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Writing the methodology section

The methodology section can be a great place to start your writing. It is the nuts-and-bolts description of what you did in your research and why.

The methodology section includes two main parts:

  1. Methodology: How you approached the project
  2. Methods: What you actually did

Video resource

The following video outlines this process in more detail:

Ontology and epistemology

You may be expected to outline your personal ontology and epistemology, which will help shape your research approach as being either quantitative or qualitative, particularly if you’re undertaking Social Science research. Ontology relates to the world around us, whether you believe reality is fixed or ever-changing. Epistemology relates to how you know what is real. Can your knowledge be measured (using quantitative research methods), or does understanding depend on when, where and who’s asking the questions (e.g., qualitative approaches to research). Check out the Ontology and epistemology pdf206KB handout to see the difference between ontology and epistemology with examples.

Quantitative vs qualitative research

Your research may be quantitative, qualitative or a combination of both. This video describes the differences.

NVivo

Nvivo is a powerful software that you can use to store and analyse your quantitative as well as qualitative data. It offers an intuitive qualitative data analysis experience that helps you uncover deeper research insights. You can download NVivo for free as a VUW student from the Digital Solutions software download site. The University of Hull has created a series of videos to help you get started with using NVivo.

SPSS

SPSS is a statistical software package that can conduct basic statistical tests such as t-tests, chi square, correlation, regression, and analysis of variance.