Q: What is a research instrument?

A research instrument is a tool used to obtain, measure, and analyze data from subjects around the research topic. You need to decide the instrument to use based on the type of study you are conducting: quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method. For instance, for a quantitative study, you may decide to use a questionnaire, and for a qualitative study, you may choose to use a scale. While it helps to use an established instrument, as its efficacy is already established, you may if needed use a new instrument or even create your own instrument. You need to describe the instrument(s) used in the Methods section of the paper.

For information on describing the use of instruments and requesting permission to use new instruments, you may refer to the following resources:

• Should I write the definition and working of an instrument or scale that I used in my study?
• Do I need to take permission to use a scale that was published in a paper?

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