WRITING FORMAT

A COMMON FORMAT IN WRITING COMPRISES OF:

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Material & Methodology
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgement
• References
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PURPOSE

The method section answers these two main questions:

1. How was the data collected or generated?

2. How was it analyzed?

In other words, it shows your reader how you obtained your results.
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But why do you need to explain how you obtained your results?

We need to know how the data was obtained because the method affects the results. For
instance, if you are investigating users' perceptions of the efficiency of public transport in
Kuala Lumpur, you will obtain different results if you use a multiple choice questionnaire
than if you conduct interviews. Knowing how the data was collected helps the reader
evaluate the validity and reliability of your results, and the conclusions you draw from
them.
Often there are different methods that we can use to investigate a research problem.
Your methodology should make clear the reasons why you chose a particular method or
procedure.

The reader wants to know that the data was collected or generated in a way that is
consistent with accepted practice in the field of study. For example, if you are using a
questionnaire, readers need to know that it offered your respondents a reasonable range
of answers to choose from (asking if the efficiency of public transport in Bangkok is "a.
excellent, b. very good or c. good" would obviously not be acceptable as it does not
allow respondents to give negative answers).
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The research methods must be appropriate to the objectives of the study. If

you perform a case study of one commuter in order to investigate users'
perceptions of the efficiency of public transport in Bangkok, your method is
obviously unsuited to your objectives.

The methodology should also discuss the problems that were anticipated
and explain the steps taken to prevent them from occurring, and the
problems that did occur and the ways their impact was minimized.

In some cases, it is useful for other researchers to adapt or replicate

your methodology, so often sufficient information is given to allow others
to use the work. This is particularly the case when a new method had
been developed, or an innovative adaptation used.
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COMMON PROBLEMS

irrelevant detail

unnecessary explanation of basic procedures

Remember that you are not writing a how-to guide for beginners. Your readers will be people
who have a level of expertise in your field and you can assume that they are familiar with basic
assessments, laboratory procedures etc, so do not explain these in detail. For example: "Total
chlorophyll content (microgram/gram vegetable tissue) was determined spectrophotometrically
by the Anderson and Boardman method (1964), as adapted by Barth et al., (1992)" (Barth et al.,
1993). Notice that the authors do not explain the Anderson and Boardman method (we can
assume it is known in their field of study) nor their own previous adaptation of it (because the
adaptation has already been recorded in the work they published in 1992). However they do
record in detail their own procedures that have not been previously recorded: "At each time
interval, three replicates/treatment were taken, ground (stem and florets) with a Kitchen-Aid
grinder Model K5-A and used for determination of reduced ascorbic acid" (Barth et al., 1993).
Notice that they specify the equipment used because it could affect the results.
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Common blindness

Most of us encounter some problems when collecting or generating our

data. Do not ignore significant problems or pretend they did not occur.
Often, recording how you overcame obstacles can form an interesting
part of the methodology, and means you can also give a rationale for
certain decisions, plus a realistic view of using the methods you chose
 Method and Research Design

This is how method fits into your thesis:

Introduction: introduction of research problem introduction of objectives

introduction of how objectives will be achieved (methodology), optional
introduction of main findings and conclusions, optional

Literature review: review of previous work relating to research problem (to

define, explain, justify) review of previous work relating to methodology (to
define, explain, justify) review of previous work relating to results
(particularly reliability, etc.)

Method (how the results were achieved): explanation of how data was
collected/generated · explanation of how data was analyzed explanation of
methodological problems and their solutions or effects
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This is how method fits into your thesis (cont’d) :

Results and discussion: presentation of results interpretation of results

discussion of results (e.g. comparison with results in previous research, effects
of methods used on the data obtained)

Conclusions: has the research problem been “solved”? to what extent

have the objectives been achieved? what has been learnt from the results?
how can this knowledge be used? what are the shortcomings of the
research, or the research methodology? etc.
 Method and Research Design
WRITING YOUR OWN METHOD SECTION

Bear in mind the purpose of the method section.

Keep notes of what you did, why you did it, and what happened. Some
researchers keep research diaries so that they have a record of the methods
they used. Make sure you develop some way of recording your work, and that
you then carefully select which material to include in your final methodology
section.
Remember who your audience will be, and be careful not to include
unnecessary details.

Avoid using "I" to write about what you did. Do not use "we" unless you really
were working with one or more other researchers. One way to avoid this
problem is to use passive voice.

Verb tenses - be consistent, and choose the correct

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Voice in the Method chapter

Verbs can be used in either in the passive voice (The biscuit was eaten by the dog OR
The biscuit was eaten) or the active voice (The dog ate the biscuit).

What does it matter? Well, using passive or active voice changes the emphasis of a
piece of writing. For example:

"The biscuit was eaten by the dog." This sentence is passive because the main focus
of the sentence is on the biscuit, but the biscuit does not do anything - instead
something is done to the biscuit (by the dog). In fact, we can even leave out the part
about who performed the action: The biscuit was eaten.

