data collection method

172IntroductionIn Chapter 4 we introduced the research onion as a way of depicting the issues underlying yourchoice of data collection method or methods and peeled away the outer two layers – researchphilosophy and approach to theory development. In this chapter we uncover the next threelayers: methodological choice, research strategy or strategies and choosing the time horizon foryour research. As we saw in Chapter 4, the way you answer your research question will be5.1Formulating the research designChapter 5Learning outcomesBy the end of this chapter you should be able to:• appreciate the importance of your decisions when designing researchand the need to achieve methodological coherence throughout yourresearch design;• understand the differences between quantitative, qualitative and mixedmethods research designs and choose between these;• understand the differences between exploratory, descriptive,explanatory and evaluative research and recognise the purpose(s) ofyour research design;• identify the main research strategies and choose from among these toachieve coherence throughout your research design;• consider the implications of the time frames required for differentresearch designs;• consider some of the main ethical issues implied by your researchdesign;• understand criteria to evaluate research quality and consider thesewhen designing your research;• take into account the constraints of your role as researcher whendesigning your research.Saunders, MNK, Thornhill, A, & Lewis, P 2019, Research Methods for Business Students, Pearson Education Limited, Harlow, United Kingdom. Available from:ProQuest Ebook Central. [3 January 2021].Created from ncl on 2021-01-03 15:23:27.Copyright © 2019. Pearson Education Limited. All rights reserved.173influenced by your research philosophy and approach to theory development. Your researchphilosophy and approach to theory development, whether this is deliberate or by default, willsubsequently influence your selections shown in the next three layers of the research onion(Figure 5.1). These three layers can be thought of as focusing on the process of research design,which is the way you turn your research question into a research project. The key to theseselections will be to achieve coherence all the way through your research design.Choice and coherence in research designYour research design is the general plan of how you will go about answering your researchquestion(s) (the importance of clearly defining the research question cannot be overemphasised). It will contain clear objectives derived from your research question(s), specify the sourceor sources from which you intend to collect data, how you propose to collect and analyse these,5.2The research process islike a journeyThe cover photographs of recent editions of this book have indicated thatthe research process is like a journey – ajourney along a road with you as thedriver of the vehicle. Like many suchjourneys, there is generally a choice ofroads to travel along. When you arethinking about setting out on a newjourney of some distance, you will probably enter the destination into your SatNav and look at the possible routeoptions to get to your destination. Anumber of criteria will influence your decision aboutwhich route to take, including time, fuel economy andyour preferences for avoiding motorways, ferries and tollroads. The route you choose will be calculated by theSatNav to meet your given preferences and ensure youreach your destination. As you actually undertake yourjourney you will find yourself interacting with the realityof your planned route. Some parts of the journey will goaccording to plan; other parts may not and you mayneed to amend your route, perhaps because of trafficcongestion or a road being closed due to roadworks. Inmany ways, designing research is like planning a journey. Formulating the most appropriate way to addressyour research question is similar to planning the routeto your destination. The research aim is your destinationand the research objectives are your route criteria. Theseneed to be coherent to ensure the research (journey) canbe completed. Like your route, your research design mayneed to be amended due to unforeseen circumstances.Both will be interactive experiences.Saunders, MNK, Thornhill, A, & Lewis, P 2019, Research Methods for Business Students, Pearson Education Limited, Harlow, United Kingdom. Available from:ProQuest Ebook Central. [3 January 2021].Created from ncl on 2021-01-03 15:23:27.Copyright © 2019. Pearson Education Limited. All rights reserved.174Chapter 5 Formulating the research designand discuss ethical issues and the constraints you will inevitably encounter (e.g. accessto data, time, location and money). Crucially, it should demonstrate that you have thoughtthrough the elements of your particular research design.The first methodological choice is whether you follow a quantitative, qualitative or mixedmethods research design. Each of these options is likely to call for a different mix of elementsto achieve coherence in your research design. We introduce basic ways of understandingdifferences between quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research designs inSection 5.3 before developing this discussion in Section 5.4 (which looks at quantitativeresearch design), Section 5.5 (qualitative research design) and Section 5.6 (mixed methodsresearch design). The nature of your research project will also be either exploratory, descriptive, explanatory, evaluative or a combination of these, and we discuss the role of these inyour research design in Section 5.7. Within your research design you will need to use one ormore research strategies, to carry out and ensure coherence within your research project. Wediscuss research strategies, their fit to research philosophy and to your choice of either aquantitative, qualitative or mixed methods methodology in Section 5.8. Your methodologicalchoice and related strategies will also influence the selection of an appropriate time horizon,and we consider this in Section 5.9. Each research design will lead to potential ethical concerns and it will be important to consider these, in order to minimise or overcome them. Webriefly consider ethical issues related to research designs in Section 5.10, before discussingthese in greater detail in Sections 6.5 and 6.6. It is also important to establish the quality ofyour research design, and we discuss the ways in which this may be considered inSection 5.11. Finally, we recognise that practical constraints will affect research design, especially the nature of your own role as researcher, and briefly consider this in Section 5.12.Figure 5.1 The research onionSource: © 2018 Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian ThornhillPositivismPragmatismCriticalrealismInterpreAbduction -tivismDeductionInductionMono methodquantitativeMono methodqualitativeMulti-methodquantitativeMulti-methodqualitativeMixed methodsimpleMixed methodcomplexExperimentSurveyArchivalResearchCase StudyEthnographyActionResearchGroundedTheoryNarrativeInquiryCross-sectionalLongitudinalDatacollectionand dataanalysisPhilosophyApproach to theorydevelopmentMethodologicalchoiceStrategy(ies)Time horizonTechniques andproceduresPostmod–ernismSaunders, MNK, Thornhill, A, & Lewis, P 2019, Research Methods for Business Students, Pearson Education Limited, Harlow, United Kingdom. Available from:ProQuest Ebook Central. [3 January 2021].Created from ncl on 2021-01-03 15:23:27.Copyright © 2019. Pearson Education Limited. All rights reserved.