Research Design: Objectives and Quantitative Methods

• Research design consists of advance decisions that form the master plan to specify the methods and procedures for collecting, and analyzing information.

Importance of Research Design

• Good research design is paramount for conducting good research
• Advance planning through research design allows projects to be completed faster
• Advance planning can lead to cost savings due to preplanning efficiencies

Objectives of Research Design

• Gain background information and develop hypotheses
• Measure the state of a variable of interest
• Test hypotheses that specify relationships between two or more variables

Quantitative Research

• Originated in positivism
• Positivists believe that general principles or laws govern the social world
• Researchers can discover these principles through objective procedures
• Objective procedures help researchers understand human behavior
• Quantitative research uses objective measurement in a controlled setting
• The goal is to gather numeric data to answer questions or test hypotheses

Qualitative Research

• Based on a distinct philosophical approach that views social reality as unique
• Understand human behavior by focusing on the meanings that events have for individuals
• Considers not only actions but also thoughts and feelings
• Uses various forms of inquiry to understand social phenomena
• Focuses on the perspective of human participants in natural settings

Quantitative Designs

• Non-experimental Designs:
  • Descriptive Research Design
  • Correlational Research Design
  • Survey Research Design
• Experimental Research Design

Descriptive Research Design

• Describes the characteristics of a population or phenomenon
• Its purpose is to describe individuals, events, or conditions as they are in nature
• Researcher does not manipulate variables, only describes the sample
• Focuses on hypothesis generation rather than hypothesis testing
• Serves as a basis for further research

Sample Questions for Descriptive Research

• What is the level of motivation of students?
• What is the behavior of students in an online class?
• How does the frequency of homework completion vary among different grade levels in a mathematics program?
• What is the perception of buyers on a certain brand?

Example Descriptive Research Study

• The study's goal was to describe the degree to which agricultural education programs prepared students to work with diverse populations
• Researchers used mailed questionnaires to assess attitudes and beliefs about diversity among student teachers
• Results indicated that student teachers were not adequately exposed to diversity
• The recommendation was to conduct a national study to determine the correlation between minority enrollment in agriculture and the race/gender of teacher educators

Correlational Research Design

• Explores and identifies relationships between two or more variables
• The purpose is to explore and quantify those relationships
• The researcher observes and analyzes existing relationships without manipulation
• Focuses on hypothesis generation rather than testing
• Serves as a basis for further research

Types of Correlational Designs

• Explanatory: Focuses on understanding the association between variables
• Prediction: Emphasizes anticipating outcomes using specific variables as predictors

Sample Questions for Correlational Research

• Do socioeconomic factors correlate with health outcomes in a specific population?
• Is there a relationship between exercise frequency and mental health?
• Does social media time correlate with feelings of loneliness in teenagers?
• Is there a correlation between income levels and spending habits in a demographic?

Example Correlational Study

• Examined how parental attachment affected college adjustment among White, Black, and Latina/Hispanic women at an urban commuter college
• Attachment patterns were measured via the Parental Attachment Questionnaire
• College adjustment was assessed using the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire
• Parental attachment significantly predicted aspects of college adjustment differentially for each racial subgroup

Survey Research Design

• Investigators administer a survey to a sample or the entire population
• Purpose is to describe the attitudes, opinions, and behaviors of the population
• Researchers collect quantitative data using questionnaires
• They also statistically analyze the data and describe trends, to test hypotheses
• Researchers do not experimentally manipulate the conditions

Survey Instruments

• Common survey methods include:
  • Online / Email
  • Face-to-face
  • Telephone
  • Text Message

Types of Survey Research Designs

• Cross-Sectional
• Longitudinal

Cross-Sectional Design

• Non-experimental study
• Data is collected from participants at a single point in time
• Particularly valuable for generating a snapshot of a population's characteristics, attitudes, behaviors, or conditions

Longitudinal Design

• Powerful methodological approach for investigating changes over time
• Valuable for studying complex phenomena by identifying causal relationships
• Needed in understanding individual and group trajectories

Experimental Research Design

• Testing if an idea, practice, procedure, or intervention influences an outcome
• Purpose: To establish possible cause and effect between independent and dependent variables
• Researcher may observe causality between variables or manipulate variables to test causality based on design
• All other variables are controlled

