TABLE OF CONTENTS

RESEARCH DESIGN .................................................................................................................... 2

ASPECTS TO BE CONSIDERED IN RESEARCH DESIGN ...................................................... 5
CONTENTS OR IMPORTANT FEATURES OF A RESEARCH DESIGN ................................ 6
COMPONENTS OR STEPS OR PROCEDURE OF A RESEARCH DESIGN ........................... 7
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD RESEARCH DESIGN ...................................................... 11
TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN .............................................................................................. 13
HYPOTHESIS-TESTING RESEARCH DESIGN....................................................................... 14
TESTING OF HYPOTHESES ..................................................................................................... 17
ERRORS IN TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS................................................................................. 20
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 22

1|Page
 RESEARCH DESIGN

To design is to plan, .i.e. designing is the process of making

decisions before the situation arises in which the decision has to be carried out. Designing is thus
a process of deliberate anticipation directed towards bringing an expected situation under
control.
A research design is a research planning of the proposed research project
to conduct the empirical test of the hypothesis or to test the veracity of it.
As to which research plan or design will be suitable for the collection and analysis
of data in an economic, efficient and selective manner depends
upon the problem under research study. The design is, therefore, dependent
upon the nature of the problem and knowledge of facts pertaining to the problem.
A research design is a guiding force to journey into right direction. 1

The socio-legal research, guided either by desire to gain knowledge or by an urgency to solve
problem scientifically, works out a plan of study. While conducting an inquiry one may
anticipate various difficulties that may have to be encountered in the course of study and decide
what to do under such circumstances. He records his decisions in advance.
This type of logical and systematic planning to direct the research is called a research design.2

The research design has been defined by various authors in various terms and they are as
follows:

According to Pauline V. Young, "A research design is a plan of action,

a plan for collecting and analyzing the data in an economic, efficient and relevant manner."

1
S.R. Myneni, Legal Research Methodology 105-106, (Allahabad law Agency, Faridabad, 5th ed. ,2012)
2
Ibid.

2|Page
According to Miller, "Design research is the planned sequence of the entire process involved in
conducting a research study.”

Thus, research design refers to the entire process of planning and carrying out a research
study. It is a frame within which research is carried out and it is a blue print for the collection,
measurement and analysis of data.3

THE IDEALIZED OR GOOD RESEARCH DESIGN

After formulation of research problem, the researcher is in a position to consider how he will
work out to solve the problem. The procedure that the researcher would have liked to adopt for
solving a problem if he was completely unrestricted by practical exigencies and limitations is
the idealized research design.

According to Ackoff, “The idealized research design is concerned with specifying the optimum
research procedure that could be followed where there are no practical restrictions.”

The idealized research design comprises the specifications of the most efficient conceivable
conditions and procedures for conducting the research. The step of designing an idealized plan
might seem very impracticable and even an unnecessary one. The researcher may be inclined to
follow the ideal procedures to evaluate the practical research conditions and determine the
shortcomings. An idealized design should maintain a balance between scientificity, sufficiency,
and economy. The making of a research design is a science as well as an art.4

3
Id. at 106
4
C.R.Kothari and Gaurav Garg, Research Methodology Methods and Techniques 31 (New Age International (P)
Limited, Delhi, 2014)

3|Page
PRACTICAL RESEARCH DESIGN (PARTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN)

The researcher has to translate the idealized research model into a practical one. The practical
research design may be conceived of as comprising the following four phases:

1. THE SAMPLING DESIGN

It deals with the method of selecting the subjects to be observed for the given study.

2. THE OBSERVATIONAL DESIGN-

It relates to the conditions under which the observations are to be made or the data are to
be secured.

3. THE STATISTICAL DESIGN-

It deals with the question of how many subjects are to be observed and how the
observations are to be organized with a view to securing answer to the research problems.

4. THE OPERATIONAL DESIGN-

It deals with the specific techniques by which the procedures specified in sampling,
statistical and observational design can be carried out.5

5
Supra Note 1 at 106

4|Page
ASPECTS TO BE CONSIDERED IN RESEARCH DESIGN

The research design results from certain decisions taken and ordered in a certain sequence, by the
researcher. The major design decisions are in reference to the following aspects:6

1. What is the study about and what are the types of data needed?
2. Why is the study being made?
3. Where can the data needed be found?
4. Where or in what area will the study be carried out?
5. What periods of time will the study include?
6. How much material or how many cases will be needed?
7. What basis will be used for selection of cases?
8. What technique of gathering data will be adopted?
9. How will the data be analysed?
10. What inferences can be drawn?

