Types of Research Design

Arjun K. Shrestha
KUSOM
Session 13
 Types of Research Design

 Different scholars suggest several typologies of

research design; for example:
 Controlled experiment, study, survey,
investigation, and action research (McGrath,
1970)
 Formative or exploratory studies, descriptive
studies, and studies testing causal
hypothesis (Selltiz, Wrightsman, & Cook,
1981)
 Descriptive, causal, and experimental
(Cooper & Schindler, 2003)
 Types of Research Design

 Generally can be classified into five different

categories:
 Exploratory
 Descriptive
 Comparative
 Interventional
 Qualitative
 Exploratory Research Design

 Exploratory research –
“ A study undertaken in areas where very little
prior knowledge or information is available on
the subject under investigation”
 An initial research conducted to study and
define nature of a problem
 Generally undertaken when we do not know
much about the situation at hand
 Purpose of Exploratory Research
Design
 Purpose is to achieve new insights into a
phenomenon; three purposes:
 Diagnosing a situation
 Screening alternatives
 Discovering new ideas
 Some qualitative studies where data are collected
through observation or interviews exploratory in
nature
 The data from these qualitative studies reveal
some pattern regarding the phenomena of
interest, which lead to development of theories
and formulation of hypotheses
 Characteristics of Exploratory
Research Design
 No set method for conducting research,
imagination and flexibility required, less
structured and more informal
 Not characterized by formal design, may not be
very scientific in nature
 Number of informal approaches may be utilized
to define problem and gather data
 Provides a clear picture of the phenomenon
leading to further research
 Descriptive Research Design
 Describe phenomena as they exist
 Involves systematic collection and presentation
of data to give a clear picture of a particular
situation – more scientific as compared to
exploratory studies
 Attempts to obtain a complete and accurate
description of a situation
 Can be classified into several types – however
are not mutually exclusive
 Types of Descriptive Research
Design
 Can be classified into the following five
categories:
 Historical
 Descriptive
 Developmental
 Survey
 Case studies
 Historical Research

 Historical Research
 History – a meaningful and organized record
of past events
 Historical research concerned with past
phenomena – can be defined as “systematic
and objective location, evaluation, and
synthesis of evidence in order to establish
facts and draw conclusions about past
events”
 Success largely depends upon accuracy of
gathered information
 Historical Research

 Historical Research
 Not based purely on scientific method
 Several limitations to researchers – data
not based on researcher’s observation or
experimentation
 Characteristics of Historical
Research
 Rigorous, systematic, and exhaustive
 Two kinds of data – primary (researcher is the
direct observer of past events) or secondary
(researcher reports the observation of others)
 Critical evaluation of data essential so as to
make historical research rigorous – more
challenging and demanding than other
methods
 In some ways similar to “Literature Review”
which precedes other forms of research, but
more exhaustive, not only limited to published
materials.
 Descriptive Research

 A fact-finding operation searching for adequate

information regarding a phenomenon of
interest
 Generally conducted to assess the opinions,
behaviors, or characteristics of a given
population and to describe the situation or
event occurring at present
 Does not necessarily seek to explain
relationships, test hypotheses, make
predictions – an extension of exploratory study
 Can be quantitative or qualitative
Purposes of Descriptive Research
 To collect detailed factual information that
describes existing phenomena
 To identify problems or justify current
conditions and practices
 To make comparisons and evaluations
 To determine what others are doing with
similar problems or situations and benefit from
their experience in making future plans and
decisions
 Developmental Research

 Conducted for the purpose of predicting

future trends
 Concerned with the study of variables, their
rate of change, directions, sequences and
other interrelated factors over a period of
time
 Several methods available
Forms of Developmental Research

 Longitudinal Study
 Trend study
 Cohort study
 Panel study
 Cross-sectional study
 Sample survey
Forms of Developmental Research

 Trend study
 Most common longitudinal study
 Data are collected at intervals spread
over a period of time
 Samples different groups of people at
different points in time from the same
population
 Designed to establish patterns of change
in the past in order to predict future
patterns or conditions
Forms of Developmental Research

 Trend study
 Provides net changes in aggregate level
 It is not necessary to carry out trend
study by a single researcher.
Forms of Developmental Research

 Cohort study
 Cohort – a group of people who share a
common characteristics
 A sample of selected cohort group is
studied in different points of time
 A systematic follow-up of a group of
people for a defined period of time or
until a specified event
 Difficult to carry out as it is difficult to
maintain contact with members of the
cohort from time to time
Forms of Developmental Research

 Panel study
 Panel – a group of individuals that have
agreed to provide information to the
researcher over a period of time
 Data collected from same subjects over a
period of time
 Most useful while studying change in
certain phenomenon
 Unlike trend studies, it can reveal both
net change and gross change in the
dependent variable.
Forms of Developmental Research

 Panel study
 Can reveal shifting attitudes and patterns
of behaviors
 Depending upon the nature of study –
continuous panel (responses collected
from same respondents in regular
intervals) or interval panel (responses
collected only when information is
needed) end studies, it can reveal both
net change and gross change in the
dependent variable.