Research Inquiry

– Methodology

and methods

Ove

rvie

w Methodology - Types

of Research

Methods – research tools

Meth

odolo

gy How can you describe

your research?How can you distinguish between different types of research?

3 t

ypes

of

cate

gori

zati

ons:

Exploratory, Descriptive

and Explanatory research

categories

Applied and basic research categories Quantitative and

qualitative research categories

Dis

tinguis

hin

g b

y G

OA

LS: Research is categorised by means

of its goal as eitherExploratory ORDescriptive ORExplanatory

Exp

lora

tory

Stu

die

s:

Aim to investigate the

unknown

Researcher has no idea what he/she will

find

No previous research

at all

Open and flexible designs

Desc

ripti

ve

Stu

die

s

Aim to accurately describe a particular

phenomenon Narrative description

(e.g. development of

medical services in Dubai)

Classifications (e.g. documenting the different types of hospitals in Dubai)

Desc

ripti

ve

Stu

die

s c

onti

nued Relationships (e.g.

documenting the relationship between

number of healthcare

facilities in Dubai to the

incidence and prevalence of disease)

Exp

lanato

ry

Stu

die

s

Aim to provide CAUSAL explanations

for something Prove that X causes Y Commonly use experimental or quasi-

experimental research

designs

Know

your

GO

AL

Affects your research

design:

Exploratory – open flexible design. Focus

on detailing how you

plan to collect data and

where you will look for

the data

Know

your

GO

AL

conti

nued

Affects your research

design continued: Descriptive – focus on

reliability and validity of

your design and representativeness of

your sample

Know

your

GO

AL

conti

nued

Affects your research

design continued: Explanatory – focus on

eliminating alternative

explanations of causality (confounding

variables)

Dis

tinguis

hin

g b

y U

SE

Research is categorised by means

of its USE as eitherApplied

ORBasic

Basi

c Rese

arc

h

Results are used to add to the existing body of knowledge Existing theories are

either supported or refuted

No practical application

of results

Applie

d

Rese

arc

h:

Results have highly practical applications Contribute towards problem solving Contribute towards

decision making Contribute towards policy analysis and development

Know

your

USE

Affects your research

design because of required level of Generalization:

Basic research: Generalisable to large

variety of contexts Applied research : Generalisable to highly

specific context

Requir

ed L

eve

l of

Genera

lizati

on:

Affects:

Sampling size Sampling technique Observation method Measurement and

analysis methods

Dis

tinguis

hin

g b

y TYPE O

F D

ATA

Research is categorised by means

of the type of data collection and analysis

as either

Qualitative ORQuantitative

Qualit

ati

ve

rese

arc

h

Non-numerical data collection and analysis Written or spoken

language

Identifying and categorizing themes E.g. in-depth case study

Quanti

tati

ve

Rese

arc

h: Numerical data

collection and analysis Statistical data analysis E.g. Surveys and questionnaires

Know

your

DATA

TYPE

Affects your research

design in terms of : Sampling techniques Sample size

Method of data collection

Method of data analysis

Note

:

Some studies use both

qualitative and qualititative data collection and analysis

techniques

These are classified according to the predominant technique

Exa

mple

fo

rmula

tion: This study is a basic,

exploratory study which will make use of

qualitative methods of

data collection and analysis.

Meth

ods

of

Inquir

y

Survey Research Archival Research Correlational Research Experimental Research Naturalistic Observational Research Case Study Research

Surv

ey

Rese

arc

h: Research design which

aims to gather standardized information from a

large group of people

on a single occasion

Chara

cteri

stic

s

Fixed Design

Preplanned execution of

research

Small amount of data

collected in standardized form E.g. questionnaire

Chara

cteri

stic

s co

nti

nued

Large representative

sample from specific

population

Usually Quantitative

data collection and analysis

Seldom repeat measuring

Tools

Questionnaires Observation E.g. Sitting in waiting

room documenting pre-

determined variablesDiaries

E.g. note time and date of

headaches to test side-

effects of new drug

Adva

nta

ges

Surveys are scientific Proper sampling technique

Proper questionnaire

design

Utility and versatility Can be used for almost

any type of research

Adva

nta

ges

conti

nued

Demonstrate relationship between

variables

Positive or negative correlation

Causal relationships (difficult)

Dis

adva

nta

ges

Internal Validity Ambiguity of questionnaireSecuring high degree of

involvementReliability Especially in face-to-face

method

Generalisability Incorrect sampling technique

or sample size

HO

WEV

ER

:

Careful planning of a

survey study can avoid most of the disadvantages

Pilot studies are NB for

ensuring validity and

reliability

Appro

ach

es:

Self- completion Little effort for researcher

Low level of involvementFace-to-Face interview High level of participant

involvement High researcher effort

Beware of reliability

Appro

ach

es

conti

nued :

Telephonic interview Useful if participants are

spread across wide geographical area Higher level of

involvement than posting

or self-completion Shortest amount of time

for data collection

Quest

ionnair

e

issu

e:

Beware of lengthBeware of complexity Especially with self-

completion approachForced choice questions for quantitative analysis

Quest

ionnair

e

issu

e co

nti

nued:

Open ended for qualitative analysis It is best to use the face-

to-face approach if your

quest6ionnaire contains

open-ended questions Internal ValidityReliability

Arc

hiv

al

Rese

arc

h Archive = recordResearch design in which existing data is

collected and analyzed

Chara

cteri

stic

s

Makes use of existing

data E.g. patient recordsData collected by

someone other than

the researcher E.g. nurse

Data collected for purpose other than the

research E.g. patient records

Chara

cteri

stic

s co

nti

nued

Fixed research design Variables of Analysis are

predeterminedSpecific population and sample Expressed in terms of

data rather than peopleData is collected from

large sampleQuantitative or

qualitative

Adva

nta

ges:

Extensive data setsLarge representative

samples

Electronic data

Dis

adva

nta

ges

Inappropriate or incomplete data Information overloadConfidential or private

records (access)

Corr

ela

tional

rese

arc

h: Designs looking for an

association between

two or more variablesNot suited if you are

looking for the direction of causality

Exp

eri

menta

l Rese

arc

h

Independent variable

is manipulated to observe the effect of

this change on the dependent variable while confounding variables are controlled for.

Used to establish direction of causality

Natu

ralis

tic

Obse

rvati

on

Research in which a naturally occurring phenomenon is observed and documented accurately

Usually a Qualitative

research design

Case

Stu

dy

Collecting in-depth, intensive information

from one individual or

a small group of individuals

Useful if phenomenon

under investigation is

very rare

Combines qualitative

and quantitative methods