Chapter 5 Formulating the Research Design PDF

Slide 5.1 Chapter 5 Formulating the research design Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.2...

Slide 5.1 Chapter 5 Formulating the research design Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.2 Learning outcomes By the end of this chapter you should be able to: understand the importance of your decisions when designing research and the need to achieve methodological coherence throughout your research design; explain the differences between quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research designs and choose between these; explain the differences between exploratory, descriptive, explanatory and evaluative research; identify the main research strategies and choose from among these to achieve coherence throughout your research design; consider the implications of the time frames required for different research designs; consider some of the main ethical issues implied by your research design; understand criteria to evaluate research quality and consider these when designing your research; consider the constraints of your role as researcher when designing your research. Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.3 The Process of Research Design Research choices Research strategies Time horizons Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.4 Research Design and Tactics The research onion Saunders et al, (2009) Figure 5.1 The research ‘onion’ Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.5 Research Design The research design needs Clear objectives derived from the research question To specify sources of data collection To consider constraints and ethical issues Valid reasons for your choice of design Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.6 Classification of the research purpose Exploratory research An exploratory study is a valuable means to ask open questions to discover what is happening and gain insights about a topic of interest. Descriptive studies The purpose of descriptive research is to gain an accurate profile of events, persons or situations. Explanatory studies Studies that establish causal relationships between variables may be termed explanatory research. Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.7 Research Strategies Experiment Action research Grounded theory Survey Ethnography Case study Archival research Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.8 Research Strategies An experiment will involve We start with discussion of the experiment strategy because its roots in natural science, laboratory- based research and the precision required to conduct it mean that the ‘ experiment’ Definition of a theoretical hypothesis Selection of samples from know populations Random allocation of samples Introduction of planned intervention Measurement on a small number of dependent variables Control of all other variables Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.9 Research Strategies A classic experiment strategy Saunders et al, (2009) Figure 5.2 A classic experiment strategy Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.10 Research Strategies Survey: key features The survey strategy is usually associated with a deductive research approach. Popular in business research Perceived as authoritative Allows collection of quantative data Data can be analysed quantitatively Samples need to be representative Gives the researcher independence Structured observation and interviews can be used Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.11 Research Strategies Case Study: key features A case study is an in-depth inquiry into a topic or phenomenon within its real-life setting (Yin 2014). Provides a rich understanding of a real life context Uses and triangulates multiple sources of data A case study can be categorised in four ways and based on two dimensions: single case v. multiple case holistic case v. embedded case Yin (2003) Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.12 Research Strategies Action research: key features The purpose of an Action Research strategy is to promote organisational learning to produce practical outcomes through identifying issues, Research IN action - not ON action Involves practitioners in the research The researcher becomes part of the organisation Promotes change within the organisation Can have two distinct focii (Schein, 1999) – the aim of the research and the needs of the sponsor Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.13 Research Strategies The action research spiral Figure 5.3 The action research spiral Saunders et al, (2009) Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.14 Research Strategies Grounded theory: key features ‘Grounded theory’ can be used to refer to a methodological approach, a method of inquiry and the result of a research process Theory is built through induction and deduction Helps to predict and explain behaviour Develops theory from data generated by observations Is an interpretative process, not a logico- deductive one Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.15 Research Strategies Ethnography: key features Ethnography is used to study the culture or social world of a group. Aims to describe and explain the social world inhabited by the researcher Takes place over an extended time period Is naturalistic Involves extended participant observation Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.16 Research Strategies Archival research: key features Uses administrative records and documents as the principal sources of data Allows research questions focused on the past Is constrained by the nature of the records and documents Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.17 Research Strategies The role of the practitioner-researcher Key features Research access is more easily available The researcher knows the organisation Has the disadvantage of familiarity The researcher is likely to their own assumptions and preconceptions The dual role requires careful negotiation Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.18 Multiple research methods Research choices Saunders et al, (2009) Figure 5.4 Research choices Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.19 Multiple research methods Reasons for using mixed method designs: (Table 5.1 ) Triangulation Facilitation Complementarity Generality Aid interpretation Study different aspects Solving a puzzle Source: developed from Bryman (2006) Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.20 Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.21 Time Horizons Select the appropriate time horizon Cross-sectional studies Longitudinal studies Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.22 Credibility of research findings Important considerations Reliability Validity Generalisability Logic leaps and false assumptions Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.23 Research design ethics Remember ‘The research design should not subject the research population to embarrassment, harm or other material disadvantage’ Adapted from Saunders et al, (2009) Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.24 Summary: Chapter 5 Research design turns a research question and objectives into a project that considers Strategies Choices Time horizons Research projects can be categorised as Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory Research projects may be Cross-sectional Longitudinal Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 5.25 Summary: Chapter 5 Important considerations The main research strategies may combined in the same project The opportunities provided by using multiple methods The validity and reliability of results Access and ethical considerations Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009