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Introduction

A research design is the set of methods and procedures used in collecting and analysing measures of
the variables specified in the research problem. The topic of the research problem will actually
determine which of research design that one will use in writing the research problem. Before beginning
your paper, you need to decide on how to plan for your design. The research design refers to the overall
strategy that one choose to integrate the different components of the study in a coherent and logical way,
thereby, ensuring that one will effectively address the research problem; it constitutes the blueprint for
the collection, measurement, and analysis of data. The research problem will determine the type of
research design one should use.

The function of a research design is to ensure that the evidence obtained enables you to effectively
address the research problem logically and as unambiguously as possible. In social sciences research,
obtaining information relevant to the research problem generally entails specifying the type of evidence
needed to test a theory, to evaluate a program, or to accurately describe and assess meaning related to an
observable phenomenon.

With this in mind, a common mistake made by researchers is that they begin their investigations far too
early, before they have thought critically about what information is required to address the research
problem. Without attending to these design issues beforehand, the overall research problem will not be
adequately addressed and any conclusions drawn will run the risk of being weak and unconvincing. As a
consequence, the overall validity of the study will be undermined.

The length and complexity of describing research designs in your paper can vary considerably, but any
well-developed design will achieve the following:

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.

The organization and structure of the section of your paper devoted to describing the research
design will vary depending on the type of design you are using. However, you can get a sense of what to
do by reviewing the literature of studies that have utilized the same research design. This can provide an
outline to follow for your own paper.
There are three major categories of research designs namely: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed
method.

Quantitative: Experimental and Non experimental

Experimental: True Quasi, Single subject

Non experimental: Descriptive, Comparative, Correlational, Survey, Ex post Facto and Secondary data
analysis.

Qualitative: Interactive and Non-interactive

Interactive: Ethnography, Phenomenology, Case study, Grounded theory and Critical studies.

Non-interactive

Mixed method: Explanatory, Exploratory and Triangulation

Types of Research Designs

Case Study Design

A case study is an in-depth study of a particular research problem rather than a sweeping statistical
survey or comprehesive comparative inquiry. It is often used to narrow down a very broad field of
research into one or a few easily researchable examples. The case study research design is also useful for
testing whether a specific theory and model actually applies to phenomena in the real world. It is a
useful design when not much is known about an issue or phenomenon.

What do these studies tell you?

1. Approach excels at bringing us to an understanding of a complex issue through detailed

contextual analysis of a limited number of events or conditions and their relationships.
2. A researcher using a case study design can apply a variety of methodologies and rely on a variety
of sources to investigate a research problem.
3. Design can extend experience or add strength to what is already known through previous
research.
4. Social scientists, in particular, make wide use of this research design to examine contemporary
real-life situations and provide the basis for the application of concepts and theories and the
extension of methodologies.
5. The design can provide detailed descriptions of specific and rare cases.

What these studies don't tell you?

 1. A single or small number of cases offers little basis for establishing reliability or to generalize
the findings to a wider population of people, places, or things.
2. Intense exposure to the study of a case may bias a researcher's interpretation of the findings.
3. Design does not facilitate assessment of cause and effect relationships.
4. Vital information may be missing, making the case hard to interpret.
5. The case may not be representative or typical of the larger problem being investigated.
6. If the criteria for selecting a case is because it represents a very unusual or unique phenomenon
or problem for study, then your intepretation of the findings can only apply to that particular
case.

Descriptive Design
Definition and Purpose

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. Descriptive research is used to obtain information concerning the current status of the
phenomena and to describe "what exists" with respect to variables or conditions in a situation.

What do these studies tell you?

1. The subject is being observed in a completely natural and unchanged natural environment. True
experiments, whilst giving analyzable data, often adversely influence the normal behavior of the
subject [a.k.a., the Heisenberg effect whereby measurements of certain systems cannot be made
without affecting the systems].
2. Descriptive research is often used as a pre-cursor to more quantitative research designs with the
general overview giving some valuable pointers as to what variables are worth testing
quantitatively.
3. If the limitations are understood, they can be a useful tool in developing a more focused study.
4. Descriptive studies can yield rich data that lead to important recommendations in practice.
5. Appoach collects a large amount of data for detailed analysis.

What these studies don't tell you?

1. The results from a descriptive research cannot be used to discover a definitive answer or to
disprove a hypothesis.
2. Because descriptive designs often utilize observational methods [as opposed to quantitative
methods], the results cannot be replicated.
3. The descriptive function of research is heavily dependent on instrumentation for measurement
and observation.
Experimental Design
Definition and Purpose

A blueprint of the procedure that enables the researcher to maintain control over all factors that may
affect the result of an experiment. In doing this, the researcher attempts to determine or predict what
may occur. Experimental research is often used where there is time priority in a causal relationship
(cause precedes effect), there is consistency in a causal relationship (a cause will always lead to the same
effect), and the magnitude of the correlation is great. The classic experimental design specifies an
experimental group and a control group. The independent variable is administered to the experimental
group and not to the control group, and both groups are measured on the same dependent variable.
Subsequent experimental designs have used more groups and more measurements over longer periods.
True experiments must have control, randomization, and manipulation.

