Research Methods

Study outline

❑ Research design & its types

 Research Design
A master plan specifying the methods and procedures for
collecting, processing and analyzing the data with an
ultimate goal of achieving research objectives.

Specifically, a research design will be aimed at answering

broadly the following questions:
❑ What techniques will be used to gather data?
❑ What sampling methods will be employed?
❑ How will you analyze the data?
 Need for research design

❑ It facilitates doing the various research operations

smoothly.

❑ It makes research efficient as possible by providing

maximal information with minimal effort, time and
money.
 Features of Good Design

A good research design is one that

• Minimizes bias and error.
• Maximizes the reliability of data collected and
analyzed.
• Is capable of measuring any odd events in any
situations.
• Helps an investigator avoid making mistaken
conclusion.
• Can adequately control the various threat of validity,
both internal and external.
 Types of Research Designs

❑ Non-experimental study
❑ Experimental study

Non-experimental Study

A non-experimental study is one in which the researcher just describes

and analyzes researchable problems without any manipulation of the
situations.
Non-experimental studies cover the following
type of studies

❑ Exploratory studies
❑ Descriptive studies
❑ Causal studies
 Exploratory studies
• 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.
 Exploratory studies
Exploratory research is used in a number of situations:

❑ To gain background information

❑ To define terms
❑ To clarify problems
❑ To establish research priorities
 Exploratory studies
A variety of methods are available to conduct exploratory
research:
❑ Secondary Data Analysis
❑ Experience Surveys
❑ Case Analysis
❑ Focus Groups
❑ Projective Techniques
 Descriptive study
Descriptive research studies are those which are used
to describe the characteristics of a population or
phenomena. This study is undertaken to provide
answers to questions of who, what, where, when, and
how – but not why.
Several variants of a descriptive study are:

❑ Cross-sectional study
❑ Longitudinal study
❑ Trend study
❑ Panel study etc.
 Causal study
A causal study is called explanatory or analytical
study uses to examine how one variable affects or is
responsible for change in another variable.
For example, ……………………
There are three types of causal study-
❑ Comparative studies

❑ Case-control studies

❑ Cohort studies
 Experimental research design
A research design in which the researcher
manipulates the situation and measures the outcome
of his manipulation is called experimental research
design.
For example, ……………….
Types of experimental design
❑ Pre-experimental
❑ True experimental
❑ Quasi-experimental
 Variables
A variable is a characteristic of a person or an
object or a phenomenon that varies from
person to person, or object to object or
phenomenon to phenomenon.
For example, Age, Height, family size, hair
color etc.
 Types of Variable

Qualitative/Categorical Quantitative/Numerical
Variable Variable
Ideas
Opinions
Color Preference
Favored Political Candidate Continuous Variable
❑ Annual Income
Discrete Variable ❑ Interest Rates
❑ Percentage of Satisfied
Football Attendance Customers
Number of drug stores
Number of customers.

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 Qualitative Variable
A qualitative variable is one for which
numerical measurement is not possible.
For example,
Hair color (brown, black, white etc.), Birth
place, Religion, educational level etc.
 Quantitative variables

A quantitative variable is one which can be

expressed and measured numerically.

For example, Height, Weight, age, no. of

accidents etc.
 Discrete Variable
A variable which can take only the certain
values within a given range is called discrete
variable.
For examples,
No. of children in a family, No patients
admitted in a hospital, No. of mobile calls come
in mobile in an hour, No. of motor accidents
occurs in a day etc.
 Continuous variables
A continuous variable which can take any
values within in a given range or domain is
called continuous variable.

For examples,
Height, Weight, Interest rate etc.