RESEARCH METHODOLOGY_ STEP BY STEP RESEARCH METHODOLOGY CHAPTER_.pdf

What the methodology chapter is and why it is important?
How to structure and write up the methodology chapter:
The research design:
The research philosophy:
The research type:
Inductive research,
The research strategy:
Experimental research
The time horizon:
The sampling strategy:
The data collection method
The analysis methods and techniques:
The methodological limitations

1. RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY:STEPBYSTEPRESEARCH
METHODOLOGYCHAPTER:
Whatthemethodologychapterisandwhyitisimportant?
Intoday’sarticle,wearegoingtoexplorethemethodologychapterofatypicaldissertation,
thesisorresearchproject.Wewillunpackwhatexactlyitis,whyitisimportantandhowtogo
aboutwritingitstepbystep.
So,thefirstquestionweneedtoaddressiswhatexactlytheresearchmethodologychapteris.
Simplyputthemethodologychapteriswhereyoudetailalloftheresearchdesignchoicesyou
havemadeandexplainwhyyoumadethem.Inotherwords,thepointofthemethodology
chapteristotellthereader,yourmarker,exactlyhowyoudesignedyourstudyandtojustifyeach
ofyourresearchdesignchoices.
Forexample,inthemethodologychapter,youwouldhighlightthetypeofresearchyou
conductedqualitative,quantitativeormixedmethods,howyoucollectedyourdata,howyou
analyzedyourdataandwhoorwhereyoucollectedthedatafrom.

2. Foreachofthesechoices,youwouldalsoexplainwhyyouchosethemandhowtheyallfit
together.Ifthesesoundsabitintimidatingdonotworrywewillexplainallthekeydesign
choicesinthisarticle.
Also,wehavegotloadsofinformationaboutresearchdesignandmethodologyNowthatwe
havecoveredthewhat;thenextimportantthingtounderstandisthewhy.
Inotherwords,whythemethodologychapterisimportantandwhatpurposedoesitserve.Well,
themethodologychapterisimportantforatleastthreereasons.
Firstlyitpresentsanopportunityforyoutodemonstrateyourunderstandingofresearchdesign
theorywhichisakeyassessmentcriterionformarkers.Aflawedresearchdesignor
methodologywouldmeanflawedresults.So,themethodologychapterisvitalasitallowsyouto
showthemarkerorexaminerthatyouknowwhatyouaredoingandthatyourresultsare
credible.
Thesecondreasonthemethodologychapterisimportantisthatithelpstomakeyourstudy
replicable.
Inotherwords,itallowsotherresearcherstoundertakeyourstudyusingthesamedesignand
thencomparetheirfindingstoyours.Thisisveryimportantwithinacademicresearchaseach
studybuildsonpreviousstudies.Withoutthischapternoonewouldknowexactlyhowyou
undertookyourresearchandthereforewouldnotbeabletoreplicatethestudyinothersettings.
Lastly,themethodologychapterisimportantbecauseitallowsyoutoidentifyanddiscussany
methodologicalissuesorshortcomingsyouencounteredalongthewayandtoexplainhowyou
mitigatedtheimpactofthese.Yourstudywillinvariablyhavelimitationsallstudiesdo.So,itis
importanttoacknowledgetheseopenlyandhighlightyourstudy'svaluedespiteitslimitations.
Also,thisdiscussionwillhelpfurtherdemonstrateyourunderstandingofresearchdesignthereby
earningyoumarks.

