DEFINITIONS OF RESEARCH DESIGN:
(1) According to David J. Luck and Ronald S. Rubin, “A research design is the determination and statement of the general research approach or strategy adopted/or the particular project. It is the heart of planning. If the design adheres to the research objective, it will ensure that the client’s needs will be served.”
(2) According to Kerlinger “Research design in the plan, structure and strategy of investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to research questions and to control variance.”
(3) According to Green and Tull “A research design is the specification of methods and procedures for acquiring the information needed. It is the over-all operational pattern or framework of the project that stipulates what information is to be collected from which source by what procedures.”
The second definition includes three important terms – plan, structure and strategy. The plan is the outline of the research scheme on which the researcher is to work. The structure of the research work is a more specific scheme and the strategy suggests how the research will be carried out i.e. methods to be used for the collection and analysis of data. In brief, research design is the blueprint of research. It is the specification of methods and procedures for acquiring the information needed for solving the problem. Questionnaires, forms and samples for investigation are decided while framing research design. Finally, the research design enables the researcher to arrive at certain meaningful conclusions at the end of proposed study.
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