Introducing Research Designs

We define research design as a combination of decisions within a research process. These decisions enable us to make a specific argument by answering the research question. The implementation plan for the research study allows for reaching the desired (type of) conclusion. Different research designs make it possible to draw different conclusions. These conclusions produce various kinds of intellectual contributions. As all kinds of intellectual contributions are necessary to increase the body of knowledge, no research design is inherently better than another, only more appropriate to answer a specific question.