3. Nowthatwehavecoveredwhatthemethodologychapterisandwhyitisimportant,itistimeto
jumpintotheexcitingbite,howtostructureandwriteupthechapter.
Firstofallitisworthnotingthattheexactstructureandcontentsofthemethodologychapterwill
varydependingonthefieldofresearch,forexample,business,chemistryorengineeringaswell
astheuniversity.So,itisalwaysagoodideatochecktheguidelinesprovidedbyyourinstitution
andifpossiblereviewpastdissertationsandthesisfromyouruniversity.
Herewearegoingtodiscussagenericstructureforamethodologychapter,typicallyfoundin
thesciencesespeciallythesocialsciences.Nowaquicktipbeforeyoustartwritingwealways
recommendthatyoudrawuparoughoutlinesothatyouhaveacleardirectiontoheadin.
Donotjuststartwritingwithoutknowingwhatwillgowhere.Ifyoudoyouwillmostlikelyend
upwithadisjointedpoorlyflowingnarrative.Asaresult,youwillwastealotoftimewritingand
rewritingtryingtostitchallthepiecestogether.Saveyourselfthepainbystartingwiththeendin
mind.Alrighttimetogetdowntobusiness.
Howtostructureandwriteupthemethodologychapter:
Theintroduction:
Aswithallchaptersinyourdissertationorthesisthemethodologychaptershouldkickoffwith
abriefintroduction.Inthissection,youshouldremindthereaderwhatisthefocusofyourstudy
isespeciallytheresearchaims.Aswehavediscussedmanytimesinourarticlesthatyour
methodologyneedstoalignwithyourresearchaimsandresearchquestions.So,itisusefulto
front-loadthiscontenttoremindthereaderandyourselfwhatyouaretryingtoachievewithyour
researchdesign.Inthissection,youcanalsobrieflymentionhowyouwillstructurethechapter.
Thiswillhelporientthereaderandprovideabitofaroadmapsothattheyknowwhattoexpect.

4. Importantlyyouneedtokeepthisintroductionsectionbrief.Aparagraphortwomax.Doesnot
wastewordcountbywafflingonhere?
Theresearchdesign:
Thenextsectionofyourmethodologychapteriswhereyougetdowntobusinessandpresent
yourresearchdesignandmethodologytothereader.Inthissection,youwillneedtodetailand
justifyallthekeydesignchoicesinalogicalintuitivefashion.
Thisistheheartofyourmethodologychaptersoyouneedtogetspecific.Donotholdbackon
thedetailshere.Thisisnotoneofthoselessismoresituations.Broadlyspeakingthereareseven
keydesignchoicesthatyouwillneedtodiscussinthemethodologychapter.AsImentionedthis
mayvarydependingonyourfieldofresearchandortheuniversitybutthesesevendesign
choicesarethemostcommonlycoveredones.Letustakealookateachofthem.
Designchoicenumberone:
Theresearchphilosophy:
Theresearchphilosophyreferstotheunderlyingbeliefsregardinghowdataabouta
phenomenonshouldbegathered,analyzedandused.Yourresearchphilosophywillserveasthe
coreofyourstudyandunderpinalloftheotherresearchdesignchoices.So,itisessentialthat
youunderstandwhichphilosophyyouwilladoptandwhyyoumadethatchoice.Ifyouarenot
clearonthisorifthewholetopicofresearchphilosophyseemsabitfluffytoyoutakethetime
togetclaritybeforeyoumakeanyotherresearchdesignchoices.Ifyourstartingpointiswrong
youaregoingtorunintomanyissuesdowntheroad.Whiletherearequiteafewresearch
philosophiestochoosefromtwocommonlyadoptedonesarepositivismandinterpretivism.

