Research Design and Analysis Exercise
Part I: Introduction and Overview
There are a number of user-friendly, ôpracticalö texts dedicated to the subject of research methodologies. Many such texts, including that of Bailey (1990), are oriented toward a specific field or discipline. In the case of Bailey (1990), it is social research that serves as the focus of his discussion. Conversely, Davis (1996), in his description of research methodologies and design, directs his analysis toward the needs of business researchers.
Despite these differences in focus, the vast majority of texts written on the subject of research contain contents that are, with regard to methodology, remarkably similar. This is because, as Leedy and Ormrod (2001) have noted, regardless of its focus research is a systematic process of collecting and analyzing information or data in order to increase understanding of the phenomenon with which the researcher is concerned. Formal research, or research in which one intentionally sets out to enhance understanding of a phenomenon, typically has eight distinct characteristics:
. Research originates with a question or problem
. Research requires a clear articulation of a goal
. Research follows a specific plan or procedure
. Research divides the principal problem into
. Research is guided by the specific research problem,
. Research accepts certain critical assumptions
. Research requires the collection and interpretation of
data in an attempt to resolve the initiating problem
. Research is, by nature, cyclical or helical (Leedy &
These criteria apply, says Davis (1996), to any research problem, regardless of the discipline, field, or normative research question being investigated. Consequently, numerous authors have developed what amount to ôhow-toö manuals that assist both the novice and experienced researcher in determining what type o...