VERY IMPORTANT – IQRA (READ)

a) What is RESEARCH?
1. Search for NEW knowledge
2. Investigation – for a promotion of new Knowledge
3. continuation of knowledge
4. expanding knowledge
5. Discovery of Knowledge

b) Why do you do research?

1. to accumulate knowledge?
2. To understand the world (in the past we traveled- inquiry thru asking the clergyman, head
of community, tribe leader or ruler)
3. To understand the problems
4. Characteristic of Science
- Based on facts rather than on feelings, opinion, tastes or superstitions
(supernatural/paranormal beyond our capabilities)
5. Push back ignorance

c) Types of data use in the research?

Primary and Secondary data

d) Case study research.

• is a research method involving an up-close, in-depth, and detailed examination of a subject of
study (the case), as well as its related contextual conditions.

e) Process of inquiry – Research methodology

 Research – scientific inquiry
 Fact, observation, experience
 Concept
 Hypothesis
 Provisional explanation of the phenomena
 Tentative solution to the problem
 Definition
 Theory

f) Types of Research
 DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
 EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
 EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
g) Three (3) types of sampling.
Random.
Systematic.
Stratified

h) What is Qualitative research?

• is used to describe characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied.
• It does not answer questions about how/when/why the characteristics occurred.
Rather it addresses the "what" question

i) How do you collect information for Descriptive Research?

• The three main ways to collect this information are:
• Observation (direct and participant observation)
• Recording the participants – interview/questionnaire.
• Case study, i.e in-depth study of the subject or case or people

j) How do you define exploratory research?

• Research conducted for a problem that has not been studied more clearly, establishes
priorities, develops operational definitions and improve the final research design
• Its focus is on the discovery of ideas and insights as opposed to collecting statistically accurate
data.
k) Slovin’s formulae for Calculating Sampling :
N
It is computed as n = .
( 1+ N ⅇ2 )
whereas: 
n = no. of samples
N = total population
e = error margin / margin of error
 confidence level of 95 percent (giving a margin error of 0.05)

l) Types of interview.
Focus
Formal
Informal
Semi-structured
Conversation
Meeting
m) Experimental Research - A scientist wanted to study the fish – which is dependent and
independent variable
• Fish – dependent variable
• Weather independent variable
• You cannot describe but you have to do experiment
 n) When interviewing with important people or officer example in a City Council Office – use
Focus interview i.e set questions because these people have limited time.

o) Why Descriptive Research also known as Statistical Research?

• The idea behind this type of research is to study frequencies, averages, and other statistical
calculations. Although this research is highly accurate, it does not gather the causes behind a
situation.
• Descriptive research is mainly done when a researcher wants to gain a better understanding
of a topic.
p) Social Scientist applied observation technique in the fieldwork
Direct observation
Indirect observation
Participant observation

q) Give two advantages of Indirect Observation technique in research.

• Indirect observation does not invade the object's privacy, so its use is favored when the
phenomenon is timid, susceptible, hostile or dangerous.
• With the current technological advances, indirect observation has benefited. An example of
this is the existence of thermal cameras, which have made it possible to record the nightlife of
wild animals.
• Before the creation of these cameras, it was impossible to directly observe this phenomenon
without disturbing the natural behavior of the object of study.
• Despite the advantages of this data collection tool, many researchers prefer the use of direct
observation (if conditions permit), as this may offer more information than indirect.

r) Ways to conduct interview

• The Telephone Interview. ...
• The Face-to-Face Interview. - Formal / Informal Interviews...
• The Panel Interview. ...
• The Group Interview. ...
• The Sequential Interview. ...
• The Lunch / Dinner Interview. ...
• Competency Based Interviews. ...

s) How to write a Reference from the book you read- example:

The book title is Social Science Methodology: A Unified Framework written by John Gerring,
Published by University of Cambridge located in New York, U.S.A.
• Gerring, J., (2011). Social Science Methodology: A Unified Framework, N.Y.,
U.S.A., Cambridge Univ. Press.
t) How to conduct a Participant Observation in a research?
• You are part of the phenomenon
• You participate
• No bias
• Record what you see and observe tentatively
• Don’t let them aware of your purpose
• Don’t tell them that you study them

u) In an Architectural Programming, you are required to prepare the space schedule for a
specific project. Choose the topic of your project and describe the following:
• BUILDING TYPES
• A SHOPPING MALL
• A YOUTH CENTRE
• A LIBRARY
• AN APARTMENT/VERTICAL VILLAGE/HOUSING SCHEME
• A MONUMENT
• CLUB HOUSE (GOLF, COUNTRY CLUB, SAFARI etc…)
• VERTICAL FARMING
• AN AIRPORT
• A FERRY TERMINAL
• CIQ – CUSTOM IMMIGRAATION QUARANTINE COMPLEX
• ERL/METRO TERMINAL
• INTEGRATED TRANSPORT FACILITIES
• A MARINA/WATER SPORTS CENTER
• SMART SCHOOL
• STADIUM/SPORTS ARENA
• RESEARCH CENTRE

v) How you start your Graduation Project:

a) Title
b) Location
c) Size of the site
d) Space Requirement (basic space)
e) Design concept
f) Council Regulations
g) Suggestions and Recommendations

w) To conduct a research - The sequence of steps that you need to do.

