You should be able to write the methodology chapter without a great deal of difficulty, if you have kept careful records. This chapter will explain what steps to take and what content to include in this chapter.
In preparing to write the chapter, you can take several steps. First, you should reread Chapters 5 and 9 of this work. They both provide some helpful suggestions about the methodology. Second, review your records. Your researcher’s journal should be especially useful. Finally, review your results; they will remind you of what methods you have used.
Objectivity is especially important in this chapter. In describing the research site, avoid making unsupported judgments, sweeping generalizations, and extreme statements. Instead, provide specific data, noting just the facts as you recorded them. Contrast these two versions.
TOO SUBJECTIVE: The school building looked as if a disaster had hit it. Nobody cared about the place or wanted to improve it. It was a terrible environment for learning.
MORE OBJECTIVE: The overall appearance of the building suggested that it was not well maintained. Custodian Walker (a fictitious name) apologized for the appearance, noting that his staff had been cut. He noted that in early October he had reported to the head of facilities that the roof of the gym leaked, but by March when this study took place, nothing had been done.
In achieving specificity and objectivity, you may find it helpful to present much of the data in table form. If you do, be sure to use the specified style-guide format adopted by the institution conferring the degree. Remember that the table is used to present data, with the accompanying text used to comment on the highlights, not simply repeat what is in the table.
With these preparatory steps accomplished, you should turn next to developing an outline of the chapter. To do so, you first need to determine the content of the chapter. Obviously this will vary with the methods you have used and the steps you have taken. Most descriptions of methodology will include the following content: the general research perspective and research type; the research context, including a specification of time and place; the research participants; the instruments used in data collection; the procedures used in collecting the data; and the way you analyzed the data. A chapter summary is also typically included.
Now you are ready to develop the outline itself and use the outline to determine the headings you will use.
When you have decided on content, you then should determine the overall organizational pattern. Four patterns are commonly found in dissertations, as follows:
Logical Order. Most chapters will use a logical order, organizing the content in terms of the relationships of the concepts. Such an order is shown in Exhibit 16.1. You reflect on the processes you used and determine how best to group them.
The logical order shown in Exhibit 16.1 will be used to organize the discussion that follows, since it includes most of the elements included in the methodology chapter.
Chronological Order. Some researchers using a qualitative or action research approach prefer to follow a chronological order, discussing the steps in the order in which they were taken. This pattern is especially useful when the sequence of steps is important to the result.
Research-Question Order. Another organizational pattern frequently used in dissertations is to explain the methodology in relation to the research questions answered. Consider this example. The researcher studying teachers’ planning as it related to curriculum standards posed these three specific questions:
Exhibit 16.1 Example of Methodology Chapter
3. Methodology
This chapter explains the methods used in completing the study, giving special emphasis to the analysis of data. It should be noted at the outset that the methodology to a certain extent was an evolving one, which took definite shape as the study progressed.
The General Perspective
As a qualitative study, the research reported here embodies both quantitative and qualitative perspectives …
The Research Context
The study took place in a charter school in its first year of operation. For purposes of confidentiality, the school will be referred to with the fictitious name …
The Research Participants
Although the researcher was inevitably aware of the actions of both the director and the students, his primary concern was with the actions of the teachers. …
Instruments Used in Data Collection
Several instruments and recording processes were used in the data collection process. First, …
Procedures Used
In completing the research design, several specific procedures were used. …
Data Analysis
The data were analyzed using several strategies. First, the data were reduced by …
Summary of the Methodology
To summarize the previous explanation, it should be emphasized that the study used both …
Question 1. To what extent are teachers familiar with curriculum standards?
Question 2. To what extent do teachers use curriculum standards in making yearly plans?
Question 3. To what extent are teachers conscious of using curriculum standards as they teach?
The researcher used those three questions to organize the methodology chapter, using the simple outline shown in Exhibit 16.2.
Research Methods Order. Finally, you may find that organizing the chapter in relation to the research methods makes the most sense. Thus, you might have sections identified as follows: observation methods, interview methods, survey methods.
Common Elements. Regardless of the organizational pattern used, two initial elements are common to most dissertations: the general perspective and the research context. The reader would also expect to find an introductory paragraph and a summary.
Once you have developed an outline, submit it to your chair for review.
Exhibit 16.2 Outline by Question
When the chair has approved the outline, be sure to use headings that will reflect the outline and make it clear to the reader. Note that the headings shown in Exhibit 16.1 use only Level 1, for the chapter title, and Level 2, for the main divisions. You may see a need to use Level 3 to identify subdivisions under the Level 2 headings.
The term context is used to identify the place and time of the study. A detailed description of the research site will enable other researchers and readers to better understand the findings. Depending on the nature of your study, you can choose to describe one or more of the following levels:
Which aspects do you include in your description? The answer is, all those that the reader needs to understand the specialness of the research context. Exhibit 16.3 lists most of the aspects that might be included for school district, school, classroom, and community—the contexts most often used in educational research. Do not use that list as a prescription; use it instead as a set of guidelines designed to help you decide what to include.
