Research methodology vs. research methods
The research methodology or design is the overall strategy and rationale that you used to carry out the research. Whereas, research methods are the specific tools and processes you use to gather and understand the data you need to test your hypothesis.
To further understand research methodology, let’s explore some examples of research methodology:
a. Qualitative research methodology example: A study exploring the impact of author branding on author popularity might utilize in-depth interviews to gather personal experiences and perspectives.
b. Quantitative research methodology example: A research project investigating the effects of a book promotion technique on book sales could employ a statistical analysis of profit margins and sales before and after the implementation of the method.
c. Mixed-Methods research methodology example: A study examining the relationship between social media use and academic performance might combine both qualitative and quantitative approaches. It could include surveys to quantitatively assess the frequency of social media usage and its correlation with grades, alongside focus groups or interviews to qualitatively explore students’ perceptions and experiences regarding how social media affects their study habits and academic engagement.
These examples highlight the meaning of methodology in research and how it guides the research process, from data collection to analysis, ensuring the study’s objectives are met efficiently.
When it comes to writing your study, the methodology in research papers or a dissertation plays a pivotal role. A well-crafted methodology section of a research paper or thesis not only enhances the credibility of your research but also provides a roadmap for others to replicate or build upon your work.
Wondering how to write the research methodology section? Follow these steps to create a strong methods chapter:
At the start of a research paper , you would have provided the background of your research and stated your hypothesis or research problem. In this section, you will elaborate on your research strategy.
Begin by restating your research question and proceed to explain what type of research you opted for to test it. Depending on your research, here are some questions you can consider:
a. Did you use qualitative or quantitative data to test the hypothesis?
b. Did you perform an experiment where you collected data or are you writing a dissertation that is descriptive/theoretical without data collection?
c. Did you use primary data that you collected or analyze secondary research data or existing data as part of your study?
These questions will help you establish the rationale for your study on a broader level, which you will follow by elaborating on the specific methods you used to collect and understand your data.
Now that you have told your reader what type of research you’ve undertaken for the dissertation, it’s time to dig into specifics. State what specific methods you used and explain the conditions and variables involved. Explain what the theoretical framework behind the method was, what samples you used for testing it, and what tools and materials you used to collect the data.
Once you have explained the data collection process, explain how you analyzed and studied the data. Here, your focus is simply to explain the methods of analysis rather than the results of the study.
Here are some questions you can answer at this stage:
a. What tools or software did you use to analyze your results?
b. What parameters or variables did you consider while understanding and studying the data you’ve collected?
c. Was your analysis based on a theoretical framework?
Your mode of analysis will change depending on whether you used a quantitative or qualitative research methodology in your study. If you’re working within the hard sciences or physical sciences, you are likely to use a quantitative research methodology (relying on numbers and hard data). If you’re doing a qualitative study, in the social sciences or humanities, your analysis may rely on understanding language and socio-political contexts around your topic. This is why it’s important to establish what kind of study you’re undertaking at the onset.
Now that you have gone through your research process in detail, you’ll also have to make a case for it. Justify your choice of methodology and methods, explaining why it is the best choice for your research question. This is especially important if you have chosen an unconventional approach or you’ve simply chosen to study an existing research problem from a different perspective. Compare it with other methodologies, especially ones attempted by previous researchers, and discuss what contributions using your methodology makes.
No matter how thorough a methodology is, it doesn’t come without its hurdles. This is a natural part of scientific research that is important to document so that your peers and future researchers are aware of it. Writing in a research paper about this aspect of your research process also tells your evaluator that you have actively worked to overcome the pitfalls that came your way and you have refined the research process.
1. Remember who you are writing for. Keeping sight of the reader/evaluator will help you know what to elaborate on and what information they are already likely to have. You’re condensing months’ work of research in just a few pages, so you should omit basic definitions and information about general phenomena people already know.
2. Do not give an overly elaborate explanation of every single condition in your study.
3. Skip details and findings irrelevant to the results.
4. Cite references that back your claim and choice of methodology.
5. Consistently emphasize the relationship between your research question and the methodology you adopted to study it.
To sum it up, what is methodology in research? It’s the blueprint of your research, essential for ensuring that your study is systematic, rigorous, and credible. Whether your focus is on qualitative research methodology, quantitative research methodology, or a combination of both, understanding and clearly defining your methodology is key to the success of your research.
Once you write the research methodology and complete writing the entire research paper, the next step is to edit your paper. As experts in research paper editing and proofreading services , we’d love to help you perfect your paper!
Here are some other articles that you might find useful:
What does research methodology mean, what types of research methodologies are there, what is qualitative research methodology, how to determine sample size in research methodology, what is action research methodology.
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This is very simplified and direct. Very helpful to understand the research methodology section of a dissertation
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Table of Contents
Choosing an optimal research methodology is crucial for the success of any research project. The methodology you select will determine the type of data you collect, how you collect it, and how you analyse it. Understanding the different types of research methods available along with their strengths and weaknesses, is thus imperative to make an informed decision.
There are several research methods available depending on the type of study you are conducting, i.e., whether it is laboratory-based, clinical, epidemiological, or survey based . Some common methodologies include qualitative research, quantitative research, experimental research, survey-based research, and action research. Each method can be opted for and modified, depending on the type of research hypotheses and objectives.
When deciding on a research methodology, one of the key factors to consider is whether your research will be qualitative or quantitative. Qualitative research is used to understand people’s experiences, concepts, thoughts, or behaviours . Quantitative research, on the contrary, deals with numbers, graphs, and charts, and is used to test or confirm hypotheses, assumptions, and theories.
Qualitative research is often used to examine issues that are not well understood, and to gather additional insights on these topics. Qualitative research methods include open-ended survey questions, observations of behaviours described through words, and reviews of literature that has explored similar theories and ideas. These methods are used to understand how language is used in real-world situations, identify common themes or overarching ideas, and describe and interpret various texts. Data analysis for qualitative research typically includes discourse analysis, thematic analysis, and textual analysis.
The goal of quantitative research is to test hypotheses, confirm assumptions and theories, and determine cause-and-effect relationships. Quantitative research methods include experiments, close-ended survey questions, and countable and numbered observations. Data analysis for quantitative research relies heavily on statistical methods.
The methods used for data analysis also differ for qualitative and quantitative research. As mentioned earlier, quantitative data is generally analysed using statistical methods and does not leave much room for speculation. It is more structured and follows a predetermined plan. In quantitative research, the researcher starts with a hypothesis and uses statistical methods to test it. Contrarily, methods used for qualitative data analysis can identify patterns and themes within the data, rather than provide statistical measures of the data. It is an iterative process, where the researcher goes back and forth trying to gauge the larger implications of the data through different perspectives and revising the analysis if required.
The choice between qualitative and quantitative research will depend on the gap that the research project aims to address, and specific objectives of the study. If the goal is to establish facts about a subject or topic, quantitative research is an appropriate choice. However, if the goal is to understand people’s experiences or perspectives, qualitative research may be more suitable.
In conclusion, an understanding of the different research methods available, their applicability, advantages, and disadvantages is essential for making an informed decision on the best methodology for your project. If you need any additional guidance on which research methodology to opt for, you can head over to Elsevier Author Services (EAS). EAS experts will guide you throughout the process and help you choose the perfect methodology for your research goals.
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What is qualitative research.
Qualitative research methodologies seek to capture information that often can't be expressed numerically. These methodologies often include some level of interpretation from researchers as they collect information via observation, coded survey or interview responses, and so on. Researchers may use multiple qualitative methods in one study, as well as a theoretical or critical framework to help them interpret their data.
Qualitative research methods can be used to study:
Action research.
In this type of study, researchers will actively pursue some kind of intervention, resolve a problem, or affect some kind of change. They will not only analyze the results but will also examine the challenges encountered through the process.
Ethnographies are an in-depth, holistic type of research used to capture cultural practices, beliefs, traditions, and so on. Here, the researcher observes and interviews members of a culture — an ethnic group, a clique, members of a religion, etc. — and then analyzes their findings.
Researchers will create and test a hypothesis using qualitative data. Often, researchers use grounded theory to understand decision-making, problem-solving, and other types of behavior.
Researchers use this type of framework to understand different aspects of the human experience and how their subjects assign meaning to their experiences. Researchers use interviews to collect data from a small group of subjects, then discuss those results in the form of a narrative or story.
This type of research attempts to understand the lived experiences of a group and/or how members of that group find meaning in their experiences. Researchers use interviews, observation, and other qualitative methods to collect data.
Often used to share novel or unique information, case studies consist of a detailed, in-depth description of a single subject, pilot project, specific events, and so on.
Researchers will recruit people to answer questions in small group settings. Focus group members may share similar demographics or be diverse, depending on the researchers' needs. Group members will then be asked a series of questions and have their responses recorded. While these responses may be coded and discussed numerically (e.g., 50% of group members responded negatively to a question), researchers will also use responses to provide context, nuance, and other details.
Researchers will arrange to observe (usually in an unobtrusive way) a set of subjects in specific conditions. For example, researchers might visit a school cafeteria to learn about the food choices students make or set up trail cameras to collect information about animal behavior in the area.
Unlike quantitative surveys, open-ended surveys require respondents to answer the questions in their own words.
Researchers will recruit a small number of people who fit pre-determined criteria (e.g., people in a certain profession) and ask each the same set of questions, one-on-one. Semi-structured interviews will include opportunities for the interviewee to provide additional information they weren't asked about by the researcher.
Table of Contents | Supplemental Resources | Introduction (PDF)
Official source for APA Style The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition is the official source for APA Style.
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Authoritative and easy to use Known for its authoritative, easy-to-use reference and citation system, the Publication Manual also offers guidance on choosing the headings, tables, figures, language, and tone that will result in powerful, concise, and elegant scholarly communication.
Scholarly writing It guides users through the scholarly writing process—from the ethics of authorship to reporting research through publication.
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It is an indispensable resource for students and professionals to achieve excellence in writing and make an impact with their work.
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Guidelines for ethical writing and guidance on the publication process
Expanded student-specific resources; includes a sample paper
100+ new reference examples, 40+ sample tables and figures
New chapter on journal article reporting standards
Updated bias-free language guidelines; includes usage of singular “they”
One space after end punctuation!
Full color All formats are in full color, including the new tabbed spiral-bound version.