What do these studies tell you?

1. Experimental research allows the researcher to control the situation. In so doing, it allows
researchers to answer the question, “What causes something to occur?”
2. Permits the researcher to identify cause and effect relationships between variables and to
distinguish placebo effects from treatment effects.
3. Experimental research designs support the ability to limit alternative explanations and to infer
direct causal relationships in the study.
4. Approach provides the highest level of evidence for single studies.

What these studies don't tell you?

1. The design is artificial, and results may not generalize well to the real world.
2. The artificial settings of experiments may alter the behaviors or responses of participants.
3. Experimental designs can be costly if special equipment or facilities are needed.
4. Some research problems cannot be studied using an experiment because of ethical or technical
reasons.
5. Difficult to apply ethnographic and other qualitative methods to experimentally designed studies.

Historical Design
Definition and Purpose

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]. The limitation is that the sources must be both authentic
and valid.

What do these studies tell you?

1. The historical research design is unobtrusive; the act of research does not affect the results of the
study.
2. The historical approach is well suited for trend analysis.
3. Historical records can add important contextual background required to more fully understand
and interpret a research problem.
4. There is often no possibility of researcher-subject interaction that could affect the findings.
5. Historical sources can be used over and over to study different research problems or to replicate
a previous study.

What these studies don't tell you?

1. The ability to fulfill the aims of your research are directly related to the amount and quality of
documentation available to understand the research problem.
2. Since historical research relies on data from the past, there is no way to manipulate it to control
for contemporary contexts.
3. Interpreting historical sources can be very time consuming.
4. The sources of historical materials must be archived consistently to ensure access. This may
especially challenging for digital or online-only sources.
5. Original authors bring their own perspectives and biases to the interpretation of past events and
these biases are more difficult to ascertain in historical resources.
6. Due to the lack of control over external variables, historical research is very weak with regard to
the demands of internal validity.
7. It is rare that the entirety of historical documentation needed to fully address a research problem
is available for interpretation, therefore, gaps need to be acknowledged.

Observational Design
Definition and Purpose

This type of research design draws a conclusion by comparing subjects against a control group, in cases
where the researcher has no control over the experiment. There are two general types of observational
designs. In direct observations, people know that you are watching them. Unobtrusive measures involve
any method for studying behavior where individuals do not know they are being observed. An
observational study allows a useful insight into a phenomenon and avoids the ethical and practical
difficulties of setting up a large and cumbersome research project.

What do these studies tell you?

 1. Observational studies are usually flexible and do not necessarily need to be structured around a
hypothesis about what you expect to observe [data is emergent rather than pre-existing].
2. The researcher is able to collect in-depth information about a particular behavior.
3. Can reveal interrelationships among multifaceted dimensions of group interactions.
4. You can generalize your results to real life situations.
5. Observational research is useful for discovering what variables may be important before
applying other methods like experiments.
6. Observation research designs account for the complexity of group behaviors.

What these studies don't tell you?

1. Reliability of data is low because seeing behaviors occur over and over again may be a time
consuming task and are difficult to replicate.
2. In observational research, findings may only reflect a unique sample population and, thus, cannot
be generalized to other groups.
3. There can be problems with bias as the researcher may only "see what they want to see."
4. There is no possibility to determine "cause and effect" relationships since nothing is
manipulated.
5. Sources or subjects may not all be equally credible.
6. Any group that is knowingly studied is altered to some degree by the presence of the researcher,
therefore, potentially skewing any data collected.

Introduction

Writing a strong researched paper requires the ability to synthesize—or combine elements of several
sources—to help you make a point. The purpose of the Multiple Source Essay is to give students the
chance to practice this process of "synthesis" Synthesis is not magic, but is a tool for drawing together
particular themes or traits that you observe in various texts and reorganizing the material according to
themes or traits put forth by you and driven by your thesis. If you are breathing, you are synthesizing.
It's simply a matter of making connections or putting things together.

