Writing the

Methodology and Results

Section
LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Identify the purpose of methodology
and results to a report.
 Identify elements in a methodology
and results
 Analyze methodology and results by
identifying their elements.
RECAP/OVERVIEW

 Reports generally include

these sections in this order:
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Literature Review
 Methodology
 Results
 Discussion
 Conclusion
Research Report
Methods
Research Report Methods
 The method section describes :
 Steps that you followed in conducting
your study and the materials you
used in each step.
 the materials and procedures.
 the elements included and the order
in which they are presented
Research Report Methods#
ELEMENTS INCLUDED IN METHODS SECTION
 Overview of the Experiment
 Population/Sample
 Location
 Restrictions/Limiting Conditions
 Sampling Technique
 Procedures*
 Materials*
 Variables
 Statistical Treatment
(* always included)
(Weissberg & S. Buker, 1990, p. 92).
Structure of Methodology Section
 First describe how the data was collected
 Details of how you collected the data
 From your own experiences and recollections
 Details of how your data source collected the
data (secondary analysis)
 From the article or report
 Second describe how you analyzed the data
 Statistical procedures used
 How those procedures test your hypothesis or
answer your research question
Details of
How You Collected Your Data
 Target Population – Type of people residing
in what geographical area
 Method of Sampling or Subject Selection
 Sampling Frame
 Sampling Method
 Random Sampling
 Systematic Sampling
 Purposive Sampling
 Snowball Sampling
 Sample Size
 Response Rate (%) = # Responding X 100
# Sampled
Details of
How You Collected Your Data
 Method of Observation
 Self-Report Survey (Quantitative)
 Mail, email, telephone, face-to-face
 Questionnaire Construction
 Include a copy in the Appendix
 Details of Data Collection Method
 Any special precautions taken to maximize
validity or minimize harm to respondents
 Any unanticipated problems with method
 How data was entered into statistical
analysis data base
Details of
How You Collected Your Data
 Structured Interviews (Qualitative)
 Telephone or face-to-face
 Number of subjects and method of
selection
 General goals of the interview
 Basic questions that were asked
 How response data was recorded
 Any unanticipated problems that
occurred as a result of the method
Details of How Your Data Source Collected
the Data (Secondary Analysis)
 Get information for methodology section of
source’s article or report
 Do not copy or duplicate article text (plagiarism)
 Cite publisher and publication information of
article
 If data are not associated with a published
article
 Attempt to contact data source and solicit any
information you can
 Describe the limitations and strengths of
your data for testing your hypothesis
Describe How You
Analyzed the Data
 Quantitative Analysis
 Describe the statistical procedures used
 Univariate
 Variable Frequencies
 Measures of Central Tendency (Mean/Median)
 Measures of Variation (Standard Deviations)
 Bivariate
 Crosstabulations
 Measures of Association (Pearson’s r, Chi2)
 T Test
 Longitudinal Time Lines
 Multivariate
 Regression, ANOVA, Second Order Crosstabs
 Describe how the procedure tests your hypothesis
Describe How You
Analyzed the Data
 Qualitative Analysis
 Describe how you organized your
response data
 Categorization of comments
 How you used spontaneous comments from
subjects to formulate new questions
 Describe how you analyze method will
answer or address your research
question
Language
Passive voice is common and so is past tense:
 Telephone interviews were conducted. The interviews
were conducted for a state agency. A split ballot
design was employed .Each quarter of the sample was
asked. Three open-end and one closed-end question
formats were investigated. Each question format was
drawn from previous research and was selected to be
illustrative of one approach to asking age. The
particular question format ... was randomly
determined prior to the interview. All interviews were
conducted from a centralized location.
Language
 The interviewer then introduced himself/herself and
stated who was conducting the study and asked for
the potential study participant’s cooperation.
 The questionnaire consisted of 20 questions, of which
the age question was number 15.
 Actual age data were available from the state agency
for 1,324 of the individuals interviewed.
 Therefore, following the completion of an interview it
was possible to compare an individual’s reported age
with his or her actual age.
 This in turn permitted inferences as to which question
format produced the most accurate age data
 as well as which format resulted in the lowest refusal
rate or nonresponse rate.
Research Report
Results
Research Report Results
 This section should include some text,
mainly to describe the tables and graphs
containing the data. Short tables can be
included directly in the text, but
extensive tables and graphs are put on
separate pages following the one on
which they are first mentioned in the
text.
Research Report Results (con’t)
 Units should be given in the heading of each
data column and not after the individual values
listed in the table. All tables and graphs should
have titles. Graphs should be neatly and
carefully drawn on graph paper or plotted with a
computer, and axes must be properly labeled
and scaled. Raw data and sample calculation are
normally placed in an appendix. A comment on
the accuracy and reproducibility of the results is
also appreciated in this section.
ELEMENTS INCLUDED IN RESULTS
SECTION #
 statement showing where the results can
be found- an overview
 statement presenting the most important
findings
 statement commenting on the results this
may include:
 generalising from the results
 explaining possible reasons for the results
 comparing the results with what was expected
or with results from other studies
Language:
Referring to a diagram, chart etc.
As can be seen ...
chart,
diagram,
from table,
It can be seen the
in graph, that ...
We can see figures,
statistics,
Table 1
Figure 2 seen
concluded
can
shown
From figures it be that ...
estimated
the chart may
calculated
diagram inferred
 TUTORIAL

EXERCISE ON METHODOLOGY

EXERCISE ON RESULTS
REFERENCE
 Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press
 Abdul Majid, N., Md Yusoff, A.A., Abdullah, T. Marzuki, S., Md
Salleh, z., Muhammad, F., Abd Hamid, S.A., Kahar, R. (2007)
Academic Report Writing: From Research to Presentation.
Selangor: Pearson Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. Pp. 40-57.
 Leonhard, B.H. (2002) Discoveries in Academic Writing.
Singapore: Heinle & Heinle. Pp. 1-10.
 Halligan, N. (2004). A short course on writing technical
reports. Technical Writing. Retrieved June 9, 2005 from
http://www.technical-writing-course.com/type-of-technical-
report.html
 Asian Institute of Technology Language Center. (2003).
Writing Up Research Guidebook. Asian Institute of
Technology. Retrieved June 9, 2005 from
http://www.clet.ait.ac.th/el21open.htm
THE END