Chapter III: Methodology
Guide in Writing Methodology
1. Research Design
Purpose: The research design is your study's overarching plan—it defines how you'll
conduct your research, gather data, and answer your research questions. It can be
descriptive, correlational, experimental, exploratory, etc. A proper design justifies why you
chose it and how it aligns with your research goals.
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Guide Questions:
• What type of research design (e.g., descriptive, correlational, experimental, mixed-
methods) are you using?
• Why is that design most appropriate for your research objectives?
• How does this design help you answer your research questions or test your
hypotheses?
2. Research Method
Purpose: This defines the approach of your study—qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-
methods—and the specific data collection techniques you’ll use (surveys, interviews,
experiments, observations, etc.), plus your sampling strategy.
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Guide Questions:
• Will your study use a qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods approach?
• What specific data collection techniques will you use (e.g., survey, interview,
observation)?
• Why are these techniques suitable for your research questions?
• What sampling strategy will you employ (e.g., simplicity random, purposive,
stratified)?
• Why did you choose that sampling method?
3. Respondents of the Study
Purpose: This section describes your study population: who your participants are, how
many, how they were chosen, and any inclusion or exclusion criteria.
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Guide Questions:
• Who are your respondents? Provide demographic or relevant characteristics.
• What is your sample size? Why is this number adequate for your study’s goals?
• How were the participants selected?
• What are your inclusion and exclusion criteria?
4. Research Instrument
Purpose: Outlines the tools you used to collect data—questionnaires, interview guides,
observation checklists. Include structure, format, type of items, and whether they were
adapted or newly developed.
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Guide Questions:
• What instrument(s) did you use to collect data (e.g., questionnaire, interview
guide)?
• How are they structured (sections, item types, response scales)?
• Are the instruments adapted or newly developed? If adapted, from which sources?
• Why are these instruments appropriate for collecting the data you need?
5. Validation of Research Instrument
Purpose: Explains how you ensured your instruments were valid and reliable—through
expert review, pilot testing, and measurement of consistency.
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Guide Questions:
• How did you ensure your instrument measures what it’s supposed to (validity)?
• What type(s) of validation did you perform (e.g., content validation by experts,
construct validity)?
• How did you assess reliability (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha, test–retest)?
• Did you conduct a pilot test? If yes, how many participants and what process?
6. Data Gathering Procedure
Purpose: Provides a step-by-step account of how the data was collected—from approvals
and permissions, to distribution and collection, anonymization, and storage.
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Guide Questions:
• What permissions or ethical approvals were required and how were they obtained?
• How were the instruments administered (e.g., face-to-face, online, email)?
• What was your data collection timeline (start, reminders, end)?
• How were responses received, handled, anonymized, and securely stored?
7. Statistical Treatment
Purpose: Explains how the data was analyzed; this includes statistics, software, and
rationale for each approach.
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Guide Questions:
• What statistical methods will you use (e.g., descriptive statistics, inferential tests like
regressions, t-tests, correlations)?
• Will you use qualitative analysis techniques (e.g., coding, thematic analysis)?
• What software or tools will you use for analysis (e.g., SPSS, NVivo, Excel)?
• Why are these analytical methods appropriate for your research questions?
8. (Optional) Ethical Considerations
Purpose: Highlights how you maintained ethical standards—consent, confidentiality, data
security, and mitigating biases.
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Guide Questions:
• What ethical protocols were followed (e.g., informed consent, anonymity)?
• How was participant confidentiality ensured?
• Were there any potential biases or limitations? How did you address these?
• What steps were taken to ensure ethical integrity throughout the study?
Summary Table: Guide Questions for Chapter III
Section Key Guide Questions
Research Design What design did you use? Why is it appropriate?
Research Method What methods and sampling strategy? Why?
Respondents of the Study Who are the respondents? Sample size? Selection
criteria?
Research Instrument What tool(s) did you use? Structure and origin?
Justification?
Validation of Instrument How was validity and reliability tested? Pilot test details?
Data Gathering Procedure How was data collected step-by-step? Timeline?
Permissions?
Statistical Treatment What analysis methods and tools? Why appropriate?
Ethical Considerations How were ethics, confidentiality, and bias handled?
(optional)
Example: Applying the Guide Questions
Research Design
• What design did you choose?
“I used a descriptive–correlational design to explore how social media usage
relates to academic performance.”
• Why is it appropriate?
“This design suits my goal of measuring current usage patterns and identifying
relationships between variables.”
Research Method
• What approach and technique?
“This is a quantitative study using an online survey administered via stratified
random sampling.”
• Why these techniques?
“Surveys offer quantitative data, and stratified sampling ensures representation
across grade levels.”
Respondents of the Study
• Participants details?
“The respondents are 300 Grade 11–12 students from Quezon City. Inclusion criteria
include being enrolled in the 2025 school year with internet access.”
Research Instrument
• What instrument and structure?
“A 3-part questionnaire: demographics, daily social media use (Likert scale), and
self-reported GPA. It’s adapted from validated studies.”
Validation of Instrument
• How validated and tested?
“Content validation by three subject experts; pilot tested with 20 students;
achieved Cronbach’s alpha of .89.”
Data Gathering Procedure
• Process outline?
“After school board approval, I emailed students a survey link, sent reminders on
day 5, and closed it after 2 weeks. Data were anonymized and securely stored.”
Statistical Treatment
• Methods used?
“Data analyzed using SPSS v27—computing means, frequencies, running Pearson
correlation and linear regression to assess relationships between variables.”
Ethical Considerations
• How were ethics managed?
“Informed consent was obtained; data remained anonymous; participants could
withdraw anytime; study procedures followed institutional ethical guidelines.”