Research design

1) Define research design. Discuss its need and purpose.
Research design is a plan, structure, and strategy of investigation so conceived as to obtain answers to research questions or problems. It is a blueprint or detailed plan for a research study - starting from operationalising variables so that they can be measured, to selecting a sample of interest to study, collecting data to be used as a basis for testing hypotheses, and finally analyzing the results. Research is a systematic and organised effort towards quest for new knowledge. It involves spending public money and thus accountability towards them. Thus, it needs to have a well thought of research design.

2) Enumerate the different kinds of designs based on the nature of investigation.
Describe the descriptive design

•  The different kinds of designs based on the nature of investigation are:
• Exploratory;
• Descriptive;
• Experimental;
• Semi or Quasi- experimental;
• Non- experimental; and
• Field Research

Descriptive research is carried out to provide information about a person, thing or process. It describes the characteristics of an individual, group, organisation, or phenomena, conditions, or a situation. The characteristics are described in terms of the dependent variables. Description may be limited to events of past or present but not of the future. In that case it becomes experimental research. Most of the research in social sciences is descriptive in nature.

3) Define survey approach to data collection. Differentiate between survey and case study method.
Survey approach is one of the approaches of research based on the method of data collection. It is generally done on a large population. But instead of studying the whole of population, a sample is studied. It is used in descriptive studies, however it can also be used in experimental studies. The techniques of data collection used are questionnaire and interviews. It is one of the most used methods in social sciences. It is different from case study in that the size of the population is small in case study method. In case study the level of study done is intensive compared to survey method.

4) Define content analysis as a method of research design for data collection
In content analysis, documents are analysed to collect data. This is a method used and particularly useful in historical research. It enables to study the events in present that have taken place in the past. It is only documents like diaries, autobiographies, archival documents that can act as the source of data. Content analysis can be done quantitatively as well as quantitatively. Quantitative analysis involves counting of words or phrases. Qualitative analysis involves analysing documents to find out
the ideas behind words.

5) Enumerate the different kinds of validity. How would you measure content validity of an instrument?
Face, Content, Construct, Predictive, and Concurrent Validity. Content validity is measured on the basis of views of experienced people in the subject/area by observation and assessment of the tool.

Keywords
Descriptive Studies : Research studies that are carried out to describe an object, phenomena, process, or organisation in the present.
Experimental Studies : Research studies that are undertaken to study cause and effect relations between variables are called experimental studies.
Research Process Reliability : The measure of being able to measure the variables with the same accuracy at different times under similar conditions refer to reliability.
Research Design : The strategy that a researcher adopts to undertake his/her research. It concerns the operationalisation of hypothesis, data collection, and data analysis.
Content Analysis : It is a method of data collection for studying events that have taken place in the past on the basis of literature.
Validity : Validity is a measure of the extent of what you are measuring is what you intend to measure.

Source:IGNOU Study Material