Research methodology vs. research methods
The research methodology or design is the overall strategy and rationale that you used to carry out the research. Whereas, research methods are the specific tools and processes you use to gather and understand the data you need to test your hypothesis.
To further understand research methodology, let’s explore some examples of research methodology:
a. Qualitative research methodology example: A study exploring the impact of author branding on author popularity might utilize in-depth interviews to gather personal experiences and perspectives.
b. Quantitative research methodology example: A research project investigating the effects of a book promotion technique on book sales could employ a statistical analysis of profit margins and sales before and after the implementation of the method.
c. Mixed-Methods research methodology example: A study examining the relationship between social media use and academic performance might combine both qualitative and quantitative approaches. It could include surveys to quantitatively assess the frequency of social media usage and its correlation with grades, alongside focus groups or interviews to qualitatively explore students’ perceptions and experiences regarding how social media affects their study habits and academic engagement.
These examples highlight the meaning of methodology in research and how it guides the research process, from data collection to analysis, ensuring the study’s objectives are met efficiently.
When it comes to writing your study, the methodology in research papers or a dissertation plays a pivotal role. A well-crafted methodology section of a research paper or thesis not only enhances the credibility of your research but also provides a roadmap for others to replicate or build upon your work.
Wondering how to write the research methodology section? Follow these steps to create a strong methods chapter:
At the start of a research paper , you would have provided the background of your research and stated your hypothesis or research problem. In this section, you will elaborate on your research strategy.
Begin by restating your research question and proceed to explain what type of research you opted for to test it. Depending on your research, here are some questions you can consider:
a. Did you use qualitative or quantitative data to test the hypothesis?
b. Did you perform an experiment where you collected data or are you writing a dissertation that is descriptive/theoretical without data collection?
c. Did you use primary data that you collected or analyze secondary research data or existing data as part of your study?
These questions will help you establish the rationale for your study on a broader level, which you will follow by elaborating on the specific methods you used to collect and understand your data.
Now that you have told your reader what type of research you’ve undertaken for the dissertation, it’s time to dig into specifics. State what specific methods you used and explain the conditions and variables involved. Explain what the theoretical framework behind the method was, what samples you used for testing it, and what tools and materials you used to collect the data.
Once you have explained the data collection process, explain how you analyzed and studied the data. Here, your focus is simply to explain the methods of analysis rather than the results of the study.
Here are some questions you can answer at this stage:
a. What tools or software did you use to analyze your results?
b. What parameters or variables did you consider while understanding and studying the data you’ve collected?
c. Was your analysis based on a theoretical framework?
Your mode of analysis will change depending on whether you used a quantitative or qualitative research methodology in your study. If you’re working within the hard sciences or physical sciences, you are likely to use a quantitative research methodology (relying on numbers and hard data). If you’re doing a qualitative study, in the social sciences or humanities, your analysis may rely on understanding language and socio-political contexts around your topic. This is why it’s important to establish what kind of study you’re undertaking at the onset.
Now that you have gone through your research process in detail, you’ll also have to make a case for it. Justify your choice of methodology and methods, explaining why it is the best choice for your research question. This is especially important if you have chosen an unconventional approach or you’ve simply chosen to study an existing research problem from a different perspective. Compare it with other methodologies, especially ones attempted by previous researchers, and discuss what contributions using your methodology makes.
No matter how thorough a methodology is, it doesn’t come without its hurdles. This is a natural part of scientific research that is important to document so that your peers and future researchers are aware of it. Writing in a research paper about this aspect of your research process also tells your evaluator that you have actively worked to overcome the pitfalls that came your way and you have refined the research process.
1. Remember who you are writing for. Keeping sight of the reader/evaluator will help you know what to elaborate on and what information they are already likely to have. You’re condensing months’ work of research in just a few pages, so you should omit basic definitions and information about general phenomena people already know.
2. Do not give an overly elaborate explanation of every single condition in your study.
3. Skip details and findings irrelevant to the results.
4. Cite references that back your claim and choice of methodology.
5. Consistently emphasize the relationship between your research question and the methodology you adopted to study it.
To sum it up, what is methodology in research? It’s the blueprint of your research, essential for ensuring that your study is systematic, rigorous, and credible. Whether your focus is on qualitative research methodology, quantitative research methodology, or a combination of both, understanding and clearly defining your methodology is key to the success of your research.
Once you write the research methodology and complete writing the entire research paper, the next step is to edit your paper. As experts in research paper editing and proofreading services , we’d love to help you perfect your paper!
Here are some other articles that you might find useful:
Found this article helpful?
This is very simplified and direct. Very helpful to understand the research methodology section of a dissertation
Leave a Comment: Cancel reply
Your email address will not be published.
Your organization needs a technical editor: here’s why, your guide to the best ebook readers in 2024, writing for the web: 7 expert tips for web content writing.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get carefully curated resources about writing, editing, and publishing in the comfort of your inbox.
How to Copyright Your Book?
If you’ve thought about copyrighting your book, you’re on the right path.
© 2024 All rights reserved
Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, automatically generate references for free.
Published on 25 February 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 10 October 2022.
Your research methodology discusses and explains the data collection and analysis methods you used in your research. A key part of your thesis, dissertation, or research paper, the methodology chapter explains what you did and how you did it, allowing readers to evaluate the reliability and validity of your research.
It should include:
Be assured that you'll submit flawless writing. Upload your document to correct all your mistakes.
How to write a research methodology, why is a methods section important, step 1: explain your methodological approach, step 2: describe your data collection methods, step 3: describe your analysis method, step 4: evaluate and justify the methodological choices you made, tips for writing a strong methodology chapter, frequently asked questions about methodology.
The academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts and by native English editors. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students.
Correct my document today
Your methods section is your opportunity to share how you conducted your research and why you chose the methods you chose. It’s also the place to show that your research was rigorously conducted and can be replicated .
It gives your research legitimacy and situates it within your field, and also gives your readers a place to refer to if they have any questions or critiques in other sections.
You can start by introducing your overall approach to your research. You have two options here.
What research problem or question did you investigate?
And what type of data did you need to achieve this aim?
Depending on your discipline, you can also start with a discussion of the rationale and assumptions underpinning your methodology. In other words, why did you choose these methods for your study?
Once you have introduced your reader to your methodological approach, you should share full details about your data collection methods .
In order to be considered generalisable, you should describe quantitative research methods in enough detail for another researcher to replicate your study.
Here, explain how you operationalised your concepts and measured your variables. Discuss your sampling method or inclusion/exclusion criteria, as well as any tools, procedures, and materials you used to gather your data.
Surveys Describe where, when, and how the survey was conducted.
Experiments Share full details of the tools, techniques, and procedures you used to conduct your experiment.
Existing data Explain how you gathered and selected the material (such as datasets or archival data) that you used in your analysis.
The survey consisted of 5 multiple-choice questions and 10 questions measured on a 7-point Likert scale.
The goal was to collect survey responses from 350 customers visiting the fitness apparel company’s brick-and-mortar location in Boston on 4–8 July 2022, between 11:00 and 15:00.
Here, a customer was defined as a person who had purchased a product from the company on the day they took the survey. Participants were given 5 minutes to fill in the survey anonymously. In total, 408 customers responded, but not all surveys were fully completed. Due to this, 371 survey results were included in the analysis.
In qualitative research , methods are often more flexible and subjective. For this reason, it’s crucial to robustly explain the methodology choices you made.
Be sure to discuss the criteria you used to select your data, the context in which your research was conducted, and the role you played in collecting your data (e.g., were you an active participant, or a passive observer?)
Interviews or focus groups Describe where, when, and how the interviews were conducted.
Participant observation Describe where, when, and how you conducted the observation or ethnography .
Existing data Explain how you selected case study materials for your analysis.
In order to gain better insight into possibilities for future improvement of the fitness shop’s product range, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 8 returning customers.
Here, a returning customer was defined as someone who usually bought products at least twice a week from the store.
Surveys were used to select participants. Interviews were conducted in a small office next to the cash register and lasted approximately 20 minutes each. Answers were recorded by note-taking, and seven interviews were also filmed with consent. One interviewee preferred not to be filmed.
Mixed methods research combines quantitative and qualitative approaches. If a standalone quantitative or qualitative study is insufficient to answer your research question, mixed methods may be a good fit for you.
Mixed methods are less common than standalone analyses, largely because they require a great deal of effort to pull off successfully. If you choose to pursue mixed methods, it’s especially important to robustly justify your methods here.
Next, you should indicate how you processed and analysed your data. Avoid going into too much detail: you should not start introducing or discussing any of your results at this stage.
In quantitative research , your analysis will be based on numbers. In your methods section, you can include:
In qualitative research, your analysis will be based on language, images, and observations (often involving some form of textual analysis ).
Specific methods might include:
Mixed methods combine the above two research methods, integrating both qualitative and quantitative approaches into one coherent analytical process.
Above all, your methodology section should clearly make the case for why you chose the methods you did. This is especially true if you did not take the most standard approach to your topic. In this case, discuss why other methods were not suitable for your objectives, and show how this approach contributes new knowledge or understanding.
In any case, it should be overwhelmingly clear to your reader that you set yourself up for success in terms of your methodology’s design. Show how your methods should lead to results that are valid and reliable, while leaving the analysis of the meaning, importance, and relevance of your results for your discussion section .
Remember that your aim is not just to describe your methods, but to show how and why you applied them. Again, it’s critical to demonstrate that your research was rigorously conducted and can be replicated.
The methodology section should clearly show why your methods suit your objectives and convince the reader that you chose the best possible approach to answering your problem statement and research questions .
Your methodology can be strengthened by referencing existing research in your field. This can help you to:
Consider how much information you need to give, and avoid getting too lengthy. If you are using methods that are standard for your discipline, you probably don’t need to give a lot of background or justification.
Regardless, your methodology should be a clear, well-structured text that makes an argument for your approach, not just a list of technical details and procedures.
Methodology refers to the overarching strategy and rationale of your research. Developing your methodology involves studying the research methods used in your field and the theories or principles that underpin them, in order to choose the approach that best matches your objectives.
Methods are the specific tools and procedures you use to collect and analyse data (e.g. interviews, experiments , surveys , statistical tests ).
In a dissertation or scientific paper, the methodology chapter or methods section comes after the introduction and before the results , discussion and conclusion .
Depending on the length and type of document, you might also include a literature review or theoretical framework before the methodology.
Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings.
Quantitative methods allow you to test a hypothesis by systematically collecting and analysing data, while qualitative methods allow you to explore ideas and experiences in depth.
A sample is a subset of individuals from a larger population. Sampling means selecting the group that you will actually collect data from in your research.
For example, if you are researching the opinions of students in your university, you could survey a sample of 100 students.
Statistical sampling allows you to test a hypothesis about the characteristics of a population. There are various sampling methods you can use to ensure that your sample is representative of the population as a whole.
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.
