Choosing the Appropriate

Research Design
Data
- are distinct pieces of information.

Research data
- is data that collected, observed, for
purpose of analysis to produce original
research results.

Data collection
- is the systematic approach to gathering
and measuring information from a variety of
sources to get a complete and accurate picture
of an area of interest.
Descriptive Design

Descriptive research design to describe

particular phenomena or relationship within
a single group.
Descriptive studies lack randomization and
control and cannot be used to determine
causation and other complication. In other
words, descriptive research designs can only
be used to determine “who” and “what”, not
“why”
 There are several
types of descriptive
design
1. Descriptive – survey
- this type is appropriate wherever the
subjects differ among themselves and one is
interested to know the scope to which different
conditions and situations are obtained among these
subjects.
- a survey is valuable in:
1. providing the value of facts.
2. focusing concentrations on the most
essential things to be reported.
Example:

a researcher wants to determine the qualification

of employed professionals in Maryland. He uses
a survey as his research instrument, and each item
on the survey related to qualifications is subjected
to a Yes/No answer.

This way, the researcher can describe the

qualifications possessed by the employed
demographics of this community.
2. Descriptive – normative survey

- the term normative is often used

because surveys are commonly made to
determine the normal or typical
condition for practice, or to contrast
local test results with a state or national
norm.
- the results / findings of the study
should be evaluated with the norm.
Example:

• an organization that wishes to test the skills of its

employees by a team may have them take a skills
test. The skills tests are the evaluation tool in this
case, and the result of this test is compared with
the norm of each role.

• If the score of the team is one standard deviation

above the mean, it is very satisfactory, if within the
mean, satisfactory, and one standard deviation
below the mean is unsatisfactory.
3. Descriptive - status

- this approach to problem solving

tries to answer questions to real facts
linking to existing conditions.

- this is a technique of quantitative

description which establishes the general
conditions in a group of cases selected
for study.
Example:

• a researcher researching the income of the

employees in a company, and the relationship
with their performance.

• A survey will be carried out to gather enough data

about the income of the employees, then their
performance will be evaluated and compared to
their income. This will help determine whether a
higher income means better performance and low
income means lower performance or vice versa.
4. Descriptive - analysis

- this method establishes or explains the

nature of an object by separating it into its parts.

- its purpose is to learn the nature of things.

- the researcher should verify the

composition, structure, sub – structure that
occurs as units with the larger structure.
Example:

• the HR personnel of a company that wishes to

analyze the job role of each employee of the
company may divide the employees into the
people that work at the Headquarters in the
US and those that work from Oslo, Norway
office.
• A questionnaire is devised to analyze the job
role of employees with similar salaries and
work in similar positions.
5. Descriptive - classification

- this method is used in

natural sciences subjects.
The specimens gathered
are classified from phylum
to species.
Example:

An investigator to do a taxonomy
study of butanding or whale on the
water of Donsol, Sorsogon. He
collects from different research
stations and then identities and
classifies them according to classes
and species.
6. Descriptive - evaluation

This design is to
appropriate carefully
the worthiness of the
current study.
Example:

The researcher wishes to conduct a study on

evaluation of an implementation of WOW
(War on Wastes) in the Division of Iloilo. He
devises a questionnaire which evaluates the
implementation of WOW and requests the
division and district supervisors, principals,
head teachers, and teachers vas subjects of
the study to responds on it.
7. Descriptive – comparative

- this is design where the

researcher uses two variables that
are not manipulated and sets up a
prescribed procedure to compare
and conclude that one is better than
the other if significant difference
exists.
Example:

• an examination body wants to determine

the better method of conducting tests
between paper-based and computer-based
tests.
• A random sample of potential participants
of the test may be asked to use the 2
different methods, and factors like failure
rates, time factors, and others will be
evaluated to arrive at the best method.
8. Correlational survey

Correlative used to determine

whether the relationship between
2 variables is positive, negative, or
neutral. That is, if 2 variables, say
X and Y are directly proportional,
inversely proportional or are not
related to each other.
Example:

The researcher wishes to correlate the

performance between English (X) and
mathematics (Y) of freshmen marketing
students in the Career Development Program
at De La Salle College of St. Benilde, Manila.
He uses tests as research instrument in
gathering the data and scattergram as the
statistical tool used to determine the
correlation.
Correlational Research

- is a type of research method that involves

observing two variables in order to establish a
statistically corresponding relationship between
them. The aim of correlational research is to
identify variables that have some sort of
relationship do the extent that a change in one
creates some change in the other.
Example:

You want to know if people who have higher incomes are more likely
to be vegetarian. You don’t think that income causes vegetarianism
(or vice versa), but finding a relationship could lead to a better
understanding of the factors that influence or limit people’s dietary
choices.
To find out if there is a relationship between vegetarianism and
income, you send out a questionnaire about diet to a sample of
people from different income brackets. You statistically analyze the
responses to determine whether vegetarians generally have higher
incomes.
 Three types of
Correlation
Research Design
1. Positive correlation

- is a relationship between two variables in which

both variables move in the same direction.
- when one variable increases as the other variable
increases, or one variable decreases while the other
decreases.

