Research Design

Prepared by Dr. Ali Bavik revised by Dr. Shanhsan Qi

 Learning Objectives
• Research Proposal

• Primary data .secondary data

• Advantages and disadvantages of primary and

secondary data.

• Types of research design

• Different variables
 Research Proposal

• Three functions:
1. It states the problem.
2. It specifies the research objectives.
3. It details the research method
proposed.
• Proposals also contain a timetable and a
budget.

Ch 4 3
 Research Design

It is a master plan specifies the

methods and procedures for
collecting and analyzing the
needed information.
Lets think about it!

• How do you normally conduct research?

What sources do you use and where do you
find those resources?
• How do you think people researched before
the internet?
• What do you think historians and archeologists
use to gather information?
• What might make a source better than others?

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Secondary Source

A secondary source interprets and

analyzes primary sources. These sources
are one or more steps removed from the
event. Secondary sources may have
pictures, quotes or graphics that are
primary sources.
(Princeton University Library http://www.princeton.edu)

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Secondary Source
cont.
• A secondary source is a something that is a
reference to a primary source.
• It interprets or analyzes the primary source.
• Its purpose is to explain or clarify the primary
source in some way.

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Secondary Source
cont.
• Provide an introduction to a topic

• Provide historical/broader context for a topic

• Show how has a topic been interpreted by other

historians

• Provide hints on where to find primary evidence

• Provide information which enables historians to make

sense of primary sources

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Public Documents

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Textbooks

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Magazines

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Journal Articles

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Advantages

• The primary advantage of secondary data

is that it is cheaper and faster to access.

• it provides a way to access the work of the

best scholars all over the world.

• It data gives a frame of mind to the

researcher that in which direction he/she
should go for the specific research.

• It saves time, efforts and money and add to

the value of the research study.

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Disadvantages
• The data collected by the third party may not be a
reliable party so the reliability and accuracy of data
go down.

• Data collected in one location may not be suitable

for the other one due variable environmental
factor.

• With the passage of time the data becomes

obsolete and very old

• Secondary data can also raise issues of copyright.

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Types of Sources

1. Primary
2. Secondary

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Primary Source

A primary source is an original, "first-

hand", or "eye-witness" account offering
an inside view.
It contains new information (new at the
time it was created, that is) that has not
been interpreted, evaluated, paraphrased,
or condensed.

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Primary Source cont.

Such sources are usually created during

or very close to the time of the events
they report on.
The author of a primary source typically
provides direct impressions of events
he or she is reporting on.

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Photographs
AAdesk that belonged to Queen
Victorian gown worn by Queen Victoria to
Victoria in 1851…
the ‘Great
Macau
Expedition’, the first world’s fair

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Interviews

ABC News’
19 Diane Sawyer’s interview with President Obama on the 2012 Presidential Election.
Source: ABC News
Diaries

The diary of President Ronald Reagan which provides a first-hand account of the 40th President of the United States term in office. Source: Reagan Presidential
20 Library
Letters

Abraham Lincoln’s letter to General Sherman on December 26 th, 1864 congratulating Sherman on the capture of the city of Savannah. Source: Library of
21
Congress
Autobiographies

The Story22
of My Experiments with Truth by M.K. Gandhi…details in his own words the Indian Nationalist’s struggles and inspiration for India’s independence from Britain.
Advantages

• original and relevant to the topic of the

research study so the degree of
accuracy is very high.

• it can be collected from a number of

ways like interviews, telephone surveys,
focus groups etc.

• It can be also collected across the

national borders through emails and
posts. It can include a large population
and wide geographical coverage.

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Advantages
cont.
• it can better give a realistic view to the
researcher about the topic under
consideration.

• Reliability of primary data is very high

because these are collected by the
concerned and reliable party

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Disadvantages

• The coverage is limited and for wider coverage a more

number of researchers are required.
• A lot of time and efforts are required for data collection.
• By the time the data collected, analyzed and report is
ready the problem of the research becomes very serious or
out dated. So the purpose of t research may be defeated.
• It has design problems like how to design the surveys. The
questions must be simple to understand and respond.
• Some respondents do not give timely responses.
Sometimes, the respondents may give fake, socially
acceptable and sweet answers and try to cover up the
realities

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Disadvantages
cont.
• With more people, time and efforts
involvement the cost of the data
collection goes high.

• There is no control over the data

collection. Incomplete questionnaire
always give a negative impact on
research.

• Trained persons are required for data

collection. In experienced person in data
collection may give inadequate data of
the research.

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Exercise: Please answer the following
questions

The key sources of secondary and primary data?

• To find the major arrivals in your local city
This a secondary OR primary data?

• Collecting tourism information from local tourism

organization sources center and assess the current
image portrayed by your local/regional tourist
association
This a secondary OR primary data?

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Types of Research Design
 Three traditional categories:
• 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 research objectives.

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 Basic Research Objectives and
Research Design

Research Objective Appropriate Design

To gain background information, Exploratory

to define terms, to clarify
problems and hypotheses,
to establish research priorities

To describe and measure marketing Descriptive

phenomena at a point in time

To determine causality, Causal

to make “if-then” statements

Ch 5 30
 Types of Research Design: A Caution!

• Exploratory
• Descriptive
• Causal

A Caution
• It should not be implied that research design is a
step-by-step process in terms of the order in which
design should be carried out. Many research projects
use only one design.

