A Guide for Novice Researchers: Design and Development Research Methods

Understanding the type of research methods that may best fit a given research agenda can be daunting task for novice researchers. In many instances, the problem can seem to be overwhelming in that the novice does not possess the basic familiarity with the fundamental terms and concepts of some of the more commonly used approaches to make an informed decision. This paper provides the novice researcher with a basic set of concepts and terms associated with conducting design and development studies, one of the foundational research approaches in the informing sciences. A six phase design and development framework adopted from prior system development methodology literature is presented. Additionally, examples to help the novice researcher better grasp the proposed framework are discussed.