Research design

1. Research design How to conduct good investigation in social sciences Albu Iulian Alexandru

2. First of we need a Design But what is a Design ?

3. Design • Is a strategy that directs a researcher in planning and implementing a study in a way that is most likely to achieve the intended goal

4. Research Design • Every research project has animplicit or explicit logicthat provides the framework for theresearch and guides the research strategy. • It is the plan, the structureand the strategy of the investigation, so conceived as to obtainanswers to research questionsor problems

5. Facts • There arethus two functions of research design: first, to develop or conceptualize an operational plan and the second, toensure that the procedures adopted within the plan areadequate to provide valid, objectiveand accurate solutionsto the research problems. Usually the researcher has limited funds and limited time to do the research.

6. The research types • There aretwo main ways of viewingthe process of research: • Linear model • Wheel model

7. The linear model • The first stage consists of deciding on the topicof the researchproject, specifying its scope, developing hypotheses to explain itsworking, and developing a conceptual framework or model showingthe relationships between the different hypotheses and variables theresearcher wishes to investigate. • It includesall the thinking and theorizingthat has to be done before the empirical work can begin.

8. Linear model

9. Data Specification • The second stage consists of deciding what kinds of data are appropriatefor answering the research questions, testing the hypotheses orinvestigatingthe accuracy of the model. • Depend onthe naturę of the research problem but also on the kinds of data thatareavailable and that can be generated and collected.

10. Data colection • This stage is the actual process of collecting the data.

11. Coding • Once the data has been collected, it needs to be coded so that analysisof the results can take place moreefficiently.

12. Data analysis • The analysis of data is never as straightforward as might be thought.

13. Publication • The final stage of research is the publication of the results. Thisusually occurs in the form of a report, academic papers or a book.

14. The linear model summary

15. The research wheel • In the research process as wheel, the researcher follows a not dissimilarset of steps to the linear model but may repeat some of the steps • The research process can thus be shown as a large circle containing internal circles.

18. MORE PONYS

19. Experimental design • Experimentaldesign a research design that eliminates all factors that influence outcome except for the cause being studied (independent variable). All other factors are controlled by randomization, investigator-controlled manipulation of the independent variable, and control of the study situation by the investigator, including the use of control groups. • Experiments arę widely considered to be the best way of determiningcause and effect in scientific research.

20. Cross-sectional design • As experimentsareso difficult to carry out in real life, social scientistshave adopted cross-sectional design as one of their most popularresearch designs. Cross-sectional design involves the collection ofinformation on a large number of cases at a single point in time.

21. Longitudinal design • Longitudinaldesign a research strategy in which one or more group(s) of subjects in various stages of development are examined simultaneously with the intent of inferring trends over time. The assumption is that the phenomenon under study progresses with time. • The major limitation of cross-sectional design is that it is unable toexplain change over time.

22. Case study design • Casestudy design an investigation strategy involving extensive exploration of a single unit of study, which may be a person, family, group, community, or institution, or a very small number of subjects who are examined intensively. The number of variables is usually very large. • Case studies arean extremely popular form of research design andarewidely used throughout the social sciences. Case studies enableresearchers to focus on a single individual, group, community, event,policy area or institution, and study it in depth, perhaps over anextended period of time.

23. Example

24. Comparative design • Comparative design is one of the most important research designs in political scienceand compares two or more groups on one variable. • Example: comparing the grades of female students to the grades of male students.

25. Conclusion • The planning and execution of a research project arecritical to itssuccess. This plan or research design involves determining the objectof the research, developing research questions, transformingthese questions into hypotheses, and deciding on the appropriate research strategy

26. And now a

27. Bibliography • Research Methods_1.pdf • http://csdiworkshop.org/v2/ • http://pjlor.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/chapter-4-draft-2011-04-20.pdf • http://knowledge.sagepub.com/view/advanced-design-in-nursing-research-2e/n6.xml • http://www2.uiah.fi/projects/metodi/172.htm • http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080304181833AART7Bb • http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/experimental+design • http://www.scribd.com/doc/36181846/Designul-Experimental-curs7 • http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/desexper.php • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_of_experiments • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_study • http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR13-4/baxter.pdf • http://www2.pathfinder.org/site/DocServer/m_e_tool_series_case_study.pdf

28. Thank you