Choosing Your Research Methodology

There are many types of research methods and designs. Many students get a bit confused between the terms “Research Methodology” and “Research Design”.  The first thing to be aware of is that a research methodology is a category of research, of which there are three: (1) Qualitative, (2) Quantitative, and (3) Mixed Methodology. A research design is a strategy associated with a methodology. For example, a phenomenological design is a strategy in the qualitative methodology. A correlational design is a strategy in the quantitative methodology. There are many other strategies under all three research methodologies.

The Qualitative Methodology Researcher is primarily focused on developing themes from a deep understanding of how or why a real-world situation exist. This type of researcher describes, explains, and communicate a core understanding of a subject matter in a social setting. This is done by collecting narrative data such as written statements, listening to audio accounts, examining documents, etc.

The Quantitative Methodology Researchers use factors to describe a current or past condition, examine relationships between factors or variables, or study cause and effect events. This is done by collecting numeric data or converting descriptive data into numeric formats to determine the extent to which a relationship exist, or perhaps to understand how and intervention or event can affect single or multiple variables, or outcomes.

The Mixed Methodology Researcher use both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and conduct analysis to then provide a deeper and richer analysis of the data using a technique where researchers merge, connect, and embed data known as triangulation. While this form of research is comprehensive, engaging this form requires having skills in both qualitative and quantitative methods. Sample size must be large enough so that both qualitative and quantitative results are inferred to each population independently.  

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Kindly,