Could another researcher repeat your study using only your methodology chapter? That is the test examiners apply, and it explains most of their comments: “sample size not justified”, “instrument source missing”, “analysis not linked to the questions”, “ethics approval date not stated”. The methodology chapter is not a place to show that you know what a questionnaire is; it is a precise, justified account of what you did and why that was the right way to answer your questions. This guide sets out the sections the chapter needs, how to justify each decision, how to write the analysis plan and the ethics section, and the mistakes that recur in examiner reports.
This article is part of our guide How to Write a Master’s Thesis by the Mastermind PhD team and relates to our Research Proposal support service. Sources last checked: November 2026.
What is the methodology chapter? The methodology chapter, usually chapter 3 and about 15% of the thesis, explains and justifies how the research questions were answered: the research approach and design, the population and sample, the instruments or data sources, the procedure, the data analysis, and the ethical safeguards. It is written in the past tense once the study is complete and in enough detail for the study to be replicated.
What is the difference between methodology and methods?
Methods are the techniques: an online survey, semi-structured interviews, a regression model, thematic coding. Methodology is the reasoning that connects those techniques to the research questions: why a cross-sectional survey rather than interviews, why this population, why this test. Examiners can tell within a page which one a chapter contains. A methods-only chapter lists procedures; a methodology chapter opens each section with the decision, gives the reason and then describes the procedure. The reason is usually short, often one sentence that points to the research question (“because the questions ask about associations across a large population, a survey design was chosen”), and that sentence is what separates a pass from a strong mark.
What sections does the methodology chapter contain?
Handbooks differ in headings, but the content below appears in almost every empirical thesis.
| Section | What to include | Share of a 2,250-word chapter |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | Restate the aim and questions; preview the chapter | 100 words |
| Research approach and design | Quantitative, qualitative or mixed; the specific design; justification | 300 words |
| Population and sampling | Population definition, sampling frame, method, sample size and its basis, inclusion and exclusion criteria, response rate | 400 words |
| Instruments or data sources | Source, structure, scales, adaptations, validity and reliability evidence, pilot study | 450 words |
| Procedure | What happened, in order, with dates and channels | 250 words |
| Data analysis | Technique for each question, assumption checks, software; coding procedure for qualitative data | 400 words |
| Ethics and data management | Approval, consent, anonymity, storage, withdrawal, GDPR where relevant | 200 words |
| Methodological limitations | Constraints of the chosen design, briefly | 150 words |
Qualitative theses expand the analysis and trustworthiness sections of the methodology chapter and shrink the sampling section; secondary data theses replace instruments with a description of the dataset, its provenance and its variables.
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How do you justify the approach without drowning in philosophy?
Many handbooks ask for a statement of research philosophy (positivism, interpretivism, pragmatism) and students respond with pages of textbook definitions. One paragraph is enough: name the position, say what it implies for the kind of knowledge you sought (measurable patterns across many cases, or situated meanings in a few), and connect that to your questions. The research onion in Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2019) works as a checklist of decisions, not as a structure to be written out layer by layer.
Name the design precisely. “Quantitative” is not a design; “cross-sectional correlational survey design” is. “Qualitative” is not a design; “exploratory study using semi-structured interviews analyzed thematically” is. The precise name tells the reader what the design can and cannot claim, which the discussion chapter will need.
How do you describe the population, sampling and sample size?
Define the population with its boundaries: who, where, when (“software developers with less than two years’ tenure, employed at Dutch technology companies with 20 to 250 staff, in spring 2026”). Describe the sampling frame you could actually reach and how you reached it (a professional association’s mailing list, LinkedIn groups, company HR contacts). Name the sampling method honestly; a convenience sample described as random is a serious error, while a convenience sample described as such with its implications discussed is acceptable at master’s level.
Justify the sample size. For quantitative studies, give the basis: an a priori power analysis (assumed effect size, alpha, power, resulting n), a rule of thumb for the planned analysis (cases per predictor in regression), or a sampling table for a known population. For qualitative studies, explain the logic (information power, saturation after a given number of interviews) rather than quoting a magic number. Then report what you obtained: invitations sent, responses, response rate, cases removed and why, final n.
How do you describe instruments, validity and reliability?
For each instrument: its source (original authors and year), its structure (number of items, subscales, response scale), any adaptations (shortened, translated, reworded for context) and the reason for them, and the validity and reliability evidence from the original studies. Then describe your pilot: how many respondents, what changed, and the reliability obtained (Cronbach’s alpha per scale). Translated instruments need a described translation procedure (forward and back translation, or expert review). Place the full instrument in an appendix.
For interview-based studies the equivalent is the interview guide (how it was developed, piloted and revised), the recording and transcription procedure, and the strategies used for trustworthiness: member checking, an audit trail, reflexive notes, peer debriefing. Say which ones you used and how, not which ones exist.
