Research methodology
To analyse and evaluate a research document, begin by
examining the degree to which an author’s research
methodology and methods, and the structure of their
argument, persuade you to accept their conclusions.
Similarly, in planning your own research, the choice of
methodology determines the ways in which you collect,
analyse and evaluate data, which in turn influences the
kind of argument you employ and the conclusions you
draw based on your findings.
Philosophical ideas usually remain hidden in research,
but they do influence research practice. Your choice of
research methodology, and research methods, will
depend not only on your thesis or research question but
on your prior philosophical and theological commitments
– or lack thereof.
Methodology is a way of thinking about the theoretical
basis and overall design of a research project, whereas
method is the way in which one goes about doing the
research. No methodology is theoretically comprehensive
or value-free. Each methodology applies certain
principles and theoretical frameworks, and privileges
some principles and theories to the exclusion of others.
Methodologies are shaped by paradigms, theoretical
worldviews defining the categories and concepts through
which one constructs and understands the world. In
1962, Thomas Kuhn coined the term “paradigm shift” to
describe a fundamental change in the basic concepts and
experimental practices of an academic discipline.1 A
paradigm, from the Greek paradeigma (“unchanging
model”), is the word we use to describe the fundamental
way we think about the world and, by implication, the
way we conduct research. Old paradigms tend to give way
to new ones which are better, more accurate frameworks
for thinking about the world and the problems and issues
that are the subject of research.
An academic article or research report will not usually
include discussion of paradigms. As Gary Thomas notes,
It is taken as ‘given’ that there are different ways of
looking and thinking about the social world and that
these will have structured the research. However, in
a dissertation or thesis from a research project at
university you will have to show that you
understand the broad principles that guide the way
that social research is conducted – the ways that
questions are answered and data are gathered and
analysed. This does not mean that you should have a
section on positivism or interpretivism, but it does
1 2
Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1996).
mean that you should explain the principles that are
guiding your research.2
This applies also to research in biblical, theological and
historical studies. Related principles include ontology (the
study of the nature of reality) and epistemology (the study
of how we obtain knowledge of the world). Among other
things, ontology helps us understand why there is more
than one paradigm; and epistemology helps us
understand what lies behind the analytical strategies we
employ to draw knowledge from data and information.
One way to categorise research methodologies is to
distinguish between quantitative and qualitative
approaches to research, although this applies more
clearly to science and social science research than to the
humanities. Projects that apply aspects of both paradigms
are known as mixed methods research.
Quantitative research deals with things that can be
measured, and generally answers the “how?” questions. It
seeks to remain independent of the phenomena or data
being studied in order to generalize findings.
Quantitative research methodologies may be informed by
positivist, empiricist and experimental philosophical
perspectives, advanced by theorists such as Newton,
Locke, Compte, Mill, and Durkheim.
Quantitative research is used to investigate attitudes,
opinions, behaviors, and other defined variables, often
through large-scale data collected in surveys, interviews,
and longitudinal studies. A key research method is the use
of closed-ended questions.
Qualitative research is often linked to detailed exploratory
studies and answers the “why?” questions. It emphasises
the study of phenomena or data from the perspective of
insiders, viewing meaning as context-specific and time-
specific rather than generalizable.
Qualitative research methodologies may be informed by
constructivist, naturalistic, interpretive, postpositivist,
and postmodern philosophical perspectives, advanced by
theorists such as Dithey, Kant, Wittgenstein, and Foucault.
Qualitative research tends to be inductive and subjective,
collecting data through case studies, qualitative surveys
and interviews, and detailed document analysis. It seeks
to examine underlying beliefs, reasons, opinions, feelings,
and motivations from the point of view of the subject or
the author of the document. A key research method is the
use of open-ended questions.
Gary Thomas, How to Do Your Research Project: A Guide for Students
(3rd edn; Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2017), 2.