RESEARCH DESIGN Research Design q The term research

RESEARCH DESIGN

Research Design q The term ‘research design’ relates to the choices and decisions you make about how you will research your chosen topic; q Research is a systematic process which needs to ensure that the research is rigorous: an investigation with evidence, not simply a professional reflection; q The first aspect of research design is selecting what type of research you will do; q There are many different types of research: action research; ethnographic designs; quasi-experimental studies; case study; longitudinal or cohort studies… q Choosing a design is about matching an appropriate design to the research question you have selected and about being pragmatic about what it is possible to do; q The Innovation Schools project involves you undertaking an intervention study. For more specific information about the design of Intervention Studies see the PPT Researching Innovation

Research Design q Having chosen your research type, the second aspect of research design is matching your data collection methods to your research questions; q This usually involves a lot of thinking about how to investigate your research questions: q Ø what data will you collect? Ø what research instruments might you need (eg questionnaires; interview schedules; observation templates…)? Ø What sample do you need to answer your research questions? Ø How big does your sample need to be and/or how often will you need to repeat your data collection It also involves checking that you are gathering data , and from an appropriate sample, to answer your questions effectively

An Example RESEARCH DATA INSTRUMENT SAMPLE SIZE QUESTION COLLECTION Stage 1: What are the linguistic Desk analysis 720 writing characteristics of of writing secondary age Coding frame samples: samples children’s writing at sentence and text level? Stage 2: What explicit knowledge do secondary writers 24 children: have of the Semi. Interviews linguistic structured 3 interviews with children characteristics they interview each. are deploying and schedule Total: 72 their own composing processes? When and how in 24 children: the composing Classroom process do these Annotated observation linguistic observation 3 observations each. characteristics timeline appear in children’s Total: 72 writing? SAMPLE TYPE DATA ANALYSIS Writing samples Quantitativ stratified by e and age, gender, task type, and qualitative achievement Case study sample stratified by age, gender, and achievement Qualitative: grounded theory and respondent validation

Being Critical q Research is quintessentially a critical enterprise, which demands real intellectual engagement; q For every research question, there are multiple research designs available, not one ‘off-the-shelf’ perfect solution; q Every research design has limitations; there is no perfect research design; q Part of the process of research design is using this planning time to ensure that you have chosen a research design which is not only an appropriate match to your research questions but which is do-able in your research context; q Another important element of research design is being able to recognise and discuss the limitations of your chosen research design.

Research Design q So, in a nutshell, research design is a process of choice where you choose a type of research to match your research questions, and data collection methods to match your research questions. q Remember Stenhouse’s (1981)definition of research as a Systematic and sustained inquiry, planned and self-critical, which is subjected to public criticism. Research design is part of the process of ensuring that your research is systematic, planned and self-critical. q More detailed information about data collection methods and sampling is available on the website