Research methodologies

Arts-Informed Inquiry (Qualitative)

Arts-informed research is a mode and form of qualitative research that is influenced by, but not based in, the arts. The methodology infuses the languages, processes, and forms of literary, visual, and performing arts into scholarly inquiry for purposes of advancing knowledge. The main purposes of arts-informed research are: to enhance understanding of the complexities of the human condition through alternative processes and representational forms of inquiry; and to reach multiple audiences by making scholarship more accessible.

Companion research methodologies include: arts-based research, art-based inquiry, a/r/tography, image-based research, visual ethnography, lyric inquiry, and so on. Within education this movement of methodological innovation gained momentum and inspiration from Elliot Eisner who, in his 1993 Presidential Address to the American Educational Research Association speculated about the future of educational research witnessing an expanding array of research methods to acknowledge and account for the range of forms and modes of understanding that comprise human development.

Bringing together the systematic and rigorous qualities of research with the artistic, disciplined, and imaginative qualities of the arts acknowledges the power of art forms to reach diverse audiences and the importance of multiple and diverse languages and processes to gain rich and deep insights into human experience and the social condition. Tied to moral purpose, arts-informed research is an explicit attempt to make a difference through research in the lives of ordinary citizens and in the thinking and decisions of policy makers, politicians, legislators, and other key decision makers. Bringing art into research makes it possible to connect the work of the academy with the life and lives of communities through research that is accessible, evocative, embodied, empathic, and provocative. The defining elements of arts-informed research are generally guided by the questions: How can inspiration from the arts inform the conceptualization of research efforts? How do the arts inform the research process? and, How do the arts inform the research representation?

Companion research methodologies emphasizing the role of the arts in advancing understanding reflect subtle but significant perspective- or discipline-based differences. Taken together, however, all of these arts-related approaches share a common conviction and belief in the power of the arts to deepen understandings of and commitments to social concerns and human experience.

Narrative Inquiry (Qualitative)

Narrative inquiry, a relatively new qualitative methodology, is the study of

experience understood narratively. It is a way of thinking about, and studying,

experience. Narrative inquirers think narratively about experience throughout inquiry.

Narrative inquiry follows a recursive, reflexive process of moving from field (with

starting points in telling or living of stories) to field texts (data) to interim and final

research texts. Commonplaces of temporality, sociality and place create a conceptual

framework within which different kinds of field texts and different analyses can be used.

Narrative inquiry highlights ethical matters as well as shapes new theoretical

understandings of people’s experiences.

Auto/Ethnography (Qualitative)

Is a form of qualitative research in which an author uses self-reflection and writing to explore anecdotal and personal experience and connect this autobiographical story to wider cultural, political, and social meanings and understandings. Autoethnography is a self-reflective form of writing used across various disciplines such as communication studies, performance studies, education, English literature, anthropology, social work, sociology, history, psychology, theology and religious studies, marketing, business and educational administration, arts education, nursing and physiotherapy.

Autoethnography is a research method that: Uses a researcher’s personal experience to describe and critique cultural beliefs, practices, and experiences. Acknowledges and values a researcher’s relationships with others…. Shows ‘people in the process of figuring out what to do, how to live, and the meaning of their struggles'” (Adams, 2015). “Social life is messy, uncertain, and emotional. If our desire to research social life, then we must embrace a research method that, to the best of its/our ability, acknowledges and accommodates mess and chaos, uncertainty and emotion” (Adams, 2015).

Reflexive Inquiry (Qualitative)

Theories in a discipline should apply equally to the discipline itself. More broadly, reflexivity is considered to occur when the observations of observers in the social system affect the very situations they are observing, or when theory being formulated is disseminated to and affects the behaviour of the individuals or systems the theory is meant to be objectively modelling. For example, an anthropologist living in an isolated village may affect the village and the behaviour of its citizens under study. The observations are not independent of the participation of the observer.

Action Research (Qualitative)

Is a philosophy and methodology of research generally applied in the social sciences. It seeks transformative change through the simultaneous process of taking action and doing research, which are linked together by critical reflection. Kurt Lewin, then a professor at MIT, first coined the term “action research” in 1944. In his 1946 paper “Action Research and Minority Problems” he described action research as “a comparative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action and research leading to social action” that uses “a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action and fact-finding about the result of the action”.

Action research challenges traditional social science by moving beyond reflective knowledge created by outside experts sampling variables, to an active moment-to-moment theorizing, data collecting and inquiry occurring in the midst of emergent structure. “Knowledge is always gained through action and for action. From this starting point, to question the validity of social knowledge is to question, not how to develop a reflective science about action, but how to develop genuinely well-informed action – how to conduct an action science”.^[3] In this sense, engaging in action research is a form of problem-based investigation by practitioners into their practice, thus it is an empirical process. The goal is both to create and share knowledge in the social sciences.

