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HowtowriteMethodology/MethodsSectionTeammembers:zhaoXinghua,YangLijun,ChenYiwei,ZhaoXiaotao•Warmingupquestion:•whatkindofresearchmethodsdoyouuseinyourfield?2019/12/9researchExploratoryconstructiveempiricalQuantitativeresearchMethodologysectionQualitativeresearchpractice12019/12/9QualitativeandQuantitativeQuantitativeresearchdominatesin‘hard’scienceresearch(math,engineering,chemistry,computing),whilequalitativeresearchispreferredinsocialscienceresearch.Quiteoftenresearchersnowadaysusea‘mixedmethod’approach,combiningbothquantitativeandqualitativeresearchmethods.researchExploratoryconstructiveempiricalQuantitativeresearchMethodologysectionQualitativeresearchpractice12019/12/9Part1:WhatisMethodology•Adissertationmethodologyisadistinctsectioninallprojectsthatdescribesthemethodsbywhichtheresearcherapproachesaproblemandcollectsdatathroughresearch.•Thepurposeofthemethodologyistodefineaproblem,outlineprocedures,andidentifypossiblevariablesthattheresearchermayfaceduringhis/herresearch.Part2:ImportanceofMethodology▼Dissertationmethodologiesareusedtoestablishthecredibilityoftheauthor,orderoftheresearch,andthoughtfulnessofpossiblevariablesthatcouldinfluencetheresearch.▼Therefore,themethodologyisanimportantcomponentthatessentiallymapsoutthemethodsthatyouwillutilizewhenresearchingandwritingpapers.Part3:Howtowrite•Adissertationmethodologyshouldfollowauniqueformat.Thefollowingarethegeneralguidelinesthatwecanfollow.AnintroductoryparagraphParticipantsMaterialsDesignDatacollectionandAnalysisMethodsLimitationsMajorcomponents1.AnintroductoryparagraphAnintroductoryparagraphshoulddescribetheproblemthattheresearcherisattemptingtoaddressthroughhisorherresearch.Whatisthelengthofthisintroductionparagraph?--OnlyoneortwoshortsentencesForexample:Tostrengthentheexternalvalidityofourresults,weexaminedhowmanagersfromavarietyofdifferentsettingsengageinsuchtasks.2.ParticipantsDescribetheparticipantsinyourexperiment,includingwhotheywere,howmanytherewere,andhowtheywereselected.Forexample:Werandomlyselected100childrenfromelementaryschoolsneartheUniversity.3.Materials•Describethematerials,measures,orequipmentusedintheexperiment.Thismayincludetestinginstruments,technicalequipments,orothermaterialsusedinthecourseofresearch.•Forexample:•Twostoriesfromthesecond-orderfalsebeliefattributiontaskswereusedtoassesschildren'sunderstandingofsecond-orderbeliefs.4.Design•Describethetypeofdesignusedintheexperiment.Specifythevariablesaswellasthelevelsofthesevariables.Explainhowdidyouchooseyoursample,andwhatquestionsdidyouask.•Forexample:•Theexperimentuseda3x2between-subjectsdesign.Theindependentvariableswereageandunderstandingofsecond-orderbeliefs.5.DatacollectionandAnalysisMethods•Youwillhavetoexplainhowthedatawascollectedandthenexplainedtheanalysistoolsyouused.Inthissection,youhavetoexplainveryclearlyhowyouarrivedatyourfindingsandstateclearlywhytheyarereliableandhowtheyansweryourresearchquestionsortestthehypothesesonwhichyourresearchwasbased.6.Limitations•Limitationsisthepartofeveryresearch.Hereyoustateaspectsoftheproblemyouhavenotconsidered,andlimitationsincludethetimeconstraints,lack/lossofparticipants,etc.•Thissectioninsomecasesiscombinedalongwiththe“conclusions”section.Part4:Whatvoice/tenseshallbeusedinMethodology?•voice:activeorpassive?•Theactivevoiceisusuallyusedwhennohumanisdirectlyresponsibleformanipulatingthematerials,thatis,whenthematerialsoperate“bythemselves”.•Thepassivevoiceisusuallyusedwhenahumanagent(theexperimenter)ismanipulatingthematerials.•Forexample:•Althoughmanyresearchershaveexaminedleadershipempirically,theveryfewhaveattemptedtodefineitincoherentterms.OneofthedefinitionsisgivenbyYukl.•Thetense•Alwayswritethemethodsectioninthepastsimpletense,butintheanalysisgenerallyadoptpresentsimpletense.•Example:•SamplesforgasanalysiswerecollectedusingthemethoddescribedbyBrown(1999),whichusesapneumaticairsamplingpump.Part5:Conclusions•Asthethirdsectionofanacademicdissertation,amethodologyisintendedtobecomplete,detailedreportsofstudieswiththeobjectivethatanyotherresearchercouldreplicatethestudyexactlytodetermineifthesameresultswouldbeobtained.Assuch,themethodologyisthefirststeptowardsestablishingthecredibilityandauthorityoftheresearcher.