Types of Research Designs Compared | Guide & Examples
When you start planning a research project, developing research questions and creating a research design, you will have to make various decisions about the type of research you want to do.
There are many ways to categorize different types of research. The words you use to describe your research depend on your discipline and field. In general, though, the form your research design takes will be shaped by:
- The type of knowledge you aim to produce
- The type of data you will collect and analyze
- The sampling methods, timescale and location of the research
This article takes a look at some common distinctions made between different types of research and outlines the key differences between them.
Types of research aims
The first thing to consider is what kind of knowledge your research aims to contribute.
| Type of research | What’s the difference? | What to consider |
|---|---|---|
| Basic vs. applied | Basic research aims to develop knowledge, theories and predictions, while applied research aims to develop techniques, products and procedures. | Do you want to expand scientific understanding or solve a practical problem? |
| Exploratory research vs. explanatory research | Exploratory research aims to explore the main aspects of an under-researched problem, while explanatory research aims to explain the causes and consequences of a well-defined problem. | How much is already known about your research problem? Are you conducting initial research on a newly-identified issue, or seeking precise conclusions about an established issue? |
| Inductive vs. deductive research | Inductive research aims to develop a theory, while deductive research aims to test a theory. | Is there already some theory on your research problem that you can use to develop hypotheses, or do you want to propose new theories based on your findings? |
Types of research data
The next thing to consider is what type of data you will collect. Each kind of data is associated with a range of specific research methods and procedures.
| Type of research | What’s the difference? | What to consider |
|---|---|---|
| Primary research vs secondary research | Primary data is collected directly by the researcher (e.g., through interviews or experiments), while secondary data has already been collected by someone else (e.g., in government surveys or scientific publications). | How much data is already available on your topic? Do you want to collect original data or analyze existing data (e.g., through a literature review)? |
| Qualitative vs quantitative | Qualitative research methods focus on words and meanings, while quantitative research methods focus on numbers and statistics. | Is your research more concerned with measuring something or interpreting something? You can also create a mixed methods research design that has elements of both. |
| Descriptive research vs experimental research | Descriptive research gathers data without controlling any variables, while experimental research manipulates and controls variables to determine cause and effect. | Do you want to identify characteristics, patterns and correlations or test causal relationships between variables? |
Types of sampling, timescale, and location
Finally, you have to consider three closely related questions: how will you select the subjects or participants of the research? When and how often will you collect data from your subjects? And where will the research take place?
Keep in mind that the methods that you choose bring with them different risk factors and types of research bias. Biases aren’t completely avoidable, but can heavily impact the validity and reliability of your findings if left unchecked.
| Type of research | What’s the difference? | What to consider |
|---|---|---|
| Probability vs non-probability sampling | Probability sampling allows you to generalize your findings to a broader population, while non-probability sampling allows you to draw conclusions only about the specific subjects of the research. | Do you want to produce generalizable knowledge that applies to many contexts or detailed knowledge about a specific context (e.g. in a case study)? |
| Cross-sectional study vs longitudinal study | Cross-sectional studies gather data at a single point in time, while longitudinal studies gather data at several points in time. | Is your research question focused on understanding the current situation or tracking changes over time? |
| Field research vs laboratory research | Field research takes place in a natural or real-world setting, while laboratory research takes place in a controlled and constructed setting. | Do you want to find out how something occurs in the real world or draw firm conclusions about cause and effect? Laboratory experiments have higher internal validity but lower external validity. |
| Fixed design vs flexible design | In a fixed research design the subjects, timescale and location are set before data collection begins, while in a flexible design these aspects may develop through the data collection process. | Do you want to test hypotheses and establish generalizable facts, or explore concepts and develop understanding? For measuring, testing and making generalizations, a fixed research design has higher validity and reliability. |
Choosing between all these different research types is part of the process of creating your research design, which determines exactly how your research will be conducted. But the type of research is only the first step: next, you have to make more concrete decisions about your research methods and the details of the study.
Read more about creating a research design
Other interesting articles
If you want to know more about statistics, methodology, or research bias, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.
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McCombes, S. (2023, June 22). Types of Research Designs Compared | Guide & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved November 27, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/types-of-research/
