Methodology

1. Research Strategies:
Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Research
IFY Social Science
Term 1

2. Content
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• What is methodology?
• Quantitative methodology
• Qualitative methodology
• Quantitative or qualitative?
• Mixed methods methodology

3. Why do we study and discuss research strategies?
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• Studying research methodologies and methods
introduces you to some of the choices that you as a
researcher have for exploring a topic of interest.
• It provides you with an understanding of how to
collect and analyse data.
• Studying research processes and strategies shows how
the overall process of researching a topic works – from
choosing a research question, to writing up your
findings.
• It trains you in recognising the difference between
high quality and poor quality research.

4. To keep in mind
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Social science does not take place
in a vacuum – there are several
factors that shape it.
For example:
Existing knowledge of the researcher
As a researcher, you need to be aware of the
developments in your field, and what other
researchers discovered. You must become
familiar with the existing literature on the
topic you are exploring.
Existing experience of the researcher
Your life experiences affect the topics and
questions that you are interested in and how you
research them. For example, if you come from a
place affected by natural disasters, you may be
interested in the effects this has on human
geography and migration trends.
Theoretical approach of the researcher
The questions that you choose to explore will be
shaped and influenced by your existing
understanding of the world. For example, if you
were interested in researching inequality and why
it occurs in society, it might be due to your
conviction of theories that focus on tensions in
society.
Researcher’s philosophical views
Different assumptions about our reality
(=ontology), knowledge and truth (epistemology)
also affect the type of questions we ask. For
example, different researchers might have
different ideas about what we can really know
about the social world, and how predictable
human behaviour can be.

5. Method vs Methodology
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Method
• The procedure, system or way of doing something systematically.
• Answers the question: What and how you are doing?
Methodology
• The logos (logic, theory, philosophy, discussion, explanation, justifications) of the method(s)
being chosen and used.
• Discusses questions like: Why is the method the right one to use? What dilemmas and
problems does this choice entail? How can these problems be mitigated?

6. What are methods?
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• Research methods refer to techniques, procedures and tools for finding, collecting, analysing
and interpreting data.
• There are numerous methods that can be used in research, such as experiments, focus groups,
interviews, observations, questionnaires and statistical analysis.
• When designing research, your methodology will set and determine the framework for your
project. You will have to make several decisions as you devise your plan, depending on what
data you need to answer your research question. You may have to answer the following
questions:
– Will your data take the form of words or numbers? (Qualitative or quantitative?)
– Will you collect original data yourself? Will you use existing data?
– Will you perform an experiment, ask questions or describe an existing thing?
– How will you analyse the collected data?

7. What is methodology?
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• Methodology is the explanation and justification of the methods used to gain knowledge for a
research project.
• Methodology can also be described as the strategy a researcher uses to gather data and find
answers to the research questions she has posed.
• Methodologies should be judged by their ability to credibly answer the research questions.
• Three most common methodologies are: quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods
methodologies.
Remember:
Methodology focuses on the reasons for the choice of methods, and so it should not be confused with the
actual methods of research themselves. The methods we use to gain knowledge will be guided by the
methodology.

8. Quantitative methodology
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• Quantitative methodologies entail using methods for
collecting data through measuring and quantifying things.
• The data is then analysed through statistical inference and
comparison of numbers.
• There are many tools that can be used to achieve this,
including surveys, questionnaires and structured interviews.
• Quantitative methodology follows the scientific method in its
attempts to discover and measure facts about society and
social behaviour.
• The scientific method is a logical process for the gaining
objective knowledge. It is intended to be an unbiased way of
discovering truth.
– If the scientific method is followed, then the results of
observation should be accurate.
– It does not matter who’s making the observation.
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9. The scientific method
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Obsv
• Observation
• Observation and description of phenomena
Hypo
• Hypothesis
• Develop a hypothesis to explain the phenomena
Pred
• Prediction
• Use the hypothesis to predict other phenomena or results of future observations
Test
• Testing
• Test the predictions using observations and experiments

10. Quantitative study: Example
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What is the effect of crime on the educational performance of children and
young adults aged 14-18?
What is the relationship between rates of belief in a god and levels of
violence in society?
Does an active social media campaign influence candidate popularity in the
elections?
Possible methodology: Quantitative
Possible method: Statistical analysis

11. Qualitative methodology
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• Qualitative research tends to view social life in terms of
processes and is used to explore people’s beliefs,
experiences, attitudes, interpretations and interactions. It
tends to assume that how we feel, imagine and explain
our experiences is the key to our behaviour.
• Qualitative researchers start their research by asking
broad questions and tend to have at least some flexibility
in terms of the direction of their research.
• Qualitative methodologies use methods that can explore
the interpretations, experiences, perceptions and
perspectives of different aspects of social life.
• Qualitative methods generate insights and are expressed
by words, not numbers.
• Examples of qualitative methods include interviews, focus
groups and observations. The types of data generated
includes field notes, audio and video recordings and
transcripts.
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12. Qualitative methodology: Example
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How do residents of high crime rate areas perceive their environment?
What does god, religious worship and prayer mean to people?
What impact does active social media presence have on self-
confidence and self-perception of teenagers?
Possible methodology: Qualitative
Possible method: participant observation, open-ended interviews, focus groups

13. Qualitative or Quantitative?
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14. Qualitative or Quantitative?
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Key characteristics
Focus on numbers
Focus on statistics
Researchers view
Research distant/removed
Theory testing
Static
Structured
Macro
Hard data
Generalisation
Key characteristics
Focus on words
Participants’ experience
Research close/immersed
Theory emergent
Dynamic
Unstructured/Flexible
Micro
Rich and deep data
Meaning
Contextual understanding

15. Mixed methods methodology
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• Mixed methods research design combines and integrates qualitative and quantitative methods in the same
study.
• There are several potential reasons for adopting a mixed methods methodology, for example:
– Mixing methods allows for a close-up illustration of a single case, when research focus is on a bigger picture, or
the opposite – for exploring the background of a single case study.
– It can allow for more accurate measurement (triangulation).
• Mixed methods is more complicated and expensive, and not necessarily better or more suitable.
Example
Does the American public think Joe Biden is doing a job as President?
– Phase 1 – Quantitative: large-scale, population wide survey;
– Phase 2 – Qualitative: focus groups and interviews to focus on particular social groups for more in-depth
information.

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17. Summary
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• Social research does not take place in vacuum – researcher’s experience, skills, knowledge and
philosophical outlook shape it.
• Methodology is the explanation and justification of the methods used to gain knowledge for a research
project. It is the strategy a researcher uses to gather data and find answers to the research questions she
has posed.
• Quantitative methodologies entail using methods for collecting data through measuring things. Its focused
on numerical data and statistical analysis.
• Qualitative research tends to view social life in terms of processes and is used to explore people’s beliefs,
experiences, attitudes, behaviour and interactions. Its focused on words, descriptions and narratives.
• Mixed methods research design combines and integrates qualitative and quantitative methods in the same
study.