Research Proposal &

Research Design
 Content of Research Proposal
• Executive Summary
• Problem statement
• Review of literature
• Research Methodology
• Data analysis
• Budget and Resources
• Time Table
• Qualification of the Researcher
• Bibliography
• A research design is the framework
or plan for a study used as a guide in
collecting and analyzing data.
• It is a map developed to guide the
research.
• It is a part of the planning stage of
research
• It is blue print for the collection,
measurement and analysis of data.
According to William
Zikmund:
Described RD as a master
plan specifying the
method and procedures for
collecting and analyzing the
needed information.
What is Research Design? A
research design is the arrangement
of conditions for collection and
analysis of data in a manner that aims
to combine relevance to the research
purpose with economy in procedure.
Research Design Constitutes Decisions
like:
What, Where, When, How, How much
Need for Research Design:
• It facilitates the smooth flow of
various research processes.
• It would result in more accurate
results with minimum usage of time,
effort and money
 Characteristics of a Good Design:
• Objectivity:
The design shows no proclivity towards any side and the
resultant data collected.
• Reliability:
A good RD would deliver consistent results each time the
research is repeated under the design. The responses given by
the respondents is genuine and would remain the same.
• Validity:
The design would deliver accurate and correct results. It
collects and measure what it is supposed to do and nothing
else.
• Generalization :
It means the results collected under this design, which hold
true for a sample must hold true for the entire population.
 Importance of Research Design:
1. A research with out RD is like being lost
on journey without a guiding light. Hence
RD gives direction to the study. It
prevents our research from being
unfocussed aimless empirical wandering.
2. It Channelizes the energy in the right
direction. It ensures research is
economically and smoothly conducted.
3. It helps a researcher in deciding the
relevant and irrelevant facts.
Conti….
4. Acts as tool to control the level of
accuracy desired.
5. It helps in developing better way of
inquiry and allows researcher to solve
major social problems in a scientific ways
especially in social science research.
 Concepts relating to Research Design:
I. Variables:
a. Dependent variables
b. Independent variables
c. Discrete variables
d. Continuous variables
e. Extraneous variables.
Conti….
II. Confounded relationship
III. Experiment
IV. Treatments
V. Control
VI. Test units/ Experimental units
VII. Experimental group
VIIII. Control group
Types of Research Designs:

There are three basic types of

research design:

Exploratory Descriptive Causal

• The goal of exploratory research is to
discover ideas and insights.

• Descriptive research is usually concerned

with describing a population with respect
to important variables.

• Causal research is used to establish

cause-and-effect relationships between
variables.
1 What is going on (descriptive research)? 2

Why is it going on (exploratory research)?

 Exploratory Design:
• Exploratory research is most commonly
unstructured, “informal” research that
is undertaken to gain background
information about the general nature
of the research
• Exploratory problem.
research is usually
conducted when the researcher does
not know much about the problem and
needs additional information or desires
new or more recent information.
• Exploratory research is conducted to provide a
better understanding of a situation. It isn’t
designed to come up with final answers or
decisions.
Through exploratory research, researchers hope
to produce hypotheses about what is going on
in a situation.
• Exploration is particularly useful when researches
lack a clear idea of the problems they will meet
during the study.
• Through exploration the researchers develop
concepts more clearly, establish priorities,
develop operational definitions, and improve the
• final research design.
• Exploratory research (sometimes referred to as
qualitative research) shouldn’t be expected to
provide answers to the decision problem that you
are attempting to solve for a client. It can provide
very rich, meaningful information—or even
definitive explanations—for particular individuals
(“I hate the old-fashioned styling of that car;
that’s why I won’t buy one”), but exploratory
research doesn’t provide definitive answers for
the overall population.
• There are two reasons for this:
(1) Exploratory research usually involves
only a relatively small group of people,

(2) these people are almost never

randomly selected to participate.
 Exploratory Design: Contd…

• Exploratory research is used in a

number of situations:
– To gain background information
– To define terms
– To clarify problems and hypotheses
– To establish research priorities
 Exploratory Design: Contd…

