It studies the tables containing the groups’ means to compare and distinguish between the categorised and independent variables. It includes the tables containing the data of the participant groups and sub-groups of survey respondents.
It is also known as paired testing, where two people are assigned specific identities and qualifications to compare and study types of discrimination.
In historical research , an investigator collects, analyses the information to understand, describe, and explain the events that occurred in the past. Researchers try to find out what happened exactly during a certain period of time as accurately and as closely as possible. It does not allow any manipulation or control of variables.
1. | 2. Methods of Analysing Data |
---|---|
Researchers use multiple theories to explain specific phenomena, situations, and types of behavior. It takes a long to go through the textual data. Coding is a way of tagging the data and organising it into a sequence of symbols, numbers, and letters to highlight the relevant points. Quantitative data is used to validate interpretations of historical events or incidents. |
Quantitative research is associated with numerical data or data that can be measured. It is used to study a large group of population. The information is gathered by performing statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques.
Quantitative research isn’t simply based on statistical analysis or quantitative techniques but rather uses a certain approach to theory to address research hypotheses or research questions, establish an appropriate research methodology, and draw findings & conclusions .
Some most commonly employed quantitative research strategies include data-driven dissertations, theory-driven studies, and reflection-driven research. Regardless of the chosen approach, there are some common quantitative research features as listed below.
1. | 2. Methods of Analysing Data |
---|---|
It is a method of collecting, analysing, and interpreting ample data to discover underlying patterns and details. Statistics are used in every field to make better decisions. The correlational analysis is carried out to discover the interrelationship between the two or more aspects of a situation. It distributes values around some central value, such an average. Example: the distance separating the highest from the lowest value. It counts the maximum and a minimum number of responses to a question or the occurrence of a specific phenomenon. It determines the nature of social problems, such as ethnic or gender discrimination. It explains the relationship between one dependent binary variable and one or more independent variables. This parametric technique is used while comparing two populations or samples. |
We hear you.
At ResearchProspect, our expert writers can help you with your quantitative dissertation whether you are a sports science student, medical or biological science, education or business, psychology, social sciences, engineering, project management, or any other science-based degree. We guarantee 100% commitment, 100% Plagiarism-free work, 100% Confidentiality and 100% Satisfaction
It is a type of scientific research where a researcher collects evidence to seek answers to a question . It is associated with studying human behaviour from an informative perspective. It aims at obtaining in-depth details of the problem.
As the term suggests, qualitative research is based on qualitative research methods, including participants’ observations, focus groups, and unstructured interviews.
Qualitative research is very different in nature when compared to quantitative research. It takes an established path towards the research process , how research questions are set up, how existing theories are built upon, what research methods are employed, and how the findings are unveiled to the readers.
You may adopt conventional methods, including phenomenological research, narrative-based research, grounded theory research, ethnographies , case studies , and auto-ethnographies.
Again, regardless of the chosen approach to qualitative research, your dissertation will have unique key features as listed below.
Now that you know the unique differences between quantitative and qualitative research methods, you may want to learn a bit about primary and secondary research methods.
Here is an article that will help you distinguish between primary and secondary research and decide whether you need to use quantitative and/or qualitative primary research methods in your dissertation.
Alternatively, you can base your dissertation on secondary research, which is descriptive and explanatory in essence.
Action research
Action research aims at finding an immediate solution to a problem. The researchers can also act as the participants of the research. It is used in the educational field.
A case study includes data collection from multiple sources over time. It is widely used in social sciences to study the underlying information, organisation, community, or event. It does not provide any solution to the problem. Researchers cannot act as the participants of the research.
Ethnography
In this type of research, the researcher examines the people in their natural environment. Ethnographers spend time with people to study people and their culture closely. They can consult the literature before conducting the study.
1. | 2. Methods of Analysing Data |
---|---|
with open-ended questions | It is a method of studying and retrieving meaningful information from documents. It aims at identifying patterns of themes in the collected information, such as face-to-face interviews, texts, and transcripts. , field observations, and interviews. It is a study of how language is used in texts and contexts. |
When you combine quantitative and qualitative methods of research, the resulting approach becomes mixed methods of research.
