Research Methods

It is important to understand, select and implement the methodologies that are best suited to the research project concerned. Informed choices result in utilising methodologies that allow collection of the most appropriate amounts and types of data.  Research methods: include   

• questionnaires • interviews • case studies • observations • literature reviews 

Questionnaires can be a simple way to collect data from a large group of respondants and are beneficial in that they can allow the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data.  You can be flexible with questionnaires, as you can ask open-ended questions or closed-ended questions by getting participants to either write a response to a question, or select one answer to a question (e.g Yes/No, Agree/disagree,) For our IRP questionnaires are one of the most popular methodologies because they are extremely suitable for many different research topics.

Case studies allow for more in-depth analysis of a topic in a real life content. They provide qualitative data based on real cases, such as people. If you were researching a topic such as "The effect living with a terminally ill person has on family dynamics", you may conduct a case study on a family unit that lives and cares for another terminally ill family member. This could help you gain further multi-dimensional understanding of your topic, beyound what is evident in qualitative data. 

Interviews are typically a one-on-one method of collecting qualitative research. The participant is providing the researcher with subjective information such as their opinions, views, or experiences surrounding the topic. If you choose to conduct an interview as part of your IRP, you will need to consider whether you wish to opt for a structured or unstructured interview. 

Quantitative data may also be collected through interviews, for example, if a researcher conducts multiple interviews on the same topic and records how many people responded with one answer and how many people responded with another.

Observations allow researchers to view the behaviours and actions of their participants in their 'natural environment' This methodology can be conducted in two different ways:

Participant observation: This is where the researcher involves themselves in the environment their research is being conducted in. They may engage with a group and observe the way the group interacts with each other or behaves around each other to gather a further understanding of group dynamics.

Non-participant observation: The researcher observes from afar, usually in a discreet manner to avoid being noticed. This allows them to collect data which is authentic, as particpants are unlikely to consciously change their mannerisms or behaviour if they do not know they are being observed.

Literature reviews involves reading and analysing scholarly sources of work (secondary sources) that relate to your topic, then writing a summary and evaluation of their correlation to your own research. Literature reviews can help you to form the basis for your own research, potentially by realising where there are gaps or outdated perspectives within the topic. 

Activity 2: Complete the table in books by exploring each methodology