Formulating The Research Design

Slide 5.
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
• understand the importance of having thought carefully
about your research design;
• identify the main research strategies
• explain the differences between quantitative and
qualitative data collection techniques and analysis
procedures;
• explain the reasons for adopting multiple methods in the
conduct of research;
• consider the implications of adopting different time
horizons for your research design;
• explain the concepts of validity and reliability and identify
the main threats to validity and reliability;
• understand some of the main ethical issues implied by
the choice of research strategy.
Slide 5.3
The Process of Research Design
• Research choices
• Research strategies
• Time horizons
Slide 5.4
Research Design and Tactics

The research onion
Saunders et al, (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
Slide 5.6
Classification of the research purpose
• Exploratory research
• Descriptive studies
• Explanatory studies
Slide 5.7
Research Strategies
Experiment Action research
Grounded theory Survey
Ethnography Case study
Archival research
Slide 5.8
Research Strategies
An experiment will involve
• Experiments related to organizational psychology

are conducted in laboratories
• Selection of samples from known populations
• Introduction of planned intervention
• Measurement on a small number of dependent
variables
• Control of all other variables
Slide 5.9
Research Strategies
Survey: key features
• 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
Slide 5.10
Research Strategies
Case Study: key features
• Provides a rich understanding of a real life context

• Uses and triangulates multiple sources of data
• In-depth analysis of the situation
Slide 5.11
Research Strategies
Action research: key features

• Lewin first used the term action research in 1946.
• Research IN action
• Involves practitioners in the research
• The researcher becomes part of the organisation
• Promotes change within the organisation
• Can have two distinct focuses (Schein, 1999) –
the aim of the research and the needs of the sponsor
Slide 5.12
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 logico-deductive

one
Based on Suddaby (2006)
Slide 5.13
Research Strategies
Ethnography: key features
• Aims to describe and explain the social world

inhabited by the researcher
• Researcher living with the people or community
• Takes picture of people behaviour, qualitative
focus
• Takes place over an extended time period
• Is naturalistic
• Involves extended participant observation
Slide 5.14
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
Slide 5.15
Multiple research methods

Research choices
Saunders et al, (2009)

Figure 5.4 Research choices
Slide 5.16
Time Horizons
Select the appropriate time horizon
• Cross-sectional studies
• Longitudinal studies
Slide 5.17
• Cross-sectional studies
• A study can be undertaken in which data are gathered just
once, perhaps over a period of days or weeks or months, in
order to answer a research question
• Snapshot of constructs at a single point in time
• EXAMPLE
• E.1 Data were collected from stock brokers between April and
June of last year to study their concerns in a turbulent stock
market. Data with respect to this particular research had not
been collected before, nor will they be collected again for this
research.
• E.2 A drug company wanting to invest in research for a new
obesity (reduction) pill conducted a survey among obese people
to see how many of them would be interested in trying the new
pill. This is a one-shot or cross-sectional study to assess the likely
demand for the new product.
Slide 5.18
• Longitudinal studies
• When the researcher want to study people or phenomena
at more than one point in time in order to answer the
research question.
• Main points
• Data are gathered at two different points in time- Hence,
not one shot/one time.
• Always done across the period of time.
• Take more time and effort and cost more than cross-
sectional studies
• Experimental designs invariably are longitudinal studies-
Data before and after
Slide 5.19
Longitudinal studies
• E.1 A marketing manager is interested in tracing the pattern
of sales of a particular product in four different regions of the
country on a quarterly basis for the next two years. Since data
will be collected several times to answer the same issue
(tracing pattern of sales), the study falls into the longitudinal
category.
Slide 5.20
Credibility of research findings

Important considerations
• Reliability
• Validity
• Generalisability
Slide 5.21
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)
Slide 5.22
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
Slide 5.23
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

Formulating The Research Design

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Slide 5.

The Process of Research Design

Research Design and Tactics

Saunders et al, (2009)

• 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

Classification of the research purpose

Experiment Action research

Grounded theory Survey

Ethnography Case study

An experiment will involve

• Experiments related to organizational psychology

• Popular in business research

• Provides a rich understanding of a real life context

Action research: key features

• Theory is built through induction and deduction

• Helps to predict and explain behaviour

• Develops theory from data generated by

• Is an interpretative process, not a logico-deductive

Based on Suddaby (2006)

Ethnography: key features

• Aims to describe and explain the social world

Archival research: key features

• Uses administrative records and documents as

• Allows research questions focused on the past

• Is constrained by the nature of the records and

Multiple research methods

Saunders et al, (2009)

Select the appropriate time horizon

Credibility of research findings

Research design ethics

‘The research design should not subject the

Adapted from Saunders et al, (2009)

Research design turns a research question and

Strategies Choices Time horizons

Research projects can be categorised as

Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory

Research projects may be

• The main research strategies may combined in

• The opportunities provided by using multiple

• The validity and reliability of results

• Access and ethical considerations

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