chapter 3 research methodology thesis sample

Research Methodology Example

Detailed Walkthrough + Free Methodology Chapter Template

If you’re working on a dissertation or thesis and are looking for an example of a research methodology chapter , you’ve come to the right place.

In this video, we walk you through a research methodology from a dissertation that earned full distinction , step by step. We start off by discussing the core components of a research methodology by unpacking our free methodology chapter template . We then progress to the sample research methodology to show how these concepts are applied in an actual dissertation, thesis or research project.

If you’re currently working on your research methodology chapter, you may also find the following resources useful:

• Research methodology 101 : an introductory video discussing what a methodology is and the role it plays within a dissertation
• Research design 101 : an overview of the most common research designs for both qualitative and quantitative studies
• Variables 101 : an introductory video covering the different types of variables that exist within research.
• Sampling 101 : an overview of the main sampling methods
• Methodology tips : a video discussion covering various tips to help you write a high-quality methodology chapter
• Private coaching : Get hands-on help with your research methodology

FAQ: Research Methodology Example

Research methodology example: frequently asked questions, is the sample research methodology real.

Yes. The chapter example is an extract from a Master’s-level dissertation for an MBA program. A few minor edits have been made to protect the privacy of the sponsoring organisation, but these have no material impact on the research methodology.

Can I replicate this methodology for my dissertation?

As we discuss in the video, every research methodology will be different, depending on the research aims, objectives and research questions. Therefore, you’ll need to tailor your literature review to suit your specific context.

You can learn more about the basics of writing a research methodology chapter here .

Where can I find more examples of research methodologies?

The best place to find more examples of methodology chapters would be within dissertation/thesis databases. These databases include dissertations, theses and research projects that have successfully passed the assessment criteria for the respective university, meaning that you have at least some sort of quality assurance.

The Open Access Thesis Database (OATD) is a good starting point.

How do I get the research methodology chapter template?

You can access our free methodology chapter template here .

Is the methodology template really free?

Yes. There is no cost for the template and you are free to use it as you wish.

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• What Is a Research Methodology? | Steps & Tips

What Is a Research Methodology? | Steps & Tips

Published on August 25, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Tegan George. Revised on November 20, 2023.

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 and your dissertation topic .

It should include:

• The type of research you conducted
• How you collected and analyzed your data
• Any tools or materials you used in the research
• How you mitigated or avoided research biases
• Why you chose these methods
• Your methodology section should generally be written in the past tense .
• Academic style guides in your field may provide detailed guidelines on what to include for different types of studies.
• Your citation style might provide guidelines for your methodology section (e.g., an APA Style methods section ).

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Table of contents

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, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about methodology.

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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.

Option 1: Start with your “what”

What research problem or question did you investigate?

• Aim to describe the characteristics of something?
• Explore an under-researched topic?
• Establish a causal relationship?

And what type of data did you need to achieve this aim?

• Quantitative data , qualitative data , or a mix of both?
• Primary data collected yourself, or secondary data collected by someone else?
• Experimental data gathered by controlling and manipulating variables, or descriptive data gathered via observations?

Option 2: Start with your “why”

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?

• Why is this the best way to answer your research question?
• Is this a standard methodology in your field, or does it require justification?
• Were there any ethical considerations involved in your choices?
• What are the criteria for validity and reliability in this type of research ? How did you prevent bias from affecting your data?

Once you have introduced your reader to your methodological approach, you should share full details about your data collection methods .

Quantitative methods

In order to be considered generalizable, you should describe quantitative research methods in enough detail for another researcher to replicate your study.

Here, explain how you operationalized your concepts and measured your variables. Discuss your sampling method or inclusion and 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.

• How did you design the questionnaire?
• What form did your questions take (e.g., multiple choice, Likert scale )?
• Were your surveys conducted in-person or virtually?
• What sampling method did you use to select participants?
• What was your sample size and response rate?

Experiments Share full details of the tools, techniques, and procedures you used to conduct your experiment.

• How did you design the experiment ?
• How did you recruit participants?
• How did you manipulate and measure the variables ?
• What tools did you use?

