This document discusses various research designs used in social science research. It describes descriptive research designs such as case studies, surveys, and observational methods which aim to describe phenomena rather than determine causation. It also covers experimental designs including true experiments, quasi-experiments, and pre-experimental designs which test hypotheses and examine causal relationships. The key differences between various experimental and non-experimental designs are outlined.
(Advances in Experimental Philosophy) Daniel A. Wilkenfeld (Editor), Richard Samuels (Editor) - Advances in Experimental Philosophy of Science (2019, Bloomsbury USA Academic)
This document discusses various research designs used in social science research. It describes descriptive research designs such as case studies, surveys, and observational methods which aim to describe phenomena rather than determine causation. It also covers experimental designs including true experiments, quasi-experiments, and pre-experimental designs which test hypotheses and examine causal relationships. The key differences between various experimental and non-experimental designs are outlined.
This document discusses various research designs used in social science research. It describes descriptive research designs such as case studies, surveys, and observational methods which aim to describe phenomena rather than determine causation. It also covers experimental designs including true experiments, quasi-experiments, and pre-experimental designs which test hypotheses and examine causal relationships. The key differences between various experimental and non-experimental designs are outlined.
This document discusses various research designs used in social science research. It describes descriptive research designs such as case studies, surveys, and observational methods which aim to describe phenomena rather than determine causation. It also covers experimental designs including true experiments, quasi-experiments, and pre-experimental designs which test hypotheses and examine causal relationships. The key differences between various experimental and non-experimental designs are outlined.
College of Education What is Research Design? refers tothe overall strategy that you choose to integrate the different components of the study in a coherent and logical way, thereby, ensuring you will effectively address the research problem. constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and analysis of data. BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN Descriptive research designs help provide answers to the questions of who, what, when, where, and how associated with a particular research problem; a descriptive study cannot conclusively ascertain answers to why. use to obtain information concerning the current status of the phenomena and to describe "what exists" with respect to variables or conditions in a situation. Types of Descriptive research Case Study involves an in-depth study of an individual or group of individuals. Case studies often lead to testable hypotheses and allow us to study rare phenomena. Case studies should not be used to determine cause and effect, and they have limited use for making accurate predictions. Survey Method In survey method research, participants answer questions administered through interviews or questionnaires. After participants answer the questions, researchers describe the responses given. In order for the survey to be both reliable and valid it is important that the questions are constructed properly. Questions should be written so they are clear and easy to comprehend. Observational Method
With the observational method
(sometimes referred to as field observation)human behavior is closely observed. There are two main categories of the observational method — naturalistic observation and laboratory observation. Experimental Research Design An experiment is a method of applying treatments to a group and recording the effects. Remember, a good group experiment will have two basic elements: a control and a treatment. experimental research is what we call a true experiment. an experiment where the researcher manipulates one variable, and control/randomizes the rest of the variables. True Experimental Design characterized by the random selection of participants and the random assignment of the participants to groups in the study. The researcher also has complete control over the extraneous variables. Therefore, it can be confidently determined that that effect on the dependent variable is directly due to the manipulation of the independent variable. For these reasons, true experimental designs are often considered the best type of research design. Types of True Experiment Post-test Only Design – This type of design has two randomly assigned groups: an experimental group and a control group. Neither group is pretested before the implementation of the treatment. The treatment is applied to the experimental group and the post-test is carried out on both groups to assess the effect of the treatment or manipulation. This type of design is common when it is not possible to pretest the subjects. • Pretest-Post-test Only Design - The subjects are again randomly assigned to either the experimental or the control group. Both groups are pretested for the independent variable. The experimental group receives the treatment and both groups are post-tested to examine the effects of manipulating the independent variable on the dependent variable. • Solomon Four Group Design – Subjects are randomly assigned into one of four groups. There are two experimental groups and two control groups. Only two groups are pretested. One pretested group and one