Research Design & Method
A research design is a strategy for answering your research question using empirical data. Creating a research design means making decisions about:
Your overall aims and approach
The type of research design you’ll use
Your sampling methods or criteria for selecting subjects
Your data collection methods
The procedures you’ll follow to collect data
Your data analysis methods
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.
You might have to write up a research design as a standalone assignment, or it might be part of a larger research proposal or other project. In either case, you should carefully consider which methods are most appropriate and feasible for answering your question.
(Source: Scribbr)
A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject, such as a person, group, place, event, organization, or phenomenon. Case studies are commonly used in social, educational, clinical, and business research.
A case study research design usually involves qualitative methods, but quantitative methods are sometimes also used. Case studies are good for describing, comparing, evaluating and understanding different aspects of a research problem. (Source: Scribbr)
Correlational research is a type of non-experimental research method in which a researcher measures two variables and understands and assesses the statistical relationship between them with no influence from any extraneous variable. (Source: QuestionPro)
A cross-sectional study is a type of observational research that analyzes data of variables collected at one given point in time across a sample population or a pre-defined subset.
This study type is also known as cross-sectional analysis, transverse study, or prevalence study. Although cross-sectional research does not involve conducting experiments, researchers often use it to understand outcomes in the physical and social sciences and many business industries. (Source: QuestionPro)
Descriptive research refers to the methods that describe the characteristics of the variables under study. This methodology focuses on answering questions relating to “what” than the “why” of the research subject. The primary focus of descriptive research is to simply describe the nature of the demographics understudy instead of focusing on the “why”. (Source: Voxco)
Primarily, there are three descriptive research methods:
Observation
Survey
Case Study
(Source: Voxco)
Ethnographic methods are a research approach where you look at people in their cultural setting, with the goal of producing a narrative account of that particular culture, against a theoretical backdrop. As part of this you will look at:
Deeds done as well as words used
How they interact with one another, and with their social and cultural environment
What is not said as much as what is said
Language, and symbols, rituals and shared meanings that populate their world
(Source: Sage publishing group)
Experimental research is research conducted with a scientific approach using two sets of variables. The first set acts as a constant, which you use to measure the differences of the second set. Quantitative research methods, for example, are experimental.
If you don’t have enough data to support your decisions, you must first determine the facts. Experimental research gathers the data necessary to help you make better decisions. (Source: QuestionPro)
Explanatory research is a method developed to investigate a phenomenon that had not been studied before or had not been well explained previously in a proper way. Its main intention is to provide details about where to find a small amount of information.
With this method, the researcher gets a general idea and uses research as a tool to guide them quicker to the issues that we might address in the future. Its goal is to find the why and what for an object of study.
Explanatory research is responsible for finding the why of the events by establishing cause-effect relationships. Its results and conclusions constitute the deepest level of knowledge, according to author Fidias G. Arias. In this sense, explanatory studies can deal with the determination of causes (post-facto research) and effects (experimental research) through hypothesis testing. (Source: QuestionPro)
Exploratory research is defined as a research used to investigate a problem which is not clearly defined. It is conducted to have a better understanding of the existing problem, but will not provide conclusive results. For such a research, a researcher starts with a general idea and uses this research as a medium to identify issues, that can be the focus for future research. An important aspect here is that the researcher should be willing to change his/her direction subject to the revelation of new data or insight. Such a research is usually carried out when the problem is at a preliminary stage. It is often referred to as grounded theory approach or interpretive research as it used to answer questions like what, why and how. (Source: QuesionPro)
A longitudinal study is a research conducted over an extended period of time. It is mostly used in medical research and other areas like psychology or sociology.
When using this method, a longitudinal survey can pay off with actionable insights when you have the time to engage in a long-term research project.
Longitudinal studies often use surveys to collect data that is either qualitative or quantitative. Additionally, in a longitudinal study, a survey creator does not interfere with survey participants. Instead, the survey creator distributes questionnaires over time to observe changes in participants, behaviors, or attitudes.
Many medical studies are longitudinal; researchers note and collect data from the same subjects over what can be many years. (Source: QuestionPro)
Designing your research methodology
Finding resources to answer your research methods and statistics questions can be challenging. Find out about the tools available to help you develop a well-planned research design to ensure that your methods match your research goals and that you use the right kind of analysis for your data. Furthermore, learn how to conduct ethically sound research while building a compelling case study or report.
Designing your research methodology
5 June 2022