1. RES 500 Academic Writing and Research Skills
Week 9
Research Design & Qualitative Research
This week introduces the major descriptors and types of research design.
This week also explains how qualitative methods differ from quantitative methods. It also provides examples of the types of research that may use qualitative methods and introduces the primary qualitative methodologies.

2. Research Design & Qualitative Research
What is Research Design?
Used Tools
Design in the Research Process
Research Design Descriptors
Qualitative Research.
What is Qualitative Research?
Qualitative versus Quantitative Research
The Process of Qualitative Research
Qualitative Research Methodologies
Combining Qualitative Methodologies
Triangulation: Merging Qualitative and Quantitative
Further Readings, Keywords, References

3. Research Design  Learning Objectives
Understand . . .
The basic stages of research design.
The major descriptors of research design.
How qualitative methodologies differ from quantitative methodologies.
The controversy surrounding qualitative research.
The types of decisions that use qualitative methodologies.
The different qualitative research methodologies.

4. Research Design  What is Research Design?
There are many definitions of research design.
Research design is the blueprint for fulfilling research objectives and answering questions. Its essentials include:
an activity and time-based plan,
a plan based on the research questions,
a guide for selecting sources and types of information,
a framework for specifying the relationships among the study’s variables, and
a procedural outline for every research activity.

5. Research Design  Used Tools
project management tool: critical path method (CPM)
The nodes represent major milestones.
The arrows suggest the work needed to get to the milestones.
More than one arrow pointing to a node indicates all those tasks must be completed before the milestone has been met.
Usually a number is placed along the arrow showing the number of days or weeks required for that task to be completed.
The pathway from start to end that takes the longest time to complete is called the critical path.

6. Research Design  Used Tools
MindWriter Project Plan in Gantt chart format
A Gantt chart is a project planning tool that reveals summary tasks, benchmarking milestones, and detailed tasks against a time frame for the overall project. Tasks may be color coded to indicate a particular team member’s responsibilities. Many project-management software packages include Gantt charting.
The chart may be used to monitor projects to keep them on time, as well as to alert the client or manager to steps requiring their approval—and what happens to the project’s schedule if approval is not forthcoming when it is needed.

7. Research Design  Design in the research Process
Design in the research process and highlights the topics covered by the term research design. Subsequent chapters will provide more detailed coverage of the research design topics.

8. Research Design  Research Design Descriptors
Experimental Effects
Perceptual Awareness
Research Environment
Descriptors
Question Crystallization
Data Collection Method
Time Dimension
Topical Scope
Purpose of
Study
Information is presented here in a discussion format.
The degree to which the research question has been crystallized
Exploratory study
Formal study
The method of data collection
Monitoring
Communication Study
The power of the researcher to produce effects in the variables under study
Experimental
Ex post facto
The purpose of the study
Reporting
Descriptive
Causal-Explanatory
Causal-Predictive
The time dimension
Cross-sectional
Longitudinal
The topical scope—breadth and depth—of the study
Case
Statistical study
The research environment
Field setting
Laboratory research
Simulation
The participants’ perceptional awareness of the research activity
Actual routine
Modified routine

9. Research Design  Research Design Descriptors  Degree of Question Crystallization
There are two options:
Exploratory studies are used when the research question is still undetermined. The goal of exploration is to develop hypotheses or questions for future research.
Formal studies are used when the research question is fully developed and there are hypotheses to be examined.

10. Research Design  Research Design Descriptors  Degree of Question Crystallization  Exploratory Studies
Approaches for Exploratory Studies
Participant observation
Film, photographs
Projective techniques
Psychological testing
Case studies
Ethnography
Expert interviews
Document analysis
Proxemics and Kinesics
Desired outcomes of Exploratory Studies
Established possible decisions
Established major dimensions of research task
Defined a set of subsidiary questions to guide research design
Develop hypotheses about possible causes of research dilemma
Learn which hypotheses can be safely ignored
Conclude additional research is not needed or not feasible

11. Research Design  Research Design Descriptors  Degree of Question Crystallization  Exploratory Studies
The objectives of exploration may be accomplished with qualitative and quantitative techniques, but exploration relies more heavily on qualitative techniques. Qualitative techniques are data collection techniques used to increase understanding of a topic. Qualitative refers to the meaning, or definition characterizing something, while quantitative assumes the meaning and refers to a measure of it.

