Evaluating Methodology

Evaluating methodology is to help with making use of the appropriate methods and tools that will help with the research question. The methodologies used should help with determining the aims and objectives I would like to put across.

While I was doing my research, working on a research question what helped me is the conversations I have with people in my close circle. Those questions helped me derive my question which was linked to BRICs as I am fascinated by the course of BRICs and I think it’s an interesting time for us as the youth to be alive. A lot of change is yet to happen.

After getting the research question, I went onto Ujoogle, Google, and Google Scholar and found a couple of articles that would help with my research. Upon finding

How will I structure my research?

4. Are the results that I found scientific and how will they be interpreted?

5. Do I need to interview people or do I have enough information which I gathered online?

As illustrated by Dr Rica Viljoen in a presentation she did, she touched on the main components of a research paradigm (ontology, epistemology and methodology). Had I gone through the presentation it would have made it easier for me to compile my annotated bibliography. I had a difficult time as my main focus was getting my point across and getting the methodology correct (qualitative or quantitative). The questions I had in mind I did not delve into as much as I should have and this would have made my work a lot better. I did not focus on the technical aspects of my research either. The presentation looks at research philosophy (positivism, systems thinking and phenomenology), research approach (abductive, inductive or deductive), research methodology (explanatory research, action research, ethnography, case study, grounded theory, content analysis and experiment), time-horizons ( cross sectional or longitudinal) and data collection methods (interviews or focus

Ontology as explained by Wand and Weber (1993:220) is “a branch of philosophy concerned with articulating the nature and structure of the world”. The ontological question asked would be what is the form and basis of reality and what can you learn about it? Objectivity states that if two observers do not view things the same way it because of a lack of training, error or even an illusion as explained by (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980:187). I viewed this article as subjective because, in simple terms objectivity means what one sees is what everyone will also see. It is a set of conditions of truth and how humans understand it. When you are at subjective your reality is local and specific to your group. You are not correct nor are you incorrect. This article was written in ones perspective after gathering relevant information and then finally giving out the final piece of work. The authors were inductive in their writing as they were arguing the importance of