Component of research methodology

component of a research methodology tagged," Research Design".

Research design can be defined as the stratgeies or plans which a researcher adopts to enable him/her carry out his problem of investigation.

Research design is use for the purpose of obtaining data to enable the researcher test hypotheses or answer research questions.

 It is an outline that guides the researcher in his effort to generate data for his study.

In simple terms we can think of two approaches to investigations in educational research as quantitative and qualitative.

Quantitative research is a means for testing objective theories by examining the relationship among variables. In this case we use numbers to describe the outcome.

Quantitative research methods were originally developed in the natural sciences to study natural phenomena. However, examples of quantitative methods now well accepted in the social sciences and education include:
- survey designs
- experimental designs
-correlational study
- ex post facto designs

Qualitative research is a means for exploring and understanding the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem. It is the best used to understand concepts and phenomenon, especially if little research has been done on the topic and research problem.

Qualitative methodology is useful if the researcher does not know important variables to examine. In qualitative research design we use words to describe the outcomes.

Qualitative research methods were developed in the social sciences to enable researchers to study social and cultural phenomenon. Examples of qualitative methods include:
• Action Research aims to contribute both to the practical concerns of people in an immediate problematic situation and to the goals of social science by joint collaboration within a mutually acceptable ethical framework;

• Case Study Research - a case study is an empirical enquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context;

• Ethnography- the ethnographer immerses her/himself in the life of people s/he studies and seeks to place the phenomena studied in its social and cultural context.