Stud SRM Chapter I Part II 2021 01 August 5

Scientific Research Methods
in Engineering Education
By
Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu
Faculty of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Jimma Institute of Technology, Jimma University
Chapter one: Perception of Research
Contents:
• Concepts of research
• Types of research
• Research topic(s)
• Research question(s)
• Planning research project

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -
2
esayas16@yahoo.com
Research Topic(s)
Strong, hot, &

enjoyable topic
Topics
Brainstorm
Idea(s)

3
esayas16@yahoo.com
RESEARC TOPIC :
To make your research project a success, you’ll have

to ensure that the topic is strong, hot as well as
enjoyable.
What does this mean? And How….
4
esayas16@yahoo.com
RESEARC TOPIC :
Example:
Unfortunately, you might find a topic that you like a lot, and go on
to develop a strong thesis with no trouble at all. Then, you find
yourself spending an afternoon at the library and discovering one
or two problems.
1. You could find that very little research is available on your

subject.
2. You may find that the research doesn’t support your thesis.
Oops!

5
esayas16@yahoo.com
RESEARC TOPIC :
To avoid those pitfalls,

it is important to select more than one topic from the
start.
Find three or four topics that interest you, then,

conduct a preliminary search of each topic.
Preliminary searches can be done pretty quickly;

there is no need to spend hours in the library.

6
esayas16@yahoo.com
RESEARC TOPIC :
Determine which project idea can be supported with plenty of

published material.
This way, you will be able to select a final topic that is both
interesting and feasible.
“Don’t select a topic that doesn’t appear in books and

articles, as well as on web sites!”

7
esayas16@yahoo.com
RESEARC TOPIC :
Topics eligible for research

When there is difference between what exists and what it
should be for unclear but more than one possible reason
Parameters in prioritizing your research topics

8
esayas16@yahoo.com
Criteria for prioritizing

1. Relevance
2. Feasibility
3. Political acceptability
4. Applicability
5. Urgency of data needed
6. Ethical acceptability
7. Avoidance of duplication

9
esayas16@yahoo.com
1. Relevance: The topic you choose should be a

priority problem:
Questions to be asked include:

• How large or widespread is the problem?
• Who is affected?
• How severe is the problem?

10
esayas16@yahoo.com
2. Feasibility: Consider the complexity of the problem

and the resources you will require to carry out the study.
• Thought should be given first to personnel, time,

equipment and money that are locally available.
• In situations where the local resources necessary to
carry out the project are not sufficient, you might
consider sources available at the national level.

11
esayas16@yahoo.com
3. Political acceptability: It is advisable to research a

topic that has the interest and support of the authorities
(Chair/Faculty/Field of studies).
This will facilitate

the smooth conduct of the research and
increases the chance that the results of the study will be
implemented.

12
esayas16@yahoo.com
4. Applicability of possible results and

recommendations
• Is it likely that the recommendations from the study will be
applied?
This will depend not only on the blessing of the
authorities but also on the availability of resources for
implementing the recommendations.

13
esayas16@yahoo.com
5. Urgency of data needed
• How urgently are the results needed for making a

decision?
• Which research should be done first and which can
be done late?

14
esayas16@yahoo.com
• We should always consider the possibility that we

may cause harm on others while carrying out
research.
• Therefore, it will be useful to review the
proposed study.

15
esayas16@yahoo.com
7. Avoidance of duplication:
• Investigate whether the topic has been researched.

✓ If the topic has been researched, the results should be
reviewed to explore whether major questions that deserve
further investigation remain unanswered.
✓ If not, another topic should be chosen.
Scales for rating research topics

16
esayas16@yahoo.com
Examples
1. Relevance
1 = Not relevant
2 = Relevant
3 = Very relevant
2. Feasibility
1 = Study not feasible considering available resources
2 = Study feasible considering available resources
3 = Study very feasible considering available resources

17
esayas16@yahoo.com
Examples
3. Applicability
1 = No chance of recommendations being implemented
2 = Some chance of recommendations being implemented
3 = Good chance of recommendations being implemented
4. Political acceptability
1 = Topic not acceptable
2 = Topic somewhat acceptable
3 = Topic fully acceptable

18
esayas16@yahoo.com
Examples
5. Urgency
1 = Information not urgently needed
2 = Information could be used but a delay of some
months would be acceptable
3 = Data very urgently needed for decision-making
1 = Major ethical problems
2 = Minor ethical problems
3 = No ethical problems

19
esayas16@yahoo.com
Examples
7. Avoidance of duplication
1 = Sufficient information already available
2 = Some information available but major issues not
covered
3 = No sound information available on which to base
problem-solving
N.B. The above rating should be based on the

existing data and not on mere assumptions.

