With a structural approach to writing, remember, we think as much about what a sample of writing (whether a section, a paragraph, a sentence, or a word) does as about what it says.

So, what does a methodology section do? It describes the procedures used to identify, select, and analyze information gathered for the purpose of understanding a research problem. In doing so, it allows the reader to evaluate critically the study’s overall validity and reliability. Thus, it is crucial to genres of writing like the social sciences research report.

How does it do what it does? By answering two questions:
How was data collected or generated?
How was it analyzed?

What does it look like?
It is always in the past tense.
Because it’s telling a narrative, it proceeds in a logical order (first we did this, then we did this, then we did this).
It uses first-person pronouns (we and I), precise verbs that clearly describe actions taken, and a distant or detached tone (you want to sound like a scientist).

Examples

 

  1. Over a period of four months, the telephone line of Participant A was connected to a voice-activated tape recorder. This was done in order to document calls to and from the TV cable company, with whom she was having a dispute at the time. All callers to the line were informed that their conversations were being recorded. However, after time, speakers “forgot” about the recording so this did not ultimately affect the naturalness of the conversations. The tapes were made available to the researcher. Not all the conversations recorded were relevant for the present study. Transcription was made using the format established by Sacks, Schegloff & Jefferson (1974) in the field of Conversational Analysis. Careful note was made of when switches from one language to another were made, in order to facilitate analysis. The names of the participants have been changed to protect their anonymity.

    In addition, each of the participants was interviewed to establish their bilingual histories, and to elicit their attitudes towards bilingualism and codeswitching in general. These will be outlined next.

    Lowi, R. (2005), “Codeswitching: an examination of naturally occurring language,” ISB4: Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism, eds. James Choen, Kara T. McAlister, Kellie Rolstad, and Jeff MacSwan, 1393-1406. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press

  2. Between 3/1/93 and 2/28/95 each person admitted to Thresholds who met the study inclusion criteria was immediately assigned a random number that gave them a 50/50 chance of being selected into the study sample. For those selected, the purpose of the study was explained, including the nature of the two treatments, and the need for and use of random assignment. Participants were assured confidentiality and were given an opportunity to decline to participate in the study. Only 7 people (out of 491) refused to participate. At intake, each selected sample member was assigned a random number giving them a 50/50 chance of being assigned to either the Supported Employment condition or the standard in-agency sheltered workshop. In addition, all study participants were given the four measures at intake.

    All participants spent the initial two weeks in the program in training and orientation. This consisted of life skill training (e.g., handling money, getting around, cooking and nutrition) and job preparation (employee roles, coping strategies). At the end of that period, each participant was assigned to a job site — at the agency sheltered workshop for those in the control condition, and to an outside employer if in the Supported Employment group. Control participants were expected to work full-time at the sheltered workshop for a three-month period, at which point they were posttested and given an opportunity to obtain outside employment (either Supported Employment or not). The Supported Employment participants were each assigned a case worker — called a Mobile Job Support Worker (MJSW) — who met with the person at the job site two times per week for an hour each time. The MJSW could provide any support or assistance deemed necessary to help the person cope with job stress, including counseling or working beside the person for short periods of time. In addition, the MJSW was always accessible by cellular telephone, and could be called by the participant or the employer at any time. At the end of three months, each participant was post-tested and given the option of staying with their current job (with or without Supported Employment) or moving to the sheltered workshop.

    (from: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/sampaper.php)

  3. Humanities Research Paper Methodology Sample

    My research methodology requires gathering relevant data from the specified documents and compiling databases in order to analyze the material and arrive at a more complete understanding and historical reconstruction of the lives of selected female scholars. I hope to shed light on the following questions through my research: 1) How did female scholars obtain their education? a) How important were factors such as kinship networks and socio-economic status in providing women access to their education? b) To what extent did women attend classes with other students and/or was their training obtained through private tutoring? 2) Did religious rules regarding veiling, seclusion, and women’s mobility in the public sphere affect the physical circumstances of women’s education? For example, did women interact directly with male students and teachers in formal educational settings, or did they participate through informal spheres such as gatherings in homes, mosques, libraries, and literary salons? 3) Are there any indications of a curriculum—or a set course of study— that a woman had to complete before gaining recognition as a had?th transmitter or as a legal scholar? What credentials qualified women to interpret Islamic law or to transmit had?th ? And how do these compare to the credentials and curricula of contemporary male scholars? 4) To what extent did female scholars obtain an education in a range of religious sciences beyond had?th transmission, such as Islamic law, Qur’ānic exegesis, or poetry?

    (from: http://www.cies.org/project-statement-samples-vi)