RESEARCH DESIGN

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 PROCESS OF DESIGNING AND CONDUCTING A
RESEARCH PROJECT:
– What--What was studied? 1. Introduction,
– What about--What aspects of Research Problems/
Objectives, &
the subject were studied? Justification
– What for--What is/was the
significance of the study?

– What did prior lit./research say? 2. Literature Review

– What was done--How was the 3. Methodology

study conducted? (Research sample, data
collection, measurement,
data analysis)

– What was found? 4. Results & Discussion

– So what? 5. Implications
– What now? 6. Conclusions and
Recommendations for
Future Research 2
 RESEARCH DESIGN

 RESEARCH DESIGN refers to the plan, structure, and

strategy of research--the blueprint that will guide the
research process.
Intriguing Observation, More Careful Studying Defining Research
Intellectual Curiosity of the Phenomenon Problem & Objectives

Building the Theoretical

Refinement of theory
Framework and the
(Inductive Reasoning) THE PROCESS OF Research Model
EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
Testing Hypo.:
Data Analysis & Developing Research
Interpretation Hypotheses

Data Coding, Developing Operational

And Definitions for
Editing Research Variables

Data Collection Sampling Design

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 RESEARCH DESIGN

RESEARCH DESIGN: The blueprint/roadmap that will guide the

research.
The test for the quality of a study’s research design is the
study’s conclusion validity.
 CONCLUSION VALIDITY refers to the extent of
researcher’s ability to draw accurate conclusions from the
research. That is, the degree of a study’s:

a) Internal Validity—correctness of conclusions regarding the

relationships among variables examined
 Whether the research findings accurately reflect how the research
variables are really connected to each other.

b) External Validity –Generalizability of the findings to the

intended/appropriate population/setting
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 Whether appropriate subjects were selected for conducting the study
 RESEARCH DESIGN

How do you achieve internal and external validity (i.e.,

conclusion validity)?
 By effectively controlling 3 types of variances:

• Variance of the INDEPENDENT & DEPENDENT

variables (Systematic Variance)

• Variability of potential NUISANCE/EXTRANEOUS/

CONFOUNDING variables (Confounding Variance)

• Variance attributable to ERROR IN MEASUREMENT

(Error Variance).
How?
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 Effective Research Design

 Guiding principle for effective control of

variances (and, thus, effective research
design) is:
The MAXMINCON Principle
– MAXimize Systematic Variance
– MINimize Error Variance
– CONtrol Variance of Nuisance/Extraneous/
Exogenous/Confounding variables

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 Effective Research Design
MAXimizing Systematic Variance:

Widening the range of values of research variables.

 IN EXPERIMENTS?
(where the researcher actually manipulates the independent
variable and measures its impact on the dependent variable):
– Proper manipulation of experimental conditions
to ensure high variability in indep. var.

 IN NON-EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES?
(where independent and dependent variables are measured
simultaneously and the relationship between them are
examined):
– Appropriate subject selection (selecting subjects
that are sufficiently different with respect to the
study’s main var.)--avoid Range Restriction 7
 Effective Research Design
MINimizing Error Variance (measurement error):
Minimizing the part of variability in scores that is
caused by error in measurement.
 Sources of error variance:
– Poorly designed measurement instruments
(instrumentation error)

– Error emanating from study subjects (e.g.,

response error)

– Contextual factors that reduce a sound/accurate

measurement instrument’s capacity to measure
accurately.

 How to Minimize Error Variance?

– Increase validity and reliability of
measurement instruments.
– Measure variables under as ideal
conditions as possible. 8
 Effective Research Design
CONtrolling Variance of Confounding/Nuisance Variables:
FIRST, what are Nuisance/Confounding Variables?
 May or may not be of primary interest to the researcher,
 But, can produce undesirable variation in the study's
dependent variable, and cause misleading or weird results
 Thus, if not controlled, can contaminate/distort the true
relationship(s) between the independent and dependent
variable(s) of interest
• i.e., confounding var. can result in a spurious-- as opposed to
substantive--correlation between IV and DV. Example?
Age
1. Historical data on pollution and longevity
2. Relationship between likelihood of Hearing Blood
hearing problems and high blood pressure Problem Pressure

3. Recent stat. show in-vitro kids are 5 times more likely to develop eye tumors
(Culprit: in-vitro fathers’ older age)
4. Significantly more armed store robberies during the cold winter days. 9
 Effective Research Design
HOW TO CONTROL FOR CONFOUNDING/
NUISANCE VARIABLES?
 In Experimental Settings (e.g., Fertilizer Amount Rate of Plant Growth) :
Some Potential Confounding Variables?
– Conducting the experiment in a controlled environment (e.g.,
laboratory), where we can hold values of potential confounding
variables constant.
– Subject selection (e.g., matching subjects in experiments)
– Random assignment of subjects (variations of confounding variables
are evenly distributed between the experimental and control groups)
 In Survey Research:
– Sample selection (e.g., including only subjects with appropriate
characteristics—using male college graduates as subjects will control
for potential confounding effects of gender and education)
– Statistical Control--anticipating, measuring, and statistically
controlling for confounding variables’ effects (i.e., hold them
statistically constant, or statistically removing their effects).

