ELEMENTS OF

RESEARCH DESIGN

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BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 FORMULATION FIELD
PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION OF PLAN WORK
OBSERVATION
(IDENTIFICATION
(BROAD AREA OF
OFRESEARCH
BROAD AREA
OFINTEREST
RESEARCH
IDENTIFIED)
INTEREST)

FORMULATION DATA
OF THEORATICAL COLLECTION,
GENERATION SCIENTIFIC
PROBLEM FRAMEWORK ANALYSIS
OF RESEARCH
DEFINITION &
HYPOTHESIS DESIGN
IDENTIFICATION INTERPRET-
OF VARIABLES ATION

ANALYSIS
PRELIMINARY
DATA GATHERING DEDUCTIONS:
(INTERVIEWS, HYPOTHESIS
LITERATURE SUBSTANTIATED?
SURVEY) NO
RESEARCH QUESTION
ANSWERED?

MANAGERIAL
YES REPORT REPORT
BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN DECISION 2
WRITING PRESENTATION
MAKING
 ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN

WHAT IS SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH DESIGN

IT IS…..
 A PLAN FOR SELECTING THE SOURCES AND TYPES OF
INFORMATION USED TO ANSWER THE RESEARCH
QUESTION
 A FRAMEWORK FOR SPECIFYING RELATIONSHIPS
AMONG THE STUDY’S VARIABLES
 A BLUEPRINT THAT OUTLINES EACH PROCEDURE FROM
THE HYPOTHESES TO THE ANALYSIS OF DATA
 PROVIDES ANSWERS TO ISSUES SUCH AS:
– TECHNIQUES TO BE USED TO GATHER DATA
– WHAT KIND OF SAMPLING WILL BE USED
– HOW WILL TIME & COST CONSTRAINTS BE DEALT
WITH
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BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH DESIGN

AIM

TO DESIGN THE RESEARCH IN SUCH A WAY

THAT REQUIRED RESEARCH DATA CAN BE
GATHERED AND ANALYSED TO ARRIVE AT A
SOLUTION

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BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH DESIGN

HELPS TAKE DECISIONS RELATED TO:

 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY (DESCRIPTIVE OR CAUSAL)
 TYPES OF INVESTIGATION (OBSERVATIONAL OR SURVEY)
 EXTENT OF RESEARCHER INTERFERENCE APPROPRIATE TO
THE RESEARCH (MINIMAL OR MANIPULATIVE)
 STUDY SETTING (RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT)
 MEASUREMENT AND “MEASURES” TO BE ADOPTED
 UNIT OF ANALYSIS TO BE ADOPTED
 SAMPLE DESIGN (PROBABILITY/NON PROBABILITY, SAMPLE
SIZE)
 TIME HORIZONS (CROSS SECTIONAL OR LONGITUDINAL)
 DATA COLLECTION METHODS TO BE ADOPTED

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BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN

IDENTIFICATION OF PURPOSE OF STUDY

POSSIBLE TYPES
 EXPLORATORY

 DESCRIPTIVE

 ANALYTICAL (HYPOTHESIS TESTING)

 CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

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BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 EXPLORATORY STUDY

 UNDERTAKEN WHEN NOT MUCH IS KNOWN ABOUT THE

SITUATION AT HAND OR NO INFO IS AVAILABLE ON HOW SIMILAR
ISSUES HAVE BEEN RESOLVED IN THE PAST
 INVOLVES EXTENSIVE PRELIMINARY WORK DONE TO GAIN
FAMILIARITY WITH PHENOMENA IN THE SITUATION BEFORE
DEVELOPING A MODEL AND SETTING UP A DESIGN FOR
COMPREHENSIVE INVESTIGATION
 WHEN COLLECTED DATA REVEALS SOME PATTERN REGARDING
PHENOMENA OF INTEREST, THEORIES ARE DEVELOPED AND
HYPOTHESES FORMULATED FOR SUBSEQUENT TESTING
 ALSO NECESSARY WHEN SOME FACTS ARE KNOWN BUT MORE
INFO IS NEEDED FOR DEVELOPING A VIABLE THEORATICAL
FRAMEWORK
 SOME QUALITATIVE STUDIES WHERE DATA IS COLLECTED
THROUGH OBSERVATIONS ARE EXPLORATORY IN NATURE 7
BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN

EXAMPLES OF EXPLORATORY STUDIES

 ESTABLISHING IMPORTANT FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE
THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN IN ORGANIZATIONS

 ESTABLISHING IF THE WORK ETHICS OF A SUBSIDIARY

FACILITY WOULD BE DIFFERENT TO THOSE AT THE
MAIN FACILITY

 STUDIES RELATED TO “QUALITY OF LIFE”

