ABSTRACT
Having articulated a research question and positioned it within what is known within the field, the next step is to think through the many options available for designing the study that will best meet the intended objectives. The research proposal is the opportunity to make decisions with respect to the parts of a study and to work them into what will become a coherent whole design. Interpretive description does not prescribe a stepwise process, because the nature of each applied and practice question will determine what makes the best sense for each study’s conditions and context. In this chapter, we reflect on ways of approaching the common decision points in support of an optimal plan for how each study will unfold.
