Research Design

Pamela M. Veroy RN, MAN

A plan or strategy for conducting the research

Spells out the basic strategies that researchers adopt to develop evidence that is accurate and interpretable.

Deals with matters such as selecting participants for the research and preparing for data collection.

1. To provide answers to research questions

2. To control variance

1. Freedom from bias2. Freedom from confusing3. Control of extraneous

variables4. Statistical correctness

for testing hypothesis

1. Experimental research – involves manipulating condition and studying effects – (IPO-Input-Process-Output)

2. Correlational research – involves studying relationship s among variables within a single group, and frequently suggests the possibility of cause and effect.

3. Survey research – involves describing the characteristics of a group by means of such instruments as interview schedules, questionnaires, and tests.

Ethnographic research - concentrates on documenting or portraying the everyday experiences of people using observation and interviews.

Involve how well, how much, how efficiently, knowledge, attitudes or opinion in the like exists.

Case study – is a detailed analysis of one or a few individuals

Historical research – involves studying some aspect of the past

Action research – is a type of research by practitioners designed to help improve their practice.

It is useful to consider the various research methodologies we have described as falling within one or more general research categories –

Descriptive Associational Intervention-type Studies

It describe a given state of affairs as fully and carefully as possible.

Examples:- In Biology, where each variety of

plant and animal species is meticulously described and information is organized into useful taxonomic categories.

- In educational research, the most common descriptive methodology is the survey, as when researchers summarize the characteristics (abilities, preferences,

behaviors, and so on) of individuals or groups or physical environment (school)

Research that investigates relationships is often referred to as associational research

Correlational and causal-comparative methodologies are the principal examples of associational research.

Example: Studying relationship (a) between achievement and attitude (b) between childhood experiences and

adult characteristics

(c) between teacher characteristic and student achievement(d) between methods of instruction &

achievement (comparing students who

have been taught by each method)(e) between gender and attitude (comparing attitudes of males and females)

Descriptive research is not satisfying since most researchers want to have complete understanding of people and things not just merely describing but need further analysis.

Associational studies are, they too are ultimately unsatisfying.

- because it did not permit researchers to “do something” to influence or change outcomes.

- Simply determining interest or achievement of students does not tell us how to change or improve either interest or achievement.

To find out whether one thing will have an effect on something else, researchers need to conduct some form of intervention study.

Is a particular treatment is expected to influence one or more outcomes.

Such studies enable researchers to assess

For example:- the effectiveness of various teaching methods,- curriculum models, - classroom arrangements - and other efforts to influence the characteristics of individuals or groups.

Experiment is the primary methodology used in intervention research

Some types of research may combine these 3 general types

Areas Quantitative Qualitative

Goals -Theory testing, establishing facts, statistical description, prediction, relationship between variables

- Sensitizing concepts, describe multiple realities, grounded theory, develop understanding

Design - Structured, predetermined, formal, specific detailed plan of operation

- Evolving, flexible

Areas Quantitative Qualitative

Data -Quantitative, quantifiable coding counts, measures, operationalized variables statistics

- Descriptive, personal documents, field notes, photographs, people’s own words, official documents

Sample - Large, stratified, control groups, precise, random, control of extraneous variables

- Small, non-representative, focused, purposeful, convenient

Areas Quantitative Qualitative

Technique or methods

- Experiments, surveys, structured interviewing, structured observation

- Observation, participant observation, review of documents, open-ended interviewing, first person accounts.

Relationship with subjects

- Detached, short term, distant, subject-researcher restricted

- Empathy, emphasis on trust, democratic

Areas Quantitative

Qualitative

Data analysis

- Deductive, statistical

- Ongoing models, themes, concepts, inductive, analytic,constant comparative.

Problems - Controlling other variables, validity, reliability

- Time consuming, data reduction difficulties, procedures not standardized, difficulty to study large populations,Empathy, emphasis on trust, democratic

Quantitative Qualitative

1.Experimental Research

2.Single-Subject Research

3.Correlational Research

4.Causal-Comparative Research

5.Survey Research

1.Ethnographic Research

2.Historical Research

Historical study of college entrance requirements over time that examine the relationship between those requirements and achievement in mathematics.

An ethnographic study that describes in detail the daily activities of an inner-city high school and also finds a relationship between media attention and teacher morale in school

An investigation of the effects of different teaching methods on concept learning and gender

This threefold classification is especially useful for describing the design with respect to internal validity.

A randomized experiment generally is the strongest of the three designs when your interest is in establishing a cause-effect relationship.

A non-experiment is generally the weakest in this respect only to internal validity or causal assessment.

In fact, the simplest form of non-experiment is a one-shot survey design that consists of nothing but a single observation O.

The most common forms of research descriptive ones

Research

Problem

Hypotheses

Or questions

Literature Review

Definition

Instrumentation

Procedures/

Designs

Data Analysis

Sample

PREPARE FOR A TEST…..

1. How do parents feel about the elementary school counseling program?

2. Do students who have high score on reading tests also have high scores on writing tests?

3. What effect does the gender of a counselor have on how he or she is “received by counselees”?

4. In what ways were the kinds of bills passed into law during the administration of Cory Aquino and Gloria Arroyo similar or different?

5. How can Tom Adams be helped to learn to read?

1. ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY 2. CORRELATIONAL STUDY 3. CAUSAL-CORRELATION

STUDY/INTERVENTION STUDY 4. DISCRIPTIVE /

INTERVENTION/CORRELATIONAL STUDY 5. EXPERIMENT/CORRELATIONAL OR

ASSOCIATIONAL-INTERVENTION STUDY