Slide 5.

Chapter 5
Formulating the research design

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.2

The Process of Research Design

Research choices
Research strategies
Time horizons

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.3

Research Design and Tactics

The research onion

Figure 5.1 The research onion

Saunders et al, (2009)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.4

Research Design
The research design needs
Clear objectives derived from the research question
To specify sources of data collection
To consider constraints and ethical issues
Valid reasons for your choice of design

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.5

Multiple research methods

Research choices

Figure 5.4 Research choices

Saunders et al, (2009)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.6

Multiple research methods

Reasons for using mixed method designs: (Table 5.1 )

Initiation
Facilitation
Complementarity
Interpretation
Generalisability
Diversity
Problem solving
Focus
Triangulation
Confidence
Source: developed from Bryman (2006)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.7

Classification of the research purpose

Exploratory research
Descriptive studies
Explanatory studies

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.8

Research Strategies

Experiment

Action research

Grounded theory
Ethnography

Survey
Case study

Archival research

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.9

Research Strategies: Experiment

An experiment will involve

Definition of a theoretical hypothesis

Selection of samples from know populations
Random allocation of samples
Introduction of planned intervention
Measurement on a small number of dependent
variables
Control of all other variables

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.10

Research Strategies: Experiment

Variables
Independent variable
Dependent variable
Mediating variable
Moderator variable
Control variable
Confounding variable
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.11

Research Strategies: Experiment

Classical experiment
Quasi experiment
Between Subject design
Within Subject Design

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.12

Research Strategies: Experiment

A classic experiment strategy

Saunders et al, (2009)

Figure 5.2 A classic experiment strategy
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.13

Research Strategies: Experiment

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.14

Research Strategies: Experiment

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.15

Research Strategies: Survey

Survey: key features

Popular in business research

Perceived as authoritative
Allows collection of quantitative data
Data can be analysed quantitatively
Samples need to be representative
Gives the researcher independence
Structured observation and interviews can be used

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.16

Research Strategies: Archival

research
An archival research makes use of
administrative records and documents as the
principal source of data.
Focus on RQ that deals with past the
changes over time.
Primary or secondary data?

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.17

Research Strategies: Case Study

Case Study: key features
Provides a rich understanding of a real life context
Uses and triangulates multiple sources of data
A case study can be categorised in four ways
and based on two dimensions:
single case v. multiple case
holistic case v. embedded case
Yin (2003)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.18

Research Strategies: Case Study

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.19

Research Strategies: Ethnography

Ethnography is used to study groups.
Aims to describe and explain the social world
inhabited by the researcher

It may involve researchers living amongst

those whom they study to observe and talk
to them ion order to produce detail cultural
accounts of their shared beliefs, behaviors,
interactions, language, rituals and the events
that shape their lives.
Takes place over an extended time period
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.20

Research Strategies
Action research: key features

Research IN action - not ON action

Involves practitioners in the research
The researcher becomes part of the organisation
Promotes change within the organisation
Can have two distinct focii (Schein, 1999)
the aim of the research and the needs of the sponsor

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.21

Research Strategies
The action research spiral

Saunders et al, (2009)

Figure 5.3 The action research spiral

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.22

Research Strategies
Grounded theory: key features
Theory is built through induction and deduction
Helps to predict and explain behaviour
Develops theory from data generated by
observations
Is an interpretative process, not a logicodeductive one
Based on Suddaby (2006)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.23

Research Strategies
The role of the practitioner-researcher
Key features

Research access is more easily available

The researcher knows the organisation
Has the disadvantage of familiarity
The researcher is likely to their own assumptions
and preconceptions
The dual role requires careful negotiation

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.24

Time Horizons
Select the appropriate time horizon
Cross-sectional studies

Longitudinal studies

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.25

Credibility of research findings

Important considerations
Reliability: Consistency of findings if repeated
Validity: research measures what you actually
intend to measure.
Internal validity: IV is established when your research
demonstrates a causal relationship between two
variables
External validity: Can a studys findings be generalised
in other relevant settings or groups.

Logic leaps and false assumptions

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.26

Credibility of research findings

Threats to Reliability
Participant error: Any factor which adversely
alters the way in which the participant performs.
Participant Bias: any factor which includes a false
response.
Researcher error: Any factor which alters the
researcher's interpretation
Researcher bias: Any factor which includes bias in
the researcher's recording of responses.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.27

Credibility of research findings

Threats to internal validity
Past or recent event: An event which changes participants
perceptions.
Testing: The impact of testing on participants view or actions.
Instrumentation: Impact of a change in a research instrument
between different stages of the research.
Mortality: Impact of participants withdrawing form the studies.
Maturation: Impact of outside factor that affects participants
attitudes and behavior
Ambiguity about causal direction: Lack of clarity about cause and
effect

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.28

Research design ethics

Remember

The research design should not subject the

research population to embarrassment, harm or
other material disadvantage

Adapted from Saunders et al, (2009)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.29

Summary: Chapter 5
Research design turns a research question and
objectives into a project that considers
Strategies

Choices

Time horizons

Research projects can be categorised as

Exploratory

Descriptive

Explanatory

Research projects may be

Cross-sectional

Longitudinal

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 5.30

Summary: Chapter 5
Important considerations
The main research strategies may combined in
the same project
The opportunities provided by using multiple
methods
The validity and reliability of results
Access and ethical considerations
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009