BBA RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Meaning of Research Design
Meaning of Research Design:
Once the research problem is formulated, a specific topic is assigned and the hypothesis is formulated, the next stage is to work out a research design. Preparing research design is an important stage in the process of conducting a research. Kerlinger defines a research design as “the plan, structure and strategy of investigation purporting to answer research questions and control variance.”
The term ‘plan’ implies the overall scheme or programme of the research embracing on outline of what the researcher intends to do, ranging from the stage of formulation of hypotheses and their working implications to the final stage of data analysis. The term ‘structure’ intends to define the research study in a more specific way as the outline. The term ‘strategy’ is used in a more specific way than ‘plan’ and involves the methods and techniques for collection of data and their analyses so as to achieve the precise research objectives.
Miller defines “designed research” as “the planned sequence of the entire process involved in conducting a research study”. According to P.V. Young, “Research design is the logical and systematic planning and directing of a piece of research.” Selltiz and others define research design as “a catalogue of the various phases and facts relating to the formulation of a research effort. It is an arrangement of the essential conditions for collection and analysis of data in a form that aims to combine relevance to research purpose with economy with a procedure.”
In the words of Ackoff “Design is the process of making decisions before the situation arises in which the decision has to be carried out. It is a process of deliberate anticipation directed towards bringing an unexpected situation under control.” E.A. Suchman says that “A research design represents a compromise dictated by many practical considerations that go into social research. He says further, “A research design is not a highly specific plan to be followed without deviation, but rather a series of guide posts to keep one headed in the right direction.”
According to Jahoda, Deutsch and Cook, “A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that alms to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure.”
Thus, it becomes amply clear from the above definitions that research design is nothing but a scheme of work to be undertaken by a researcher at various stages, facilitating the research work in a systematic manner and conducting the various operations methodologically.
Research design acts as a guide to achieve the goal of the researcher step by step in a calculative and cautious manner within a prescribed time limit and specified cost. If the study is not completed within the time limit, it will not only increase the cost but also cause a series of other problems associated with research, affecting the quality of research. Therefore, “the challenge of a research design is to translate the general scientific model into a practical research operation. Research design will refer to the entire process of planning and carrying out a research study”.
It involves the arrangement of conditions and observations in such a way that alternative answers to the questions taken up in the research are ruled out, containing a built in system of checks against all the factors that might affect the validity of the research outcome.