WOLKITE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATICS

DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEM

COMPILED BY: ISAYAS W. (M.Sc.)

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CHAPTER FOUR

RESEARCH DESIGN

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 QUESTION

WHAT IS RESEARCH?
WHAT IS RESEARCH DESIGN?
WHY WE NEED RESEARCH?
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 Best quotes about research

“I believe in innovation and that the way you

get innovation is you fund research and you
learn the basic facts. ” -Bill Gates
“Research is what I’m doing when I don’t know
what I’m doing.” -Wernher von Braun

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Meaning of Research
Research is an Organized and Systematic way of Finding answers to
Questions.
 Systematic: because there is a definite set of procedures and
steps which you will follow.
There are certain things in the research process which are
always done in order to get the most accurate results.
 Organized : because there is a structure or method in going
about doing research.
• It is a planned procedure, not a spontaneous one. It is
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focused and limited to a specific scope.
 MEANING OF RESEARCH DESIGN

 Once the research problem is formulated (defined) and objective is

developed, the researcher will be required to prepare a research
design
 Research design refers to the arrangement of the condition for
collection and analysis of data in a manner that will satisfy or
achieve the objectives of the undertaking.
 The function of research design is to provide for the collection of
relevant information with minimal expenditure of effort, time
and money.
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 Design of research
It sets up the framework for adequate tests of
relationships among study variables.
It tells what observations to make/what variables to
measure, how to make them/measure them, and how
to analyze the data;
It suggests how many observations to make and the
type of statistical analysis to use;

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 Cont…
• Research design has two basic purposes:
(1) to provide answers to research questions, and
(2) to control the variance (adjustment, change).
 Reduced to the simplest of terms,

 “research design is a mapping strategy.

 It is essentially a statement of the object of the inquiry (review) and

the strategies for collecting the evidences, analyzing the
evidences and reporting the findings.
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 Research Design

The research design will be in respect of

What is the study about? (Problem definition)

Why is the study being made? (Justification)

Where will the study be carried out? (Location)

What type of data is required? (Quant, Qual)

Where can the required data be found (target population)

What will be the sample design (technique chosen)

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 Research Design
We may split the overall research design into three
• The sampling design - which deals with the method of
selecting items to be observed for the given study.
• The statistical design - which concerns with the question of
how many items are to be observed and how the information
and data gathered are to be analyzed;
• The operational design - which deals with the techniques by
which the procedures specified in the sampling, Statistical
and observational designs can be carried out. 10
In brief, research design must, at least, contain—
a clear statement of the research problem;
procedures and techniques to be used for
gathering information;
the population to be studied; and
methods to be used in processing and analyzing
data

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 NEED FOR RESEARCH DESIGN

Research design is needed, because:

• making research as efficient as possible yielding maximal
information with minimal expenditure of effort, time and
money.

• Stands for advance planning of the methods to be adopted for

collecting the relevant data and the techniques to be used in
their analysis,
•
Preparation of the research design should be done with great care as
any error in it may upset (disappointed) the entire project.
 

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 Features of a Good Design
• A good design is often characterized by adjectives like flexible,
appropriate, efficient, economical and so on
• The design which minimizes bias(unfairness) and maximizes the
reliability of the data collected and analyzed is considered a good
design
• The design which gives the smallest experimental error is
supposed to be the best design in many investigations
• Similarly, a design which yields maximal information and
provides an opportunity for considering many different aspects of a
problem is considered most appropriate and efficient design in
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 Cont….
• A research design appropriate for a particular research problem,
usually involves the consideration of the following factors:
 the means of obtaining information;
 the availability and skills of the researcher and his staff, if any;
 the objective of the problem to be studied;

 the nature of the problem to be studied; and

 the availability of time and money for the research work.

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 DIFFERENT RESEARCH DESIGNS
• Different research designs can be conveniently described if we
categorize them as:

(1) research design in case of exploratory research studies;

(2) research design in case of descriptive and diagnostic research
studies, and
(3) research design in case of hypothesis-testing research studies.

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 (1) research design in case of exploratory research
studies
 conducted for a problem that has not been studied more clearly,
intended to establish priorities, develop operational definitions and
improve the final research design
 also termed as formulative research studies
 The main purpose of such studies is that of

-formulating a problem for more precise (exact ) investigation or

-of developing the working hypotheses from an operational point of view
The major emphasis in such studies is on the discovery of ideas and
insights (understanding) 16
 ….cont
Generally, the following three methods in the context of research
design for such studies are talked about:

(a) The survey (study) of concerning literature;

(b) The experience survey and
(c) The analysis of ‘insight-stimulating’ examples.

