RESEARCH DESIGN

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 Introduction
 Definition of research design
 Essential elements of a research design
 Characteristics of research design
 Broad classification of research design
 Sub-types of research design

-Descriptive research design

-Experimental research design

-Co relational research design

-Diagnostic research design

-Explanatory research design

 Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

 The research design refers to the overall strategy that you choose to integrate the
different components of the study in a coherent and logical way, thereby, ensuring
you will effectively address the research problem

It constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and analysis of data.

Note that the research problem determines the type of design you should use, not the
other way around!
 DEFINITION OF RESEARCH DESIGN

 Research design refers to the framework of market research methods  and techniques
that are chosen by a researcher.
 The design that is chosen by the researchers allows them to utilize the methods that
are suitable for the study and to set up their studies successfully in the future as well.
 The design of research can be qualitative, quantitative, or mixed. Under these
research designs, researchers can choose between different types of research
methods; experimental studies , surveys, co relational studies, or quasi-
experimental  review studies.
 There are also sub-types of research methods namely experimental design, defining
research problems, and descriptive studies.
 Research designs also include the elements of data collection, measurement of data
with the respective tools, and the analysis of the data.
 As a rule of thumb, the research problem a company chooses to work on is the
determining factor of the research design chosen by the researcher instead of the
other way round. 
 The market research study’s  design phase is the time when the researchers determine
the tools to be used in the study and the way they are used.
 Good research usually ensures minimum levels of bias in the data collection method
to improve both the internal and the external validity  of the research.
 The desired outcome of experimental research is to have a design that will result in
the least amount of error in the study.

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF A RESEARCH DESIGN

1. A research design cannot be decided without an accurate purpose or problem statement.

2. Research designs also include various sampling methods and tools that will be used for
collecting data for the research.

3. Research designs guide the methods used for data analysis.

4. Research designs include several types of research methodology

5. Research designs help narrow down to a probable objective of the research.

6. Different research designs require different settings for the conduction of a study.

7. Research designs also outline the general timeline it will take to conduct a study using
different research methods.

8. Research designs help researchers to narrow down to a particular measurement of analysis.

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH DESIGN

1. When you are planning to study a phenomenon you may have an assumption about the kind
of data you are expecting to collect. However, the results you find from the study should not
be driven from bias and must be neutral. In order to understand the opinions on the obtained
results, you can discuss it with multiple people and consider the points made by individuals
who agree with the results obtained.

2. When a researcher is replicating an already conducted market research, they expect similar

results. Decide the type of research questions you are going to ask through your surveys and
define that in your research design. This will help set a standard for the results. Only if your
design is reliable, it will help you obtain the expected results.
3. You need to ensure that the survey questionnaire you are using is valid. Validity refers to
the fact that the research tool you are using is measuring what it purports to measure. Only
valid tools will help researchers in gathering accurate results for their study.
4. The outcome of your research design should be generalisable to a wider population.
Findings of a good research design are generalisable to everyone and it indicates that if your
survey was to be replicated on any subgroup of the population, it would yield similar results

BROAD CLASSIFICATION OF RESEARCH DESIGN

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN:

 Quantitative research  is referred to as the process of collecting as well as analyzing

numerical data.
 It is generally used to find patterns, averages, predictions, as well as cause-effect
relationships between the variables being studied.
 It is also used to generalize the results of a particular study to the population in
consideration. 
 Quantitative research is widely used in science; both natural and social sciences.
Quantitative research provides actionable insights which are essential for the growth of
the company.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN:

 Qualitative research  can be defined as a method used for market research that aims at
obtaining data through open-ended questions and conversations with the intended
consumers.
 This method aims at establishing not only “what” people think but “how” did they come
to that opinion as well as “why” they think so.

SUB-TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN

 DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH DESIGN

 Descriptive research refers to the methods that describe the characteristics of the
variables under study.
 This methodology focuses on answering questions relating to “what” than the “why”
of the research subject.
 The primary focus of descriptive research is to simply describe the nature of the
demographics under the study instead of focusing on the “why”. 
 Descriptive research is called an observational research method as none of the
variables in the study are influenced during the process of the research.
 If the problem is not clear enough to conduct a descriptive analysis, researchers can
use exploratory research methods first.

 EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGN 

 Experimental research, also called experimentation, is research conducted using a

scientific approach using two or more variables.
 The first variable is a constant that you can manipulate to see the differences caused
in the second variable.
 Most studies under quantitative research methods are experimental in nature.
 Experimental research helps you in gathering the necessary data for you to make
better decisions about your proposed hypothesis.
 The success of experimental research usually confirms that the change observed in
the variable under study is solely based on the manipulation of the independent
variable. Experimental research design is the most practical and accurate kind of
research method which helps establishes causation.
 This research design is used in social sciences to understand and observe human
behavior. The behavior is observed by placing humans in two groups so that
researchers can make comparisons.
 CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH DESIGN

 A correlation refers to an association or a relationship between two entities.

 Co relational research studies how one entity impacts the other and what are the
changes that are observed when either one of them changes.
 This research method is carried out to understand naturally occurring relationships
between variables.
 Hence, at least two groups are required to conduct co relational quantitative research
successfully.
 The variables under this study are not in the control of the researcher, the researcher
is simply trying to establish whether or not a relationship between two variables
exists. 
 Since co relational studies only give us an understanding of whether there is a
relationship between two groups, it does not establish causation.
 Thus, it is not recommended to make conclusions just on the basis of a co relational
study; just because two variables are in sync, does not mean they are interrelated, or
that one variable is causing the changes in the other variable!
 A correlation coefficient is numeric and determines the strength of the relationship
between two variables and it ranges from -1 to +1. If the correlation coefficient
obtained is -1 it indicates a perfect negative relationship between the two variables,
i.e. as one variable increases (age) the other variable decreases (purchase of sports
products). If the correlation coefficient of a study is found to be +1 it indicates a
perfect positive relationship between the two variables, whereas one variable
increases (age) the other variable also increases (purchasing beauty enhancing
products).

 DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH DESIGN

 In a diagnostic research design, the researcher is trying to evaluate the cause of a

specific problem or phenomenon.
 This research design is used to understand more in detail the factors that are creating
problems in the company. Diagnostic research design includes three steps:
 Step-1: The inception of the issue – When did the issue arise? In what situations is
the issue more evident?
 Step-2: Diagnosis of the issue – What is the underlying cause of the issue? What is
influencing the issue to worsen?
 Step-3: Solution for the issue – What is working in curing the issue? Under what
situations does the problem seem to become less evident?

 EXPLANATORY RESEARCH DESIGN

 Explanatory research design uses the ideas and thoughts of a researcher on one
subject to be the guiding point for future studies; it is also used in exploring theories
further.
 The research focuses on explaining the unexplored patterns of phenomena and
elaborates on the details pertaining to the research questions such as; what, why, and
how.

CONCLUSION

 A good research design ensures to have all the above characteristics in a balanced
manner.
 Apart from the characteristics, researchers must also have a good understanding of
the different research design types to choose from. 
 This understanding will help them implement the most accurate research design for
their study. The design of a study can be either quantitative or qualitative.
 In rare cases, researchers do use a mix of both of these methods.