METHOD
(Reference: Robert Weissberg and Suzanne Buker)
Overview
After the introduction, the second major section of the research report, often labeled method,
describes the steps you followed in conducting your study and the materials you used at each
step. The method section is useful to readers who want to know how the methodology of your
study may have influenced your results, or who are interested in replicating or extending your
study.
The main part of the method section is a description of the procedural steps used in your study
and the materials employed at each step. However, other elements are commonly described in
this section as well.
Ordering your Information
The elements included in the method section and the order in which they are presented are not
fixed. However, the listing in the following box is conventional and provides you with a good
model.
INFORMATION ELEMENTS INCLUDED IN METHOD
Overview of the Experiment (Design)
Population/Sample
Location
Restrictions/Limiting Conditions
Sampling Technique
*Procedures
*Materials
Variables
Statistical Treatment
(*always included)
Writing the Procedural Description
The description of the steps you followed in conducting your study should be written clearly so
that a reader in your field could accurately replicate your procedure. Of course, the best way to
describe a procedure is step-by-step, or chronologically.
LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS
Choosing the Correct Verb Tense in Procedural Descriptions
The procedures you used in carrying out your study should usually be described in the simple
past tense. Sentences included under method that are not written in the past tense usually do not
refer to the procedures used in the study being reported. Instead, they may describe standard
procedures that are commonly used by others.
PROCEDURAL DESCRIPTIONS:
Past Tense
Surveys were sent to student health services at 180 colleges.
The study was carried out on a marine laboratory research vessel.
The generators supplied about 14,000 amps when fully operational.
NOTE: In a few fields of study, procedural descriptions can sometimes be
written in the simple present tense. You should check journals in your field or ask
professors in your university department to determine which convention to use.
Choosing the Appropriate Verb Voice – Active or Passive
You can use either the active or the passive voice when you describe the procedure used in your
project. Examples of both voices are given in the following box. Notice that the formation of the
passive voice requires the be auxiliary + the past participle of a verb.
PROCEDURAL STATEMENTS
ACTIVE VOICE
Agent + Main verb + Object + Complement
(active)
We applied stress to the rubber segments in
gradually increasing
increments.
PASSIVE VOICE
Subject + Main verb + Agent + Complement
(passive)
Stress was applied (by the to the rubber segments …
investigator)
Your decision whether to use the active or passive voice in procedural statements should be
made with the following considerations:
1. The passive voice is conventionally used to describe procedure to depersonalize the
information. The passive construction allows you to omit the agent (usually “I” or “we”),
placing the emphasis on the procedure and how it was done.
EXAMPLE A: For reasons related to personal safety, the test facility was constructed (by
us) in a remote area 4 miles from the main road.
EXAMPLE B: Test were conducted (by me) with four different types of reactors.
However, your professor or editor may specifically ask you not to use the passive voice
because he or she prefers a more personal style with frequent se of the pronouns “I” or “we.”
2. In addition to questions of style, your choice of the active or passive voice should place old
information near the beginning of the sentence and new information at the end. The old
information is italicized in each sentence in example C.
EXAMPLE C: The four reactors we tested in the work reported here all contained a
platinum catalyst (ACTIVE). Each reactor-catalyst configuration will be
described separately (PASSIVE). The quartz reactors were manufactured by
the Wm. A. Sales Company of Wheeling,Illinois (PASSIVE).
Using Short Passive Forms to Describe Procedure
In technical and scientific English, there is a tendency to shorten certain kinds of passive
constructions. Three such kinds of sentences are commonly used in procedural descriptions. The
first type is a compound sentence with two identical subjects and two or more verbs in the
passive. To shorten this kind of sentence, omit the subject and the be auxiliary in the second part
of the sentence.
SHORTENING COMPUND SENTENCES IN THE PASSIVE VOICE
Same Subjects
FULL FORM:
Subject1 + be + Past + CONJUNCTION + Subject2 + be + Past
participle1 participle2
The data were collected and they were analyzed.
SHORT FORM:
The data were collected and analyzed.
The second type of sentence is also compound, but in this case there are two different subjects,
each with different verbs in the passive voice. To shorten, this kind of sentence, omit the be
auxiliary before the second verb
SHORTENING COMPUND SENTENCES IN THE PASSIVE VOICE
Different Subjects
FULL FORM:
Subject1 + be + Past + CONJUNCTION + Subject2 + be + Past
participle1 participle2
The data were collected and correlations were calculated.
SHORT FORM:
The data were collected and correlations calculated.
The second type of sentence is also compound, but in this case there are two different subjects,
each with different verbs in the passive voice. To shorten, this kind of sentence, omit the be
auxiliary before the second verb
SHORTENING “WHICH” CLAUSE SENTENCES IN THE PASSIVE VOICE
FULL FORM:
Subject + CONJUNCTION + be + Past + Verb + Complement
participle1
The data which were obtained were subjected to an
analysis of
variance.
SHORT FORM:
The data obtained were subjected to an
analysis of
variance.
