In research, scope and delimitation define the parameters and boundaries of your study, clarifying exactly what will and will not be included.
Your study's scope and delimitations are the sections where you define the broader parameters and boundaries of your research. This involves clearly articulating the extent of your investigation and the factors that will be deliberately excluded.
Understanding the Scope of Your Research
The scope of a research study details what your study will explore. It outlines the breadth and depth of your investigation, specifying the areas you intend to cover.
According to the provided reference, the scope can include:
- Target population: Who or what is being studied? (e.g., undergraduate students, small businesses in a specific region, historical documents from a particular period).
- Extent: What aspects, issues, or variables are being examined? (e.g., the impact of social media on political campaigns, factors affecting customer loyalty).
- Study duration: What is the timeframe of the data collection or the period being studied? (e.g., data collected over one academic semester, analysis of events from 2010 to 2020).
Defining the scope helps both the researcher and the reader understand the focus and reach of the study.
Identifying the Delimitations
Delimitations are factors and variables not included in the study. These are conscious choices made by the researcher to narrow down the scope and make the study manageable and focused. They are limitations that the researcher imposes on the study.
Examples of common delimitations might include:
- Excluding specific demographic groups from a survey (e.g., only focusing on participants aged 18-25).
- Limiting the study to a particular geographical area.
- Focusing on only one or two key variables while acknowledging others exist.
- Excluding certain methodologies (e.g., deciding not to use qualitative interviews and only using quantitative data).
Delimitations are important because they help manage expectations and highlight the specific focus chosen by the researcher. They distinguish what the study is about from what it could have been about.
Scope vs. Delimitations
Here's a simple comparison based on the definitions:
| Aspect | Scope of the Study | Delimitations of the Study |
|---|---|---|
| Defines | What the study will cover or explore | Factors and variables not included |
| Focus | The breadth and depth of the investigation | The boundaries set by the researcher |
| Examples | Target population, extent of issues, study duration | Excluded variables, specific groups, locations |
In essence, the scope draws the outline of the research, while delimitations shade in the areas outside that outline that the study will not touch.
