Unit 3: Research Design

•Concept of research design;

•Quantitative research designs – descriptive, correlational,
causal-comparative, and experimental;
•Qualitative research - case study, ethnography and grounded theory.
Concept of Research Design
• A research design is a framework that guides a research
project from start to finish, including data collection,
measurement, and analysis. It's a blueprint for ensuring
that the research problem is thoroughly investigated
and that the data collected is valid, reliable, and
consistent.
Contd..
• Fred N. Kerlinger (1986): “Research design is the plan, structure, and
strategy of investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to
research question. The plan is the overall scheme or program of the
research. It includes an outline of what the investigator will do from
writing the hypothesis and their operational implications to the final
analysis of data.”
• William Zikmund (2013): “Research design is a master plan specifying
the methods and procedures for collecting and analyzing the needed
information.”
Contd..
A research design is a clearly planned procedure for carrying out the research. Many things need to
be planned in advance. The design generally incorporates answers to the following kinds of
questions.
• what sort of data do I need to collect in order to test the hypothesis and/or achieve research
aim?
• Where will I collect the data ?
• How will I collect the data ?
• What type of data-collection instruments and procedures will I use?
• Who will provide me with the data ?
• Do I need to ask permission before trying to collect data?
• When will I collect the data ?
• How will the data be analyzed ?
• Will I use a particular theoretical frame in order to interpret the data?
Components of Research
Design:
[Link] of Research Design
1. Specify whether the study is exploratory, descriptive, explanatory, or experimental.
[Link] and Sample
1. Clearly define the target population.
2. Sampling technique (e.g., random, stratified, purposive).
3. Sample size and rationale for choosing it.
[Link] Collection Methods
1. Explain the primary or secondary data sources.
2. Detail the tools or instruments used (e.g., surveys, interviews).
[Link] and Measurements
1. Identify the independent, dependent, and control variables.
2. Describe how variables will be measured or operationalized.
Contd..
[Link] Analysis Plan
1. Methods for analyzing the collected data (e.g., statistical tests, software used).
[Link] Tools
2. Specify instruments like questionnaires, interview schedules, or observation
guides.
Ethical Considerations
3. Address how ethical concerns are managed (e.g., informed consent,
confidentiality).
Time Frame
4. Briefly outline the research timeline (e.g., data collection, analysis phases).
Quantitative research Designs.

