RESEARCH DESIGN

Shah Ehsan Habib, PhD (UNSW, Australia)

Professor
Department of Sociology
University of Dhaka
E-mail: se_habib@hotmail.com

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 WHAT IS RESEARCH DESIGN?

• A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection

and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to
the research purpose with economy in procedure.
• Decisions regarding what, where, when, how much, by what
means concerning an enquiry or a research study

A research design must contain:

• A clear statement of the research problem;
• Procedures and techniques to be used for gathering information;
• The population to be studied; and
• Methods to be used in processing and analysing data.

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 Research Design
• This involves:
– Defining the problem/research question
– Review of related literature
– Planning the research
• What methodology will you use?
• What data do you want to use/produce?
• How feasible is your research approach?
– Ethical considerations.
 What is Research Design?
• A research design provides the framework for the
collection and analysis of data.
• A choice of research design reflects decisions
about the priority being given to a range of
dimensions of the research process.
• Involves research method.
– Research method is simply a technique for collecting
data. It can involve a specific instrument such as a
self-completion questionnaire or a structured
interview etc.
 WHAT IS RESEARCH DESIGN?

• Research design refers to the structure of an enquiry: it is a logical

matter rather than a logistical one.

• Social research needs a design or a structure before data collection or

analysis can commence.

• A research design is not just a work plan but a work plan details what
has to be done to complete the project

• Research design is a logical task undertaken to ensure that the evidence

collected enables us to answer questions or to test theories as
unambiguously as possible.

• Any research design can, in principle, use any type of data collection
method and can use either quantitative or qualitative data.

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 PARTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN

1. Sampling design: which deals with the methods of

selecting items to be observed for the study.
2. Observational design: which relates to the condition
under which the observation are to be created
3. Statistical design: which concern the question of the
“how the information and data gathered are to be
analysed”
4. Operational design: which deals with techniques by
which the procedures satisfied in sampling

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 FEATURES OF A GOOD RESEARCH DESIGN

•The mean of obtaining information

•The availability and skills of the researcher and his/her staff, if
any
•The objective of the problem to be studied
•The availability of time and money for the research work

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 Tools of Research
• The library and its resources
• The computer and its software
• Techniques of measurement
• Statistics
• Facility with language

• Tools are not research methods – e.g. library research and

statistical research are meaningless terms.
• Tools help your research methods.

How familiar are you with these

tools?
What do you need to think about
when Designing Research?
• What is the purpose of the research?
• What are your units of analysis?
• What are your points of focus?
• What is the time dimension?
• Designing a research project:
– conceptualisation
– operationalisation.
• Reliability, replication and validity.
 Different Purposes of Research (1)
• Exploratory
– Goal is to generate many ideas.
– Develop tentative theories and conjectures.
– Become familiar with the basic facts, people and
concerns involved.
– Formulate questions and refine issues for future
research.
– Used when little is written on an issue.
– It is the initial research.
– Usually qualitative research.
 Different Purposes of Research (2)
• Descriptive research
– Presents a profile of a group or describes a process,
mechanism or relationship or presents basic background
information or a context.
– Used very often in applied research.
– E.g.: General Household survey – describes demographic
characteristics, economic factors and social trends.
– Can be used to monitor changes in family structure and
household composition.
– Can also be used to gain an insight into the changing social
and economic circumstances of population groups.
– Often survey research.
 Different Purposes of Research
(3)
• Analytical (or explanatory)
– goes beyond simple description to model
empirically the social phenomena under
investigation.
– It involves theory testing or elaboration of a
theory.
– Used mostly in basic research.
 Different Purposes of Research
(4)
• Evaluation
– characterised by the focus on collecting data to
ascertain the effects of some form of planned change.
– Used in applied research to evaluate a policy initiative
or social programme to determine if it is working.
– Can be small or large scale, e.g.: effectiveness of a
crime prevention programme in a local housing estate.
Types of Research Study Designs

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Relationship between Research Design and
Particular Data Collection

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 Units of Analysis
Can be
• individuals,
• groups,
• organizations,
• social artefacts
• (i.e. products of social beings, for example, books, poems, paintings,
automobiles, buildings, songs, pottery, jokes and scientific discoveries).
• behaviours
(eg: social interactions, such as friendship choices, court cases, traffic
accidents.

