Dissertation Methodology: Ways to Perform and Present
The methodology is an important section in every dissertation paper, which goes after the literature review, and remains an obligatory part of the paper. When writing a dissertation, you first list your research questions providing a detailed short review of the other scholars’ opinions about your dissertation’s topic. In addition, you bring supplementary information about the ways the scholar have reached their final data and research results. It covers assumptions, theoretical work, methods used, original data, etc.
It is important to use other researchers’ works to figure out how to perform your own research activity and how to deal properly with a research question revealing.
On this stage, you plan what data to collect, what analyses to conduct, and what methods to use. The methodology section reveals the main approach you have chosen for your paper performing and the main reasons for using it.
How to Provide Methodology Properly
Your methodology section needs to provide a clear vision of the other researchers’ results, all existed studies in your chosen field of science, literature review, and the main ways of conducting research work.
There is no difference what exact field of science you are dealing with and what subject you are analyzing, the methodology section must include the following elements:
- The Research Question Recap
You need to demonstrate that the methods used perfectly fit the purpose of your research work. Moreover, you need to recap the main question once introducing your methodology.
- Design or methods’ detailed description
It is obligatory to demonstrate all the methods chosen and describe them in details to let the reader see what kind of results can be found eventually. You must clearly explain your process, every conducted analysis, and reveal and explain your main approach. Stay clear and detailed since such complex work, as a dissertation, must have a section with an explanation of every part of research work with theoretical information and calculations. Other researchers can further use your information written in this section, thus write down everything in the slightest details to let other people recreate your experiments or calculations if needed.
- Your chosen method background and justification
You need to explain why you have chosen a certain method and why it remains more beneficial in the exact case. Therefore, present background and the justification of your choice and highlight the possible results of the chosen methods in use.
Be aware that your method needs to be related to the exact research problem you are working with. Moreover, stay clear to let the readers get the entire information in details.
- Your chosen method evaluation and its possible limitations
There are no doubts you cannot find a perfect research method. Still, you need to reveal what benefits and extra results can bring your chosen method and why it is perfect for your research problem. Therefore, since every research requires a set of appropriate analyses and calculations, you choose the best method to reach the needed final data.
In the same time, every method has its limitations, thus make sure to note them in your paper. You can write an outline of your methodology section to make sure you will put the needed information and data into your paper in the slightest details.
Common Types of Dissertation Methodology
The most common types of dissertation methodology include the following:
- A Scientific Study.
- A Social or Behavioral Studies.
- Arts and Humanities Critical Dissertation.
- A Creative Art Dissertation.
A Scientific Study
The main characteristics of the methodology section are reproducibility and accuracy. The chosen methods need to be robust and clear to the reader. Additionally, include only vital information about the methods used, procedures, equipment, and experiments.
Use detailed information about statistical models used and every conducted analysis. Remember, your work must have a practical usage, thus since other researchers can further use your information written in this section, write down everything in the slightest details to let other people recreate your experiments or calculations if needed.
A Social or Behavioral Studies
This kind of academic sciences requires the same top characteristics of the methodology section, which are reproducibility and rigor. The chosen methods need to be research aimed and clear to the reader. Furthermore, include only vital information about the methods used, procedures, equipment, and experiments. In the same time, this kind of paper requires a more complex approach since must include the additional research questions. If you use a mixed approach, you need to explain the chosen research methods.
These sciences require interviews and other broad questionings to be conducted. Use detailed information about statistical models and every conducted analysis. Remember, your work must have a practical usage, thus since other researchers can further use your information written in this section, write down everything in the slightest details to let other scholars recreate your experiments or calculations if needed.
Additionally, deal with every question to satisfy readers’ interest in various ethical issues related to research.
Arts and Humanities Critical Dissertation
Arts and Humanities Critical Dissertation requires the same top characteristics of the methodology section as in social sciences, which are accuracy and reproducibility. The selected method needs to be research aimed and clear to the reader. What’s more, this section is greatly related to a literature review and needs to contain various X’s and Y’s theories. Make sure to include only vigorous information about the methods used, exact procedures, equipment, and experiments. This kind of a dissertation paper requires a more complex approach since must include the additional research questions.
