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nal validity. This distinction is clearly a function of the researcher’s choicebetween either a contextual or a generalizable study. The specificconsiderations that influence validity will, however, be discussed in moredetail in the following chapters.As we indicated in the first two sections of this chapter, the term researchdesign is used in a much broader sense in this book than one would normallyencounter in books on research methodology. For this reason, some of thetopics discussed in this chapter would, as a rule, not be regarded as problemsrelating to the question of research design. Viewed against the background ofour definition of the aim of research design, it is, however, evident that theresearcher needs to consider such issues as the unit of analysis, research goals,and research strategy, at an early stage in the research process so as to ensurethat bias and threats to validity are not built into the research design. The issuesdiscussed so far may mostly (if not entirely) be eliminated by the researcherbeing sensitive to these issues and by adopting a critical stance. The nature andextent of the validity considerations which are to be discussed in the followingchapters are, however, likely to pose a much greater challenge to the ingenuityand critical abilities of the researcher!Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.zaSuggestions for further reading1. Trigg (1973) offers an elementary discussion of the issue of rationalityand of the far-reaching implications of a consistent relativism. Two booksof readings which contain representative discussions by those in favour ofrationality, as well as those opposed to this point of view, are those ofWilson (1969) and of Hollis and Lukes (1983). A more advanced text inwhich the argument in favour of rationality in science is discussed indetail, is that by Newton-Smith (1981). Kekes (1976) deals with the sameissues from a Popperian frame of reference.2. Detailed treatments of general research methodology are to be found inthe texts by Doby (1954), Selltiz et al. (1965), Krausz and Miller (1974)Golden (1976), Babbie (1979), Agnew and Pike (1982), and Abraham son(1983).3. To facilitate the choice of a research topic, any of the many research indices in the social sciences may be consulted. A list of some of these isprovided below:Abstracts in anthropology; Behavioral abstracts; Bibliographielinguistique / linguistic bibliography; Bibliography of philosophy; Bookreview index; British education index; British reports, translations andthese. Bulletin of information on current research on human sciencesconcerning Africa; Canadian education index; Child development abstractsand bibliography; Children’s book review index; Children’s literature53