McCormick+Schmitz Handbook for value chain research on - PACA

APPENDIX
Research Design and Methods
Designing a <strong>research</strong> project involves organising the collection and analysis of data to
provide the in<strong>for</strong>mation that is needed. The <strong>research</strong>er must choose from among many
available <strong>research</strong> methods those that best fit the project’s questions and objectives. Often
more than one method will be used in a single study. This chapter provides an overview
of key issues in <strong>research</strong> design and then briefly discusses the main methods that you are
likely to use <strong>for</strong> data collection.
A cardinal rule in <strong>research</strong> design is that what you want to know determines the way you
carry out your <strong>research</strong>. If I want to know how wages of factory workers vary between
two regions, I need quantitative in<strong>for</strong>mation that I can best get either by consulting
published statistics or by administering a survey questionnaire. If I want to know more
about homeworkers’ feelings of loneliness and alienation, I will choose a different method
- perhaps in-depth interviews of a few respondents. In practice, however, the choice of
method is less straight<strong>for</strong>ward than this. This appendix looks first at why <strong>research</strong>ers
often use more than one method in a given study and then goes on to examine some of the
most useful methods <strong>for</strong> <strong>value</strong> <strong>chain</strong> <strong>research</strong>.
A.1 Principle of combining different methods
Researchers often use several methods in a single study. The main reason <strong>for</strong> using
multiple methods is that most studies, even fairly small and well focused ones, require a
considerable amount of in<strong>for</strong>mation. Some is background in<strong>for</strong>mation that is needed to
put the study into its proper context. This may include data on the country’s economy, the
history of the industry, or something about the ethnic makeup of the population. Then
there is the in<strong>for</strong>mation needed to address the particular questions of the study at hand.
Here the <strong>research</strong> questions guide the choice of method. Questions aimed at qualitative or
intangible realities, such as perceptions, feelings, or ideas require a different method from
those whose answers are more easily measurable. When, as is often the case, the study has
both types of questions, multiple methods are called <strong>for</strong>.
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