The noun “design” has numerous meanings, but the one ideal for our topic is a pattern or an outline of a research project’s working. It’s actually a statement of only the important elements of research, the ones which offer the basic guideline for the details about the work. It consists of a series of prior decisions that, taken together, offer a master plan for undertaking a research project.
A master plan is thorough and provides a general statement of the techniques to be utilized, as opposed to the details which needs to be written to be sure of the specific work to be done (and to be allotted to the staff or outside vendors). A research design has some resemblance of a description to a description of a “model.”
What are the Basic Elements of Research Design?
Precisely what is incorporated into a design can differ greatly according to the preference of the individual responsible. It should be confirmed to the minimum of information which is needed for planning. It must include at least the following 3 basic elements:
1. Statement of the research study’s objectives, the output of the research. In conclusive studies, this result is supposed to solve the problem.
2. Statement of the data inputs, or casual data, based on which the solution is to be attained.
3. The analytical approach with which the inputs are going to be treated or computed.
Example
These three key elements are highlighted in the following simple example:
The XYD Company offers an extensive collection of kitchen and household items by mail order. One of the managers is convinced that profits can be improved by inducing clients to purchase more on each order. The incentive would be to give a bonus of 15% additional items on all purchases above 500. The other managers are uncertain, and so this hypothesis needs to be tested by research. The design for that would have the three elements of research design as mentioned here.
1. The main objective is to compute the margin change (price minus shipping and delivery costs and merchandise costs) earned on sales where the bonus is provided.
2. The data to be collected are (a) sales on orders placed by a sample of consumers who are provided the bonus and by an additional (equal sized) sample to whom it is not made available, (b) average merchandise margins earned during the period of the experiment (that of the spring catalog), (c) worth of the free bonus items ordered throughout that time period, and (d) expense of promotional inserts.
3. The analysis of those data will be :
a. Amount of sales to sample A minus those to sample B, during time period of Jan 1-march 31, multiplied by average merchandise margin earned during that period of time.
b. Deduct monetary cost of merchandise delivered as bonuses to sample A.
c. Deduct also shipping and delivery costs of bonus items and costs of promotional brochure.
The above example illustrates the basic elements of research design in research methodology. Designs need to include only what researchers require for a framework which is adequate to (1) flesh out the details for costing and implementing the work and (2) explain the proposed study to other people. Related: Elements of Research Design, Steps in Research Design
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