CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN

Research Design

The research design refers to the overall strategy that researcher/s choose to
integrate the different components of the study in a coherent and logical way, thereby,
ensuring to effectively address the research problem; it constitutes the blueprint for the
collection, measurement, and analysis of data.

Research design summarizes the procedures for conducting a study, including when,
and under what conditions the data will be obtained. This is to specify a plan for generating
empirical evidence that will be used to answer the research questions.

The design of a study defines the study type, research question, hypotheses,
independent and dependent variables, experimental design, data collection methods and a
statistical analysis plan.

Characteristics of Research Design

1. Objectivity
2. Reliability
3. Validity
4. Generalization

Research design always gives the answers of following questions:

• What is the study about?

• Why is the study being made?
• Where will the study be carried out?
• What type of data is required?
• Where can the required data be found?
• What periods of time will the study include?
• How many sample?
• How will the data be analyzed?

Importance of Research Design

1. Smooth progress of the project
2. Yield maximum information with minimal resources
3. A better and more reliable result, validity
4. Helps in identifying inadequacies and flaws before commencing the study

Qualities of a Good Research Design

1. A study has a good research design when it is structured systematically: One

of the important characteristic of a good research is that it is structured systematically.
This means that the research is planned so that specified steps are taken in a specified
sequence in accordance with the defined set of rules. In a systematic research there is
no scope of guessing and intuition in arriving at conclusions.
2. A study has a good research design when it is structured to be
logical: Logical reasoning and the logical process of induction (reasoning from a part to
 the whole) and deduction (the process of reasoning from some premise to a conclusion
which follows from that very premise) are of great value in carrying out a good
research. Logical reasoning makes research more meaningful in the context of decision
making.
3. A study has a good research design when it is structured to be empirical: A
good research deals with concrete data that provides a basis for external validity to
research results. Moreover, the research is related basically to one or more aspects of a
real situation.
4. A study has a good research design when it is designed such that it is
replicable: A good research should be replicable so that the research results can be
verified. If a research study is replicable, it will help in building basis for better
decisions.

Types of Research

A. General Classification
1. Basic and Pure Research - it also known as theoretical or fundamental
research which is always aimed to enriching the theory by unraveling the
untold mysteries of nature.
- It is the formal and systematic process of deductive- inductive
analysis leading to the development of theories.
- It is a theoretical or pure research that generates, rests and expands
the theories that describe, explain or predict the phenomenon of
interest to the discipline without regard to its later use.

Purpose of Basic Research

a. Basic research offers solution to many practical problems; e.g. Maslow’s

theory of motivation.
b. Basic research helps to find the critical factors in a practical problem; e.g.
common sense approaches to any problem.
c. Basic research many alternative solutions and thus enable us to choose the
best solutions.

2. Applied Research - it is also known as empirical research always aims at

enriching the application of theory
- It refers to “answers questions related to the applicability of basic
theories in practical situations, test the practical limits of descriptive
theories that does not examine the efficacy of actions taken by
practitioners”.
- Applied research has been referred to as “practical application of
theoretical.”

Purpose of Conducting Applied Research

a. To solve a problem
b. To make decision
c. To develop a new program, products, methods and procedures.
d. To evaluate program and procedure.
 3. Action Research – the process involves the study of certain problem and
from the experience, decisions, actions and conclusions are drawn.
- Findings are limited to settings actually studied.
B. According to Level of Investigation
a. Exploratory Research – or formulative study conducted which relatively
little is known about the phenomenon, sometimes called pilot study.
- As enough data relevant to the problem are gathered the researcher
knowledge about the subjects improves and becomes capable of
formulate a clear hypothesis
- Allows one to study the variables pertinent to specific situation.
- Since this type of research emphasis on discovery of ideas and insights
its design is always kept flexible and non-structured to permit
considerations of different aspects of a phenomenon.
- Generate insight about the situation

Purposes

1. To generate new ideas

2. To increase the researchers familiarity with the problem, or
3. To make precise formulation of the problem
4. To determine whether it is feasible to attempt the study.

b. Descriptive Research- the exploration and description of phenomena in real

life situation.
- Provides an accurate account of characteristics of particular individuals,
situations or groups.
- It is a non-experimental research designed to discover new meaning and
to provide new knowledge where there is very little known about the
phenomena of interest.
- Data collection by using one or more appropriate methods; observation,
interviewing and mail questionnaire.
- Descriptive research aims at answering the what’ and “why” of the
current state of some system.

Criteria


Problem must be describable and not agreeable.

The data should be amenable to an accurate objective and if possible
quantitative.
 It should be possible to develop valid standards of comparison.
 It should lend itself to verifiable procedure for collection and analysis
of data.
C. According to Time Element
a. Historical Research – A critical investigation and analysis of events,
developments and experiences of the past. It describes the past events in
 relation to the present situations and then analyzes and interprets the
implications of past events to the present trends or practices.
b. Descriptive Research -
D. According to Duration
a. Longitudinal Study - A longitudinal study, like a cross-sectional one, is
observational. So, once again, researchers do not interfere with their
subjects. However, in a longitudinal study, researchers conduct several
observations of the same subjects over a period of time, sometimes lasting
many years.
- The benefit of a longitudinal study is that researchers are able to
detect developments or changes in the characteristics of the target
population at both the group and the individual level. The key here is
that longitudinal studies extend beyond a single moment in time. As a
result, they can establish sequences of events.
b. Cross-sectional Study – the researcher dips into the study setting at a
given point in time after the study design is completed, then gather present
data on events occurring at that time. It examines the subjects at one point
in time, and is conducted when the time frame is of short duration
- The benefit of a cross-sectional study design is that it allows
researchers to compare many different variables at the same time
- Cross-sectional studies may not provide definite information about
cause-and-effect relationships.
- The cross-sectional are observational studies. This means that
researchers record information about their subjects without
manipulating the study environment.
- The defining feature of a cross-sectional study is that it can compare
different population groups at a single point in time.
E. According to Research Design
a. Correlational Research- these studies examine the extent of relationship
between variables by determining how changes in one variable relate to
changes in another variable. This is also called explanatory research. It
discovers how the phenomena under study are related.
b. Experimental Research- This particular design is an inquiry on cause-and-
effect relationship and is conducted in a specialized setting, such as
laboratory, experimental unit or research center. The researcher controls and
manipulates the independent variable and randomly assigns the subjects to
different conditions or situations.
- The benefit gained in experimental studies is the possibility of
establishing causal relationships between independent and dependent
variables.
- In experimental studies, the researcher consciously manipulates or
controls situations related to the study, thus interfering with nature.
Observations are done under controlled conditions or in controlled
environment (Abdellah,2000)

