Methodology
Your study’s
methodology is usually one large section, which I usually label as Section 4 of
my proposal (see the template for an example of what this looks like). Under
this section there are various subheadings which we’ll explore in detail in
this chapter.
Your methodology
section has to map out the exact steps you’ll take to perform your research,
analyze the data your study generates, and write up the information into a
coherent thesis. You’ll have to provide as much detail as possible for your
reader in this section. It shows that you know exactly what you plan on doing,
and also assures the reader that there are no unforeseen ethical concerns.
The four sections
of your methodology include:
4.1
Theoretical Framework
4.2
Research Method/ Data Collection
4.3
Ethical Considerations
4.4
Sample Collection/ Participant Gathering
You’ll have to
provide as much detail as possible under
each of the relevant headings for your proposal. Don’t leave any lingering
questions for your supervisor, the department panel or the ethics committee.
Anything that might be relevant should be included. The entire methodology
section should be about three to five pages in length, out of your total
proposal length of 10 to 20 pages.
Theoretical Framework
Your theoretical
framework tells the reader which theories you will rely on to inform your research
approach. You always need to rely on particular theories or ways of thinking in
order to guide your research; a theoretical background is like the perspective
you will take when you observe and analyze your data, and the type of thinking
you will do when you consider the answers to your research questions.
There are countless
theories out there that could be used as background for your research. Ever
field has many different perspectives which could be taken. For example, in
psychology, there are humanist approaches, behaviorism, systems theory,
psychoanalysis, and many, many, many more. The type of theoretical framework
you choose will result in very different studies. If you choose psychoanalysis,
for example, you’ll end up looking at gender dynamics, subconscious thought,
repression, trauma, and other elements that are important in that field. Your
thesis will look very different than if you’d chosen behaviorism, with its
focus on trained or learned behaviors rather than necessarily the thoughts behind
those behaviors.
A good place to
start if you don’t know which theories or thinkers to use in your theoretical
framework is to read the methodology sections of other theses that are similar
to your field. Which theorists do they use? Which frameworks do they rely on?
If you’ve read about ten or fifteen theoretical frameworks in articles and
theses, which shouldn’t take you more than a few hours, you should start to have
a pretty good idea of which researchers have a lot of clout in your field, and
which theories are the most significant or useful for academics who work in
your discipline. Now, go and read those theories yourself and try and see which
ones could work for the type of research you are doing.
You don’t just have
to use one theory, but it’s important to try and stay as simple as possible. If
you choose two different perspectives, you’ll probably run into trouble when it
comes time to analyze your data. Do you analyze it from behaviorism or
psychoanalysis, since they’ll give two very different answers to the same
information? Try and stick to one theory as far as possible, the one that’s the
most useful for your aims.
Don’t just choose
the theory that seems easiest to understand, but choose one that genuinely
seems to fit with your study design.
If you are studying the way that birds learn to solve complex puzzles,
Keynesian economic theory is probably not the way to go.
Research Methods/ Data Collection
This section explains how you’ll perform your study, and how
you’ll collect the data that you’ll later analyze within your theoretical
framework. You need to explain exactly the steps that you’ll follow, in as much
detail as possible, in order to carry out your research.
If your thesis is purely a literature review or literature
analysis in fields like English Studies, History, Political Science or even the
physical or health sciences, then explain to the reader how you will find
relevant literature and what types of literature you will consider. Also, tell
the reader why you will only consider the literature you’ve chosen and not
other literature which might seem relevant. How does your study benefit from
only looking at a certain portion of literature? Why would looking at other
types of literature be detrimental to your study?
If the reason you are looking at only one thing or one set
of data is because of time and space, you are free to say that in your research
outline. Perhaps it will take a decade to gather all of the data in your field;
that will be completely out of the boundaries of what’s expected for a master’s
thesis. As long as you’re providing good reasons for the type of research you
are doing, you should be fine with your research methods section.
If your research involves clinical trials, surveys,
interviews or any other type of participation studies, you’ll need to also
include a section on ethical considerations. This could form section 4.3 of
your proposal. However, under research methods you should list the type of
participation study that you are completing, how many participants you will
have, whether you will ask structured or unstructured questions, where you will
interview them, where you will find participants, and any other possible
question that might arise. Your supervisor and your departmental committee want
to see that you’ve considered everything, so give them as much detail as
possible. You can always change it later, but at the start you should be as
detailed and thorough as you can until your supervisor can help you to refine
your methodology.
If your research involves personal observations or narrative
research, you need to explain exactly how you’ll be doing your observations,
and why you think that this form of data will be most beneficial to support
your research aims and to advance knowledge in your field.
Ethical Considerations (for certain types of research only)
If you deal with participants, or if your research could
impact plant or animal life or the environment in any way imaginable, you need
to list these as ethical considerations. Even if something seems like an
ethical grey area, you need to list it here.
Once you’ve listed all of the ethical issues, provide as
much detail as you can about how you will prevent or avoid harm, discomfort or
long-term negative impacts for participants or research subjects. Also, make
sure that you state clearly that participants are free to leave the study at
any point for any reason. Also state the precautions you take to ensure safety
and preservation of plant and animal life and the environment. The more detail you
provide here, and the more precautions you take, the easier it will be to get
ethical clearance for your research.
Sample collection/ Participant Gathering
This is the section where you explain how you’ll find
samples, participants or literature for your research. Give clear methods that
you’ll use, like either snowball sampling, where one participant recommends
someone else who might suit the purposes of your research, or convenience
sampling, which is about which types of participants are most convenient for
you to find. Clarify this in a lot of detail, but make sure you protect the
anonymity of your participants.
Your entire methodology section, including all subheadings,
shouldn’t be longer than five pages for a doctoral dissertation. Try and give
your points in a clear, concise form.
Once you’ve completed your methodology section, you come to
the centerpiece of your proposal, your literature review.
Review Your Learning:
·
Your methodology maps out the steps of your
research
·
The theoretical framework is the perspective you
will take when undertaking research and analyzing your data. It is grounded by
an established theory that is respected in your field. It’s advisable to stick
to one theory or only a few main theories to ground your thesis
·
The data collection section explains all of the steps
you’ll take to gather data from literature, experiments or participation studies
·
Ethical considerations and participant gathering
are important in certain fields where you need ethical clearance