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Methodology section in a report
Method/Methodology
The method section of a report details how the research was conducted, the research methods used and the reasons for choosing those methods. It should outline:
- the participants and research methods used, e.g. surveys/questionnaire, interviews
- refer to other relevant studies.
The methodology is a step-by-step explanation of the research process. It should be factual and is mainly written in the past tense.
Sample Methodology
The research used a quantitative methodology based on the approach advocated by Williams (2009). This study was conducted by questionnaire and investigated university teaching staff attitudes to the use of mobile phones in tutorials (see Appendix 1). The questionnaire used Likert scales to assess social attitudes (Jones 2007) to student mobile phone use and provided open-ended responses for additional comments. The survey was voluntary and anonymous. A total of 412 questionnaires were distributed online to randomly selected staff from each of the three colleges within the university. The completed questionnaires were returned by email.
Describes how the research was done
Refers to relevant reading/literature
Legend
- 'Describe' is short for: describing how the research was done.
- 'Refers' is short for: refers to relevant reading/literature.
Paragraph
[Describe: The research used a quantitative methodology based on the approach advocated by Williams (2009).] [Refer: This study was conducted by questionnaire and investigated university teaching staff attitudes to the use of mobile phones in tutorials (see Appendix 1). The questionnaire used Likert scales to assess social attitudes (Jones 2007) to student mobile phone use and provided open-ended responses for additional comments.] [Describes: The survey was voluntary and anonymous. A total of 412 questionnaires were distributed online to randomly selected staff from each of the three colleges within the university. The completed questionnaires were returned by email.]