12. Exploratory techniques :
Research Design  Research Design Descriptors  Degree of Question Crystallization
Exploratory techniques :
Secondary data analysis (literature search).
First start with an organization’s own data archives.
Second source is published documents prepared by authors outside the sponsor organization.
Experience surveys (expert interviews): semi structured or unstructured interviews with experts on a topic.
Focus groups are discussions on a topic involving a small group of participants led by a trained moderator.
Experience surveys are sometimes called expert interviews or key informant surveys. Even though the term survey is in the name, it is not a closed-ended, structured survey. Rather, experience surveys are interviews designed to extract as much information as possible from the expert’s knowledge. Broad questions guide the discussion. Several questions that could be used in an experience survey are:
What is being done?
What has been tried in the past with or without success?
How have things changed?
Who is involved in the decisions?
What problem areas can be seen?
Whom can we count on to assist or participate in the research?
Some examples of groups who might be identified for an experience survey include potential car buyers, dealer sales representatives, advertising columnists, and automotive industry analysts.
Focus groups are widely used in research. They are led by a trained moderator and typically include 6-10 participants. Mini-focus groups with just 3 people are increasingly common. The facilitator uses group dynamics principles to focus or guide the group in an exchange of ideas, feelings, and experiences on a specific topic.
Focus groups can take place in a variety of settings, but many take place in a focus group room equipped with one-way window and recording devices.

13. Either: Monitoring. Or Communication study.
Research Design  Research Design Descriptors  Data Collection Methods
Either:
Monitoring. Or
Communication study.

14. Research Design  Research Design Descriptors  Experimental Effects
Causal studies may be:
Experiments are studies involving the manipulation of one or more variables to determine the effect on another variable. For example, direct marketers can use split tests on mailings to test which mailing resulted in the highest response rate.
Ex post facto designs are evaluations made after-the-fact based on measured variables.

15. Research Design  Research Design Descriptors  The purpose of the study
Reporting
Descriptive
Casual -Explanatory
Causal -Predictive
Descriptive Studies:
The purpose of the study asks whether the research is concerned with describing the population’s characteristics or with trying to explain the relationships among variables. Descriptive studies discover the answers to the questions who, what, when, where, or how much.
-Descriptions of population characteristics
-Estimates of frequency of characteristics
-Discovery of associations among variables

16. Research Design  Research Design Descriptors  Time Dimension
A single survey catches an attitude at a given moment. That’s what a cross-sectional study does.
A study that captures behavior, attitudes, etc. at several moments over time is longitudinal.

17. Research Design  Research Design Descriptors  Topical Scope
Topical scope refers to the breadth (what properties will be measured) and depth (at what level will the properties be measured) of the study in question.
A statistical study is designed for breadth rather than depth. It attempts to capture a population’s characteristics by making inferences from a sample’s characteristics then testing resulting hypotheses.
A case study places more emphasis on full contextual analysis of a few events or conditions and their interrelations. Case studies rely on qualitative data and emphasize the use of results for insight into problem-solving, evaluation, and strategy.

18. Research Design  Research Design Descriptors  The Research Environment
Designs also differ as to whether they occur under actual environmental conditions.
Field conditions mean that the research occurs in the actual environmental conditions where the dependent variable occurs.
Under laboratory conditions, studies occur under conditions that do not simulate actual environmental conditions.
In a simulation, the study environment seeks to replicate the natural environment in a controlled situation. For instance, a lab set up as a kitchen would serve as a simulation of a consumer’s own kitchen.

19. Participants’ perceptions can influence the outcomes of research.
Research Design  Research Design Descriptors  Participants’ Perceptual Awareness
Participants’ perceptions can influence the outcomes of research.
The usefulness of a research design is reduced when people in a disguised study perceive that research is being conducted.
Levels of perception:
No deviation perceived
Deviations perceived as unrelated
Deviations perceived as researcher-induced
The usefulness of a research design is reduced when people in a disguised study perceive that research is being conducted. Participants’ perceptions can influence the outcomes of research. This was first discovered in the 1920s when researchers at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company found that participants reacted favorably to receiving attention.
There are three levels of perception to consider and these are highlighted in the slide.
Mystery shopping sometimes provides an example of the third level of perception. Mystery shopping involves individuals who pose as customers and visit retail or service organizations to observe and measure specific behaviors or circumstances. If a retail sales associate knows that she is being observed and evaluated, she is likely to modify her performance.

