If you want to write a methodology, you must first understand the concept and purpose of Methodology. As the name implies, a methodology is, what methods you used to write research work like thesis, dissertation or a research article and why did you use those methods, and how did you do it.
For the dissertation of a large paper, every article will have this part, but the methodologies adopted by different papers according to their research objects, research aim and objectives (research object, research aim, and objectives) are different, but all The methodology has the same purpose, that is, the content can tell the instructor what his thesis or research method is, that is, explain how to complete the thesis and research.
How to write the methodology part, in fact, the methodology of foreign universities has a certain format. Regardless of the different research goals and objects, all methodologies must be taken in two steps, and they must cover four aspects.
Two steps of Methodological approach
The first step is to explain your research approach, that is, you need to explain what research is done, where to do it, why it is done, and what kind of research method you need to determine, whether it is quantitative or qualitative.
The second step is to elaborate on your research design. Here you need to explain your data source in detail, and what kind of data analysis and prediction you will get.
The four aspects are: who, what, how, method of data analysis. Among them:
· Who deserves to be the research object in your research, namely the participant?
· What refers to materials?
· How it refers to procedure?
When you explain the above three aspects, then you need to describe your method of data analysis (method of data analysis). No matter how different the research objectives (research objectives) are, these four points are the four aspects that you cannot ignore in writing methodology.
Doesn't it sound a little confusing, I still don't know how to write, and what to do. Well, without further ado, I edit the structure directly.
For each chapter of a large paper, there is an introduction, that is, an introduction. Therefore, the first step in writing methodology is to write the introduction. In this part, students need to outline and lead a summary of what will be involved in the methodology part, such as research design, data collection methods, sample selection, and ethical considerations and research limitations.
So, what is a Methodology Chapter?
When you write a thesis, there is a general format for the setting. This means that you need to cover the following chapters: the contents of the title page table usually go like Chapter One-Chapter Introduction, Chapter Two-Background, Chapter Three-Methods, Chapter Four-Results.
Each chapter is further divided into subtitles. Students know how to write an introduction, but they may find it difficult to explain the methodology. This is the most important part of your research paper because you will let your readers understand how you conduct research and draw conclusions. In the methodology chapter, you must provide the reader with a quick overview so that you can collect information and paper materials.
This chapter is where you need to include techniques for collecting data. This means that to explain surveys, data mining, interviews, and experiments, you may have presented your conclusions. It also includes data analysis procedures, such as analysis formulas. You should also be able to prove that your method is correct, so as to give them more credibility. This is especially true for students who write scientific papers. The methodology is the most critical point and should be presented thoroughly in a concise manner.
When you are writing a methodology, remember that you should explain your basic research plan. You need to start with a few remarks and reiterate the purpose of your research. Basic phrases and sentences used in the introduction are possible.
Then you need to start writing the following information in the methodology chapter:
Participants
Here, you need to define the population or sample you consider in this section. Then, you need to explain how many participants or samples were included in the study and how you chose them. For example, "The population considered in this study is the number of OPD patients purchased from hospital pharmacies during this sampling period." You can use a short statement or explanation to explain population issues. However, when it comes to the sampling process, you need to explain it in detail. You must also specify how you selected the sample, location, time, specific name (if possible or required), number of participants or sample, etc. Don't miss any details, because it is very important to explain to the reader the representativeness of your group.
Instrumentation
The instrument section is where you explain calculations, techniques, procedures, calibration charts, or equipment use, subject to your paper. If you conduct a survey, explain when and why you did it. If you are using a survey done by someone else, be sure to indicate the source. You should include the original copy of the survey in the appendix and indicate in your method that the survey is included in the appendix.
Time Period and Procedure
Another important aspect is when you start your research and when it ends or ends. You should also explain any procedures you followed during the study, such as the participant filling out the consent form and the instructions distributed to the participants.
