A methodology must be written before presenting research findings. It explains your methods and provides a road map for how you came to your conclusions. Your research methodology is a thorough summary of the research procedure you used to support your findings. A well-written methodology makes the case for why you selected the methods you did in addition to describing the strategies you used.
This blog offers tips on How to Write a Dissertation Methodology and why methodology is an important and compulsory part of the dissertation.
The importance of a methodology
Sharing your methodology lends credibility to your research. Unreliable or incorrect methodology yields unreliable or incorrect results. The audience of your research anticipates that you will have adhered to accepted procedures in order for the conclusions you draw to be reliable. The methodology you describe must be repeatable, which means that anyone who applies the techniques you describe should arrive at the same conclusions as you did.
Tips to write a methodology
Following are some phd dissertation help tips for writing a methodology:
- State your research problem or thesis again
An explanation of the issue your research focuses on is provide in the first section of your methodology. The reader can then follow your methodology from start to finish, step by step. The opportunity to restate your thesis gives you the chance to address any hypotheses you may have made during your research as well as to list any factors or constraints you may have tested. Allocate a good amount of time to research and gather each piece of information related to your dissertation topic (Ellis, 2022). Also, make sure to select the topic that has your interest because you cannot write a perfect and top-notch dissertation until you are not interested in the topic to work with (eazyresearch, 2022).
- Describe the method you used
Restate your research problem and then describe the methodology you used. Describe why you chose qualitative or quantitative research, or why you used a blended approach or any other method recognized in your field.
- Describe any unusual methodology you use
Clarify your decision if any step in your process deviates from accepted industry standards. For example, you may have developed a unique approach to your thesis topic or adapted a process commonly used in another field of study. Since your methodology supports the validity of your findings, a compelling justification for any unconventional methods you used in your study responds to any potential criticism.
- Describe how you gathered the information you used
Indicate whether your research relied on quantitative or qualitative data. Describe any experiments you have carried out, including their design, methods for measuring any variables, and equipment requirements. Explain how you obtained existing data, including how it was gathered, and list the objectives you used to select existing data gathered from other sources.
- Describe how you analyzed the data you collected
The next section of your methodology does not discuss any findings or conclusions; instead, it explains to your reader how you organized and evaluated the data you gathered. If your research was quantitative, describe the steps you took to verify that the information was accurate, any technology you used to analyze the data, and any statistical testing you conducted. Your analysis may base on content, theme, or discourse if you only used qualitative research.
- Review your methodological decisions and provide justifications
Describe the parameters that you used to select your research strategy. List any potential flaws in your research methods and provide evidence to back up your choice. Include a brief assessment of any other methodology you may have chosen.
- Outline any challenges and potential solutions
Mention any challenges you faced while conducting your research, along with a description of your solutions. The problem-solving abilities you demonstrate in this section increase the credibility of your research among readers.
- List all the sources you used to come up with your methodology of choice
Your methodology’s last section includes citations to the sources you consulted to develop your overall methodology. This strengthens the credibility of your research.
- Explain how and why
Show how and why you used your methods rather than just describing them. This helps to demonstrate that you conducted your research thoroughly.
- Make notes as you go
Make sure you accurately record all information by taking notes as you work and outlining your methodology. The quality of your methodology will increase with how well you document your processes and procedures in real-time.
- Focus on your research questions
Incorporate the focus of your research into your methodology decisions. This demonstrates that you picked the most effective strategies to tackle the issue brought up in your thesis.
- Write for your intended audience
Create a methodology that is well-written and structured. With effective writing, you should address the readers of your research rather than just listing procedures and technical details.
- Reproducibility Factor
You must use the reproducibility approach when writing a dissertation methodology. This is the capacity to duplicate the findings of the investigation and experiment. This distinguishes the particular scientific method. You must use both usability and credibility when writing a dissertation. When delivering your paper, you must include a thorough description of the techniques you used to write it.
- The Need for Precedence
You must have proper and perfect precedence when writing a dissertation methodology. You must understand whether the research strategy follows related research projects that are a part of the particular subject area. It is crucial to conduct pertinent research on the best literature because this will undoubtedly reveal some related projects, and if the adopted techniques are used, the approach will become authoritative. This is extremely useful when writing a dissertation and learning about a topic.
Conclusion
Your methodology, as well as the specific methods you use in your proposed study, are critical to its success. To make sure you get this section right, it is worth taking your time and working hard at it. As always, make use of the resources you have at your fingertips. For instance, talk in-depth about your plans with your supervisor, who might be able to advise you on whether your strategy has any serious weaknesses that you could work to fix.
