2. Overview
2
This lecture aims to provide an insight into -
• The major layers in the design of a research
method
• Inductive vs. Deductive research approaches
• Research strategies
• Data collection methods
3. 3
Research methods should be:
1. Designed in order to meet your research objectives
2. Structured so that it is clear which research activities you have
done to meet each objective set
3. Justification, Justification, Justification
4. Detailed enough so that anyone could conduct your research
without you being present
Research Design
4. 4
Research Approach
- Inductive, Deductive
Research Strategy/Methods
- Survey, Interview etc.
Data Collection
- Sampling, recording methods
Major Research Design Layers
5. 5
• Also known as ‘theory testing’
• Highly scientific approach – used in sciences
• Experiment procedures
• High degree of structure
• Hypothesis testing – testing a relationship between two variables
Research Approach – Deduction
6. 6
• Trying to prove or disprove a relationship between
two variables
• Data collection is quantitative in nature
• Highly structured method needed
• Statistical analysis required – T-Test – proving a
relationship
Deduction
7. 7
Hypotheses allow us to test a ‘claim’
An increase in spending on radio
advertising will increase sales
Suggestive selling can increase in
restaurant sales at Little Chef
Changing the ‘send out’ time of an email
marketing campaign will increase the ‘click
through rates’
Hypotheses
8. Hypotheses Testing
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Devise a hypothesis or claim based on your understanding of
the context of an organisation or from literature and past
research
Devise an experiment which tests the hypothesis
Analyse the results of the experiments to accept or reject the
hypothesis
Hypothesis Testing is trying to test a relationship
Not generally used to understand ‘why’ type questions
9. 9
Approach used to understand ‘why’ something is occurring
For example:
Why does the time in which an email marketing campaign is
sent out effect ‘click through rates’?
Trying to conceptualise the reasons for a trend that has been
spotted or proven
Induction is also know as ‘theory building’ – understanding why
and creating a theory of how it works
Research Approach - Induction
10. Induction
• Focus is on gaining an understanding and meaning
• Answers the ‘why’ type questions
• Data collected is qualitative – interviews, observation
• Less concerned with generalisability
• Flexible approach which can be designed in a way which
suits the research setting
11. Pause
Spend ten minutes considering if your project
follows more of an inductive or deductive
approach.
Pause the recording while you do this.
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14. Experiments
• Linked to the deductive approach
• Define a hypothesis:
“There is a positive relationship between the
higher the university fees paid and the degree
results”
• Need to collect and analysis the data – T Testing
• Prove or disprove your devised hypothesis and
discuss the possible reasons why
15. Surveys
• Used the deductive and inductive approaches
• Allow the collection of a large amount of data or
‘rich’ data
e.g. questionnaire vs. interviews
• Used to collect both quantitative and qualitative
data
• Use packages such as survey monkey
• Can be time consuming
16. Case Study
• Develop a detailed and intensive understanding
or knowledge of a single case
• Or a small number of cases
• Used to understand particular contexts
• e.g. What went wrong at Blockbuster?
• Interviews and questionnaires useful here
17. • Inductive approach
• Attempting to interpret the social world of certain
context
• Trying to understand the perspective of a group of
individuals by spending time with them
• Tends to use observational methods
Ethnography
18. Action Research
• Permits the researcher to take an interactive role
• Researcher takes part in a research setting
• Research observes the action of others as well
as the action of themselves
• Research reflects on observation and plans to
take action in the research setting to help
improve or resolve issues
20. Pause
Spend ten minutes deciding on which research
methods would best suit your research
problem/opportunity/issue.
Why are the methods you have chosen
appropriate?
Pause the recording while you do this.
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21. Research Design Layers
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•Research Approach – Inductive,
Deductive
Research Strategy/Methods – Survey,
Interview etc.
*Data Collection – Sampling, recording
methods
22. Data Collection
• Who are you going to collect the data from?
• How are you going to collect the data?
• Questionnaire design
• Interview recording
• Journal entries
• Filming
• Always justify your decisions
23. Pause
Spend ten minutes deciding on how you are
going to record the data for the research
methods you have chosen
Pause the recording while you do this.
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