Research methods are the techniques, processes, system or procedure followed where data or information is created and then analysed. It is essentially the way you collect your data for your thesis.
For example, data collected through case studies, survey research, experiments, performance assessment and observations or other ways of collecting information.
Qualitative Methods- Research that investigates aspects of social life which are not amenable to quantitative measurement. Associated with a variety of theoretical perspectives, qualitative research uses a range of methods to focus on the meanings and interpretation of social phenomena and social processes in the particular contexts in which they occur.
Quantitative Methods- Research involving the collection of data in numerical form for quantitative analysis. The numerical data can be durations, scores, counts of incidents, ratings, or scales. Quantitative data can be collected in either controlled or naturalistic environments, in laboratories or field studies, from special populations or from samples of the general population.
The defining factor is that numbers result from the process, whether the initial data collection produced numerical values, or whether non-numerical values were subsequently converted to numbers as part of the analysis process, as in content analysis.
Mixed Methods- The combined use of both quantitative and qualitative methodologies within the same study in order to address a single research question.
From Sage Research Methods Online.
Sage Research Methods Online is a research methods tool created to help researchers, faculty and students with their research projects. This site links over 100,000 pages of SAGE's renowned book, journal and reference content. Researchers can explore methods concepts to help them design research projects, understand particular methods or identify a new method, conduct their research, and write up their findings.
You can access Sage Research Methods Online through the library's databases.
Additional resources from SAGE Publishing will prove useful:
SRM LIB GUIDES: http://sagepub.libguides.com/research-methods/researchmethods
Library promotion tools: http://methods.sagepub.com/librarian including MARC records
Faculty promotion tools: http://methods.sagepub.com/faculty