Over the last few decades, much of the research in academia has been conducted using mixed methods because of the greater legitimacy this particular technique has gained for several reasons including the feeling that combining the two types of research can provide holistic and more dependable results.
Here is what mixed methods of research involve:
Note: However, this method has one prominent limitation, which is, as previously mentioned, combining qualitative and quantitative research can be difficult because they both are different in terms of design and approach. In many ways, they are contrasting styles of research, and so care must be exercised when basing your dissertation on mixed methods of research.
When choosing a research method for your own dissertation, it would make sense to carefully think about your research topic , research questions , and research objectives to make an intelligent decision in terms of the philosophy of research design .
Dissertations based on mixed methods of research can be the hardest to tackle even for PhD students.
Our writers have years of experience in writing flawless and to the point mixed methods-based dissertations to be confident that the dissertation they write for you will be according to the technical requirements and the formatting guidelines.
Read our guarantees to learn more about how you can improve your grades with our dissertation services.
Please Find Below an Example of Research Methods Section in a Dissertation or Thesis.
Diversity management became prominent in the late twentieth century, with foundations in America. Historically homogeneous or nondiverse nations, such as Finland, have not yet experienced the issues associated with rising cultural and ethnic diversity in the workforce. Regardless of the environment, workforce diversity garners greater attention and is characterised by its expanding relevance due to globalised and international companies, global and national worker mobility, demographic shifts, or enhancing productivity.
As a result, challenges of diversity management have been handled through legal, financial, and moral pressures (Hayes et al., 2020). The evolving structure of the working population in terms of language, ethnic background, maturity level, faith, or ethnocultural history is said to pose a challenge to human resource management (HRM) in utilising diversity: the understanding, abilities, and expertise prospects of the entire workforce to deal with possible developments.
The European approach to diversity management is regarded as growing. However, it is found to emphasise the relationship to business and lack competence in diversity management problems. Mass immigration concentrates variety, sometimes treated as cultural minority issues, implying the normalisation of anti-discrimination actions (Yadav and Lenka, 2020).
These causes, in turn, have provided the basis of comprehensive diversity research, which has generated different theories, frameworks, concepts, and guidelines from interdisciplinary viewpoints, such as industrial and organisational psychology and behaviour (OB), cultural studies, anthropology, migration, economics, postcolonialism, and so on. And in the form of international, social and cultural, organisational, group, and individual scale diversity analysis. This dissertation focuses on diversity concerns from impression management, specifically from HRM as an executive-level phenomenon (Seliverstova, 2021).
As conceptual frameworks, organisational structures concentrating on the production of diversity and social psychology, notably social identity theory with diverse ‘identities’ of persons or intergroup connections, are primarily employed. The study’s primary goal in the workplace is to discover inequities or examine the effects of diversity on workplace outcomes.
Individual study interests include behaviours, emotions, intelligence, intercultural skills or competencies, while group research interests include group dynamics, intergroup interactions, effectiveness, and cooperation or collaboration. Organisational studies address themes such as workforce composition, workplace equality, and diversity challenges and how they may be managed accordingly. Domestic diversity, omitting national distinctions, or global diversity, about diverse country cultures, might be studied further (AYDIN and ÖZEREN, 2018).
Diversity is a context-dependent, particular, comparative, complicated, plural phrase or idea with varying interpretations in different organisations and cultures and no unified definition. As a result, in addition to many internal and external elements, diversity may be managed, individuals taught, and organisations have grown in various ways. This dissertation considers diversity in an organisational environment as a construct of ‘differences’ to be handled (Cummings, 2018).
Various management systems have grown in stages, bringing diverse diversity management concepts. Equality/equal opportunities (EO) legislation and diversity management are the two conventional approaches and primary streams with differing theoretical foundations for managing and dealing with workforce diversity challenges (DM).
These approaches relate to whether diversity is handled by increasing sameness by legal pressures or by voluntarily respecting people’s differences, which shows an organisation’s responsiveness and proactivity toward managing diversity. But most of the literature in this area has avoided the impression management theories (Coad and Guenther, 2014). Therefore, this study will add a new dimension in this area by introducing impression management analysis.