•Descriptive research design

•Correlational research design
•causal-comparative research design
•Experimental research design
Descriptive Research:
Descriptive research is a fact-finding operation,
searching for adequate information. It is a type of
study, which is generally conducted to assess the
opinions, behaviours, or characteristics of a given
population and to describe the situation and events
occurring at present. Descriptive research is process
of accumulating facts. It does not necessarily seek to
explain relationships, test hypothesis, make
predictions or get at meaning and implications of a
study.
Features of Descriptive
Research Design
1. Purpose:
1. To provide an accurate account of characteristics or behaviors of a population or phenomenon.
2. Examples: Measuring employees' satisfaction levels, assessing the use of E-HRM tools in banks.
2. Focus:
1. Describes "what is happening" rather than explaining "why it happens."
3. Non-Experimental Nature:
1. Variables are observed and recorded without any interference or manipulation.
4. Data Collection:
1. Often uses quantitative methods (e.g., surveys, observations).
2. Qualitative methods (e.g., interviews, case studies) can also be used.
5. Time Frame:
1. Can be cross-sectional (data collected at one point in time) or longitudinal (data collected over
time).
• A correlational research design is used to study the relationship
between two or more variables to determine whether they are
associated or connected. It does not imply cause-and-effect but helps
identify patterns or trends in the relationship.
Key Features of Correlational
Research Design
[Link]:
1. To explore whether a relationship exists between variables and measure the
strength and direction of the relationship.
[Link] of Study:
1. Non-experimental: No manipulation of variables; data is observed as it
naturally occurs.
[Link] on Variables:
1. Examines independent and dependent variables but does not aim to
establish causation.
2. Example: Examining the relationship between the use of E-HRM tools
(independent variable) and employee satisfaction (dependent variable).
Contd..
[Link]:
1. Relationships are quantified using correlation coefficients, typically ranging
from -1 to +1:
1. +1: Perfect positive correlation (variables increase together).
2. -1: Perfect negative correlation (one variable increases as the other decreases).
3. 0: No correlation.
Case Study Research.
Case study research is an important approach to study the topics
in social science and management. Case studies are written
summaries or synthesis of real-life cases based upon data and
research. A case study is thus defined as “a strategy for doing
research which involves an empirical investigation of a
particular contemporary phenomenon within a real life context
using multiple sources of evidence.”
A case can be: a single organization; a single location, such as a
factory, production site, or office building; a person (i.e, to
study women manager); a single event, such as an event of
Newari culture (Rato Machhindranath-Jatra).
Cont..
• It is widely used research design in business research and some of the best
known studies in business and management research are based on this design.
Further, the ethnography on urban gangs or cases of shopping mall or cases of
sugarcane farmers can be issues of case studies. The distinction between case
study and other research designs is that case study focuses on bounded situation
or system as an entity, the emphasis is given on intensive examination of the
setting or system.
 Characteristics of Case Study
• It is an in-depth or an intensive study of a case or multiple
cases.
• The case study can be considered as a vehicle through which
several qualitative methods can be combined that help in
avoiding extreme dependence on one single approach.
• The findings from the case study can be used to make clear
that why so many quality management programs have been
failed.
• Case studied are applied for both quantitative and qualitative
research, though mostly in qualitative research.
• Case studies have features of providing evidence that more
effectively portray complex, multiple-factor events/ situations
and processes occurred over time & space.
Casual-Comparative Research
A casual-comparative design is a research design that seeks
to find relationships between independent and dependent
variables after an action or event has already occurred. The
researcher’s goal is to determine whether the independent
variable affected the outcome, or dependent variable, by
comparing two or more group of variables. There are
similarities and difference between casual comparative
research & both experimental and correlational research. It
is also known as “ex post facto” (after the fact) research.
Cont..
For example, if you want to study the effect of socio-economic variables such as
age, sex, ethnicity, or income on purchasing behavior, you might identify two
groups of customers. One group is high purchaser, second group low purchaser.
You then would study the differences of the two groups as related to socio
economic variables that already occurred as the reason for the difference in the
purchasing behavior between the groups. The researcher observe that two
groups differ on some variable and then attempt to find the reason for (or the
result of) this difference.
Note that the difference has already occurred.
Characteristics:
• Attempt to identify cause and effect relationship.
• Involve two or more group variables.
• Involve making comparison.
• Individual are not randomly selected and assigned to
two or more groups.
• Can not manipulate independent variables.
• Less costly and time consuming.
Experimental Research Design.
Experimental research is a study that strictly follows to
a scientific research design. In this research, one or
more independent variables are manipulated and
applied to one or more dependent variables to
measure their effect on the latter. The effect of the
independent variables on the dependent variables is
usually observed and recorded over some time, to aid
researchers in drawing a reasonable conclusion
regarding the relationship between these 2 variable
types.
Contd..
• In other words it includes a hypothesis, a variable that can be
manipulated by the researcher, and that variable that can be
measured, calculated and compared most importantly experimental
research is completed in a controlled environment. The researcher
collects data and hypothesis testing or a deductive research method.
• An experimental research design is a type of study where you test
cause-and-effect relationships by controlling and manipulating
variables. It’s like a scientific experiment where you change one thing
(the cause) to see its impact on another (the effect), while keeping
everything else constant.
Contd..
[Link]:
1. Participants are randomly assigned to groups to reduce bias.
[Link]-and-Effect Focus:
1. Helps determine if a specific action or intervention causes a particular
outcome.
Example
• If you're studying E-HRM in Nepalese commercial banks, you could
use an experimental design to test:
• Hypothesis: Does E-Training improve employee performance?
• Process:
• Divide employees into two groups: one uses E-Training programs, the other
uses traditional training.
• Compare their performance after training to see if E-Training had a significant
effect.
Concept of Qualitative research
Qualitative research was one of the first forms of social studies.
However in 1950s and 1960s as quantitative science reached
into peek of popularity. It was diminished in importance. Later
after 1970s qualitative research began to regain its recognition
but until then restricted as a discipline of sociology and
anthropology. After 1980s qualitative research began to be used
in other discipline like in the field of education, social works,
management, medicine, psychology, political science and
others and became significant type of research.
There is no universal definition of qualitative research . In the
literature of social science research, such terms as interpretive,
naturalistic, ethnographic, and inductive research are
employed to designate the broad collection of approaches that
we call simply qualitative research.
Acording to Donald Cooper, “ qualitative research is a
fundamental approach of exploration, including
individual depth interviews, group interviews,
participants observation, video taping of participants,
projective techniques and psychological testing, case
studies, street ethnography, elite interviewing,
document analysis & proxemics and kinesics.
According to John Cresswell, ”Qualitative research is an
inquiry process of understanding based on distinct
methodological traditions of inquiry that explore a
social or human problem.”
Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing
non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to
understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can
be used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or
generate new ideas for research.
Qualitative research is the opposite of quantitative
research , which involves collecting and analyzing
numerical data for statistical analysis.
Qualitative research is commonly used in the
humanities and social sciences, in subjects such as
anthropology, sociology, education, health sciences,
history, etc.
Examples.
• How does social media shape body image in teenagers?
• What factors influence employee retention in a large organization?
• How is anxiety experienced around the world?
• How can teachers integrate social issues into science curriculums?
 Basic assumptions of qualitative research

• Research keeps holistic approach.

