2. Research Design
&
Proposal Writing

3. Session Objectives After this session you will be able to
Understand what is meant by research design
What are its different elements
How to write design elements
What is a proposal
Why to write a proposal
How to write a proposal
Azra Naheed Center for Research and Development
Superior University Lahore

4. Session Outline Research design Proposal Ethical consideration
Introduction
Purpose statement
Objectives of the research
Significance of the study
Methodology and Methods
Research questions and hypothesis
limitations and delimitation
Ethical consideration
Proposal
why proposal
Structure of proposal
Azra Naheed Center for Research and Development Superior University Lahore

5. Research topics What type of format should a radio station adopt?
Which songs should a radio station play
What type of hosts do listeners want on a radio station’s morning show
How do viewers evaluate a television pilot for new TV show
Why is a current TV program not performing as well as was planned
How effective is advertising on TV, radio, and in all types of print
Which ads do readers see most often in their local newspaper
Why are newspaper subscriptions declining
What should a politician include in campaign messages?
Who should be the spokesperson for a new consumer product
Who should be the host of a new TV game show
Are there more violent acts on TV now than 5 years ago
What are the elements of successful magazine cover page
Why don’t employees read their company’s internal newspaper
Media, crime, and criminal justice: images, realities, and policies

6. RESEARCH DESIGN
A plan of what data to gather, from whom, how and when to collect the data, and how to analyze the data obtained
Components of Research Design
Introduction
Purpose statement
Objectives of the research
Significance of the study
Methodology and Methods
Research questions and hypothesis
Limitations and delimitation

7. The Introduction Components of introduction
Introduction is the opening part of the proposal that justifies the problem to be researched and clarifies the significance of the proposed study in order to establish a framework for research.
Components of introduction
Background of the study
The research problem
Studies that have addressed the problem
Deficiencies in the studies
The significance of the study
13-Apr-17
Azra Naheed Center for Research and Development Superior University Lahore

8. E x a m p l e
Over the past ten to fifteen years, various arguments have been made that firm’s human resources may be its sole source of sustainable competitive advantage(Ferris et al, 1999). The way in which internal resources contribute toward a firm achieving sustainable competitive advantage has become known as resource based view (Barney & Arikan, 2001) the resource base approach contends that organizations can develop a sustained competitive advantage only if its activities create value in a unique way, one that competitors cannot easily copy (Barney, 1991) this approach has been used as the theoretical grounding that posits that HRM can have a positive impact on firm performance (Wright et al, 2001). Therefore HRM has now become the crucial ingredient in the development process of the developing countries like Pakistan. Benell (1994) and Budhwar and Debrah (2001) disclosed that many developing countries are trapped by outdated and ineffective HR systems that put unintended roadblocks in their way………….Quality of Education is one of the major factors accelerating the development of a country and is the most important instrument in achieving the desired objectives of economic development. (Economic Survey of Pakistan: 2005z-06)……. In this regards, the role of teachers, as well as their performance in attaining and maintaining the quality of education is above any question……..

9. E x a m p l e
Though much budget is spent on the administrative side of higher education development (curricula development, re-structuring, etc.), less attention is given to the underlying dimensions of Teachers performance…….. . Therefore, the present study is aim to explore the perceptions of teacher’s performance in higher education sector of Pakistan using HR practices: recruitment, training, growth opportunities, rewards, and participation. Therefore, the present study is aim to explore the perceptions of teacher’s performance in higher education sector of Pakistan using HR practices: recruitment, training, growth opportunities, rewards, and participation. With all these issues in mind the main purpose of this sequential mixed methods study is to explore teacher’s views about HRM practices and performance in first phase with intent of using this information in the second phase to generalize the findings. In particular, most of the research exploring the HR practices-performance relationship has focused on the development countries & manufacturing industry. Too few studies have focused on developing countries and performance at employee level.

10. Purpose Statement Why Purpose Statement
The purpose statement indicates “why you want to do the study and what you intend to accomplish”(Locke et al, 2000)
Why Purpose Statement
It is the most important statement in an entire research study.
It conveys the overall intention of a proposed study.
It establishes the direction for the research.
Qualitative Research
In qualitative research we use the worlds like explore, understand, or discover and we have focus on single phenomena.
Quantitative Research
In quantitative research we use words like determine, identify, or compare and we have focus on comparing and relating two or more variables.
Mixed Methods Research
In Mixed methods research we focus on both qualitative and quantitative research and mention the design with rationale
Azra Naheed Center for Research and Development
Superior University Lahore

11. E x a m p l e
In order for higher educational institutions to be successful they must be able to employ people who will stay with the business and perform at high levels, research indicates that employees who are committed and satisfied with the organization are more likely to perform well. So the implementation of HRM practices is one way that educational institutions can build commitment & satisfaction among teachers to enhance performance. Therefore, The purpose of this two phase, sequential mixed methods study will be, firstly to explore and understand the teacher’s perception and viewpoint about HRM practices and performance in the Higher Education Sector of Pakistan and to further explore the organizational factors that support the optimum performance among the teachers using Semi-structured interview. Secondly, themes from the qualitative data will then be used to develop a questionnaire to quantify the findings and furthermore to examine whether the both findings complement each other or not.

