A description of mixed methods as a research design is presented below. 3. Mixed Methods as a Research Methodology A mixed-methods approach is a research methodology in its own right. As stated by Creswell and Plano Clark (2011), a mixed-methods research design is a research design that has its own philosophical assumptions and methods of inquiry. The purpose of this chapter is to design the methodology of the research approach through mixed types of research techniques. The research approach also supports the researcher on how to come across the research result findings. In this chapter, the general design of the research and the methods used for data collection are explained in detail. Download Pdf. Export Citation. Article Metrics. Reprints. Permissions. Research Design: Descriptive Research Show all authors. Helen L. Dulock, RN, DNS. Helen L. Dulock. Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322 See all articles by this author. Search Google Scholar for this author. First Published October Research design can be defined as a conceptual structure within which research will likely be done. It comprises the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. Decisions regarding what, where, when, how much, by what means with regards to an enquiry or a research design are taken. It is a theory-based design method created by gathering, analyzing, and presenting collected data. This allows a researcher to provide insights into the why and how of research. Descriptive design helps others better understand the need for the research. If the problem statement is not clear, you can conduct exploratory research. 2. In your dissertation you can define research design as a general plan about what you will do to answer the research question. [1] It is a framework for choosing specific methods of data collection and data analysis. Research design can be divided into two groups: exploratory and conclusive. The research methodology is the systematic, theoretical analysis of the procedures applied to a field of study (Kothari, 2004). It involves procedures of describing, explaining and predicting phenomena so as to solve a problem; it is the 'hows'; the process or techniques of conducting research. A Methodology does not set out to provide Explanatory Research Definition |Explanatory Research › explanatory-research Jun 19, 2018 - explanatory Research is the conducted for a problem which was not well researched before, demnds priorities, generates operational definitions and provides a better-researched model. It is actually a type of research design which focuses on explaining the aspects of your study in a detailed manner. Action research is a change-oriented approach. Its key assumption is that complex social processes can best be researched by introducing change into these processes and observing their effects (Baskerville, 2001).The fundamental basis for action research is taking actions to address organizational problems and their associated unsatisfactory conditions (e.g., Eden & Huxham, 1996; Hult Descriptive research is often used as a pre-cursor to quantitative research designs, the general overview giving some valuable pointers as to what variables are worth testing quantitatively. Quantitative experiments [2] are often expensive and time-consuming so it is often good sense to get an idea of what hypotheses [3] are