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Research methodology for the rest of us.

Practical, plain-English guides on questionnaire design, sample size, reliability, validity, common method bias, mixed methods, AI-drafted instruments, and recruiting respondents on a researcher's budget. Published by DrAIStudio.

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How to Design a Research Questionnaire β€” A Complete 2026 Guide

The eleven decisions that separate a publishable instrument from a noisy one. Research question, design family, validated scales, demographics, consent, randomisation, pilot, sample size, distribution, pre-registration.

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Cross-Sectional vs Longitudinal Survey Design

When to use each, the four sub-types of longitudinal design, the time-lagged middle ground, sample-size implications, and how reviewers think about causal claims.

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How to Calculate Sample Size for a Survey Study

Concrete sample sizes for correlation, t-test, ANOVA, regression, mediation, and SEM designs β€” with worked examples and real-world inflation factors.

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Reliability and Validity β€” Cronbach's Alpha, AVE, HTMT

The five tests publishable papers report: Cronbach's Ξ±, composite reliability, AVE, Fornell–Larcker, and HTMT. Plus what to do about common method bias.

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What Is the Delphi Method? A Researcher's Guide

How to run a structured 3-round Delphi for HRM, education, and policy research β€” including fuzzy Delphi and consensus thresholds.

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Common Method Bias β€” Detect, Prevent, and Reduce It

Procedural remedies (time-lagged, multi-source, varied scales) and statistical tests (Harman, CLF, marker variable, ULMC) for the most common reason cross-sectional papers get rejected.

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How to Use AI to Draft a Research Questionnaire

A safe workflow for AI-assisted survey design β€” what AI is good at, what it's bad at, the four common traps, and how to keep rigour while saving weeks of drafting time.

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Mixed-Methods Survey Design β€” Convergent, Sequential, Embedded

The four main variants of mixed-methods design, when to pick each, and what reviewers want to see in a defensible methods section.

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50 Survey Design Types Every Researcher Should Know

A complete taxonomy across 10 design families β€” time, purpose, methodology, sampling, mode, control, respondent structure, measurement, consensus, modern designs.

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How to Recruit Survey Respondents When You Have No Budget

Ten free and low-cost channels for academic survey recruitment β€” from LinkedIn pulls and alumni networks to the SmartForm Exchange credit marketplace.

Free, browser-based questionnaire builder

SmartForm lets you build, share, and analyse academic questionnaires for free β€” with AI item generation, live reliability stats, 50 design templates, and a peer-recruitment Exchange.

Open SmartForm β†’

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