TopDissertations
Before writing a dissertation, you have to come up with a strategy, which you will apply while carrying out a research. It is of an utmost importance to decide on the type of research that could be either extensive or basic, since you have to choose the corresponding strategies.
Therefore, the article offers you a dissertation guide, including the most common research methods.
Case Studies
- Case studies are a descriptive method of examining individuals or any social groups.
- One of the most assisting dissertation writing tips on collecting data is involvement and participation, along with a thorough analysis of the existing interviews and any other records.
- Own accounts of participants may be the constituents of the case studies.
- As a rule, conclusions describe a researched unit so that you do not need to make generalizations concerning a wide population.
- The primary focus of case studies is on exploration and description.
- To get an insight into a particular situation, case study analyzes the character of variables interaction.
- Case studies are especially significant for qualitative research.
Surveys
- Social science or market research usually take advantage of the surveys.
- Although you may gather qualitative data using open questions, surveys are the ideal strategy to collect quantitative information.
- To conduct a survey, you need to prepare a questionnaire (online, over the phone, or face-to-face) for a selected group of people that could be either large or small.
- One of the advantages of the strategy is its usage in a variety of disciplines.
- It is a brilliant idea to apply statistical software to analyzing quantitative data while qualitative information requires coding or thematic analysis.
Interviews
- An interview is a meeting with an individual or a group of people who discuss the required matters, which is recorded and later analyzed.
- One of the attractive features of the interviews is flexibility, which implies that they can be formal and well planned or rather laid-back and unstructured.
- According to a degree of being structured, interviews are classified into structured, semi-structured, and unstructured interviews. While structured interviews imply specific questions in a particular area, unstructured interviews begin with some general questions concerning the topic. During an unstructured discussion, the interviewer, using various methods, drags the required information from the participants.
- Interviews are also divided into one-to-one and group meetings. Due to a one-to-one interview, the interviewer obtains a possibility to find out the innermost thoughts of the participant. On the contrary, the aim of group interviews is to encourage people to communicate.
Other Strategies
- One of the most effective research tips is having a try of other strategies. For instance, action research, in other words, participatory research, enables you to research a field through experiencing something by yourself.
- Another approach, called ethnomethodology, attempts to understand social realities which occur on a daily basis.
- Finally, instead of having a set of research targets, grounded theory research produces a theory by observing a social situation and subsequently discovering the explanations.
