Chapter 4: Writing the Methods Section
Methods Goal 1: Contextualize the Study’s Methods
The first goal of writing your Methods section is to contextualize (provide context or a “picture” of) the procedures you followed to conduct the research. Doing this requires attention to detail. Some of the possible ways that you can accomplish this goal will be discussed later in the chapter, but first, let’s look at some examples of Methods sections from published research articles in high-impact journals (the parts of the Methods that contain Goal 1 language are bolded):
Examples
- Volumetric gas concentrations obtained from the gas analyzers were converted into mass concentrations with the ideal gas law by using the mean reactor room temperature and assuming one atmosphere pressure. Gas release is defined in this article as the process of gas transferring through the liquid manure surface into the free air stream of the reactor headspace. Gas emission is defined as the process of gas emanating from the reactor into the outdoor atmosphere. Gas release does not equal gas emission under transient conditions, although it does under steady-state conditions. The rate of gas emission from a reactor was calculated with equation 1: Equation (1) where QGe is gas emission rate (mass min-1), CGex is exhaust gas concentration (mass L-1), CGin is inlet gas concentration (mass L-1), and Qv is reactor airflow rate (L min-1). The gas release rate was approximated with the rates of change in gas mass in the reactor headspace with equation 2: Equation (2) where QGr is gas release rate (mass min-1), CGh is gas concentration in the headspace (mass L-1), and Vh is headspace air volume (L). In this article, we assumed that CGh was equal to CGex. To use the sampled data obtained in this study, equation 2 was discretized to equation 3: Equation (3) where __delta__t is sampling interval (min), and k is sample number (k = 0, 1, 2, … ). Gas release flux was calculated with equation 4: Equation (4) where qGr is gas release flux (mass m-2 in-1), and A is area of reactor manure surface (m2).[1]
- The participants were employees of a medium-sized firm in the telecommunications industry. The sampling frame was the list of 3,402 potential users of the new ERP system. We received 2,794 usable responses across all points of measurement, resulting in an effective response rate of just over 82 percent. Our sample comprised 898 women (32 percent). The average age of the participants was 34.7, with a standard deviation of 6.9. All levels of the organizational hierarchy were adequately represented in the sample and were in proportion to the sampling frame. While ideally we would have wanted all potential participants to provide responses in all waves of the data collection, this was particularly difficult given that the study duration was 12 months and had multiple points of measurement. Thus, the final sample of 2,794 was determined after excluding those who did not respond despite follow-ups, those who had left the organization, those who provided incomplete responses, or who did not choose to participate for other reasons. Yet, we note that the response rate was quite high for a longitudinal field study; this was, in large part, due to the strong organizational support for the survey and the employees’ desire to provide reactions and feedback to the new system. Although we did not have any data from the non-respondents, we found that the percentage of women, average age, and percentages of employees in various organizational levels in the sample were consistent with those in the sampling frame. Employees were told that they would be surveyed periodically for a year in order to help manage the new ERP system implementation. Employees were told that the data would also be used as part of a research study and were promised confidentiality, which was strictly maintained. [2]
So, as you can see in the excerpts above, the writers are providing lots of detailed information that contextualizes the study. To contextualize methods means that you explain all of the conditions in which the study occurred. It might be helpful for you to think of answering the questions who, what, when, where, how, and why.
Goal 1, Contextualizing the Study Methods, means that you completely describe the circumstances surrounding the research. There are several strategies you can use to help you successfully achieve this goal in a detailed manner.
Strategies for Methods Communicative Goal 1: Contextualizing the Study Methods
- Referencing previous works
- Providing general information
- Identifying the methodological approach
- Describing the setting
- Introducing the subjects/participants
- Rationalizing pre-experiment decisions
Methods Goal 1 Strategy: Referencing Previous Works
Referencing previous works is a strategy used to relate your research to the literature. The strategy involves a direct reference to another author or an explicit mention of a study.