12. Objectives of the study
Objectives are the steps you are going to take to answer your research questions to fulfill the purpose of the research study
Objectives can be
Main objectives
Sub objectives
13-Apr-17
Azra Naheed Center for Research and Development Superior University Lahore

13. E x a m p l e The objectives of this research study are as follows
To explore teacher’s view on performance that how they define performance and what they see as good, bad or acceptable performance.
To explore teacher’s experiences about HRM practices and how they feel about these practices?
To explore teacher’s opinion about organizational factor that contributes to their performance.
To establish the basis for evolving effective and performance oriented human resource practices.
To facilitate the policy making bodies to evolve a comprehensive view of teacher’s performance and thus undertake necessary administrative adjustments.

14. Significance of the study
A significance sections elaborates on the importance and implication of a study for researcher, practitioners, and policy maker. In designing the section one might include
3 or 4 ways in which the study adds to scholarly research and literature in the field
3 or 4 ways in which the study helps improve practice
3 or 4 reasons why the study will improve policy
13-Apr-17
Azra Naheed Center for Research and Development Superior University Lahore

15. E x a m p l e
The present study will be significant in number of ways. It will contribute to the body of knowledge by:
Firstly, since the present area is highly under researched in Pakistan. No study has been found to explore the HR perceptions in teacher’s performance in educational setting of Pakistan. Therefore, the present study assumes that the findings of the present study will help the managers in universities of Pakistan in particular and those in developing countries in general to answer the long standing question of how to enhance teacher’s performance.
Secondly, no research has been found on organizational commitment and satisfaction as mediators of HR practices and performance conducted in educational setting and especially in Pakistan. Therefore, the present study will prove to be a significant contribution in this area with the assumption that fostering organizational commitment and satisfaction among academic staff has become important or rather becomes imperative for the universities in Pakistani context (Chughtai & Zafar, 2006)

16. the present study will aim to provide guidelines to education managers to come up with the policies which would enable them to attract and retain their top level faculty at their respective universities. Thus Identifying those HRM practices that tend to enhance commitment and satisfaction which leads to teacher’s performance would be a significant
benefit for the management of Educational institutions and similarly it will enhance the quality of education.
Employing mix methods research which has not been used in this area and hence this will be a significant methodological advancement.
Examining the applicability of the discussed Western concepts and theories in an Eastern developing country (Pakistan) in order to develop a cross-contextual generalization of these concepts.
E x a m p l e

17. Methodology and Methods
The methodology includes the methods, procedures, and techniques used to collect and analyze information.
It should generally include statements about:
Site and sample
Methods of data collection
Data analysis procedures
Why Methodology
it clarifies the procedures and methods of data collection and analysis
It increases the efficiency and authenticity of the research

18. The most important thing in the selection of approach is the nature of research problem as my research problem is twofold in nature. So I have decided to choose mixed methods research approach as to accommodate my first objective of exploring and understanding the complexity of the contextual variances in context of Pakistan. I will use interpretivism as a research philosophy and use semi-structured interview method under the umbrella of qualitative paradigm. Then to cope with my second objective i.e. to deal with the validity, reliability, and generalizability, positivism will be chosen supported by survey method in the circumference of quantitative paradigm. Furthermore this decision is supported by the rationale of availing the merits and overcoming the demerits of both approaches as discussed by Creswell (2003), the use of multiple data sets can inform the research, by yielding insight and methodological changes that improve the study and strengthen findings as well as collecting diverse types of data best provides an understanding of a research problem.
E x a m p l e

19. Selecting Mixed Methods Approach on the basis of Pragmatic Knowledge Claims I have decided to collect the qualitative and quantitative data in phases using Sequential Exploratory Design in sequential strategies. A visual view of the sequential strategy is as follows During this process qualitative data will be collected using semi-structured interviews in the first phase of the study through open ended questions supported by probes and prompts to get deep insights and to keep the respondent on track respectively with time and cost saving approach resulting categorization for thematic as well as descriptive analysis. purposeful sampling will be used to choose experienced respondents regarding the phenomena under consideration.
E x a m p l e

