Method vs.

methodology: understanding the difference

As UX research practitioners, a portion of our work is spent explaining what our work entails
and how it can positively impact the user.

One uncertainly I see research colleagues and peers encounter is the semantic difference
between “method” and “methodology.” This is important, since using the appropriate
vocabulary to talk about your UX research practice cultivates trust. It shows you understand
the nuances of the terminology, and by extension are knowledgeable in your field.

So — at a UX meetup, or during and interview, should we say “I use several methods” or “I

use several methodologies”?

Should we say “I use several methods” or “I use several methodologies”?

Both could be correct. While “method” and “methodology” are closely intertwined, they serve
different roles in the research process and should be treated accordingly. Let’s talk about the
distinction.

The difference between “method” and “methodology”

Method

A method is simply the tool used to answer your research questions — how, in short, you will
go about collecting your data. Examples of UX research methods include:

 Contextual inquiry

 Interview

 Usability study

 Survey

 Diary study

 Card sort

If you are choosing among these, you might say “what method should I use?” and settle on
one or more methods to answer your research question.
Methodology

A methodology is the rationale for the research approach, and the lens through which the
analysis occurs. Said another way, a methodology describes the “general research strategy that
outlines the way in which research is to be undertaken” (An Introduction to the Philosophy of
Methodology, Howell 2013). The methodology should impact which method(s) for a research
endeavor are selected in order to generate the compelling data.

Examples of methodologies, courtesy of Elin Bjorling, include:

 Phenomenology: describes the “lived experience” of a particular phenomenon

 Ethnography: explores the social world or culture, shared beliefs and behaviors

 Participatory: views the participants as active researchers

 Ethnomethodology: examines how people use dialogue and body language to construct
a world view

 Grounding theory*: assumes a blank slate and uses an inductive approach to develop a
new theory

*Despite the fact that grounding theory has theory in its name, don’t let that fool you — it is
actually a methodology because it aims to generate theory from systematic application of
research.

If you wanted to know about the lived experiences purchasing food in the United States, for
instance, you would be using the phenomenology methodology— and from there you could
choose from different methods to collect that data. For instance, you might perform a
contextual inquiry and shop alongside participants; you might also interview a handful of
participants and ask them to recount their most recent grocery shopping experience; you might
equally choose to do a survey and ask the same questions to hundreds of participants. Because
the contextual inquiry gets the researcher much closer to the actual setting, the results may be
considered stronger and more transferable in the future.

Examples of when to use “method” and “methodology”

If you work in industry, it’s likely that you will mostly be talking about methods. Here are
some ways you can use “methods” in context:

 I’m trying to decide between doing a contextual inquiry, or bringing in participants

for interviews. Which method would you choose while balancing cost, research time, and
usefulness of the data?
  We want to have hard data with a large number of participants to answer this question,
so we should choose a quantitative method, such as a survey that collects data with Likert
scales.

If you are working in academia and writing research papers, you want to consider including a
description of your methodology. However, framing your approach in industry can have many
benefits as well. Here are several examples for using “methodology”:

 The phenomenological methodology was chosen for this study on the experience of
people residing in low income housing in California because the holistic lived experience
uncovered areas of opportunity for the state to implement for their next low income
housing project.

 In order to create brand new party board game, we used

the participatory methodological approach in our design research process. This allowed
us to consider the social atmosphere and take input from our participants when
developing game play and rules.

In short —

Ask yourself whether you are describing how you will collect your data (method), or if it’s the
broader strategy for your research approach (methodology). With one methodology, you can
apply several different methods to support or reject the research hypothesis. For the industry
practitioner, you typically will be talking about methods. For the academic, you may be
talking both about the framing methodology and methods used to accomplish your research
goals.

Methods and methodology

Deborah Gabriel Research Guides May 13, 2011methodology, methods, PhD thesis 96
Comments
My PhD supervisor asked me what the difference between methods and methodology was
several months ago and I did not know the answer. All I could muster in a pathetic response
was a look of bewilderment. Thankfully, I was referred to a book by Peter Clough and Cathy
Nutbrown called A Student’s Guide to Methodology, which I would recommend to all PhD
students and candidates.
My problem, as I have since discovered is that I was too busy thinking about my literature
review and undertaking all my reading under the misguided notion that methodology was
something to be looked at later on. How wrong I was!
Having read Clough and Nutbrown I now acknowledge that methods and methodology
should be right up there in terms of priority as a starting point for any PhD research project.
Understanding the difference between methods and methodology is of paramount importance.

Method is simply a research tool, a component of research – say for example, a qualitative
method such as interviews. Methodology is the justification for using a particular research
method.

