Research Design -Definitions -Features - Steps in Planning Research Design - Types of Research Design - Exploratory, Descriptive, and Causal Research Designs

1. BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS
UNIT 3
RESEARCH DESIGN
Dr. THULASI KRISHNA. K, Ph.D.
Dept. of Management Studies,
MITS – Madanapalle, A.P., India
tkk2007@gmail.com

2. RESEARCH DESIGN
• A research design is a “Blue Print” for collection, measurement and analysis of
data.
• It outlines how the research will be carried out.
• It is like glue which sticks together the entire process of research.
• It provides answers to various questions like - What techniques will be used to
gather data. What kind of sampling will be used? How time and cost constraints be
dealt with? Etc.

3. Definitions of Research Design
• According to David J. Luck and Ronald S. Rubin, "A research design is the
determination and statement of the general research approach or strategy
adopted/or the particular project. It is the heart of planning. If the design
adheres to the research objective, it will ensure that the client's needs will
be served."

4. • According to Kerlinger "Research design is the plan, structure and strategy
of investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to research questions
and to control variance."
• Knowledge about research design issues helps the manager to understand
what the researcher is attempting to do.

5. Essentials of Research Design
• 1. The design should be an activity and time based plan
• 2. It is always based on research question
• 3. It guides the selection of sources and types of information
• 4. It indicates a framework for specifying the relationship among the study’s
variables
• 5. Outlines procedures for every research activity
• 6. It must be appropriate, efficient and economical
• 7. It should be flexible
• 8. It must be adequate

6. Steps in Planning The Research Design
• Determining work involved in the project
• Estimating costs involved
• Preparing time schedule
• Verifying results

7. TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN
• Although every problem and research objective may seem unique, there are usually enough
similarities among problems and objectives to allow decisions to be made in advance about the best
plan to resolve the problem.
• There are some basic research designs that can be successfully matched to given problems and
research objectives.
• Three traditional categories of research design:
• Exploratory
• Descriptive
• Causal (Explanatory)

8. • The choice of the most appropriate design depends largely on the
objectives of the research and how much is known about the problem and
these objectives.
• The overall research design for a project may include one or more of these
three designs as part(s) of it.

9. Research Design: Exploratory Research
Exploratory research is used in a number of situations:
• To gain background information
• To define terms
• To clarify problems and hypotheses
• To establish research priorities

10. • Exploratory research design is conducted for a research problem when the
researcher has no past data or only a few studies for reference.
• Sometimes this research is informal and unstructured.
• It serves as a tool for initial research that provides a hypothetical or
theoretical idea of the research problem.
• It will not offer concrete solutions for the research problem.

11. • A variety of methods are available to conduct exploratory research:
• Experience Surveys
• Secondary Data Analysis
• Case Analysis
• Focus Groups
• Projective Techniques

12. • Experience Surveys: Issues and ideas may be discussed with persons who have had personal
experience in the field.
• Secondary data analysis: Another quick and economical source of background information is
existing literature containing data that has been compiled for some purpose other than the
purpose in hand
• Case Study method: Obtains information from one or a few situations that are similar to the
problem situation. Primary advantage is that an entire organisation or entity can be
investigated in depth and with meticulous attention to detail.

13. • Focus Group interviews: Unstructured, free flowing, group dynamic sessions that allow
individuals the opportunity to initiate the topics of discussion. There is synergistic and
spontaneous interaction among the respondents. Found to be highly advantageous.
• Projective techniques: An indirect means of questioning the respondents. Uses word
association tests, sentence completion test, third person test, role playing technique and
Thematic Apperception Test.

14. Research Design: Descriptive Study
• A descriptive study is undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to
describe the characteristics of the variables of interest in a situation.
• Descriptive research design is a scientific method which involves observing
and describing the behaviour of a subject without influencing it in any
way.

15. • The goal of a descriptive study 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
(1) understand the characteristics of a group in a given situation,
(2) think systematically about aspects in a given situation,
(3) offer ideas for further probe and research, and/or
(4) help make certain simple decisions (such as how many and what kinds of individuals should be
transferred from one department to another).

16. • Ex: i. For instance, a study of a class in terms of the percentage of members who are in
their senior and junior years, sex composition, age groupings, number of semesters left
until graduation, and number of business courses taken, can be considered as descriptive
in nature.
• ii. A bank manager wants to have a profile of the individuals who have loan payments
outstanding for 6 months and more. It would include details of their average age,
earnings, nature of occupation, full-time/part-time employment status, and the like. This
might help him to elicit further information or decide right away on the types of
individuals who should be made ineligible for loans in the future.

17. Research Design: Causal Studies (Explanatory Research)
• A casual study is done when it is necessary to establish a definitive cause-and-
effect relationship. The study in which the researcher wants to delineate the
cause of one or more problems is called a causal study.
• Ex: i. A causal study question: Does smoking cause cancer?
ii. To assess the impacts of foreign direct investment on the levels of economic growth in
India
iii. To analyse the effects of re-branding initiatives on the levels of customer loyalty
iv. To identify the nature of impact of work process re-engineering on the levels of
employee motivation

18. • Causal research, also known as explanatory research is conducted to identify the
extent and nature of cause-and-effect relationships.
• Causal research can be conducted to assess impacts of specific changes on existing
norms, various processes etc.
• Causal studies focus on an analysis of a situation or a specific problem to explain the
patterns of relationships between variables.
• Experiments are the most popular primary data collection methods in studies with
causal research design

19. • Thank You