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Engineering Research Skills Guide: Research methods

This guide offers practical tips to help you search effectively, find reliable information, and choose sources that support your study and assessment tasks. It’s designed to support your learning in the Bachelor or Master of Engineering (Civil).

What are research methods?

Research methods are the structured techniques used to collect and analyse data for your research or thesis. They help you explore a research question in a reliable and systematic way.

Common methods include surveys, yarning, interviews, experiments, case studies and observations. These can be quantitative (focused on numbers and measurements) or qualitative (focused on meaning and experience).

Choosing the right method depends on your topic, goals and the type of evidence you need.

Types of research methods

Research methods are often grouped into three main types, depending on how data is collected and analysed. These are qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods.

  • Qualitative methods are usually used when the research is focused on aspects of social life that can't easily be measured with numbers. It draws on different theoretical perspectives and uses methods like interviews or observations to explore meanings, experiences and social processes within their specific contexts.
  • Quantitative methods are used for research based on collecting numerical data for statistical analysis. This includes data such as counts, ratings, scores, or durations, gathered in labs, field settings, or through surveys. The key feature is that the data is in numerical form, whether recorded directly or converted during analysis, e.g. content analysis.
  • Mixed methods is a research approach that combines both qualitative and quantitative methods in a single study to answer one research question more comprehensively.

SAGE Research Methods

The SAGE Research Methods (SRMO) database can give you information about research methods and literature reviews, plus help you design, run and write up your research project. The database focuses on methodology that can be used across multiple disciplines.

SRMO provides access to:

  • Full text content from over 720 books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks
  • The Little Green Book (qualitative research methods) series
  • The Little Blue Book (quantitative applications in the social sciences) series
  • A selection of journal articles and specially commissioned videos.
  • A collection of Datasets taken from real research projects.

 

You can find out more information by looking the Library's SAGE Research Methods web page, or explore these SAGE Research Methods databases:

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