Weddings (as a unit of analysis) –

might be characterised as being religious or secular or ethnically or
religiously mixed resulting in divorce or not or they could characterised by
descriptions of one or both of the marriage partners.
 Points of Focus
1. Characteristics
2. Orientations
(attitudes, beliefs, prejudices, personality traits)
3. Organizations
(would be in terms of policy, procedures etc
4. Social interactions, actions.
 Other things to Note
• Time dimension – cross-sectional or longitudinal
• Conceptualisation – i.e. you must specify the meanings of the
concepts and variables to be studied.
• Operationalization – how will we actually measure the variables
under study?
• Reliability – are the results repeatable? – relevant to quantitative
social research.
• Replication - can others replicate the results?
• Validity – will examine later but are the results a true reflection of
the world? Internal (are they measuring the underlying
pheonomenon)/external (generalise to the population)
 Steps in Research Design
1. Choose a Topic

2. Focus research question

3. Design the study

4. Collect the data

5. Analyse the data

6. Interpret the data

7. Present the results

 Defining the Research Problem
• State your research problem.
• Are there any sub-problems?
• What is the background (literature review) on this
problem?
• What is good about tackling this problem? Why should
we be interested in answering the research question?
• Discuss your problem with experts.
• Have you looked at this problem from all sides to
minimize unwanted surprises?
• Think through the process. Are you capable of
addressing the issue? Can you foresee any pitfalls in data
collection and analysis? What tools are available for you
to use?
• What research procedure will you follow?
 Research Design
• Where to start?
– Compile questions.
• Title.
• Background/information.
• Literature review.
• Aims and objectives.
• Methods.
• Timetable.
• Data analysis.
• Ethical issues.
• Resources.
• Dissemination?
 Designing the Research
After stating your research problem, you need to think about what
approach you will use to the problem. Will it be quantitative or
qualitative?

Homework
• The Ministry of Health in Bangladesh has realised that the
uptake of Corona Virus testing and use of mask amongst the
people in Dhaka city is low. How would they discover the
reasons for this?
 Research Proposal
(More formal than Research Design)
• Title
• Statement of research question
• Remember to stress why the problem is important!
• Background/information
• Aims and objectives of the study
• Methods
• Timetable
• Data analysis
• Ethical issues
• In Funding applications, add
– Resources/Budget
– Dissemination
 Qualitative Research Proposal
• Qualitative Research Proposal is more difficult to write as
it is less structured and pre-planed.
1. Demonstrate ability to complete a proposed qualitative project –
use an extensive discussion of the literature and the significance
of the problem and sources. (This shows reviewers that you are
familiar with qualitative research and the appropriateness of the
method for studying the problem).
2. Also describe a qualitative pilot study you have conducted.
(This demonstrates your motivation, familiarity with research
techniques and ability to complete a report about unstructured
research).
 Ethical Issues
• Informed Consent
• Respect for privacy
• Confidentiality and anonymity of data
• What is permissible to ask?
• No harm to researchers or subjects
• No deceit or lying in the course of research
• Consequences of publication
 Research Design Exercise
• Draft an outline proposal on one of the following:
– Low perceived susceptibility to Corona virus (COVID-
19) among Muslims with strong religious ideals in
Bangladesh
– Corruption during food distribution
• Discuss the outline proposal with the following in mind:
• How would you clarify the reasons for planning the
study?
• What does the study aim to achieve?
• How will it be done?
• Will the findings be useful?
TYPES OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
DESIGNS

– Descriptive X? Y? Z?
• What is X, Y, and Z?

– Correlational rxy.z
• Is there a relationship between X and Y?

– Causal ΔX  ΔY?
• Does a change in X cause a change in Y?
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 CAUSATION VS. CORRELATION

The concept of
• Causation: While we can observe correlation we cannot
observe cause. We have to infer cause.
• Example: Spousal conflict may not cause divorce, other
social factors such as individualism, secularization might
cause divorce
• Correlation : If two factors co-vary (correlation), it does
not mean that one causes the other
Example: the number of fuel tank at a petrol station and the
amount of damage caused by the fire (the more fuel tanks
at fire the more damage).
• Prediction

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EXPERIMENTAL VS. CONTROL GROUPS

When a group is exposed to usual conditions, it is

termed as a Control group.
But when the group is exposed to be some special
condition, it is termed as Experimental group.