Empirical research is research that is based on observation and measurement of phenomena, as directly experienced by the researcher. The data thus gathered may be compared against a theory or hypothesis, but the results are still based on real life experience.

Phenomenology (Qualitative)

Phenomenology is a way of thinking about ourselves. Instead of asking about what we really are, it focuses on phenomena. These are experiences that we get from the senses – what we see, taste, smell, touch, hear, and feel. Phenomenology does not ask if what we are seeing is actually there: for example it is not where we see an object (whether in real life, a dream or a hallucination) that is important, but it is the significance of the object that is important to the phenomenologist. It also does not ask if we are missing something, or if we have all the facts. Instead, phenomenologists (those who do phenomenology) believe we should look at the world just as it appears to us.

Case Study (Qualitative)

Historical Autobiographical (Qualitative)

Descriptive (Quantitative)

Descriptive research definition: Descriptive research is defined as a research method that describes the characteristics of the population or phenomenon studied. This methodology focuses more on the “what” of the research subject than the “why” of the research subject.

The descriptive research method primarily focuses on describing the nature of a demographic segment, without focusing on “why” a particular phenomenon occurs. In other words, it “describes” the subject of the research, without covering “why” it happens.

For example, an apparel brand that wants to understand the fashion purchasing trends among New York buyers will conduct a demographic survey of this region, gather population data and then conduct descriptive research on this demographic segment. The study will then uncover details on “what is the purchasing pattern of New York buyers,” but not cover any investigative information about “why” the patterns exits. Because for the apparel brand trying to break into this market, understanding the nature of their market is the study’s objective.

The term descriptive research then refers to research questions, design of the study, and data analysis conducted on that topic. We call it an observational research method because none of the research study variables are influenced in any capacity.

Some distinctive characteristics of descriptive research are:

1. Quantitative research: Descriptive research is a quantitative research method that attempts to collect quantifiable information for statistical analysis of the population sample. It is a popular market research tool that allows us to collect and describe the demographic segment’s nature.
2. Uncontrolled variables: In descriptive research, none of the variables are influenced in any way. This uses observational methods to conduct the research. Hence, the nature of the variables or their behavior is not in the hands of the researcher.
3. Cross-sectional studies: Descriptive research is generally a cross-sectional study where different sections belonging to the same group are studied.
4. The basis for further research: Researchers further research the data collected and analyzed from descriptive research using different research techniques. The data can also help point towards the types of research methods used for the subsequent research.

A descriptive research method can be used in multiple ways and for various reasons. Before getting into any survey, though, the survey goals and survey design are crucial. Despite following these steps, there is no way to know if one will meet the research outcome. How to use descriptive research? To understand the end objective of research goals, below are some ways organizations currently use descriptive research today:

• Define respondent characteristics: The aim of using close-ended questions is to draw concrete conclusions about the respondents. This could be the need to derive patterns, traits, and behaviors of the respondents. It could also be to understand from a respondent, their attitude, or opinion about the phenomenon. For example, understanding from millenials the hours per week they spend on browsing the internet. All this information helps the organization researching to make informed business decisions.
• Measure data trends: Researchers measure data trends over time with a descriptive research design’s statistical capabilities. Consider if an apparel company researches different demographics like age groups from 24-35 and 36-45 on a new range launch of autumn wear. If one of those groups doesn’t take too well to the new launch, it provides insight into what clothes are like and what is not. The brand drops the clothes and apparel that customers don’t like.
• Conduct comparisons: Organizations also use a descriptive research design to understand how different groups respond to a specific product or service. For example, an apparel brand creates a survey asking general questions that measure the brand’s image. The same study also asks demographic questions like age, income, gender, geographical location, etc. This consumer research helps the organization understand what aspects of the brand appeal to the population and what aspects do not. It also helps make product or marketing fixes or even create a new product line to cater to high growth potential groups.
• Validate existing conditions: Researchers widely use descriptive research to help ascertain the research object’s prevailing conditions and underlying patterns. Due to the non-invasive research method and the use of quantitative observation and some aspects of qualitative observation, researchers observe each variable and conduct an in-depth analysis. Researchers also use it to validate any existing conditions that may be prevalent in a population.
• Conduct research at different times: The analysis can be conducted at different periodsto ascertain any similarities or differences. This also allows any number of variables to be evaluated. For verification, studies on prevailing conditions can also be repeated to draw trends.

