Writing the Methods Section

The methods section of your manuscript should provide a detailed overview of how you conducted your research. It should include a clear and concise description of how the research was done, a rationalization for your specific methodology, and a discussion of how the data was analyzed.  The methods section allows the reader to critically evaluate study's overall validity and reliability based on the methodology.  The methods section is critical to establishing your credibility as a researcher so it is imperative that the reader have enough detail to fully understand your approach.  Therefore, as you begin writing the methods section, keep in mind that this section should answer the following questions:  How was the data collected and generated?  How was the data analyzed?

Following is a list of guidelines and tips for writing the methods section:

• It should always be written in past tense.
• It should provide enough detail for another researcher to replicate the experiment, but focus on brevity and being concise.
• Avoid including details that not relevant to the actual procedure or the outcomes.
• Often, there is more than one methodology that may be appropriate. The methods section should clearly articulate why you chose a particular procedure or technique.   Be sure that your methodology actually addresses the research question your are proposing.  If using a methodology that may be unfamiliar to readers, provide sufficient background and rationale.
• The methods section should discuss any problems you anticipated and the steps you took to prevent them.  It should also include any other problems that you did encounter and how you dealt with them.
• Overall, the methods sections is commonly structured chronologically as follows:
  • Describe the materials used.
  • Explain how the materials were prepared.
  • Describe the research protocol.
  • Explain how measurements were made or data was collected.
  • State the statistical tests that will be used to analyze the data.
• When a large amount of detail is necessary, it may be helpful to use subsections.
  • Examples of subsections would be:   Participants, Ethical Considerations, Preparations, Protocol or Design, Measurements and Calculations, and Data Analysis. 
  • For more information about using subsections to structure your methods sections, please use the following resource:  How to Write the Methods Section of a Research Paper.
• For additional tips on how to write the methods sections, see Tips for Writing a Methods Section.
• For samples of methods sections, please see the following examples:  Sample Methods Section

  and  APA Sample Paper.

Please review the following videos for additional information before you begin writing your methods section.