Research Design

A research design is a general plan or strategy for conducting a research study to examine specific testable research questions of interest. The nature of the research questions and hypotheses, the variables involved, the sample of participants, the research settings, the data collection methods, and the data analysis methods are factors that contribute to the selection of the appropriate research design. Thus, a research design is the structure, or the blueprint, of research that guides the process of research from the formulation of the research questions [Page 725]and hypotheses to reporting the research findings. In designing any research study, the researcher should be familiar with the basic steps of the research process that guide all types of research designs. Also, the researcher should be familiar with a wide range of research designs in order to choose the most appropriate design to answer the research questions and hypotheses of interest.

Generally, the research designs can be classified into one of three broad categories based on the nature of research, purpose of research, research questions, sample selection, data collection methods, and data analysis techniques: (1) quantitative research designs, (2) qualitative research designs, and (3) mixed-research designs.