A Review of Research Approaches in Engineering

Abstract: Research methods are foundational to all academic disciplines, serving as the backbone for how data is collected, analyzed, and interpreted. Three primary approaches dominate the landscape: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. Each serves distinct purposes depending on the research context, allowing scholars to explore, measure, and explain phenomena in different ways. Researchers often face challenges in selecting an appropriate research approach due to a lack of understanding of the methods, applications, and limitations associated with each. This can result in inappropriate method selection, leading to incomplete or skewed research findings. Therefore, this review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research approaches, highlighting their types, applications, and inherent limitations. The goal is to offer clarity to researchers on the optimal use of these methodologies in various research scenarios. The review critically examines existing literature on the three approaches. It categorizes qualitative methods such as case studies and ethnography, quantitative methods like surveys and experiments, and mixed methods, which combine both to address complex research questions. It also explores the strengths and limitations of each. The findings reveal that qualitative research excels in capturing detailed, contextualized insights but is limited by potential bias and challenges in generalization. Quantitative research offers objectivity and scalability but can oversimplify human behaviors. Mixed methods provide a balanced perspective, integrating the depth of qualitative insights with the rigor of quantitative analysis, though they require more time and expertise.