Quantitative &

Qualitative Research
Designs
E. HAIPINGE
07 APRIL 2015

INTRODUCTION
By the end of the lecture, students should be able to:
Define research design
Identify quantitative research designs
Identify qualitative research designs
Define each research design
Understand the appropriate use of each research design

RESEARCH DESIGN
A detailed outline of how a research investigation will take place
It includes:
how data is to be collected,
what instruments will be employed,
how the instruments will be used and
the intended means for analyzing data collected.

The function of a research design is to ensure that the evidence

obtained enables us to answer the initial question as unambiguously
as possible

DESIGN vs METHOD
Research design

A logical structure of the

inquiry
Examples
Cross-sectional design
Case study
Survey
Narrative

Research method

A mode of data collection

Examples
Questionnaire
Observation
Interview
Focus group

Quantitative Research Designs

Quantitative Research Designs

Experimental design
Ex Post Facto design
Correlational design
Survey design

Experimental Design
Research in which the investigator manipulates one or more independent
variables (the treatment) and observes the effect on one or more dependent
variables
It involves an experiment: An experiment is an orderly procedure carried
out with the goal of verifying, refuting, or establishing the validity of a
hypothesis.
Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what
outcome occurs when a particular factor is manipulated.
Data collection methods: standardized tests, measuring tests, questionnaires,

Characteristics of Experimental
Design
Random assignment: randomly assigning individuals to experimental or control
groups
Control over extraneous variables: factors other than independent variable
that may influence the outcome of the experiment
Manipulation of the treatment conditions: interventions made by researcher to
change conditions of experimental group
Outcome measures: assessing whether treatment conditions influence outcome
(dependent variable)
Group comparison: comparing the test scores and variation between
experimental and control group

Ex Post Facto Design

A type of research that attempts to determine the causes for, or the
consequences of, differences that already exist in groups of individuals.
ex post facto (Latin: after the fact) indicates that ex post facto research
is conducted after variation in the variable of interest has already been
determined in the natural course of events.
Examples of attribute variables (characteristic that participants already
had before the study began) that cannot be manipulated
Home environment, motivation, intelligence, home language, parental reading
habits, age, ethnicity, gender, etc.
Data collection methods: measuring tests, questionnaires

Example: the effect of students anxiety

in an achievement testing situation on
their examination performance.

Correlational Design
Research that attempts to determine the extent and the direction
of the relationship between two or more variables.
Unlike experimental and ex posto facto designs that compares
variables between groups, correlational research assesses the
relationships among two or more variables in a single group.
Correlation indicates whether the relationship between variables
is positive or negative and the strength of this relationship.
Data collection methods: measuring tests, questionnaires, existing data

Value of houses

Value of vehicles

Survey Design
Survey research, describes the distributions of variables in a specified group
In survey research, investigators ask questions about peoples beliefs, opinions,
characteristics, and behavior
Types of surveys:
Census (the whole population is surveyed)
Census of tangibles (desks in school); census of intangibles (ICT literacy level)

Sample survey (a representative small group is selected from the total population)
Longitudinal surveys (panel studies, trend studies, and cohort research)
Cross-sectional surveys (study a cross section [sample] of a population at a single point
in time)
Data collection methods: questionnaires, checklists, observation

Types of Longitudinal Surveys

Panel studies
In panel studies, the same subjects are surveyed several times over an extended period of time
Example: a study investigating development of vocabulary in learners will select an exact same sample to be followed
through successive grade levels and tested each year to assess how their vocabulary develops (e.g. learners 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
7, 8, 9 & 10 in Grade 1A; then the same learners in Grade 2A; then again in Grade 3A; then finally when in 4A)

Trend studies
Here, different individuals randomly drawn from the same general population to be surveyed at intervals over a period
of time. This general population changes in membership over time.
Example: each year, a sample is randomly drawn from general population of learners in each grade to study the
development of their vocabulary (e.g. a random sample of 30 learners each year from grades 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A)

Cohort studies
A specific population is followed over a length of time with different random samples studied at various points
A cohort study samples a specific population whose members do not change over the duration of the survey
Example: random sample selected from grade 1A class of 2015 at various points in time (e.g. 2A in 2016; 3A in 2017)

Qualitative Research Designs

Qualitative Research Designs

Basic qualitative studies
Case studies
Content/ document analysis
Ethnography/ Ethnographic studies
Grounded theory studies
Historical studies
Narrative research
Phenomenological research

Phenomenographical research

Basic Qualitative Studies

They are interpretive studies that describe and attempt to interpret experience
Simplistic and not restricted to a particular phenomenon
Use a variety of data collection techniques: interviews, observations, review
documents
Draw from diverse theoretical orientations
Data analysis: categorization, development of patterns or themes, coding and
looking for recurring themes
Interpreted through disciplinary lens
Data collection methods: Interviews, observations, focus groups, document review

Case Studies
Case study focuses on a single unit to produce an in-depth description
that is rich and holistic
unit can be an individual, a group, a site, a class, a policy, a program, a
process, an institution, or a community
Theyre particularistic, descriptive and heuristic
Asks: What are the characteristics of this particular entity, phenomenon,
person, or setting?
Seeks to understand the whole case in the totality of the environment
Data collection methods: Interviews, observations, focus groups, document review

