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Business Research For Decision Making: Duane Davis

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196 views

Business Research For Decision Making: Duane Davis

Uploaded by

Anonymous GDOULL9
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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PowerPoint Slides for the Instructor’s Resource Manual for

Business Research for Decision Making


Sixth Edition

by

Duane Davis

Chapter 6

Fundamentals of Research Design


Research Design

Is the structure of the research project to solve a particular problem?

Its purpose is to guide researchers in answering problems.

Is a series of tradeoffs and compromises.

Potential Sources of Error in the Design Process:

1. Planning – faulty designs


2. Collection – actual collection of data
3. Analytical – the way the data is analyzed
4. Reporting- errors in interpretation
MaxiMinCon Principle

• Researchers are guided by the MaxiMinCon Principle

Maximize systematic variance


Minimize error variance
Control extraneous variance

Design is the researcher’s attempt at variance control.


MaxiMinCon Principle, continued

• Four Primary Means to Control Variance

1. Build the variable into the study


2. Exclude the variable from the study
3. Statistically control the variable(s) through covariance
analysis
4. Randomization
Table 6.1 Potential Sources of Error in the
Research Design Process
Managerial Strategies for Dealing with
Error
• Planning Error - well thought out proposals that
are specific in design aspects– evaluated
impartially
• Collection Error – careful execution of planned
design – periodic managerial evaluations
• Analytical Error – justification of analytical
methods – outside evaluation
• Reporting Error – unbiased and knowledgeable
reviewers – commonplace in rigorous research
environments
Figure 6.1

Schematic
Diagrams
Illustrating
Moderation &
Intervening
Variables

Source: Adapted from Uma Sekaran,


Research Methods for Managers
(New York: Wiley, 1984), pp. 50–58.
Internal Validity

Are the results of the study true?


Is what has taken place due to the variables the researcher claims to be
operating or could something else have taken place?
Internal Validity
• History: events outside the study affect the
results. E.g. high unemployment
• Maturation: changes in respondents over time
• Testing: halo effect, Hawthorne effect – are the
respondents tipped about what your are
studying?
• Instrumentation: changes in the instrument over
time.
• Selection: differences among groups;
respondents vs. non-respondents
• Mortality: people drop out of a study over time
External Validity
What is causality and
proof?
Can anything be
proven?
Causality
• Theory – a reason why one variable
should cause an effect in another
• Correlation
• Time order: cause MUST proceed effect
• Rule out other explanations for the effect
or spurious variables
Table 6.2
Comparison of the Major Types of Research
Designs

©2005 by Duxbury
A division of Thomson Learning
Table 6.3 Sources of Invalidity for Basic Research Designs*

Source: Donald T. Campbell and Julian C. Stanley: Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for
Research, copyright © 1963, Houghton Mifflin Company, used by permission.
R - Randomly 
A - Assign to conditions of 
I - Independent variable, then observe on 
D - Dependent variable, for
E- Experimental
R - Research 
Ability to Infer
Causality
major research (INTERNAL VALIDITY)
methods tend to
have strengths, as
well as
weaknesses.  Low High

Ability to Low EXPERIMENTS

Represent
Real-life This would
Situations be the ideal
High SURVEYS

(EXTERNAL  – strong in
VALIDITY) both areas
Managerial Concerns

• No single correct design


• Design to answer the research
problem
• All research design represents a
compromise
• A design is not a framework to be
followed blindly
Key Managerial Questions Pertaining to
Research Design

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