Research Methodology for Science and Technology

Rushdi Shams Department of Computer Science and Engineering Khulna University of Engineering & Technology

What is Research
The systematic process of collecting and analyzing

information in order to increase our understanding of the phenomenon with which we are concerned or interested. (Practical Research: Planning and Design by Paul Leedy) It involves interpretation of data to draw conclusions Research is not restating previous facts It is not searching new knowledge for information

What is Research
Are you representing other peoples work in a stylish

well-understood manner? Then it is not a research Are you seeking knowledge on the architecture of cars by buying a car? Then it is not research

What is Research
Originates with a question or problem.

Requires a clear articulation of a goal.

Follows a specific plan of procedure. Usually divides the principal problem into more

manageable sub-problems. Guided by the specific research problem, question, or hypothesis. Accepts certain critical assumptions. Requires the collection and interpretation of data in attempting to resolve the problem that initiated the research. Builds on previous research.

Wallaces Model

Research Methodology
Propose a research. In order to do that, you will have

to review literatures. Conduct a research. The ideas you generated from the knowledge gathered in literature review should be carried out; analysis will be done; results will be produced Document your work. This documentation will be the stem to produce
Conference papers for sharing knowledge with scholars Journal papers for archiving

Research Proposal

Conducting Research

Publication

Documentation

Research Proposal

Conducting Research

Publication

Documentation

Propose a Research
A Formal way to propose a research is writing up a research proposal that will have precise indications on your research and related work found from literature review

Why will you review Literature

The literature review is a critical look at the existing

research that is significant to your project. You should evaluate what has already been done, show the relationships between different work, and show how it relates to your project. It is not supposed to be just a summary of other people's work.

What should Literature Review answer

What do we already know in the area concerned?
What are the existing theories? Are there any inconsistencies or other shortcomings? What views need to be (further) tested? What evidence is lacking, inconclusive, contradictory

or too limited? Why study (further) the research problem?

Literature Review Resources

The ACM Portal http://portal.acm.com Kluwer Online http://www.kluweronline.com IEEExplore http://ieeexplore.ieee.org CrossRef http://www.crossref.org

Research Proposal
After reviewing the relevant literature, you should

begin thinking about your proposal Your proposal will communicate your intentions to your committee, It will serve as a plan for yourself and the committee, and Connects yourself with the committee It should indicate that You have identified a problem
You read enough literature to discuss the subject intelligently, You developed a strategy for completing the research.

Research Proposal
A Research Proposal will generally contain following

sections Problem Statement

Which area the problem belongs to What has been done so far What problems are still not solved Why are those problems need to be solved

Motivation
What problem are you particularly interested of
What is your motive to solve that Narrower description of your research

Research Proposal
Approach Brief description of your research How will you solve the problems What are the steps to accomplish your goal? Are you aware of the upcoming problems? Challenges Difference with other work How your research will contribute Applications Where your findings can be applied

Documentation
After completing the research you promised in your research proposal, you have to document them.

Thesis
Documentation is vital as A good researcher should

know the way to let other researchers know about his work If you wrote a good proposal, it should serve as the basis for the beginning chapters for your thesis.

Thesis
Your thesis should meet the following criteria1. Evidence of an original investigation or the testing of

ideas. 2. Competence in independent work or experimentation. 3. An understanding of appropriate techniques. 4. Ability to make critical use of published work and source material. 5. Appreciation of the relationship of the special theme to the wider field of knowledge. 6. Originality as shown by the topic researched or the methodology employed. 7. Distinct contribution to knowledge.

Scientific Writing: IMRAD

Every scientific writing generally will have four

sections having an acronym of IMRAD Introduction Methods Results and Discussion Now, lets take a look at the very basic parts of a technical documentation

Title
Title is a label- not sentence
Fewest possible words that adequately describe the

contents of the thesis Indexing and abstracting services depend heavily on the accuracy of the title Avoid abbreviations

Authors
Alphabetical order or order of importance
Persons who actively contributed to the overall design

and execution of the experiments First name, middle name, last name Address of institution where the research is done Address in same serial to the authors

Abstract
Precise summary of the content
Brief summary of each of the sections Should not exceed 250 words though there is no hard

and fast rule States the principal objectives and scope of the investigation Describes the methodologies employed Summarize the results State the principal conclusions