20. Research Design  Research Design Descriptors
Category
Options
The degree to which the research question has been crystallized
Exploratory study
Formal study
The method of data collection
Monitoring
Communication Study
The power of the researcher to produce effects in the variables under study
Experimental
Ex post facto
The purpose of the study
Reporting
Descriptive
Causal-Explanatory
Causal-Predictive
The time dimension
Cross-sectional
Longitudinal
The topical scope—breadth and depth—of the study
Case
Statistical study
The research environment
Field setting
Laboratory research
Simulation
The participants’ perceptional awareness of the research activity
Actual routine
Modified routine
Information is presented here in a discussion format.
The degree to which the research question has been crystallized
Exploratory study
Formal study
The method of data collection
Monitoring
Communication Study
The power of the researcher to produce effects in the variables under study
Experimental
Ex post facto
The purpose of the study
Reporting
Descriptive
Causal-Explanatory
Causal-Predictive
The time dimension
Cross-sectional
Longitudinal
The topical scope—breadth and depth—of the study
Case
Statistical study
The research environment
Field setting
Laboratory research
Simulation
The participants’ perceptional awareness of the research activity
Actual routine
Modified routine

21. Qualitative Research
Emphasizes the portions of the research process which use qualitative research.
qualitative researcher starts with an understanding of the problem but the research question hierarchy is rarely developed prior to the design of research methodology. Rather, the research is guided by a broader question more similar in structure to the research question.
Qualitative research is also critically different during the data collection stage as it often includes debriefing and pre-tasking activities.
At the data collection stage, the possible techniques include focus groups, individual depth interviews (IDIs), case studies, ethnography, grounded theory, action research, and observation.
Qualitative research is different than quantitative at the analysis stage as it includes the use of different software, and the search for more subjective meaning and understanding drives the process.
During analysis, the qualitative researcher uses content analysis of written or recorded materials drawn from personal expressions by participants, behavioral observations, and debriefing of observers, as well as the study of artifacts and trace evidence from physical environment.

22. Qualitative Research  Data Collection Techniques
Focus Groups
Ethnography
Observation
Data
Collection
Techniques
IDIs
Case Studies
Action Research
Grounded Theory
Group
Interviews

23. Qualitative Research  Why we use Qualitative Research?
Qualitative research includes interpretative techniques which seek to describe, decode, translate, and otherwise come to terms with the meaning, not the frequency, of certain more or less naturally occurring phenomena.
Qualitative research can be used in both the data collection and data analysis stages of a research project.

24. Qualitative Research  Qualitative Tools
Trace Evidence
Artifacts
Other
Techniques
Behavioral Observations
Textual Analysis
Debriefings
This slide highlights many of the qualitative tools useful for data collection or data analysis.

25. Qualitative Research  Qualitative versus Quantitative Research
Quantitative research is the precise count of some behavior, knowledge, opinion or attitude. While the survey is not the only quantitative method, it is the dominant one.
Quantitative research is often used for theory testing. For example, it might answer the question “Will a $1-off instant coupon or a $1.50 mail-in rebate generate more sales for Kellogg’s Special K?” It requires that the researcher maintain a distance from the research so as not to bias the results.
Qualitative research (theory building) is sometimes called interpretive research because it seeks to develop understanding through detailed description. It builds theory but rarely tests it.

26. Qualitative Research  Qualitative versus Quantitative Research
Focus of Research
Qualitative
Understanding
Interpretation
Prediction
Quantitative:
Description
Explanation
Researcher Involvement
Qualitative
High
Participation-based
Quantitative:
Limited
Controlled

27. Qualitative Research  Qualitative versus Quantitative Research
Research Design
Qualitative
Longitudinal
Multi-method
Quantitative:
Cross-sectional or longitudinal
Single method
Sample Design and Size
Qualitative
Non-probability
Purposive
Small sample
Quantitative:
Probability
Large sample
Quantitative studies are usually single mode. In other words, they will usually rely on one data collection technique whether it be a telephone survey, survey, or experiment. However, qualitative studies may use several methods in one study to increase the researcher’s ability to interpret and justify the results.
Quantitative studies prefer samples greater than 200 and samples that are representative of the target population. Not all quantitative studies meet these criteria but these are desirable. Qualitative studies rely on small sample sizes – less than 25 people is common. The emphasis on selecting the sample is to include people with heterogeneous opinions, attitudes, and experiences.

