Research Design and its Elements & Strategies

Research Design:

“A research design is a blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data, based on the
research questions of the study”

Elements of Research Design

There are several elements of research design as following are:

 Exploratory Design
 Descriptive Design
 Casual Design
 Historical Design
 Exploratory Design:

An exploratory study is undertaken when not much is known about the situation at hand, or no
information available on how similar problems or research issues have been solved in the past. Exploratory
studies are necessary when some facts are known but more information needed for developing a viable
theoretical framework.

 Descriptive Design:

Descriptive studies are often designed to collect data that describe the characteristics of persons, events
or situations. Descriptive research is either quantitative or qualitative in nature. It may involve the collection
of quantitative data such as satisfaction ratings, production figures, sales figures or demographic data but it
may also entail the collection of qualitative information. For instance, qualitative data might be gathered to
describe how consumers go through a decision making process.

 Casual Design:

Casual studies are at the heart of the scientific approach to research. Such studies test whether or not
one variable causes another to change. In a causal study, the researcher is interested in delineating one or
more factors that are causing the problem.

 Historical Design:

The purpose of a historical research design is to collect, verify, and synthesize evidence from the past to
establish facts that defend or refute a hypothesis. It uses secondary sources and a variety of primary
documentary evidence, such as, diaries, official records, reports, archives, and non-textual information
[maps, pictures, audio and visual recordings].

Research Strategies
There are some strategies which are used in research design as following are:

 Experiments
 Survey Research
 Observation
 Case Study