We synthesize information naturally to help others see the connections between things. For example,
when you report to a friend the things that several other friends have said about a song or movie, you are
engaging in synthesis. However, synthesizing is much more than simply reporting. Synthesis is related
to, but not the same as, classification, division, or comparison and contrast. Instead of merely attending
to different categories and trying to find some sort of similarity or difference, synthesizing is a matter of
pulling various sources together into some kind of harmony. It is the ability to combine clearly and
coherently the ideas of more than one source with your own. For example, you have probably already,
early in your college years, stored up a mental databank of the various things you have heard about
particular professors. If your databank contains several negative comments, you might synthesize that
information and use it to help you decide not to take a class from a particular instructor.
Although at its most basic level a synthesis involves combining two or more theses/ideas, synthesis
writing is more difficult than it might first appear because this combining must be done in a meaningful
way, and the final product must be thesis driven. So you might be asking yourself, "What the heck am I
supposed to do?"
The key to writing any researched essay is to read well, to understand the main idea and developmental
structure of the source articles, and to identify the points of contact between the various sources and
your own argument. This means seeing how they agree, disagree, reinforce, subvert, explain and
contradict one another in the context of your thesis. So, in a nutshell, synthesizing finds and explicates
links between materials for the purpose of constructing a new thesis (synthesis) or theory. There are
several things students should keep in mind while beginning to attempt writing essays that use synthesis.
Here are a few things it is usually best to AVOID:
1.
AVOID
Constructing the body of your paper out of a series of summaries.
This is the most common error that writers fall into when first attempting this kind of essay.
Since you already know how to write summaries (Remember the Critique?), it is easy to think that a
synthesis is just a summary of different sources. It's not; writing a true synthesis is a different, more
demanding, and more sophisticated task. Why? Because a mere collection of summaries, while much
easier to produce, has one very serious shortcoming. Keep in mind that written sources dealing with the
same topic typically include many of the same facts and arguments (usually just phrased differently). So,
if you just summarize each source in turn, you usually end up just presenting the same ideas over and
over—whether you realize it or not. It's up to you to digest and rearrange material from your sources.
Simply summarizing them puts the emphasis on your sources and not where it belongs—on your thesis.
Remember, your sources should provide evidence for YOUR thesis. Use your sources; don't be
dominated by them.
2.
AVOID bombarding your reader with undifferentiated masses of facts, examples, and quotations.
Most writers do this in an effort to be "objective." But overwhelming your readers with information
usually does not convince, but rather confuses them. If you find your paragraphs going on for pages and'
pages, it's usually a good sign that you have NOT arranged your material for the convenience of your
reader. You should organize your data to make it accessible; you should interpret the data to help the
reader understand how the sources relate to each other and your thesis.
3.
AVOID beginning your paragraphs by presenting quotations or facts from your sources. That's an
example of the cart pulling the horse. It's much easier to start by telling your reader what point YOU
want to make. Remember, when writing in general it’s usually more effective to start from a general
point and move to specifics. One tried and true method is to begin your paragraphs with topic sentences
that spell out one of the supporting arguments for your thesis. Then use material borrowed from your
sources as evidence to illustrate or elaborate the point made in your topic sentences.
Here are some things you SHOULD try to do:
1.
Once you've done your research, try to start by carefully formulating your thesis. Know what point you
are trying to prove and then make sure the rest of your essay sticks to that point and supports it. This is
probably good advice for any kind of essay, but especially important for this kind. Synthesized essays,
like the Multiple Source and Researched essays, require that you draw on more source material than you
might be used to. Having a well-formulated thesis will keep you and your readers from getting bogged
down in competing facts and opinions.
2.
Try to write complete sentences stating each of the supporting points you want to use to support your
main point—or thesis. Then use these sentences as topic sentences for your paragraphs. This way each
paragraph can proceed from the general supporting point of the topic sentence to specific facts, quotes,
and paraphrases from your sources (material that gives authority to your own points). You can draw on
points from your sources in order to expand, develop, support, and/ or illustrate your main ideas.
3.
For specific facts, quotations, and paraphrases, always identify your sources. Introduce quotations by
putting the name of the writer you drew the material from into your text whenever possible, preferably
before the quoted material. If you are quoting someone, it's always a good idea to tell your reader why
he or she should listen to that person. Tell your reader something about the quoted writer to establish
him or her as an expert or an authority.
Remember, for any borrowed material you use, you will need to be sure to provide citations in the text
that will direct your audience to more complete information about your sources on the works Cited page.
Now that we've got all that down, let's look at a rather good example of synthesis: In the past, opponents
of immigration raised economic, racial, religious, and nationalistic objections or questions about large-
scale immigration to the United States (Jones 247-305). Today, however, experts tell us that opposition
to immigration is expressed almost exclusively in economic terms. For example,
Dan Lacy a workplace consultant, business journalist, and editor, found that "research of immigration
attitudes" shows that the fear that some Americans have of losing their jobs to immigrants is the main
reason for opposition to immigration today (41). In the same economic vein, Thomas Muller, an
economist with the Urban Institute, points out the wide spread concern among Americans that the new
immigrants use welfare and other
Public -aid programs to such an extent that they are a ''financial burden" on government and, therefore, a
financial burden on taxpayers (125-127). With these two reasons expressly conveyed, it is easy to see
that most objections to immigration now fall under the economic realm.
Notice the "experts tell us" phrase that tells us that the author is combining the ideas of experts about"
opposition to immigration" and then giving us examples. Notice how the italicized portions trace the
coherence in the sources expressed by the repeated key words that relate to economic objections or
questions. This is important when there are two different sources; they are made to work together to
form a coherent discussion of the idea expressed in the topic sentence through the efforts of a third
independent writer. And yes, it is your job to be that third "synthesizing" writer.
The Key Features of Synthesis
•
Accurately reports information from the sources using a full arsenal of varying phrases and sentences.
•
Organized in such a way that readers (audience) can immediately see where the information from the
sources overlap.
•
Makes sense of the sources and helps the reader (audience) understand them in greater depth.
Feeling blown away? Relax. Synthesis, just like everything else you've learned, is a process.
Remember to put to use your skills of summarizing while keeping in mind everything mentioned above.
And, of course, as always, don't hesitate to ask for help