Research Designs

Research designs are plans and procedures for carrying out research that span the decisions from broad assumptions to detailed methods of data collection and analysis. The overall decision relates to which design should be used to study a topic. The selection of a research design is also based on the nature of the research problem or issue being addressed, the researchers’ personal experiences, and the audiences for the study (Cresswell, 2009, p. 22).

There are three types of designs: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods designs. The three approaches are not as discrete as they first appear. Qualitative and quantitative approaches should not be viewed as polar opposites or dichotomies; instead, they represent different ends on a continuum (Newman & Benz, 1998). A study tends to be more qualitative than quantitative or vice versa. Mixed methods research resides in the middle of this continuum because it incorporates the elements of both qualitative and quantitative approaches.

Quantitative research is a means of testing objective theories by examining the relationships between variables. These variables, in turn, can be objectively measured, typically using some instruments, so as to obtain numerical data, which can be analysed using statistical procedures (Dörnyei, 2007, p. 24). The final written report has a set structure consisting of introduction, literature and theory, methods, results, and discussion (Creswell, 2008). Those who engage in this form of inquiry have assumptions about testing theories deductively, building in protections against bias, controlling for alternative explanations, and being able to generalize and replicate the findings. Quantitative methods include: statistical method, surveys, experiments, measurement scales, etc.

Qualitative research is a means of exploring and understanding the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem. The process of research involves emerging questions and procedures, data typically collected in the participant’s setting, data analysis inductively building from particulars to general themes, and the researcher making interpretations of the meaning of the data. The final written report has a flexible structure. Those who engage in this form of inquiry support a way of looking at research that honors an inductive style, a focus on individual meaning, and the importance of rendering the complexity of a situation (Creswell, 2007). Some examples of qualitative methods are: observation, interview, focus group, case study, etc.

Mixed methods research is an approach to inquiry that combines or associates both qualitative and quantitative forms. It involves philosophical assumptions, the use of qualitative and quantitative approaches, and the mix of both approaches in a study. Thus, it is more than the simple collection and analysis of both kinds of data. It also involves the use of both approaches in tandem so that the overall strength of a study is greater than either qualitative or quantitative research (Creswell et al., 2007). Nowadays, these methods are gaining importance.