Steve Tippins Ph.D.Helping doctoral students get their dissertation accepted, succeed in their careers, & change the world | Academic Career Advisor | Dissertation Chair & Founder, Beyond PhD Coaching | 35 + years of experience.

The Fastest Way to Choose Your Research Design

14 Apr 2026 · 0 min

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0:19

In this brief instructional clip, Steve Tippins, Ph.D., urges researchers to begin the process of selecting a research design by first articulating the research problem and the specific questions they aim to answer, rather than jumping straight to naming a methodology such as phenomenology or a case study. He explains that once the problem and questions are clear, the appropriate design naturally emerges to address them. At the end of the video, he invites viewers to comment the word “help” to receive a link to a free dissertation help community.

Don't just start with something like, "Oh, I'm going to do phenomenology," or "I'm going to do a case study." Start with the actual problem. Start with what you're looking for. Then the approach, the design, reveals itself because it's going to allow you to answer the questions you're asking. Drop the word "help" in the comments, and I'll send you the link for our free dissertation help community.