Slide 5.

Module 3 Part 2
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

Classification of the research purpose

Exploratory research

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

Slide 5.6

Explanatory

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

Slide 5.7

Descriptive studies

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

Slide 5.8

Explanatory 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

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 5.10

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 5.11

Multiple research methods

Reasons for using mixed method designs:

Triangulation
Facilitation
Complementarity
Generality
Aid interpretation
Study different aspects
Solving a puzzle
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 5.12

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 5.13

Credibility of research findings

Important considerations
Reliability
Validity
Generalisability
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 5.14

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