1. RESEARCH DESIGN
VADIVUKKARASI
SATHISH
MUNEER

2. Research Design - Definition
“Research design provides a systematic
plan of procedure for the researcher to
follow”.– John W. Best.
Research design is a set of advance decisions that make up the
master plan specifying the methods and procedures
for collecting and analyzing the needed information.

3. Answers to the following questions
• What the study is about ?
• Why the study is undertaken ?
• What are the types of data required ?
• Where data can be found ?
• What techniques of gathering data will be
adopted ?
• When or what periods of time, the study will
conclude ?
• How much resources (men, money, and
materials) will be required ?

4. Significance of research design
• Leads to Smooth & efficient sailing (sets
boundaries & prevents blind search)
• Yields maximum information (avoids collection
of unnecessary data)
• Avoids misleading conclusions & thoughtless
exercises

5. Features of a research Design:
• It is plan that specifies the sources and types
of information relevant to the research
problem
• It is the strategy specifying which approach
will be used for gathering and analyzing the
data.
• It includes the time and cost budget since
most of the studies are done under these two
constraints.

6. In brief the research design must at
least contain:
• A clear statement of research problem
• Procedures and techniques used for gathering
the data.
• The population to be studied.
• Methods to be used in processing and
analyzing data.

7. Steps in Research Design
• Define the research problem
• Estimate the cost of information –It is
advisable to find out the cost –benefit ratio
before proceeding
• Select the source of data collection
• Select the measurement techniques
• Select the sample

8. Cont..
• Select the method of analysis –Its depends
upon the selection of data sampling,
measurement technique, data collection,
purpose of research.
• Find out time and cost required.
• Prepare the research design.

9. Qualities of Good Research Design
• It is easy to suggest a problem but difficult to
make a good research design.
• Each problem/research work is unique &
demands unique research design & unique
combination of methods and techniques.
• Comprehensive
• Flexible

10. Cont..
• CHOOSES APPROPRIATE COMBINATION OF
METHODS AND TECHNIQUES:-
• This suggests that the design should be such
that it chooses appropriate combination of
methods and techniques based on objectives,
possible implications of results and overall
environment, current knowledge etc.

11. • SHOULD BE ACCEPTABLE:-
• This point suggests that the design should be
universally acceptable and understood by
persons. It should be simple , clear and easily
understood by laymen.

12. Types of
Research Design
Exploratory Descriptive Causal

13. Exploratory research design
• Purpose to find out causes behind a problem
precisely, collect required information and
identify alternate courses of action in order to
deal with the problem
• Uses of exploratory research include:
– Gain background information.
– To understand such problems.
– Clarify problems and hypotheses.
– Establish research priorities

14. Exploratory Research (Cont.)
• Methods of Conducting Exploratory Research
Secondary data analysis
Experience (Expert) surveys
Case Analysis
Focus groups

15. • The purpose of exploratory research is to know
the unknown
• The objective of exploratory research is to
discover new ideas.
• The secondary/published data can be used
for exploratory research as such data are easily
available
• Example : A service provider wants to know why
his customers are switching to other service
providers

16. Descriptive research method
• Research conducted to describe characteristics such as
age, sex, occupation, income or education of a
population or a phenomenon. Descriptive research is
undertaken to provide answers to questions of who ,
what, where, when, and how
• Example : A Library may find its young user’s
decreasing. On the basis of user analysis the library
may hypothesis that teenagers do not use its services
for the study purpose. A descriptive study can then be
designed to test this hypothesis.

17. Causal/Experimental Research:
As the name indicates, casual design investigates
the cause and effect relationship between two or
more variables.
Casual research is useful to show the impact of one
variable on the other. For example, Price and
market demand relationship or relationship
between market competition and sales
performance
• Example : Does smoking cause cancer?

18. Areas of Decision Making in Research
Design
1.The Time period of research
2.The Sources of data
3.The Data Collection Method
4.The Area of Research
5.The Sample Design

19. Thank you