A variety of methods are available to

conduct exploratory research:
• Secondary Data Analysis
• ExpetSurveys
• Case Analysis
Descriptive research is conducted to
describe the characteristics of a group
make predictions related to a particular
phenomena or estimate proportion of
people inclined towards an attitude.
 Descriptive Design:
• Descriptive research is undertaken to provide
answers to questions of
• who is part of the study (subject),
• What information is to be collected (content)
• Where should the respondents be contacted
(place),
• when is the information to be collected (time),
and
• How are we obtaining the information (methods)
• Descriptive research assumes that the
researcher has much prior knowledge
about the problem situation. In fact, a
major difference between exploratory and
descriptive research is that descriptive
research is characterized by prior
formulation of specific hypotheses. Thus
the information needed is clearly defined.
As a result, descriptive research is pre
planned and structured
• Descriptive research in contrast to
exploratory research is marked by a clear
statement of the problem, specific
hypotheses,
needs. and detailed information

• A descriptive design requires a clear

specification of the who, what, when,
where, why, and way (the six Ws) of the
research.
 we use descriptive research for
the following purposes:
1. Major objective is to describe some thing
usually market characteristics or functions
2. To describe the characteristics of certain
groups.
3. To determine the proportion of people who
behave in a certain way.
4. To make specific predictions
5. To determine relationships between
variables
Longitudinal Vs. Cross-Sectional
Analysis
• Typically, a cross-sectional study
involves drawing a sample of elements
from the population of interest.
Characteristics of the elements, or
sample members, are measured only once.

• A longitudinal study, on the other

hand, involves a panel, which is a fixed
sample of elements.
The elements may be stores, dealers,
individuals, or other entities.
Types of Descriptive studies
 Longitudinal Analysis
• The study of change over time is called longitudinal
analysis. In this sense, longitudinal studies involve
the study of a process of change over a period of
time. Such trends can also be observed by comparing
the results of surveys that are conducted in
separate years. The aim of this paper is to point out
the importance of conducting longitudinal surveys
for a variety of situations, and the importance of
applying the correct statistical techniques for data
obtained from longitudinal surveys.
• Longitudinal studies repeatedly draw
sample units of a population over time.
• One method is to draw different units
from the same sampling frame.
• A second method is to use a “panel” where
the same people are asked to respond
periodically.
• On-line survey research firms recruit
panel members to respond to online
queries.
There are two types of panels:

Continuous
Discontinuous
panel
A fixed sample of panel
respondents who A fixed sample of
are measured respondents who are
repeatedly over Measured repeatedly
time with respect over time, but on
to the same variables that change
variables. from measurement
to measurement.
 Cross-sectional Analysis
• Cross-sectional studies measure units from
a sample of the population at only one point
in time.
• Sample surveys are cross-sectional studies
whose samples are drawn in such a way as to
be representative of a specific population.
• On-line survey research is being used to
collect data for cross-sectional surveys at a
faster rate of speed.
• Cross-sectional surveys often provide data
that reveal little change from one year to
the next. This can be seen especially, when
we consider figures on unemployment or
characteristics
receiving of poor households
Samurdhi-benefits – implying
that the same households remain poor over
time.
 Experimental Research Design
Experimental research is conducted to study the
cause and effect relationship between variables
under study.
An attempt is made by the researcher to
maintain control and manipulate the variables
that affect the study.
 Following steps are involved in conducting an
experimental study:
a. Identification and definition of problem
b. Formulation of hypothesis
c. Developing an experimental design. The design
should discuss the following:
• Selection the sample subjects
• Groups or pair subjects
• Identify and control non-experimental factors
• Construct and validate an instrument to measure
• Determine place, time and duration of experiment.
d. Conduct the experiment
e. Analyse the data and test the hypothesis
f. Report the findings.
Difference between Research Method
& Research Methodology
Research Method
Research method seeks to answer:
what did the researcher use to
complete his research.
Research methods are the
techniques and tools by which you
research a subject or a topic.
Research methods involve the tasks
of conducting experiments, tests,
surveys, and the like utilizing the
knowledge and skills learned
through research methodology.
Research Methodology
Research methodology seeks to
answer: how did the researcher
complete his study.
Methodology explains and justifies the
techniques and tools by which you may
proceed with your research.
Research methodology involves the
learning of various techniques to
conduct research and acquiring
knowledge to perform tests,
experiments, surveys, and critical
analysis.
Research Method Research Methodology
The research method aims at Research methodology ensures the
finding solutions to research employment of the correct
problems. procedures to solve the problems.

Research methods are the end of Research methodology paves the

any scientific or non-scientific way to choose appropriate research
research. methods and thus is the beginning
of any research.