How to Write a Research Methodology

How to Write a Research Methodology

When writing a research paper as a student or a researcher, you are expected to describe your research methodology. Understanding the meaning and essence of research methodology will go a long way in helping you understand how to write a good one.

In this article, we will be discussing;

  • what research methodology is;
  • the types of research methodology;
  • how to write research methodology;
  • tips to writing a strong research methodology;


What is Research Methodology?

Research methodology is a specific set of procedures or techniques used to identify, select, process, and analyze information about a research topic. It is often used to critically evaluate the overall validity and reliability of a study.

It can be said to be the design process for  carrying  out  research  or  the development of research topic. Methodology is the general research strategy that outlines the way a research project will be carried out.

It is compiled after right after literature review (chapter two) and aims at stating how the data will be collected, the research design, search of the study, study of the population, sample and sampling techniques, instrument for data collection, validity of instrument, reliability of the instrument, and ethical considerations.

The choice of which research methodology to use depends on the research questions and is often the use of questionnaires which is mostly seen as the systematic way of solving a research problem.

Types of Research Methodology

Research methodology types are these:

  1. Participant and non-participant observation.
  2. Observational trials.
  3. Experiments.
  4. Questionnaires.
  5. Surveys.
  6. Interviews.
  7. Case studies.


Participant and non-participant observation:

In this type of methodology (participant observation), the researcher takes an observer's place to learn about the activities of the people under study in a natural setting without the Hawthorne's effect while in the non- participant observation, he gets involved in those activities.  This method provides the context for development of sampling and interview guidelines.

Observational Trials:

In this method, the researcher aim to receive interventions from the participants or procedures (in clinical settings) in their routine medical care. The researcher observes the participants or measure certain outcomes to determine outcomes as results.

Experiments:

This method comes with a scientific approach using two sets of variables. The first set and the second set. The first set acts as a constant, which you use to measure the differences of the second set.


Questionnaires:

Questionnaire is a research instrument/method made up of series of questions for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Questionnaires can be said to be a written interview usually filled by the respondents with ticks or a yes/no. It is the commonly used research method.

Surveys:

Survey method is a quantitative approach method that features the use of self-report measures on carefully selected samples. It is a flexible approach that can be used to study a wide variety of basic and applied research questions. It characterized by large population, is the most accurate and has broad capability.

Interviews:

An interview method is a generally qualitative research technique that involves asking open-ended questions to converse with respondents and collect data about a subject. It is conducted with a sample from a population. It is a more richer method of research and it could be structured, non- structured or semi-structured.


Case Studies:

A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject on a particular research topic. It is usually designed to involve qualitative methods though quantitative methods are sometimes also used. It is an depth investigation of a single person, event or community. Through it, data are gathered from a variety of sources.

Now, we have looked at the meaning and types of research methodology, let take a look at how to write one.

How to Write Research Methodology

In your dissertation, you will discuss the methodology you chose. You will explain what you did and how you did it, allowing the readers to evaluate the reliability and validity of the research. The type of research you did, method of data collection and analysis, tools/materials used in the research and rationale will also be discussed. You can follow these outlined steps:

  • Step 1: Explain your methodological approach by introducing what your research problem is in the previous chapters.
  • Step 2: State if you collected data yourself, or if someone else did.
  • Step 3: Describe where, when and how the survey was conducted, the design used, what form the questions take (e.g. multiple choice, Likert scale), the sample size and response rate. The full questionnaire will be added as an appendix so that your reader can see exactly what data was collected.
  • Step 4: State if you gathered experimental data by controlling and manipulating variables, or descriptive data by gathering observations without intervening.
  • Step 5: Explain how you got your population, measured your variables, your sampling method (inclusive or exclusive criteria), tools, procedures and materials you used to gather data.
  • Step 6: Describe your instrument/ methods of data collection. Give full details of your data collection methods.
  • Step 7: State the criterions for validity and reliability in this type of research.
  • State 8: Explain why this the most suitable approach to answering your research questions. Is it a standard methodology in your field or does it require justification? You can also include the ethical considerations.

NB: In quantitative research, you should describe your methods in enough details so your work can be replicable in future. In experimental research, it is also important to give enough detail for another researcher to reproduce your results.

Lastly, in subsequent chapters you can acknowledge limitations or weaknesses in the approach you chose, but justify why these were outweighed by the strengths. Discuss obstacle you encountered, the difficulties in collecting or analyzing data, how you dealt with them and make suggestions and recommendations. You will also explain how you gathered existing information for inclusion in your analysis which will later be referenced.

At this point, let us look at what makes a good research methodology stand out.


Tips for Writing a Strong Research Methodology

  1. Explain your methodological approach.
  2. Show how and why you applied them and demonstrate that your research was carefully conducted.
  3. Use a methodology with good standard in your field.
  4. Evaluate, confirm and justify your methodological choices.
  5. Describe your methods of data collection.
  6. Describe your methods of analysis.
  7. Your methodology can be strengthened by reference.
  8. Focus on your objectives and research questions, throughout your work, it should be your central focus.
  9. Make your chapter 3 (methodology) well structured to point your argument.
  10. Articulate properly.