LECTURE- 3

DEVELOPING RESEARCH APPROACH & RESEARCH DESIGN :

NON- CONCLUSIVE
Dr. J. K.Nayak
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

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DEVELOPING RESEARCH
APPROACH

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 Research approach
Research approach is the way of dealing with a particular research problem.

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Wrong approach

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 Types of research approaches
o Deductive approach

o Inductive approach

o Abductive approach

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 Deductive approach

A deductive approach is concerned with “developing a hypothesis (or hypotheses)

based on existing theory, and then designing a research strategy to test the
hypothesis”

Example- Impact of bonus on salesmen performance in banking industry

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 Inductive approach
Inductive approach, also known in inductive reasoning, starts with the observations
and theories are proposed towards the end of the research process as a result of
observations

Example- Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Porters five forces model

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 Abductive approach
o Abductive approach is set to address weaknesses associated with deductive and
inductive approaches.

o Specifically, deductive research is criticized for the lack of clarity in terms of

how to select theory to be tested via formulating hypotheses.

o Inductive reasoning, on other hand, criticized because “no amount of empirical

data will necessarily enable theory-building”
Example- Greed is the reason behind any recession in the economy.

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Difference among the three research approaches

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 Deductive
• All eagles can fly
Tweety is an eagle
Therefore Tweety can fly

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 Inductive
Observation: All the crows that I have ever
seen were black
Inference: All crows everywhere (including
ones I have never seen) are black.
Observations towards an inference.

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 Abductive
• Observation: The grass outside my window
was wet when I woke up this morning.
Known fact: Rain in the night can make grass
wet.
Abductive inference: There was probably rain
in the night.

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RESEARCH DESIGN- I

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 Research Design
A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing
research project. It details the procedures necessary for obtaining the information
needed to structure or solve marketing research problems.

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 Choice of research design
The choice or decision 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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 Components of a Research Design
• Define the information needed
• Design the exploratory, descriptive, and/or causal phases of the research Specify
the measurement and scaling procedures
• Construct and pretest a questionnaire (interviewing form) or an appropriate form
for data collection
• Specify the sampling process and sample size
• Develop a plan of data analysis
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A Classification of Marketing Research Designs

Research Design

Exploratory Conclusive
Research Design Research Design

Descriptive Causal
Research Research

Cross-Sectional Longitudinal
Design Design

Single Cross- Multiple Cross-

Sectional Design Sectional Design
 Exploratory research
o A research design characterized by a flexible and evolving approach to
understand marketing phenomena that are inherently difficult to measure.

o The primary objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and

an understanding of marketing phenomena.

o Example- Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, Inventor of

photocopying machine by Chester Carlson.

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 Case- I (Bru Coffee)
An advertising company got an account for a new coffee (Bru) containing
chicory, the company (Hindustan Unilever) started the investigation process with
exploratory research in order to identify the situation. The researchers found that
virtually no one had heard about chicory. It wasn’t being used, and no-one seemed
to know how to put it to use. This resulted in the hypothesis that the advertising
could depict the chicory ingredient in whatever way the customer desired.

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 Case- II (Crime Investigation Program)
The favorite crime investigation TV programs (e.g., Sherlock Holmes, True,
Detective etc.) give a pretty good example of the research design. These shows
typically start with a crime that needs to be investigated. The initial step is to
look for hints which can help establish what has happened (exploratory). The
clues found in the exploratory phase of the research usually point in the direction
of a specific hypothesis or explanation of the events which happened, and
investigators start focusing their efforts in this direction, performing interviews
with witnesses and suspects (descriptive).

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 Exploratory research Background
o It is usually conducted when the researcher does not know much about the
problems.

o Exploratory research is usually conducted at the outset of research projects.

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 Uses of Exploratory Research
o Gain Background Information
o Define Terms
o Clarify Problems and Hypothesis (refine research objectives)
o Establish Research Priorities
o Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination
o Gain insights for developing an approach to the problem
o Establish priorities for further research

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 Methods of Exploratory Research
• Survey of experts
• Pilot surveys
• Secondary data analyzed in a qualitative way
• Qualitative research
• Focus group
• Projective techniques
THANK YOU

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