Shape Your Thesis: Writing Up The Method Section For Qualitative Studies
As opposed to that of quantitative research, qualitative research focuses on the factors rather than describing the numerical data. There is no single qualitative method, rather a number of research methods fall under the roof of qualitative methods. The various domains, especially social science disciplines often tend to have different conventions on the best practice in qualitative research.
No matter which domain your research belong to, the research paper will definitely consist of a method section specifying, an appropriate sample recruitment strategy, sample size, and also an analytical strategy. As per the expert thesis proposal writers, qualitative research includes non-probability sampling. The unit of research may incorporate one or a combination of events, people, samples of natural behaviour, conversations, written or visual material, and many more. This section is basically called as ‘principle of selection.’ In this section:
- The selection of these (events, people, etc) must be theoretically justified. For example, it must be made clear how the respondent was selected.
- There must be a rationale for the sources of the data. For example, participants, settings, documents etc.
- Consideration must be given to whether the sources of data (e.g people, events, organisations, documents) were unusual in some vital way.
- Limitations of the data should be discussed. For example, the reason for non-response etc.
Basically, a qualitative research paper includes: data collection and data analysis section. In the data collection section describe the methods you have used to collect data for your research paper. Such as survey method, observational or case studies approach. Include specific information pertaining to how many participants were present, the demographic information for each of the participants and how the information was verified.
Tip: According to the research consultants offering PhD thesis proposal writing service, some of the popular data collection methods are:
- Interviews – Interviews can be further divided into individual & focus groups.
- Participant observation – This process ranges from mostly observing to participating.
- Open-ended survey – This process gives an opportunity for participants to give detailed answers.
Data collection section should be followed by the data analysis section. The process of analysis should be made as crystal clear and transparent to help the readers gain clarity of the procedure you have followed. Describe the process of compilation of data, their organisation and how the conclusion was drawn.And also, how were the themes/concepts and categories generated from the data. For example, if you have organised focus group interview, mention how you have organised the interview, compiled the obtained data, and how you have organised the obtained answers.
Now that you have learnt how to write a method section in a qualitative research paper, get your sleeves folded and get going. If need any assistance with the writing process, consult a team of writers offering affordable PhD thesis proposal writing service.