Professional Documents
Culture Documents
This module is divided into two sections, Descriptive Studies and Experimental
Studies
RecipeAccording to Trochim (2005), research design "provides the glue that holds
the research project together. A design is used to structure the research, to show
how all of the major parts of the research project work together to try to address
the central research questions." The research design is like a recipe. Just as a
recipe provides a list of ingredients and the instructions for preparing a dish,
the research design provides the components and the plan for successfully carrying
out the study. The research design is the "backbone" of the research protocol.
HypothesisThere are many ways to design a study to test a hypothesis. The research
design that is chosen depends on the type of hypothesis (e.g. Does X cause Y? or
How can I describe X and Y? or What is the relationship between X and Y?), how much
time and money the study will cost, and whether or not it is possible to find
participants. The PI has considered each of these points when designing the study
and writing the research protocol.
There are many kinds of research, however, most of them fall into two categories:
descriptive and experimental.