Research Design: Why Thinking About Design Matters

Designing research is about making decisions to transform an idea into a plan that can provide answers to a research question. This engaging new text provides a serious but accessible introduction to research design and serves as a guide when designing research or reading the research of others. The authors illustrate how 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.

Table of Contents:
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

About the Author :
Julianne Cheek is a professor at ∅stfold University College, Norway. She is editor in chief of Qualitative Health Research, as well as being an editorial board member of a number of journals related to qualitative inquiry. Her publications reflect her ongoing interest in qualitative inquiry and the politics of that inquiry. In 2010-2012, she had the honor of serving as the vice president of the International Association of Qualitative Inquiry and currently serves on the External Advisory Board of the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, held annually at the University of Illinois. She has a long term interest in the teaching and development of courses in research design and methods -  at Masters, Doctoral, and Post-Doctoral levels. Julianne has formal qualifications  in teaching and education and began her working life teaching science in secondary schools. After completing her PhD in social sciences she took up her first academic post teaching nursing students. Since then she has taught research methods to students in a number of health related areas including physiotherapy, nutrition and sport sciences, as well as students in leadership and organizational studies.  She has held senior administrative university posts at a number of universities, including Dean of Graduate Studies. Director of Early Career Development, and Dean Research. Elise ∅by is an associate professor at Kristiania University College, Norway. She holds a PhD in mathematics and a master’s degree in organization and leadership. Her Masters study employed qualitative research. She has held academic positions in multiple universities and colleges in Norway. She has also worked in public administration and held a management position at a university college. She started her academic career teaching mathematics and statistics across a variety of study programs including teacher education, finance, and business administration. Her teaching experience also includes courses in mathematics and physics taken by engineering students. In engineering, statistics (and therefore mathematics) are considered a tool more than the issue of interest in itself. Using mathematics and statistics as tools to learn about how the world works and how to make decisions based on empirical data collected from and about that world, rather than as procedures to solve constructed mathematical/statistical problems, sparked her interest in the field of research design and research methods in the social sciences. Her current teaching includes courses in research design, quantitative methods, and qualitative methods. She has an interest in  enabling students and researchers to design research in such a way that the findings from that research is credible, reliable, trustworthy, and defensible.

Review :
This is one of the clearest and most accessible research methods books I have read as a scholar. I highly recommend for both students and teachers alike. It is an excellent survey of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Students writing a thesis or dissertation will benefit from this text′s approach to the development of and design of research. It provides a strong theoretical understanding of the process of moving from an idea to a research proposal to the final research project. A good addition to the library of someone who is doing research. This book provides a detailed outline of research methods. The authors break the concepts and content into a manner in which it is easily understood by the reader. They also provide activities for the reader to use to apply the content. The authors describe the complexities of research and clearly describe the many details that go into a well-designed and executed study. They have done an amazing job describing the process of research design. Any student learning about research will benefit from this book. This is an excellent text for those instructors who recognize the importance of giving research design more comprehensive treatment than is typical of most textbooks. I will add this book as required reading for my course and personally add this to my collection of research material to aid in my writing and evaluation projects. This text is a very approachable conversation-based introduction to research design for social science students. It provides an inviting approach to the research process that draws the reader in as a participant instead of a spectator. It’s focus on research as an iterative and reflexive process rather than a linear set of steps is refreshing. It engages the reader in the process and introduces questions to assist in understanding the complexity and interconnectivity of each part of the process.