Research Methodology for PhD Thesis/Dissertation

Research methodology is the basis of your study. You should have an intensive knowledge of all the aspects, while you are writing it. You need to execute your ideas with precision to develop it well. While many research students think about their data collection tools when they start writing about the methodology, it is also important to look at some other aspects according to Saunders.

Saunders gave the concept of a research onion, according to which several stages need to be covered while developing a strategy. One may ask questions related to the chosen philosophy of research, as well as its adopted approach, strategy, etc. When such questions are over, then the question related to data collection methods should surface.

Some important points to be noted in this concept include the following:

• The type of reality you have been investigating triggers some beliefs. The set of such beliefs is termed as the research philosophy. Its assumptions actually justify your methodology.
• Research philosophy can be categorized in three ways ontology, epistemology and axiology on the basis of your understanding. Each of the thought processes differs in the approach you adopt toward the understanding of your methodology.
• The philosophy of positivism assumes that the reality is independent of subjects, the philosophy of constructivism assumes that observations are interpreted based on subjects’ response differences.
• The deductive approach of research is regarding the deduction of hypotheses from theories, making them operational, and testing them. On the other hand, the inductive approach is regarding the building up of theories based on people’s ways of interpreting certain events.

Based on your research topic and its intrinsic qualities, the choice between primary and secondary data or between qualitative and quantitative research is made. When there are specific queries and their contexts, answers are sought through a mixed kind of methodology.

The Research methodology chapter will cover Developing a research design, it is done once the scholar is aware of the research gap, Developing a questionnaire, it’s done when objectives are made, Reliability test or Pilot Study is done by collecting some samples(30-40), Data collection is done on the basis of questionnaire developed, Data analysis is a descriptive and factor analysis or SEM.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. On what basis, methodology would be finalised?
2. How to select whether to use primary or secondary source?
3. How is the data collected?
4. What if the scholar is not satisfied by the method used by an expert?
5. If a scholar needs help from experts regarding research methodology, is this possible?

Key Features

• Non questionable approach.
• Justified research methodology.