6
Supra Note 1 at 106.

5|Page
CONTENTS OR IMPORTANT FEATURES OF A RESEARCH
DESIGN

Generally, a research design includes the following points:7

1. Title of the topic and determination of its scope;

2. Background knowledge and introduction of the problem;
3. Nature of study-descriptive, explanatory or experimental;
4. Description of short-term and long-term objectives;
5. Awareness regarding context;
6. Making of hypothesis and using of appropriate concepts and variables;
7. Approximate time-schedule for research;
8. Basis of data collection and appropriate tools and techniques;
9. Analysis and interpretation of data collected, along with decision regarding the problem
of generality and validity; and
10. Nature and amount of resources at one's disposal.

7
Ram Ahuja, Research Methods 123 (Rawat Publications, Jaipur, 2011)

6|Page
COMPONENTS OR STEPS OR PROCEDURE OF A RESEARCH
DESIGN

A research design is not a highly specific plan to be followed without deviation, but rather a
series of guide posts to keep one headed in the right direction. It is tentative. As the study
progresses, new aspects, new conditions and new connecting links in the data come to light and
necessary to change the plan as circumstances demand. The most meaningful and revealing
studies are those that are concerned from a definite point of view.

According to Pauline V. Young, "A study design includes the following

component parts which are inter-dependent and not mutually exclusive:

(1) Source of information

i. Documentary sources
ii. Personal sources
iii. Library sources
(2) Nature of study
(3) Objectives of study
(4) Socio-cultural context of study.
(5) Geographical area to be covered by the study
(6) Period of time to be encompassed
(7) Dimensions of study and sampling procedures
(8) The basis for selecting the data.
(9) Definition of terms
(10) Working or exploratory hypothesis; and
(11) Techniques of study.

While planning a research design for socio-legal problems, the researcher should proceed
step by step in the following order:8

1. Decide on a general topic (title of the investigation)-

8
Santosh Gupta, Research methodology and Statistical Techniques 77(Deep and Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd. , New
Delhi, 2010)

7|Page
 a) Should be as brief as possible
b) Should be as precise as possible,
c) should project the scope of the problem in generalized terms
2. Review the relevant prior literature-
A good reading of primary and secondary source materials drawn from law
library is indispensable for an empirical research. This makes a researcher
conversant with the earlier theories and the important variables concerning the
area of research.

The investigator has to review previous studies on the subject to critically examine the following:
(1)To know about the different areas covered by various studies.

(2)To get acquainted with the different meanings given to certain concepts in various studies
(3)To concentrate on the areas where little research has been carried out
(4)To look into different merits and shortcomings of the research designs followed in different
studies; and

(5) To verify the present findings with the previous findings.

3. Scope of the investigation-

The scope of any investigation is dependent on several factors such as the time, money
and manpower available to the investigator. Availability of the sample, accessibility of
the investigator to the respondents, etc. should be reported in explicit terms.

4. Objectives of the study-

Objectives which are within the scope of the investigator will be spelt out in the form of
statements.

5. Formulation of hypothesis.-9
The hypothesis that is to be tested by the researcher should contain the following criteria

9
Id. at 81

8|Page
 (1) must be an adequate answer to the specific problem that demands an answer;
(2) should have logical simplicity;
(3) should be expressed in a quantified form;
(4) must be verifiable;
(5) must be stated in such a way as to allow it to be refuted

6. Selection of the sample: (Dimensions of study)-

No investigator can study the entire population and hence selects a few individuals
belonging to a population. He has to select a sample having the following criteria:
(i) the sample must represent the universe,
(ii) the sample must be of adequate size to produce reliable results,
(iii) the sample must be an efficient one .i.e. in comparison with alternate designs.

7. Data collection (techniques of study)-

One must be careful in the choice of research method or through which he intends to
collect data. He should decide about the use of instruments such as questionnaires,
interview schedules, project techniques, observation schedules etc.

8. Analysis and interpretation of data-

The recorded facts have to be classified and logically arranged. The researcher has to
identify the relation between facts or set of facts with other facts or set of facts. The
analysis of facts is being done in most empirical research by using tables and cross tables.
The investigator should subject the data to appropriate statistical analysis. The results to
be interpreted:
a) In relation to the previous findings; and
b) For the purpose of generalization through inductive inference and to uncover any
additional factors which could not be visualized by the investigator earlier.

9. Verification of results-

9|Page
 Other studies should be selected for verification having the same characteristics of the
present study.

