RESEARCH DESIGN

• Framework/Blueprint for research plan of

action, giving a general statement of the
methods to be used.
• Specifies the details.
• Components (Specification of):
– Type of Design
– Information needed
– Measurement & Scaling Techniques
– Questionnaire construction & pretesting
– Sampling process & size
– Data Analysis Plan
 CLASSIFICATION
• EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
– To provide insight into, & an
understanding of, the problem (s) faced.
• CONCLUSIVE RESEARCH
– To assist in determining, evaluating, &
selecting the best course of action to take
in a given situation.
– DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
– CAUSAL RESERACH
 EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
DESIGN
• To explore or search through the problem/
situation for sharper focus of situation
• PURPOSES:
– Identification of problem
– Precise formulation of the problem
– Identify alternative courses of action
– Develop hypothesis
– Isolate key variables & their relationships
• Not a conclusive study so design is flexible &
informal
 EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
DESIGN: METHODS
• SURVEY OF SECONDARY DATA
• EXPERIENCE SURVEY
• QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
• PILOT SURVEY
 EXPLORATORY RESEARCH DESIGN:
SURVEY OF SECONDARY DATA
• Existing Data or Literature
• Located & collected rapidly, easily & inexpensively
• A prerequisite to the collection of primary data
• May not provide solution but provide direction
• CLASSIFICATION:
– Internal
• Ready to Use
• Requires Further Processing
– External
• Published Material
• Computerized Databases
• Syndicated Services
 EXPERIENCE SURVEY
• Obtaining information from Experienced &
Knowledgeable persons
• Judgement Sampling + Referral Sampling
• Unstructured & Informal
 QUALITATIVE RESERACH
• An unstructured exploratory research
methodology based on small sample that
provides insights & understandings
• Quantitative research must be preceded by
appropriate qualitative research
• Not possible/desirable to use structured/formal
method:
– People are unwilling/unable to answer
– Unable to provide accurate answer to
questions that tap their subconscious
– Values, emotional drives, motivations are
disguised
• Not conclusive & should not be generalized.
 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH:
CLASSIFICATION
• DIRECT APPROACH (NON-DISGUISED):
– FOCUS GROUPS
– DEPTH INTERVIEWS
• INDIRECT APPROACH (DISGUISED)
PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES:
– ASSOCIATION TECHNIQUES
– COMPLETION TECHNIQUES
– CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
– EXPRESSIVE TECHNIQUES
 FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWS
• Joint informal interview in the form of free
flowing group-discussions
• To gain insight by listening to people from
target group
• Most important qualitative research
technique
• Group size- 8 to 12, Group composition-
homogeneous, prescreened, Time duration- 1
to 3 hrs
• Role of Moderator
 DEPTH INTERVIEWS
• Unstructured direct, personal interview, on
one to one basis
• Single respondent is probed to uncover
underlying motivations, beliefs, attitudes &
feelings on a problem/situation.
• Interviewing Techniques:
– Laddering: Issue characteristics User characteristics
– Hidden Issue Questioning
– Symbolic Analysis: Comparing with opposites.
 PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
• Unstructured, indirect form of questioning,
encouraging respondents to project their
underlying motivations, beliefs, attitudes etc
• Respondents are asked to interpret the behavior of
others rather than own
• Classification:
– Association Techniques: Word Association
– Completion Techniques: Sentence Completion,
Story Completion
– Construction Techniques: Picture Response,
Cartoon Tests
– Expressive Techniques: Role Playing, Third-
Person Technique
 PILOT STUDY
• Small scale exploratory research survey
• Uses Sampling but rigid standards are not
applied.
• Primary data, Qualitative Analysis.
• To identify and eliminate potential problems
in research administration
 DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
DESIGN
• To know the characteristics of certain groups
or situations
• To facilitate description & inference building
about parameters & their relationships.
• Uncover causal relationship but not
established
• Assumes prior knowledge about the problem
situation
• Structured & formal design
• Methods: Quantitative Analysis of Secondary
data, Surveys, Panels, Observational Study
 DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
DESIGN: CLASSIFICATION
• LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH / PANEL
RESEARCH DESIGN
• CROSS-SECTIONAL RESEARCH
DESIGN
– SINGLE CROSS-SECTIONAL DESIGN
– MULTIPLE CROSS-SECTIONAL
DESIGN
• COHORT ANALYSIS
 LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH
• Based on PANEL DATA & PANEL METHOD
• Continual or periodic collection of
information from fixed sample of
respondents
• Related to repeated measurement of the
same variable (s)
• To detect changes because of repeated
measurements
• OMNIBUS PANEL:
– Information collected from fixed sample
may vary over time or may vary between
individuals
 LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH
(Cross-Sectional Data)
Brand Period 1 Survey Period 2 Survey
Purchased
Brand A 200 200

