1

EPPD8013
ADVANCED RESEARCH
METHODS

LECTURE 4B:
RESEARCH DESIGN

AP Datin Dr. Nor Liza Abdullah

Center for
Value
Creation and
Human
Well-being
The Research Onion
Research Design

▪ Blueprint of research
▪ A plan that consists of structure and strategy of
investigation conceived so as to obtain answer
to research questions and to control variance.
▪ A blueprint or a plan for the collection,
measurement, and analysis of data created to
answer your research.
Research Design

▪ A systematic plan to study a problem

▪ 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.
 What is A Research Design?

▪ The general plan of how you will go about answering research question
▫ Social research needs a design or a structure before data collection or
analysis can commence
▫ The function is to ensure that the evidence obtained enables us to answer
the initial question as unambiguously as possible.
▪ Obtaining relevant evidence
▫ Entails specifying the type of evidence needed to answer the research
question, to test a theory, to evaluate a program or to accurately describe
some phenomenon.
▪ When designing research, we need to ask:
▪ Given this research question (or theory), what type of evidence is needed
to answer the question (or test the theory) in a convincing way?
▪ Good research design
▫ Minimize errors
▫ Maximize reliability and validity of data
▫ Accuracy in implication
Research Design

▪ 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 ?
 What is A Research Design?

Research design - a well-structured plan for the entire research

process that defines:
▪ The research topic,
▪ The research purpose or problem statement (problem, puzzle, or
gap that exists in your field),
▪ The research scope,
▪ The research question(s),
▪ The type of study best suited to answer the research question(s),
▪ The research methods,
▪ The expected outcomes of our research (the implications of our
expected findings
Importance of Research
Design

▪ Smooth progress of the research project

▪ Yield maximum information with minimal
▪ resources
▪ A better and more reliable result, validity
▪ Helps in identifying inadequacies and flaws
before commencing the study
Good Research Design

▪ Yields maximum information (avoids collecting

unnecessary data)
▪ Maximizes reliability of results
▪ Provides firm foundation
▪ Helps organizing one’s ideas
▪ Give chances to foresee flaws & inadequacies
▪ Incorporates by learning from others
▪ critical comments & evaluation
▪ Researchers examine data critically
▪ Data valid and verifiable
▪ Researchers specify limits
 Research Design vs.
Research Method
Research Design
A logical structure of the inquiry.
Overall structure of the research
Focus on what type of study is
planned and what kind of results
are expected
Based on the research question of
the problem
Research Method
A way by which data are collected.
Procedures that will be used to
collect and analyze the data
Focus on what type of methods are
more suitable to collect data and
analyze the evidence needed
Depends on the research design
 Research Design &
Research Method

Design Type Cross- Longitudinal Experiment Case Study

sectional Design

Methods of Questionnaire Questionnaire Questionnaire Questionnaire

Data Interview Interview Interview Interview
Collection
Observation Observation Observation Observation
Analysis of Analysis of Analysis of Analysis of
document document document document
Unobtrusive Unobtrusive Unobtrusive Unobtrusive
methods methods methods methods
 Elements of Research
Design

Elements Description
Purpose of study Exploratory, descriptive, causal (explanatory)
Extent of research Minimal, moderate, excessive interference
interference
Location Study setting
Research strategy Experiment, surveys, interviews, case studies
Temporal aspects Time horizon
Unit of analysis The level at which the data will be analyzed
Sampling design Types of sample to be used
Measurement How variables will be measured
Data analysis How data are analyzed to test the hypothesis
Types of Research

Types of research from the

viewpoint of

Types of
Application Purpose/objectives
information

Pure research Exploratory Quantitative

Applied
Descriptive Qualitative
research

Causal
(Explanatory)
 Research Design: Purpose
of Study
Purpose Exploratory Descriptive Causal

Objective Discover ideas and Describe characteristics Determine cause and

insights and functions effect relationships
Characteristics • Flexible • Marked by prior • Manipulation of one or
• Versatile formulation of specific more independent
• Often pioneer in new hypothesis variables
topics • Preplanned and • Control of other
structured design mediating variables
Methods • Expert surveys • Secondary data Experiments
• Pilot surveys (analyzed
• Secondary data quantitatively)
(analyzed qualitatively) • Surveys
• Qualitative research • Panels
• Observational and
other data
Sample Non-representative Representative Representative