Easy to navigate Improved ease of navigation, with many additional numbered sections to help users quickly locate answers to their questions.
Best practices The Publication Manual (7th ed.) has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect best practices in scholarly writing and publishing.
New student resources Resources for students on writing and formatting annotated bibliographies, response papers, and other paper types as well as guidelines on citing course materials.
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100+ reference examples More than 100 new reference examples covering periodicals, books, audiovisual media, social media, webpages and websites, and legal resources.
40+ new sample tables and figures More than 40 new sample tables and figures, including student-friendly examples such as a correlation table and a bar chart as well as examples that show how to reproduce a table or figure from another source.
Ethics expanded Expanded guidance on ethical writing and publishing practices, including how to ensure the appropriate level of citation, avoid plagiarism and self-plagiarism, and navigate the publication process.
List of Tables and Figures
Editorial Staff and Contributors
Acknowledgments
Introduction (PDF, 94KB)
Types of Articles and Papers
1.1 Quantitative Articles 1.2 Qualitative Articles 1.3 Mixed Methods Articles 1.4 Replication Articles 1.5 Quantitative and Qualitative Meta-Analyses 1.6 Literature Review Articles 1.7 Theoretical Articles 1.8 Methodological Articles 1.9 Other Types of Articles 1.10 Student Papers, Dissertations, and Theses
Ethical, legal, and professional standards in publishing
Ensuring the Accuracy of Scientific Findings
1.11 Planning for Ethical Compliance 1.12 Ethical and Accurate Reporting of Research Results 1.13 Errors, Corrections, and Retractions After Publication 1.14 Data Retention and Sharing 1.15 Additional Data-Sharing Considerations for Qualitative Research 1.16 Duplicate and Piecemeal Publication of Data 1.17 Implications of Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism
Protecting the Rights and Welfare of Research Participants and Subjects
1.18 Rights and Welfare of Research Participants and Subjects 1.19 Protecting Confidentiality 1.20 Conflict of Interest
Protecting Intellectual Property Rights
1.21 Publication Credit 1.22 Order of Authors 1.23 Authors’ Intellectual Property Rights During Manuscript Review 1.24 Authors’ Copyright on Unpublished Manuscripts 1.25 Ethical Compliance Checklist
Required Elements
2.1 Professional Paper Required Elements 2.2 Student Paper Required Elements
Paper Elements
2.3 Title Page 2.4 Title 2.5 Author Name (Byline) 2.6 Author Affiliation 2.7 Author Note 2.8 Running Head 2.9 Abstract 2.10 Keywords 2.11 Text (Body) 2.12 Reference List 2.13 Footnotes 2.14 Appendices 2.15 Supplemental Materials
2.16 Importance of Format 2.17 Order of Pages 2.18 Page Header 2.19 Font 2.20 Special Characters 2.21 Line Spacing 2.22 Margins 2.23 Paragraph Alignment 2.24 Paragraph Indentation 2.25 Paper Length
Organization
2.26 Principles of Organization 2.27 Heading Levels 2.28 Section Labels
Sample papers
Overview of Reporting Standards
3.1 Application of the Principles of JARS 3.2 Terminology Used in JARS
Common Reporting Standards Across Research Designs
3.3 Abstract Standards 3.4 Introduction Standards
Reporting Standards for Quantitative Research
3.5 Basic Expectations for Quantitative Research Reporting 3.6 Quantitative Method Standards 3.7 Quantitative Results Standards 3.8 Quantitative Discussion Standards 3.9 Additional Reporting Standards for Typical Experimental and Nonexperimental Studies 3.10 Reporting Standards for Special Designs 3.11 Standards for Analytic Approaches 3.12 Quantitative Meta-Analysis Standards
Reporting Standards for Qualitative Research
3.13 Basic Expectations for Qualitative Research Reporting 3.14 Qualitative Method Standards 3.15 Qualitative Findings or Results Standards 3.16 Qualitative Discussion Standards 3.17 Qualitative Meta-Analysis Standards
Reporting Standards for Mixed Methods Research
3.18 Basic Expectations for Mixed Methods Research Reporting
Effective scholarly writing
Continuity and Flow
4.1 Importance of Continuity and Flow 4.2 Transitions 4.3 Noun Strings
Conciseness and Clarity
4.4 Importance of Conciseness and Clarity 4.5 Wordiness and Redundancy 4.6 Sentence and Paragraph Length 4.7 Tone 4.8 Contractions and Colloquialisms 4.9 Jargon 4.10 Logical Comparisons 4.11 Anthropomorphism
Grammar and usage
4.12 Verb Tense 4.13 Active and Passive Voice 4.14 Mood 4.15 Subject and Verb Agreement
4.16 First- Versus Third-Person Pronouns 4.17 Editorial “We” 4.18 Singular “They” 4.19 Pronouns for People and Animals (“Who” vs. “That”) 4.20 Pronouns as Subjects and Objects (“Who” vs. “Whom”) 4.21 Pronouns in Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses (“That” vs. “Which”)
Sentence Construction
4.22 Subordinate Conjunctions 4.23 Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers 4.24 Parallel Construction
Strategies to Improve Your Writing
4.25 Reading to Learn Through Example 4.26 Writing From an Outline 4.27 Rereading the Draft 4.28 Seeking Help From Colleagues 4.29 Working With Copyeditors and Writing Centers 4.30 Revising a Paper
General Guidelines for Reducing Bias
5.1 Describe at the Appropriate Level of Specificity 5.2 Be Sensitive to Labels
Reducing Bias by Topic
5.3 Age 5.4 Disability 5.5 Gender 5.6 Participation in Research 5.7 Racial and Ethnic Identity 5.8 Sexual Orientation 5.9 Socioeconomic Status 5.10 Intersectionality
Punctuation
6.1 Spacing After Punctuation Marks 6.2 Period 6.3 Comma 6.4 Semicolon 6.5 Colon 6.6 Dash 6.7 Quotation Marks 6.8 Parentheses 6.9 Square Brackets 6.10 Slash
6.11 Preferred Spelling 6.12 Hyphenation
Capitalization
6.13 Words Beginning a Sentence 6.14 Proper Nouns and Trade Names 6.15 Job Titles and Positions 6.16 Diseases, Disorders, Therapies, Theories, and Related Terms 6.17 Titles of Works and Headings Within Works 6.18 Titles of Tests and Measures 6.19 Nouns Followed by Numerals or Letters 6.20 Names of Conditions or Groups in an Experiment 6.21 Names of Factors, Variables, and Effects
6.22 Use of Italics 6.23 Reverse Italics
Abbreviations
6.24 Use of Abbreviations 6.25 Definition of Abbreviations 6.26 Format of Abbreviations 6.27 Unit of Measurement Abbreviations 6.28 Time Abbreviations 6.29 Latin Abbreviations 6.30 Chemical Compound Abbreviations 6.31 Gene and Protein Name Abbreviations
6.32 Numbers Expressed in Numerals 6.33 Numbers Expressed in Words 6.34 Combining Numerals and Words to Express Numbers 6.35 Ordinal Numbers 6.36 Decimal Fractions 6.37 Roman Numerals 6.38 Commas in Numbers 6.39 Plurals of Numbers
Statistical and Mathematical Copy
6.40 Selecting Effective Presentation 6.41 References for Statistics 6.42 Formulas 6.43 Statistics in Text 6.44 Statistical Symbols and Abbreviations 6.45 Spacing, Alignment, and Punctuation for Statistics
Presentation of Equations
6.46 Equations in Text 6.47 Displayed Equations 6.48 Preparing Statistical and Mathematical Copy for Publication
6.49 List Guidelines 6.50 Lettered Lists 6.51 Numbered Lists 6.52 Bulleted Lists
General Guidelines for Tables and Figures
7.1 Purpose of Tables and Figures 7.2 Design and Preparation of Tables and Figures 7.3 Graphical Versus Textual Presentation 7.4 Formatting Tables and Figures 7.5 Referring to Tables and Figures in the Text 7.6 Placement of Tables and Figures 7.7 Reprinting or Adapting Tables and Figures
7.8 Principles of Table Construction 7.9 Table Components 7.10 Table Numbers 7.11 Table Titles 7.12 Table Headings 7.13 Table Body 7.14 Table Notes 7.15 Standard Abbreviations in Tables and Figures 7.16 Confidence Intervals in Tables 7.17 Table Borders and Shading 7.18 Long or Wide Tables 7.19 Relation Between Tables 7.20 Table Checklist 7.21 Sample Tables
Sample tables
7.22 Principles of Figure Construction 7.23 Figure Components 7.24 Figure Numbers 7.25 Figure Titles 7.26 Figure Images 7.27 Figure Legends 7.28 Figure Notes 7.29 Relation Between Figures 7.30 Photographs 7.31 Considerations for Electrophysiological, Radiological, Genetic, and Other Biological Data 7.32 Electrophysiological Data 7.33 Radiological (Imaging) Data 7.34 Genetic Data 7.35 Figure Checklist 7.36 Sample Figures
Sample figures
General Guidelines for Citation
8.1 Appropriate Level of Citation 8.2 Plagiarism 8.3 Self-Plagiarism 8.4 Correspondence Between Reference List and Text 8.5 Use of the Published Version or Archival Version 8.6 Primary and Secondary Sources
Works Requiring Special Approaches to Citation
8.7 Interviews 8.8 Classroom or Intranet Sources 8.9 Personal Communications
In-Text Citations
8.10 Author–Date Citation System 8.11 Parenthetical and Narrative Citations 8.12 Citing Multiple Works 8.13 Citing Specific Parts of a Source 8.14 Unknown or Anonymous Author 8.15 Translated, Reprinted, Republished, and Reissued Dates 8,16 Omitting the Year in Repeated Narrative Citations 8.17 Number of Authors to Include in In-Text Citations 8.18 Avoiding Ambiguity in In-Text Citations 8.19 Works With the Same Author and Same Date 8.20 Authors With the Same Surname 8.21 Abbreviating Group Authors 8.22 General Mentions of Websites, Periodicals, and Common Software and Apps
Paraphrases and Quotations
8.23 Principles of Paraphrasing 8.24 Long Paraphrases 8.25 Principles of Direct Quotation 8.26 Short Quotations (Fewer Than 40 Words) 8.27 Block Quotations (40 Words or More) 8.28 Direct Quotation of Material Without Page Numbers 8.29 Accuracy of Quotations 8.30 Changes to a Quotation Requiring No Explanation 8.31 Changes to a Quotation Requiring Explanation 8.32 Quotations That Contain Citations to Other Works 8.33 Quotations That Contain Material Already in Quotation Marks 8.34 Permission to Reprint or Adapt Lengthy Quotations 8.35 Epigraphs 8.36 Quotations From Research Participants
Reference Categories
9.1 Determining the Reference Category 9.2 Using the Webpages and Websites Reference Category 9.3 Online and Print References
Principles of Reference List Entries
9.4 Four Elements of a Reference 9.5 Punctuation Within Reference List Entries 9.6 Accuracy and Consistency in References
Reference elements
9.7 Definition of Author 9.8 Format of the Author Element 9.9 Spelling and Capitalization of Author Names 9.10 Identification of Specialized Roles 9.11 Group Authors 9.12 No Author
9.13 Definition of Date 9.14 Format of the Date Element 9.15 Updated or Reviewed Online Works 9.16 Retrieval Dates 9.17 No Date
9.18 Definition of Title 9.19 Format of the Title Element 9.20 Series and Multivolume Works 9.21 Bracketed Descriptions 9.22 No Title
9.23 Definition of Source 9.24 Format of the Source Element 9.25 Periodical Sources 9.26 Online Periodicals With Missing Information 9.27 Article Numbers 9.28 Edited Book Chapter and Reference Work Entry Sources 9.29 Publisher Sources 9.30 Database and Archive Sources 9.31 Works With Specific Locations 9.32 Social Media Sources 9.33 Website Sources 9.34 When to Include DOIs and URLs 9.35 Format of DOIs and URLs 9.36 DOI or URL Shorteners 9.37 No Source
