What (Exactly) Is Research Methodology?

Research methodology simply refers to the practical “how” of any given piece of
research. More specifically, it’s about how a researcher systematically designs a
study to ensure valid and reliable results that address the research aims and
objectives.
For example, how did the researcher go about deciding:
 What data to collect (and what data to ignore)
 Who to collect it from (in research, this is called “sampling design”)
 How to collect it (this is called “data collection methods”)
 How to analyze it (this is called “data analysis methods”)
In a dissertation, thesis, academic journal article (or pretty much any formal piece
of research), you’ll find a research methodology chapter (or section) which covers
the aspects mentioned above. Importantly, a good methodology chapter in a
dissertation or thesis explains not just what methodological choices were made,
but also explains why they were made.
In other words, the methodology chapter should justify the design choices, by
showing that the chosen methods and techniques are the best fit for the research
aims and objectives, and will provide valid and reliable results. A good research
methodology provides scientifically sound findings, whereas a poor methodology
doesn’t. We’ll look at the main design choices below.
What are qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method methodologies?
Qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods are different types of methodologies,
distinguished by whether they focus on words, numbers or both. This is a bit of an
oversimplification, but it’s a good starting point for understandings. Let’s take a
closer look.
Qualitative research refers to research which focuses on collecting and analyzing
words (written or spoken) and textual data, whereas quantitative research focuses
on measurement and testing using numerical data. Qualitative analysis can also
focus on other “softer” data points, such as body language or visual elements.
It’s quite common for a qualitative methodology to be used when the research
aims and objectives are exploratory in nature. For example, a qualitative
methodology might be used to understand peoples’ perceptions about an event that
took place, or a candidate running for president.
Contrasted to this, a quantitative methodology is typically used when the research
aims and objectives are confirmatory in nature. For example, a quantitative
methodology might be used to measure the relationship between two variables (e.g.
personality type and likelihood to commit a crime) or to test a set of hypotheses.
As you’ve probably guessed, the mixed-method methodology attempts to combine
the best of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to integrate
perspectives and create a rich picture.
What are the main sampling design approaches?
As we mentioned earlier, sampling design is about deciding who you’re going to
collect your data from (i.e. your sample). There are many sample options, but the
two main categories of sampling design are probability sampling and non-
probability sampling.
Probability sampling means that you use a completely random sample from the
group of people you’re interested in (this group is called the “population”). By
using a completely random sample, the results of your study will
be generalizable to the entire population. In other words, you can expect the same
results across the entire group, without having to collect data from the entire group
(which is often not possible for large groups).
Non-probability sampling, on the other hand, doesn’t use a random sample. For
example, it might involve using a convenience sample, which means you’d
interview or survey people that you have access to (perhaps your friends, family or
work colleagues), rather than a truly random sample (which might be difficult to
achieve due to resource constraints). With non-probability sampling, the results are
typically not generalizable.
What are the main data collection methods?
There are many different options in terms of how you go about collecting data for
your study. However, these options can be grouped into the following types:
 Interviews (which can be unstructured, semi-structured or structured)
 Focus groups and group interviews
 Surveys (online or physical surveys)
  Observations
 Documents and records
 Case studies
The choice of which data collection method to use depends on your overall
research aims and objectives, as well as practicalities and resource constraints.
For example, if your research is exploratory in nature, qualitative methods such as
interviews and focus groups would likely be a good fit. Conversely, if your
research aims to measure specific variables or test hypotheses, large-scale surveys
that produce large volumes of numerical data would likely be a better fit.
What are the main data analysis methods?
Data analysis methods can be grouped according to whether the research is
qualitative or quantitative.
Popular data analysis methods in qualitative research include:
 Qualitative content analysis
 Thematic analysis
 Discourse analysis
 Narrative analysis
 Grounded theory
 IPA
Qualitative data analysis all begins with data coding, after which one (or more)
analysis technique is applied.
Popular data analysis methods in quantitative research include:
 Descriptive statistics (e.g. means, medians, modes)
 Inferential statistics (e.g. correlation, regression, structural equation
modelling)
Again, the choice of which data collection method to use depends on your overall
research aims and objectives, as well as practicalities and resource constraints.
How do I choose a research methodology?
As you’ve probably picked up by now, your research aims and objectives have a
major influence on the research methodology. So, the starting point for developing
your research methodology is to take a step back and look at the big picture of your
research, before you make methodology decisions. The first question you need to
ask yourself is whether your research is exploratory or confirmatory in nature.
If your research aims and objectives are primarily exploratory in nature, your
research will likely be qualitative and therefore you might consider qualitative data
collection methods (e.g. interviews) and analysis methods (e.g. qualitative content
analysis).
Conversely, if your research aims and objective are looking to measure or test
something (i.e. they’re confirmatory), then your research will quite likely be
quantitative in nature, and you might consider quantitative data collection methods
(e.g. surveys) and analyses (e.g. statistical analysis).
Designing your research and working out your methodology is a large topic, which
we’ll cover in other posts. For now, however, the key takeaway is that you should
always start with your research aims and objectives. Every methodology
decision will flow from that.
What is the difference between a research topic and a research question?
A research topic is a specific part of study in a broader area of study. For instance,
for your research topic, the broader research area is malaria prevention in
households.
A research question aims to further narrow down the scope of the study. It is a
possibility you explore through your study aiming to solve the problem of your
study and is expressed in the form of a question. Note that you may need to come
up with several potential questions before deciding on a final question. For these,
you will first need to do a literature search for your topic. In your topic, to come up
with research questions, you will need to inspect aspects such as extent of ITN
utilization among the study groups, factors among the groups (both exposed and
unexposed, as this is a case-control study) enabling ITN utilization, and so on.
The final question becomes the hypothesis of the study. It is a tentative answer to
the problem of the study that you will seek to address in your study. The
hypothesis is expressed in the form of a statement rather than a question.