methodology

noun meth·od·ol·o·gy \ ˌme-thə-ˈdä-lə-jē \

Definition of methodology

plural methodologies

1 :a body of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a discipline :a particular procedure or set of procedures

demonstrating library research methodology

the issue is massive revision of teaching methodology
—Bob Samples

2 :the analysis of the principles or procedures of inquiry in a particular field

See methodology defined for English-language learners

Examples of methodology in a Sentence

He blamed the failure of their research on poor methodology.
for solving crossword puzzles my usual methodology is to begin by filling in all of the answers I'm reasonably sure of

Recent Examples of methodology from the Web

That means agreeing on a methodology for what the U.K. owes, guarantees for EU citizens living in the U.K. and how to police a border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

— ian wishart, Bloomberg.com, "U.K. Seeks More Brexit Negotiating Rounds," 29 Aug. 2017
Note on survey methodology: YouGov maintains an online panel of opt-in survey participants.

— ashley jardina, Washington Post, "White identity politics isn’t just about white supremacy. It’s much bigger.," 16 Aug. 2017
The U.N. human rights office, which follows a strict methodology, has estimated the total death toll at over 500.

— jamey keaten, The Seattle Times, "UN report details Congo butchery, ‘ethnic cleansing’," 4 Aug. 2017
Methodology: KAYAK pulled internal data based on all coach, roundtrip flights from the U.S. with search dates between January 1 and November 17, 2016 for travel dates of November 18, 2016 to January 3, 2017.

— lyndsey matthews, Country Living, "The Best Time To Book Flights For Holiday Travel," 3 Aug. 2017
Lean Six Sigma is a methodology that provides the strategy, tools and techniques to improve the performance of an organization.

— Post-Tribune, "Community news," 20 July 2017
Critics say Richman’s work is based on flawed methodology.

— jonathan shorman and anita kumar, kansascity, "Kobach makes claims of noncitizen voters in Kansas as he takes national stage," 19 July 2017
Officials do the spot counts on a quarterly basis at dozens of intersections across the city, using methodology created by the National Bike and Pedestrian Documentation Project.

— jessica lee, The Seattle Times, "Do pedestrian push-to-walk buttons do anything? Here’s the answer," 17 July 2017
In May, 38north.org analyst John Schilling described the North Korean methodology: Test ICBM components on other rockets, avoiding expensive and provocative tests of larger systems.

— joe pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "North Korea's Missile Test: What We Know, and What We Don't," 5 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'methodology.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

methodology and Science

The methodology employed in an experiment is essential to its success, and bad methodology has spoiled thousands of research projects. So whenever a piece of research is published in a scientific or medical journal, the researchers always carefully describe their methodology; otherwise, other scientists couldn't possibly judge the quality of what they've done.