The document discusses research design and different types of research designs. It begins by defining research design as the roadmap that guides research and the basis for conclusions. There are two main types of research designs: non-experimental/correlational designs and experimental designs. Descriptive designs like surveys are commonly used in behavioral sciences to examine relationships but cannot determine causation, while experimental designs can establish causal relationships by manipulating variables. Key aspects of research design include the type of study, data required, and type of analysis.
The document discusses research design and different types of research designs. It begins by defining research design as the roadmap that guides research and the basis for conclusions. There are two main types of research designs: non-experimental/correlational designs and experimental designs. Descriptive designs like surveys are commonly used in behavioral sciences to examine relationships but cannot determine causation, while experimental designs can establish causal relationships by manipulating variables. Key aspects of research design include the type of study, data required, and type of analysis.
The document discusses research design and different types of research designs. It begins by defining research design as the roadmap that guides research and the basis for conclusions. There are two main types of research designs: non-experimental/correlational designs and experimental designs. Descriptive designs like surveys are commonly used in behavioral sciences to examine relationships but cannot determine causation, while experimental designs can establish causal relationships by manipulating variables. Key aspects of research design include the type of study, data required, and type of analysis.
The document discusses research design and different types of research designs. It begins by defining research design as the roadmap that guides research and the basis for conclusions. There are two main types of research designs: non-experimental/correlational designs and experimental designs. Descriptive designs like surveys are commonly used in behavioral sciences to examine relationships but cannot determine causation, while experimental designs can establish causal relationships by manipulating variables. Key aspects of research design include the type of study, data required, and type of analysis.
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Research Design
Research design The roadmap that guides the research It is also the basis upon which a valid conclusion on the of the research will emanate. The choice of the research design is influenced by: – Type and nature of study (quantitative/qualitative)
Types of research designs Falls under two designs: – Non Experimental design/Correlational designs • Descriptive research designs or
– Experimental research designed
• True Experimental studies • Quasi experimental studies Descriptive designs Design of choice in behavioural sciences mainly because phenomenon under study are not usually reproducible in controlled settings.
They examine the following types of relationships:
– correlations among variables – differences among groups
The focus of the design is on the present and
therefore collect current status data from a population about specific or a wide range of issues.
Descriptive studies are also called observational
studies. Descriptive designs They do not establish causality between variables (dependent and independent variables).
– Causality is a cause and effect relationship between dependent
and independent variables
Generally higher external validity due to large samples but
lower internal validity because of inability of researchers to control confounding variables.
They are also more prone to design errors due to:
– Poorly designed measurement instruments – Error emanating from study subjects (e.g., response error) – Contextual factors that reduce a sound/accurate measurement Common Descriptive Research designs Census survey
Sample surveys – Cross-sectional surveys
– Longitudinal surveys
Case Study
Observational (a.k.a. qualitative)
Action research Census A survey which obtains responses from the entire population. – For example: the Uganda 2014 National and Household census Cross-sectional design Cross-sectional study design: This involves the study of a sample of the population of interest at a particular point in time.
It provides a single point analyses of the characteristics of the
population at that time. For example the 2016 UGHS. – For example the contraceptive prevalence rate – HIV/AIDS prevalence in the population – Prevalence of SGBV – Maternal Mortality Ratio – Etc
This is the most common types of research design.
– it is generally cheaper
– It takes a short time
– It is less complex and easy to conduct
It is used to provide a snapshot about development indicators.
Longitudinal research design This is a series of studies or measurements conducted about the population more than once usually at fixed intervals.
It is intended to assess changes in the population of interest over
time.
Longitudinal designs are of three types:
– Repeated cross-sectional designs (Data are collected from different
samples within the same population ).
– Fixed sample panel designs (Data are collected from the same individuals -samples). • At least 3 stages using a fixed time interval (suffers from attrition, sample fatigue, expensive).
– Event based designs (Data is collected from different samples on
the same event within a cohort (also known as “cohort studies”). • A cohort are individuals or groups with a common event experience. Experimental designs Mostly conducted in the physical sciences and life sciences. In the human sciences, it is conducted in medical research where it is also called Randomized Controlled Trials (RCR). The primary purpose is to investigate cause-and-effect relationships among variables – Experimental groups vs. control groups – Each group of participants receives a different treatment – Always involves manipulation of the independent variable Answers the question “What will be?”
Conducted in controlled conditions/environments
(laboratories). Experimental designs Causality is the situation in which an action brings about a consequence. ― It is a relationship in which a change should be expected in a particular behaviour when an intervention is introduced. ― The most powerful design for testing causal hypotheses because experiments establish association, time order, and non-spuriousness. ― Experimental research is most appropriate for answering research questions about the effect of a treatment or some other variable whose values can be manipulated by the researcher. ― Greater confidence of validity of causal conclusions than in other design.
Experimental research follow a definite, orderly procedure more than
any other type of research.
Are generally more reliable and with fewer errors.
Main features of experimental research Manipulation – This is an intervention which requires the deliberate introduction of the experimental agent or independent variable/s.
– This is administered to the experimental group while
withholding it from the control group. Control – This is the comparison group which is not exposed to the independent variable/s.
– This group acts as the bases for assessing of the effect of
the independent variable/s on the experimental group. Randomization – This is a procedure which provides every participant equal chance of belonging to either the experimental or the comparison/ control group. Steps to follow in experimental research Usual steps in experimental research – State the research problem – Determine if experimental methods apply – Specify the independent variable(s) – Specify the dependent variable(s) – State the tentative hypotheses – Determine measures to be used – Pause to consider potential success – Identify intervening (extraneous) variables – Formal statement of research hypotheses – Design the experiment – Final estimate of potential success – Conduct the study as planned – Analyze the collected data – Prepare a research report Discussions
Richard C. Rich, Craig Leonard Brians, Jarol B. Manheim, Lars Willnat - Empirical Political Analysis - Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods (2018, Routledge)
Richard C. Rich, Craig Leonard Brians, Jarol B. Manheim, Lars Willnat - Empirical Political Analysis - Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods (2018, Routledge)
