The power of a methodology

We all have a view of things we need to do in life to be happy and achieve what we want.

This can involve for instance to study, get a degree, then get a job, then get married, have children, buy a house, etc.  

We have some sort of sequence for these things to happen, but sometimes we have to change it, or we also have to do several of these things at the same time.

The good news is that we all have a methodology set in our lives.  A methodology is a process at shows how we want to achieve certain things in life (be happy). 

The methodology is also guided by certain values that we hold as true and essential to ensure that we do good research.  So for instance we want to achieve happiness in life by being honest.  Some researchers would call this having a set of principles. I personally prefer values, because they seem to be more linked to the person (researcher).  Values should also reflect the motivation to carry out research.  

One of my favourite values in research is that of inclusion.  To me it means to ensure that I include people and their views when doing research.  It also means sharing with them the outputs of the research, or the information that I will aim to publish from working with them.  

In a methodology there are stages or phases that you propose in order to provide answers to your research questions.  These stages could be organised in a logical sequence.  So that you know what you achieve when you complete one stage before or when starting another stage.  

This is not to say that a methodology should be an algorithm.  We do not live our lives according to algorithms.  Because many things can happen.  

A methodology gives guidance about what to do but also what to do in case of...it offers a way out of potential problems.  This guidance is also about how methods or techniques (I see them as activities in      the daily life of a researcher) are to be used. 

A methodology should also show that you are going to produce good data.  There are principles to ensure this.  Trustworthiness, rigour, good quality and ways to avoid bias are used in qualitative research.  In quantitative research these criteria can be validity and reliability. A good researcher knows what type of research suits his/her project, and is able to evaluate it according to relevant criteria.  

To sum up, a good methodology is a clear description that aims to ensure that other people can trust the results of your research.   Your research design should be robust so that other people can follow it if they need to.  Your findings should reflect as much as possible what people think or say and should 

be presented in a way that they can be understood and used by others. 

The not good news for some of you is that a methodology should be unique.  This does not mean that you cannot reuse some of the activities that you or other searchers have carried out in other projects.  But it is unique in the sense that is designed to specifically answer your research questions.  So you need to show that you know about methodology design, and that you have taken the time to design one particular for your project.