Methods
To provide sufficient details of the procedure to enable the interested readers to repeat your experiment. For readers to assess the validity of your research results and conclusion.
Proper Heading of “Methods”:
Materials and Methods
Subjects and Methods
Patients and Methods
Contents of the Method
Basic components of METHODS
Materials — What or who was used for this study?
Methods — How was the study done?
Guiding principles
Clarity
Highlight the most important or new methods.
in clear order
Use both visual and verbal signals
Detailed presentation
- Detailed as a cookbook
Technical details
Tenses
- Mostly past tense to present the procedure done
- Exception: present tense
- to describe data: e.g., Data are presented as menas +- SD.
- to cite existing knowledge of facts
Point of view
The point of view of the experimenters
The point of view of the experitments
Stock phrases
Selection of patients, subjects, healthy volunteers, animals
A total of 169 patients were included in the study, ….
Patients with significant mitral or aortic valvular diseases were excluded.
Classification of subjects, patients, healthy volunteers, animals
were divided in to three groups:
we randomized 60 patients…
Age
aged 51+2(mean + SEM) years.
mean age 45.6 years; range, 29 to 70 years.