What are the similarities and differences between the following research concepts from your experience in dealing with research students?
1. research philosophy and research theoretical perspective
2. research paradigm and research approach
3. research methodology and research method
4.research method, research strategy and research design
5. research methods and research techniques
6.research tools and research instruments
7. trustworthiness versus reliability and validity
Kindly attend to these issues for the benefit of many an academic including me.
I have attached two articles which can address most of the concerns you raised.
Study Saunders' ''Research Onion" carefully as it answers most of your questions.
-Research paradigm ,philosophy and theoretical perspective mean one and the same thing.
-Research strategy and design also mean the same and some scholars use the term primary research method.
-Research approach is your approach to theory creation(deductive/inductive /abductive) i.e whether you start with a hypothesis or theory or you develop theories from your findings.
-Methodology is the totality of how you conduct the research study from your research purpose,philosophical foundations,research approach,time horizons,research design-data collection and analysis techniques etc ,where as ,methods focus on your research design i.e data collection and analysis procedures.
According to Sekaran (2003) a research design is set up to decide on, among other issues, how to collect further data, analyze and interpret them, and finally, to provide an answer to the problem.
Sekaran (2003) has identified six elements of research design. They are listed below.
1. Purpose of the study
2. Type of investigation
3. Extent of researcher interference
4. Study setting
5. Unit of analysis
6. The time horizon
Sekaran (2003) wrote:
“The researcher would determine the appropriate decisions to be made in the study design based on the problem definition, the research objectives, the extent of rigor desired, and cost considerations. Sometimes, because of the time and costs involved, a researcher might be constrained to settle for less than the ideal research design. For instance, the researcher might have to conduct a cross-sectional instead of a longitudinal study, do a field study rather than an experimental design, choose a smaller rather than a larger sample size, and so on, thus sub-optimizing the research design decisions and settling for a lower level of scientific rigor because of resource constraints."
Methodology
The theory of how research should be undertaken, including the theoretical and philosophical assumptions upon which research is based and the implications of these for the method or methods adopted (Saunders, 2007).
Method
The techniques and procedures used to obtain and analyze research data, including for example questionnaires, observation, interviews and statistical and non statistical techniques (Saunders, 2007).
Reference
Saunders, M.N., 2007. Research methods for business students, 5/e. Pearson Education India.
Sekaran, U., 2003. Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley & Sons.
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