TYPES OF RESEARCH

DESIGN
Important concepts related to research design
1. Dependent and independent variables: A concept which can take on different
quantitative values is called a variable. Such as the concepts like weight, height, income
are all examples of variables. If one variable depends upon or is a consequence of the
other variable, it is termed as a dependent variable, and the variable that is antecedent to
the dependent variable is termed as an independent variable. For instance, if we say that
height depends upon age, then height is a dependent variable and age is an independent
variable.
2. Extraneous variable: Independent variables that are not related to the purpose of the
study, but may affect the dependent variable are termed as extraneous variables. For
example, imagine a study that aims to investigate the relationship between exercise and
weight loss. The extraneous variables in this study could be diet, sleep habits, health of
individual and lifestyle, among others.
3. Control: One important characteristic of a good research design is to minimise the
influence or effect of extraneous variable(s). The technical term ‘control’ is used when
we design the study minimising the effects of extraneous independent variables.

4. Confounded relationship: When the dependent variable is not free from the
influence of extraneous variable(s), the relationship between the dependent and
independent variables is said to be confounded by an extraneous variable(s).

5. Research hypothesis: When a prediction or a hypothesised relationship is to be

tested by scientific methods, it is termed as research hypothesis. The research
hypothesis is a predictive statement that relates an independent variable to a dependent
variable. Usually a research hypothesis must contain, at least, one independent and one
dependent variable.
6. Experimental and control groups: In an experimental hypothesis-testing research
when a group is exposed to usual conditions, it is termed a ‘control group’, but when
the group is exposed to some novel or special condition, it is termed an ‘experimental
group’.
7. Treatments: The different conditions under which experimental and control groups
are put are usually referred to as ‘treatments’. For instance, the two treatments are the
usual studies programme and the special studies programme.
 Exploratory Research refers to the research methodology
Exploratory used when researchers have a limited understanding of
Research Design- the topic and want to gain a broader perspective or more
Meaning insights into the subject. Exploratory research design is
very useful for providing initial insights into a topic,
describing phenomena in detail, and exploring a topic
without the predetermined constraints of hypothesis
testing.

Exploratory research is
generally conducted in order
to generate initial data on a
relatively unknown topic
(Hammond & Wellington,
2013).
Exploratory research relies more on secondary
data.
It does not have a rigid design as the researcher
themselves are not very well versed with the
subject and are trying to gain knowledge of the
same. Hence it can be quite informal, relying on
secondary research such as reviewing available
literature and/or data, or qualitative approaches
such as informal discussions with consumers,
employees, management or competitors, and
more formal approaches through in-depth
interviews, focus groups, projective methods,
case studies or pilot studies.
The following are the circumstances in which exploratory study would be ideally
suited:
• To gain an insight into the problem
• To generate new product ideas
• To list all possibilities. Among the several possibilities, we need to prioritize the
possibilities which seem likely
• To develop hypothesis occasionally.

Example: The management is considering a change in the contract policy, which it

hopes, will result in improved satisfaction for channel members. An exploratory study
can be used to clarify the present state of channel members’ satisfaction and to
develop a method by which satisfaction level of channel members is measured.
Characteristics of Exploratory Research
• Exploratory research is flexible and very versatile.
• For data collection structured forms are not used.
• Experimentation is not a requirement.
• Cost incurred to conduct study is low.
• This type of research allows very wide exploration of views.
• Research is interactive in nature and also it is open ended.
Formulation of Hypothesis in Exploratory Research
The quickest and the cheapest way to formulate a hypothesis in exploratory research
is by using any of the four methods:
1. Literature Search : This refers to “referring to a literature to develop a new
hypothesis”. The literature referred are – trade journals, professional journals, market
research finding publications, statistical publications etc. For example, suppose a
problem is “Why are sales down?” This can quickly be analysed with the help of
published data which should indicate, “whether the problem” is an “industry
problem” or a “firm problem”.
2. Experience Survey : In experience surveys, it is desirable to talk to persons who
are well informed in the area being investigated. These people may be company
executives or persons outside the organization. Here, no questionnaire is required.
The approach adopted in an experience survey should be highly unstructured, so that
the respondent can give divergent views.
3. Focus Group : Another widely used technique in exploratory research is the
focus group. In a focus group, a small number of individuals are brought together
to study and talk about some topic of interest. The discussion is co-ordinated by a
moderator. The group usually is of 8-12 persons. While selecting these persons,
care has to be taken to see that they should have a common background. This is
required because there should not be a conflict among the group members on the
common issues that are being discussed.
4. Case study research: Case study research can help a researcher with finding
more information through carefully analyzing existing cases which have gone
through a similar problem. Such exploratory data analysis are very important and
critical especially in today’s business world. The researcher just needs to make sure
he analyses the case carefully in regards to all the variables present in the previous
case against his own case.
Secondary Data
Secondary data is information gathered for purposes other than the completion of a
research project. A variety of secondary information sources is available to the
researcher gathering data on an industry, potential product applications and the market
place. Secondary data is also used to gain initial insight into the research problem.
Secondary data analysis saves time that would otherwise be spent collecting data and,
particularly in the case of quantitative data, provides larger and higher-quality
databases than would be unfeasible for any individual researcher to collect on their
own.
Secondary data can be obtained from two different research strands:
1. Quantitative : Census, housing, social security as well as statistics and other related
databases.
2. Qualitative : Semi-structured and structured interviews, focus groups, field notes,
observation records and other personal, research-related documents.
Conclusive Research Design
As the name indicates, conclusive research is meant to provide information that is
useful in reaching conclusions or decision-making. It is mostly quantitative in nature, in
the form of numbers that can be quantified and summarized. It relies on both secondary
data, particularly existing databases that are reanalyzed to shed light on a different
problem than the original one for which they were constituted, and primary research, or
data specifically gathered for the current study.
The purpose of conclusive research is to provide a reliable or representative picture of
the population through the use of a valid research instrument. In the case of formal
research, it will also test hypothesis.
Conclusive research can be sub-divided into two categories:
1. Descriptive research, and
2. Causal research
Descriptive Research Design

