Regardless of the type of research you use, you should be certain to develop and use a sound research design. A research design is a specific plan or recipe for studying the research problem. The following elements are commonly found in all research designs: 1. The research perspective. Indicate if the research is quantitative, qualitative, or mixed. 2. The type and subtype of the research. Identify the general type, as well as specify the subtype. For example, it is not enough to indicate that you will do a case study; you should also specify the subtype, such as ethnography. 3. The context for the study. Indicate where and when the study will be conducted and whether access has been assured. 4. The participants in the study. Identify who will be involved in the study, as in this example: “The study will focus on five Kenyan female authors in the five counties; they have all agreed to take part in the study.” 5. The methods and instruments used to collect data. Explain how you will collect data - by document or archive examination, interviews, testing, observations, or surveys. Indicate the specific instruments, if any, that will be used. This example shows how the issue might be treated: Data will be collected by observations and interviews. The researcher will make weekly observations of the five Kenyan authors and interview them in a focus group format. 6. Data analysis. Explain how you will organise, reduce, analyse, and display the data you have collected. Both quantitative and qualitative studies require an explanation of how you will handle the data analysis. The value gained from qualitative research has generated considerable interest in this research methodology. Many institutions are now requiring that master’s theses and doctoral dissertations contain both a quantitative and a qualitative component, which is called mixed-method research. In this approach, the qualitative component is used to verify or supplement the collected quantitative data. #researchmethodology #dissertation #research #datacollectionmethods #thesis #researchdesign #mixedmethodresearch