Research Design:
Definition and Examples
The research
design is a framework or sketch designed by researchers as a research plan
(research plan). Research designs that are submitted for approval to conduct
research are commonly called research proposals.
There are
opinions that say that the research design can also be called a research
design. Between the research plan and the research design, although
definitively different, they can be referred to here as part of the research
design.
Before discussing
further research designs, we need to agree in advance what we mean as research
designs. Some researchers say that the research design can be interpreted from
the side, namely in the narrow sense and in the broad sense.
In the narrow
sense, the research design includes the process of collecting and analyzing
data. While in the broadest sense includes the entire research process from
planning to reporting. The discussion of the research design in this post will
depart from understanding in a broad sense.
Definition of
research design
As mentioned
above, the research design can be defined as a specific sketch or framework
designed by researchers that describes the overall research process plan.
The reader may
refer to it as a research plan or research design, provided that what is meant
here is the same as the definition above. I deliberately do not dispute the
definition between design, plan, and research design because in several
lectures on research journal methods, teachers often use them interchangeably (Journal Student, 2017).
Because the
definition we use is broad in its definition, the research design that will be
presented here will cover the overall research framework. A brief explanation
will accompany each framework in order to assist the reader in designing the
research design.
Research design
framework
The following is
a framework or sketch of a commonly used research design:
Research title
Formulation of
the problem
Research
objectives and benefits
Literature review
Hypothesis
Population and
sample / participants / research subjects
Research
variables / conceptual boundaries / conceptual framework
Method of
collecting data
Data analysis
method
Report writing
research design
The above design
is not sacred, meaning that every study does not have to be exactly the same as
the framework. Intutitively we can see that every point contained in the above
design is indeed important, therefore there must be. For example, every
research has a problem statement.
Important note
goes to the hypothesis. In fact not all researchers, especially social
researchers make hypotheses. According to him the hypothesis can limit the
freedom of thought of social researchers. This problem is more suitable to be
placed on the methodology debate table. Here we take it simply, namely the use
of hypotheses is more necessary in quantitative research rather than
qualitative.
In addition, the
terms population and sample are also more relevant for quantitative research.
Qualitative researchers usually use other terms, for example research subjects
or participants. The reader does not need to force himself to write the same
terms as the sample design above. I encourage readers to be creative using
terms that are more relevant than the examples above if found.
Next, we briefly
review the research design above from the title to writing the report.
Explanation of
research design
Research title
The title is the
shortest representation of the entire research substance. Making the title does
not have to be at the beginning. I personally prefer making the title at the
end when the report is nearing completion. However, I always make
"judgments" to help remind the contents of the research being made.
Actually there
are some tips for making a good research title, as explained in books, such as:
affordable by the ability of researchers, attracting readers, arouse the
curiosity of readers, relevant to the content, and so on. The tips in this post
are only one, which represents content.
In practice it is
not easy to make a title. Tutorial on how to make a good title can be useful if
the reader has never tried it himself, reread, cross out, make a new title,
cross out again, until it feels 'click'. I think that making a research title
is more like painting than writing. That is, writing the title is the art of
finding phrases that are felt in accordance with the substance of the research.
Formulation of
the problem
Super-brief
understanding of the problem formulation is a case that wants to be
investigated. In compiling the formulation of the problem, researchers usually
question a phenomenon and define the phenomenon as a problem. In the eyes of
others, maybe a phenomenon is not a problem at all, but in the eyes of
researchers, what they want to study must be a problem.
In the problem
formulation section, the researcher explains in detail what the problem is,
where the points that are the problem need to be examined. Where do researchers
get the problem that they want to study? From anywhere, for example, readings,
phenomena around, curhatan other people, and so on. But keep in mind, in
writing the formulation of the problem, researchers must be objective.
The formulation
of the problem is often called a research question. So, the form of the problem
formulation is a question. This question can be raised in the form of points or
descriptions. I once wrote about an example problem formulation here as a
reference if needed.
Research
objectives and benefits
The purpose of
this research is to answer the problem formulation. While the benefits of
research are the benefits that certain parties can get if the research you are
doing is complete. Making research goals and benefits is not as difficult as
what one might imagine. Readers only need to look at the formulation of the
problem that has been prepared.
Literature review
Literature review
is usually called the study of literature. In this framework the reader seeks,
reads, and reviews readings that are relevant to the research topic. Quite
often there are a lot of relevant literature. In this case, the reader must
select which is more relevant, which is less relevant.
Not infrequently
also, the literature sought is scarce. If this scarcity is found after an
extensive and exhausting search, the reader can write in the proposal that the
study of the topics covered is still small, evidenced by the lack of
literature.
Hypothesis
Hypotheses are
needed if your research uses a quantitative approach. The hypothesis is
formulated from the relationship between two or more variables which are
temporary conclusions and need to be tested.
Some researchers
prefer not to use hypotheses because they can curb the freedom of researchers
in the field. This choice is plural taken by qualitative researchers who like
to leave the "suitcase" theory before going to the field.
Population and
sample
This section can
also be called the subject of research or participants. Researchers need to
explain who are the participants in this study and how to get it. In social
research, a discussion of ethics may be written in this section.
The subject of
social research is humans. Therefore, ethical aspects are important to discuss.
Except for some studies that use a discourse analysis approach or post analysis
which does not involve contact with humans as research subjects.
Research variable
As with the
previous section, more familiar research variables are used for quantitative
research that requires hypotheses. Qualitative research usually uses the term
concept boundary or conceptual framework. The definitions between concepts and
variables are indeed different. Variables are more detailed and can be measured
rather than concepts. However, qualitative research is usually applied to
explore phenomena that are not easily measured.
Method of
collecting data
Data collection
methods applied must be able to answer the problem formulation. So, the task of
researchers here is to select and sort out which methods of data collection are
relevant. The relevance of data collection methods is very dependent on the
formulation of the problem. Click here to read a full review of data collection
methods.
Data analysis
method
Data analysis
methods can be done manually or with the help of a computer. How to do this
also varies depending on what research method is used. Quantitative research
often applies different analytical methods than qualitative research. The
difference in data analysis can be seen from the different software used if the
analysis is done with the help of a computer. For more details, see data
analysis techniques here.
Write a report
The final
framework of the study design is report writing. Writing research reports
adjusted to what research is done. If the thesis research, then the writing of
the report must be in accordance with the thesis, not the thesis or other.
The format of the
research report is in principle in accordance with the framework that is the
design of the study. So, when the reader is making a research design, actually
the reader is also compiling a research report framework.