The document provides an overview of various research designs, including experimental, quasi-experimental, non-experimental, and qualitative methods, detailing their characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages. It emphasizes the importance of selecting an appropriate design based on the research question, ethical considerations, and available resources. Additionally, specific types of designs such as true experimental, descriptive, correlational, longitudinal, and ethnographic methods are discussed in depth.

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Research Design
By
Mr. Ravi Rai Dangi
Assistant Professor
Fellowship in Neonatal Nursing
MSc. Child Health Nursing

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Definition
 The research design is the master plan specifying the
methods and procedures for collection and analyzing
the needed information in a research study.
 Research design is the researcher’s over all plan for
answering the research question or testing the
research hypotheses.

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Elements
The approach
 Quantitative
 Qualitative
 Population, sample and technique
 Time , place and source of data collection
 Tools and method of data collection

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Factors affecting the research design
 Nature of the research problem like experimental or
non experimental
 Purpose of the study
 Researcher’s knowledge and experience
 Research ethics and principles
 Participants or samples
 Resources
 Time
 User of study findings

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Quantitative Research Design
Experimental
design
True
experimental
Quasi
experimental
Pre
experimental

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Experimental research design
 Experimental is most scientifically sophisticated
research method.
 It is defined as ‘observation under controlled
conditions’.
 Experimental research design are concerned with
examination of the effect of independent variable on
the dependent variable, where the independent
variable is manipulated through treatment or
intervention(s), & the effect of those interventions is
observed on the dependent variable.

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True Experimental Design
 Three essential characteristics
 Manipulation – refers to conscious control of
independent variable by researcher through
intervention.
 Control- refers to use of control group and controlling
the extraneous variables on the dependent variables.
 Randomization – refers to each and every sample
have equal chance to selected for the study.

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Types Of True Experimental Research Design
1. Post test only control design
Random
Assignment
Experiment
al group
Control
group
Treatment Post test
Post test

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Types Of True Experimental Research Design
1. Pre test - Post test only design
Random
Assignment
Exper
group
Control
group
Treatment Post test
Post test
Pretest
Pretest

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1. Solomon four group design
Exper
Group 1
Control
group 1
Treatment Post test
Post test
Pretest
Pretest
Exper
group 2
Control
group 2
Treatment Post test
Post test
Random
Assignment

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Randomized Block Design
 When there are large number of experimental
comparison groups, the randomized block design is
used to bring homogeneity among selected different
groups.

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Randomized Block Design
Type of
antihyperten
sive drugs
BLOCKS
Patient with
primary
hypertension
(I)
Diabetic
patient with
hypertension
(II)
Renal patient
with
hypertension
(III)
A A, I A,II A,III
B B,I B,II B,III
C C,I C,II C,III

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Crossover design
Groups Protocols of mouth care
Group Ist Chlorhexidine Saline
Group IInd Saline Chlorhexidine
In this design the subjects are exposed to more than
one treatment , where subject are randomly
assigned to different orders of treatment. It is also
known as repeat measure design.

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Advantage of true experimental design
 Power full design
 Relationship can be established in more statistical way
 Greater degree of purity due to control
 Purely manipulated by researcher
 These research are performed in laboratory so
researcher can work with more concentrated way and
carefully.

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Dis-Advantage of true experimental design
 Most of the studies can’t be replicated on humans due
to ethical considerations.
 Need a valid and good instrument for measurement.
 These studies needs laboratory because in
environment the extraneous variables can affect the
study.
 Sample size issue when it is related to human beings.

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Quasi experimental design
 It involves the manipulation of independent variable
to observe the effect on dependent variable; but it
lacks at least one of the two character of true
experimental design: randomization or control group.
 Two types
 Nonrandomized control group
 Time series design

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1. Non Randomized Control Group
Random
Assignment
Exper
group
Control
group
Treatment Post test
Post test
Pretest
Pretest

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1. Time Series Design Group
Exper
group
Treatmento1 o2 o3 o1 o2 o3

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Advantage of quasi experimental design
 Most feasible method due to availability of small
sample size, randomization and availability of control
group is not possible always.
 It allows researcher to evaluate the impact of
extraneous variables in natural settings.

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Dis-advantage of quasi experimental design
 No control over the extraneous environment.
 The absence of control group makes the result weaker.


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Pre experimental design
 This research design is very weak research design
because researcher have very weal control on it.
 Two types
 One shot case design
 One group pre test post design

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1. One shot case design
Exper
group
Treatment Post test

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2. One group pre test post test case design
Exper
group
Treatment Post testPretest

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Non- experimental research design
• Non experimental research design is one of the broad
categories of research designs, in which the researcher
observes the phenomena as they occur naturally, & no
external variables are introduced. It is a research design
in which variables are not deliberately manipulated,
nor is the setting controlled.
• Researcher collect the data without making changes or
inducing the treatments. Collected data will be
analyzed and result may lead to the formation of
hypothesis that can be tested experimentally.

