What is Research Design? RD is the general plan of how you will answer your research question(s) The plan should state clearly the following issues: The purpose of the study The strategies The time dimension The research environment Unit of analysis Sampling design* Data collection method* Measurement* Data Analysis* *= 2 nd part of RD  Methodology

The Purpose of Study PurposeExploratory?Descriptive? Explanatory (causal)?

Exploratory Study When not much is known about the situation/problem. Important variables may not be known To gain insight about a problem. Ways to conduct exploratory research: Individual depth interview Observation Film, Photographs Case studies Document analysis

Descriptive Study Descriptive study is to gain accurate profile of event, person or situation. To have a clear picture of the phenomenon. Example: To understand the characteristics of organization that apply certain practices or standard. To describe the characteristics of a group of employees that performed well. To know the types of marketing strategies used by public and private universities

Descriptive Study To discover the association / relationship among different variables (correlational study). Engage hypothesis testing. When there are multiple factors that influence one another, and you want to identify critical factors associated/influenced to the problem Example: To know the relationship between spending habit and gender To know the relationship between service quality, satisfaction and loyalty

Explanatory (causal) Study Studies that establish causal relationship between variables. Variable X causes variable Y When X is removed, problem Y is solved Method: Experiment, case study

Approach, characteristic & Strategy: The basic QuantitativeQualitative Research ApproachDeductive (usually)Inductive Characteristics Determine profile, status. Examine relationship Use statistical technique Instrument: Valid & Reliable Often uses probability sampling  Studies meaning & relationship.  Non-standardized data collection method.  Use variety of techniques to develop conceptual framework  Use non-probability sampling technique Research Strategies (action plan) Survey Experiment Case study Grounded Theory

Research Strategy: Experiment  To answer ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions  A. Classical Experiment (between-subjects design):  Select sample, then randomly assigned to Experimental Group (EG)and Control Group:  EG: Do the intervention & test  CG: No intervention  Study the result! Any differences?  B. Quasi-Experiment (between subjects design)  Select sample but not randomly assigned to EG & CC  Do the matched pair procedure to minimize the differences in participant profile.  Within-subject design  All participants (one group) are exposed to every treatment

Example: Between-subjects Design

Example: Within-subject Design

Research Strategy: Survey Usually conducted in exploratory & descriptive research To answer ‘what’, ‘who’, ‘where’, ‘how much (relationship)’, ‘how many’, Techniques: Questionnaire Interview Involve sampling procedure

Research Strategy: Archival Use of documents as the main source of data. Secondary data i.e annual report, statistics report Suitable for research related to past event i.e: Trend Pattern of spending

Research Strategy: Case Study Study the phenomenon within its context. To gain rich understanding of the context. To answer the questions ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’. Can be applied in explanatory or exploratory research. Can use quantitative (i.e interview) or qualitative (questionnaires) method.

Research Strategy: Grounded Theory Inductive Approach Collect and analyses data simultaneously Develop theme/code, reorganize into categories Establish link and interprete.

The time dimension A. Cross sectional studies Study a phenomenon at a particular time B. Longitudinal Studies Study a phenomenon at several point of time (at least 2) The environment/study setting Natural environment- normally for correlational studies. Artificial – normally for causal studies, done in ‘lab setting’ environment

Unit of analysis Research question determines the unit of analysis The unit of analysis is the major entity that is being in a study. It is the 'what' or 'who' that is being studied. In social science research, typical units of analysis include individuals, groups and organizations Individual as the unit of analysis Example: Study on employee perception and attitude on 360 degree performance appraisal system Dyad as unit of analysis Dyad = two-person interaction e.g husband-wife, mentor-mentee etc. Example: Study on perceived benefits of mentor-mentee system in a organization. Identified the pairs, and then evaluate their perception by treating each pair as one unit. i.e If we want 10 sample, we have to deal with 20 individuals.

Unit of Analysis Group as unit of analysis The focus is group characteristics Example: To compare single vs. double parents family in terms of poverty rate and delinquency. Organization as unit of analysis The focus is organization features Example: Relationship Between Strategic Orientation and Organizational Performance