methodology

American  

[meth-uh-dol-uh-jee] / ˌmɛθ əˈdɒl ə dʒi /

noun

• methodologies
  plural

1. a set or system of methods, principles, and rules for regulating a given discipline, as in the arts or sciences.

2. Philosophy.

   1. the underlying principles and rules of organization of a philosophical system or inquiry procedure.

   2. the study of the principles underlying the organization of the various sciences and the conduct of scientific inquiry.

3. Education. a branch of pedagogics dealing with analysis and evaluation of subjects to be taught and of the methods of teaching them.

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methodology British  

/ ˌmɛθəˈdɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. the system of methods and principles used in a particular discipline

2. the branch of philosophy concerned with the science of method and procedure

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• methodologist
  noun
• methodological
  adjective
• methodologically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• methodologies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of methodology

From the New Latin word methodologia, dating back to 1790–1800. See method, -o-, -logy

Explanation

A methodology is a plan-of-attack, especially when that plan-of-attack is used repeatedly. This might be obvious, but the word methodology is related to the word method. In fact, a methodology is a system of methods followed consistently. Scientists, for example, use various methodologies as they perform experiments. It might seem like the world is nothing but chaos and disorder. But actually, sometimes there is a method to this madness. And sometimes there’s a methodology.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

methodology methodologies

Google said it disputed Common Sense Media’s methodology because it used “ambiguous and contrived queries.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Mark DiCamillo, the director of the Berkeley IGS Poll, defended the methodology, saying he has spent 45 years polling in California and eight years running the Berkeley IGS Poll.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

"The availability of data and footage has prompted a change in methodology," says Turner.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

When discussing Microsoft in a follow-up email, Reyna wrote that “even an established AI leader can rotate out as the methodology responds to changing fundamentals, valuation, momentum, and other factors.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

The staff did not greet the Joliots’ achievement as joyously as Madame Curie, for the discovery was another reproach to their slapdash methodology.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

But Prof Johnes said such a comparison is misleading, because of varying methodologies across nations.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Whereas those disciplines often use cutting-edge methodologies, sociology seems dusty and theory-laden.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

They are constructed products governed by rules, committees, methodologies, assumptions and increasingly competitive business pressures.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026

One wrinkle in the race to commercialization is the number of competing quantum methodologies.

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

Most historians do not think of themselves as scientists and receive little training in acknowledged sciences and their methodologies.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• mode
• procedure
• technique