RESEARCH DESIGN

 The research design is the master plan specifying the methods and
procedures for collecting and analyzing the needed information.
 A research design is the arrangement of conditions for the
collection and analysis of data that aims to combine relevance to
the research purpose with economy in procedure.
 Research design stands for advance planning of the methods to
be adopted for collecting the relevant data and the techniques to
be used in their analysis, keeping in view.
 The plan , structure and strategy of investigation conceived so as
to obtain answers to research questions and control variance.

NILESH KOLAMBE
 FEATURES OF GOOD DESIGN

• It specifies the sources and types of information

relevant to the research problem.
• Gives smallest experimental error
• Reliability of data collected and analyzed.
• Also includes the time and cost budgets.
• Flexible
• Appropriate
• Efficient
• Economical

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 FEATURES OF GOOD DESIGN

• Research design at least contain

a. Clear statement of the research problem
b. Procedures and techniques to be used for gathering
information.
c. The population to be studied .
d. Methods to be used in processing and analyzing data.

NILESH KOLAMBE
 FEATURES OF GOOD DESIGN

• It usually involves the consideration of the following

factors.
a. The means of obtaining information
b. The availability and skills of the researcher and his
staff
c. The objective of the problem to be studied.
d. The nature of the problem to be studied
e. The availability of time and money for the research
work.

NILESH KOLAMBE
 Important Concepts relating to research design

1 Dependent and independent variable

Which can take different quantitative value
Eg weight, height, income.
Variable which depend upon other known as depends and
antecedent is known as independent
Eg” study and marks.

2 Extraneous variable
Independent variable that are not related to the purpose of
study, but may affect the dependent variable are termed
as extraneous variable
Eg: Effect of rice

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• 3 Control:
To minimize the effect of extraneous variable
4 Confounded relationship
When the dependent variable is not free from the influence
of extraneous variable, the relationship between the
dependent and independent variables is said to be
confounded by an extraneous variable.
5 Research hypothesis
Predictive statement that relates an independent
variable to a dependent variable . Must contain at least
one independent and one dependent variable.

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6 Experimental and non-experimental hypothesis-testing
research.
- Research in which the independent variable is manipulated is
termed ‘experimental hypothesis-testing research’ and a
research in which an independent variable is not manipulated
is called ‘ non-experimental hypothesis testing research’
- Eg: training and performance
Price and sales
Advt. expenses and sales
- 7 Experimental and control groups (in experimental
hypothesis testing research)
Group with usual condition is termed as control group
Group with some special condition is experimental group.

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8 Treatments
The different conditions under which experimental
and control groups are referred to as treatment.
Eg: if we want to determine through an experiment the
comparative impact of three varieties of fertilizers on
the yield of wheat, in that the three varieties of
fertilizers will be treated as three treatments.
9 Experiments
The process of examining the truth of a statistical
hypothesis, related to some research problem is
known as experiment. (Absolute and comparative)

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10 Experimental units
The pre determined plots or the blocks, where
different treatments are used, are known as
experiment unit.

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 TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN

• Three traditional categories of research design:

• Exploratory
• Descriptive
• Causal
• 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.

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 Basic Research Objectives and Research Design

Research Objective Appropriate Design

To gain background information, to define terms, to clarify Exploratory

problems and develop hypotheses, to establish
research priorities, to develop questions to be
answered
To describe and measure marketing phenomena at a point Descriptive
in time
To determine causality, test hypotheses, to make “if-then” Causal
statements, to answer questions

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 Exploratory Research

• It structures and identifies new problems.

• The main purpose of such studies is that of
formulating a problem for more precise
investigation or of developing the working
hypotheses from an operational point of view.
• Exploratory research is most commonly
unstructured, “informal” research that is
undertaken to gain background information about
the general nature of the research problem.
• Exploratory research is usually conducted when
the researcher does not know much about the
problem and needs additional information or
desires new or more recent information.

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 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
• Develop questions to be answered.

