Guide to Writing Dissertation Methodology Chapter

The word ‘methodology’ can sound a bit intimidating, can’t it? It’s the chapter in your dissertation that often causes the most anxiety. You might be thinking, “What if I choose the wrong method?” or “How do I justify my decisions to my marker?” Take a deep breath. Writing your methodology isn’t about proving you’ve used the most complex technique possible. It’s about telling the story of how you did your research, and – most importantly – why you did it that way.

Think of your dissertation as a journey. Your introduction is where you decide where you want to go (your research question). Your literature review is the map showing where others have been. The methodology? This is you explaining your travel plan.

It’s where you detail:

• Your vehicle: Are you taking a qualitative or quantitative approach? (Are you exploring deep experiences or measuring numerical trends?)

• Your route: What specific methods will you use? (Interviews? Surveys? Case studies?)

• Your toolkit: How will you collect your data? (What software? What questionnaire?)

• Your ethical compass: How will you ensure your journey is safe and fair for everyone involved?

In short, the methodology chapter is a detailed, logical argument that convinces the reader your chosen path is the most appropriate one for answering your specific research question.

This is the golden rule. Every single choice you make in this chapter needs a reason. Your marker isn’t just looking for a list of what you did; they’re looking for your rationale. The secret sauce is to constantly link your choices back to your research question.

Ask yourself: “Why this method and not another?”

Your justification will often stem from the gap you identified in your literature review. For example:

• If the gap was: “Previous research has lots of statistics on student stress, but no one has asked students in their own words what it feels like…”

• Your justification becomes: “…therefore, a qualitative methodology was selected to capture the rich, detailed experiences of participants.”

See how that works? You’re building a logical bridge from what’s missing to how you’ll fill that gap.

 

This is the big decision. Let’s break down what these mean in practice.

Qualitative Research: The ‘Why’ and ‘How’

• What it is: This approach is all about depth, meaning, and understanding concepts. It explores experiences, opinions, and motivations.

• When to use it: Perfect for when your research question starts with words like “explore,” “understand,” “describe,” or “experience.”

• Common methods:

  • Interviews: Great for getting detailed, personal insights.

  • Focus Groups: Good for exploring a topic as a group and seeing how ideas bounce around.

  • Case Studies: An in-depth look at a single instance or organisation.

• Long-tail keyword in action: If you’re wondering how to analyse qualitative data from interviews, you’ll likely use thematic analysis (identifying common themes) or discourse analysis (looking at how language is used).

Quantitative Research: The ‘How Much’ and ‘How Many’

• What it is: This approach focuses on numbers, statistics, and generalisable facts. It’s about measuring variables and testing hypotheses.

• When to use it: Ideal for questions starting with “to what extent,” “what is the relationship between,” or “how often.”

• Common methods:

  • Surveys/Questionnaires: The go-to for collecting data from a large group.

  • Experiments: Where you manipulate one variable to see its effect on another.

• Long-tail keyword in action: Your plan for how to create a reliable survey questionnaire is crucial here. You’ll need to talk about piloting it to test for clarity.

Mixed-Methods: The Best of Both Worlds

This combines both approaches to get a more complete picture. For example, you might survey 100 students (quantitative) and then conduct follow-up interviews with 5 of them (qualitative) to explain the statistical trends.

 

Structure is your best friend here. It keeps you focused and makes it easy for your marker to follow your logic. Here’s a solid template:

1. Introduction

Briefly remind the reader of your research question and give a quick overview of the chapter. “This chapter will outline the research methodology, beginning with the research philosophy and moving to the specific methods of data collection and analysis.”

2. Research Philosophy (or Paradigm)

This sounds fancy, but it’s just about your worldview. Are you an objective scientist collecting hard facts (positivism)? Or do you believe that reality is shaped by individual experiences (interpretivism)? Your philosophy should align with your method (e.g., interpretivism pairs with qualitative research). Don’t panic about this section – your supervisor can help you nail it.

3. Research Design and Method

This is the core. Detail exactly what you did.

• Your chosen approach: Reiterate your choice (qualitative/quantitative/mixed) and justify it again.

• Population and Sampling: Who are your participants? How did you select them? Did you use random sampling (quantitative) or purposive sampling (selecting people for a specific reason, common in qualitative research)? Explain your sample size justification – why 10 interviewees instead of 50?

• Data Collection: Describe your tool. If it’s a survey, what questions did you ask? If it’s an interview, did you use a structured or semi-structured schedule? Be so detailed that someone else could replicate your study.

4. Data Analysis

How will you make sense of the data? This is a future-tense plan.

• For qualitative data: “Interview transcripts will be analysed using thematic analysis, following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step process to identify key themes.”

• For quantitative data: “Survey data will be input into SPSS software. Descriptive statistics (means, medians) will be used to summarise the data, followed by a Pearson’s correlation test to examine the relationship between X and Y.”

5. Ethical Considerations

This is non-negotiable in UK universities. You must explain how you protected your participants.

• Informed Consent: How did you ensure participants knew what they were signing up for?

• Anonymity and Confidentiality: How will you keep their data and identity safe?

• Right to Withdraw: You must state that participants could leave at any time.

• Approval: Mention that your project was approved by your university’s ethics committee.

6. Limitations and Reflection

Be honest and critical! No study is perfect. Did you have a small sample size? Was it hard to find participants? Acknowledging limitations shows maturity and self-awareness. The key is to explain how you mitigated these issues as much as possible.

• The Kitchen Sink Approach: Don’t feel you have to mention every method you’ve ever heard of. Focus on the one(s) you used and justify them deeply.

• Writing a Recipe: Avoid just listing steps (“First, I created a survey. Then, I sent it out.”). Instead, explain the reasoning (“A survey was chosen as the most efficient method to reach a large, geographically dispersed sample…”).

• Ignoring Ethics: This is a surefire way to lose marks. Give ethics the serious attention it deserves.

• Forgetting the ‘How’ of Analysis: Saying “I will analyse the interviews” is too vague. You must name your analytical framework.

 

• Have I justified every single choice, linking it back to my research question?

• Is my methodology chapter structured clearly and logically?

• Have I been specific enough about my data collection and analysis plans?

• Have I thoroughly addressed ethical considerations?

• Have I honestly discussed the limitations of my approach?

Remember, your methodology chapter is your chance to show you’re a thoughtful, critical researcher. You’ve got this. Now, go and write that convincing, watertight methodology your dissertation deserves.

Dr. Eleanor Evans is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology and the Director of Undergraduate Dissertations at a leading UK university. She has over 15 years of experience helping students turn their ideas into successful research projects.