 STUDIES RELATED TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR IN

DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, RACES, COMMUNITIES, ETC

 STUDIES RELATED TO FEASIBILITY OF INTRODUCTION

OF A NEW PRODUCT 8
BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 DESCRIPTIVE STUDY
 UNDERTAKEN TO ASCERTAIN AND BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VARIABLES OF INTEREST IN A
SITUATION ie WHEN CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS ARE KNOWN TO
EXIST AND ONE WANTS TO BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE THEM BETTER BY
OFFERING A PROFILE OF THE DIFFERENT FACTORS INVOLVED SUCH
AS AGE, JOB STATUS, EDUCATIONAL LEVEL, ETC
 USUALLY INVOLVE LEARNING ABOUT AND DESCRIBING
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GROUP OR CHARACTERISTICS OF
ORGANIZATIONS THAT FOLLOW CERTAIN COMMON PRACTICES
 GOAL IS TO OFFER TO THE RESEARCHER A PROFILE OR TO DESCRIBE
RELAVENT ASPECTS OF A PHENOMENA OF INTEREST FROM AN
INDIVIDUAL, ORGANIZATIONAL, INDUSTRY ORIENTED OR OTHER
PERSPECTIVE
 CHARACTERISTICS OF A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY:
– DEVELOP UNDERSTANDING OF A GROUP’S CHARACTERISTICS IN
A GIVEN SITUATION
– THINK SYSTEMATICALLY ABOUT ASPECTS IN A GIVEN SITUATION
– OFFER IDEAS FOR FURTHER PROBE AND RESEARCH
– HELP MAKE CERTAIN SIMPLE DECISIONS 9
BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 EXAMPLES OF DESCRIPTIVE STUDIES

 PROFILING OF CLIENTS IN A BANK WHOSE LOAN

PAYMENTS ARE OUTSTANDING TO DECIDE WHICH
CATEGORIES OF CLIENTS SHOULD BE MADE
INELIGIBLE FOR LOANS IN FUTURE
 SEEKING INFORMATION ABOUT COMPETITORS
BEFORE EVOLVING A PRICING, SALES, DISTRIBUTION
OR ADVERTISING STRATEGY
 POSSIBLE INTERNAL REACTION WITHIN AN
ORGANIZATION TO INTRODUCTION OF ANY NEW
POLICIES OR POLICY CHANGES

 USUALLY BASED ON QUANTITATIVE DATA

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BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 ANALYTICAL STUDY
(HYPOTHESES TESTING)

 USUALLY EXPLAIN

– THE NATURE OF CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS OR

– ESTABLISH THE DIFFERENCES AMONG GROUPS OR

– THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF TWO OR MORE

FACTORS IN A SITUATION

 EXPLAIN THE VARIANCE IN THE DEPENDENT VARIABLE OR TO

PREDICT ORGANIZATIONAL OUTCOMES

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BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 EXAMPLES OF ANALYTICAL STUDIES

 ESTABLISHING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ADVERTISING AND

INCREASE OF SALES (BY TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS: “IF
ADVERTISING IS INCREASED, THEN SALES WILL ALSO GO
UP”)

 PREDICTING FACTORS THAT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ACCOUNT

FOR DECISION TO BUILD A HOUSE IN A PARTICULAR AREA

 ESTABLISHING DIFFERENCES IN BEHAVIOR PATTERNS ON

THE BASIS OF SEX

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BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
INVOLVE IN-DEPTH CONTEXTUAL ANALYSES OF
MATTERS RELATED TO SIMILAR SITUATIONS IN
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

NOT FREQUENTLY RESORTED TO AS A PROBLEM

SOLVING TECHNIQUE BECAUSE FINDING THE
SAME PROBLEM IN ANOTHER COMPARABLE
SETTING IS DIFFICULT

IN QUALITATIVE TERMS, ARE USEFUL IN APPLYING

SOLUTIONS TO CURRENT PROBLEMS BASED ON
PAST PROBLEM SOLVING EXPERIENCES

ALSO USEFUL IN UNDERSTANDING CERTAIN

PHENOMENA AND GENERATING FURTHER
THEORIES FOR EMPERICAL TESTING 13
BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 TYPE OF INVESTIGATION
CAUSAL
 DONE WHEN IT IS NECESSARY TO ESTABLISH A DEFINITIVE
CAUSE & EFFECT RELATIONSHIP
 UNDERTAKEN WHEN RESEARCHER WANTS TO DELINEATE ONE
OR MORE FACTORS THAT ARE CAUSING A PROBLEM TO OCCUR
eg DOES SMOKING CAUSE CANCER ? ?

