Research Design: Meaning, Definition, And Purpose

Meaning Of Research Design: 

          A  research  design  is  simply  the  framework  or  plan  for  a  study  that  is used as a guide in collecting and analyzing the data. It is a blueprint that is  followed in completing a study.  Research design is the blue print for collection measurement and analysis of data. Actually it is a map that is 

usually developed to guide the research.

Definitions:

According to William Zikmund:

                                    “Research  design  is  a  master  plan  specifying  the  methods  and  procedures for collection and analyzing the needed information.”

According to Kerlinger:

                                    “Research  design  is  the  plan,  structure  and  strategy  of  investigation 

conceived  so as to obtain answers to research questions and to control variance.” 

Purpose of a Research Design:

Research designs are used for the following purposes;

(i) To minimize the expenditure:

Research design carries  an important influence on the reliability of the results  attained  .It  therefore  provides  a  solid  base  for  the  whole research.  This makes the research as effective as possible by  providing maximum  information  with  minimum  spending  of  effort,  money  and  time by preparing the advance plan of all about the research.

(ii) To facilitate the smooth scaling: 

Research  design  is  needed  because  it  facilitates  the smooth  scaling  of the various research operations, thereby making  research as efficient as possible  yielding  maximal  information  with  minimal  expenditure  of effort, time and money.

(iii) To collect the relevant data and technique: 

Research  design  stands  for  advance  planning  of  the  methods  to  be adopted for collecting the relevant data and the techniques to be used in their analysis, keeping in view the objective of the research and the availability of staff time and money. Poor preparation of research design upset the entire project.

(iv) To provide blue print for plans: 

Research design is needed due to the fact that it  allows for the  smooth working of many research operations. It is like blue print which we need in  advance  to  plan  the  methods  to  be  adopted  for  collecting  the relevant data and techniques to be used in its analysis for preparation of research  project.  Just  as  for  better  economical  and  attractive construction of  a  house need  a blue print and a  map of  that,  similarly we needs a blue print or a design for the  smooth flow  of operation of 

research.

(v) To provide an overview to other experts:

A research design provides an overview of all the research process and  with the help of the design we can take the help and views of experts of  that  field  .The  design  helps  the  investigator  to  organize  his  ideas  , which helps to recognize and fix his faults.

(vi) To provide a direction: 

A research  design provides a proper  or particular  direction to the other  executives  and  others  who  are  helping  us  into  the  process.  The  researcher  studies  available,  literature  and  learns about  new  (alternative approaches).

Characteristics of Good Research Design:

Generally  a  good  research  design  minimizes  bias  and  maximizes  the reliability of the data collected and analyzed. The design which gives the smallest  experimental  error  is  reported  to  be  the  best  design  in scientific  investigation.  Similarly,  a  design  which  yields  maximum information  and  provides  an  opportunity  for  considering  different aspects  of  a  problem  is   considered  to  be  the  most  appropriate  and efficient  design.  A  good  research  design  possesses  the  following characteristics;

(i) Objectivity:

It  refers  to  the  findings  related  to  the  method  of  data  collection  and scoring  of  the  responses.  The  research  design  should  permit  the measuring  instruments  which  are  fairly  objective  in  which  every observer or judge scoring the performance must precisely give the same 

report. In other words, the objectivity of the procedure may be judged by  the  degree  of  agreement  between  the  final  scores  assigned  to different  individuals  by  more  than  one  independent  observer.  This ensures the  objectivity of  the collected data which shall be capable of analysis and interpretation.

(ii) Reliability: 

It  refers  to  consistency  throughout  a  series  of  measurements.  For example, if a respondent gives out a response to a particular item,  he is expected  to  give  the  same  response  to  that  item  even  if  he  is  asked repeatedly.  If  he  is  changing  his  response  to  the  same  item,  the consistency will be lost. So the researcher should frame the items in a questionnaire in such a way that it provides consistency or reliability.

(iii) Validity: 

Any measuring device or instrument is said to be valid when it measures what  it  is  expected  to  measure.  For  example,  an  intelligence  test conducted  for  measuring  the  IQ  should  measure  only  the  intelligence and nothing else and the questionnaire shall be framed accordingly.

(iv) Generalization: 

It means how best the data  collected from  the samples can be utilized for  drawing  certain  generalizations  applicable  to  a  large  group  from which sample is drawn. Thus  a research design helps  an investigator to generalize  his  findings  provided  he  has  taken  due  care  in  defining  the population,  selecting  the  sample,  deriving  appropriate  statistical analysis etc.  while preparing the research design.  Thus a good research design  is  one  which  is  methodologically  prepared  and  should  ensure that  generalization  is  possible.  For  ensuring  the  generalization  we should  confirm  that  our  research  problem  has  the  following characteristics; 

a)  The problem is clearly formulated.

b)  The population is clearly defined.

c)  Most  appropriate  techniques  of  sample  selection  are  used  to form an appropriate sample.

d)  Appropriate statistical analysis has been carried out. 

(v)  Adequate Information:  

The  most  important  requirement  of  good  research  design  is  that  it  should provide adequate information so that the research problem can  be  analyzed  on  a  wide  perspective.  An  ideal  design  should  take  into  account important factors like;

(i)Identifying the exact research  problem to be studied

(ii)  The objective of the research

(iii)  The process of obtaining information

(iv)  The availability of adequate and skilled manpower and 

(v)  The  availability  of  adequate  financial  resources  for  carrying research.

(vi)  Other Features: 

Some other important features of a good research design are flexibility, adaptability,  efficiency,  being  economic  and  so  on.  A  good  research design should minimize bias and maximize reliability and generalization.