What kind of research design

Quantitative Research Design:. Quantitative research is referred to as the process of collecting as well as analyzing numerical data. It is generally used to find patterns, averages, predictions, as well as cause-effect relationships between the variables being studied.

It is also used to generalise the results of a particular study to the population in consideration. Quantitative research is widely used in science; both natural and social sciences. Quantitative research provides actionable insights which are essential for the growth of the company.

Qualitative Research Design:. Qualitative research can be defined as a method used for market research which aims at obtaining data through open-ended questions and conversations with the intended consumers. Research designs can be narrowed to five subtypes described below: Descriptive research design: Descriptive research refers to the methods that describe the characteristics of the variables under study.

Descriptive research is called an observational research method as none of the variables in the study are influenced during the process of the research. If the problem is not clear enough to conduct a descriptive analysis, researchers can use exploratory research methods first.

Experimental research design: Experimental research, also called experimentation, is research conducted using a scientific approach using two or more variables. The first variable is a constant that you can manipulate to see the differences caused in the second variable. Most studies under quantitative research methods are experimental in nature.

Experimental research helps you in gathering the necessary data for you to make better decisions about your proposed hypothesis. The success of experimental research usually confirms that the change observed in the variable under study is solely based on the manipulation of the independent variable.

Experimental research design is the most practical and accurate kind of research method which helps establish causation. This research design is used in social sciences to understand and observe human behaviour. The behaviour is observed by placing humans in two groups so that researchers can make comparisons. Correlational research design: A correlation refers to an association or a relationship between two entities. A correlational research studies how one entity impacts the other and what are the changes that are observed when either one of them changes.

This research method is carried out to understand naturally occurring relationships between variables. Hence, at least two groups are required to conduct a correlational quantitative research successfully. The variables under this study are not in control of the researcher, the researcher is simply trying to establish whether or not a relationship between two variables exists.

Since correlational studies only give us an understanding of whether there is a relationship between two groups, it does not establish causation. Thus, it is not recommended to make conclusions just on the basis of a correlational study; just because two variables are in sync, does not mean they are interrelated, or that one variable is causing the changes in the other variable! If the correlation coefficient obtained is -1 it indicates a perfect negative relationship between the two variables, i.

Diagnostic research design: In a diagnostic research design, the researcher is trying to evaluate the cause of a specific problem or phenomenon. This research design is used to understand more in detail about the factors that are creating problems in the company.

Diagnostic research design includes three steps: Inception of the issue — When did the issue arise? In what situations is the issue more evident? Diagnosis of the issue — What is the underlying cause of the issue? What is influencing the issue to worsen? New York: Springer, Understood more as an broad approach to examining a research problem than a methodological design, philosophical analysis and argumentation is intended to challenge deeply embedded, often intractable, assumptions underpinning an area of study.

This approach uses the tools of argumentation derived from philosophical traditions, concepts, models, and theories to critically explore and challenge, for example, the relevance of logic and evidence in academic debates, to analyze arguments about fundamental issues, or to discuss the root of existing discourse about a research problem.

These overarching tools of analysis can be framed in three ways:. Chapter 4, Research Methodology and Design. Washington, D. Et al. Abbas Tashakkori and Charles Teddle, eds. Neil J. Salkind, ed. It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older.

This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. The Conclusion Toggle Dropdown Appendices Introduction Before beginning your paper, you need to decide how you plan to design the study. General Structure and Writing Style The function of a research design is to ensure that the evidence obtained enables you to effectively address the research problem as unambiguously as possible.

Given this, the length and complexity of research designs can vary considerably, but any sound design will do the following things: Identify the research problem clearly and justify its selection, Review previously published literature associated with the problem area, Clearly and explicitly specify hypotheses [i. Action Research Design Definition and Purpose The essentials of action research design follow a characteristic cycle whereby initially an exploratory stance is adopted, where an understanding of a problem is developed and plans are made for some form of interventionary strategy.

What do these studies tell you? A collaborative and adaptive research design that lends itself to use in work or community situations. Design focuses on pragmatic and solution-driven research rather than testing theories. When practitioners use action research it has the potential to increase the amount they learn consciously from their experience.

The action research cycle can also be regarded as a learning cycle. Action search studies often have direct and obvious relevance to practice. There are no hidden controls or preemption of direction by the researcher. What these studies don't tell you? It is harder to do than conducting conventional studies because the researcher takes on responsibilities for encouraging change as well as for research.

Personal over-involvement of the researcher may bias research results. The cyclic nature of action research to achieve its twin outcomes of action e. Case Study Design Definition and Purpose A case study is an in-depth study of a particular research problem rather than a sweeping statistical survey.

Approach excels at bringing us to an understanding of a complex issue through detailed contextual analysis of a limited number of events or conditions and their relationships. A researcher using a case study design can apply a vaiety of methodologies and rely on a variety of sources to investigate a research problem. Design can extend experience or add strength to what is already known through previous research. Social scientists, in particular, make wide use of this research design to examine contemporary real-life situations and provide the basis for the application of concepts and theories and extension of methods.

The design can provide detailed descriptions of specific and rare cases. A single or small number of cases offers little basis for establishing reliability or to generalize the findings to a wider population of people, places, or things. The intense exposure to study of the case may bias a researcher's interpretation of the findings. Design does not facilitate assessment of cause and effect relationships.

Vital information may be missing, making the case hard to interpret. The case may not be representative or typical of the larger problem being investigated.