28. Qualitative Research  Qualitative versus Quantitative Research
Data Type and Preparation
Qualitative
Verbal or pictorial
Reduced to verbal codes
Quantitative:
Verbal descriptions
Reduced to numeric codes
Turnaround
Qualitative
Shorter turnaround possible
Insight development ongoing
Quantitative:
May be time-consuming
Insight development follows data entry
Qualitative research can also use software to conduct content analysis but words and pictures are used as codes, rather than numbers. The researcher would take the copy and images and look for themes and patterns…for example, that they all contain people, that they all contain Web URLs, that one of three is promoting a particular proprietary research service while the others are more general.
Quantitative studies take verbal descriptions of consumer behavior, attitudes, and opinions and they use numbers to represent those descriptions in a database. The researcher would take the copy and images and code them with numbers, 1 for male, 2 for female, 3 for indeterminate gender.
Quantitative studies are traditionally time-consuming, but new methods such as web surveys are allowing for fast turnaround. The key is to recognize whether those methods are appropriate for the study at hand. Qualitative research can be faster due to the small sample sizes, but coding and analyzing hours of interviews can also be time consuming. One advantage of qualitative research is that insight development goes on throughout the study so interviews can be stopped when the appropriate answers are identified. This is not the case with quantitative studies.

29. Qualitative Research  Qualitative versus Quantitative Research
Data Analysis
Qualitative
Nonquantitative;
Human judgment mixed with fact
Emphasis on themes
Quantitative:
Computerized analysis
Facts distinguished
Emphasis on counts
Quantitative data analysis is conducted using statistical software programs such as SAS, SPSS, or Jump. The analysis focuses on the facts identified in the study.
Qualitative research is not coded into numeric values. Human interpretation and judgment are critical in creating insight from the data.
Content analysis...especially with the development of software like XSight...is a primary computerized analytical approach. It is far more than a count of words; such software can help reveal themes and underlying emphasis within texts.
When researchers work with focus group and IDI transcripts, the content analysis software can assist the moderator in debriefing. The ability of video to be 'marked' with such software as Video Marker from FocusVision makes the analytical process better able to link interpretations to specific content from a qualitative method participant.

30. Qualitative Research  The Process of Qualitative Research
Pretasking Activities
Keep diaries
Draw pictures
Construct a story
Much of qualitative research involves the deliberate preparation of the participant, called preexercises or pretasking. This step is important due to the desire to extract detail and meaning from the participant. A variety of creative and mental exercises draw participants’ understanding of their own thought processes and ideas to the surface.
Pretasking is rarely used in observation studies and is considered a major source of error in quantitative studies.

31. Qualitative Research The Process of Qualitative Research  Formulating the Qualitative Research Question

32. Researcher characteristics
Qualitative Research The Process of Qualitative Research  Factors Affecting the Choice of Qualitative Methodology
Types of participants
Researcher characteristics
Factors
Schedule
Budget
Topics
Project’s purpose
The researcher chooses a qualitative methodology based on the project’s purpose, its schedule including the speed with which insights are needed; its budget, the issue(s) or topic(s) being studied; the types of participants needed; and the researcher’s skill, personality, and preferences.

33. Qualitative Research Qualitative Research Methodologies  Sampling
Non-probability sampling: little attempt is made to generate a representative sample. Common types:
Purposive sampling: Researchers choose participants arbitrarily for their unique characteristics or their experiences, attitudes, or perceptions.
Snowball sampling: Participants refer researchers to others who have characteristics, experiences, or attitudes similar to or different from their own.
Convenience sampling: Researchers select any readily available individuals as participants.
General sampling guideline: Keep sampling as long as your breadth and depth of knowledge of the issue under study is expanding, and stop when you gain no new knowledge or insights.
Sample sizes for qualitative research vary by technique but are generally small. A study might include just two or three focus groups or a few dozen individual depth interviews.
Qualitative research involves non-probability sampling, where little attempt is made to generate a representative sample. There are several common types.
Purposive sampling means that the researchers choose participants arbitrarily for their unique characteristics or their experiences, attitudes, or perceptions.
Snowball sampling means that participants refer researchers to others who have characteristics, experiences, or attitudes similar to or different from their own.
Convenience sampling means that researchers select any readily available individuals as participants.
The general sampling guideline for qualitative research is to keep sampling as long as your breadth and depth of knowledge of the issue under study is expanding, and stop when you gain no new knowledge or insights. In other words, a qualitative researcher will stop sampling when he or she has reached data redundancy.

