Which of the following is most important to the researcher in selecting a research design?

The challenges faced while conducting research can all be solved with research design. The greatest power of research design is that it elevates the efficiency and performance of the research when tested in a practical setup. Therefore, to incentivize your design or make it reach the masses, a research design must be at the centre of everything.

In this article, we will explore the basics of research, and understand the meaning, characteristics, and types of research design.

What is Research Design?

At the start of the research, a researcher usually chooses the techniques and methodologies they will use for the research process. The framework of research techniques and tools is called research design. It is imperative to have a well-designed and structured research design to ensure the research reaches its goal.
Interestingly, experts define research design as the glue that holds the research project together. Moreover, they exclaim that the right research design helps provide a structure and direction to the research that yields favourable results. Also believed to be the blueprint of the research, a research design has several elements, which we will be discussing in the next part of the article.

What Are the Main Elements of Research Design?

Research is a systematic investigation of discovering new knowledge or contributing to generalized knowledge. It follows a unique structure that is prescribed in the research design. So, to yield success from research, it is imperative to include elements that help solve the problem quickly. Here are some of the elements of good research design that incite great results:

• Purpose statement
• Data collection methods
• Techniques of research data analysis
• Types of research methodologies
• Challenges of the research
• Prerequisites required for research study
• The right time for the research study
• Measurement of analysis

Now that you know the elements of good research design let’s discuss the important characteristics of research design. Like, the elements, understanding the unique characteristics of research design helps add value to the research.

What Are the Characteristics of Research Design?

Here are the top characteristics of a research design:

• Reliability
Different types of research are conducted regularly. In such research, the researcher expects the research design to formulate questions that evoke similar results every time. And a good research design is reliable to satiate the researcher’s needs to generate the same results every time.

• Validity
There are many ways to measure the results of research. However, with the help of a good research design, a researcher can select the right measuring tools that help in gauging the research results and align them with the research objectives to measure its success or failure. Therefore, the research design’s measuring tools must be valid and reliable enough to generate favourable results.

• Generalized
A good research design draws an outcome that can be applied to a large set of people and is not limited to sample size or the research group. The more applicable the research results are, the more the chances of it being accurate. Therefore, a good research design helps prove the research’s relevance and accuracy.

• Neutrality
At the start of every research, a researcher needs to make some assumptions that will be tested throughout the research. A proper research design ensures that the assumptions are free of bias and neutral. Furthermore, the data collected throughout the research is based on the assumptions made at the beginning of the research.

What Are the Different Types of Research Design?

A researcher must be well-versed in different types of research design. Moreover, a clear understanding of different research design types helps choose the right technique that incites favourable outcomes. Research design is broadly divided into quantitative and qualitative research design. We’ll walk you through them in detail below.

• Quantitative research design
Quantitative research design aims at finding answers to who, what, where, how, and when through the course of research. Moreover, the outcome of the quantitative research is easy to represent in the form of statistics, graphs, charts, and numbers.

• Qualitative research design
Qualitative research design aims at answering the how and why. It uses open-ended questions and helps the subjects express their views clearly. Qualitative research is ideal for businesses that aim to understand customers’ behaviour and requirements.

Lastly, let’s look at the subsects of qualitative and quantitative research designs widely used across industries.

A Detailed Guide to Five Common Types of Research Design

1. Experimental design
The experimental design aims to look at a problem scientifically; that’s why it tries to establish a clear cause and effect of any event occurring in the research realm. Moreover, the research design tries to understand the impact of the independent variable on the dependable variable. As a result, this research is used to solve issues that try to analyze independent variables and their effect on dependable variables or vice-versa.

2. Correlational design
Correlation research design establishes a relationship between two related variables. Over time, the researcher observes the variables and then draws conclusions based on them. As a result, this type of research design requires two types of variables to function to draw favourable results.

3. Descriptive design
Descriptive research design is a hypothesis-based method that defines the primary subject matter of the research and tries to analyze it using different assumptions and techniques. This type of research design uses data collection techniques like natural observation, case studies, and surveys to derive results.

4. Diagnostic design
Diagnostic research design examines the elements posing challenges to businesses and customers. The methodology strives to explore the reason behind an issue and find solutions to solve it. Furthermore, this research design tries to solve issues in a structured form that follows three phases- inception, diagnostic, and solution.

5. Explanatory design
In this research design, the researcher explores innovative business concepts and ideas with the help of different scientific tools and techniques. This research design is ideal for a business’s research and development department because it offers innovative and creative ideas to solve a business problem.

Moreover, it can be used in companies trying to wrap their heads around design research and analytical processes and their uses in the current business milieu.

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