The name itself reveals that, it is essentially a research to describe something. For
example, suppose describe the characteristics of a group such as – customers,
organisations, markets, etc. Descriptive research provides “association between two
variables” like income and place of shopping, age and preferences. Descriptive
inform us about the proportions of high and low income customers in a particular
territory. What descriptive research cannot indicate is that it cannot establish a cause
and effect relationship between the characteristics of interest. This is the distinct
disadvantage of descriptive research.
Descriptive study requires a clear specification of “Who, what, when, where, why
and how” of the research.
Descriptive studies are classified into:
1. Cross-sectional studies: It deals with a sample of elements from a given
population. Number of characteristics from the sample elements are collected and
analyzed. It is of two types: field studies and surveys. Cross-sectional analyses focus
on a single point in time, marked by a clear starting and stopping point.
Ex. Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers in a
region.
2. Longitudinal studies. This is based on panel data and panel methods. A panel
constitutes a group of respondents who are interviewed and reinterviewed from time
to time. The panel or sample remains constant throughout the period. Hence the same
variable is repeatedly measured. This helps in studying a particular behaviour over a
period of time. The periodicity of the study may be monthly or quarterly etc.
Causal Research Design
Causal Research are the studies that engage in hypotheses testing usually explain the
nature of certain relationships, or establish the differences among groups or the
independence of two or more factors in a situation. A research design in which the major
emphasis is on determining the cause-and-effect relationship.

Some examples are:

• How does rebranding of a product influence intent to purchase?
• How would expansion to a new market segment affect projected sales?
• What would be the impact of a price increase or decrease on customer loyalty?
Experimental Research Design
Experimental design is a process of planning and conducting scientific experiments to
investigate a hypothesis or research question. It involves carefully designing an experiment
that can test the hypothesis, and controlling for other variables that may influence the
results.
An experimental design is a detailed plan for collecting and using data to identify causal
relationships.

The experimental designs are divided into 2 categories, viz., informal experimental designs
and formal experimental designs. Informal experimental designs are those designs that
normally use a less sophisticated form of analysis based on differences in magnitudes,
whereas formal experimental designs offer relatively more control and use precise statistical
procedures for analysis.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
• According to the Principle of Replication, the experiment should be repeated more than
once. Thus, each treatment is applied in many experimental units instead of one.
• By doing so the statistical accuracy of the experiments is increased. For example, suppose
we are to examine the effect of two varieties of rice. For this purpose we may divide the field
into two parts and grow one variety in one part and the other variety in the other part. We can
then compare the yield of the two parts and draw conclusion on that basis.
• But if we are to apply the principle of replication to this experiment, then we first divide the
field into several parts, grow one variety in half of these parts and the other variety in the
remaining parts. We can then collect the data of yield of the two varieties and draw
conclusion by comparing the same.
• The result so obtained will be more reliable in comparison to the conclusion we draw
without applying the principle of replication. The entire experiment can even be repeated
several times for better results.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
• The principle of randomisation is essential for a valid estimate of the experimental error
and to minimize the bias in the results.
• Thus, randomisation is so done that each treatment should get an equal chance. We mean
that the treatments should be allocated randomly, i.e., by the help of random numbers.
• The following are the advantages of randomisations:
1. It provides a basis for the test of significance because randomisation ensures the
independence of the observations which is one of the assumptions for the analysis of
variance.
2. It is also a device for eliminating bias. Bias creeps in experiment, when the treatments
are not assigned randomly to the units. This bias may be personal or subjective. The
randomisation ensures the validity of the results.
Local control:
This method is used to attain the accuracy or to reduce the experimental error without
increasing unduly the number of replications. Local control is a technique that handles
the experimental material in such a way that the effects of variability are reduced.
In local control, experimental units are divided into a number of homogeneous groups
called blocks. These blocks are so formed that they are homogeneous within and
heterogeneous between.
This blocking of experiment may be row-wise, column-wise or both according to the
number of factors responsible for heterogeneity. The following are the advantages of
local control:
1. By means of local control, the experimental error is reduced considerably and the
efficiency of the design is increased.
2. By means of local control the test procedure becomes more sensitive or powerful.
Important experiment designs are as follows:
(a) Informal experimental designs:
(i) Before-and-after without control group.
(ii) After-only with control group.
(iii) Before-and-after with control group.