34. Qualitative Research  Qualitative Research Methodologies  Interviews
Hierarchical questioning structure.
Interviewing requires a trained interviewer (often called a moderator for group interviews).
The interviewer must be able to make participants feel comfortable and probe for details without upsetting the participants.
The actual interviewer is usually responsible for generating the interview or discussion guide, the list of topics to be discussed, or the questions to be asked, and in what order. In building this guide, many interviewers employ a hierarchical questioning structure.
Broader questions start the interview, designed to put participants at ease and give them a sense that they have a lot to contribute, followed by increasingly more specific questions to draw out detail.

35. Qualitative Research  Qualitative Research Methodologies  Interviews
Interview Format:
Unstructured: no specific questions or order of topics to be discussed. Each interview is customized to each participant.
Semi-structured: There are a few standard questions but the individual is allowed to deviate based on his or her answers and thought processes. The interviewer’s role is to probe.
Structured: The interview guide is detailed and specifies question order, and the way questions are to be asked. These interviews permit more direct comparability of responses and maintain interviewer neutrality.
Most qualitative research relies on the unstructured or semistructured interview format.

36. Qualitative Research  Qualitative Research Methodologies  Interviews
Interview Modes:
Individual
Group .
Most qualitative research relies on the unstructured or semistructured interview format.

37. Qualitative Research  Combining Qualitative Methodologies
Qualitative methods can be combined to glean more and better information.
Case study (Case history): Combines individual or group interviews with record analysis and observation.
Researchers extract information from company brochures, annual reports, sales receipts, and newspaper and magazine articles along with direct observation, and combine it with interview data from participants.
Interview participants are invited to tell the story of their experience.
The objective is to obtain multiple perspectives of a single organization, situation, event, or process at a point in time or over a period of time.
Action research is designed to address complex, practical problems about which little is known. It involves brainstorming, followed by sequential trial-and-error attempts until desired results are achieved.
Most qualitative research relies on the unstructured or semistructured interview format.

38. The four strategies for combining methods:
Qualitative Research  Triangulation: Merging Qualitative and Quantitative
Triangulation is the combining of several qualitative methods or combining qualitative with quantitative methods.
The four strategies for combining methods:
Conduct studies simultaneously
Ongoing qualitative with multiple waves of quantitative
Perform series: Qualitative, Quantitative, Qualitative
Quantitative precedes Qualitative
Most qualitative research relies on the unstructured or semistructured interview format.

39. Qualitative Research  Further Reading
Exhibit 7-5 Comparison of Individual Depth Interviews and Group Interviews [P. 152].
Interviewer Responsibilities, P 153
Exhibit 7-7 What is Included in Recruitment Screening [P. 154].
Exhibit 7-8 Types of Research using IDIs [P. 158].
Exhibit 7-9 Factors affecting Participants Contributions in Group Interviews [P. 161].

40. Research Design Key Terms
Individual depth interview
Laboratory conditions
Longitudinal study
Qualitative techniques
Reciprocal relationship
Research design
Secondary data
Simulation
Statistical study
Case study
Causal study
Causation
Communication study
Control group
Correlation
Cross-sectional study
Descriptive study
Ex post facto design
Experiment
Exploratory study
Field conditions
Focus group
Formal study

41. Research Design Key Terms
Interview guide
Moderator
Non-probability sampling
Pretasking
Probability sampling
Qualitative research
Quantitative research
Recruitment screener
Triangulation
Content analysis
Focus groups
Group interview
IDI
Convergent interviewing
Critical incident technique
Cultural interviews
Grounded theory
Life histories
Oral history
Sequential interviewing

42. References Business Research Methods by Donald R Cooper, 12th Edition.
Chapter 6 - Research Design: Overview, PP
Chapter 7 - Qualitative Research, PP