Reference Variations
9.38 Works in Another Language 9.39 Translated Works 9.40 Reprinted Works 9.41 Republished or Reissued Works 9.42 Religious and Classical Works
Reference List Format and Order
9.43 Format of the Reference List 9.44 Order of Works in the Reference List 9.45 Order of Surname and Given Name 9.46 Order of Multiple Works by the Same First Author 9.47 Order of Works With the Same Author and Same Date 9.48 Order of Works by First Authors With the Same Surname 9.49 Order of Works With No Author or an Anonymous Author 9.50 Abbreviations in References 9.51 Annotated Bibliographies 9.52 References Included in a Meta-Analysis
Author Variations
Date Variations
Title Variations
Source Variations
Textual Works
10.1 Periodicals 10.2 Books and Reference Works 10.3 Edited Book Chapters and Entries in Reference Works 10.4 Reports and Gray Literature 10.5 Conference Sessions and Presentations 10.6 Dissertations and Theses 10.7 Reviews 10.8 Unpublished Works and Informally Published Works
Data Sets, Software, and Tests
10.9 Data Sets 10.10 Computer Software, Mobile Apps, Apparatuses, and Equipment 10.11 Tests, Scales, and Inventories
Audiovisual Media
10.12 Audiovisual Works 10.13 Audio Works 10.14 Visual Works
Online Media
10.15 Social Media 10.16 Webpages and Websites
General Guidelines for Legal References
11.1 APA Style References Versus Legal References 11.2 General Forms 11.3 In-Text Citations of Legal Materials
Legal Reference Examples
11.4 Cases or Court Decisions 11.5 Statutes (Laws and Acts) 11.6 Legislative Materials 11.7 Administrative and Executive Materials 11.8 Patents 11.9 Constitutions and Charters 11.10 Treaties and International Conventions
Preparing for Publication
12.1 Adapting a Dissertation or Thesis Into a Journal Article 12.2 Selecting a Journal for Publication 12.3 Prioritizing Potential Journals 12.4 Avoiding Predatory Journals
Understanding the Editorial Publication Process
12.5 Editorial Publication Process 12.6 Role of the Editors 12.7 Peer Review Process 12.8 Manuscript Decisions
Manuscript Preparation
12.9 Preparing the Manuscript for Submission 12.10 Using an Online Submission Portal 12.11 Writing a Cover Letter 12.12 Corresponding During Publication 12.13 Certifying Ethical Requirements
Copyright and Permission Guidelines
12.14 General Guidelines for Reprinting or Adapting Materials 12.15 Materials That Require Copyright Attribution 12.16 Copyright Status 12.17 Permission and Fair Use 12.18 Copyright Attribution Formats
During and After Publication
12.19 Article Proofs 12.20 Published Article Copyright Policies 12.21 Open Access Deposit Policies 12.22 Writing a Correction Notice 12.23 Sharing Your Article Online 12.24 Promoting Your Article
Credits for Adapted Tables, Figures, and Papers
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Methodology
Published on June 7, 2021 by Shona McCombes . Revised on November 20, 2023 by Pritha Bhandari.
A research design is a strategy for answering your research question using empirical data. Creating a research design means making decisions about:
A well-planned research design helps ensure that your methods match your research objectives and that you use the right kind of analysis for your data.
Step 1: consider your aims and approach, step 2: choose a type of research design, step 3: identify your population and sampling method, step 4: choose your data collection methods, step 5: plan your data collection procedures, step 6: decide on your data analysis strategies, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research design.
Before you can start designing your research, you should already have a clear idea of the research question you want to investigate.
There are many different ways you could go about answering this question. Your research design choices should be driven by your aims and priorities—start by thinking carefully about what you want to achieve.
The first choice you need to make is whether you’ll take a qualitative or quantitative approach.
Qualitative approach | Quantitative approach |
---|---|
and describe frequencies, averages, and correlations about relationships between variables |
Qualitative research designs tend to be more flexible and inductive , allowing you to adjust your approach based on what you find throughout the research process.
Quantitative research designs tend to be more fixed and deductive , with variables and hypotheses clearly defined in advance of data collection.
It’s also possible to use a mixed-methods design that integrates aspects of both approaches. By combining qualitative and quantitative insights, you can gain a more complete picture of the problem you’re studying and strengthen the credibility of your conclusions.
As well as scientific considerations, you need to think practically when designing your research. If your research involves people or animals, you also need to consider research ethics .
At each stage of the research design process, make sure that your choices are practically feasible.
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Within both qualitative and quantitative approaches, there are several types of research design to choose from. Each type provides a framework for the overall shape of your research.
Quantitative designs can be split into four main types.
Type of design | Purpose and characteristics |
---|---|
Experimental | relationships effect on a |
Quasi-experimental | ) |
Correlational | |
Descriptive |
With descriptive and correlational designs, you can get a clear picture of characteristics, trends and relationships as they exist in the real world. However, you can’t draw conclusions about cause and effect (because correlation doesn’t imply causation ).
Experiments are the strongest way to test cause-and-effect relationships without the risk of other variables influencing the results. However, their controlled conditions may not always reflect how things work in the real world. They’re often also more difficult and expensive to implement.
Qualitative designs are less strictly defined. This approach is about gaining a rich, detailed understanding of a specific context or phenomenon, and you can often be more creative and flexible in designing your research.
The table below shows some common types of qualitative design. They often have similar approaches in terms of data collection, but focus on different aspects when analyzing the data.
Type of design | Purpose and characteristics |
---|---|
Grounded theory | |
Phenomenology |
Your research design should clearly define who or what your research will focus on, and how you’ll go about choosing your participants or subjects.
In research, a population is the entire group that you want to draw conclusions about, while a sample is the smaller group of individuals you’ll actually collect data from.
A population can be made up of anything you want to study—plants, animals, organizations, texts, countries, etc. In the social sciences, it most often refers to a group of people.
For example, will you focus on people from a specific demographic, region or background? Are you interested in people with a certain job or medical condition, or users of a particular product?
The more precisely you define your population, the easier it will be to gather a representative sample.
Even with a narrowly defined population, it’s rarely possible to collect data from every individual. Instead, you’ll collect data from a sample.
To select a sample, there are two main approaches: probability sampling and non-probability sampling . The sampling method you use affects how confidently you can generalize your results to the population as a whole.
Probability sampling | Non-probability sampling |
---|---|
Probability sampling is the most statistically valid option, but it’s often difficult to achieve unless you’re dealing with a very small and accessible population.
For practical reasons, many studies use non-probability sampling, but it’s important to be aware of the limitations and carefully consider potential biases. You should always make an effort to gather a sample that’s as representative as possible of the population.
In some types of qualitative designs, sampling may not be relevant.
For example, in an ethnography or a case study , your aim is to deeply understand a specific context, not to generalize to a population. Instead of sampling, you may simply aim to collect as much data as possible about the context you are studying.
In these types of design, you still have to carefully consider your choice of case or community. You should have a clear rationale for why this particular case is suitable for answering your research question .
For example, you might choose a case study that reveals an unusual or neglected aspect of your research problem, or you might choose several very similar or very different cases in order to compare them.
Data collection methods are ways of directly measuring variables and gathering information. They allow you to gain first-hand knowledge and original insights into your research problem.
You can choose just one data collection method, or use several methods in the same study.
Surveys allow you to collect data about opinions, behaviors, experiences, and characteristics by asking people directly. There are two main survey methods to choose from: questionnaires and interviews .
Questionnaires | Interviews |
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) |
Observational studies allow you to collect data unobtrusively, observing characteristics, behaviors or social interactions without relying on self-reporting.
Observations may be conducted in real time, taking notes as you observe, or you might make audiovisual recordings for later analysis. They can be qualitative or quantitative.
Quantitative observation | |
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There are many other ways you might collect data depending on your field and topic.
Field | Examples of data collection methods |
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Media & communication | Collecting a sample of texts (e.g., speeches, articles, or social media posts) for data on cultural norms and narratives |
Psychology | Using technologies like neuroimaging, eye-tracking, or computer-based tasks to collect data on things like attention, emotional response, or reaction time |
Education | Using tests or assignments to collect data on knowledge and skills |
Physical sciences | Using scientific instruments to collect data on things like weight, blood pressure, or chemical composition |
If you’re not sure which methods will work best for your research design, try reading some papers in your field to see what kinds of data collection methods they used.
If you don’t have the time or resources to collect data from the population you’re interested in, you can also choose to use secondary data that other researchers already collected—for example, datasets from government surveys or previous studies on your topic.
With this raw data, you can do your own analysis to answer new research questions that weren’t addressed by the original study.