Types of Experimental Designs

• Between-group designs:
  • True-experiments
  • Quasi-experiments
  • Causal-comparative
  • Factorial designs
• Within-group designs:
  • Time-series experiments
  • Repeated-measures experiments
  • Single-subject experiments

True Experimental Design

• Described as the most rigorous and strongest experimental design
• Intended to establish possible cause and effect between independent and dependent variables through a treatment or intervention
• Researchers randomly assign participants to different conditions
• Participants in the experimental group receive treatment
• Participants in the control group do not

Quasi-Experimental Design

• Utilized when researchers must use already intact groups
• Establishes possible cause and effect between variables via a treatment or intervention
• Researcher assigns the intact groups to different conditions
• Random assignment may not be used due to participant availability or disruption to learning
• All other procedures are similar to true experiment

Causal-Comparative Design

• Also known as ex post facto or retrospective research design
• It Investigates and identifies potential cause-and-effect relationships
• Compares groups that have experienced different conditions or levels of an independent variable
• Researcher observes/analyzes existing conditions without manipulating the independent variable
• Retrospective in nature and includes a control or comparison group (similar to a true experiment)
• Independent variable is not manipulated

Sample Questions for Causal-Comparative Research

• Do individuals with different types of childhood trauma show variations in long-term mental health outcomes?
• Is there a difference in job satisfaction among employees with varying leadership styles in the same organization?
• How does the presence/absence of a mentor impact the career success & job performance of individuals in early stages?

Example Causal-Comparative Study

• Ex post facto study on academic performance of 305 BEEd students
• Students studying in offline and online modalities
• Findings: Amidst quarantines, 6% of enrolled students for the first semester and another 6% for the second were inactive
• Students had declining performance in both categories for the first normal school year
• Results showed that students in offline modalities performed lower than the ones with online access

Factorial Design

• Modification of the between-group experimental design
• Examines independent and simultaneous effects of two or more independent treatment variables on an outcome
• Researcher observes effects of multiple independent variables on a dependent variable
• Random assignment is optional, and has more than two levels/treatment conditions

Time-Series Design

• Used when an experimental researcher has access to only one group
• Purpose: To study the outcome of an independent variable in a group over time
• Researcher studies one group over a period, with multiple pretest and posttest measures/observations

Repeated Measures Design

• The group serves as its own control
• Studies the outcome of two or more different independent variables in a group
• Researcher compares a group's performance under one treatment with its performance under another experimental treatment

Single Subject Design

• Focuses on a single participant
• Purpose: To study the behavior of single individuals over time
• Researcher observes the impact of an intervention on an individual and collects the data to observe trends over time
• Commonly used in behavioral analysis, positive behavior support, special/gifted education

Qualitative Research Designs

• Narrative Research
• Phenomenology
• Ethnographies
• Grounded Theory

Narrative Research Design

• Concerned with the lives of individuals, collected and told via stories
• "Narrative" is defined as the verb "to narrate" or "to tell (as a story) in detail"
• Narrative research is used when there are individuals willing to share their experiences
• The goal is to retell their stories

Phenomenology Research Design

• Originally called Descriptive Phenomenology
• Describes the lived experiences of individuals
• Focuses on describing how human beings experience a certain phenomenon
• Researcher may ask: What is this experience like? What does this experience mean?

Ethnography Research Design

• Describes, analyzes, and interprets a culture-sharing group's shared patterns pertaining to behavior, beliefs, and language
• "Culture" is defined as everything having to do with human behavior and belief
• Used in instances where studying a group helps us provide understanding of a larger issue
• Case studies and critical ethnographies are used

Grounded Theory Research Design

• Generates a theory that explains, in broad terms, a process, action, or interaction related to a substantive topic
• Explains an educational process of events, activities, actions, and interactions that unfold over time
• Applied when a broad theory or explanation of a process is needed

Mixed-Method Research Designs

• Purpose: to triangulate quantitative and qualitative evidence
• Types:
  • Sequential: Data is collected/examined in one stage, informing the next
  • Concurrent: Qualitative and quantitative data is collected separately
  • Transformative/Data Transformation: Researchers begin with qualitative data and turns content into values for statistics

Action Research Design

• Most applied and practical research design
• Uses quantitative or qualitative methods
• Addresses an issue and finds solutions
• Composed of 3 Characteristics;
  • Situated in a local context
  • Conducted by and for the practitioner
  • Results in action/change to the context