Research Design Alignment Table | Using an alignment table can assist with ensuring the alignment of your research design.

Research Design Alignment Table Video Tutorial (YouTube) | Doctoral Research Design Alignment Appointments or Office Hours

Note
. At prospectus stage, not all items in the table below can be identified (e.g., data points, data analysis). Please complete the items that you have identified in this prospectus form. During proposal development, you will revisit this form to augment or adjust, as needed, and finalize your research design.

Note. The information in the first column must align with all rows, and each individual RQ row must show alignment across the columns for that row.

Once your Research Design Alignment Table is completed, reflect on your design alignment. Ask yourself:

1. Is there a logical progression from the research problem to the purpose of the study?

2. Does the identified framework ground the investigation into the stated problem?

3. Do the problem, purpose, and framework in the left-hand column align with the RQ(s) (all rows)?

4. Does each RQ address the problem and align with the purpose of the study?

5. Does the information across each individual row match/align with the RQ listed for that row?

· By row, will the variables listed address the RQ? *quantitative only

· By row, will the analysis address the RQ?

· By row, can the analysis be completed with the data that will be collected?

Appendix

The Doctoral Prospectus

Probably the most important step in the research process is

searching recent, peer-reviewed literature

(government publications acceptable as well) and reading articles related to the general area you want to investigate. The area is based on an identified
business


problem
. As you read and learn, you will narrow your focus. This is how you will identify a discipline-specific research problem.

First, you’ll need to determine your search terms or
keywords

and the
databases
you should search. As you conduct your search of the literature, stay organized by keeping a
search log
.

Example for this Form

The keywords and databases searched included innovation, employee turnover, ACM, IEEE, ERIC, and SAGE Journals, as well as in a Thoreau multidatabase search.

As you
read and evaluate literature
, you also need to organize your research. A
literature review matrix
is one way to help you visualize what has and hasn’t been done in your field. It will help you understand the scholarly works related to your area of interest. The importance of organizing and recording your review of literature cannot be overstated. You will refer to your notes as you write, so start on the right track from the beginning!

[Suggestion: If you keep your search log in an excel workbook, use the second tab in the same workbook for your literature review matrix.]

For this prospectus form, include the complete, APA reference entry and (a) an in-text citation, (b) what they studied, (c) what they found, and (d) why this is important in relation to your study. This evidence provides the justification for your research problem. These sources provide
justification
that this problem is meaningful to the discipline or professional field. These references should ideally be from the past 5 years. Citation(s) related to the framework should be included here, too. [Note: These are short summaries. During proposal development, you will conduct an
exhaustive
review and
synthesize
your sources, rather than summarize.]

Examples

Giroud, X., & Mueller, H. M. (2017). Firm leverage, consumer demand, and employment losses during the great recession. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 132(1), 271-316. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjw035

Following the economic downturn of 2008, law firm leaders in the United States experienced increased external pressure to improve operational efficiency through technology adoption (Giroud & Mueller, 2017).

Rubric Standard | Justified >
Is


evidence


presented that this problem is significant to the discipline and/or professional field?

Business


Problem

A business problem is a focused topic of concern, a condition to be improved upon, or troubling question that is supported in scholarly literature or theory that you study to understand in more detail, and that can lead to recommendations for resolutions. It is the business problem that drives the rest of the doctoral work: the business problem, purpose, and the research questions must align.

QN Example

In one sentence, the specific business problem is: Some information technology (IT) leaders do not know the relationship between IT employee perceptions of their leaders’ transformation leadership characteristics and employee turnover intention.

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study is to examine the relationship between IT employee perceptions of their leaders’ transformation leadership characteristics and employee turnover intention.

The framework includes the
theories and/or concepts
relevant to your topic. A theoretical (for quantitative studies) or conceptual (for qualitative studies) framework offers a systematic view of a phenomenon. In other words, the framework provides a lens through which to view a phenomenon. Align the framework with the problem, purpose, research questions, and background of your study. This theoretical or conceptual framework is the basis for understanding, designing, and determining ways to investigate your research question (data collection and analysis). Provide the original scholarly literature (citing original authors) of the theory and/or concepts, even if it is more than 5 years old. Please do not cite secondary sources.

Example Theoretical Framework

The theories and/or concepts that ground this study include the transformational leadership theory, a framework based upon the premise that leaders are able to inspire followers to change expectations, perceptions, and motivations to work toward common goals (Burns, 1978).

Example Conceptual Framework

The theories and/or concepts that ground this study include the systems approach to management, a framework designed to guide practitioners to optimize decision-making within the organization (Laszlo, 1975).

Next, explain how these theories and/or concepts relate to your research problem, purpose, and the nature of your study. Your topic/approach should align with the identified framework so that you will either build upon or counter the previously published findings on the topic.

Example Connection for the Theoretical Framework

The logical connections between the framework presented and my study approach include facilitating, examining, and understanding the relationship between IT employee perceptions of their leaders’ transformation leadership characteristics and employee turnover intention through the lens of the transformational leadership theory.

Example Connection for the Conceptual Framework

The potential logical connections between the framework presented and my study approach is expected to enable the researcher to identify, explore, and understand participants’ means for identifying and understanding the core concepts of systems approach to management is expected to allow the researcher to adequately explore participants’ perceptions and strategies related to creating goals to address potential disruption from technologies, such as AI and ML.

Rubric Standard | Grounded >
Is the problem framed to enable the researcher to either build upon or counter the previously published findings on the topic?

Research Question(s) and Hypotheses (if applicable)

List the overarching
question and/or a series of related questions
that are informed by the study purpose, that will be used to address the research problem. A research question informs the research design by providing a foundation for:

· generation of null and alternative hypotheses in quantitative studies,

· questions necessary and sufficient to identify the strategies and processes the participants used to address their Specific Business Problem. for qualitative studies, and

· a process by which different methods will work together in mixed-methods studies.

QN Example

In one sentence, the research question is: What is the relationship between employee perception of their leaders’ (a) idealized attributes, (b) idealized behaviors, (c) intellectual stimulation, (d) inspirational motivation, (e) individualized consideration, and employee turnover intention?

Correlation

Null Hypothesis (H0): There is no statistically significant relationship between employee perception of their leaders’ (a) idealized attributes, (b) idealized behaviors, (c) intellectual stimulation, (d) inspirational motivation, (e) individualized consideration, and employee turnover intention.

Alternative Hypothesis (H1): There is a statistically significant relationship between employee perception of their leaders’ (a) idealized attributes, (b) idealized behaviors, (c) intellectual stimulation,