So if for example, like me, you want to understand the motivations and perceptions of a
group of bloggers then you would most likely choose a qualitative, method as opposed to a
quantitative one.

But as Clough and Nutbrown explain their book, decisions such as whether to interview, how
many participants to interview and so on, “are often based on values and assumptions which
influence the study, and as such therefore need to be fully interrogated in order to clarify the
research decisions which are made.”

Having a clear idea on the methods and methodology for a PhD thesis can make the job of
reviewing literature much more straightforward as you can more precisely target studies in
your chosen topic area and critique the whole approach to similar studies, including the
methods used.

In short: “A good methodology is more a critical design attitude to be found always at work
throughout a study, rather than confined within a brief chapter called ‘Methodology.’”

Differences between research method and research methodology

Research refers to the systematic study and investigation of sources to

establish new theories and conclusions. It refers to a constant process of
evolution. While carrying out research it is also important to know the
difference between research methods and research methodology.

Research method makes use of various tools like surveys,

experimentation, data collection, etc., to establish the desired result.
Research methodology lays a procedural framework to carry out research.
Methodology puts forth a path in which research should be carried out. It
includes philosophical theories, study of tools that will be required for data
collection and the tests that are supposed to be carried out on the
collected data. It also includes the use of logic to rationalize the application
of a particular design. While carrying out any research the methodologies
are applied at the beginning of the process.

Thus methodology puts forth a procedure to be followed and helps select

methods for research. Research methods form a later part of the process
and help determine solutions.

Overall we can say research methods are a subset of research methodology.

A researcher should make sure he understands both are research methods
and methodology are distinct and must study them in detail to make the
necessary decisions.

Method or methodology, what’s the difference?

August 13, 2013 By news 4 Comments

In my fifth writer’s toolkit post I set out a plan for writing an introduction for a research
report after initially developing my abstract to both guide and focus my writing. In my next
post I’ll use the same SmartArt tool in Microsoft Word to think through the layout of my
methodology and method section. Before I do this I want to talk briefly here about the
difference between methodology and method as these two terms are often, and inaccurately,
assumed to mean the same thing.

Methods

Research methods are the tools, techniques or processes that we use in our research. These
might be, for example, surveys, interviews, Photovoice, or participant observation. Methods
and how they are used are shaped by methodology.

Methodology

Methodology is the study of how research is done, how we find out about things, and how
knowledge is gained. In other words, methodology is about the principles that guide our
research practices. Methodology therefore explains why we’re using certain methods or tools
in our research.

McGregor and Murname (2010, p. 2) write,

“The word methodology comprises two nouns: method and ology, which means a branch of
knowledge; hence, methodology is a branch of knowledge that deals with the general
principles or axioms of the generation of new knowledge. It refers to the rationale and the
philosophical assumptions that underlie any natural, social or human science study, whether
articulated or not. Simply put, methodology refers to how each of logic, reality, values and
what counts as knowledge inform research.”

For example, in her 1999 (and 2012 second edition) book titled ‘Decolonizing
Methodologies’ Linda Smith describes the colonising role of Western research
methodologies. The principles of these methodologies have often been about Indigenous
peoples being less than human and needing to be ‘civilised’. Decolonising methodologies is
about the insertion of Indigenous principles into research methodology so that research
practices can play a role in the assertion of Indigenous people’s rights and sovereignty.

The abstract from previous writer’s toolkit posts mentions terms practitioners used to
describe their journey with Māori patients. These terms were whakapiri (engage), whakamana
(enable) and mana motuhake (independence). Such terms might also be the principles that
underpin our research methodology. Other principles that inform our methodology can come
from Kaupapa Māori:

 Tino Rangatiratanga – the self-determination principle

 Taonga tuku iho – the cultural aspirations principle
 Ako – the culturally preferred pedagogy principle
 Kia piki ake i ngā raruraru o te kāinga – the socio-economic mediation principle
 Whānau – the extending family principle
 Kaupapa – the collective philosophy principle
When you’re planning to undertake research it’s important that you consider and make
explicit your methodology, including the principles that drive your selection and use of
research methods. Then when you’re writing your research report you should write about
both methodology and method so that readers will understand both the ‘why’ and the ‘way’
you did your research.

References

McGregor, S. L., & Murname, J. A. (2010). Paradigm, methodology and method: Intellectual
integrity in consumer scholarship. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 34 (4), 419-
427.

Smith, L. T. (2012). Decolonizing methodologies – Research and Indigenous peoples (2nd

Edition ed.). London & New York: Zed Books.