Measurement of the line width parameters of a molecule is of interest because collision diameters can be calculated from them. This gives an effective size of the molecule when it is involved in interactions with other molecules. Further, specific types of interactions can be inferred from detailed information about the dependence of the line width upon pressure. In this paper, an experiment for measuring line width parameters for methyl cyanide is described and the results of the experiment are analyzed. This investigation was successful in obtaining precise values for the line width parameter for the J-J' = 0-1, J-J'= 1-2, and J-J' = 2-3 transitions of methyl cyanide which agree with experimental values of other researchers where available. It was found that standing waves were the dominant effect in the measurement of center frequency shift.