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6.TheMethodologyOrganizingY
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OrganizingYourSocialSciencesResearchPaper:6.TheMethodology

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SearchthisGuide

Thepurposeofthisguideistoprovideadviceonhowtodevelopandorganizearesearchpaperinthesocialsciences.
PurposeofGuide

TypesofResearchDesigns

4.TheIntroduction

1.ChoosingaResearchProblem

5.TheLiteratureReview

10.ProofreadingYourPaper

11.CitingSources

HowtoManageGroupProjects
WritingaResearchProposal

6.TheMethodology

7.TheResults

AnnotatedBibliography

WritingaBookReview

2.PreparingtoWrite

8.TheDiscussion

GivinganOralPresentation

WritingaCaseStudy

3.TheAbstract

WritingaFieldReport

9.TheConclusion

GradingSomeoneElse'sPaper
WritingaPolicyMemo

Acknowledgements

Definition

WritingTip

Themethodssectiondescribestherationalefortheapplicationofspecificproceduresortechniquesusedtoidentify,select,
andanalyzeinformationappliedtounderstandingtheresearchproblem,thereby,allowingthereadertocriticallyevaluatea
studysoverallvalidityandreliability.Themethodologysectionofaresearchpaperanswerstwomainquestions:Howwas
thedatacollectedorgenerated?And,howwasitanalyzed?Thewritingshouldbedirectandpreciseandalwayswrittenin
thepasttense.

Statistical Designs and Tests?

DoNotFearThem!
Don't avoid using a quantitative approach to
analyzing your research problem just because
you fear the idea of apply ing statistical designs
and tests. A qualitative

Kallet,RichardH."HowtoW ritetheMethodsSectionofaResearchPaper

."RespiratoryCare 49(October2004):12291232.

approach, such as

conducting in terviews or content analysis of

archival texts, can yield exciting new insights
about a research problem, but it should not be
undertaken simply because you have a disdain

ImportanceofaGoodMethodologySection

for running a simple regression. A well designed

Youmustexplainhowyouobtainedandanalyzedyourresultsforthefollowingreasons:
Readers needto know how the data was obtainedbecause the method you chose affects the findingsand, by
extension,howyoulikelyinterpretedthem.
Methodologyiscrucialforanybranchofscholarshipbecauseanunreliablemethodproducesunreliableresultsand,
asaconsequence,underminesthevalueofyourinterpretationsofthefindings.

quantitative

research study can

often

be

accomplished in very cle ar and direct ways,

whereas, a similar study of a qualitative nature
usually requires considerable time to analyze
large volumes of data and a tremendous burden
to create new paths for ana lysiswhere previously

Inmost cases, there are a varietyof differentmethods you can choose to investigatea research problem.The
methodologysection of yourpapershouldclearlyarticulatethereasons whyyouchose a particularprocedureor
technique.

no path associated with your research problem

Thereaderwantstoknowthatthedatawascollectedorgeneratedinawaythatisconsistentwithacceptedpractice
inthefieldofstudy.Forexample,ifyouareusingamultiplechoicequestionnaire,readersneedtoknowthatitoffered
yourrespondentsareasonablerangeofanswerstochoosefrom.

Ifyouquestionsaboutlocating
andusingstatisticalinformation,
GOHERE.

hadexisted.

Themethodmustbeappropriatetofulfillingtheoverallaimsofthestudy.Forexample,youneedtoensurethatyou
havealargeenoughsamplesizetobeabletogeneralizeandmakerecommendationsbaseduponthefindings.
Themethodologyshoulddiscuss theproblemsthatwereanticipatedandthesteps youtooktopreventthemfrom
occurring.Foranyproblemsthatdoarise,youmustdescribethewaysinwhichtheywereminimizedorwhythese
problemsdonotimpactinanymeaningfulwayyourinterpretationofthefindings.
Inthesocialandbahavioralsciences,itisimportanttoalwaysprovidesufficientinformationtoallowotherresearchers
to adoptor replicateyour methodology. This informationis particularlyimportantwhen a new method has been
developedoraninnovativeuseofanexisitingmethodisutilized.

Bem, Daryl J. Writing the Empirical Journal Article . Psychology Writing Cente r. University of Washington Lunenburg, Frederick C. Writing a Successful Thesis or
Dissertation:T ipsandStrategiesforStudentsintheSocialandBehavioralSciences

.ThousandOaks,CA:CorwinPress,2008.

StructureandWritingStyle

I.GroupsofResearchMethods
Therearetwomaingroupsofresearchmethodsinthesocialsciences:
1.Theempiricalanalyticalgroupapproachesthestudyofsocialsciencesinasimilarmannerthatresearchers
studythenaturalsciences.Thistypeofresearchfocusesonobjectiveknowledge,researchquestionsthatcanbe
answeredyesorno,andoperationaldefinitionsofvariablestobemeasured.Theempiricalanalyticalgroupemploys
deductivereasoningthatusesexistingtheoryasafoundationforformulatinghypothesesthatneedtobetested.This
approachisfocusedonexplanation.

