Research Concepts (3)

8/2/2019 Research Concepts (3)

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Research Concepts

Dr. B KuswandiAdapted from Chris Jones & Dr. Xiaoping Jia


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AgendaResearch Basics

What research is and is not

Where research comes from

Research deliverables

Methodologies

Research processQuantitative versus qualitative research

Questions


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Research BasicsWhat research is and isnt

Research characteristics

Research projects and pitfalls

Sources of research projects

Elements of research proposals

Literature reviews


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What Research Is NotResearch isnt information gathering:

Gathering information from resources such books

or magazines isnt research.No contribution to new knowledge.

Research isnt the transportation of facts:

Merely transporting facts from one resource toanother doesnt constitute research.

No contribution to new knowledge although thismight make existing knowledge more accessible.


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What Research IsResearch is:

the systematic process of collecting andanalyzing information (data) in order to increaseour understanding of the phenomenon aboutwhich we are concerned or interested.1


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Research Characteristics1. Originates with a question or problem.

2. Requires clear articulation of a goal.

3. Follows a specific plan or procedure.4. Often divides main problem into subproblems.

5. Guided by specific problem, question, orhypothesis.

6. Accepts certain critical assumptions.

7. Requires collection and interpretation of data.

8. Cyclical (helical) in nature.


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Research Project PitfallsThe following kinds of projects usually dont

make for good research:

Self-enlightenment.

Comparing data sets.

Correlating data sets.

Problems with yes / no answers.


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High-Quality Research(1 of 2)

Good research requires:

The scope and limitations of the work to be clearly

defined.

The process to be clearly explained so that it canbe reproduced and verified by other researchers.

A thoroughly planned design that is as objectiveas possible.


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High-Quality Research(2 of 2)

Good research requires:

Highly ethical standards be applied.

All limitations be documented.

Data be adequately analyzed and explained.

All findings be presented unambiguously and all

conclusions be justified by sufficient evidence.


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Sources of Research ProblemsObservation.

Literature reviews.

Professional conferences.

Experts.


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Stating the Research ProblemOnce youve identified a research problem:

State that problem clearly and completely.

Determine the feasibility of the research.

Identify subproblems:Completely researchable units.

Small in number.

Add up to the total problem.

Must be clearly tied to the interpretation of thedata.


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HypothesesHypotheses are tentative, intelligent guessesas to the solution of the problem.

There is often a 1-1 correspondence between asubproblem and a hypothesis.

Hypotheses can direct later research activitiessince they can help determine the nature of the

research and methods applied.


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DelimitationsAll research has limitations and thus certainwork that willnot be performed.

The work that will not be undertaken isdescribed as the delimitationsof theresearch.


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DefinitionsDefine each technical term as it is used inrelation to your research project.

This helps remove significant ambiguity from theresearch itself by ensuring that reviewers, whilethey may not agree with your definitions, at leastknow what youre talking about.


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AssumptionsAssumptions are those things that theresearcher is taking for granted.

For example: a given test instrument accuratelyand consistently measures the phenomenon inquestion.

As a general rule youre better off

documenting an assumption than ignoring it.

Overlooked assumptions provide a prime sourceof debate about a research projects results.


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Importance of the StudyMany research problems have a kind oftheoretical feel about them. Such projects

often need to be justified:What is the research projects practical value?

Without this justification, it will prove difficult

to convince others that the problem inquestion is worth study.


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Research ProposalsResearch proposals are documents thatdescribe the intended research including:

Problem and subproblems.

Hypotheses.

Delimitations.

Definitions.

Assumptions.

Importance.

Literature review.


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Literature ReviewA literature review is a necessity.

Without this step, you wont know if your problem

has been solved or what related research isalready underway.

When performing the review:Start searching professional journals.

Begin with the most recent articles you can find.Keep track of relevant articles in a bibliography.

Dont be discouraged if work on the topic isalready underway.


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Literature Review Pitfalls(1 of 2)

Be very careful to check your sources whendoing your literature review.

Many trade magazines are not peerreviewed.

Professional conferences and journals often have

each article reviewed by multiple people before itis even recommended for publication.

The IEEE and ACM digital libraries are goodplaces to start looking for legitimate research.


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Literature Review Pitfalls(2 of 2)

The Internet can be a good source ofinformation. It is also full of pseudo-science

and poor research.

Make sure you verify the claims of anydocumentation that has not been peer

reviewed by other professionals in thecomputing industry.


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Processes & MethodologiesResearch Process.

Common Methodologies.

Methodology Comparison.


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Research ProcessResearch is an extremely cyclic process.

Later stages might necessitate a review of earlier

work.

This isnt a weakness of the process but is

part of the built-in error correction machinery.

Because of the cyclic nature of research, itcan be difficult to determine where to startand when to stop.


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Step 1: A Question Is RaisedA question occurs to or is posed to theresearcher for which that researcher has no

answer.This doesnt mean that someone else doesnt

already have an answer.

The question needs to be converted to anappropriate problem statement like thatdocumented in a research proposal.


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Step 2: Suggest HypothesesThe researcher generates intermediatehypotheses to describe a solution to the

problem.This is at best a temporary solution since there isas yet no evidence to support either theacceptance or rejection of these hypotheses.


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Step 3: Literature ReviewThe available literature is reviewed todetermine if there is already a solution to the

problem.Existing solutions do not always explain newobservations.

The existing solution might require some revision

or even be discarded.


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Step 4: Literature EvaluationIts possible that the literature review has

yielded a solution to the proposed problem.

This means that you havent really done research.

On the other hand, if the literature reviewturns up nothing, then additional research

activities are justified.


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Step 5: Acquire DataThe researcher now begins to gather datarelating to the research problem.

The means of data acquisition will often changebased on the type of the research problem.

This might entail only data gathering, but it couldalso require the creation of new measurement

instruments.


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Step 6: Data AnalysisThe data that were gathered in the previousstep are analyzed as a first step in

ascertaining their meaning.

As before, the analysis of the data does notconstitute research.

This is basic number crunching.


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Step 7: Data InterpretationThe researcher interprets the newly analyzeddata and suggests a conclusion.

This can be difficult.Keep in mind that data analysis that suggests acorrelation between two variables cant

automatically be interpreted as suggesting

causality between those variables.


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Step 8: Hypothesis SupportThe data will either support the hypotheses orthey wont.

This may lead the researcher to cycle back to anearlier step in the process and begin again with anew hypothesis.

This is one of the self-correcting mechanisms

associated with the scientific method.


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Common MethodologiesMethodologies are high-level approaches toconducting research.

The individual steps within the methodology mightvary based on the research being performed.

Two commonly used research

methodologies:Quantitative.

Qualitative.


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Methodology ComparisonQuantitative

Explanation, prediction

Test theoriesKnown variables

Large sample

Standardized instruments

Deductive

Qualitative

Explanation, description

Build theoriesUnknown variables

Small sample

Observations, interviews

Inductive


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References1. Leedy P. D. and Ormrod J. E., Practical Research:

Planning and Design, 7th Edition. 2001.


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Useful Websiteshttp://computer.org

http://www.acm.org
http://computer.org/http://www.acm.org/http://www.acm.org/http://computer.org/


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Questions?

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Research Concepts (3)

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