Brand B 300 300

Brand C 500 500

Total 1000 1000

 LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH
(Longitudinal Data: Brand-Switching Matrix)
Brand Purchased Brand Purchased in Period 2
in Period 1
Brand A Brand B Brand C Total

Brand A 100 50 50 200

Brand B 25 100 175 300

Brand C 75 150 275 500

Total 200 300 500 1000

 CROSS-SECTIONAL DESIGN
• Aimed at taking one time stock of the
situation
• Collection of information only once
• Most frequently used Descriptive
Design.
• SINGLE CROSS-SECTIONAL DESIGN:
– One sample of respondents &
information is obtained from the sample
only once
 CROSS-SECTIONAL DESIGN
• MULTIPLE CROSS-SECTIONAL DESIGN:
– Two or more samples of respondents &
information is obtained from each sample
only once (Information at different times)
– Allows comparison at the aggregate level
but not at the individual level
– COHORT ANALYSIS:
• Series of surveys at appropriate time
interval from the groups of respondents
(Cohorts) who experience the same
event within the same time interval
 COHORT ANALYSIS:EXAMPLE
(Consumption of Soft Drink by various Age Groups)

Age 1980 1990 2000 2010

10-19 53 63 73 81

20-29 45 61 76 76

30-39 34 47 68 71

40-49 23 41 59 68

50+ 18 29 50 52
 CAUSALITY
• The basis of classification in between
Experimental & Non-Experimental designs
• Conditions for making Causal Statement:
– Concomitant Variation
– Time Sequence
– Absence of Extraneous Factor (s)
• Control of Extraneous Variables:
– Physical Control
– Randomization
– Experimental Design
 EXPERIMENTATION
• Manipulation of variable (s) and control
of other variables and examining their
effect
ELEMENTS
INPUTS OUTPUT
EXPLANATORY & DEPENDENT
TEST UNITS
EXTRANEOUS VARIABLE
VARIABLES
 VALIDITY OF EXPERIMENT
• INTERNAL VALIDITY
• EXTERNAL VALIDITY
• Factors affecting Validity:
– HISTORY
– MATURATION
– TESTING EFFECT
– INTRUMENTATION
– SELECTION BIAS
– TEST UNIT MORTALITY
 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
• Stronger & more reliable basis for the
existence of Causal Relationship
• All extraneous variables are eliminated
through the Use of Randomization & Control
Group (s)
TYPES OF EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
 AFTER ONLY WITH ONE CONTROL GROUP
 BEFORE-AFTER WITH ONE CONTROL GROUP
 EX-POST FACTO DESIGN
 SIMULATED BEFORE AFTER DESIGN
 SOLOMON’S FOUR GROUPS DESIGN
 MULTIPLE TIME SERIES DESIGN
 C.R.D.
 R.B.D.
 L.S.D.
 FACTORIAL DESIGN
 AFTER-ONLY WITH ONE
CONTROL GROUP
EXPERIMENTAL GROUP: R X O1
CONTROL GROUP : R O2

• Treatment Effect = O1 - O2
• Very widely used in marketing
• Control over ‘Testing’ & ‘Instrument Effect’
• No pre- observations so large samples are
required
 BEFORE-AFTER WITH ONE
CONTROL GROUP
EXPERIMENTAL GROUP: R O1 X O2
CONTROL GROUP : R O3 O4

• TREATMENT EFFECT = (O2 O1) (O4 O3)

• Treatment Effect contains ‘Testing Effect’
• Effective relative comparison
 EX-POST FACTO DESIGN
EXPERIMENTAL GROUP: X R O1
CONTROL GROUP : R O2