Introduction
Enough background information so that reader can

understand results Reader should not need to refer to previous publications on the topic Introduction should describe
Nature and scope of the problem investigated Review of related literature Method of the investigation Principal results Principal conclusions

Methods
Describe the experimental design
Provide enough detail so that others can repeat the

experiment Use past tense

Results
Overall description of experiment
Present the data Results are presented in past tense Avoid redundancy

Discussions
Try to present principles, relationships, and

generalizations shown by the results Point out any exceptions or any lack of correlation and define unsettled points Show how your results and interpretations agree with previously published work Don't be shy; discuss theoretical implication of your work as well as practical applications State your conclusions as clearly as possible Summarize your evidence for each conclusion

Acknowledgement
Acknowledge any significant technical help, etc.
Acknowledge any outside financial assistance Grants, contracts, or fellowships

References

1. 2. 3.

List only significant, published references Check all parts of every reference against the original copy the publications You can find Reference styles http://www.computer.org/author/style/refer.htm http://www.apastyle.org/ http://www.acm.org/pubs/submissions/submission. htm

Publication
Nihil simul inventum est et perfectum means Nothing is invented and perfected at the same time

Why Publication
If you gather knowledge, apply it, invent something

new and do not share with scholars, the invention will not be useful for human race To make your research useful, you can submit them to journals In journals, your research will be archived and will be plentiful to conduct other researches You can submit them to conferences You can share ideas with scholars that can broaden your view and instil newer ideas

Things to consider during Publication

If you intend to publish your research work, then you

need to know the nuts and bolts Information on conferences Call for Papers Review Process Submitting your Research Work Feedback from Reviewers Preparing Final Version

Information on Conferences
Personal web pages

http://www.tml.hut.fi/~pv/conferences.html Public databases http://www.papersinvited.com/ Organizations http://webapps1.ieee.org/conferenceSearch/search.do http://campus.acm.org/calendar/ SIGs http://www.sigmm.org/Events/events_page

Call for Papers

When you find a suitable conference, just dont blindly

submit your paper. Carefully, take a look at Title of the conference Where will it be held Date of conference Deadline of paper submission Topics of Interest Instructions for Authors

Review Process
In order to place your paper in journal or a conference

proceedings, your paper will be reviewed generally based on Originality of your research work Contribution to the knowledge-based society Organization of the writing Quality of Language References you used

Submitting your Research

Before submission ask comments from your colleagues

and supervisor When the paper is ready, prepare it according to the Instructions for Authors
Layout
Format Number of pages

Word count
Figures

Submitting your Research

Most conferences have electronic submission web page Email Otherwise you have to submit the paper either using

normal or courier mail Make sure that you get an acknowledgement from the submission

Feedback from Reviewers

Usually, conferences announce beforehand when the

review results should be ready The results are usually emailed to all authors Read the results carefully Remember that good conferences accept less than half of the papers Acceptance ratio can be even below 20%

Feedback from Reviewers

If the paper is not accepted, consider improving it

according to the comments and submitting it to another conference Usually, it pays of to cool down for couple of days or even weeks

Preparing Final Version

Make the corrections suggested by the reviewers
Follow the instructions given the to the authors Often, the final layout is different than the review

version Send the final version to the conference well before the deadline

Research Presentation
In conferences, you will have to present your research work which is as important as your research and documentation

What to say and How to say

Communicate the Key Ideas

Make sure that your talk emphasizes the key ideas and skips over what is standard, obvious, or merely complicated. Dont get Bogged Down in Details Details are out of place in an oral presentation. This rule cannot be over-emphasized. Structure Your Talk A good speaker always lets the audience know exactly where they are and where they are headed. Your presentation should be broken into several distinct parts, each with its own objectives and style. Each part should be dearly delineated.

What to say and How to say

Use an Organized Approach

A sample time-frame for presentation of a paper can be Introduction (5%) Proposal (15%) Theoretical basis, results and evaluations (45%) Conclusion (15%) Discussion (20%)

Getting through Audience

Practise your talk
Use Repetition Convey Enthusiasm, Excitement, Confidence Use Humour but dont over-run Maintain eye contact Control your voice Control your motion Take care with your appearance Dont start talking with apologies

Visual and Aural Aids

Overhead projectors
Dont overload transparencies Avoid slide covering Use colors effectively Use pictures and tables Beware of the microphone Familiarize yourself with stage

Q A