The Benefits and Limitations of Different Research Methodologies

 

You may be feeling a bit intimidated by all the technical jargon used if you've started to work on your first official research project, whether it's a dissertation or a thesis. It can be daunting to focus on an array of different topics when conducting your first scholastic research.  

Your research technique is the process via which you intend to carry out your investigation. It is your responsibility to explain how you intend to implement your idea and turn it into an empirical analysis.

Diverse research styles use different methods to gather data techniques. For instance, researchers gather data, and the sort of data they get hinges on their objectives and the issues they're attempting to resolve. Researchers then choose the effective study type for the data they have and their objectives. In research methodology, the researcher looks for solutions in their own novel approach. Often, the methodology uses primary or secondary data.

Why do researchers adopt various types of research methods?

Main principles guide a researcher to adopt multiple research methodologies because they carry several benefits such as,

• Recognizing and respecting the project's core theoretical motivation is the first central concept
• The secondary module's purpose is to improve the description, enable deeper investigation or verify a tentative hypothesis.
• Mixing data sources can assist the researcher to gain a deeper comprehension of the problem by offering more substantial evidence, providing both breadth and depth.
• That implies that you can research various unique subjects. It enables you to consider your personal research skills as you go along.
• Mixed research method studies can enable researchers in determining measurable improvements, explore conflicts, and grasp how various aspects interact with one another .

Quantitative research 

The quantitative research approach that encircles the scientific principles allows researchers to conduct simple to enormously complex statistical analyses and the data collection.

   Pros

·        Researchers can clearly communicate quantitative results using unbiased statistics.

·    In comparison to other types of research, quantitative approach can collect significant amounts of data far more swift.

  Cons

·  Any error in setting up quantitative research can invalidate all the findings i.e even coming up with a hypothesis can be subjective

·     It is common to collect a large number of data points in quantitative research. Even while this is helpful for evaluation, the research is costly.

Qualitative research

By using inductive analysis of their data, qualitative researchers collect data around grounded theories. Through a series of iterative steps between gathering and analyzing data, this qualitative approach of research allows for the extension and adaptation of the initial strategy in response to fresh information and experiences.

 Pros

·  Researchers can be far more inquisitive about the topics they choose to study since it permits data collecting to be motivated by instinct.

·   Over time, opinions can shift and develop. Qualitative research can track shifting attitudes throughout time.

Cons

·     Responses to qualitative study findings might frequently fall into one of two categories. The data is challenging to present to broad audiences because two quite different results can be obtained.

·     Due to the fact that perspectives change and data are only reliable at the time they are collected, it can be challenging for researchers to draw conclusions using this method.

   

Descriptive research 

The "what" of the research topic is more important than the "why" in this descriptive methodology. The purpose of descriptive research is to explain patterns and give a full and precise overview of the topic under study. Only the facts as they happened or are unfolding may be reported accurately by the researcher.

Pros

·        Future research can use the data from descriptive research as a starting point.

·      Descriptive research is simple to duplicate, it is a trustworthy method for gathering and comparing data.

 Cons

·        It is extremely difficult for descriptive researchers to overcome a research bias.

·  The responses may not be reliable if the questions are poorly designed, making it challenging to conduct a legitimate investigation.

  Guidelines before using mixed research methodologies

 

• The finding can be generalized with a research design that addresses the problem of the study and produces a rational and consistent research method to be used. The finding can be generalized with research design  

 

• Mixed method research should be Transparent in nature i.e. connected to the research questions and has a clear justification for the decision should be done.

 

• A mixed research methods approach is only feasible when qualitative and quantitative data are combined to address the topic more thoroughly.

 

• It's crucial to intensify the discussion of methodological quality to make sure that various research methodologies yield reliable study results.

 

• Before adopting mixed research approaches to collect data, enough time must be allotted.

  Drawbacks of using multiple research methods:

 

• Since research methods are often based on a hypothesis an absence of desired phenomena can be disappointing. 

 

• The abundance of data produced by mixed methods research can make analysis and distribution difficult.

 

• Qualitative data loses its versatility and richness when it is quantified, solving it can be difficult because it calls for analyzing, indexing, and combining data from unorganized to a data structure.

 

• Due to its redundancy, implementing various research methodologies to a single study can be challenging for a single researcher

 

• One researcher might be less proficient in both qualitative and quantitative methods, in which case they may need to enlist the assistance of another or get thesis help from professional assignment writers who will perform extensive research and produce the best thesis ever. 

·         What is evident is that different research methods study quality goes beyond the calibre i.e if one component of a method study is underfunded, weak, or wrongly analyzed throughout the entire investigation, it could have a negative impact on the study's integrity.

 Conclusion

A variety of research methods exist, all of which have advantages and disadvantages Several research techniques might complement one another. Although most researchers are exposed to a variety of research approaches, it takes a varied set of professionals with a range of research backgrounds and experiences.