Research Design

What is Research Design?

ž RESEARCH DESIGN DEFINED: It is the skeleton for the research project.Decisions regarding
what, where, when, how much, by what means concerning an inquiry or a research study
constitute a research design.It is a process of deliberate anticipation directed towards bringing an
expected situation under control.
ž Research design results from certain
decisions being taken What will be the sample design?

Research design results from certain decisions What techniques of data collection will be used?
being taken. The decisions are:
How will be the data analyzed?
What is the study about?
In what style will the report be prepared?
Why is the study being made?
And how the research purpose can be achieved
Where will the study be carried out? with minimum expenditure of money, time and

What type of data is required? energy.

Where can the required data be found?

What periods of time will the study include?

— Research design can be split into four phases:

ž The sampling design: It deals with the method of selecting items to be

observed for the given study;

ž The observational design: It relates to the conditions under which the

observations are to be made;

ž The statistical design: It deals with the question of how many subjects
are to be observed and how the observations are to be analyzed;

ž The operational design: It deals with the specific techniques by which

the procedures specified in the sampling, statistical and observational
designs can be carried out.
Types of research design
— There are different research designs as per four research purposes:

ž Exploratory studies

ž Descriptive studies

ž Diagnostic studies, and

ž Experimental studies

ž Correlational studies

ž Qualitative studies

ž Quantitative studies
Exploratory design

ž Exploratory design is conducted about a research problem when there are few or
no earlier studies to refer to or rely upon to predict an outcome.The focus is on
gaining insights and familiarity for later investigationExploratory designs are often
used to establish an understanding of how best to proceed in studying an issue or
what methodology would effectively apply to gathering information about the
issue.
Descriptive design
ž Descriptive research designs help provide answers to the questions of who, what,
when, where, and how associated with a particular research problem; a
descriptive study cannot conclusively ascertain answers to why. Descriptive
research is used to obtain information concerning the current status of the
phenomena and to describe "what exists" with respect to variables or conditions
in a situation.
Diagnostic design
ž The researcher must be able to define clearly , what he wants to measure and must find
adequate methods for measuring it along with a clear cut definition of Population he wants to
study.

— Process or Methods of Diagnostic research studies.

ž Formulating the objective of the study.

ž Designing the methods of data collection.

ž Selecting the sample.

ž Collecting the data.

ž Processing and analysing the data.

ž Reporting the findings.

Experimental design
ž A blueprint of the procedure that enables the researcher to maintain control
over all factors that may affect the result of an experiment.The researcher
attempts to determine or predict what may occur.Experimental research is
often used where there is time priority and the magnitude of the correlation
is great.The classic experimental design specifies an experimental group and
a control group.Subsequent experimental designs have used more groups
and more measurements over longer periods.True experiments must have
control, randomization, and manipulation.
 Correlational design

ž It helps researchers establish a relationship between two closely connected variables.

There is no assumption while evaluating a relationship between two other variables,
and statistical analysis techniques calculate the relationship between them. This type
of research requires two different groups.

ž A correlation coefficient determines the correlation between two variables whose

values range between -1 and +1. If the correlation coefficient is towards +1, it
indicates a positive relationship between the variables, and -1 means a negative
relationship between the two variables.
Variables
ž Researchers and statisticians use variables to describe and measure the items, places, people or
ideas they're studying. Many types of variables exist, and you must choose the right variable to
measure when designing studies, selecting tests and interpreting results. A strong understanding of
variables can lead to more accurate statistical analyses and results.

ž A variable is any kind of attribute or characteristic that you are trying to measure, manipulate and
control in statistics and research.
Types of Variables
— Researchers organize variables into a variety of ž Moderating variables
categories, the most common of which include:
ž Extraneous variables
ž Independent variables
ž Confounding variables
ž Dependent variables
ž Control variables
ž Quantitative variables
ž Composite variables
ž Qualitative variables

ž Intervening variables
Summary
ž A well-planned research design helps ensure that your methods match your research aims and that
you use the right kind of analysis for your data.
Defining the population
ž Your research design should clearly define who or what your research will focus on, and how
you’ll go about choosing your participants or subjects.In research, a population is the entire group
that you want to draw conclusions about, while a sample is the smaller group of individuals you’ll
actually collect data from.

ž A population can be made up of anything you want to study—plants, animals, organizations, texts,
countries, etc. In the social sciences, it most often refers to a group of people.For example, will
you focus on people from a specific demographic, region or background? Are you interested in
people with a certain job or medical condition, or users of a particular product?
Sampling Methods
ž Even with a narrowly defined population, it’s rarely possible to collect data from every individual.
Instead, you’ll collect data from a sample.To select a sample, there are two main approaches:
probability sampling and non-probability sampling. The sampling method you use affects how
confidently you can generalize your results to the population as a whole.
Methods of Data Collection
ž Data collection methods are ways of directly measuring variables and gathering information. They
allow you to gain first-hand knowledge and original insights into your research problem.

ž Survey Method: A survey allow you to collect data about opinions, behaviours, experiences, and
characteristics by asking people directly. There are two main survey methods to choose from:
questionnaires and interviews.
ž Observation method: Observations allow you to collect data unobtrusively, observing
characteristics, behaviours or social interactions without relying on self-reporting.Observations
may be conducted in real time, taking notes as you observe, or you might make audiovisual
recordings for later analysis. They can be qualitative or quantitative.
ž Secondary Data: If you don’t have the time or resources to collect data from the population
you’re interested in, you can also choose to use secondary data that other researchers already
collected—for example, datasets from government surveys or previous studies on your topic.With
this raw data, you can do your own analysis to answer new research questions that weren’t
addressed by the original study.Using secondary data can expand the scope of your research, as
you may be able to access much larger and more varied samples than you could collect yourself.
Reliability and Validity
ž Reliablity means your results can be consistently reproduced, while validity means that you’re
actually measuring the concept you’re interested in.
Operationalization
ž Operationalization means turning abstract conceptual ideas into measurable observations.For
example, the concept of social anxiety isn’t directly observable, but it can be operationally defined
in terms of self-rating scores, behavioral avoidance of crowded places, or physical anxiety
symptoms in social situations.

ž Before collecting data, it’s important to consider how you will operationalize the variables that
you want to measure.
Thankyou:)