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 (a) The survey of concerning literature
 Happens to be the most simple and fruitful method of
formulating precisely the research problem or developing
hypothesis.

 Hypotheses stated by earlier workers may be reviewed and their

usefulness be evaluated as a basis for further research.

 In this way the researcher should review and build upon the work
already done by others,

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 (b) The experience survey
 Experience survey means the survey of people who have had
practical experience with the problem to be studied.
 The object of such a survey is to obtain insight(understanding) into
the relationships between variables and new ideas relating to the
research problem.

 For such a survey people who are competent and can contribute new
ideas may be carefully selected as respondents to ensure a
representation of different types of experience.
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 Cont…

 The researcher must prepare an interview schedule for the

systematic questioning of informants.
 But the interview must ensure flexibility in the sense that the
respondents should be allowed to raise issues and questions which
the investigator has not previously considered.
 Generally, the experience- collecting interview is likely to be long
and may last for few hours.

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 Cont..
 Hence, it is often considered desirable to send a copy of the
questions to be discussed to the respondents well in advance.

 This will also give an opportunity to the respondents for doing

some advance thinking over the various issues involved so that, at
the time of interview, they may be able to contribute effectively.

 Thus, an experience survey may enable the researcher to define the

problem more concisely (briefly) and help in the formulation of the
research hypothesis.
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(c) The analysis of ‘insight-stimulating’ examples.
Analysis of ‘insight-stimulating’:
 It is particularly suitable in areas where there is little experience to
serve as a guide.
 This method consists of the intensive study of selected instances of
the phenomenon in which one interested.
 For this purpose, the existing records, if any, may be examined, the
unstructured interviewing may take place, or some other
approach may be adopted.

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 Cont …
 the main features which make this method an appropriate
procedure for evoking(suggesting) insights are:
Attitude of the investigator,
the intensity (strength) of the study and
the ability of the researcher to draw together diverse
information into a unified interpretation

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 2. Research design in case of descriptive and
diagnostic research studies:

Descriptive research studies are those studies which are concerned

with
describing the characteristics of a particular individual, or of a group,

whereas diagnostic research studies determine the frequency with

which something occurs or its association with something else

Most of the social research comes under this category.

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 3. Research design in case of hypothesis-testing
research studies
• Generally Known as Experimental Studies
• are those where the researcher tests the hypotheses of causal
relationships between variables (cause and effect)
• Such studies require procedures that will not only reduce bias
and increase reliability, but will permit drawing
inferences(conclusion) about causality

• when we talk of research design in such studies, we often mean the

design of experiments 25
SAMPLING METHOD

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 What is Sampling?
• The act, process, or technique of selecting a suitable sample, or
a representative part of a population for the purpose of
determining parameters or characteristics of the whole
population.

• There would be no need for statistical theory if a census rather

than a sample was always used to obtain information about
populations.
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Classification of sampling techniques
 Questions to be asked
• When you want to draw a sample you must
consider the following questions:
What is the study population you are interested in from
which you want to draw a sample?
How many subjects do you need in your sample?
How will these subjects be selected?

The study population has to be clearly defined. Otherwise you

cannot do the sampling.
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 Cont….
 Apart from persons, a study population may consist of:

villages, institutions, plants, animals, records, etc.

 Each study population consists of study units.

 The way you define your study population and your study unit
depends on:
 the problem you want to investigate and on
the objectives of the study

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 Sampling

• Six main reasons for sampling instead of doing a census.

– Economy

– Timeliness(time)
– The large size of many populations
– Inaccessibility (unreachability) of some of the population

– Destructiveness (harmfulness) of the observation

– accuracy

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Sampling`

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 Sampling Techniques
• Probability sampling
– Each unit of the population will be represented in the sample.
– Each member of the population has a chance (equal in the case
of random selection) of being selected.
• Non-probability sampling
– The researcher has no way of forecasting that each member of
the population will be represented in the sample.
– Some members of the population have little or no chance of
being selected.
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 Sampling Techniques

Probability Sampling includes:

Simple random sampling
Systematic random sampling

Stratified random sampling

Cluster sampling

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 Probability Sampling Techniques
• Simple random sampling
Where we select a group of subjects (a sample) for study from a
larger group (a population)
– Simple random selection where every member of the
population is given an equal chance of being selected;
– Good for homogeneous population;
– Easy when the population is small and elements are known;

– Impractical for very large populations

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 What is Homogeneity?
• A data set is homogeneous if it is made up of things (i.e. people,
cells or traits(characters)) that are similar to each other.
• For example, a data set made up of 20-year-old college students
enrolled in Physics 101 is a homogeneous sample.

