Running Head: RESEARCH DESIGNS 1

Research Designs

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University
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Research Designs

Ever since the existence of life on earth, curiosity has always been the part of

human psychology. This curiosity has always inspired the man to research. With a very

basic definition, research is about finding the answers to your questions but this definition

limits the meaning of this broad word. Going for a much scientific definition, research is

‘When a new work is done on systematic basis to increase the knowledge’ which can be

about culture, community and nature etc. Then on the basis of this research, a new law or

theory is proposed for the invention of new applications (Mertens, 1998). Research is not

only about gaining knowledge from newly invented facts it also reaffirms the previous

knowledge. A research can be done on a previous project for the purpose of its expansion.

Research is also used for the purpose of testing the previous facts, knowledge and even

instruments.

The difference between the modern world and the world, in which our ancestors

used to live, majorly exist because of research. Research has played an important role in

many fields of Science and Arts. In this regard, many new different methods of research

have been developed. In this paper, the major approaches to research and different

methods will be discussed which are now being used extensively in different fields.

There are three major research methods that have been adapted in the modern

world which are known as ‘qualitative’, ’quantitative’ and ‘mixed’ ones.

Qualitative Research

It is a research method which is being used in many of the disciplines including

academic, professional and traditional ones. The other areas are market research and

further contexts. These types of researchers try to evaluate the deep understanding of
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behavior of people and the reasons which are responsible for it (Berg, 2001). As decision

making involves what, when, where etc. Qualitative research is really important in

determining the ‘why’ and ‘how’ parts of decision making. A major difference in this

method of research and other ones is that quality of sample taken for a prescribed survey

or research is relatively small but is given more importance than usual.

Talking about a conservative point of view, the information gathered from this

type of method can only be helpful for the specific cases. Any attempt trying to draw

additional conclusions from this will be failed and only propositions can be deduced. In

order to do that, quantitative methods must be applied. Qualitative methods play an

important role in project evaluations. There are several other methods which are being

used, but on a less frequent basis (Cooper, Schindler & Sun, 2007). Qualitative research

methods are mostly helpful in social sciences as mostly they are in concern with social

phenomena and their development. For example about the nature, why things are so,

social aspects of world and other types of things are being studied with the help of this

type of research methods. Basically, qualitative research methods answer about three type

types of questions:

- Why

- How

- What

Data collection is perhaps the important part of qualitative methods of research. It

may include direct interview with each individual separately or having a conversation

with them in a group setting. As this task is time consuming, so the samples taken for

qualitative research methods are usually small as going for a large sample may be time
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consuming and costly. As compared to the quantitative research, the data is quite small to

avoid the consumption of time and money. It has to be kept in mind that qualitative

methods are more expensive than quantitative ones but the advantage is that the

conclusions drawn from this method of research are accurate (Sekaran, 2006). Though,

this is only true for particular case of study.

There are different methods of data collection for qualitative study which may

involve focus groups, interviews, observations and action research. Also there are special

occasions, in which ethnography, self-study and other forms are more suitable.

The ‘interview’ approach to data collection may be referred as ‘depth’ or ‘in

depth’. The interview need not to be too long as it can be allowed to have a little structure

and the good thing is that almost same questions are asked from every individual. In

special case, interviews can be subjective but that would be time consuming with an

additional advantage, that is, a great area of details is covered. Interview can also be

taken in a group or it is a kind of survey which can be taken from a group of people and

the great advantage about it is that it not time consuming and a large collection of data

can be gathered within small time. Observation is another method of data collection

which is comparatively accurate but a little consuming. In this type, researcher notices

what is happening in the nature as well as what is happening around him (Creswell &

Clark, 2007). The disadvantages involve change in the behavior of people when they

know that they are being observed and limitations of the researcher’s knowledge.

Ethnography, on the other hand, involves studying the culture and looks at the people. It

might need a researcher to arrange formal and informal interviews as well as meeting a

specific individual on multiple occasions and taking part in group observations. Another
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type, Action research, doesn’t involve only ‘observation’, it requires taking an action or

‘doing’ it. Action research is specifically collaborative and the researcher and his actions

are particularly involved in the research and a particular ‘FMA’ model is followed. FMA

model is:

- Framework of ideas

- Methodology

- Area, which is concerned

Also, there are other forms of data collection which vary from longitudinal

research to panel studies. These are the type of methods, which are used on less frequent

basis and are useful for only special areas of research.

Quantitative Research

Structure and the process are two most important ingredients of a research. The

method or approach in which research is being carried out is equally important. It is

necessary for a researcher to choose the right type otherwise it could have negative

consequences for research. Quantitative research methods are mostly based upon methods

which are used in the natural sciences (Trochim & Donnelly, 2001). Comparing to

qualitative methods, the data collection can be a bit similar in both methods, but the

amount of data taken in quantitative method is quite large and it is not so time

consuming.

Quantitative research methods are often used to find out how many, how often

and how much. Also, unlike qualitative approach, the results obtained after quantitative

research can be used to deduce the further result and it is often applicable for larger

number of cases. These types of research methods tend to be scientific and objective and
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the results determined are quite accurate, even close to the perfect ones. Mostly,

quantitative methods are used for assessment and measurement of a particular thing. In

the modern world, quantitative research is also being done through e-mail which has

made it easier to do multiple researches for any one.

