Research methodology help
A method you can explain and defend.
Yes, we help you choose your research design, sample, tools and analysis plan, and we explain each choice so you can defend it.
In most vivas the methodology chapter gets the maximum questions. Somebody in the panel will surely ask about your convenience sampling, since the study is saying something about the whole district. They will ask why one section of your questionnaire uses a five-point scale and another section uses a seven-point scale. They will also ask why you interviewed twelve people and not twenty. Nothing wrong in asking these. The answer for each one should be written in your chapter already.
For this reason we do the methodology work early, before data collection starts. Changing the plan then takes maybe one week. Once the data is collected, the same change can eat up a year. We sit with your objectives, fix the design and the sample against them, build or adapt the instruments, and write down the reason behind each choice. Once the data comes in, data analysis is a separate work and we take it up as another step.
Who this suits
- Your synopsis is approved, but all it says is “a descriptive study”. Now you have to decide whom you will study, how many, in which place and with what instrument.
- You want to use a standard scale from a Western study with farmers, nurses or school teachers in Tamil Nadu or Kerala. You are not sure how to adapt that scale, or how to translate it.
- In the remarks your research committee wrote “sampling not justified” or “method doesn’t match objectives”. Before next review you must rework the plan.
- You are stuck between interviews and a survey, or maybe both. Before picking, you want to know how much work each one will give you later.
What you get
- A design note
One page that names your design (descriptive, correlational, experimental, case study or mixed methods) and gives the reason it suits your objectives more than the other designs.
- A sampling plan with the numbers
We write down the population, the sampling frame, the sampling method and the sample size, with the calculation shown. If you want to verify the number yourself, our sample size calculator is there for that.
- The instrument
This may be a questionnaire, an interview guide or an observation sheet, and we build it from your variables. If a standard scale is already available, we help you adapt it and we note the source. For data in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam or Kannada, we plan the translation and back-translation also.
- A pilot plan
How many people to take for the pilot and what to look for in it. It also covers the reliability test before main data collection, for example Cronbach’s alpha for each scale.
- An analysis plan matched to the objectives
A table where each objective or hypothesis is written next to the test that answers it. Why one particular test goes with one particular objective is explained in our guide on choosing a statistical test.
- Ethics papers
A participant information sheet and a consent form, written in simple language. Some studies need ethics clearance also. For those we go through the ethics committee form your institution gives, section by section, and help you fill it.
- Feedback on your methodology chapter
You write the methodology chapter and we return it in tracked changes. We check that the reason for every choice is stated in the chapter, and that it will stand when an examiner questions it.
How the work runs
Start from the objectives
Send us your objectives, the synopsis and any committee comments. We read the objectives before anything else, because the whole method gets decided by them only. If an objective is vague, we tell you and ask you to sharpen it.
Agree the design and the sample
We have a call on the design and the sampling plan. After the call you get a written note on both, and your guide can approve it or change it.
Build and pilot the instrument
We build or adapt the questionnaire or interview guide together with you. You run the pilot yourself. Then we go through the pilot results with you and correct the weak items.
Write it up
You draft the methodology chapter from the notes. Our comments come back to you as tracked changes in the same file. Mainly we are looking for places where a choice is made but no reason is written.
Ask about research methodology help
Only four fields to fill. We will call or WhatsApp you back by the next working day, and many times earlier than that. First talk with us is free, you don’t pay anything for it.
How long it takes
| Work | Typical time | Depends on |
|---|---|---|
| Design note and sampling plan | 4 to 7 working days | How clear your objectives already are |
| A questionnaire built from your variables | 1 to 2 weeks | How many variables, and whether standard scales are available |
| Adapting and translating a standard scale | 1 to 2 weeks | Which language, and how many items the scale has |
| Pilot analysis and correcting the instrument | 3 to 5 working days | Size of the pilot sample |
| Feedback on a methodology chapter | 1 to 2 weeks | Length of the chapter and how many rounds of changes |
If your study needs ethics committee approval, that moves as per the committee’s own meeting dates. Better to apply only after the instrument is final. Wait for the approval letter to come before you collect even one response.
What it costs
Some methodology work is just one doubt about sampling. Some is a full plan with a translated instrument and a pilot. After a short call we send a written quote. In that quote you will see every part of the plan separately with its dates, and also the number of change rounds we include.
The quote depends on
- The parts of the plan you need, like design, sample, instrument, pilot or the chapter
- Whether the instrument is new, adapted from another study or translated
- Whether the study is quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods
- How ready your objectives are, and what comments the committee has given
- The date by which the plan must reach your committee
Who you’d be working with
Thesis Writing Service is run by Saaira Technologies from Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu. We work with scholars by phone, WhatsApp, email and video, so you never need to travel. The figures are the company’s own.
- years of research support
- 10+
- scholars helped
- 1,500+
- subject areas
- 12+
- countries
- 25+
Questions scholars ask
Should I choose qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods?
Look at your objectives and let them decide. If your objectives are saying “to measure”, “to compare” or “to test”, mostly it is a quantitative study. “To explore”, “to understand” or “to describe how” point to a qualitative one. Suppose one objective wants figures and the other one wants to hear what people say in their own words, then mixed methods makes sense. Keep in mind you will be collecting and analysing two kinds of data in that case, and it takes time, so plan your months accordingly.
How big should my sample be?
For a survey, the number depends on the population size and on the margin of error you can accept. Which analysis you are planning will change the number too, because SEM needs many more cases than a simple t-test. For interviews, you continue till new interviews stop giving new themes, and mostly this happens somewhere between 12 and 30. Either way, write in the chapter how you arrived at the number.
Can I use a scale from another study?
Yes. Many times it is wiser than making your own. Cite the original source and check if the author wants you to take permission. Then test its reliability on your pilot sample. If you translate the scale, get a second person to do the back-translation, so the meaning doesn’t get lost.
Is convenience sampling acceptable for a PhD?
It is very common in Indian PhDs. Write why you went for it, and write its limits in plain words, and mostly the committee will pass it. Where scholars get caught is the findings chapter. Your sample is from a few colleges but the thesis is talking about all students of the state, that kind of thing. Examiner will ask about it straight away. When you write your conclusions, read each one and ask if your respondents can really back it.
Do I need ethics committee approval?
If your study involves people, patients, children or personal data, most probably yes. Many universities and hospitals have an Institutional Ethics Committee, and some journals ask for the approval number later. Before data collection, find out what your own university rule says on this.
Can you help me with my research methodology coursework paper?
We can explain the topics to you, like sampling, measurement scales, hypothesis testing or research ethics, so you understand them for the exam and the thesis. We don’t sit exams, write graded assignments in your name or take tests on anyone’s behalf.
Stuck on a chapter? Talk it through with us.
Call or WhatsApp, say where you are in your thesis, and we’ll tell you plainly what kind of help makes sense, if any.