This research aims to analyse the impact of organisational structure on human resources diversification from the viewpoint of impression managerial theory. It has the following objectives:
This research will answer the following questions:
The organisational structure significantly impacts the recruitment of diverse human resources.
According to Staniec and Zakrzewska-Bielawska (2010), considering strategy-oriented activities and organisational components are the critical foundation in the organisational structure required to align structure strategy. Each company’s internal organisation is somewhat distinctive, resulting from various corporate initiatives and historical conditions.
Furthermore, each design is based on essential success elements and vital tasks inherent in the firm plan. This article offers empirical research on unique organisational structure elements in Polish firms in the context of concentration and diversification tactics. And companies that adopted concentration techniques mainly used functional organisational structures.
Tasks were primarily classified and categorised based on functions and phases of the technical process, with coordination based on hierarchy. Jobs were also highly centralised and formalised. Organisational structures of an active type were also prevalent in many firms. Only a handful of the evaluated organisations possessed flexible contemporary divisional or matrix structures appropriate to differentiation. However, it appears that even such organisations should adjust their organisational solutions to perform successfully in an immensely complex and chaotic environment.
Similarly, according to Yang and Konrad (2011), diversity management techniques are the institutionalised methods created and applied by organisations to manage diversity among all organisational shareholders. They examined the existing research on the causes and significance of diversity management approaches.
They construct a research model indicating many potential routes for future study using institutional and resource-based theories. They also offer prospective avenues for study on diversity management techniques to further the two theoretical viewpoints. The findings indicate that research on diverse management practises might provide perceptions into the two ideologies. Diversity management provides a method for reconciling the agency vs structure issue for institutional concept.
Furthermore, diversity management is a suitable framework for studying how institutional pressures are translated into organisational action and the relationship between complying with institutional mandates and attaining high performance. Research on diversity management raises the importance of environmental normative elements in resource-based reasoning.
It allows for exploring essential resource sources and the co-evolution of diversity resources and management capacities, potentially developing dynamic resource-based theory. Furthermore, a review of the existing research on diversity management practices reveals that research in this field has nearly entirely concentrated on employee-related activities.
However, in establishing the idea of diversity management practises, we included the practises that companies put in place to manage diversity across all stakeholder groups on purpose. Management techniques for engaging with consumers, dealers, supervisors, board directors, and community members are critical for meeting institutional theory’s social and normative commitments.
Moreover, according to Sippola (2014), this research looks at diversity management from the standpoint of HRM. The study aims to discover the effects of expanding workforce diversity on HRM inside firms. This goal will be accomplished through four papers examining diversity management’s impacts on HRM from various viewpoints and mostly in longitudinal contexts.
The purpose of the first article, as a pilot survey, is to determine the reasons, advantages, and problems of rising cultural diversity and the consequences for HRM to get a preliminary grasp of the issue in the specific setting. According to the report, diversity is vital for productivity but is not often emphasised in HRM strategy.
The key areas that were changed were acquisition, development, and growth. The second article examines how different diversity management paradigms recognised in businesses affect HRM. It offers an experimentally verified typology that explains reactive or proactive strategic and operational level HRM activities in light of four alternative diversity management perspectives.
The third essay will examine how a ‘working culture bridge group’ strategy fosters and enhances workplace diversity. The research looks into how development goals are defined, what training and development techniques are used, and the consequences and causal factors when an analysis measures the training and development approach.
The primary goal of article four is to establish which components of diversity management design are globally integrated into multinational corporations (MNCs) and which integrating (delivery) methods are employed to facilitate it. Another goal is to identify the institutional problems faced by the Finnish national diversity setting during the integration process.
The findings show that the example organisation achieved more excellent global uniformity at the level of diversification concept through effective use of multiple frameworks but was forced to rely on a more multinational approach to implementing diversification policies and procedures. The difficulties faced emphasised the distinctiveness of Finland’s cognitive and normative institutional setting for diversity.
Furthermore, according to Guillaume et al. (2017), to compensate for the dual-edged character of demographic workplace diversity impacts on social inclusion, competence, and well-being-related factors, research has shifted away from straightforward main effect methods and begun to investigate factors that moderate these effects.
