Methodology is a core element of study abroad research and includes the premise, pathway, methodological choices, data structure and analyses, as well as the accurate prediction and evaluation of research results.
The research process includes important philosophical schools and their practices such as positivism, interpretivism and post-positivism.
The choice of methodology needs to be based on the type of philosophy, as well as the selection of appropriate data collection and analysis tools.
In the study abroad community, Methodology emphasises the use of methods, demonstrates the motivation for the choice of method and gives specific steps for implementation.
Study abroad literature writing in the UK places a high priority on Methodology literature, with the first task being to identify the philosophical basis of the research.
The foundations of research can be categorised as
- Positivism
- Interpretivism
- Post-positivism
Positivism confirms ideas or hypotheses through sophisticated data analysis and is applicable in the natural sciences, business economics dissertation focuses on quantitative analysis and collection of primary or secondary data.
Interpretivism is mostly used in the humanities, where qualitative analyses such as fieldwork are often used to obtain credible conclusions due to the impossibility of extensive data collection.
Post-positivism synthesises subjective experiences and objective circumstances, using both quantitative and qualitative methods.
The writing process of Methodology can be summarised in the following four key steps:
- Firstly, identify the high-level philosophical underpinnings of the research, delving into why particular philosophical underpinnings were chosen as part of the rigorous structure of the thesis;
- Secondly, setting the research pathway, clarifying the direction of the research, identifying the research scenario, explaining the reasons for the choice, and determining whether the research methodology is quantitative or qualitative;
- Developing an optimal research strategy and programme, explaining in detail data collection, selective interviews and questionnaire design to ensure the practicality of the research programme;
- Finally, concentrating on teaching techniques for collecting and analysing data and predicting possible outcomes based on data sources so that readers can accurately understand the topic of the article.
