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A person who wishes to travel to a particular destination would have to ply through a given route to arrive at the destination in the best possible time. While several routes lead to the destination, the utility to be derived from each of the routes is usually not the same.
As there are routes that are most preferred to reach the desired destination. In the same vein, research methodology is likened as a route through which the researcher arrives at his destination. The destination usually likened to the research objectives and questions.
It simply follows that the research methodology to be applied in any given research will determine if the set-out objectives of the research study will be attained or not. This is because it is not every methodology of research that can be applied in every study.
The methodology to be applied will greatly depend on the discipline being researched into, the topic, and the objectives outlined in the study. Thus, the purpose here is to make a simplistic overview of what research methodology entails as it would aid any researcher to understand which to apply.
Research methodology may be seen as the means for collecting data and its analysis, and any means chosen must be compatible and consistent with research objectives and problems to attain accurate and realistic output. Research methodology clarifies and delineates the study aims; it identifies the requirements to fit the research objectives and overall aims or purpose of the research.
Generally, research methodology refers to how to apply specific techniques and procedures in the research design. Without research methodology; it is nearly impossible to achieve and clarify the main key of the research aims. The main purpose of research methodology is to give a clear idea of what methods or processes which are going to be used, as well as discuss the research problems to be addressed.
Therefore, the research methodology is an important element to the research studies to clarify all the needed steps to achieve the objectives of the research.
There are various types of research methodology, but just as already stated, the type to be applied in a given depends to a larger extent, on the discipline, the topic and the objectives of the study.
This simply illustrates a kind of research where empirical evidence is wholly applied. Using empirical evidence shows that knowledge and information expressed in such research are purely based on direct and indirect observation or experience. Empirical research can be done in three different ways:
This approach includes interpreting numeric data such as percentages, intervals or ratios and using items of analysis such as graphs or diagrams to get a specific result or output. The quantitative approach can be described as extreme empiricism, which depends on controlling and explaining the phenomenon. Quantitative researchers are more interested in measuring “how many?”, “How often?” or “to what extent?”
Basic things to consider here are:
This approach depends extensively on the application of interpretive or critical paradigm within social sciences to help researchers to study social and cultural phenomena. Here, data collected depends on the field or life situation such as other people’s experiences, values, and behaviours.
It can be said that the data in qualitative research come in the form as words, phrases, sentences and narrations rather than in numbers; it follows that they are non-numerical data, e.g. explanation, conversation, interviews and discussion.
For qualitative, things to consider are:
Many researchers combine qualitative and quantitative forms of analysis to better answer questions which cannot be studied in laboratory settings, particularly in the social sciences and in education. It implies the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods.
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