NILESH KOLAMBE
• Three methods in the context of research design for such
studies are
I Survey of concerning Literature
- Hypotheses by earlier workers reviewed and Evaluated
II Experience survey
- Survey of people who have had practical experience with
the problem to be studied.
- To get relationship between variables and new ideas
relating to research problem.
- Peoples are carefully selected
- Helps the researcher to define the problems more
precisely

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III Analysis of insight stimulating Examples
- This method consists of the intensive study of
selected instances of the phenomenon in which
one is interested.
- Existing record if any , may be examined, the
unstructured interview may take place.
- Eg: reactions of strangers, reactions of marginal
individuals, reactions of individual from different
social strata.
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 Descriptive research

• It concerned with describing the characteristics of a

particular individual , group , frequency of occurrence
• Researcher must able to define clearly, what he wants to
measure and must find adequate methods for measuring it
along with the clear cut definition of population
• Descriptive research is undertaken to provide answers to
questions of who, what, where, when, why and how .

NILESH KOLAMBE
• The design must focus on
I. Formulating the objective of study ( what the study is
about and why it is being made)
II.Designing the methods of data collection.( what
techniques)
III.Selecting the sample ( how much material will be
needed)
IV.Collecting the data ( where can the required data be find
and with what time period
V. Processing and analyzing the data
VI.Reporting the findings.

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 Casual research

• Researcher tests the hypotheses of casual

relationships between variables.
• Causality may be thought of as understanding a
phenomenon in terms of conditional statements
of the form “If x, then y.”
• Causal relationships are typically determined by
the use of experiments, but other methods are
also used.

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 Experimental Design

Professor R A fisher’s name is associated with

experimental designs.
He divided agricultural plots into several parts and
then conducted experiments on that.
Experimental methods means those methods
wherein the researcher tests the hypothesis of casual
relationship between variables.

NILESH KOLAMBE
 Fishers BASIC PRINCIPLES OF
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

• The Principle of Replication

-Experiment should be repeated more than once
- Each treatment is applied in many experimental units instead of one
-statistical accuracy can be obtained
• Principle of Randomization
Protection against the effect of extraneous factors
-Soil fertility example
• Principle of Local Control
Under it the extraneous factor, the known source of variability, is
made to vary deliberately over as wide a range as necessary and this
need to be done in such a way that the variability it causes can be
measured and hence eliminated from the experimental error.
-field is divided into several homogeneous parts or blocks and then
blocks are divided into parts equal to number of treatments.

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Three components
1 treatments( variety)
2 extraneous factor.(soil fertility)
3 experimental error.

- Field is divided into several homogeneous parts

known as blocks and each block is divided into parts
equal to number of treatments . Then the treatments
are randomly assigned to these parts of a block.

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 Important experimental designs

• Informal experimental design

Those designs that normally use a less sophisticated form of analysis
1 Before and after without control design
2 after only with control design
3 Before and after with control design
- Formal experimental design
It offers relatively more control and use precise statistical procedures for
analysis.
1 Completely randomized design.(C R Design)
i) Two group simple randomized design ii) Random replication design
2 Randomized Block Design(R B Design)
3 Latin Square design.(L. S Design)
4 Factorial designs.

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 Informal EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

 Before and after without control design

- In this design ,a single test group of area is selected
and the dependent variable is measured before the
introduction of the treatment . The treatment is
introduced and the dependent variable is measured
again after the treatment.

- Used in Laboratory research

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• After only with control design
-In this design two groups or areas (test area and
control area) are selected and the treatment is
introduced into the test area only. The dependent
variable is then measured in both the areas at the
same time. Treatment impact is assessed
- Assumption that two areas behavior is same towards
the phenomenon considered
Test area After treatment(y)
Control area without treatment(z)
Treatment effect Y-Z
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Before and After with Control design.
- Two areas are selected and the dependent variable is measured in both
for an identical period time before the treatment.
- Treatment is then introduced In test area only.
- Dependent variable is then measured in both for the same period.
- Difference is measured then.
- Two time periods
time period I Time period II
Test area X treatment Y
Control area A Z

Treatment Effect : (Y-X)-(Z-A)

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Completely randomized design( C. R Design)
- Involves two principles principle of replication and
principle of randomization.
- Subjects are randomly assigned to experimental
treatments
- Eg: 10 subjects and two treatment A and B. we want
to give treatment to 5.
Every possible group of 5 subjects are selected.
- Applied for uncontrolled extraneous factors.