Research environment Relaxed Formal Highly controlled

Findings Preliminary Conclusive Conclusive

Researcher Interference

• The extent to which the study is

manipulated and controlled by the
researcher

▪ 3 types of interference:
▫ Minimal interference
▫ Moderate interference
▫ Excessive interference
 Different Degree of
Researcher Interference
Minimal
Example 1
Want to test the relationship
between the emotional
support and the stress level
experienced by the nursing
staff at a hospital.
Corelational study
• Collect data from the nurses
through questionnaires
• Measure emotional support
and stress
• Check for the relationship.
Moderate
Example 2
Want to determine that if the nurses
had emotional support from doctors
and technicians, this would cause
them to experience less stress.
Causal study
• Hypothesis: Emotional support helps
to reduce stress
• Researcher purposely manipulate
the extent of emotional support
o Group 1- doctors and
technicians provide emotional
support to the nurses when they
face stressful events
o Group 2- only technicians
support the nurses
o Group 3 – no emotional support
• Findings would likely show Group 1
has lowest stress level.
• But there might be external factors
that effect the stress level.
Excessive
Example 3:
Control the external factors that
might effect the stress level
• Divide medical students into 3
group
• Assign them the same task
(medical task)
o Group 1- doctors provide
assistance in the task
o Group 2- doctors are nearby,
only offer assistance if sought
o Group 3 – no assistance
available
• Excessive interference and
artificial setting
• Can establish cause-and-effect
relationship (causal relationship).
 Study Setting

1) Non-contrived setting
▫ Natural setting.
▫ Studies conducted to establish cause and effect
relationship using the same natural environment in
which sample normally functions are called field
experiments

2) Contrived setting
▫ Artificial setting
(Persekitaran buatan)
▫ Experiments done to establish cause and effect
relationships in a contrived environment and strictly
controlled are called lab experiments.
Quantitative & Qualitative
Research

▪ Research designs are often equated with qualitative and

quantitative research methods.

▪ Quantitative Research
▫ Social surveys and experiments
Frequently viewed as prime examples of quantitative research and
are evaluated against the strengths and weaknesses of statistical,
quantitative research methods and analysis.

▪ Qualitative Research
▫ Case studies
Often seen as prime examples of qualitative research which
adopts an interpretive approach to data, studies `things' within
their context and considers the subjective meanings that people
bring to their situation
 Types of Research
Design

Types of Research Design

Quantitative Combined Qualitative

Non- Non-
Experimental Interactive
Experimental interactive

• Explanatory
• Exploratory • Ethnography
• True • Triangulation
• Descriptive • Phenomenology
experimental • Concept
• Comparative • Case study
• Quasi analysis
• Correlational • Grounded
experimental • Historical
• Survey theory
• Single analysis
• Ex post facto • Critical studies
subject
 Level of Analysis

▪ Level of aggregation of the data collected during data

analysis:

Examples:
▫ Individuals
▫ Dyad (two-person group)
▫ Groups
▫ Organizations
▫ Cultures
 Time Horizon

▪ When are data collected?

1) Cross-sectional studies
2) Longitudinal studies
Fundamental Types of RQ

▪ What is going on (descriptive research)?

▫ The population census, the collection of a wide range of
social indicators and economic information such as
household expenditure patterns, time use studies,
employment and crime statistics and the like.

▪ Why is it going on (explanatory research)?

▫ Focuses on why questions.
▫ Describe the crime rate in a country, trends over time or
to compare the rates in different countries.
▫ Develop explanations about why the crime rate is as
high as it is, why some types of crime are increasing or
why the rate is higher in some countries than in others
Descriptive vs. Explanatory

▪ The way in which researchers develop research

designs is fundamentally affected by whether the
research question is descriptive or explanatory.
▪ Answering the `why' questions involves developing
causal explanations.
▪ Causal explanations argue that phenomenon Y (e.g.
income level) is affected by factor X (e.g. gender)
▪ Some causal explanations will be simple while
others will be more complex.
Prediction, Correlation and
Causation

▪ Correlation vs. Causation

▫ Simply because one event follows another, or two factors co-
vary, does not mean that one causes the other.
▫ The link between two events may be coincidental rather than
causal.
▪ Prediction with causation and prediction with explanation
▫ Where two events or characteristics are correlated we can
predict one from the other.
▫ e.g. Predicting performance on the basis of school type does
not tell us why private school students do better.
▪ Good prediction does not depend on causal relationships
▫ Nor does the ability to predict accurately demonstrate
anything about causality
▫ While we can observe correlation we cannot observe cause.
We have to infer cause.
THANK YOU
ALL THE BEST