RESEARCH DESIGN

Objective:
To understand the meaning of Research Design.
To study about the various types of Research designs.
To understand the type of research design to use for specific problems.

The Research Design

Research design provides the glue that holds the research project together. A

design is used to structure the research, to show how all of the major parts of the
research project -- the samples or groups, measures, treatments or programs, and
methods of assignment -- work together to try to address the central research
questions.

According to Green and Tull: A Research Design is the specification of methods

and procedures for acquiring the information needed. It is the over-all
operational pattern or framework of the project that stipulates what information
is to be collected from which sources by what procedures.
Hence it is clear that Research design is the blueprint for research. It lays down
the methodology involved in the collection of information and arriving at
meaningful conclusions from the same.
There are many methods for studying and tackling a problem, but there are no
perfect methods. Many times more than one method could be used in the
research process.
There are many classifications accepted for a Research Design. One of the most

accepted classification is grouping it under three types:

1. Exploratory
2. Descriptive and
3. Causal
This can be depicted as in figure 2 given below:

Exploratory Research Design

As the term suggests, exploratory research is often conducted because a problem
has not been clearly defined as yet, or its real scope is as yet unclear. It is a
process of discovery wherein you uncover as many ideas as possible. It allows
the researcher to familiarize him/herself with the problem or concept to be
studied, and perhaps generate hypothesis to be tested. It expands knowledge. It
is the initial research, before more conclusive research is undertaken.
Exploratory research helps determine the best research design, data collection
method and selection of subjects.
Another common reason for conducting exploratory research is to test concepts
before they are launched in the marketplace, always a very costly endeavor. In
concept testing, consumers are provided either with a written concept or a
prototype for a new, revised or repositioned product, service or strategy.

Exploratory research relies more on secondary data. It does not have a rigid
design as the researcher themselves are not very well versed with the subject and
are trying to gain knowledge of the same. Hence it can be quite informal, relying
on secondary research such as reviewing available literature and/or data, or
qualitative approaches such as informal discussions with consumers, employees,
management or competitors, and more formal approaches through in-depth
interviews, focus groups, projective methods, case studies or pilot studies.
The results of exploratory research are not usually useful for decision-making by
themselves, but they can provide significant insight into a given situation. The
findings of this can be used to develop the research further. Points can be arrived
at which requires to apply the other methodologies.

Conclusive Research Design

Descriptive research is also used to generate hypotheses but generally has more
information available than in exploratory research. Descriptive research is

usually conducted to characterize one or more variables within a population,

particularly in relation to person, place, and time.

As the name indicates, conclusive research is meant to provide information that
is useful in reaching conclusions or decision-making. It is mostly quantitative in
nature, in the form of numbers that can be quantified and summarized. It relies
on both secondary data, particularly existing databases that are reanalyzed to
shed light on a different problem than the original one for which they were
constituted, and primary research, or data specifically gathered for the current
study.
The purpose of conclusive research is to provide a reliable or representative
picture of the population through the use of a valid research instrument. In the
case of formal research, it will also test hypothesis.
Conclusive research can be sub-divided into two categories:
1. Descriptive or statistical research, and
2. Causal research

Descriptive Research

Descriptive research or statistical research provides data about the population or

universe being studied. It describes the "who, what, when, where and how" of a
situation and not what caused it. Therefore, descriptive research is used when
the objective is to provide a systematic description that is as factual and accurate
as possible. It provides the number of times something occurs, or frequency,
lends itself to statistical calculations such as determining the average number of
occurrences or central tendencies.
One of its major limitations is that it cannot help determine what causes a
specific behaviour, motivation or occurrence. In other words, it cannot establish
a causal research relationship between variables.
The two most common types of descriptive research designs are

1. Observation: Observation is a primary method of collecting data by

human, mechanical, electrical or electronic means. The researcher may
or may not have direct contact or communication with the people whose
behaviour is being recorded. Observation techniques can be part of

qualitative research as well as quantitative research techniques. The

commonly used observation methods are:
Participant and non participant observation: This depends on whether the
researcher chooses to be part of the situation s/he is studying.
(e.g. studying team dynamics by being a team member would be
participant observation)
Obtrusive and unobtrusive observation: Depends on whether the subjects
being studied can detect the observation
(e.g. hidden microphones or cameras observing behaviour)
Observation in natural or contrived settings: Observing the behaviour in
its natural setting and in a condition where the natural settings are
created.
Disguised and non-disguised observation: Depends on whether the
subjects being observed are aware that they are being studied or not. In
disguised observation, the researcher may not disclose his true identity
and pretend to be someone else to keep away the bias in the findings.

Structured and unstructured observation: This refers to guidelines or a

checklist being used for the aspects of the behaviour that are to be
recorded; for instance, noting who starts the introductory conversation
between the group members and what specific words are used by way of
introduction.
Direct and indirect observation: This depends on whether the behaviour
is being observed during the time it occurs or after the occurrence, as in
the case of TV viewing, for instance, where choice of program and
channel flicking can all be recorded for later analysis.
One distinct advantage of the observation technique is that it records actual
behaviour, not what people say they said/did or believe they will say/do. On the
other hand, the observation technique does not provide us with any insights into
what the person may be thinking or what might motivate a given
behaviour/comment. This type of information can only be obtained by asking
people directly or indirectly.