Using secondary data can expand the scope of your research, as you may be able to access much larger and more varied samples than you could collect yourself.
However, it also means you don’t have any control over which variables to measure or how to measure them, so the conclusions you can draw may be limited.
As well as deciding on your methods, you need to plan exactly how you’ll use these methods to collect data that’s consistent, accurate, and unbiased.
Planning systematic procedures is especially important in quantitative research, where you need to precisely define your variables and ensure your measurements are high in reliability and validity.
Some variables, like height or age, are easily measured. But often you’ll be dealing with more abstract concepts, like satisfaction, anxiety, or competence. Operationalization means turning these fuzzy ideas into measurable indicators.
If you’re using observations , which events or actions will you count?
If you’re using surveys , which questions will you ask and what range of responses will be offered?
You may also choose to use or adapt existing materials designed to measure the concept you’re interested in—for example, questionnaires or inventories whose reliability and validity has already been established.
Reliability means your results can be consistently reproduced, while validity means that you’re actually measuring the concept you’re interested in.
Reliability | Validity |
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) ) |
For valid and reliable results, your measurement materials should be thoroughly researched and carefully designed. Plan your procedures to make sure you carry out the same steps in the same way for each participant.
If you’re developing a new questionnaire or other instrument to measure a specific concept, running a pilot study allows you to check its validity and reliability in advance.
As well as choosing an appropriate sampling method , you need a concrete plan for how you’ll actually contact and recruit your selected sample.
That means making decisions about things like:
If you’re using a probability sampling method , it’s important that everyone who is randomly selected actually participates in the study. How will you ensure a high response rate?
If you’re using a non-probability method , how will you avoid research bias and ensure a representative sample?
It’s also important to create a data management plan for organizing and storing your data.
Will you need to transcribe interviews or perform data entry for observations? You should anonymize and safeguard any sensitive data, and make sure it’s backed up regularly.
Keeping your data well-organized will save time when it comes to analyzing it. It can also help other researchers validate and add to your findings (high replicability ).
On its own, raw data can’t answer your research question. The last step of designing your research is planning how you’ll analyze the data.
In quantitative research, you’ll most likely use some form of statistical analysis . With statistics, you can summarize your sample data, make estimates, and test hypotheses.
Using descriptive statistics , you can summarize your sample data in terms of:
The specific calculations you can do depend on the level of measurement of your variables.
Using inferential statistics , you can:
Regression and correlation tests look for associations between two or more variables, while comparison tests (such as t tests and ANOVAs ) look for differences in the outcomes of different groups.
Your choice of statistical test depends on various aspects of your research design, including the types of variables you’re dealing with and the distribution of your data.
In qualitative research, your data will usually be very dense with information and ideas. Instead of summing it up in numbers, you’ll need to comb through the data in detail, interpret its meanings, identify patterns, and extract the parts that are most relevant to your research question.
Two of the most common approaches to doing this are thematic analysis and discourse analysis .
Approach | Characteristics |
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Thematic analysis | |
Discourse analysis |
There are many other ways of analyzing qualitative data depending on the aims of your research. To get a sense of potential approaches, try reading some qualitative research papers in your field.
If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.
Statistics
Research bias
A research design is a strategy for answering your research question . It defines your overall approach and determines how you will collect and analyze data.
A well-planned research design helps ensure that your methods match your research aims, that you collect high-quality data, and that you use the right kind of analysis to answer your questions, utilizing credible sources . This allows you to draw valid , trustworthy conclusions.
Quantitative research designs can be divided into two main categories:
Qualitative research designs tend to be more flexible. Common types of qualitative design include case study , ethnography , and grounded theory designs.
The priorities of a research design can vary depending on the field, but you usually have to specify:
A sample is a subset of individuals from a larger population . Sampling means selecting the group that you will actually collect data from in your research. For example, if you are researching the opinions of students in your university, you could survey a sample of 100 students.
In statistics, sampling allows you to test a hypothesis about the characteristics of a population.
Operationalization means turning abstract conceptual ideas into measurable observations.
For example, the concept of social anxiety isn’t directly observable, but it can be operationally defined in terms of self-rating scores, behavioral avoidance of crowded places, or physical anxiety symptoms in social situations.
Before collecting data , it’s important to consider how you will operationalize the variables that you want to measure.
A research project is an academic, scientific, or professional undertaking to answer a research question . Research projects can take many forms, such as qualitative or quantitative , descriptive , longitudinal , experimental , or correlational . What kind of research approach you choose will depend on your topic.
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Although exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first six months of life, research suggests that breastfeeding initiation rates and duration among Indigenous communities differ from this recommendation. Qualitative studies point to a variety of factors influencing infant feeding decisions; however, there has been no collective review of this literature published to date. Therefore, the objective of this scoping review was to identify and summarize the qualitative literature regarding Indigenous infant feeding experiences within Canada, the United States, Australia, and Aotearoa.
Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses- Scoping Reviews and the Joanna Briggs Institute Guidelines, in October 2020, Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus were searched for relevant papers focusing on Indigenous infant feeding experiences. Screening and full-text review was completed by two independent reviewers. A grey literature search was also conducted using country-specific Google searches and targeted website searching. The protocol is registered with the Open Science Framework and published in BMJ Open.
Forty-six papers from the five databases and grey literature searches were included in the final review and extraction. There were 18 papers from Canada, 11 papers in the US, 9 studies in Australia and 8 studies conducted in Aotearoa. We identified the following themes describing infant feeding experiences through qualitative analysis: colonization, culture and traditionality, social perceptions, family, professional influences, environment, cultural safety, survivance, establishing breastfeeding, autonomy, infant feeding knowledge , and milk substitutes , with family and culture having the most influence on infant feeding experiences based on frequency of themes.
This review highlights key influencers of Indigenous caregivers’ infant feeding experiences, which are often situated within complex social and environmental contexts with the role of family and culture as essential in supporting caregivers. There is a need for long-term follow-up studies that partner with communities to support sustainable policy and program changes that support infant and maternal health.
Peer Review reports
Nutritional status is a key aspect of infant health with recommendations for exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, which can also influence and be influenced by maternal health and wellbeing [ 1 , 2 ]. Breastfeeding has several benefits for the health and development of infants, including a reduced risk of ear and respiratory infections, obesity, asthma, skin conditions, childhood leukemia, and gastroenteritis [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. It also supports bonding between the child and parent with improved intimacy [ 3 ]. Additionally, breastfeeding has several maternal physical and mental health benefits, including a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancer, depression, and type 2 diabetes due to immunoprotective antibodies in breastmilk [ 3 ]. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life and initiation within the first hour after birth; however, less than half of infants 0–6 months old are exclusively breastfed worldwide [ 6 ]. Many countries are not meeting the WHO recommendations, with notable differences between low, middle, and high-income countries [ 2 ]. Differences in breastfeeding initiation rates and duration have been observed between Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups, with 6–10% lower breastfeeding initiation rates and shorter duration for Indigenous peoples [ 7 , 8 , 9 ].
Despite the many benefits of breastfeeding, bottle feeding with milk substitutes is a common form of infant nutrition and its common usage is related to a multi-dimensional set of factors influencing infant feeding decision-making. Breastfeeding is considered a traditional practice within many Indigenous cultures; however, disruptions to traditional lifeways through colonization have influenced intergenerational knowledge sharing, particularly within high-income, settler states like Canada, the US, Australia, and Aotearoa (New Zealand) [ 10 ]. Rollins et al. [ 1 ] summarize factors that influence the global breastfeeding environment including the sociocultural and market contexts, the healthcare system and services, family and community settings, employment, and individual determinants like the mother and infant attributes. However, these core breastfeeding environments for general populations overlook key considerations for Indigenous communities given the unique historical, cultural, and socio-economic contexts specific to Indigenous groups [ 11 ].
Many studies to date have focused on quantitative infant feeding data, incorporating structured questionnaires that have provided some insight into breastfeeding barriers and enablers for Indigenous caregivers [ 7 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. However, these studies are informed by specific research questions and do not capture important nuances that caregivers experience related to infant feeding. Qualitative research can enhance our understanding of phenomena by providing flexible means for participants to engage in the research topic of interest without the constraints of structured instruments, and can even transform the research by highlighting community needs [ 15 , 16 ]. Qualitative research can also have synergy with Indigenous methodologies, supporting the use of qualitative research with Indigenous communities [ 17 ]. Given the value of qualitative inquiry and breastfeeding as traditional practice for many Indigenous cultures, disrupted by colonial influences and the burden of conditions that breastfeeding has been shown to mitigate [ 3 , 5 , 10 , 11 , 16 , 17 ], it is imperative that we consider Indigenous caregiver infant feeding experiences and perspectives to understand what needs exist as defined by communities and caregivers. Therefore, the overall aim of this scoping review was to identify and summarize the qualitative literature on infant nutrition experiences to inform needs as expressed qualitatively by Indigenous caregivers in Canada, the US, Australia, and Aotearoa. These regions are included given the shared colonial influences on Indigenous peoples with overlapping outcomes on health [ 10 , 18 ]. This review will also assess the qualitative methodologies used to understand what can be learned to inform Indigenous infant feeding services, policies, and research gaps.
This scoping review adheres to guidelines from Tricco and colleagues’ [ 19 ] Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses ( PRISMA) extension for scoping reviews , the Joanna Briggs Institute’s Reviewer’s Manual Chap. 11 [ 20 ], as well as Arksey & O’Malley’s [ 21 ] foundational article on scoping studies. The protocol for the review is registered with the Open Science Framework ( https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/J8ZW2 ) and published with BMJ Open [ 22 ].
Works included in this review must have focused on Indigenous populations in Canada, the United States, Australia, and/or Aotearoa. These four countries share commonalities in that they are colonial countries in which Indigenous peoples face inequitable health outcomes [ 10 , 18 , 23 ]. The topic of interest for this review was caregivers’ experiences of infant feeding within one or more of these regions. “Caregivers” refer to individuals in the infants’ immediate familial and social circles who are directly responsible for the regular care of the infant. A broad definition of those involved in caregiving was used, recognizing that within many Indigenous communities, traditional adoption practices occur, or biological parents may not be the primary caregivers in part related to complex socio-ecological challenges. The experiences of healthcare professionals were not included as they were not considered “caregivers” by this definition. Works that discussed breastfeeding, as well as alternative forms of infant feeding, such as formula and cow’s milk, were included. Works that only focused on the introduction of solid foods were excluded. To capture caregivers’ experiences of infant feeding, qualitative and mixed-method studies that discussed experiences, perspectives, and/or practices as described by caregivers were included. Studies that used exclusively quantitative methods or that only described an outsider perspective (e.g. health professional) were excluded. Peer-reviewed journal articles and grey literature were included if they met the above criteria, were published in the English language, and were published after 1969 [ 22 ].