Existing data Explain how you gathered and selected the material (such as datasets or archival data) that you used in your analysis.

• Where did you source the material?
• How was the data originally produced?
• What criteria did you use to select material (e.g., date range)?

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 July 4–8, 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.

• Information bias
• Omitted variable bias
• Regression to the mean
• Survivorship bias
• Undercoverage bias
• Sampling bias

Qualitative methods

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.

• How did you find and select participants?
• How many participants took part?
• What form did the interviews take ( structured , semi-structured , or unstructured )?
• How long were the interviews?
• How were they recorded?

Participant observation Describe where, when, and how you conducted the observation or ethnography .

• What group or community did you observe? How long did you spend there?
• How did you gain access to this group? What role did you play in the community?
• How long did you spend conducting the research? Where was it located?
• How did you record your data (e.g., audiovisual recordings, note-taking)?

Existing data Explain how you selected case study materials for your analysis.

• What type of materials did you analyze?
• How did you select them?

In order to gain better insight into possibilities for future improvement of the fitness store’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.

• The Hawthorne effect
• Observer bias
• The placebo effect
• Response bias and Nonresponse bias
• The Pygmalion effect
• Recall bias
• Social desirability bias
• Self-selection bias

Mixed methods

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.

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Next, you should indicate how you processed and analyzed 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:

• How you prepared the data before analyzing it (e.g., checking for missing data , removing outliers , transforming variables)
• Which software you used (e.g., SPSS, Stata or R)
• Which statistical tests you used (e.g., two-tailed t test , simple linear regression )

In qualitative research, your analysis will be based on language, images, and observations (often involving some form of textual analysis ).

Specific methods might include:

• Content analysis : Categorizing and discussing the meaning of words, phrases and sentences
• Thematic analysis : Coding and closely examining the data to identify broad themes and patterns
• Discourse analysis : Studying communication and meaning in relation to their social context

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 .

• Quantitative: Lab-based experiments cannot always accurately simulate real-life situations and behaviors, but they are effective for testing causal relationships between variables .
• Qualitative: Unstructured interviews usually produce results that cannot be generalized beyond the sample group , but they provide a more in-depth understanding of participants’ perceptions, motivations, and emotions.
• Mixed methods: Despite issues systematically comparing differing types of data, a solely quantitative study would not sufficiently incorporate the lived experience of each participant, while a solely qualitative study would be insufficiently generalizable.

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.

1. Focus on your objectives and research questions

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 .

2. Cite relevant sources

Your methodology can be strengthened by referencing existing research in your field. This can help you to:

• Show that you followed established practice for your type of research
• Discuss how you decided on your approach by evaluating existing research
• Present a novel methodological approach to address a gap in the literature

3. Write for your audience

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.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Normal distribution
• Measures of central tendency
• Chi square tests
• Confidence interval
• Quartiles & Quantiles

Methodology

• Cluster sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Thematic analysis
• Cohort study
• Peer review
• Ethnography

Research bias

• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Conformity bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Availability heuristic
• Attrition bias

Methodology refers to the overarching strategy and rationale of your research project . It involves studying the methods used in your field and the theories or principles behind them, in order to develop an approach that matches your objectives.

Methods are the specific tools and procedures you use to collect and analyze data (for example, experiments, surveys , and statistical tests ).

In shorter scientific papers, where the aim is to report the findings of a specific study, you might simply describe what you did in a methods section .

In a longer or more complex research project, such as a thesis or dissertation , you will probably include a methodology section , where you explain your approach to answering the research questions and cite relevant sources to support your choice of methods.

In a scientific paper, the methodology always comes after the introduction and before the results , discussion and conclusion . The same basic structure also applies to a thesis, dissertation , or research proposal .

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 systematically measure variables and test hypotheses . Qualitative methods allow you to explore concepts and experiences in more detail.

Reliability and validity are both about how well a method measures something:

• Reliability refers to the  consistency of a measure (whether the results can be reproduced under the same conditions).
• Validity   refers to the  accuracy of a measure (whether the results really do represent what they are supposed to measure).

If you are doing experimental research, you also have to consider the internal and external validity of your experiment.

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.

