How to Choose a Research Methodology for Your Dissertation

Among all the chapters existing in a typical dissertation, Methodology is far from the easiest or the most exciting one. However, it is a chapter on which Results, Discussion, and Conclusion depend. That is half of your final paper. So, it is extremely important to work on it scrupulously.

Many students tend to underestimate how much it influences the whole dissertation, which leads to various issues. For instance, one includes complex explanations ‘cause they’ve seen another Ph.D. write something similar but couldn’t figure them out. Others end up promising the reader to show them the result of fruitful research with the use of modern software. The latter, as the students find out later, costs more than they earn every month working part-time. 

The examples above are only the tip of the iceberg. You don’t really need to know all the possible ways to write a Methodology incorrectly, do you? So, here are the five recommendations we would like you to follow to make the right choice when deciding on the methodology for your dissertation!

Consult With Your Supervisor

Whenever you doubt if you know how to write this tricky chapter, it is always better to double-check it with the professor supervising you. Research methodology should be a reflection of what the reader will see in the results. So, if you’re going to have charts, it means you will have to conduct quantitative or mixed research. 

The quantitative part is not that problematic these days when all the calculations get done for you or when all you need is to use Excel formulae. Yet, the Ph.D. level may require a lot more. Some professors would like to see your results processed and analyzed only with the help of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

This software requires time to be mastered. For various reasons, you might not be able to use it. That is why ask the supervisor about the most efficient methods to opt for. It will help you avoid extra work that may take more time than actually writing the paper and gathering data, as well as retrieving the results that will correspond to the Ph.D. level.

Consult With a Dissertation Writing Professional

This is another person who could help you if you feel at a loss. It is important to address the writer who has worked with research papers, at least not any essay helper you used to buy essay from. Those used to writing doctoral-level papers know all the pitfalls as well as the basic rules you may not be aware of or informed about by your teachers. To find the right one, check out a review on NoCramming of Essay bot or similar services. In addition, if you struggle to receive a sensible answer from your supervisor, such specialists can go through your draft, edit it, advise on the best practices, or even write a Methodology chapter for you.

Read the Syllabus

That is actually something you should do in the first place. Asking your professor all kinds of questions while those are clearly answered in a syllabus may lead to a bit of a hostile attitude. At its very best, you’ll be simply reminded of the syllabus’ existence. So, if you have instructions, better read them attentively, not selectively. 

Actually, some guidelines describe what is required of students in such detail that one doesn’t have to guess what to write at all. The given examples and prompts are more than enough for you not to add fillers or repeat information just to meet the word count. And that is a frequent mistake students make. The amount of their knowledge in Methodology is often limited to technicalities needed for an average research paper. 

Yet, the Ph.D. level is more serious (and boring) than that. Writing a 10-15-page Methodology chapter is a real challenge for many, even for some experts from a trusted essay writing service. You will probably have to deal with such sections as:

• research philosophy
• research design
• research approach
• reliability and validity
• search strategy, and so on

Not all students may even distinguish between the first three sections, so they tend to write some general statements instead or go on and on everywhere about the same things. 

Dig Into the Terminology

To avoid rambling about theoretical explanations of what a research philosophy or approach is, instead of focusing on the methods you chose, learn that theory. Your teacher will tell you if they need such definitions (that is quite a rare case, though) to be included. Otherwise, don’t include them. 

What is more important is to justify your choices. For example, quantitative research may be opted for when you have few resources, including time. It is much faster and cheaper to compile a questionnaire, upload it to SurveyMonkey or as a Google form, and process data with some software than to:

• look for potential interviewees;
• spend time trying to meet with them or schedule the interviews online;
• transcribe the recorded interviews;
• go through data over and over again to establish the main themes and topics;
• and only after that, compile and analyze the results.

For these justifications to sound logical and meaningful, you need to use academic language. This is why you should know the difference between interviews and questionnaires, what open-ended and close-ended questionnaires are, why you can’t use the latter for qualitative research, and what qualitative research actually is. Only being able to operate these terms will help you write a several-page Methodology chapter without repeating yourself or deviating from useful information. 

Finally, Evaluate Your Skills Adequately

Well, you might be an excellent essay writer all the teachers are fascinated about, and no one can take it from you. But even with all A’s on your record, there is no guarantee you will easily ace any kind of paper, especially a dissertation. As mentioned above, there might be various requirements for the doctoral level. If you are on a tight schedule, it is not the time to choose complicated methods. They will rather drive you mad than help you earn a good grade. So, be realistic and good luck!