Methods and methodology

Qualitative Research

Qualitative Research in Information Systems (Association for Information Systems) provides a useful summary of qualitative research that includes information on research methods, techniques for data collecting, modes of analysis, writing up qualitative research.
QualPage: resources for qualitative research is regularly updated and has links to collections of resources for qualitative research, conceptual and philosophical foundations, disciplines, discussion forums, dissemination of research on the internet, electronic journals, methods, papers and more.

Quantitative research is used by many different types of research. This resource gives a general overview of some of its many applications.

Survey Monkey is one of the earliest online survey tools but there are now many new tools available. Most systems have a free and pay service – you will almost certainly need to use the pay service so make sure that you understand the terms of use. The costs vary considerably between the different systems. Things to note are: flexibility in question design, ease of entering new questions, whether those answering the questionnaire can revisit their answers or go back to the questionnaire if they don’t have the time to finish it at one sitting, methods of downloading the data, length of time you can access the data.
Like all good surveys, you should run a pilot program first and really make sure that the questionnaire will provide the data you need.

Both SPSS and NVivo software programs are available to UniSA postgraduate students

Resources to help you learn and use SPSS (UCLA) is an excellent website featuring free introductory online tutorials including a Starter Kit and Learning Modules. Other resources include notes and movies of seminars, online manuals and information on installing, customising and updating SPSS and discussion lists and technical help.
SPSS: Step by step tutorial for SPSS version 17 is as its name promised, a step by step tutorial for handling and analysing data in SPSS.
Teach yourself NVivo 7 has 10 do-it-yourself tutorials for researchers and students who wish to learn NVivo 7. The tutorials are designed as exercises to take learners through all the basic functions of the NVivo 7 software, with guidance to its interface and processes.
Analyse-it statistical software is 'the most popular statistical software add-in for Microsoft® Excel® for Windows' which 'includes over 30 parametric & non-parametric statistics, including descriptive statistics, box-whisker plots, correlation, multiple linear regression analysis, ANOVA, & chi-square statistics for general statistical research'. Offers a 30 day free trial.

Seeing Statistics is a user-friendly online resource for learning statistical concepts.
Dealing with data (University of Queensland) is a good resource to use BEFORE you collect your data! It looks at issues of research such as putting the data into a coherent form, looking at the fit between your aims and your research design, and developing a sense of where your thesis is going.
Methodologies and theories (elearnspace) is an Education resource, providing an annotated list of internet-based resources divided into the topics: General; Emotional Intelligence; Multiple Intelligence; Learning Styles; Brain-based Learning; and Adult Learning.
Methods in behavioural research: Resources for research in Psychology and the Behavioural Sciences is an e-book on research methods by Paul C Cozby. This e-book has chapters on ethical research, studying behaviour, measurement concepts, observing behaviour, survey research, experimental design, understanding research results and more. Each chapter has links to internet resources on the topic.

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