Chapter_4_Research_Design lecture ppt .ppt

ppt

1. Slide 5.1
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Chapter 5
Formulating the research design

2. Slide 5.2
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Underlying issues of data collection and
analysis
"Well begun is half done“
--Aristotle, quoting an old proverb

3. Slide 5.3
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Underlying issues of data collection and
analysis
•Research design focuses upon
turning a research question and
objectives into a research project. It
considers:
•Research strategies
•Research choices and
•Time horizons

4. Slide 5.4
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Research Design and Tactics
The research onion
Saunders et al, (2009)
Figure 5.1 The research ‘onion’

5. Slide 5.5
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Research Design
The research design needs
•Clear objectives derived from the research question
•To specify sources of data collection
•To consider constraints and ethical issues
•Valid reasons for your choice of design

6. Slide 5.6
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
The Process of Research Design
•As you start thinking about your
•research question(s) you will also be
•thinking of the purpose of your research

7. Slide 5.7
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Classification of the research purpose
•Exploratory research
•Descriptive studies
•Explanatory studies

8. Slide 5.8
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Classification of the research purpose
•Exploratory research:
•Find out what is happening, to clarify your
understanding of a problem.
•3 ways for conducting:
–A search of the literature
–Interview experts in the subject
–Conducting focus group interviews
Flexible and adaptable to change

9. Slide 5.9
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Classification of the research purpose
•Descriptive studies:
•Its object is to portray an accurate profile of persons,
events or situations.
•Usually a research cannot be simply descriptive since
the reader’s reaction would be SO WHAT?
•So it is a means to an end, not an end in itself

10. Slide 5.10
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Classification of the research purpose
•Explanatory studies:
•Studies that establish causal relationships
between variables

11. Slide 5.11
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Research Strategies
Experiment Action research
Grounded theory Survey
Ethnography Case study
Archival research

12. Slide 5.12
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Research Strategies
An experiment will involve
•Definition of a theoretical hypothesis
•Selection of samples from know populations
•Random allocation of samples
•Introduction of planned intervention
•Measurement on a small number of dependent
variables
•Control of all other variables

13. Slide 5.13
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Research Strategies
A classic experiment strategy
Saunders et al, (2009)
Figure 5.2 A classic experiment strategy

14. Slide 5.14
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Research Strategies
Survey: key features
•Popular in business research
•Perceived as authoritative
•Allows collection of quantative data
•Data can be analysed quantitatively
•Samples need to be representative
•Gives the researcher independence
•Structured observation and interviews can be used

15. Slide 5.15
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Research Strategies
Case Study: key features
•Provides a rich understanding of a real life context
•Uses and triangulates multiple sources of data
A case study can be categorised in four ways
and based on two dimensions:
single case v. multiplecase (more ability to generalize)
holisticcase(choose 1 organization as a whole)
v. embedded case(some departments or activities)
Yin (2003)

16. Slide 5.16
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Research Strategies
Action research: key features
•Research IN action -not ON action focusing on the purpose
•Involvement of practitioners in the research
•The researcher becomes part of the organisation
•Promotes change within the organisation
•Can have two distinct focii (Schein, 1999) –
the aim of the research and the needs of the sponsor

17. Slide 5.17
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Research Strategies
The action research spiral
Saunders et al, (2009)Figure 5.3 The action research spiral

18. Slide 5.18
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Research Strategies
Grounded theory: key features
Inductive deductive approach
•Theory is built through induction and deduction
•Helps to predict and explain behaviour
•Develops theory from data generated by
observations
•Is an interpretative process, not a logico-
deductive one
Based on Suddaby (2006)

19. Slide 5.19
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Research Strategies
Ethnography: key features
Inductive approach
•Aims to describe and explain the social world
inhabited by the researcher
•Takes place over an extended time period
•Is naturalistic
•Involves extended participant observation

20. Slide 5.20
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Research Strategies
Archival research: key features
•Uses administrative records and documents as
the principal sources of data
•Allows research questions focused on the past
•Is constrained by the nature of the records and
documents
•Example: historical research

21. Slide 5.21
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Research Strategies
The role of the practitioner-researcher
Key features
•Research access is more easily available
•The researcher knows the organisation
•Has the disadvantage of familiarity
•The researcher is likely to their own assumptions
and preconceptions
•The dual role requires careful negotiation

22. Slide 5.22
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Multiple research methods
Research choices
Saunders et al, (2009)
Figure 5.4 Research choices

23. Slide 5.23
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Multiple research methods
Multiple method
refers to those combinations where we use more than one data
collection technique but restricted within either quantitative
or qualitative world view.
Mixed method approach
Refers to an approach where both , quantitative and qualitative
data collection techniques are used.

24. Slide 5.24
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Multiple research methods
Reasons for using mixed method designs:
•Triangulation
•Facilitation
•Complementarity
•Generality
•Aid interpretation
•Study different aspects
•Solving a puzzle
Source: developed from Bryman (2006)

25. Slide 5.25
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Time Horizons
Select the appropriate time horizon
•Cross-sectional studies the study of a phenomenon at
a particular time. Because of time restrictions
•Longitudinal studies it has the capacity to study change
and development

26. Slide 5.26
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Credibility of research findings
Important considerations
•Reliabilityextent to which your data collection techniques
will yield consistent finding
•Validityconcerned with whether findings are really about
what they appear to be about
•Generalisabilitywhether findings may be equally applicable
to other research settings such as other organizations
•Logic leaps and false assumptions your research
design should have a logical flow and assumptions that can be
defended.

27. Slide 5.27
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Research design ethics
Remember
‘The research design should not subject the
research population to embarrassment, harm or
other material disadvantage’
Adapted from Saunders et al, (2009)

28. Slide 5.28
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Summary: Chapter 5
Research design turns a research question and
objectives into a project that considers
Strategies Choices Time horizons
Research projects can be categorised as
Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory
Research projects may be
Cross-sectional Longitudinal

29. Slide 5.29
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5
th
Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Summary: Chapter 5
Important considerations
•The main research strategies may combined in
the same project
•The opportunities provided by using multiple
methods
•The validity and reliability of results
•Access and ethical considerations