When writing a dissertation, there’s a strong temptation on the part of many students to use too much information to try and demonstrate how much work they’ve done. This is particularly true when you have been asked to use “grounded theory” or one of the other new research methods that are currently popular in some academic fields. However, this can lead to problems later on – namely that your results don’t match those produced by other researchers using similar methods! So it is really important that you choose the right method for your dissertation before you start collecting data or doing analysis. Here are 7 key tips for choosing the right research methods for dissertation.
Tips on choosing the right research methods for dissertation
Keep your research methodology focused on your objectives
Don’t get distracted by tangents. It’s easy to get distracted in your research and end up with a dissertation that doesn’t really prove much of anything, or even prove what it set out to do. Your methods should be focused on proving the points you set out to make in your introduction and problem statement. You shouldn’t try to prove too many points or be too ambitious with your research; keep it focused on one specific thing, like how a certain company changes its advertising strategy over time, or if there are patterns between how employees act at work depending on their gender/age/etc.
Select the right type of research method for your dissertation
To choose the right research method for your dissertation, you need to consider:
- The topic of your dissertation. Is it appropriate for the type of data that you have? Does it fit with what you are trying to achieve overall? If not, keep looking!
- What kind of data do you have? Is it qualitative or quantitative? Will a certain type of analysis work better than another kind of analysis on this particular dataset? This is where knowing your subject matter comes into play – sometimes knowing that an online survey isn’t going to be useful for your topic can save you from wasting time and effort.
- The question or questions that are being asked in the study. Will using one method over another allow us to answer our research question more succinctly and effectively than other methods would allow us to? Remember methods must be appropriate for both content (data) and purpose.
If in doubt about which methods are best suited to your project, get help from dissertation writing services. They can help you make an informed decision about what works best for both parties involved (i.e., yourself and the university/institution).
Research is always inductive, never deductive.
The general rule is that research is always inductive, never deductive. Research begins with data and ends with a conclusion. The data you collect in your research can be analyzed using different methods, but they all follow the same basic structure:
- A hypothesis
- Data collection methods
- Analysis of your results using statistical or qualitative methods
The hypothesis is your initial prediction about the outcome of your research. It can be a statement, question or problem that you are interested in exploring and understanding. It is important to note that the hypothesis should be specific and testable. It should not be a statement of opinion or speculation, but something that can be proven or disproven.
Be prepared to evolve and adapt your method as you learn more about your research topic.
While it’s important to choose research methods for dissertation that suit your topic and question, you should also be prepared to evolve and adapt your method as you learn more about your research topic.
Your original research questions, hypotheses or theoretical framework may change as you progress through the process of doing your dissertation. In some cases, this can mean that the methods you use need to be adjusted accordingly.
Be sensible when deciding which method to use in your dissertation
Once you have a clear idea of how your research will be conducted, the next step is to decide which research methods for dissertation you should use. You should consider:
- How best to answer your research questions?
- Which methods are most appropriate for answering those questions?
- How much time and resources you can devote to conducting this particular piece of research?
You should also consider the ethical implications of your research, as well as the legal issues that may arise if you are working with human subjects.
Conclusion
The main thing to remember is that your research method should be appropriate for the kind of dissertation you’re writing. You don’t want to use a qualitative method for a quantitative study, or vice versa – it will only confuse things and slow down your progress. If you’re not sure what kind of dissertation you’re writing, ask your supervisor. They should be able to give you some advice on how to proceed and choose the right research methods for dissertation.