Dr.

Marian Mamdouh
Faculty of Engineering
Electronic and communication
department
Methodology
 Methodology Section
• The methods section is the most important part of a
research paper .It provides a clear description of :
o how the research was done.
o what was done to answer the research question.
o how the results were analysed.

• It must be written with enough information so that:

o The research could be repeated by others to
evaluate whether the results are reproducible.
o The audience can judge whether the results and
conclusions are valid.
 Methodology Section
• The method starts directly below the
introduction.
• It is typically divided into three subsections:
➢ Participants
➢ Materials
➢ Procedure
 Methodology: Participants
• Information on participants includes: Example
▪ Number of participants.
Method
▪ Procedures for selecting
participants or the sampling Participants
method (random, opportunistic
20 male and 20 female
etc.). participants from
▪ Demographic information (age, Birmingham City
gender, occupation, educational University participated
in the current study. No
level). other demographic
▪ If some participants did not information was
collected.
complete the experiment, state
how many and why they did not
continue.
 Methodology: Materials
• Describe materials used and their function in enough
detail so others can replicate.
• For example: in describing word lists, include the
number of words, approximate length of words, were
they in capital or lowercase letters, etc.
• A copy of the materials can be included in an appendix
at the end of the paper; you would refer your reader
to that appendix.
(see Appendix for a complete list of the words used in
this experiment).
 Methodology: Procedure
• The procedure is like the
instructions for baking a cake or
making something from Lego.
• It describes exactly what was
done in the study and the order in
which things were done.
• Describe the instructions given to
participants.
• The procedure should be logical,
and contain sufficient information
for the reader to follow.
 Methodology Example
Methodology
Participants
Sixty university students (30 males and 30 females)
participated in this study for extra course credit in a Psychology
course at the University of Victoria....
Materials
Three word lists were created, each of which consisted of 20
words. (See Appendix for a complete list of the words used in this
experiment).
All words were written in lowercase letters. The length of each
word ranged from 5 to 8 letters...
Procedure
Participants were tested individually in the presence of the
experimenter...
 Methodology Example

Method

Participants

20 male and 20 female participants from Birmingham

City University participated in the current study.
 How to write the Materials and Methods
section
• Provide full details so that the experiments are
reproducible
• If the peer reviewer has doubts that the experiments
could be repeated, the manuscript will be rejected.
• Organize the methods under subheadings, with related
methods described together (e.g. subjects,
experimental design, Measurement of ..,etc…).
• Describe the experimental design in detail.
• Do not mix some of the Results in this section.
• Write in the past tense
 What Methods Should You Report
• Just imagine yourself reading your methods section in the future and trying to
set up the same experiments again without prior knowledge.
• You would probably need to ask questions such as:
– Where did you conduct your experiments (e.g., in what kind of room, under what
lighting or temperature conditions, if those are relevant)?
– What devices did you use? Are there specific settings to report?
– What specific software (and version of that software) did you use?
– How did you find and select your participants?
– How did you assign participants into groups?
– Did you exclude participants from the analysis? Why and how?
– Where did your reagents or antibodies come from? Can you provide a Research
Resource Identifier (RRID)?
– Did you make your stimuli yourself or did you get them from somewhere?
– Are the stimuli you used available for other researchers?
– What kind of questionnaires did you use? Have they been validated?
– How did you analyze your data? What level of significance did you use?
– Were there any technical issues and did you have to adjust protocols?
 Results
Purpose: To report the key findings and the statistical
analyses conducted.
❑ The results section is one of the most feared sections of the
report is written in the past tense.
❑ The results section should start with descriptive (summary)
statistics (e.g. Mean, median, range etc.) clearly and simply
stated.
❑ A summary table of descriptive statistics can be provided.
❑ Use graphs and graphs and axis are titled and the graph
means something to the overall report.
❑ The purpose of this section is to summarize and illustrate the
findings in an orderly and logical sequence, without
interpretation.
Methods of presenting the Results

1. Directly in the text

2. In a table
3. In a figure
• All figures and tables must be accompanied
by a textual presentation of the key findings.
• Never have a table or figure that is not
mentioned in the text.
 Tables and figures
• Tables are appropriate for large or complicated data
sets that would be difficult to explain clearly in text.
• Figures are appropriate for data sets that exhibit
trends, patterns, or relationships that are best
conveyed visually.
• Any table or figure must be sufficiently described by
its title and caption or legend, to be understandable
without reading the main text of the results section.
• Do not include both a table and a figure showing
the same information
 Result Example
Results
▪ The mean number of words was 30

25.6 and the average. 25

Average Words Recalled

▪ See Figure 1 for a summary of 20

descriptive statistics. 15

▪ These data were analyzed using 10

5
a t-test and the results were
0
statistically significant, t(30) = Young Old
Age

4.99, p = .002, suggesting that Figure 1. Average number of words recalled as a

younger participants were able function of age.

to recall more words than older

participants.
 How to write the Discussion
• It is the hardest section to write.
• Its primary purpose is to show the
relationships among observed facts.
• It should end with a short summary or
conclusion regarding the significance of the
work.
 Components of the discussion
• Try to present the principles, relationships, and
generalizations shown by the Results.
• Point out any exceptions or any lack of correlation and
define unsettled points.
• Show how your results and interpretations agree or
contrast with previously published work.
• Discuss the theoretical implications of your work, and
any possible practical applications.
• State your conclusions as clearly as possible.
• Summarize your evidence for each conclusion.