limitation of the study quantitative research

Diving Deeper into Limitations and Delimitations

If you are working on a thesis, dissertation, or other formal research project, chances are your advisor or committee will ask you to address the delimitations of your study. When faced with this request, many students respond with a puzzled look and then go on to address what are actually the study’s limitations.

In a previous article , we covered what goes into the limitations, delimitations, and assumptions sections of your thesis or dissertation. Here, we will dive a bit deeper into the differences between limitations and delimitations and provide some helpful tips for addressing them in your research project—whether you are working on a quantitative or qualitative study.

Acknowledging Weaknesses vs. Defining Boundaries

These concepts are easy to get confused because both limitations and delimitations restrict (or limit) the questions you’ll be able to answer with your study, most notably in terms of generalizability.

However, the biggest difference between limitations and delimitations is the degree of control you have over them—that is, how much they are based in conscious, intentional choices you made in designing your study.

Limitations occur in all types of research and are, for the most part, outside the researcher’s control (given practical constraints, such as time, funding, and access to populations of interest). They are threats to the study’s internal or external validity.

Limitations may include things such as participant drop-out, a sample that isn’t entirely representative of the desired population, violations to the assumptions of parametric analysis (e.g., normality, homogeneity of variance), the limits of self-report, or the absence of reliability and validity data for some of your survey measures.

Limitations can get in the way of your being able to answer certain questions or draw certain types of inferences from your findings. Therefore, it’s important to acknowledge them upfront and make note of how they restrict the conclusions you’ll be able to draw from your study. Frequently, limitations can get in the way of our ability to generalize our findings to the larger populations or to draw causal conclusions, so be sure to consider these issues when you’re thinking about the potential limitations of your study.

Delimitations are also factors that can restrict the questions you can answer or the inferences you can draw from your findings. However, they are based on intentional choices you make a priori (i.e., as you’re designing the study) about where you’re going to draw the boundaries of your project. In other words, they define the project’s scope.

Like limitations, delimitations are a part of every research project, and this is not a bad thing. In fact, it’s very important! You can’t study everything at once. If you try to do so, your project is bound to get huge and unwieldy, and it will become a lot more difficult to interpret your results or come to meaningful conclusions with so many moving parts. You have to draw the line somewhere, and the delimitations are where you choose to draw these lines.

One of the clearest examples of a delimitation that applies to almost every research project is participant exclusion criteria. In conducting either a quantitative or a qualitative study, you will have to define your population of interest. Defining this population of interest means that you will need to articulate the boundaries of that population (i.e., who is not included). Those boundaries are delimitations.

For example, if you’re interested in understanding the experiences of elementary school teachers who have been implementing a new curriculum into their classrooms, you probably won’t be interviewing or sending a survey to any of the following people: non-teachers, high-school teachers, college professors, principals, parents of elementary school children, or the children themselves. Furthermore, you probably won’t be talking to elementary school teachers who have not yet had the experience of implementing the curriculum in question. You would probably only choose to gather data from elementary school teachers who have had this experience because that is who you’re interested in for the purposes of your study. Perhaps you’ll narrow your focus even more to elementary school teachers in a particular school district who have been teaching for a particular length of time. The possibilities can go on. These are choices you will need to make, both for practical reasons (i.e., the population you have access to) and for the questions you are trying to answer.

Of course, for this particular example, this does not mean that it wouldn’t be interesting to also know what principals think about the new curriculum. Or parents. Or elementary school children. It just means that, for the purposes of your project and your research questions, you’re interested in the experience of the teachers, so you’re excluding anyone who does not meet those criteria. Having delimitations to your population of interest also means that you won’t be able to answer any questions about the experiences of those other populations; this is ok because those populations are outside of the scope of your project . As interesting as their experiences might be, you can save these questions for another study. That is the part of the beauty of research: there will always be more studies to do, more questions to ask. You don’t have to (and can’t) do it all in one project.

Continuing with the previous example, for instance, let’s suppose that the problem you are most interested in addressing is the fact that we know relatively little about elementary school teachers’ experiences of implementing a new curriculum. Perhaps you believe that knowing more about teachers’ experiences could inform their training or help administrators know more about how to support their teachers. If the identified problem is our lack of knowledge about teachers’ experiences, and your research questions focus on better understanding these experiences, that means that you are choosing not to focus on other problems or questions, even those that may seem closely related. For instance, you are not asking how effective the new curriculum is in improving student test scores or graduation rates. You might think that would be a very interesting question, but it will have to wait for another study. In narrowing the focus of your research questions, you limit your ability to answer other questions, and again, that’s ok. These other questions may be interesting and important, but, again, they are beyond the scope of your project .

Common Examples of Limitations

While each study will have its own unique set of limitations, some limitations are more common in quantitative research, and others are more common in qualitative research.

In quantitative research, common limitations include the following:

– Participant dropout

– Small sample size, low power

– Non-representative sample

– Violations of statistical assumptions

– Non-experimental design, lack of manipulation of variables, lack of controls

– Potential confounding variables

– Measures with low (or unknown) reliability or validity

– Limits of an instrument to measure the construct of interest

– Data collection methods (e.g., self-report)

– Anything else that might limit the study’s internal or external validity

In qualitative research, common limitations include the following:

– Lack of generalizability of findings (not the goal of qualitative research, but still worth mentioning as a limitation)

– Inability to draw causal conclusions (again, not the goal of qualitative research, but still worth mentioning)

– Researcher bias/subjectivity (especially if there is only one coder)

– Limitations in participants’ ability/willingness to share or describe their experiences

– Any factors that might limit the rigor of data collection or analysis procedures

Common Examples of Delimitations

As noted above, the two most common sources of delimitations in both quantitative and qualitative research include the following:

– Inclusion/exclusion criteria (or how you define your population of interest)

– Research questions or problems you’ve chosen to examine

Several other common sources of delimitations include the following:

– Theoretical framework or perspective adopted

– Methodological framework or paradigm chosen (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods)

– In quantitative research, the variables you’ve chosen to measure or manipulate (as opposed to others)

Whether you’re conducting a quantitative or qualitative study, you will (hopefully!) have chosen your research design because it is well suited to the questions you’re hoping to answer. Because these questions define the boundaries or scope of your project and thus point to its delimitations, your research design itself will also be related to these delimitations.

Questions to Ask Yourself

As you are considering the limitations and delimitations of your project, it can be helpful to ask yourself a few different questions.

Questions to help point out your study’s limitations :

1. If I had an unlimited budget, unlimited amounts of time, access to all possible populations, and the ability to manipulate as many variables as I wanted, how would I design my study differently to be better able to answer the questions I want to answer? (The ways in which your study falls short of this will point to its limitations.)

2. Are there design issues that get in the way of my being able to draw causal conclusions?

3. Are there sampling issues that get in the way of my being able to generalize my findings?

4. Are there issues related to the measures I’m using or the methods I’m using to collect data? Do I have concerns about participants telling the truth or being able to provide accurate responses to my questions?

5. Are there any other factors that might limit my study’s internal or external validity?

Questions that help point out your study’s delimitations :

1. What are my exclusion criteria? Who did I not include in my study, and why did I make this choice?

2. What questions did I choose not to address in my study? (Of course, the possibilities are endless here, but consider related questions that you chose not to address.)

3. In what ways did I narrow the scope of my study in order to hone in on a particular issue or question?

4. What other methodologies did I not use that might have allowed me to answer slightly different questions about the same topic?

How to Write About Limitations and Delimitations

Remember, having limitations and delimitations is not a bad thing. They’re present in even the most rigorous research. The important thing is to be aware of them and to acknowledge how they may impact your findings or the conclusions you can draw.

In fact, writing about them and acknowledging them gives you an opportunity to demonstrate that you can think critically about these aspects of your study and how they impact your findings, even if they were out of your control.

Keep in mind that your study’s limitations will likely point to important directions for future research. Therefore, when you’re getting ready to write about your recommendations for future research in your discussion, remember to refer back to your limitations section!

As you write about your delimitations in particular, remember that they are not weaknesses, and you don’t have to apologize for them. Good, strong research projects have clear boundaries. Also, keep in mind that you are the researcher and you can choose whatever delimitations you want for your study. You’re in control of the delimitations. You just have to be prepared—both in your discussion section and in your dissertation defense itself—to justify the choices you make and acknowledge how these choices impact your findings.

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Home » Limitations in Research – Types, Examples and Writing Guide

Limitations in Research – Types, Examples and Writing Guide

Table of Contents

Limitations in Research

Limitations in research refer to the factors that may affect the results, conclusions , and generalizability of a study. These limitations can arise from various sources, such as the design of the study, the sampling methods used, the measurement tools employed, and the limitations of the data analysis techniques.

Types of Limitations in Research

Types of Limitations in Research are as follows:

Sample Size Limitations

This refers to the size of the group of people or subjects that are being studied. If the sample size is too small, then the results may not be representative of the population being studied. This can lead to a lack of generalizability of the results.

Time Limitations

Time limitations can be a constraint on the research process . This could mean that the study is unable to be conducted for a long enough period of time to observe the long-term effects of an intervention, or to collect enough data to draw accurate conclusions.

Selection Bias

This refers to a type of bias that can occur when the selection of participants in a study is not random. This can lead to a biased sample that is not representative of the population being studied.

Confounding Variables

Confounding variables are factors that can influence the outcome of a study, but are not being measured or controlled for. These can lead to inaccurate conclusions or a lack of clarity in the results.

Measurement Error

This refers to inaccuracies in the measurement of variables, such as using a faulty instrument or scale. This can lead to inaccurate results or a lack of validity in the study.

Ethical Limitations

Ethical limitations refer to the ethical constraints placed on research studies. For example, certain studies may not be allowed to be conducted due to ethical concerns, such as studies that involve harm to participants.

Examples of Limitations in Research

Some Examples of Limitations in Research are as follows:

Research Title: “The Effectiveness of Machine Learning Algorithms in Predicting Customer Behavior”

Limitations:

• The study only considered a limited number of machine learning algorithms and did not explore the effectiveness of other algorithms.
• The study used a specific dataset, which may not be representative of all customer behaviors or demographics.
• The study did not consider the potential ethical implications of using machine learning algorithms in predicting customer behavior.

Research Title: “The Impact of Online Learning on Student Performance in Computer Science Courses”

• The study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have affected the results due to the unique circumstances of remote learning.
• The study only included students from a single university, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to other institutions.
• The study did not consider the impact of individual differences, such as prior knowledge or motivation, on student performance in online learning environments.

Research Title: “The Effect of Gamification on User Engagement in Mobile Health Applications”

• The study only tested a specific gamification strategy and did not explore the effectiveness of other gamification techniques.
• The study relied on self-reported measures of user engagement, which may be subject to social desirability bias or measurement errors.
• The study only included a specific demographic group (e.g., young adults) and may not be generalizable to other populations with different preferences or needs.

How to Write Limitations in Research

When writing about the limitations of a research study, it is important to be honest and clear about the potential weaknesses of your work. Here are some tips for writing about limitations in research:

• Identify the limitations: Start by identifying the potential limitations of your research. These may include sample size, selection bias, measurement error, or other issues that could affect the validity and reliability of your findings.
• Be honest and objective: When describing the limitations of your research, be honest and objective. Do not try to minimize or downplay the limitations, but also do not exaggerate them. Be clear and concise in your description of the limitations.
• Provide context: It is important to provide context for the limitations of your research. For example, if your sample size was small, explain why this was the case and how it may have affected your results. Providing context can help readers understand the limitations in a broader context.
• Discuss implications : Discuss the implications of the limitations for your research findings. For example, if there was a selection bias in your sample, explain how this may have affected the generalizability of your findings. This can help readers understand the limitations in terms of their impact on the overall validity of your research.
• Provide suggestions for future research : Finally, provide suggestions for future research that can address the limitations of your study. This can help readers understand how your research fits into the broader field and can provide a roadmap for future studies.

Purpose of Limitations in Research

There are several purposes of limitations in research. Here are some of the most important ones:

• To acknowledge the boundaries of the study : Limitations help to define the scope of the research project and set realistic expectations for the findings. They can help to clarify what the study is not intended to address.
• To identify potential sources of bias: Limitations can help researchers identify potential sources of bias in their research design, data collection, or analysis. This can help to improve the validity and reliability of the findings.
• To provide opportunities for future research: Limitations can highlight areas for future research and suggest avenues for further exploration. This can help to advance knowledge in a particular field.
• To demonstrate transparency and accountability: By acknowledging the limitations of their research, researchers can demonstrate transparency and accountability to their readers, peers, and funders. This can help to build trust and credibility in the research community.
• To encourage critical thinking: Limitations can encourage readers to critically evaluate the study’s findings and consider alternative explanations or interpretations. This can help to promote a more nuanced and sophisticated understanding of the topic under investigation.

When to Write Limitations in Research

Limitations should be included in research when they help to provide a more complete understanding of the study’s results and implications. A limitation is any factor that could potentially impact the accuracy, reliability, or generalizability of the study’s findings.

It is important to identify and discuss limitations in research because doing so helps to ensure that the results are interpreted appropriately and that any conclusions drawn are supported by the available evidence. Limitations can also suggest areas for future research, highlight potential biases or confounding factors that may have affected the results, and provide context for the study’s findings.

Generally, limitations should be discussed in the conclusion section of a research paper or thesis, although they may also be mentioned in other sections, such as the introduction or methods. The specific limitations that are discussed will depend on the nature of the study, the research question being investigated, and the data that was collected.

Examples of limitations that might be discussed in research include sample size limitations, data collection methods, the validity and reliability of measures used, and potential biases or confounding factors that could have affected the results. It is important to note that limitations should not be used as a justification for poor research design or methodology, but rather as a way to enhance the understanding and interpretation of the study’s findings.

Importance of Limitations in Research

Here are some reasons why limitations are important in research:

• Enhances the credibility of research: Limitations highlight the potential weaknesses and threats to validity, which helps readers to understand the scope and boundaries of the study. This improves the credibility of research by acknowledging its limitations and providing a clear picture of what can and cannot be concluded from the study.
• Facilitates replication: By highlighting the limitations, researchers can provide detailed information about the study’s methodology, data collection, and analysis. This information helps other researchers to replicate the study and test the validity of the findings, which enhances the reliability of research.
• Guides future research : Limitations provide insights into areas for future research by identifying gaps or areas that require further investigation. This can help researchers to design more comprehensive and effective studies that build on existing knowledge.
• Provides a balanced view: Limitations help to provide a balanced view of the research by highlighting both strengths and weaknesses. This ensures that readers have a clear understanding of the study’s limitations and can make informed decisions about the generalizability and applicability of the findings.

Advantages of Limitations in Research

Here are some potential advantages of limitations in research:

• Focus : Limitations can help researchers focus their study on a specific area or population, which can make the research more relevant and useful.
• Realism : Limitations can make a study more realistic by reflecting the practical constraints and challenges of conducting research in the real world.
• Innovation : Limitations can spur researchers to be more innovative and creative in their research design and methodology, as they search for ways to work around the limitations.
• Rigor : Limitations can actually increase the rigor and credibility of a study, as researchers are forced to carefully consider the potential sources of bias and error, and address them to the best of their abilities.
• Generalizability : Limitations can actually improve the generalizability of a study by ensuring that it is not overly focused on a specific sample or situation, and that the results can be applied more broadly.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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How to Present the Limitations of the Study Examples

What are the limitations of a study?

