How to Select a Research Methodology

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posted on 11 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Research Methodology is the most vital part of a research study; it can be called as the spine of a research.. A research methodology determines the direction that your study will follow and the manner in which you would collect your data and the depth of your data. It also determines the quality of the data you collect. Further, the methodology can also determine the analytical tools you would be using for deriving conclusions from the data collected. It is very common for students to start with data collection without defining the methodology and then trying to fit the data into pre-existing methodological framework. This however, is detrimental to the research.

Steps

Define the goals, objectives, and research question. It is essential to understand and have clarity about what you want to research before deciding upon how to research. To use an analogy, if Research is a journey goal is the destination and methodology is the route. Determine the variables that need to be studied in order to get an answer to the research question. If the goals serve as the destination of the journey then the variables are the milestones. Just as the milestones guide you through the journey and keep you from going astray, sticking to the variables, and working upon the variables, helps reach the end goal on time in the best possible way.

Read previous studies and researches to find out the most commonly and/or effectively used methodological approaches to collect data. There are a slew of ways to conduct a research but not all are meant for your research. Determining the right methodology in dark can be very difficult. It is a good idea to read previous studies in your area and find out the methodology they used and the limitations or recommendations of the same.

Find out the time, resources, and capabilities you have that would enable you to carry out a research design better than the other. Not all forms of data collection are same, while some are time consuming, others might need more labor days, while the rest might be expensive. It is essential to base your decision after giving a thought to these limitations.

Write down the entire research methodological approach in detail and review. Once you choose a particular approach to conduct your research, it is essential to put down everything on a paper, including the approximate time and resources each step might consume. This will help you get a clear idea of the route that your research would take and the hurdles on the way.