Analysis
It is now the most important part of writing a method. You need to analyze the detailed data you obtained. You need to answer every research question you have to solve. Perform statistical tests, especially data that helps identify dependent and independent variables in the data (if any). You can even explain the software used to help you draw conclusions.
Assessment
If the tool you use is for your research, for example, a survey, you need to prove its effectiveness and reliability. You need to include the surface validity of your survey, the content validity of the topics covered, and the construct validity. This refers to the theory you use to explore the survey. Reliability is the stability of your research over time. If your survey includes a measurement that can randomly generate errors, then it loses its reliability.
Assumptions
When you are writing a research paper, you need to make the assumptions you made in the beginning. You need to clearly state the different assumptions that support your research question.
Limitations and Scope
Limits and scope are an integral part of every study. The scope is the scope that the research can be expanded and restricted, including time limit, lack of participants, etc. The quality of research declines as the number of restrictions increases. When writing methodology, students always remember to use the past tense. Provide detailed information for your research so that another researcher can use it for his / her experiment. Do not include any unnecessary information or results, they are not sufficiently relevant. Be sure to proofread your paper as much as possible to minimize errors, spelling errors, and grammatical errors.
Philosophy of methodology
Because it is a methodology, it will involve the philosophy part. Therefore, the second step of the methodology is to determine the theoretical basis of your research philosophy, that is, philosophy. Philosophy is usually divided into three types, namely positivism (positivism), interpretive (interpretivism), post-positivism (post-positivism).
The first type of positivism (positivism) generally speaks with facts and uses rigorous data analysis to verify a certain conclusion or hypothesis. It is mainly used to explain social phenomena and determine whether there is a correlation or causality between the phenomena under study; if there is a certain relationship between the phenomena, the hypothesis can be established to construct a model to explain the relationship between imaginations.
Positivism is generally used for graduation thesis writing in natural sciences such as business. Quantitative analysis is required. In this case, data is collected for data analysis. The data can be divided into primary data and secondary data. See if the specific situation of the subject you want to do is to collect first-hand data (such as questionnaires, etc.) or second-hand data (such as company annual reports, stock, and securities data, etc.) for data analysis. The second kind of philosophy is interpretivism or interpretations.
For humanities and other social sciences, there is often no data collection at all.
Qualitative (qualitative analysis) is used here for research. Obtain a generally reliable conclusion through interviews and other situations. The third kind of philosophy is post-positivism post-positivism. This applies to the objective world by subjective experience. In this case, both quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis will be used. (Because it is mainly to share writing methods with classmates, the conceptual meaning of the nouns will not be repeated in this article. If you want a detailed understanding, you can pay more attention to the updated articles of Jundao study abroad).
Then, the students need to start another paragraph to explain your topic, explain what kind of philosophy will be selected for your research, why you should use it, and its advantages and disadvantages. This is very rigorous. Therefore, students need to combine their research objectives and objectives of the dissertation to explain. So there is no longer too much narrative, and the students are treated in specific situations.
Types of Methodologies
After introducing philosophy, students need to determine whether they are using qualitative research or quantitative research. So the third step of the methodology is the research approach.
What is qualitative research?
Quantitative research is guided by the positivist methodology to explore the regularity of phenomena. Quantitative research is the process of deductive reasoning, from the study of general phenomena to special situations. In addition, quantitative research focuses on calculation and measurement, so it is more about describing the research in the form of numbers. Therefore, quantitative analysis is more about using questionnaires to collect data.
Students need to establish a mathematical model based on statistical data, and use the mathematical model to calculate the indicators and values of the analysis object, and finally draw conclusions that are beneficial to their research papers. Therefore, when writing the Methodology section, international students can introduce their teachers to the quantitative data collection and analysis of their research, so that the other party can understand the methods used in their research to gain their recognition and trust.