10. Operational designing-

 Time budgeting
 Cost estimation
 Organisational framework
 Geographical areas to be covered by the study10

10
Id. at 78

10 | P a g e
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD RESEARCH DESIGN

A good research design should satisfy the following four conditions: reliability, validity and
generality of the findings.

1. Objectivity:
The objectivity of the findings pertain to the methods of collection of data and scoring of
the responses. The objectivity of the procedure may be judged by the degree of
agreement between the final scores assigned to different individuals by more than one
observer.
Any research design should permit the use of measuring instruments which are fairly
objective in which every observer seeing a performance, arrives at precisely the same
report. This ensures the objectivity of the collected data will be used for the analysis,
inferences and generalizations.

2. Reliability:
Reliability refers to ‘consistency’ throughout a series of measurement. That is to say, if a
respondent gives out a response to a particular item, he is expected to give the same
response to that item whenever he is asked subsequently. There are different methods in
determining the reliability of the responses given out by a respondent. Some of these
methods are using ‘check items’, administering the same test repeatedly, using a series of
‘parallel form’, etc.

3. Validity:
Any measuring instrument is said to be valid when it measures what it purports to
measure. There are a good number of procedures for establishing the validity of a test.
Some of such procedures are validating the present data against a ‘concurrent’ criterion
or a future criterion or a theory, etc.

4. Generality:
Generality represents the valid application of the findings of the sample to the population.
In other words, with how much authority and confidence, an investigator can say the

11 | P a g e
 same findings will be obtained even though the data is collected from the total population
from which the sample is selected. A good research design should ensure that:
i. The measuring instruments can yield objective, reliable and valid data;
ii. The required size of the sample is collected
iii. The appropriate statistical analysis has been employed; and
iv. The findings of the present study can be generalized.11

SIGNIFICANCE OF OR NEED FOR RESEARCH DESIGN

Research design is a must for any research problem since it helps to carry out various research
operations very smoothly, thereby making research as efficient as possible by giving maximum
information by economizing or minimising time, energy and cost.
Research design stands for advanced planning of the methods to be adopted for collecting the
relevant data and the techniques to be used in their analysis; keeping in view the objectives of
research and availability of time, physical and financial resources.
Research design helps to know how much inaccuracy a method of research will produce. Then
the researcher decides whether the method is suitable to be required accuracy in order to be
useful.12

11
Id. at 75
12
Supra Note 1 at 111

12 | P a g e
TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN

There are different types of research designs. They may be broadly categorized as:

(1) Exploratory Research Design;

(2) Descriptive and Diagnostic Research Design; and
(3) Hypothesis-Testing Research Design.13

1. Exploratory Research Design:

The Exploratory Research Design is known as formulative research design. The main objective
of using such a research design is to formulate a research problem for an in-depth or more
precise investigation, or for developing a working hypothesis from an operational aspect. The
major purpose of such studies is the discovery of ideas and insights. Therefore, such a research
design suitable for such a study should be flexible enough to provide opportunity for considering
different dimensions of the problem under study. Usually, the following three methods are
considered in the context of a research design for such studies. They are (a) a survey of related
literature; (b) experience survey; and (c) analysis of ‘insight-stimulating’ instances.

2. Descriptive and Diagnostic Research Design:

A Descriptive Research Design is concerned with describing the characteristics of a particular

individual or a group. Meanwhile, a diagnostic research design determines the frequency with
which a variable occurs or its relationship with another variable. In other words, the study
analyzing whether a certain variable is associated with another comprises a diagnostic research
study. On the other hand, a study that is concerned with specific predictions or with the narration
of facts and characteristics related to an individual, group or situation, are instances of
descriptive research studies. Generally, most of the social research design falls under this
category.

13
Research Design, available at: https://www.scribd.com/book/358054857Check (last visited on Nov 14, 2018,
4:06 PM)

13 | P a g e
The research design in such studies should be rigid and not flexible. Besides, it must also focus
attention on the following:
a) Formulation of the objectives of the study,
b) Proper designing of the methods of data collection,
c) Sample selection,
d) Data collection,
e) Processing and analysis of the collected data, and
f) Reporting the findings.

HYPOTHESIS-TESTING RESEARCH DESIGN:

Hypothesis-Testing Research Designs are those in which the researcher tests the hypothesis of
causal relationship between two or more variables. These studies require procedures that would
not only decrease bias and enhance reliability, but also facilitate deriving inferences about the
causality. Generally, experiments satisfy such requirements. Hence, when research design is
discussed in such studies, it often refers to the design of experiments.14

HYPOTHESIS:

“Hypothesis may be defined as a proposition or a set of propositions set forth as an explanation

for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena either asserted merely as a provisional
conjecture to guide some investigation in the light of established facts” (Kothari, 1988). A
research hypothesis is quite often a predictive statement, which is capable of being tested using
scientific methods that involve an independent and some dependent variables.

i. “Students who take tuitions perform better than the others who do not receive tuitions” or,
14
Supra Note 4 at 33

14 | P a g e
ii. “The female students perform as well as the male students”.

