How to Write Your Dissertation Methodology [With Examples]

This guide covers what a dissertation methodology is, what you should include and some top tips for writing one. With useful examples. WikiJobMBAEMBAvsMBA:WhatAretheKeyDifferences?IsanOnlineMBAWorththeTime&Money?MBASpecializationsTheTop10ExecutiveMBAsintheUKTheTop10ExecutiveMBAsintheUSWhatIsaMini-MBA?WhatIsanExecutiveMBA?FurtherStudyWhatIsaPostgraduateDegree?WhatIsaPGDip?WhatIsaPGCert?LawConversionCoursesBursary,ScholarshiporLoan?PGCEFundingOptionsLSATPrepCoursesMCATPrepCoursesACTPrepCoursesPhDWhatIsaPhD?WhyDoaPhD?PhDInterviewQuestionsHowLongDoesaPhDTake?HowMuchDoesaPhDCost?HowtoChooseaDissertationTopicHowtoChooseaPhDSupervisorHowtoWriteYourDissertationMethodologyHowtoWriteaDissertationProposalPhDCoverLettersPhDFundingOptionsPhDPersonalStatementsGMATGMATSampleQuestionsGMATCriticalReasoningGMATDataSufficiencyGMATExamDayGMATReadingComprehensionGMATSentenceCorrectionHowManyTimesShouldYouTaketheGMAT?HowMuchDoestheGMATCost?HowtoDevelopaGMATStudyPlanReviewed:EconomistGMATTutorThe10BestGMATBooksTheBestGMATPrepCoursesUnderstandingYourGMATScoresWhatIsaGoodGMATScore?GREGMATvsGRE:Whichshouldyoutake?Reviewed:EconomistGRETutorThe10BestGREPrepCourses×CloseHowtoWriteYourDissertationMethodologyHowtoWriteYourDissertationMethodologyPostgraduatePHDUpdated30September2021WrittenbytheWikiJobTeamInthisarticleSkiptosectionWhatIsaDissertationMethodology?HowtoChooseYourMethodologyWhattoIncludeinYourDissertationMethodologyAimsOutlineoftheMethodsChosenExplanationoftheMethodsChosenHowWastheDataAnalysed?WhatMaterialsandEquipmentWereUsedDuringtheResearch?WereThereAnyHurdlesorDifficultiesFacedDuringtheResearch?EvaluationTipsforWritingYourDissertationMethodology1.LookatOtherMethodologySections2.PlanYourStructure3.ConsiderYourAudience4.RemainFocusedonYourAimsandResearchQuestions5.RefertoAnyObstaclesorDifficultiesThatYouDealtWithFinalThoughtsDuetothecomplexitiesofthedifferentresearchmethods,writingyourdissertationmethodologycanoftenbethemostchallengingandtime-consumingpartofyourpostgraduatedissertation. ThisarticlefocusesontheimportanceofwritingagoodPhDormaster'sdissertationmethodology–andhowtoachievethis.WhatIsaDissertationMethodology? Apostgraduatedissertation(orthesis)isusuallyformedofseveraldetailedsections,including: Abstract–Asummaryofyourresearchtopic. Introduction–Providesbackgroundinformationonyourtopic,puttingitintocontext.Youwillalsoconfirmthemainfocusofyourstudy,explainwhyitwilladdvaluetoyourareaofinterestandspecifyyourkeyobjectives. LiteratureReview–Acriticalreviewofliteraturethatrelatestoyourchosenresearchtopic.Youwillalsoneedtoidentifywhichgapintheliteratureyourstudyaimstoaddress. Methodology–Focusesontheresearchmethodsusedwithinyourresearch. Results–Usedtoreportonyourmainfindingsandhowtheserelatetoyourresearchquestion. Conclusion–Usedtoconfirmtheanswertoyourmainresearchquestion,reflectontheresearchprocessandofferrecommendationsonfutureresearch. Thedissertationmethodologyformstheskeletonofanyresearchproject.Itprovidesthereaderwithaclearoutlineofthemethodsyoudecidedtousewhencarryingoutyourresearch. Bystudyingyourdissertationmethodology,thereaderwillbeabletoassessyourresearchintermsofitsvalidityandreliability. Inlinewiththeoutlinegivenabove,themethodologychapterusuallyappearsaftertheliteraturereview.Yourmethodologyshouldbecloselylinkedtotheresearchthatyouconductedaspartofthisreview,aswellasthequestionsyouaimtoanswerthroughyourresearchandanalysis. Takingthetimetofindoutaboutthedifferenttypesofresearchavailabletoyouwillallowyoutoidentifyanypotentialdrawbackstothemethodyouhavechosentouse.Youshouldthenbeabletomakeallowancesoradjustmentstoaddressthesewhenitcomestocarryingoutyourresearch. HowtoChooseYourMethodology Choosingyourmethodologywilllargelydependonthedisciplineofthequalificationyouarestudyingforandthequestionyourdissertationwillseektoanswer.Inmostcases,youwillusequantitativeorqualitativeresearchmethods,althoughsomeprojectswillbenefitfromusingacombinationofboth. Quantitativeresearchmethodsareusedtogathernumericalinformation.Thisresearchmethodisparticularlyusefulifyouareseekingtocount,categorise,measureoridentifypatternsindata.Tocollectquantitativedata,youmightchoosetoconductexperiments,testsorsurveys. Qualitativeresearchmethodsareusedtogathernon-statisticaldata.Insteadofusingnumberstocreatechartsorgraphs,youwillneedtocategorisetheinformationaccordingtoidentifiers.Thisresearchmethodismostusefulifyouareseekingtodevelopahypothesis.Tocollectqualitativedata,youmightchoosetoconductfocusgroups,interviewsorobservations. WhattoIncludeinYourDissertationMethodology Belowisadissertationmethodologyexampletoshowyouwhatinformationtoinclude: Aims Youwillneedtoreiterateyourresearchtopicorquestionandgiveanoverviewofhowyouplantoinvestigatethis.Iftherewereanyethicalorphilosophicalconsiderationstobemade,givedetails. Forexample,youmayhavesoughtinformedconsentfromthepeopletakingpartininterviewsorsurveys. OutlineoftheMethodsChosen Confirmwhetheryouhavechosentousequantitativeresearch,qualitativeresearchoracombinationofboth. Whenchoosingbetweenqualitativeandquantitativeresearchmethods,youwillneedtocarryoutinitialliteratureandtextbookresearchtoestablishthestandardresearchmethodsthatarenormallyusedwithinyourchosenareaofresearch. Ifyouarenotsurewheretostart,youcouldvisitthelibraryatyourcollegeoruniversityandaskoneofthelibrarianstohelpyoutoidentifythemostrelevanttexts. ExplanationoftheMethodsChosen Explainyourrationaleforselectingyourchosenresearchmethods.Youshouldalsogiveanoverviewofwhytheseweremoreappropriatethanusinganotherresearchmethod. Thinkaboutwhereandwhentheresearchtookplaceandwhowasinvolved.Forexample,thismightincludeinformationonthevenueusedforinterviewsorfocusgroups,datesandtimescales,andwhetherparticipantswerepartofaparticulardemographicgroup. Herearesomeexamplesofthetypeofinformationyoumaywishtoinclude: QualitativeResearchMethods Personalobservations–Whereandwhendidyouconducttheobservations?Whodidyouobserve?Weretheypartofaparticularcommunityorgroup?Howlongdideachobservationtake?Howdidyourecordyourfindings–didyoucollectaudiorecordings,videofootageorwrittenobservations? Focusgroups–Whereandwhendidthefocusgrouptakeplace?Whowasinvolved?Howweretheyselected?Howmanypeopletookpart?Werethequestionsaskedstructured,unstructuredorsemi-structured?Remembertoincludeacopyofthequestionsthatwereusedasanappendix. Interviews–Whereandwhendidtheinterviewstakeplace?Whotookpart?Howdidyouselecttheparticipants?Whattypeofquestionsdidyouask?Howdidyourecordyourfindings?Remembertoincludeacopyofthequestionsthatwereusedasanappendix. Example: