Research Design

n   Decision regarding what, where, when, how much, by what means concerning an inquiry or a research study constitute a research design

n   A blue print for collection, measurement and analysis of data

n   A conceptual structure within which research is conducted

n   Follows the task of problem formulation

Research Design means…

n   Plan – specify objectives and hypotheses

n   Outline – types and sources of data

n   Blueprint – methods and analysis of data

n   Scheme – domain of generalizability

DEFINITION

n   Kerlinger: Plan, structure and strategy of investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to research questions. The plan is the overall scheme or programme of research

n   John Best: Provides a systematic plan of procedure for the researcher to follow

Meaning of Research Design

n   Research Design means laying down the strategy and tactics for planning, organizing and conducting research systematically, keeping some theoretical framework in view. 

n   Research Design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure.

Research Design contains…

n   A clear statement of the research problem

n   Procedures and techniques to be used for gathering information

n   The population to be studied

n   Methods to be used in processing and analyzing data

Need / Purpose of Research Design

n    To yield maximal information with minimal expenditure of effort, time and money

n    To plan in advance of data collection and analysis of data

n    To have a great bearing on the reliability of the results

n    To organize ideas in a form

n    To provide a comprehensive review of the proposed study  

WHY RESEARCH DESIGN IS NEEDED?

As it helps to :

•               Make the research efforts fruitful;

•               Utilise the available resources in the best way possible;

•               Bringout the deficiencies in the proposed plan of action so as to correct it even before the actions commence;

•               Determine the type of resources, like time, money, manpower, etc;

•               Prepare the researcher in advance for undertaking complicated analysis; and,

•               Ascertain whether the course of action planned is in conformity with the objectives set for the study.

Features of a Good Research Design

n   Flexible, appropriate, efficient

n   Minimizes bias maximizes the reliability of the data

n   Gives smallest experimental error

n   Yields maximal information

n   Provides opportunity for considering many different aspects of a problem   

Considers following factors

n   The means of obtaining information

n   The availability and skills of the researcher and his/her staff

n   The objective and nature of the problem to be studied

n   The availability of time and money for the research work   

TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN

n   Descriptive Research Design

n   Diagnostic Research Design

n   Experimental Research Design

n   Exploratory Research Design

Descriptive Research Design

n   Concerned  with  describing   the  characteristics  of communities, population, social structure,           behavioural patterns.

n   Mainly oriented towards finding out ‘What is happening?’.

Meaning

n   Descriptive Research studies are those which are concerned with describing the situation, characteristics of a particular individual or a group.

n   Enables researchers to describe or present picture of a phenomenon or phenomena under investigation

n   Is mostly qualitative in nature producing descriptive data i.e.people’s own written or spoken words and observable behaviour

Approaches to DRD

n   Participant observation

n   Personal documents

n   Unstructured interviewing 

1.      Participant observation

n          Participant observation refers to research characterized by a period of intense social interaction between the researcher and the subjects in the milieu of the subject

Stages of Participant observation

n          Pre-field work

n          Field work

n          Data analysis

2.      Personal documents

Process of collecting personal documents,

n           Focus on

n           Formulating the objective of the study (what the study is about and why is it being made?

n           Designing the method of data collection

n           Select the sample

n           Colleting the data

n           Processing and analyzing the data

n           Reporting the findings

3.      UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEWUses of Descriptive RD

n   Contributes  from a theoretical point

n   Methodological aspect of data collection is clear

n   Prediction about areas of social life

n   Facts for planning social action programs 

Limitations of Descriptive RD

n   May make description an end itself

n   No discovery of facts

n   No social problems of past or future can be dealt.

n   Focuses on current event only

n    Statistical analysis not possible

 

Exploratory Research Design

n   ERD is a preliminary study of an unfamiliar problem about which the researcher has little or no knowledge

It leads to

Ø  Discovery of the significant variables

Ø  Discovery of the relationship between variables 

Purpose of Exploratory RD

The main purpose of EDR is

n   To generate new ideas

n   To increase the researcher’s familiarity and insight of the problem     

n   To discover significant variables

n   To find out relationship among the variables

n   To gather information for clarifying concepts

n   To determine whether it is feasible to attempt the study

n   To prepare oneself for more systematic and large scale study

n   To make a precise formulation of the problem and to develop hypothesis

Steps in Exploration

n   A review of pertinent literature

n   An experience survey

n   An analysis of insight stimulating cases 

1.      REVIEW OF LITERATURE

n   Apply concepts and theory

n   Provide a fertile ground for hypothesis

n   Analysis the topic

n   Strengthen knowledge

n   Clues for further investigation

n   Different dimensions

n   Giving insight

2.      EXPERIENCE SURVEY

n   Interview experience persons

n   Explore various practical possibilities

n   Explore the factors of social retardation

n   Explore the interrelationship between factors

SELECTION OF RESPONDENT IN EXPERIENCE  SURVEY

n   Representation from different experiences

n   Advanced thinking

n   Relationship between variables

n   Misleading

n   Provocative

n   Greater objectivity

3.      AN ANALYSIS OF INSIGHT STIMULATING CASES

n   The reactions of individuals from different strata

n   Evoking insights

n   Intensity of the study

n   Selected instance of the phenomena

n   Diverse information into a unified interpretation

Types of people who provide insight

n   New comers

n   Individuals in transition

n   Deviants and isolates in a group 

Other methods of collecting data
in exploratory research

• Secondary Data Analysis

• Case Analysis

• Focus Groups

• Projective Techniques

 

Diagnostic Research Design

n Directly concerned with the casual relationships with implications for action.

n Mainly directed towards ‘why’ it is happening  and ‘what’ can be done about it.

•      Diagnostic studies aim at identifying the relationship of any existing problem. It would also help to suggest methods to solve the problem.

Experimental Research Design

n   ERD are those studies in which the researcher tests the hypothesis of causal relationship between variables

n   The experimental research studies are mainly focused on finding out the cause and effect relationship of the phenomenon under study

n   To identify the specific relationship between two carefully chosen variables by observing what happens when one is manipulated under specific    conditions.

Basic principles of ERD

n   Principle of replication

n   Principle of randomization

n   Principle of local control

Experimental Group

n   When the group is exposed to some novel or special condition, it is called as an experimental group

Control Group

n   In an experimental hypothesis testing research, when a group is exposed to usual conditions, it is named as control group 

Treatment

n   The different conditions under which experimental groups are put is an ‘treatment’

Experiment

n   The process of examining the truth of a statistical hypothesis relating to some research problem is known as experiment

Experimental Unit 

n   The pre-determined plots or the blocks where the different treatment are used

Experimental Error

n   Whatever effect is noticed on dependent variable as a result of extraneous variable is technically described as experimental error 

Control

n   When we design the study, minimizing the effects of extraneous independent  variable in experimental research is called ‘control’.

n   It refers to restrain experimental conditions

Confounded relationship

n   When the dependent variable is not free from the influence of extraneous variable, the relationship between dependent variable and independent variable is called as ‘confounded relationship’

Experimental Research

Laboratory experiments

n    Located ‘on site’

n    Close control of variables

n    Meticulous measurements

n    Shorter duration

 

Field experiments

n    Located ‘in the field’

n    Use available possibilities

n    Structured observations

n    Longer duration

Types of ERD

n          Before–after design without control group (Y - X)

n          After only design with control group    (Y – Z)

n          Before–after design with control group      (Y-X) – (Z-A)

Experimental Research

Advantages

n    Repeatable

n    Precision

n    Convenience

Disadvantage

n    Deception and ethics

n    Artificial settings

n    Representativeness of the research subjects

n    Control of the relevant variables