Summary of the 1st Chapter: The selection of the research design
The selection of the research design is crucial step in order for any research to be systematic
and well planned. According to Creswell, research designs can be defined as “plans and the
procedures for research that span the decisions from broad assumptions to detailed methods of
data collection and analysis.” These designs consist of three major concepts which are
philosophy, strategies of inquiry and specific methods. In other words, the researcher have
to think about the philosophical framework in which they are conducting the study, the
strategy of inquiry associated with it as well as the exact methods or techniques to apply these
theoretical assumptions. In addition, when the researchers attempt to choose a research
design, they need to take into consideration various criteria including the research problem,
personal experience and the targeted audience.
A philosophical worldview, as stated by Creswell (2009), is a “basic set of beliefs that guide
action”. Other alternative terms used to refer to this concept are paradigms, epistemologies
and ontologies, or broadly conceived research methodologies. Four main philosophical
worldviews can be identified. The first is the postpositivist worldview which suggests that
absolute knowledge or truth does not exist and challenges postpositivity in studying human
behaviour. This view is claims that causes determine outcomes, breaks broad ideas into a set
of small ideas, focus on objective measurement of reality and emphasizes the testing and
verification of theories and laws. The second is the social constructivist view. It holds the
assumption that researchers are trying to understand the world in which they live. This
perspective highlights the idea of exploring and understanding a variety of complex views,
creating subjective meanings through interaction and generating theories. The third worldview
is the advocacy/participatory worldview. This standpoint is issue oriented and came to address
marginalized categories. It associates between the research and politics. It seeks the
empowerment of minorities by including the participants actively in the research process and
making a change in the society. The fourth and the final is the pragmatic worldview. It
emphasizes studying thoroughly a problem and looking for applicable solutions. Pragmatist
researchers have more freedom in choosing which methods and techniques they want to work
with either in data collection or analysis.
Creswell (2009) define strategies of inquiry as “types of qualitative, quantitative, and
mixed methods designs or models that provide specific direction for procedures in a
research design.” In this regard, three main strategies have been distinguished. To start with
the quantitative strategies. They include conducting true complex experiments through
surveys which provide pure numeric description and experimental research studying whether
a certain treatment has an influence on an outcome. Examples of pre-determined quantitative
methods of research are instrument-based questions, and statistical analysis and interpretation
Moreover, there are qualitative strategies which are used to learn about how individuals or
groups of people view a social or human issue. An instance of these strategies is ethnography
in which the researcher studies a cultural group of people during a certain period of time.
Other strategies have been recognised within this category such as case studies, grounded
theories, phenomenological and narrative research. Qualitative emerging methods of research
comprise open-ended question, interviews, observation, and text and image analysis. Finally,
there are mixed methods strategies which combine quantitative and qualitative strategies of
inquiry. The purpose of the researcher might be expanding the results of one method using the
other or analysing the research problem in a more comprehensible way. Mixed methods can
be both predetermined and emerging as well as they draw on quantitative and qualitative
methods.
The criteria of selecting a research design are the research problem, personal experience of the
researcher and the audience. Firstly, some research topics oblige the researcher to opt for
certain plans and procedures. To illustrate, researchers should opt for the quantitative
approach if they are testing a theory or examining certain variables. However, a qualitative
approach is needed when the purpose is more exploratory and variables are not clear.
Secondly, personal experiences play a pivotal role in picking up the right research design. For
example, researchers will choose a qualitative approach because they are familiar with literary
writing and prefer observation and interviews. At last, researchers have to take into
consideration their audience and use approaches preferred by their readers.
To sum up, before conducting any study or handling any research problem, researchers need
to select the plan that fit their research. They can start by choosing the philosophical
worldview either the positivist, the social constructivist, the advocacy or the pragmatic view.
Then, they need to decide on the strategies of inquiry as well as the specific methods whether
they are quantitative, qualitative or a mixed approach. During the process of the selection, the
researcher should consider the problematic, personal experiences and the audience.