The limitations of a study are the elements of methodology or study design that impact the interpretation of your research results. The limitations essentially detail any flaws or shortcomings in your study. Study limitations can exist due to constraints on research design, methodology, materials, etc., and these factors may impact the findings of your study. However, researchers are often reluctant to discuss the limitations of their study in their papers, feeling that bringing up limitations may undermine its research value in the eyes of readers and reviewers.

In spite of the impact it might have (and perhaps because of it) you should clearly acknowledge any limitations in your research paper in order to show readers—whether journal editors, other researchers, or the general public—that you are aware of these limitations and to explain how they affect the conclusions that can be drawn from the research.

In this article, we provide some guidelines for writing about research limitations, show examples of some frequently seen study limitations, and recommend techniques for presenting this information. And after you have finished drafting and have received manuscript editing for your work, you still might want to follow this up with academic editing before submitting your work to your target journal.

Why do I need to include limitations of research in my paper?

Although limitations address the potential weaknesses of a study, writing about them toward the end of your paper actually strengthens your study by identifying any problems before other researchers or reviewers find them.

Furthermore, pointing out study limitations shows that you’ve considered the impact of research weakness thoroughly and have an in-depth understanding of your research topic. Since all studies face limitations, being honest and detailing these limitations will impress researchers and reviewers more than ignoring them.

Where should I put the limitations of the study in my paper?

Some limitations might be evident to researchers before the start of the study, while others might become clear while you are conducting the research. Whether these limitations are anticipated or not, and whether they are due to research design or to methodology, they should be clearly identified and discussed in the discussion section —the final section of your paper. Most journals now require you to include a discussion of potential limitations of your work, and many journals now ask you to place this “limitations section” at the very end of your article. 

Some journals ask you to also discuss the strengths of your work in this section, and some allow you to freely choose where to include that information in your discussion section—make sure to always check the author instructions of your target journal before you finalize a manuscript and submit it for peer review .

Limitations of the Study Examples

There are several reasons why limitations of research might exist. The two main categories of limitations are those that result from the methodology and those that result from issues with the researcher(s).

Common Methodological Limitations of Studies

Limitations of research due to methodological problems can be addressed by clearly and directly identifying the potential problem and suggesting ways in which this could have been addressed—and SHOULD be addressed in future studies. The following are some major potential methodological issues that can impact the conclusions researchers can draw from the research.

Issues with research samples and selection

Sampling errors occur when a probability sampling method is used to select a sample, but that sample does not reflect the general population or appropriate population concerned. This results in limitations of your study known as “sample bias” or “selection bias.”

For example, if you conducted a survey to obtain your research results, your samples (participants) were asked to respond to the survey questions. However, you might have had limited ability to gain access to the appropriate type or geographic scope of participants. In this case, the people who responded to your survey questions may not truly be a random sample.

Insufficient sample size for statistical measurements

When conducting a study, it is important to have a sufficient sample size in order to draw valid conclusions. The larger the sample, the more precise your results will be. If your sample size is too small, it will be difficult to identify significant relationships in the data.

Normally, statistical tests require a larger sample size to ensure that the sample is considered representative of a population and that the statistical result can be generalized to a larger population. It is a good idea to understand how to choose an appropriate sample size before you conduct your research by using scientific calculation tools—in fact, many journals now require such estimation to be included in every manuscript that is sent out for review.

Lack of previous research studies on the topic

Citing and referencing prior research studies constitutes the basis of the literature review for your thesis or study, and these prior studies provide the theoretical foundations for the research question you are investigating. However, depending on the scope of your research topic, prior research studies that are relevant to your thesis might be limited.

When there is very little or no prior research on a specific topic, you may need to develop an entirely new research typology. In this case, discovering a limitation can be considered an important opportunity to identify literature gaps and to present the need for further development in the area of study.

Methods/instruments/techniques used to collect the data

After you complete your analysis of the research findings (in the discussion section), you might realize that the manner in which you have collected the data or the ways in which you have measured variables has limited your ability to conduct a thorough analysis of the results.

For example, you might realize that you should have addressed your survey questions from another viable perspective, or that you were not able to include an important question in the survey. In these cases, you should acknowledge the deficiency or deficiencies by stating a need for future researchers to revise their specific methods for collecting data that includes these missing elements.

Common Limitations of the Researcher(s)

Study limitations that arise from situations relating to the researcher or researchers (whether the direct fault of the individuals or not) should also be addressed and dealt with, and remedies to decrease these limitations—both hypothetically in your study, and practically in future studies—should be proposed.

Limited access to data

If your research involved surveying certain people or organizations, you might have faced the problem of having limited access to these respondents. Due to this limited access, you might need to redesign or restructure your research in a different way. In this case, explain the reasons for limited access and be sure that your finding is still reliable and valid despite this limitation.

Time constraints

Just as students have deadlines to turn in their class papers, academic researchers might also have to meet deadlines for submitting a manuscript to a journal or face other time constraints related to their research (e.g., participants are only available during a certain period; funding runs out; collaborators move to a new institution). The time available to study a research problem and to measure change over time might be constrained by such practical issues. If time constraints negatively impacted your study in any way, acknowledge this impact by mentioning a need for a future study (e.g., a longitudinal study) to answer this research problem.

Conflicts arising from cultural bias and other personal issues

Researchers might hold biased views due to their cultural backgrounds or perspectives of certain phenomena, and this can affect a study’s legitimacy. Also, it is possible that researchers will have biases toward data and results that only support their hypotheses or arguments. In order to avoid these problems, the author(s) of a study should examine whether the way the research problem was stated and the data-gathering process was carried out appropriately.

Steps for Organizing Your Study Limitations Section

When you discuss the limitations of your study, don’t simply list and describe your limitations—explain how these limitations have influenced your research findings. There might be multiple limitations in your study, but you only need to point out and explain those that directly relate to and impact how you address your research questions.

We suggest that you divide your limitations section into three steps: (1) identify the study limitations; (2) explain how they impact your study in detail; and (3) propose a direction for future studies and present alternatives. By following this sequence when discussing your study’s limitations, you will be able to clearly demonstrate your study’s weakness without undermining the quality and integrity of your research.

Step 1. Identify the limitation(s) of the study

• This part should comprise around 10%-20% of your discussion of study limitations.

The first step is to identify the particular limitation(s) that affected your study. There are many possible limitations of research that can affect your study, but you don’t need to write a long review of all possible study limitations. A 200-500 word critique is an appropriate length for a research limitations section. In the beginning of this section, identify what limitations your study has faced and how important these limitations are.

You only need to identify limitations that had the greatest potential impact on: (1) the quality of your findings, and (2) your ability to answer your research question.

Step 2. Explain these study limitations in detail

• This part should comprise around 60-70% of your discussion of limitations.

After identifying your research limitations, it’s time to explain the nature of the limitations and how they potentially impacted your study. For example, when you conduct quantitative research, a lack of probability sampling is an important issue that you should mention. On the other hand, when you conduct qualitative research, the inability to generalize the research findings could be an issue that deserves mention.

Explain the role these limitations played on the results and implications of the research and justify the choice you made in using this “limiting” methodology or other action in your research. Also, make sure that these limitations didn’t undermine the quality of your dissertation .

Step 3. Propose a direction for future studies and present alternatives (optional)

• This part should comprise around 10-20% of your discussion of limitations.

After acknowledging the limitations of the research, you need to discuss some possible ways to overcome these limitations in future studies. One way to do this is to present alternative methodologies and ways to avoid issues with, or “fill in the gaps of” the limitations of this study you have presented.  Discuss both the pros and cons of these alternatives and clearly explain why researchers should choose these approaches.

Make sure you are current on approaches used by prior studies and the impacts they have had on their findings. Cite review articles or scientific bodies that have recommended these approaches and why. This might be evidence in support of the approach you chose, or it might be the reason you consider your choices to be included as limitations. This process can act as a justification for your approach and a defense of your decision to take it while acknowledging the feasibility of other approaches.

P hrases and Tips for Introducing Your Study Limitations in the Discussion Section

The following phrases are frequently used to introduce the limitations of the study:

• “There may be some possible limitations in this study.”
• “The findings of this study have to be seen in light of some limitations.”
•  “The first is the…The second limitation concerns the…”
•  “The empirical results reported herein should be considered in the light of some limitations.”
• “This research, however, is subject to several limitations.”
• “The primary limitation to the generalization of these results is…”
• “Nonetheless, these results must be interpreted with caution and a number of limitations should be borne in mind.”
• “As with the majority of studies, the design of the current study is subject to limitations.”
• “There are two major limitations in this study that could be addressed in future research. First, the study focused on …. Second ….”

For more articles on research writing and the journal submissions and publication process, visit Wordvice’s Academic Resources page.

And be sure to receive professional English editing and proofreading services , including paper editing services , for your journal manuscript before submitting it to journal editors.

Wordvice Resources

Proofreading & Editing Guide

Writing the Results Section for a Research Paper

How to Write a Literature Review

Research Writing Tips: How to Draft a Powerful Discussion Section

How to Captivate Journal Readers with a Strong Introduction

Tips That Will Make Your Abstract a Success!

APA In-Text Citation Guide for Research Writing

Additional Resources

• Diving Deeper into Limitations and Delimitations (PhD student)
• Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: Limitations of the Study (USC Library)
• Research Limitations (Research Methodology)
• How to Present Limitations and Alternatives (UMASS)

Article References

Pearson-Stuttard, J., Kypridemos, C., Collins, B., Mozaffarian, D., Huang, Y., Bandosz, P.,…Micha, R. (2018). Estimating the health and economic effects of the proposed US Food and Drug Administration voluntary sodium reformulation: Microsimulation cost-effectiveness analysis. PLOS. https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002551

Xu, W.L, Pedersen, N.L., Keller, L., Kalpouzos, G., Wang, H.X., Graff, C,. Fratiglioni, L. (2015). HHEX_23 AA Genotype Exacerbates Effect of Diabetes on Dementia and Alzheimer Disease: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study. PLOS. Retrieved from https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001853

Writing Limitations of Research Study — 4 Reasons Why It Is Important!

It is not unusual for researchers to come across the term limitations of research during their academic paper writing. More often this is interpreted as something terrible. However, when it comes to research study, limitations can help structure the research study better. Therefore, do not underestimate significance of limitations of research study.

Allow us to take you through the context of how to evaluate the limits of your research and conclude an impactful relevance to your results.

Table of Contents

What Are the Limitations of a Research Study?

Every research has its limit and these limitations arise due to restrictions in methodology or research design.  This could impact your entire research or the research paper you wish to publish. Unfortunately, most researchers choose not to discuss their limitations of research fearing it will affect the value of their article in the eyes of readers.

However, it is very important to discuss your study limitations and show it to your target audience (other researchers, journal editors, peer reviewers etc.). It is very important that you provide an explanation of how your research limitations may affect the conclusions and opinions drawn from your research. Moreover, when as an author you state the limitations of research, it shows that you have investigated all the weaknesses of your study and have a deep understanding of the subject. Being honest could impress your readers and mark your study as a sincere effort in research.

Why and Where Should You Include the Research Limitations?

The main goal of your research is to address your research objectives. Conduct experiments, get results and explain those results, and finally justify your research question . It is best to mention the limitations of research in the discussion paragraph of your research article.

At the very beginning of this paragraph, immediately after highlighting the strengths of the research methodology, you should write down your limitations. You can discuss specific points from your research limitations as suggestions for further research in the conclusion of your thesis.

1. Common Limitations of the Researchers

Limitations that are related to the researcher must be mentioned. This will help you gain transparency with your readers. Furthermore, you could provide suggestions on decreasing these limitations in you and your future studies.

2. Limited Access to Information

Your work may involve some institutions and individuals in research, and sometimes you may have problems accessing these institutions. Therefore, you need to redesign and rewrite your work. You must explain your readers the reason for limited access.

3. Limited Time

All researchers are bound by their deadlines when it comes to completing their studies. Sometimes, time constraints can affect your research negatively. However, the best practice is to acknowledge it and mention a requirement for future study to solve the research problem in a better way.

4. Conflict over Biased Views and Personal Issues

Biased views can affect the research. In fact, researchers end up choosing only those results and data that support their main argument, keeping aside the other loose ends of the research.

Types of Limitations of Research

Before beginning your research study, know that there are certain limitations to what you are testing or possible research results. There are different types that researchers may encounter, and they all have unique characteristics, such as:

1. Research Design Limitations

Certain restrictions on your research or available procedures may affect your final results or research outputs. You may have formulated research goals and objectives too broadly. However, this can help you understand how you can narrow down the formulation of research goals and objectives, thereby increasing the focus of your study.

2. Impact Limitations

Even if your research has excellent statistics and a strong design, it can suffer from the influence of the following factors:

• Presence of increasing findings as researched
• Being population specific
• A strong regional focus.

3. Data or statistical limitations

In some cases, it is impossible to collect sufficient data for research or very difficult to get access to the data. This could lead to incomplete conclusion to your study. Moreover, this insufficiency in data could be the outcome of your study design. The unclear, shabby research outline could produce more problems in interpreting your findings.

How to Correctly Structure Your Research Limitations?

There are strict guidelines for narrowing down research questions, wherein you could justify and explain potential weaknesses of your academic paper. You could go through these basic steps to get a well-structured clarity of research limitations:

• Declare that you wish to identify your limitations of research and explain their importance,
• Provide the necessary depth, explain their nature, and justify your study choices.
• Write how you are suggesting that it is possible to overcome them in the future.

In this section, your readers will see that you are aware of the potential weaknesses in your business, understand them and offer effective solutions, and it will positively strengthen your article as you clarify all limitations of research to your target audience.

Know that you cannot be perfect and there is no individual without flaws. You could use the limitations of research as a great opportunity to take on a new challenge and improve the future of research. In a typical academic paper, research limitations may relate to:

1. Formulating your goals and objectives

If you formulate goals and objectives too broadly, your work will have some shortcomings. In this case, specify effective methods or ways to narrow down the formula of goals and aim to increase your level of study focus.

2. Application of your data collection methods in research

If you do not have experience in primary data collection, there is a risk that there will be flaws in the implementation of your methods. It is necessary to accept this, and learn and educate yourself to understand data collection methods.

3. Sample sizes

This depends on the nature of problem you choose. Sample size is of a greater importance in quantitative studies as opposed to qualitative ones. If your sample size is too small, statistical tests cannot identify significant relationships or connections within a given data set.

You could point out that other researchers should base the same study on a larger sample size to get more accurate results.

4. The absence of previous studies in the field you have chosen

Writing a literature review is an important step in any scientific study because it helps researchers determine the scope of current work in the chosen field. It is a major foundation for any researcher who must use them to achieve a set of specific goals or objectives.

However, if you are focused on the most current and evolving research problem or a very narrow research problem, there may be very little prior research on your topic. For example, if you chose to explore the role of Bitcoin as the currency of the future, you may not find tons of scientific papers addressing the research problem as Bitcoins are only a new phenomenon.

