RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
All research projects undertaken by PracSig are custom-made, taking into account the specific research context and needs of each client. We do not push run-of-the-mill products or services, but strive to provide innovative solutions that do justice to the uniqueness of every research question.
Regardless of the specific research problem at hand there are, however, a number of generic steps that form part of all well-designed research projects. Whether you entrust PracSig with carrying out the full research cycle or only a particular stage of it (e.g., database search or data analysis), we will ensure that your objectives will always be addressed in the most appropriate way.
Deceptively simple, the problem definition stage is of utmost importance and involves a very close cooperation with the client. As has often been observed, a clear statement of the nature of the problem constitutes already half of its solution.
This clarification and framing process is instrumental in determining the requisite research expertise and in choosing the most appropriate methodology for successfully analyzing both perceived problems and opportunities. It also helps in specifying mutual expectations and formalizing deliverables.
At the end of this stage, all parties involved should share a common understanding as to the purpose and scope of the research project. Moreover, a clear mandate and full support from key decision makers is crucial.
As part of the problem definition process and in order to avoid reinventing the wheel, it is useful to review and build on previous research in the domain of interest. This stage provides insights into the current state of the art in terms of conceptual refinements, theoretical explanations, and available measurement scales.
The validity and reliability of the research results depend on the selection of a research design that is appropriate for the problem under investigation. Key decisions at this stage include the clarification of the type of research (e.g., exploratory, descriptive or causal), the choice of a research method or technique (e.g., experiment or survey), and the specification of a sampling plan (e.g., probability or nonprobability sampling). It is also important to plan for a pretest or pilot study so as to ensure that the chosen design is indeed adequate and feasible.
Data collection
There are various data collection techniques available.
Desk research, for instance, involves the gathering and analysis of data already available either in-house (e.g. sales data, employee and customer records etc.) or in public and commercial databases. This so-called secondary data can often by itself answer many questions and it provides a useful background for planning field studies that generate additional primary data.
Participant observation is a very useful strategy if one is interested in people's actual behavior (as opposed to their stated behavioral intentions). It also allows taking into consideration the richly layered context of day-to-day human interactions.
Surveys by means of standardized interviews and questionnaires (face-to-face, by mail, telephone or online) are often the method of choice if the objective is to collect quantitative data that is generalizable to a wider population.
Focus group discussions are valuable both as an exploratory device in the run-up to a bigger and more formal survey and as a sense-making tool for the results obtained through such surveys.
Last but not least, experiments generate data under the most controlled conditions.
Data analysis
Regardless of how the data has been generated (i.e., primary or secondary data), its analysis can be undertaken at different levels of sophistication. A simple descriptive analysis provides insights into the current state of affairs (e.g. mean values and frequency distributions) and forms the basis for comparisons with past or future states.
While the question of what things currently look like is certainly a fundamental and useful one, we would often like to know more, namely how and why things are as they are and how they might be changed in a particular direction.
To answer this type of analytical questions, more complex qualitative and quantitative techniques are required. To perform such analyses PracSig applies commercial software such as SPSS (for quantitative statistical analysis), Nvivo (for qualitative content analysis) and Ucinet (for social network analysis).
Report and presentation
Depending on the client's directives, the final report can contain only the raw data, a basic descriptive summary, or a full-fledged statistical and interpretative analysis.
In addition to a written report, the main findings of a research project can also be shared in an executive briefing presentation.
If required, we also advise on and take part in the implementation of the policy recommendations that emerge from a research project.
Moreover, we undertake follow-up studies so as to enable diachronic as well as pre/post-intervention comparisons that augment the utility of the original study.