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DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH DESIGN
The purpose of descriptive studies is to observe,
describe, & document aspects of a situation as it
naturally occurs, & sometimes to serve as a starting
point for hypothesis generation or theory
development.

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MAIN FEATURES…
• Descriptive designs are used to observe, document, &
describe a phenomenon occurring in its natural
setting without any manipulation or control.
• The descriptive studies are designed to gain more
information about characteristics within a particular
field in the real world.
• Descriptive studies provide an impression of a
situation as it occurs in natural settings. Descriptive
studies do not involve the manipulation of variables,
& variables are studies as they exist in the real world.

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• Descriptive design may be used to develop theories,
identify problems with current practices, justify
current practices, make judgments, or determine
other practices in similar situations.
• In descriptive studies, bias is prevented through
operational definitions of variables, large sample size,
random sampling techniques, valid & reliable research
tools, & formal data collection methods.
• Descriptive designs include identification of
phenomenon of interest, identifying the variables
within the phenomenon, developing operational
definitions of the variables, & describing the variables.

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TYPES OF DESCRIPTIVE DESIGN
 Univariant descriptive design
 Exploratory design
 Comparative design

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Univariant descriptive design
 Univariant descriptive designs are undertaken to describe
the frequency of occurrence of a phenomenon. This
design does not necessarily focus on the study of single
variable; there may be one or more variables involved in
the study. For example, a researcher is interested in
assessing the experiences of patients suffering from
rheumatoid arthritis.
 In this study, the researcher may describe th frequency o
different symptoms experienced by the patients & the
type of treatment they received during the course of
disease, etc. There are multiple variables in this research
study.

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Exploratory design
 Exploratory design is used to identify, explore, describe
the existing phenomenon & its relate factors.
 In other words, it is not only a simple description on the
frequency of occurrence of a phenomenon, but its in-
depth exploration & a study of its related factors to
improve further understanding about a less-understood
phenomenon.
 For example, an exploratory study to assess the
multifactorial dimensions of falls & home safety
measures for elderly people living in selected
communities in the city Mehsana.

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Comparative design
 Comparative design involves comparing & contrasting two
or more samples of study subjects on one or more variables,
often at a single point of time.
 This design is used to compare two distinct groups on the
basis of selected attributed such as knowledge level,
perceptions, & attitudes; physical or psychological
symptoms; & so on.
 For example, ‘A comparative study on health problems
among rural & urban older people in district Mehsana,
Gujarat.

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CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH DESIGN
 This is a non experimental design, where researcher
examines the relationship between two or more variables
in a natural setting without manipulation or Control.
 In other words, it is a research design where researchers
study the relationship of two or more variables without
any intervention.
 For example, this design was used for ‘A correlational
study on the effect of smoking on lung cancer among
people in Mehsana.

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MAIN FEATURES…
 In correlational studies, the researchers examine
the strength of relationships between variables by
determining how change in one variable is
correlated with change in the other variable.
 Generally, correlational studies have independent
& dependent variables, but the effect of
independent variable is observed on dependant
variable without manipulating the independent
variable.

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 In epidemiological language these studies are
known as cause & effect study, where cause & effect
relationship is investigate in natural settings
without imposing experimental interventions.
This cause & effect relationship can be investigated
either in forward manner, i.e. from cause to effect
(prospective) or backward manner, i.e. effect to
cause (retrospective).

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TYPES OF CORRELATIONAL
 Prospective research design
 Retrospective research design

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Prospective research design
 A design in which the researcher relates the present to
the future is a prospective research design .
 Prospective studies start with a presumed cause & then
go to presumed effects. In this research design ,
researcher observe phenomenon from cause to effect.
Prospective designs are often longitudinal, but may also
be cross sectional.

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 for example, a researcher conducting ‘a prospective
correlational study on effect of maternal infection
during pregnancy on fetal development & pregnancy
outcome .’
 In this study, the researcher starts by collecting data
from pregnant women regarding any history of
infection among women during their current
pregnancies, next observes fetal development &
pregnancy outcome, & finally analyses the relationship
of maternal infection during pregnancy & fetal
development & pregnancy outcome.

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Retrospective research design
 A design in which the researcher studies the current
phenomenon by seeking information from past is a
retrospective research design.
 In this the researcher links the present phenomenon
with the past events.
 In other words, the researcher has a backward
approach to study a phenomenon, where he or she
moves from effect to identify the cause.