CORELATIONAL
 DONE WHEN MERE IDENTIFICATION OF THE IMPORTANT
FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROBLEM WILL SUFFICE eg
ARE SMOKING AND CANCER RELATED
OR
ARE SMOKING, DRINKING AND CHEWING TOBACCO
ASSOCIATED WITH CANCER ? IF SO, WHICH OF THESE
CONTRIBUTES MOST TO THE VARIANCE IN THE DEPENDENT
VARIABLE
WHETHER A STUDY IS CAUSAL OR CO-RELATIONAL DEPENDS
ON TYPE OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS ASKED AND HOW THE 14
PROBLEM IS DEFINED BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 EXAMPLES OF CAUSAL & CORELATIONAL
STUDY QUESTIONS

 CAUSAL
FEARS OF AN EARTHQUAKE PREDICTED RECENTLY
IN THE MUZAFFARABAD FAULT ZONE WERE
INSTRUMENTAL IN AN UNPRECEDENTED NUMBER
OF HOUSE OWNERS IN THE CITY TRYING TO SELL
THEIR PROPERTIES

 CORELATIONAL
INCREASE IN INTEREST RATES AND PROPERTY
TAXES, RECESSION IN THE COUNTRY AND THE
PREDICTED EARTH QUAKE CONSIDERABLY
SLOWED DOWN THE BUSINESS OF REAL ESTATE
AGENTS IN MUZAFFARABAD
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BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 EXTENT OF RESEARCHER INTERFERENCE
WITH THE STUDY

INVOLVES INTERFERENCE BY THE RESEARCHER WITH

THE NORMAL FLOW OF WORK AT THE WORKPLACE

ALSO HAS A DIRECT BEARING ON WHETHER THE STUDY

IS CAUSAL OR CORRELATIONAL

CORELATIONAL STUDY IS CONDUCTED IN THE

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE ORGANIZATION
WITH MINIMAL INTERFERENCE BY RESEARCHER
WITH NORMAL FLOW OF WORK

IN STUDIES CONDUCTED TO ESTABLISH CAUSE &

EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS, RESEARCHER
MANIPULATES CERTAIN VARIABLES TO STUDY THE
EFFECTS OF THIS MANIPULATION ON THE
DEPENDENT VARIABLE OF INTEREST 16
BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 EXTENT OF RESEARCHER INTERFERENCE WITH THE STUDY

 MINIMAL INTERFERENCE
– LITTLE OR NO INTERFERENCE WITH
NORMAL ACTIVITIES
 MODERATE INTERFERENCE
– MANIPULATION OF NORMAL COURSE OF
EVENTS TO STUDY EFFECTS
 EXCESSIVE INTERFERENCE
– MAY ALSO INTERFERE WITH THE
SETTING TO STUDY EFFECTS
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BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 EXTENT OF RESEARCHER INTERFERENCE WITH THE STUDY

 TERMS RELATED TO RESEARCHER’S CONTROL

ARRANGEMENTS
– EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. A GROUP FORMULATED BY
THE RESEARCHER ON WHICH EFFECTS UNDER STUDY
ARE SPECIFICALLY APPLIED
– CONTROL GROUP. A GROUP WHICH IS NOT
SUBJECTED TO ANY MANIPULATION AND ALLOWED TO
EXPERIENCE ANY EFFECTS UNDER STUDY IN A NATURAL
ENVIRONMENT
– EFFECTS OF APPLICATION OF PHENOMENA BEING
RESEARCHED ARE STUDIED BY COMPARING THE
RESULTS OF ITS APPLICATION ON THE EXPERIMENTAL
GROUP WITH THOSE DISPLAYED ON THE CONTROLLED
GROUP
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BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN

STUDY SETTING
 NON CONTRIVED

– STUDIES DONE IN NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS

WHERE WORK PROCEEDS NORMALLY

– GENERALLY DONE IN CASE OF CORRELATIONAL

STUDIES

– FIELD STUDIES. CORELATIONAL STUDIES DONE

WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS WITH NO INTERFERENCE
TO THE NORMAL ROUTINE OR WORKING ARE
CALLED FIELD STUDIES

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BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
STUDY SETTING
CONCERNS THE ENVIRONMENTS IN WHICH THE STUDY IS UNDERTAKEN
AND MAY BE CONTRIVED OR NON CONTRIVED

