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Session 6 Formulating the research design

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Review your research questions:Good Questions Are:

Relevant.Manageable in terms of research and in terms of

your own academic abilities.Substantial and with original dimensions.Consistent with the requirements of the assessment.Clear and simple.Interesting.

http://www.socscidiss.bham.ac.uk/s7.html

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What is the relationship between launch strategy and subsequent success and failure?• define the four approaches to toy launch strategy• define success & failure over a relevant time period• classify the launch strategy for each new toy in one

year• relate the four strategies to success and failure• identify the factors within the strategies contributing

to success and failure

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“Is technical leadership the principal driver of project success in IT program management”?Identify the five main drivers of project success in IT

program management.

What is relative importance of each of these drivers? What is the relative importance of technical

leadership relative to the other drivers in the context of IT program management.

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Is the Compact Disc becoming a redundant format for music consumption?What is the proportion of CD sales to download sales and how has this

changed in recent years?

Are the main music suppliers (i.e. the major record labels) or the consumers driving the change from CD to download?

What factors have limited the change from CD to download?

Can the product life-cycle model be applied to the CD?

What evidence is there from the past to hint at future trends?

http://userweb.port.ac.uk/~accproj/resources/Accounting_Dissertation_Proposal-example_6.pdf

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The Process of Research Design

Research choices

Research strategies Time horizons

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Research Design and TacticsThe research onion

Saunders et al, (2009)

Figure 5.1 The research ‘onion’

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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

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Classification of the research purpose

Exploratory research

Descriptive studies

Explanatory studies

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Research Strategies

Experiment Action research

Grounded theory Survey

Ethnography Case study

Archival research

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Research Strategies

An experiment will involve

Definition of a theoretical hypothesisSelection of samples from know populationsRandom allocation of samplesIntroduction of planned intervention Measurement on a small number of dependent variablesControl of all other variables

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Research StrategiesA classic experiment strategy

Saunders et al, (2009)

Figure 5.2 A classic experiment strategy

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Research StrategiesSurvey: key features

Popular in business researchPerceived as authoritativeAllows collection of quantative dataData can be analysed quantitatively Samples need to be representativeGives the researcher independenceStructured observation and interviews can be used

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Research Strategies

Case Study: key features

Provides a rich understanding of a real life contextUses and triangulates multiple sources of data

A case study can be categorised in four ways and based on two dimensions:

single case v. multiple caseholistic case v. embedded case

Yin (2003)

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Research Strategies

Action research: key features

Research IN action - not ON actionInvolves practitioners in the researchThe researcher becomes part of the organisationPromotes change within the organisationCan have two distinct focii (Schein, 1999) –

the aim of the research and the needs of the sponsor

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Research Strategies

The action research spiral

Saunders et al, (2009)

Figure 5.3 The action research spiral

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Research StrategiesGrounded 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 logico-deductive one

Based on Suddaby (2006)

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Research Strategies

Ethnography: key features

Aims to describe and explain the social world inhabited by the researcher

Takes place over an extended time period

Is naturalistic

Involves extended participant observation

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Research Strategies

Archival research: key features

Uses administrative records and documents as the principal sources of data

Allows research questions focused on the past

Is constrained by the nature of the records and documents

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Research Strategies

The role of the practitioner-researcherKey features

Research access is more easily availableThe researcher knows the organisationHas the disadvantage of familiarity The researcher is likely to their own assumptions

and preconceptions The dual role requires careful negotiation

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Multiple research methodsResearch choices

Saunders et al, (2009)

Figure 5.4 Research choices

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Multiple research methods

Reasons for using mixed method designs: (Table 5.1 )

TriangulationFacilitationComplementarityGeneralityAid interpretationStudy different aspectsSolving a puzzle

Source: developed from Bryman (2006)

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Time Horizons

Select the appropriate time horizon

Cross-sectional studies

Longitudinal studies

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Credibility of research findings

Important considerations

Reliability

Validity

Generalisability

Logic leaps and false assumptions

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Research design ethicsRemember

‘The research design should not subject the research population to embarrassment, harm or other material

disadvantage’

Adapted from Saunders et al, (2009)

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Summary: Session 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

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Summary: Session 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