Research design

Research design is the conceptual blueprint within

which research is conducted

Research design is not associated to any particular

technique of data collection or any particular type of
data.

Research design constitutes recognizing the type of

evidence required to answer the research question in a
reasonable way.
 Research design

Ways of recognizing the type of evidence required to

answer the research question

Exploratory
(Formulator)
Descriptive
(Formulative)
Explanatory
(Analytical)
Experimental
Exploratory (Formulator) Research
The goal of exploratory research is to formulate problems,
clarify concepts, and form hypotheses (temporary arguments).

Exploration can begin with a literature search, a focus group

discussion, or case studies.

If a survey is conducted for exploratory purposes, no attempt

is made to examine a random sample of a population; rather,
researchers conducting exploratory research usually look for
individuals who are knowledgeable about a topic or process.
Exploratory (Formulator) Research

Exploratory research typically seeks to create hypotheses

rather than test them.

Data from exploratory studies tends to be qualitative.

Examples include brainstorming sessions, interviews with

experts, and posting a short survey to a social networking
website.
Descriptive (Formulative) Research

Descriptive studies have more guidelines.

They describe people, products, and situations.

Descriptive studies usually have one or more guiding research

questions but generally are not driven by structured research
hypotheses. Because this type of research frequently aims to
describe characteristics of populations based on data collected
from samples.
Descriptive (Formulative) Research
Descriptive research often requires the use of a probability
sampling technique, such as simple random sampling.

Data from descriptive research may be qualitative or

quantitative, and quantitative data presentations are normally
limited to frequency distributions and summary statistics, such
as mean, mode, median and frequency.

Customer satisfaction surveys, presidential approval polls, and

class evaluation surveys are examples of descriptive projects
Explanatory (Analytical) Research
Purpose of Explanatory research is to explain why phenomena
occur and to predict future occurrences.

Explanatory studies are characterized by research hypotheses

that specify the nature and direction of the relationships
between or among variables being studied.

Probability sampling is normally a requirement in explanatory

research because the goal is often to generalize the results to
the population from which the sample is selected.
Explanatory (Analytical) Research

The data are quantitative and almost always require the use of
a statistical test to establish the validity of the relationships.

For example, explanatory survey research may investigate the

factors that contribute to customer satisfaction and
determine the relative weight/significance of each factor, or
seek to model the variables that lead to determine the
research outcome
Explanatory (Analytical) Research

The hypothesis in an explanatory research that states the

relationship between two or more variable, i.e., not only it is
hypothesized that A is related to B but rather that A has some
particular effect on B. i.e. how different factors described by A
are contributing to the so-called relationship with B

In other words, we can say an explanatory study thus focuses on

determining the “why‟ aspect of correlation ship.
 Exploratory
(Formulator)
Formulates problems,
clarify concepts, and form
hypotheses
What are the leadership
styles being practiced in
the Aviation Industry of SL
Expert consultation
Descriptive
(Formulative)
describes people, products, and
situations
aims to describe characteristics
of populations based on data
collected from samples.
% for Democratic LS
% for Authoritarian LS
% for Transformational LS
 Descriptive
(Formulative)
describes people, products, and
situations
aims to describe characteristics
of populations based on data
collected from samples.
% for Democratic LS
% for Authoritarian LS
% for Transformational LS
Explanatory
(Analytical)
Explains why phenomenon
occurs and to predicts
future occurrences
Investigates the factors that
contribute the issue and
determines the relative
significance of each factor
“why‟ the issue is critical in
terms of said factors
An exploratory survey may consult few managers
representing each level or sharing an open ended
questionnaire to uncover the fact of operating leadership
styles of the organization

A descriptive study consisting of distributing a close ended

questionnaire based on leadership styles.

The explanatory research consisting of distributing a close

ended questionnaire based on characteristics influence on
leadership styles instead of leadership styles and that would
attempt to understand how different factors are contributing