RESEARCH DESIGN OVERVIEW Questions, Designs, and Constraints College of Public and Community Service University of Massachusetts Boston ©2011 William Holmes 1

Types of Research Questions Exploratory Questions—Discovers New Facts or Perspectives Descriptive Questions—Provides Empirical Description Explanatory Questions—Examines Causal Relationships Predictive Questions—Tries to Predict Future Events 2

Types of Research Designs Exploratory Designs—open-ended methods Descriptive Designs—surveys, observations, and interviews Explanatory Designs—experiments and controlled designs Predictive Designs—using empirical correlates to predict outcomes 3

Constraints on Designs Ethical constraints Legal Constraints Financial Constraints Knowledge Limitations Constraints Practical Constraints 4

Design is a Compromise Balancing Constraints Finding Resources Taking Advantage of Opportunities Knowing Your Own Limits 5

DESIGN MIXTURES Questionnaires Observation Available data In depth interviews Focus groups Digital imaging 6

GROUP WORK ON QUESTIONS 7