This paper describes the multiple research methods that can be utilised by researchers to describe and analyse complicated and dynamic processes which occur in populations. Because of the inherent limitations in our understanding of an event or process at a given point in time, we often need to draw on data obtained through different methods and from different sources if we are to obtain a composite picture and realistic analysis of this process. We therefore have to accept that the resulting analysis will itself need to be reviewed once new data have been obtained, because the data obtained by the various methods will have different levels of certainty associated with them. Each method has its own methodological problems, but when used in conjunction with each other, their consistency and validity can be evaluated.

Initially, a theoretical framework in which population-based research needs to be performed and interpreted is presented. This is followed by a case study, which will exemplify the use of these complementary research methods. A variety of methods were used to investigate the biological and cultural factors influencing the morbidity patterns of Central Australian Aboriginal children living in the Alice Springs' town-camps. Some concluding remarks will integrate the two sections within the context of population-based research. For the purpose of this discussion, the antithesis of population-based research is laboratory-based research, although the laboratory setting itself can constitute a population in its own right.