These sciences require moving carefully from literature review to analysis. Provide a detailed justification of your chosen models and every conducted analysis. Make sure your work has a practical use and can be used by other researchers, thus write down every step of your practical analyses in the slightest details to let other scholars re-form your experiments, studies or calculations if needed.
Moreover, deal with every question to satisfy readers’ interest in various ethical questions, historical and cultural contexts related to a research question.
A Creative Art Dissertation
The methodology section in a creative art dissertation is rather oriented on a creative approach than a critical one. In the same time, it requires a substantial critical essay and the explanation of the used theories. The chosen methods need to be robust and clear to the reader. Make sure to include only important information about the methods used, procedures, equipment, and experiments.
Despite the creative style of the work, use detailed information about statistical models used and every conducted analysis to show that you can look at your work from an objective point of view. This type of dissertation also needs to have a practical usage, thus since other researchers can further use your information written in this section, write down everything in the slightest details to let other scholars reconstruct your experiments, analyses or calculations.
Elements You Need to Avoid in Methodology
Every part of a methodology section must be related to others, thus make sure to provide a logical structure and detailed explanation of every method used. It can be beneficial to change the places of the methodology section’s parts in order to provide a proper structure and revealing the information in the right order.
There are numerous elements, which you need to avoid in your methodology section:
- An extensive review of methodologies.
Even if you want to describe fully the used methods and procedures, an extensive review of the methodology can be a waste of time. It also can influence badly on the result of your dissertation paper.
- The long list of equipment or unnecessary procedural details.
It is great to provide a detailed explanation of every method, procedure and equipment used, but providing too excessive procedural details will not help to succeed. Write down only the information needed for reproducing your research.
- Raw data.
Make sure to check what data you are providing in your dissertation paper. Therefore, do not use raw data, and better place it in an appendix if needed.
How to Deal with Methodology’s Selection
When you start performing your dissertation, you first list your research question providing a detailed short review of the other scholars’ opinions about your dissertation’s topic. Further, you bring extra information about the way the scholars have reached their final data and research results. This data covers assumptions, theoretical work, methods used, original data, etc. It is important to use other researchers’ works to figure out how to perform your own research activity and how to deal properly with a research question investigation.
On this stage, you plan what data to collect, what analyses to conduct, and what methods to use in order to provide a perfect dissertation paper. The methodology section reveals the main approach you have chosen for your paper performing and the main reasons for using it.
There are different methodologies for postgraduate dissertation and undergraduate dissertation. In the same time, these two main types of methodology require a detailed literature review and the selected approach.
Your chosen set of methods must be related to a research question and remain organic and natural. Besides, this type of dissertation also needs to provide a practical usage, thus since other researchers can further use your information written in this section, describe each of your analyses or experiments in the slightest details to let other people recreate your research works if needed.
How to Provide a Good Methodology
Definitely, the good methodology for postgraduate and undergraduate dissertation are two different works. The undergraduate dissertation methodology needs to engage with other researches’ outcomes and be greatly related to a research question. Moreover, in the undergraduate dissertation, you need to show your ability to analyze diverse approaches and opponents’ ideas as well. There is a need to synthesize the information and use it for your personal research work.
The undergraduate dissertation methodology also needs to reveal the ability of a student to both synthesize the analyzed sources and provide original ideas. Make sure to show that you can conduct immense investigations and have a needed set of fundamental research skills.
A postgraduate dissertation requires original research conducted with unique ideas revealed. Often, the leading postgraduate dissertations are published in popular journals or even monographs. If you tend to develop your research career, providing original research and a perfect dissertation paper is crucial. The chosen methodology must contain the exact methods, procedures, and equipment that allows the researcher to provide exceptional conclusions, and engage many scholars to continue your research work.
