RESEARCH METHODS

Research Methods

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction3

Population And Sample3

Different Research Methods4

Method 1 - Primary Research4

Strengths And Weaknesses4

Accuracy And Validity5

Method 2 - Secondary Research5

Strengths And Weaknesses6

Accuracy And Validity6

Method 3 - Qualitative Research6

Strengths And Weaknesses7

Accuracy And Validity7

Method 4 - Quantitative Research8

Strengths And Weaknesses8

Accuracy And Validity8

Research Context 1 - Academic Research9

Research Context 2 - Medical Research9

Research 1: Effect Of Paracetamol Plus Ibuprofen Combined9

Purpose9

Methods Employed10

Their Suitability To Their Purpose10

Ethical Issues10

Summary11

Research 2: Effect Of Caffeine On Fetal Growth11

Purpose11

Methods Employed11

Their Suitability To Their Purpose12

Ethical Issues12

Summary12

Conclusion13

References14

Research Methods

Introduction

Research is the process of gathering information regarding a certain topic or subject. It is one of the most common forms of education and is used globally in schools and institutions to help students gain information and knowledge about their respective fields (Armstrong & Sperry, 1994). Besides academics, it is used in almost every other professional field to gather data and to stay updated on the latest happenings and advancements. Research is also used when the root of a problem needs to be identified. The reason why this process is called research is because in most cases, data relevant to the topic is already available via different sources and it is searched again to address the problem at hand. Hence, the word 'research'.

Population and Sample

The population refers to all those people to whom a certain research pertains and relates. For any given research, it is very important to identify the population as they are the representatives of the problem being addressed. For example, if a research is being conducted on 'social life of psychiatrists in New York, USA', then the population for this research would include all the psychiatrists practicing in New York as well as their immediate relatives and friends who would be able to provide accurate answers related to the impact of profession on the social lives of psychiatrists. Sampling refers to the process of drawing a subset from the entire population. In most cases, the total population related to a research is too large to be questioned or analyzed so a sample is drawn from the population and the response of the sample is applied to the entire population and considered to be true.

Different research methods

Research related to a certain topic can be done in a number of ways. Over the years, researchers have identified specific ways to search data related to a certain topic or problem. As the world grows, so does the amount of data that is available regarding to a certain topic. To avoid redundancy and to save time, researchers use different methods to collect and analyze different types of data (Creswell, 2003). For instance, in some cases, first hand research may be conducted regarding a certain topic (also known as primary data) and in other scenarios, there may be abundant data related to a topic so there could be little or no need to gather fresh data. The following are four of the most common types of research methods that are used generally (Creswell, 2008).

Method 1 - Primary Research

This is the most common form of data collection ...