In statistics, sampling allows you to test a hypothesis about the characteristics of a population.

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Chapter 3 -Methodology (PhD thesis, Andrea Gorra) Chapter 3 Research Methodology

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Dissertation Methodology Sample Chapter 3

Disclaimer: This is not a sample of our professional work. The paper has been produced by a student. You can view samples of our work here . Opinions, suggestions, recommendations and results in this piece are those of the author and should not be taken as our company views.

Type of Academic Paper – Dissertation Chapter

Academic Subject – Waste Management

Word Count – 2948 words

The current chapter reviews the study’s research method strategy in terms of research design, data collection methods, and approaches used to manipulate and analyse obtained data. The chapter sets forth the approach used in the research that will allow the derivation of meaningful results.

Research Strategy

 A research  strategy is basically an approach to accurately answering the research question and meeting the research objectives. The qualitative research can be based on a fixed design strategy or flexible design strategy. Fixed design can either be experimental or non-experimental type. Unlike experimental research, the non-experimental research strategy does not try to bring about any change in particular. Other characteristics are almost the same, including that the samples for the study are collected from known populations, and measurements are based on the minimum number of variables while other variables are controlled. However, non-experimental research may or may not include hypothesis testing (Cole, 2015). The current research study does not use or include hypothesis testing.

Flexible design strategy can be of three major types: case study, ethnographic study and ground theory study (Khaliq, 2014). The current research falls in the category of a case study based on developing an in-depth analysis of a single case of Tripoli city. The data collection involves more than one method, e.g. interviews, documents, and observations. A set of data collection methods are used to collect the primary data for this research. These instruments include a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews. That helps obtain a variety of views and opinions to provide good findings and results for this study.

Research Design

 The research  design refers to the overall design ranging from data collection methods, type of data and analysis techniques used to research. Data is an important part of the research to do the analysis. Primary and secondary data have both been of equal importance for the study. Primary data is gathered through conducting questionnaires and interviews.

A vast majority of research uses separately or in combination two known main design approaches which are;

• Quantitative Approach
• Qualitative Approach

From the above two, qualitative research is exploratory research that deals with defining ideas and dealing with the underlying opinions. It deals with unstructured techniques such as group discussions, interviews, and personal observations etc. The sample size is generally kept small because of its objective nature. Simultaneously, quantitative research is an experimental and structured based research that quantifies the problem through numerical data and solves it through a strong statistical methodology. This research type helps draw a definite conclusion about a large group of data based on a small and reliable sample.

Content removed… Therefore, the current study employs mixed-method research for conducting this research to provide quality comprehension of the research issue and provide better findings and discussion.

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Data Collection Methods

Data acquisition and analysis is a vital part of the project as the statistics and estimated calculations are derived based on collected data by the people of Tripoli. To acquire the qualitative type of primary data, a survey questionnaire and semi-structured interview methods are used which are provided in appendix A and B respectively.

Survey Questionnaire

A questionnaire is defined as a set of written/designed questions, the purpose of the questionnaire is to obtain data and information from a large number population, as an example, to identify points of view of some respondents regarding a phenomenon or a particular issue or interest (Mathers et al., 2007).

As this research is attempting to investigate the application of the anaerobic digestion technology for food waste management and energy generation in Tripoli, to establish interpretative frameworks to assess the potential to adopt such technology, this questionnaire is to be used as a method to collect information and data from the people in Tripoli.

The proposed survey questionnaire is prepared and kept online for 20 days to gather as much data as possible to make accurate estimations and derive statistics about food waste amount and type of food waste and identify views of people regarding AD technology. After the questionnaire is designed and the final version is to be approved. The medium of distribution chosen for the questionnaire was through the internet and targeted through an online survey platform, Survey Monkey. The questionnaire consists of 26 questions, and it should have an estimated time of 10 minutes or less to complete.

