Research Design Paper 1

Research Design Paper

Emily Mooney

CJA/345

July 24, 2017

Philip Russo
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Research Design Paper

A research design is a key component in any study done by a researcher. The research

design is used as the methodology and procedure to help the researcher answer the sociological

question that their study is covering. Research design defines the study type, research

question, hypotheses, variables, and data collection methods (Boundless Sociology 2016). There

are several different types of research designs as well. A few examples of different research

designs include experimental, correlational, descriptive, and classical. In many studies,

researchers will use more than one design type and research method to allow for more clear and

concise results (Boundless Sociology 2016).

The validity of a study refers to the accuracy or correctness of the research. Internal

factors question the internal validity of research, whereas external factors impugn the external

validity of findings (Hagan 2014). The independent variables would be the variables that are

being manipulated. The external variables would be the variables that are studied for the effects

of the independent variables. Internal validity will show you how well the experiment is run such

as how the variables were measured and the research design that was used. It will also show you

well you can conclude that the change in the dependent variable was produced solely by the

independent variable and not extraneous ones (Huitt, Hummel, and Kaeck). An example of

internal validity would be saying that a person will work harder at their job if they get paid more.

So, the internal validity would be the money the employee gets paid, not anything else that

makes them work harder. An example of external validity would be doing this same study about

pay and hard workers at a company but the external validity would be the generalization that this

study effects the population as a whole. So the example would be outside factors such as the

employees all being white, middle class employees without having a variety of income levels
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and race. These would be external validity factors. This also ties back into research designs. The

type of research design that gets chosen to use would depend on the variables, the collection

methods, the hypothesis, and the research question being asked.

There are so many research designs to conduct studies with but one highly used study is

the experimental research design. Experimental research is when the researcher has complete

control over one set of the variable, and manipulates the others (Flow Psychology 2015). There

are many advantages and disadvantages to the use of experimental research. Some of the

advantages to experimental research include the researcher having a high level of control and it

is versatile allowing it to be used in many different types of situations. Another advantage of

experimental research is the fact that this type of research gives you clear conclusions since the

researcher has such a high level of control and less variables being tested (Flow Psychology

2015). Lastly, there is a variety of ways and situations that this type of research can be used.

Although this type of research has many advantages, it also comes with a list of disadvantages as

well. One major disadvantage that applies to any type of research being done is human error.

Human error is always a possibility because mistakes are made all the time. Another

disadvantage is that it can take an extensive amount of time to do the full research study when

using the experimental design this is due to individual experiments having to be done to fully

research each variable (Flow Psychology 2015). The last disadvantage to be discussed is the

experimental design creating artificial solutions. Due to having such deep control over the

variables being tested, it is very possible that the data can be skewed or corrupted to fit whatever

outcome the researcher needs (Flow Psychology 2015).

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References

Boundless.com (August 8, 2016) "Determining the Research Design.". Retrieved from

https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-

textbook/sociological-research-2/the-research-process-26/determining-the-research-design-168-

7446/

Hagan, F.E. (2014). Research methods in criminal justice and criminology (9th ed.). Upper

Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc

Retrieved from University of Phoenix eBooks collection

W. Huitt, J. Hummel, D. Kaeck. (January 1999). Internal and External Validity General Issues.

Retrieved from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/intro/valdgn.html

Flow Psychology. (June 3, 2015). Seven Advantages and Disadvantages of Experimental

Research.

Retrieved from https://flowpsychology.com/7-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-

experimental-research/
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