Page 163 - DLIS401_METHODOLOGY_OF_RESEARCH_AND_STATISTICAL_TECHNIQUES

Methodology of Research and Statistical Techniques

Notes • the study population(s), sampling method(s) and the size of the sample(s);

• data-collection techniques used for the different study populations;
• how the data was collected and by whom;

• procedures used for data analysis, including statistical tests (if applicable).
If you have deviated from the original study design presented in your research proposal, you
should explain to what extent you did so and why. The consequences of this deviation for
meeting certain objectives of your study should be indicated. If the quality of some of the data
is weak, resulting in possible biases, this should be described as well under the heading
‘limitations of the study’.

Chapter 4: Research findings
The systematic presentation of your findings in relation to the research objectives is the crucial
part of your report.
The description of findings should offer a good combination or triangulation of data from
qualitative and quantitative components of the study. There are two different ways in which
you can present your findings:

Chapter 5: Discussion
The findings can now be discussed by objective or by cluster of related variables or themes,
which should lead to conclusions and possible recommendations. The discussion may include
findings from other related studies that support or contradict your own.

Chapter 6: Conclusions and recommendations
The conclusions and recommendations should follow logically from the discussion of the
findings. Conclusions can be short, as they have already been elaborately discussed in chapter 5.
As the discussion will follow the sequence in which the findings have been presented (which
in turn depends on your objectives) the conclusions should logically follow the same order.
It makes easy reading for an outsider if the recommendations are again placed in roughly the
same sequence as the conclusions. However, the recommendations may at the same time be
summarised according to the groups towards which they are directed.

References
The references in your text can be numbered in the sequence in which they appear in the
report and then listed in this order in the list of references (Vancouver system). Another
possibility is the Harvard system of listing in brackets the author’s name(s) in the text followed
by the date of the publication and page number, for example: (Shan 2000: 84). In the list of
references, the publications are then arranged in alphabetical order by the principal author’s
last name.
You can choose either system as long as you use it consistently throughout the report.

Annexes or Appendices

The annexes should contain any additional information needed to enable professionals to
follow your research procedures and data analysis.

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