McCombes, S. (2022, October 10). What Is a Research Methodology? | Steps & Tips. Scribbr. Retrieved 21 August 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/methodology/
Other students also liked, how to write a dissertation proposal | a step-by-step guide, what is a literature review | guide, template, & examples, what is a theoretical framework | a step-by-step guide.
Last Updated: May 27, 2024 Approved
This article was co-authored by Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed. and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Alexander Ruiz is an Educational Consultant and the Educational Director of Link Educational Institute, a tutoring business based in Claremont, California that provides customizable educational plans, subject and test prep tutoring, and college application consulting. With over a decade and a half of experience in the education industry, Alexander coaches students to increase their self-awareness and emotional intelligence while achieving skills and the goal of achieving skills and higher education. He holds a BA in Psychology from Florida International University and an MA in Education from Georgia Southern University. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, several readers have written to tell us that this article was helpful to them, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 528,005 times.
The research methodology section of any academic research paper gives you the opportunity to convince your readers that your research is useful and will contribute to your field of study. An effective research methodology is grounded in your overall approach – whether qualitative or quantitative – and adequately describes the methods you used. Justify why you chose those methods over others, then explain how those methods will provide answers to your research questions. [1] X Research source
To write a research methodology, start with a section that outlines the problems or questions you'll be studying, including your hypotheses or whatever it is you're setting out to prove. Then, briefly explain why you chose to use either a qualitative or quantitative approach for your study. Next, go over when and where you conducted your research and what parameters you used to ensure you were objective. Finally, cite any sources you used to decide on the methodology for your research. To learn how to justify your choice of methods in your research methodology, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No
Prof. Dr. Ahmed Askar
Apr 18, 2020
M. Mahmood Shah Khan
Mar 17, 2020
Shimola Makondo
Jul 20, 2019
Zain Sharif Mohammed Alnadhery
Jan 7, 2019
Lundi Dukashe
Feb 17, 2020
wikiHow Tech Help Pro:
Develop the tech skills you need for work and life
Educational resources and simple solutions for your research journey
Writing a research paper is both an art and a skill, and knowing how to write the methods section of a research paper is the first crucial step in mastering scientific writing. If, like the majority of early career researchers, you believe that the methods section is the simplest to write and needs little in the way of careful consideration or thought, this article will help you understand it is not 1 .
We have all probably asked our supervisors, coworkers, or search engines “ how to write a methods section of a research paper ” at some point in our scientific careers, so you are not alone if that’s how you ended up here. Even for seasoned researchers, selecting what to include in the methods section from a wealth of experimental information can occasionally be a source of distress and perplexity.
Additionally, journal specifications, in some cases, may make it more of a requirement rather than a choice to provide a selective yet descriptive account of the experimental procedure. Hence, knowing these nuances of how to write the methods section of a research paper is critical to its success. The methods section of the research paper is not supposed to be a detailed heavy, dull section that some researchers tend to write; rather, it should be the central component of the study that justifies the validity and reliability of the research.
Are you still unsure of how the methods section of a research paper forms the basis of every investigation? Consider the last article you read but ignore the methods section and concentrate on the other parts of the paper . Now think whether you could repeat the study and be sure of the credibility of the findings despite knowing the literature review and even having the data in front of you. You have the answer!
Having established the importance of the methods section , the next question is how to write the methods section of a research paper that unifies the overall study. The purpose of the methods section , which was earlier called as Materials and Methods , is to describe how the authors went about answering the “research question” at hand. Here, the objective is to tell a coherent story that gives a detailed account of how the study was conducted, the rationale behind specific experimental procedures, the experimental setup, objects (variables) involved, the research protocol employed, tools utilized to measure, calculations and measurements, and the analysis of the collected data 2 .
In this article, we will take a deep dive into this topic and provide a detailed overview of how to write the methods section of a research paper . For the sake of clarity, we have separated the subject into various sections with corresponding subheadings.
Table of Contents
The methods section is a fundamental section of any paper since it typically discusses the ‘ what ’, ‘ how ’, ‘ which ’, and ‘ why ’ of the study, which is necessary to arrive at the final conclusions. In a research article, the introduction, which serves to set the foundation for comprehending the background and results is usually followed by the methods section, which precedes the result and discussion sections. The methods section must explicitly state what was done, how it was done, which equipment, tools and techniques were utilized, how were the measurements/calculations taken, and why specific research protocols, software, and analytical methods were employed.
The primary goal of the methods section is to provide pertinent details about the experimental approach so that the reader may put the results in perspective and, if necessary, replicate the findings 3 . This section offers readers the chance to evaluate the reliability and validity of any study. In short, it also serves as the study’s blueprint, assisting researchers who might be unsure about any other portion in establishing the study’s context and validity. The methods plays a rather crucial role in determining the fate of the article; an incomplete and unreliable methods section can frequently result in early rejections and may lead to numerous rounds of modifications during the publication process. This means that the reviewers also often use methods section to assess the reliability and validity of the research protocol and the data analysis employed to address the research topic. In other words, the purpose of the methods section is to demonstrate the research acumen and subject-matter expertise of the author(s) in their field.
Similar to the research paper, the methods section also follows a defined structure; this may be dictated by the guidelines of a specific journal or can be presented in a chronological or thematic manner based on the study type. When writing the methods section , authors should keep in mind that they are telling a story about how the research was conducted. They should only report relevant information to avoid confusing the reader and include details that would aid in connecting various aspects of the entire research activity together. It is generally advisable to present experiments in the order in which they were conducted. This facilitates the logical flow of the research and allows readers to follow the progression of the study design.
It is also essential to clearly state the rationale behind each experiment and how the findings of earlier experiments informed the design or interpretation of later experiments. This allows the readers to understand the overall purpose of the study design and the significance of each experiment within that context. However, depending on the particular research question and method, it may make sense to present information in a different order; therefore, authors must select the best structure and strategy for their individual studies.
In cases where there is a lot of information, divide the sections into subheadings to cover the pertinent details. If the journal guidelines pose restrictions on the word limit , additional important information can be supplied in the supplementary files. A simple rule of thumb for sectioning the method section is to begin by explaining the methodological approach ( what was done ), describing the data collection methods ( how it was done ), providing the analysis method ( how the data was analyzed ), and explaining the rationale for choosing the methodological strategy. This is described in detail in the upcoming sections.
Contrary to widespread assumption, the methods section of a research paper should be prepared once the study is complete to prevent missing any key parameter. Hence, please make sure that all relevant experiments are done before you start writing a methods section . The next step for authors is to look up any applicable academic style manuals or journal-specific standards to ensure that the methods section is formatted correctly. The methods section of a research paper typically constitutes materials and methods; while writing this section, authors usually arrange the information under each category.
The materials category describes the samples, materials, treatments, and instruments, while experimental design, sample preparation, data collection, and data analysis are a part of the method category. According to the nature of the study, authors should include additional subsections within the methods section, such as ethical considerations like the declaration of Helsinki (for studies involving human subjects), demographic information of the participants, and any other crucial information that can affect the output of the study. Simply put, the methods section has two major components: content and format. Here is an easy checklist for you to consider if you are struggling with how to write the methods section of a research paper .
Now that you know how to write the methods section of a research paper , let’s address another challenge researchers face while writing the methods section —what to include in the methods section . How much information is too much is not always obvious when it comes to trying to include data in the methods section of a paper. In the next section, we examine this issue and explore potential solutions.
The technical nature of the methods section occasionally makes it harder to present the information clearly and concisely while staying within the study context. Many young researchers tend to veer off subject significantly, and they frequently commit the sin of becoming bogged down in itty bitty details, making the text harder to read and impairing its overall flow. However, the best way to write the methods section is to start with crucial components of the experiments. If you have trouble deciding which elements are essential, think about leaving out those that would make it more challenging to comprehend the context or replicate the results. The top-down approach helps to ensure all relevant information is incorporated and vital information is not lost in technicalities. Next, remember to add details that are significant to assess the validity and reliability of the study. Here is a simple checklist for you to follow ( bonus tip: you can also make a checklist for your own study to avoid missing any critical information while writing the methods section ).
To address “ how to write the methods section of a research paper ”, authors should not only pay careful attention to what to include but also what not to include in the methods section of a research paper . Here is a list of do not’s when writing the methods section :
We hope that by this point, you understand how crucial it is to write a thoughtful and precise methods section and the ins and outs of how to write the methods section of a research paper . To restate, the entire purpose of the methods section is to enable others to reproduce the results or verify the research. We sincerely hope that this post has cleared up any confusion and given you a fresh perspective on the methods section .
As a parting gift, we’re leaving you with a handy checklist that will help you understand how to write the methods section of a research paper . Feel free to download this checklist and use or share this with those who you think may benefit from it.
References
Editage All Access is a subscription-based platform that unifies the best AI tools and services designed to speed up, simplify, and streamline every step of a researcher’s journey. The Editage All Access Pack is a one-of-a-kind subscription that unlocks full access to an AI writing assistant, literature recommender, journal finder, scientific illustration tool, and exclusive discounts on professional publication services from Editage.
Based on 22+ years of experience in academia, Editage All Access empowers researchers to put their best research forward and move closer to success. Explore our top AI Tools pack, AI Tools + Publication Services pack, or Build Your Own Plan. Find everything a researcher needs to succeed, all in one place – Get All Access now starting at just $14 a month !
Home » Dissertation Methodology – Structure, Example and Writing Guide
In any research, the methodology chapter is one of the key components of your dissertation. It provides a detailed description of the methods you used to conduct your research and helps readers understand how you obtained your data and how you plan to analyze it. This section is crucial for replicating the study and validating its results.
Here are the basic elements that are typically included in a dissertation methodology:
The type of methodology you choose for your dissertation will depend on the nature of your research question and the field you’re working in. Here are some of the most common types of methodologies used in dissertations:
Experimental Research
This involves creating an experiment that will test your hypothesis. You’ll need to design an experiment, manipulate variables, collect data, and analyze that data to draw conclusions. This is commonly used in fields like psychology, biology, and physics.
Survey Research
This type of research involves gathering data from a large number of participants using tools like questionnaires or surveys. It can be used to collect a large amount of data and is often used in fields like sociology, marketing, and public health.
Qualitative Research
This type of research is used to explore complex phenomena that can’t be easily quantified. Methods include interviews, focus groups, and observations. This methodology is common in fields like anthropology, sociology, and education.
Quantitative Research
Quantitative research uses numerical data to answer research questions. This can include statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques. It’s common in fields like economics, psychology, and health sciences.
Case Study Research
This type of research involves in-depth investigation of a particular case, such as an individual, group, or event. This methodology is often used in psychology, social sciences, and business.
Mixed Methods Research
This combines qualitative and quantitative research methods in a single study. It’s used to answer more complex research questions and is becoming more popular in fields like social sciences, health sciences, and education.
Action Research
This type of research involves taking action and then reflecting upon the results. This cycle of action-reflection-action continues throughout the study. It’s often used in fields like education and organizational development.
Longitudinal Research
This type of research involves studying the same group of individuals over an extended period of time. This could involve surveys, observations, or experiments. It’s common in fields like psychology, sociology, and medicine.
Ethnographic Research
This type of research involves the in-depth study of people and cultures. Researchers immerse themselves in the culture they’re studying to collect data. This is often used in fields like anthropology and social sciences.
The structure of a dissertation methodology can vary depending on your field of study, the nature of your research, and the guidelines of your institution. However, a standard structure typically includes the following elements:
Writing a dissertation methodology requires you to be clear and precise about the way you’ve carried out your research. It’s an opportunity to convince your readers of the appropriateness and reliability of your approach to your research question. Here is a basic guideline on how to write your methodology section:
1. Introduction
Start your methodology section by restating your research question(s) or objective(s). This ensures your methodology directly ties into the aim of your research.
2. Approach
Identify your overall approach: qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods. Explain why you have chosen this approach.
3. Research Design
Describe the overall design of your research. This could involve explaining the type of study (e.g., case study, ethnography, experimental research, etc.), how you’ve defined and measured your variables, and any control measures you’ve implemented.
4. Data Collection
Explain in detail how you collected your data.
5. Data Analysis
Describe how you analyzed your data.
Discuss any ethical issues related to your research. This might involve explaining how you obtained informed consent, how you’re protecting participants’ privacy, or how you’re managing any potential harms to participants.
7. Reliability and Validity
Discuss the steps you’ve taken to ensure the reliability and validity of your data.
8. Limitations
Every study has its limitations. Discuss the potential weaknesses of your chosen methods and explain any obstacles you faced in your research.
9. Conclusion
Summarize the key points of your methodology, emphasizing how it helps to address your research question or objective.
An Example of Dissertation Methodology is as follows:
Chapter 3: Methodology
This chapter details the methodology adopted in this research. The study aimed to explore the relationship between stress and productivity in the workplace. A mixed-methods research design was used to collect and analyze data.
Research Design
This study adopted a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative surveys with qualitative interviews to provide a comprehensive understanding of the research problem. The rationale for this approach is that while quantitative data can provide a broad overview of the relationships between variables, qualitative data can provide deeper insights into the nuances of these relationships.
Data Collection Methods
Quantitative Data Collection : An online self-report questionnaire was used to collect data from participants. The questionnaire consisted of two standardized scales: the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) to measure stress levels and the Individual Work Productivity Questionnaire (IWPQ) to measure productivity. The sample consisted of 200 office workers randomly selected from various companies in the city.
Qualitative Data Collection : Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants chosen from the initial sample. The interview guide included questions about participants’ experiences with stress and how they perceived its impact on their productivity.
Data Analysis Methods
Quantitative Data Analysis : Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the survey data. Pearson’s correlation was used to examine the relationship between stress and productivity.
Qualitative Data Analysis : Interviews were transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis using NVivo software. This process allowed for identifying and analyzing patterns and themes regarding the impact of stress on productivity.
Reliability and Validity
To ensure reliability and validity, standardized measures with good psychometric properties were used. In qualitative data analysis, triangulation was employed by having two researchers independently analyze the data and then compare findings.
Ethical Considerations
All participants provided informed consent prior to their involvement in the study. They were informed about the purpose of the study, their rights as participants, and the confidentiality of their responses.
Limitations
The main limitation of this study is its reliance on self-report measures, which can be subject to biases such as social desirability bias. Moreover, the sample was drawn from a single city, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.
In a dissertation or thesis, the Methodology section usually follows the Literature Review. This placement allows the Methodology to build upon the theoretical framework and existing research outlined in the Literature Review, and precedes the Results or Findings section. Here’s a basic outline of how most dissertations are structured:
In the Methodology chapter, you will discuss the research design, data collection methods, data analysis methods, and any ethical considerations pertaining to your study. This allows your readers to understand how your research was conducted and how you arrived at your results.
The dissertation methodology section plays an important role in a dissertation for several reasons. Here are some of the advantages of having a well-crafted methodology section in your dissertation:
Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer
Reference management. Clean and simple.
Why do you need a research methodology, what needs to be included, why do you need to document your research method, what are the different types of research instruments, qualitative / quantitative / mixed research methodologies, how do you choose the best research methodology for you, frequently asked questions about research methodology, related articles.
When you’re working on your first piece of academic research, there are many different things to focus on, and it can be overwhelming to stay on top of everything. This is especially true of budding or inexperienced researchers.
If you’ve never put together a research proposal before or find yourself in a position where you need to explain your research methodology decisions, there are a few things you need to be aware of.
Once you understand the ins and outs, handling academic research in the future will be less intimidating. We break down the basics below:
A research methodology encompasses the way in which you intend to carry out your research. This includes how you plan to tackle things like collection methods, statistical analysis, participant observations, and more.
You can think of your research methodology as being a formula. One part will be how you plan on putting your research into practice, and another will be why you feel this is the best way to approach it. Your research methodology is ultimately a methodological and systematic plan to resolve your research problem.
In short, you are explaining how you will take your idea and turn it into a study, which in turn will produce valid and reliable results that are in accordance with the aims and objectives of your research. This is true whether your paper plans to make use of qualitative methods or quantitative methods.
The purpose of a research methodology is to explain the reasoning behind your approach to your research - you'll need to support your collection methods, methods of analysis, and other key points of your work.
Think of it like writing a plan or an outline for you what you intend to do.
When carrying out research, it can be easy to go off-track or depart from your standard methodology.
Tip: Having a methodology keeps you accountable and on track with your original aims and objectives, and gives you a suitable and sound plan to keep your project manageable, smooth, and effective.
With all that said, how do you write out your standard approach to a research methodology?
As a general plan, your methodology should include the following information:
In any dissertation, thesis, or academic journal, you will always find a chapter dedicated to explaining the research methodology of the person who carried out the study, also referred to as the methodology section of the work.
A good research methodology will explain what you are going to do and why, while a poor methodology will lead to a messy or disorganized approach.
You should also be able to justify in this section your reasoning for why you intend to carry out your research in a particular way, especially if it might be a particularly unique method.
Having a sound methodology in place can also help you with the following:
A research instrument is a tool you will use to help you collect, measure and analyze the data you use as part of your research.
The choice of research instrument will usually be yours to make as the researcher and will be whichever best suits your methodology.
There are many different research instruments you can use in collecting data for your research.
Generally, they can be grouped as follows:
These are the most common ways of carrying out research, but it is really dependent on your needs as a researcher and what approach you think is best to take.
It is also possible to combine a number of research instruments if this is necessary and appropriate in answering your research problem.
There are three different types of methodologies, and they are distinguished by whether they focus on words, numbers, or both.
Data type | What is it? | Methodology |
---|---|---|
Quantitative | This methodology focuses more on measuring and testing numerical data. What is the aim of quantitative research? | Surveys, tests, existing databases. |
Qualitative | Qualitative research is a process of collecting and analyzing both words and textual data. | Observations, interviews, focus groups. |
Mixed-method | A mixed-method approach combines both of the above approaches. | Where you can use a mixed method of research, this can produce some incredibly interesting results. This is due to testing in a way that provides data that is both proven to be exact while also being exploratory at the same time. |
➡️ Want to learn more about the differences between qualitative and quantitative research, and how to use both methods? Check out our guide for that!
If you've done your due diligence, you'll have an idea of which methodology approach is best suited to your research.
It’s likely that you will have carried out considerable reading and homework before you reach this point and you may have taken inspiration from other similar studies that have yielded good results.
Still, it is important to consider different options before setting your research in stone. Exploring different options available will help you to explain why the choice you ultimately make is preferable to other methods.
If proving your research problem requires you to gather large volumes of numerical data to test hypotheses, a quantitative research method is likely to provide you with the most usable results.
If instead you’re looking to try and learn more about people, and their perception of events, your methodology is more exploratory in nature and would therefore probably be better served using a qualitative research methodology.
It helps to always bring things back to the question: what do I want to achieve with my research?
Once you have conducted your research, you need to analyze it. Here are some helpful guides for qualitative data analysis:
➡️ How to do a content analysis
➡️ How to do a thematic analysis
➡️ How to do a rhetorical analysis
Research methodology refers to the techniques used to find and analyze information for a study, ensuring that the results are valid, reliable and that they address the research objective.
Data can typically be organized into four different categories or methods: observational, experimental, simulation, and derived.
Writing a methodology section is a process of introducing your methods and instruments, discussing your analysis, providing more background information, addressing your research limitations, and more.
Your research methodology section will need a clear research question and proposed research approach. You'll need to add a background, introduce your research question, write your methodology and add the works you cited during your data collecting phase.
The research methodology section of your study will indicate how valid your findings are and how well-informed your paper is. It also assists future researchers planning to use the same methodology, who want to cite your study or replicate it.
Research methodology 1,2 is a structured and scientific approach used to collect, analyze, and interpret quantitative or qualitative data to answer research questions or test hypotheses. A research methodology is like a plan for carrying out research and helps keep researchers on track by limiting the scope of the research. Several aspects must be considered before selecting an appropriate research methodology, such as research limitations and ethical concerns that may affect your research.
The research methodology section in a scientific paper describes the different methodological choices made, such as the data collection and analysis methods, and why these choices were selected. The reasons should explain why the methods chosen are the most appropriate to answer the research question. A good research methodology also helps ensure the reliability and validity of the research findings. There are three types of research methodology—quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method, which can be chosen based on the research objectives.
A research methodology describes the techniques and procedures used to identify and analyze information regarding a specific research topic. It is a process by which researchers design their study so that they can achieve their objectives using the selected research instruments. It includes all the important aspects of research, including research design, data collection methods, data analysis methods, and the overall framework within which the research is conducted. While these points can help you understand what is research methodology, you also need to know why it is important to pick the right methodology.
Having a good research methodology in place has the following advantages: 3
Types of research methodology.
There are three types of research methodology based on the type of research and the data required. 1
Sampling 4 is an important part of a research methodology and involves selecting a representative sample of the population to conduct the study, making statistical inferences about them, and estimating the characteristics of the whole population based on these inferences. There are two types of sampling designs in research methodology—probability and nonprobability.
In this type of sampling design, a sample is chosen from a larger population using some form of random selection, that is, every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected. The different types of probability sampling are:
During research, data are collected using various methods depending on the research methodology being followed and the research methods being undertaken. Both qualitative and quantitative research have different data collection methods, as listed below.
Qualitative research 5
Quantitative research 6
What are data analysis methods.
The data collected using the various methods for qualitative and quantitative research need to be analyzed to generate meaningful conclusions. These data analysis methods 7 also differ between quantitative and qualitative research.
Quantitative research involves a deductive method for data analysis where hypotheses are developed at the beginning of the research and precise measurement is required. The methods include statistical analysis applications to analyze numerical data and are grouped into two categories—descriptive and inferential.
Descriptive analysis is used to describe the basic features of different types of data to present it in a way that ensures the patterns become meaningful. The different types of descriptive analysis methods are:
Inferential analysis is used to make predictions about a larger population based on the analysis of the data collected from a smaller population. This analysis is used to study the relationships between different variables. Some commonly used inferential data analysis methods are:
Qualitative research involves an inductive method for data analysis where hypotheses are developed after data collection. The methods include:
Here are some important factors to consider when choosing a research methodology: 8
How to write a research methodology .
A research methodology should include the following components: 3,9
The methods section is a critical part of the research papers, allowing researchers to use this to understand your findings and replicate your work when pursuing their own research. However, it is usually also the most difficult section to write. This is where Paperpal can help you overcome the writer’s block and create the first draft in minutes with Paperpal Copilot, its secure generative AI feature suite.
With Paperpal you can get research advice, write and refine your work, rephrase and verify the writing, and ensure submission readiness, all in one place. Here’s how you can use Paperpal to develop the first draft of your methods section.
You can repeat this process to develop each section of your research manuscript, including the title, abstract and keywords. Ready to write your research papers faster, better, and without the stress? Sign up for Paperpal and start writing today!
Q1. What are the key components of research methodology?
A1. A good research methodology has the following key components:
Q2. Why is ethical consideration important in research methodology?
A2. Ethical consideration is important in research methodology to ensure the readers of the reliability and validity of the study. Researchers must clearly mention the ethical norms and standards followed during the conduct of the research and also mention if the research has been cleared by any institutional board. The following 10 points are the important principles related to ethical considerations: 10
Q3. What is the difference between methodology and method?
A3. Research methodology is different from a research method, although both terms are often confused. Research methods are the tools used to gather data, while the research methodology provides a framework for how research is planned, conducted, and analyzed. The latter guides researchers in making decisions about the most appropriate methods for their research. Research methods refer to the specific techniques, procedures, and tools used by researchers to collect, analyze, and interpret data, for instance surveys, questionnaires, interviews, etc.
Research methodology is, thus, an integral part of a research study. It helps ensure that you stay on track to meet your research objectives and answer your research questions using the most appropriate data collection and analysis tools based on your research design.
Paperpal is a comprehensive AI writing toolkit that helps students and researchers achieve 2x the writing in half the time. It leverages 21+ years of STM experience and insights from millions of research articles to provide in-depth academic writing, language editing, and submission readiness support to help you write better, faster.
Get accurate academic translations, rewriting support, grammar checks, vocabulary suggestions, and generative AI assistance that delivers human precision at machine speed. Try for free or upgrade to Paperpal Prime starting at US$19 a month to access premium features, including consistency, plagiarism, and 30+ submission readiness checks to help you succeed.
Experience the future of academic writing – Sign up to Paperpal and start writing for free!
Climatic vs. climactic: difference and examples, you may also like, dissertation printing and binding | types & comparison , what is a dissertation preface definition and examples , how to write a research proposal: (with examples..., how to write your research paper in apa..., how to choose a dissertation topic, how to write a phd research proposal, how to write an academic paragraph (step-by-step guide), maintaining academic integrity with paperpal’s generative ai writing..., research funding basics: what should a grant proposal..., how to write an abstract in research papers....
Writing a scientific paper.
"methods checklist" from: how to write a good scientific paper. chris a. mack. spie. 2018..
The purpose is to provide enough detail that a competent worker could repeat the experiment. Many of your readers will skip this section because they already know from the Introduction the general methods you used. However careful writing of this section is important because for your results to be of scientific merit they must be reproducible. Otherwise your paper does not represent good science.
Off-campus? Please use the Software VPN and choose the group UCIFull to access licensed content. For more information, please Click here
Software VPN is not available for guests, so they may not have access to some content when connecting from off-campus.
Tips and Examples of an APA Methods Section
Verywell / Brianna Gilmartin
The methods section of an APA format psychology paper provides the methods and procedures used in a research study or experiment . This part of an APA paper is critical because it allows other researchers to see exactly how you conducted your research.
Method refers to the procedure that was used in a research study. It included a precise description of how the experiments were performed and why particular procedures were selected. While the APA technically refers to this section as the 'method section,' it is also often known as a 'methods section.'
The methods section ensures the experiment's reproducibility and the assessment of alternative methods that might produce different results. It also allows researchers to replicate the experiment and judge the study's validity.
This article discusses how to write a methods section for a psychology paper, including important elements to include and tips that can help.
So what exactly do you need to include when writing your method section? You should provide detailed information on the following:
The method section should provide enough information to allow other researchers to replicate your experiment or study.
The method section should utilize subheadings to divide up different subsections. These subsections typically include participants, materials, design, and procedure.
In this part of the method section, you should describe the participants in your experiment, including who they were (and any unique features that set them apart from the general population), how many there were, and how they were selected. If you utilized random selection to choose your participants, it should be noted here.
For example: "We randomly selected 100 children from elementary schools near the University of Arizona."
At the very minimum, this part of your method section must convey:
Information about participants helps other researchers understand how your study was performed, how generalizable the result might be, and allows other researchers to replicate the experiment with other populations to see if they might obtain the same results.
In this part of the method section, you should describe the materials, measures, equipment, or stimuli used in the experiment. This may include:
For example: "Two stories from Sullivan et al.'s (1994) second-order false belief attribution tasks were used to assess children's understanding of second-order beliefs."
For standard equipment such as computers, televisions, and videos, you can simply name the device and not provide further explanation.
Specialized equipment should be given greater detail, especially if it is complex or created for a niche purpose. In some instances, such as if you created a special material or apparatus for your study, you might need to include an illustration of the item in the appendix of your paper.
In this part of your method section, describe the type of design used in the experiment. Specify the variables as well as the levels of these variables. Identify:
Also, explain whether your experiment uses a within-groups or between-groups design.
For example: "The experiment used a 3x2 between-subjects design. The independent variables were age and understanding of second-order beliefs."
The next part of your method section should detail the procedures used in your experiment. Your procedures should explain:
For example: "An examiner interviewed children individually at their school in one session that lasted 20 minutes on average. The examiner explained to each child that he or she would be told two short stories and that some questions would be asked after each story. All sessions were videotaped so the data could later be coded."
Keep this subsection concise yet detailed. Explain what you did and how you did it, but do not overwhelm your readers with too much information.
In addition to following the basic structure of an APA method section, there are also certain things you should remember when writing this section of your paper. Consider the following tips when writing this section:
After writing a draft of your method section, be sure to get a second opinion. You can often become too close to your work to see errors or lack of clarity. Take a rough draft of your method section to your university's writing lab for additional assistance.
The method section is one of the most important components of your APA format paper. The goal of your paper should be to clearly detail what you did in your experiment. Provide enough detail that another researcher could replicate your study if they wanted.
Finally, if you are writing your paper for a class or for a specific publication, be sure to keep in mind any specific instructions provided by your instructor or by the journal editor. Your instructor may have certain requirements that you need to follow while writing your method section.
While the subsections can vary, the three components that should be included are sections on the participants, the materials, and the procedures.
To write your methods section in APA format, describe your participants, materials, study design, and procedures. Keep this section succinct, and always write in the past tense. The main heading of this section should be labeled "Method" and it should be centered, bolded, and capitalized. Each subheading within this section should be bolded, left-aligned and in title case.
The purpose of the methods section is to describe what you did in your experiment. It should be brief, but include enough detail that someone could replicate your experiment based on this information. Your methods section should detail what you did to answer your research question. Describe how the study was conducted, the study design that was used and why it was chosen, and how you collected the data and analyzed the results.
Erdemir F. How to write a materials and methods section of a scientific article ? Turk J Urol . 2013;39(Suppl 1):10-5. doi:10.5152/tud.2013.047
Kallet RH. How to write the methods section of a research paper . Respir Care . 2004;49(10):1229-32. PMID: 15447808.
American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Washington DC: The American Psychological Association; 2019.
American Psychological Association. APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards . Published 2020.
By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."
The methods section of a research paper provides the information by which a study’s validity is judged. The method section answers two main questions: 1) How was the data collected or generated? 2) How was it analyzed? The writing should be direct and precise and written in the past tense.
You must explain how you obtained and analyzed your results for the following reasons:
Bem, Daryl J. Writing the Empirical Journal Article . Psychology Writing Center. University of Washington; Lunenburg, Frederick C. Writing a Successful Thesis or Dissertation: Tips and Strategies for Students in the Social and Behavioral Sciences . Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2008.
I. Groups of Research Methods
There are two main groups of research methods in the social sciences:
II. Content
An effectively written methodology section should:
NOTE : Once you have written all of the elements of the methods section, subsequent revisions should focus on how to present those elements as clearly and as logically as possibly. The description of how you prepared to study the research problem, how you gathered the data, and the protocol for analyzing the data should be organized chronologically. For clarity, when a large amount of detail must be presented, information should be presented in sub-sections according to topic.
III. Problems to Avoid
Irrelevant Detail The methodology section of your paper should be thorough but to the point. Don’t provide any background information that doesn’t directly help the reader to understand why a particular method was chosen, how the data was gathered or obtained, and how it was analyzed. Unnecessary Explanation of Basic Procedures Remember that you are not writing a how-to guide about a particular method. You should make the assumption that readers possess a basic understanding of how to investigate the research problem on their own and, therefore, you do not have to go into great detail about specific methodological procedures. The focus should be on how you applied a method , not on the mechanics of doing a method. NOTE: An exception to this rule is if you select an unconventional approach to doing the method; if this is the case, be sure to explain why this approach was chosen and how it enhances the overall research process. Problem Blindness It is almost a given that you will encounter problems when collecting or generating your data. Do not ignore these problems or pretend they did not occur. Often, documenting how you overcame obstacles can form an interesting part of the methodology. It demonstrates to the reader that you can provide a cogent rationale for the decisions you made to minimize the impact of any problems that arose. Literature Review Just as the literature review section of your paper provides an overview of sources you have examined while researching a particular topic, the methodology section should cite any sources that informed your choice and application of a particular method [i.e., the choice of a survey should include any citations to the works you used to help construct the survey].
It’s More than Sources of Information! A description of a research study's method should not be confused with a description of the sources of information. Such a list of sources is useful in itself, especially if it is accompanied by an explanation about the selection and use of the sources. The description of the project's methodology complements a list of sources in that it sets forth the organization and interpretation of information emanating from those sources.
Azevedo, L.F. et al. How to Write a Scientific Paper: Writing the Methods Section. Revista Portuguesa de Pneumologia 17 (2011): 232-238; Butin, Dan W. The Education Dissertation A Guide for Practitioner Scholars . Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2010; Carter, Susan. Structuring Your Research Thesis . New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012; Lunenburg, Frederick C. Writing a Successful Thesis or Dissertation: Tips and Strategies for Students in the Social and Behavioral Sciences . Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2008. Methods Section . The Writer’s Handbook. Writing Center. University of Wisconsin, Madison; Writing the Experimental Report: Methods, Results, and Discussion . The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Methods and Materials . The Structure, Format, Content, and Style of a Journal-Style Scientific Paper. Department of Biology. Bates College.
Statistical Designs and Tests? Do Not Fear Them!
Don't avoid using a quantitative approach to analyzing your research problem just because you fear the idea of applying statistical designs and tests. A qualitative approach, such as conducting interviews or content analysis of archival texts, can yield exciting new insights about a research problem, but it should not be undertaken simply because you have a disdain for running a simple regression. A well designed quantitative research study can often be accomplished in very clear and direct ways, whereas, a similar study of a qualitative nature usually requires considerable time to analyze large volumes of data and a tremendous burden to create new paths for analysis where previously no path associated with your research problem had existed.
Knowing the Relationship Between Theories and Methods
There can be multiple meaning associated with the term "theories" and the term "methods" in social sciences research. A helpful way to delineate between them is to understand "theories" as representing different ways of characterizing the social world when you research it and "methods" as representing different ways of generating and analyzing data about that social world. Framed in this way, all empirical social sciences research involves theories and methods, whether they are stated explicitly or not. However, while theories and methods are often related, it is important that, as a researcher, you deliberately separate them in order to avoid your theories playing a disproportionate role in shaping what outcomes your chosen methods produce.
Introspectively engage in an ongoing dialectic between theories and methods to help enable you to use the outcomes from your methods to interrogate and develop new theories, or ways of framing conceptually the research problem. This is how scholarship grows and branches out into new intellectual territory.
Reynolds, R. Larry. Ways of Knowing. Alternative Microeconomics. Part 1, Chapter 3. Boise State University; The Theory-Method Relationship . S-Cool Revision. United Kingdom.
FIND US ON
Table of Contents
Choosing an optimal research methodology is crucial for the success of any research project. The methodology you select will determine the type of data you collect, how you collect it, and how you analyse it. Understanding the different types of research methods available along with their strengths and weaknesses, is thus imperative to make an informed decision.
There are several research methods available depending on the type of study you are conducting, i.e., whether it is laboratory-based, clinical, epidemiological, or survey based . Some common methodologies include qualitative research, quantitative research, experimental research, survey-based research, and action research. Each method can be opted for and modified, depending on the type of research hypotheses and objectives.
When deciding on a research methodology, one of the key factors to consider is whether your research will be qualitative or quantitative. Qualitative research is used to understand people’s experiences, concepts, thoughts, or behaviours . Quantitative research, on the contrary, deals with numbers, graphs, and charts, and is used to test or confirm hypotheses, assumptions, and theories.
Qualitative research is often used to examine issues that are not well understood, and to gather additional insights on these topics. Qualitative research methods include open-ended survey questions, observations of behaviours described through words, and reviews of literature that has explored similar theories and ideas. These methods are used to understand how language is used in real-world situations, identify common themes or overarching ideas, and describe and interpret various texts. Data analysis for qualitative research typically includes discourse analysis, thematic analysis, and textual analysis.
The goal of quantitative research is to test hypotheses, confirm assumptions and theories, and determine cause-and-effect relationships. Quantitative research methods include experiments, close-ended survey questions, and countable and numbered observations. Data analysis for quantitative research relies heavily on statistical methods.
The methods used for data analysis also differ for qualitative and quantitative research. As mentioned earlier, quantitative data is generally analysed using statistical methods and does not leave much room for speculation. It is more structured and follows a predetermined plan. In quantitative research, the researcher starts with a hypothesis and uses statistical methods to test it. Contrarily, methods used for qualitative data analysis can identify patterns and themes within the data, rather than provide statistical measures of the data. It is an iterative process, where the researcher goes back and forth trying to gauge the larger implications of the data through different perspectives and revising the analysis if required.
The choice between qualitative and quantitative research will depend on the gap that the research project aims to address, and specific objectives of the study. If the goal is to establish facts about a subject or topic, quantitative research is an appropriate choice. However, if the goal is to understand people’s experiences or perspectives, qualitative research may be more suitable.
In conclusion, an understanding of the different research methods available, their applicability, advantages, and disadvantages is essential for making an informed decision on the best methodology for your project. If you need any additional guidance on which research methodology to opt for, you can head over to Elsevier Author Services (EAS). EAS experts will guide you throughout the process and help you choose the perfect methodology for your research goals.
You may also like.
Input your search keywords and press Enter.
A title page is required for all APA Style papers. There are both student and professional versions of the title page. Students should use the student version of the title page unless their instructor or institution has requested they use the professional version. APA provides a student title page guide (PDF, 199KB) to assist students in creating their title pages.
The student title page includes the paper title, author names (the byline), author affiliation, course number and name for which the paper is being submitted, instructor name, assignment due date, and page number, as shown in this example.
Title page setup is covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 2.3 and the Concise Guide Section 1.6
Student papers do not include a running head unless requested by the instructor or institution.
Follow the guidelines described next to format each element of the student title page.
|
|
|
---|---|---|
Paper title | Place the title three to four lines down from the top of the title page. Center it and type it in bold font. Capitalize of the title. Place the main title and any subtitle on separate double-spaced lines if desired. There is no maximum length for titles; however, keep titles focused and include key terms. |
|
Author names | Place one double-spaced blank line between the paper title and the author names. Center author names on their own line. If there are two authors, use the word “and” between authors; if there are three or more authors, place a comma between author names and use the word “and” before the final author name. | Cecily J. Sinclair and Adam Gonzaga |
Author affiliation | For a student paper, the affiliation is the institution where the student attends school. Include both the name of any department and the name of the college, university, or other institution, separated by a comma. Center the affiliation on the next double-spaced line after the author name(s). | Department of Psychology, University of Georgia |
Course number and name | Provide the course number as shown on instructional materials, followed by a colon and the course name. Center the course number and name on the next double-spaced line after the author affiliation. | PSY 201: Introduction to Psychology |
Instructor name | Provide the name of the instructor for the course using the format shown on instructional materials. Center the instructor name on the next double-spaced line after the course number and name. | Dr. Rowan J. Estes |
Assignment due date | Provide the due date for the assignment. Center the due date on the next double-spaced line after the instructor name. Use the date format commonly used in your country. | October 18, 2020 |
| Use the page number 1 on the title page. Use the automatic page-numbering function of your word processing program to insert page numbers in the top right corner of the page header. | 1 |
The professional title page includes the paper title, author names (the byline), author affiliation(s), author note, running head, and page number, as shown in the following example.
Follow the guidelines described next to format each element of the professional title page.
|
|
|
---|---|---|
Paper title | Place the title three to four lines down from the top of the title page. Center it and type it in bold font. Capitalize of the title. Place the main title and any subtitle on separate double-spaced lines if desired. There is no maximum length for titles; however, keep titles focused and include key terms. |
|
Author names
| Place one double-spaced blank line between the paper title and the author names. Center author names on their own line. If there are two authors, use the word “and” between authors; if there are three or more authors, place a comma between author names and use the word “and” before the final author name. | Francesca Humboldt |
When different authors have different affiliations, use superscript numerals after author names to connect the names to the appropriate affiliation(s). If all authors have the same affiliation, superscript numerals are not used (see Section 2.3 of the for more on how to set up bylines and affiliations). | Tracy Reuter , Arielle Borovsky , and Casey Lew-Williams | |
Author affiliation
| For a professional paper, the affiliation is the institution at which the research was conducted. Include both the name of any department and the name of the college, university, or other institution, separated by a comma. Center the affiliation on the next double-spaced line after the author names; when there are multiple affiliations, center each affiliation on its own line.
| Department of Nursing, Morrigan University |
When different authors have different affiliations, use superscript numerals before affiliations to connect the affiliations to the appropriate author(s). Do not use superscript numerals if all authors share the same affiliations (see Section 2.3 of the for more). | Department of Psychology, Princeton University | |
Author note | Place the author note in the bottom half of the title page. Center and bold the label “Author Note.” Align the paragraphs of the author note to the left. For further information on the contents of the author note, see Section 2.7 of the . | n/a |
| The running head appears in all-capital letters in the page header of all pages, including the title page. Align the running head to the left margin. Do not use the label “Running head:” before the running head. | Prediction errors support children’s word learning |
| Use the page number 1 on the title page. Use the automatic page-numbering function of your word processing program to insert page numbers in the top right corner of the page header. | 1 |
Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.
Nature Medicine ( 2024 ) Cite this article
2157 Accesses
707 Altmetric
Metrics details
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a widely used therapy for Parkinson’s disease (PD) but lacks dynamic responsiveness to changing clinical and neural states. Feedback control might improve therapeutic effectiveness, but the optimal control strategy and additional benefits of ‘adaptive’ neurostimulation are unclear. Here we present the results of a blinded randomized cross-over pilot trial aimed at determining the neural correlates of specific motor signs in individuals with PD and the feasibility of using these signals to drive adaptive DBS. Four male patients with PD were recruited from a population undergoing DBS implantation for motor fluctuations, with each patient receiving adaptive DBS and continuous DBS. We identified stimulation-entrained gamma oscillations in the subthalamic nucleus or motor cortex as optimal markers of high versus low dopaminergic states and their associated residual motor signs in all four patients. We then demonstrated improved motor symptoms and quality of life with adaptive compared to clinically optimized standard stimulation. The results of this pilot trial highlight the promise of personalized adaptive neurostimulation in PD based on data-driven selection of neural signals. Furthermore, these findings provide the foundation for further larger clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of personalized adaptive neurostimulation in PD and other neurological disorders. ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT03582891 .
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
24,99 € / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
195,33 € per year
only 16,28 € per issue
Buy this article
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Data availability.
De-identified individual participant data, including neural, wearable and digital diary data, are shared on the Data Archive for the BRAIN Initiative website ( https://dabi.loni.usc.edu/ ; https://doi.org/10.18120/cq9c-d057 ). The study protocol is provided in the Supplementary Information . The Food and Drug Administration investigational device exemption is available on the Open Mind website ( https://osf.io/cmndq/ ). Data will be available permanently with no restrictions, for purposes of replicating the findings or conducting meta-analyses.
Code written in C# and MATLAB, which operates the investigational device and extracts raw neural data, is available on the Open Mind GitHub platform ( https://openmind-consortium.github.io ). The code for biomarker identification implemented in MATLAB is available in the repository Code Ocean, without restrictions 59 , except for code related to linear discriminant analysis (Fig. 4c–e ), which will be made available after publication of a subsequent manuscript (currently in preparation) that uses this code.
Lozano, A. M. et al. Deep brain stimulation: current challenges and future directions. Nat. Rev. Neurol. 15 , 148–160 (2019).
Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
Neumann, W. -J., Gilron, R., Little, S. & Tinkhauser, G. Adaptive deep brain stimulation: from experimental evidence toward practical implementation. Mov. Disord . https://doi.org/10.1002/mds.29415 (2023).
Marceglia, S. et al. Deep brain stimulation: is it time to change gears by closing the loop? J. Neural Eng. 18 , 061001 (2021).
Article Google Scholar
Stanslaski, S. et al. Design and validation of a fully implantable, chronic, closed-loop neuromodulation device with concurrent sensing and stimulation. IEEE Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng. 20 , 410–421 (2012).
Article PubMed Google Scholar
Stanslaski, S. et al. A chronically implantable neural coprocessor for investigating the treatment of neurological disorders. IEEE Trans. Biomed. Circuits Syst. 12 , 1230–1245 (2018).
Thenaisie, Y. et al. Towards adaptive deep brain stimulation: clinical and technical notes on a novel commercial device for chronic brain sensing. J. Neural Eng. 18 , 042002 (2021).
Starr, P. A. Totally implantable bidirectional neural prostheses: a flexible platform for innovation in neuromodulation. Front. Neurosci. 12 , 619 (2018).
Nakajima, A. et al. Case report: chronic adaptive deep brain stimulation personalizing therapy based on Parkinsonian state. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 15 , 702961 (2021).
Gilron, R. et al. Long-term wireless streaming of neural recordings for circuit discovery and adaptive stimulation in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Nat. Biotechnol. 39 , 1078–1085 (2021).
Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
Little, S. & Brown, P. Debugging adaptive deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease. Mov. Disord. 35 , 555–561 (2020).
Wilkins, K. B., Melbourne, J. A., Akella, P. & Bronte-Stewart, H. M. Unraveling the complexities of programming neural adaptive deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 17 , 1310393 (2023).
Ansó, J. et al. Concurrent stimulation and sensing in bi-directional brain interfaces: a multi-site translational experience. J. Neural Eng. 19 , 026025 (2022).
Ascherio, A. & Schwarzschild, M. A. The epidemiology of Parkinson’s disease: risk factors and prevention. Lancet Neurol. 15 , 1257–1272 (2016).
Vitek, J. L. et al. Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation with a multiple independent constant current-controlled device in Parkinson’s disease (INTREPID): a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, sham-controlled study. Lancet Neurol. 19 , 491–501 (2020).
Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Okun, M. S. et al. Subthalamic deep brain stimulation with a constant-current device in Parkinson’s disease: an open-label randomised controlled trial. Lancet Neurol. 11 , 140–149 (2012).
Weaver, F. M. et al. Bilateral deep brain stimulation vs best medical therapy for patients with advanced Parkinson disease: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 301 , 63–73 (2009).
Deuschl, G. et al. A randomized trial of deep-brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease. N. Engl. J. Med. 355 , 896–908 (2006).
Follett, K. A. et al. Pallidal versus subthalamic deep-brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease. N. Engl. J. Med. 362 , 2077–2091 (2010).
Odekerken, V. J. et al. Subthalamic nucleus versus globus pallidus bilateral deep brain stimulation for advanced Parkinson’s disease (NSTAPS study): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet Neurol. 12 , 37–44 (2013).
Bronte-Stewart, H. et al. Adaptive DBS Algorithm for Personalized Therapy in Parkinson’s Disease: ADAPT-PD clinical trial methodology and early data (P1-11.002). Neurology https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000203099 (2023).
Marceglia, S. et al. Double-blind cross-over pilot trial protocol to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of long-term adaptive deep brain stimulation in patients with Parkinson’s disease. BMJ Open 12 , e049955 (2022).
Kühn, A. A., Kupsch, A., Schneider, G.-H. & Brown, P. Reduction in subthalamic 8-35 Hz oscillatory activity correlates with clinical improvement in Parkinson’s disease. Eur. J. Neurosci. 23 , 1956–1960 (2006).
Kühn, A. A. et al. High-frequency stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus suppresses oscillatory β activity in patients with Parkinson’s disease in parallel with improvement in motor performance. J. Neurosci. 28 , 6165–6173 (2008).
Little, S. et al. Adaptive deep brain stimulation in advanced Parkinson disease. Ann. Neurol. 74 , 449–457 (2013).
Velisar, A. et al. Dual threshold neural closed loop deep brain stimulation in Parkinson disease patients. Brain Stimul. 12 , 868–876 (2019).
Bocci, T. et al. Eight-hours conventional versus adaptive deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus in Parkinson’s disease. NPJ Park. Dis. 7 , 88 (2021).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Tinkhauser, G. et al. The modulatory effect of adaptive deep brain stimulation on beta bursts in Parkinson’s disease. Brain J. Neurol. 140 , 1053–1067 (2017).
Bronstein, J. M. et al. Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson disease: an expert consensus and review of key issues. Arch. Neurol. 68 , 165 (2011).
Swann, N. C. et al. Gamma oscillations in the hyperkinetic state detected with chronic human brain recordings in Parkinson’s disease. J. Neurosci. 36 , 6445–6458 (2016).
Swann, N. C. et al. Adaptive deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease using motor cortex sensing. J. Neural Eng. 15 , 046006 (2018).
Bove, F., Genovese, D. & Moro, E. Developments in the mechanistic understanding and clinical application of deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease. Expert Rev. Neurother. 22 , 789–803 (2022).
Wiest, C. et al. Finely-tuned gamma oscillations: spectral characteristics and links to dyskinesia. Exp. Neurol. 351 , 113999 (2022).
Sermon, J. J. et al. Sub-harmonic entrainment of cortical gamma oscillations to deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease: model based predictions and validation in three human subjects. Brain Stimul. 16 , 1412–1424 (2023).
Olaru, M. et al. Motor network gamma oscillations in chronic home recordings predict dyskinesia in Parkinson’s disease. Brain J. Neurol . https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awae004 (2024).
Herdman, M. et al. Development and preliminary testing of the new five-level version of EQ-5D (EQ-5D-5L). Qual. Life Res. 20 , 1727–1736 (2011).
Horne, M. K., McGregor, S. & Bergquist, F. An objective fluctuation score for Parkinson’s disease. PLoS ONE 10 , e0124522 (2015).
Nutt, J. G., Woodward, W. R., Hammerstad, J. P., Carter, J. H. & Anderson, J. L. The “on–off” phenomenon in Parkinson’s disease: relation to levodopa absorption and transport. N. Engl. J. Med. 310 , 483–488 (1984).
van Rheede, J. J. et al. Diurnal modulation of subthalamic beta oscillatory power in Parkinson’s disease patients during deep brain stimulation. NPJ Parkinsons Dis. 8 , 88 (2022).
Tinkhauser, G. & Moraud, E. M. Controlling clinical states governed by different temporal dynamics with closed-loop deep brain stimulation: a principled framework. Front. Neurosci. 15 , 734186 (2021).
Alagapan, S. et al. Cingulate dynamics track depression recovery with deep brain stimulation. Nature 622 , 130–138 (2023).
Heck, C. N. et al. Two-year seizure reduction in adults with medically intractable partial onset epilepsy treated with responsive neurostimulation: final results of the RNS System Pivotal trial. Epilepsia 55 , 432–441 (2014).
Scangos, K. W. et al. Closed-loop neuromodulation in an individual with treatment-resistant depression. Nat. Med. 27 , 1696–1700 (2021).
Vizcarra, J. A. et al. Subthalamic deep brain stimulation and levodopa in Parkinson’s disease: a meta-analysis of combined effects. J. Neurol. 266 , 289–297 (2019).
Brown, P. et al. Dopamine dependency of oscillations between subthalamic nucleus and pallidum in Parkinson’s disease. J. Neurosci. 21 , 1033–1038 (2001).
Halje, P. et al. Levodopa-induced dyskinesia is strongly associated with resonant cortical oscillations. J. Neurosci. 32 , 16541–16551 (2012).
Wiest, C. et al. Subthalamic deep brain stimulation induces finely-tuned gamma oscillations in the absence of levodopa. Neurobiol. Dis. 152 , 105287 (2021).
Arlotti, M. et al. Eight-hours adaptive deep brain stimulation in patients with Parkinson disease. Neurology 90 , e971–e976 (2018).
Foffani, G. & Alegre, M. Brain oscillations and Parkinson disease. Handb. Clin. Neurol. 184 , 259–271 (2022).
Feldmann, L. K. et al. Toward therapeutic electrophysiology: beta-band suppression as a biomarker in chronic local field potential recordings. NPJ Parkinsons Dis. 8 , 44 (2022).
Chen, Y. et al. Neuromodulation effects of deep brain stimulation on beta rhythm: a longitudinal local field potential study. Brain Stimul. 13 , 1784–1792 (2020).
Olson, J. D. et al. Comparison of subdural and subgaleal recordings of cortical high-gamma activity in humans. Clin. Neurophysiol. 127 , 277–284 (2016).
Piña-Fuentes, D. et al. Acute effects of adaptive deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease. Brain Stimul. 13 , 1507–1516 (2020).
Busch, J. L. et al. Single threshold adaptive deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease depends on parameter selection, movement state and controllability of subthalamic beta activity. Brain Stimul. 17 , 125–133 (2024).
Merk, T. et al. Machine learning based brain signal decoding for intelligent adaptive deep brain stimulation. Exp. Neurol. 351 , 113993 (2022).
Davis, T. S. et al. LeGUI: a fast and accurate graphical user interface for automated detection and anatomical localization of intracranial electrodes. Front. Neurosci. 15 , 769872 (2021).
Horn, A. et al. Lead-DBS v2: towards a comprehensive pipeline for deep brain stimulation imaging. NeuroImage 184 , 293–316 (2019).
Oehrn, C. R. et al. Chronic adaptive deep brain stimulation is superior to conventional stimulation in Parkinson's disease: a blinded randomized feasibility trial [Source Data]. Data Archive for the Brain Initiative https://doi.org/10.18120/cq9c-d057 (2024).
Oostenveld, R., Fries, P., Maris, E. & Schoffelen, J. -M. FieldTrip: open source software for advanced analysis of MEG, EEG, and invasive electrophysiological data. Comput. Intell. Neurosci. 2011 , 156869 (2011).
Oehrn, C. R. et al. Chronic adaptive deep brain stimulation is superior to conventional stimulation in Parkinson's disease: a blinded randomized feasibility trial. Code Ocean . https://doi.org/10.24433/CO.5656158.v1 (2024).
Oehrn, C. R. et al. Direct electrophysiological evidence for prefrontal control of hippocampal processing during voluntary forgetting. Curr. Biol. 28 , 3016–3022 (2018).
Maris, E. & Oostenveld, R. Nonparametric statistical testing of EEG- and MEG-data. J. Neurosci. Methods 164 , 177–190 (2007).
Gilron, R. et al. Sleep-aware adaptive deep brain stimulation control: chronic use at home with dual independent linear discriminate detectors. Front. Neurosci. 15 , 732499 (2021).
Cernera, S. et al. Wearable sensor-driven responsive deep brain stimulation for essential tremor. Brain Stimul. 14 , 1434–1443 (2021).
Hammer, L. H., Kochanski, R. B., Starr, P. A. & Little, S. Artifact characterization and a multipurpose template-based offline removal solution for a sensing-enabled deep brain stimulation device. Stereotact. Funct. Neurosurg. 100 , 168–183 (2022).
Neumann, W. -J. et al. The sensitivity of ECG contamination to surgical implantation site in brain computer interfaces. Brain Stimul. 14 , 1301–1306 (2021).
Goetz, C. G. et al. Movement Disorder Society-sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS): process, format, and clinimetric testing plan. Mov. Disord. 22 , 41–47 (2007).
McAuley, M. D. Incorrect calculation of total electrical energy delivered by a deep brain stimulator. Brain Stimul. 13 , 1414–1415 (2020).
Download references
The study was supported by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) UH3NS100544 (to P.A.S.), the Parkinson Fellowship of the Thiemann Foundation (to C.R.O.), NINDS F32NS129627 (to S.C.), NINDS R25NS070680 (to L.H.H.) and TUYF Charitable Trust Fund (to J.Y.). Research reported in this publication was also partly supported by R01 NS090913 (to P.A.S.), NINDS K23NS120037 (to S.L.) and R01 NS131405 (to S.L.). Investigational devices were provided at no charge by the manufacturer, but the manufacturer had no role in the conduct, analysis or interpretation of the study. The Open Mind consortium for technology dissemination, funded by NINDS U24 NS113637 (to P.A.S.), provided technical resources for the use of the Summit RC+S neural interface. We thank T. Wozny for lead localization, W. Chiong for neuroethical input, C. Smyth, R. Gilron, R. Wilt and C. de Hemptinne for technical contributions and K. Probst for medical art (Fig. 1a ). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
These authors contributed equally: Carina R. Oehrn, Stephanie Cernera, Lauren H. Hammer.
These authors jointly supervised this work: Simon Little, Philip A Starr.
Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Carina R. Oehrn, Stephanie Cernera, Maria Shcherbakova, Jiaang Yao, Amelia Hahn & Philip A. Starr
Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Lauren H. Hammer, Sarah Wang, Jill L. Ostrem & Simon Little
Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley and University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Jiaang Yao, Simon Little & Philip A. Starr
Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Sarah Wang, Jill L. Ostrem, Simon Little & Philip A. Starr
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
P.A.S., S.L., J.L.O., C.R.O., S.C. and L.H.H. designed the study and analysis pipeline. C.R.O., S.C., L.H.H., M.S. and J.Y. collected and analyzed the data. A.H. facilitated patient communication and coordination throughout the study. S.W. oversaw study administration, including institutional review board approval and regulatory compliance. C.R.O., S.C., L.H.H., S.L. and P.A.S. drafted the manuscript, and all authors reviewed, commented on and approved the final version.
Correspondence to Carina R. Oehrn .
Competing interests.
S.L. consults for Iota Biosciences. J.L.O. reports support from Medtronic and Boston Scientific for research and education and consults for AbbVie and Rune Labs. P.A.S. receives support from Medtronic and Boston Scientific for fellowship education. C.R.O., S.C., L.H.H., M.S., J.Y., A.H. and S.W. declare no competing interests.
Peer review information.
Nature Medicine thanks Jaimie Henderson, Andrea Kühn and Theoden Netoff for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Primary Handling Editor: Jerome Staal, in collaboration with the Nature Medicine team.
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Extended data fig. 1 localization of leads over sensorimotor cortex and within subthalamic nucleus in native space..
a–d , Example localization of cortical and subcortical leads in patient 2, generated by fusing postoperative CT with preoperative MRI scans. Contacts appear as white CT artifacts due to metal content and are labeled with red arrows. a , Cortical leads on axial T1-weighted MRI through the vertex. b , STN leads on axial T2-weighted MRI through the region of the dorsal STN, 3 mm inferior to the intercommissural plane. c,d , Cortical leads on oblique sagittal T1-weighted MRI passing through the long axis of the lead array in left (c) and right (d) hemispheres, respectively. e–h , Location of cortical leads for each patient overlayed on 3D reconstruction of cortex rendered using the Locate Electrodes Graphical User Interface (LeGUI). Electrodes used in the anterior and posterior cortical montages are shown in cyan and yellow, respectively. For patient 1 (e) , 2 (f) and 4 (h) , anterior and posterior montages covered the pre- and postcentral gyrus, respectively. For patient 3, right side (g) , the anterior montage included one electrode on the middle frontal and one on the precentral gyrus. The posterior montage comprised one pre- and one postcentral electrode. In all figures, red arrows indicate the location of the central sulcus.
a , Suggested initial parameters for algorithms developed for time scales of minutes to hours, as identified during steps 5 and 6 of the pipeline. An update rate of 10 s typically provided a signal to noise ratio that allowed for adequate discrimination between the presence and absence of the most bothersome symptom, and this could often be improved with a further increase in update rate. The ramp rate chosen for each patient depended on the results of step 5 (we chose an example of 1 mA/s). b , Detailed final adaptive stimulation parameters including control signals, thresholds, FFT interval, update rates, blanking periods, onset and termination duration, and ramp rates used for each patient and hemisphere. c–e , Examples of potential control policies that can be used for an adaptive algorithm, using artificial data. The upper subpanels of each subfigure illustrate an on-state biomarker (blue), as used in our study, along with thresholds (red). Lower subpanels demonstrate the adjustment of stimulation amplitude based on the relationship of the neural signal to the thresholds. c , A single threshold control policy with two stimulation amplitudes. When the biomarker is above the threshold, stimulation amplitude decreases and once below threshold, stimulation amplitude increases. d , A dual threshold control policy with three stimulation amplitudes (not used in this study), which may be applied to address three symptom states. When the neural signal is below both thresholds, the stimulation amplitude is high (for example, 4 mA). When the biomarker is between the two thresholds, stimulation adjusts to a middle amplitude (for example, 3 mA). When the biomarker exceeds the second threshold, stimulation decreases to the low amplitude (for example, 2 mA). e , A control policy utilizing a middle state as noise buffer. Stimulation is high when the control signal is below the bottom threshold and stimulation is low when the control signal is above the top threshold. When the control signal is between the two thresholds, it remains at the level of the stimulation amplitude prior to crossing the threshold (that is, no changes are made).
a,b , All tables show the results from our within-patient non-parametric cluster-based permutation analyses using in-clinic recordings during two medication states (off vs. on) and stimulation conditions (low vs. high stimulation amplitude). P -values were Bonferroni-corrected for multiple comparisons. Note that p < 10 −3 indicates that the cluster was found in all 1000 permutations. This means the probability of observing this effect by chance is less than 1 in 1000. a , Statistics for the largest main effect of medication, stimulation, and their interaction for each patient and hemisphere when searching the whole frequency space (2–100 Hz) across brain regions. Frequencies represent the center frequency of 1-Hz wide power spectral density bins. For all four patients (five out of six hemispheres), we found that gamma power (specifically, stimulation-entrained gamma in four hemispheres) in the STN or cortex was the best predictor of medication state (in pat-3L, there was no significant effect of medication in any frequency band in clinic, but at home symptom monitoring identified cortical stimulation-entrained gamma power as neural biomarker; Extended Data Fig. 4 ). Positive Cohen’s d values for the medication effect highlight that the neural biomarker was higher during on-medication states. Positive Cohen’s d values for the stimulation effect indicate that the neural biomarker was higher during on-stimulation states (independent of medication), which could result in undesirable self-triggering of the algorithm (threshold crossing of the neural biomarker linked to stimulation change itself, rather than true fluctuations of medication states and symptoms). Therefore, for patient 1, we excluded 63 and 67 Hz from the subsequently used control signal (positive Cohen’s d main effect of stimulation). For patients 2, 3 and 4, we did not find stimulation effects that positively modulated biomarkers and therefore were unrestricted in biomarker selection. b , When constraining the anatomic location and frequency space to STN beta oscillations (13–30 Hz), STN spectral beta power was only predictive for medication state in two hemispheres (pat-2R and pat-4) and smaller in effect size than cortical/STN stimulation-entrained gamma oscillations for all patients.
We identified predictors of the most bothersome symptom (pat-1: bradykinesia, pat-2: lower limb dystonia), or the opposite symptom that limits the therapeutic window (pat-3 and pat-4: dyskinesia). a , Heatmaps of t -values derived from stepwise linear regressions using 1 Hz power bands between 2–100 Hz in the STN (left), anterior cortical montage (middle) and posterior cortical montage (right) to predict symptoms continuously measured with upper extremity wearable monitors for patients 1, 3 and 4 (patient 2’s bothersome symptom did not involve the upper extremity). b–d , Results from the linear regression (left) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA; right). P-values were Bonferroni-corrected for multiple comparisons (289 predictors). b , Both methods provide converging evidence that stimulation-entrained gamma power centered at half the stimulation frequency (65 Hz) in the STN and cortex optimally distinguishes hypo- and hyperkinetic symptoms. c , When constraining the anatomic location and frequency space to STN beta oscillations (13–30 Hz), frequency bands identified as most predictive were less discriminative than cortical/STN stimulation-entrained gamma oscillations (LDA: AUC < 0.7). Regression models resulted in smaller magnitude coefficients, with only one hemisphere demonstrating a significant negative association with hyperkinetic symptoms (pat-3L). d , STN beta frequency bands were also poorly predictive of wearable bradykinesia scores (AUC < 0.6), again with only one hemisphere demonstrating a significant effect in the regression model (corresponding to a positive relationship with hypokinetic symptoms; pat-3L). e , Comparison of LDA results for STN and cortical gamma activity in predicting bothersome symptoms. Neural signals selected for adaptive stimulation are shaded in grey. In three out of six hemispheres (pat-2L, pat-2R, pat-4), stimulation-entrained gamma activity in the STN distinguished between hypo- and hyperkinetic symptoms. For pat-2, STN stimulation-entrained spectral gamma power was the optimal biomarker used for aDBS in both hemispheres. In pat-4, stimulation-entrained gamma activity in the STN was a strong predictor of residual motor signs but slightly underperformed compared to cortical signals. f , Visual illustration of AUC values comparing STN and cortical gamma activity in predicting bothersome symptoms. For pat-4, the predictive value of stimulation-entrained spectral gamma power was only slightly reduced compared to cortical signals.
a , Power spectral density in the STN based on in-clinic recordings off medication and off stimulation for all six hemispheres. All but one hemisphere (pat-1) exhibited a peak in the beta frequency band (illustrated in yellow). b , Example of the suppressive effect of DBS on STN beta oscillations precluding use of beta band activity as a biomarker of medication state during active stimulation (pat-2L, all data collected during the same in-clinic recording session). Off stimulation, the spectral peak in the beta frequency range was suppressed by medication (13–21 Hz, Cohens’ d = −1.09, p < 10 −3 ). However, this medication effect diminished during active stimulation, even at low stimulation amplitudes (1.8 mA, largest effect in the beta band: 15–18 Hz, Cohens’ d = 0.31, p = 0.026). Data are corrected for stimulation-induced broadband shifts.
a–j , Bar plots illustrating the mean (±s.e.m.) self-reported symptoms, aside from the most bothersome symptoms, across testing days. Each dot represents the rating for one testing day (blue: cDBS, red: aDBS). These ratings constituted secondary outcome measures to ensure that we are not aggravating other motor and non-motor symptoms. a,b , Patient self-reported motor symptom severity from daily questionnaires (1 = least severe, 10 = most severe). Note that patients rated symptom severity (shown here) independently of symptom duration ; bar graphs for the latter are in Fig. 5a,b . Patient 3 did not record ratings within the instructed range of 1–10 and their data are therefore not reported. a , In addition to a decrease in the amount of daily hours with the most bothersome symptom (symptom duration , shown in Fig. 5a ), patients 1, 2, and 4 also experienced a significant improvement of symptom severity (pat-1: p < 10 −5 , pat-2: p = 0.018, pat = 4: p = 0.003). b , No subject reported worsened severity of their opposite symptom (pat-1: p = 0.18, pat-2: p = 1, pat-4: p = 0.19). c–h , Comprehensive list of the self-reported duration of motor symptoms from daily questionnaires. These bar graphs illustrate only symptoms that were not identified by the patient as the most bothersome or as the opposite symptom. For each patient’s most bothersome symptom, results are displayed in Fig. 5a and panel a of this figure; and are labeled in c–h as not applicable (n/a). None of these “other” motor symptoms were worsened by aDBS, and patient 2 demonstrated significant improvement in the percentage of waking hours with dyskinesia ( d , p = 0.044) and gait disturbance ( h , p < 10 −4 ). i,j , Self-reported sleep quality (1 = poorest sleep, 10 = best sleep) and duration from daily questionnaires. aDBS provided no change in patients’ sleep characteristics. The number of testing days for each patient and condition used for statistical tests are summarized in Fig. 6a . Asterisks illustrate results from two-sided Wilcoxon rank sum tests. P-values for all within-subject control analyses were adjusted for multiple comparisons using the false discovery rate procedure and are indicated as: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.
a , Percent time spent at each stimulation amplitude during the night. Each dot represents the mean values of one night of aDBS testing across high stimulation states (orange) and low stimulation states (blue) in one hemisphere. Graphs are standard box plots (center: median; box limits: upper and lower quartiles; whiskers: minima = 25th percentile-1.5 times the interquartile range, maxima = 75th percentile+1.5 times the interquartile range). Each patient spent most of the night in the high stimulation state. b , Mean (±s.e.m.) total electrical energy delivered (TEED) during aDBS and cDBS overnight, showing increased TEED during aDBS, similar to daytime analyses (stimulation main effect: β = 27.7, p < 10 −25 , time main effect: β = 0.05, p = 0.377). Individually, TEED was increased in all hemispheres during aDBS (two-sided, one-sample Wilcoxon signed rank test, pat-1: p < 10 −6 , pat-2R: p < 10 −5 , pat-2L: p < 10 −5 , pat-3R: p < 10 −6 , pat-3L: p < 10 −6 , pat-4: p < 10 −4 ). The number of testing nights for each patient and condition used for both illustrations are stated in Fig. 6a and are equivalent to the testing days. Asterisks illustrate results from two-sided one-sample Wilcoxon signed rank tests. P-values for TEED evaluations were adjusted for multiple comparisons using the false discovery rate procedure and are indicated as: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.
We identified neural biomarkers using standardized in-clinic and at-home recordings in patients’ naturalistic environments. Non-parametric cluster-based permutation analysis identified candidate spectral biomarkers from in-clinic data by assessing main effects of medication state, stimulation amplitude, and the interaction. Next, the predictability of neural biomarkers as robust aDBS control signals of symptom state was tested using at-home recordings. For patients where the most bothersome symptom was monitored by a wearable device (for example, upper extremity bradykinesia or dyskinesia), linear stepwise regression was used to take advantage of the continuous nature of the symptom measurements. The most predictive frequency bands and recording sites were selected based on t -values. If the patient’s most bothersome symptom could not be captured by wearable monitors, the patient’s motor diaries and streaming app entries instead labeled the presence of symptoms. A linear discriminant analysis (LDA) based method identified the most predictive frequency band and recording site from these discretely labeled neural signal data, as measured by the area under the receiver operating curve (AUC). We also applied the LDA-based approach to symptoms measured by wearable monitors by mapping the continuous wearable scores to discrete symptom labels using a patient-specific dichotomization. This dichotomization allowed for subsequent offline assessment of the prediction accuracy based on multiple neural biomarkers combined as shown in Fig. 4e (note for online aDBS only single power band classifiers were implemented, as multiple power band classifiers were not found to be superior).
Supplementary information.
Supplementary Methods, Tables 1 and 2 and References.
Rights and permissions.
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
Reprints and permissions
Cite this article.
Oehrn, C.R., Cernera, S., Hammer, L.H. et al. Chronic adaptive deep brain stimulation versus conventional stimulation in Parkinson’s disease: a blinded randomized feasibility trial. Nat Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03196-z
Download citation
Received : 04 January 2024
Accepted : 15 July 2024
Published : 19 August 2024
DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03196-z
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative
Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.
IMAGES
COMMENTS
How to Write Research Methodology. Writing a research methodology involves explaining the methods and techniques you used to conduct research, collect data, and analyze results. It's an essential section of any research paper or thesis, as it helps readers understand the validity and reliability of your findings. Here are the steps to write a ...
Step 1: Explain your methodological approach. Step 2: Describe your data collection methods. Step 3: Describe your analysis method. Step 4: Evaluate and justify the methodological choices you made. Tips for writing a strong methodology chapter. Other interesting articles.
"How to Write the Methods Section of a Research Paper." Respiratory Care 49 (October 2004):1229-1232; Lunenburg, Frederick C. Writing a Successful Thesis or Dissertation: Tips and Strategies for Students in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2008. Methods Section. The Writer's Handbook. Writing Center.
The methodology section of your paper describes how your research was conducted. This information allows readers to check whether your approach is accurate and dependable. A good methodology can help increase the reader's trust in your findings. First, we will define and differentiate quantitative and qualitative research.
Do yourself a favour and start with the end in mind. Section 1 - Introduction. As with all chapters in your dissertation or thesis, the methodology chapter should have a brief introduction. In this section, you should remind your readers what the focus of your study is, especially the research aims. As we've discussed many times on the blog ...
Your Methods Section contextualizes the results of your study, giving editors, reviewers and readers alike the information they need to understand and interpret your work. Your methods are key to establishing the credibility of your study, along with your data and the results themselves. A complete methods section should provide enough detail ...
To write a research methodology, clearly outline the study's design, data collection, and analysis procedures. Specify research tools, participants, and sampling methods. Justify choices and discuss limitations. Ensure clarity, coherence, and alignment with research objectives for a robust methodology section.
The main heading of "Methods" should be centered, boldfaced, and capitalized. Subheadings within this section are left-aligned, boldfaced, and in title case. You can also add lower level headings within these subsections, as long as they follow APA heading styles. To structure your methods section, you can use the subheadings of ...
Importance of methodology in research papers. When it comes to writing your study, the methodology in research papers or a dissertation plays a pivotal role. A well-crafted methodology section of a research paper or thesis not only enhances the credibility of your research but also provides a roadmap for others to replicate or build upon your work.
Revised on 10 October 2022. Your research methodology discusses and explains the data collection and analysis methods you used in your research. A key part of your thesis, dissertation, or research paper, the methodology chapter explains what you did and how you did it, allowing readers to evaluate the reliability and validity of your research.
A quantitative approach and statistical analysis would give you a bigger picture. 3. Identify how your analysis answers your research questions. Relate your methodology back to your original research questions and present a proposed outcome based on your analysis.
For novice researchers, writing the methodology of a research paper can be an overwhelming process, especially considering the intricate elements covered by this section (J. Ellis & Levy, 2009, p. 323). The goal of this article is to define what is research methodology, guide novice researchers in their research methodology writing, and to help ...
Methods section is a crucial part of a manuscript and emphasizes the reliability and validity of a research study. And knowing how to write the methods section of a research paper is the first step in mastering scientific writing. Read this article to understand the importance, purpose, and the best way to write the methods section of a research paper.
The structure of a dissertation methodology can vary depending on your field of study, the nature of your research, and the guidelines of your institution. However, a standard structure typically includes the following elements: Introduction: Briefly introduce your overall approach to the research.
The purpose of a research methodology is to explain the reasoning behind your approach to your research - you'll need to support your collection methods, methods of analysis, and other key points of your work. Think of it like writing a plan or an outline for you what you intend to do. When carrying out research, it can be easy to go off-track ...
Definition, Types, and Examples. Research methodology 1,2 is a structured and scientific approach used to collect, analyze, and interpret quantitative or qualitative data to answer research questions or test hypotheses. A research methodology is like a plan for carrying out research and helps keep researchers on track by limiting the scope of ...
However careful writing of this section is important because for your results to be of scientific merit they must be reproducible. Otherwise your paper does not represent good science. Goals: Describe equipment used and provide illustrations where relevant. "Methods Checklist" from: How to Write a Good Scientific Paper. Chris A. Mack. SPIE. 2018.
The methods section should describe what was done to answer the research question, describe how it was done, justify the experimental design, and explain how the results were analyzed. Scientific writing is direct and orderly. Therefore, the methods section structure should: describe the materials used in the study, explain how the materials ...
To write your methods section in APA format, describe your participants, materials, study design, and procedures. Keep this section succinct, and always write in the past tense. The main heading of this section should be labeled "Method" and it should be centered, bolded, and capitalized. Each subheading within this section should be bolded ...
When writing a methodology for a research paper, it's important to keep the discussion clear and succinct and write in the past tense. Read more: How To Write a Methodology (With Tips and FAQs) Quantitative and qualitative methodologies There are two main approaches to methodology; quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative research methodology ...
The methods section of a research paper provides the information by which a study's validity is judged. The method section answers two main questions: 1) How was the data collected or generated? ... How to Write a Scientific Paper: Writing the Methods Section. Revista Portuguesa de Pneumologia 17 (2011): 232-238; Butin, Dan W. The Education ...
Example of a methodology in a research paper. The following example of a methodology in a research paper provides insight into the structure and content to consider when writing your own: This research article discusses the psychological and emotional impact of a mental health support program for employees. The program provided prolonged and ...
Conclusion: Choosing an optimal research methodology is crucial for the success of any research project. The methodology you select will determine the type of data you collect, how you collect it, and how you analyse it. Understanding the different types of research methods available along with their strengths and weaknesses, is thus imperative ...
For a student paper, the affiliation is the institution where the student attends school. Include both the name of any department and the name of the college, university, or other institution, separated by a comma. Center the affiliation on the next double-spaced line after the author name(s). Department of Psychology, University of Georgia
b, Both methods provide converging evidence that stimulation-entrained gamma power centered at half the stimulation frequency (65 Hz) in the STN and cortex optimally distinguishes hypo- and ...