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
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 5.3
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 5.4
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 5.5
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 5.6
Multiple research methods
Reasons for using mixed method designs:
(Table 5.1 )
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Initiation
Facilitation
Complementarity
Interpretation
Generalisability
Diversity
Problem solving
Focus
Triangulation
Confidence
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 5.7
Classification of the research purpose
• Exploratory research
• Descriptive studies
• Explanatory studies
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 5.8
Research Strategies
Experiment
Action research
Grounded theory
Ethnography
Survey
Case study
Archival research
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 5.9
Research Strategies: Experiment
An experiment will involve
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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 5.10
Research Strategies: Experiment
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Variables
Independent variable
Dependent variable
Mediating variable
Moderator variable
Control variable
Confounding variable
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 5.11
Research Strategies: Experiment
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Classical experiment
Quasi experiment
Between Subject design
Within Subject Design
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 5.12
Research Strategies: Experiment
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 5.13
Research Strategies: Experiment
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 5.14
Research Strategies: Experiment
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 5.15
Research Strategies: Survey
Survey: key features
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Popular in business research
Perceived as authoritative
Allows collection of quantitative 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 5.16
Research Strategies: Archival
research
• An archival research makes use of
administrative records and documents as the
principal source of data.
• Focus on RQ that deals with past the
changes over time.
• Primary or secondary data?
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 5.17
Research Strategies: Case Study
Case Study: key features
• 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 5.18
Research Strategies: Case Study
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 5.19
Research Strategies: Ethnography
• Ethnography is used to study groups.
• Aims to describe and explain the social world
inhabited by the researcher
• It may involve researchers living amongst
those whom they study to observe and talk
to them ion order to produce detail cultural
accounts of their shared beliefs, behaviors,
interactions, language, rituals and the events
that shape their lives.
• Takes place over an extended time period
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 5.20
Research Strategies
Action research: key features
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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 5.21
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 5.22
Research Strategies
Grounded theory: key features
• 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 logicodeductive one
Based on Suddaby (2006)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 5.23
Research Strategies
The role of the practitioner-researcher
Key features
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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 5.24
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 5.25
Credibility of research findings
Important considerations
• Reliability: Consistency of findings if repeated
• Validity: research measures what you actually
intend to measure.
– Internal validity: IV is established when your research
demonstrates a causal relationship between two
variables
– External validity: Can a study’s findings be generalised
in other relevant settings or groups.
• 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 5.26
Credibility of research findings
Threats to Reliability
• Participant error: Any factor which adversely
alters the way in which the participant performs.
• Participant Bias: any factor which includes a false
response.
• Researcher error: Any factor which alters the
researcher's interpretation
• Researcher bias: Any factor which includes bias in
the researcher's recording of responses.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 5.27
Credibility of research findings
Threats to internal validity
• Past or recent event: An event which changes participant’s
perceptions.
• Testing: The impact of testing on participant’s view or
actions.
• Instrumentation: Impact of a change in a research
instrument between different stages of the research.
• Mortality: Impact of participants withdrawing form the
studies.
• Maturation: Impact of outside factor that affects
participants’ attitudes and behavior
• Ambiguity about causal direction: Lack of clarity about
cause and effect
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 5.28
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 5.29
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 5.30
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