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Graduate Research Portal: Exploring Research Methods

Library-based support for University of Lethbridge graduate students

Research Methods

It is vital to pick appropriate research methods for your thesis.  The methods you use in your thesis research should align with and complement the overall research approach you are taking, the kinds of research questions you seek to explore or answer, and the data creation/collection tools and data analysis methods you plan to use.

CARMA Consortium Webcast Progrram

For instruction on a variety of research methods and data analysis techniques, explore the University's subscription to the CARMA Consortium Webcast Program.  Hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, this program provides institution-wide access to 10 live webcast lectures per year as well as access at any time to a video library of past webcast lectures.  To access the CARMA Video Library, you must first register as a new user using your username@uleth.ca email address.  Examples of topics recently covered in the video library (login required) include: video-based research methods, content analysis, statistical analysis with big data, and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis.

Research Methods Guides & Handbooks

Choosing Appropriate Research Methodologies

Qualitative Approaches

If your research aims to understand meanings, beliefs and experience, you may wish to consider qualitative research methods. Titles in the Library's collections on qualitative research approaches include the following:

Focus Groups or Group Discussions

Individual Interviews

Participation or Observation

Conversation and Discourse Analysis