• In homogeneous sampling, all the items in the sample are chosen

because they have similar or identical traits.

• For example, people in a homogeneous sample might share the

same age, location or employment.
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Example

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 Example 2
The owner of Company XYZ wants to know if his employs are
satisfied with the quality of food provided in the company.
 In this case, the target population is every person who works at
the company.
 Thus, population is precisely defined, is specific and elements
are finite in number
 The population is homogenous because people belonging to
different groups (age, group, gender) are not very much likely to
be different over the issue.

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 Cont..
 There are 1000 employs in the company.

 To draw a sample of 100 participants, the researcher uses an

exhaustive (complete) list of the employs (it means the list contains
the names of all the 1000 employs)
 He now follows a computer-generated table containing 100
numbers in between 1 to 1000.
 The participants whose names are corresponding to the selected
numbers are approached and investigated.

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 Probability Sampling Techniques

• Systematic random sampling

– Selecting elements of the population in
predetermined sequence;
– Select every kth item on a list

• This type of sampling is also used for homogenous

population.

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 Cont..
 Unlike simple random sampling, there is not an equal probability
of every element been included
 In this type of sampling the elements are selected at a regular
interval.
 The interval may be in terms of time, space or order

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 Cont..
 For instance, element appearing after every 30 minutes, or present
at a distance of two meters, or every 5th element present on a list.
 Thus, this regularity and uniformity in selection makes the
sampling systematic.
 The list of elements may or may not be required before the
conduction of research
 Sometimes it is not even possible to create a list because of the
nature of population
 Say, if it is possible to tell who is going to visit the coffee shop
today. 42
 Example 2 (when lists are available)
The owner of Company XYZ wants to know if his employs are
satisfied with the quality of food provided in the company.
 In this case, the target population is every person who works at the
company
 There are 1000 (N) employs in the company working in 4 different
departments A, B, C, D
 The population is homogenous because people belonging to
different groups are not very much likely to be different over the
issue.

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 Cont..
 However, the elements are already grouped.

 So, in order to ensure the extension of sample to the whole population

systematic sampling is used
 To draw a sample of 100 (n) participants, the researcher uses an
exhaustive(complete) list of the employs from all the four departments.

 He arranges the lists in order and compiles them to one.

 There are 234 employs in A, 345 in B, 156 in C, 265 in D

 He allots a number to each name.

 In this way the name that was first on the individual list B is now
235th on the compiled list.
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 Cont..
 Dividing N by n, researcher gets a number for the interval to be
used i.e. 10.
 Looking into the list, he selects 7th employ at random.
 Then every 10th from the 7th is included.
 In this way the sample is composed of employs whose names are
corresponding to number 7, 17, 27, 37.... .997

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 Probability Sampling Techniques
• Stratified random sampling
– Applied when the population has different layers (strata)

– The researcher samples from each one of the layers

(stratum) equally
– Examples
• Sampling of school children from grades 4, 5 and 6

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 Proportionate vs. Disproportionate Stratified Random
Sampling

• Proportionate: If sampling fraction is equal for each

stratum
• Disproportionate: Unequal sampling fraction in each
stratum
• Needed to enable better representation of smaller
(minority groups)
 Example 2
• Suppose that we want a sample size of n=30 to be drawn from
a population size N=8000 which is divided into three strata of
size
• N1=4000
• N2=2400

• N3=1600

• Allocate proportional allocation for different strata.

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 Cluster Sampling
 The group of elements residing in one geographical region is
called as cluster.
 And sampling of clusters is called as cluster sampling.
 This sampling technique is used when the elements of population
are spread over a wide geographical area.
 The population is divided into sub-groups called as clusters on the
basis of their geographical allocation.

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 Example
1. Education department wants to inspect(examine) quality of
education in schools of ABC City.

2. There are twenty-five thousand schools in the city; the researcher

wants to take a sample of 1000 schools.