(b) Formal experimental designs:

(i) Completely randomized design (C.R. Design).
(ii) Randomized block design (R.B. Design).
(iii) Latin square design (L.S. Design).
(iv) Factorial designs.
1. Before-and-after without control group: In such a design a single test group or area is
selected and the dependent variable is measured before the introduction of the treatment. The
treatment is then introduced and the dependent variable is measured again after the treatment
has been introduced. The effect of the treatment would be equal to the level of the phenomenon
after the treatment minus the level of the phenomenon before the treatment.
2. After-only with control group: In this design two groups or areas (test area and control area)
are selected and the treatment is introduced into the test area only. The dependent variable is
then measured in both the areas at the same time. Treatment impact is assessed by subtracting
the value of the dependent variable in the control area from its value in the test area.
3. Before-and-after with control group: In this design two areas are selected and the
dependent variable is measured in both the areas for an identical time-period before the
treatment. The treatment is then introduced into the test area only, and the dependent variable is
measured in both for an identical time-period after the introduction of the treatment. The
treatment effect is determined by subtracting the change in the dependent variable in the control
area from the change in the dependent variable in test area.
1. Completely randomized design (C.R. design):
• Involves only two principles viz., the principle of replication and the principle of
randomization of experimental designs. It is the simplest possible design and its procedure of
analysis is also easier.
• The essential characteristic of the design is that subjects are randomly assigned to
experimental treatments (or vice-versa).
• For instance, if we have 10 subjects and if we wish to test 5 under treatment A and 5 under
treatment B, the randomization process gives every possible group of 5 subjects selected
from a set of 10 an equal opportunity of being assigned to treatment A and treatment B.
• Such a design is generally used when experimental areas happen to be homogeneous.
2. Randomized block design (R.B. design)
• This is an improvement over the C.R. design. In the R.B. design the principle of local control
can be applied along with the other two principles of experimental designs.
• In the R.B. design, subjects are first divided into groups, known as blocks, such that within
each group the subjects are relatively homogeneous in respect to some selected variable.
• The variable selected for grouping the subjects is one that is believed to be related to the
measures to be obtained in respect of the dependent variable.
• The number of subjects in a given block would be equal to the number of treatments and one
subject in each block would be randomly assigned to each treatment.
3. Latin Square design (L.S. design)
• It is an experimental design very frequently used in agricultural research. The conditions
under which agricultural investigations are carried out are different from those in other
studies for nature plays an important role in agriculture.
• For instance, an experiment has to be made through which the effects of five different
varieties of fertilizers on the yield of a certain crop, say wheat, it to be judged.
• In such a case the varying fertility of the soil in different blocks in which the experiment has
to be performed must be taken into consideration; otherwise the results obtained may not be
very dependable because the output happens to be the effect not only of fertilizers, but it may
also be the effect of fertility of soil.
• Similarly, there may be impact of varying seeds on the yield. To overcome such difficulties,
the L.S. design is used when there are two major extraneous factors such as the varying soil
fertility and varying seeds.
4. Factorial design
• Factorial design is a statistical experimental design used to investigate the effects of two or
more independent variables (factors) on a dependent variable.
• By manipulating the levels of the characteristics and measuring the resulting impact on the
dependent variable, researchers can identify each element’s unique contributions and their
combined or interactive effects.
• This can provide valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms. It helps identify
potential moderators or mediators of the relationship between variables.
• A mediating variable (or mediator) explains the process through which two variables are
related, while a moderating variable (or moderator) affects the strength and direction of that
relationship.
• For example, sleep quality (an independent variable)
can affect academic achievement (a dependent
variable) through the mediator of alertness. In a
mediation relationship, you can draw an arrow from
an independent variable to a mediator and then from
the mediator to the dependent variable.
• In contrast, a moderator is something that acts upon
the relationship between two variables and changes
its direction or strength. For example, mental health
status may moderate the relationship between sleep
quality and academic achievement: the relationship
might be stronger for people without diagnosed
mental health conditions than for people with them.