Principles, Practices and Dynamics of Research Management LECTURE-4 Research Design

1. Principles, Practices and Dynamics of Research Management LECTURE-4Research Design KaziNurmohammadHossainulHaqueSenior Lecturer, Civil Service College Dhaka MPA 5th Batch (2010-11)15 January 2011 SaturdayBIAM Foundation Complex

2. Discussion Topics

3. Defining Research Design • “‘Design’ ... is a process of deliberate anticipation directed (to bring) an expected situation under control.” • Designing – apriori decision-making about a situation as it unfolds. • Research design – A systemic approach to establish a plan of action to implement the research. • A simulated construction of research action. • The arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data. • Simply, research design is an operational plan for a proposed research, a kind of ‘mapping strategy’.

4. Research Design: Broader Components

5. Components of Research Design

6. Components of Research Design (Cont.) • Problem statement: • A statement on the nature of the research problem • Should define temporal, geographical and conceptual limits of the research work • Clarifications: Definitions, Delimitations, Assumptions, Theoretical/conceptual bases • Positioning the research: An indication of the connection of the research to a ‘theoretical/conceptual’ or ‘discipline’ or ‘policy’ field • Research objectives: A statement regarding the objectives to be attained through this research

7. Components of Research Design (Cont.) • Research question(s) and sub-question(s): • Formation of questions and/or hypotheses that are examined in the research • Research questions needs to be as ‘precise’ and ‘concise’ as possible • Indication to relationships between theories, concepts, variables, phenomena and/or events • Questions/hypotheses – vital role in research design through determining scope and focus • If relevant, formulation of sub-questions and/or operational hypotheses • Sub-questions further help define what relations the research is observing and explaining

8. Components of Research Design (Cont.) • Research question(s) and sub-question(s) (cont.): • Variable:- • A general category of objectives, events or situations, i.e. sex, income, social class • Within this category, specific instances will vary • Variable is a measurable dimension of a concept • Research involve manipulation or measurement of variable • Variables must have at least two values • Explanation and analysis of the changes and differences in the variables is at the crux of research

9. Components of Research Design (Cont.) • Research question(s) and sub-question(s) (cont.): • Variable:- • Typology of variable: nature & effect (causality)

10. Components of Research Design (Cont.) • Research question(s) and sub-question(s) (cont.): • Hypothesis:- • Formulation of hypothesis for presuming problems that requires systemic inquiry. • Hypothesis formulation gives direction in which way facts are to be arranged so irrelevant facts can be eliminated from relevant facts. • Characteristics of hypothesis:

11. Components of Research Design (Cont.) • Research question(s) and sub-question(s) (cont.): • Hypothesis:- Sources • Specialized knowledge field • Publications i.e. published studies, research abstracts, journals, books, papers etc. • Experiences and observations • Discussions and deliberations

12. Components of Research Design (Cont.) • Research question(s) and sub-question(s) (cont.): • Hypothesis:- Process of developing hypothesis • Inductive reasoning deductive reasoning Generalization, abstraction, theory Prediction, expectation, hypothesis Observations, facts, evidence Observations, facts, evidence

13. Components of Research Design (Cont.) • Research question(s) and sub-question(s) (cont.): • Variable & Hypothesis: • Operational definition of variables/concepts: • Difficulties of operationalization:

14. Components of Research Design (Cont.) • Brief Theoretical/Analytical Review: • A short discussion of relevant theoretical background • An introduction of main analytical approaches to be examined and used • One of the main functions of theory – providing explanation of processes and predict possible movements of certain variables • Theories explain causal and natural relationship of variables • Social problems and issues are complex and interrelated by nature – difficulty to give a comprehensive and satisfactory analysis – so use of analytical approaches, combining theories in an integrated framework of analysis

15. Components of Research Design (Cont.) • Research Methodology: • An argued indication of the sources of data: • An argued choice for data collection, data analysis and data processing techniques • Primary data, secondary data • Different methods: (i) Survey of documents and other (secondary) sources, (ii) Observations, (iii) Questionnaire, (iv) Interview, (v) Case Study • Research methods are tools and techniques for attacking research problem. But tools and techniques themselves are not enough without their appropriate uses.

16. Components of Research Design (Cont.) • Research schedule: • A timetable, which is important for the student’s own monitoring of progress and for the planning and co-ordination of supervision • Table of contents • Indicative reference list