Understanding different research perspectives

Conclusion

In this free course, Understanding different research perspectives, the various perspectives (subjective/objective and interpretivist/positivist) that a researcher can take in investigating a problem have been discussed, as well as the issues that need to be considered in planning the project (ethics, research design, research strategy and research methodology). This fits with the first two stages of the overall research process as shown in Table 2.

Table 2 The research process

Identify a research topic and draft research questions
Refine research questions and define the research design
Review the literature
Determine the research methodology and test data collection tools
Collect the data
Analyse and interpret the data
Write the research report
Reflect on the research process

The activities in this course have guided you through these first two processes.