• TREATMENT EFFECT = O1 O2
• Used in Advt. Study & study of Commercial
Media
• No ‘Testing Effect’ & more realistic study
 SIMULATED BEFORE-AFTER
DESIGN
EXPERIMENTAL GROUP: R X O2
CONTROL GROUP : R O1

• TREATMENT EFFECT = O2 O1
• No ‘ Testing Effect ’
• Used in Advt. Research
 SOLOMON’S FOUR – GROUP
DESIGN
EXPERIMENTAL GROUP 1 : R O1 X O2
CONTROL GROUP 1 :R O3 O4
EXPERIMENTAL GROUP 2 : R X O5
CONTROL GROUP 2 :R O6

• Also known as FOUR GROUP SIX STUDY

DESIGN
 SOLOMON’S FOUR – GROUP
DESIGN
• Combination of ‘BEFORE-AFTER WITH ONE
CONTROL GROUP’ & ‘AFTER-ONLY WITH ONE
CONTROL GROUP’ Designs. So also known as ‘THE
IDEAL CONTROL EXPERIMENT’
• Not very commonly used because of high cost &
high efforts
• TREATMENT EFFECT = O5 O6
• TESTING EFFECT = (O2 O1) (O4 O1 + O3)
2
• EXTRANEOUS EFFECT = O6 ( O 1 + O3 )
2
MULTIPLE TIME SERIES DESIGN
EXPERIMENTAL GR: O1 O2 O3…..X…. O4 O5 O6
CONTROL GR : O1 O2 O3…. ...…. O4 O5 O6

• Extension of BEFORE-AFTER WITH ONE

CONTROL GROUP DESIGN
• Also known as ‘CONTINUOUS DIARY PANEL
DESIGN
• Better analysis of trend
• Higher cost.
 MANIPULATION / CONTROL OF MORE
THAN ONE LEVELS OF TREATMENTS

COMPLETELY RANDOMIZED
DESIGN (C.R.D.)

• To study the effect of different levels/

categories (Treatment) of explanatory
variable on dependent variable
• Treatment are assigned completely at
random to experimental units
 COMPLETELY RANDOMIZED
DESIGN (C.R.D.)
• Uses only the principles of Replication
& Randomization but ignores Local
Control
• Useful only in small preliminary
experiments where experimental units
are homogeneous
• Analysis - ONE WAY CLASSIFICATION
 RANDOMIZED BLOCK DESIGN
(R.B.D.)
• It is possible to separate out the effect
of one extraneous factor
• All three principles: RANDOMIZATION,
REPLICATION & LOCAL CONTROL are
used.
• There are ‘m’ treatments, each being
replicated ‘n’ times. So, N= m.n
experimental units & units are not
homogeneous.
 RANDOMIZED BLOCK DESIGN
(R.B.D.)
• R.B.D. consists of two steps :
STEP 1
• The experimental units are allocated to
‘n’ homogeneous BLOCKS, number of
units within a block = number of
treatments.
STEP 2
• Assign treatments at random to units of
a block.
 RANDOMIZED BLOCK DESIGN
(R.B.D.)
• By restricting randomization to a block
control over extraneous factor (error) is
obtained.
• Most popular but block size ( no. of
treatments ) should be small o.w. blocks
may not be internally homogeneous.
• Analysis: TWO WAY CLASSIFICATION
of the data & may be used to examine
different levels of two factors.
 LATIN SQUARE DESIGN (LSD)
• Principle of LOCAL CONTROL is used
by grouping the units in two ways:
Rows & Columns
• Each way corresponding to a source of
variation among the units.
• It allows the control & measurement of
effect of two extraneous variables on
dependent variable.
 LATIN SQUARE DESIGN (LSD)
• Condition : Two extraneous variables
have same number of categories as that
of treatments. So number of treatments
= number of replications = m
• Total number of experimental units = m2
( arranged in m rows & m columns,
according to two sources of variation )
 LATIN SQUARE DESIGN (LSD)

• The m treatments are allotted to these m2

units at random s.t. each treatment occurs
once & only once in each row & each
column. This is incomplete 3 – way layout
C1 C2 C3 C4 C5
Ex. R1 A E D C B
R2 D B A E C
R3 B A C D E
R4 C D E B A
R5 E C B A D