20
esayas16@yahoo.com
Rating Sheet Rating scale: 1 = low, 2 = medium, 3 = high
Criteria for selecting a Proposed topic
research topic Topic I Topic II Topic III
Relevance
Avoidance of duplication
Feasibility
Political acceptability
Applicability
Urgency of data needed
Ethical acceptability
Total
Topic 1:……………..
Topic 2:……………..
Topic 3:……………..

21
esayas16@yahoo.com
Homework 1.1
Identify at least 3 topics and prioritize them …

22
esayas16@yahoo.com
Research Question(s)
Research question(s)
• When you are told to do a research project at university it is
rather different from when you are told to do an essay or an
assignment.
• With the essay or assignment you are given a question
that you have to answer, or at least a topic area to
address.
But it's harder when you have to think of the question

yourself.
Questions, questions. There are so many of them.
Finding one that you can reasonably answer is
your first challenge.

24
esayas16@yahoo.com

25
esayas16@yahoo.com
• It's important that the question is about filling
a gap in knowledge. But it should also be
manageable:
– you can't solve all the answers of the world, so you
have to choose a manageable question and
answer it in a way that suits you.
Let's have a look at some questions to see what might be

good or bad about them as research questions.

26
esayas16@yahoo.com
Your research question: √ or x
Questions Is this a good research question?
What is the name/ type

of … Jimma called?
Why do students fail to

learn to Engineering
courses?

27
esayas16@yahoo.com
Your research question: √ or x
Questions Is this a good research question?
How far was the Advanced
technologies caused by the
traditional and ancient
technologies?
Why does Mr X seem to 'switch
off' when he has to do Advanced
Mathematics?
How did the … affect the …

(Jimma) in 2015-2019? Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -
28
esayas16@yahoo.com
A research question has to be:
• about finding new

knowledge
• specific - not too broad
• answerable with the
resources available to you
• answerable with reasoning
and evidence.

29
esayas16@yahoo.com
Steps
Final research
question(s)
Ground work:
Literature review It's useful because in
most research, your
1st Questions: 'first look' question
Prima facie question changes in the
course of your work.
30
esayas16@yahoo.com
Ws research questions?

31
esayas16@yahoo.com
Think of the following questions outlining your initial

interest.
Remember that 'what', 'when', 'where' and 'who' lead to
descriptive answers, while
'why' and 'how' often lead to answers that are about
explanation.
Explanation is clearly trickier than description !

32
esayas16@yahoo.com
Scientific RQs: Types
Causal
Relationship
Design

33
esayas16@yahoo.com
What type of question are you asking?
1. Existence:
– Does X exist?
2. Description & Classification
– What is X like?
– What are its properties?
– How can it be categorized?
– How can we measure it?
– What are its components?
3. Descriptive-Comparative
– How does X differ from Y?
34
esayas16@yahoo.com
4. Frequency and Distribution

– How often does X occur?
– What is an average amount of X?
5. Descriptive-Process
– How does X normally work?
– By what process does X happen?
– What are the steps as X evolves?

35
esayas16@yahoo.com
6. Relationship
– Are X and Y related?
– Do occurrences of X correlate with
occurrences of Y?

36
esayas16@yahoo.com
7. Causality
– Does X cause Y?
– Does X prevent Y?
– What causes X?
– What effect does X have on Y?
8. Causality-Comparative
– Does X cause more Y than does Z?
– Is X better at preventing Y than is Z?
– Does X cause more Y than does Z under one
condition but not others?
37
esayas16@yahoo.com
9. Design
– What is an effective way to achieve X?
– How can we improve X?
Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email - 

38
esayas16@yahoo.com
Homework 1.2
Write out a prima facie question using the aforementioned

question types?
1. Existence
2. Description & Classification
3. Descriptive-Comparative
4. Frequency and Distribution
5. Descriptive-Process
6. Relationship
7. Causality
8. Causality-Comparative
9. Design
39
esayas16@yahoo.com
Planning Research Project
• Key Questions
• Work plan

40
esayas16@yahoo.com
Research planning
Key questions in planning your research

41
esayas16@yahoo.com
Research planning
1st . What do I want to know and whom

shall be benefited?
What is the problem?

How it is problem?
What will be the consequences?
Who will be benefited?

42
esayas16@yahoo.com
Research planning
3rd . How will I get that evidence?
Methodological
triangulation will
strengthen the argument

43
esayas16@yahoo.com
Research planning
2nd . What kind of evidence will answer

my question?

44
esayas16@yahoo.com
Research planning
4th . How will I analyse that evidence?

45
esayas16@yahoo.com
Research planning
5th . How can I turn my analysis into

publications for a variety of audiences?
Plan publication from the beginning and structure data

gathering and analysis with publication in mind
Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email - 
46
esayas16@yahoo.com
Work Plan
Research is a collection of processes

• Now that you have your questions sorted out you
can be a bit more precise about your schedule for
doing the research.
• Remember that research isn't one process; it's
a collection of processes joined together and
you need to do the processes in the right order.
– Let's say that you have to do an “X” project in your
university. You have from 1 January to 1 June to
complete it.
– The first thing to say is: don't leave it all until 15 May.
This would be a bad idea. Break it up and draw a
timeline like this one:
47
esayas16@yahoo.com
Examples
A Timeline
Process / task Jan Feb Mar Apr May June
Come up with a question
Review literature and do desk
research
Revise question and explore
method
Do fieldwork / lab work
Analyse findings
Write up and hand in
Notice that some of the processes overlap. Notice also that you go
in and out of some processes (dotted lines), as the need arises.
48
esayas16@yahoo.com
Work Plan
• A work plan is a schedule, chart or graph that

summarizes the different components of a
research project and how they will be
implemented in a coherent way within a
specific time-span.
• It may include:
– The tasks to be performed;
– When and where the tasks will be performed; and
– Who will perform the tasks and the time each
person will spend on them.
49
esayas16@yahoo.com
Work Plan
• Work plan could be presented in different
forms, such as work schedule and GANTT
chart.
• A GANTT chart is a planning tool that
depicts graphically the order in which various
tasks must be completed and the duration of
each activity.
• The length of each task is shown by a bar
that extends over the number of days, weeks or
months the task is expected to take.

50
esayas16@yahoo.com
Examples
Task Responsibility Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5
Prepare proposal and PI
submit to donors
Obtain fund and discuss PI
arrangement with local
government
Preparation of study tool PI
Prepare for field Work PI``
Travel to data collection PI
site PI=Principal Investigator
Select data collectors and PI RA=Research Assistant
research assistants
DC=Data Collectors
Conducting training for PI
data collectors and DEC=Data entry clerk
supervisors
Pre-testing of the survey PI+RA+DC
instrument
Data collocation PI+RA+DC
Data entry and cleaning PI+RA+DE
C
Data analysis and write up PI
Prepare workshop on PI+RA

findings Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email - 
51
esayas16@yahoo.com
Hold workshop PI+RA
Homework 1.3
Write out your idea/topic (as an
example) and try to answer the 5 key
questions in planning your research?
Submission date Homework 1.1-1.3 Wednesday 4th August2021,

52
esayas16@yahoo.com
53
esayas16@yahoo.com

Stud SRM Chapter I Part II 2021 01 August 5

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Stud SRM Chapter I Part II 2021 01 August 5

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Scientific Research Methods

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu

Faculty of Civil & Environmental Engineering

• Planning research project

Strong, hot, &

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

To make your research project a success, you’ll have

1. You could find that very little research is available on your

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

To avoid those pitfalls,

Find three or four topics that interest you, then,

Preliminary searches can be done pretty quickly;

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

Determine which project idea can be supported with plenty of

“Don’t select a topic that doesn’t appear in books and

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

Topics eligible for research

Parameters in prioritizing your research topics

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

Criteria for prioritizing

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

1. Relevance: The topic you choose should be a

Questions to be asked include:

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

2. Feasibility: Consider the complexity of the problem

• Thought should be given first to personnel, time,

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

3. Political acceptability: It is advisable to research a

This will facilitate

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

4. Applicability of possible results and

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

5. Urgency of data needed

• How urgently are the results needed for making a

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

• We should always consider the possibility that we

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

• Investigate whether the topic has been researched.

Scales for rating research topics

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

N.B. The above rating should be based on the

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

But it's harder when you have to think of the question

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

Let's have a look at some questions to see what might be

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

What is the name/ type

Why do students fail to

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

How did the … affect the …

A research question has to be:

• about finding new

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

Think of the following questions outlining your initial

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -

4. Frequency and Distribution

Prof. Dr.-Ing Esayas Alemayehu. Email -