The questionnaires for Tripoli community is intended to investigate the attitudes and role of Tripoli residents (Appendix 2)  Content removed…

In this research, to ensure the reliability and validity of the questionnaire survey, some measures are taken, that includes;

• Taking great care in designing and writing up the questionnaire to link/connect the questionnaire questions with the objectives of the
• Reviewing a draft of the questionnaire with some university students at the University of South Wales (including Libyan students) who are conducting similar researches and see what advice is available for improving the question
• Carrying out changes and corrections in the questionnaire to improve the questionnaire quality and make the questionnaire more appropriate to the study’s conditions.

The online survey link is sent to the two biggest universities in Tripoli city: the University of Tripoli and the University of Nasser in Tripoli. The online survey link is sent by email to the

Department of Information and Documentation and to the department of Students and Staff Activities in both universities, the survey link is distributed among students, staff and lectures (emails are attached in appendix 4). Moreover, as the researcher was graduated from the Higher Centre / College of the Occupational Safety and Health in Tripoli, the online survey link is sent by a Wechat phone message to the general coordinator at the Information Technology Department in this Centre / College to distribute the link among staff, students and lecturers to allow them to participate in this survey (the message is attached in appendix 4).

Content removed…

Semi-Structured Interview

  A semi-structured interview is a uniform qualitative method of inquiry. The interviewer has a set of a pre-determined set of questions and the opportunity to ask about particular themes and explore responses further. It helps in providing useful information concerning the participant’s experiences. The current study uses semi-structured interview, comprising of 7 questions.

In the current study, the interviews are arranged with the General Authority for Environmental Protection employees in Tripoli-Libya. When preparing to conduct the interviews in this research, the researcher considers the following factors;

• Establishing the structure of interviews based on the research questions and objectives.
• Avoiding those questions which may have dual or multi-concepts. Open questions were specifically drafted so that the participant could elaborate on their opinions.
• Identifying the possible number and character of participants from the given population.
• Seeking permission from those who participate in conducting the interviews.
• Arranging the suitable time for conducting the interviews

When conducting the interviews, adequate preparations are to be made to maximise the chances for successful interviews, these include;

• Sending a letter General Authority for Environmental Protection in Tripoli-Libya explains the overall aim of carrying out this study and requesting interviews with them (The letter is attached in Appendix C).
• Selecting several 5 participants from the chosen organisation.
• Direct contacts are to be made with the chosen participants to arrange a date and time for conducting the interview and get the participants’ full names and contact numbers to confirm the proposed appointments.
• Telephone calls are to be made on the day before the appointment day to remind the participants of the interviews appointment.

A set of seven open questions is employed in the interviews.  Content removed…

Secondary Sources

Secondary data is defined as information collected by individuals or organisations that are not based on their personal first-hand experience in participating in actual events or conditions of research (Daas and Arends, 2012).

The current study’s secondary data used various sources such as official reports, books, guides, websites, journal articles, and websites. The main secondary data source for the current study was anaerobic digestion technology efficiency studies extracted from online peer-reviewed journal articles. It was also essential to consider previous research making it necessary to extract data from academic peer-reviewed journals to compare and standardise variables of the current study.