These two statements are hypotheses that can be objectively verified and tested. Thus, they
indicate that a hypothesis states what one is looking for. Besides, it is a proposition that can be
put to test in order to examine its validity.15

CHARACTERISTICS OF HYPOTHESIS:

Hypothesis should have the following characteristic features:-

i. A hypothesis must be precise and clear. If it is not precise and clear, then the inferences drawn
on its basis would not be reliable.

ii. A hypothesis must be capable of being put to test. Quite often, the research programmes fail
owing to its incapability of being subject to testing for validity. Therefore, some prior study may
be conducted by the researcher in order to make a hypothesis testable. A hypothesis “is tested if
other deductions can be made from it, which in turn can be confirmed or disproved by
observation” (Kothari, 1988).

iii. A hypothesis must state relationship between two variables, in the case of relational
hypotheses.

iv. A hypothesis must be specific and limited in scope. This is because a simpler hypothesis
generally would be easier to test for the researcher. And therefore, he/she must formulate such
hypotheses.

v. As far as possible, a hypothesis must be stated in the simplest language, so as to make it

understood by all concerned. However, it should be noted that simplicity of a hypothesis is not
related to its significance.

15
Supra note 8 at 64

15 | P a g e
vi. A hypothesis must be consistent and derived from the most known facts. In other words, it
should be consistent with a substantial body of established facts. That is, it must be in the form of
a statement which is most likely to occur.

vii. A hypothesis must be amenable to testing within a stipulated or reasonable period of time.
No matter how excellent a hypothesis, a researcher should not use it if it cannot be tested within
a given period of time, as no one can afford to spend a life-time on collecting data to test it.16

16
Id. at 68

16 | P a g e
TESTING OF HYPOTHESES

When the purpose of the research is to test a research hypothesis, it is termed as hypothesis-
testing research. It can be of experimental design or the non-experimental design. Research in
which the independent variable is manipulated is termed ‘experimental hypothesis-testing
research’ and a research in which an independent variable is not manipulated is called ‘non-
experimental hypothesis testing research’. As we have discussed the Null hypothesis (Ho) and
Alternative Hypothesis (Ha) earlier so while testing hypothesis we generally proceed on the basis
of Null hypothesis (Ho), keeping the Alternative hypothesis in view. We do so because on the
assumption that Null hypothesis is true, one can assign the probabilities to different possible
sample results, but this cannot be done if we proceed with the Alternative hypothesis. Hence the
use of null Hypothesis is quite frequent. While testing the Hypothesis the following things to be
kept in mind:17

a) Level of significance:

This is a very important concept in the context of hypothesis testing. It is always some
percentage (usually 5%) which should be chosen with great care, thought and reason. In case we
take the significance level at 5%, then this implies that Ho will be rejected when the sampling
result (i.e. observed evidence) has a less than 0.05 probability of occurring if Ho is true. In other
words, the 5% level of significance means that researcher is willing to take as much as a 5% risk
of rejecting the Null hypothesis when it happens to be true. Thus the significance level is the
maximum value of the probability of rejecting Ho when it is true and is usually determined in
advance before testing the hypothesis.

b) The Criteria of Rejection:

The criteria for rejecting the null hypothesis may differ. Sometimes the Null hypothesis is
rejected only when the quantity of the outcome is so large that the probability of its having
occurred by mere chance is 1 times out of 100. We consider the probability of its having

17
Supra Note 4 at 180-182

17 | P a g e
occurred by chance to be too little and we reject the chance theory of the Null hypothesis and
take the occurrence to be due to genuine tendency. On the other occasions, we may reject the
Null hypothesis even when the quantity of the reported outcome is likely to occur by chance 5
times out of 100. Statistically the former is known as the rejection of Null hypothesis at 0.1 level
and the latter is known as the rejection at 0.5 level. It may be pointed out that if the researcher is
able to reject the Null hypothesis, he cannot directly uphold the declarative hypothesis. If an
outcome is not held to be due to chance, it does not mean that it is due to the very cause and
effect relationship asserted in the particular declarative statement. It may be due to something
else which the researcher may have failed to control.

