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An Overview of Research Design
Lynn H. Ritchey, PhD
This work by Lynn H. Ritchey, PhD is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

RESEARCH METHODS
 The Research Design
 Conceptualization versus
Operationalization
 Understanding Reliability and Validity
 In-Class Assignment

RESEARCH DESIGN
 Defining the Problem:
 Selecting a Topic for research.
 Interest ???? ----> Y OR Y -----> ????
 Idea X ----> Y OR A ----> B
 Theory A ----> B ----> E ----> F
 Reviewing the Literature:
 Familiarize oneself with the existing theory
and research on a topic.

RESEARCH DESIGN
 Conceptualization:
 Specify the meaning of the concepts and
variables to be studied.
 Forming the Hypotheses:
 Defining the relationships between
variables so that they can be measured
and the hypotheses tested.

RESEARCH DESIGN
 Operationalization:
 How will we actually measure the variables
under study?
 Choice of Research Method:
 Selecting a method of observation.
 Experiment, survey, field observation,
secondary data analysis, evaluation
research

RESEARCH DESIGN
 Population and Sampling: Whom
do we want to be able to draw
conclusions about? Who will be
observed for that purpose?
 Observation:
 Collecting the data for analysis and
interpretation. Collecting the information
that will test the hypotheses.

RESEARCH DESIGN
 Data Processing:
 Transforming the data collected into a form
appropriate to manipulation and analysis.
 Analysis:
 Working with and examining the data to
shed light on the hypotheses.

RESEARCH DESIGN
 Drawing Conclusions:
 Summarizing the outcome of the study,
indicating its significance, relating the
findings to existing theory and research,
and identifying problems for future
research.

CONCEPTUALIZATION
 A very important aspect of the research
process is the conceptualization and
operationalization of the concepts.
 Conceptualization is the process through
which we specify precisely what we will mean
when we use particular terms. For example,
we are interested in religiosity. What do we
mean by religiosity?

OPERATIONALIZATION
 Operationalization is the process of
developing operational definitions — the
concrete specific definition of something in
terms of the operations by which
observations are to be categorized. These
definitions help other researchers to replicate
a study. They are exact ways different
variables in the study are observed.
 How would we tell other researchers to
measure/observe religiosity?

RELIABILITY
 When sociologist do research they must
be very concerned with reliability and
validity. These two concepts are linked
to the conceptualization and
operationalization of concepts.

RELIABILITY
 Reliability is the quality of measurement
method that suggests that the same data
would be collected each time in repeated
observations of the same phenomenon. In
the context of a survey, we would expect that
the question “Did you attend church last
week?” would have a higher reliability that
the question “About how many times have
you attended church in your life?”

VALIDITY
 Validity is a term used to describe a
measure that accurately reflects the
concept it is intended to measure. For
example, your IQ would seem to be a
more valid measure of your intelligence
than would the number of hours you
spend in the library. It is important to
realize that the ultimate validity of a
measure can never be proven.

IN-CLASS EXERCISE
 As a group formulate the problem as a
research question and design a
research strategy to answer the
question. This includes:
 A. Define the problem: what question
are they trying to answer
 B. Identify the dependent variable.

IN-CLASS EXERCISE
 C. Identify factors that influence the
dependent variable. Independent
variables.
 D. Conceptual define the independent
and dependent variables.
 E. Write hypotheses that describe the
relationship between the independent
and dependent variables.

IN-CLASS EXERCISE
 F. Identify the research method —
method of observation (survey,
experiment, field observation, use of
secondary data.
 G. Develop operational definitions.

IN-CLASS EXERCISE
 H. How reliable are the operational
definitions? Will another investigator be
able to apply them in the same way so
that they can get consistent answers?
Will all the subjects understand the
instructions in the same way?

IN-CLASS EXERCISE
 I. How valid are the operational
definitions? Do they get at the full
meaning of the term as described in
your conceptual definition or does it
focus on some easily measured aspect
of your concept and ignore other, more
difficult, parts?

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