The current study’s secondary data used various sources such as official reports, books, guides, websites, journal articles, and websites. The main secondary data source for the current study was anaerobic digestion technology efficiency studies extracted from online peer-reviewed journal articles. It was also essential to consider previous research making it necessary to extract data from academic peer-reviewed journals to compare and standardise variables of the current study. The current study’s secondary data used various sources such as official reports, books, guides, websites, journal articles, and websites. The main secondary data source for the current study was anaerobic digestion technology efficiency studies extracted from online peer-reviewed journal articles. It was also essential to consider previous research making it necessary to extract data from academic peer-reviewed journals to compare and standardise variables of the current study. The current study’s secondary data used various sources such as official reports, books, guides, websites, journal articles, and websites. The main secondary data source for the current study was anaerobic digestion technology efficiency studies extracted from online peer-reviewed journal articles. It was also essential to consider previous research making it necessary to extract data from academic peer-reviewed journals to compare and standardise variables of the current study. The current study’s secondary data used various sources such as official reports, books, guides, websites, journal articles, and websites. The main secondary data source for the current study was anaerobic digestion technology efficiency studies extracted from online peer-reviewed journal articles. It was also essential to consider previous research making it necessary to extract data from academic peer-reviewed journals to compare and standardise variables of the current study. The current study’s secondary data used various sources such as official reports, books, guides, websites, journal articles, and websites. The main secondary data source for the current study was anaerobic digestion technology efficiency studies extracted from online peer-reviewed journal articles. It was also essential to consider previous research making it necessary to extract data from academic peer-reviewed journals to compare and standardise variables of the current study. The current study’s secondary data used various sources such as official reports, books, guides, websites, journal articles, and websites. The main secondary data source for the current study was anaerobic digestion technology efficiency studies extracted from online peer-reviewed journal articles. It was also essential to consider previous research making it necessary to extract data from academic peer-reviewed journals to compare and standardise variables of the current study. The current study’s secondary data used various sources such as official reports, books, guides, websites, journal articles, and websites. The main secondary data source for the current study was anaerobic digestion technology efficiency studies extracted from online peer-reviewed journal articles. It was also essential to consider previous research making it necessary to extract data from academic peer-reviewed journals to compare and standardise variables of the current study. The current study’s secondary data used various sources such as official reports, books, guides, websites, journal articles, and websites. The main secondary data source for the current study was anaerobic digestion technology efficiency studies extracted from online peer-reviewed journal articles. It was also essential to consider previous research making it necessary to extract data from academic peer-reviewed journals to compare and standardise variables of the current study. The current study’s secondary data used various sources such as official reports, books, guides, websites, journal articles, and websites. The main secondary data source for the current study was anaerobic digestion technology efficiency studies extracted from online peer-reviewed journal articles. It was also essential to consider previous research making it necessary to extract data from academic peer-reviewed journals to compare and standardise variables of the current study. The current study’s secondary data used various sources such as official reports, books, guides, websites, journal articles, and websites. The main secondary data source for the current study was anaerobic digestion technology efficiency studies extracted from online peer-reviewed journal articles. It was also essential to consider previous research making it necessary to extract data from academic peer-reviewed journals to compare and standardise variables of the current study.

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Sampling strategy.

The current study uses two sets of sampling strategies for obtaining data from the questionnaire survey and interview questions. To begin with, the questionnaire survey called for respondents that are homeowners residing and residents of Tripoli. For this reason, a simple random sampling strategy was used to target respondents to complete the questionnaire survey form. According to (Easton and McColl, 1997), simple random sampling is the most basic sampling technique used where the research selects a group of subjects for a study from a larger group or population. The current study uses two sets of sampling strategies for obtaining data from the questionnaire survey and interview questions. To begin with, the questionnaire survey called for respondents that are homeowners residing and residents of Tripoli. For this reason, a simple random sampling strategy was used to target respondents to complete the questionnaire survey form. According to (Easton and McColl, 1997), simple random sampling is the most basic sampling technique used where the research selects a group of subjects for a study from a larger group or population.

Data Analysis

The analysis method of the collected data relies on instruments used for the collection of data. However, data analysis is a step to output the research results from the raw data collected. The researcher at this stage should be conscious of how to adapt the method of analysis. The raw data gathered before this step does not express the full meaning of the respondents. Thence, all collected data, whether it is qualitative or quantitative, have to be analysed to provide a full meaning and be useful. In this regard, the nature and the quantity of the gathered data to a certain extent determine the techniques of analysis to be adopted (Flowerdew, 2005).

Cost Analysis of Data

A detailed financial analysis is a key component of the current study. Essential calculations include cost-benefit analysis concerning the power generation capacity of the proposed plant. The internal rate of return (IRR) and Net Present Value (NPV) has been taken as the plant’s cost estimation efficiency parameters.

Discount Rate Calculation

Internal rate of return (IRR) and Net Present Value (NPV) calculations are the evaluation criteria to evaluate cost-benefit analysis. Equation 1 is used to calculate the discount rate of 8per cent based on the assumptions.

