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Start With the Question, Not the Method

Most methodology problems begin with a decision made too early: "I'll do interviews" or "I'll run a survey." The method gets chosen first, and the research question is quietly reshaped to fit it. That is the wrong way round, and supervisors spot it immediately.

Write your research question on a piece of paper and ask a simple question of it: what kind of evidence would actually satisfy me here? If you want to understand how something feels, or why people behave as they do, you need words. If you want to know how many, how often, or whether one thing predicts another, you need numbers.

• "How do..." and "why..." questions usually point towards qualitative work — interviews, focus groups, diaries, documentary analysis.
• "How many...", "to what extent...", "is there a relationship between..." usually point towards quantitative work.
• Two-part questions — a broad pattern plus an explanation of it — sometimes justify mixed methods, but only if you have the time and skills to do both halves properly.

A useful test: can you say, in one sentence, what a convincing answer would look like? If you cannot, the method is not the problem — the question is.

Weighing Up Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Approaches

Qualitative research works with meaning. Typical methods include semi-structured interviews, focus groups and thematic analysis of documents or transcripts. Its strengths are depth, nuance and the ability to capture what participants themselves think matters. Its costs are time — allow roughly four to six hours to transcribe and check a single one-hour interview — and limits on how far you can generalise from a small, purposively selected group.

Quantitative research works with measurement. Questionnaires, structured observations and secondary datasets let you compare groups, test relationships and report with figures. Its strengths are breadth and replicability. Its costs are that poor questionnaire design is fatal, response rates are usually lower than students expect, and you need genuine confidence with the statistical tests you plan to use. If you cannot explain why you are running a particular test, do not run it.

Mixed methods can be genuinely powerful, particularly when you use one strand to explain the other — for example, a survey to establish the pattern and a handful of interviews to make sense of it. But be realistic: a mixed-methods dissertation is roughly two projects. Unless your question demands both, a well-executed single approach will always score better than two rushed ones.

Be Honest About Samples, Access and Gatekeepers

Sample size is not only a statistical question; it is a practical one. For qualitative work, depth matters more than headcount. Many undergraduate and master's dissertations reach a defensible point of data saturation with eight to twelve interviews, provided the sample is well justified. For quantitative work, think about response rates before you think about targets. An online survey distributed through cold contact might return ten to twenty per cent, so if you need one hundred completed responses, plan to approach five hundred people.

Access is where projects most often stall. Ask early:

• Who controls access to your participants, and will they say yes?
• Do you need a Disclosure and Barring Service check to work with children or vulnerable adults?
• If your research sits within the NHS or social care, do separate governance approvals apply? These can take months, not weeks.
• Is there a busy period — exams, seasonal work, summer holidays — that will make recruitment difficult?

Sort Out Ethics and Data Protection Before You Collect Anything

Ethics approval is not a formality to complete at the end. University committees commonly take two to four weeks to respond, and amendments mid-project can cost you a term. Under UK GDPR, you need a lawful basis for processing personal data, a clear retention period, secure storage and a participant information sheet that a non-specialist can actually understand.

Think carefully about the difference between anonymity and confidentiality. A small sample of staff in one department is very difficult to anonymise convincingly, even if you change names. If your topic touches on sensitive areas — mental health, safeguarding, illegal behaviour, employment disputes — you need a written plan for what you would do if a participant becomes distressed or discloses something serious.

A simple rule: if your proposed method would require a significant ethics amendment to deliver, it is probably too ambitious for the timeframe.

Check the Practical Fit Before You Commit

Ask yourself three questions. Do I have the skills, or the time to learn them? Does my supervisor have expertise in this approach? Can I complete data collection, analysis and writing within my deadline, allowing a fortnight of slack?

Pilot everything. Run two test interviews or send your questionnaire to five people and ask them to flag confusing items. Piloting costs a week and saves months. And if your method depends on software — statistical packages, qualitative coding tools, transcription services — check you have access and know the basics before your first participant signs a consent form.

Finally, remember that a modest, rigorous methodology you can defend in detail will always outperform a fashionable one you cannot fully explain. Choose the method your question needs, size it to your resources, and clear the ethical ground early. That is what makes a dissertation feel calm rather than chaotic.