COM Research Unit

Writing the
Methods Section

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 Aim and Objectives
• The aim of this session is to enable the
students to write an effective Methods section
for their research report
• By the end of the session the students should
be able to:
– Identify the different components of the Methods
section and the requirements for each section

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Methods are Actions

• Methods propel one toward something or

to do a thing
• A method is like a cooking recipe
• A method is something that is simply ‘followed’
• A method is a series of directions that
pre-suppose we already know what we want

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Writing an Effective
Methods Section
• Should describe how the work was performed
• Another investigator can duplicate the work
based on the methods section
• Operational definitions of important terms
• Units of measurement for physical / laboratory
measures
• State the methodology in the order / sequence
that the activities were carried out

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Four Elements in
the Template
1. The setting and participants
2. How information or data is to be collected
3. How information or data will be interpreted or
analysed
4. Quality control procedures + Ethical Issues

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1. The Setting and
Participants
The setting:
• Geographical location
• Brief background of the setting
• Why the setting was chosen
The participants / subjects:
• Attributes of the participants
• How many, why they were chosen, and how they were
chosen
Study Population and Sampling:
• The nature of the population, the sample, and sample
selection techniques
• Justify the selection of the sample size for the study

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 2. Data collection
Describe the study design, methods, and variables
used to obtain information.
For example:
• Observing – checklist, structured data collection sheet
• Interviewing – structured/semi-structured/unstructured;
face-to-face / email / telephone, etc
• Surveying – open-ended, rating scales, self-reported, etc

State the main grouping, predictor and outcome variables

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3. Data analysis
Describe how information or data that was
collected was interpreted or analysed
For example:
• How the data was entered and analysed
• Textual analysis – classification, coding
• Descriptive analysis – statistical methods used to
describe the data
• Inferential statistics – which statistical tests /
epidemiological measures of association were used;
significance level and confidence intervals

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4. Quality Control /
Ethical Issues
Describe the techniques that were applied to make sure the
findings of the study are an accurate representation of
the phenomenon studied
For example, by:
• Triangulation of data or methods
• Ensuring content validity, internal validity, or internal
reliability
Ethical Issues:
• Studies involving human subjects / medical records –
issues of confidentiality, autonomy
• Storage of questionnaires, accessibility to personal
information
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Focus on Research
Methods ONLY
A well-written Methodology will Not include material
that more properly should be presented in other
sections of the research proposal
Particularly:
Stating what the research seeks to achieve
(Research Objectives)
Overtly connecting with the prevailing knowledge
(Background)
Identifying why the research will be important for others
(Significance)
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Proposal Writing versus
Report Writing
• In a proposal the Methodology is written in
the future tense – it explains what will be
done and why it should be done

• In a project report or thesis, the

Methodology is written in the past tense – it
explains what was done why it was done

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