Limitations of a Study
After analyzing the results, you are ready to announce to everyone what you have found. It is important to persuade editors, peer reviewers, and readers. You must also be ready to inform them about the limitations of your study.
How to write about the limitations of a study
No research is perfect, no matter how obsessively it has been designed. Most journals ask their authors to write about the limitations of their study at the end of the discussion section. These limitations are obvious in some studies, for example, they relate to small sample size, multiple comparisons without correction, observational design, and risk of confounding. Although in other designs there may be less obvious limitations, you still need to report them.
Some tips for writing the limitation section
- Put your focus on design and analysis and not on results.
- Be bold in numerating the limitations and avoid ambiguous language.
- List the limitations, for example, if your study has two limitations, simply say “This study has two main limitations.”
- Refer to the limitations directly. For example: “the first limitation relates to the small participant size”.
- Explain the limitations if necessary, but do not be defensive.
- Indicate the wrapping up of your limitations: “In the end, it was impossible to control for all extraneous variables and the observational nature of study design increases the risk of confounding.
Avid these in the limitation section
- Do not include all and everything that you believe to be a limitation of your study. For example, if you could not do your measurements one day but it did not affect your results, you don’t need to report it as a limitation.
- Avoid being defensive. You do not need to elaborate on why your study had limitations.
- Avoid trying to justify your limitations by accusing other studies of the same limitations. Instead of saying that some other research groups did the same, you should point out the specific limitations of your own work.
- In the same way, don’t compare the limitations of your work favorably with those of other groups. This looks defensive and hostile.
Commenting for strengths
- The strength of a study usually precedes the limitations. Using the phrase “Our study has some advantages”, most authors start referring to the advantages of their studies. Similar to limitations, the strengths to are mostly related to design. These include large sample sizes, great controls, and multiple adjustments. After listing your strengths, it is time to move to your limitations by saying for example, “Our study had some limitations.”
- Owning the limitations of a study is an essential part of the process of science and of imparting your results. It indicates that you are willing to discuss the weaknesses along with the strengths of your study and shows an honest presentation of your findings.
Today’s article is about research limitations and the problems and obstacles that researchers face in the way of conducting their research projects.
What is Research Limitation?
Research limitations are factors that prevent the collection of the desired data and results.
Types of Research Limitations
1. Limitations imposed by the researcher
Such limitations are the result of the researcher’s decisions. It includes the number of people in the control and experimental groups, their gender, and the scope of the research
2. Limitations that are out of the control of the researcher
There are also limitations that the researcher cannot control. Unwanted variables and limitations in the accuracy and precision of the tools and equipment are among these.
Obstacles to Research
Researchers usually face various problems and limitations when they start working on a project. As it is known, one of the main requirements of any research project is access to statistics and information. But, it is not always easy for researchers to access the books, journals, statistics, and databases that they need.
These problems are sometimes due to the lack of credible sources. Another reason is the privatization of credible resources. It prevents the transformation of information to other individuals or institutions.
It should be noted that unwanted variables are the result of specific designs and methods used in research. Also, they often jeopardize the internal and external validity of the research project in various ways.
Thus, we can say that any research has some methodological limitations. But, please notice that research limitation is not a sign of a fault in the stages of data collection, analysis, and discussion of the results. In fact, from a methodological point of view, the applied limitations show the capacity and capability of a research project.
Researchers should know that it is impossible to control or remove such factors in behavioral science research. But, they should try their best to expect and identify such factors as much as possible and to take all necessary measures to reduce them.
Causes of Limitation in Research
- Lack of credible and accessible scientific resources
- Lack of previous research in the field of the study
- Lack of the budget needed for the implementation and advancement of a research project
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