5. Positivismiscommonlytheunderlyingresearchphilosophyinquantitativestudies.Itstatesthat
theresearcher,thatisyou,canobserverealityobjectivelyandthatthereisonlyonerealitythat
existsindependentlyoroutsideoftheobserver.
Interpretivismwhichisoftentheunderlyingresearchphilosophyinqualitativestudiesassumes
thattheresearcherplaysaroleinobservingtheworldaroundthemandthereforerealityisunique
toeachobserver.Inotherwords,realityisobservedsubjectively.
Thesearejusttwophilosophiesbuttheydemonstratesignificantlydifferentapproachesto
researchandhaveasubstantialimpactonalloftheotherresearchdesignchoices.So,itisvital
thatyouclearlydetailandjustifyyourresearchphilosophyatthebeginningofyourmethodology
chapterasitsetsthesceneforeverythingthatfollows.
Designchoicenumbertwo:
Theresearchtype:
Thenextthingyouwilltypicallyneedtodiscussinyourmethodologychapteristheresearch
type.Thestartingpointforthisistoindicatewhethertheresearchyouconductedisinductiveor
deductive.
Inductiveresearch,thetheoryisgeneratedfromthegroundup.Inotherwords,fromthe
collecteddataandthereforethesestudiestendtobeexploratoryintermsoftheirapproach.
Deductiveresearchontheotherhandstartswithanestablishedtheoryorsetoftheories
andbuildsontoitwithcollecteddata.Thereforethesestudiestendtobeconfirmatoryin
approach.
Inthissectionofthechapter,youwillalsoneedtoindicatewhetheryourstudyadoptsa
qualitative,quantitativeormixedmethodsmethodology.AsIhavementionedthereisastrong
linkbetweenthischoiceandyourresearchphilosophy.So,makesurethatyourchoicesare

6. tightlyaligned.Againwhenyouwritethissectionupremembertoclearlyjustifyyourchoicesas
theyformthefoundationofyourstudy.
Designchoicenumberthree:
Theresearchstrategy:
Thenextdesignchoiceyouwillneedtodiscussisyourresearchstrategy.Inotherwords:your
researchactionplan.Severalresearchstrategiesexistincludingexperiments,casestudies,
ethnography,groundedtheory,actionresearchandphenomenology.Letuslookattwoofthese.
Experimentsandethnographytoseehowtheycontrast
Experimentalresearchmakesuseofthescientificmethodwhereonegroupservesasthe
controlgroupinwhichnovariablesaremanipulatedandanothergroupservesasthe
experimentalgroupinwhichaspecificvariableofinterestismanipulated.Thistypeofresearch
isundertakenunderstrictconditionsinacontrolledartificialenvironmentforexamplewithina
laboratory.Byhavingfirmcontrolovertheenvironment,experimentalresearchstrategiesoften
allowresearcherstoestablishcausationbetweenvariables.So,anexperimentalresearchstrategy
canbeagoodchoiceifyouhaveresearchaimsthatinvolveidentifyingormeasuringcauseand
effect.
Ethnographicresearchontheotherhandinvolvesobservingandcapturingtheexperiencesand
perceptionsofparticipantsintheirnaturalenvironment.Forexample,peopleathomeoratthe
office.Inotherwords,inanuncontrolledenvironment.Naturally,thismeansthatthisresearch
strategywouldbefarlesssuitableifyourresearchaimsinvolveidentifyingcausationbutwould
beveryvaluable
Ifsayyouwerelookingtoexploreandexamineagroupculture.Forexample,thecorporate
cultureataspecificcompany.Asyoucanseetherightresearchstrategywilldependlargelyon
yourresearchaimsandresearchquestions.Thereforeaswitheveryotherdesignchoice,itis

7. essentialtojustifywhyyouchosetheresearchstrategyyoudid.Withtheresearchstrategy
pinneddown,itistimetodigintosomeofthemorepracticaldesignchoices.
Designchoicenumberfour:
Thetimehorizon:
Thenextthingyouneedtocoverinyourmethodologychapteristhetimehorizon.Therearetwo
options.Cross-sectionalandlongitudinal:Inotherwords,whetherthedataforyourstudywere
allcollectedatonepointintimecross-sectionaloratmultiplepointsintimelongitudinal.The
choiceyoumakeheredependsagainonyourresearchaimsandresearchquestions.Iffor
example,youraimistoassesshowaspecificgroupofpeople'sperspectivesregardingatopic
changeovertimeyouwouldlikelyadoptalongitudinaltimehorizonexaminingthesame
people’sperspectivesatmultiplepointsintime.Anotherimportantfactorhereisthatofpractical
constraints.Inotherwords,whetheryouhavethetimenecessarytoadoptalongitudinal
approachwhichcouldinvolvecollectingdataovermultiplemonths,yearsorevendecades.
Oftentimesthetimepressuresofyourdegreeprogramwillforceyourhandintoadoptinga
cross-sectionaltimehorizon.
Designchoicenumberfive:
Thesamplingstrategy:
Next,youwillneedtodiscussyourchosensamplingstrategy.Inotherwords,howyoudecided
whotocollectdatafrom.Therearetwomaincategoriesofsampling,probabilityand
non-probabilitysampling.
Probabilitysamplinginvolvesarandomandthereforerepresentativeselectionofparticipants
fromapopulation.Whereas

