Research Design Decisions regarding what where when how

Research Design

• Decisions regarding what, where, when, how much, by what means concerning an inquiry or a research study constitute a research design.

• • • What is the study about? Why is the study being made? Where will the study be carried out? Where can the required data be found? What will be the sample design? What techniques of data collection will be used? • How will the data be analysed?

• 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 is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted; it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data.

• A framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project. It specifies the details of the procedures necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure and/ or solve research problems.

• Research design may be split into following parts: • Sampling design which deals with the method of selecting items to be observed for the given study. • Observational design which related to the conditions under which the observations are to be made.

• Statistical design which concerns with the question of how many items are to be observed and how the information and data gathered are to be analysed. • Operational design which deals with the techniques by which the procedures specified in the sampling, statistical and observational designs can be carried out.

Characteristics of research design • It is a plan that specifies the sources and types of information relevant to the research problem. • It is a strategy specifying which approach will be used for gathering and analysing the data. • It also includes the time and cost budgets since most studies are done under these two constraints.

Need for a research design • It facilitates the smooth sailing of the various research operations. • Makes research efficient by yielding maximal information. • Minimizes expenditure of time, effort and money. • Helps in advance planning of the methods to be adopted for collecting the relevant data and the techniques to be used in their analysis.

Features of a good design • • • Flexible Appropriate Efficient Economical Minimises bias Maximises reliability (data collected n analysed) • Gives smallest experimental error

• Yields maximal information • Provides an opportunity for considering different aspects of a problem. • Thus, the question of good design is related to the purpose and nature of research problem. One single design cannot serve the purpose of all types of research problems.

Following factors should be considered while formulating research design: • The means of obtaining information • The availability and skills of the researcher and his staff. • The objective of the problem to be studied • The nature of the problem to be studied • The availability of time and money for the research work.

Important concepts relating to RD 1. Dependent and independent variables: • A concept which can take on different quantitative values is called a variable. E. g. weight, height, income etc. • Continuous variables: phenomena which can take on quantitatively different values even in decimal points. Like Age. • Discrete variables: which can be expressed in integer values only like no. of children.

• Extraneous variable: independent variables that are not related to the purpose of the study, but may affect the dependent variable. e. g. the most regular student gains highest marks. (intellect, attitude etc. ) • Experimental error: any effect noticed on dependent variable as a result of extraneous variables.

• Control: when a study is designed minimising the effects of extraneous variables. • Confound relationship: when the dependent variable is not free from the influence of the extraneous variables, the relationship b/w D and I variables is said to be confounded by an extraneous variables.

• Experimental and control groups: when a group is exposed to usual conditions it is termed as control group. But when the group is exposed to novel or special condition it is termed as experimental group. • Experiment: the process of examining the truth of a statistical hypothesis, relating to some research problem, is known as experiment. Two types of experiments • Absolute (impact of fertilizer on a crop. ) • Comparative

Classification of Research Design Exploratory RD Conclusive RD Descriptive RD Cross Sectional RD Single cross sectional Causal RD Longitudinal Design Multiple cross sectional