It is important that you learn to identify research limitations examples at each step. Whatever field you choose, feel free to add the shortcoming of your work. This is mainly because you do not have many years of experience writing scientific papers or completing complex work. Therefore, the depth and scope of your discussions may be compromised at different levels compared to academics with a lot of expertise. Include specific points from limitations of research. Use them as suggestions for the future.

Have you ever faced a challenge of writing the limitations of research study in your paper? How did you overcome it? What ways did you follow? Were they beneficial? Let us know in the comments below!

Frequently Asked Questions

Setting limitations in our study helps to clarify the outcomes drawn from our research and enhance understanding of the subject. Moreover, it shows that the author has investigated all the weaknesses in the study.

Scope is the range and limitations of a research project which are set to define the boundaries of a project. Limitations are the impacts on the overall study due to the constraints on the research design.

Limitation in research is an impact of a constraint on the research design in the overall study. They are the flaws or weaknesses in the study, which may influence the outcome of the research.

1. Limitations in research can be written as follows: Formulate your goals and objectives 2. Analyze the chosen data collection method and the sample sizes 3. Identify your limitations of research and explain their importance 4. Provide the necessary depth, explain their nature, and justify your study choices 5. Write how you are suggesting that it is possible to overcome them in the future

Excellent article ,,,it has helped me big

This is very helpful information. It has given me an insight on how to go about my study limitations.

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Quantitative methods emphasize objective measurements and the statistical, mathematical, or numerical analysis of data collected through polls, questionnaires, and surveys, or by manipulating pre-existing statistical data using computational techniques . Quantitative research focuses on gathering numerical data and generalizing it across groups of people or to explain a particular phenomenon.

Babbie, Earl R. The Practice of Social Research . 12th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage, 2010; Muijs, Daniel. Doing Quantitative Research in Education with SPSS . 2nd edition. London: SAGE Publications, 2010.

Need Help Locating Statistics?

Resources for locating data and statistics can be found here:

Statistics & Data Research Guide

Characteristics of Quantitative Research

Your goal in conducting quantitative research study is to determine the relationship between one thing [an independent variable] and another [a dependent or outcome variable] within a population. Quantitative research designs are either descriptive [subjects usually measured once] or experimental [subjects measured before and after a treatment]. A descriptive study establishes only associations between variables; an experimental study establishes causality.

Quantitative research deals in numbers, logic, and an objective stance. Quantitative research focuses on numeric and unchanging data and detailed, convergent reasoning rather than divergent reasoning [i.e., the generation of a variety of ideas about a research problem in a spontaneous, free-flowing manner].

Its main characteristics are :

• The data is usually gathered using structured research instruments.
• The results are based on larger sample sizes that are representative of the population.
• The research study can usually be replicated or repeated, given its high reliability.
• Researcher has a clearly defined research question to which objective answers are sought.
• All aspects of the study are carefully designed before data is collected.
• Data are in the form of numbers and statistics, often arranged in tables, charts, figures, or other non-textual forms.
• Project can be used to generalize concepts more widely, predict future results, or investigate causal relationships.
• Researcher uses tools, such as questionnaires or computer software, to collect numerical data.

The overarching aim of a quantitative research study is to classify features, count them, and construct statistical models in an attempt to explain what is observed.

  Things to keep in mind when reporting the results of a study using quantitative methods :

• Explain the data collected and their statistical treatment as well as all relevant results in relation to the research problem you are investigating. Interpretation of results is not appropriate in this section.
• Report unanticipated events that occurred during your data collection. Explain how the actual analysis differs from the planned analysis. Explain your handling of missing data and why any missing data does not undermine the validity of your analysis.
• Explain the techniques you used to "clean" your data set.
• Choose a minimally sufficient statistical procedure ; provide a rationale for its use and a reference for it. Specify any computer programs used.
• Describe the assumptions for each procedure and the steps you took to ensure that they were not violated.
• When using inferential statistics , provide the descriptive statistics, confidence intervals, and sample sizes for each variable as well as the value of the test statistic, its direction, the degrees of freedom, and the significance level [report the actual p value].
• Avoid inferring causality , particularly in nonrandomized designs or without further experimentation.
• Use tables to provide exact values ; use figures to convey global effects. Keep figures small in size; include graphic representations of confidence intervals whenever possible.
• Always tell the reader what to look for in tables and figures .

NOTE:   When using pre-existing statistical data gathered and made available by anyone other than yourself [e.g., government agency], you still must report on the methods that were used to gather the data and describe any missing data that exists and, if there is any, provide a clear explanation why the missing data does not undermine the validity of your final analysis.

Babbie, Earl R. The Practice of Social Research . 12th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage, 2010; Brians, Craig Leonard et al. Empirical Political Analysis: Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods . 8th ed. Boston, MA: Longman, 2011; McNabb, David E. Research Methods in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches . 2nd ed. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2008; Quantitative Research Methods. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Singh, Kultar. Quantitative Social Research Methods . Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2007.

Basic Research Design for Quantitative Studies

Before designing a quantitative research study, you must decide whether it will be descriptive or experimental because this will dictate how you gather, analyze, and interpret the results. A descriptive study is governed by the following rules: subjects are generally measured once; the intention is to only establish associations between variables; and, the study may include a sample population of hundreds or thousands of subjects to ensure that a valid estimate of a generalized relationship between variables has been obtained. An experimental design includes subjects measured before and after a particular treatment, the sample population may be very small and purposefully chosen, and it is intended to establish causality between variables. Introduction The introduction to a quantitative study is usually written in the present tense and from the third person point of view. It covers the following information:

• Identifies the research problem -- as with any academic study, you must state clearly and concisely the research problem being investigated.
• Reviews the literature -- review scholarship on the topic, synthesizing key themes and, if necessary, noting studies that have used similar methods of inquiry and analysis. Note where key gaps exist and how your study helps to fill these gaps or clarifies existing knowledge.
• Describes the theoretical framework -- provide an outline of the theory or hypothesis underpinning your study. If necessary, define unfamiliar or complex terms, concepts, or ideas and provide the appropriate background information to place the research problem in proper context [e.g., historical, cultural, economic, etc.].

Methodology The methods section of a quantitative study should describe how each objective of your study will be achieved. Be sure to provide enough detail to enable the reader can make an informed assessment of the methods being used to obtain results associated with the research problem. The methods section should be presented in the past tense.

• Study population and sampling -- where did the data come from; how robust is it; note where gaps exist or what was excluded. Note the procedures used for their selection;
• Data collection – describe the tools and methods used to collect information and identify the variables being measured; describe the methods used to obtain the data; and, note if the data was pre-existing [i.e., government data] or you gathered it yourself. If you gathered it yourself, describe what type of instrument you used and why. Note that no data set is perfect--describe any limitations in methods of gathering data.
• Data analysis -- describe the procedures for processing and analyzing the data. If appropriate, describe the specific instruments of analysis used to study each research objective, including mathematical techniques and the type of computer software used to manipulate the data.

Results The finding of your study should be written objectively and in a succinct and precise format. In quantitative studies, it is common to use graphs, tables, charts, and other non-textual elements to help the reader understand the data. Make sure that non-textual elements do not stand in isolation from the text but are being used to supplement the overall description of the results and to help clarify key points being made. Further information about how to effectively present data using charts and graphs can be found here .

• Statistical analysis -- how did you analyze the data? What were the key findings from the data? The findings should be present in a logical, sequential order. Describe but do not interpret these trends or negative results; save that for the discussion section. The results should be presented in the past tense.

Discussion Discussions should be analytic, logical, and comprehensive. The discussion should meld together your findings in relation to those identified in the literature review, and placed within the context of the theoretical framework underpinning the study. The discussion should be presented in the present tense.

• Interpretation of results -- reiterate the research problem being investigated and compare and contrast the findings with the research questions underlying the study. Did they affirm predicted outcomes or did the data refute it?
• Description of trends, comparison of groups, or relationships among variables -- describe any trends that emerged from your analysis and explain all unanticipated and statistical insignificant findings.
• Discussion of implications – what is the meaning of your results? Highlight key findings based on the overall results and note findings that you believe are important. How have the results helped fill gaps in understanding the research problem?
• Limitations -- describe any limitations or unavoidable bias in your study and, if necessary, note why these limitations did not inhibit effective interpretation of the results.

Conclusion End your study by to summarizing the topic and provide a final comment and assessment of the study.

• Summary of findings – synthesize the answers to your research questions. Do not report any statistical data here; just provide a narrative summary of the key findings and describe what was learned that you did not know before conducting the study.
• Recommendations – if appropriate to the aim of the assignment, tie key findings with policy recommendations or actions to be taken in practice.
• Future research – note the need for future research linked to your study’s limitations or to any remaining gaps in the literature that were not addressed in your study.

Black, Thomas R. Doing Quantitative Research in the Social Sciences: An Integrated Approach to Research Design, Measurement and Statistics . London: Sage, 1999; Gay,L. R. and Peter Airasain. Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Applications . 7th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merril Prentice Hall, 2003; Hector, Anestine. An Overview of Quantitative Research in Composition and TESOL . Department of English, Indiana University of Pennsylvania; Hopkins, Will G. “Quantitative Research Design.” Sportscience 4, 1 (2000); "A Strategy for Writing Up Research Results. The Structure, Format, Content, and Style of a Journal-Style Scientific Paper." Department of Biology. Bates College; Nenty, H. Johnson. "Writing a Quantitative Research Thesis." International Journal of Educational Science 1 (2009): 19-32; Ouyang, Ronghua (John). Basic Inquiry of Quantitative Research . Kennesaw State University.

Strengths of Using Quantitative Methods

Quantitative researchers try to recognize and isolate specific variables contained within the study framework, seek correlation, relationships and causality, and attempt to control the environment in which the data is collected to avoid the risk of variables, other than the one being studied, accounting for the relationships identified.

Among the specific strengths of using quantitative methods to study social science research problems:

• Allows for a broader study, involving a greater number of subjects, and enhancing the generalization of the results;
• Allows for greater objectivity and accuracy of results. Generally, quantitative methods are designed to provide summaries of data that support generalizations about the phenomenon under study. In order to accomplish this, quantitative research usually involves few variables and many cases, and employs prescribed procedures to ensure validity and reliability;
• Applying well established standards means that the research can be replicated, and then analyzed and compared with similar studies;
• You can summarize vast sources of information and make comparisons across categories and over time; and,
• Personal bias can be avoided by keeping a 'distance' from participating subjects and using accepted computational techniques .

Babbie, Earl R. The Practice of Social Research . 12th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage, 2010; Brians, Craig Leonard et al. Empirical Political Analysis: Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods . 8th ed. Boston, MA: Longman, 2011; McNabb, David E. Research Methods in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches . 2nd ed. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2008; Singh, Kultar. Quantitative Social Research Methods . Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2007.

Limitations of Using Quantitative Methods

Quantitative methods presume to have an objective approach to studying research problems, where data is controlled and measured, to address the accumulation of facts, and to determine the causes of behavior. As a consequence, the results of quantitative research may be statistically significant but are often humanly insignificant.

Some specific limitations associated with using quantitative methods to study research problems in the social sciences include:

• Quantitative data is more efficient and able to test hypotheses, but may miss contextual detail;
• Uses a static and rigid approach and so employs an inflexible process of discovery;
• The development of standard questions by researchers can lead to "structural bias" and false representation, where the data actually reflects the view of the researcher instead of the participating subject;
• Results provide less detail on behavior, attitudes, and motivation;
• Researcher may collect a much narrower and sometimes superficial dataset;
• Results are limited as they provide numerical descriptions rather than detailed narrative and generally provide less elaborate accounts of human perception;
• The research is often carried out in an unnatural, artificial environment so that a level of control can be applied to the exercise. This level of control might not normally be in place in the real world thus yielding "laboratory results" as opposed to "real world results"; and,
• Preset answers will not necessarily reflect how people really feel about a subject and, in some cases, might just be the closest match to the preconceived hypothesis.

Research Tip

Finding Examples of How to Apply Different Types of Research Methods

SAGE publications is a major publisher of studies about how to design and conduct research in the social and behavioral sciences. Their SAGE Research Methods Online and Cases database includes contents from books, articles, encyclopedias, handbooks, and videos covering social science research design and methods including the complete Little Green Book Series of Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences and the Little Blue Book Series of Qualitative Research techniques. The database also includes case studies outlining the research methods used in real research projects. This is an excellent source for finding definitions of key terms and descriptions of research design and practice, techniques of data gathering, analysis, and reporting, and information about theories of research [e.g., grounded theory]. The database covers both qualitative and quantitative research methods as well as mixed methods approaches to conducting research.

SAGE Research Methods Online and Cases

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Scientific Research and Methodology : An introduction to quantitative research and statistics

9 study design limitations.

So far, you have learnt to ask a RQ and designs studies. In this chapter , you will learn to identify:

• limitations to internally valid.
• limitations to externally valid.
• limitations to ecologically valid.

9.1 Introduction

The type of study and the study design determine how the results of the study should be interpreted. Ideally, a study would be perfectly externally and internally valid; in practice this is very difficult to achieve. Practically every study has limitations. The results of a study should be interpreted in light of these limitations. Limitations are not necessarily problems .

Limitations generally can be discussed through three components:

• Internal validity (Sect. 3.8 ): Discuss any limitations to internal validity due to the study design (such as identifying possible confounding variables). This is related to the effectiveness of the study within the sample (Sect. 9.2 ).
• External validity (Sect. 3.9 ): Discuss how well the sample represents the intended population. This is related to the generalisability of the study to the intended population (Sect. 9.3 ).
• Ecological validity : Discuss how well the study methods, materials and context approximate the real situation being studied. This is related to the practicality of the results to real life (Sect. 9.4 ).

All these issues should be addressed when considering the study limitations.

Almost every study has limitations. Identifying potential limitations, and discussing the likely impact they have on the interpretation of the study results, is important and ethical.

Example 9.1 Delarue et al. ( 2019 ) discuss studies where subjects rate the taste of new food products. They note that taste-testing studies should (p. 78):

... allow generalizing the conclusions obtained with a consumer sample [...] to the general targeted population [i.e., external validity]... tests should be reliable in terms of accuracy and replicability [i.e., internal validity].

However, even with good internal and external validity, these studies often result in a 'high rate of failures of new launched products'. That is, the studies do not replicate the real world, and so lack ecological validity .

9.2 Limitations: internal validity

Internal validity refers to the extent to which a cause-and-effect relationship can be established in a study, eliminating other possible explanations (Sect. 3.8 ). A discussion of the limitations of internal validity should cover, as appropriate: possible confounding variables; the impact of the Hawthorne, observer, placebo and carry-over effects; the impact of any other design decisions.

If any of these issues are likely to compromise internal validity, the implications on the interpretation of the results should be discussed. For example, if the participants were not blinded, this should be clearly stated, and the conclusion should indicate that the individuals in the study may have behaved differently than usual (the Hawthorne effect).

Example 9.2 (Study limitations) A study ( Axmann et al. 2020 ) randomly allocated Ugandan farmers to receive, or not receive, hybrid maize seeds to improve internal validity. One potential threat to internal validity was that farmers receiving the hybrid seeds could share their seeds with their neighbours.

