The Method section gives the reader a thorough description of how the study was conducted. A clear and thorough description of methods allows other researchers to replicate your study and to compare the details with other studies in the literature.
If your findings differ from similar studies, details in the methods and populations studied provide possible reasons for this. Readers can only assess the soundness of your research design and measurement choices if the information is clear and complete.
1. Participants
Describe the demographics of your sample. Give the total number of participants and the breakdown for measured demographic information such as age, ethnicity, and gender.
For continuous variables such as age, give the mean and standard deviation; for categorical variables such as gender or ethnicity, give percentages or frequencies.
Explain how participants were recruited and whether they were compensated (with money or course credit) or note.
Identify any exclusion criteria.
NOTE: You may recall from 302 that means and standard deviations are presented parenthetically, and to two decimal places, like this: (M = 4.35, SD = 1.09). Statistics like M and SD are always italicized.
2. Materials
Describe what variables were manipulated or measured in the study. Include all variables in the study (not just the variables that are key to testing your correlational hypothesis).
The focus should be on the measures that you are correlating.
For manipulated variables, identify the number and nature of conditions.
Identify whether these were collected with questionnaires, observations, or another approach, give the names for any standard instruments used, and cite the sources.
Explain what the range of possible responses was and, for aggregate scales, how items were aggregated (for example, using an average or sum) and the range of possible scores.
For the key variables for your study, provide extra detail. If a scale was only 2-3 items, include the text. For longer scales, provide at least one sample item.
3. Procedure
Give a step-by-step description of everything the participants experienced when participating in your study.
Describe what participants were told, what they saw, and what they did in the order in which they occurred.
Identify the setting (laboratory, home visit, online study).
Mention the informed consent process, and how the participants’ experience was different in different conditions (for manipulated variables).
The procedure section should be described in enough detail that someone wanting to replicate your study would know how to repeat your study.
Your Instructor may give you additional special instructions on what to include in the Method section. Some Procedure sections will begin with a General Procedure.
Then explain the procedures of different components of the study separately.
Some Method sections may include an additional Design subheading for complex experiments.
