The document outlines major research methods in information technology and computer science, categorizing them into qualitative and quantitative approaches. Qualitative methods include ethnography, case studies, and action research, focusing on understanding social interactions, while quantitative methods involve surveys and experimentation that yield numerical data. The document discusses the merits and demerits of each method, highlighting their applications and challenges.

1. Major Research Methods
Abdul Rehman and Mohammad Ramzan

2. Research Methods
• The Research Methods available for Information Technology and Computer
Science researchers are divided into two comprehensive categories:
1. Qualitative
• Qualitative Data
• Nature Of The Problem Rather Than The Extent Of The Problem
• The Methods Which Fall Into This Category Are Including
• Ethnography,
• Case Study And
• Action Research.

3. Research Methods (Cont.)
2. Quantitative.
• Produce numerical data where statistics is applied on it.
• The methods which are under quantitative category includes
• survey and experimentation
• in which results drawn are: quantifiable data and can be counted in terms of numbers.

4. Ethnography
• Qualitative
• Community of people that how the members make sense of the social
interactions.
• IT
• Insight into human, social and organizational aspects of IT innovations and applications.
• Powerful assessment of technology user’s needs and allows for perceiving Information
Technology innovations and applications in the eyes of the users.
• Merit
• Avoid imposing any preexisting theories
• Demerit
• participation, talking and doing things with participant

5. Survey
• Qualitative or Quantitative
• In survey research, the researcher selects a sample of respondents
from a population and administers a standardized questionnaire to
them.
• Pros
• Convenient Data Gathering
• Cons
• Biasing, or Incorrect Results

6. Secondary Method
• Data is obtained from other sources (previous studies )
• Pros
• Ease of Access
• Time & Cost Effective
• Cons
• Not Specific to Researcher’s Needs
• Inaccuracy of Data
• Not Timely

7. Case Study
• in-depth investigation of an individual, group, institution or
phenomenon within its real life
• For example, a firm, a specific project, a community.
• Aim
• in-depth understanding.
• Demerit
• data collection and analysis is more open to interpretation.
• Important in Information Technology to evaluate the tools.

8. Others Research Methods
• Experimentation

9. Summary
• Qualitative
• Quantitative
• Ethnography
• Survey
• Secondary method
• Case study
• Experimentation