Difference between research method and research design

Therefore, for those who are participating in research in any field of research, it is of utmost importance to have a correct understanding of research methods and research designs. However, in reality, there are still many research methods that provide a loose research framework or give a wrong research direction. Therefore, it requires the researcher to choose a method that is suitable for the requirements of the project, and at the same time, the researcher must also be satisfied with that method.

On the other hand, research design is a specific overall structure for carrying out and completing a project. For example, if you want to build a house, you need to have a good idea of ​​the type of house you want to build. And you cannot do anything without knowing or being clear about how to design. Research design is often confused with research methodology, and many new researchers are still facing this difficulty. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the difference between research methodology and research method at this point.

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1. What is research methodology?

Research methodology involves various research processes, procedures and tools, that is, it includes information collection techniques and data analysis methods. Among them, interview method, survey method and observation method are commonly used methods in social sciences. If the researcher wants to find out in-depth information about personal attitudes and life experiences, then the researcher must use in-depth interviews. However, if the purpose of the research is to collect statistically significant aggregate information, then surveys must be used. In other words, research methods can be divided into two types: qualitative research and quantitative research. Researchers can use either or both of these methods (mixed methods) in their research.

The research method will provide a general overview of the research framework and narrow down your choices based on your area of ​​research. While there are many research methods, not all of them will be a perfect fit. The research method you choose will depend on your research problem or question and your research design. The main purpose of research is to create new knowledge or gain deeper understanding of a particular area. This can be done in three ways:

- Exploratory research: overview and problem definition.

- Constructive research - testing theories and proposing solutions to problems.

- Evidence-based research - Using empirical evidence to test the feasibility of a solution

1. What is research design?

A research design is a detailed plan of the research methods you have chosen. It specifies the steps you need to take, and of course, without a proper research design, it is almost impossible to carry out research projects. In a sense, a research design tells you exactly when and what to do. Research design refers to how to achieve the objectives of the research project. Research design is the overall structure of a research project.

The main function of research design is to ensure that the information collected throughout the research process can answer the questions or problems that were initially raised. In other words, the final results and conclusions of the research must correspond to the research questions that were raised. Therefore, if you are not careful in choosing the research design and research methods, the results of the research project may not meet the requirements or expectations. In this case, if there is a mistake in the research design, you will have to replace another research method, and in turn, this method may also change your original research design. The main features of research design include the method, sample collection and distribution, data collection and analysis, procedures and tools used.

- Descriptive (case studies, surveys, naturalistic observations, etc.)

- Correlation (case-control studies, observational studies, etc.)

- Test (test)

- Semi-experimental (field testing, semi-experimental testing, etc.)

- Meta-analysis

- Comments (document overview, system overview)

1. Difference between research method and research design

Research methodology, as well as research design, are both important keys to successfully completing any research project. The main difference between research methodology and research design is that research design is the overall structure of the research, while research methodology is the various processes, procedures, and tools used to collect and analyze data. You can differentiate research methodology and research design through their definitions, characteristics, and foundations:

Define

- Research methodology refers to the techniques used by researchers to collect information and analyze data.

- Research design refers to the detailed blueprint of the steps you need to take in a research project.

Characteristic

- Research methodology is a discrete research framework, or an uncertain research direction, and the researcher must choose, then apply it to the research design to achieve the desired results. Therefore, research methodology focuses on using which types of methods are more suitable to collect and analyze the data we need.

- Research design provides an overview of the entire research project. Research design focuses on what type of research to conduct to achieve the expected results.

Foundation

- Research methods depend on research design.

- Research design based on research questions or problems.

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Dr. Luong Chi Quyen - Lecturer of Business Administration Faculty, Dai Nam University