• Research incorporates emergent design.
• Research is descriptive.
• Primarily concerned with process rather than
outcomes.
• Researcher him/her self functions as key instrument
for data collection.
• Process of research is inductive.
• Research is subjective.
• Researcher gathers data from multiple sources.
• Researcher have reflexivity.
 Features of qualitative research
The features of qualitative research lie in its inductive
reasoning, its focus on specific situations or people,
and its emphasis on words rather than numbers. There
are five particular research purposes for which
qualitative studies are especially suited.
• Interpretive
• Based on qualitative facts.
• Purposive sampling.
• Change in research design.
• Self collection of data.
• Holistic assumption.
Difference between qualitative &
Quantitative research.
Qualitative research methods

• Each of the research approaches involve using one or more

data collection methods. These are some of the most common
qualitative methods:
• Observations: recording what you have seen, heard, or
encountered in detailed field notes.
• Interviews: personally asking people questions in one-on-one
conversations.
• Focus groups: asking questions and generating discussion
among a group of people.
• Surveys: distributing questionnaires with open-ended
questions.
• Secondary research: collecting existing data in the form of
texts, images, audio or video recordings, etc.
 Types of qualitative research
1. Case study : It attempts to shed light on a phenomenon by
studying in depth a single case example. The case can be an
individual person, a group, or an institution. Because the
roots of case study are interdisciplinary, many different
concepts and theories can be used to describe and explain
the case. A case study thus provides a rich, detailed and
holistic description of the case and its context.
2. Grounded theory : Grounded theory involves the collection
and analysis of data. The theory is “grounded” in actual data,
which means the analysis and development of theories
happens after you have collected the data. It was introduced
by Glaser & Strauss in 1967 to legitimize qualitative research.
However, it’s use isn’t limited to qualitative studies; it is a
general method that can be applied to many areas of
research.
Contd..
• Grounded theory is a qualitative research method used to develop a
theory based on data collected from participants. Instead of starting
with a pre-existing theory, grounded theory allows the researcher to
build a theory grounded in the real-life experiences and perspectives
of the participants.
Key Features of Grounded
Theory
[Link]-Driven:
1. The theory is developed from the data rather than testing an existing theory.
[Link] Process:
1. Data collection and analysis happen simultaneously and inform each other.
[Link] on Processes and Patterns:
1. It looks for patterns, themes, and processes in the data that explain behaviors or phenomena.
[Link] Sampling:
1. Participants or data sources are chosen based on their ability to provide insights into
emerging themes, rather than random selection.
[Link] Comparison:
1. New data is continuously compared with previously collected data to refine and build the
theory.
3) Phenomenology : It is major approach to qualitative
research. It is a descriptive study of how individuals
experience a phenomenon. Participant’s lived
experiences are used as data in this type of study.
One can interviews, written or oral self-reports to
gather the participants descriptions of their
experiences about a phenomenon. The
foundational purpose of phenomenological
research is therefore to study the meaning,
structure, and essence of the lived experience of a
particular phenomenon by an individual by an
individual or by many individuals.
4) Ethnography : ethnography derived from Greek word ethnos
that is folk, people, nations. It is a branch of anthropology
and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography
explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the
subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social
research involving the examination of the behavior of the
participants in a given social situation and understanding the
group members own interpretation of such behavior.
As a form of inquiry, ethnography relies heavily on
participant observation—on the researcher participating in
the setting or with the people being studied, at least in some
marginal role, and seeking to document, in detail, patterns of
social interaction and the perspectives of participants, and to
understand these in their local contexts. It had its origin in
social and cultural anthropology in the early twentieth
century, but spread to other social science disciplines,
notably sociology, during the course of that century.
 Ethnographers mainly use qualitative methods,
though they may also employ quantitative data. The
typical ethnography is a holistic study[4][5] and so
includes a brief history, and an analysis of the terrain,
the climate, and the habitat. A wide range of group
and organization have been studied by this method,
including traditional communities, youth gangs,
religious cults, and organizations of various kinds. For
example a researcher can study micro cultures (work
culture in a particular section of an organization) as
well as macro cultures ( a particular community
culture in Nepal).