Commencement of Data Gathering and Analysis, Research

¶ … commencement of data gathering and analysis, research needs a design which will ensure that the collected evidence will answer the original question as explicitly as possible. The collection of relevant evidence normally involves specifying the kind of evidence required to answer the particular research question. Moreover, this process of obtaining relevant evidence also involves the evaluation of a theory, programme and the accurate description of certain phenomenon.

Therefore, research design basically requires the specification of a specific question or theory and the kind of evidence required to answer the question or evaluate the theory. Research is considered as not only decision-centered but also dilemma-centered since designing research tackles a logical rather than logistical problem. In the process of designing research methodologies, researchers need to identify the needed information to answer their specific questions.

When these researchers fail to do this, the achieved results will usually be weak and unconvincing in addition to failing to answer the specified research question. The quality of any research project is dependent on the good understanding of the research design ("Research Design," n.d.). This is due to the fact that a proper understanding of the research design informs a researcher's thinking and provides the basis for the design of the research project. Notably, research design also contains various types of variables i.e.

dependent, moderating and intervening variables which are of primary interest to the researcher. These various variables are of basic interest to the researcher since they consist of divergent values on different situations. However, there is a great relationship that exists between the divergent variables in research design regardless of their varying values. Generally, the moderating and intervening variables, which are also known as extraneous variables, are factors or elements that have an impact on the dependent variable.

On the other hand, the assessment of the dependent variable as well as other variables that have an impact on it provides answers or solutions to the specific question or problem at hand. Examples of the extraneous variables that affect the dependent variable include changes as a result of passage of time and variations due to human error. Research Descriptors: There are eight descriptors of research design that are widely applicable by researchers in the process of designing research.

These eight descriptors are the crystallization of the research question, data collection method, purpose of the study, the research environment and the time dimension. Other descriptors include the ability of the researcher to produce impacts in the research variables, the depth of the research and participants' perceptions. The crystallization of the research question is a major descriptor of research design which can either be conducted through exploratory or formal study and determines the conclusions drawn ("What is Research Design?" n.d.).

After this process, the researchers must determine the effective method of collecting data such as interviews and questionnaires. This is in turn followed by the ability of the researcher to determine elements affecting variables in the research through experiments. The purpose of the research is determined by whether the identified research question is descriptive or casual which in turn affects the kind of information collected.