Brief Summary
This tutorial covers the basics of research design, focusing on key considerations for designing your own study. It emphasizes the importance of aligning your design with your philosophical position, research questions, and objectives. The tutorial also discusses the nature of data, control over the research environment, the use of theory, and the time dimension.
- Compatibility with philosophical position
- Scholarly location of the study (empirical vs. non-empirical)
- Compatibility with research questions and objectives
- Nature of the data
- Control over the research environment
- Use of theory
- Time dimension
Introduction to Research Design
The tutorial introduces the concept of research design as the framework for research methods, procedures, and data collection techniques. It emphasizes that research design is where your paradigm, problem, and theory all come together in the form of research practice. The design should account for methodological decisions and provide sufficient detail to convince readers of the appropriateness and feasibility of the framework. Core dimensions of the design include compatibility with philosophical position, scholarly location, research questions, nature of data, control over the research environment, research approach, use of theory, and the time dimension.
Philosophical Stance
The philosophical stance directs methodological decisions, making the fit between philosophy, approach, and design crucial. Certain research designs are strongly associated with specific paradigmatic positions, such as participatory action research with transformative and critical positions, and experimental designs with a realist ontology. When creating your own design, ensure it aligns with your philosophical beliefs and methodological orientation.
Scholarly Location: Empirical vs. Non-Empirical Research
The tutorial differentiates between empirical and non-empirical research, also known as applied versus basic research. Empirical research addresses real-world problems and questions, while non-empirical research focuses on scholarly questions. Empirical designs are common in organizational communication and aim to answer exploratory, descriptive, causal, evaluative, predictive, and historical questions. Non-empirical designs address research theory, philosophy, and ethics.
Research Questions and Objectives
Research questions and objectives are crucial to research design. Specific objectives are expressed as exploratory, descriptive, correlational, explanatory, predictive, critical, or transformational. Exploratory objectives are used in unknown contexts, descriptive research describes phenomena, correlational research establishes relationships between variables, and explanatory research seeks reasons for these relationships. Predictive objectives are forward-looking, critical objectives critique practices, and transformational objectives aim to make a change in the world. The research must enable answering the questions asked, as some research types are incapable of answering certain questions.
Nature of the Data
Empirical studies can collect new (primary) or use existing (secondary) data, or combine both. Primary data involves designing an instrument, collecting data, analyzing it, and interpreting it. Secondary data relies on existing research data reported elsewhere. Non-empirical studies can also use primary data from pilot studies or existing data from other research. Data can be numbers, statistics, text, visuals, themes, meanings, stories, symbols, and social artifacts. The design must enable collecting the necessary data; for example, understanding perceptions requires asking people, while describing behavior is better achieved through observation.
Control Over the Research Environment
Research designs vary in the degree of control the researcher has over the setting. Laboratory experiments offer high control, while field research has low control. Controlled environments are associated with positivism and quantitative approaches for prediction and measurement. Control can also be achieved by focusing on a single system, like a case study. Some designs intentionally hand control to participants, such as participatory action research.
Use of Theory
Theory serves different purposes in different designs. Quantitative studies often start with existing theory to test concepts and hypotheses deductively. Qualitative studies may use theory as a lens or background, while others develop theory from the ground up through data analysis. The role of theory should be considered when designing the research.
Time Dimension
The time dimension involves considering whether the study is current or historical, its span (cross-sectional or longitudinal), and how time-consuming the research process will be. Planning the research requires considering the placement of the study in terms of time.
