Week 6 February 22nd, 2017

Research Design
MK4103 Business Research Method

Shimaditya Nuraeni, MSM

Lidia Mayangsari, MSM| Manahan Siallagan, Ph.D

Bachelor of Entrepreneurship, School of Business Management

Institut Teknologi Bandung
 READING QUIZ!!
Appreciation for you who have read the book about research design..
YOU ARE
RESEARCH
HERE!! PROCESS

NO YES
Research Onion
Research design focuses
upon turning
research question and
objectives into a
research project.

It considers:
Research strategies
Research choices and
Time horizons

The Research Onion (Saunders et al, 2009)

Why does it matter?
Your philosophy and approach will influence:
How you approach your research
What methods you use to collect your dataThis Week
Material!!!
What type of data you collect
What techniques you use to analyse your data
Research Design
Purpose of study, Type of investigation, Unit of analysis, Time
horizon of study
Approach: Quantitative and Qualitative
Details of study Measurement
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

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
 Purpose of Study

Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory

More Certain

More Defined
 Purpose of Study

Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory

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.
Some qualitative studies where data are collected through observation
or interviews, are exploratory in nature.
Exploratory studies are also necessary when some facts are known, but
more information is needed for developing a viable theoretical
framework.
 Purpose of Study

Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory

The most usual ways of conducting exploratory research are:

Searching the academic literature
Interviewing experts in the subject
Conducting interview
 Purpose of Study

Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory

Undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe the

characteristics of the variables of interest in a situation.
The goal is to offer to the researcher a profile or to describe relevant
aspects of the phenomena of interest from an individual, organizational,
industry-oriented, or other perspective.
Descriptive studies that present data in a meaningful form thus help to:
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
help make certain simple decisions.
 Purpose of Study

Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory

Descriptive study or research seeks to describe accurately persons, events or

situations. It is appropriate for asking such questions as:
What is the employee absentee rate in particular departments?
What is the level of employee turnover in those same departments?
What is the average length of service for those employees who are most frequently
absent?
Type of research question in descriptive study require quantitative responses. They
each involve the collection of measurable, quantifiable data.
The methods typically used in descriptive research are:
Questionnaire surveys
Sampling
Interviews
 Purpose of Study

Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory

Explain the nature of certain relationships, or establish the differences

among groups or the independence of two or more factors in a
situation.
Undertaken to explain the variance in the dependent variable or to
predict organizational outcomes.
Explanatory study can be done with both qualitative and quantitative
data, depends to a large extent on the focus of the research.
Could also establish cause-and-effect relationships.
 Purpose of Study

Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory

The methods typically used in explanatory research are:

Case studies
Observation
Historical Analysis
Attitude Surveys
Statistical Surveys
 Purpose of Study

Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory

Example:
Our sales are What kind of people Will buyer purchase
declining and we dont buying our product? more of our products in
know why. Who buys our a new package?
competitors product?
Would people be What feature do buyers Which of two
interested in our new prefer in our product? advertising campaigns
product idea? is more effective?
Differing Strategies
The strategy you choose will enable you to answer your particular
research question(s) and meet your research objectives.
Each strategy can be used for exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory
study. But! Some of these more clearly belong more closely to the
deductive approach, others to the inductive approach.
The strategies are NOT mutually exclusive.
The strategies are:
Experiment
Survey
Case Study
Action Research
Grounded Theory
Ethnography
Archival Research
Differing Strategies: Experiment
The purpose of an experiment is to study causal links between
variables, to establish whether a change in one independent
variable (e.g. the running of a sales promotion) produces a
change in another dependent variable (e.g. the level of sales).
Steps:
1. Identify and define the issue that is to be studied
2. Formulate research hypotheses
3. Design the experiment:
4. Run the experiment and collect the data.
5. Assemble the data and apply relevant tests to ensure
statistical significance of the findings.
Differing Strategies: Survey
Survey: a research strategy which involves the
structured collection of data from a sizeable population.
Data collection may take the form of questionnaires,
structured observation and structured interviews.
Surveys are particularly suitable for asking questions
such as: who? what? where? how much? and how
many?. These types of question make them useful for
exploratory and descriptive research.
Sampling in survey makes it possible to generate
findings that are representative of the whole population
at a lower cost than collecting the data for the whole
population.
Differing Strategies: Case Study
Case study: a research strategy which involves the
investigation of a particular contemporary topic within
its real-life context, using multiple sources of evidence.
Suitable for why? question, although the questions of
what?, how? are also relevant.
Data collection techniques used in a case study may be
varied and include a combination of interviews,
observation and documentary analysis as well as
questionnaires.
Differing Strategies: Action
Research
Action research: research strategy concerned with the
management of a change and involving close
collaboration between practitioners and researchers.
Focusing on purpose and concerned with action, so it is
particularly useful for how questions.
The researcher becomes part of the organization.
Promotes change within the organization.
The action research spiral:
Diagnosing Planning Taking action Evaluating
Start all over
Differing Strategies: Grounded
Theory
Grounded theory: a research strategy in which theory
is developed from data generated by a series of
observations or interviews principally involving an
inductive approach.
Belongs principally to the inductive approach to
research because you develop theory from data
generated by a series of observations or interviews.
Is an interpretative process, not a logico-deductive one
Differing Strategies:
Ethnography
Ethnography: a research strategy that focuses on
describing and interpreting the social world through
first-hand field study.
Is very time-consuming since it takes place over an
extended time period.
Involves extended participant observation.
Differing Strategies: Archival
Research
Archival research: a research strategy which analyses
administrative records and documents as the principal
source of data, be minutes of meetings, memos or
emails containing information or instructions, accounts,
contracts or letters.
Concentrates on past events and may allow changes
over time to be charted. But the extent to which you
use the archival strategy will depend on the availability
of key documents.
Combining Research Strategies
Combining Research Strategies
Multi method approach
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.
 Type of Investigation

Causal Correlational

More Than Just Associated

Remember! Whether a study is a causal or a correlational one thus depends on the
type of research questions asked and how the problem is defined.
 Type of Investigation

Causal Correlational

Done when it is necessary to establish a definitive cause-and-effect

relationship.
The intention of the researcher conducting a causal study is to be able
to state that variable X causes variable Y. So, when variable X is
removed or altered in some way, problem Y is solved.
The study in which the researcher wants to delineate the cause of one
or more problems is called a causal study.
the researcher deliberately changes certain variables in the setting and
interferes with the events as they normally occur in the organization
 Type of Investigation

Causal Correlational

Mere identification of the important factors associated with the

problem.
When the researcher is interested in delineating the important variables
associated with the problem, the study is called a correlational study.
Conducted in the natural environment of the organization with
minimum interference by the researcher with the normal flow of work.
 Type of Investigation

Causal Correlational

Example:

A causal study question:

Does smoking cause cancer?

A correlational study question:

Are smoking and cancer related?
Are smoking, drinking, and chewing tobacco associated with cancer? If
so, which of these contributes most to the variance in the dependent
Unit of Analysis
Refers to the level of aggregation of the data collected
during the subsequent data analysis stage.
Our research question determines the unit of analysis or
the level of analysis.
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.

WARNING!
Read Sekaran (2003) to study the example of unit of analysis from each level: individual,
dyads, group, division, industry, countries, organization, and culture.
 Time Horizon

Cross-Sectional Longitudinal

Longer
Remember! Whether a study is a causal or a correlational one thus depends on the
type of research questions asked and how the problem is defined.
 Type of Investigation

Cross-Sectional Longitudinal

Called one-shot.
A study can be done in which data are gathered just once, perhaps over
a period of days or weeks or months, in order to answer a research
question.
 Type of Investigation

Cross-Sectional Longitudinal

Called across period of time.

To study people or phenomena at more than one point in time in order
to answer the research question.
When data on the dependent variable are gathered at two or more
points in time to answer the research question.
Credibility of Research Findings
Reliability: extent to which your data collection
techniques will yield consistent finding.
Validity: concerned with whether findings are really
about what they appear to be about.
Generalizability: whether 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.
Procrastination leads to internal
guilt alarm..
THANK YOU!
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