What are limitations of study, should I incorporate limitations of research in my project, what may be the restriction of study to my project, how relevant is the limitation of study, these and many other concerns are common when it comes to limitations of study.
I’d like to offer some advice on how to create a limitation section for your project, dissertation, or thesis. But the first thing to remember is the section’s purpose in your writing. And the limitation is actually rather significant, because it will inform the reader about the bounds within which they may examine your results. In other words, those are the results that you have presented. However, the reader has to consider that some of the things were not addressed, because they couldn’t or because you didn’t have time or because you didn’t have resources.
In other words, they’ll convey to the reader a true image of how and under which conditions, your results should be evaluated. There’s also no need to worry about documenting your limitations.
Obviously, if you have far too many, your results will be a little shaky in the end. However, your limitations are extremely significant since they will demonstrate to the reader that you have a full understanding and a holistic picture of what you performed.
And every research has limitations. There is no such thing as an unbounded research. Some will have more than others, but that’s OK. Be sure to address your primary limits, because doing so will give the reader the idea that you know precisely what you’re doing and, regrettably, couldn’t cover for everything, because sometimes it’s simply not feasible.
So let me give you some ideas of what could be potential limitations in your work. Starting the list would be sample size and profile.
- Sample Size and Profile:
We frequently encounter sample size and sample profile limitations. The sample size will definitely be a constraint if you have a limited sample size, if you wish to undertake a representative research with respect to a certain community, and you haven’t contacted a large number of respondents.
For example, if you’re doing a research with managers of enterprises in a specific industry and you’ve only interviewed or addressed one, two, or three respondents, it’s obviously not going to be representative of the total population of managers in that sector. As a result, the sample size is plainly a constraint.
Another constraint is the sample’s profile. So, returning to the example of managers, suppose you want to do a research on managers from high-tech firms, and you haven’t been able to obtain managers from high-tech organizations, but you address other ones.
So, possibly the profile of the persons you choose will compromise or restrict your outcomes. Another example of a constraint is the age of the data. - Age of Data:
So, if you’re conducting a study in which you use secondary data, that is, data that was not collected by you, but by others, and if that data is two years, three years, or five years old, obviously, the age of that data may be a limitation, because it may not reflect what the with the extra scenario is by the time you’re writing your study. - Method(s):
Very often methods are also a limitation. For example, imagine that you doing an exploratory study, and you using exploratory method like interviews, and you are discussing a sensitive topic, like for example, consumption of drugs in music festivals, or sustainable behaviors, or hygiene products, like toilet papers.
Who’s gonna feel comfortable in talking one on one with someone about toilet papers or, or sustainable behaviors, because if we don’t have sustainable behaviors, we’re going to feel a bit embarrassed.
So we’re not going to admit really what our actual behavior is, right? The same thing with alcohol consumption or, or drug consumption in music festivals, or whichever topic that you’re discussing.
So in this example, the face to face interaction between researcher and respondent is something that’s obviously going to be a limitation. - Equipment:
Frequently, too, especially when conducting research or product testing, the actual equipment might be a constraint. Assume, for example, that you’re conducting research on virtual reality. And if you don’t have particularly good technology or a VR headset, the model that you have will clearly have an influence on the respondent.
So, if you have a simplistic model with a low resolution, the response may be more negative about that particular technology. So the equipment you use, or the product you use, if you’re performing product testing or an experiment, might also be a constraint. - Time:
Time might also be a limitation. So, for example, if you conducted the research too early in the day, too late in the evening, or too quickly. Students frequently have a restricted amount of time to complete their tasks.
So it’s extremely typical for time to be a constraint since you only have a certain amount of time to perform your data gathering. - Access to Literature:
From university to university, students will frequently have access to various sorts of publications. Access to a certain publication is frequently a constraint for an institution or for students. - Financial limitations:
So if you have a project that would require greater funding, and if you don’t have that funding, obviously, that’s also going to be a limitation.
How would you go about reporting these limitations?
Simply address each of them in a bullet point, naming them with what these restrictions are and discussing them. And, one again, that shows a lot of honesty on your part, but also that you have this larger perspective, which, in my opinion, just enriches your work and makes you appear better as a student.
Yeah, so to summarize everything, make sure to yes, include your limitations, and don’t be concerned that it will jeopardize your work. Yes, just make sure you clearly separate them, for example, in bullet points where you identify the constraint and address it briefly.
Time technique, sample, sample size, sample profile, data collecting methodology, financial resources, equipment employed, and so on are all examples of constraints.
So don’t be hesitant to disclose your work’s limits.
