Preparing to Write the Methodology Chapter
Topic 5: Methods

To help you prepare to write Chapter 3, work with your writing partner and see if you can correctly answer the following questions.
  1. How does one determine which method best answers a particular type of research question?
    • What kinds of research questions are answered by qualitative methods?
    • What kinds of research questions are answered by quantitative methods?
  2. What information would you gain by using each of the following approaches? Is that the kind of information you need to answer your questions? What are the limitations of that kind of information? What circumstances or factors limit the utility of each method?
    • Surveys with scaled items (vs open ended items)
    • Surveys with open ended items
    • Focus groups: can tell you x but be wary about y (social desirability –"group think"; impact of people's power positions within the group resulting in"power" or"fear" speaking ; impact of the facilitator on people's responses)
    • Interviews
    • Observations
  3. When might you want to conduct some interviews before conducting a survey?
  4. When might you want to follow up a survey with some interviews or focus groups?
  5. What is the relationship between one's research question and one's methodology?
  6. What's the difference between a variable and a construct?
  7. What is meant by "causation" and how is that term related to methodological choice?
  8. What's the difference between"causation" and"correlation"?
  9. What is a"case study?" What kinds of questions is a case study approach best at answering?
  10. What does using"mixed methods" mean and why might someone use that methodology?

Chapter 3 Outline (.doc)


Back