There are three distinctive methods to conduct descriptive research. They are:

Observational method

The observational method is the most effective method to conduct this research, and researchers make use of both quantitative and qualitative observations.

A quantitative observation is the objective collection of data, which is primarily focused on numbers and values. It suggests “associated with, of or depicted in terms of a quantity.” Results of quantitative observation are derived using statistical and numerical analysis methods. It implies observation of any entity associated with a numeric value such as age, shape, weight, volume, scale, etc. For example, the researcher can track if current customers will refer the brand using a simple Net Promoter Score question.

Qualitative observation doesn’t involve measurements or numbers but instead just monitoring characteristics. In this case, the researcher observes the respondents from a distance. Since the respondents are in a comfortable environment, the characteristics observed are natural and effective. In a descriptive research design, the researcher can choose to be either a complete observer, an observer as a participant, a participant as an observer, or a full participant. For example, in a supermarket, a researcher can from afar monitor and track the customers’ selection and purchasing trends. This offers a more in-depth insight into the purchasing experience of the customer.

Case study method

Case studies involve in-depth research and study of individuals or groups. Case studies lead to a hypothesis and widen a further scope of studying a phenomenon. However, case studies should not be used to determine cause and effect as they can’t make accurate predictions because there could be a bias on the researcher’s part. The other reason why case studies are not a reliable way of conducting descriptive research is that there could be an atypical respondent in the survey. Describing them leads to weak generalizations and moving away from external validity.

• Survey research

In survey research, respondents answer through surveys or questionnaires or polls. They are a popular market research tool to collect feedback from respondents. A study to gather useful data should have the right survey questions. It should be a balanced mix of open-ended questions and close ended-questions. The survey method can be conducted online or offline, making it the go-to option for descriptive research where the sample size is enormous.

Examples of descriptive research

Some examples of descriptive research are:

1. A specialty food group launching a new range of barbecue rubs would like to understand what flavors of rubs are favored by different people. To understand the preferred flavor palette, they conduct this type of research study using various methods like observational methods in supermarkets. By also surveying while collecting in-depth demographic information, offers insights about the preference of different markets. This can also help tailor make the rubs and spreads to various preferred meats in that demographic. Conducting this type of research helps the organization tweak their business model and amplify marketing in core markets.
2. Another example of where this research can be used is if a school district wishes to evaluate teachers’ attitudes about using technology in the classroom. By conducting surveys and observing their comfortableness using technology through observational methods, the researcher can gauge what they can help understand if a full-fledged implementation can face an issue. This also helps in understanding if the students are impacted in any way with this change.

Some other problems and research questions that can lead to descriptive research are:

• Market researchers want to observe the habits of consumers.
• A company wants to evaluate the morale of its staff.
• A school district wants to understand if students will access online lessons rather than textbooks.
• To understand if its wellness programs enhance the overall health of the employees.

Some of the significant advantages of descriptive research are:

• Data collection: A researcher can conduct descriptive research using specific methods like observational method, case study method, and survey method. Between these three, all primary data collection methods are covered, which provides a lot of information. This can be used for future research or even developing a hypothesis of your research object.
• Varied: Since the data collected is qualitative and quantitative, it gives a holistic understanding of a research topic. The information is varied, diverse, and thorough.
• Natural environment: Descriptive research allows for the research to be conducted in the respondent’s natural environment, which ensures that high-quality and honest data is collected.
• Quick to perform and cheap: As the sample size is generally large in descriptive research, the data collection is quick to conduct and is inexpensive.

Experimental (Quantitative)

Experimental research is research conducted with a scientific approach using two sets of variables. The first set acts as a constant, which you use to measure the differences of the second set. Quantitative research methods, for example, are experimental.

If you don’t have enough data to support your decisions, you must first determine the facts. Experimental research gathers the data necessary to help you make better decisions.

Any research conducted under scientifically acceptable conditions uses experimental methods. The success of experimental studies hinges on researchers confirming the change of a variable is based solely on the manipulation of the constant variable. The research should establish a notable cause and effect.

You can conduct experimental research in the following situations:

• Time is a vital factor in establishing a relationship between cause and effect.
• Invariable behavior between cause and effect.
• You wish to understand the importance of the cause and effect.

Learn about: Quantitative Market Research

Types of experimental research design

The classic experimental design definition is, “The methods used to collect data in experimental studies.”

There are three primary types of experimental design:

• Pre-experimental research design
• True experimental research design
• Quasi-experimental research design

The way you classify research subjects, based on conditions or groups, determines the type of design.