Theresearcher’sobjectivewastofindoutcustomerperceptionsonimprovingtheproductrangecurrentlyofferedbyCompanyY.Semi-structuredinterviewswereheldwith15returningcustomersfromthekeytargetdemographicforCompanyY(18-to35-year-olds). Forresearchpurposes,areturningcustomerwasdefinedassomebodywhopurchasedproductsfromCompanyYatleasttwotimesperweekduringthepastthreemonths.Theinterviewswereheldinanofficeinthestaffareaoftheretailpremises.Eachinterviewlastedapproximately25minutes.Responseswererecordedthroughnote-takingasnoneoftherespondentswishedtogivetheirconsenttobefilmed. QuantitativeResearchMethods Existinginformationordata–Whatwerethesourcesofthematerialused?Howdidyouselectmaterial?Didyouonlyusedatapublishedwithinaparticulartimeframe? Experiments–Whattoolsorequipmentdidyouuse?Whattechniqueswererequired?Notethatwhenconductingexperiments,itisparticularlyimportanttoprovideenoughinformationtoallowanotherresearchertoconducttheexperimentandobtainthesameresults. Surveys–Wererespondentsaskedtoanswermultiple-choicequestionsorcompletefree-textfields?Howmanyquestionswereused?Howlongwerepeoplegiventoanswerallofthequestions?Whatwerethedemographicsoftheparticipants?Remembertoincludeacopyofthesurveyintheappendices. Example: Thesurveywasmadeupof10multiple-choicequestionsand5questionstoberatedusinga5-pointLickertscale.Theobjectivewastohave250customersofCompanyZcompletethesurveyattheCompanyZHQbetween1stand5thFebruary2019,betweenthehoursof12p.m.and5p.m. Forresearchpurposes,acustomerwasdefinedasanypersonwhohadpurchasedaproductfromCompanyZduring2018.Customerscompletingthesurveywereallowedamaximumof10minutestoanswerallofthequestions.200customersresponded,howevernotallofthesurveyswerecompletedinfull,soonly150surveyresultswereabletobeusedinthedataanalysis. HowWastheDataAnalysed? Ifyouhavechosentousequantitativeresearchmethods,youwillneedtopreparethedatabeforeanalysingit–forexample,youwillneedtocheckforvariables,missingdataandoutliers.Ifyouhaveusedcomputersoftwaretoaidwithanalysis,informationonthisshouldalsobeincluded. Forqualitativedata,youwillneedtocategoriseandcodetheideasandthemesthatareidentifiedfromtherawdata.Youmayalsoneedtousetechniquessuchasnarrativeanalysisordiscourseanalysistointerpretthemeaningbehindresponsesgiven. WhatMaterialsandEquipmentWereUsedDuringtheResearch? Thiscouldincludeanythingfromlaboratoryequipmentusedinascientificexperimenttocomputersoftwareusedtoanalysetheresults. WereThereAnyHurdlesorDifficultiesFacedDuringtheResearch? Ifso,whatweretheyandhowdidyoumanagetoovercomethem?Thiscouldbeanythingfromdifficultiesinfindingparticipants,problemsobtainingconsentorashortageoftherequiredresourcesneededtoconductascientificexperiment. Evaluation Thisparagraphshouldbeusedtoevaluatetheresearchyouhaveconductedandjustifyyourreasonsforchoosingthisapproach. Youdonotneedtogointogreatdetail,asyouwillpresentanddiscussyourresultsin-depthwithinyourdissertation’s‘Results’section. Youwillneedtobrieflyexplainwhetheryourresultswereconclusive,whethertherewereanyvariablesandwhetheryourchoiceofmethodologywaseffectiveinpractice. TipsforWritingYourDissertationMethodology