MBADM813:

Lesson 1: Decision Making Under Uncertainty

Types of Studies

Data is collected in a variety of ways. Research studies are classified in terms of their designs. The two main types of studies are observational and experiments. Later in the course, you will find out more specifics about experiments and experimental design.

Observational Studies

Observational Study

In an observational study, the researcher collects the data without any sort of interventions or treatments applied to any of the subjects in the study. Observational studies are typically used to find associations between variables.

Collecting data on the number of hours worked by an employee and their production over the past three months

Surveys

Surveys are a common type of observational study where a sample of the population is questioned about a set of topics.

Sending out a customer satisfaction survey to determine ways to improve your product

Experiments

Experiments

In experiments, the researcher intervenes in some way to apply treatments to one or more of the groups in the study. An experiment is often used to establish causal relationships between variables.

One group of employees is given a new incentive plan while another group is not and productivity is measured for a specified amount of time to see if the incentives affect productivity.