Ch 5 31
 Exploratory Research

• Exploratory research is most commonly

unstructured, informal research that is
undertaken to gain background
information about the general nature of
the research problem.

By unstructured, we mean there is no formal

set of objectives, sample plan, or
questionnaire.

Ch 5 32
 Exploratory Research

• It is usually conducted when the

researcher does not know much about the
problems.

• Exploratory research is usually conducted

at the outset of research projects.

Ch 5 33
 Exploratory Research

• A variety of methods are available to

conduct exploratory research.

• Secondary Data Analysis

• Case Analysis
• Focus Groups

Ch 5 34
Descriptive Research
• Descriptive research is undertaken to
describe answers to questions of who,
what, where, when, and how.

• It is desirable when we wish to project a

study’s findings to a larger population, if
the study’s sample is representative.

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 Research Design: Descriptive Research

Two basic classifications:

• Cross-sectional studies
• Longitudinal studies

Ch 5 36
 Classification of Descriptive
Research Studies
• Cross-sectional studies measure units from
a sample of the population at only one
point in time.
• Sample surveys: are cross-sectional
studies whose samples are drawn in
such a way as to be representative of a
specific population.

Ch 5 37
 Classification of Descriptive
Research Studies

Cross-sectional studies take

“snapshots” of the population at a
point in time.

Ch 5 38
 Classification of Descriptive
Research Studies
• Longitudinal studies repeatedly measure the same
sample units of a population over time.
• Longitudinal studies often make use of a panel
which represents sample units who have agreed
to answer questions at periodic intervals.
• Many large research firms maintain panels of
consumers.

Ch 5 39
 Marketing Research Panels
• Continuous panels ask panel members the
same questions on each panel
measurement.
• Discontinuous panels vary questions from
one panel measurement to the next.

• They are sometimes referred to as

omnibus (“including or covering many
things or classes”).

Ch 5 40
 Causal Research
Causality may be thought of as
understanding a phenomenon in terms
of conditional statements of the form
“If x, then y.”

Causal studies are conducted through the

use of experiments.

Ch 5 41
 Experiments

• An experiment is defined as manipulating

an independent variable to see how it
affects a dependent variable, while also
controlling the effects of additional
extraneous variables.

Ch 5 42
 Variable

An aspect of the
research environment
that can change

Ch 5 43
• Control variables are those
variables that may have
some effect on a dependent
variable yet are variables
• Independent
not are
• Dependent
independent variables
variables. are
those variables
those measured which
in anthe
researcher
experimenthas control
over and wishes to
• Extraneous
manipulate.
variables must be
controlled through proper
• Examples design.
experimental would be
• Forreturn on investment,
example: level of ad
net profits, type
expenditure; marketof share,
ad
appeal; price;
customer product
satisfaction.
features, etc.

Ch 5 44
http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/angelacovil/506/procedure.html
 Independent Variable

• Independent variables are those variables

which the researcher has control over and
wishes to manipulate.
• For example: level of ad expenditure;
type of ad appeal; price; product
features, etc.

Ch 5 45
 Dependent Variables

• Dependent variables are those

variables that we have little or no
direct control over, yet we have a
strong interest in.
• Examples would be return on
investment, net profits, market share,
customer satisfaction.

Ch 5 46
 Extraneous Variables

• Control variables are those variables that may

have some effect on a dependent variable yet
are not independent variables.

• Extraneous variables must be controlled through

proper experimental design.
(Extraneous and Control variables are any
variables that you are not intentionally studying
in your experiment or test. )

Ch 5 47
 Example
• Controlled variables are quantities that a scientist wants to
remain constant, and she or he must observe them as carefully
as the dependent variables.
e.g. a dog experiment, you would need to control how hungry the
dogs are at the start of the experiment, the type of food you are
feeding them, and whether the food was a type that they liked.
Why? If you did not, then other explanations could be given for
differences you observe in how much they eat.

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Example
• E.g. If online learning increases student understanding of
statistics.
One group (A) uses an online knowledge base to study,
The other group (B) uses a traditional text.
• Extraneous variables could include prior knowledge of
statistics; you would have to make sure that group A roughly
matched group B with prior knowledge before starting the
study.
• Other extraneous variables could include amount of support
in the home, socio-economic income, or temperature of the
testing room.

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Experiment Reliability and Validity

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 How Valid are Experiments?

• An experiment is valid if it has:

• Internal validity: which measures the extent to
which the change in the dependent variable is
actually due to the change in the independent
variable.

Ch 5 51
 How Valid are Experiments?

• An experiment is valid if it has:

• External validity: which refers to the extent that
the relationship observed between the
independent and dependent variables during
the experiment is generalizable to the “real
world.”

Ch 5 52
 Types of Experiments

• Laboratory experiments are those in which the

independent variable is manipulated and
measures of the dependent variable are taken in
a contrived, artificial setting for the purpose of
controlling the many possible extraneous variables
that may affect the dependent variable.
e.g. Hotel website performance better
to do the evaluation at a lab make
sure all the electronic devices in the
same condition.

Ch 5 53
 Types of Experiments
Field experiments are those in which the
independent variables are manipulated
and the measurements of the dependent
variable are made on test units in their
natural setting (so cannot really control
extraneous variables).

Ch 5 54