While there is no shortage of primary research on the circumstances that lead to favourable or poor results, it is unknown which contextual elements make it work. Using the Classification framework as a theoretical lens, they examine variables that moderate the impacts of workplace diversity on social integration, performance, and well-being outcomes, emphasising characteristics that organisations and managers can influence.
They suggest future study directions and end with practical applications. They concluded that faultlines, cross-categorisation, and status variations across demographic groupings highlight variety. Cross-categorisation has been proven to reduce intergroup prejudice while promoting social inclusion, competence, and well-being. Whether faultlines and subgroup status inequalities promote negative or good intergroup interactions and hinder social integration, performance, and well-being depends on whether situational factors encourage negative or positive intergroup connections. The impacts were not mitigated by team size or diversity type.
Furthermore, our data demonstrate that task characteristics are essential for workgroup diversity. Any demographic diversity in workgroups can promote creativity, but only when combined with task-relevant expertise improves the performance of teams undertaking complicated tasks. The type of team and the industrial context do not appear to play an effect. It is unclear if these findings apply to relational demography and organisational diversity impacts. There is some evidence that, under some settings, relational demography may increase creativity, and, as previously said, demographic variety may help firms function in growth-oriented strategy contexts.
Likewise, according to Ali, Tawfeq, and Dler (2020), diversity management refers to organisational strategies that strive to increase the integration of people from diverse backgrounds into the framework of corporate goals. Organisations should develop productive ways to implement diversity management (DM) policies to establish a creative enterprise that can enhance their operations, goods, and services.
Furthermore, human resource management HRM is a clever tool for any firm to manage resources within the company. As a result, this article explores the link between DM, HR policies, and workers’ creative work-related behaviours in firms in Kurdistan’s Fayoum city. According to the questionnaire, two hypotheses were tested: the influence of HRM on diversity management, HRM on innovation, and the impact of diversity management on innovation.
The first premise is that workplace diversity changes the nature of working relationships, how supervisors and managers connect, and how workers respond to one another. It also addresses human resource functions such as record-keeping, training, recruiting, and employee competence needs. The last premise on the influence of diversity management on innovation is that workplace diversity assists a business in hiring a diverse range of personnel.
In other words, a vibrant population need individuals of varied personalities. Workplace diversity refers to a company’s workforce consisting of employees of various genders, ages, faiths, races, ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, religions, dialects, training, capabilities, etc. According to the study’s findings, human resource management strategies have a substantial influence on diversity management.
Second, diversity management was found to have a considerable impact on creativity. Finally, human resource management techniques influenced innovation significantly. Based on the findings, it was discovered that diversity management had a more significant influence on creation than human resource management.
Lastly, according to Li et al. (2021), the universal trend of rising workplace age diversity has increased the study focus on the organisational effects of age-diverse workforces. Prior research has mainly concentrated on the statistical association between age diversity and organisational success rather than experimentally examining the probable processes behind this relationship.
They argue that age diversity influences organisational performance through human and social capital using an intellectual capital paradigm. Moreover, they investigate workplace functional diversity and age-inclusive management as two confounding factors affecting the benefits of age diversity on physical and human capital.
Their hypotheses were evaluated using data from the Association for Human Resource Management’s major manager-reported workplace survey. Age diversity was favourably linked with organisational performance via the mediation of higher human and social capital. Furthermore, functional diversity and age-inclusive management exacerbated the favourable benefits of age variety on human and social capital. Their study gives insight into how age-diverse workforces might generate value by nurturing knowledge-based organisational resources.
Although there is a vast body of research in diversity in the human resource management area, many researchers explored various dimensions. But no study explicitly discovers the impact of organisational culture on human resource diversification. Moreover, no researchers examined the scope of impression management in this context.
Therefore, this research will fill this considerable literature gap by finding the direct impact of organisational structure on human resource diversification. Secondly, by introducing a new dimension of impression management theory. It will open new avenues for research in this area, and it will help HR managers to formulate better policies for a more inclusive organisational structure.
It will be mixed quantitative and qualitative research based on the secondary data collected through different research journals and case studies of various companies. Firstly, the quantitative analysis will be conducted through a regression analysis to show the organisational structure’s impact on human resource diversification.