Various types of grey literature such as government documents, dissertations, and research reports by academic and non-academic institutions, including Indigenous organizations, were included. Media reports (including videos, news, and blogs) were excluded from the grey literature as they did not follow a research design with results that could be considered alongside the studies included in the review, hindering our ability to compare and critically analyze the results. Similarly, publications that consisted of only an abstract were excluded from both grey and database publications during full-text review as not enough information was present for analysis.
The search strategy was created with guidance from a research librarian at the Gerstein Science Information Centre, University of Toronto. The complete search strategy can be found as supplementary material in our published protocol [ 22 ]. Search terms primarily included broad terminology for Indigenous peoples (e.g. Native American) rather than specific Nation names (e.g. Ojibwe) as this would have significantly extended the search term list while not resulting in additional sources given how sources are indexed within Library systems. A database and grey literature search were conducted for this scoping review, completed independently from one another until final data extraction when the data were combined for analysis. For both searches, the reviewers followed a step-by-step process of title and abstract screening, followed by full-text screening, and then data extraction.
The database search planning and calibration occurred in August and September of 2020, and all data were exported in English on October 20, 21, and 22 of 2020. Exportation occurred over three days given feasibility of exporting the high number of citations and time capacity of the reviewers. A total of 16734 relevant sources available in the following databases were included: Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus. These databases were selected to ensure a broad range of research given the multidisciplinary nature of research on this topic. The grey literature search consisted of a targeted search of a variety of Indigenous focused websites specific to the four countries and a thorough Google search with each of the country-specific Google versions (Google.com.au, Google.co.nz, Google.ca, and Google.com) where the first 10 pages of results were reviewed (Supplementary File 1 ). Lastly, Indigenous Studies Portal (I-Portal) was searched as part of the grey literature as this database uses a different indexing system than other research databases. The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH)’s “Grey Matters” checklist [ 24 ] was used in the planning and tracking of grey literature searches and findings.
The results of the database search including 16734 citations were uploaded to Covidence (Veritas Health Innovation Ltd., Melbourne, Australia), a data management platform for systematic and scoping reviews, where 3928 duplicates were automatically removed. The 284 results of the grey literature search were recorded on Google Sheets (Alphabet Inc. California, USA) and 146 duplicates were manually removed by the reviewers. Due to the large number of results retrieved in the database and grey literature search, a hand-search of reference lists was not conducted.
A list of key words developed by HM were searched on each site and can be found in Supplementary File 1 . The grey literature search was completed by HM, CC, and HS with all reviewers assigned to search a Country-specific Google database for one of the included countries. Using a template created by Stapleton [ 25 ] at the University of Waterloo based on methods described by Godin et al. [ 26 ], the reviewers kept track of which search terms were searched on the websites, the number of results retrieved, and the number of items screened and saved for further full-text analysis. If a website did not have a search bar, relevant tabs were examined for research, resources, and other publications. I-Portal was originally searched on August 15th, 2021 (yielding 10 results), however the search was revised to remove Indigenous search terms as the database was already Indigenous-specific. The search was repeated on August 18th, 2021, and yielded 77 additional results. The grey literature search was completed between May 25, 2021 – August 18, 2021. No search limitations or filters were used for the grey literature search or the database search.
The database abstract screening was initially completed by HM and CC starting in October 2020. They were then joined by HS and CL in February 2021. To ensure all reviewers had a shared understanding of the eligibility criteria, two search results were screened together and each reviewer discussed their reasoning for inclusion or exclusion. HM also hosted an introductory meeting to review the screening process using Covidence Software [ 27 ] in detail. All 12806 database results were saved in Covidence [ 27 ].
Abstract and full-text screening was completed in Covidence by two independent reviewers. Any conflicts at the screening stage were resolved by AH after all the results had been screened by two reviewers. Full-text screening was completed by HM, AH, and CC, and when conflicts arose, the reviewers met to discuss the difference in opinion until a consensus was reached. A third reviewer joined to offer impartial opinions for full-text conflicts.
Grey literature results were not imported to Covidence. Instead, the team used Google Sheets to organize the publications. Similar to the database review process, each study was screened by two independent reviewers and conflicts were resolved by a third party and discussed for consensus. Full-text review of the grey literature was completed by HM, AH, CC, and HS.
HM compiled a list of variables to extract (Supplementary File 2 ), and the data extraction was completed by HM, AH, and CC in Covidence for database results and Google Sheets for the grey literature. The extraction template was reviewed and tested by all three reviewers using the same two articles. Discussion about any areas of confusion followed by minor edits to the data extraction template were completed prior to extraction.
Only one reviewer extracted data from most publications, however in circumstances where an article was complex or data extraction was not clear given the format of the article, two reviewers extracted data from the publication. An additional subset of five publications were also randomly double-reviewed by HM to ensure consistency in data extraction. There were an additional two articles that were excluded at this step after review and discussion by AH and HM.
Review findings using the extraction template (supplementary file 2 ) were exported into Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Washington, USA) and reviewed by HM. HM compiled all data and completed summary figures for variables of interest. The primary analysis consisted of a qualitative review of the included papers’ results and recommendations using a thematic synthesis informed by grounded theory and meta-ethnography, where the included papers are synthesized together, and interpreted using descriptive and analytical themes [ 28 ]. Similar to grounded theory, this process was inductive and identifies themes through comparisons. HM reviewed all extracted data from the excel files, coding for overlapping themes and taking notes throughout. The full-text of the extracted papers were then revisited to identify overall concepts, followed by descriptive themes. Categorization of descriptive themes was completed based on the results and interpretations of included papers. Descriptive themes were refined through additional comparisons between papers. The same analytical process was used for both database and grey literature results, and final analysis involved the integration of themes from the database and grey literature papers. Supplementary file 3 provides a summary table of the included papers in this scoping review.
Of the final sample of 46 articles from which data was extracted (Fig. 1 ), there were studies from each of the four countries, with the most studies (39%) published from Canada. In addition, this qualitative literature on infant feeding included several Indigenous groups within the four countries. The studies retained in this review included authors who identified as either Indigenous or non-Indigenous, and several did not mention positionality (Fig. 2 ). 13% more grey literature studies discussed positionality and had Indigenous sole authorship compared to the database papers. Regarding methodologies utilized, several described Indigenous methodologies and used thematic analysis as an analytic tool (Figs. 3 and 4 ). However, a third of the studies did not describe their theoretical foundations for the qualitative inquiry. Over 60% of the studies were published in the fields of public health and/or nursing as per the authors stated fields of study and/or the Journal’s field, and although there were studies published from 1984 to 2019, 50% of the retained papers were published after 2010.
PRISMA flow diagram for studies identified, screened, and included in this review from both database and grey literature searches. Note that records not retrived are those in which the full-text was not accessible. This diagram was created from the PRISMA 2020 statement [ 29 ]
Author positionality as described in the retained papers
Summary of analytic tools used in the retained studies
Summary of theoretical foundations informing the retained studies’ methodologies
Analysis revealed a variety of important themes that aligned with Indigenous and public health perspectives on health, including the socioecological model. There were twelve final overarching themes including colonization, social perceptions, family, professional influences, culture and traditionality , environment (i.e. built environment) , autonomy, survivance, infant feeding knowledge, cultural safety , milk substitutes , and establishing breastfeeding with evidence of connections among these themes. These themes are shown in Fig. 5 in a circular pattern where the themes intersect with the infant and caregiver represented at the centre. This model is conceptually aligned with that of Dodgson et al. [ 30 ], who considered the “contextual influences within the social structures of family and community, Ojibwe culture, and mainstream culture.”
Scoping review research model of themes
The twelve final themes are shown as the main influences on infant feeding experiences. The themes are arranged in a circular pattern with the infant and caregiver represented at the centre, emphasizing the connection between all of the themes
There were 14 papers that discussed colonization of Indigenous peoples as a key factor influencing infant feeding decisions and experiences (Fig. 6 ) [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ]. Colonization has meant the dispossession of land and limited access to culturally safe healthcare, malnutrition, and loss of language through residential schools, loss of culture and traditional knowledge through assimilation and separation of families, disrupting breastfeeding practices and limiting income for infant formula. Eni et al. [ 36 ] described the policies leading to evacuation from communities to tertiary-care hospitals for birthing as the medicalization of birthing practices, which creates various challenges for First Nations women in Canada. One participant also shared about the impacts of intergenerational trauma related to colonization on breastfeeding, ‘‘You can’t teach about breastfeeding technique and think things will change. It’s the spirit that’s been affected, our experience with trauma. Our women need to relearn how to bond with their children.’’.
A qualitative study with Aboriginal Australian first-time mothers noted the disruptions to breastfeeding practices over time, providing a historical chart detailing how infant feeding practices changed as a result of colonial influences [ 38 ]. Brittany Luby [ 39 ] described how hydroelectric flooding from 1900 to 1975 in Northwestern Ontario reduced breastfeeding practices for Anishinabek mothers and their infants. Although not all studies specifically discussed history and colonization, those that considered the broader historical context highlighted how important this issue is in understanding the factors that lead to infant feeding decisions, particularly those that do not align with breastfeeding as a traditional feeding practice.
