Glatthorn and Joyner (2005, p. 97) explain that, a research design is a plan which enables a researcher to answer certain research questions that define the rationale of a study. Essentially, the design is linked to the research process, indicating the methods that would be used in generating explanations from collected data that support certain theories or give cause to modify certain theories. In a research design, a structure is followed for the purpose of data collection so that the evidence obtained helps in answering the research questions (Leedy and Ormrod, 2005, p. 85).
Creswell (2002), explains that a research design framework consists of three stages: elements of inquiry, approaches to research and the design process of research. These stages are shown in Figure 5.1 and are explained below.
Figure 5.1 Research design framework
Source: Creswell (2002, p. 5).
• Elements of Inquiry – At the first stage, there are three elements of enquiry which are knowledge claims, strategies of enquiry and methods. A researcher’s literature survey leads to different knowledge claims and these shape the strategies one will use to enquire about the research problem. This is the conceptualising stage of the study.
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• Research approach – After determining the elements of enquiry, the researcher then considers alternative approaches to conduct the research. Here, the researcher decides whether the research will follow the qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods.
According to Creswell (2002), quantitative research uses strategies of enquiry to collect data on known variables. Hence theories made up of variables are tested with statistical techniques to find out about their predictive ability (Abawi, 2008). Bricki and Green (2007, p. 2), refer to qualitative research as a method which aims at describing how people feel and experience about a certain research issue. Data generated for a qualitative analysis are generally in words rather than numbers. The collection of both quantitative and qualitative data represents the mixed methods approach to research. The goal of the mixed method is to maximize the strengths of these methods and eliminate the weaknesses of each method (Creswell 2002, p. 18). Hence, researchers analyse both numeric data and narrative data in solving research questions that are particular to a given study. In doing this, researchers use both open ended and close ended questions in collecting data. The current study employs the quantitative approach, as it seeks to quantify data and generalise results from a sample of slum operators in two slums of Ghana.
• Research design process – The above processes have involved the researcher settling on how the research should be carried out. At this stage however, the researcher translates all the preconsidered concepts into practice, which is, carrying out the actual study.
Matthews and Ross (2010, p. 115- 129) describe four major research design types, namely experimental, cross-sectional, longitudinal and case studies. Experimental research is scientific in nature, where the researcher sets certain hypotheses and analyses the cases being studied in order to find out whether there is support for certain hypotheses. Experimental research usually has the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group is the main group of cases on which the research is being performed while the control group contains the same cases as the experimental group but the cases are manipulated differently. The control group is therefore used as a benchmark in assessing outcomes of the experimental group. Having the experimental and control groups helps to see the variation in the cases being studied. Experimental research helps researchers identify partial causes of relationships rather than just predicting and describing cases (Fraenkel, Wallen and Hyun, 2012, p. 266).
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The cross-sectional study, typical in social research, assists the researcher to ascertain information pertaining to a phenomenon from a specific sample at a particular time. This is similar to taking a snapshot of the characteristic of a sample at a particular time (Matthews and Ross, 2010). Mann (2003) explains that cross sectional studies are primarily used to determine prevalence, hence determining the number of cases present in a sample at a particular time. Furthermore, cross- sectional studies help in inferring multiple outcomes (Mann, 2003).
Whereas the cross-sectional study gathers data at a certain time, a longitudinal study examines data pertaining to certain variables over a long period of time. Issues surrounding the sample being studied are subject to change over time, hence a longitudinal research helps to study this change (Bryman and Bell, 2014).
A case study involves the exploration of either a single case or a small number of cases in great depth over a period of time. Case study researchers, according to Hays (2004, p. 218-219), examine cases in order to uncover new interactions as well as cause-and-effect connections and, when several studies are conducted on the same phenomenon, generalisability becomes possible.
The current study employs the cross-sectional research type due to the unavailability of existing data. This study, hence, serves as a foundation on which further studies can be undertaken in the future.
5.2.1 The nature of a study
The nature of a study hinges on the type of research questions it seeks to answer, as well as the stage of existing knowledge about the research question. Research can be exploratory, descriptive and causal in nature.
5.2.1.1 Exploratory research
Exploratory research is a technique used to investigate subject areas that are under-researched or where there is little existing knowledge. In this way, new meanings, knowledge and insights, about a subject matter can be discovered. Exploratory research mostly acts as a ground breaking
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investigation on which several other types of studies can be carried out. The current study is an exploratory research due to the scarcity of data on economic activities in the slums of Ghana.
5.2.1.2 Descriptive Research
Descriptive statistics entails categorizing data through the presentation of figures. No assumptions are made in descriptive statistics since the goal is just to describe and summarise a set of data (Newbold, Carlson and Thorne, 2010). Descriptive research is used to describe variables rather than testing a predicted relationship between variables, providing simple summaries about a sample. Leedy and Ormrod, (2014, p. 190) refer to descriptive research as the identification of the features of an observed occurrence and examining an event “as it is”.
5.2.1.3 Causal Research
Causal research investigates whether or not a variable causes another to change; that is, does event A cause event B to change? Hence, the causal relationship between two or more variables are studied to learn about the causes of the change. Causality refers to the situation where a variable changes (the effect) due to the incidence of another variable (the cause). Causal research therefore seeks to establish the impact certain variables have on others. That is, whether a variable being removed or changed, will cause a variation in another variable (Sekaran and Bougie 2013, p. 98).