The methodology chapter is where most UK dissertations lose marks. Not because students pick the wrong methods, but because they fail to justify their choices in the language markers reward.
Methodology vs. methods
Methods are what you did. Methodology is why you did it. The chapter is about the second. Every design choice, quantitative or qualitative, sampling strategy, data collection, analytic approach, needs explicit justification grounded in your research question and the existing literature.
Pick the right paradigm
Positivist, interpretivist, pragmatist or critical realist, your methodological paradigm shapes everything that follows. State it clearly and defend it on philosophical grounds, not just convenience.
Justify your sampling
Convenience sampling is acceptable in many UG dissertations but must be acknowledged as a limitation. Purposive, snowball, stratified or random sampling each require different justifications and produce different claims to generalisability.
Be honest about limitations
Every methodology has trade-offs. Markers reward students who acknowledge limitations explicitly, small sample size, self-report bias, geographic concentration, and explain why they chose the design anyway.
Ethics
If your work involves human participants, ethics approval is non-negotiable. Document the process: information sheet, consent form, data storage, anonymisation. Markers check for it.