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2.The interpretative group of methods is focused on understanding phenomenon in a comprehensive,

holisticway.Interpretivemethodsfocusonanalyticallydisclosingthemeaningmakingpracticesofhumansubjects
[thewhy,how,orbywhatmeanspeopledowhattheydo],whileshowinghowthosepracticesarrangesothatitcan
be used to generate observableoutcomes. Interpretivemethods allow you to recognize your connection to the
phenomenaunderstudy but,because the interpretativegroupfocuses more on subjectiveknowledge,it requires
carefulinterpretationofvariables.

AnotherWritingTip

KnowingtheRelationship
BetweenTheoriesandMethods
There can be multiple me aning associated with
the term "theories" and the term "methods" in
social sciences research. A helpful

II.Content
Aneffectivelywrittenmethodologysectionshould:

characterizingthesocialworldwhenyouresearch

Introduce the overall methodological approach for investigating your research problem. Is your study
qualitativeorquantitativeoracombinationofboth(mixedmethod)?Areyougoingtotakeaspecialapproach,suchas
actionresearch,oramoreneutralstance?
Indicatehowtheapproachfitstheoverallresearchdesign.Yourmethodsshouldhaveaclearconnectionwith
yourresearchproblem.Inotherwords,makesurethatyourmethodswillactuallyaddresstheproblem.Oneofthe
mostcommondeficienciesfoundinresearchpapersisthattheproposedmethodologyisnotsuitabletoachievingthe
statedobjectiveofyourpaper
.
Describe the specific methods of data collection you are going to use, such as, surveys, interviews,
questionnaires,observation,archivalresearch. Ifyou are analzyingexistingdata,such as a data set or archival
documents,describehowitwasoriginallycreatedorgatheredandbywhom.
Explainhowyouintendtoanalyzeyourresults.Willyouusestatisticalanalysis?Willyouusespecifictheoretical
perspectivestohelpyouanalyzeatextorexplainobservedbehaviors?Describehowyouplantoobtainanaccurate
assessmentofrelationships,patterns,trends,distributions,andpossiblecontradictionsfoundinthedata.
Provide backgroundandarationaleformethodologiesthatareunfamiliarforyourreaders.Veryofteninthe
socialsciences, researchproblemsandthemethodsforinvestigatingthemrequiremoreexplanation/rationalethan
widelyacceptedrulesgoverningthenaturalandphysicalsciences.Beclearandconciseinyourexplanation.
Provide ajustificationforsubjectselectionandsamplingprocedure.Forinstance,ifyouproposetoconduct
interviews,how do you intendto select the sample population?Ifyou are analyzingtexts, which texts haveyou
chosen,andwhy?Ifyouareusingstatistics, whyis this set ofstatistics beingused?Ifotherdatasources exist,
explainwhythedatayouchoseismostappropriatetoaddressingtheresearchproblem.
Describepotentiallimitations.Arethereanypracticallimitationsthatcouldaffectyourdatacollection?Howwillyou
attempttocontrolforpotentialconfoundingvariablesanderrors?Ifyourmethodologymayleadtoproblemsyoucan
anticipate,statethisopenlyandshowwhypursuingthismethodologyoutweighstheriskoftheseproblemscropping
up.

between

way to

delineate

them is to understand

"theories" as representing dif ferent ways of

it and "methods" asrepresenting dif ferent waysof

generating and analyzing data about that social
world. Framed in this way, all empirical social
sciencesresearchinvolves theories and methods,
whethertheyarestatedexplicitlyornot.However

whiletheoriesandmethodsareoftenrelated,itis
important that as a researcher, you deliberately
separate them in order to avoid your theories
playing a disproportionate role in shaping what
outcomesyourchosenmethodsproduce.
Introspectively engage in an ongoing dialectic
between the application of theories and methods
to help enable you to use the outcomes from
your methods to interrogate and develop new
theories, or ways of fram ing conceptually the
research problem. This is how scholarship grows
andbranchesoutintonewintellectualterritory

Reynolds, R.Larry. Waysof Knowing . Alternative

Microeconomics. Part 1, Chapter 3. Boise State
University The TheoryMethod Relationship . S
CoolRevision.UnitedKingdom.

NOTE:Onceyouhavewrittenalloftheelementsofthemethodssection,subsequentrevisionsshouldfocuson
howtopresent thoseelementsasclearlyandaslogicallyaspossibly.Thedescriptionofhowyoupreparedtostudy
the research problem, how you gathered the data, and the protocol for analyzing the data should be organized
chronologically. For clarity, when a largeamount of detailmust be presented,informationshouldbe presentedin sub
sectionsaccordingtotopic.

