Research Design

Research design.

Mari mengenali jenis-jenis penyelidikan.

One of my besties said,
"Aku maok nyambong study, tapi aku xpande research."

Everything begin with 0 (zero), progressing based on the exploration of the knowledge.

To begin with, lets start with how to decide on the research that we want to do.
1. Based on your interest.
2. Based on your experience in the industry.
3. Based on your knowledge or expertise.
4. Based on the current issues.

In my personal opinion, it is important to do research on the topic we're interested in or which we have experience on. Because, we need to have fun in doing research. (This is just a personal opinion). Having knowledge about the topic will be very helpful and make ur research journey easier.

In deciding our research topic, it is very crucial for us to explore about the field in general 1st before we focus on one specific area that we want to study in the field. Yea, we must know the scope of our research. Make sure it's not too big, and please consider your timeframe as well. Don't do longitudinal research when u're doing masters with 2 years of study. After that, do some literature review, start with something very close to the scope of our research. For example, from the cases in malaysia, before looking in cases in east asia, then asia, and the world.

***Knowing the expert in the field can be very helpful in doing literature review.

Be specific of your statement of problem (research gap)- this is where people value the significant of your research.
Be specific of your limitation - explain your scope of research.
Define your terms precisely and make sure it reflect your research objective - help people to understand your research.

Then, decide your methodology. This should be based on your literature review as well.

So, let me introduce you the type of research in general.

In general, there are 3 types of research known as Fundamental Research, Applied Research, Action Research and .

Fundamental research (basic research) is QUALITATIVE in nature. It is explanatory and usually conducted to come up with new theories or method or model. In other words, it is inductive research. From these new findings, the quantitative research can be done to explore more about the theory or model, or to proof it.

Applied research and Action research are  QUANTITATIVE in nature. However, applied research is exploratory, and action research is descriptive.

Action research are evaluative, investigative, and analytical in nature, designed to diagnose problem or weaknesses. It is usually conducted to solve a particular problem and produce guidelines for best pratice. The process of conducting an action research includes gathering info (define & describe problem, as well as the participants), interprete & explain. Eg: analyse current intervention (Look at the areas of success, as well as the issues and problem with that particular intervention), and formulate solution to the problems.

Applied research on the other hand usually conducted to solve a problem, and focus more on the knowledge that can be useful in making decisions. It is more solution specific. It is deductive, in which it explores the suggested hypothesis.

Don't be afraid of starting something new. All we need in the journey is a never ending exploration. Makin banyak kita explore, makin bertambahlah knowledge kita, lalu semakin meningkatlah keyakinan diri kita.