Methodology vs. Methods

This was a question that came up on one of the first zoom calls of this module and I am finally at the point in my own journey where I am ready to answer this for myself - what is the difference between methodology and method?

Helen described the differences in the plain understanding of:
Methodology - The approach you are going to take
Method - How you are going to gather the data?

What kind of approaches are there to research?

Well one of the big ones here is that we are going to be doing Qualitative Research over Quantitative, I have an earlier blog about what Qualitative Research actually is, but now I am looking into what Methodology in the realm of Qualitative Research will I be using. Here are a few of the approaches I came across:

1. Narrative Research

This research is used to form a cohesive story, or narrative, by way of consolidating several events from a small group of people. It involves running in-depth interviews and reading up on documents featuring similar actions as a means of theme-searching. The point of this is to discover how one narrative is shaped by larger contextual influences.

2. Ethnographic Research

The most common qualitative research method, ethnography relies on entrenching oneself in various participant environments to extract challenges, goals, themes and cultures. As the name suggests, it involves taking an ethnographic approach to research, meaning that researchers would experience an environment themselves to draw research. Using this firsthand observation, the researcher would not need to then rely on interviews or surveys.

3. Phenomenological Research

This qualitative method entails researchers having to probe a phenomenon or event by bringing lived experiences to light and then interpreting them. In order to achieve this, researchers use several methods in combination. These include conducting surveys, interviews and utilising secondary research such as available documents and videos on the studied phenomenon. Additionally, as in ethnographic research, phenomenological research involves visiting places to collect research.

4. Grounded Theory Research

In contrast to phenomenological research, which seeks to fully form the core of an issue, grounded theory attempts to find explanations (the why) behind an issue. To achieve this, researchers use interviews, surveys and secondary research to form a theory around the issue/occurrence.

5. Action Research

This type of research involves researchers and participants working collaboratively to bring theory to practice. Also called participatory research, collaborative inquiry, emancipatory research and action learning, this method entails the act of “learning by doing.” This means a group of researchers come together to find and address a problem, resolve it and then study the success of their endeavours. If they underperformed or their outcomes don’t satisfy their expectations, they would then reattempt the process.

What kind of methods should I use to collect my data?

As you can already see above, some types of data collection go hand in hand with the methodology you choose for your inquiry. This is something I will need to take into consideration when making my decisions. For now I have taken a look at a wide range of methods and here are just a few of the ones I came across:

1. Open-Ended Surveys and Questionnaires

Opposite to closed-ended are open-ended surveys and questionnaires. The main difference between the two is the fact that closed-ended surveys offer predefined answer options the respondent must choose from, whereas open-ended surveys allow the respondents much more freedom and flexibility when providing their answers.
Here’s an example that best illustrates the difference:2. 1-on-1 Interviews

One-on-one (or face-to-face) interviews are one of the most common types of data collection methods in qualitative research. Here, the interviewer collects data directly from the interviewee. Due to it being a very personal approach, this data collection technique is perfect when you need to gather highly-personalised data. Depending on your specific needs, the interview can be informal, unstructured, conversational, and even spontaneous (as if you were talking to your friend) – in which case it’s more difficult and time-consuming to process the obtained data – or it can be semi-structured and standardised to a certain extent (if you, for example, ask the same series of open-ended questions).

3. Focus groups

The focus groups data collection method is essentially an interview method, but instead of being done 1-on-1, here we have a group discussion. Whenever the resources for 1-on-1 interviews are limited (whether in terms of people, money, or time) or you need to recreate a particular social situation in order to gather data on people’s attitudes and behaviours, focus groups can come in very handy.

4. Direct observation

Direct observation is one of the most passive qualitative data collection methods. Here, the data collector takes a participatory stance, observing the setting in which the subjects of their observation are while taking down notes, video/audio recordings, photos, and so on.
Due to its participatory nature, direct observation can lead to bias in research, as the participation may influence the attitudes and opinions of the researcher, making it challenging for them to remain objective. Plus, the fact that the researcher is a participant too can affect the naturalness of the actions and behaviours of subjects who know they’re being observed.

Bibliography

Pollfish. (Unknown), The Complete Guide to Qualitative Market Research, [Online], https://resources.pollfish.com/survey-guides/the-complete-guide-to-qualitative-market-research/, [Accessed 24/02/21]

Jovancic,N. (2019), 5 Data Collection Methods for Obtaining Quantitative and Qualitative Data, [Online], https://www.leadquizzes.com/blog/data-collection-methods/, [Accessed 24/02/21]