8. Non-probabilitysamplingentailsselectingparticipantsinanon-randomizedandtherefore
non-representativemanner.Forexample,anon-probabilitystrategycouldinvolveselecting
participantsbasedoneaseofaccess.Thisiscalledaconveniencesample.
Therightsamplingapproachdependslargelyonwhatyouaretryingtoachieveinyourstudy.
Specifically,whetheryouaretryingtodevelopfindingsthataregeneralizabletoapopulationor
not.Practicalitiesandresourceconstraintsalsoplayalargerolehereasitisoftenquite
challengingtogainaccesstoatrulyrandomsample.Donotstressthough.Inmanycases,a
probabilitysamplingstrategyisnotnecessary.Againitdependslargelyonyourresearchaims
andquestions.So,makesurethatyourchoicehereistightlyalignedwithyourresearchaims.
Withyoursamplingstrategylaidout,itistimetotalkabouthowyouwillcollectyourdata.
Designchoicenumbersix:
Thedatacollectionmethod:Nextupyouwillneedtoexplainhowexactlyyouwillgoabout
collectingthenecessarydataforyourstudy.Yourchoiceofdatacollectionmethodormethods
willdependonthetypeofdatathatyouplantocollect.Inotherwords,qualitative,wordsbased
orquantitativenumbers-baseddata.Typicallyquantitativeresearchreliesonsurveys,data
generatedbylabequipment,analyticssoftwareorexistingdatasets.Qualitativeresearchonthe
otherhandoftenmakesuseofin-personcollectionmethodssuchasinterviews,focusgroupsand
participantobservations.So,asyoucanseethereisatightlinkbetweenthissectionandthe
designchoicesyououtlinedinearliersections.So,asalwaysitisimportanttomakesurethat
youhaveastrongalignmentbetweenthevariousdesignchoices.
Designchoicenumberseven:
Theanalysismethodsandtechniques:
Thefinalmajordesignchoicethatyouneedtoaddressisyouranalysismethodsandtechniques.
Inotherwords,onceyouhavecollectedyourdatahowwillyougoaboutanalyzingit?Hereitis
importanttobeveryspecificaboutyouranalysismethodandortechniques.Donotleaveany

9. roomforinterpretation.Also,aswithallchoicesinthischapteryouneedtojustifyeachchoice
youmake.Whatexactlyyoudiscussherewilldependlargelyonthetypeofstudyyouare
conducting.
Forqualitativestudies,commonanalysismethodsincludecontentanalysis,thematicanalysisand
discourseanalysis.Forquantitativestudies,youwillalmostalwaysmakeuseofdescriptive
statisticsandinmanycases;youwillalsouseinferentialstatisticaltechniques.Forexample,
correlationandregressionanalysis.Inthissection,itisalsoimportanttodiscusshowyou
preparedyourdataforanalysisandwhatsoftwareyouusedifany.Forexample,quantitativedata
willoftenrequiresomeinitialpreparationsuchasremovingduplicatesorincompleteresponses
andcalculatingcompositemeasures.Asalwaysremembertoclearlystatebothwhatyoudidand
whyyoudidit.Allrightwiththesesevencoredesignchoicescovered.
Themeatandpotatoesofyourmethodologychapteraresorted.Nowitistimetomoveontothe
nextsectionofthechaptertodiscussthelimitationsofmethodology.Letusgocheckthatout.
Sectionthree:
Themethodologicallimitations:Withyourkeyresearchdesignchoicesoutlinedandjustified
thenextstepistodiscussthelimitationsofyourdesign.Importantlynoresearchdesignor
methodologyisperfect,therewillalwaysbetrade-offsbetweentheidealdesignandthedesign
thatispracticalandviablegivenyourconstraints.Thereforethissectionofyourmethodology
chapteriswhereyouwilldiscussthetrade-offsyouhadtomakeandwhythesewerejustifiedin
thegivencontext.So,whatgoesintothissection?
Methodologicallimitationscanvarygreatlyfromstudytostudy.Rangingfromcommonissues
suchastimeandbudgetconstraintstoanalysismethodlimitationsorsamplingissues.
Forexample,youmayfindthatyoudidnotmanagetoattractenoughsurveyrespondentsto
achievethedesiredsamplesizeorthatyoursampleisskewedheavilytowardsacertain

