Describe the various types of research designs and discuss the strengths and weakness of each design. Which type of research design is most commonly used by researchers, and which type of research design is the least reliable?

Answer: The various types of research designs include surveys, ethnography, experiments, and existing sources.

Surveys provides sociologists with information about how people act or think but can limit sociologists to a particular type of research.

Ethnography collects information through participation or watching a group, however is considered an informal method. Experiments is an artificially created situation that allows a researcher to manipulate variables, but wouldn't be used if researching an entirely new concept. Existing sources (secondary analysis) focuses on using data in ways that weren't initially intended. However if the researcher relies on data collected by someone else they might not find what is needed.