Methodology can be:

1. "the analysis of the principles of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a discipline";^[1]
2. "the systematic study of methods that are, can be, or have been applied within a discipline".^[1]

Methodology may be a description of process, or may be expanded to include a philosophically coherent collection of theories, concepts or ideas as they relate to a particular discipline or field of inquiry

Methodology may refer to nothing more than a simple set of methods or procedures, or it may refer to the rationale and the philosophical assumptions that underlie a particular study relative to the scientific method. For example, scholarly literature often includes a section on the methodology of the researchers.

RESEARCH: Research is defined as human activity based on the intellectual application in the investigation of matter. The primary purpose for applied research is discovering, interpreting, and the development of the methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe. Research can use the scientific method, but need not do so.

SCOPE OF RESEARCH: Research needs valuable resources such as money, time, materials, manpower and machines to get the work done effectively to minimize input value for a unit value of output and the return-on-investment.

•	Finance, Budgeting and Investment:	
  o	Cash flow analysis, long-range capital requirements, investments policies, dividend policies, etc.
  o	Credit policies, credit risks and various account procedures such as deposits and withdrawal.
•	Purchasing, Procurement and Exploration:
  o	Determining the quantity and time of purchase of raw materials, machinery, etc.
  o	Rules for buying and supplying products under varying prices.
  o	Bidding and equipment replacement policies.
  o	Determining the quantities and timings of purchases of finished products.
  o	Strategies for exploration and exploitation of new material sources.
•	Production Management:
  o	This includes physical distribution of products and planning of manufacturing. Physical Distribution 

is further divided into the following elements :

    	Location and size of warehouses, distribution centers, retail outlets, etc.
    	Distribution Policy
    	Manufacturing and facility planning. It is further divided into the following elements.
    	Production scheduling and sequencing of available resources.
    	Project scheduling and allocation of resources.
    	Determining the optimum production mix.
    	Manufacturing: It is further divided into the maintenance policies and preventive maintenance
•	Personnel Management:
  o	Recruitment Policies and assignment of jobs.
  o	Selection of suitable personnel on minimum salary.
  o	Establishing equitable bonus systems. 

•      Research and Development:  It includes the following elements.
  o	Determining the areas of concentration of research and development.
  o	Reliability and evaluation of alternative designs of research and development.
  o	Control of developed projects.
  o	Co-ordination of multiple research projects.
  o	Determining the time and cost requirements

OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH: The principal objective of research it to find solutions to problems in a systematic way. In general, the objectives of research can be specified as:

•	To acquire familiarity with a phenomenon.
•	To study the frequency of connection or independence of any activity or occurrence.
•	To determine the characteristics of an individual or a group of activities and the frequency
of the occurrence of these activities.
•	To test a hypothesis about a causal relationship that exists between variables.

In simple terms, it's a study of how people do stuff.

• Creswell, J. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
• Creswell, J. (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
• Guba, E. and Lincoln, Y. (1989). Fourth Generation Evaluation. Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications.
• Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd edition). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
• Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition, Unabridged, W.A. Neilson, T.A. Knott, P.W. Carhart (eds.), G. & C. Merriam Company, Springfield, MA, 1950.
• Joubish, Farooq Dr. (2009). Educational Research Department of Education, Federal Urdu University,Karachi,Pakistan.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Methodology.

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