METHODS

Research methods are simply ways of answering research questions. They do not have a life of their own, but must fit into the structure of topic, purposes, questions and arguments which go to make up a good thesis. You should read this page in the context of each of those other pages.

The first step is to choose what methods you need to use. Methods are only as good as the answers they give to research questions. So the methods you choose will depend on the questions you want to answer. In any relevant or practical research it is usually essential to use several types of research methods, even if one or two finish up taking up the bulk of the research time.

Since deciding on research methods makes no sense until you have decided on your research questions, it may be useful to return to an example of questions developed in the previous section of this discussion. In discussing workplace accidents we came up with some (hopefully) answerable questions. Let us revisit those questions, and see what sorts of methods may be applied to answering them.

Question: what are the causes of injury in a particular site or industry?
Methods: Records of injuries, and inquiries into those injuries. Since this would be difficult to reconstruct later, we would probably rely on existing records collected at the time.

Question: what laws and policies are currently in place?
Methods: classical legal research (narrowly defined); discovering any statements of policy as contained in green or white papers, second reading speeches, and other policy documents.

Question: how are those laws applied?
Methods: examine the enforcement, compliance and prosecution practices of relevant government agencies, insurers, and companies. This may involve a combination of following up specific incidents, gaining access to records, and interviews with those applying the laws.

Question: how do managers and workers respond to this application of the law?
Methods: Interviews or questionnaires, follow up of responses to specific applications.

From this example, then, we can see that this research requires the following research methods:

• Analysis of existing data (documents, statistics)
• Legal research (cases, statutes)
• Policy analysis (also discussed under Purposes of research)
• Interviews or questionnaires

Where we feel it may be useful to follow up particular instances of injuries or of legal interventions, to see what happens subsequently, we might consider using case studies.

If we wished to look more deeply into the ways the laws, the existing data or the policy material were worded, phrased or organised then we may need to use some methods which consider how language and signs are used. There are several ways of doing this sort of analysis, but they can be grouped under

• Interpretation

This example is in a very practical and policy-oriented area of socio-legal research, but it includes some version of most of the sorts of research that are likely to arise in interdisciplinary research.

Of course, we may apply any of these research methods with various different emphases or styles. People often distinguish between qualitative and quantitative research. The former involves more explicit judgment or interpretation, while the latter involves more counting and calculating (see Inference).

Other ways of classifying methods may refer to particualr disciplines, such as historical, sociological or ethnographic research. Except for the sort of documents, or the sort of questions you may ask people in interviews, these methods may again be seen to be particular styles or approaches taken in applying the methods enumerated here. Of course, if you are using such methods you should ensure that you are well informed about their use. You should search out courses, books and advisers that may help you do these bettter.

This page on research methods, like the pages on each of the specific methods, is only an overview of the possibilities which you need to take into account in designing your research, and choosing your method. You must become competent in their application before using them. To do this, consult the further readings, other courses, your supervisor and the postgraduate coordinator.

There are thousands of books on research methods, most of them focussing on a particular disciplinary range (eg social research, legal research, communications research). Some of these are considered in the specific research methods pages. I do not know of any book which covers all the types of research listed here.

Some of the more general books are:

• Bell, Judith. Doing Your Research Project. 2nd ed. Buckingham: Open University Press, 1993.
• Leedy, Paul D. Practical Research. Planning and Design. Seventh ed. NY: Macmillan, 2001.
• Morgan, Gareth. Beyond Method: Strategies for social research. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1983.
• Wadsworth, Yoland. Do It Yourself Social Research. 2nd ed. St Leonard, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 1997.

Other resources include workshops run by the Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research Incorporated (ACSPRI)

The following pieces, in which Morgan reflects on the wide range of methods discussed in his book, is worth thinking about. Refer to the book, Beyond Method, for more context.

To understand how your research methods fit into your overall thesis, go to Arguments

Reading

Morgan, Gareth. Beyond Method: Strategies for social research. Beverly Hills, CA.: Sage Publications, 1983. Chapters 1 (pp 11-18) and 24, pp 368-376

Last reviewed: 1 April, 2008