In most dissertations, you should give these entities fictitious names to preserve confidentiality. Indicate that the name is fictitious the first time you use it. This is one way you can do so: “Lincoln High School is a large grades 9 through 12 high school in a major city in the East. (Lincoln is a fictitious name, used to preserve confidentiality.)”
Exhibit 16.3 Aspects of the Research Site
School district
School
Classroom
Community
In describing the context, be sure to indicate as well the time period for the study, perhaps in this manner: “The research activities covered a two-month period, from March 1, 1999, to May 30, 1999.”
You also need to provide specific information about all those who participated in the study. In most quantitative studies they are identified as subjects; in most qualitative studies, as participants. In either case, provide the specific information the reader will need to understand the study. In most quantitative studies, you will need to provide descriptive statistics such as number, age, ethnic identity, and gender, usually presented in a table. In qualitative studies the reader expects to find more detailed descriptions of the participants, as in this example:
Harrison Peel has been teaching English for 30 years. Educated at an Ivy League school and with a master’s degree in Renaissance literature, he prides himself on his love of literature. Once married to a woman whom he always describes in generous terms, he is now widowed, and lives by himself in a small apartment in downtown Centreville. He is a slight man in physical appearance, but as far as this researcher could determine, he never seems to have any trouble controlling even potentially disruptive students. He speaks with a clear, strong voice even when conversing with colleagues. …
In quantitative studies, the reader will expect to find details about the selection process, including the following issues: From which population were they selected? What sampling procedure was used, if any? How were they assigned to groups? What previous experience did they have with the content, the instruments, the intervention, or the personnel?
A key part of the methodology is the instrumentation used to collect data. The term instrumentation is a general one that includes the following:
OBSERVATION INSTRUMENTS: Observation forms, observation guidelines, observation schedules
INTERVIEWS: Interview protocols (questions to be asked), interview recording devices, interview guidelines
SURVEYS: Survey forms, survey directions
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS: Document analysis guidelines, criteria
TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS: Tests used, performance assessment tasks, measurement guidelines
If you used an existing instrument, you should report on its validity and reliability. If it was an instrument for which you had to secure permission, include in an appendix the letter giving you permission. If you developed your own instrument, the reader will expect to find an explanation of how you developed it, including how you tested for validity and reliability and what results you obtained. Copies of any instruments you have developed should be included in the appendix.
Now you explain in a step-by-step manner what procedures you used in completing the design. The procedures followed would obviously vary with the type of research. In the standard experimental study, you would probably identify these steps:
On the other hand, an action research study explaining how a team solved a problem might report the procedures under two main headings:
Regardless of the type of study, you are required to explain the procedures in sufficient detail for two key reasons. First, doing so enables other researchers to replicate the study. Second, doing so enables potential consumers to determine if your findings can be trusted.
All studies will result in a mass of raw data. Thus, a key component of the methodology chapter is explaining to the reader how you handled those data. The data analysis usually includes three procedures.
First, you explain how you reduced the data. When you reduce the data, you group the raw data to make initial sense of them. In analyzing interview data, for example, a student researcher reported these steps in reducing the data:
Next, you explain how you decided to report and display the reduced data. You have several choices of reporting methods: raw data, percentages, mean, median, or standardized scores. You also have several methods for displaying data: narrative text, matrix, tables, graphs, charts, or other figures.
Finally, you explain how you analyzed those data to determine what they meant. In quantitative studies, you report the statistical tests and procedures used; in qualitative studies, you explain how you interpreted the data.
The final step is to write a brief summary that highlights the key features of the methodology and looks ahead to the next chapter. Here is one example:
This chapter has explained the methods used in this qualitative study of one school’s attempt to use performance assessments. The next chapter presents the results obtained with those methods.
Educational institutions that grant graduate degrees adopt a style manual for graduate students to use in preparing formal papers such as dissertations. A style manual, such as the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, describes the appearance (format) of the components of a formal paper. Although most colleges and universities adopt the style manual in its entirety, some modify the guidelines for components of the document (i.e., the title page). For example, one southern university requires a two-page title page; however, when numbering those pages, the two-page title page is counted as one page—the page numbering may be a modification from the style manual. Any special university requirements supersede the style manual guidelines.
A particularly troublesome aspect in a dissertation is the use of headings and the appearance or format of those headings. For graduate students who write the document and for university administrators who review the completed approved dissertation, interpreting the style manual guidelines is a challenge and may lead to unneeded frustration. Furthermore, the names of the levels of headings differ in various style manuals, which again may lead to confused writers.
To avoid this unneeded confusion and frustration, submit a completed chapter to your chair. During the conference with your chair after his or her review, talk about the headings and obtain his or her opinions on them. If your chair is not certain about the format or appearance of the headings, ask for help in arranging an appointment with a university administrator who typically reviews dissertations for the university.
By being proactive in the early stages of writing the dissertation, you will save time in the university approval process. In addition, your anxiety toward the university approval process will be reduced.