20. Theory
Theory is the standard principle that defines the relationship of two or more variables
Qualitative Research:
In case of qualitative research theory is an outcome of the whole research process by finding the answers to the research questions
Quantitative Research
In case of quantitative research theory is used as bases to be verified through the acceptance or rejection of hypothesis using statistical results.
Mixed Methods Research
in case of Mixed Methods Research theory is both developed and also verified.
13-Apr-17
Azra Naheed Center for Research and Development Superior University Lahore

21. E x a m p l e
The present study will utilize the theoretical concept of Social Exchange Theory(Blau, 1964) and norms of reciprocity (Gouldner, 1960) and expectancy theory which will form the theoretical basis of the research. The social exchange theory and norms of reciprocity will be used to explain the basis of employee commitment and satisfaction as researchers have noted that exchange ideology and norms of
reciprocity significantly increase satisfaction and commitment among employees (Witt, 1992; Witt et al, 2001). Furthermore, the Expectancy theory provides evidence that links HRM practices to processes that facilitate high individual performance (Guest, 1997).

22. Research Questions and Hypothesis
Research questions are interrogative statements or questions that the researcher seeks to answer
Hypothesis are predictive statements that the researcher holds about the relationship among variables to be tested
13-Apr-17
Azra Naheed Center for Research and Development Superior University Lahore

23. (Main question)
HRM practices and performance among teachers in Pakistan.
(Sub questions)
What are the teacher’s experiences about Human Resource management Practices and how they feel about that?
How do teachers perceive about their own performance and what they perceive as good, bad or acceptable performance?
What are the teacher’s opinions about organizational factors that contribute to their performance?

24. Limitations and Delimitations
possible weaknesses of the study that were not / could not be controlled.
Delimitations:
boundaries set by the researcher that limit the generalizability of findings.
13-Apr-17
Azra Naheed Center for Research and Development Superior University Lahore

25. Limitations and Delimitations:
Due to limitations of resources
This study is restricted to the Teachers with 02 or more years of experience (02 years are supposed to be minimum)
This study is restricted only to the teachers of higher education sector in Pakistan. :

26. Ethical Considerations
Ethics are the standards of behavior to be adopted while interacting to other people during research in a way that
People must be respected and seen not as passive sources of data but as people whose rights and welfare must be protected.
Physical risk, psychological harm must be minimized.
Risks and benefits from studies should be distributed fairly and evenly in populations.
Why Ethical Considerations
The aim of discussing research ethics is to encourage integrity in the conduct of business Research and practices among of scientists, scholars, and professionals
13-Apr-17
Azra Naheed Center for Research and Development Superior University Lahore

27. The following ethical issues will be kept under consideration during the research process and aftermaths
Determining the problem statement it is been ensured through pilot study that the research would benefit the individuals been studied and further it will be ensured that the participants would not be marginalized or disempowered at any step.
The purpose of study is made clear and simple to be easily understood by the readers as well as the respondents to avoid any ambiguity at any end.
While anticipating the data collection, the wellbeing of the respondents will be ensured through securing their right to participate and withdraw at any time voluntarily.
Precisely yet comprehensive information (Debriefing) will be provided to respondents in order to make them clear about all aspects, objectives and outcomes of the research.
Mutual consent form, permission letter and any other written approval if needed will be dually signed by both the researcher and the respondent.
Prior time adjustment will be made in order to avoid any interruption in the flow at research site.
It will be made sure to secure and protect the information gathered from respondent to avoid any harmful consequences for them
E x a m p l e

28. E x a m p l e
Through well managed coding labeling and recording system the anonymity (if desired by the respondent) of the respondent will be guaranteed.
Prior permission will be taken regarding the storage of data after the completion of the study for a certain time period in the ownership of the researcher.
In order to overcome the potential ethical issues in writing the research regarding use of language, suppressing, falsifying or other fraudulent practices
the complete details (in coding and anonymous form) will be released so that the reader would determine by himself the credibility of the study.

29. Proposal
Proposal is the written document that describes the topic, Problem, design, and methodologies to be adopted to conduct the proposed research.
Why Proposal
The development of proposal for any research study is essential because
It allows the researcher to plan and review the steps of the project.
It serves as a guide throughout the investigation.
It forces time and budget estimates

30. Structure of a Proposal

31. Outline of the structure of a proposal
Title
2. Introduction
Background of the study (Sectoral Brief)
The research problem
Studies that have addressed the problem
Deficiencies in the studies
The significance of the study
The purpose statement
3. Purpose
The purpose or study, aim of the project and reasons for the research design
The research questions and hypotheses
4. Philosophical Foundations
worldview and philosophical assumptions for using specific research approach.
Literature Review
6. Theoretical Framework
7. Methodology and Methods
Site and sample
Data collection procedures
Data analysis procedures
8. Potential Ethical issues
9. Reference and appendixes

32. Thanks