Theobjectiveforthemethodologyisnotonlytodescribethemethodsthatyouusedforyourresearch.Youwillalsoneedtodemonstratewhyyouchosetousethemandhowyouappliedthem. Thekeypointistoshowthatyourresearchwasconductedmeticulously. Trytokeepyourwritingstyleconciseandclear;thiswillensurethatitiseasyforthereadertounderstandanddigest. Herearefivetoptipstoconsiderwhenwritingyourdissertationmethodology: 1.LookatOtherMethodologySections Askyoursupervisortoprovideyouwithafewdifferentexamplesofpreviouslywrittendissertations.Readingthroughmethodologiesthathavebeenwrittenbypaststudentswillgiveyouagoodideaofwhatyourfinishedmethodologysectionshouldlooklike. 2.PlanYourStructure Whicheverresearchmethodsyouhavechosentouse,yourdissertationmethodologyshouldbeaclearlystructured,wellwrittensectionthatgivesastrongandjustifiedargumentforyourchosenresearchmethods. Youmaywishtouseheadingssuchas: Aims Researchmethods Explanationofresearchmethodschosen Dataanalysisandreferences Onceyouhavedraftedanoutline,askyoursupervisorforadviceonwhetherthereisanythingyouhavemissedandwhetheryourstructurelookslogical. 3.ConsiderYourAudience Whenwritingyourmethodology,haveregardforthepeoplewhoarelikelytobereadingit.Forexample,ifyouhavechosentouseresearchmethodsthatarecommonlychosenwithinyourareaofresearchordiscipline,thereisnoneedtogiveagreatdealofjustificationorbackgroundinformation. Ifyoudecidetousealesspopularapproach,itisadvisabletogivemuchmoredetailedinformationonhowandwhyyouchosetousethismethod. 4.RemainFocusedonYourAimsandResearchQuestions Yourdissertationmethodologyshouldgiveaclearindicationastowhytheresearchmethodsyouhavechosenaresuitablefortheaimsofyourresearch. Whenwritingyourdissertationmethodology,ensurethatyoulinkyourresearchchoicesbacktotheoverallaimsandobjectivesofyourdissertation.Tohelpyoutoremainfocused,itcanbehelpfultoincludeacleardefinitionofthequestionyouareaimingtoansweratthestartofyourmethodologysection. 5.RefertoAnyObstaclesorDifficultiesThatYouDealtWith Ifyoufacedanyproblemsduringthedatacollectionoranalysisphases,usethemethodologysectiontotalkaboutwhatyoudidtoaddresstheseissuesandminimisetheimpact. FinalThoughts WhetheryouarecompletingaPhDormaster'sdegree,writingyourthesisordissertationmethodologyisoftenconsideredtobethemostdifficultandtime-consumingpartofcompletingyourmajorresearchproject. Thekeytosuccesswhenwritingamethodologysectionistohaveaclearstructure.Remember,thepurposeofthemethodologysectionofyourresearchprojectistoensurethatthereaderhasafullunderstandingofthemethodsyouhavechosen. Youshoulduseyourmethodologysectiontoprovideclearjustificationastowhyyouhavechosenaparticularresearchmethodinsteadofotherpotentialmethods.Avoidreferringtoyourpersonalopinions,thoughtsorinterestswithinyourmethodology;keeptheinformationthatyouincludefactualandensurethateverythingisbackedupbyappropriateacademicreferences.HowstrongisyourCV/Resume?Getafree,confidentialreviewfromanexpert.Don’tfillthisoutifyou’rehuman:GetafreereviewReadThisNextYoumightalsobeinterestedintheseotherWikiJobarticles:HowtoWriteaDissertationProposalPostgraduate/Master’sPersonalStatementsPhDPersonalStatementsHowtoChooseaGoodDissertationTopicHowtoWriteanInterviewPaperOrexplorethePostgraduate/PHDsections.