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br Research Design

The Research Methods Knowledge Base is an online textbook ' that teaches about social research methods (Trochim , 2006 . For the purposes of this , which is to focus on the design of research methods , I have chosen to examine the major types of research designs as described on the Research Methods Knowledge Base

There are three major types of research design , and it is simple to determine what design a project has used by asking some basic questions (Trochim , 2006 . First , one must determine if the design is based on random

assignment , such as splitting a group of people by numbering off (Trochim , 2006 . If this is the case , the experiment is known as randomized ' or in some cases true (Trochim , 2006 . If this is not the case , one must ask further questions

The second question is related to the information the design used . If it used either multiple groups or multiple waves of measurement it is known as a quasi-experimental design (Trochim , 2006 . If it did not use either of the above , it is known as a non-experimental design (Trochim , 2006 . These two simple questions give the researcher the three classifications of research design

When looking for a cause - effect relationship ' the randomized approach has the greatest validity ' and the non-experimental has the least (Trochim , 2006 . Non-experimental designs are better used in cases of descriptive ' research , and this design is actually one of the most commonly used , especially in cases of simple surveys (Trochim , 2006

Each type of design has its own place in research . When we know the types and how to distinguish them , we can understand the basis behind even the most complicated research (Trochim , 2006 References

Trochim , W (2006 . Types of designs . Research Methods Knowledge Base http /www .socialresearchmethods .net /kb /destypes .php...