secondary analysis, the use of data previously collected for other purposes
survey, a series of questions used to extract specific information from respondents,
experiment, the use of two or more groups in which one group is exposed to a factor being examined
experimental group, the study subjects exposed to the independent variable,
control group, the study subjects who are not exposed to the independent variable and are used as a reference group
longitudinal design, the repeated observation of the same subjects over a duration of time
| In-depth Interviews | Ability to explore different angles and levels | Focuses on individuals and transcribing field notes can be time-consuming |
| Participant Observation | Unrestricting access to observe social behavior | Difficult to document details and can potentially be unethical |
| Focus Groups | Ease of implementation and quick results | Groupthink can occur and moderators can skew the results |
| Content Analysis | Does not involve human subjects and cost-effective | Researchers must “read between the lines” |