The dummy variable will be used to show organisational structure, and diversification will be captured through the ethnic backgrounds of the employees. Moreover, different variables will be added to the model, such as competency, social inclusion, etc. It will fulfil the objective of identifying various factors which affect the management decision to recruit diverse human resources. Secondly, a systematic review of the literature will be conducted for qualitative analysis to add the impression management dimension to the research. Google Scholar, JSTOR, Scopus, etc., will be used to search keywords such as human resource diversity, impression management, and organisation structure.
Although research offers a comprehensive empirical analysis on the relationship under consideration due to lack of resources, the study is limited to secondary data. It would be better if the research would’ve been conducted on the primary data collected through the organisations. That would’ve captured the actual views of the working professionals. It would’ve increased the validity of the research.
Ali, M., Tawfeq, A., & Dler, S. (2020). Relationship between Diversity Management and Human Resource Management: Their Effects on Employee Innovation in the Organizations. Black Sea Journal of Management and Marketing, 1 (2), 36-44.
AYDIN, E., & ÖZEREN, E. (2018). Rethinking workforce diversity research through critical perspectives: emerging patterns and research agenda. Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 6 (3), 650-670.
Coad, A., & Guenther, C. (2014). Processes of firm growth and diversification: theory and evidence. Small Business Economics, 43 (4), 857-871.
Cummings, V. (2018). Economic Diversification and Empowerment of Local Human Resources: Could Singapore Be a Model for the GCC Countries?. In. Economic Diversification in the Gulf Region, II , 241-260.
Guillaume, Y., Dawson, J., Otaye‐Ebede, L., Woods, S., & West, M. (2017). Harnessing demographic differences in organizations: What moderates the effects of workplace diversity? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38 (2), 276-303.
Hayes, T., Oltman, K., Kaylor, L., & Belgudri, A. (2020). How leaders can become more committed to diversity management. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 72 (4), 247.
Li, Y., Gong, Y., Burmeister, A., Wang, M., Alterman, V., Alonso, A., & Robinson, S. (2021). Leveraging age diversity for organizational performance: An intellectual capital perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106 (1), 71.
Seliverstova, Y. (2021). Workforce diversity management: a systematic literature review. Strategic Management, 26 (2), 3-11.
Sippola, A. (2014). Essays on human resource management perspectives on diversity management. Vaasan yliopisto.
Staniec, I., & Zakrzewska-Bielawska, A. (2010). Organizational structure in the view of single business concentration and diversification strategies—empirical study results. Recent advances in management, marketing, finances. WSEAS Press, Penang, Malaysia .
Yadav, S., & Lenka, U. (2020). Diversity management: a systematic review. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal .
Yang, Y., & Konrad, A. (2011). Understanding diversity management practices: Implications of institutional theory and resource-based theory. Group & Organization Management, 36 (1), 6-38.
What is the difference between research methodology and research methods.
Research methodology helps you conduct your research in the right direction, validates the results of your research and makes sure that the study you are conducting answers the set research questions.
Research methods are the techniques and procedures used for conducting research. Choosing the right research method for your writing is an important aspect of the research process.
The types of research methods include:
Quantitative research is associated with numerical data or data that can be measured. It is used to study a large group of population. The information is gathered by performing statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques.
It is a type of scientific research where a researcher collects evidence to seek answers to a question . It is associated with studying human behavior from an informative perspective. It aims at obtaining in-depth details of the problem.
Mixed methods of research involve:
Descriptive research is carried out to describe current issues, programs, and provides information about the issue through surveys and various fact-finding methods.
Discourse analysis is an essential aspect of studying a language. It is used in various disciplines of social science and humanities such as linguistic, sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistic.
A case study is a detailed analysis of a situation concerning organizations, industries, and markets. The case study generally aims at identifying the weak areas.
USEFUL LINKS
LEARNING RESOURCES
COMPANY DETAILS
Everything you should know about academic writing: types, importance, and structure, concise writing: tips, importance, and exercises for a clear writing style.
Academic editing: what it is and why it matters.
We have helped 10,000s of undergraduate, Masters and PhD students to maximise their grades in essays, dissertations, model-exam answers, applications and other materials. If you would like a free chat about your project with one of our UK staff, then please just reach out on one of the methods below.
