Research Design
Margubur Rahaman
Senior Research Fellow, Department of Migration & Urban Studies
International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, India- 400088
Mail ID- margubur48@gmail.com

Research
• It is a process of systematic
inquiry.
• The process includes
collection of data or
documentation of critical
information, analysis and
presentation of the data, using
suitable well defined
methodologies under the
supervision of systematic and
scientific study design.
• Generalized the study
findings.
Research
Design

One step ahead of research design
1. Identify the research problem clearly and justify its selection,
particularly in relation to any valid alternative designs that could
have been used,
2. Review and synthesize previously published literature associated
with the research problem,
3. Clearly and explicitly specify hypotheses [i.e., research questions]
central to the problem,
4. Effectively describe the data which will be necessary for an
adequate testing of the hypotheses and explain how such data will
be obtained, and
5. Describe the methods of analysis to be applied to the data in
determining whether or not the hypotheses are true or false.

What is research design ?
o It is a framework for research that displays how a researcher steps
forward from the assigned research problems to define the problems.
o It makes research journey smooth, effective, and productive.

Major types of research designs
• Cross-Sectional Study Design
• Longitudinal Study Design
• Exploratory Study Design
• Cohort Study Design
• Historical Study Design
• Experimental Study Design
• Mixed-Method Study Design

Cross-sectional study design
• Cross-sectional studies can be helpful in determining how many
people are affected by a condition and whether the frequency of the
occurrence varies across groups or population characteristics.
• The studies monitor the population for only one point in time or a
short period, not over longer spans.
• Define the population for study for random sampling.
• Example could be to determine how many people in a community
smoke tobacco. Through this, researchers can analyze the socio-
demographics of people who smoke in an area to see how
components like age, gender, education level, place of residence,
smoking history or social status affect those results.

Cross-sectional study
• We determine at the same time the tobacco smoking (exposure)
and evidence of tuberculosis diseases (outcome). Each study
participant will be in one of the following possible subgroups (a, b,
c and d):
1. Persons who have been exposed and have the disease.
2. Persons who have been exposed but do not have the disease.
3. Persons who have the disease but have not been exposed.
4. Persons who have neither been exposed nor have the disease.
Commonly use analytical techniques
Prevalence estimation, likelihood estimation, inequality estimation, but
restricted to causality estimation.

Longitudinal study
• It repeatedly observe the same
participants over a period of
time.
• Survey interval a few weeks,
year, or decades.
• Suitable to Causality
estimation
You want to study the relationship between smoking and Tuberculosis. You first
conduct a cross-sectional study to see if there is a link between smoking and
tuberculosis, and you discover that a link exists in men but not in women.
You then decide to design a longitudinal study to further examine this relationship in
men. Without the cross-sectional study first, you would not have known to focus on men
in particular.

Exploratory Study design
• Exploratory study conducts through the lens of Qualitative research
design.
• The design includes the way that you, as a researcher, articulate,
plan for, and set up the doing of your study.
• Research design is the overall approach to how a researcher (or
research team) bridges theory and concepts with the development of
research questions and the design of data collection and analysis
methods for a specific study.
• A research design is based on an integration of the theories,
concepts, goals, contexts, beliefs, and sets of relationships that shape
a specific topic.

When need qualitative research design
• When the researchers tries to answer the question why and how?
•
• To catch the qualitative aspects of the determining factors.
• Non-probability sampling- purposive, convenient sampling,
Snowball, quota and Time and location sampling.
Common techniques
1. Observation methods
2. Key Informant interview
3. In-depth Interview
4. Focus group discussion

Mixed Method study design
• When we present the research finding using both quantitative and
qualitative research design.
• Its give us more information about research finding.
• The design is complex and multi-approach based.
• Its divides research findings into two aspects.
Merits- The study gives us surrogate reality of the research.

Summery of need for Research Design Elements
• Accurate purpose statement
• Techniques to be implemented for collecting and analyzing research
• The method applied for analyzing collected details
• Type of research methodology
• Probable objections to research
• Settings for the research study
• Timeline
• Measurement of analysis

Thank you