Qualitative research focuses on the discussion of the characteristics and nature of specific social phenomena and on a subjective interpretation of specific phenomena. Therefore, qualitative research is a process of inductive reasoning, and through general descriptions of specific phenomena, general conclusions are drawn from a specific situation. Therefore, qualitative research pays more attention to the flexibility and particularity of research methods. Commonly used main research methods include participant observation and in-depth interviews; the data collected and collated are expressed in words.
For international students who need to complete the dissertation, you can use a variety of ways in the school and around you to collect data and information about your own research. Under normal circumstances, students can continue to observe and take notes through in-depth interviews and group discussions, as well as various text pictures and other materials to obtain the information they need.
After collecting the information, it is necessary to integrate and analyze the information. It is best to present the integrated data to the instructor for completeness, so as to earn more credibility and professionalism for your post-research. It is best to combine qualitative and quantitative research.
A mixed-method approach
The combination of qualitative and quantitative research is also a form of Methodology. International students can draw their own conclusions through a combination of qualitative research and quantitative research.
Combining the two methods will make our research more professional and complete. We can obtain social data through observation and discussion, and we can also obtain professional data through professional mathematical models. This method will make the Methodology part of the paper very comprehensive and complete. This does not mean that all papers are suitable for both research methods. Students need to choose the best research method according to the actual situation of their thesis.
In addition, it should be noted that no matter what research method you use, you must combine your own thesis topic and clearly explain what research method you have used, why you should use this method (qualitative or quantitative), this method ’s Advantages, what is the applicability to your paper and its limitations.
Data Collection and Tools
The fourth step is to introduce data collection methods and tools. In this section, you have to explain your data source in detail. Specifically, quantitative analysis requires data collection. The collection process is divided into primary data (questionnaire survey) and secondary data (such as company annual reports, historical data of stocks and securities, etc.) One data collection involves sampling. Because quantitative research cannot include all of a group as a research object, sampling is required.
In this part, it is necessary to introduce what kind of sample sampling strategy is random sampling or non-random sampling (in general, simple sampling in non-random sampling is the most frequent among students' large papers). In addition, participants or research subjects in interviews or experimental studies should also be introduced.
Data Sampling
To explain in detail why you should choose it as the research object, including time, place, name. Qualitative analysis is achieved through interviews. Semi-structured interviews are usually more suitable for students to investigate data. This section also explains the reasons, advantages, and limitations of choosing this method of data collection.
Time and Process of research
In the fifth step, students need to briefly describe the research time and process, because the research time and process is also a very important part of Methodology. Here you need to explain the start and end time of your research and the process steps of your research. For example, the researcher contacted the respondents by email and asked them to participate in the research after explaining the nature and the scope of the study.
Data Analysis
After completing the previous steps, it is followed by a detailed analysis of the data you have collected. Therefore, the sixth step of the methodology is to explain the data analysis method (data analysis). Here you need to explain in detail the method of data analysis, why use this method. If some auxiliary software is useful in the process of data analysis, it can also be properly explained. Common analysis methods include correlation analysis, content analysis, and comparison and so on.
Ethical Consideration
Finally, there are ethical considerations for the research of large papers. In this part, students need to mention Ethical issues, explain how you obtained access to the interviewee, and whether the interviewee signed an informed consent form. Informed consent is usually placed in the appendix, this part of the content is probably a feature of foreign universities. All participants reported their written acceptance regarding their participation in the research, through a signed Consent and Briefing Letter.
The above is the whole logical structure of writing methodology. I hope that this conclusion can help students in writing methodologies.
When writing research papers, researchers need to cover different chapters and chapters. Students are always stumbling in the research methods chapter of their thesis. In the following paragraphs, we will learn how to write this chapter and learn the correct method.
Conclusion
If you want to make your research look more credible, then you have no choice but to learn in detail how to write. This article aimed to help you demonstrate your knowledge of alternative methods that will help you present your research topic as a more effective method. The best way to show your research is to use qualitative or quantitative methods.
Comments