1. Pre-experimental research design: A group, or various groups, are kept under observation after implementing factors of cause and effect. You’ll conduct this research to understand whether further investigation is necessary for these particular groups.

You can break down pre-experimental research further in three types:

• One-shot Case Study Research Design
• One-group Pretest-posttest Research Design
• Static-group Comparison

2. True experimental research design: True experimental research relies on statistical analysis to prove or disprove a hypothesis, making it the most accurate form of research. Of the types of experimental design, only true design can establish a cause-effect relationship within a group. In a true experiment, three factors need to be satisfied:

• There is a Control Group, which won’t be subject to changes, and an Experimental Group, which will experience the changed variables.
• A variable which can be manipulated by the researcher
• Random distribution

This experimental research method commonly occurs in the physical sciences.

3. Quasi-experimental research design: The word “Quasi” indicates similarity. A quasi-experimental design is similar to experimental, but it is not the same. The difference between the two is the assignment of a control group. In this research, an independent variable is manipulated, but the participants of a group are not randomly assigned. Quasi-research is used in field settings where random assignment is either irrelevant or not required.

Learn about: Market research

Advantages of experimental research

It’s vital to test new ideas or theories. Why put time, effort, and funding into something that may not work?

Experimental research allows you to test your idea in a controlled environment before taking it to market. It also provides the best method to test your theory, thanks to the following advantages:

• Researchers have a stronger hold over variables to obtain desired results.
• The subject or industry does not impact the effectiveness of experimental research. Any industry can implement it for research purposes.
• The results are specific.
• After analyzing the results, you can apply your findings to similar ideas or situations.
• You can identify the cause and effect of a hypothesis. Researchers can further analyze this relationship to determine more in-depth ideas.
• Experimental research makes an ideal starting point. The data you collect is a foundation on which to build more ideas and conduct more research.

Whether you want to know how the public will react to a new product or if a certain food increases the chance of disease, experimental research is the best place to start. Begin your research by finding subjects using QuestionPro Audience and other tools today.

Causal-Comparative (Quantitative)

This research method mainly depends on the factor of comparison. Also called quasi-experimental research, this quantitative research method is used by researchers to conclude the cause-effect equation between two or more variables, where one variable is dependent on the other independent variable. The independent variable is established but not manipulated, and its impact on the dependent variable is observed. These variables or groups must be formed as they exist in the natural set up. As the dependent and independent variables will always exist in a group, it is advised that the conclusions are carefully established by keeping all the factors in mind.

Causal-comparative research is not restricted to the statistical analysis of two variables but extends to analyzing how various variables or groups change under the influence of the same changes. This research is conducted irrespective of the type of relation that exists between two or more variables. Statistical analysis is used to distinctly present the outcome obtained using this quantitative research method.

Example of Causal-Comparative Research Questions:

• The impact of drugs on a teenager.
  The effect of good education on a freshman.
  The effect of substantial food provision in the villages of Africa.

Correlational (Quantitative)

A comparison between two entities is invariable. Correlation research is conducted to establish a relationship between two closely-knit entities and how one impacts the other and what are the changes that are eventually observed. This research method is carried out to give value to naturally occurring relationships, and a minimum of two different groups are required to conduct this quantitative research method successfully. Without assuming various aspects, a relationship between two groups or entities must be established.

Researchers use this quantitative research design to correlate two or more variables using mathematical analysis methods. Patterns, relationships, and trends between variables are concluded as they exist in their original set up. The impact of one of these variables on the other is observed along with how it changes the relationship between the two variables. Researchers tend to manipulate one of the variables to attain the desired results.

Ideally, it is advised not to make conclusions merely based on correlational research. This is because it is not mandatory that if two variables are in sync that they are interrelated.

Example of Correlational Research Questions:

• The relationship between stress and depression.
  The equation between fame and money.
  The relation between activities in a third-grade class and its students.

Single-Subject (Quantitative)

In design of experiments, single-subject design or single-case research design is a research design most often used in applied fields of psychology, education, and human behavior in which the subject serves as his/her own control, rather than using another individual/group. Researchers use single-subject design because these designs are sensitive to individual organism differences vs group designs which are sensitive to averages of groups. The logic behind single subject designs is 1) Prediction, 2) Verification, and 3) Replication. The baseline data predicts behavior by affirming the consequent. Verification refers to demonstrating that the baseline responding would have continued had no intervention been implemented. Replication occurs when a previously observed behavior changed is reproduced.^[1] Often there will be large numbers of subjects in a research study using single-subject design, however—because the subject serves as their own control, this is still a single-subject design.^[2] These designs are used primarily to evaluate the effect of a variety of interventions in applied research.^[3]

Case Study (Quantitative)

4. Case study research: The case study method has evolved over the past few years and developed into a valuable qual research method. As the name suggests it is used for explaining an organization or an entity.