How do you write the data analysis plan?
Write it as a map from questions to techniques, and present the map in a table before the prose.
| Research question or hypothesis | Variables | Technique | Software |
|---|---|---|---|
| RQ1: Level of turnover intention | Turnover intention (interval) | Means, standard deviations, frequencies | SPSS 29 |
| H1: Onboarding structure is negatively associated with turnover intention | Onboarding structure, turnover intention | Pearson correlation; multiple regression controlling for tenure and company size | SPSS 29 |
| H2: Supervisor support moderates the association | Adds perceived supervisor support | Moderated regression with mean-centered predictors and interaction term | SPSS 29 with PROCESS |
Then explain the preparatory steps: data cleaning, treatment of missing data, outlier screening, the assumption checks for each test (normality, homogeneity of variance, linearity, multicollinearity) and what you planned if an assumption failed (a non-parametric alternative, a transformation, robust standard errors). For qualitative data, describe the coding procedure step by step (for thematic analysis, the six phases of Braun and Clarke, 2006), who coded, how disagreements were resolved and which software was used. The plan written in the methodology chapter is the contract the results chapter must honor.
How do you write ethics and data management?
Give facts, not assurances: the committee that approved the study and the approval date or reference number; how participants were informed and how consent was recorded; how anonymity or confidentiality was protected (no names collected, pseudonyms, aggregated reporting); where data were stored, who had access and when they will be deleted; how participants could withdraw. Studies in the EU or with EU residents should state the lawful basis for processing personal data under the GDPR and refer to the university’s data protection guidance. If an organization was involved, state what permission was obtained and confirm that it will not see individual responses. Put the consent form and information sheet in the appendices.
How do you handle limitations of the method?
The methodology chapter notes the constraints inherent in the design: a cross-sectional survey cannot establish causation, self-report measures carry social desirability bias, a convenience sample limits generalization. Keep this section short and factual; the discussion chapter weighs the effect of each constraint on the specific findings. Do not list limitations you could have fixed, such as a small sample caused by a late start, without acknowledging that they were avoidable.
Which mistakes do examiners flag most often?
- Textbook explanations of methods in general instead of what was done in this study.
- Decisions listed without reasons, or reasons that do not mention the research questions.
- Sample size with no justification, or a sampling method misnamed.
- Instruments without a source, reliability evidence or an appendix.
- An analysis plan that does not match the tests actually reported in the results chapter.
- Future tense left over from the proposal.
- Ethics described in one sentence (“ethical guidelines were followed”) with no approval, consent or storage details.
- Assumption checks never mentioned, so the reader cannot judge whether the tests were appropriate.
Tense and voice follow your handbook: the past tense is standard for a completed study, and departments differ on the first person versus the passive voice, so apply one choice consistently. If a statistician or methodologist checks the alignment between questions, design and analysis before you collect data, that review can save a semester; the design choices and their justification remain yours to make and to defend.
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Frequently asked questions
Should the methodology chapter be in the past or future tense?
Past tense, once the study is done: “data were collected”, “participants were recruited”. The future tense belongs to the proposal, and leaving it in the thesis is one of the most common examiner comments. Use the present tense only for general statements that remain true.
Can I use “I” in the methodology chapter?
It depends on your department and discipline. Qualitative and reflexive traditions often expect the first person; many quantitative programs prefer the passive voice or “the researcher”. Check recent theses from your department and your handbook, then apply one choice throughout.
How long should the methodology chapter be?
About 15% of the thesis: roughly 2,250 words in a 15,000-word dissertation and 3,000 to 3,500 in a 20,000- to 25,000-word thesis. Qualitative theses and mixed-methods designs tend toward the upper end because the analysis procedure needs more explanation.
Do I need to include the questionnaire in the chapter?
Describe it in the chapter (source, items, scales, adaptations, reliability) and place the full instrument in an appendix, with the consent form and information sheet. The same applies to interview guides, coding frameworks and ethics approval letters.
What if my final sample is smaller than planned?
Report the planned size and its basis, the achieved size, and the reasons for the shortfall. Then state the consequence: reduced statistical power, wider confidence intervals, or limited generalization. Examiners accept honest shortfalls that are analyzed; they do not accept silent ones.
Sources
- Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (5th ed.). SAGE.
- Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research Methods for Business Students (8th ed.). Pearson.
- Bryman, A. (2016). Social Research Methods (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.
- Field, A. (2018). Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics (5th ed.). SAGE.
- Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
- Appelbaum, M., Cooper, H., Kline, R. B., Mayo-Wilson, E., Nezu, A. M., & Rao, S. M. (2018). Journal article reporting standards for quantitative research in psychology: The APA Publications and Communications Board task force report. American Psychologist, 73(1), 3–25. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000191
Sources last checked: November 2026. This article is general educational guidance and does not replace your university regulations or your supervisor’s instructions. How we prepare our content.