Slide 5 1 Lecture 5 Formulating the research

Slide 5. 1 Lecture 5 Formulating the research design Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 2 The Process of Research Design • Research choices • Research strategies • Time horizons Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 3 Research Design and Tactics The research onion Source: © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2006 Adapted from Saunders et al, (2009) Figure 5. 1 The research ‘onion’ Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 4 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 Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 5 Multiple research methods Research choices Saunders et al, (2009) Figure 5. 4 Research choices Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 6 Multiple research methods Reasons for using mixed method designs: (Table 5. 1 ) • Initiation • Facilitation • Complementarity • Interpretation • Generalisability • Diversity • Problem solving • Focus • Triangulation • Confidence Source: developed from Bryman (2006) Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 7 Classification of the research purpose • Exploratory research • Descriptive studies • Explanatory studies Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 8 Research Strategies Experiment Grounded theory Ethnography Action research Survey Case study Archival research Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 9 Research Strategies: Experiment An experiment will involve • Definition of a theoretical hypothesis • Selection of samples from know populations • Random allocation of samples • Introduction of planned intervention • Measurement on a small number of dependent variables • Control of all other variables Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 10 Research Strategies: Experiment Variables • Independent variable • Dependent variable • Mediating variable • Moderator variable • Control variable • Confounding variable Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 11 Research Strategies: Experiment • Classical experiment • Quasi experiment • Between Subject design • Within Subject Design Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 12 Research Strategies: Experiment A classic experiment strategy Saunders et al, (2009) Figure 5. 2 A classic experiment strategy Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 13 Research Strategies: Experiment Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 14 Research Strategies: Experiment Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 15 Research Strategies: Survey: key features • Popular in business research • Perceived as authoritative • Allows collection of quantitative data • Data can be analysed quantitatively • Samples need to be representative • Gives the researcher independence • Structured observation and interviews can be used Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 16 Research Strategies: Archival research • An archival research makes use of administrative records and documents as the principal source of data. • Focus on RQ that deals with past the changes over time. • Primary or secondary data? Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 17 Research Strategies: Case Study: key features • Provides a rich understanding of a real life context • Uses and triangulates multiple sources of data A case study can be categorised in four ways and based on two dimensions: single case v. multiple case holistic case v. embedded case Yin (2003) Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 18 Research Strategies: Case Study Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 19 Research Strategies: Ethnography • Ethnography is used to study groups. • Aims to describe and explain the social world inhabited by the researcher • It may involve researchers living amongst those whom they study to observe and talk to them ion order to produce detail cultural accounts of their shared beliefs, behaviors, interactions, language, rituals and the events that shape their lives. • Takes place over an extended time period Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 20 Research Strategies Action research: key features • Research IN action - not ON action • Involves practitioners in the research • The researcher becomes part of the organisation • Promotes change within the organisation • Can have two distinct focii (Schein, 1999) – the aim of the research and the needs of the sponsor Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 21 Research Strategies The action research spiral Saunders et al, (2009) Figure 5. 3 The action research spiral Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 22 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) Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 23 Research Strategies The role of the practitioner-researcher Key features • Research access is more easily available • The researcher knows the organisation • Has the disadvantage of familiarity • The researcher is likely to their own assumptions and preconceptions • The dual role requires careful negotiation Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 24 Time Horizons Select the appropriate time horizon • Cross-sectional studies • Longitudinal studies Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 25 Credibility of research findings Important considerations • Reliability: Consistency of findings if repeated • Validity: research measures what you actually intend to measure. • Internal validity: IV is established when your research demonstrates a causal relationship between two variables • External validity: Can a study’s findings be generalised in other relevant settings or groups. • Logic leaps and false assumptions Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 26 Credibility of research findings Threats to Reliability • Participant error: Any factor which adversely alters the way in which the participant performs. • Participant Bias: any factor which includes a false response. • Researcher error: Any factor which alters the researcher's interpretation • Researcher bias: Any factor which includes bias in the researcher's recording of responses. Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 27 Credibility of research findings Threats to internal validity • Past or recent event: An event which changes participant’s perceptions. • Testing: The impact of testing on participant’s view or actions. • Instrumentation: Impact of a change in a research instrument between different stages of the research. • Mortality: Impact of participants withdrawing form the studies. • Maturation: Impact of outside factor that affects participants’ attitudes and behavior • Ambiguity about causal direction: Lack of clarity about cause and effect Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5. 28 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) Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009