"The dog ate the biscuit." This is active because the main focus of our attention is on
the dog, and the dog is the one who does something (it eats the biscuit).
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WHY USE PASSIVE VOICE?

People reading your thesis or dissertation are going to be far less

interested in you than in your work so the emphasis should be
on what you did and not on you. Also, by not saying "I weighed
the sample" but "The sample was weighed" you make your
writing sound more objective.
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HOW DO I MAKE THE PASSIVE VOICE?

Passive voice is the verb to be followed by a past participle:

For example:
Rice is grown in Thailand.
(simple present is plus past participle grown)

The film is being shown at Future Park Mall.

(present continuous is being plus past participleshown)

The sample was weighed to find its dry weight.

(simple past was plus past participle weighed)

The samples were being dried . . .

(past continuous were being plus past participle dried)

The interviews will be conducted in groups.

(future will be plus past participle conducted)
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WRITING ABOUT WHAT THE RESEARCHERS HAVE DONE

Research writing usually avoids using "I" or "we" (although "we" is becoming more
acceptable in co-authored papers). By convention, if the passive voice is used we assume
that an action was carried out by the researcher/s, and we don't say directly who did it.

For example:

INCORRECT
The temperature inside the chamber was increased from 0 C to 20 C by the researcher.
CORRECT
The temperature inside the chamber was increased from 0 C to 20 C. (We assume the
researcher increased the temperature.)

INCORRECT
Four thermocouples were monitored hourly by the researcher.
CORRECT
Four thermocouples were monitored hourly. (We assume the researcher monitored
them.)
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WRITING ABOUT WHAT THE EQUIPMENT HAS DONE

The active voice is usually used when the equipment has performed an action (i.e.
when it is not the researcher/s who have performed the action).

For example:
A 200hp generator provided power to the piezometers.
Control gauges monitored air pressure inside the chamber.
The use of active voice indicates that the researchers were not directly involved in the
functioning of the equipment.

The passive voice can be used to describe an action involving equipment, but a "by"
clause must be included to which equipment performed the action.

For example:
Power was supplied by 14 generators with capacities ranging from 90 to 300 KW.
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Verb Tense and Method

FOR YOUR THESIS OR DISSERTATION PROPOSAL

Because you haven't yet carried out your research, you should write
about what you plan to do in the future tense (because you will do the
work at some point in the future).

For example:

A multiple choice questionnaire will be administered to the top managers

of fifty information technology companies in the country.

Use "will" to make the future tense rather than the more informal "going
to."
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FOR YOUR THESIS OR DISSERTATION

Most of your methodology section will be written in the past tense

because you are recording what you have done. Notice too that it is
usually written in the simple past (the verb tense used for events that
are now finished).

For example:

1) The sample was weighed.

2) Fish seed were added to the pool.
3) A thermometer recorded changes in external temperature
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Takii, K. and Shimano, S. et al.. In The Current Status of Fish Nutrition in

Aquaculture, Takeda, M. And Watanabe, T. (Eds.)

Materials and Methods

Formulations and proximate compositions of the experimental diets are shown in Table 1.
Brown fish meal was used to provide approximately 54% (dry matter basis) crude protein
for the control diet 1. In diets 2-4 and 5, approximately 15-46% and 31% of the fish
meal was isonitrogenously substituted with a soy protein concentrate (SPC), respectively,
diets 2-4 were supplemented with the essential amino acids (DL-menthionin, L-lysine, L-
histidine, L-valine and L-threonin) to simulate the composition of the control diet 1.
Feeding stimulants (L-alanine, L-proline and 5’-IMP) were supplemented to each diet. The
SPC used in this experiment was DANPRO-A, product of Aarhus Olie Co., Ltd, (Denmark,
supplied by Bayer Japan Co., Ltd., which contains a high level of crude protein and a low
level of trypsin inhibitors, as a result of the treatments of defatting, ethanol extraction
and toasting.
Moist pellets were prepared by thoroughly mixing the dry ingredients with oil and cold
water and then extruding the dough through a laboratory pelleting machine. Resulting
pellets, 3 or 5 mm in diameter, were stored at -20 degrees until use.
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are shown in Table 1: simple present (passive). Always use simple present to refer the
reader to a table or figure in your text.

was used to provide/was isonitrogenously substituted/were supplemented/were

prepared/were stored: simple past (passive) - this is the most commonly used tense
in a method section because it describes actions that are now finished. Passive Voice
because it sounds more objective not to use “I” (see Active and Passive).

used/was/supplied by: simple past. The product was used (an action now finished). In
this experiment (now finished) the product was DANPRO-A. The product was supplied
(also an action that is now finished).