Here are two examples taken from published research articles:
Examples
- The entire experiment consisted of six situations, and each situation was tested employing one advertisement. The balanced Latin-square method proposed by Edwards (1951) was used to arrange the six experimental situations. To simplify the respondents’ choices with regard to order and sequence, all of the print advertisements tested were appropriately arranged in the experimental design. [3]
- The Eulerian-granular model in ANSYS 12.0 was used to model the interactions between three phases: one gaseous phase and two granular particle phases within a fluidized bed taken from the literature [32] . This model was chosen over the Eulerian-Lagrangian models as it is computationally more efficient with regards to time and memory.[4]
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Methods Goal 1 Strategy: Providing General Information
Providing general information allows a writer to give the background that is specific to the methods. This can be theoretical, empirical, informational, or experiential background to the methodology of the study. You can use this strategy to build a bridge for the reader. The bridge should connect your study to other studies that have utilized the same or similar methodology. This strategy also encompasses any preliminary hypotheses or interpretations that you may want to make.
Here are two examples taken from published research articles:
Examples
- The animals used during this study were slaughtered in accredited slaughterhouses according to the rules on animal protection defined by French law (Code Rural, articles R214-64 to R214-71, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr). The Qualvigene program, described in detail elsewhere (Allais et al., 2010), was a collaborative research program involving AI companies, INRA (the French National Institute for Agricultural Research) and the Institut de l’Elevage (Breeding Institute) in France. The program was initiated to study the genetic determinism of beef and meat quality traits (Malafosse et al., 2007).[5]
- This study focused on stemwood when examining alternative woody biomass management regimes for loblolly pine. PTAEDA3.1, developed with data from a wide range of loblolly pine plantations in the southern United States, was used to simulate growth as well as competition and mortality effects and predict yields of various management scenarios (Bullock and Burkhart 2003, Burkhart et al. 2004).[6]
Methods Goal 1 Strategy: Identifying the Methodological Approach
Identifying the methodological approach allows a writer to pinpoint the exact method that was adopted to accomplish the study’s goals. This is a strategy you would use if there was a specific set of procedures for your approach or, in some cases, even a predetermined framework for how to carry out the study. The main purpose of this step is to introduce the methodological approach or experimental design used for the current study to inform the reader of the selected approach, announce credible research practices known in the field, and possibly transition to describing the experimental procedures.
Consider the following examples:
Examples
- In both seasons, the experiments were arranged in a complete randomized block design with four replications, using a plot size of 3.45m x 15m each containing 114 plants. Three levels of organic supplementation [0 kgm-2 (S0), 0.35 kgm-2 (S0.35) and 0.70 kgm-2 (S0.70)] were incorporated into the soil 2 days before solarization.[7]
- To address these hypotheses rigorously, we conducted a randomized controlled trial with children clustered within schools. All three interventions were delivered by the same teaching assistant in each school.[8]
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Methods Goal 1 Strategy: Describing the Setting
Describing the setting of the study is simply telling the reader about where or under what conditions the study happened. The setting is all about the place, conditions, and surroundings. In other words, this strategy details the characteristics of the environment in which the research was conducted, which often answers the “where” and “when” questions. Information may include details about the place and temperature; it may also include some temporal (or time-related) descriptors such as the time of the year. It should be noted that this step may overlap with some steps in Goal 2 (which describes the tools used or the experimental procedures conducted), but it remains distinct from them in that describing the setting specifically references the inherent characteristics of the context or environment in which the study took place, and not the characteristics of the materials used to accomplish the experiment or to affect some change in the subject that is being examined. You’ll read more about this in the next chapter.
