TYPES OF RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY
 What is a Paradigm?
 The term paradigm refers to the progress of scientific
practice based on people’s philosophies and
assumptions about the world and the nature of the
knowledge – in this context, about how research
should be conducted
 Paradigms are universally recognised scientific
achievements that for a time provide model problems
and solutions to a community of practitioners (Kuhn,
1962).
 They offer a framework comprising an accepted set of
theories, methods and ways of defining data.
 There are two main research paradigms or
philosophies.
 The two paradigms (approaches)can be labelled
POSITIVIST and PHENOMENOLOGICAL.
 The most common terms used are quantitative and
qualitative
Alternative terms of the main
research paradigms
POSITIVISTIC PARADIGM Phenomenological Paradigm
 Quantitative  Qualitative
 Objectivist  Subjectivist
 Scientific  Humanistic
 Experimentalist  Interpretivist
 traditionalist
Assumptions of the main
Paradigms
 1. Ontological Assumption- you must decide whether
to consider the world is objective and external to the
researcher, or socially constructed and only
understood by examining the perceptions of the
human actors
 -What is the nature of the reality?
 -reality is objective (Quantitative)
 -Reality is subjective (qualitative)
2.Epistemology
 Is concerned with the study of knowledge and what we
accept as being valid knowledge.
 This involves an examination of the relationship
between the researcher and that which is being
researched.
 Positivist believe that only phenomena which are
observable and measurable can be validly regarded as
knowledge.
 They try to maintain an independent and objective
stance.
 Phenomenologist's attempt to minimise the distance
between the researcher and that which is being
researched.
 3.Axiological assumption
 Is concerned with values.
 Positivists believe that science and the process of
research is value free.
 Therefore, they consider that they are detached from
what they are researching and regard the phenomena
which are the focus of their research as objects
 They are interested in the interrelationship of the
objects they are studying and believe that these objects
were present before they took an interest an in them.
 Further, they believe that the objects they are studying
are unaffected by their research activities and still be
present after the study has been completed.
 Phenomenologists consider that researchers have
values, even if they have not been made explicit.
 These values help to determine what are recognised as
facts and the interpretations which are drawn from
them.
 Researcher is involved with that which is being
researched
4. Rhetorical Assumption
 Is concerned with the language of research.
 This is particularly important when you write your
research proposal and your final project or
dissertation.
 In a positivist approach it is usual to write in a formal
style using the passive voice.
 In a phenomelogical study the position is not clear
5.Methodology assumption
 Is concerned with the process of the research.
 Having determined which paradigm to adopt, you will
find that your choice of methodology is largely
determined.
 The term methodology refers to the overall approach
to the research process
RESEARCH DESIGN
 Research design is about how to select the people
(or things) that will give us valid (legitimate,
appropriate) and reliable (consistent and
dependable despite different times & researchers)
information or data.

 Research design is also about how to ask in such a

manner that the data will be representative
What are the Questions that
Research Design Answers?
 How can we conduct our study such that the
information we gather is as true a
representation of reality as possible?
 How can we conduct our study such that
similar results can be obtained if someone
else comes and conducts the same study at a
different time?
 How are we going to conduct our research
project to specifications, in time and within
budget?
Types of Research Methods
 Cross-sectional  Action research
 Experimental  Case studies
 Longitudinal  Grounded theory
 Surveys  Participative enquiry

