Steve Tippins Ph.D. tells dissertation students to write their methods section like a precise recipe. If you skip details about where your eggs come from, readers get confused. The same goes for vague methodology: your committee won't understand what you actually did.
Can it be replicated? Can someone else replicate it? Which is why many times I like to think of people when they're looking at Chapter 3 as a recipe. Have you explained every single step in the process? Because if you've ever used a recipe to cook something and get to the end and the list of ingredients said 4 eggs and you get to the end, you followed every step and you still have 4 eggs. Where are these eggs from? What am I supposed to do with them? And you're not told. That's incredibly confusing. You don't want your committee left holding 4 eggs. Ultimately, good strong research doesn't have to be complicated, but it does have to be precise. When you are clear about your methods and clear in your writing, your committee understands that you understand. And what that leads to is them approving and letting you move forward and graduate and change the world. Drop the word "help" in the comment below and I'll send you the link to our free dissertation help community.
