Research methods

One feature of a science within this study is replicability. This is because the topic and multiple choice test are standardised which makes it easy to replicate to assess reliability. Another feature of a science is objectivity. This study is objective and avoids researcher bias because the method used to measure how much the students had learned includes objectively right or wrong answers on a multiple choice test, where the researcher cannot use their subconscious bias to perceive the results differently.


  1. Self-report technique: questionnaire or interview, semi-structured -

  2. Qualitative data questions

  3. Ethics

  4. Content analysis


The researcher will use an interview self-report technique because this allows greater detail to be obtained about why the participant did or did not enjoy online learning which increases the validity of the responses. Interviews also enable the questions to be explained if they are misunderstood which further increases the validity of the responses compared to questionnaires in which participants cannot clarify the question. The researcher should use a structured interview because this is easier to analyse compared to unstructured interviews and also reduces researcher bias.

One question that could be used in the interview is ‘what aspects of online learning did you find most and least helpful and why?’ This allows the researcher to understand whether the results were due to effectiveness of online learning or personal preferences.

To maintain ethical treatment of participants, their identity will remain anonymous and their data will not be linked to their name or face. This can be done by allocating each participant a number which is used instead of their name. Another ethical guideline is the right to withdraw. Participants should be made aware that they can drop out of the sutdy and withdraw their data at any point. This should be reiterated before and during the learning, interview and after the interview.

The first step in content analysis is identifying the categories the researcher is looking for in the interview. For example, positive, negative or neutral opinions of the online learning experience. The answers in the interview can then be coded into the appropriate category and the frequency of each can be totalled to determine the overall experience with online learning.