Understanding Research Design & Choice of Methodology: A theory based practical approach, Second Edition

This text is written for undergraduate students just beginning to learn how to do research; graduate students who have some research experience, but are interested in improving their understanding of research design and choice of appropriate, effective, or efficient methodologies for implementing research designs; and researchers who can benefit from a reference text that discusses econometric methodologies within the context of research design. This reference text is designed to enable students understand (a) principles required for ensuring research projects make valuable contributions to the existing body of knowledge; (b) the principles of research design; and (c) an understanding of the advantages, purposes, and limitations of different methodologies within the context of research design. Highlights of the material in the reference text include discussions of the characteristics of good research questions; mappings between the research process and the process through which economic agents become entrepreneurs; the importance of context or delineations of study populations in the determination of the viability of research questions; how to utilize within-sample heterogeneity beneficially in so far as the provision of answers to research questions is concerned; how to utilize Seemingly Unrelated Regression Equation (SURE) modelling to better understand complex systems, such as parameters that relate to interactions between teams or interactions between coaches and teams. This reference text is written for a general audience. This is evident in the choice of a relatively non-technical context - team based sports - for illustrations of most of the methodologies covered in the text. Why is this possible? Because the principles that govern the viability of research questions, or choice of appropriate, effective, or efficient research designs are extremely similar across disciplines. While specific methodologies differ across disciplines, many methodologies cut across several disciplines. For instance, the duration model is a methodology that is utilized in disciplines as disparate as the economics and medical disciplines. The stochastic frontier methodology, which enables estimates of output or productivity combinations that are efficient is a tool that is beneficial for any productive enterprise, regardless of the sector within which a firm is located. In so far as specific disciplines are concerned, material in Chapter 14, Chapters 18 through 22, and Chapter 24 are specific to the economics, finance, or business disciplines - the author's main areas of specialization. The material in Chapters 18 through 22 provides a research design introduction to methodologies developed specifically for studying variables that evolve over time - methodologies that are specific to the economics, finance, or business disciplines. The material in Chapters 14 and 24 relate to the banking sector and can be understood by readers who are not specialists in economics, finance, or business. If you are comfortable with the organization of research articles, Chapter 2 of this reference text is a good starting point for improving your understanding of research question formulation and choice of appropriate, effective, or efficient research design.