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Research Design
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Research Design
Why Thinking About Design Matters

March 2023 | 352 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
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Designing research is about making decisions to transform an idea into a plan that can provide answers to a research problem or question. Thinking about, and then making these decisions results in the research design – the plan that will be followed to conduct the research and answer the question. This text engages in a dialogue with the reader, providing a serious but accessible introduction to research design, for use as a guide when designing your own research or when reading the research of others. 

Julianne Cheek and Elise Øby show that designing research is an iterative and reflexive process in which there is constant thinking through, and re-visiting of, decisions about that design as it develops. They use a variety of pedagogical devices throughout the book including Tip; Activity; and Putting it into Practice boxes to emphasize specific points and encourage readers to think about the practical implications of what they have learned.

An instructor resource site at http://edge.sagepub.com/cheek1e includes editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides and suggested essay questions to accompany the book.

For instructors and students: The authors discuss their book and their approaches to research design in a series of 10 video blogposts available to view here:: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg8Hz5Alt2FopSeysIakNYMIrA9COoSkK



 
Chapter 1 – Research Design: What You Need to Think About and Why
Introduction: What Is Research Design?

 
Designing Research Is an Iterative Process

 
Research Design: Working With the Literature

 
How Do You Make Decisions About Which Literature to Trust or Rely On?

 
Research Design: Considering Methodology and Methods

 
Research Design: Considering Theory

 
The Importance of Reflexive Thinking When Designing Research

 
 
Chapter 2 – Ethical Issues in Research Design
What Is Research Ethics?

 
Putting Informed Consent Into Practice

 
Putting Confidentiality and Anonymity Into Practice

 
What You Need to Think About When Reusing, Repurposing, and Sharing Data

 
What You Need to Think About When Using Information on the Internet as Data

 
Working With Ethics Committees

 
 
Chapter 3 – Developing Your Research Questions
Bringing Research Questions Into Focus

 
Putting the Idea of “Think Big, Plan Big, but Do a Small, Well-Contained Study”3 Into Practice.

 
Using the Literature When Developing Research Questions

 
Different Forms of Reasoning and How They Shape the Form That Research Questions Take

 
Putting Iterative and Reflexive Research Question Development Into Practice—Learning From Others

 
Scratching the Underbelly of Research Design: Developing Clear Research Question(s). Reflections by Maxi Miciak and Christine Daum.7

 
 
Chapter 4 – Why Methodology Matters When Designing Research
Thinking Methodologically

 
Data: A Concept Shaped by Methodological Assumptions

 
Paradigms: Sets of Basic Beliefs That Guide Methodological Thinking

 
Onto-Epistemological Derived Assumptions Underpin Methodological Thinking

 
Inquiry Paradigms and How They Connect to Methodological Thinking

 
Inquiry Paradigms Affect Thinking About Whether Research Is Credible

 
The Importance of Asking Methodological Questions of Your Research Design

 
 
Chapter 5 – Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Designing Research
Qualitative and Quantitative Research Strategies

 
Common Features Associated With Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches

 
Variation Within Quantitative and Qualitative Research Approaches

 
Which Are Better: Qualitative or Quantitative Research Approaches?

 
 
Chapter 6 – Obtaining Data Using Qualitative Approaches
Qualitative Methods Are Not Stand-Alone Data Collection Techniques

 
Different Qualitative Methods Use Different Strategies of Inquiry

 
How Structured Will Your Qualitative Interviews Be and Why?

 
Will You Interview Your Participants Individually or in Some Form of Group and Why?

 
What Will You Ask Your Participants in the Interview and Why?

 
Who Will You Interview and Why?

 
 
Chapter 7 – Analyzing and Interpreting Qualitative Data
Analysis of Qualitative Data: An Iterative and Dynamic Strategy

 
When Does Analysis “Begin” When Designing and Conducting Qualitative Research?

 
Developing an Iterative Qualitatively Driven Analytic Strategy

 
Coding—A Strategy to Condense Your Data

 
More Choices and Decisions to Make When Putting Coding Into Practice

 
The Art of Interpretation

 
Collecting and Analyzing Data—When Do You Know That You Are “Done”?

 
 
Chapter 8 – Foundational Design Issues When Using Quantitative Methods
What You Need to Think About in Order to Design Credible Quantitative Research

 
Where to Begin? Deciding Who You Will Collect Numerical Data From and Why

 
Choosing an Analysis Procedure Suitable for Answering Your Research Question

 
What Types of Data Are There?

 
How Different Types of Data Enable Different Types of Knowledge

 
 
Chapter 9 – Collecting Data Using Quantiative Methods
Measuring Variables to Enable Valid Research Findings

 
Making Sure the Measurements You Make Measure What They Claim to

 
Taking a Closer Look at What Enables Variables to Be Measured

 
How to Make Abstract Variables Measurable

 
Developing a Measurement Instrument

 
Putting a Measurement Instrument Into Practice

 
 
Chapter 10 – Designing Research Using Mixed Methods
What Is a Mixed Methods Research Approach?

 
Why Use a Mixed Methods Research Design?

 
Priority and Timing of the Components in a Mixed Methods Study

 
An Example of How to Connect Purpose, Priority, and Timing and Why This Matters

 
Mixing—A Central Consideration in Mixed Methods Research

 
Strategies for Navigating the Complex and Contested Field of Mixed Methods Research

 
 
Chapter 11 – Why Knowing and Declaring Your Research Design Hand Matters
Knowing and Declaring What Your Research Design Related Hand Is

 
Declaring Your Hand: Missing in Action in Much of the Reporting of Research

 
How to Declare Your Research Hand: Circling Back to Tell the Story of the Designing of Your Research

 
Capturing All This in a Diagram of Some Sort

 
Key features
The authors use a variety of pedagogical devices throughout the book:
  • Tip Boxes provide friendly advice on specific aspects of research design.
  • Activity Boxes, and Supplemental Activities at the end of chapters, help readers move their own research design forward.
  • Putting it into Practice Boxes encourage readers to think about the practical implications of what they have learned.
  • Key concept terms are highlighted at the end of each chapter and included in a helpful glossary at the end of the book.
  • Each chapter begins with an outline of goals and issues to be discussed. The chapter proceeds as an extended discussion of those goals, and ends with a summary of the key points, allowing readers to check their understanding.
  • Each chapter then concludes with a list of suggested further readings related to the content discussed.

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