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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.
Slide 1.5
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
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