BASIC RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
LECTURE 3
BY
DR. SHAILJA PANDEY
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
GALGOTIAS UNIVERSITY, GREATER NOIDA, U.P.
RESEARCH DESIGN
THE NATURE OF RESEARCH DESIGNS
A research design is based on a framework and provides a direction to the
investigation being conducted in the most efficient manner.
Green et al. (2008) defines research designs as ‘the specification of methods and
procedures for acquiring the information needed. It is the overall operational pattern or
framework of the project that stipulates what information is to be collected from
which sources by what procedures. If it is a good design, it will insure that the
information obtained is relevant to the research questions and that it was collected by
objective and economical procedures.’
Thyer (1993) states that, ‘A traditional research design is a blueprint or detailed plan
for how a research study is to be completed—operationalizing variables so they can be
measured, selecting a sample of interest to study, collecting data to be used as a basis for
testing hypotheses, and analysing the results.’
• One of the most comprehensive and holistic definition has been given by Kerlinger
(1995).
• He refers to a research design as, ‘….. a plan, structure and strategy of investigation so
conceived as to obtain answers to research questions or problems. The plan is the
complete scheme or programme of the research. It includes an outline of what the
investigator will do from writing the hypotheses and their operational implications
to the final analysis of data.’
• Thus, the formulated design must ensure three basic tenets:
(a) Convert the research question and the stated assumptions/hypotheses into operational
variables that can be measured.
(b) Specify the process that would be followed to complete the above task, as efficiently
and economically as possible.
(c) Specify the ‘control mechanism(s)’ that would be used to ensure that the effect of other
variables that could impact the outcome of the study have been controlled.
• Distinction between research design and research method
• While the design is the specific framework that has been created to
seek answers to the research question, the research method is the
technique to collect the information required to answer the research
problem, given the created framework.
• Thus, research designs have a critical and directive role to play in the
research process. The execution details of the research question to be
investigated are referred to as the research design.
FORMULATION OF THE RESEARCH DESIGN: PROCESS
• Once the researcher has identified the research scope and objectives, he has also
established his/her epistemological position.
• This could be positivistic—in which case the method of enquiry would necessarily be
scientific and empirical. Subsequently, this would require a statistical method of analysis
(Ackroyd, 1996).
• The constructivists on the other hand argue for methods that are richer and more
applicable to the social sciences, unlike the more pedantic experimental approach.
Qualitative is a more definitive choice here than the quantitative (Atkinson and
Hammersley, 1994).
• Yet another approach is the principle of triangulation (Jick, 1979), which advocates the
simultaneous or a sequential use of the qualitative and quantitative methods of
investigation.
• The formulated research questions are then, through a comprehensive theoretical review, put
into a practical perspective.
• The conceptual design thus developed requires and entails specifications of the variables
under study as well as approach to the analysis.
• This might in turn lead to a refining or rephrasing of the defined research questions.
• Thus, the formulation of the research design is not a stagnant stage in the research process;
rather it is an ongoing backward and forward integrated process by itself.
Example of the organic food study
Formulated Research Problem: To investigate the consumer decision-making process for
organic food products and to segment the market according to the basket size.
• On conducting an extensive review of the literature, it was found that organic consumption is
not always a self-driven choice; rather it could be the seller who might influence the product
choice.
• Thus, a research design was formulated to study the organic consumer’s decision stages.
However, once the design is selected and a proposed sampling plan is developed, the next
step required is that the constructs and the variables to be studied must be
operationalized.
• On defining the organic consumer, we realized the significance of the psychographics of the
individual—the attitude, interest and opinion—which were extremely critical.
• Thus, to get a wholistic view, one needs to look at the psychographic profile of the existing
consumer, as well as of the potential consumer with a similar mindset.
This led to a revision of the research problem:
To investigate the consumer decision-making process for organic food products and to segment
the market—existing and potential—according to their psychographic profile.
DIFFERENT RESEARCH DESIGNS
Different research designs can be conveniently described if we categorize them as:
(1) Research design in case of exploratory research studies;
(2) Research design in case of descriptive and diagnostic research studies, and
(3) Research design in case of hypothesis-testing research studies.
1. Research design in case of exploratory research studies:
Exploratory research studies are also termed as formulative research studies.
The main purpose of such studies is that of formulating a problem for more precise investigation
or of developing the working hypotheses from an operational point of view.
The major emphasis in such studies is on the discovery of ideas and insights.
Generally, the following three methods in the context of research design for
such studies are talked about:
(a) the survey of concerning literature;
(b) the experience survey and
(c) the analysis of ‘insight-stimulating’ examples.
a)The survey of concerning literature
b) The experience survey
c) Analysis ‘insight-stimulating’ examples
2. Research design in case of descriptive and diagnostic research studies:
• Descriptive research studies are those studies which are concerned with describing the
characteristics of a particular individual, or of a group, whereas diagnostic research studies
determine the frequency with which something occurs or its association with something else.
• The studies concerning whether certain variables are associated are examples of diagnostic research
studies.
• As against this, studies concerned with specific predictions, with narration of facts and
characteristics concerning individual, group or situation are all examples of descriptive research
studies.
• Most of the social research comes under this category. From the point of view of the research
design, the descriptive as well as diagnostic studies share common requirements and as such we
may group together these two types of research studies.
• The design in such studies must be rigid and not flexible and must focus attention on the following:
(a) Formulating the objective of the study (what the study is about and why is it being made?)
(b) Designing the methods of data collection (what techniques of gathering data will be adopted?)
(c) Selecting the sample (how much material will be needed?)
(d) Collecting the data (where can the required data be found and with what time period should
the data be related?)
(e) Processing and analysing the data.
(f) Reporting the findings.
3. Research design in case of hypothesis-testing research studies:
• Hypothesis-testing research studies (generally known as experimental studies) are those where the researcher
tests the hypotheses of causal relationships between variables. Such studies require procedures that will not
only reduce bias and increase reliability, but will permit drawing inferences about causality.
• Usually experiments meet this requirement. Hence, when we talk of research design in such studies, we often
mean the design of experiments.
• Professor R.A. Fisher’s name is associated with experimental designs.
• As such the study of experimental designs has its origin in agricultural research.
• Professor Fisher found that by dividing agricultural fields or plots into different blocks and then by
conducting experiments in each of these blocks, whatever information is collected and inferences drawn from
them, happens to be more reliable.
• This fact inspired him to develop certain experimental designs for testing hypotheses concerning scientific
investigations.
• Today, the experimental designs are being used in researches relating to phenomena of several disciplines.
• Since experimental designs originated in the context of agricultural operations, we still use, though in a
technical sense, several terms of agriculture (such as treatment, yield, plot, block etc.) in experimental
designs.
THANK YOU
