He research design is a set of methods and procedures used in selecting and analyzing measures of the variables specified in the investigation of the research problem.
The study design defines the type of study (descriptive, correctional, semi experimental, experimental, review or analytical goal) and sub type (as a case of longitudinal descriptive study), research problem, hypothesis, independent and dependent variables, design experimental and statistical analysis plan.
Research design is the framework that has been created to find answers to research questions. The method chosen will affect the results and the manner in which the results are concluded.
There are two main types of research design: qualitative and quantitative. That said, there are many ways to classify research designs. A research design is a set of conditions or collections.
There are many designs that are used in research, each has specific advantages and disadvantages. The choice of method to be used depends on the purpose of the study and on the nature of the phenomenon.
Main features of research design
Parts of research design
Sampling design
It has to do with the methods of selecting the elements that will be observed for the study.
Observational design
It relates to the condition in which the observation will be created.
Statistical design
He is concerned about the question of how the information and data collected will be analyzed?
Operational design
It has to do with the techniques with which the procedures are collected in the sampling.
How to Create a Research Design
A research design describes how study research will be handled; is part of the research proposal.
Before creating a research design, you first need to formulate a problem, a main question and additional questions. Therefore, it is first necessary to define the problem.
A research design should provide an overview of what will be used to carry out the project research.
It should describe where and when the research will be conducted, the sample to be used, the approach and the methods to be used. You can do this by answering the following questions:
- Where? In which location or situation will the investigation be conducted?
- When? At what point in time or in what period will the research take place?
- Who or what? What individuals, groups or events will be examined (in other words, the sample)?
- How? What approaches and methods will be used to collect and analyze the data?
Example
The starting point of research design is the main problem of research, which is derived from the approach of the problem. An example of a main question might be as follows:
What factors cause visitors to the online store H & M to finally make their purchase in a traditional store?
Answers to these questions:
Where? From the main question it is obvious that the research should be centered on the online store of H & M and possibly in a traditional store.
When? Research needs to occur after a consumer has purchased a product in a traditional store. This is important since you are investigating why someone is following this path instead of buying the product online.
Who or what? In this case, it is clear that you should consider the consumers who have made their purchase in a traditional store. However, it could also be decided to examine consumers that if they made their purchase online to be able to compare different consumers.
How? This question is often difficult to answer. Among other things, you might need to consider the amount of time you have to conduct the research and whether you have a budget to collect information.
In this example, both qualitative and quantitative methods may be appropriate. Options could include interviews, surveys and observations.
Different research designs
Designs can be flexible or fixed. In some cases these types coincide with quantitative and qualitative research designs, although this is not always the case.
In fixed designs the design of the study is already set before the collection of information takes place; they are usually driven by theory.
Flexible designs allow more freedom during the information gathering process. One reason for using flexible designs may be that the variable of interest can not be measured quantitatively, such as culture. In other cases, the theory may not be available at the beginning of the investigation.
Exploratory research study
Exploratory research methods are determined as research studies. The main methods include: the literature-related survey and the experience survey.
The literature-related survey is the simplest method of formulating the research problem.
On the other hand, the experience survey is a method that looks for people who have had practical experience. The objective is to obtain new ideas related to the research problem
In the case of descriptive and diagnostic research
They are studies that are concerned with describing the characteristics of a particular individual or group. In the diagnostic study we want to determine the frequency at which the same event will occur.
Research studies that test hypotheses (experimental)
They are those in which a researcher tests the hypothesis of the casual relationship between variables.
Characteristics of a good research design
A good research design should be appropriate for that particular research problem; usually involves the following characteristics:
- The way in which the information is obtained.
- The availability and skills of the researcher and his team, if any.
- The objective of the problem to be studied.
- The nature of the problem to be studied.
- The availability of time and money for research work.
References
- Research design. Retrieved from wikipedia.org
- Basic research designs. Recovered from cirt.gcu.edu
- Research design. Retrieved from explorable.com
- How to create a research design (2016). Recovered from scribbr.com
- Research design (2008). Recovered from slideshare.net.