Should I use beadboard or shiplap to cover one short wall?

I personally love bead board. There is a kit that HD has that has all the bed board parts and instructions and is super easy to use. HINT it you edges need a finishing touch, buy dowels and insert in the edges. Makes it look totally professional.

I agree with Dee. For that size wall I would go with the breadboard. Best wishes!

I wouldn't use either because they require a lot of nails that can crack the wall since it is plaster. Now if you mean the entire wall then you can consider that entire wall damaged once you apply either of these techniques. The good thing about bead board is that it's a classic and will never go out of style and can easily be painted. Shiplap although it has been around a few years it hasn't proven to be a classic yet and I'm personally not a fan of a wall of horizontally placed planks that sometimes are weathered or beat up. Harder to incorporate into different styles. That's just my take on it,I like to stick with classics not trends and I always consider resale value. You just never know and I wouldn't want to mess with plaster. Drywall much easier to find a professional to repair and make it look seamless and in a shorter period of time so cost effective cause not labor intensive as plaster.