How to Select the Right Research Method for Your Study

Out of a variety of research methods, it may be complex to choose the most appropriate one for your study. However, there are certain important factors that should be considered to make this daunting task easier. Read on to learn about some of the factors that can help you evaluate and finalize an apt research method.

The type of study

Using an experimental method, observational technique or opinion-based method depends completely on the kind of research you have undertaken. Consider whether your study is qualitative or quantitative. While you may use different tools and techniques while performing a qualitative study, a quantitative study would mostly require you to use the experimental method. A quantitative study generally asks for data that can be statistically analyzed to accept or reject a hypothesis. Thus, you will need to have a rigorous design for ensuring high accuracy. On the other hand, a qualitative study may do with a flexible design.

Ethics involved

If your study involves certain ethical issues, then you will have to consider them before finalizing a stringent design for it. Usually, an experimental technique may not work in such fields where ethical issues are involved. Still, you should go into the details of these issues and your research question before choosing a specific method for your study.

Academic area

Generally, pure sciences need to offer reasoning behind their findings. Thus, there are more of experiments conducted to find logical and precise solutions. On the other hand, social sciences could do well with observational techniques, surveys and questionnaires. Studies in these areas may not need to be strictly quantitative at times.

Time and budget

These are two important factors that determine the feasibility of choosing a specific method. When there is less time and low budget, researchers usually prefer to administer questionnaires or use rating scales instead of conducting expensive lab experiments.

Subscribe now!

Subscribe today and get future blog posts your email.