Frequency of identified themes in the database papers and the grey literature
Culture , including traditionality, was the second most described theme throughout all papers, identified both directly and indirectly in 31 papers (Fig. 6 ) [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 34 , 35 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 ]. The Navajo Infant Feeding Project focused on cultural beliefs influencing infant feeding practices within three Navajo communities in the United States [ 48 ] and emphasized breastfeeding’s significance for nutritional, physical, and psychological health where mothers not only pass along physical health benefits, but also their wellbeing to their children. The Baby Teeth Talk Study in Cree communities in Northern Manitoba, Canada, has identified breastfeeding as a cultural intervention for the prevention of early childhood caries [ 52 ]. Several studies included a variety of generations in data collection, contributing to rich discussion of how breastfeeding rates and connection to traditionality has changed in some communities [ 48 , 57 , 64 , 65 ]. For example, grandmothers living on the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana, US, were interviewed about their perspectives on infant feeding [ 65 ]. In one of the ethnographic studies, there was a specific focus on the Ojibwe culture relating to infant feeding practices from the perspective of mothers, professionals who were also community members, and Elders [ 35 ]. This study emphasized the holistic and collective worldview of the community, influencing women’s roles within the family and how teachings were passed on from generation to generation [ 35 ]. This was considered to be important in influencing effective and culturally safe breastfeeding promotion. Within the Northwest Territories, Canada, Moffitt and Dickinson [ 53 ] supported breastfeeding knowledge translation tools for Tłı̨chǫ women with one of the themes focused on factors that “pull to breastfeeding,” including breastfeeding as a traditional feeding method. In general, Indigenous communities described breastfeeding as a cultural practice; however, how this is supported and the traditional knowledge surrounding this practice may differ from community to community. Therefore, health providers must be aware of community-specific protocols and support these within programs and recommendations.
Societal influences are often considered alongside cultural perspectives of infant feeding; therefore, this theme was also commonly discussed in the papers retained in this scoping review (Fig. 6 ) [ 30 , 32 , 33 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 40 , 42 , 49 , 50 , 52 , 54 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 61 , 64 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 ]. In New South Wales, Australia, Aboriginal mothers and key informants noted the need for “a safe place to feed,” including concerns about the social acceptability to breastfeed in public [ 32 ]. Broader social “norms” are also discussed as influencing maternal behavior [ 68 ], and respondents in some studies expressed concern about judgements from others [ 32 , 36 ]. Tapera et al. [ 40 ] described concerns about social pressures and a lack of support with one grandparent sharing, “well here in New Zealand, I know we have a problem with this [breast-feeding], especially when mothers go out and they breast-feed their babies in public. There’s a lot of people that moan and groan about this.” Similarly, regarding social norms, a grandmother living in the US shared,
“a long time ago that, it [breastfeeding] was acceptable and nobody had any qualms about it but today, I mean you read continually about, people, mother’s tryin’ ta breastfeed and they’re being chased out a places or stores or people are rude about it […]. Society’s changed, you know, it’s […] society, has come to the point where it’s […] trying to tell us what’s the right way ta live what’s the right way ta raise our kids” [ 65 ].
Dodgson et al. [ 30 ] described how in an Ojibwe community in Minnesota, US, participants noted the dominant societal influences in contrast to community traditions, with women making an effort to engage in traditional practices. The sexualization of breasts in mainstream society sometimes influenced Indigenous mothers’ infant feeding experiences [ 36 ], although Ojibwe caregivers in Minnesota attributed shyness with breastfeeding to traditional value opposed to sexualization of breasts [ 30 ]. Eni et al. [ 36 ] included sexual objectification of the feminine body as a subtheme in their study, describing how this social perception damages maternal mental health, creating a barrier to breastfeeding. While shifting social norms is a significant challenge, breastfeeding supports can address concerns about the sexual objectification of breasts by creating safe spaces for parents to talk about the challenges and ensure that parents have access to mental health resources.
Dodgson et al. [ 30 ] described family as a pattern that influences breastfeeding intersecting with the social structures of the community, culture, and the broader society. There were 33 other papers that described the influence of family on infant feeding practices making this the most discussed theme (Fig. 6 ) [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 36 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 ]. Native American mothers living in six communities highlighted the importance of family as a key theme [ 47 ]. One mother shared, “For me, it’s my mom definitely [whose advice is most important] because she has had three kids and I lived with her or near her for all of my kids. So I’ve always gone to her first for advice.” This was echoed by many other participants with a paraprofessional adding, “family [advice is most important], because they are around their family most. And they always hear from their aunties, or from grandma, baby’s fussing, baby must be hungry, baby needs this and baby needs that.” The Baby Basket Program in Cape York, Australia identified that empowering families was the foundation of the program to ensure that mothers and their partners were equipped for the arrival of their babies [ 50 ]. Family often plays an integral role in supporting mothers in infant feeding practices. Bauer and Wright [ 45 ] note that even when mothers don’t have other supports or conditions in place to support breastfeeding, they may still choose to breastfeed if their family is supportive. However, when this support is lacking, mothers find it challenging to breastfeed [ 31 , 36 ]. Some studies identified the significance of family in the study design, integrating family caregiver perspectives in data collection [ 64 , 65 ]. Therefore, health programs and research studies should consider the role and experience of non-primary caregivers within family networks for infant and maternal health and nutrition.
This theme represents the influence of formal systems including healthcare professionals, health and social programs, child services, and the legal system. In total, there were 26 papers that referenced professional influences on infant feeding experiences (Fig. 6 ) [ 30 , 31 , 33 , 38 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 45 , 47 , 48 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 54 , 58 , 59 , 61 , 62 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 ]. Some studies incorporate health workers as participants in data collection [ 47 , 50 , 65 ]. One health paraprofessional shares about some of the pressures experienced by mothers to formula feed, “sometimes hospitals and doctors want to push formula in bottles on moms [ 47 ].” One of the main themes in a study with Sioux and Assiniboine Nations in the US was the ‘ Overburdened Healthcare System’ , describing a lack of resources and infrastructure to support breastfeeding, including a subtheme of mistrust in the healthcare system due to previous negative experiences such as forced sterilization of Indigenous women [ 65 ]. However, some caregivers also expressed positive healthcare supports, “when I was at home, [clinic midwife] and [lactation consultant made home visits] … they encouraged me … And then it started getting a little bit better, but it was still a bit hard. Now he feeds pretty all right [ 73 ].” Professional influences on infant feeding are nuanced and may differ significantly within various contexts and individuals; therefore, tailored interventions are needed.
This theme represents the external variables within the built environment that influence decision making including work, school, remoteness, and cost of formula. Eighteen papers addressed this theme [ 30 , 31 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 51 , 53 , 58 , 59 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 70 , 71 , 72 ]. Wright et al. [ 74 ] specifically considered the challenge of breastfeeding with maternal employment among the Navajo population in the US. In Bauer and Wright’s [ 45 ] study that explored infant feeding decision models, they identified that work and school are part of the decision-making process on whether to breastfeeding or to use formula, but even when these environmental challenges are present they can be further influenced by other factors, like family . For example, a mother may choose to breastfeed and use a breast pump to navigate work/school schedules, but family members may recommend that they can incorporate formula; decision-making is not only about the main caregiver’s desires but can involve various decision-makers.
This theme describes parents’ freedom to make infant feeding decisions that fit for them and their priorities. Maternal desire to breast- or bottle-feed was discussed in select papers in this review [ 45 , 51 ]. In addition, other papers describe parents’ freedom to do activities outside of infant feeding in the early months of baby’s life with discussion of time required to breastfeed or prepare bottles for feeding [ 31 , 58 , 72 , 74 ]. A key informant in a study with an Aboriginal community in Northern New South Wales, Australia, shares, “they want to breastfeed, but then it comes down to when they want to go out, or keep up with their man [ 32 ].” Some parents report that they experienced judgements from others or feel forced into making a specific decision on infant feeding method, highlighting a desire to have support and freedom to make their own decisions [ 36 , 56 ].
Several studies emphasize the importance of knowledge on infant feeding experiences, highlighting the value of infant feeding education, both within the overall healthcare system and from traditional teachings [ 30 , 32 , 35 , 40 , 42 , 43 , 47 , 52 , 57 , 58 , 62 , 64 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 ]. Within the theme of addressing feeding challenges in one study [ 66 ], a caregiver shared how knowledge helped her to work through a challenge,
“He did start fussing at about 6 weeks and that was kind of hard because I thought, ‘No, I have got this perfect now, and he has started to muck up’. But then I read, because I had those booklets and I read that sometimes they — at a certain point — they get a bit fussy and you just have to work through it. [Ml7]” [ 66 ].
Traditional breastfeeding knowledge is important for many communities; one Anishinaabe community knowledge keeper shared that “breast milk is a gift and a medicine a mother gives her child” [ 35 ]. This study also discusses feeding patterns as shared by Elders and traditional teachers. Traditional knowledge considers holistic perspectives of health where caregivers are also focused on the baby’s spiritual wellbeing [ 48 , 56 ].
Bottle feeding (formula or canned milk) and solid foods are described in several papers as alternatives or complements to breastfeeding [ 31 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 39 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 58 , 66 , 67 , 74 , 75 ]. In Neander and Morse’s [ 37 ] study with a Cree community in Alberta, Canada, bottle feedings were offered particularly when mothers felt that they were not producing adequate milk supply to meet the baby’s nutritional needs. Insufficient milk supply is echoed as a concern in several other papers resulting in complementary bottle feeding or weaning [ 48 , 51 , 56 , 66 , 67 ]. A Māori father shares,
“about the second week, baby just wanted more food. She (partner) would end her day and baby was just hungry. We had to [give her] the bottle and then she would be finally satisfied. It wasn’t that she made a choice. Baby was actually demanding more and more and she couldn’t produce it. (First-time father, mid 20’s) [ 56 ].”
This theme particularly overlaps with autonomy as parents balance infant feeding decisions with breastmilk supply, work, school, and other personal commitments.
Indigenous caregivers interact with a variety of health services postnatally; however, there is a need to address cultural safety within the healthcare system. Twelve retained papers highlighted this theme either directly as one of their themes or as part of another theme (Fig. 6 ) [ 30 , 31 , 44 , 47 , 50 , 64 , 66 , 67 , 69 , 71 , 73 , 74 ]. One health worker in Victoria, Australia, shared,
“I can’t say often enough or long enough, loud enough the ideal for children 0–8 is to have access to maternal and child health. You might say ‘oh yes, they’ve got access to mainstream and they’re culturally going to put up a few Indigenous prints in their rooms’ It’s not the same. Our families are telling us with their feet it’s not the same.”
Mothers expressed a desire for more traditional infant feeding knowledge within services and culturally relevant supports [ 47 , 64 ]. A study that focused on a baby basket program to support families in a Murri (Local Australian Aboriginal Group) Way identified how important culturally safe language and relationships are for families,
“…the nurse is also learning what the best way is to approach a family and what the wording has to be, what the languaging is around things, what the traditional words are for Indigenous language and are appropriate for use in certain circumstances” [ 50 ].