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 CONCEPT OF CAUSATION
• 1. Deterministic: Deterministic causation is where variable
X is said to cause Y if, and
only if, X invariably produces Y.
Example: whenever water is heated to 100 degree C it always
boils.
• In reality laws are never this simple. They will always
specify particular conditions under which that law
operates. Indeed a great deal of scientific investigation
involves specifying the conditions under which particular
laws operate. Thus, we might say that at sea level heating
pure water to 100 ¾C will always cause water to boil.
• Deterministic causation in the social sciences sounds odd
due to complexity of human social behaviour and the
subjective, meaningful and voluntaristic components of
human behaviour
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 CONCEPT OF CAUSATION

2. Probabilistic: the use of tobacco increases chances

of cancer among smokers
Most causal thinking in the social sciences is
probabilistic rather than deterministic
• We can improve probabilistic explanations by
specifying conditions under which X is less likely
and more likely to affect Y. But we will never
achieve complete or deterministic explanations.
Example: being female increases the probability of
working part time; or race affects the probability of
having a high status job.
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 Theory and Research
• Theories can be categorized by:
Direction of reasoning (deductive/inductive)
Level of social reality that it is explaining
(macro/meso/micro)
Whether it is formal (general) or substantive
(specific).
 DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE APPROACH
TO THEORY BUILDING

DEDUCTIVE:
Theory → Hypothesis → Empirical observation & validation
→ Confirmation of theory
INDUCTIVE:
Observation → Identifying trend/pattern → Tentative
hypothesis → Theory building

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 Research Design
Logic of the research process
Theory
Starting point of
theory testing

Deduction
Inference

New theory Proposition

Implications for
propositions

Analyse Develop
data measures,
sample etc

Collect data
(Starting point of
theory building)

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 COMPONENTS OF STUDY
DESIGN/METHODOLOCY
• Types of study
• Data collection techniques
• Selection of study area
• Sample size
• Sampling procedure
• Plan for data collection
• Plan for data processing and analysis
• Pre-test or pilot study
• Ethical considerations
• Reliability and validity 35
 RESEARCH DESIGNS IN RESPECT OF
TYPES OF STUDY
Research Design Exploratory research Descriptive research

Overall Design Flexible design Rigid design

Sampling Design Non-probability sampling design Probability sampling design

Statistical Design No pre-planned design for analysis Pre-planned design for

analysis

Observational Design Unstructured instruments for Structured instruments for

collection of data collection of data

Operational Design No fixed decisions about the Advanced decisions about

operational procedures operational procedures

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 RESEARCH DESIGN IN QUALITATIVE
METHOD

• Ethnography
• Phenomenology
• Hermeneutics
• Grounded Theory
• Historical
• Case Study
• Narrative

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 RESEARCH DESIGN
The concept of
• Causation: While we can observe correlation we cannot
observe cause. We have to infer cause.
• Example: Spousal conflict may not cause divorce, other
social factors such as individualism, secularization might
cause divorce
• Correlation : If two factors co-vary (correlation), it does
not mean that one causes the other
Example: the number of fuel tank at a petrol station and the
amount of damage caused by the fire (the more fuel tanks
at fire the more damage).
• Prediction

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 RESEARCH PROCESS
(STEPS IN RESEARCH)
Choose a topic

Refine a topic into research

  question

Design study
 

Collect data

Analyse data

Interpret data

Inform others

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 Research Design
Logic of the research process
Theory
Starting point of
theory testing

Deduction
Inference

New theory Proposition

Implications for
propositions

Analyse Develop
data measures,
sample etc

Collect data
(Starting point of
theory building)

40
 COMPONENTS OF STUDY
DESIGN/METHODOLOCY
• Types of study
• Data collection techniques
• Selection of study area
• Sample size
• Sampling procedure
• Plan for data collection
• Plan for data processing and analysis
• Pre-test or pilot study
• Ethical considerations
• Reliability and validity 41