Choosing a Research Methodology
Three sentences of guidance is all the supplied teaching source offers on this decision. Here is what those sentences are worth, where they run out, and how to build a selection procedure you can defend in a methodology chapter.
What the source says, in full
The supplied teaching source gives its selection guidance in one short passage. It is reproduced here in full, because the whole of it fits in a callout.
Three related statements elsewhere in the same source do more work than the passage above, and they are the foundation of the procedure on this page.
- "Since deciding on research methods makes no sense until you have decided on your research questions, it is useful to determine the context of the research."
- "Methods are only as good as the answers they give to research questions. So the methods you choose depend on the questions you want to answer."
- "Every step in the research process as designed by the researcher, should be appropriate to, should 'fit' with, the purpose and focus of the research."
Why "copy what the significant papers use" is not enough
Reading the significant papers in your field is good advice. It is also incomplete in three specific ways, each of which the source itself gives you the means to fix.
Three gaps in the source's advice
Their study is not your study
A published paper's methodology was chosen for its question, population and context. The source requires every step of your research to fit the nature, aim, population and context of your study. Borrowing without that test is how a study loses coherence.
Papers name methodologies without defining them
A paper may say it used content analysis and never say what it meant. The supplied source has the same habit: twelve of the fourteen methodologies on its own pyramid figure are labels with no definitions attached.
Published work hides what it could not do
You are reading the studies that succeeded, usually with more time and access than you have. The source's practical considerations — time, ethics, cooperation and cost — belong in the selection decision, not after it.
The catalogue of what the source names and what it defines is set out in The Methodology Catalogue, and the fit requirement is developed in Methodological Coherence: Making Every Step Fit.
A repeatable selection procedure
Run these seven steps in order. Each produces something written down, which is what makes the procedure repeatable and the justification easy to write.
Seven steps from question to methodology
State the research question in one sentence
The source's own instruction. Until this exists, methodology selection is guesswork, because the source ties the choice of methods directly to the question being answered. See Step 4: Deciding Your Research Question.
Classify what the question is trying to do
The source offers three types: descriptive research finds out and describes what is, explanatory research explains how or why things are as they are and uses that to predict, and evaluative research evaluates policies and programmes. Write down which one your question is.
Read the significant papers and record their methodologies
This is the source's advice made systematic. Use the capture table below so you end up with evidence rather than an impression.
Shortlist two or three candidate methodologies
Draw from the source's seven defined methodologies where one fits, and from the wider catalogue where it does not. For any candidate the source does not define, find and record a citable definition before shortlisting it.
Test each candidate for fit
The source requires that every step be appropriate to the nature, aim, population and context of the study. Apply those four tests to each candidate in turn and write the answers down.
Test each candidate for feasibility
Time to completion, ethical constraints, the cooperation you can actually obtain, and cost. The source names all four as practical considerations, and warns that failing to consider any of them means trouble later.
Confirm with your supervisor and record the decision
The source recommends the conversation. Go in with a shortlist, a fit assessment and a feasibility assessment; come out with a decision written down, including why the alternatives were set aside.
The source does not prescribe this sequence, and it does not present its fit and feasibility criteria as a methodology screen. Both sets of criteria are its own material, applied here to the selection decision.
The capture table for step three
"Look at significant papers in the field you are investigating and attempt to understand what methodology they are using" becomes useful the moment you record it in a fixed format. The supplied source sets no number of papers and gives no test for when you have read enough; read until the methodologies stop surprising you.
WHAT TO RECORD FOR EACH SIGNIFICANT PAPER
| Column | What goes in it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Question shape | The question the paper set, in its own words | Lets you match their question type against yours rather than matching topics |
| Methodology named | The term the authors use for their methodology | The raw material of the pattern you are looking for |
| Definition given | How the authors define that term, or "not defined" | A methodology the paper never defines is not one you can borrow with confidence |
| Data collection methods | The methods sitting on top of the methodology | Keeps the methodology and the instrument distinct, as the pyramid's tiers do |
| What you could borrow | One line: the whole approach, one instrument, or nothing | Forces a judgement rather than a note |
The columns are a synthesis. The source asks you to look at significant papers and understand their methodology, but specifies nothing about recording what you find.
The literature work this depends on is covered in Step 3: Checking the Literature. One pass through the papers can serve both purposes if you set the table up before you start reading.
Decision rules built from the source's own definitions
The source's seven methodology definitions each contain the conditions under which that methodology applies. Turning those conditions into if-then rules gives you a first-pass shortlist in a few minutes.
Matching question shape to the source's defined methodologies
These rules restate conditions contained in the source's definitions; the source does not present them as a decision aid. The definitions are in Research Methodologies: An Overview.
The two screens: fit and feasibility
A shortlist is not a decision. Two screens separate the candidate you want from the one you can run, and the source supplies the criteria for both.