Advantages of the Experimental Design

 1. Explains and establishes causal relationships of variables,
2. Increases purity of observations,
3. Creates conditions in the experimental settings that approximates the
natural setting, and,
4. Free from the pressures of daily life when conducted in a controlled unit

Disadvantages of Experimental Design

1. Dangerous, particularly if human beings are being used as subjects

2. Difficult to create conditions
3. Time constraints
4. Non-cooperation of subjects
5. Population constraints
6. A generalization may not be reliable if done in an artificial setting.
c. Non-experimental Research – the researcher does not interfere with
nature, and the conditions for research are realistic or natural.
- This research is often known as Surveys, which have less control over
the study subjects and the setting where it is conducted. They are
research situations in which the researcher cannot control and
manipulate the independent variable. They are mostly conducted in
natural settings such as schools, hospitals and other public health
agencies and homes of patients among others.
d. Quasi-experiment-is like experimental research because it actively
introduces some form of treatment or manipulation of an independent
variable.
- Unlike experimental research, however it does not utilized
randomization or the control group or validity component.

Nursing Research Methodologies

A. Quantitative Research
 A formal objective, systematic process in which numerical data are used to
obtain information about the world.
 This method is used to describe variables, examine relationships among
variables and determine cause and effects interactions between variables.

B. Qualitative Research
 A systematic interactive, subjective approach used to describe the life
experiences and give them meaning.
 A type of research conducted to described and promote understanding of
human experiences.
 Evolve from the behavior and social sciences as a method of understanding
unique, dynamic, holistic nature of human beings.

Approaches of Qualitative Research

a. Phenomenological Studies- these particular studies examine the lived
experiences of individuals about a phenomenon through description and
analysis, such as the stress and anxiety students feel during examinations.
- The goal is to describe the lived experiences and lived human relations
or being in the world of people, that are interest to the researcher or to
the phenomenologist (Denzin: 1989)

Steps involve in Phenomenological Studies

1. Bracketing. Refers to identifying and holding in abeyance
preconceived beliefs and opinions about the phenomenon under
study.
2. Intuiting. The researcher is open to meanings attributed to the
phenomenon by those who have experience it.
3. Analyzing. Dissecting significant meanings of statements and
events.
4. Describing. Defining and interpreting the meaning of the
phenomenon under study.
b. Ethnographic Studies – these refers to the collection and analysis of data
on the lifestyle and daily activities of ethnics. Data involve description and
interpretation of cultural and social behavior of people in a group or system,
primarily to understand their world view and how their culture is
communicated and portrayed. E.g. “Lifestyle, Beliefs and Health Habits of the
Aetas of Mt. Pinatubo”
c. Grounded Theory Studies. These refer to analysis of data leading to the
development of theory. The primary purpose of grounded theory studies is to
develop a theory. The concepts and theories discovered are derived through
this approach are derived directly from the data, thus data include in-depth
interview and observation of the study participants to generate
comprehensive explanations of phenomena grounded in reality.
- Fundamental characteristic of grounded theory is that data collection,
data analysis and sampling of participants occur of the same time
- In depth interview and observation are the most common data source.

Major Premises of Grounded Theory

 Humans act toward object on the basis of the meaning those objects
have for them
 Social meaning arise from social interaction
 People use interpretive process to handle and change meanings in
dealing with their situations.
d. Narrative Research- Focus on story as the object of inquiry, to determine
how individuals make sense of events in their lives.
- The data can be collected as a story filed notes
- It may be used for comparison among groups to learn about a social
or historical period or to explore a personality. Also known as
Biographies. E.g. The Life and Ideas of Dr. Jose Rizal
e. Field Studies. These consist of the natural investigations done in the
community such as nursing homes. Housing projects and clinical wards
among others.
f. Case Studies. These refers to the in-depth examination and analysis of
people or group of people in relation to nursing issues or problems that are
important to the client’s history, growth and development patterns and or
circumstances affecting the client under study. This eventually leads to the
formulation and implementation of the nursing care plan specific to the case
being studied.
 Population and Sampling
Participants of the Study
Research Instrument
Validation of Instrument
Ethical Consideration
Data Collection Procedure
Statistical Treatment of Data

Research Design

Quantitative

Experimental
True Expiremental
Quasi-expiremental
Single subject

Non-experimental
Descriptive
Comparative
Correlational
Survey
Ex post facto

Qualitative
Interactive
Ethnographic
Phenomenological
Case study
Grounded theory
Critical studies
Noninteractive
Concept analysis
Historical analysis