Different types of research methods - the strategies, processes or techniques used in collecting data or evidence for analysis - help you create better understanding of your research topic, and new knowledge. The different types of research methods use different tools and approaches.
For further assistance, consult with your School Librarian.
Qualitative research
What is qualitative research?
Qualitative research gathers data about lived experiences, emotions or behaviours, and the meanings individuals attach to them. It assists in enabling researchers to gain a better understanding of complex concepts, social interactions or cultural phenomena. This type of research is useful in the exploration of how or why things have occurred, interpreting events and describing actions.
When searching for qualitative research it is important that you search across a range of databases, as no single database covers all the literature. The decision regarding which databases to search depends largely upon your research topic. Journal databases also provide search hints and tips in the help menu - start there if you are not familiar with the database.
Developing a robust search strategy will help reduce irrelevant results. It is good practice to plan a strategy before you start to search.
Basic search tips:
- Break your research topic into keywords.
- Use Boolean operators to connect your search terms or keywords together to either narrow or broaden the results. The three basic Boolean operators are: AND, OR, and NOT.
- Use parentheses, quotation marks, and/or asterisks with your search terms to create a search phrase.
Subject terms:
Databases categorise their records using subject terms or controlled vocabularies (also called thesauri). These subject terms vary for each database.
For example you can find qualitative research in MEDLINE by using the subject terms 'Qualitative Research' or 'Nursing Methodology Research', but in CINAHL, use the term 'Qualitative Studies'. Related subject terms such as 'Focus Groups', 'Interviews', or 'Descriptive Research' can also be useful. Combine searches with subject terms to locate qualitative research.
Keywords:
Use selective free text keywords to search in titles, abstracts or records held in the databases to identify qualitative research. Selective keywords include terms like phenomenological, "lived experience", "grounded theory", "life experiences", "focus groups" or interview.
Limiting searches:
Databases enable sets of results to be limited or filtered by specific fields. You can filter by using such criteria as Publication Type, Clinical Queries or Publication Year and apply them to your search.
Quantitative research
What is quantitative research?
Quantitative research gathers numerical data which can be ranked, measured, or categorised through statistical analysis. It assists with uncovering patterns or relationships, and for making generalisations. This type of research is useful for finding out how many, how much, how often or to what extent.
When searching for quantitative research it is important that you search across a range of databases, as no single database covers all the literature. The decision regarding which databases to search depends upon your research topic. Journal databases also provide search hints and tips in the help menu - start there if you are not familiar with the database.
Developing a robust search strategy will help reduce irrelevant results. It is good practice to plan a strategy before you start to search.
Basic search tips:
- Break your research topic into keywords.
- Use Boolean operators to connect your search terms or keywords together to either narrow or broaden the results. The three basic Boolean operators are: AND, OR, and NOT.
- Use parentheses, quotation marks, and/or asterisks with your search terms to create a search phrase.
Subject terms:
Databases categorise their records using subject terms or controlled vocabularies (also called thesauri). These subject terms vary for each database
For example, quantitative research is not directly indexed in PubMed but can be located by using subject terms including: 'Validation Studies as Topic', 'Statistical Distributions', 'Mathematical Concepts', 'Evaluation Studies as Topic' 'Investigative Techniques' or 'Meta-Analysis as Topic'. Combine searches with subject terms to locate quantitative research.
Keywords:
Use selective free text keywords to search in titles, abstracts or records held in the databases to identify quantitative research. Selective keywords include quantitative, survey, validity, variance, correlation and statistical.
Mixed methods research
What is mixed methods research?
Mixed methods research integrates both qualitative and quantitative research. It provides a holistic approach combining and analysing statistical data with deeper contextualised insights. Using mixed methods also enables triangulation, or verification, of the data from two or more sources.
Examples of finding mixed methods research in the databases:
- In MEDLINE, there are no suitable Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms for mixed methods research, but you can search your topic with the following suggested keywords using the quotation marks and truncation symbol (*):
“mixed model*” OR “mixed design*” OR “multiple method*” OR multimethod* OR triangulat*
- In CINAHL, use the following subject terms: 'Multimethod Studies' or 'Triangulation'. You can also include the following keywords:
mixed model*, mixed design*, multiple method*, multimethod*, or triangulat*.