Academic writing is a formal style of writing used in universities and scholarly publications. It is characterised by a clear focus on argumentation, the presentation of evidence, and a logical structure. This type of writing is essential for communicating complex ideas and research findings in a coherent and credible manner.
Academic writing is a structured and evidence-based form of writing that is used to convey scholarly information. It includes essays, research papers, dissertations, and reports. This writing style emphasises clarity, precision, and a logical flow of ideas, often incorporating a formal tone and style. The main goal is to inform, argue, or analyse a topic based on evidence and sound reasoning.
There are several types of academic writing, each serving a different purpose:
These are short pieces of writing on a particular subject, presenting the author’s argument or perspective.
Detailed studies presenting original research findings, often published in academic journals.
Extensive research projects submitted as part of a degree program, presenting the author’s research and findings.
Comprehensive surveys of existing research on a particular topic.
Structured documents that describe and analyse specific topics or events.
Academic writing is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it contributes to the body of knowledge in various fields, helping to advance understanding and innovation. Secondly, it allows scholars to communicate their findings and ideas clearly and effectively, fostering academic discourse and collaboration. Thirdly, academic writing helps develop critical thinking and analytical skills, as it requires writers to evaluate evidence, construct coherent arguments, and engage with complex ideas. Additionally, mastering academic writing is essential for academic and professional success, as it is a key component of most higher education curricula.
The structure of academic writing typically follows a standardised format, which helps organise the content logically and coherently. The basic structure includes :
Academic writing can vary in style depending on the discipline and the type of writing. Common styles include :
Each style has its own rules for formatting, citations, and references, which writers must adhere to ensure consistency and credibility.
Understanding academic writing is essential for students, researchers, and professionals engaged in scholarly work. It encompasses various types, each with a specific purpose, and follows a structured format to ensure clarity and coherence.
Academic writing is crucial for contributing to knowledge, developing critical skills, and achieving academic success. By mastering different academic writing styles and structures, writers can effectively communicate their ideas and research findings, advancing their field and fostering academic growth.
Cryptocurrency payments.
Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.
Published on August 6, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.
Comparing and contrasting is an important skill in academic writing . It involves taking two or more subjects and analyzing the differences and similarities between them.
Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes
When should i compare and contrast, making effective comparisons, comparing and contrasting as a brainstorming tool, structuring your comparisons, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about comparing and contrasting.
Many assignments will invite you to make comparisons quite explicitly, as in these prompts.
Some other prompts may not directly ask you to compare and contrast, but present you with a topic where comparing and contrasting could be a good approach.
One way to approach this essay might be to contrast the situation before the Great Depression with the situation during it, to highlight how large a difference it made.
Comparing and contrasting is also used in all kinds of academic contexts where it’s not explicitly prompted. For example, a literature review involves comparing and contrasting different studies on your topic, and an argumentative essay may involve weighing up the pros and cons of different arguments.
Discover proofreading & editing
As the name suggests, comparing and contrasting is about identifying both similarities and differences. You might focus on contrasting quite different subjects or comparing subjects with a lot in common—but there must be some grounds for comparison in the first place.
For example, you might contrast French society before and after the French Revolution; you’d likely find many differences, but there would be a valid basis for comparison. However, if you contrasted pre-revolutionary France with Han-dynasty China, your reader might wonder why you chose to compare these two societies.
This is why it’s important to clarify the point of your comparisons by writing a focused thesis statement . Every element of an essay should serve your central argument in some way. Consider what you’re trying to accomplish with any comparisons you make, and be sure to make this clear to the reader.
Comparing and contrasting can be a useful tool to help organize your thoughts before you begin writing any type of academic text. You might use it to compare different theories and approaches you’ve encountered in your preliminary research, for example.
Let’s say your research involves the competing psychological approaches of behaviorism and cognitive psychology. You might make a table to summarize the key differences between them.
Behaviorism | Cognitive psychology |
---|---|
Dominant from the 1920s to the 1950s | Rose to prominence in the 1960s |
Mental processes cannot be empirically studied | Mental processes as focus of study |
Focuses on how thinking is affected by conditioning and environment | Focuses on the cognitive processes themselves |
Or say you’re writing about the major global conflicts of the twentieth century. You might visualize the key similarities and differences in a Venn diagram.
