What if your research’s success totally depends on how you choose to study it rather than what you study? The Saunders Research Onion has provided us with a systematic way of making such critical decisions. This popular framework is an onion-like structure that consists of various layers representing key areas of the research process, such as research philosophy, research approach, research strategy, methodological choices, time horizon, and techniques and procedures. Having a thorough understanding of the research onion Saunders et al model will allow you to make sound decisions regarding your research methodology.
In this blog, you will uncover the key Saunders Research Onion layers and learn how each one can help you make clear, well-informed decisions about your research methodology.
What Is the Saunders Research Onion?
To understand how this structure works, you first need to learn what it represents. Developed by Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill, Saunders Research Onion is a structured framework that helps researchers to make reliable decisions at different research process stages.
Every layer stands for a different methodological choice that helps researchers from their research philosophies to the actual collection and analysis of the data.
The Six Layers of the Research Onion
From the outside in, this framework provides a structured, logical flow for the methodology chapter. Each stage depends on what is already there, and so an early decision, such as your research philosophy, will influence future decisions that can be made.
Research Philosophy
The outermost layer deals with your research philosophy, which is based on your views on knowledge and reality. The main types of philosophies are:
- Positivism - Knowledge is objective and measurable
- Interpretivism - It is concerned with the interpretation of social meaning and human experience
- Realism - It is in-between and recognizes reality outside the researcher, which is interpreted socially
- Pragmatism - Gives room for mixing different types of research depending on the research question
Deciding on your research philosophy in advance will help you make justifications for future decisions, as each type prefers certain methodologies.
Research Approach
Following this comes your approach to research, which could either be deductive or inductive and sometimes abductive where you will swing between the two approaches. In simple terms:
- Deduction = Theory → Data
- Induction = Data → Theory
- Abduction = Theory ↔ Data
If your research is deductive then you will test an existing theory using data whereas in inductive research, theories emerge from patterns identified in the data. Your choice in this case is dependent on the philosophy you choose because a positivist would go for deduction while an interpretivist would be more inclined to induction.
Methodological Choice
This layer includes whether your research will be quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods. In quantitative research, you use numerical data and apply statistics to analyse it but in qualitative research, you will look at the meaning of something using interviews, observation or textual analysis. Mixed methods combine both approaches and the best choice will depend on the research question.
Research Strategy
The next Saunders research onion layer is research strategies that refer to the overall approach to answer your research questions and include surveys, case studies, experiments, action research, ethnography, and archival research. The different research strategies suit different research questions; whereas a case study is ideal for studying one particular organisation or incident, a survey will suit better for sampling a bigger population.
Time Horizon
The time horizon layer asks whether your research will be cross-sectional or longitudinal. Cross-sectional research involves collecting data on one particular point in time, which suits well the nature of most dissertations because of the limited time available to complete a dissertation. On the other hand, longitudinal research involves collecting data several times through an extended period.
Techniques and Procedures
On the innermost part of the onion lie the practical techniques and procedures for data collection and analysis including questionnaires, interviews, focus groups or secondary data analysis. This is the most practical layer, and all the decisions at this level must make sense after each and every layer you have gone through before.
Importance of Saunders Research Onion in Research Methodology
- Establishes a Common Language of Research - The Saunders Research Onion makes available a well-known language of research methodology that enables supervisors and examiners to better understand the methodological decisions taken for a particular study.
- Helps You Take Consistent Methodological Decisions - Using the onion framework will help ensure that you do not end up using research methods that may be at variance with your research philosophy.
- Connects All the Methodological Components - It links all aspects of your research methodology such as philosophy, approach, strategy, time horizon, and technique into one comprehensive framework.
- Enables You to Organise Methodology More Easily - It provides a structured way of discussing each of the aspects involved in the process of methodology by allocating specific layers for specific decisions.
- Enhances Justification of Your Research Methods - It makes it easier for you to justify your research methodology by providing an insight into why certain methods have been used and which of the alternatives were rejected.
- Facilitates Better Academic Communication - Using a recognised framework will allow you to use your academic skills more effectively when designing research methods.
How to Apply Research Onion in Your Dissertation?
Using the Saunders research onion model will be effective if you consider it as a series of decisions and not as an individual checklist. One of the ways to go through the process includes:
- Stating your research philosophy first and explaining why it fits your research questions
- Selecting a research approach that is consistent with that philosophy
- Deciding on a methodological choice, then justifying it against your available data sources
- Choosing a research strategy and time horizon that fit your resources and timeline
- Selecting specific techniques and procedures, and explaining how they will answer your research questions
Many students underestimate the amount of time needed for completing this part and the reliable academic support might be useful to find possible contradictions between layers of your methodology.
Where to Find Research Onion Saunders PDF and Other Resources
The Saunders Research Onion is a concept discussed broadly in academic literature, and in case you would like to familiarize yourself more with the original concept, you may download the Research Onion Saunders PDF via the library catalogues of various institutions or via academic resources; usually it is attached to the Research Methods for Business Students book. As an alternative option, you might consider reading the original concept and comparing it to the summary we provided above.
Final Thoughts
All things considered, the Saunders Research Onion is one of the easiest-to-understand models of methodology structuring because it provides an easy-to-follow process of all decisions starting from research philosophy to research technique. After you familiarize yourself with how each of the six levels relates to the other, you will find it very easy to develop a sound and consistent methodology chapter. If you have any academic issues, we can offer assistance through a specialist assignment help UK tutor.
