research design – iNtgrty

Written by Dr Hannes Nel

Introduction

Before we discuss the nature and structure of a Ph.D. or master’s degree research report, I need to point out that research on especially the doctoral level is not about just writing an essay. It is hard and complex work, but the rewards are most certainly worth the effort.

Conducting research and writing a report is like the seafarers of old and the astronauts of today who, as the old space science movie used to begin, “venture where no one else has ventured before”.

You will enjoy interesting and exciting discoveries.

Sometimes you might weep because of what you discover.

At other times you will jump for joy.

It is, indeed, a roller coaster ride that I hope you will enjoy.

Let’s board the ship.

Characteristics of a dissertation or thesis

A dissertation should show the following characteristics:

The topic can be highly complex but need not be so.
The content will be highly specialized in a highly complex area of expertise.
The scope can be extensive or at least apply to a realistic community or geographical area.
Analysis of data will require sophisticated analytical processes.
Recognised research approaches, methods and paradigms should be used.
The report should be 30,000 to 70,000 words in length.
The bibliography can include generic and specific sources.
More than 130 sources should be consulted.
Some universities might be flexible about the characteristics of a dissertation.

A research report for a masters degree should show the following characteristics:

The topic will probably be complex.
The content will be specialized but probably not generally applicable.
The scope can be broad in terms of the subject and geographical area to which it applies.
Analysis of data can require the use of complex analytical processes.
Any recognised research approaches, methods and paradigms can be used, depending on the scope, context and purpose of the research.
The thesis should be 20,000 to 50,000 words in length.
The bibliography can include generic and specific sources. An advanced level of existing knowledge of the topic and problem should be evident.
70 to 130 sources should be consulted.
Some universities might be flexible about the characteristics of a thesis.

The research design

You should design your dissertation or thesis in such a way that it will satisfy the purpose of your research.

Although the design will consist of several headings or steps, it does not mean that you will follow a linear process. You will inevitably need to return to previous work, construct and reconstruct until you achieve an acceptable level of complexity, validity, authenticity and reliability.

The design will be linear, but the research process is always a spiral.

Most of all, however, you will need to achieve the purpose of your research.

In the case of doctoral studies, your research design will probably move from underlying philosophical assumptions and theoretical knowledge to new knowledge and a solution to a problem.

Even though the basic structure of a research report is prescribed by universities, all of them will allow a measure of flexibility by allowing you to add chapters. Omitting chapters that the university asks for might be risky because you might leave out important steps in the writing of the report or in the research process.

Changes in the internal or external environment, new information, unforeseen obstacles and unexpected opportunities to improve your work can move, perhaps even force you to change the structure and layout of your research report.

Research is not just about collecting and interpreting data. It is also a process by means of which you would manage change. That is why your design should be flexible.

Never pad, i.e. never include data in your report that is not relevant to the purpose of your research. Study leaders are experienced educators and they will not be impressed by volume. Quality is what they are looking for.

Structure your dissertation or thesis, including the chapters, subsections, paragraphs and even sentences in such a manner that they logically flow from the problem to the solution.

The design of your dissertation or thesis will depend on your research skills, the topic of the research and what the university prescribes. It should include which type of research you will conduct. Your research can be exploratory, descriptive or explanatory.

Exploratory research is research on a concept, people, or situation that you, as the researcher, know little about. You will typically use observation, interviews and content analysis to do exploratory research.

Descriptive research is research on a concept, people or situation that you know something about and about which you wish to describe what you have found or observed. Descriptive studies lend themselves well to a combination of quantitative and qualitative research approaches.

Explanatory research involves testing a hypothesis and coming to one or more conclusions about the validity of your hypothesis. The topic of the research is often something that has not been researched properly before. For explanatory research, you might use quantitative studies and hypothesis testing or the pursuance of a problem statement or question.

The scale and scope determine the boundaries of the design.

The boundaries put the problem statement or hypothesis into perspective.

You will also need to acknowledge the limitations of your research process. Some universities will allow you to overcome limitations with assumptions. Be careful of using assumptions in your research. It can damage the validity of your findings and the reliability of your recommendations.

Acknowledging that you are developing or deconstructing the findings of somebody else will lend validity and authenticity to your work.

Be modest about your claims to the originality of your work.

Do not underestimate the quality of research done by academics before you.

Do not regard quotations from the work of other researchers as a substitute for sound arguments by you.

Do not be jealous of the work of other researchers. You can often use their work as a corroboration of your own.

Regarding the structure of your research report, it should have the following elements:

The title page.
The table of contents.
A list of figures and tables.
The abstract.
Confirmation of authenticity.
Acknowledgments.
The preface or introduction.
The chapters.
Bibliography and references.
Appendices.

Summary

Research design is the blueprint according to which you will conduct your research.

Accept that change will occur while you do your research. Accept this as an opportunity rather than an obstacle.

Consult as many sources of data as you can find, but guard against trying to include too many research methods, paradigms and data collection methods in your research.

The insights that you offer must be your own.

Remember that scrupulous honesty is as important in small matters as in large.

Enjoy your studies. Hard work will bring you good luck.

Written by Dr J.P. Nel

Introduction

The table of contents is your first opportunity to impress upon the Postgraduate Committee and your study leader the importance and value of your planned research.

Especially experienced professors often claim that they can already see if your study proposal is viable or not by just looking at the table of contents.

Just to avoid confusion – you can have two tables of content in your research proposal. The first would be the table of contents for the proposal itself and the second can be the proposed table of contents for your research report.

In this post, I will share with you hints on what you should write under each heading of your table of content to gain the approval of the Postgraduate Committee and your study leader.

The table of contents

To begin with, here is an example of a table of contents for a research proposal.

