methodology section answers two main questions W r i t i n g

methodology section answers two main questions W r i t i n g

Before choosing a topic, you must consider four basic elements:

  1. Specific preferences.
  2. Complexity and difficulty of the topic.
  3. Access to information.
  4. Available time.

The following topics are recommended for this project:

Psychology

  1. The implementation of technology in psychology.
  2. The influence of the environment on personality.
  3. A new treatment for (select disease).

Communications

  • Violence or aggression in social media.
  • Using social media in times of crisis.
  • Communication problems among children sports.

Business Administration

  • Establishing consumer behavior in times of crisis.
  • Develop a marketing plan and an execution plan for (select industry, company or product).
  • Analyze the marketing strategies of a company.

Education

  • Using technology and social media in the classroom.
  • Effectiveness of co-education.
  • Benefits of virtual classrooms and how to adapt this strategy to traditional classrooms.

Biology

  • Relationship between vaccines and autism.
  • A virus spread.
  • Nonconventional medicine and its effects.

Religion

  • The power of faith.
  • Conversion.
  • Models of virtue.

You may choose a different topic but before proceeding discuss it with your professor.

Narrowing Down the Topic

Once the topic is selected, we must ensure that is not too broad, otherwise, it will be very difficult to adequately address the problem in the space and time allowed. Your research topic should be precise, original, and feasible. For instance, think about a specific person, place, time period, or event.

There are multiple strategies to limit a topic, such as: brainstorming, making a list of useful keywords, or answering the W questions (Who? What? Where? When? Why?).

For more information about choosing and narrowing down your research topic, refer to the Supplementary References section.

Defining the Project’s Objectives

When defining the project’s objectives, keep in mind the following questions:

  1. What do you want to achieve?
  2. How it will be achieved?
  3. Is it realistic?

Certainly, the purpose of the research project should be to seek answers that will allow you to expand your knowledge and to refute existing ideas. On the other hand, keep in mind that the objectives must be verifiable.

Methodology

The process used to carry out the project is the methodology. It is a description of the actions you will take to achieve the objective of the research. The methodology section answers two main questions: 1) How was the data collected or generated? 2) How was it analyzed?

In general, there are three types of methodology: 1) qualitative (participant observation, interviews, and existing data); 2) quantitative (surveys, experiments, and existing data); and 3) mixed (qualitative and quantitative techniques). When establishing the methodology, you should consider the theories learned in the General Education program.