List the Possible Limitations and Delimitations
Topic 3: Background and Introduction

The Possible Limitations and Delimitations illustrate the various considerations or “qualifiers” that characterize your ability to carry out your particular study and the parameters of what could or could not be included in the study.

As you list the Possible Limitations and Delimitations, consider the following:

• Broadly, a component of the limitations and delimitations of the study is to illustrate what the study will not include or what the design of the study will not allow.
• Generally, a component of delimitations is to present the boundaries established in the development of the study.  
• Specifically, a component of delimitations could include choices such as the selection of objectives, variables, or theory. Clearly state what the study will include and exclude.

What are the delimitations of the study, as in what is the extent to which the study may be generalized in the field of practice? How might/do these delimitations affect issues of external validity?

• Generally, a component of limitations is to present limits related to the methodology which reflect parameters relevant to the application and interpretation of the data.
• Specifically, a component of limitations points to the generalizability of findings that establish internal or external validity.  
• What limitations of the study are beyond the control of the researcher? How might/do these limitations affect issues of internal validity?