1. Research Design and
Formulation of problem

2. Why Research is Needed in
Business
Decision-Making is the process of
resolving a problem or choosing
amongst alternative opportunities
 What is the problem or opportunity?
 How much Information is available?
 What Information is needed

3. How to select research problem
 Novel
–one which has not been investigated before.
- Inject originality in it by coming up with another
research design,
- Interesting
-Relevant
 Will the results add knowledge to information already
available in the field?
• Is the topic too broad?
• Can the problem really be investigated?
 What costs and time are involved in the analysis?
 Researchable
 Can the data be analyzed?
 Ethical

4. Literature Review
 Why
- Broaden Knowledge Base
- Ensuring originality in the conduct of one’s
research;
- Clarity and focus
- Gaps : findings and conclusions of past
studies
- Formulating the theoretical and conceptual
framework

5. How
 Search for existing literature
 Prepare a working bibliography
 Write in index cards; group together
references from
a. books
b. journals and periodicals
c. unpublished material
 3. Examine each material, then
decide which ones will actually be
included in your review

6. WHAT TO INCLUDE
 Review should be brief and to the
point.
 A plan to present the review
 Emphasize relatedness
 Don’t reproduce it

7. Research Design
 The research design is the master plan
specifying the methods and procedures for
collecting and analyzing the needed information.
 Three traditional categories of research design:
 Exploratory
 Descriptive
 Causal
 The overall research design for a project may
include one or more of these three designs as
part's of it.
 Further, if more than one design is to be used,
typically we progress from Exploratory toward
Causal.

8. Research Objective Appropriate Design
To gain background information, to define terms, to clarify Exploratory
problems and develop hypotheses, to establish
research priorities, to develop questions to be
answered
To describe and measure phenomena at a point Descriptive
in time
To determine causality, test hypotheses, to make “if-then” Causal
statements, to answer questions
Basic Research Objectives and
Research Design

9. Research Design: Exploratory
Research
 Exploratory research is most commonly unstructured,
“informal” research that is undertaken to gain
background information about the general nature of the
research problem.
 Exploratory research is usually conducted when the
researcher does not know much about the problem and
needs additional information or desires new or more
recent information.
 Undertaken with the aim of clarifying ambiguous
problems
 General problems usually known but not sufficiently
understood
 The purpose is to get more information, not to uncover
specific courses of action (subsequent research)
Example: Child-Care support programme for employees

10. Methods for Exploratory Research
 A variety of methods are available to
conduct exploratory research:
 Secondary Data Analysis
 Experience Surveys
 Case Analysis
 Focus Groups
 Projective Techniques

11. Research Design: Descriptive
Research
 Descriptive research is undertaken to provide answers to
questions of who, what, where, when, and how – but not
why.
 Some examples:
 What is the prevailing organizational culture in
broadcast networks?
- Who are the main consumers of organic foods?
- How many students read the prescribed course
literature?
 Two basic classifications:
 Cross-sectional studies
 Longitudinal studies

12. Research Design: Descriptive
Research
Cross-sectional Studies
 Cross-sectional studies measure units
from a sample of the population at
only one point in time.
 Sample surveys are cross-sectional
studies whose samples are drawn in
such a way as to be representative of a
specific population.
 On-line survey research is being used
to collect data for cross-sectional
surveys at a faster rate of speed.

13. Research Design: Descriptive Research
Longitudinal Studies
 Longitudinal studies repeatedly draw
sample units of a population over time.
 One method is to draw different units
from the same sampling frame.
 A second method is to use a “panel”
where the same people are asked to
respond periodically.
 On-line survey research firms recruit
panel members to respond to online
queries.

14. Research Design: Descriptive
Research
Longitudinal Studies
 Two types of panels:
 Continuous panels ask panel members the
same questions on each panel
measurement.
 Discontinuous (Omnibus) panels vary
questions from one time to the next.
 Longitudinal data used for:
 Market tracking
 Brand-switching
 Attitude and image checks

15. Causal Research:
 Undertaken with the aim of identifying
cause and effect relationships amongst
variables
 Are normally preceeded by exploratory and
descriptive research studies
 Often difficult to determine because of the
influence of other variables (concommitant
Variation and the presence of other hidden
variables)
 Example: Higher ice-cream consumption
causes more people to drown (indicative of
a causal relationship (?))

16. Causal Research
 Types of variables:
 Independent variables – the cause
supposed to be responsible for the
bringing about change in a phenomenon or
situation.
 Dependent variables – the outcome of
change brought about by change in the
independent variable
 Intervening variable – a variable whose
existence is inferred but cannot be
manipulated or controlled
 Moderator variable – a variable that may
or may not be controlled but has an effect
on the research situation/phenomenon

17. Causal Research
 For example:
 Does a commitment to ethics among media
practitioners depend on their educational or
professional training?
 Independent variable: educational attainment
of journalist.
 Dependent variables: ethical behavior,
knowledge of Code of Ethics
 Intervening variable: newsroom policies
 Moderator variables: civil status, age, years of
work experience

18. Experiments
 An experiment is defined as manipulating (changing
values/situations) one or more independent variables
to see how the dependent variable(s) is/are affected,
while also controlling the affects of additional
extraneous variables.
 Independent variables: those over which the researcher
has control and wishes to manipulate i.e. package size,
ad copy, price.
 Dependent variables: those over which the researcher
has little to no direct control, but has a strong interest
in testing i.e. sales, profit, market share.
 Extraneous variables: those that may effect a dependent
variable but are not independent variables.

19. Experimental Design
 An experimental design is a procedure
for devising an experimental setting
such that a change in the dependent
variable may be solely attributed to a
change in an independent variable.
 Symbols of an experimental design:
 O = measurement of a dependent variable
 X = manipulation, or change, of an
independent variable
 R = random assignment of subjects to
experimental and control groups
 E = experimental effect

20. Stages in the Research Process
Define
Problem
Planning a
Research Design
Planning
a Sample
Gathering
the Data
Processing and
Analysing the Data
Conclusions
and Report

21. Flowcharting the Research Process
(1)
Problem Discovery
Secondary (historical) data
Pilot Study
Experience Survey
Case Study
Problem Definition
(Statement of research objectives)
Selection of
exploratory
research technique
Selection of
basic research
method
Survey (Interview, Questionnaire)
Experiment (Laboratory, Field)
Secondary Data Study
Observation

22. Flowcharting the Research Process
(2)
Survey (Interview, Questionnaire)
Experiment (Laboratory, Field)
Secondary Data Study
Observation
Sample Design
Probability
Sampling
Non-Probability
Sampling
Collection of Data (Fieldwork)
Editing and Coding Data
Data Processing and Analysis
Interpretation of Findings
Report