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Critique Of A Position Paper

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SCOPE, LIMITATIONS, and DELIMITATIONS By Marilyn K. Simon and Jim Goes Includes excerpts from Simon & Goes (2013), Dissertation and Scholarly Research: Recipes for Success. Seattle, WA: Dissertation Success LLC Find this and many other dissertation guides and resources at www.dissertationrecipes.com Scope The scope of the study refers to the parameters under which the study will be operating. The problem you seek to resolve will fit within certain parameters. Think of the scope as the domain of your research—what’s in the domain, and what is not. You need to make it as clear as possible what you will be studying and what factors are within the accepted range of your study. For example, if you are studying the ill effects of …show more content…

Thus, we may not know whether the findings will generalize to other people, situations, or conceptualizations of the variables. Within particular bounds, significant findings from an experimental study may infer a general cause, but the presence of other unmeasured variables can limit that inference. Limitations of Survey Instruments Surveys that are distributed with time constraints were noted by Delva, Kirby, Knapper, and Birtwhistle (2002) as problematic in that people who struggle with real or perceived time constraints are less likely to respond to surveys because these possible respondents feel overworked – they just do not have the time to complete the survey. Surveys often also suffer the limitation of forcing respondents into particular response categories, thereby limiting the range of responses. Unlike an interview, where respondents can ask clarifying questions, respondents are usually limited to the text in the survey itself for direction about how to complete it and where to respond. Delimitations The delimitations of a study are those characteristics that arise from limitations in the scope of the study (defining the boundaries) and by the conscious exclusionary and inclusionary decisions made during the development of the study plan. Unlike limitations, which flow from implicit characteristics of method and design, delimitations result from specific choices by the researcher. Among these are the choice of objectives and

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