Indigenous caregivers experience a variety of hardships; however, through resistance and survival, they practice cultural revitalization [ 76 ]. This theme is discussed in 15 papers and is often described through a lens of maternal mental health (Fig. 6 ) [ 30 , 31 , 33 , 43 , 53 , 54 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 63 , 64 , 66 , 68 , 36 , 74 ]. Some parents express feelings of guilt for the challenges they encounter, which can further contribute to negative emotions [ 58 ]. Maternal mental and emotional health can impact infant feeding experiences,
“…sometimes people’s psychological health, mental health is more of a risk factor, you know if you’re not sleeping and you’re bordering on depression and you’re not coping well and you can’t get the baby to latch and you’re constantly feeling like a failure and you can’t get out of that rut, is it worth it?…People have to decide that for themselves. (Key Informant #5)” [ 33 ].
A grandmother in the Northwest Territories of Canada noted the disembodiment caused by residential schools as expressed as a disconnection between physical experiences and relationships,
“You know in those days, I mean residential school. In those days, they never did talk about their body parts because I think they were too ashamed [of your body] to say to your kids. I never did hear it [breastfeeding] from my sisters or nobody in the family. They were so private (L151-156)” [ 57 ].
Traumatic experiences, like residential schools, can have a lasting impact on how caregivers navigate motherhood and infant feeding, and the support they receive from family members.
There are several practical challenges that mothers encounter while breastfeeding like pain, latching issues, and low milk supply, discussed in 11 of the studies (Fig. 6 ) [ 48 , 51 , 54 , 56 , 58 , 61 , 66 , 68 , 71 , 72 ]. A mother shared,
“He wouldn’t latch on all the time, like, the nurses and stuff tried to help me but then it would be all frustrating…. He didn’t really know what to do. He tried and then they gave him formula. He really loved it. [MI5]” [ 66 ].
Although these challenges are most discussed at the beginning of breastfeeding, sometimes concerns arise when babies are older.
“Yeah it was 8 or 9 months after she was born. After a while there was too much pressure on me. She was getting up all through the night and she would eat and eat and eat and not get full…” [ 33 ].
Overall, many caregivers reported that breastfeeding is difficult; therefore, supports that consider the variety of challenges that can arise are needed.
The studies included in this review were published over three decades starting in 1984 until 2019 and were completed with various Indigenous communities in four countries. We anticipated that earlier work would demonstrate markedly different infant feeding recommendations than more recent research; however, this was not necessarily the case. For example, cultural safety is a more recent discussion within the health literature; however, although we see some discussion of this in more recent studies, studies in the 80’s and 90’s also highlight the importance of incorporating traditional teaching and consulting community members [ 37 , 48 ]. Therefore, supporting Indigenous self-determination where health professionals provide culturally appropriate care is essential.
In addition to topics related to cultural safety, various studies highlight a need for community-driven and local knowledge to inform programs and policies related to infant nutrition [ 31 , 47 , 57 , 64 , 75 ]. Several studies also focus on infant feeding specific programs and behavioral changes in their recommendations [ 47 , 50 , 65 ]; however, many of these studies also highlight the need to expand beyond the individual’s role in decision making and address the broader social and environmental factors such as the workplace, healthcare infrastructure, social perceptions, among others, that influence infant feeding decisions. For example, Eni et al. [ 36 ] note that there are a complexity of factors resulting in various breastfeeding environments. These structural, social and cultural contexts are discussed throughout several of the grey literature texts as well [ 32 , 33 ]. It is also important to note that in the most recently published database paper, maternal mental health is directly addressed in the recommendations and this is the only paper with this focus for next steps [ 65 ]. Interventions that target socio-ecological factors based on the included papers’ recommendations for infant feeding are summarized in Fig. 7 .
(Adapted from Rollins et al. 2016)
The components of Indigenous infant feeding environments informed by community-based interventions
This scoping review presents and summarizes the findings reporting Indigenous infant feeding experiences within the qualitative literature in Canada, the US, Australia, and Aotearoa. Twelve themes were identified which summarize the literature including culture and traditionality , colonization, family, environment, social perceptions, professional influences, milk substitutes, breastfeeding initiation, cultural safety, survivance, infant feeding knowledge, and autonomy. The most prevalent themes discussed by caregivers and researchers in the included papers were family and culture/traditionality . The frequency of these two themes highlight the significant impact of family and culture/traditionality on infant nutrition decision-making for Indigenous caregivers and overlaps with components of the socio-ecological model [ 77 ]. This focus on family and culture/traditionality also emphasizes the importance of familial relationships and a collective mentality within traditional life ways for many Indigenous communities in these regions on infant nutrition and care practices.
In their informative global breastfeeding paper, Rollins and colleagues’ [ 1 ] conceptualize the components that contribute to the breastfeeding environment at multiple levels, overlapping with the social determinants of health. In this review, we observed that caregivers report similar components of the breastfeeding environment; however, these components seem to be described collectively, rather than as separate contexts. This is evident in the recommendations proposed by authors with a large focus on local and community-specific leadership, multidisciplinary interventions, and cultural safety in response to historical traumas, particularly within the healthcare system (Fig. 7 ). This aligns with Indigenous epistemology with an emphasis on the collective and interconnectedness of all things where power is manifested together, not over one another, and is based in local land-based knowledge [ 78 , 79 ].
A primary recommendation echoed within many of these studies was the need for community engagement in program and policy development [ 34 , 47 , 50 , 64 ]. This may need to be expanded upon to support Indigenous self-determination of policy and programs related to infant feeding where community members are not only engaged but leading the way forward in maternal and infant health. It is important to note that there have been changes over time in how these recommendations and perspectives are discussed and the role of the health professional, particularly related to cultural safety. For example, although similar concepts are discussed in Neander and Morse’s paper published in 1989, ‘cultural safety’ is not used as the terminology, which has been expanded upon in recent years by Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars [ 37 , 80 , 81 ].
Related to this focus on health professionals and cultural safety, it’s important to distinguish that in many of the positive experiences expressed by participants in the studies, these interactions seemed to be primarily with professionals interacting closely with families. For example, midwives, who make home visits, were often included as part of positive experiences. In the literature, there is an emphasis on including practitioners who can build strong relationships with families through home visits and regular community engagement in routine services, which supports cultural safety within the healthcare system [ 82 , 83 ]. Health professional regulatory bodies should consider implementing practice competencies that support professionals to build and navigate strong and ethical relationships with clients/patients. Similarly, healthcare settings that serve Indigenous peoples should consider processes and therefore, facility infrastructures that enable close family-client-professional interactions. An example of this implementation with positive client experiences is the Toronto Birthing Centre, which uses an Indigenous framework and has birthing rooms with space for family [ 84 ].
The studies in this review are written within various fields of research; therefore, there were differences in methodological reporting. Future qualitative work should be thorough in reporting theoretical foundations to provide clarity of how the analyses and overall projects are approached (Fig. 4 ) [ 85 ]. Given the limited studies that report author/researcher positionality (Fig. 2 ), this may be an important addition in forthcoming work as a means of respecting Indigenous and qualitative literature conventions where we recognize that positionality influences ontological origins [ 86 ]. We challenge the academy to recognize that Indigenous and local knowledges are required within Indigenous health research and dissemination practices, while acknowledging our own limitation in this review of a single country authorship team.
This systematic scoping review utilized a rigorous search strategy that limited the possibility of missing relevant publications; however, it was time intensive. PRISMA-ScR guidelines were followed with two independent reviewers at each stage, enabling reproducibility of this review. The inclusion of the grey literature is a strength in this study as it captured important papers that were not published in peer-reviewed journals, often from Indigenous authors and communities (many of which were graduate dissertations), which was a priority in this review. A possible limitation is the exclusion of work that only discussed the introduction to solid foods; it is possible that this excluded an important conversation about the differences of introducing solids, like traditional foods from an Indigenous group’s perspective. In addition, the topic of this review is multidisciplinary; therefore, it is possible that although effort was made to include a broad range of research field databases in the search, relevant sources may have been missed.
In conclusion, this scoping review highlights important considerations for infant feeding environments within Indigenous communities with a focus on family and culture. Based on caregiver experiences, Indigenous breastfeeding supports must be community led with a focus on local capacity and traditional teachings. An emphasis on an intergenerational perspective that considers structural and systems approaches including cultural safety within healthcare, addressing maternal mental health, and consideration of sustainability over time is encouraged. Future work should focus on these key areas through strength-based research approaches, grounded in strong relationships and long-term follow-up.
All data generated or analysed during this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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We wish to acknowledge the important contribution of Halima Abubakar in the review process. Given the knowledge specific to Indigenous communities discussed in this scoping review and out of respect for Indigenous research conventions, the authors position themselves within the research to explain the lens from which they approach and understand the research process. TG and AH are non-Indigenous scholars and faculty members based at the University of Toronto, which rests on lands that are the traditional home of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. All other authors have had student or supporting roles throughout this work and situate themselves as follows: HM is a settler of Scottish, Irish, French, German, and English ancestry residing in Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe territory, which is part of the dish with one spoon agreement; CC is a settler living in Treaty 7 Territory, with ancestral roots in Germany, Scotland, and the Ukraine; AS is an Odawa Kwe from Wikwemikong, Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Currently, residing in the Tiohtià:ke in Kanien’kéha unceded territory; and HS is living in Treaty 13 territory with ancestral roots in Afghanistan. The remaining co-authors identify as non-Indigenous scholars.
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
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Hiliary Monteith, Hosna Sahak, Christina Liu & Anthony J. G. Hanley
Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Mississauga Campus, Terrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex, Room 354, 3359 Mississauga Rd, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
Carly Checholik & Tracey Galloway
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Amy Shawanda
Epidemiology Division, University of Toronto, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
Anthony J. G. Hanley
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As the first author, HM conceptualized this work and provided leadership throughout. She participated in every aspect of this review, wrote the initial manuscript, and completed revisions. CC contributed to the screening and full text review of this work. She also contributed to the analysis, and the writing and review of the manuscript. TG supported the protocol of this review and provided guidance throughout analysis. She also contributed to the final manuscript. HS supported screening and full text review. She also provided edits for the manuscript. AS provided feedback on the analysis for this review and contributed to the writing of the manuscript. CL supported screening of papers and provided edits to the final manuscript. AH provided guidance throughout the duration of this review, supported decision making, and provided edits on the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript.
