Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language: a handbook for Supervisors

Introduction
This chapter discusses issues to consider in writing a Methodology chapter
that are of particular relevance to the second-language speaker. Students are
often not fully aware of the purposes of this section. Second-language stu-
dents in particular may not understand the distinction between methodology
and methods where it is relevant. This may lead not only to inadequate
description of the approach and framework adopted but also to an absence of
argument and justification for the chosen approach. Students need to under-
stand that one of the key functions of this section is to enable other
researchers to replicate the study and this may account for the lengthier
Methodology components of research theses as opposed to the more terse
research article (Swales 2004). We also consider typical problems reported by
an experienced examiner of PhD theses, many of which relate to an underde-
veloped understanding of the role and function of this section of the thesis,
and suggest ways to overcome these.
The evolution of the thesis genre has also meant that the standard intro-
duction–methods–results–discussion format for reporting on research, in
which the Methods or Methodology chapter typically appeared after the
Introduction and/or literature review and was clearly identifiable as such, is
no longer mandatory, with writers having greater choice as to layout and for-
mats, more specifically in regard to qualitative research (discussed in more
detail below). In fact, qualitative research presents particular challenges for
the second-language thesis writer, some of which are considered in this chap-
ter, in particular the presentation of the role of the researcher.
Selecting examples of Methodology chapters that you consider successful
in your field to discuss with your students will be immensely valuable to
them. We provide extracts from completed PhD theses that focus on specific
organizational and language features that you may wish to draw to your stu-
dents’ attention. It is important for students to realize that simply looking at
research articles to provide guidance on how to compose a Methodology sec-
tion may not be adequate, as methods sections in contemporary scientific
Chapter 8