module 4 Flashcards
(10 cards)
What is survey research?
A survey is a way to collect data from respondents by asking them questions. Respondents typically read the questions and record their answers themselves. Alternatively, the questions can be asked by the interviewer, with the interviewer also recording the answers.
What is Experimental research ?
Experimental research is a research strategy in which one or more independent variables are manipulated. Manipulation means that the researcher creates different levels/categories of the independent variable(s). After manipulating the independent variable(s), the dependent variable is measured.
Measured vs manipulated variables
A variable is measured when its levels are recorded as they occur naturally. For example, variables such as EBITDA and stock price are measured. Variables such as organizational trust and job stress can also be measured – researchers can devise questions to represent the various levels.
In contrast, a variable is manipulated when the researchers assign study participants to the different levels of the variable. For example, the researchers may assign some participants to watch one Coca-Cola ad and assign others to watch another Coca-Cola ad. The participants could end up in any of the two levels because the researchers do the manipulation. That is, they assign participants to be at one level of a variable or another.
In experiments, the dependent variable and control variables are never manipulated.
Can Researchers can always choose whether to manipulate or measure a variable ?
Incorrect.
Some variables can indeed either be manipulated or measured, depending on the goal of the researchers’ study.
However,
some variables can only be measured, but cannot be manipulated. For example, age cannot be manipulated because researchers cannot assign people to a certain age. They can only measure what age people already are.
In addition, some variables cannot be manipulated because it would be unethical to do so. For example, in a study on the impact of layoffs on employees’ self-confidence, researchers cannot ethically assign employees to be fired (“layoff”) or not (“no layoff”).
What is Archival research?
Archival research is research that capitalises on archival data.
Archival data are data that already exist. These data were initially collected and stored for purposes other than addressing the business problem. Archival data are also referred to as secondary data.
Is it survey or experimental ? -> Philips is wondering how to design its webshop to increase the likelihood that visitors purchase a product. Philips creates two versions of its webshop. Some webshop visitors see one version while other visitors see the other version. After having browsed the webshop for three minutes, all visitors of both webshop versions are asked to fill out a pop-up questionnaire that questions them about how satisfied they are with the webshop’s design.
This is indeed an example of experimental research. Philips manipulates its webshop into two different versions to examine the effect on visitors’ satisfaction with the webshop design.
While Philips measures the DV using a small survey,
the study is still experimental since the IV is manipulated.
What is the 4 conditions for causality ?
1) X and Y co-occur
2) A logical explanation for the effect of X and Y
3)X (IV)precedes Y (DV) in time
4)There are no other cause cause (Z) that explains the co-occurence of X and Y
No other variable should be a possible cause of the change in the DV
Causal research strategies:
-Causal research strategies test whether changes in one variable actually result in (cause) changes in another variable.
Experimental research is a causal research strategy. In experiments, researchers actively change one or more X variables (manipulate one or more variables). Thus, it is the researchers who assign values of the X variable(s) to the participants in the experiment.
The key to ensuring that participants differ only in terms of X (and to rule out that third factors – Z – account for the relationship between X and Y) lies in how the experiment is carried out: randomly.
-Randomised experiments to the levels of the manipulated variables (in the previous example, to the four types of ads) automatically controls for all third factors Z.
Why not always run experiments?:
To establish causality, experiments are the golden standard because they randomly assign subjects to the levels of the manipulated variable(s), thereby ruling out the influence of third factors.
However, random assignment is often either impossible or undesirable in business settings. Suppose researchers would like to find out whether large companies are more profitable than small companies. Try manipulating a company into being small or large – that is impossible! Company size is a variable that cannot be manipulated by researchers, so an experiment is impossible.
Here’s an example where random assignment is undesirable:
Suppose the NS would like to find out to what extent train delays affect travellers’ satisfaction with the NS. While the NS would be able to manipulate train delays, they would not be willing to do so! These delays would lead to disruptions in the scheduled train services, affecting passenger travel plans negatively, so an experiment is undesirable.
Correlational studies cannot state that the association identified is a cause-and-effect relationship, but often they are the only recourse. In such settings, you must do the best you can by controlling for those third factors that you can identify.
Categorising research strategies:
causal or correlation
Experimental research is a causal research strategy.
Archival and survey research are correlational research strategies.
In experimental research, third factors are implicitly controlled for through randomised assignment of subjects to the levels of the manipulated variable(s).
In correlational studies, you must explicitly control for third factors by incorporating them as control variables in your model.
Survey research is a correlational research strategy, because …
i) in survey research, X usually does not precede Y in time.
ii) in survey research, it is difficult to rule out the possibility that other variables (Z) cause the effect.
Archival research is a correlational research strategy, because …
i) in archival research, it is difficult to rule out the possibility that other variables (Z) cause the effect.
