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analysis, text analysis, and case studies (life histories) are primarily of acontextual nature — interpretative, descriptive, and exploratory.Bearing these distinctions in mind, it is possible to classify research designs inthe following manner: (We consistently use the most prototypicalcategorization of a research design. More variations are obviously possiblethan are indicated in the table.)TABLE 5.1COLLECTION OF NEW DATAANALYSIS OF EXISTING DATAFree download from www.hsrcpress.ac.zaRESEARCHSTRATEGYGENERALINTERESTCONTEXT-TUALINTERESTRESEARCHGOALEXPLANATORYDESCRIPTIVEEXPLORATORYEXPLANATORY(VERSTEHEN)DESCRIPTIVEEXPLORATORYEXPERIMENTAL and QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS(Emphasis on experimental control,structured direct & indirectobservation)SURVEY DESIGNS (Emphasis onstructured indirect observation,questionnaires & interviews)SURVEY DESIGNS(pilot studies)Suggestions for further readingHELD DESIGNS orENTHNOGRAPHIC DESIGNS(Emphasis on unstructured direct andindirect observation)FIELD DESIGNS or ETHNO-GRAPHIC DESIGNS (Emphasis onthe use of informants, elite figures)(1) SECONDARY ANALYSIS —census data(2) QUANTITATIVE CONTENTANALYSIS — newspaperreports, speeches, etc.(1) QUALITATIVE CONTENTANALYSIS OR DISCOURSE/ASSERTION ANALYSIS(2) HISTORICAL ANALYSIS(What was the cause of x?)(1) QUALITATIVE CONTENTANALYSIS or DISCOURSEANALYSIS(2) HISTORICAL ANALYSIS(What happened?)1. Two books on informal logic in which central concepts such as argument,evidence, inference, and others are treated in an elementary fashion, arethose by Wright (1982) and by Scriven (1976). Similarly, the book bySalmon (1973) is an elementary introduction to logic.122