Lab Teaching Materials

Reviewing the literature is a continuous process. It begins before a research problem is finalised and continues until the report is finished. There is a paradox in the literature review: you cannot undertake an effective literature review unless you have formulated a research problem, yet your literature search plays an extremely important role in helping you to formulate your research problem. The literature review brings clarity and focus to your research problem, improves your research methodology and broadens your knowledge base.

If you are clear about your research problem, your achievement is worth praising. You have crossed one of the most important and difficult sections of your research journey. Having decided what you want to study, you now need to determine how you are going to conduct your study. There are a number of questions that need to be answered before you can proceed with your journey. What procedures will you adopt to obtain answers to research questions? How will you carry out the tasks needed to complete the different components of the research process?

Differences in the methods of data collection in quantitative and qualitative research

Most methods of data collection can be used in both qualitative and quantitative research. The distinction is mainly due to the restrictions imposed on flexibility, structure, sequential order, depth and freedom that a researcher has in their use during the research process. Quantitative methods favour these restrictions whereas qualitative ones advocate against them.