The field of methodology and statistics is by its nature interdisciplinary, as it relates to all fields of behavioural and social research. Social science methodology concentrates on central issues in research design and data collection, with the aim of improving the quality of empirical research.

In addition, the complex theories and research designs currently used call for advanced analysis methods, which in turn require mastery of the statistical foundations of these methods, and training in their skilled use.

Finally, there are strong interconnections between methodology and statistics. Modern social and behavioural research uses highly advanced quantitative methods, while, at the same time, no amount of statistics can compensate for fundamental flaws in a study's design or data collection. Thus, specific methodological choices lead to different statistical techniques, and new developments in statistics have implications for the design of research.