These visualizations wouldn’t make it into your actual writing, so they don’t have to be very formal in terms of phrasing or presentation. The point of comparing and contrasting at this stage is to help you organize and shape your ideas to aid you in structuring your arguments.
When comparing and contrasting in an essay, there are two main ways to structure your comparisons: the alternating method and the block method.
In the alternating method, you structure your text according to what aspect you’re comparing. You cover both your subjects side by side in terms of a specific point of comparison. Your text is structured like this:
Mouse over the example paragraph below to see how this approach works.
One challenge teachers face is identifying and assisting students who are struggling without disrupting the rest of the class. In a traditional classroom environment, the teacher can easily identify when a student is struggling based on their demeanor in class or simply by regularly checking on students during exercises. They can then offer assistance quietly during the exercise or discuss it further after class. Meanwhile, in a Zoom-based class, the lack of physical presence makes it more difficult to pay attention to individual students’ responses and notice frustrations, and there is less flexibility to speak with students privately to offer assistance. In this case, therefore, the traditional classroom environment holds the advantage, although it appears likely that aiding students in a virtual classroom environment will become easier as the technology, and teachers’ familiarity with it, improves.
In the block method, you cover each of the overall subjects you’re comparing in a block. You say everything you have to say about your first subject, then discuss your second subject, making comparisons and contrasts back to the things you’ve already said about the first. Your text is structured like this:
The most commonly cited advantage of distance learning is the flexibility and accessibility it offers. Rather than being required to travel to a specific location every week (and to live near enough to feasibly do so), students can participate from anywhere with an internet connection. This allows not only for a wider geographical spread of students but for the possibility of studying while travelling. However, distance learning presents its own accessibility challenges; not all students have a stable internet connection and a computer or other device with which to participate in online classes, and less technologically literate students and teachers may struggle with the technical aspects of class participation. Furthermore, discomfort and distractions can hinder an individual student’s ability to engage with the class from home, creating divergent learning experiences for different students. Distance learning, then, seems to improve accessibility in some ways while representing a step backwards in others.
Note that these two methods can be combined; these two example paragraphs could both be part of the same essay, but it’s wise to use an essay outline to plan out which approach you’re taking in each paragraph.
Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:
See an example
If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!
College essays
(AI) Tools
Some essay prompts include the keywords “compare” and/or “contrast.” In these cases, an essay structured around comparing and contrasting is the appropriate response.
Comparing and contrasting is also a useful approach in all kinds of academic writing : You might compare different studies in a literature review , weigh up different arguments in an argumentative essay , or consider different theoretical approaches in a theoretical framework .
Your subjects might be very different or quite similar, but it’s important that there be meaningful grounds for comparison . You can probably describe many differences between a cat and a bicycle, but there isn’t really any connection between them to justify the comparison.
You’ll have to write a thesis statement explaining the central point you want to make in your essay , so be sure to know in advance what connects your subjects and makes them worth comparing.
Comparisons in essays are generally structured in one of two ways:
It’s also possible to combine both methods, for example by writing a full paragraph on each of your topics and then a final paragraph contrasting the two according to a specific metric.
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
Caulfield, J. (2023, July 23). Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay | Tips & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved June 7, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/compare-and-contrast/
Other students also liked, how to write an expository essay, how to write an argumentative essay | examples & tips, academic paragraph structure | step-by-step guide & examples, "i thought ai proofreading was useless but..".
I've been using Scribbr for years now and I know it's a service that won't disappoint. It does a good job spotting mistakes”
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
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.
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 ...
The structure of a dissertation methodology can vary depending on your field of study, the nature of your research, and the guidelines of your institution. However, a standard structure typically includes the following elements: Introduction: Briefly introduce your overall approach to the research.
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.
Craft a convincing dissertation or thesis research proposal. Write a clear, compelling introduction chapter. Undertake a thorough review of the existing research and write up a literature review. Undertake your own research. Present and interpret your findings. Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications.
Two Final Tips: When you're writing your justification, write for your audience. Your purpose here is to provide more than a technical list of details and procedures. This section should focus more on the why and less on the how. Consider your methodology as you're conducting your research.
