What is Research Design and how is it done?

Do you know what a research design is? Surely you relate it to statistics classes, experimental psychology… However, it is a tool that is used in many types of research and in many fields of study.

It is a set of techniques that allow a researcher to prepare his experiment or the investigation of it. In this article we will know what exactly it consists of, what types exist and how some variables influence its design.

• We recommend reading: "The 15 types of research (and characteristics)"

What is research design?

Before explaining how these designs work and what types exist, let's see what a research design consists of, or how it is defined. It is a set of techniques and methods that a researcher chooses to get to carry out an experiment or a research project. It is a series of steps that serve as a guide for the investigator.

Thus, in other words, research design is a structured and specific plan of action, aimed at the design and implementation of an experiment. It encompasses a set of rules or specific steps that allow the researcher to reach the objective, in this case, to develop an experiment (be it observational, experimental, quasi-experimental…).

That is, they allow you to create research projects; they establish what are the necessary steps to reach them.

Scientific method

The research design is framed within the scientific method, which consists of a general procedure characterized by systematization and control. The scientific method (and therefore the research design) is divided into two: quantitative and qualitative.

1. Quantitative design

In quantitative design or method, phenomena are events determined by causes independent of human will, and are therefore objective. In this case, this type of research can be carried out when it is important for the researcher to obtain statistical conclusions that help him to collect information for his research. That is, it is based on calculation and numbers

• Recommended: "The 9 differences between qualitative and quantitative research"

2. Qualitative design

In the qualitative, on the other hand, reality is considered as a subjective construction, in which many constructions of the same reality are possible; Furthermore, in this case the subject and the object of knowledge are interdependent.

In addition, qualitative research makes it possible to establish relationships between the collected data; On the other hand, the different theories that are related to natural phenomena can be verified (refuted or proved) through this design and the corresponding mathematical calculations. Many times these types of designs seek to answer open questions, such as: “why?

Methodology

What methodology is used to develop a research design? It can be of different types: deductive, inductive and hypothetico-deductive. The deductive methodology is the one that goes from the general to the particular (it emphasizes the theory); the inductive, the one that goes from the particular to the general (emphasizes the data), and finally the hypothetico-deductive is the one that combines the two previous ones.

Degree of control

What's more, Depending on the degree of control we want to have in our experiment, the research design can be of 4 types. We are going to detail them below.

1. Experimental design

The experimental research design is the one with the maximum degree of control (by the researcher); that is, there is manipulation of the variables. In addition, it allows establishing causal relationships between variables.

2. Comparative design

The comparative design, in turn, is divided into two more: the correlational (when there is a degree of relationship between the variables; it does not allow to establish causal relationships) and the comparative itself (where the independent variable is selection; that is to say, the subject comes with its value "placed" [for example, race or gender]).

On the other hand, through the comparative design itself, quasi-causality relationships can be established. In the two types of comparative designs, the degree of control by the experimenter is intermediate.

3. Observational / survey design

This type of research design has a minimal degree of control by the researcher; that is, there is no manipulation, it is simply observed. As in the case of the correlational design, this type of design does not allow the establishment of causal relationships between the variables.

An example of an observational research design is surveys.

Type of manipulation

Closely related to the previous section, we ask ourselves: What kind of manipulation can be done in a research design?

Logically, it will depend on the type of design and experiment. There are basically three types of research designs according to the type of manipulation applied to the independent variables.

1. Experimental research

This first research design involves an intentional manipulation of the independent variables. In addition, there is randomization of them.

2. Quasi-experimental research

In this second type, the manipulation is one of selection, not intentional (that is, it involves variables or values ​​that the subject already possesses; for example sex). In this case there is no randomization of the variables (in fact, it is the main difference between an experimental and quasi-experimental research design).

3. Non-experimental research

Finally, in non-experimental research there is no manipulation of the variables or randomization of the same.

The variables in the investigation

Another important concept that we must know to fully understand what research design is are the variables under investigation., since they all have them. What does it consist on?

A psychological variable is a psychological construct that can be measured with values ​​mutually exclusive (for example gender, anxiety level, degree of well-being, weight, height, etc.). Variables can be of different types (according to different classifications). One of the most important is the one that divides them into:

1. Dependent variables

The dependent variable, which is usually expressed by “Y”, is the effect that is produced from the independent variable. For example, it can be the degree of anxiety (which increases or decreases depending on a treatment).

2. Independent variables

The independent variables, however, are represented by "X", and are the cause of the effects. That is, following the previous example, it would be psychological treatments (independent variable), for example, that influence the degree of anxiety (dependent variable).

Meta-analysis

Finally, another interesting concept to know in relation to research designs is meta-analysis; It is a technique for evaluating the quantitative results of a set of empirical studies. Through it, a summary or synthesis of the significant effects of the variables studied is reached.

It is a type of methodology consisting of the systematic review of different studies and results; Through it, a series of statistical techniques is applied in order to analyze these results, mainly quantitatively.

Bibliographic references:

• Anguera, M.T., Arnau, J., Ato, M. et. to the. (1998). Research methods in psychology. Madrid: Synthesis.

• Fontes de Gracia, S., García, C. and Quintanilla, L. (2010). Research fundamentals in psychology. Madrid: UNED.

• Kazdin, A.E. (2002). Research methods in clinical psychology. Mexico: Prentice Hall.