The difference between methods and methodology needs to be well understood while documenting your research. Researchers implement systematic methods to conduct a research. They define the research topic to establish a deeper and clearer understanding in the methods section. Furthermore, methods consist of all techniques, strategies, and tools employed by a researcher to complete the experiment and find solution to the research problem. However, methodology is a systematic and theoretical approach to collect and evaluate data throughout the research process.
The purpose of research methodology is to prove the credibility, validity, and reliability of a chosen research method. While the methods section is just a research tool or a component of research, methodology is the justification for using a particular research method.
The objective of research methods is to provide thorough information of research design , participants, equipment, materials, variables, and procedures. It must allow other researchers to reproduce similar results based on the documented methods. Whereas, the objective of research methodology is to determine the accuracy and efficiency of the methods opted by the researchers for a particular experiment.
I really needed something practical and to the point. Though I was thinking along the same lines, this post just gave me the reassurance that I needed. I thank you Deborah for helping me to carry out my project work. Now I can differentiate between method and methodology. God bless you.
Pingback: Hi Deborah, thanks this is very useful! However, when we are doing our PhD, for instance we have four sub research questions, So it means that each of them will have their own methodology and methods, and then we also will have one GRAND methodology for our MAIN research questions.
Is it right? Hi Annisa, There is one methodology that is applied to the entire research project — not one for each research question. When examining methodology you look at the project as a whole. Thanks Deborah. As a first year DProf student returning to academia after 11 years away, I find myself on a wonderfully eye opening journey, not least because of the diversity of terminology. You have just enlightened me no end!! Hi Rowley, A big congrats for your return to academia and becoming a PhD student.
Keep in touch! Very beautiful site.. Thanks for explaining this better than what i have so far found. What I have gathered is method is the way you conduct the research and methodology is why you chose that method. There could be other alternatives too. Could you give some other example as well because I saw two questions which leave me more mixed up:. Hi Piu, spot on regarding the simple difference between methods and methodology. With regards to your two questions, the same principles apply.
Why choose a particular reserch method? The answer should be because it is the most effective method to answer the research quetions and it is appropriate for the participants.
So you would need to give your reasons for choosing focus groups over one-to-one interviews. Question 2 merely asks you to expand your answer by elaborating on your methodologies. In other words, how and why you have designed the whole research project in a particualr way.
So I am an undergrad nursing student trying to explain methodology used and compare 2 studies qualitative and quantitative. Would the methodologies be the theories and theorists that the researcher has used to choose the design and method of collecting their data? Methodology — The process of fully interrogating the values and assumptions that influence the study. The starting point, once you know what you want to research is creating the research questions that will guide the entire study and shape your decisions, such as whether to adopt an inductive or deductive approach, whether to undertake interviews or focus groups as a qualitative research method.
The justification or rationale for these research decisions occur throughout this process. Thank you Dr. I am currently doing My thesis on the assesing the contributing factors of academic achivements of secondary school students in Ethiopia.
I employee mixed method. An I am still confused in how to fix philosophical assumption, method and methodology. Now I get hint and I elaborate this idea.
But could you send me some supporting materials on this regards? Gabriel, this is very nicely described. You are totally correct in your advice on the two being needing to be thought of and understood at the onset of a study. Fortunately, I saw that there was a need for me to understand it early enough during my previous doctoral program simply due to the fact that I kept seeing the two different words in various information.
It was then that I decided to look deeper to find out why one was always just called "methods" while the other was "methodology". Thank you for sharing this thoughtful and needed post. Rick D. Hi Miss Deborah! Can you help me with my undergrad thesis problem? Hi Nurtimhar, I am going to write a post today on writing literature reviews that should help you — so keep an eye out — or sign up to my RSS feed!
Could you please help with the correct link to follow. Thank you. Hi Deborah! Thank you for your views of posting very interesting and important explanation on PhD as I am on the way to complete my PhD preliminary tentative research proposal. Please help. As you read you will find specific areas that interest you — for example, occupational health. You should narrow your reading to this area and look for the gaps in the literature. I am in the second year of my PhD and you just helped me understand the fundamental difference between methods and methodology.
I have been interchanging them for a while and confusing theoretical frameworks with methodology every now and then. You have a teaching gift. Thanks a million it has helped to a great extent. Research method refers to the specific mode of gathering data. For example one method might be interviews. Research technique refers to the approach used for a specific method. For example, open-ended interviews is one technique that can be used when conducting interviews; semi-structured is another.
The method mainly includes techniques of the research and solution of the problems, whereas methodology includes problems of these methods as well. It is also used for the selection of a particular technique for performing the experiment. It is important to their thesis as well. They have to write a whole section dedicated to the method they have selected or think is perfect for it. In the absence of a method, it will become quite impossible to perform research successfully.
The methodology includes all the methods and other detailed information about the research. Research methods are the various procedures, schemes, steps, and algorithms used in research. They are essentially planned, scientific, and value neutral. They include observations, theoretical procedures, experimental studies, numerical schemes, statistical approaches, etc. Research methods help us collect samples, data and find the solution to a specific problem. Research methodology is a systematic way of solving a problem.
It is a science of studying how research is carried out. Essentially, the procedures by which researchers do their job of describing, explaining, and predicting phenomena are called research methodology. It is also defined as the study of methods by which knowledge is acquired.
Its objective is to give the work plan of the investigation. A method is what you did. It is a simple description. For example, you selected rats and measured their weight. You fed some rats and some you didn't. A week later, you measured their weights again.
The methodology is why you should give you a meaningful result and why you used some specific method and not another. This would include, in particular, how you have controlled for bugs, for example why you fed the rats for a week instead of a month, and why rats you thought were enough.
The differences between the research method and the research methodology can be clearly established for the following reasons: The research method is defined as the procedure or technique applied by the researcher to undertake the research. On the other hand, the research methodology is a system of methods, scientifically used to solve the research problem.
The research method is nothing more than the behavior or the tool used to select and develop the research technique. Rather, research methodology involves the science of analysis, the way in which research is properly conducted. The research method deals with conducting experiments, tests, surveys, interviews, etc.
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