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UNDERSTANDING RESEARCH
METHODS AND DESIGNS
KEY CONCEPTS RESEARCH METHOD =philosophical, theoretical, conceptual, and analytic perspective of research. It can be quantitative, qualitative or mixed method.
APPROACH = first step in creating structure to the design and it details a
conceptual model or framework of how the research will proceed, considering the objectives and variables of the study.
DESIGN = plan, structure and strategy of investigation so conceived as to
obtain answer to research questions or problems. It is the complete scheme or program of the research. It includes an outline of what the investigator will do from writing the hypothesis and their operational implications to the final analysis of data. RESEARCH DESIGN Plan, structure and strategy of investigation After research topic has been finalized, researcher has to plan detains of what design to use, what type of data will provide answers to the problems of the study, and how the data will be gathered, presented, analyzed and interpreted. Research design guides the researcher in planning the following aspects or procedures of research:
1. Identifying the population of the study.
2. Decision on whether to take the whole population or just select a sample
3. How the sample of the study will be selected.
4. Ethics in the selection of samples and data gathering
5. Choice of method in data collection.
6. Considerations in the use of questionnaires
7. How interviews will be conducted.
RESEARCH DESIGN IN QUANTITATIVE METHOD
In quantitative research, some of the commonly used designs are
classified by examining them from 3 perspectives:
1. Number of contacts with the study population
2. Reference period of the study
3. Nature of the investigation
Designs Based on Number of contacts CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDIES - used in social sciences.
These studies aim to find out the
prevalence of a phenomenon, situation, problem, attitude or issue by taking a cross-section of the population.
The researcher decides what he wants to
find out, identify the study population, select a sample if needed, and contact the respondents to find out the required information. The Before and After Design (Pre-test/post test design) Measure change in a situation , phenomenon, issue, problem or attitude.
Two sets of cross-sectional data
collection points on the same population to find out the change in the phenomenon or variable between two points in time.
Change is measured by comparing the
difference in the phenomenon or variable before and after the intervention.
Commonly used in evaluation studies.
Longitudinal Study Design
Useful to determine the pattern of extent of change in
a phenomenon, situation, problem or attitude in relation to time.
Study population is visited a number of times at
regular intervals, usually over a longer period.
Intervals may be short as a week or longer than a year.
Type of information gathered each time is identical.
Data collected may come from the same study
population but it may or may not be from the same respondents.
A longitudinal study can be characterized as a series
of repetitive cross-sectional studies. Designs based on the Reference Period Retrospective Study Design
Used to investigate a phenomenon,
situation, problem or issue that has happened in the past. The study may be conducted either on the basis of the data available for that period or on the basis of respondents’ recall of the situation. Prospective Study Design
Attempts to establish the outcome of an
event or what is likely to happen, such as the likely prevalence of a phenomenon, situation, problem, attitude or outcome in the future.
Experiments are usually classified as
prospective studies since the researcher must wait for an intervention to register its effect on the study population . Retrospective-Prospective Study Design
This applies to a study wherein available
data are analyzed and used as bases of future projections. It does not involve a control group.
Trend studies fall under this category.
Designs Based on the Nature of the Investigation Experimental Design
It has an assumption of a cause-and-
effect relationship.
Researcher introduces the intervention
that is assumed to be the cause of change and waits until it has produced the change. Non-experimental Design
The researcher observes a phenomenon
and attempts to establish what caused it.
In this instance, the research starts from
the effect or outcome and attempts to determine causation. Semi-experimental or Quasi-experimental Study
It has the properties of experimental and
non-experimental studies; part of the study may be experimental and the other part non-experimental. Research Designs in Qualitative Method
Case study
Grounded Theory
Phenomenology
Ethnography
Mixed Methods Case Study Dominant qualitative study design but also prevalent in quantitative research.
A case could be individual , a group, a
community, an instance, an episode, an event, a subgroup of the population, a town, or a city.
It is a very useful design when exploring an
area where little is known or where you want to have a holistic understanding of the situation, phenomenon, episode, site, group or community.
Relevant when the focus of the study is on
extensively exploring and understanding rather than confirming and quantifying. Grounded Theory
This is an approach to qualitative
research data collection and analysis in the social sciences.
It is not a theory itself; but a process for
developing empirical theory from qualitative research that consists of a set of tasks and underlying principle through which theory can be built up through careful observation of the social world . Phenomenology
Studies all possible appearances in
human experience using empirical methods (i.e. asking, observing, analyzing data) to make empirically grounded statements that can be generalized.
Various aims can be pursued such as
describing a phenomenon, or to evaluate an intervention or institution in the interest of knowledge production. Ethnography
This is a research process which deals
with the scientific description of individual cultures involving the origins, development and characteristics of humankind, including social customs, beliefs and cultural development. Mixed Methods
Uses both quantitative and qualitative
data to answer a particular question or sets of questions.