Fit — is this methodology appropriate?
- The nature of the study — does the methodology suit the kind of thing being studied?
- The aim of the study — will it produce the kind of answer the aim requires?
- The population of the study — is it workable with the people or cases involved?
- The context of the study — does it suit the organisational setting the research sits in?
Feasibility — can you actually do it?
- How long will the research take to accomplish?
- Are there important ethical constraints to consider?
- Can you achieve the cooperation needed to finish it?
- How significant are the costs of conducting it?
Both lists are the source's own. The four fit criteria are its statement of what every step of the research should be appropriate to; the four feasibility criteria are its practical considerations, which it warns you not to skip. Feasibility is treated at length in Assessing Research Topic Feasibility.
One further source instruction belongs in the feasibility screen: when you allocate time, plan half of it for doing the research and the other half for writing and rewriting. The source offers this as advice rather than a threshold, and attaches no consequence to breaking it. Treat a methodology that would consume most of your available time as a warning worth acting on, not an automatic disqualification.
Recording and defending the choice
The source states that in order to answer epistemological questions, the researcher must explain and justify the methodology and methods used in the research project. That obligation is easier to meet if the material is captured while you are deciding rather than reconstructed afterwards.
What your methodology justification needs
- The research question in one sentence, and the question type it represents
- The chosen methodology, named and defined, with a citation
- The evidence from significant papers in your field that supports the choice
- The two or three alternatives considered, and one line on why each was set aside
- The fit assessment against nature, aim, population and context
- The feasibility assessment covering time, ethics, cooperation and cost
- The data collection methods that follow from the methodology, kept clearly distinct from it
The design work that follows the decision is covered in Qualitative and Quantitative Research Compared and Step 5: Designing Your Research.
What to carry forward
- The source's selection advice is three sentences long. Treat it as a starting point and build the rest from its own material on fit, questions and feasibility.
- Fix the question first. The source is explicit that methods make no sense before the question is settled.
- Record what significant papers do in a fixed format, including whether they define the methodology they name.
- Screen every candidate twice: fit against nature, aim, population and context, then feasibility against time, ethics, cooperation and cost.
- The source suggests planning half your available time for the research and half for writing; treat a methodology that breaks that split as a warning, not a disqualification.
- Write the justification as you decide, including the alternatives you rejected.
Frequently asked questions
What does the supplied source actually tell me about choosing a methodology?
It tells you to look at significant papers in the field you are investigating, work out what methodology they are using, use something similar, and speak to your supervisor about the most appropriate methodology for your study. It also states that different kinds of research questions require different kinds of approaches. That is the whole of its guidance on the decision.
Should I choose the methodology before or after the research question?
After. The source states that deciding on research methods makes no sense until you have decided on your research questions, and that methods are only as good as the answers they give to those questions. Fix the question in one sentence first, then classify what it is trying to do, then shortlist methodologies.
How many papers should I review before deciding?
The source gives no number; it says only to look at significant papers in your field. In practice, keep going until the pattern stops changing. Record each paper in a fixed format so the pattern is visible rather than remembered.
Can I use more than one methodology?
The source does not address combining methodologies directly, but it does say that in any relevant or practical research it is usually essential to use several types of research method, even if one or two take up the bulk of the time. Be precise about which findings come from which part of the design, and keep methodology and data collection method distinct.
What if none of the seven defined methodologies fits my question?
That is a normal outcome. The source itself notes that other research methodologies may include ethnogeny, feminist and cultural work, and its own pyramid names fourteen methodologies it never defines. Find a definition in a cited methods text or in significant papers in your field, record it with its citation, and use that as the basis for your choice.
References and source attribution
- Clarke, R. J. 2005, Research methods and methodologies, pp. 35–45 — the work the supplied teaching source adapts for its methodology definitions.
- O'Leary, Z. 2017, The Essential Guide to Doing Your Research Project, 3rd ed., Sage Publications, London.
- Naoum, S. G. 2013, Dissertation Research & Writing for Construction Students, 3rd ed., Routledge.
- Trochim, W. M. K. 2006, Research Methods Knowledge Base — the excerpt reproduced in the supplied source on research ideas and the feasibility of a study.
- The supplied teaching source: consolidated week 2 and week 3 teaching notes and slide material on research methods, used here as the basis for all statements attributed to "the source".
Suggested questions for Ask KEVOS
- Given my research question, which of the source's seven methodologies fits, and why?
- Build me a capture table for recording the methodologies used in the papers I am reading.
- Draft the justification paragraph for my methodology chapter, including the alternatives I rejected.
- Screen my shortlisted methodology against the source's fit and feasibility criteria.
- My question needs a methodology the source does not define — what do I have to do before I can use it?