Hence, the researchers contacted the \(75\) farmers allocated to receive the hybrid seeds; none of the contacted farmers reported selling or giving seeds to other farmers. This extra step increased the internal validity of the study.

Maximizing internal validity in observational studies is more difficult than in experimental studies (e.g., random allocation is not possible). The internal validity of experimental studies involving people is often compromised because people must be informed that they are participating in a study.

Example 9.3 (Internal validity) In a study of the hand-hygiene practices of paramedics ( Barr et al. 2017 ) , self -reported hand-hygiene practices were very different than what was reported by peers . That is, how people self-report their behaviours may not align with how they actually behave, which influence the internal validity of the study.

A study evaluated using a new therapy on elderly men, and listed some limitations of their study:

... the researcher was not blinded and had prior knowledge of the research aims, disease status, and intervention. As such, these could all have influenced data recording [...] The potential of reporting bias and observer bias could be reduced by implementing blinding in future studies. --- Kabata-Piżuch et al. ( 2021 ) , p. 10

9.3 Limitations: external validity

External validity refers to the ability to generalise the findings made from the sample to the entire intended population (Sect.  3.9 ). For a study to be externally valid, it must first be internally valid: if the study of not effective in the sample studied (i.e., internally valid), the results may not apply to the intended population either.

External validity refers to how well the sample is likely to represent the intended population in the RQ.

If the population is Alaskans, then the study is externally valid if the sample is representative of Alaskans. The results do not have to apply to people in the rest of the United States (though this can be commented on, too). The intended population is Alaskans .

External validity depends on how the sample was obtained. Results from random samples (Sects.  5.4 to  5.8 ) are likely to generalise to the population and be externally valid. (The analyses in this book assume all samples are simple random samples .) Furthermore, results from approximately representative samples (Sect.  5.9 ) may generalise to the population and be externally valid if those in the study are not obviously different than those not in the study.

Example 9.4 (External validity) A New Zealand study ( Gammon et al. 2012 ) identified (for well-documented reasons) a population of interest: 'women of South Asian origin living in New Zealand' (p. 21). The women in the sample were 'women of South Asian origin [...] recruited using a convenience sample method throughout Auckland' (p. 21).

The results may not generalise to the intended population ( all New Zealand women) because all the women in the sample came from Auckland, and the sample was not a random sample.

Example 9.5 (Using biochar) A study of growing ginger using biochar ( Farrar et al. 2018 ) used one farm at Mt Mellum, Australia. The results may only generalise to growing ginger at Mt Mellum, but since ginger is usually grown in similar types of climates and soils, the results may apply to other ginger farms also.

9.4 Limitations: ecological validity

The likely practicality of the study results in the real world should also be discussed. This is called ecological validity .

Definition 9.1 (Ecological validity) A study is ecologically valid if the study methods, materials and context closely approximate the real situation of interest.

Studies don't need to be ecologically valid to be useful; much can be learnt under special conditions, as long as the potential limitations are understood when applying the results to the real world. The ecological validity of experimental studies may be compromised because the experimental conditions are sometimes artificially controlled (for good reason).

Example 9.6 (Ecological validity) Consider a study to determine the proportion of people that buy coffee in a reusable cup. People could be asked about their behaviour . This study may not be ecologically valid, as how people act may not align with how they say they will act.

An alternative study could watch people buy coffees at various coffee shops, and record what people do in practice. This second study is more likely to be ecologically valid , as real-world behaviour is observed.

A study observed the effect of using high-mounted rear brake lights ( Kahane and Hertz 1998 ) , which are now commonplace. The American study showed that such lights reduced rear-end collisions by about \(50\) %. However, after making these lights mandatory, rear-end collisions reduced by only \(5\) %. Why?

9.5 Study types and limitations

Experimental studies, in general, have higher internal validity than observational studies, since more of the study design in under the control of the researchers; for example, random allocation of treatments is possible to minimise confounding.

Only well-conducted experimental studies can show cause-and-effect relationships.

However, experimental studies may suffer from poor ecological validity; for instance, laboratory experiments are often conducted under controlled temperature and humidity. Many experiments also require that people be told about being in a study (due to ethics), and so internal validity may be comprised (the Hawthorne effect).

Example 9.7 (Retrofitting) In a study of retro-fitting houses with energy-saving devices, Giandomenico, Papineau, and Rivers ( 2022 ) found large discrepancies in savings for observational studies ( \(12.2\) %) and experimental studies ( \(6.2\) %). The authors say that 'this finding reinforces the importance of using study designs with high internal validity to evaluate program savings' (p. 692).

9.6 Chapter summary

The limitations in a study need to be identified, and may be related to:

• internal validity (effectiveness): how well the study is conducted within the sample, isolating the relationship of interest.
• external validity (generalisability): how well the sample results are likely to apply to the intended population.
• ecological validity (practicality): how well the results may apply to the real-world situation.
• the type of study.

9.7 Quick review questions

Are the following statements true or false ?

• When interpreting the results of studies, the steps taken to maximize internal validity should be evaluated TRUE FALSE
• If studies are not externally valid, then they are not useful. TRUE FALSE
• When interpreting the results of studies, the steps taken to maximize external validity do not need to be evaluated TRUE FALSE
• When interpreting the results of studies, ecological validity is about the impact of the study on the environment. TRUE FALSE

9.8 Exercises

Selected answers are available in App.  E .

Exercise 9.1 A research study examined how people can save energy through lighting choices ( Gentile 2022 ) . The study states (p. 9) that the results 'are limited to the specific study and cannot be easily projected to other similar settings'.

What type of validity is being discussed here?

Exercise 9.2 Fill the blanks with the correct word: internal , external or ecological .

When interpreting the results of studies, we consider the practicality ( internal external ecological validity), the generalizability ( internal external ecological validity) and the effectiveness ( internal external ecological validity).

Exercise 9.3 A student project at the university where I work posed the RQ:

Among university students on-campus, is the percentage of word retention higher in male students than female students?

When discussing external validity , the students stated:

We cannot say whether or not the general public have better or worse word retention compared to the students that we will be studying.

Why is the statement not relevant in a discussion of external validity?

Exercise 9.4 Researchers conducted an experimental study ( Yeh et al. 2018 ) to 'determine if using a parachute prevents death or major traumatic injury when jumping from an aircraft'.

The researchers randomised \(23\) volunteers into one of two groups: wearing a parachute, or wearing an empty backpack. The response variable was a measurement of death or major traumatic injury upon landing. From the study, death or major injury was the same in both groups (0% for each group). However, the study used 'small stationary aircraft on the ground, suggesting cautious extrapolation to high altitude jumps' (p. 1).

Comment on the internal, external and ecological validity.

Exercise 9.5 A study examined how well hospital patients sleep at night ( Delaney et al. 2018 ) . The researchers state that 'convenience sampling was used to recruit patients' (p. 2). Later, the researchers state (p. 7):

while most healthy individuals sleep primarily or exclusively at night, it is important to consider that patients requiring hospitalization will likely require some daytime nap periods. This study looks at sleep only in the night-time period \(22\) : \(00\) -- \(07\) : \(00\) h, without the context of daytime sleep considered.

Discuss these issues using the language introduced in this chapter.

Exercise 9.6 A study ( Botelho et al. 2019 ) examined the food choices made when subjects were asked to shop for ingredients to make a last-minute meal. Half were told to prepare a 'healthy meal', and the other half told just to prepare a 'meal'. The authors stated (p. 436):

Another limitation is that results report findings from a simulated purchase. As participants did not have to pay for their selection, actual choices could be different. Participants may also have not behaved in their usual manner since they were taking part in a research study, a situation known as the Hawthorne effect.

What type of limitation is being discussed?

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A Practical Guide to Writing Quantitative and Qualitative Research Questions and Hypotheses in Scholarly Articles

Edward barroga.

1 Department of General Education, Graduate School of Nursing Science, St. Luke’s International University, Tokyo, Japan.

Glafera Janet Matanguihan

2 Department of Biological Sciences, Messiah University, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA.

The development of research questions and the subsequent hypotheses are prerequisites to defining the main research purpose and specific objectives of a study. Consequently, these objectives determine the study design and research outcome. The development of research questions is a process based on knowledge of current trends, cutting-edge studies, and technological advances in the research field. Excellent research questions are focused and require a comprehensive literature search and in-depth understanding of the problem being investigated. Initially, research questions may be written as descriptive questions which could be developed into inferential questions. These questions must be specific and concise to provide a clear foundation for developing hypotheses. Hypotheses are more formal predictions about the research outcomes. These specify the possible results that may or may not be expected regarding the relationship between groups. Thus, research questions and hypotheses clarify the main purpose and specific objectives of the study, which in turn dictate the design of the study, its direction, and outcome. Studies developed from good research questions and hypotheses will have trustworthy outcomes with wide-ranging social and health implications.

INTRODUCTION

Scientific research is usually initiated by posing evidenced-based research questions which are then explicitly restated as hypotheses. 1 , 2 The hypotheses provide directions to guide the study, solutions, explanations, and expected results. 3 , 4 Both research questions and hypotheses are essentially formulated based on conventional theories and real-world processes, which allow the inception of novel studies and the ethical testing of ideas. 5 , 6

It is crucial to have knowledge of both quantitative and qualitative research 2 as both types of research involve writing research questions and hypotheses. 7 However, these crucial elements of research are sometimes overlooked; if not overlooked, then framed without the forethought and meticulous attention it needs. Planning and careful consideration are needed when developing quantitative or qualitative research, particularly when conceptualizing research questions and hypotheses. 4

There is a continuing need to support researchers in the creation of innovative research questions and hypotheses, as well as for journal articles that carefully review these elements. 1 When research questions and hypotheses are not carefully thought of, unethical studies and poor outcomes usually ensue. Carefully formulated research questions and hypotheses define well-founded objectives, which in turn determine the appropriate design, course, and outcome of the study. This article then aims to discuss in detail the various aspects of crafting research questions and hypotheses, with the goal of guiding researchers as they develop their own. Examples from the authors and peer-reviewed scientific articles in the healthcare field are provided to illustrate key points.

DEFINITIONS AND RELATIONSHIP OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES

A research question is what a study aims to answer after data analysis and interpretation. The answer is written in length in the discussion section of the paper. Thus, the research question gives a preview of the different parts and variables of the study meant to address the problem posed in the research question. 1 An excellent research question clarifies the research writing while facilitating understanding of the research topic, objective, scope, and limitations of the study. 5

On the other hand, a research hypothesis is an educated statement of an expected outcome. This statement is based on background research and current knowledge. 8 , 9 The research hypothesis makes a specific prediction about a new phenomenon 10 or a formal statement on the expected relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable. 3 , 11 It provides a tentative answer to the research question to be tested or explored. 4

Hypotheses employ reasoning to predict a theory-based outcome. 10 These can also be developed from theories by focusing on components of theories that have not yet been observed. 10 The validity of hypotheses is often based on the testability of the prediction made in a reproducible experiment. 8

Conversely, hypotheses can also be rephrased as research questions. Several hypotheses based on existing theories and knowledge may be needed to answer a research question. Developing ethical research questions and hypotheses creates a research design that has logical relationships among variables. These relationships serve as a solid foundation for the conduct of the study. 4 , 11 Haphazardly constructed research questions can result in poorly formulated hypotheses and improper study designs, leading to unreliable results. Thus, the formulations of relevant research questions and verifiable hypotheses are crucial when beginning research. 12

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES

Excellent research questions are specific and focused. These integrate collective data and observations to confirm or refute the subsequent hypotheses. Well-constructed hypotheses are based on previous reports and verify the research context. These are realistic, in-depth, sufficiently complex, and reproducible. More importantly, these hypotheses can be addressed and tested. 13

There are several characteristics of well-developed hypotheses. Good hypotheses are 1) empirically testable 7 , 10 , 11 , 13 ; 2) backed by preliminary evidence 9 ; 3) testable by ethical research 7 , 9 ; 4) based on original ideas 9 ; 5) have evidenced-based logical reasoning 10 ; and 6) can be predicted. 11 Good hypotheses can infer ethical and positive implications, indicating the presence of a relationship or effect relevant to the research theme. 7 , 11 These are initially developed from a general theory and branch into specific hypotheses by deductive reasoning. In the absence of a theory to base the hypotheses, inductive reasoning based on specific observations or findings form more general hypotheses. 10

TYPES OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES

Research questions and hypotheses are developed according to the type of research, which can be broadly classified into quantitative and qualitative research. We provide a summary of the types of research questions and hypotheses under quantitative and qualitative research categories in Table 1 .

Research questions in quantitative research

In quantitative research, research questions inquire about the relationships among variables being investigated and are usually framed at the start of the study. These are precise and typically linked to the subject population, dependent and independent variables, and research design. 1 Research questions may also attempt to describe the behavior of a population in relation to one or more variables, or describe the characteristics of variables to be measured ( descriptive research questions ). 1 , 5 , 14 These questions may also aim to discover differences between groups within the context of an outcome variable ( comparative research questions ), 1 , 5 , 14 or elucidate trends and interactions among variables ( relationship research questions ). 1 , 5 We provide examples of descriptive, comparative, and relationship research questions in quantitative research in Table 2 .

Hypotheses in quantitative research

In quantitative research, hypotheses predict the expected relationships among variables. 15 Relationships among variables that can be predicted include 1) between a single dependent variable and a single independent variable ( simple hypothesis ) or 2) between two or more independent and dependent variables ( complex hypothesis ). 4 , 11 Hypotheses may also specify the expected direction to be followed and imply an intellectual commitment to a particular outcome ( directional hypothesis ) 4 . On the other hand, hypotheses may not predict the exact direction and are used in the absence of a theory, or when findings contradict previous studies ( non-directional hypothesis ). 4 In addition, hypotheses can 1) define interdependency between variables ( associative hypothesis ), 4 2) propose an effect on the dependent variable from manipulation of the independent variable ( causal hypothesis ), 4 3) state a negative relationship between two variables ( null hypothesis ), 4 , 11 , 15 4) replace the working hypothesis if rejected ( alternative hypothesis ), 15 explain the relationship of phenomena to possibly generate a theory ( working hypothesis ), 11 5) involve quantifiable variables that can be tested statistically ( statistical hypothesis ), 11 6) or express a relationship whose interlinks can be verified logically ( logical hypothesis ). 11 We provide examples of simple, complex, directional, non-directional, associative, causal, null, alternative, working, statistical, and logical hypotheses in quantitative research, as well as the definition of quantitative hypothesis-testing research in Table 3 .

Research questions in qualitative research

Unlike research questions in quantitative research, research questions in qualitative research are usually continuously reviewed and reformulated. The central question and associated subquestions are stated more than the hypotheses. 15 The central question broadly explores a complex set of factors surrounding the central phenomenon, aiming to present the varied perspectives of participants. 15

There are varied goals for which qualitative research questions are developed. These questions can function in several ways, such as to 1) identify and describe existing conditions ( contextual research question s); 2) describe a phenomenon ( descriptive research questions ); 3) assess the effectiveness of existing methods, protocols, theories, or procedures ( evaluation research questions ); 4) examine a phenomenon or analyze the reasons or relationships between subjects or phenomena ( explanatory research questions ); or 5) focus on unknown aspects of a particular topic ( exploratory research questions ). 5 In addition, some qualitative research questions provide new ideas for the development of theories and actions ( generative research questions ) or advance specific ideologies of a position ( ideological research questions ). 1 Other qualitative research questions may build on a body of existing literature and become working guidelines ( ethnographic research questions ). Research questions may also be broadly stated without specific reference to the existing literature or a typology of questions ( phenomenological research questions ), may be directed towards generating a theory of some process ( grounded theory questions ), or may address a description of the case and the emerging themes ( qualitative case study questions ). 15 We provide examples of contextual, descriptive, evaluation, explanatory, exploratory, generative, ideological, ethnographic, phenomenological, grounded theory, and qualitative case study research questions in qualitative research in Table 4 , and the definition of qualitative hypothesis-generating research in Table 5 .

