BUSINESS RESEARCH

METHODS
Prof.Radhika Kiran Kumar
Indira Institute of Business Management
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WHAT IS RESEARCH
DESIGN?
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RESEARCH DESIGN
Blueprint

Plan

Guide

Framework
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Research Design
» A Research Design is a framework or blue print
for conducting the research project. It details the
procedures necessary for obtaining the
information needed to solve the research
problems.
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Research Design
» What is the study about?
» Where will the study be carried out?
» What type of data is required?
» Where can the required data be found?
» What will be the sample design?
» What techniques of data collection will be used?
» How will the data be analysed?
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Components of Research design

» Define the information required
» Design the exploratory , descriptive and or causal
research phases
» Construct or pretest a questionnaire or an
appropriate form for data collection.
 Why Is Research Design Important?

» Good research design is the “first rule of good research.”

» Knowledge of the needed research design allows advance planning so that
the project may be conducted in less time and typically at a cost savings
due to efficiencies gained in preplanning.
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Classification of Research design

Research
Design

Exploratory Conclusive

Descriptive Causal

Cross-
Longitudinal
sectional
design
design

Single cross- Multiple cross-

sectional sectional
design design
Exploratory Research
» Exploratory research is usually conducted at the
outset of research projects.
» It is usually conducted when the researcher does
not know much about the problems.
Example of Exploratory research
» Consider a scenario where a juice owner feels
that increasing the variety of juices will enable
increase in customers, however he is not sure and
needs more information. The owner intends to
carry out an exploratory research to find out and
hence decides to do an exploratory research to
find out if expanding their juices selection will
enable him to get more customers or if there is a
better idea.
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Exploratory research background

» It is usually conducted when the researcher does
not know much about the problems.
Uses of Exploratory research
» Gain background information
» Define terms
» Clarify problems and hypothesis
» Establish research priorities
Methods of Exploratory Research
» Surveys/polls: Surveys/polls are used to gather information
from a predefined group of respondents. It is one of the most
important quantitative method.
» For example: A survey is sent to a given set of audience to
understand their opinions about the size of mobile phones
when they purchase one. Based on such information
organization can dig deeper into the topic and make business
related decision.
Methods of Exploratory research
» Interviews: A person interview can give in-depth information on the
subject being studied. Such a research is a qualitative research method.
» For example: An interview with an employee can give you more
insights to find out the degree of job satisfaction, or an interview with
a subject matter expert of quantum theory can give you in-depth
information on that topic.
Methods of Exploratory research
» Focus groups: Focus group is widely used method in exploratory
research. In such a method a group of people chosen and are allowed
to express their insights on the topic that is being studied. Although, it
is important to make sure that while choosing the individuals in a
focus group they should have a common background and have
comparable experiences.
» For example: A focus group helps a research identify the opinions of
consumers if they were to buy a phone. Such a research can help the
researcher understand what the consumer value while buying a phone.
It may be screen size, brand value or even the dimensions. Based on
which the organization can understand what are consumer buying
attitudes, consumer opinions, etc.
Methods of Exploratory research

» Observations: Observation research can be qualitative observation or

quantitative observation. Such a research is done to observe a person
and draw the finding from their reaction to certain parameters. In such
a research, there is no direct interaction with the subject.
» For example: An FMCG company wants to know how it’s consumer
react to the new shape of their product. The researcher observes the
customers first reaction and collects the data, which is then used to
draw inferences from the collective information.
Methods of Exploratory research
» 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 analysis are very important and critical
especially in today’s business world.
» It is very commonly used by business organizations or social sciences sector or
even in the health sector.
» For example: A particular orthopaedic surgeon has the highest success
rate for performing knee surgeries. A lot of other hospitals or doctors
have taken up this case to understand and benchmark the method in
which this surgeon does the procedure to increase their success rate.
Classification of Conclusive
Research Design
Single cross-
sectional
Cross-sectional design
design Multiple cross-
Descriptive sectional
Longitudinal design
Conclusive
design
Causal
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.
Uses of descriptive research
» To describe the characteristics of relevant people
such as salesmen , consumers, organizations or
market areas.
» To estimate the percentage of units in a specified
population exhibiting a certain behavior.
» To determine the perception of product
characteristics.
» To make specific predictions.
Methods of Descriptive Research

» Surveys
» Panels
» Observational data
Cross sectional design
» Cross-sectional studies measure units from a
sample of the population at only one point in time
(or “snapshot”).
⋄ Sample surveys are cross-sectional studies
whose samples are drawn in such a way as to
be representative of a specific population.
⋄ These studies are usually presented with a
margin of error.
Cross sectional design

» Single Cross-sectional design

» Multiple Cross-sectional design
» Cohort Analysis
Longitudinal design

» Longitudinal studies repeatedly measure the same

sample units of a population over time.
» Since they involve multiple measurements over
time, they are often described as “movies” of the
population.
Causal Research design

 Causality may be thought of as understanding a phenomenon in

terms of conditional statements of the form “If x, then y.”
 Causal relationships are often determined by the use of
experiments.
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.
Independent Variable
» Independent variables are those variables that
the researcher has control over and wishes to
manipulate—the 4 P’s.
» Examples are level of ad expenditure, type of ad
appeal, display location, method of compensating
salespersons, price, and type of product.
Dependent Variables

» Dependent variables are those variables that we

have little or no direct control over but a strong
interest in changing.
Extraneous Variables
 Extraneous variables are those variables that may
have some effect on a dependent variable yet are
not independent variables.
Experimental Design

» Experimental design is a procedure for devising

an experimental setting such that a change in a
dependent variable may be attributed solely to the
change in an independent variable.
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THANKS!
Any questions?