 CONTRIVED STUDY SETTING

– ENVIRONMENTS ARE ADAPTED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF A
RESEARCH PROJECT
– SUCH SETTINGS USED IN CAUSAL STUDIES
– FIELD EXPERIMENTS. STUDIES CONDUCTED TO
ESTABLISH CAUSE & EFFECT RELATIONSHIP USING THE
SAME NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS IN WHICH EMPLOYEES
NORMALLY FUNCTION. HOWEVER, RESEARCHER MAY
MANIPULATE THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
– LAB EXPERIMENTS. EXPERIMENTS DONE TO ESTABLISH
CAUSE & EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS BEYOND THE
POSSIBILITY OF THE LEAST DOUBT BY CREATION OF
ARTIFICIALLY CONTRIVED ENVIRONMENTS IN WHICH ALL
EXTRANEOUS FACTORS ARE STRICTLY CONTROLLED WITH
SIMILAR SUBJECTS BEING CHOSEN TO RESPOND TO
CERTAIN MANIPULATED STIMULI
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BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN

EXAMPLES OF STUDY SETTINGS

 ISSUE

– A BANK MANAGER WANTS TO ANALYSE THE

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTEREST RATES AND BANK
DEPOSIT PATTERNS OF CLIENTS

 FIELD STUDY

– THE TWO ISSUES ARE CO-RELATED BY LOOKING AT

DEPOSITS INTO DIFFERENT KINDS OF ACCOUNTS AS
INTEREST RATES CHANGED.

– THIS IS A FIELD STUDY IN A NON CONTRIVED SETTING

WITH NO INTERFERENCE TO THE NORMAL WORK ROUTINE

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BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
EXAMPLES OF STUDY SETTINGS
 FIELD EXPERIMENT

– TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE AND EFFECT RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN INTEREST RATE AND THE INDUCEMENTS IT
OFFERS TO CLIENTS TO SAVE AND DEPOSIT MONEY, FOUR
BANK BRANCHES ARE SELECTED AND FOR ONE WEEK,
INTEREST RATES ARE CHANGED TO 9%, 8% AND 10% IN
THREE OF THE BRANCHES AND REMAIN UNCHANGED AT
5% IN THE FOURTH BRANCH.

– THIS IS A FIELD EXPERIMENT SINCE ONLY THE INTEREST

RATE HAS BEEN MANIPULATED WHILE ALL ACTIVITIES
CONTINUE IN NORMAL AND NATURAL WORK
ENVIRONMENTS 22
BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 LAB EXPERIMENT
– TO ESTABLISH THE CAUSAL CONNECTION BETWEEN INTEREST
RATES AND SAVINGS AN ARTIFICIAL ENVIRONMENT IS CREATED
BY RECRUITING 40 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT STUDENTS. THEY
ARE SPLIT INTO 4 GROUPS AND EACH GROUP IS GIVEN CHIPS
THAT COUNT FOR $1,000 WHICH THEY CAN USE TO BUY THEIR
NEEDS OR INVEST FOR THE FUTURE AS DESIRED BY THEM.

– AS INCENTIVE, INTEREST ON SAVINGS IS OFFERED BUT IS

MANIPULATED AT DIFFERENT RATES FOR DIFFERENT GROUPS TO
ESTABLISH THEIR RESPONSE PATTERN

– HERE, A LAB ENVIRONMENT HAS BEEN CREATED WITH A

CONTRIVED SETTING, MAXIMUM RESEARCHER INTERFERENCE
AND MANIPULATION OF THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE WHILE
TRYING TO CONTROL OTHER EXTRANEOUS (NUISANCE) FACTORS
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BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
 ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN

UNIT OF ANALYSIS
 REFERS TO THE LEVEL OF AGGREGATION OF
THE DATA COLLECTED DURING THE
SUBSEQUENT DATA ANALYSIS STAGE
 COMMON UNITS OF ANALYSIS
INDIVIDUAL
DYADS ie TWO PERSON GROUPS
GROUP
DIVISION
INDUSTRY
COUNTRY, ETC
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 ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN

TIME HORIZON
 CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDIES
 STUDY IN WHICH DATA IS GATHERED JUST ONCE PERHAPS
OVER A PERIOD OF DAYS OR WEEKS OR MONTHS
 GENERALLY (BUT NOT ALWAYS) RESORTED TO IN FIELD
STUDIES

 LONGITUDINAL STUDIES
 STUDY IN WHICH DATA IS COLLECTED AT MORE THAN ONE
POINT IN TIME LONGITUDINALLY ACROSS A PERIOD OF TIME
 SUCH STUDIES TAKE MORE TIME, EFFORT AND COST BUT HELP
IN IDENTIFICATION OF CAUSE AND EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS
 USUALLY RESORTED TO IN EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS WHEN DATA
IS REQUIRED BEFORE AND AFTER MANIPULATION OF
VARIABLES 25
BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN

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BRM 5: ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN