METHODS SECTION   This part of the research article or report is often written first, since it is usually the most concrete and specific part of the text, and thus easiest to write. Although the heading “Methods Section” rarely occurs in research articles or reports in many engineering fields, in other field such as biology, chemistry and medicine it may be a standard element of a research article. The Methods Section may also be signaled by headings such as “Study Design”, “Experimental Procedures”, “Experimental Setup”, “Materials and Procedures” or “Materials and Methods”. Regardless of the name used, this section, presents the materials, procedures and methods used in the study. We can give less general advice about the Methods Section than about any other part of a research article. More than any other part of the article, Methods Sections vary most in their structure and content. Some fields, particularly fields with few established methods, typically give prominence to this section. In these fields, the results are dependent on the use of correct methods. However, other fields—such as many engineering disciplines—focus more on the elaboration of a new “product”, which may take the form of an algorithm, a strategy, a model or a system. When the outcome is the development of a product rather than claims derived from statistical analysis of empirical data, this product rarely requires that the methods be validated since they often represent standard procedures in the field. Thus, an independent Methods Section is often unnecessary in many engineering fields. This does not mean, however, that engineers do not need to document the steps they take to reach their research conclusions: methods are then typically interspersed with the description. The Methods Section is mainly read by experts in the particular field of concerned, who are interested in the procedures used or who read the study to gain new information that they can use themselves. This means that the information given is expected to be detailed, so that experts can evaluate or even replicate the research. Generally, however, the body of the report begins with an overview in which the writer gives a preview of the information to follow. This metatext helps to guide the readers through the rest of the article or report. Individual sub-sections on separate topics usually begin with a short introduction to orient the reader to the topic. After they have been introduced, materials and procedures are then described in detail.

Finnish Virtual University / © 2005 McAnsh, Pitkänen, Miraftabi & Pennington