Research consultancy

Research counseling

The specialists at the Social Science Research Institute provide counseling on research designs and methodological approaches.

Research design and method: At the beginning of a research, it is important to choose the research design and method that best suits the goal of the research in question. If the goal is e.g. mapping people's attitudes towards a certain subject a quantitative method, e.g. survey research is a good way to approach the subject, but if the aim is to study the possible reasons for people’s attitudes towards a subject, a qualitative method, e.g. interview or focus group research is a good way.

Quantitative research: quantitative research is based on numerical data. A sample of a certain group is taken and a questionnaire about the subject is submitted to them. The Social Science Research Institute emphasizes that questionnaire preparation meets methodological requirements. Statistical methods are then applied in the collection, analysis, interpretation, processing of data and presentation of results. The results of quantitative research are often used to predict the attitudes of a larger group or population.

Qualitative research: qualitative research is based on interviews with individuals and groups. A discussion frame is used in the interviews. Interviewees in qualitative research are often representatives of larger groups, e.g. the public, experts, stakeholders, managers, etc. The goal of qualitative interviews is to gain deeper insight into a specific subject. The interviews are transcribed and analyzed, and the results are presented in a coherent text based on the data, i.e. quotes from the interviewees.

Mixed research: mixed research, quantitative and qualitative, is used parallel with the aim of obtaining both an overview and depth of the subject studied.