unprotested group receive the treatment. All four groups will receive the post-test. The effects of the dependent variable originally observed are then compared to the effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable as seen in the post-test results. This method is really a combination of the previous two methods and is used to eliminate potential sources of error. Factorial Design – The researcher manipulates two or more independent variables (factors) simultaneously to observe their effects on the dependent variable. This design allows for the testing of two or more hypotheses in a single project. One example would be a researcher who wanted to test two different protocols for burn wounds with the frequency of the care being administered in 2, 4, and 6 hour increments. Randomized Block Design – This design is used when there are inherent differences between subjects and possible differences in experimental conditions. If there are a large number of experimental groups, the randomized block design may be used to bring some homogeneity to each group. For example, if a researcher wanted to examine the effects of three different kinds of cough medications on children ages 2-16, the research may want to create age groups (blocks) for the children, realizing that the effects of the medication may depend on age. This is a simple method for reducing the variability among treatment groups. Crossover Design (also known as Repeat Measures Design) – Subjects in this design are exposed to more than one treatment and the subjects are randomly assigned to different orders of the treatment. The groups compared have an equal distribution of characteristics and there is a high level of similarity among subjects that are exposed to different conditions. Crossover designs are excellent research tools, however, there is some concern that the response to the second treatment or condition will be influenced by their experience with the first treatment. In this type of design, the subjects serve as their own control groups. A quasi-experiment is an empirical interventional study used to estimate the causal impact of an intervention on its target population without random assignment. it is defined as not a true experiment since the main component of true experiment is randomly assigned groups. Difference between true experiments and quasi- experiments • : In a true experiment, participants are randomly assigned to either the treatment or the control group, whereas they are not assigned randomly in a quasi-experiment. Types of Quasi experimental design • Non-equivalent is between -subjects design in which participants have not been randomly assigned to conditions. • Pre test-Post test the dependent variable is measured once before the treatment is implemented and once after it is implemented • Interrupted Time series Design is variant of pre test-post test design. A time series is set of measurements taken at intervals over a period of time • Combination design is better than either the non equivalent groups or pre test- post test design. There is a treatment group that is given a pre test, receives a treatment, and then is given a post test . But at the same time there is a control group that is given a pre test does not receive the treatment and then is given a post test. Pre- Experimental Design • are so named because they follow basic experimental steps but fail to include a control group. In other words, a single group is often studied but no comparison between an equivalent non- treatment group is made. • It is the simplest form of research design. A single groups are observed subsequent to some agent or treatment presumed to cause change. One-shot case study design • a single group is studied at a single point in time after some treatment that is presumed to have caused change. The single instance is compared to general expectations of what the case would have looked like had the treatment not occurred and to other events casually observed. No control or comparison group is employed. One- group Pre test-Post test • a single case is observed at two time points, one before the treatment and the other after the treatment. Changes in the outcome of interest are presumed to be the result of intervention of treatment no control or comparison group is employed Static –group comparison • a group that has experienced some treatment is compared with one that has not. Observed differences between groups re assumed to be a result of the treatment Causal Design • Causality studies may be thought of as understanding a phenomenon in terms of conditional statements in the form, “If X, then Y.” This type of research is used to measure what impact a specific change will have on existing norms and assumptions • Most social scientists seek causal explanations that reflect tests of hypotheses. Causal effect (nomothetic perspective) occurs when variation in one phenomenon, an independent variable, leads to or results, on average, in variation in another phenomenon, the dependent variable. Exploratory Design • An exploratory design is conducted about a research problem when there are few or no earlier studies to refer to or rely upon to predict an outcome • The focus is on gaining insights and familiarity for later investigation or undertaken when research problems are in a preliminary stage of investigation. • Exploratory designs are often used to establish an understanding of how best to proceed in studying an issue or what methodology would effectively apply to gathering information about the issue.
(Advances in Experimental Philosophy) Daniel A. Wilkenfeld (Editor), Richard Samuels (Editor) - Advances in Experimental Philosophy of Science (2019, Bloomsbury USA Academic)