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 Effective Research Design
RECAP:
Effective research design is a function of ?
 Adequate (full range of) variability in values of
research variables,
 Precise and accurate measurement,
 Identifying and controlling the effects of
confounding variables, and
 Appropriate subject selection

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 BASIC DESIGNS

SPECIFIC TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN

BASIC RESEARCH DESIGNS:

 Experimental Designs:
– True Experimental Studies
– Pre-experimental Studies
– Quasi-Experimental Studies

 Non-Experimental Designs:
– Expost Facto/Correlational Studies

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 Guidelines for Using
Correlational Research Tools
 1.If the problem involves hypothesis
testing, decide on:

a. Hypothesis of relationships
(between variables)- use Pearson r
correlation (for parametric data), or
Kendall’s tau B, Spearman’s rho, or
chi-square (for non-parametric data).

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 B. Hypothesis of difference – use:

 b.1 Paired t-test – for comparing a

pair of variables (interval scaled or
ordinal)

 b. 2 Independent samples t-test –

for comparing a variable(interval or
ratio scaled) with a nominal variable
with two categories only.

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 b.3 One – Way ANOVA – for
comparing a variable (interval or
ratio scaled) with a nominal variable
with at least three or more
categories.

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 Factor Analysis
 Ifthe problem is to know which
factors/ variables are valued by the
respondents, then the right
technique is a multivariate technique
called factor analysis.

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Multiple Regression Analysis
 Ifthe problem is to know which of
the variables (called independent
variables) would explain or predict a
particular variable (called dependent
variable), then the right technique is
another multivariate technique called
multiple regression analysis.

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 Cluster Analysis
 Ifthe problem is to know how to
group (segment) the respondents
based on their preferences and
profile them by cross-tabulating their
demographic data, then the right
technique is cluster analysis.

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 If the problem is to know how to measure the
perception of the respondents and show the results
visually through a two-or three-dimensional
perceptual map, then the right technique is either:

A. Multidimensional scaling (MDS)- used if the

data are based on paired comparisons (interval or
ratio scaled)
B. Multidimensional unfolding (MDU) – used if the
data are based on ranking (ordinal)
C. Correspondence analysis – used if the data are
based on multiple options (nominal)

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 Conjoint analysis
 If the problem is to determine which
in the list of valued factors would
result into the best combinations for
the respondents to choose from,
then the right technique is conjoint
analysis. This analysis should be
complemented with cluster analysis.

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 Other Sampling Size Formulas:
 Slovin’s Formula (if population is known)

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 Cochran’s formula (if the population is
unknown)

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 Designing a Statistical Study
 GUIDELINES
1. Identify the variable(s) of interest (the
focus) and the population of the study.
2. Develop a detailed plan for collecting data.
If you use a sample, make sure the sample
is representative of the population.
3. Collect the data.
4. Describe the data.
5. Interpret the data and make decisions
about the population using inferential
statistics.
6. Identify any possible errors.
 Methods of Data Collection
In an observational study, a researcher observes and
measures characteristics of interest of part of a population.
In an experiment, a treatment is applied to part of a
population, and responses are observed.
A simulation is the use of a mathematical or physical model
to reproduce the conditions of a situation or process.
A survey is an investigation of one or more characteristics
of a population.
A census is a measurement of an entire population.

A sampling is a measurement of part of a population.

 Watch the video using the link
below:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTuj57uXWlk
 Stratified Samples
A stratified sample has members from each segment of a
population. This ensures that each segment from the
population is represented.

Freshmen Sophomores Juniors Seniors

 Cluster Samples
A cluster sample has all members from randomly selected
segments of a population. This is used when the population
falls into naturally occurring subgroups.

All members
in each
selected group
are used.

The city of Clarksville divided into city blocks.

 Systematic Samples
A systematic sample is a sample in which each member of
the population is assigned a number. A starting number is
randomly selected and sample members are selected at
regular intervals.

Every fourth member is chosen.

 Convenience Samples
A convenience sample consists only of available members
of the population.
Example:
You are doing a study to determine the number of years of
education each teacher at your college has. Identify the sampling
technique used if you select the samples listed.
1.) You randomly select two different departments and survey each
teacher in those departments.

2.) You select only the teachers you currently have this semester.

3.) You divide the teachers up according to their department and

then choose and survey some teachers in each department. Continued.
Identifying the Sampling Technique
Example continued:
You are doing a study to determine the number of years of
education each teacher at your college has. Identify the sampling
technique used if you select the samples listed.
1.) This is a cluster sample because each department is a naturally
occurring subdivision.

2.) This is a convenience sample because you are using the teachers
that are readily available to you.

3.) This is a stratified sample because the teachers are divided by

department and some from each department are randomly
selected.
 Watch this video using the link below:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PaR1TsvnJs

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Questions or Comments

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Prepare for a QUIZ!!!!

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