Research Design
A research design is essentially how the research is conducted to achieve the research purpose, which is based on the problem and gap in the literature by answering research questions. There are three basic research designs – qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods (Monette et al., 2014). Qualitative seeks to explore how, why, or what is associated with the phenomenon. As a result, a qualitative research design is in most cases viewed as subjective and information is collected in a written format rather than numerical. It also varies depending on the techniques used; in-depth interviews, participant observations, and focus groups. The main reason for conducting qualitative design is to comprehensively understand a specific issue, subject, grounded on the first-hand knowledge. Qualitative research design needs to account for how participants behave and speak and what is done and said.
Quantitative examines the relationships and/or differences among independent (predictor) and dependent (outcome) variables. It can be used to find averages and patterns, test causal relationships, make predictions, and generalizes results. The quantitative research design also involves gathering and analyzing numerical data and is broadly used in social and natural sciences such as economics, biology, psychology, marketing, and philosophy (Monette et al., 2014). Quantitative research design methods can be used for correlational, descriptive, and experimental research. Nonetheless, quantitative data is collected through the use of operational definitions translating abstract concepts into quantifiable and observable measures.
Mixed methods involve the use and interdependency of both qualitative and quantitative methods. This type of research design provides researchers with different approaches to answering research questions. It is also unique since it enables researchers to address many research objectives at the same time (Rahi, 2017). Researchers also used mixed methods research design to understand the contractions between qualitative findings and quantitative results. It ensures that research is based on the experiences of the participants and gives them a voice. Regardless of the method, a research design essentially consists of the same elements, including the population, sampling, recruitment, instrumentation, data collection, and analysis, with some variations.
A study that would control all threats to internal validity and produce the most accurate results due to its design is a true experimental study. A true experimental study can eliminate any tentative fact or hypothesis, either with field or lab experiments (Rahi, 2017). There can be a randomized selection of groups. For example, with the hypothesis “drug xyz reduces insomnia,” the researcher will form two samples of about 10 females with two groups each consisting of 5 females. One group will be a controlled group and the other group will receive the treatment of xyz drug to reduce insomnia. The controlled group probably will not receive xyz drug but something which looks like an xyz drug just to give an impression that they are being treated. If the controlled group eventually improves with reduction of insomnia with the placebo effect, then probably the hypothesis can be nullified which suggests drug xyz reduces insomnia. The main emphasis is the cause-effect relationship establishing the final conjecture of cause and effect. The “the drug” is independent variable while “the patients” is the dependent one. This shows that the methodology relies on random laboratory and assignment controls to ensure the most reliable and valid results.
References
Monette, D. R., Sullivan, T. J., DeJong, C. R., & Hilton, T. P. (2014). Applied social research: A tool for the human services (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Rahi, S. (2017). Research design and methods: A systematic review of research paradigms, sampling issues, and instruments development. International Journal of Economics & Management Sciences, 6(2), 1-5. DOI: 10.4172/2162-6359.1000403
