What Is Research Design?

Blueprint

Plan

Guide

Framework

6-1
Design in the Research Process

6-2
Types of Research: Degree of
Question Crystallization
Exploratory research is
used when the research
question is still fluid or
undetermined. The goal of
exploration is to develop
hypotheses or questions for
future research
 Exploratory Study
 Loose structure
 Expand
understanding
 Provide insight
 Develop hypotheses
Formal is used when the
research question is fully
developed and there are
hypotheses to be examined.
 Descriptive
 Explanatory or Causal
 Formal Study
 Precise procedures
 Begins with
hypotheses
 Answers research
questions
6-3
Approaches for Exploratory
Investigations
Qualitative research involves
non-quantitative data
collection used to increase
understanding of a topic.

Qualitative refers to the

meaning, definition, analogy,
model, or metaphor
characterizing something,
while quantitative assumes
the meaning and refers to a
measure of it.

6-4
Approaches for Exploratory
Investigations
The objectives of exploration may be accomplished with
qualitative and quantitative techniques, but exploration
relies more heavily on qualitative techniques

6-5
Approaches for Exploratory
Investigations
• Secondary data analysis is also called a literature
search. Within secondary data exploration, researchers
should start first with an organization’s own data archives.
The second source of secondary data is published
documents prepared by authors outside the sponsor
organization.
• Experience/Expert surveys are semi-structured or
unstructured interviews with experts on a topic or a
dimension of a topic.
• Focus groups are discussions on a topic involving a small
group of participants led by a trained moderator.

6-6
Approaches for Exploratory
Investigations
• A depth interview is a probing between a highly skilled
interviewer and a respondent from the target population to unfold
the underlying opinions, motivations, emotions, or feelings of an
individual respondent on a topic generally coined by the researcher.
• A case study research method actually combines the record
analysis and observations from individual and group interviews. The
case studies become particularly useful when one needs to
understand some particular problem or situation in great depth and
when one can identify the cases rich in information.
• Projective technique is achieved by presenting the respondents
with ambiguous verbal or visual stimulus materials, which they need
to make sense of by drawing from their own experiences, thoughts,
feelings, and imagination before they can offer a response.

6-7
Descriptive Studies

Who?

How much? What?

When? Where?

6-8
Descriptive Studies

Descriptions of population
characteristics

Estimates of frequency of
characteristics

Discovery of associations
among variables

6-9
Causal Research: Experimental Effects

Causal studies are differentiated by their ability to control

and manipulate variables.
Experiment
Ex Post Facto Study
 Study involving the
 After-the-fact report
manipulation or
on what happened to
control of one or
the measured
more variables to
variable
determine the effect
on another variable

6-10
Mills Method of Agreement

6-11
Mills Method of Agreement

6-12
Mills Method of Difference

6-13
Mills Method of Difference

6-14
Mills Method of Agreement and
Difference

6-15
Evidence of Causation

The presence of cause-and-effect relationships can be confirmed only if

specific causal evidence exists. Causal evidence has three important
components:
1. Temporal sequence: The cause must occur before the effect. For
example, it would not be appropriate to credit the increase in sales to
rebranding efforts if the increase had started before the rebranding.
2. Concomitant variation: The variation must be systematic between the
two variables. For example, If your car makes a funny noise when you
accelerate, you might take your foot off the pedal and see whether the
noise goes away.
3. Non-spurious association: Any co-variation between a cause and an
effect must be true and not simply due to other variable. In other words,
there should be no a ‘third’ factor that relates to both, cause, as well as,
effect.

6-16
Causation and Experimental Design

Control/ Random
Matching Assignment

Experimental Group: the group which is exposed to the

independent variable being studied

Control Group: the group of participants that is measured

but not exposed to the independent variable being studied
6-17
Causation and Experimental Design

6-18
Data Collection Method

Primary First hand information obtained

by a researcher

Data gathered from published

Secondary
sources

6-19
Data Collection Method

Researcher questions the subjects and

Communication collects their responses by personal or
impersonal means.

Researcher inspects the activities of

a subject or the nature of some
Monitoring material without attempting to elicit
responses from anyone.

6-20
The Time Dimension

Cross-sectional

Longitudinal

6-21
The Topical Scope

Statistical Study Case Study

 Breadth  Depth
 Population  Detail
inferences
 Qualitative
 Quantitative
 Multiple sources of
 Generalizable
findings information

6-22
The Research Environment

Research occurs in the actual

environmental conditions
Field conditions where the dependent variable
occurs

the studies occur under

Lab conditions conditions that do not simulate
actual environmental
conditions

the study environment seeks to

Simulations replicate the natural environment
in a controlled situation
6-23