Qualitative studies usually pose at least one central research question and several subquestions starting with How or What . These research questions use exploratory verbs such as explore or describe . These also focus on one central phenomenon of interest, and may mention the participants and research site. 15

Hypotheses in qualitative research

Hypotheses in qualitative research are stated in the form of a clear statement concerning the problem to be investigated. Unlike in quantitative research where hypotheses are usually developed to be tested, qualitative research can lead to both hypothesis-testing and hypothesis-generating outcomes. 2 When studies require both quantitative and qualitative research questions, this suggests an integrative process between both research methods wherein a single mixed-methods research question can be developed. 1

FRAMEWORKS FOR DEVELOPING RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES

Research questions followed by hypotheses should be developed before the start of the study. 1 , 12 , 14 It is crucial to develop feasible research questions on a topic that is interesting to both the researcher and the scientific community. This can be achieved by a meticulous review of previous and current studies to establish a novel topic. Specific areas are subsequently focused on to generate ethical research questions. The relevance of the research questions is evaluated in terms of clarity of the resulting data, specificity of the methodology, objectivity of the outcome, depth of the research, and impact of the study. 1 , 5 These aspects constitute the FINER criteria (i.e., Feasible, Interesting, Novel, Ethical, and Relevant). 1 Clarity and effectiveness are achieved if research questions meet the FINER criteria. In addition to the FINER criteria, Ratan et al. described focus, complexity, novelty, feasibility, and measurability for evaluating the effectiveness of research questions. 14

The PICOT and PEO frameworks are also used when developing research questions. 1 The following elements are addressed in these frameworks, PICOT: P-population/patients/problem, I-intervention or indicator being studied, C-comparison group, O-outcome of interest, and T-timeframe of the study; PEO: P-population being studied, E-exposure to preexisting conditions, and O-outcome of interest. 1 Research questions are also considered good if these meet the “FINERMAPS” framework: Feasible, Interesting, Novel, Ethical, Relevant, Manageable, Appropriate, Potential value/publishable, and Systematic. 14

As we indicated earlier, research questions and hypotheses that are not carefully formulated result in unethical studies or poor outcomes. To illustrate this, we provide some examples of ambiguous research question and hypotheses that result in unclear and weak research objectives in quantitative research ( Table 6 ) 16 and qualitative research ( Table 7 ) 17 , and how to transform these ambiguous research question(s) and hypothesis(es) into clear and good statements.

a These statements were composed for comparison and illustrative purposes only.

b These statements are direct quotes from Higashihara and Horiuchi. 16

a This statement is a direct quote from Shimoda et al. 17

The other statements were composed for comparison and illustrative purposes only.

CONSTRUCTING RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES

To construct effective research questions and hypotheses, it is very important to 1) clarify the background and 2) identify the research problem at the outset of the research, within a specific timeframe. 9 Then, 3) review or conduct preliminary research to collect all available knowledge about the possible research questions by studying theories and previous studies. 18 Afterwards, 4) construct research questions to investigate the research problem. Identify variables to be accessed from the research questions 4 and make operational definitions of constructs from the research problem and questions. Thereafter, 5) construct specific deductive or inductive predictions in the form of hypotheses. 4 Finally, 6) state the study aims . This general flow for constructing effective research questions and hypotheses prior to conducting research is shown in Fig. 1 .

Research questions are used more frequently in qualitative research than objectives or hypotheses. 3 These questions seek to discover, understand, explore or describe experiences by asking “What” or “How.” The questions are open-ended to elicit a description rather than to relate variables or compare groups. The questions are continually reviewed, reformulated, and changed during the qualitative study. 3 Research questions are also used more frequently in survey projects than hypotheses in experiments in quantitative research to compare variables and their relationships.

Hypotheses are constructed based on the variables identified and as an if-then statement, following the template, ‘If a specific action is taken, then a certain outcome is expected.’ At this stage, some ideas regarding expectations from the research to be conducted must be drawn. 18 Then, the variables to be manipulated (independent) and influenced (dependent) are defined. 4 Thereafter, the hypothesis is stated and refined, and reproducible data tailored to the hypothesis are identified, collected, and analyzed. 4 The hypotheses must be testable and specific, 18 and should describe the variables and their relationships, the specific group being studied, and the predicted research outcome. 18 Hypotheses construction involves a testable proposition to be deduced from theory, and independent and dependent variables to be separated and measured separately. 3 Therefore, good hypotheses must be based on good research questions constructed at the start of a study or trial. 12

In summary, research questions are constructed after establishing the background of the study. Hypotheses are then developed based on the research questions. Thus, it is crucial to have excellent research questions to generate superior hypotheses. In turn, these would determine the research objectives and the design of the study, and ultimately, the outcome of the research. 12 Algorithms for building research questions and hypotheses are shown in Fig. 2 for quantitative research and in Fig. 3 for qualitative research.

EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS FROM PUBLISHED ARTICLES

• EXAMPLE 1. Descriptive research question (quantitative research)
• - Presents research variables to be assessed (distinct phenotypes and subphenotypes)
• “BACKGROUND: Since COVID-19 was identified, its clinical and biological heterogeneity has been recognized. Identifying COVID-19 phenotypes might help guide basic, clinical, and translational research efforts.
• RESEARCH QUESTION: Does the clinical spectrum of patients with COVID-19 contain distinct phenotypes and subphenotypes? ” 19
• EXAMPLE 2. Relationship research question (quantitative research)
• - Shows interactions between dependent variable (static postural control) and independent variable (peripheral visual field loss)
• “Background: Integration of visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive sensations contributes to postural control. People with peripheral visual field loss have serious postural instability. However, the directional specificity of postural stability and sensory reweighting caused by gradual peripheral visual field loss remain unclear.
• Research question: What are the effects of peripheral visual field loss on static postural control ?” 20
• EXAMPLE 3. Comparative research question (quantitative research)
• - Clarifies the difference among groups with an outcome variable (patients enrolled in COMPERA with moderate PH or severe PH in COPD) and another group without the outcome variable (patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH))
• “BACKGROUND: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) in COPD is a poorly investigated clinical condition.
• RESEARCH QUESTION: Which factors determine the outcome of PH in COPD?
• STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We analyzed the characteristics and outcome of patients enrolled in the Comparative, Prospective Registry of Newly Initiated Therapies for Pulmonary Hypertension (COMPERA) with moderate or severe PH in COPD as defined during the 6th PH World Symposium who received medical therapy for PH and compared them with patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) .” 21
• EXAMPLE 4. Exploratory research question (qualitative research)
• - Explores areas that have not been fully investigated (perspectives of families and children who receive care in clinic-based child obesity treatment) to have a deeper understanding of the research problem
• “Problem: Interventions for children with obesity lead to only modest improvements in BMI and long-term outcomes, and data are limited on the perspectives of families of children with obesity in clinic-based treatment. This scoping review seeks to answer the question: What is known about the perspectives of families and children who receive care in clinic-based child obesity treatment? This review aims to explore the scope of perspectives reported by families of children with obesity who have received individualized outpatient clinic-based obesity treatment.” 22
• EXAMPLE 5. Relationship research question (quantitative research)
• - Defines interactions between dependent variable (use of ankle strategies) and independent variable (changes in muscle tone)
• “Background: To maintain an upright standing posture against external disturbances, the human body mainly employs two types of postural control strategies: “ankle strategy” and “hip strategy.” While it has been reported that the magnitude of the disturbance alters the use of postural control strategies, it has not been elucidated how the level of muscle tone, one of the crucial parameters of bodily function, determines the use of each strategy. We have previously confirmed using forward dynamics simulations of human musculoskeletal models that an increased muscle tone promotes the use of ankle strategies. The objective of the present study was to experimentally evaluate a hypothesis: an increased muscle tone promotes the use of ankle strategies. Research question: Do changes in the muscle tone affect the use of ankle strategies ?” 23

EXAMPLES OF HYPOTHESES IN PUBLISHED ARTICLES

• EXAMPLE 1. Working hypothesis (quantitative research)
• - A hypothesis that is initially accepted for further research to produce a feasible theory
• “As fever may have benefit in shortening the duration of viral illness, it is plausible to hypothesize that the antipyretic efficacy of ibuprofen may be hindering the benefits of a fever response when taken during the early stages of COVID-19 illness .” 24
• “In conclusion, it is plausible to hypothesize that the antipyretic efficacy of ibuprofen may be hindering the benefits of a fever response . The difference in perceived safety of these agents in COVID-19 illness could be related to the more potent efficacy to reduce fever with ibuprofen compared to acetaminophen. Compelling data on the benefit of fever warrant further research and review to determine when to treat or withhold ibuprofen for early stage fever for COVID-19 and other related viral illnesses .” 24
• EXAMPLE 2. Exploratory hypothesis (qualitative research)
• - Explores particular areas deeper to clarify subjective experience and develop a formal hypothesis potentially testable in a future quantitative approach
• “We hypothesized that when thinking about a past experience of help-seeking, a self distancing prompt would cause increased help-seeking intentions and more favorable help-seeking outcome expectations .” 25
• “Conclusion
• Although a priori hypotheses were not supported, further research is warranted as results indicate the potential for using self-distancing approaches to increasing help-seeking among some people with depressive symptomatology.” 25
• EXAMPLE 3. Hypothesis-generating research to establish a framework for hypothesis testing (qualitative research)
• “We hypothesize that compassionate care is beneficial for patients (better outcomes), healthcare systems and payers (lower costs), and healthcare providers (lower burnout). ” 26
• Compassionomics is the branch of knowledge and scientific study of the effects of compassionate healthcare. Our main hypotheses are that compassionate healthcare is beneficial for (1) patients, by improving clinical outcomes, (2) healthcare systems and payers, by supporting financial sustainability, and (3) HCPs, by lowering burnout and promoting resilience and well-being. The purpose of this paper is to establish a scientific framework for testing the hypotheses above . If these hypotheses are confirmed through rigorous research, compassionomics will belong in the science of evidence-based medicine, with major implications for all healthcare domains.” 26
• EXAMPLE 4. Statistical hypothesis (quantitative research)
• - An assumption is made about the relationship among several population characteristics ( gender differences in sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of adults with ADHD ). Validity is tested by statistical experiment or analysis ( chi-square test, Students t-test, and logistic regression analysis)
• “Our research investigated gender differences in sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of adults with ADHD in a Japanese clinical sample. Due to unique Japanese cultural ideals and expectations of women's behavior that are in opposition to ADHD symptoms, we hypothesized that women with ADHD experience more difficulties and present more dysfunctions than men . We tested the following hypotheses: first, women with ADHD have more comorbidities than men with ADHD; second, women with ADHD experience more social hardships than men, such as having less full-time employment and being more likely to be divorced.” 27
• “Statistical Analysis
• ( text omitted ) Between-gender comparisons were made using the chi-squared test for categorical variables and Students t-test for continuous variables…( text omitted ). A logistic regression analysis was performed for employment status, marital status, and comorbidity to evaluate the independent effects of gender on these dependent variables.” 27

EXAMPLES OF HYPOTHESIS AS WRITTEN IN PUBLISHED ARTICLES IN RELATION TO OTHER PARTS

• EXAMPLE 1. Background, hypotheses, and aims are provided
• “Pregnant women need skilled care during pregnancy and childbirth, but that skilled care is often delayed in some countries …( text omitted ). The focused antenatal care (FANC) model of WHO recommends that nurses provide information or counseling to all pregnant women …( text omitted ). Job aids are visual support materials that provide the right kind of information using graphics and words in a simple and yet effective manner. When nurses are not highly trained or have many work details to attend to, these job aids can serve as a content reminder for the nurses and can be used for educating their patients (Jennings, Yebadokpo, Affo, & Agbogbe, 2010) ( text omitted ). Importantly, additional evidence is needed to confirm how job aids can further improve the quality of ANC counseling by health workers in maternal care …( text omitted )” 28
• “ This has led us to hypothesize that the quality of ANC counseling would be better if supported by job aids. Consequently, a better quality of ANC counseling is expected to produce higher levels of awareness concerning the danger signs of pregnancy and a more favorable impression of the caring behavior of nurses .” 28
• “This study aimed to examine the differences in the responses of pregnant women to a job aid-supported intervention during ANC visit in terms of 1) their understanding of the danger signs of pregnancy and 2) their impression of the caring behaviors of nurses to pregnant women in rural Tanzania.” 28
• EXAMPLE 2. Background, hypotheses, and aims are provided
• “We conducted a two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate and compare changes in salivary cortisol and oxytocin levels of first-time pregnant women between experimental and control groups. The women in the experimental group touched and held an infant for 30 min (experimental intervention protocol), whereas those in the control group watched a DVD movie of an infant (control intervention protocol). The primary outcome was salivary cortisol level and the secondary outcome was salivary oxytocin level.” 29
• “ We hypothesize that at 30 min after touching and holding an infant, the salivary cortisol level will significantly decrease and the salivary oxytocin level will increase in the experimental group compared with the control group .” 29
• EXAMPLE 3. Background, aim, and hypothesis are provided
• “In countries where the maternal mortality ratio remains high, antenatal education to increase Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness (BPCR) is considered one of the top priorities [1]. BPCR includes birth plans during the antenatal period, such as the birthplace, birth attendant, transportation, health facility for complications, expenses, and birth materials, as well as family coordination to achieve such birth plans. In Tanzania, although increasing, only about half of all pregnant women attend an antenatal clinic more than four times [4]. Moreover, the information provided during antenatal care (ANC) is insufficient. In the resource-poor settings, antenatal group education is a potential approach because of the limited time for individual counseling at antenatal clinics.” 30
• “This study aimed to evaluate an antenatal group education program among pregnant women and their families with respect to birth-preparedness and maternal and infant outcomes in rural villages of Tanzania.” 30
• “ The study hypothesis was if Tanzanian pregnant women and their families received a family-oriented antenatal group education, they would (1) have a higher level of BPCR, (2) attend antenatal clinic four or more times, (3) give birth in a health facility, (4) have less complications of women at birth, and (5) have less complications and deaths of infants than those who did not receive the education .” 30

Research questions and hypotheses are crucial components to any type of research, whether quantitative or qualitative. These questions should be developed at the very beginning of the study. Excellent research questions lead to superior hypotheses, which, like a compass, set the direction of research, and can often determine the successful conduct of the study. Many research studies have floundered because the development of research questions and subsequent hypotheses was not given the thought and meticulous attention needed. The development of research questions and hypotheses is an iterative process based on extensive knowledge of the literature and insightful grasp of the knowledge gap. Focused, concise, and specific research questions provide a strong foundation for constructing hypotheses which serve as formal predictions about the research outcomes. Research questions and hypotheses are crucial elements of research that should not be overlooked. They should be carefully thought of and constructed when planning research. This avoids unethical studies and poor outcomes by defining well-founded objectives that determine the design, course, and outcome of the study.