 (Positivism)  (Phenomenological)
Cross- Sectional
 Is a methodology designed to obtain information on
variables in different context but at the same time.
 Normally, different orgns or groups of pple are selected
and a study is conducted to ascertain how factors
differ.
 Eg if u want to investigate associations between labour
turnover and productivity u need to select groups
where labour and productivity is different
 Cross-sectional studies are conducted when there are
constraints of time resources.
 Data is collected once over a shot period of time b4 it is
analyzed and reported.
 Often used to investigate characteristics of large
numbers of pple or orgn.
 However,it does not explain why a correlation exists.
 Are inexpensive and are conducted simultaneously so
that no chronological order
Experimental Studies
 Experiments are conducted either in a laboratory or in
a natural setting in a systematic way
 Permit casual relationship to be identified
 The aim is to manipulate the independent variable(for
eg the intensity of education on productivity) in order
to observe the effect on the dependent variable (for eg
output levels of workers)
 Field exper offer the advantage that they are conducted
in a real situation and thus avoid many of the draw
backs of laboratory
 Experimental studies may be further subdivided into
the following:
A. Repeated measures design
 In this type of study the experiment is repeated under
different conditions
 eg you can test the output produced under different
working conditions.
 One problem with this approach is that can employee
preformance may be better on the 2 nd time becoz they
have rehearsed the task by doing it the 1st time
B.Independent Sample design
 In this type of experiment two groups of employees
would be selected.
 The two group results can the be compared
 the major problem with this approach is that there
may be differences btwn the two groups eg one group
comprising more trainees while another experienced
and educted..
 This can be reduced by randomly picking sample units
C.Matched Pairs Design
 More regorous which attempts to ensure that the two
groups do not differ in respect of such characteristics
as training, age, skills etc by matching pairs of
employees and allocating one to each group.
 There may be some difficulty in identifying which
characteristics should bbe matched
D. Single subject
 This approach is useful when only a few subjects are
available, but there is the problem of how to generalize
from the results with confidence
LONGTUDINAL
 It is a study overtime of a variable or group of subjects.
 The aim is to research the dynamics of the problem by
investigating the same situation or pple several times
or continously over the period in which the problem
runs.
 Stebbins(1992) refer the longitudinal study based on
primarily qualitative approach as concatenated
exploration.
 A distinctive feature of this approach is that there is a
chain of studies.
 Each link in the chain is an examination or re-
examination of a related group or social process or an
aspect of a broader category of groups or social
process.
SURVEYS
 It is where a sample of subjects is drawn from a
population and studied to make inferences about the
ppn.
 If a sample is representative, it is possible to use
statistical techniques to demonstrate the likelihood
that the characteristics of the sample will also be
found in the ppn.
 The 1st and most critical stage of the survay is to to
select the sample.
 It is important to ensure that yopur sample is not
biased and is representative of the ppn from which it is
drawn.
 Having decided on a sample,it is necessary to decide
how to ask the survey questions.
 The altenatives are face to face or telephone interview
or questionnaires.
 The are major two types of surveys:
 a. Descriptive survey- is concerned with identifying
and counting the frequency of a specific ppn, either at
one point in time or at various times for comparison.
 Such suyrveys are associated with political elections,
but are frequntly used in buss research in the form of
attitude surveys.
 B. Analytical survey- is where the intention is to
determine whether there is any relationship btwn
different variables.
 If you wish top carry out this type of survey, you will
need to be familiar with the theoretical context so that
you can identify the independent, dependent and
extraneous variables
TRIANGULATION
Note that, ideally, the researcher uses a combination of
methods, for example, a questionnaire to quickly collect
A great deal of information from a lot of people, and then
interviews to get more in-depth information from certain
respondents to the questionnaires. Perhaps case studies
could then be used for more in-depth analysis of unique
And notable cases, e.g., those who benefited or not from
the program, those who quit the program, etc
 NB “Triangulation involve the use of different
approaches,methods and techniques in the same
study.”
 Can overcome the potential bias and sterling of a
single method approach.
 Denzin(1970) defines triangulation as the combination
of methodologies in the study of the same
phenomenon.
 He argues that the use of different methods by a
number of researchers studying the same
phenomenon should,if their conclusion are the same,
lead to greater validity and reliability than a single
methodological approach.
 Smith, Thorpe and Lowe(1991) identify four types of
triangulation:
 Data Triangulation- where data is collected at different
times or from different sources in the study of a
situation.
 Investigation Triangulation- where different
reseachers independently collect data on the same
situation and compare the results.
 Methodological triangulation- where both
quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection
are used.
 Triangulation for theories- where a theory is taken
from one discipline and used to explain a situation in
another discipline
Action Research
 It is an approach which assumes that the social world
is constantly changing and the research as well as the
researcher are part of the change.
 (Lewin 1946) saw the process of enquiry as forming a
cycle of planning, observing and reflecting.
 Action research is a type of applied research designed
to find an effective way of bringing about a connscious
change in a partly controlled environment eg a study
aimed at improving comm btwn mgmt and staff in a
particular co..
 The main aim of action research is to enter into a
situation, attempt to bring about change and to
monitor results.
 Action research may not be be very far removed from
a problem solving or consultancy.
 From the beginning, the researcher and the client
must be agreed on the aims of the study
Case Studies
 A case study is an extensive examination of a single
instance of a situation of interest
 Eisenhardt(1989) refers the case study as a ‘ a research
study which focuses on understanding the dynamics of
the present within single setting’
 Bonoma (1985) notes that it must be ‘constructed to be
sensitive to the context in which mgmt takes place’
 A unit of analysis is the kind of case to which the
variables under study and the research problem refer
and which data is collected and analysed.
 A case study approach implies a single unit of analysis
such as co/ or a group of workers, an event, a process or
individual.
 It involvesgathering detailed information about the
unit of analysis often over a long period of time with
aview of obtaining in-depth knowledge.
 Case studies are often described as exploratory
research used in areas where there are a few theorie or
a definition of body knowledge.
 Scapens (1990) adds the following types:
 a. descriptive- case studies where the objective is
resticted to describing current parctice.
 B. illustrative- case studies whre the research attempts
to illustrate new and possibly innovative practic
adopted by particular companies.
 C. experimental case- case studiesa where the research
examines the difficulies in implementing new
procedures and techniques in an organisation and
evaluating the benefits.
 D. Exploratory- case studies where existing theory is
used to understand and explain its happening.
Stages in Case stdies
 1. Selecting your case
 2. Preliminary investigation- refered to as drift
(Bonoma 1985) and is the process of becoming familiar
with the context in which you are going to conduct
your research.
 3. The data stage- you will need to determine how,
where and when to collect data
 4. The analysis stage- at this stahe you have a choice
btwn within-case analysis or cross sectional analysis
 5. Report stage
 Uses of Case Studies
- depict holistic portrayal of the case, e.g. client's
experience regarding a brand/ product/ service/
program.
 used to organize wide range of infor about a case and
then analyze the contents by seeking patterns and
themes in the data, and by further analysis through
cross comparison with other cases.
Grounded Theory
 Is one of the interpretive methods that share the
common philosophy-ie methods that are used to
describe the world of the person or persons under
study (Stern 1994)
 The methodology was conceived by Glaser and
Strauss(1976) in the medical field but has now been
dvped in many disciplines
Multi-method approach
 The approaches and strategies do not exist in isolation
and therefore can be mixed and matched.
 It is common for a study to combine both quantitative
and qualitative methods and to use secondary and
primary data.
 For example you can use a survey method for a broad
area to get general knowledge and use case study to get
in-depth understanding or information.
The credibility of Research
Findings
 The credibility of research findings is neatly expressed
by Raimond (1993:55) when he subjects findings to
the:
 How do I know?
 Will the evidence and my conclusions stand up to the
closest scrutiny?
 How do I reduce the biasness of my results?