This type of research method is used within a number of areas like education, social sciences and similar. This method may look difficult to operate, however, it is one of the simplest ways of conducting research as it involves a deep dive and thorough understanding of the data collection methods and inferring the data.

Meta-analysis (Quantitative)

Reflexive Inquiry (Critical)

Reflexive Narrative (Critical)

Critical Ethnography (Critical)

Critical ethnography is a qualitative approach to research that explicitly sets out to critique hegemony, oppression, and asymmetrical power relations in order to foster social change. While all forms of critical ethnography work to interrogate the structures of power and lay bare inequities suffered by marginalized communities, some critical ethnographers work directly with community members, engaging in participatory research and ongoing dialogue with those being researched. Recently, critical ethnography has taken a turn toward exploring indigenous ways of knowing and producing knowledge, which has led the field in new and exciting directions.

Feminist Methodologies (Critical)

Feminist methodology is the approach to research that has been developed in response to concerns by feminist scholars about the limits of traditional methodology to capture the experiences of women and others who have been marginalized in academic research. Feminist methodology includes a wide range of methods, approaches, and research strategies. Beginning in the early 1970s, feminist scholars critiqued positivist scientific methods that reduced lived experiences to a series of disconnected variables that did not do justice to the complexities of social life. Feminists were also among the first scholars to highlight the marginalization of women of color in academic research and to offer research strategies that would counter this trend within academia (Baca Zinn 1979; Collins 1990). Feminist scholars also stress the importance of intersectional analysis, an approach that highlights the intersection of race, class, gender, and sexuality in examining women’s lives (Crenshaw 1993). Some of the earliest writing on feminist methodology emphasized the connection between “feminist consciousness and feminist research,” which is the subtitle of a 1983 edited collection by Stanley and Wise. Over the years, feminist methodology has developed a very broad vision of research practice that can be used to study a wide range of topics, to analyze both men’s and women’s lives, and to explore both local and transnational or global processes.

Trans disciplinarity (Critical)

Transdisciplinarity originated in a critique of the standard configuration of knowledge in disciplines in the curriculum, including moral and ethical concerns. Pronouncements about it were first voiced between the climax of government-supported science and higher education and the long retrenchment that began in the 1970s. Early work focused on questions of epistemology and the planning of future universities and educational programs. After a lull, transdisciplinarity re-emerged in the 1990s as an urgent issue relating to the solution of new, highly complex, global concerns, beginning with climate change and sustainability and extending into many areas concerning science, technology, social problems and policy, education, and the arts. Transdisciplinarity today is characterized by its focus on “wicked problems” that need creative solutions, its reliance on stakeholder involvement, and engaged, socially responsible science. In simultaneously studying multiple levels of, and angles on, reality, transdisciplinary work provides an intriguing potential to invigorate scholarly and scientific inquiry both in and outside the academy.

Indigenous Methodologies (Critical)

Indigenous methodologies speak to the crucial importance of place, language, and narrative as principal elements in conceptualizing and enacting educational research. This essay outlines the central contours of this discussion, highlighting the complementary facets of Indigenous methodologies as worldviews, principles, and tools. It then turns to a discussion of Phillips’s (2004, 2006) characterization of postpositivist philosophy of science as a way to complicate notions of an either/or choice between Indigenous methodologies and postpositivist research. Richardson considers the work of Bishop, Berryman, Cavanaugh, and Teddy (2009); Bishop, Berryman, Wearmouth, Peter, and Clapham, (2012); Hermes (2005); Lipka, Andrew-Ihrke, and Yanez (2011); and Lipka, Wong, and Andrew-Ihrke (2012) as examples of community-based research practices that are not hostile to a postpositivist philosophy of science. Richardson makes the case that when involved in research, community members pursue mixed methodological approaches and postpositivist tenets to achieve meaningful interventions for educational change.

Anti-Oppressive Research (Critical)

Engagement in Research (Critical)

Research for Social Change (Critical)

Non-paradigmatic (mixed methods)

Paradigmatic analysis is the analysis of paradigms embedded in the text rather than of the surface structure (syntax) of the text which is termed syntagmatic analysis. Paradigmatic analysis often uses commutation tests, i.e. analysis by substituting words of the same type or class to calibrate shifts in connotation.

Quantitative and Qualitative (mixed methods)

Qualitative and Quantitative (mixed methods)