来源：华中科技大学外语学院 英语科技论文写作
主讲人：陈玉红
What is the difference?
A Method:
This refers to the tools of data collection – techniques such as interviews and questionnaires.
A Methodology:
This refers to the approach or paradigm that underpins the research. Two people may use the same methods but have a different philosophical approach, leading to very different results.
Methods and Methodologies
There are two research families: Quantitative or qualitative, Deskwork or fieldwork
Qualitative and Quantitative
Quantitative research is empirical research where the data are in the form of numbers. Qualitative research is empirical research where the data are not in the form of numbers (sociology, anthropology, etc).
Quantitative research dominates in ‘hard’ science research (math, engineering, chemistry, computing), while qualitative research is preferred in social science research. Quite often researchers nowadays use a ‘mixed method’ approach, combining both quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Qualitative or Quantitative?
A methodology presented is suitable for the fabrication of microstructured polymer fibres (mPOFs). We show that the key to good mPOF fabrication is a secondary draw oven that has a tight control over the length (15-20mm) and temperature, while maintaining fibre draw tension high enough (50-150g) to ensure an acceptable level of partial hole collapse (30%-40%)…
The piece of writing is obvious a qualitative research with all the data in brackets, which means: additional material or evidence.
Fieldwork and deskwork
Fieldwork
Fieldwork refers to the process of going out to collect research data. The researcher might be doing interviews, conducting observations, or working at an institution which they are also researching.
Deskwork
This is research work which can be done sitting at a desk. Examples:
- The collection and analysis of postal surveys;
- Certain kinds of experimental or laboratory work;
- Literature searches in the library;
- Writing
Deskwork or Fieldwork?
The paper introduces a general approach for solving engineering problems by transforming them to problems in other engineering fields. The idea of the method is first to raise the problem to an abstract mathematical level of graph representations.
This is deskwork. It is a written one, a description of information.
Alternative titles:
(1) Method and materials
(2) Research design
(3) Materials and Experiments
(4) experiments
(5) Experimental details (实验细节)
(6) Research procedure/process (研究过程/步骤)
(7) Models (模型/模式)
(8) Analysis (分析过程)
(9) Model and methodology (模型和方法)
(10) Implementation issues (实施细节)
(11) Design issues ( 设计细节)
(12) The field study (现场研究)
(13) Case study description (个案研究介绍)
(14) Experiment design (实验设计)
(15) The measurement process (测量步骤)
Research approaches
- Action Research
- Case Studies
- Experiments
- Surveys
These are the most common approaches used by those carrying out small-scale research projects. Often researchers use a combination of these approaches.
Research Techniques
These are techniques for collecting data, but there are many more:
- Document searches
- Interviews
- Observation
- Questionnaires
Look at the following text.
Decide on the following:
Was this deskwork or fieldwork?
Did it use a quantitative, qualitative or mixed method approach?
Can you name one approach and one technique used?
Exercise: Breast Cancer text
To evaluate whether environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) influences breast cancer incidence, data from a population based case control study were analysed. Respondents with available ETS information assessed by questionnaires included 1356 newly diagnosed cases and 1383 controls.
1. This is a deskwork.
2. It is a kind of quantitative research.
3. It used the case study approach and a questionnaire technique.
Information Elements Included in Method
- Overview of the experiment
- Population/Sample
- Location
- Restrictions/Limiting Conditions
- Sampling Techniques
- procedures
- Materials
- Statistical Treatment
Example: Ratio of Serum Urea to Serum Creatinine in Wild Black Bears
Our 3-year study of change in the ratio of serum urea or serum creatinine in Colorado wild bears began in the winter of 1981 and ended in the fall of 1983. The investigation was performed in the Black Mesa-Crystal Creek area in west-central Colorado. The study area has three major vegetation bands: a mountain shrub community at lower elevations , large aspen forests at elevations between 2330 and 3330m, and mixed forests of Engelmann spruce and and fir at higher elevations. A total of 76 blood samples were obtained form 27 females and 21 males. The samples were cooled , serum was separated from red blood cells, and urea and creatinine concentrations were determined. Statistical analysis of changes in blood parameters was done with Scheffe’s comparison...
Procedural Descriptions: Past Tense
1. Surveys were sent to student health services at 180 colleges.
2. The study was carried out on a marine laboratory research vessel.
3. The generators supplied about 14,000 amps when fully operational
Materials
- Laboratory equipment
- field equipment
- human or animal subjects
- natural substances
- fabricated materials
- surveys, questionnaires and tests
- mathematical models
Describing Specially Designed Materials
Overview: This step consists of one or two sentences that give a general idea of the material and the purpose for which it is intended.
Description of principle parts in logical sequence.
Functional parts: how the various features function together.
Using Active and Passive Voice in Describing Materials
The passive voice is usually used when a human agent(the experimenter) is manipulating the materials.
1.The temperature inside the chamber was increased from 0 to 20 C.
2.Four thermocouples were monitored hourly.
No Human Agent Involved: Active Voice
The active voice is usually used when no human is directly responsible for manipulating the materials___that is, when the materials operate ‘by themselves’.
1. A 200 hp generator provided power to the piezometers.
2. Control gauges monitored air pressure inside the chamber.
One Example: The Study
3.1. Overall Design of the Study
The study had three phrases, one of which is reported here. In part A, a questionnaire was used to elicit information about reported language learning strategy use, including patterns of use. In part B, selected students from the school were interviewed to explore in more detail individuals’ patterns of strategy use. Part C consisted of a classroom-based study And included a longitudinal dimension as well as teachers’ perspectives on language learning strategy use. Part B and C will be reported elsewhere.
3.2. Research Setting
The setting for the current study was a private English language school for international students in Auckland, New Zealand. Over the period of the study (one year), the population of the school averaged around 100. English courses at the school were spread over seven levels: elementary, mid-elementary, upper elementary, pre-intermediate, mid-intermediate, upper-intermediate and advanced.
3.3 Participants
Part A of the study involved 348 students, aged 14-64, from 21 different countries: Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Switzerland, Germany, Russia and Poland. There were 114 male students and 234 females. There were 172 younger students between the ages of 14 and 23, and 176 between the ages of 24-64.
3.4. Instrumentation
The main instrument in this study was designed for measuring the frequency of language learning strategy use. This measure was the 50-item version of the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) for speakers of other language learning English (Oxford, 1990). The SILL is a self-scoring paper-and-pencil questionnaire. It is used here because it has been widely used. Its Cronbach alpha reliability coefficients range from 0.89 to 0.98 in various studies.
3.5. Data collection Procedures
SILL data were collected from 348 students over a period of a year as part of normal classroom routines. An initial block of 69 questionnaires was gathered during a school-wide strategy awareness raising exercise and involved all students studying there at the time. The remaining 279 questionnaires were collected in the course of a special study skills class held during the students’ first week at the school.
3.6. Data analysis procedures
SILL data were analyzed for mean reported frequencies of use across all levels, and by elementary and advanced level students. The data was also analyzed for significant relationships (Pearson correlation), and significant differences (student’s t). A univariate regression analysis was carried out to determine the amount of variance in course level accounted for by strategies reportedly used by the most proficient groups of students at a high frequency level, that is, a mean of 3.5 or above.