Research Designs

Different Research DesignsThe design is the structure of any scientific work. It gives direction and systematizes the research. Different types of research designs have different advantages and disadvantages.

This article is a part of the guide:

Discover 30 more articles on this topic

Browse Full Outline

The method you choose will affect your results and how you conclude the findings. Most scientists are interested in getting reliable observations that can help the understanding of a phenomenon.

There are two main approaches to a research problem:

What are the difference between Qualitative and Quantitative Research?

Quiz 1 Quiz 2 Quiz 3 All Quizzes

Different Research Methods

There are various designs which are used in research, all with specific advantages and disadvantages. Which one the scientist uses, depends on the aims of the study and the nature of the phenomenon:

Descriptive Designs

Aim: Observe and Describe

Correlational Studies

Aim: Predict

Semi-Experimental Designs

Aim: Determine Causes

Experimental Designs

Aim: Determine Causes

Reviewing Other Research

Aim: Explain

Test Study Before Conducting a Full-Scale Study

Aim: Does the Design Work?





Typical Experimental Designs

Simple Experimental Techniques

Complex Experimental Designs

Which Method to Choose?

What design you choose depends on different factors.

  • What information do you want? The aims of the study.
  • The nature of the phenomenon - Is it feasible to collect the data, and if so, would it be valid/reliable?
  • How reliable should the information be?
  • Is it ethical to conduct the study?
  • The cost of the design
  • Is there little or much current scientific theory and literature on the topic?

Survey Guide

The full guide - How to create a Survey / Questionnaire

Introduction

Planning a Survey

Questions and Answers

Types of Surveys

Conducting the Survey

After the Survey

Resources

Further Reading

Full reference: 

(Jun 17, 2008). Research Designs. Retrieved Dec 12, 2024 from Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/research-designs

You Are Allowed To Copy The Text

The text in this article is licensed under the Creative Commons-License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

This means you're free to copy, share and adapt any parts (or all) of the text in the article, as long as you give appropriate credit and provide a link/reference to this page.

That is it. You don't need our permission to copy the article; just include a link/reference back to this page. You can use it freely (with some kind of link), and we're also okay with people reprinting in publications like books, blogs, newsletters, course-material, papers, wikipedia and presentations (with clear attribution).





Want to stay up to date? Follow us!