Research methodology

Research methodology is the planned path from a research question to a defensible conclusion: choosing a topic, surveying existing scholarship, forming a hypothesis, selecting methods, gathering and analysing evidence, and presenting results with proper citation. A concrete example is a dissertation on peasant movements: the researcher first reads the historiography, then narrows to one district and period, then tests whether revenue records, petitions and oral accounts support or challenge the existing explanation. This chapter gives students a workable method for history dissertations and examinations.