The importance of your dissertation for future research works makes your dissertation paper the top one. Once providing a great methodology, you let other scholars modify it and bring additional theoretical and practical results in a certain field of science.
The best postgraduate dissertation is a collection of original and rigorous research, which engage more scholars to develop the chosen research question and to improve the used methods and procedures.
The great methodology brings advanced possibilities for research conduction, and remains transferable, thus allowing other scholars to use it in order to answer related questions. Therefore, the methodology must be clear, detailed, and adaptable.
Presenting Your Methodology
Your dissertation methodology is a vital part of your paper, which makes the entire research project completed properly.
The methodology is a set of special methods, procedures, and equipment used in order to conduct all the needed analyses and bring the needed results.
When dealing with the methodology presentation, make sure to stay clear and logical. One of the main methodology’s purposes is to convince the readers of the high quality of your research, the validity of your chosen methods, and the value of your conclusions.
Once presenting your methodology, you need to demonstrate and prove the high value of your results and the validity of the chosen methods. In addition, it is important to show that the selected methods are related to a research question. Many researchers prefer presenting the methodology that seems rhetorical and remains rigorous at the same time.
Often, various methodologies gather the attention of people who want to measure its value and practical usage.
If you want to engage your audience into a conversation about your methodology, you can use one of the following ways:
- Show that you use the methodology never used before by other scholars to reveal your original and unparalleled approach.
- Use a little reassurance to bring the attention and support of your readers.
- Use the signposting, the way to refer back to a literature review and remain what are the exact previous research results you have to deal with.
- Defining your own terms and providing an audience with a chance to meet a new approach, which can be further modernized and used by other scholars.
Summary
- The methodology is a vital section in every dissertation paper, which goes after the literature review and remains an obligatory part of the paper. When writing a dissertation, you first list your research questions providing a detailed short review of the other scholars’ opinions about your dissertation’s topic. You bring additional information about the way the scholars have reached their final data and research results (assumptions, theoretical work, methods used, original data, etc.). It is important to use other researcher’s works to figure out how to deal properly with a research question revealing. On this stage, you plan what data to collect, what analyses to conduct, and what methods to use.
- The methodology section reveals the main approach you have chosen for your paper performing and the main reasons for using it. Your methodology section needs to provide a clear vision of the other researchers’ results, all existed studies in your chosen field of science, literature review, and the main ways of conducting research work.
- The good methodology for postgraduate and undergraduate dissertation are two different works. The undergraduate dissertation methodology needs to engage with other researches’ outcomes and be greatly related to a research question. Moreover, in the undergraduate dissertation, you need to show your ability to analyze diverse approaches and opponents ideas as well. There is a need to synthesize the information and use it for your personal research work. The undergraduate dissertation methodology also needs to reveal the ability of a student to both synthesize the analyzed sources and provide original ideas. Make sure to show that you can conduct immense investigations and have a needed set of fundamental research skills.
- A postgraduate dissertation requires original research conducted with unique ideas revealed. If you tend to develop your research career, providing original research and a perfect dissertation paper is crucial. The chosen methodology must contain the exact methods, procedures, and equipment that allows the researcher to provide exceptional conclusions, and engage many scholars to continue your research work. The best postgraduate dissertation is a collection of original and rigorous research, which engage more scholars to develop the chosen research question and to improve the used methods and procedures. The great methodology brings advanced possibilities for research conduction, and remains transferable, thus allowing other scholars to use it in order to answer related questions.
- The methodology must be clear, detailed, and adaptable. When dealing with the methodology’s presentation, make sure to stay clear and logical. One of the main methodology’s purposes is to convince the readers of the high quality of your research, the validity of your chosen methods, and the value of your conclusions. Once presenting your methodology, you need to demonstrate and prove the high value of your results and the validity of the chosen methods. In addition, it is important to show that the selected methods are related to a research question. Many researchers prefer presenting the methodology that seems rhetorical and remains rigorous at the same time.