Demystifying the Dissertation Structure for Level 7 Students at Sheffield Hallam University - Part 4 - Methodology Section

This article is intended to assist Level 7 Master's students at Sheffield Hallam University in successfully writing and completing their dissertations. I understand how daunting it can be when you have to refer to numerous books and documents to comprehend each section of the dissertation and then consolidate your knowledge and understanding into one cohesive piece.

To simplify your work and gather all the necessary information in one place, I have compiled these articles, which present the main sections of the dissertation structure in six different parts, focusing on each section as illustrated in the image above. Additionally, there is a bonus section at the end that discusses reflection, the final part of the dissertation.

Furthermore, the entire dissertation is expected to be around 15,000 to 20,000 words for Level 7 master's students at SHU. You can ideally allocate this word count throughout the entire dissertation structure, depending on your research project or topic of study.

I have compiled this information based on my research, insights, and understanding. If you feel I have overlooked anything, please feel free to leave a comment in the section below. I would be more than happy to learn more at any point in time (no offense).

So, come on in and read this article with a cup of tea or coffee.

Part 1 - Abstract

Click here to access Part 1

Part 2 - Introduction

Click here to access Part 2

Part 3 - Literature Review (LR)

Click here to access Part 3

Part 4 - Methodology

This should be a detailed and transparent chapter giving the reader sufficient information to understand why you chose the method you used, to assess the reliability and validity of the procedures you used, and to evaluate the trustworthiness of your findings (Saunders et. al, 2016).

See below checklist of points to include in your methodology chapter.

What is research methodology? - The How & Why chapter!

• It's about the practical steps of your research. Explains the - "How & Why did you do it?"
• Your methodology explains how you will go about answering your research question(s).
• Detail all of the research design choices you have made and explain why you made them.
• How it all fits together:

Introduction - What will you research?

LR - What exists already?

Methodology - How will you research it?

What data you will collect?

Who or where you will get the data from?

How you will collect the data?

How will you analyse the data?

Why you made those choices?

• Convenience, time, cost and resource limitations are common justifications as to why you chose that specific method.

How to structure and write up the chapter?

1. The chapter introduction
2. The research design choices - As per the below research onion: Research Philosophy; Research Approach to theory development; Methodological choice; Research Strategy; Time horizon; Sampling Strategy; Data collection method(s); Data analysis technique(s)
3. The methodological limitations
4. A brief concluding summary

References

Saunders, M., Thornhill, A., & Lewis, P. (2016).?Research methods for business students?(Seventh edition.). Pearson Education.

Cheers!