Disclosure: The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Author Contributions:

• Conceptualization: Barroga E, Matanguihan GJ.
• Methodology: Barroga E, Matanguihan GJ.
• Writing - original draft: Barroga E, Matanguihan GJ.
• Writing - review & editing: Barroga E, Matanguihan GJ.

Organizing Academic Research Papers: Limitations of the Study

• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
• Academic Writing Style
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• Executive Summary
• Background Information
• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Content Alert Services
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tertiary Sources
• What Is Scholarly vs. Popular?
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Using Non-Textual Elements
• Limitations of the Study
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Further Readings
• Annotated Bibliography
• Dealing with Nervousness
• Using Visual Aids
• Grading Someone Else's Paper
• How to Manage Group Projects
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Essays
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Acknowledgements

The limitations of the study are those characteristics of design or methodology that impacted or influenced the application or interpretation of the results of your study. They are the constraints on generalizability and utility of findings that are the result of the ways in which you chose to design the study and/or the method used to establish internal and external validity.

Importance of...

Always acknowledge a study's limitations. It is far better for you to identify and acknowledge your study’s limitations than to have them pointed out by your professor and be graded down because you appear to have ignored them.

Keep in mind that acknowledgement of a study's limitations is an opportunity to make suggestions for further research. If you do connect your study's limitations to suggestions for further research, be sure to explain the ways in which these unanswered questions may become more focused because of your study.

Acknowledgement of a study's limitations also provides you with an opportunity to demonstrate to your professor that you have thought critically about the research problem, understood the relevant literature published about it, and correctly assessed the methods chosen for studying the problem. A key objective of the research process is not only discovering new knowledge but also to confront assumptions and explore what we don't know.

Claiming limitiations is a subjective process because you must evaluate the impact of those limitations . Don't just list key weaknesses and the magnitude of a study's limitations. To do so diminishes the validity of your research because it leaves the reader wondering whether, or in what ways, limitation(s) in your study may have impacted the findings and conclusions. Limitations require a critical, overall appraisal and interpretation of their impact. You should answer the question: do these problems with errors, methods, validity, etc. eventually matter and, if so, to what extent?

Structure: How to Structure the Research Limitations Section of Your Dissertation . Dissertations and Theses: An Online Textbook. Laerd.com.

Descriptions of Possible Limitations

All studies have limitations . However, it is important that you restrict your discussion to limitations related to the research problem under investigation. For example, if a meta-analysis of existing literature is not a stated purpose of your research, it should not be discussed as a limitation. Do not apologize for not addressing issues that you did not promise to investigate in your paper.

Here are examples of limitations you may need to describe and to discuss how they possibly impacted your findings. Descriptions of limitations should be stated in the past tense.

Possible Methodological Limitations

• Sample size -- the number of the units of analysis you use in your study is dictated by the type of research problem you are investigating. Note that, if your sample size is too small, it will be difficult to find significant relationships from the data, as statistical tests normally require a larger sample size to ensure a representative distribution of the population and to be considered representative of groups of people to whom results will be generalized or transferred.
• Lack of available and/or reliable data -- a lack of data or of reliable data will likely require you to limit the scope of your analysis, the size of your sample, or it can be a significant obstacle in finding a trend and a meaningful relationship. You need to not only describe these limitations but to offer reasons why you believe data is missing or is unreliable. However, don’t just throw up your hands in frustration; use this as an opportunity to describe the need for future research.
• Lack of prior research studies on the topic -- citing prior research studies forms the basis of your literature review and helps lay a foundation for understanding the research problem you are investigating. Depending on the currency or scope of your research topic, there may be little, if any, prior research on your topic. Before assuming this to be true, consult with a librarian! In cases when a librarian has confirmed that there is a lack of prior research, you may be required to develop an entirely new research typology [for example, using an exploratory rather than an explanatory research design]. Note that this limitation can serve as an important opportunity to describe the need for further research.
• Measure used to collect the data -- sometimes it is the case that, after completing your interpretation of the findings, you discover that the way in which you gathered data inhibited your ability to conduct a thorough analysis of the results. For example, you regret not including a specific question in a survey that, in retrospect, could have helped address a particular issue that emerged later in the study. Acknowledge the deficiency by stating a need in future research to revise the specific method for gathering data.
• Self-reported data -- whether you are relying on pre-existing self-reported data or you are conducting a qualitative research study and gathering the data yourself, self-reported data is limited by the fact that it rarely can be independently verified. In other words, you have to take what people say, whether in interviews, focus groups, or on questionnaires, at face value. However, self-reported data contain several potential sources of bias that should be noted as limitations: (1) selective memory (remembering or not remembering experiences or events that occurred at some point in the past); (2) telescoping [recalling events that occurred at one time as if they occurred at another time]; (3) attribution [the act of attributing positive events and outcomes to one's own agency but attributing negative events and outcomes to external forces]; and, (4) exaggeration [the act of representing outcomes or embellishing events as more significant than is actually suggested from other data].

Possible Limitations of the Researcher

• Access -- if your study depends on having access to people, organizations, or documents and, for whatever reason, access is denied or otherwise limited, the reasons for this need to be described.
• Longitudinal effects -- unlike your professor, who can literally devote years [even a lifetime] to studying a single research problem, the time available to investigate a research problem and to measure change or stability within a sample is constrained by the due date of your assignment. Be sure to choose a topic that does not require an excessive amount of time to complete the literature review, apply the methodology, and gather and interpret the results. If you're unsure, talk to your professor.
• Cultural and other type of bias -- we all have biases, whether we are conscience of them or not. Bias is when a person, place, or thing is viewed or shown in a consistently inaccurate way. It is usually negative, though one can have a positive bias as well. When proof-reading your paper, be especially critical in reviewing how you have stated a problem, selected the data to be studied, what may have been omitted, the manner in which you have ordered events, people, or places and how you have chosen to represent a person, place, or thing, to name a phenomenon, or to use possible words with a positive or negative connotation. Note that if you detect bias in prior research, it must be acknowledged and you should explain what measures were taken to avoid perpetuating bias.
• Fluency in a language -- if your research focuses on measuring the perceived value of after-school tutoring among Mexican-American ESL [English as a Second Language] students, for example, and you are not fluent in Spanish, you are limited in being able to read and interpret Spanish language research studies on the topic. This deficiency should be acknowledged.

Brutus, Stéphane et al. Self-Reported Limitations and Future Directions in Scholarly Reports: Analysis and Recommendations. Journal of Management 39 (January 2013): 48-75; Senunyeme, Emmanuel K. Business Research Methods . Powerpoint Presentation. Regent University of Science and Technology.

Structure and Writing Style

Information about the limitations of your study are generally placed either at the beginning of the discussion section of your paper so the reader knows and understands the limitations before reading the rest of your analysis of the findings, or, the limitations are outlined at the conclusion of the discussion section as an acknowledgement of the need for further study. Statements about a study's limitations should not be buried in the body [middle] of the discussion section unless a limitation is specific to something covered in that part of the paper. If this is the case, though, the limitation should be reiterated at the conclusion of the section.

If you determine that your study is seriously flawed due to important limitations , such as, an inability to acquire critical data, consider reframing it as a pilot study intended to lay the groundwork for a more complete research study in the future. Be sure, though, to specifically explain the ways that these flaws can be successfully overcome in later studies.

But, do not use this as an excuse for not developing a thorough research paper! Review the tab in this guide for developing a research topic . If serious limitations exist, it generally indicates a likelihood that your research problem is too narrowly defined or that the issue or event under study  is too recent and, thus, very little research has been written about it. If serious limitations do emerge, consult with your professor about possible ways to overcome them or how to reframe your study.

When discussing the limitations of your research, be sure to:

• Describe each limitation in detailed but concise terms;
• Explain why each limitation exists;
• Provide the reasons why each limitation could not be overcome using the method(s) chosen to gather the data [cite to other studies that had similar problems when possible];
• Assess the impact of each limitation in relation to  the overall findings and conclusions of your study; and,
• If appropriate, describe how these limitations could point to the need for further research.

Remember that the method you chose may be the source of a significant limitation that has emerged during your interpretation of the results [for example, you didn't ask a particular question in a survey that you later wish you had]. If this is the case, don't panic. Acknowledge it, and explain how applying a different or more robust methodology might address the research problem more effectively in any future study. A underlying goal of scholarly research is not only to prove what works, but to demonstrate what doesn't work or what needs further clarification.

Brutus, Stéphane et al. Self-Reported Limitations and Future Directions in Scholarly Reports: Analysis and Recommendations. Journal of Management 39 (January 2013): 48-75; Ioannidis, John P.A. Limitations are not Properly Acknowledged in the Scientific Literature. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 60 (2007): 324-329; Pasek, Josh. Writing the Empirical Social Science Research Paper: A Guide for the Perplexed . January 24, 2012. Academia.edu; Structure: How to Structure the Research Limitations Section of Your Dissertation . Dissertations and Theses: An Online Textbook. Laerd.com; What Is an Academic Paper? Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College; Writing the Experimental Report: Methods, Results, and Discussion. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University.

Writing Tip

Don't Inflate the Importance of Your Findings! After all the hard work and long hours devoted to writing your research paper, it is easy to get carried away with attributing unwarranted importance to what you’ve done. We all want our academic work to be viewed as excellent and worthy of a good grade, but it is important that you understand and openly acknowledge the limitiations of your study. Inflating of the importance of your study's findings in an attempt hide its flaws is a big turn off to your readers. A measure of humility goes a long way!

Another Writing Tip

Negative Results are Not a Limitation!

Negative evidence refers to findings that unexpectedly challenge rather than support your hypothesis. If you didn't get the results you anticipated, it may mean your hypothesis was incorrect and needs to be reformulated, or, perhaps you have stumbled onto something unexpected that warrants further study. Moreover, the absence of an effect may be very telling in many situations, particularly in experimental research designs. In any case, your results may be of importance to others even though they did not support your hypothesis. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that results contrary to what you expected is a limitation to your study. If you carried out the research well, they are simply your results and only require additional interpretation.

Yet Another Writing Tip

A Note about Sample Size Limitations in Qualitative Research

Sample sizes are typically smaller in qualitative research because, as the study goes on, acquiring more data does not necessarily lead to more information. This is because one occurrence of a piece of data, or a code, is all that is necessary to ensure that it becomes part of the analysis framework. However, it remains true that sample sizes that are too small cannot adequately support claims of having achieved valid conclusions and sample sizes that are too large do not permit the deep, naturalistic, and inductive analysis that defines qualitative inquiry. Determining adequate sample size in qualitative research is ultimately a matter of judgment and experience in evaluating the quality of the information collected against the uses to which it will be applied and the particular research method and purposeful sampling strategy employed. If the sample size is found to be a limitation, it may reflect your judgement about the methodological technique chosen [e.g., single life history study versus focus group interviews] rather than the number of respondents used.

Huberman, A. Michael and Matthew B. Miles. Data Management and Analysis Methods. In Handbook of Qualitative Research. Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln, eds. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1994), pp. 428-444.

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Research Limitations & Delimitations

What they are and how they’re different (with examples)

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Expert Reviewed By: David Phair (PhD) | September 2022

If you’re new to the world of research, you’ve probably heard the terms “ research limitations ” and “ research delimitations ” being thrown around, often quite loosely. In this post, we’ll unpack what both of these mean, how they’re similar and how they’re different – so that you can write up these sections the right way.

Overview: Limitations vs Delimitations

• Are they the same?
• What are research limitations
• What are research delimitations
• Limitations vs delimitations

First things first…

Let’s start with the most important takeaway point of this post – research limitations and research delimitations are not the same – but they are related to each other (we’ll unpack that a little later). So, if you hear someone using these two words interchangeably, be sure to share this post with them!

Research Limitations

Research limitations are, at the simplest level, the weaknesses of the study, based on factors that are often outside of your control as the researcher. These factors could include things like time , access to funding, equipment , data or participants . For example, if you weren’t able to access a random sample of participants for your study and had to adopt a convenience sampling strategy instead, that would impact the generalizability of your findings and therefore reflect a limitation of your study.

Research limitations can also emerge from the research design itself . For example, if you were undertaking a correlational study, you wouldn’t be able to infer causality (since correlation doesn’t mean certain causation). Similarly, if you utilised online surveys to collect data from your participants, you naturally wouldn’t be able to get the same degree of rich data that you would from in-person interviews .

Simply put, research limitations reflect the shortcomings of a study , based on practical (or theoretical) constraints that the researcher faced. These shortcomings limit what you can conclude from a study, but at the same time, present a foundation for future research . Importantly, all research has limitations , so there’s no need to hide anything here – as long as you discuss how the limitations might affect your findings, it’s all good.

Research Delimitations

Alright, now that we’ve unpacked the limitations, let’s move on to the delimitations .

Research delimitations are similar to limitations in that they also “ limit ” the study, but their focus is entirely different. Specifically, the delimitations of a study refer to the scope of the research aims and research questions . In other words, delimitations reflect the choices you, as the researcher, intentionally make in terms of what you will and won’t try to achieve with your study. In other words, what your research aims and research questions will and won’t include.

As we’ve spoken about many times before, it’s important to have a tight, narrow focus for your research, so that you can dive deeply into your topic, apply your energy to one specific area and develop meaningful insights. If you have an overly broad scope or unfocused topic, your research will often pull in multiple, even opposing directions, and you’ll just land up with a muddy mess of findings .

So, the delimitations section is where you’ll clearly state what your research aims and research questions will focus on – and just as importantly, what they will exclude . For example, you might investigate a widespread phenomenon, but choose to focus your study on a specific age group, ethnicity or gender. Similarly, your study may focus exclusively on one country, city or even organization. As long as the scope is well justified (in other words, it represents a novel, valuable research topic), this is perfectly acceptable – in fact, it’s essential. Remember, focus is your friend.

Need a helping hand?

Conclusion: Limitations vs Delimitations

Ok, so let’s recap.

Research limitations and research delimitations are related in that they both refer to “limits” within a study. But, they are distinctly different. Limitations reflect the shortcomings of your study, based on practical or theoretical constraints that you faced.

Contrasted to that, delimitations reflect the choices that you made in terms of the focus and scope of your research aims and research questions. If you want to learn more about research aims and questions, you can check out this video post , where we unpack those concepts in detail.

Psst… there’s more (for free)

This post is part of our dissertation mini-course, which covers everything you need to get started with your dissertation, thesis or research project. 

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17 Comments

Good clarification of ideas on how a researcher ought to do during Process of choice

Thank you so much for this very simple but explicit explanation on limitation and delimitation. It has so helped me to develop my masters proposal. hope to recieve more from your site as time progresses

Thank you for this explanation – very clear.

Thanks for the explanation, really got it well.

This website is really helpful for my masters proposal

Thank you very much for helping to explain these two terms

I spent almost the whole day trying to figure out the differences

when I came across your notes everything became very clear

thanks for the clearly outlined explanation on the two terms, limitation and delimitation.

