Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A qualitative methodologist consulted to design the interview protocol for a mixed-methods study, listed as an author under CRediT 'Methodology'
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A statistician who only ran a single test is performing statistical consultancy, not broader methodology consultancy
Editorial commentary
A methodology consultant provides substantive advice on how a study should be designed and conducted — sampling strategy, instrument selection, analytic approach, or implementation logistics — without holding a primary-investigator role on the project. The consultation can be a single structured engagement or an ongoing advisory relationship through a project’s design phase.
How it differs from related terms: Where a statistical consultant‘s brief is narrowly quantitative (which test, which model, what sample size), a methodology consultant’s scope is the full research design, and where a domain expert advisor speaks to subject-matter plausibility, a methodology consultant speaks to research-design rigor. When the contribution materially shapes the study, CRediT’s Methodology role is the appropriate authorship credit; a single bounded consultation is more typically an acknowledged contribution.
EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines (e.g. CONSORT, STROBE) frequently prompt authors to specify who advised on design choices such as randomisation or blinding — a natural place methodology-consultant credit surfaces in a published paper.
References
- NISO CRediT Standard, ANSI/NISO Z39.104-2022
- EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines
Also known as
Methods consultant · Research design consultant
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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