Research Methodology in

Architecture & Planning

Paul Varghese
Faculty of Architecture
KAHE
22 March 2019
Research Methodology in Architecture
& Planning
• Architecture (& Planning), is an amalgam of
several streams of academic knowledge –
technological, behavioural, economic, and is
system- & process-oriented.
• Architecture, as we know it, is a more
practice-oriented area of academics (a little
like medicine).
• Architecture is not traditionally an area that
does specific research for the sake of
developing knowledge, or a process /
product. Architecture is more oriented
towards the solution of problems.
Research Methodology in Architecture
& Planning
• Research in a search for original
knowledge; art of scientific investigation;
• Research as such is for the development of
knowledge – any and all kinds. However, for
the sake of some clarity, one classifies it into
some opposing types:
– Descriptive vs. Analytical,
– Fundamental vs. Applied,
– Quantitative vs. Qualitative,
– Conceptual vs. Empirical,
– Visual (in Architecture),
– Etc.
(Kothari & Garg, 2014)
Research Methodology in Architecture
& Planning
• Research in a search for original
knowledge; art of scientific investigation;
• Research as such is for the development of
knowledge – any and all kinds. However, for
the sake of some clarity, one classifies it into
some opposing types:
– Descriptive vs. Analytical,
– Fundamental vs. Applied,
– Quantitative vs. Qualitative,
– Conceptual vs. Empirical,
– Visual (in Architecture),
– Etc.
(Kothari & Garg, 2014)
 Research Methodology in Architecture
& Planning
Research
Some of the recommended traits of
better research are:
• The Scientific Method
• Development of Hypothesis,
and hypothesis-testing
methods
• Use of sampling methods,
statistical (descriptive,
inferential) and numerical
methods
Research Methodology in Architecture
& Planning
Research Methodology in Architecture
& Planning
Research

Broad classification of
Types (data collection
methods) :
• Library Research
• Field Research
• Laboratory Research
 Research Methodology in Architecture
& Planning
Research
For good research, some of the
qualities required are:
– research should be
systematic
– research should be logical
– research should be
empirical
– research should be valid
– research should be
replicable
Research Methodology in Architecture
& Planning
Developing a
Research Question
 Research Methodology in Architecture
& Planning
Research
• India Citation Index [ http://www.indiancitationindex.com ] is an Indian
citations, localised version of indigenous publications; it also supports
search functions by keywords, author, title, etc.
• H-Index : The h-index (Hirsch index) is an author-level metric that
attempts to measure both the productivity and citation impact of the
publications of a scientist or scholar. The index is based on the
number of citations that they have received in other publications; can
also be applied to productivity & impact of a scholarly journal,
department or university.

• Impact Factor : The impact factor (IF) / journal impact factor (JIF) is a
measure reflecting the average number of citations to recent articles.
It is frequently used to rate the importance of a journal within its
field.
Note: be careful of predatory publishers.
 Research Methodology in Architecture
& Planning
Web of Science, Scopus, Publications :
• Web of Science (WoS) is an online scientific citation indexing
service, maintained by Clarivate Analytics; includes 34,200
journals along with books, proceedings, patents, and data sets;
require subscription and IP authentication.

• Scopus is a bibliographic online database containing abstracts

and citation database; owned by Elsevier; access through
subscription; covers about 36,000 journal titles from 11,000
international publishers in scientific, medical, technical, and social
science fields.

• Google Scholar (GS) is a much more general repository of

articles, including many out-of-print / rare publications
/manuscripts, also in different languages; more a superset of the
others, more extensive.
Research Methodology in Architecture
& Planning
Skills to be Developed @ KAHE (Faculty &
Students):
• A research tradition to be developed
• Critical / analytical thinking – including that of
questioning, curiosity, needing to know, find out
answers
• Experiential / hands-on development of knowledge
• Freedom from only/purely Internet-based referencing /
Library-research
• Teacher as a giver of value, not necessarily of
knowledge
• Report & publication-oriented writing
– non plagiaristic
• Presentation skills
Research Methodology in Architecture
& Planning
References:
• Groat, L. and Wang, D. Architectural Research Methods, second edition.
New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, (2013).
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-index
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_factor
• Kothari, C.R. and Garg, G. Research Methodology, third edition. New
Delhi: New Age International
THANK YOU!