Very helpful Many thanks 🙏

Excellent it resolved my conflict .

I would like you to assist me please. If in my Research, I interviewed some participants and I submitted Questionnaires to other participants to answered to the questions, in the same organization, Is this a Qualitative methodology , a Quantitative Methodology or is it a Mixture Methodology I have used in my research? Please help me

How do I cite this article in APA format

Really so great ,finally have understood it’s difference now

Getting more clear regarding Limitations and Delimitation and concepts

I really appreciate your apt and precise explanation of the two concepts namely ; Limitations and Delimitations.

thank you for this, very helpful to researchers

Very good explained

Great and clear explanation, after a long confusion period on the two words, i can now explain to someone with ease.

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Exploring the benefits and limitations of quantitative research methods in higher, education and sciences: a comprehensive overview.

Introduction:

Quantitative research methods are often favoured for gathering and analysing data in higher education research because of their replicability in their experimental design. Research design is a crucial aspect of conducting research, and three commonly used designs in the quantitative analysis are experimental, quasi-experimental, and non-experimental. These Sampling and data collection are also essential steps in the research process, with probability and non-probability sampling methods and surveys/questionnaires, observation, experimentation, and secondary data analysis being commonly used data collection methods. Data analysis methods include descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and regression analysis, which help researchers draw conclusions about their research question. This blog article will examine how to explore quantitative studies through my experiences conducting this biology and social sciences research. It will also explore the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods and approaches, discussing the scope and limitations. Quantitative research methods are valuable tools for researchers to understand various phenomena.

Exploring the Three Main Research Designs in Quantitative Analysis

In previous articles, I have outlined how research design is crucial to your project or dissertation. Three research designs are typically used in quantitative analysis: experimental, quasi-experimental, and non-experimental.

Experimental Design:

Experimental design involves manipulating one or more independent variables to observe the effect on the dependent variable. This design is helpful in higher education research to test the effectiveness of a new teaching method or instructional technology, for example, comparing the learning outcomes of traditional lectures versus online learning environments.

Quasi-experimental Design:

A quasi-experimental design is similar to an experimental procedure, but the researcher cannot randomly assign participants to groups. Instead, pre-existing groups are used for comparison purposes. This could be used by looking at flock performances on chicken or turkey growth rates based on an additive introduced to shed rations. Due to flocks having an inherently limited time through the production cycle, a measure of looking at different crops would be the only way to assess productivity changes.

Non-experimental Design:

The non-experimental design does not involve the manipulation of independent variables. Instead, it consists of the observation of naturally occurring phenomena. Often this method may be explored in behavioural research using ethograms and time budgets to measure groups or individual animal responses. This design can be used in higher education research to explore the relationship between a student's socioeconomic class and academic performance.

Sampling: The Art and Science of Participant Selection in Quantitative Research

Sampling refers to the process of selecting participants for a research study. There are two types of sampling methods: probability sampling and non-probability sampling. Probability sampling involves randomly selecting participants from a population, ensuring each member has an equal chance of being selected. Non-probability selection involves selecting participants based on specific criteria, which is useful when the population is too large to choose a random sample or when the research question requires a particular type of participant.

The process of selecting participants for a research project is called sampling. Probability sampling and non-probability sampling are the two types of sampling procedures. Probability sampling entails randomly picking members from a population, guaranteeing that each member has an equal probability of being chosen. Non-probability selection is selecting participants based on specific criteria, which is advantageous when the population is too big to pick a random sample or when the research question necessitates a particular sort of participant.

Unleashing the Full Potential of Data Collection Methods in Quantitative Research

The process of acquiring information for a research study is known as data collection. Surveys/questionnaires, observation, experimentation, and secondary data analysis are quantitative research's four standard data-gathering methods. Surveys/questionnaires entail asking participants to answer standard questions, whereas statements entail monitoring and documenting behaviour. The investigation involves modifying one or more independent factors to maintain the effect on the dependent variable, whereas secondary data analysis is analysing previously acquired data for a new reason.

Both the social and biological sciences benefit from quantitative research methodologies. Quantitative research methods can be used to investigate social phenomena and behaviour in the social sciences, such as political science, sociology, psychology, and economics. Quantitative research methods can be used to examine living creatures and their environments in biological disciplines such as agriculture, medicine, and animal studies.

From Agriculture to Politics: The Versatility of Quantitative Research Methods in Social and Biological Sciences

Quantitative research methods are widely used in many social and biological sciences areas. These strategies entail gathering and analysing numerical data to comprehend patterns and relationships. This blog article will examine concrete examples of how quantitative research methods are employed in many sectors and their benefits and drawbacks.

In political science, quantitative research methods are used to analyse political behaviour, public opinion, and voting trends. If you were studying ecology policy and wanted to gauge the public's reception to your project's proposal, such as their view on swift boxes in domestic properties proposals, a measure that has been explored in Brighton and successfully to benefit a population. Outputs such as the demographic of individuals and understanding their levels of responses to the question.

Researchers utilise surveys and experiments to better understand how individuals make political decisions and how government policies influence society. Sociologists use surveys and experiments to explore inequality, social mobility, and social change. In psychology, quantitative research methods investigate human behaviour and mental processes such as personality, emotion, and cognitive functions. Economic researchers use statistical analysis to analyse consumer behaviour, labour markets, and economic growth. Quantitative research methods are also applied in the biological sciences. Researchers employ experiments and statistical analysis to create new farming practices and boost agricultural sustainability. Whether this is in understanding new production techniques such as vertical farming using grey water, which can be examined to assess the viability of crop production against traditional measures.

Pros and Cons: Understanding the Advantages and Limitations of Quantitative Research Methods

Quantitative research methods offer various advantages, including exact variable measurement, which can lead to more accurate and dependable conclusions. These procedures are straightforward to replicate, which adds to the findings' validity. Moreover, statistical analysis enables the detection of patterns and correlations in data. Yet, quantitative research approaches have several disadvantages. They may need to be adapted for measuring or quantifying complex objects. These approaches may also limit their ability to capture the depth and complexity of human experience, and they may be prone to biases and assumptions that weaken the validity of the findings.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, quantitative research methods are valuable tools for researchers to gather and analyse data to draw conclusions about various phenomena. The research design, sampling, data collection, and data analysis are essential steps in the research process, with experimental, quasi-experimental, and non-experimental techniques commonly used in quantitative analysis. Probability and non-probability sampling methods and surveys/questionnaires, observation, experimentation, and secondary data analysis are widely used data collection methods. Descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and regression analysis are standard data analysis methods used to draw conclusions about the research question. Quantitative research methods have advantages and disadvantages and are widely used in various fields, including social and biological sciences, to study phenomena and behaviour and develop new techniques and interventions. Despite the limitations, the precise measurement of variables, replicability, and ability to identify patterns and relationships in the data make quantitative research methods a valuable tool for researchers.

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Open access

• Published: 29 March 2024

Turnover intention of foreign trained physicians in German rehabilitation facilities—a quantitative study

• Eva Jansen 1 ,
• Johanna Schmidt 1 &
• Manuela Marquardt 1  

BMC Health Services Research volume  24 , Article number:  402 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

Metrics details

Germany’s medical specialist shortage is an acute challenge, especially in the rehabilitation segment. One countermeasure is to recruit foreign trained physicians (FTP), but the high turnover of FTP is a burden on the departments that train them and integrate them professionally. Preliminary research showed that currently one in three physician positions in German Pension Insurance (DRV) contract facilities is filled by FTP.This paper examines factors related to turnover intention of FTP in German rehabilitative departments.

Methodology

In spring 2022, we surveyed FTP across all inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation departments under the German Pension Insurance, using a two-stage cross-sectional approach. We conducted an online survey of FTP and developed a specialized questionnaire that captured sociodemographic, occupation related and professional biographical data, turnover intention, satisfaction, difficulties with professional integration and departmental structural characteristics. To analyze retention within the rehabilitation field, we used a measure of turnover intention, taking into account the direction of potential turnover, residency requirements and considerations of returning to the rehabilitation field. The data was evaluated in a subgroup analysis comparing FTP with and without turnover intention using Fisher’s exact tests.

The sample includes n  = 145 FTP, 119 stating no turnover intention and 27 with turnover intention. More than half of FTP with turnover intention wished to move to an acute care hospital. FTP with turnover intention are comparatively younger and came to Germany and were employed in the rehabilitation departments more recently, indicating an earlier career stage. Besides, career-related and regional factors show the strongest relation to turnover intention.

Discussion and conclusion

The results reveal a group of “established FTP” whose professional integration has been successfully completed. FTP with turnover intention are comparatively younger, career-oriented physicians for whom work in a rehabilitative facility is a career springboard to gain a foothold in acute care clinics. A limitation is that FTP with turnover intention are difficult to reach and may be underrepresented in our sample.

Peer Review reports

A structural shortage of physicians is affecting not only low-income countries but also certain specialties and regions in high-income countries [ 1 ]. In Germany, this mainly affects general medicine and the public health service, as well as certain areas of rehabilitative medicine [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. The former areas will experience an even greater future risk of shortages as currently practicing medical professionals retire [ 5 ]. Rehabilitative medicine will also face increased demand due to the rise in the aging population that will require treatment for age-related illnesses [ 6 ].

Rehabilitation plays a specific role in the German healthcare system: thetreatments are funded by the public pension insurance and aim to help patients recover and return to the labo r force (ICF-term of functional health) [ 7 ] as well as to support older people who are no longer working to maintain independence. The majority of rehabilitation in Germany occurs in inpatient settings (83%) [ 8 ]. To achieve treatment goals, physicians must understand both a patient’s medical profile and the psychosocial factors affecting their condition [ 9 ]. However, there is a shortage of physicians in this field, particularly among younger doctors who are less likely to join rehabilitation centers or engage in “social medicine” in general [ 10 ]. Additionally, rehabilitation centers are disproportionately frequently located in remote, economically disadvantaged areas [ 11 ], making it difficult to recruit young physicians from within Germany [ 12 ]. One strategy to address the shortage of physicians is to recruit foreign-trained physicians (FTP) from abroad. However, the professional integration of FTP is often associated with an additional burden for the receiving team and for the physicians themselves, especially in the initial phase. Previous studies on this topic indicate that FTP often have insufficient language and communication skills, particularly for the doctor-patient relationship [ 13 , 14 ], but also for inter-professional communication [ 15 ]. Furthermore, FTP are unfamiliar with and lack knowledge about the national healthcare system, disease and therapy concepts, and patient-oriented, participatory approaches, all of which pose challenges in professional integration [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. A specific characteristic of the practice of rehabilitation in Germany that is unusual for FTP are the forms of inter-hierarchical and inter-professional collaboration [ 19 ]. A qualitative preliminary study has shown that in rehabilitation, new tasks such as the expert function of physicians and the bureaucratic processes are the greatest challenges [ 20 ] and that for FTP social integration has significant relevance [ 21 ].

The strategy of filling staff gaps with FTP also comes with added instability to healthcare delivery, namely high physician turnover and subsequent discontinuity of patient care. The retention of healthcare workers is a crucial international workforce issue, yet the concept itself remains ambiguous [ 29 ]. As human resource theorists state, the concept of voluntary turnover should be elucidated as a combination of social, economic and psychological processes and not each individually [ 22 , 23 ]. Turnover as a metric refers to people leaving a health institution either voluntarily or because of an employer’s decision, while retention refers to the rate at which people stay with a company over a period of time and the strategies employed to keep them. Although turnover intention does not refer to the act of leaving itself but rather describes the likelihood the physician will choose to do so, there is evidence that proves that actual turnover positively correlates with turnover intention [ 24 , 25 ].

For all institutions, high levels of turnover create a loss of financial and social capital [ 26 ] and affect the morale of the remaining workforce as well as the reputation of the organization [ 27 ]. Turnover in any form is a drain on healthcare organization funding as it is expensive and time-consuming to recruit new health care workers into the organizational workforce. It is therefore valuable to consider how turnover can be reduced and retention increased [ 28 ].

In this study, we refer to partial results of the quantitative questionnaire study “Medical professionals with a foreign degree in German rehabilitation facilities—a quantitative cross-sectional study” in order to examine factors related to the retention of FTP within the field of rehabilitation.

In spring 2022 we conducted a full survey in all inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation departments administered by the German Pension Insurance (DRV). We collected cross-sectional data in two stages: For one stage of the full survey, we wrote to the heads of the departments by mail and asked them to participate in the department survey. For the second stage we asked them to invite all FTP working for them to participate in the online FTP survey by means of the enclosed flyers (Fig.  1 ), that represents the database for the present analysis on retention. For this study, we defined FTP based on where they completed their studies (not in Germany). This does not include physicians who were born abroad, started studying abroad and changed their place of study during their studies, or who would otherwise fall into the category “with a migration background” in an otherwise undefined way (for different terminologies, see [ 29 ]).

Flyer for the recruitment of FTP, front page

As common definitions and standardized questionnaires are still lacking in the field of physician retention, we developed the FTP questionnaire tailored to the problem of our study—retention within the field of rehabilitation (supplement 1). We chose the relevant dimensions based on a qualitative study in which we conducted interviews with FTP in rehabilitation facilities [ 20 ] and other questionnaires that had already been carried out on the subject of physician retention [ 29 ].

The FTP survey included sociodemographic, professional biography and departmental structural characteristics as well as several items on the turnover intention. Furthermore, variables representing various aspects of work-related and general satisfaction with life in Germany as well as difficulties with professional integration and discrimination were included. To implement the online survey, we used the Evasys platform [ 30 ]. The survey was preceded by two pretests: one involving social science experts and another with the target audience. The questions were tested multiple times for clarity and accessibility. Additionally, an English version was available, allowing participants to switch if preferred.

For the subgroup comparison, a variable on retention in the field of rehabilitation was created using information on turnover intention, turnover direction and in case of intended changes due to residency requirements, whether going back to the rehabilitation field is an option.

To examine the differences in the distributions of sociodemographic, occupation and professional biography related, departmental structural variables between FTP with and without turnover intention, a subgroup analysis of the available cases was conducted using Fisher’s exact tests. Furthermore, variables on satisfaction and difficulties are compared using Likert plots. For dichotomous variables, both one-tailed and two-tailed p-values are reported. For variables with more than two levels, the Freeman-Halton extension of the Fisher exact test is used, reporting two-tailed significance. Due to the small group size of the FTP with turnover intention, the significant differences are interpreted as empirical tendencies.

Flow chart of departmental and FTP survey with subgroup characterization

Figure  2 depicts the flow of participants in the departmental (results reported in another publication: 37) and the FTP survey. The group of FTP with turnover intention comprised n  = 27 cases and the group without turnover intention n  = 119.

Of the n  = 27 FTP in the group with turnover intention, the most likely career change for 15 respondents (55.6%) is to change to the acute care sector in Germany, 6 (22.2%) want to go to the outpatient sector in Germany, and 3 (11.1%) to another country. Other 3 (11.1%) FTP intend to change jobs due to their residency requirements, but subsequently do not want to work in the field of rehabilitation.