• Rt is the cash flow
• i  is the Discount rate
• t  is the time of cash flow

Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Net Present Value (NPV) Calculations

The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of the proposed project is the discount rate at which the Net Present Value of the project (NPV) is equal to zero, which means discounted costs are equal to discounted benefits. While IRR is calculated as

Some of the other investment of the plant is

• Planning and license requirements
• Concrete access roads and handling yard
• Investment cost of land and transportation

Quantitative Data Analysis

Some of the other investment other than the investment of the plant is

Some of the assumptions to carry out further calculations are as follows:

• The plant will operate throughout the year.
• The cost of establishing an AD plant (in the UK) that processes approximately the same (tons) of food wastes generated per year in Tripoli is determined to provide the AD plant’s establishment cost in Tripoli.
• 1 The British pound is equivalent to 79 Libyan Dinar (LYD).
• The estimated rate might be + / – 15%

As discussed earlier, the interviews will be conducted on Skype, a video call software that functions through the internet. The interviews have been structured to not last over twenty-six(26) minutes in which participants are asked a series of questions associated with the topic of interest. The interview’s initial questions simply attempt to explore the respondent’s job responsibilities within the General Authority for Environmental Protection in Tripoli-Libya.

The semi-structured interview questions used in the current research are found in Appendix B. The interview’s remaining seven questions examine the respondent’s opinion on the anaerobic digestion plant as a waste management tool and a means for electricity generation. The questions attempt to explore the views of green energy and sustainable initiatives on a government level to comprehend the extent to which an AD plan can be implemented in Tripoli. The respondents’ responses will be analysed descriptively and then correlated with the data obtained from the questionnaire responses. The interviewees’ responses will be incorporated into the findings by describing the responses in parallel with the quantitative findings.

Ethical Considerations

Bryman and Bell (2007) stated that ethical Considerations are specified as one of the most important parts of any research. The authors argued that the following principles of ethical considerations should be considered:-

• All participants of research should not be undergone to harm in any way.
• Research participant’s dignity should be respected as the priority.
• Full consent from the participants of research should be obtained before the study.
• Ensuring that the privacy of research participants is protected.
• Ensuring adequate confidentiality levels of research data.
• The anonymity of those who are participating in research should be ensured.
• Any deception or exaggeration about the aims and objectives of the research must be avoided.
• Any communication types concerning research should be implemented with transparency and honesty.

In this research, although data collection involved questionnaire-based surveys and interviews, the ethics of the research are always kept first. The primary reason for conducting this research is to satisfy academic goals; hence, the population’s personal data is avoided in the process. The questionnaire does not include any contact information, identity card numbers, etc. The research is only done for academic purposes. Thus no details of anyone from the population are shared with any third party.

The interviews were recorded and then transcribed by the researcher once the interviews are complete. It should be noted that no identifying information was included in the transcription of the interviews. The recordings, transcriptions, and filled questionnaires will be kept in a locked file cabinet and on a password-protected computer located at the researcher’s residence. All data; transcriptions, audio recordings, and questionnaire forms, will be destroyed upon completing the project.

Limitations and Difficulties

This section describes the limitations and difficulties of the characteristics of the current study’s methodology, which may impact the interpretation of the results. One of the major research limitations found in the methodology is English as a primary mode of communication on the questionnaire form. This inevitably creates a bias in participants’ random selection because Libya is primarily an Arabic-speaking country. Developing the questionnaire in English automatically withholds a population of Libyans from responding to the questionnaire, which withholds opinions from a vast majority of the population about food waste management and anaerobic digestion technology for waste. Furthermore, it wasn’t easy to carry out a questionnaire survey regarding the data collection process. The main reason is that most people do not have any prior knowledge regarding AD technology. This may result in a lack of participation of some people in Tripoli to fill in the questionnaire survey.

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Summary of the Methodology:

This research adopts both qualitative and quantitative analysis methods. All the data and information are to be reviewed, coded, and processed using qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques. The quantitative data collected from the questionnaire survey are analysed. The results of the data gathered are represented by a set of techniques such as quotations, citations, diagrams, tables, and charts accordingly to provide more understanding, this i. This by using SPSS computer software. The reason for using this method of analysis is that this method is preferred rather than other methods because it allows greater interactions and a better understanding of the collected data and context (Flowerdew, 2005).

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• Explain data collection methods.
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• Analyse data.
• Ensure replicability.

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