Table of Contents

Page no

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Introduction to the problem 1

1.2 The Primary Focus of the Study 2

1.3 The Importance of the Problem 2

1.4 Definition of the Problem 3

1.5 Definition of Concepts 3

1.6 The Motivation for the Study 5

1.7 Current Knowledge of the Problem 5

1.8 Potential Benefits of the Research 6

2 Research Design 7

2.1 The Research Approach 7

2.2 Research Methodology 8

2.3 Data-collection Strategy 9

2.4 Ethical Issues for Consideration 10

2.5 Proposed Chapter-outline and Deadline Dates 11

3 References 12

4 Definitions 13

5 Quick Reference Manual 14

You will notice that the research proposal consists of three main sections, namely the introduction, the body and supplementary information.

In the introduction, you should discuss the context and purpose of your planned research.

In the body, you should discuss how you will approach and conduct the research.

Supplementary information should lend authenticity and validity to your proposal.

1 Introduction

1.1 Introduction to the problem

See if you can here already impress upon the Postgraduate Committee the importance of the study by discussing your ideas in the context of your planned target group or target area.

You should link your introduction to the environmental factors that you regard as wonting and show how your research can solve problems in that context.

Do not criticize if you do not have facts to substantiate your claims.

1.2 The Primary Focus of the Study

Keep in mind that your research proposal, like your eventual research report, should follow the so-called golden thread that runs through your study.

To achieve this, let the environment and context that you discussed in the introduction to the problem develop into your focus for the study.

After all, you should focus on the research problem if you are to solve it.

1.3 The Importance of the Problem

Link the importance of the problem with the previous issue, that is the focus of your study. Discuss why the problem is important and who will benefit if the problem is solved.

Do not claim over-emotional problems. Always reason in an objective and professional manner.

It is especially when you choose a critical paradigm, for example, critical theory, critical race theory, or feminism that researches sometimes can ignore the facts to prove a point about which they feel strongly.

1.4 Definition of the Problem

Please do not now define a problem that has no relevance to what you discussed so far. Your problem statement, problem question or hypothesis should follow from what you already wrote.

The research approach that you will follow will largely decide if you will define a research problem, research question or hypothesis.

You will probably formulate a hypothesis if you intend to use quantitative research.

You will probably formulate a research problem or research question if you intend to use a qualitative approach.

You can have more than one research problem or question, but don’t list too many. I would suggest not more than three.

1.5 Definition of Concepts

The definition of concepts is a challenge even in the policies and procedures for Ph.D. and master’s degree studies of universities and other research organisations.

That is why you will need to explain what you mean by key terms and concepts.

Once you have explained what you mean by such terms and concepts, you must apply the meanings consistently.

1.6 The Motivation for the Study

The motivation for the study links up with the importance of the study. The importance of the study is mostly also the motivation for the study.

You should not use something like “It is important because my dad wants me to study for a Ph.D.” as a motivation for the study.

Your motivation for the study should reflect the needs of the community, a sponsor, the academic fraternity, even perhaps the entire world.

The potential value of your study should invite acceptance, validity and sincerity.

1.7 Current Knowledge of the Problem

It would be risky to choose a research topic about which you know nothing.

You will probably need to do some prior studying and you should provide evidence of such prior knowledge and, perhaps, experience.

You can also mention the profiles of the individuals or organisations who will be involved in your research if it is relevant.

Just keep in mind that they cannot do your research for you.

1.8 Potential Benefits of the Research

Your research must have theoretical value, practical value and scientific value.

Theoretical value would be the new knowledge that will result from your research.

Practical value would be what can be applied in the industry.

Scientific value can be to the benefit of a field of science.

Theoretical, practical and scientific value can form the basis for future research.

2 Research Design

2.1 The Research Approach

You should mention if you will do quantitative or qualitative research.

Briefly explain why you chose the approach that you did.

You can also discuss the paradigmatic approach that you will follow here, or you can discuss it under a separate heading, also here.

2.2 Research Methodology

Make sure that the research methodology that you will use is reconcilable with the research approach that you chose.

2.3 Data-collection Strategy

Data collection strategies are often regarded as research methods.

I don’t think this is a serious problem because data collection strategies are, indeed, often also research methods.

Then again, not all data collection strategies go with all research methods or even research approaches.

This, however, is also not a serious problem.

You will learn that what you intended to do cannot be done once you get to the point where you need to do the research and collect the data.

2.4 Ethical Issues for Consideration

We will discuss ethical issues in much more detail in a future post because ethics in Ph.D. are a mouthful. It includes issues such as being honest, protecting the identity of people involved in your research, not committing plagiarism, trust, deception, legality, professionalism and many more.

2.5 Proposed Chapter-outline and Deadline Dates

The proposed chapter outline can be a provisional table of contents for your research report.

You will also need to provide deadline dates for your research.

We will discuss the chapter-outline and deadline dates separately in future posts.

3 References

You can have a separate heading for literature study in which you list the references that you already consulted and a list of references for your research proposal.

Don’t list references that you did not use. If you list references that you did not use yet in your literature study, you will need to point this out.

4 Definitions and a Quick Reference Manual

You might have separate headings for references and a quick reference manual.

Not all study leaders will allow this, though.

Definitions and the quick reference manual are mostly there to help you maintain consistency in your writing.

Summary and close

In summary:

If your research proposal does not show that your research topic is important and that you can do the research, the Postgraduate Committee will probably not approve your application.
Keep your research proposal sufficiently simple for you to understand everything that you write.
Make sure that you know what the university will require you to cover in your research proposal.

ARTICLE 9: The Nature and Structure of a Dissertation for a Ph. D. or a Thesis for a Master’s Degree

ARTICLE 6: The Layout and Structure of a Table of Contents for a Ph. D. Research Proposal