2. Surveys: The survey technique mainly involves the collection of primary

data about subjects, usually by selecting a representative sample of the
population or universe under study, through the use of a questionnaire. It
is a very popular since many different types of information can be
collected, including attitudinal, motivational, behavioral and perceptive
aspects. It allows for standardization and uniformity in the questions
asked and in the method of approaching subjects, making it easier to
compare and contrast answers by respondent group. It also ensures
higher reliability than some other techniques.
If properly designed and implemented, surveys can be an efficient and accurate
means of determining information about a given population. Results can be
provided relatively quickly, and depending on the sample size and methodology
chosen, they are relatively inexpensive. However, surveys also have a number of
disadvantages, which must be considered by the researcher in determining the
appropriate data collection technique.

Since in any survey, the respondent knows that s/he is being studied, the
information provided may not be valid insofar as the respondent may wish to
impress (e.g. by attributing him/herself a higher income or education level) or
please (e.g. researcher by providing the kind of response s/he believes the
researcher is looking for) the researcher. This is known as response error or bias.

The willingness or ability to reply can also pose a problem. If the information
sought is considered sensitive or intrusive the respondent may hesitate to reply,
leading to a high rate of refusal. This can be overcome by framing such
questions carefully.
There can be an interviewer error or bias as the interviewer can (inadvertently)
influence the response elicited through comments made or by stressing certain
words in the question itself. This is seen through facial expressions, body
language or even the clothing that is worn.
Another consideration is response rate. Depending on the method chosen, the
length of the questionnaire, the type and/or motivation of the respondent, the

type of questions and/or subject matter, the time of day or place, and whether
respondents were informed to expect the survey or offered an incentive can all
influence the response rate obtained. Proper questionnaire design and question
wording can help increase response rate.
Descriptive studies are also classified into:
1. Cross-sectional studies: It deals with a sample of elements from a given
population. Number of characteristics from the sample elements are
collected and analyzed. It is of two types: field studies and surveys.
2. Longitudinal studies. This is based on panel data and panel methods. A
panel constitutes a group of respondents who are interviewed and
reinterviewed from time to time. Hence the same variable is repeatedly
measured. This helps in studying a particular behaviour over a period of
time.

Causal Research
Causal research is undertaken to see if there is a cause and effect relationship

between variables. In order to determine causality, it is important to hold the

variable that is assumed to cause the change in the other variable(s) constant and
then measure the changes in the other variable(s). This type of research is very

complex and the researcher can never be completely certain that there are not
other factors influencing the causal relationship, especially when dealing with
people‘s attitudes and motivations. There are often much deeper psychological
considerations that even the respondent may not be aware of.
There are two research methods for exploring the cause and effect relationship
between variables:
1. Experimentation or natural experimentation: This highly controlled method
allows the researcher to manipulate a specific independent variable in order to
determine what effect this manipulation would have on other dependent
variables. Experimentation also calls for a control group as well as an
experimentation group, and subjects would be assigned randomly to either
group. The researcher can further decide whether the experiment should take

place in a laboratory or in the field, i.e. the "natural" setting as opposed to an

"artificial" one. Laboratory research allows the researcher to control and/or
eliminate as many intervening variables as possible.
2. Simulation: Another way of establishing causality between variables is
through the use of simulation.
A sophisticated set of mathematical formula are used to simulate or imitate a
real life situation. By changing one variable in the equation, it is possible to
determine the effect on the other variables in the equation.
For the natural experiments there are three classes of designs:
1. Time-series and trend designs
2. Cross-sectional designs and
3. A combination of the above two.

Time series and trend designs: In a time series design, data is collected from
the sample or population at successive intervals. The trend data relate to
matched samples drawn from the same population at successive intervals. It can

be of many types.

A simple design can be represented as below:

XO
Where X indicates the exposure of a group to an experimental treatment and O
indicates the observation or measurement taken on the subject or group after an
experimental treatment. Another method also involves a control group. This can
be represented as below:
O1 O2 O3 X O4 O5 O6
O‘1 O‘2 O‘3 O‘4 O‘5 O‘6
Where O‘s represent measurement of the control group. This is termed as
multiple time-series design.

Cross-sectional designs: It studies the effect of different levels of treatments on

several groups at the same time. It can be represented as below:
X1 O1

X2 O2
X3 O3
X4 O4
An example would be different kind of incentives given for the same product in
various territories. This would help in understanding the effect of varying the
incentive on the sales performance across territories.

Combinational Design: This design combines both the time-series and crosssectional designs.
This design is generally seen while measuring advertising effectiveness in a
panel. An advertisement is run and the respondents are asked if they have seen it
earlier. Those who have seen it earlier constitute the test group and those who
have not constitute the control group. The purchase made before and after the

advertisement by the test and the control group marks the advertising
effectiveness.
So many research designs have been listed. The one that is ultimately selected

should help in solving the problem. It should help in arriving at the desired
conclusions.