Correspondence to Anthony J. G. Hanley .
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Monteith, H., Checholik, C., Galloway, T. et al. Infant feeding experiences among Indigenous communities in Canada, the United States, Australia, and Aotearoa: a scoping review of the qualitative literature. BMC Public Health 24 , 1583 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19060-1
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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19060-1
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Journal of Applied Crystallography Journal of Applied Crystallography |
2. formulation of the proposed framework, 3. formulation of a multicomponent monodisperse spheres model, 4. numerical experiments, 5. discussion, 6. conclusions.
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a Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8561, Japan, b Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan, c National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0047, Japan, and d Facalty of Advanced Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan * Correspondence e-mail: [email protected]
Small-angle scattering (SAS) is a key experimental technique for analyzing nanoscale structures in various materials. In SAS data analysis, selecting an appropriate mathematical model for the scattering intensity is critical, as it generates a hypothesis of the structure of the experimental sample. Traditional model selection methods either rely on qualitative approaches or are prone to overfitting. This paper introduces an analytical method that applies Bayesian model selection to SAS measurement data, enabling a quantitative evaluation of the validity of mathematical models. The performance of the method is assessed through numerical experiments using artificial data for multicomponent spherical materials, demonstrating that this proposed analysis approach yields highly accurate and interpretable results. The ability of the method to analyze a range of mixing ratios and particle size ratios for mixed components is also discussed, along with its precision in model evaluation by the degree of fitting. The proposed method effectively facilitates quantitative analysis of nanoscale sample structures in SAS, which has traditionally been challenging, and is expected to contribute significantly to advancements in a wide range of fields.
Keywords: small-angle X-ray scattering ; small-angle neutron scattering ; nanostructure analysis ; model selection ; Bayesian inference .
SAS measurement data are expressed in terms of scattering intensity that corresponds to a scattering vector, a physical quantity representing the scattering angle. Data analysis requires selection and parameter estimation of a mathematical model of the scattering intensity that contains information about the structure of the specimen. This selection process is critical as it involves assumptions about the structure of the specimen.
We conducted numerical experiments to assess the effectiveness of our proposed method. These experiments are based on synthetic data used to estimate the number of distinct components in a specimen, which was modeled as a mixture of monodisperse spheres of varying radii, scattering length densities and volume fractions. The results demonstrate the high accuracy, interpretability and stability of our method, even in the presence of measurement noise. To discuss the utility of the proposed method, we compare our approach with traditional model selection methods based on the reduced χ -squared error.
In this section, we present a detailed formulation of our algorithm for selecting mathematical models for SAS specimens using Bayesian model selection. The pseudocode for this algorithm is provided in Algorithm 1.
The likelihood is thus expressed as
Let φ ( K ) be the prior distribution of the parameter K that characterizes the model, and φ ( Ξ | K ) be the prior distribution of the model parameters Ξ . Then, from Bayes' theorem, the posterior distribution of the parameters given the measurement data can be written as
Sampling from the joint probability distribution at each inverse temperature gives
In this paper, we consider isotropic scattering and focus on the scattering vector's magnitude q , defined as
Monodisperse spheres are spherical particles of uniform radius. The scattering intensity I ( q , ξ ) of a specimen composed of sufficiently dilute monodisperse spheres of a single type for the scattering vector magnitude q is given by
To formulate the scattering intensity of a specimen composed of K types of monodisperse sphere, we assume a dilute system and denote the particle size of the k th component in the sample as R k and the scale as S k . The scattering intensity of a sample composed of K types of monodisperse sphere is then given by
An illustration of a mixture of two types of spherical specimen. This shows scenarios with two components ( = 2), including mixtures of spherical particles of different sizes or volume fractions, and aggregates from a single particle type approximated as a large sphere. |
The numerical experiments reported in this section were conducted with a burn-in period of 10 5 and a sample size of 10 5 for the REMC. We set the number of replicas for REMC, the values of inverse temperature and the step size of the Metropolis method taking into consideration the state exchange rate and the acceptance rate.
(i) Set the number of data points to N = 400 and define the scattering vector magnitudes at N equally spaced points within the interval [0.1, 3] to obtain { q i } i =1 N =400 (nm −1 ).
In this section, we consider cases with pseudo-measurement times of T = 1 and T = 0.1. Generally, smaller values of T indicate greater effects from measurement noise.
In the Bayesian model selection framework, prior knowledge concerning the parameters Ξ and the model-characterizing parameter K is set as their prior distributions.
In this numerical experiment, the prior distributions for the parameters Ξ were set as Gamma distributions based on the pseudo-measurement time T used during data generation, while the prior for K was a discrete uniform distribution over the interval [1, 4].
Plots of the prior distributions for various parameters. ( ) Prior distribution of , φ( ). ( ) Prior distribution of ) Prior distribution of , φ( ). ( ) Prior distribution of , φ( ). |
The ratio of the scale parameters S 1 and S 2 for spheres 1 and 2 during data generation, denoted r S , is defined as
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methods, and some requiring qualitative methods. If the question is a qualitative one, then the most appropriate and rigorous way of answering it is to use qualitative methods. For instance, if you want to lobby for better access to health care in an area where user fees have been introduced, you might first undertake a
Step 1: Explain your methodological approach. Step 2: Describe your data collection methods. Step 3: Describe your analysis method. Step 4: Evaluate and justify the methodological choices you made. Tips for writing a strong methodology chapter. Other interesting articles.
The methodology section of your paper describes how your research was conducted. This information allows readers to check whether your approach is accurate and dependable. A good methodology can help increase the reader's trust in your findings. First, we will define and differentiate quantitative and qualitative research.
Do yourself a favour and start with the end in mind. Section 1 - Introduction. As with all chapters in your dissertation or thesis, the methodology chapter should have a brief introduction. In this section, you should remind your readers what the focus of your study is, especially the research aims. As we've discussed many times on the blog ...
Provide the rationality behind your chosen approach. Based on logic and reason, let your readers know why you have chosen said research methodologies. Additionally, you have to build strong arguments supporting why your chosen research method is the best way to achieve the desired outcome. 3. Explain your mechanism.
Although qualitative research studies can and often do change and develop over the course of data collection, it is important to have a good idea of what the aims and goals of your study are at the outset and a good plan of how to achieve those aims and goals. Chapter 2 provides a road map of the process.
Qualitative research methods. Each of the research approaches involve using one or more data collection methods.These are some of the most common qualitative methods: Observations: recording what you have seen, heard, or encountered in detailed field notes. Interviews: personally asking people questions in one-on-one conversations. Focus groups: asking questions and generating discussion among ...
Learn how to write a strong methodology chapter that allows readers to evaluate the reliability and validity of the research. A good methodology chapter incl...
A main way qualitative researchers integrate writing across the research process is through a researcher reflexivity journal (Brown, 2021). A research journal is a safe space, that may enhance who we are as ethical beings (Lahman, 2018), to write about possible ideas for research and the first research steps—a place to trace our wonders and ...
Revised on 10 October 2022. Your research methodology discusses and explains the data collection and analysis methods you used in your research. A key part of your thesis, dissertation, or research paper, the methodology chapter explains what you did and how you did it, allowing readers to evaluate the reliability and validity of your research.
Your Methods Section contextualizes the results of your study, giving editors, reviewers and readers alike the information they need to understand and interpret your work. Your methods are key to establishing the credibility of your study, along with your data and the results themselves. A complete methods section should provide enough detail ...
ANOTHER NOTE: If you are conducting a qualitative analysis of a research problem, the methodology section generally requires a more elaborate description of the methods used as well as an explanation of the processes applied to gathering and analyzing of data than is generally required for studies using quantitative methods. Because you are the ...
A-85). Successful writing requires a writer to pay quiet diligent attention to the construction of the genre they are working in. Each genre has its own sense of verisimilitude—the bearing of truth. Each places different constraints on the writer and has different goals, forms, and structure.
Purpose - This paper aims to offer junior scholars a front-to-back guide to writing an academic, theoretically positioned, qualitative research article in the social sciences. Design/methodology ...
Qualitative Research Methodology. ... Writing a research methodology involves explaining the methods and techniques you used to conduct research, collect data, and analyze results. It's an essential section of any research paper or thesis, as it helps readers understand the validity and reliability of your findings. Here are the steps to ...
A quantitative approach and statistical analysis would give you a bigger picture. 3. Identify how your analysis answers your research questions. Relate your methodology back to your original research questions and present a proposed outcome based on your analysis.
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 ...
Whether your focus is on qualitative research methodology, quantitative research methodology, or a combination of both, understanding and clearly defining your methodology is key to the success of your research. Once you write the research methodology and complete writing the entire research paper, the next step is to edit your paper.
When you write a thesis, dissertation, or research paper, you will likely have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to: Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context; Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
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Research Method A concise paragraph describing the research method used to investigate the problem. This can later be expanded into the preamble of your research methods chapter. Cite the textbooks and research articles, which inform you. Creswell's Research Design, 3rd or 4th ed.
Qualitative research methodologies seek to capture information that often can't be expressed numerically. These methodologies often include some level of interpretation from researchers as they collect information via observation, coded survey or interview responses, and so on. ... they collect information via observation, coded survey or ...
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This study aims to explore a novel approach to investigator triangulation in mixed‐methods research by employing a large language model (LLM) for analyzing data from patient interviews. Mixed‐methods research is valuable in health care to gain insights into patient perceptions. However, analyzing textual data from interviews can be time‐consuming and require multiple analysts for ...
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In summary, a method for source depth estimation and qualitative binary source depth discrimination using 0th-, 1st- and 2nd-order acoustic information of the sound field is proposed in this paper. In contrast to the depth estimation method proposed by Zurk et al. [ 21 - 23 ], this higher-order method does not require the long-term tracking of ...
The primary analysis consisted of a qualitative review of the included papers' results and recommendations using a thematic synthesis informed by grounded theory and meta-ethnography, where the included papers are synthesized together, and interpreted using descriptive and analytical themes . Similar to grounded theory, this process was ...
F (K) is referred to as the Bayesian free energy, also known as the stochastic complexity.The posterior probability of the model, , can be rephrased as the validity of model K for the measurement data .In other words, calculating and comparing the value of for all candidate models {K} thus enables quantitative model selection.Note that in Bayesian model selection the parameter K does not need ...