Tips for Developing a Dissertation Methodology

Having a strong research methodology is the key to getting approved or to getting funded in the industrial setting. You must set a strong case for your approach, and your methodology should justify the actions taken. A strong research methodology also takes inspiration from other scientists and researchers who may have conducted similar experiments in the field and who may have used a clinical research platform.  

The perfect dissertation methodology covers a lot of ground in the paper, which is why researchers need to dedicate enough time to it. A study in the behavioral sciences will vary significantly from a paper on genomic coding. That’s why the right methodology sets the right context for the readers so that the paper is a true contribution to the scientific community. It should answer the right questions, while framing new ones.

Start by recapping the core problem

While the paper itself addresses the question, it’s important to frame the discussion around what you’re attempting to do. By recapping the question correctly, you can align the readers and the audiences to be better-connected to your methodology.

You can recap the problem in a novel way in the beginning of your methodology, to engage with audiences better as well. By making the problem statement more appealing, you can receive greater attention for your initiatives.

Providing the right overview

Your approach is just as important as your problem statement, which is why you need to have a strong strategy when it comes to forming your approach. You can help contextualize the problem better and provide greater insights into how you’re going about dealing with a critical problem.

Whether that’s AI-driven manufacturing robots, or clean energy for automobiles, the approach should engage readers within the first few sentences of reading it. Researchers should aim to make their approach as novel as possible, so as to arrive at different conclusions.

Justification for the methodology

The researcher should provide some evidence-based justification as to why the methodology is the ideal one for the dissertation. While researchers may aim to find new solutions to complex problems, justifying their methodology is important as well.

The subject area may be dense and complex, which is why having the justification parameters is the key to giving more context. Students that provide a solid justification for their methodology perform better when delivering their dissertation. The best dissertations have a strong justification strategy embedded into their methodology.

Ensuring reliability in the methodology

Reliability is a key indicator of the rationale that you have chosen in your approach. The dissertation methodology should cover the core reasoning behind why you’re developing your model. If you’re offering a new theoretical approach within a research-intensive subject, then you need to ensure that you introduce reliability.

Your readers should be able to apply the strategy suggested to their own research models and get the same results. Since you’re building upon the scientific framework designed by thousands of scientists, it needs to be reliable against strong scrutiny.

Highlighting the limitations

While every research paper presents itself as a strong approach in the field, it’s important to highlight its limitations as well. By laying out the limitations coherently, you can drive greater context to the conversation. The readers can make their own assumptions about what further analysis can be performed on the data and insights shared. Additionally, the limitations of your paper can inspire new scientists to conduct further testing.

No research method is perfect in its approach, and by listing out the limitations, you make the reader that much more engaged. They can draw conclusions based on the details provided, while not blaming you for lack of resources or time.