If the criteria for selecting a case is because it represents a very unusual or unique phenomenon or problem for study, then your intepretation of the findings can only apply to that particular case.

Conditions necessary for determining causality: Empirical association--a valid conclusion is based on finding an association between the independent variable and the dependent variable. Appropriate time order--to conclude that causation was involved, one must see that cases were exposed to variation in the independent variable before variation in the dependent variable. Nonspuriousness--a relationship between two variables that is not due to variation in a third variable.

Causality research designs helps researchers understand why the world works the way it does through the process of proving a causal link between variables and eliminating other possibilities. Replication is possible. There is greater confidence the study has internal validity due to the systematic subject selection and equity of groups being compared. Not all relationships are casual!

The possibility always exists that, by sheer coincidence, two unrelated events appear to be related [e. Conclusions about causal relationships are difficult to determine due to a variety of extraneous and confounding variables that exist in a social environment.

This means causality can only be inferred, never proven. If two variables are correlated, the cause must come before the effect. However, even though two variables might be causally related, it can sometimes be difficult to determine which variable comes first and therefore to establish which variable is the actual cause and which is the actual effect.

Cohort Design Definition and Purpose Often used in the medical sciences, but also found in the applied social sciences, a cohort study generally refers to a study conducted over a period of time involving members of a population which the subject or representative member comes from, and who are united by some commonality or similarity.

Date of entry and exit from the study is individually defined, therefore, the size of the study population is not constant. In open cohort studies, researchers can only calculate rate based data, such as, incidence rates and variants thereof. Closed Cohort Studies [static populations, such as patients entered into a clinical trial] involve participants who enter into the study at one defining point in time and where it is presumed that no new participants can enter the cohort.

Given this, the number of study participants remains constant or can only decrease. The use of cohorts is often mandatory because a randomized control study may be unethical. For example, you cannot deliberately expose people to asbestos, you can only study its effects on those who have already been exposed.

Research that measures risk factors often relies on cohort designs. Cohort analysis is highly flexible and can provide insight into effects over time and related to a variety of different types of changes [e.

Either original data or secondary data can be used in this design. In cases where a comparative analysis of two cohorts is made [e. These factors are known as confounding variables. Cohort studies can end up taking a long time to complete if the researcher must wait for the conditions of interest to develop within the group. This also increases the chance that key variables change during the course of the study, potentially impacting the validity of the findings.

Because of the lack of randominization in the cohort design, its external validity is lower than that of study designs where the researcher randomly assigns participants. Cross-Sectional Design Definition and Purpose Cross-sectional research designs have three distinctive features: no time dimension, a reliance on existing differences rather than change following intervention; and, groups are selected based on existing differences rather than random allocation.

Cross-sectional studies provide a 'snapshot' of the outcome and the characteristics associated with it, at a specific point in time. Unlike the experimental design where there is an active intervention by the researcher to produce and measure change or to create differences, cross-sectional designs focus on studying and drawing inferences from existing differences between people, subjects, or phenomena. Entails collecting data at and concerning one point in time. While longitudinal studies involve taking multiple measures over an extended period of time, cross-sectional research is focused on finding relationships between variables at one moment in time.

Groups identified for study are purposely selected based upon existing differences in the sample rather than seeking random sampling. Cross-section studies are capable of using data from a large number of subjects and, unlike observational studies, is not geographically bound. Can estimate prevalence of an outcome of interest because the sample is usually taken from the whole population. Because cross-sectional designs generally use survey techniques to gather data, they are relatively inexpensive and take up little time to conduct.

Finding people, subjects, or phenomena to study that are very similar except in one specific variable can be difficult. Results are static and time bound and, therefore, give no indication of a sequence of events or reveal historical contexts. Studies cannot be utilized to establish cause and effect relationships. Provide only a snapshot of analysis so there is always the possibility that a study could have differing results if another time-frame had been chosen. There is no follow up to the findings.

Descriptive Design Definition and Purpose 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. The subject is being observed in a completely natural and unchanged natural environment.

True experiments, whilst giving analyzable data, often adversely influence the normal behavior of the subject. Descriptive research is often used as a pre-cursor to more quantitatively research designs, the general overview giving some valuable pointers as to what variables are worth testing quantitatively.

If the limitations are understood, they can be a useful tool in developing a more focused study. Descriptive studies can yield rich data that lead to important recommendations. Appoach collects a large amount of data for detailed analysis.

The results from a descriptive research can not be used to discover a definitive answer or to disprove a hypothesis. Because descriptive designs often utilize observational methods [as opposed to quantitative methods], the results cannot be replicated. The descriptive function of research is heavily dependent on instrumentation for measurement and observation.

Further, it also completely non-experimental in nature and the variables are dependent on each other. A Quasi-Experimental Research Design is referred to as a true experiment because it aims to intricately build a cause and effect relationship between an independent variable with a dependent variable. Apart from the aforementioned research designs, there are copious other types of research design that can also be incorporated to pursue a research project and some of these are:.

Recommended Read: Scope of Operation Research. Since we are dealing with the types of research design, it is imperative to understand how beneficial the practise of doing research is and some of its major advantages are:.

Also Read: Research Institutes in India. Want Free Career Counselling? Click Here! In order to help to gain a deeper understanding of any subject matter, knowing types of research design plays a critical role in carrying out your thesis. If you are aspiring to pursue your career in the field of research and aim to pursue a PhD , sign up for a free minute career counselling session with our Leverage Edu experts and we will help you find a suitable program and university that fit your aspirations, interests and preferences and can guide you towards a fulfilling career in this domain.

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