional
Sample size
Longitudinal
Data collection
method
Observation
Interview
Questionnaire
Physical
measurement
Unobstrusive
3. Hypothesis
testing
Purpose of the study
• Exploratory:
• Undertaken when not much is known about the
situation at hand, or no information is available
on how similar problems or research issues
have been solved in the past
Purpose of the study (Cont’d)
• Descriptive:
• Undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to
describe the characteristics of the variable of
interest in a situation
Purpose of the study (Cont’d)
• Hypotheses testing:
• Undertaken to explain the variance in the
independent variable or to predict
organizational outcomes
Type of Investigation
• Causal
• The study in which the researcher wants to
delineate the cause of one or more variables
• Correlation
• When the researcher is interested in delineating
the important variables associated with the
problems
Extent of Researcher Interference
• Minimal
• Moderate
• Excessive
Study Setting
• Contrived
• Artificial settings
• Noncontrived
• Natural environment
Unit of analysis
• Refers to the level of aggregation if the data
collected during the subsequent data
analysis stage
• Individual, dyads, groups, etc
Time Horizon
• Cross sectional
• Data are gathered just once
• Longitudinal
• Data are gathered at more than one point in
time