SCOPE AND

LIMITATIONS
&
SCOPE AND
DELIMITATIONS
Beanna Ladera
Eizie Mae Hipolito
SCOPE AND DELIMITATION
The scope and delimitations of a
thesis, dissertation or research
paper define the topic and
boundaries of the research
problem to be investigated.
Scope broadly refers to the extent
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to which you plan to study/

research your topic. This is done
mainly to keep your research
practical and feasible.

Delimitations is a closely related

term. It refers to the conditions or
restrictions (so to speak) the
researcher places upon the study.
A delimitation is
sometimes called a
“boundary condition,”
which specifies a
region beyond which a
theory or hypothesis is
either changed or does
not hold.
 The delimitations
section is where you’ll
clearly state what your
research aims and
research questions will
focus on – and just as
importantly, what they
will exclude.
For example, you might investigate a
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widespread phenomenon, but choose

to focus your study on a specific age
group, ethnicity or gender. Similarly,
your study may focus exclusively on
one country, city or even organization.
As long as the scope is well justified (in
other words, it represents a novel,
valuable research topic), this is
perfectly acceptable – in fact, it’s
essential.
The scope of our study is for finding effects of pla
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online games to the academic performance of the

students.
The study is delimited only for the Grade 7 and 8
students in St. Joseph College of Novaliches, Inc.,
the main purpose of our study is to point out the
effects of playing online games and aims are
determining whether playing online games hinder
their accomplishment of their homeworks. The st
only focuses on online games and its relation to the
academic performance of the selected students.
However, the study excludes the effects of online
games to their behavior.
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Delimitations are choices made by the

researcher which should be mentioned. They
describe the boundaries that you have set for
the study.

This is the place to explain:

• the things that you are not doing (and why you have
chosen not to do them).
• the literature you will not review (and why not).
• the population you are not studying (and why not).
• the methodological procedures you will not use (and
why you will not use them).
 9

EXAMPLES OF DELIMITATION IN
RESEARCH
Examples of delimitations include:
• research objectives,
• research questions,
• research variables,
• target populations,
• statistical analysis techniques.
SCOPE AND LIMITATION
Limitations relate to the validity and reliability of the study.

They are characteristics of the research design or

methodology that are out of your control but influence your

research findings. Because of this, they determine the

internal and external validity of your study and are

considered potential weaknesses.

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Research limitations are, at the

simplest level, the weaknesses of
the study, based on factors that
are often outside of your control
as the researcher. These factors
could include things like time,
access to funding, equipment, data
or participants.
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For example, if you weren’t able to

access a random sample of
participants for your study and had to
adopt a convenience sampling strategy
instead, that would impact the
generalizability of your findings and
therefore reflect a limitation of your
study.
 Research limitations can also
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emerge from the research design

itself.
For example, if you were undertaking a
correlational study, you wouldn’t be able
to infer causality (since correlation
doesn’t mean certain causation).
Similarly, if you utilised online surveys
to collect data from your participants,
you naturally wouldn’t be able to get the
same degree of rich data that you would
from in-person interviews.
 EXAMPLES OF LIMITATIONS IN
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RESEARCH
Examples of limitations include:
• Issues with sample and selection,
• Insufficient sample size, population traits or specific
participants for statistical significance,
• Lack of previous research studies on the topic which has
allowed for further analysis,
• Limitations in the technology/instruments used to collect
your data,
• Limited financial resources and/or funding constraints.
IMPORTANCE OF 15

LIMITATION
 Always acknowledge a study's
limitations.
 Keep in mind that acknowledgement
of a study's limitations is an
opportunity to make suggestions for
further research.
 Claming limitations is a subjective
process because you must evaluate
the impact of those limitations.
 DIFFERENCE OF LIMITATION AND
DELIMITATION
SCOPE AND DELIMITATION
 DELIMITATIONS REFER TO THE
BOUNDARIES OF THE RESEARCH
STUDY, BASED ON THE RESEARCHER’S
DECISION OF WHAT TO INCLUDE AND
WHAT TO EXCLUDE. THEY NARROW
YOUR STUDY TO MAKE IT MORE
MANAGEABLE AND RELEVANT TO
WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO PROVE.
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SCOPE OF LIMITATION
 LIMITATIONS RELATE TO THE VALIDITY AND
RELIABILITY OF THE STUDY. THEY ARE
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESEARCH DESIGN
OR METHODOLOGY THAT ARE OUT OF YOUR
CONTROL BUT INFLUENCE YOUR RESEARCH
FINDINGS. BECAUSE OF THIS, THEY DETERMINE
THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL VALIDITY OF
YOUR STUDY AND ARE CONSIDERED POTENTIAL
WEAKNESSES.
These are the main differences: 17
HOW DO YOU WRITE THE
SCOPE AND
DELIMITATIONS?
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This step should be part of your research project planning.
Answering the following questions will help you address your
scope and delimitations clearly and convincingly.

✔Which factors and variables were included? And state

why specific variables were omitted from the research
scope.
✔ What are your study’s aims and objectives?
✔ How was the research conducted (research design)?
✔ Who or what did the study explore? What was the
target population?
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HOW TO START WRITING YOUR

STUDY SCOPE AND
DELIMITATION?
Use the below prompts as an
effective way to start writing
your scope:
• This study is to focus on…
• This study covers the…
• This study aims to…
As all delimitations should result from trying to make
your study more relevant to your scope. Therefore, the
scope and delimitations are usually considered together
when writing a paper.
WHERE DO YOU WRITE THE 22

SCOPE AND DELIMITATIONS,

AND WHY?
• Properly revealing this information
serves your field and the greater
scientific community. Openly (but briefly)
acknowledge the scope and delimitations
of your study early on. The Abstract and
Introduction sections are good places to
set the parameters of your paper.
Next, discuss the scope and
delimitations in greater detail
in the Methods section. You’ll
need to do this to justify your
methodological approach and
data collection instruments, as
well as analyses.
LET'S RECAP!
Research limitations and research
delimitations are related in that
they both refer to “limits” within a
study. But, they are distinctly
different. Limitations reflect the
shortcomings of your study, based
on practical or theoretical
constraints that you faced.
Delimitations
reflect the choices
that you made in
terms of the focus
and scope of your
research aims and
research questions.