Research design

Research design Research design is the conceptual

structure within which research would be conducted.

The function of research design is to provide for the col lection of re levant information with minimal expenditure of effort , t ime and money.

Research design

The preparation of research design, appropriate for a particular research problem, involves the consideration of the fol lowing :

Objectives of the research study. Method of Data Collection to be adopted Source of information—Sample Design Tool for Data col lection Data Analysis-- qualitative and

quantitative

Features of good design A good research des ign which minimizes bias

and maximizes the rel iabi l ity of data col lected.

Which gives the smallest experimental errors . A good research des ign is half the battle . A good design yields maximal information

and provides an opportunity for considering many different aspects of a problem.

A good research des ign is f lexible , appropriate, eff ic ient and economical .

Basic concepts related to research design

Dependent and independent variables If one variable depends upon or is a

consequence of other variable it is termed as dependent variable .

If the variable that is antecedent to the dependent variable is termed as an independent variable .

Example :as height depends on age, the height is a dependent variable and age is independent variable .

Extraneous variable

Independent variable that are not related to the purpose of the study but may effect the dependent variable are termed as extraneous variable.

Example: if researcher wants to test the hypothesis that there is relationship between children’s gains in social studies and their self concepts . In this self concept is an independent variable and social studies achievement is dependent variable. Intel l igence may as well effect social studies achievement but it is not related to purpose of the study so it wil l be termed as extraneous variable.

Control :

The term control is used when we design the study minimizing the effects of Extraneous variables.

Research hypothesis :

When a hypothesized re lationship is to be tested by scientific methods, it is termed as research hypothesis .

It’s a predictive statement that relates a independent variable to a dependent variable .

Experimental and Non Experimental hypothesis test ing research:

When the purpose of a research is to test a research hypothesis , it is termed as hypothesis test ing research .

A research in which independent variable is manipulated is termed as experimental hypothesis test ing research .

A research in which independent variable is not manipulated is termed as non experimental hypothesis test ing research.

Example: if a researcher wants to study whether intel l igence affects reading abil ity of students or not.

First he randomly se lects 50 students and test their intel l igence and reading abil ity this is non experimental hypothesis testing research .

Secondly he randomly se lects 50 students who are take a course in statist ics and then divide them into two groups by randomly assigning 25 to group A, the usual studies program, and 25 to group B, the special studies program. At the end of the course he administers a test to each group in order to judge the effectiveness of training program on students performance level . This is experimental hypothesis testing research .

Experimental and control groups :

In Experimental hypothesis testing research when a group is exposed to usual conditions is cal led control group.

When a group is exposed to some special conditions is cal led experimental group .

Treatments :

The different condit ions under which experimental and control groups are put are cal led as treatments .

Experiment :

The process of examining the truth of a statist ical hypothesis re lating to some research problem is known as an experiment .

Experimental unit:

The predetermined blocks , where different treatments are used, are known as experimental unit .

Types of research design

Exploratory research studies Descriptive and diagnostics research

studies Hypothesis testing research studies

(Casual)

Exploratory research Exploratory research is most commonly

unstructured, “ informal” research that is undertaken to gain background information about the general nature of the research problem.

Exploratory research is usually conducted when the researcher does not know much about the problem and needs additional information or desires new or more recent information.

Designed to generate basic knowledge, c larify relevant issues uncover variables associated with a problem, uncover information needs, and/or define alternatives for addressing research objectives.

A very f lexible , open-ended process .

Methods of research design for exploratory studies The survey of concerning l iterature The experience survey The analysis of ‘ insight-stimulating’

examples

Descriptive research

Descriptive research is undertaken to provide answers to quest ions of who, what, where , when, and how – but not why.

Descriptive research is concerned with describing the characterist ics of particular individual or a group.

The design of such studies must be r igid not f lexible and must be focus on the fol lowing: Formulating the objective of the study Designing the methods of data col lect ion Selecting the sample Processing and analyzing the data Reporting the f indings

Hypothesis test ing research studies (Casual )

Designed to provide information on potential cause-and-effect re lationships

Causality may be thought of as understanding a phenomenon in terms of conditional statements of the form “If x , then y.”

These studies are those where the researcher test the hypothesis of casual re lat ionships between variables .