III.ProblemstoAvoid
IrrelevantDetail
Themethodologysectionofyourpapershouldbethoroughbuttothepoint.Donotprovideanybackgroundinformationthat
doesntdirectlyhelpthereadertounderstandwhyaparticularmethodwaschosen,howthedatawasgatheredorobtained,
andhowitwasanalyzed.
UnnecessaryExplanationofBasicProcedures
Rememberthatyouarenotwritingahowtoguideaboutaparticularmethod.Youshouldmaketheassumptionthatreaders
possess abasicunderstandingofhowtoinvestigatetheresearchproblemontheirownand,therefore,youdonothaveto
gointogreatdetailaboutspecificmethodologicalprocedures.Thefocusshouldbeonhowyouappliedamethod,notonthe
mechanicsofdoingamethod.
NOTE:Anexceptiontothisruleisifyouselectanunconventionalapproachtodoingthemethodifthisisthecase,besure
toexplainwhythisapproachwaschosenandhowitenhancestheoverallresearchprocess.
ProblemBlindness
Itisalmostagiventhatyouwillencounterproblemswhencollectingorgeneratingyourdata.Donotignoretheseproblems
or pretend they did not occur. Often, documenting how you overcame obstacles can form an interestingpart of the
methodology.Itdemonstratestothereaderthatyoucanprovideacogentrationaleforthedecisionsyoumadetominimize
theimpactofanyproblemsthatarose.
LiteratureReview
Justastheliteraturereviewsectionofyourpaperprovidesanoverviewofsourcesyouhaveexaminedwhileresearchinga
particulartopic,themethodologysectionshouldciteanysources thatinformedyourchoiceandapplicationofaparticular
method[i.e.,thechoiceofasurveyshouldincludeanycitationstotheworksyouusedtohelpconstructthesurvey].
ItsMorethanSourcesofInformation!
Adescriptionofaresearchstudy'smethodshouldnotbeconfusedwithadescriptionofthesourcesofinformation.Sucha

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6.TheMethodologyOrganizingY
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Adescriptionofaresearchstudy'smethodshouldnotbeconfusedwithadescriptionofthesourcesofinformation.Sucha
listofsourcesisusefulinitself,especiallyifitisaccompaniedbyanexplanationabouttheselectionanduseofthesources.
The descriptionof the project's methodologycomplements a list of sources in that it sets forth the organizationand
interpretationofinformationemanatingfromthosesources.

YetAnotherWritingTip

MethodsandtheMethodology
Do not confuse the terms "methods"

and

"methodology ." As Schneider notes, a method

Azevedo, L.F.etal. "HowtoWrite aScientific Paper: Writing the Methods Section." RevistaPortuguesadePneumologia 17(2011):232238 Butin, Dan W.TheEducation

refersto the technical stepstaken to do research.

Dissertation AGuide forPractitioner Scholars .Thousand Oaks,CA:Corwin, 2010 Carter,Susan. Structuring YourResearch Thesis .NewYork:Palgrave Macm illan, 2012

Descriptions of methods usually include defining

Lunenburg,FrederickC. Writing a Successful Thesis orDissertation: Tips and Strategies forStudents in the Social and Behavioral Sciences .Thousand Oaks,CA:Corwin

them and stating why you have chosen specific

Press,2008. MethodsSection .The Writer sHandbook. Writing Center.University of Wisconsin, Madison What isInterp retive Research.Institu te of Public and Inte rnational

techniques to investigate a research problem ,

Affairs, University of Utah Writing the Experimental Report: Methods, Results,and Discussion.The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University Methods and Materials .

followed by an outline of the procedures you

TheStructure,Format,Content,andStyleofaJournalStyleScientificPaper

used tosystematically select, gather , and process

.DepartmentofBiology .BatesCollege.

the data

[remember

to always save the

interpretation of data forthe discussionsection of

yourpaper].
Methodology refers to a discussion of the
underlying reasoning why particular methods
were used. This discussion includes describing
the the oretical concepts tha tinform the choice of
methods to be applied, placing the choice of
methods within the more general nature of
academic work, and reviewing its relevance to
examining the research problem. The discussion
also includes a thorough review of the literature
about methods other schola rshave used to study
thetopic.

Bryman, Alan."Of Methods and Methodology ."

Qualitative

Research in Organizations

Management:

An

International

and

Journal

(2008):159168 Schneider , Florian. What's in a

Methodology: The Difference between Method,
Methodology , and Theoryand How to Get the
Balance Right? PoliticsEastAsia.com . Chinese
Department,UniversityofLeiden,Netherlands.

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