DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY

Subject: Tools and Techniques for Research/Research Methodologies

Course Code: COMP 568/ITPG 533
Credit: 3 F.M: 100(60+40)
Type: Interdisciplinary

Course Description

The course provides an introduction on research methods for students pursuing graduate studies in
the Science and Engineering fields. In particular, the course deals with the different research
questions arising in these domains, the research approaches used and the analysis and evaluation
methodologies followed for research projects. As part of the course, students would be encouraged
to look for additional reading materials independently and would be asked to give seminar
presentations on a periodic basis.

Evaluation:
Internal: 60
Assessment criteria Marks
Tests(2) – Individual Grading 20
Home Assignments – Individual Grading 10
Presentations and Seminars (classroom 10
activities) – Group (At most 4 members in a
group)
Research Proposal Writing – Individual 20
Grading
Total 60

Final: 40

Contents:
Unit 1: Introduction to Research [3 hrs]
1.1 What is Research
1.2 Rigour and Relevance in Research
1.3 The 6Ps of Research
1.4 The Purpose and Products of Research
1.5 Finding and Choosing the Research Topics
1.6 Overview of the Research Process
1.7. Research Problem Formulation
1.8. Research Questions
1.9. Research Objectives
1.10. Internet Research
1.11. Participants and Research Ethics

Unit 2: Reviewing the Literature [4 hrs]

2.1 Objectives of a Literature Review
2.2 Literature Sources
2.3 The Internet and Literature Reviews
2.4 Conducting a Literature Review
2.5 Bibliographic Databases
2.6. Effective Search: The Way Forward
2.7. Introduction to Technical Reading
2.8. Conceptualizing Research
2.9. Critical and Creative Reading
2.9.1. Taking Notes While Reading
2.9.2. Reading Mathematics and Algorithms
2.9.3. Reading a Datasheet

Unit 3: Research Framework Design and Validation [3 hrs]

3.1 Component Design
3.2 High Level System Architecture
3.3 Mathematical Modeling
3.4 Validation of the Model

Unit 4: Research Methods and Methodology [15 hrs]

4.1 Research Strategies
4.1.1. Surveys
4.1.2. Design and Creation
4.1.3. Experiments
4.1.4. Case Studies
4.1.5. Action Research
4.1.6. Ethnography
4.2. Data Generation Methods
4.2.1. Interviews
4.2.2. Observations
4.2.3. Questionnaires
4.2.4. Documents

Unit 5: Quantitative Data Analysis [4 hrs]

5.1. Defining Quantitative Data Analysis
5.2. Types of Quantitative Data
5.3. Data Coding
5.4. Visual Aids for Quantitative Data Analysis
5.5. Using Statistics for Quantitative Data Analysis
5.6. Interpretations of Data Analysis Results
5.7. Evaluating Quantitative Data Analysis

Unit 6: Qualitative Data Analysis [4 hrs]

6.1. Introduction
6.2. Analyzing Textual Data
6.3. Analyzing non-Textual Qualitative Data
6.4. Grounded Theory
6.5. Computer-aided Qualitative Analysis
6.6. Evaluating Qualitative Data Analysis
Unit 6: Citation and References [3 hrs]
7.1. References and Citations
7.2. What’s a Bibliography
7.3. More on Citations
7.4. When Should You Use a Citation
7.5. Quoting, Paraphrasing and Summarizing
7.6.What You Don’t Need to Cite
7.7. Which Citation Style Should You Use
7.8. Quick Overview of the APA Citation Style
7.9. Other Citation Styles
7.10. Quick Citation Generators
7.11. Citation Management Software
7.12. Web Resources on Citation How-Tos

Unit 8: Technical Writing and Publishing [6 hrs]

8.1 Free Writing and Mining for Ideas
8.2 Attributes and Reasons of Technical Writing
8.3 Writing Strategies
8.4 Journal Paper: Structure and Approach
8.4.1. Title, Abstract, and Introduction
8.4.2. Methods, Results and Discussions
8.4.3. Table, Figures, Acknowledgments, and Closures
8.5. Language Skills, Writing Style, and Editing

Unit 9: Developing a Research Proposal [3 hrs]

9.1 The three questions to answer:
9.1.1 What? What is the purpose of this Research? What are we trying to find out?
9.1.2 How? How will the proposed research answer these questions?
9.1.3. Why? Why is the research worth doing (or funding)? Or, what will we learn, and why is it
worth knowing?
9.2 Checklist of Possible Sections of a Research Proposal

Text / Reference books:

Researching Information Systems and Computing. Briony J. Oates. SAGE Publications, London.
Thousand Oaks, New Delhi. 2006.
Introduction to Social Research. Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. Second Edition. Keith
F. Punch. SAGE Publications, London. Thousand Oaks, New Delhi. 2005
Research Design. Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. Second Edition.
John W. Creswell. SAGE Publications, London. Thousand Oaks, New Delhi. 2003.
Engineering Research Methodology. A Computer Science and Engineering and Information and
Communication Technologies Perspective. Krishnan Nallaperumal. First Edition
Research Methods for Engineers. Thiel, D. (2014). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
doi:10.1017/CBO9781139542326
Engineering Research Methodology: A Practical Insight for Researchers. Dipankar Deb, Rajeeb
Dey, Valentina E. Balas. Springer Nature Pte Ltd. 2019. Doi: 10.1007/978-13-2947-0