Instructions for the Methodology Section

Review this link first:Writing the experimental report: methods, results, and discussion

The purpose of this section is to describe your research design and the method of data collection. You should tell the reader how you are doing your research and why you adopted these particular methods.

The methodology section should include:

1)    A general description of your participants – who, where, and when did the study take place - change names of cities and participants to protect privacy

Example: The study took place in a suburban area near a large southeastern city

Try to describe things that you think are important about the study.

2)    A description of the research design (quantitative or qualitative) procedures used and why you used them.

You should discuss whether your study addresses descriptive, relational, or causal questions.  

3)    A description of the instruments used and their reliability/validity (if possible).  The instruments include things like tests, surveys, and interviews (including a list of interview questions). Copies of the instruments themselves must be included as appendices of your Senior Project. Don't forget that you must have the copy of your Senior Project Consent Form Waiver and Release Form signed.  This form can be found in the Senior Project Survival Guide.

4)    A concept map ( graphic organizer/block diagram) that outlines your methodology and/or the data collection process is often very helpful to include for the reader. It may also help you plan your physical project!

5)    A brief description of how the results will be organized and presented.

The methodology section is often one of the shortest sections of a research paper. Try to be thorough but succinct. In this case, it may be completed 1 page ( 3 paragraphs) of writing( This does not include your questionnaire, interview, or survey questions, which must be attached on separate sheets of paper).