what is a research design
The research design refers to the overall strategy that you choose to integrate the different components of the study in a coherent and logical way, thereby, ensuring you will effectively address the research problem; it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and analysis of data.
  There are a number of ways to describe a research design. For example, a study may be either quantitative or qualitative, depending on the type of data that is collecte … d and the degree of mathematical rigor to which it is subjected.