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 For example, this design was used in ‘a retrospective
correlational study on substance abuse-related high-
risk factors among traumatic head injury patients
admitted in neurosurgery ICU of Geetanjali Medical
College & Hospital, Udaipur’.
 In this study, the researcher first approached head
injury patients, & then tried to identify the number of
head injuries that occurred under the influence of
substance abuse.

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DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGN
 Developmental research design examines the
phenomenon with reference to time.
 Developmental research designs are generally used as
adjunct research designs with other research designs
such as cross-sectional-descriptive, longitudinal
correlational research designs.

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TYPES OF DEVELOPMENTAL
 Cross-sectional design
 Longitudinal design

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Cross-sectional design
 Cross-sectional research design is one in which
researcher collects data at particular point of time (one
period of data collection). These studies are easier &
more convenient to carry out.
 For example, a researcher is interested in assessing the
awareness on swine flu among people of an area.
 Here the researcher interacts only once to collect
awareness-related data from respondents.

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Longitudinal design
 Longitudinal research design is used to collect data over
an extended time period (long-time study). Its value is in
its ability to demonstrate change over a period of time.
 For example, a researcher in interested in the perception
of nursing students towards nursing profession from the
beginning of nursing programme to its end.
 In this example, it is appropriate to use the longitudinal
research design to study this phenomenon.

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EPIDEMIOLOGICAL RESEARCH DESIGN
 Epidemiology is the study to investigate the
distribution & causes of the diseases in population.
 Therefore, epidemiological studies are generally
conducted to investigate causes of different diseases in
either prospective approaches (causes to effect) or
retrospective designs.
 Prospective studies are known as cohort studies &
retrospective studies are called case-control studies.

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Cohort studies:
 In this design, a longitudinal approach is used to
investigate the occurrence of a disease in existing
presumed causes.
 For example, a researcher longitudinally observes the
smokers for development of lung cancer.
Case-control studies:
 In this design, causes of a disease are investigated after
the occurrence of a disease.
 For example, a researcher investigates the history of
smoking in patients diagnosed with lung cancer.

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SURVEY RESEARCH DESIGN
 Survey design is used to collect information from
different subjects within a given population having same
characteristics of interest.
 If survey is conducted on a sample of population, it is
called SAMPLE SURVEY, and if the entire population is
involved, it is called a POPULATION SURVEY (census).
 A survey helps to collect wide range of data from a given
population – eg., attitude, opinion, perception,
behaviour, awareness, practice, etc.

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FEATURES
 Survey research is a process of gathering current
required data from the subjects so that new
information can be obtained.
 The survey research enables the investigators to easily
collect current information about what ever the
investigator is interested in obtaining.
 In a survey research, information is collected from a
mix of subjects who represent the total population in
the characteristics being studied.

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 Survey research is a mode of enquiry that relies heavily
upon the validity of verbal reports. Survey can be
descriptive, exploratory, comparative or correlational in
nature.
 Survey data can be collected in a number of ways. The
most common method is questioning. The information
is obtained directly from the respondents by self-
reporting questionnaires.
 Some times face- to-face interview method may be used.
A carefully developed questionnaire or interview
schedule is essential for data collection. However the
instruments used should be reliable and valid.

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Types of survey
 Descriptive survey.
 Exploratory survey.
 Correlational survey.
 Comparative survey.

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 DESCRIPTIVE SURVEY
Descriptive study is undertaken to describe
the frequency of occurrence of a phenomenon rather
than to study the relationships
 EXPLORATORY SURVEY
Surveys a phenomenon and its related factors
about which much information is not known.

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 CORRELATIONAL SURVEY
Studies the relationship between two or more
variables in a natural setting without manipulation
or control.
 COMPARITIVE SURVEY
Comparative survey aims at comparing and
contrasting the existence of a certain phenomenon
in two or more groups.

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ADVANTAGE OF NONEXPERIMENTAL
 Non experimental research designs tend to be closest
to real-life situation.
 Non experimental research designs are most suitable
for the nursing research studies.
 Numerous human characteristics are inherently not
subject to experimental manipulation (e.g. blood
type, personality, health beliefs, medical diagnosis,
etc.)
 There are many variable that could technically be
manipulated, but manipulated is forbidden on ethical
grounds.

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DISADVANTAGES OF NONEXPERIMENTAL
 The major disadvantage of non experimental researches
is that the results obtained & the relationship between
the dependent & independent variable can never be
absolutely clear & error-free.
 Non experimental studies are conducted for comparative
purposes using nonrandom selected groups, which may
not be homogeneous & tend to be dissimilar in different
traits or characteristics, which may affect the
authenticity & generalizability of the study results.