Here are two examples taken from published research articles:
Methods Goal 1 Strategy: Introducing the Subjects/Participants
Introducing the subjects or participants in your study helps you to describe the characteristics of your sample. Whether you have human, animal, or inanimate participants or subjects, you will still need to provide the reader with a careful description of them. For a study involving humans, this answers the “who” question. For studies without humans, this often answers the “what” question. It should be noted, however, that not all disciplines have subjects/participants, but when subjects/participants can be identified, this step helps to describe subjects/participants and their original/pre-experimental characteristics, properties, origin, number, composition/construction, etc. The step also details the process by which subjects/participants were recruited/selected.
Below are a couple of examples excerpted from published reports of research with the relevant language in bold to illustrate how the words/phrases work to implement the strategy, which then works to accomplish the goal:
Examples
- Participants in this study included 10 TAs enrolled in this French doctoral program.[11]
- The Mexican populations, Chetumal and Tulum (Mex-1 and Mex-2, respectively), have large resin-producing glands, while the Venezuelan populations, Tovar and Caracas (Ven-1 and Ven-2, respectively), have smaller glands.[12]
The Academic Phrasebank website provides a list of sentence starters that would indicate the use of this strategy. Here are a few examples:
Methods Goal 1 Strategy: Rationalizing Pre-Experiment Conditions
Rationalizing pre-experiment conditions is a way to show the reader how you attained your specific sample or how you decided about the methods you chose prior to actually carrying out the experimental procedures of the study.
Here are two examples taken from published research articles:
Examples
- The literature review presented above leads us to formulate our research questions more precisely. First, we ask whether there is a difference in well-being between the unemployed and those currently employed.[13]
- We defined two sub-samples of LAEs split at R = 25.5. The continuum-bright (UV-bright hereafter) sub-sample of 118 LAEs enables a direct comparison with the SED parameters of R less than 25.5 “BX,” star-forming galaxies in the same range of redshift (Steidel et al. 2004). The remaining 98 LAEs are classified as UV-faint.[14]
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Keep in mind that the Methods section is very important. Even if readers are skimming a published article, they typically read the methods with careful attention to the details provided. Because Methods sections are often rote narratives of procedures, there are several frequently adopted words or phrases that are standard. The Academic Phrasebank website provides a list of these, which are summarized in the table below:
| Type of Language | Example |
| Infinitive of purpose (to + base form verb) | To measure X, we …
To establish X, the participants were … |
| Expressing purpose with “for” | For the questions in the interview, we adapted …
For the purpose of analysis, X was … |
| Sequence words (related to timing) | Prior to
After |
| Passive voice verbs (be + past participle) | All participants were sent …
The data were normalized using … |
| Adverbs of manner | A sample was then carefully injected into …
The mixture was then gradually heated … |
| “Using” + instruments | Data were collected using Xs …
The subjects were recruited using email … |
Overall, there is a lot of example language that you may use to incorporate as you write the Methods section. Using the goals and strategies as a guide, you can choose the words and phrases suggested to ensure that your methods are appropriately detailed and clear.
Key Takeaways
Goal #1 of writing the Methods section is related to Contextualizing the Study’s Methods. There are six possible strategies that you can use to accomplish this goal:
- Referencing previous works and/or
- Providing general information and/or
- Identifying the methodological approach and/or
- Describing the setting and/or
- Introducing the subjects/participants and/or
- Rationalizing pre-experiment decisions
Remember: You do not need to include all of these strategies — they are simply possibilities for reaching the goal of Contextualizing the Study’s Methods.
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- Morris, M. G., & Venkatesh, V. (2010). Job characteristics and job satisfaction: Understanding the role of enterprise resource planning system implementation. Mis Quarterly, 143-161. ↵
- Lin, P. C., & Yang, C. M. (2010). Impact of product pictures and brand names on memory of Chinese metaphorical advertisements. International Journal of Design, 4(1). ↵
- Armstrong, L. M., Gu, S., & Luo, K. H. (2011). Effects of limestone calcination on the gasification processes in a BFB coal gasifier. Chemical Engineering Journal, 168(2), 848-860. ↵
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