The methodology is perhaps the most challenging and laborious part of the dissertation. Essentially, the methodology helps in understanding the broad, philosophical approach behind the methods of research you chose to employ in your study. The research methodology elaborates on the 'how' part of your research.
Guide contents. As part of the Writing the Dissertation series, this guide covers the most common conventions found in a methodology chapter, giving you the necessary knowledge, tips and guidance needed to impress your markers! The sections are organised as follows: Getting Started - Defines the methodology and its core characteristics.; Structure - Provides a detailed walk-through of common ...
Methodology. Methodology is sometimes used interchangeably with methods, or as the set of methods used in a research. More specifically, as the name would suggest, methodo-logy is the logos, the reasoning, on the methods. It is also referred to as the theory of how research should be undertaken (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2015, p4).
Observational methods are useful for in-depth analyses of behaviours in people, animals, organisations, events or phenomena. They can test a theory or products in real life or simulated settings. They generally a qualitative research method. Questionnaires and surveys.
The research methodology is an important section of any research paper or thesis, as it describes the methods and procedures that will be used to conduct the research. It should include details about the research design, data collection methods, data analysis techniques, and any ethical considerations.
A thesis research methodology explains the type of research performed, justifies the methods that you chose by linking back to the literature review, and describes the data collection and analysis procedures.It is included in your thesis after the Introduction section.Most importantly, this is the section where the readers of your study evaluate its validity and reliability.
Thesis Your thesis is the central claim in your essay—your main insight or idea about your source or topic. Your thesis should appear early in an academic essay, followed by a logically constructed argument that supports this central claim. A strong thesis is arguable, which means a thoughtful reader could disagree with it and therefore needs
Since 2006, Oxbridge Essays has been the UK's leading paid essay-writing and dissertation service. We have helped 10,000s of undergraduate, Masters and PhD students to maximise their grades in essays, dissertations, model-exam answers, applications and other materials. If you would like a free chat about your project with one of our UK staff ...
Writing a law dissertation methodology. The research method or methodology you adopt will depend partly on the topic you have selected and partly based on your own interests and/or preferences. Factors such as the amount of time and resources that you can commit to your research is also likely to factor. Conversely, if you have a particular ...
The basic structure of an essay always consists of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. But for many students, the most difficult part of structuring an essay is deciding how to organize information within the body. This article provides useful templates and tips to help you outline your essay, make decisions about your structure, and ...
You may adopt conventional methods, including phenomenological research, narrative-based research, grounded theory research, ethnographies , case studies, and auto-ethnographies. Again, regardless of the chosen approach to qualitative research, your dissertation will have unique key features as listed below.
The methodology you choose will shape the trajectory of your research. Explore the main different types of research methodologies and their unique features. ... Since 2006, Oxbridge Essays has been the UK's leading paid essay-writing and dissertation service. We have helped 10,000s of undergraduate, Masters and PhD students to maximise their ...
The abstract should contain the most important key words referring to method and content: these facilitate access to the abstract by computer search and enable a reader to decide whether to read the entire dissertation. Note: Your abstract should read like an overview of your paper, not a proposal for what you intended to study or accomplish ...
Revised on April 16, 2024. A thesis is a type of research paper based on your original research. It is usually submitted as the final step of a master's program or a capstone to a bachelor's degree. Writing a thesis can be a daunting experience. Other than a dissertation, it is one of the longest pieces of writing students typically complete.
INTRODUCTION. This chapter presents the research methodologies adopted for the research. A combination of both qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches was adopted by the researcher in order to attain a realistic result from the research. Specifically, the chapter discusses the range of methods used by the researcher for the ...
Since 2006, Oxbridge Essays has been the UK's leading paid essay-writing and dissertation service. We have helped 10,000s of undergraduate, Masters and PhD students to maximise their grades in essays, dissertations, model-exam answers, applications and other materials. ... Methodology: A detailed description of the research design, data ...
When comparing and contrasting in an essay, there are two main ways to structure your comparisons: the alternating method and the block method. The alternating method. In the alternating method, you structure your text according to what aspect you're comparing. You cover both your subjects side by side in terms of a specific point of comparison.