Components of Research Design

Components of a research design
Any investigator before getting on to the job of planning a research design for a proposed study should be clear about what to observe, whom to observe, how to observe, why to observe, how to record the observations, how to analyze, what inferences can be drawn etc.  After making sufficient understanding regarding these, the researcher can resort to the job of planning a research design.  The research design contains title of investigation, objectives, review of literature, the hypothesis, different variables to be studied, sampling plan, data collection, analysis of data, interpretation, verification, conclusions, summary and suggestions, bibliography etc.

1.Title of the Problem:  One should take more care not only in selecting the problem but also in its caption, as it reflect the nature of the study.  It is said that the title should be as brief and precise as possible.  In case of a research study the title itself indicates the nature and extend of the study.
2.Nature of the study:  It is also required to decide the nature of the study, ie., whether he is interested in descriptive or exploratory study or a statistical study.  This determines the techniques to be used in the study.
3.Objectives of the study:  Every study should state the objectives or purposes for which study is undertaken.  These objectives may be stated either in the form of questions or in the form of statements.  Objectives of the study are to be set to make the researcher on the right track. Depending on the nature of the study, objectives may also vary.
4.Scope of the study:  In order to make the study meaningful it is always better to define and delimit the scope of the study.  The scope of the study should be delimited with reference to geographical area to be covered, reference period, type of institutions or respondents to be studied, the issues to be covered etc.  This is to make the study manageable in terms of researcher's aim, interest and competence and the available techniques, time, finance and facilities. For eg:  A student carrying out his research on working of public sector undertakings has to define what he means by working and what are the issues he is interested in studying.  In general working may be profitability, financing, marketing or a combination of all these.  Then he has to define public sector ie., whether it include Departmentally run undertakings, Public corporations or Companies.
5.Survey of Literature:  Survey of existing Literature in the field of study is another important step in the formulation of research design.  Any research study should invariably be preceded by survey of literature for the purpose of getting an insight in to the works already conducted.

6.Conceptualization of Terms used:  Every researcher is required to make his mind clear by defining the meanings attached or wanted to attach to different terms used in the study.  This is become essential because terms and concepts in any discipline carry with them different meanings.
7.Formulation of hypothesis:  Hypothesis is considered as a principle instrument in research.  It can be said as a starting point for research.  Hypothesis is defined as a tentative generalization, the validity of which remains to be tested.  Hypothesis is considered necessary for any study to be conducted on scientific lines
8.Selection of sample:  In social science research, it may not be possible for an investigator to study the entire situation  or population due to several reasons.  Therefore, the investigator may be forced to select a sample out of the population.
9.Data Collection:  This is one of the important step in the whole research design.  The research scholar has to decide about the nature of the data and the sources from which he has to collect the same.  There are basically 2 sources of data, primary and secondary.  Depending upon the nature of the study, the investigator would be required to use the primary and secondary sources.  Whatever be the source, collection of adequate and pertinent data is highly essential.
10.Data Analysis:  The data collected from various sources must be properly processed and analyzed.  Different techniques may have to be adopted to process the data.  After processing the data has to be analyzed to bring out necessary information.  Analysis of data has an important role in the research design.  Quality of the study, its utility or how meaningful conclusions are arrived are depend not on how much data are collected but how the data are analyzed.
11.Report Writing:  A research study finally ends with the writing of a report which is a tool for communicating the various aspects of the study.  Writing of an effective report depends on the skill of the investigator.