Abstract
The last 20 years in South Africa and abroad have evidenced huge changes in the ways in which research is accessed and produced. These changes were facilitated by the rapid developments in technology. Collaborating with researchers across the globe and accessing articles and research can be done at the push of a button and response times are as instantaneous. Conducting and communicating one’s own research are also much easier. This led to a veritable explosion of publishers and journals, some of which are legitimate and others predatory. In this climate, the adage of ‘publish or perish’ has become a lived reality placing increasing pressure on scholars to publish. An unintended consequence of this is the increasing lack of methodological rigour in studies. This article advocates for increasing attention to methodological rigour in quantitative research. In so doing, guidelines and suggestions are provided in terms of elements to be considered within each of the broad aspects of a study, namely, sampling, instrumentation, methods, design, and data analysis. These are drawn from the literature as well as the author’s own experiences in teaching quantitative research methods, supervising postgraduate student research, reviewing articles for local and international journals, as well as experiences of reviewing articles located within the quantitative paradigm as Associate Editor for the South African Journal of Psychology. Ultimately, this article seeks to create awareness among researchers around the necessity for methodologically rigorous research to enhance the quality of outputs. This will have the effect of producing impactful research that can confidently inform policy, practice, and training within the discipline.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have