How a Given Methodology Affects a Researcher\'s Choice of Methods for Data Collection and Analysis

¶ … adoption of a particular methodology affect the researcher's choice of methods for data collection and analysis?

Two researchers can have the same essential subjects yet pursue completely different methodologies. For example, someone who is studying alcoholism from a qualitative perspective to collective narrative experiences of recovery may use interviews and open-ended questionnaires. The researcher will likely focus on a relatively small population group and proceed in an inductive fashion. Responses may be 'coded' after-the-fact to group them into various subject areas but these categories will not be predetermined but reflect the evidence accumulated through the research. To allow for thoroughness and to permit all respondents to speak for themselves the researcher will limit the numbers of subjects. Rather than creating a narrow research question and using an experimental method, any conclusions and theories will only be arrived at after data is accumulated. And because of the relatively narrow scope of the research, it is possible that there is a limit to the extent to which the findings can be used to draw conclusions about a more general population. Experiences of female, middle-class alcoholics may not be reflective of lower-income males, for example.

In contrast, someone who was attempting to determine the efficacy of a specific method of rehabilitation for alcoholics would study a large population and use an experimental and control group, carefully distributed to minimize the impact of extraneous variables such as socio-economic status. Quantitative analysis, because it is numerical, demands accurate and well-established statistical analysis to determine the validity of results. The aim of quantitative analysis is to be able to draw conclusions about a larger population even though there may be some specific aspect of the large-scale population under assessment.

Q2. Which methods might you choose, bearing in mind your chosen methodology and epistemological stance?

Because my analysis is on water delivery systems and sustainability specific to Caribbean nations, I believe some qualitative methodology is needed. I am interested in socio-economic problems specific to that region. A case study analysis of other countries may be useful but it would likely be nations with similar factors influencing water problems such as postcolonial issues, political conflicts, and social classes between different interest groups. However, some quantitative analysis would still be required to assess the efficacy of different specific programs to improve the quality of water in a meaningful fashion. Neither the politics nor the environmental implications of the decisions made by the governments involved can be viewed in isolation. The impetus of the research is to determine what is politically feasible yet also environmentally useful to serve the population.