How to Write a Research Methodology

Are you a first-time researcher worried about how you would write an extensive dissertation? Well, we can help you with writing its second and probably the most important part — research methodology.

As you know the primary goal of research is not just to collect data but find answers to questions nobody has answered yet. It helps us add some new information to a collection of knowledge on a subject.

But you need to prove the validity of your newly discovered knowledge which is where a research methodology comes in. Proving the possibility of your research depends on your dissertation’s methodology. Because it explains how you gathered or generated your research data and illustrates how you assessed them. Moreover, a research methodology describes the rules and methods you implement in your research as well as the principles, values, and theories that reinforce your study’s approach.

Writing a research methodology can be tiring for beginners, particularly because it contains some intricate aspects. It's crucial to clearly understand its structure to craft an intensive research methodology for the dissertation that gives it a good start and helps you get higher grades.

This piece sheds light on the research methodology’s definition, and how one can write it to create an exceptional dissertation. We also see types of research methodology. So let's get started:

What is The Research Methodology?

For executing research, you should gather data and then assess it to find results. Everybody uses their methods of data collection and assessment. In a research methodology, you examine and describe those methods.

A research methodology is a primary component of your research paper, thesis, or dissertation. It elucidates your research and its procedures for the reader so that they can judge the trustworthiness and legitimacy of both your research and its topic.

It should involve:

  • Your research’s type
  • How did you gather and evaluate information
  • The resources and tools you utilized in the research
  • How you avoided or minimized research biases
  • Why did you select these techniques

How to Write A Perfect Research Methodology?

Here is some advice you can follow to construct the perfect Dissertation Methodology

  • As a general rule, always write your methodology section in the past tense
  • You can check out academic writing style guides in your subject to see in-depth directions on what to add for various kinds of studies
  • Your citation style may offer directions for your research methodology (for example, an APA Style methodology section)

Importance of Your Research Methodology

A research methodology is important because it allows showing how you executed your research and why you picked the methods you picked. It's also the section to display that your study was extensively executed and could be replicated.

It provides your research rationality and places it within your discipline and also offers your readers a section to allude to if they have any critiques or queries in other parts.

Step-By-Step Guide to Write A Research Methodology

Step 1: Describe Your Methodological Approach

You can begin by including your main approach to your study. There are two ways to do that.

Option 1: Begin with your “what”

Mention what question or concern you are acknowledging.

  • Did you try to explain the traits of something?
  • Scrutinize an under-researched subject?
  • Create a cause-and-effect relationship?

And what kind of data did you require to accomplish this objective?

  • Quantitative data, qualitative data, or a mixture of both?
  • Primary data gathered yourself, or secondary data gathered by another researcher?
  • Experimental data collected by manipulating and controlling variables, or descriptive data collected through inspections?

Option 2: Begin with Your “Why”

Based on your field, you may also begin with an explanation of the theory and premises supporting your methodology. It means you describe why you picked these approaches for your research.

  • Why is it the optimal method to acknowledge your research question?
  • Is it a usual methodology in your subject, or does it need defending?
  • Were there any moral examinations that drive your preferences?
  • What are the standards for verification and trustworthiness in this sort of research? How did you avoid bias from impacting your data?

Quantitative Example

In quantitative experimental research, you could seek to come up with generalizable information about the causes of a phenomenon. It demands diligently designed research under monitored conditions that can be reused by others.

Qualitative Example

In a qualitative ethnography, you could seek to generate contextual, real-world information about the behaviors, shared beliefs, or social structures, of a particular demographic. This approach is less controlled and more analytical, so you will need to consider your position as a researcher.

Step 2: Demonstrate Your Data Collection Methods

After mentioning your methodological approach, you should write complete details of your data collection methods.

Qualitative Example

You need to demonstrate your quantitative research approaches in sufficient detail to be considered generalizable for other people to reproduce your research.

Here, describe how you operationalized your ideas and calibrated your variables. Talk about your sampling approach or exclusion and inclusion standard, plus any tools, procedures, and resources you utilized to collect your data.

Surveys

Illustrate where, how, and when, you executed your survey.

  • How did you create the questionnaire?
  • What was the type of your questions (e.g., Likert scale, multiple choice)?
  • Did you perform your surveys physically or virtually?
  • What sampling method did you apply to choose participants?
  • What was your response rate and sample size?

Tip

You should also add the questionnaire as an appendix. It will allow your readers to know precisely how your data and questions match.

Experiments

Add full details of the techniques, procedures, and tools, you used to perform your experiment.

  • How did you create the experiment?
  • How did you enroll participants?
  • How did you control and calculate the variables?
  • What tools did you utilize?

Existing Data

Demonstrate how you collected and chose the resources (like archival data or datasets) that you used in your assessment.

  • From where did you find the material?
  • What was the original method of data production?
  • What standard did you employ to choose material (e.g., date range)?

Example: Quantitative Methods

The survey contained 10 multiple-choice queries and 15 questions measured on an 8-point Likert scale.

The objective was to gather survey answers from 400 buyers swinging by the footwear business’s physical store in London on August 1 to 4, 2023, between 9:00 and 12:00. Here, you describe a buyer as someone who had bought an item from the business on the date you conducted the survey.

Qualitative Methods

Qualitative methods are typically more flexible. For this reason, you should robustly describe the methodology selections you made.

Make sure you mention the standard you employed to choose your data, the background in which your study was executed, and the role you played in gathering your data.

Existing Data

Describe how you chose case study resources for your evaluation.

  • What type of resources did you assess?
  • How did you pick them?

Example: Qualitative Methods

Semi-structured interviews were performed with 4 repeat buyers to attain optimal insight into possibilities for future enhancement of the footwear shop’s product catalog. Here, a repeat buyer was described as an individual who typically purchased shoes at least twice a week from the shop.

Step 3: Examine and Defend the Methodological Selections You Made

More than anything, your research methodology component should explain why you chose the approaches you did. It is most important if you did not use the most standard approach to your subject.

You should explain why other approaches were not appropriate for your goals and display why this approach adds new understanding or knowledge.

Your job is to make it super clear to your reader in any case that you chose the best methodology design. Demonstrate how your methods would get outcomes that are trusted and verifiable while leaving the assessment of the significance, relevance, and meaning of your outcomes for the discussion section.

Bottom Line

A research methodology is the most significant part of your dissertation. Because it describes the rules, and regulations you applied in your research as well as the principles, premises, and theories you considered to validate your research. We hope our content has helped you understand how to write a research methodology for your dissertation. Regardless of your field, our blog will assist you in crafting and structuring a perfect research methodology that will earn you a distinction.

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