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Chap 6 Research Design

The document outlines the importance of research design as a structured plan that guides researchers through their study, ensuring organization and efficiency. It defines key concepts such as reliability, validity, and replication, and details the essential steps involved in creating a good research design. Additionally, it emphasizes the need for evaluation to ensure the design is effective and capable of yielding accurate results.

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17 views6 pages

Chap 6 Research Design

The document outlines the importance of research design as a structured plan that guides researchers through their study, ensuring organization and efficiency. It defines key concepts such as reliability, validity, and replication, and details the essential steps involved in creating a good research design. Additionally, it emphasizes the need for evaluation to ensure the design is effective and capable of yielding accurate results.

Uploaded by

arslankhalid9422
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Research Design

6.1 INTRODUCTION:

Designing research is a way to plan out how a researcher will carry out
their work and stay organized throughout the process. It's important
because it helps the researcher stay on track and manage each step of the
research project.

A research design is like a blueprint or plan for the research. It’s created
before the researcher begins their work, and it helps guide them towards
achieving their goals. It’s basically a clear roadmap for the research
journey, making sure things run smoothly.

As Russell Ackoff said, research design is about making decisions ahead of


time, so that when challenges come up during the research, the researcher
already knows how to handle them. It’s a way of planning for the
unexpected and staying in control of the process.

6.2 MEANING AND DEFINITIONS:

According to different experts, a research design is basically the plan for


how a researcher will conduct their study. It helps guide the entire process,
making sure everything works together to answer the main research
question.

1.​ Trochim (2005) compares research design to a recipe: just like a


recipe tells you what ingredients and steps are needed to make a
dish, a research design lays out the plan and steps needed to
conduct the research.​

2.​ Claire Seltiz says that a research design is a list of all the important
details that will guide the research. It’s the setup for how data will be
collected and analyzed, making sure it's relevant to the research
question and done in an efficient way.​
3.​ Paul E. Green and Tull define research design as a plan that
specifies how the information needed for the study will be gathered,
what sources will be used, and what methods will be followed. A good
research design ensures that the information collected is useful and
the process is objective and cost-effective.​

In simple terms, a research design is like a blueprint or a roadmap for the


research. It outlines everything from forming questions and hypotheses to
collecting data and analyzing it. Just like an architect plans a building
before construction begins, a researcher prepares a plan to ensure their
study is well-organized and efficient. This helps the researcher save time
and resources while making sure the study is done properly.

6.3 ESSENTIALS OF GOOD RESEARCH DESIGN:

Here’s a simpler explanation of the key concepts:

1.​ Reliability: This is about whether a study or measurement gives


consistent results. If a study or test is reliable, it means that the
results can be repeated and are dependable, even in different
situations. For example, if you take the same test multiple times and
get the same result each time, it’s considered reliable. In research, it
ensures that the methods and results are stable over time.​

2.​ Replication: This is when researchers repeat a study to see if they


get the same results. It’s important because it helps confirm whether
the findings of a study are truly valid. Replication is not the same as
taking multiple measurements of one thing. Instead, it's about doing
the whole study again to check if the same results come up.​

3.​ Validity: Validity is about whether a study measures what it’s


supposed to measure. If a test is valid, it means that the results truly
reflect the thing being studied. A test can be reliable (giving
consistent results) but still not valid (if it’s not actually measuring what
it’s supposed to measure). There are different types of validity:​

○​ Measurement (Construct) Validity: This checks if a test or


measure really captures what it’s intended to. For example,
does an IQ test actually measure intelligence?
○​ Internal Validity: This checks if the cause-and-effect
relationship in a study is real. For example, if a study shows
that a certain medicine helps with a disease, can we be sure
that the medicine, not something else, is actually the cause of
improvement?
○​ External Validity: This looks at whether the study’s findings
can be applied to other situations or people outside the study.
For example, can the results of a study on students in one city
be applied to students in other cities?
○​ Ecological Validity: This checks if the results of the study are
relevant and useful in real, everyday life situations. For
example, do the findings from a controlled lab study actually
match up with what happens in real-world social settings?

6.4 STEPS OF RESEARCH DESIGN:

Here’s a simpler explanation of the steps involved in research design:

1.​ The Problem: The first step is choosing the right problem to study
and clearly defining it. The researcher needs to know exactly what
they are investigating, and the problem should be realistic, not
something too difficult to study or based on personal wishes.​

2.​ Objective of the Study: The researcher should clearly understand


the goal of the study. Knowing the objective helps make the research
design clearer and ensures that the responses from people being
studied are useful and accurate.​

3.​ Nature of the Study: The research design should match the type of
study being conducted. Different kinds of studies require different
approaches, so it’s important that the design is suitable for the
specific study.​

4.​ Data Sources: The researcher should identify where the data will
come from, such as surveys, interviews, books, or other sources, so
they know exactly where to look for information.​

5.​ Techniques of Data Collection: The researcher may need to use


special methods to collect the data, such as surveys, experiments, or
observations. These techniques help gather the right information.​

6.​ Social Cultural Context: The research design should take into
account the social and cultural environment to avoid mistakes that
might come from misunderstanding the context in which the study is
happening.​

7.​ Geographical Limit: This step sets the boundaries for the research.
For example, the study might only apply to people in a certain city or
region, so it’s important to define these limits.​

8.​ Basis of Selection: Choosing a good sample is crucial. The


researcher must decide how to select participants, such as randomly,
by specific categories, or by using certain characteristics that fit the
study.​

9.​ Data Analysis: After collecting the data, the researcher will analyze
it. This means looking at the data carefully, cleaning it up if needed,
and organizing it to find useful patterns or answers.​

10.​ Data Interpretation: This step is about making sense of the data.
The researcher applies various techniques to understand what the
data means and how it relates to the study’s purpose.​

11.​ Conclusions and Recommendations: Finally, the researcher


draws conclusions based on what they found in the study. They then
make recommendations to help solve the problem or improve the
situation that was studied.​

6.5 EVALUATION OF RESEARCH DESIGN:

A good research design is essential because it helps ensure that the study
is focused, reliable, and useful. It depends on the research problem and the
goals of the study. A good design is flexible, appropriate for the situation,
and cost-effective. It is one that reduces mistakes and bias while collecting
and analyzing data. The goal is to make sure that the data gathered is
trustworthy and accurate.

A great design should also provide a lot of useful information and allow the
researcher to explore many different angles of the problem. What works
well for one study might not work for another, so the design has to fit the
specific problem.

To evaluate if a research design is good, the researcher needs to ask


themselves a few important questions before starting the study. These
questions help ensure the study is well-planned and will give accurate
results:

●​ Are the research goals clear and relevant?


●​ Are the research questions (hypotheses) relevant and clear?
●​ Have the research problems and questions been explained in a
detailed, scientific way?
●​ Is the research plan detailed enough that anyone can understand the
logic behind it?
●​ Is the method for collecting data reliable and scientific?
●​ Are the tools used to collect data effective and accurate?
●​ Are the observations (measurements) precise and accurate?
●​ Can other researchers repeat the study and get the same results?
●​ Do the data gathered truly support the conclusions of the study?
●​ Is the study designed in a way that prevents alternative explanations?
●​ Are the statistical methods used appropriate for the research?
By answering these questions, the researcher can check if their design will
work well and give reliable results.

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