• In this case if simple random or systematic random sampling is

used it will demand to move around the whole city locating the
selected schools that are dispersed which would consume more
time, efforts and money.
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 Cont..
 So, instead the researcher chooses cluster
sampling for his research.
 He divides the city’s population into 25 towns;
thus into 25 clusters.
 A number is allotted to each cluster.

 Then 7 clusters are selected using simple random

sampling.
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 Cont…
• Cluster sampling
– Grouping the population into clusters and then select
members of clusters
Random selection
Population of clusters
C1 C2 C3 C4 C5

C5 C6 C7 C8 C8

C9 C10 C11 C12 C11

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 Probability Sampling Techniques
Population characteristics
Homogeneous members
Stratified population with
approximately equal in size
Stratified population, strata
different in size
Population with discrete
clusters with similar
characteristics
Appropriate sampling
technique
•Simple random sampling
•Systematic random
sampling
Stratified random
sampling
Proportional stratified
sampling
Cluster sampling
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 2. Non-Probability Sampling Techniques
Non-probability sampling is that sampling procedure which
does not afford (have enough money) any basis for estimating
the probability that each item in the population has of being
included in the sample.

• When all the individuals of the population are not

given an equal opportunity of becoming a part of the
sample, the method is said to be Non-probability
sampling
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 Cont….
• Nonprobability sampling is mainly used in product
testing, name testing , advertising testing where
researchers and managers want to have a rough
idea of population reaction rather than precise
understanding.

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 Cont….
NOTE THAT IN NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLING
• each element/member of the population DOES NOT have
an equal chance of being included in the sample, and
• the researcher CANNOT estimate the error caused by not
collecting data from all elements/members of the
population.

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 continued
• Non-probability sampling techniques
includes:
– Convenience sampling
– Quota sampling
– Purposive sampling
– Judgement sampling
– Snowball sampling

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 1. Convenient Sampling
DEFINITION

It is a non-probability sampling technique where subjects are

selected because of their convenient(suitable) source of
accessibility and proximity data to the researcher.
 selecting people because of the ease of their volunteering
or
 selecting units because of their availability or easy access

 Selecting easily accessible participants with no

randomization.
 Cont…
• For example, asking people who live in your
dorm to take a survey for your project.
Ex2: those that arrive on a scene (part) by coincidence
(chance)
– May be appropriate for some less demanding research
• One of the most common examples of convenience sampling is
using student volunteers as subjects for the research.

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 Non-Probability Sampling Techniques

2. Purposive sampling
– Units of the sample are chosen purposively.

– Choosing people who we have decided are “typical” of a

group;

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 Cont….
• The purposive sampling is selected by some arbitrary method
because it is known to be representative of the total
population, or it is known that it will produce well matched
groups.

• The Idea is to pick out the sample in relation to some criterion,

which are considered important for the particular study.

• This method is appropriate when the study places special

emphasis upon the control of certain specific
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variables(concepts like: height, weight, income)
 Non-Probability Sampling Techniques
3. Quota sampling
– Elements are selected in the same proportion as in the
population but not in a random fashion
• Ex: there are equal number of Information Science (IS)
and Computer Science (CS) students
– Quota sampling would choose 20 IS and 20 CS
students without any attempt to random selection

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 Cont…
Selecting participant in numbers proportionate to their
numbers in the larger population, no randomization.
– For example you include exactly 50 males and 50
females in a sample of 100.

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 4. Judgment Sampling
DEFINITION

Selecting participants because they have certain predetermined

characteristics, no randomization.
Judgmental sampling is a non-probability sampling technique
where the researcher selects units to be sampled based on their
knowledge and professional judgment.
example1: IS students know about IS
example2, you want to be sure include African Americans,
EuroAmericans, Latinos and Asian Americans in relatively equal
numbers.
 Snowball Sampling
DEFINITION

Selecting participants by finding one or two participants and

then asking them to refer you to others.

For example, meeting a homeless person, interviewing that person,

and then asking him/her to introduce you to other homeless people

you might interview.

 Summary of Sampling Process
• Steps in the sampling process (Shajahan, 2004)

– Defining the population

– Specifying the sampling unit
– Specifying the sampling frame
• (the means of representing the elements of the population.
Eg. Tele. Book, map, city directory, …)
– Specifying the sampling method
– Determining the sampling size
– Specifying the sampling plan
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– Selecting the sample
 Bias in Sampling
• Bias: Any influence, condition or set of conditions that
singly or together distort data
• Ex: the impact of the researcher’s personality on the
response of the interviewee.
• Bias attacks the data integrity (truthfulness)
• Sampling bias: any influence that may have disturbed the
randomness by which the choice of a sample has been
selected
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CHAPTER FOUR

DATA COLLECTION

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 Data Collection
 is a term used to describe a process of preparing and
collecting research data

 It is important to choose the right data collection

method(s) as this will allow data to be collected that will
meet the objectives of the research;

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 Nature of Data
The data can be classified into two broad categories:
 Qualitative data.

