Approaching the Dissertation: Appropriate Methodologies

What approach should I take - qualitative or quantitative?

Video clip transcript:

Dr Iain Garner, Principal Lecturer in Psychology: Students get quite concerned about the methodologies used for their dissertation. They maybe worried about the statistics or worried about how you engage with discourse analysis. As such, it often causes them to become a little panicked and worried how they are going to use various types of methodologies. As such, my advice is always; think of the question; the question itself stipulates a kind of methodology to be used. Methodology can be the driving factor but often it's the question that can be the driving factor. So if you have a question that is about, trying to find out people's opinions - trying to engage with the subtle manners of their everyday life - you may want to go down a qualitative path. However, if you want to measure something, do direct comparisons. You are more likely to want to go down a quantitative path. As such there is often a marked divide in students' minds between qualitative and quantitative approaches. That again doesn't reflect the reality. It is perfectly appropriate and possible to triangulate the methodologies and use more than one basic approach.

Alan McGauley, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy: But I think, to get a good mix of dissertations, you need to get a mix of quantitative and qualitative.......... In terms of the way a dissertation is put together, each student will have a favoured way of actually undertaking the research. And certainly given the pressure many students feel under in the final year there is a temptation to look at more desk-based, library-based research and I think that in some fields the research could be weakened - because - Given the time constraints, students wherever possible, should attempt some level of primary research that can be supported by desk-based, library-based research. So certainly, a good dissertation would have a mix of these depending on the subject matter and that is something that during the first couple of months of supervision the relationship between the supervisor and the student should consider very carefully, the methodological approach which is taken. And in the dissertation itself, a section needs to be in the dissertation about the way they have chosen that particular methodological approach and that's important in terms of justification.

Shawna McCoy, Lecturer in Criminology: So when I think of different methodologies I think of primary research, secondary research and theoretical based dissertations. When I talk about primary research dissertations I'm talking about a student going out to collect data. So doing questionnaires, doing interviews, doing case studies, doing focus groups - whatever the method that they are used to, be it quantitative or qualitative, and its then coming up with information. I think there are huge advantages by using that. That it provides you with a lot of original information. So therefore when you come up to writing your methodology or writing up your analysis as a chapter you have to have a lot of information that you can use, that is yours and yours alone - so you feel very comfortable writing about it because it's something you have experienced and gone through.

I think the difficulty when you are doing primary research is whether you can get the information you are looking for. It's developing the tools such as your research question, your questionnaire, and your interview schedule that allows you to gather the information that you are looking for or posing. There are so many students who struggle with "can I get the information?" and "what do I do with it when I have it?". For many students - they have loads of information and then don't know what with it once they have it. And instead of analysing it - looking at it - just writes it down - so there are developments in relation to that area.

For secondary research, you look at someone else's' research and you analyse it in a new and different way; other research studies, other questionnaires and data gathered. And then it's just finding new ways to look at it. For some students, it's difficult because they don't have that first hand experience and need to make sense of the data before they go forward. In relation to a theoretical based dissertation it doesn't give them the opportunity to go out there and do research.

Kevin Bonnett, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Development and Society: Well clearly a number of dissertations at one level hardly need a methodology. They are library based and about analysing a body of literature. Clearly, you need to demonstrate are skills of referencing, bibliographic skills and analytical skills on that reading. And those are not to be underestimated. They're important skills. But if you don't demonstrate them, you end up with a weak dissertation. But of course, a lot of students do actually want to get out there and study something and make methodological choices. If a student bears in mind how much time and how much practical resources he/she has available, then it is very likely that he'll choose a methodology that is attainable. And to set aside notions of 'representative sample' for a moment and the limits of the students' resources, telling a good story about 'what it means to work in Sainsburys and interrelate with people from different cultural backgrounds' might have validity because it is something that you can do. Whereas, doing a survey where you can't talk to anyone and they are not representative of anyone much; you'll probably find that although it's cost you in time and effort, the person reading it goes "Well, so what?"

Dr Iain Garner, Principal Lecturer in Psychology: And perhaps finally, go with the methodology that you find strongest - that you can naturally gain the best performance from yourself.