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Qualitative research design
 A qualitative research design is concerned with
establishing answers to the whys and how of the
phenomenon in question.
 It is often said that qualitative research is any research
that does not include numbers. This is not a good
definition as it is the approach to the data gathering
that is different in the two styles of research rather
than the outputs.

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 Qualitative research aims to explore, discover,
understand or describe phenomena that have already
been identified but are not well understood.

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Characteristic
 Use words rather than numbers to describe findings
 Assume a dynamic reality
 Emphasize seeing the world from the perspective of
the participants
 Goal is understanding rather than prediction
 Emphasize the subjective dimensions of human
experiences
 Holistic
 Associated with the interpretive approach which is
discovery oriented, explanatory, descriptive, and
inductive in nature

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TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN
 Ethnography
 Phenomenology
 Grounded theory
 Historical research

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Ethnography
 Meaning: ethnography (Greek ethnos=folk/people) is
a qualitative research method often used in the social
sciences, particularly in anthropology and in
sociology.
 Data collection is often done through participant
observation, interviews, questions etc. • Ethnography
aims to describe the nature of those who studied
through writing.

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 Ethnography focuses on the culture of group of people.
 It is often employed for gathering empirical data on
human societies/cultures.
Example
An ethnographic study on socio cultural belief of the
people about antenatal, natal and post natal care of
women in selected area of Rajasthan.

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Advantages:
 Ethnography immerses the project team in
participants’ lives and enables a relationship to
develop with research participants over the period of
study
 Ethnography provides a rich source of visual data and
helps to reveal unarticulated needs
 Ethnography captures behavior in the different
contexts of everyday life
 Ethnography places a human face on data through
real-life stories that teams can relate to and remember

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 Ethnography provides understanding behind ‘statistics’
 Ethnography allows emotional behavior to be captured;
 By carrying out research in the everyday life
environments of participants it helps to identify
discrepancies between what people say they do and what
they actually do.
Disadvantages
 Investigate complex issue
 A voice for understanding
 Expansive and difficult
 Ethics

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Phenomenology
 Phenomenology is 20th century philosophical movement
dedicated to describing the structure of experience as they
present themselves to consciousness, without resources to
theory ,deduction, or assumptions from other discipline
such as the natural sciences.
 Describes the meaning of the lived experience about a
concept or a phenomenon for several individuals.

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 Seeks to achieve a deep understanding of the
phenomenon by rigorous, systematic examination of
it.
 Its purpose is to describe the essences of lived
experiences
Example
A phenomenological study on live experience of tsunami
victims in selected areas of Tamilnadu .

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Advantages
 In-depth understanding of individual phenomena.
 In-depth understanding of individual phenomena.
 Reach data
 Unique perspective
Disadvantages
 The subjectivity of the data leads to difficulties in
establishing reliability and validity of approaches and
information.
 It is difficult to detect or to prevent researcher induced
bias.
 Non- numerical data
 not produce generalizable data due to very small sample

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Grounded theory
 Grounded theory is an inductive technique developed for
health –related topics by Glaser and Strauss (1967)
 It emerged from the discipline of sociology.
 The term grounded means that the theory developed
from the research is “grounded” or has it s roots in the
data from which it was derived.
 This type of research has become an important research
method for the study of medical theories of phenomena
relevant to health care staff. it is an approach to social
process and social structures.

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 As per grounded theory, the main focus is on
developing social experiences, the social and
psychological stages and phases that characterize the
particular event or episode.
Example
A study on the response and adaption process of the
patients diagnosed with cancer in selected hospital of
Gwalior.

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Advantages
 The researcher should not predetermine a prior about what he
or she will find, and what and how social phenomena should
be viewed. Therefore, the value of Grounded Theory is that it
avoids making assumptions and instead adopts a more neutral
view of human action in a social context.
 "Grounded theory provides a methodology to develop an
understanding of social phenomena that is not pre-formed or
pre- theoretically developed with existing theories and
paradigms."
Disadvantages
 Grounded theory fails to recognize the embeddedness of the
researcher and thus obscures the researcher's considerable
agency in data construction and interpretation.

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Historical Research
 Historical research is the systemic collection and
objective evaluation of data related to past occurrence in
order to test hypothesis concerning causes , effects, or
trends of theses events that help to explain present
events and anticipate future events. (Gay 1996)
 This include higher critism and textual criticism

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Though items may very depending on the subject matter
and researcher the following concepts are usually part of
most formal historical research: -
 Identification of origin date
 Evidence of location
 Recognition of authorship
 Analysis of data
 identification of integrity
 attribution of credibility

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Example
 A historical study on development of nursing in India.
 A historical study on inception and development of
optometry researches in India.