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• Two types:
I Two group simple randomized design
- Population Randomly selected Sample
Randomly assigned Experimental group
- Control group
- The two groups are given different treatment of
independent variable to two groups.
- It does not control the extraneous variable.
- Eg: Two groups . One with usual training and other with
special training. Each group is tested before and after the
training. And then the Comparison.

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• II Random Replication Design.
- Extension to the two group simple randomized design.
- Extraneous variable controlling.

Population Random selection of sample random assignment to 4

Experimental group s and control group and then treatment A to
this 4 E groups.

Population random selection of sample random assignment to 4

E. Group and C group and then treatment B to 4 C Group
- Eight individuals are randomly assigned to eight groups.

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Randomized Block design ( R. B. design)
- Improvement over C. R. design.
- Principle of Local control can be applied with the
other two principles of experimental design.
- Subjects are first divided into groups or blocks.
- Some variable is selected for grouping

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 Example : Intelligence level and sequence of tests

Very Low Low Average High Very high

Student A B C D E
Exam 1
Exam2

Exam 3
exam4

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Four type of advt. and four type of market.
Different treatments and different agricultural lands
- Different doses of fertiliser
- Different levels of irrigation
- Different varieties of crops
- Different timing of sowing

NILESH KOLAMBE
If each student is randomly assigned the four tests
he/she tooks , then is RB Design.
The purpose is to take care of extraneous factors
such as fatigue or perhaps the experience gained
from repeatedly taking the test.

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 Latin Square design

Very frequently used in agricultural research.

LS is used when there are two major extraneous
factors.
For example if we want to judge the effect of five
different varieties of fertilizers on the yield of wheat.
The two extraneous factors here are fertility of land
and varying seeds.
Field is divided into 5*5 parts and each extraneous
factor is taken at one axis

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 Latin square design

 fertility level
I II III IV V
Seeds X1 A B C D E
X2 B C D E A
Difference X3 C D E A B
X4 D E A B C
X5 E A B C D
Example: Two extraneous variables 1 Fertility level and 2 Seeds difference
Five types of fertilizers : A,B,C,D,E
Research is to find out the Most effective fertilizer.

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 Factorial design

This method is used in experiments where the effects

of varying more than one factor are to be
determined
This is specially useful in several economic and social
phenomena where there are large number of factors
affect a particular problem.
Two types
I simple factorial design - Effect of varying two
factors on the dependent variable
II Complex factorial design – more than two factors.
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 Simple Factorial design

• Two variables control variable and experimental variable.

• Extraneous variable to be controlled by homogeneity is called control
variable and the independent variable ,which is manipulated is called
experimental group
• Four cells in which sample is divided.
Experimental variable

treat A Treat B
Control
Variable level1 I II
level 2 III IV
- Randomly assigned and means are obtained for control variable and
Experimental variables.
- One can examine the interaction between treatment and
level. This enables researcher to evaluate the combined effect or the
interaction effect of two or more variables simultaneously

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 Example
 Training
Treat A Treat B

Control level I (Low) 15 23 19

(Intelligence) level II (High) 35 30 32.5
25 26.5

Treatment and level are

Treat dependent on each other
ments from graph

Control
level(Intelligence)
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 No relationship between
treatment treatment and
intelligence

Control(intelligence)

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 II Complex factorial design
• Experiments with more than two factors at a time
involves the use of complex factorial design.
• Treatment and control variable both have different
levels.
Experimental variable
Treat A Treat B
level 1 level2 level 1 level 2

Control level1 I III IV VII

Variable level2 II IV VI VIII

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To determine the main effects of the experimental
variable, the researcher must necessarily combined
mean of Cell I, II, III, IV
Advantages of factorial design
- They provide equivalent accuracy
- Economic
- The determination of interaction effects is possible in
case of factorial design.

NILESH KOLAMBE