• Formulation of the problem – self created – Topics of your Research
- establish
• Construction of the hypothesis / or Question of your Problem
• Data collection – Primary and secondary data
• Analysis – types of analysis you apply with respect to methodology and Theory
• Reporting – write up
 • Follow up – another research related to the previous research

x) Urban Design – Visual Analysis

Applying Kevin Lynch’s 5 elements of visual analysis to study the Urban Design of a certain place.
Explain this technique of analysis as your case study approach in the urban research.
• Path – road, short cut foot path
• Landmark – building that you distinguish to guide you
• Nodes – junction of center of activities
• District – one area of human activity/ it can be a university area/a district in a city (Al Jurf)
• Edge - boundary

y) What is a Case Study

•  is a research method involving an up-close, in-depth, and detailed examination of a subject of
study (the case), as well as its related contextual conditions.
z) HOW DO YOU USE CASE STUDY in A RESEARCH
a process or record of research into the development of a particular person, group, or situation
over a period of time.
the case study - a particular instance of something used or analyzed in order to illustrate a thesis
or principle.

• the "case" being studied may be an individual, organization, event, or action, existing in a specific time and place

• Case studies may involve both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

•  Case studies should not be confused with qualitative research and they can be based on any mix of quantitative
and qualitative evidence. 

• Single-subject research provides the statistical framework for making inferences from quantitative case-study
data

• Another suggestion is that case study should be defined as a research strategy, an empirical inquiry that
investigates a phenomenon within its real-life context.

• Case study research can mean single and multiple case studies, can include quantitative evidence, relies on
multiple sources of evidence, and benefits from the prior development of theoretical propositions. 

What is a Sample?

• a sample is a subset of a population that is used to represent the entire group as a whole.

• When doing research, it is often impractical to survey every member of a particular population because the
sheer number of people is simply too large

WHY WE USE SAMPLING

• Sampling is the process of selecting units (e.g., people, organizations) from a population of interest so that by
studying the sample we may fairly generalize our results back to the population from which they were chosen.

• It represent the total population of the area

• It indicates how much the data you want to gather

• The researcher desires to obtain information about a population through questionnaire or testing, he/she has
two basic options.

• Every single member of the population can be questioned or tested.

• A sample can be conducted that is only selected members of the population are questioned or tested.

Sample Size

. The sample size is an important feature of any empirical study in which the goal is to make inferences (conclusion
based on evidence) about a population from a sample. In practice, the sample size used in a study is determined
based on the expense of data collection, and the need to have sufficient statistical power.

YOU can Refer to This Table for unknown Population Sample

SLOVIN’s FORMULAE - for Random sample

 is used to calculate the sample size (n)

 given the population size (N) and a margin of error (e).

N
 It is computed as n = .
( 1+ N ⅇ2 )
 If a sample is taken from a population, a formula must be used to take into account confidence levels and
margins of error.
 N
 It is computed as n = .
( 1+ N ⅇ2 )
whereas: 
n = no. of samples
N = total population
e = error margin / margin of error

 confidence level of 95 percent (giving a margin error of 0.05)

 To calculate the sample size based on the sample required to estimate a proportion with an approximate 95%
confidence level1 ,

 you can use the following formula:

N
 n= .
( 1+ N ⅇ2 )
 Where n = required sample size,

 The proportion of the population (p) may be known from prior research or other sources; if it is unknown use
p = 0.5 which assumes maximum heterogeneity (i.e. a 50/50 split).
 The degree of precision (d) is the margin of error that is acceptable.
 Setting d = 0.05, for example, would give a margin of error of plus or minus 5%.

Three main types of sampling strategy:

 Random.
 Systematic.
 Stratified.
 THESE ARE COMMONLY USED FOR GATHERING DATA

RANDOM SAMPLE- a statistical population in such a way that every possible sample that could be

selected has a predetermined probability of being selected.

Simple random sampling is the basic sampling technique;

 where we select a group of subjects (a sample) for study from a larger group (a population).
 Each individual is chosen entirely by chance and each member of the population has an equal chance of being
included in the sample.
 It is not intentionally selected
 For example the population is 1000 and you take 10% = 100 people. Here you distribute the questionnaire to
100 without considering a specific characteristics
 STRATIFIED SAMPLING

 a probability sampling technique wherein the researcher divides the entire population into different subgroups
or strata, then randomly selects the final subjects proportionally from the different strata.

SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING

a type of probability sampling method in which sample members from a larger population are selected

according to a random starting point and a fixed periodic interval.

This interval, called the sampling interval, is calculated by dividing the population size by the desired sample
size.

Purposive Sample
  A purposive sample is a non-probability sample that is selected based on characteristics of a population and the
objective of the study. 
 Purposive sampling is also known as judgmental, selective, or subjective sampling
 A purposive sample is a non-representative subset of some larger population,

 It is to serve a very specific need or purpose.

 A researcher may have a specific group in mind, such as high level business executives. ... Is also known as a
convenience sample (non probability sample)  - it is a matter of taking what you can get

Steps in Conducting Research

• Formulation of the problem – self created

- establish
• Construction of the hypothesis
• Data collection
• Analysis
• Reporting – writing the thesis or your research
• Follow up – are you going to continue on the subject

Basic Content of the thesis

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Theory
• Methodology
• Findings
• Conclusions and Discussions

How to use or develop a Theory

• Theory are ideas on a subject
• You have to read in order to understand the subject
• The theory is not 100% correct – here argument is applied to support your ideas

• It is developed on different ideas from different writers (cannot rely on one person’s ideas)

Research Plan
• Good one follows the pattern of scientific methods
1.Describing the background of the problem
2.Identify the problem area
3.Establishing a rational (theoretical base)
4. Stating the problem questions to be answered the study
5.Indicating the importance of the study
6.Stating the major hypothesis (es)
7.Stating the assumption (conceptual or substantive) underlying the question
8.Describing the constraints on the study
(delimitations)
9.Define the unusual terms
10.Presenting the limitations of the study
11.Formulating the design procedures, for sampling, data-collection and analysis, this include operationalizing
definitions and hypothesis
12.Enlisting the support of your committee or comparable supervisory group

THESIS
• It is your work based on your knowledge accumulated through the years of learning
• Your level of scholarly achievement
• Your terminating product of research
• It will be part of your portfolio
• Your employer may request to see your thesis before he can employ you

TECHNIQUE OF COLLECTING DATA

- TWO TYPES OF DATA –
• Primary and Secondary data

• - Technique of gathering Data from :

-Case Study
-Qualitative – all methods of interview, observation, matrixes etc
-Quantitative – from questionnaires, verified figures
Steps in Conducting Research
- Formulation of the problem – self created
- establish
- Construction of the hypothesis
-Data collection
-Analysis
-Reporting – writing the thesis or your research
-Follow up – are you going to continue on the subject
QUESTIONNAIRE
• a set of printed or written questions with a choice of answers, devised for the purposes of a survey or statistical
study.
• Questionnaires have advantages:
• a) cheap,
• b) do not require as much effort from the questioner as verbal or telephone surveys,
• c) standardized answers that make it simple to compile data.
• d) confident level depend on your samples and reliability of questions
BUT respondents must be able to read the questions and respond to them.

Types of Interview
• Personal interview
• Mail interview
• Telephone interview/survey
Questionnaire
• Open ended question
• Multiple – choice question
Must Pre-testing : we called Pilot Survey (to make sure the Questions are relevant and does not have
any problem for the respondent to answer.

Characteristics of Questionnaire---
it must be:
• Simple
• Straight forward
 • Easy to answer by respondents
• Category of questions must be in order

Theory – what is the purpose of a Theory?

Theory development – to support your hypothesis
Theory came from :
narratives
reading
research (core)
Research framework – theory became the main frame of your argument in the Thesis
Theory - Problems statement (define the problem clearly)
-theory developed from your reading

How to use or develop a Theory

• Theory are ideas on a subject
• You have to read in order to understand the subject
• The theory is not 100% correct – here argument is applied to support your ideas (it came from various sources
but choose the one related to your study)
• It is developed on different ideas from different writers (cannot rely on one person’s ideas)

Research Plan
• Good one follows the pattern of scientific methods

1.Describing the background of the problem

2.Identify the problem area
3.Establishing a rational (theoretical base)
4. Stating the problem questions to be answered the study
5.Indicating the importance of the study
6.Stating the major hypothesis (es)
7.Stating the assumption (conceptual or substantive) underlying the question
8.Describing the constraints on the study
(delimitations)
9.Define the unusual terms
10.Presenting the limitations of the study
11.Formulating the design procedures, for sampling, data-collection and analysis, this include operationalizing
definitions and hypothesis
12.Enlisting the support of your committee or comparable supervisory group

• THESIS –
-It is your work based on your knowledge accumulated through the years of learning
-Your level of scholarly achievement
-Your terminating product of research
-It will be part of your portfolio
-Your employer may request to see your thesis before he can employ you
OUTLINE OF A THESIS

Abstract
Introduction
Theory
Methodology
Findings
Conclusions and Discussions