Eclectic Research and Construct Validation

Abstract

Consider the following situation: You have a fixed budget and would like to measure causal relationships in a study involving buyer behavior. How would you go about allocating the budget for this study?

This paper outlines two possible research strategies - intensive research and eclectic research. Each strategy utilizes the budget in a different manner. The intensive approach involves allocating the budget to a single study, and the eclectic approach divides the budget among a series of smaller-scale studies that differ markedly from one another.

Intensive research is called for when problems of reliability are of utmost concern; eclectic research is called for when problems of construct validity are paramount. Since we believe that problems of construct validity deserve more attention than they currently receive for problems in non-experimental research, we advocate stronger emphasis on eclectic research.

Keywords: Research strategies, eclectic researching