c) Declaration rule or test of hypothesis:

Given a Null hypothesis (Ho) and Alternative hypothesis (Ha), we make a rule which is
known as decision rule according to which we accept Ho (i.e reject Ha)or reject Ho(i.e accept
Ha). For instance, if Ho is, that a certain lot is good (there are very few defective items in it)
against Ha that the lot is not good (there are too many defective items in it), then we must decide
the number of items to be tested and the criterion for accepting or rejecting the hypothesis. We
might test 10 times in the lot and plan our decision saying that if there are none or only 1
defective item among the 10, we will accept Ho otherwise we will reject Ho (or accept Ha). This
sort of basis is known as decision rule.

d) Two-tailed and one-tailed test:

In the context of hypothesis testing, these two terms are quite important and must be
clearly understood. A two-tailed rejects the Null hypothesis if, say, the sample mean is
significantly higher or lower than the hypothesized value of the mean of the population. Such a
test is appropriate when the Null hypothesis is some specified value and the Alternative
hypothesis is a value not equal to the specified value of Null hypothesis. In a two-tailed test,
there are two rejection regions, one on each tail of the curve which can be illustrated as under:

If the significance level is 5% and the two-tailed test is to be applied, the probability of
the rejection area will be 0.005 (equally divided on both tails of the curve is 0.0025) and

18 | P a g e
 that of the acceptance region will be 0.95. But there are situations when only one-tailed
test is considered appropriate. A one-tailed test would be used when we are to test, say,
whether the population mean is either lower than or higher than some hypothesized value.
We should always remember that accepting Ho, on the basis of sample information does
not constitute the proof that Ho, is true. We only mean that there is no statistical evidence
to reject it. 18

18
Id. at 180-182

19 | P a g e
ERRORS IN TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS

There are basically two types of errors we make in the context of testing of Hypothesis. These
are called as Type-I error and the Type-II error. In type-I error, we may reject Null hypothesis
when Null hypothesis is true. Type-II error is when we accept Null hypothesis when the Null
Hypothesis is not true. In other words, Type-I error means rejection of hypothesis which should
have been accepted and Type-II error means accepting the hypothesis which should have been
rejected. Type-I error is denoted by alpha known as alpha error, also called the level of
significance of test and Type-II error is denoted by beta known as beta error.

ACCEPT NULL HYPOTHESIS REJECT NULL HYPOTHESIS

NULL Correct decision Type-I error (alpha error)

HYPOTHESIS
(TRUE)
NULL Type-II error (beta error) Correct decision
HYPOTHESIS
(FALSE)

The probability of Type-I error is usually determined in advance and is understood as the level of
significance of testing the hypothesis. If Type-I error is fixed at 5%, it means that there are about
5 chance in 100 that we will reject Null hypothesis when Null hypothesis is true. We can control
Type-I error just by fixing at a lower level. For instance, if we fix it at 1%, we will say that the
maximum probability of committing Type-I error would only be 0.01. But with the fixed sample
size, when we try to reduce Type-I error, the probability of committing Type-II error increases.

20 | P a g e
Both types of errors cannot be reduced simultaneously. There is trade off between two types of
errors which means that the probability of making one type error can only be reduced if we are
willing to increase the probability of making the other type of error. One must set a very high
level for Type-I error in one’s testing technique of a given hypothesis. Hence, in the testing of
hypothesis, one must make all possible efforts to strike an adequate balance between Type-I and
Type-II errors.19

19
Research Methodology, available at:
http://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/law/09._research_methodology/11._methods_of_dat
a_collection/et/8157_et_et.pdf (last visited on 14 Nov, 2018)

21 | P a g e
BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS:

1. Ahuja, Ram, Research Methods, Rawat Publications, Jaipur (2011)

2. Gupta, Santosh, Research Methodology and Statistical Techniques, Deep and Deep
Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi (2010)
3. Kothari, C.R. and Garg, Gaurav, Research Methodology Methods and Techniques, New
Age International Publishers, New Delhi (3rd ed. 2016)
4. Myneni, S.R., Legal Research Methodology, Allahabad Law Agency (5th ed.2015)
5. Verma, S.K. and Wani, M.Afzal, Legal Research and Methodology, The Indian Law
Institute, New Delhi (2006)·
6. Singh, Rattan, Legal Research Methodology, LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa, Nagpur
(2016)

WEBSITES:

1. http://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/law/09._research_methodology
/11._methods_of_data_collection/et/8157_et_et.pdf
2. https://www.scribd.com/book/358054857Check

22 | P a g e