Example:
of positive correlation would be height and weight. Taller
people tend to be heavier.
2. Negative correlation

- is a relationship between two variables in

which an increase in one variable is associated
with a decrease in the other.

Example:
of negative correlation would be height above sea
level and temperature. As you climb the mountain
(increase in height) it gets colder (decrease in
temperature).
3. Zero correlation

- exists when there is no

relationship between two variables.

Example:
there is no relationship between the
amount of tea drunk and level of
intelligence.
Quasi – Experimental

- to identify differences between two or more

groups in an attempt to explain causation.
- allow researchers more control to make
assumptions about causation and implication of
findings.
- are also useful when researchers want to
study particular groups in which group members
cannot be randomly assigned ( like person with
depression, single mothers, people from different
races or ethnic groups, etc.)
Example:

Researchers cannot randomly

assign gender to participants.
Therefore, any study in which
researchers are investigating
differences between genders is
inherently quasi – experimental.
 The following are
some types of quasi
– experimental
design
1. One – group post test – only design

- a type of experimental study in which

only one group receives a treatment and is
then measured in post test after treatment.
- there is no available comparison group
or pre test data or baseline condition to
compare with.
- this design is best implemented as an
evaluation model.
2. Static group comparison design

- this design attempts to make up for the lack of

a control in relation to showing if a change has
occurred.
- two groups are chosen, one of which receives
the treatment and the other does not.
- a post test score is then determined to measure
the difference, after treatment, between the groups.
- this study does not include any pre – testing
and therefore any differences between the two
groups prior to the study are unknown.
3. Non - equivalent control group design

- a treatment group and a comparison

group are compared using pre test and post
test measures.
- these groups are not randomly selected
because they constitute naturally assembled
groups ( such as classroom).
- the assignment of X ( the treatment )
to one group or the other is randomly
selected by the researcher.
Example:

Four sections of a course are chosen to

participate in a study of teaching
methods. Half are randomly assigned a
new teaching method and half are not.
All are given pre – tests at the beginning
of the term and all are given post tests
at the end of the semester.
4. Time series design

- a quasi experimental research

design in which periodic measurements
are made on a defined group of
individuals both before and after
implementation of an interventions.
- time series studies are often
conducted for the purpose of determining
the interventions or treatment effect.
5. Equivalent time - samples

- this design involves

periodic introduction of
treatment followed by
measurements with the
treatments varied consistently
over time.
Example:

To study the effect on student discussions of

having an observer appear in classroom. At
time period one, an observer is present and a
measure of discussion level is made. At time
two, no observer is present and a measure of
discussion level is made. At time three an
observer is present, a measure is taken. At
time four, an observer is not present,
measure is taken.
6. Multiple time series design

- a type of quasi – experimental design

where a series of periodic measurements
is taken from two groups of test units ( an
experimental group and a control ).
- the experimental group is exposed
to a treatment and then another series of
periodic measurements is taken from both
groups.
7. Equivalent material design

- this design involves

giving equivalent samples of
materials to subject,
imparting interventions, and
then making observations.
Example:

Subjects are asked to complete a survey

instrument about their opinions related to
current events. The students are then split
into two groups and given two different sets
of ( falsified ) survey results indicating how
other students answered the survey. Both
groups are then asked to complete the survey
again to observed how they respond.
Experimental

- can be to test differences between groups

( such as treatment A group, treatment B group and
control group ) or factorial differences within
multiple levels of each group ( like a drug of
Imodium or kaopectate ).
- Experimental research design is centrally
concerned with constructing research that is high in
causal (internal) validity. Randomized experimental
designs provide the highest levels of causal validity.
Example:

in order to test the effects of a new drug intended to treat a certain

medical condition like dementia, if a sample of dementia patients is
randomly divided into three groups, with the first group receiving a
high dosage of the drug, the second group receiving a low dosage,
and the third group receives a placebo such as a sugar pill (control
group), then the first two groups are experimental groups and the
third group is a control group. After administering the drug for a
period of time, if the condition of the experimental group subjects
improved significantly more than the control group subjects, we can
say that the drug is effective. We can also compare the conditions
of the high and low dosage experimental groups to determine if the
high dose is more effective than the low dose.
There are three
types:
1. Independent measures / groups

- different
participants are used in
each condition of the
independent variable.
Example:

If the researcher is trying to

discover if girls are less than
boys, then he obviously need two
separate groups, namely boys and
girls.
2. Repeated measures

- the same participants

take part in each condition of
the independent variable.
- is often more accurate
than the independent
measure design.
Example:

The researcher wants to find out if

people react more quickly to an auditory
stimulus ( like a bell ) or to a visual
stimulus ( like a light ). He can use the
same participants and try them out with
both types of stimulus.
3. Matched pairs

- each condition uses different participants, but they are

matched in terms of certain characteristics.

- participants can be matched on variables which are

considered to be relevant to the experiment in question.

Example:
Pairs of participants might be matched for age, gender and
their scores from intelligence or personality tests.
References:

https://www.formpl.us/blog/descriptive-research
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-res
earch-methods/chapter/chapter-10-experimental-r
esearch
/
https://
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/97811185
19639.wbecpx113
https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/correlation
al-research
/
https://
www.formpl.us/blog/correlational-research
https://www.simplypsychology.org/correlation.ht