 Reducing the possibility of getting the answer wrong

means that attention has to be paid to two particular
emphases on research: reliability and validity
Reliability
 Reliability can be assessed by posing the following two
question (Easterby-Smith et al., 1991:41):
 Will the measure yield the same results on different
occasions?- (positivist approach)
 Will similar observations be made by different
researchers on different occasions?-
(phenomenological approach)
Threats to reliability
 Robson(1993) asserts that there may be four threats to
reliability.
 1. Subject error- a questionnaire completed at different
times of the week may generate different results.
 2. Subject bias- interviewees may have been saying
what they thought their bosses wanted them to say eg
authoritarian managed organisation.
 3.Observer error-researchers may use different
approaches to elicit answers from respondents.
 4. Observer bias- deals with the interpretation of
responses.
Validity
 Is concerned with whether the findings are really
about what they appear to be about.
 Robson (1993) has also charted the threats to validity
which provides a useful way of thinking about validity.
Threats to validity
 1.History-information you get after an event happening
may be misleading.
 2.Testing-if respondents think that the results of the
outcome may disturb them in some way this is likely to
affect the outcome
 3. Instrumentation- what instrument has been used to
collect the data.
 4. Mortality-this refers to participants dropping out of
studies.
 5. Maturation-other events happening during the year
have an effect on participants.
 6. Ambiguity about casual direction
 7. Generalisability- sometimes referred to as external
validity. A concern you may have in the design of your
research is the extent to which your results are
generalisable, ie. Your findings may be equally
applicable other research settings.