A methodology chapter is not a procedure manual. Describing what you did is necessary but not sufficient — every choice needs a stated reason tied back to your research questions, or a committee member will ask "why this design and not another?"
| Decision | Question It Must Answer |
|---|---|
| Research design | Why this design (e.g. case study, survey, experimental) fits these specific questions? |
| Population & sampling | Why this population, and why this sampling strategy and size? |
| Instrumentation | Why this instrument, and is it validated/reliable for this population? |
| Data collection procedure | How will data actually be gathered, step by step? |
| Analysis plan | What specific analysis will answer each research question? |
| Ethical considerations | How are participant rights and data protected? |
The single most common methodology weakness is a mismatch: an exploratory "how do people experience X" question paired with a rigid quantitative survey, or a "does X predict Y" question paired with a handful of interviews that can't establish a statistical relationship. We start every methodology chapter by checking that the design can actually answer the questions as worded — sometimes that means revising the questions slightly, not just the design.
Write your analysis plan before you collect data. Naming the exact statistical test or coding approach for each research question — before data collection — both strengthens your proposal and prevents costly mismatches discovered after the data is already in.
Design, sampling, instrumentation, and analysis — each one justified, not just described.
Usually the fix is explicit comparison: briefly note one or two alternative designs you considered and explain specifically why they fit your questions less well than your chosen approach. A justification in isolation reads weaker than one made by contrast.
Yes — for quantitative and mixed-methods studies we include power analysis or established sampling guidelines appropriate to your design; for qualitative studies we justify sample size against saturation principles specific to your chosen approach.
Yes, this is usually included as part of the methodology chapter. See our dedicated IRB approval guide for more detail on that specific section.