10. demographicresultinginreducedrepresentativeness.Inthissection,itisimportanttobecritical
oftheshortcomingsofyourstudy.Bybeingcriticalyouwilldemonstratetoyourmarkerthat
youhaveastrongunderstandingofresearchdesign.So,donotbeshyhere.Atthesametimedo
notbeatyourstudytodeath.Outlineyourstudy'smethodologicallimitations.
Whythesewerejustifiedgiventhecontext,howyoumitigatedtheirimpactstothebestdegree
possibleandhowyourstudiesstillprovidevaluedespitetheselimitations.Onceyouhave
discussedyourlimitationsyouareonthehomestretch.Itistimetowrapupthemethodology
chapter.
Sectionfour:
Theconcludingsummary:Nowthatyouhavepresentedyourresearchmethodologyand
discussedthelimitationsitistimetowrapupthechapterwithabriefconcludingsummary.
Inthissection,youwillwanttoconciselysummarizethekeytakeawaysfromthechapter.There
isnoneedtogetintotheweedsandrepeateverydesignchoice.Ahigh-levelsummarywilldo.
Alternatively,youcouldconsiderusingafiguretosummarizethekeydesigndecisionsvisually.
Especiallyifyouruniversityrecommendsusingaspecificmodelimportantlythissectionneeds
tobebriefaparagraphortwomax.
Itisasummaryafterall.Also,makesurethatwhenyouwriteupyourconcludingsummary,you
onlyincludewhatyouhavealreadydiscussedinyourchapter.Donotaddanynewinformation.
Andthereyouhaveit,themethodologychapterinanutshell.
Toquicklyrecap,thecorestructureofyourmethodologychaptershouldincludethefollowing.
1.Abriefintroductionsection.

11. 2.Adetaileddiscussionofthesevencoreresearchdesignchoices,namelytheresearch
philosophy,researchtype,researchstrategy,timehorizon,samplingstrategy,datacollectionand
dataanalysismethods.
3.Adiscussionofthemethodologicallimitations.
4.Abriefconcludingsummary.
AsIhavementionedtheexactcontentsandstructureofthischaptercanvarybetween
universitiesandfieldsofstudy.
So,besuretocheckinwithyourinstitutionbeforeyoustartwriting.Ifpossibletrytofind
dissertationsorthesesfromformerstudentsofyourspecificdegreeprogram.
Thiswillgiveyouastrongindicationofyouruniversity'sexpectationsandthenormsintermsof
themethodologychapterandallotherchapters.Lastly,rememberthegoldenruleofthe
methodologychapter,justifyeverychoice.Makesurethatyouexplainclearlythewhyforevery
whatandreferencecrediblemethodologytextbooksoracademicsourcestobackupyour
justifications
Allright,so,that’sallfortoday.Ifyouenjoyedthearticle,pleaseleaveacomment,untilnext
time,goodluck.
Formoreimportantarticlesregardingresearchclickthelinksbelow:
https://matiullahkich.blogspot.com/2023/03/types-of-research-different-types-of.html
https://matiullahkich.blogspot.com/2023/01/how-to-write-thesis-introduction.html
https://matiullahkich.blogspot.com/2023/01/how-to-write-literature-review-four.html