Normally, there are two types of theories which are best deducible from

quantitative research named as ‘empiricism’ and ‘positivist’. The advantages offered by

the quantitative research involve deductibility, easy testing and they are useful for the

purpose of making generalizations. These types of research methods are especially useful

in different areas of Mathematics where deductions of generalizations are more important

for a researcher (Bryman, 2012). The importance of quantitative research methods exist

because they are more scientific and objective in nature and the further information

deduced from the results after implementing quantitative approach. As these types of

methods are useful to test the hypothesis or general observations, these are often applied

for the purpose of reaffirming the previous knowledge.

One more important thing about the quantitative research methods is that the

sample taken for study during the stage of data collection is usually large and sometimes

it is so large that it can be taken enough as a representative for the whole population.

Unlike qualitative approach, analysis of data is the most important stage in

quantitative methods. The methods used to verify data vary from Lab experiments, field

experiments and quasi-or natural experiments. Social surveys or in other words

questionnaires are very useful in this type of research as these are less time consuming

and enable the researcher to gather the large piece of information within small time. The

data collected from large number of people in this regard is standardized and can be used
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to deduce further result about a particular behavior or trend. In simple words, the data is

collected in statistical forms. Developing a questionnaire specially requires a lot of

attention from the researcher’s side. It depends upon several factors which vary from

researcher’s previous knowledge to the purpose of research. There are several advantages

and consequences which are offered by the questionnaires. The advantages involve

practicality, cost-efficiency and reliability. While on the other hand, disadvantages are

that it can be inadequate and lacks validity in several cases. Also, it can be suspicious

because there is no way to tell that to what extent, the respondent is providing useful

information.

Questions involve in a questionnaire can be of two types:

- Open ended

- Closed

The former type lacks the proper definition of quantitative research and it makes

more difficult to extract quantifiable data from it. Quantitative type of research methods

are being extensively used in the modern world for different studies, especially in the area

of business administration. For example, quantitative research can be used to count the

number of people who are using a current service. It also can be used for the purpose of

predictability, for example to predict the population of a country after 10 years.

Mixed methods of Research

In modern world, mixed methods of research are being extensively used for the

purpose of extracting useful information. In fact, there are minor occasions when purely

qualitative and quantitative methods are applied. There are other methods which are

mixture of the above mentioned methodologies (Saunders et al.,2011). Though, these

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types of methods are useful for particular area of studies, yet someone can’t deny their

importance.

As it has been mentioned above that during many different researches, both types

of methods are applied, it depends upon the purpose of researcher and the approach

which most suitable for the particular case. The researcher has to adjust a suitable reading

on a scale with extreme values of ‘purely quantitative’ and ‘purely qualitative’. Several

mixed methods are available which can be used as per requirement:

- Quasi-experimental

- Experimental

- Correlation

- Meta-analysis

In the first one, two different groups are compared. The difference between them

that one group is influenced by an external source and the other one is not.

In correlation analysis, which is also known as regression analysis and is being widely

used in the different areas of statistics and business statistical management, two different

variables are compared. It is determined that to what extent, both variables are connected

(Thomas, Nelson & Silverman, 2010). It is being widely used in stock market and foreign

exchange market for the purpose of determining strength between two different stocks,

currencies or commodities.

In experimental method, sample is divided into two groups. One group receives

intervention while the other one does not and then a difference is noted. For example, an

experimental analysis can be done to note the difference between people who drink wine

regularly with those who don’t.

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Meta-analysis is useful for finding out the average impact because of several

studies on a particular hypothesis which is yet to be tested or being tested.

It is important, that the researcher should choose a vital and suitable method of

research to get accurate results (Liamputtong & Ezzy, 2005). As it has been determined,

that if someone is using quantitative approach he might want measure variables or verify

existing theories and laws or he may want to be objective and want to deduce further

generalization after obtaining the results. However, this approach is not suitable for every

research as not every problem involves number crunching and measurements. Sometimes

a researcher wants to understand particular beliefs and experiences which can better be

explained through qualitative approach. Even the most objective method being used for

research may involve qualitative approach to some extent and thus one cannot determine

that which one is best.

It is much important, while doing a research, to select the most appropriate

research method which will enable the researcher to collect the suitable data and answer

his questions. It depends upon the chief goal of the research. If someone is more

interested in following an objective approach, he should really be going for the

quantitative method. If someone wants to produce a thick description of a particular

society or a case or a group he should go for qualitative one. As each one involves a

different type of planning and practicing, so it is a good idea to take a good look at the

chief goal before even taking a start. In some cases, neither qualitative nor quantitative

methods are useful and mixed approaches seem to be best and it has been proved in many

cases. The knowledge of choosing a suitable methodology comes with knowledge and

experience. In case of wrong selection, it may affect the results in a bad way and it is
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often difficult to change the bias during the procedure and the researcher will be needed

to start the process again.

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References

Berg, B. (2001). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences. Boston: Allyn and

Bacon.

Bryman, A. (2012). Social research methods. Oxford university press.

Cooper, D., Schindler, P., & Sun, J. (2007). Business research methods. Beijing:

Zhongguo ren min da xue chu ban she.

Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. L. P. (2007). Designing and conducting mixed methods

research.

Liamputtong, P., & Ezzy, D. (2005). Qualitative research methods.

Mertens, D. M. (1998). Research methods in education and psychology: Integrating

diversity with quantitative & qualitative approaches.

Saunders, M. N., Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2011). Research methods for

business students, 5/e. Pearson Education India.

Sekaran, U. (2006). Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John

Wiley & Sons.

Thomas, J. R., Nelson, J. K., & Silverman, S. J. (2010). Research methods in physical

activity. Human Kinetics.

Trochim, W. M., & Donnelly, J. P. (2001). Research methods knowledge base.