by Immediately after determining the research study topic and when the researcher is sure of the kind of information needed then the researcher starts preparing the research design. Research design is nothing but research planning. It is a detailed program to conduct the research study in an orderly manner through the proper use of research resources. So, how to choose a research design for your research study?
Well. Feel relax. Here, we will guide you in a practical way on how to choose a research design for a research study. In addition, the definition of research design & functions of research design so that you can design your research effectively.
Research Design can be defined as a framework of research methods and techniques applied by a researcher to incorporate different elements & components of research in a systematic manner with a view to operating the Research Problem efficiently. Most significantly, research design provides insights into “How to Conduct a Research using a particular research methodology. Research Design intends to find answers to research questions.
Choosing a Research Design
Now the biggest thing is how do you design your research? What would be your research design? In this case, your research supervisor mostly guides you in every single factor. Moreover, we here will present how to choose a research design for your research study. So, you will be able to guide you in the right direction.
Few key things here you have to consider. For example-
What is your research problem or topic?
What are the objectives of the research study?
And essentially what is your Research Methodology?
When the above things are specified to you and know about the types of research design. Then you can choose your research design. Let us explain the types of research design. It broadly can categorize into the following three types.
- Exploratory Research Design, for example-Interviews, Observations, etc.
- Descriptive Research Design, for example-Ethnography
- Explanatory Research Design, for example-Sampling
In addition, there are:
- Case Study
- Survey
- Experiment research design.
Choose your research design as per your research question or problem and research objectives. Suppose the research title is “Impacts of daily use of Facebook have on the study attention of under-20s.” Your research method would be either qualitative or quantitative or a combination of both methods. In this context, your research design will suit the Interview for qualitative research.
On the other hand, for a quantitative method, you can choose Sampling. Your supervisor can supervise the best research design for you. So, you must consult with your supervisor in deciding on the research design. Otherwise, you might mislead yourself in a research study. So, be careful in designing your research in order to explore the potential research results.
Functions of Research Design
Each research plan performs multiple tasks regardless of what kind of research design a researcher chooses. How well a research design performs depends on how well the research design is formed. Basically, the research design performs the following three basic functions.
Firstly, the research design provides a blueprint to the researcher. It is not possible to build such a house without a design, likewise, the pre-plan so much for research will produce many problems. Therefore, before implementing the research work, some important decisions need to be taken.
For example- what the research is about? What kind of data requires to resolve research questions? Where to collect the required data and information? Study area, time, and so on.
Secondly, research design determines an outline of research work that the researcher can concentrate fully on the study. That is, the precise objectives of the study are the most important in this regard. The reason is pointless research becomes an endless practice so far.
Then, the research design helps the researcher to resolve many shortcomings before the study starts. This is possible through the proper review of the literature. The researcher in this review can decide on some possible alternative ways to solve the research problem.