Types of Case Studies

Intrinsic case study
Conducted to understand a particular case that may be unusual, unique, or different in
some way.
It does not necessarily represent other cases or a broader trait or problem
Instrumental case study
Selected because it represents an issue under investigation and the researcher believes
this particular case can help provide insights or help to understand that issue
Multiple/ collective case study
Uses several cases selected to further understand and investigate a phenomenon,
population, or general condition
Studying multiple units can provide better illumination

Content/document Analysis
A research method applied to written or visual materials for the purpose of identifying
specified characteristics of the material
Examples: textbooks, newspapers, web pages, speeches, television programs,
advertisements, musical compositions
Purpose is to:
Identify bias, prejudice, or propaganda in textbooks
Analyze types of errors in students writings
Describe prevailing practices
Discover the level of difficulty of material in textbooks or other publications
Discover the relative importance of, or interest in, certain topics
Data collection methods: document, audio-visual review

Steps in Content Analysis

1.
2.
3.
4.

Specifying the phenomenon to be investigated

Selecting the media from which the observations are to be made
Formulating exhaustive and mutually exclusive coding categories
Deciding on the sampling plan to be used in order to obtain a
representative sample of the documents
5. Training the coders so that they can consistently apply the
coding scheme
6. Analyzing the data, which may involve more descriptive accounts

Ethnography
Ethnography is the in-depth study of naturally occurring
behavior within a culture or entire social group
Seeks to understand the relationship between culture (shared beliefs,
values, concepts, practices, and attitudes) and behavior of a specific

group of people

Typically describe, analyze, and interpret culture over time using

observations and field work as the primary data collecting strategies
The final product is a cultural portrait that incorporates the views of
participants
Data collection methods: Interviews, participant observations, field notes

Grounded Theory
It seeks to inductively build a theory about a practice or phenomenon
using interviews and observation as the primary data collection tools
It focuses on gathering data about peoples experiences in a particular
context and then inductively building a theory from the bottom up.
The theory is grounded in the data to a particular context, situation, or
experience.
It moves beyond description to generate or discover a theory that emerges
from the data and that provides an explanation of a process, action, or
interaction.
Data collection methods: Interviews, observations, focus groups

Steps in Grounded Theory

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Identify an event, experience, phenomenon, topic

Draft research questions
Select sample (individuals who experienced the phenomenon
Collect data through interviews and observations
Analyse the data to inform future interviews
Generate concepts/ theory
Focus on different experiences to confirm/ refute a theory
Formulate hypotheses
Review literature and write a report

Topic & open

research
questions

Review
literature;
report
findings

Identify
participants
Purposive
sampling

Grounded
Theory Research
Process

Formulate
substantive
theory/
hypothesis

Saturated
data:
categories,
themes

Theoretical
sampling/
modify
questions

Collect data
(interview/
observation)

Analyse data
& develop
codes

Historical Studies
Historical studies seek to establish facts and arrive at conclusions concerning the
past
The historian systematically locates, evaluates, and interprets evidence from which
people can learn about the past
It systematically locates, evaluates, and interprets evidence from which people can
learn about the past
Conclusions drawn increase knowledge of how and why past events occurred and the
process by which the past became the present
Goal is increased understanding of the present and a more rational basis for making
choices
Data collection methods: Interviews, document review

Sources of Historical Data

Primary sources: information directly from observers
Original documents (correspondence, diaries, reports, etc.)
Relics, remains, or artefacts
Minutes of meetings
Unedited video tape records
Secondary sources: when the mind of a non-observer comes between the event and the

user of the record

History books
Articles in encyclopedias, and
Reviews of research
Reports from primary sources

Narrative Research
Narrative research focuses on stories (spoken or written) told by individuals about
their lives.
The researcher seeks to understand the lived experience of an individual or small
group
The researcher emphasizes sequence and chronology and a collaborative re-storying
process
Primary sources of data: direct participant recollection through interviews
Secondary sources of data: documents produced by the participant diaries, journals,
letters, blogs, created artifacts, e-mail exchanges, memos, photographs, memory boxes,
audio recordings
Data collection methods: Interviews, written accounts, existing recordings, publications

Phenomenological Research
Designed to describe and interpret an experience by determining the meaning of the
experience as perceived by the people who have participated in it
Asks: What is the experience of an activity or concept from the perspective of particular

participants?

It aims to determine the essence (meaning) of the experience as perceived by the

participants.
Example: a study of the integration of special needs children into a regular classroom would
focus on asking what this experience means to the parties involved: the special needs
children, other students, and the teacher.
Key questions involve exploring what has been experienced in terms of the phenomenon and
what contexts affected or influenced those experiences.
Data collection methods: Interviews, observations

Reference
Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Razavieh, A., & Sorensen, C. (2010). Introduction to
research in education (8th ed.). Canada: Cengage Learning.
Businessdictionary.com. (2015). Research design. Retrieved from:
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/researchdesign.html#ixzz3Wbh6JwOG