The comparison of sociodemographic characteristics reveals that, in our sample, FTP with turnover intention are more likely to be male, younger, and less likely to have German citizenship compared to FTP without turnover intention. In both groups, living together with a partner and/or children in Germany is the predominant family situation. Occupation-related, they work more often on temporary contracts (40.7% - compared to 25.2% FTP without turnover intention) and with a provisional professional license Footnote 1 (25.9% - compared to 14.3% without turnover intention). FTP without turnover intention have a German specialist title more often (34.5% - compared to 18.5% with turnover intention) and 15.1% occupy positions with leadership roles, compared to 0.0% in the FTP group with turnover intention. These characteristics suggest that FTP with turnover intentions are at an earlier stage in their professional careers. This is also reflected in the professional biographical variables—4 out of 10 have been in Germany for less than two years, and nearly half have been working in the rehabilitation department for less than a year. In the group without turnover intentions, two-thirds have been in Germany for more than four years, and 77.1% have been working in the department for over a year, with 62.7% of them for more than two years. Looking at the departmental structural characteristics, department size in terms of treatment places seems to be almost equally distributed between the subgroups with and without turnover intention. One structural distinction between the groups can be found in the FTP share among medical staff, with 7 out of 10 FTP with turnover intention working in departments where more than half of the medical staff was educated abroad compared to half of the FTP without turnover intention. The most significant subgroup difference is evident in the regional location of the employer’s facilities—57.1% of FTP with turnover intention work in departments located in peripheral areas and none in central urban areas, compared to 36.1% of FTP without turnover intention, with as many as 15.1% working in central city locations. These data are listed in Table  1 , sorted by socio-demographic characteristics, occupational and occupational biographical characteristics and departmental structural characteristics.

Figures  3 , 4 and 5 depict general satisfaction as well as specific work-related satisfaction variables and discrimination as Likert plots, centered around the middle category (grey) and stacked to 100% (red color shading represent dissatisfaction/frequent problems with discrimination, blue indicates satisfaction/infrequent problems). Figure  3 shows significant differences in general work-related satisfaction ratings between FTP with and without turnover intention (Fisher-Freeman-Halton exact test 2-tailed p  = 0.024). Among the FTP with turnover intention ( n  = 26), a total of 34.7% fall into the “dissatisfied” categories, while in the group without turnover intention ( n  = 118), it is only 10.1%. Conversely, 77.1% in the latter group are somewhat to very satisfied. There is also a significant group difference in overall satisfaction with life in Germany ( p  = 0.049). Here, about 1 in 4 FTP with turnover intention ( n  = 26) falls into the red color zone, indicating dissatisfaction, compared to only 1 in 20 in the other group ( n  = 111).

Subgroup comparison of FTP with and without turnover intention on general satisfaction. Legend: Likert plots are centered around the middle category (grey) and stacked to 100%, red color shading represents dissatisfaction, blue indicates satisfaction

Figure  4 illustrates specific aspects of job satisfaction that are particularly relevant in the field of rehabilitation, arranged according to the increasing satisfaction of FTP with turnover intention ( n  = 26–27). In this group, career-related variables such as “research opportunities” (p = < 0.001) and “training opportunities” ( p  < 0.001) show high levels of dissatisfaction (80.8% and 65.4%, respectively). Among FTP without turnover intention ( n  = 115–119), these figures are significantly lower, at only 45.2% and 18.5%, respectively. Regarding career advancement opportunities, there is also slightly more dissatisfaction in the group with turnover intention, especially in the lowest category (25.9% compared to 9.3% of FTP without turnover intention). However, for the item difficulties with bureaucracy in rehabilitation, both groups show similar ratings, with FTP without turnover intention more often falling into the “dissatisfied” or “rather dissatisfied” categories (40.7% compared to 21.2% of FTP without turnover intention). The differences in both items are not significant ( p  > 0.05). Another significant difference can be seen in the rating of satisfaction with the location of the facility, where FTP with turnover intention tend to be less satisfied than FTP without turnover intention (“rather satisfied” and “satisfied” categories: 51.8% and 68.9%, respectively, p  = 0.047). Both groups show high satisfaction ratings for working time, with only 1 in 20 FTP without turnover intention falling into the red categories, indicating dissatisfaction, and 18.4% FTP with turnover intention ( p  = 0.081).

Subgroup comparison of FTP with and without turnover intention on specific aspects of work satisfaction. Legend: Likert plots are centered around the middle category (grey) and stacked to 100%, red color shading represents dissatisfaction, blue indicates satisfaction

Figure  5 displays the frequency of experienced discrimination or unequal treatment by different groups of people. Notably, there is a substantial proportion of ratings in the blue categories, suggesting at first glance that discrimination does not seem to be a frequent phenomenon in either group. The most common experience of discrimination among FTP with turnover intention ( n  = 26) in our sample was from non-medical colleagues (15.4% compared to 2.5% of FTP without turnover intention, p  = 0.019). The other differences (discrimination experienced from supervisors, medical colleagues, or patients) are not significant. It is noteworthy, however, that in the group of FTP with turnover intention, both extreme categories (“never” and “always”) are more heavily represented than in the group without turnover intention ( p  = 0.097).

Subgroup comparison of FTP with and without turnover intention on experienced discrimination by different groups. Legend: Likert plots are centered around the middle category (grey) and stacked to 100%, red color shading represents frequent problems with discrimination, blue indicates infrequent problems

The subgroup comparison of FTP with and without turnover intention reveals factors associated with retention within the field of rehabilitation by characterizing the two groups based on their predominant differences. Even though the group with turnover intention is underrepresented in our sample, the subgroup comparison reveals significant differences that can be interpreted as empirical trends. More than half of FTP with turnover intention aim to change to an acute care hospital. Different factors indicate that the FTP with turnover intention are at an earlier career stage: they are significantly ( p  < 0.05) younger, have worked in Germany and in the rehabilitative facilities for a shorter duration and without leading roles in contrast to FTP without turnover intention. At the same time, career-related satisfaction variables like research and training opportunities show the highest levels of dissatisfaction among FTP with turnover intention, indicating that this group may perceive their current role in the field of rehabilitation unfavorable to their professional development.

The regional location of employment is another significant factor influencing retention in the field of rehabilitation. The higher concentration of FTP with turnover intention live in peripheral areas, as opposed to central urban locations, and their lack of satisfaction withr the location of the facility could reflect specific challenges faced by FTP in rural areas as well as differences in lifestyle preferences. Even if discrimination was reported remarkably rarely, FTP with turnover intention report that they have experienced discrimination by colleagues who are not physicians significantly more often than FTP without turnover intention.

From a methodological approach, authors of national and international studies on the intention of physicians with a foreign degree, place of birth, or citizenship to stay or change their job mainly used quantitative online questionnaires and occasionally qualitative interviews. As common definitions and standardized questionnaires are still lacking in the field of physician retention, they asked FTP if they planned a change of job [ 31 ], to abandon the specific medical specialty [ 32 ], a change of country [ 33 ], how long they would stay in the country of migration [ 34 ], if they would consider “quitting” [ 35 ]. While the focus of this project is on turnover intention in the field of rehabilitation and thus should concern less the individual institution as employer, the methodological procedure in general had to go through several filters (turnover intention in general, direction of change). In addition, it also had to take into account the career-related peculiarities of specialist training by excluding those in the turnover intention group who intend to leave the rehabilitative facility for a time due to the requirements of their residency training, but who would like to return in principle.

Because some of the questions in the international studies used established questionnaires but adapted the surveys specifically to this context, the responses are not directly comparable. For example, in one study [ 32 ], two groups were formed (one that intends to stay in the country and one that intends to leave the country) and their independent variables were compared. In another study, the authors formed three groups through class analysis [ 34 ] and then compared other characteristics such as age, gender, and motivation. In the present study, we divided participants into two groups, one with an intention to stay and one with a turnover intention. Comparisons with international literature are therefore only possible based on the reasons for turnover intention or to stay.

According to the national and international studies, the following five factors, in descending order of frequency of mention, have a major influence on the intention of migrated physicians or physicians with foreign degrees to leave their position: first, the quality of the working relationship, especially at the management level, is an important determinant of intention to stay. Low turnover intention was achieved by low levels of hierarchy [ 36 ], supervision and supportive measures [ 33 , 36 ], capable leadership [ 35 ], good team climate [ 31 ], and satisfactory relationships with superiors [ 32 ].

In our study, the survey of satisfaction with working relationships with superiors, colleagues, and patients, as well as the survey of difficulties in the team inter-hierarchically and inter-professionally, did not reveal any conspicuous differences in the form of group differences. One hint is provided in the analysis of discrimination, even if self-reported this is rare: If FTP with turnover intention feel discriminated against by their superiors and colleagues who are not physicians more often, it can be assumed that working relationships are impaired and the team climate is not optimal.

Second, a high quality of work environment led to a low turnover intention, insofar as it included the following components: high staffing [ 35 ], good task coordination [ 36 ], and control of the pace of work [ 35 ]. On the other hand, the aspects of threats and violence from patients [ 35 ] and a high level of discrimination received from patients in the workplace [ 31 ] led to a high turnover intention.

The bureaucracy in rehabilitation facilities was one aspect both FTP with and without turnover intention were rather dissatisfied with. Threats and discrimination from patients are not part of the present study results, but emerge in the evaluation of an open question, which we have addressed in another publication [ 37 ].

The third aspect addressed in national and international literature is the personal circumstances in the lives of medical professionals. Three studies examined areas of personal life related to migration and concluded that high satisfaction with life in the new place in general [ 31 , 33 ] leads to low turnover intention. Furthermore, one study states that country of origin is already a predictor of turnover intention or intention to stay [ 33 ]. Having a family in the country to which a medical professional migrates further leads to a very high intention to stay [ 33 , 34 ].

In our study, FTP with turnover intention have lower satisfaction with life in Germany and also with work in the rehabilitation facility. However, in our sample the family situation did not differ between FTP with and without turnover intention, which could be attributed to a potential sampling bias or underrepresentation of the group who wants to leave in our study.

According to international studies, the fourth group of factors influencing the intention to stay are employment related. These include, for example, a disadvantageous employment contract [ 33 ], or barriers to accessing jobs [ 31 ]. Interestingly, economic incentives do not necessarily increase the willingness to stay in a job [ 34 ].

This aspect is particularly consistent with the results of the present study. FTP with turnover intention are more often in a precarious employment relationship: they have a disadvantageous employment contract, have not been working in the specialist department for long, tend to be more dissatisfied with their working hours and do not hold a management position.

Career and training opportunities are the fifth factor influencing intention to stay. Accordingly, a low turnover intention is more likely if the job offers opportunities for career advancement or further training [ 32 , 33 , 34 ].

Again, this shows strong agreement with the present results. The group of FTP with turnover intention is particularly dissatisfied with the career-related items. These are training and development opportunities and opportunities for advancement and research.

The location of the facilities and the social contacts of the FTP were not questioned or mentioned in the national and international studies analyzed here. Both factors are specific to rehabilitation in Germany [ 20 , 21 ] and also play a central role in our study. That medical institutions located in the periphery have more problems recruiting and retaining their staff is well known [ 38 , 39 , 40 ] and reinforces the problem of retention of FTP.

The fact that there are departments with a very high proportion of FTP and—if turnover intention is actually put into practice—a very high turnover compared to departments with few FTP is also not reflected in the national and international literature.

Moreover, the weighting of the most common group differences is centered differently in the present study: while in the studies cited here it is the work relationship and the quality of the work environment that are the most important causes of turnover intention, in the present study it is career biographical factors.

Basically, in our study, the intention to stay increases according to the duration of employment in the facility and in rehabilitation. This “being established” is not found in international literature.

Comparatively younger FTP in an earlier career stage who came to Germany and the rehabilitation departments more recently are overrepresented in the group with turnover intention. This is consistent with the analysis of Becker and Teney [ 34 , 41 ], who identified a group of so-called career-seekers. Their migration was mainly triggered by the quality and content of employment. They move on when they see a better option.

In our study results, it is apparent that there is a group of “established” FTP, i.e. FTP who have worked in rehab for a long time and whose professional expectations have adapted to the location and orientation of the rehabilitation facilities. These are characterized by a low turnover intention. FTP with a high turnover intention, on the other hand, are often in facilities with many FTP and probably at the same time a high turnover and a rather precarious employment relationship. These facilities need to be systematically supported, as they are most likely needed as steppingstones for the FTP further medical career and have to do an above-average amount of integration work.

Limitations

A limitation of the FTP survey evaluation is the poor access to this group. In retrospect, the recruitment method via flyers does not seem successful enough and the group of FTP is distorted by self-selection. Such self-selection bias implies that the FTP who did respond may not be representative of the broader, even more heterogeneous, FTP population, especially those with turnover intentions. This limits the generalizability of the findings. Due to the low response rate of the FTP survey, especially due to the low number of FTP with turnover intention ( n  = 27), it was not possible to conduct multivariate regression analysis. Nevertheless, the subgroup comparison revealed tendencies that fit international studies. For our study, we assume that especially FTP with turnover intention did not bother to answer our questions and that this group is much larger than reported by the survey. This underrepresentation could lead to a biased understanding of the professional challenges and needs of FTP with turnover intention. In order to give the analysis a narrow framework, this discussion only refers to FTP and not to other health personnel.

FTP in rehabilitation facilities are a numerically very relevant phenomenon [ 37 ]. Because this study only included physicians with foreign degrees and not, for example, physicians born abroad, the diversity aspect in the rehabilitative departments of the German Pension Insurance (DRV) examined is much greater in reality than we have illustrated using the example of physicians with foreign degrees.

Despite the small sample size, the results show trends, characterizing two groups of FTP: On the one hand, there is a group of “established” FTP, i.e. FTP who have been in Germany for a long time and who have adjusted socially and professionally to their new environment. On the other hand, there is a group of rather younger, career oriented FTP with a high turnover intention, who use their activity in the rehabilitation facility to subsequently gain a foothold in the acute hospital. As our analysis revealed, it is career biographical characteristics that are most strongly related to turnover intention in the field of rehabilitation. Further studies should systematically examine this using a different recruitment strategy, as turnover places a tremendous burden on the rehabilitation system. Discrimination is an issue that does not score conspicuously high in the difficulty scales, but still appears in the group comparison to be related to turnover intention. Here, too, it is worthwhile to initiate measures to raise awareness among supervisors and non-medical staff and to conduct further studies. Future research should aim to employ more inclusive and effective recruitment strategies, ensure a larger and more representative sample, and possibly use more sophisticated statistical analysis to gain a comprehensive understanding of the FTP workforce in the rehabilitation sector.

Data availability

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Ariane Funke from the DRV-Bund for the fruitful cooperation. Furthermore, we thank Frederike Basedow for her support with designing the graphics.

This study is funded by the DRV-Bund (German pension insurance association) 2021–2022.

Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.

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EJ planned the article framework, contextualized the interpreted data, and was a major contributor in writing the manuscript. MM analyzed and interpreted the data on turnover intention and produced the results. She also displayed the figures. JS helped to write text sections and to display figures. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Jansen, E., Schmidt, J. & Marquardt, M. Turnover intention of foreign trained physicians in German rehabilitation facilities—a quantitative study. BMC Health Serv Res 24 , 402 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-10902-7

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Received : 24 July 2023

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-10902-7

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