 Quantitative data.

1. Qualitative Data or Attributes: The characteristics or traits for

which numerical value cannot be assigned, e.g. motivation,
confidence, honesty integrity etc.
2. Quantitative Data or Variables: The characteristics or traits for
which numerical value can be assigned, e.g. Achievement Intelligent,
Aptitude Height, Weight etc.
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 Types of Data
• Primary Data:
– Are those which are collected afresh (anew) and for
the first time and thus happen to be original in
character

• Secondary data:
– Are those which have been collected by someone
else and which have already been passed through
the statistical process 71
 Methods of Data Collection
 The task of data collection begins after a research problem has
been defined and research design plan chalked out
 While deciding about the method of data collection to be used for
the study, the researcher should keep in mind two types of data viz.,
primary and secondary
 The methods of collecting primary and secondary data differ since
primary data are to be originally collected,
while in case of secondary data the nature of data collection
work is merely that of compilation

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 Methods of Primary data collection
 Observation (Systematic viewing)
 Personal Interviews (structured or unstructured
 Telephone Interviews

 Questionnaire (self administered)

 Popular in case of big inquiries

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• Choice of data collection largely depends upon:
The objective of research

Minimization of Bias
Reduction of non-response
Reduction of data error
Minimization of expenses

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 Development of Questionnaire
 Open ended question

-Open-ended questions allow respondents to answer in their

own words
 Multiple choice
 Yes / No

 Likert scale (Rating scale)

 5 4 3 2 1 or -2 -1 0 1 2
 Strongly agree, agree, strongly disagree

 Rankings 75
 Questionnaire design
– Pay attention to Pattern (arrangement) of questions

– Pay attention to the number of questions

– Avoid Difficult questions
– Avoid Leading questions
– Avoid Ambiguous questions

• Pilot testing is very important (experimental testing)

– Helps to validate your questionnaire

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 When to use different types of questions

• Open questions should be used when rich qualitative data is

needed that describes the respondent´s perception of their own
experience.

• Multiple choice questions are useful when there is more complexity

in the range of possible responses in discrete categories, but the
range of expected responses is still fairly limited.
•
Dichotomous questions are useful in situations where you want to
force respondents to express a clear opinion or as a filter for
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 Collection of secondary data
 Secondary data might be either published or unpublished.

 One should however be careful in using secondary data

since the data available may be misleading.
 One has to check for
 Suitability
 (Is it relevant for your research problem)
 Adequacy
 (will you be able to answer your questions adequately)
 Reliability
 (when was the data collected, who collected data, how was the
data collected?)
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 Characteristic
• Before using secondary data, researcher must see that the
data possess the following characteristics:

1. Reliability of data
2. Suitability of data

3. Adequacy of data

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 Selection Of Appropriate Method For Data Collection

• There are various methods of data collection.

• As such the researcher must judiciously(carefully) select
the method/methods for his own study, keeping in view
the following factors:
• 1. Nature, scope and object of enquiry: This constitutes
the most important factor affecting the choice of a
particular method

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 Cont..

• This factor is also important in deciding whether the

data already available (secondary data) are to be
used or the data not yet available (primary data)
are to be collected.

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 2. Availability of funds
 Availability of funds for the research project determines to a
large extent the method to be used for the collection of data

 When funds at the disposal of the researcher are very limited,

he will have to select a comparatively cheaper method which
may not be as efficient and effective as some other costly
method

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 3. Time factor
• Availability of time has also to be taken into account in
deciding a particular method of data collection.

• Some methods take relatively more time, whereas with

others the data can be collected in a comparatively
shorter duration

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 4. Precision (accuracy) required
• Precision required is yet another important factor to be considered
at the time of selecting the method of collection of data.

• But one must always remember that each method of data collection
has its uses and none is superior in all situations.

84
 Cont….
• For instance, telephone interview method may be considered
appropriate (assuming telephone population) if funds are
restricted, time is also restricted and the data is to be collected
in respect of few items with or without a certain degree of
precision

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 END OF

CHAPTER 4

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