Research Design

1. Research Design Researching Society 10-11 1

2. This week 2 What is research design? Who wants to know? What alternative designs are there? How should we decide on research design? link research questions to research design assess merits and weaknesses of alternative designs

3. What is research design? 3 �An integrated statement of and justification for the more technical decisions involved in planning a research project ... the process of making all decisions related to the research project before they are carried out.� (Blaikie 2000: 21) �The different frameworks for the collection and analysis of data ... a framework for the generation of evidence that is suited to the research question in which the investigator is interested� (Bryman 2004: 26)

4. 4 THUS terminology not always consistent� Blaikie provides a wide definition embracing almost all aspects of research decision-making with the emphasis on pre-planning and control � Bryman focuses more specifically on the framework for data collection and analysis and allows for flexibility in addressing the research question�

5. Research strategy 5 linked to broad orientation to studying the social feminist, positivist, interpretivist, Marxist, etc (�paradigms� in Blaxter et al) quantitative, qualitative or deskwork, fieldwork (�families� of strategies in Blaxter et al)

6. Research design 6 Design : Framework for collection and analysis of data how the research is designed to answer research questions justification for particular combinations of methods specification of logic of research process

7. Research methods 7 specific techniques of data collection interviews, observation, focus groups, questionnaires, archive mining, documentary analysis, visual analysis and so on.

8. However... 8 Design not simply choice of positivist versus interpretivist paradigms AS: alternative theoretical orientations e.g. feminism, critical realism within broad strategies varied research designs may be chosen Design not simply choice of quantitative or qualitative strategies AS scope for mixed methods issue is justification of chosen combination of methods

9. Who wants to know about research design? 9 The researcher herself: how does my package of methods fit together? think through rationale of research clearly and explicitly Potential funders or sponsors: why should we support this research? is the research asking relevant questions? will the research answer the questions it asks?

10. 10 Subjects of the research: what is this research seeking to achieve? why should I co-operate? will I be harmed by the research? The audiences for the research �outputs�: what justification is provided for research choices? has the research answered the questions it asks? why should I take the findings seriously?

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12. Points to note 12 Lists do not match completely Distinction between overall design frameworks and specific techniques remains ambiguous Experiment remains common reference point in many discussions of design, despite being rare in social research different designs vary in terms of such features as the scope of their units of investigation (be they people, events, institutions, etc.) and time-span

13. Research design and research questions 13 Research questions should be: clear connect with established theory and research be researchable potential to contribute to knowledge Design should reflect priority given to different types of research question: understanding meanings in context developing generalisable conclusions appreciating time trends exploring causal processes

14. So what sort of research questions should we ask? 14 What is going on? exploration description How widespread is this? generalisability patterns over time

15. 15 Why is this? understanding placing in context hypothesis testing explanation How to alter? evaluation of interventions agencies for change

16. What�s the best way of answering my research questions? 16 truthfully (validity) accurately (reliability) BUT ALSO: quickly conveniently economically

17. 17 Not just move from question to design, but also back from design to question: do I now need to: revise my research question? clarify concepts? define more specific objectives? define more modest objectives? So think about research questions and research designs together aiming for strong fit between the two

18. Assessing merits and weaknesses of different research designs 18 Key criteria for assessing research design: Reliability: Do we generate the same finding from the same technique repeatedly? Replicability: Can other researchers repeat our research and reach similar conclusions? Relevance: does our research contribute to a field of study, via theory development, or problem solution?

19. 19 Validity: Measurement validity - do our techniques/ indicators connect effectively with our concepts? Internal validity - have we established genuine explanations/ causal links (nb: spurious correlation)? External validity - are our findings generalisable to a wider context or population? Ecological validity - are our findings generalisable to natural every-day settings?