Research – an overview

Dr.V.M.PERIASAMY
Pro Vice Chancellor

B.S. Abdur Rahman University

Chennai 600 048

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 What is Research

Research is to see what everybody else

has seen, and to think what nobody else
has thought

Research - A combination of investigation

of past work and effort in the present
that will help others in the future

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 Definition

“Systematic investigation into and study of materials,

sources etc., in order to establish facts and reach
conclusions”

“An Endeavour to discover new or collate old facts etc., by

the scientific study of a subject or a course by critical
investigation”
Oxford Dictionary

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 Objectives

 To gain familiarity with the phenomenon or to get new

insights into it – exploratory or formative research studies
 To determine accurately the characteristics of a particular
individual, system, situation or group – descriptive
 To decide the frequency with which a phenomenon occurs
or with which it is associated with something else –
diagnostic
 To establish the casual relationship between variables by
forming suitable hypothesis – hypothesis testing

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 Motivation
 Desire to get a research degree along with its
consequential benefits
 Desire to the challenges in solving unsolved
problems
 To get intellectual joy of doing some creative
work
 To do service to the society and gain respect
 Direction by the employer, government etc.

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 Attributes of a good research scholar
 Should be honest, flexible and self-confident
 Should posses analytical mind, insight, intelligence and
innovative approach
 Should be free from obsession of time and willing to work
long hours
 Must have intellectual curiosity, optimism, patience and
persistence
 Should be willing to work with dedication and determination
 Should be a keen observer and have spirit of enquiry and
laboratory temperament
 Should have the necessary resilience to withstand temporary
setbacks
 Should have passion for knowledge, scientific temper and
originality
 Should have good communication skill both oral and written
 Should posses organizational ability and be willing to work as
a team

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 What constitutes Research
 Propounding a new concept or a formula in the chosen
discipline or subject
 Evolving new methodology to solve an existing problem
 New interpretation of known facts
 New evidences to support a known fact
 Using a known technique in untested area
 Empirical work of one’s choice but not repetition of what
someone has already done
 Furthering knowledge by continuing the work suggested
by another researcher

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 Flow chart of the research process
Define research problem

Review concepts and theories

Review previous research findings

Formulate hypothesis

Design research

Collect data

Analyze data

Interpret and report

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 Structure of Research
The "hourglass" notion of research

begin with broad questions

narrow down, focus in
operationalize
OBSERVE
analyze data
reach conclusions
generalize back to questions

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 How to identify research problem
1. Area of interest is chosen
2. A set of “keywords” is compiled
3. 15-20 papers are selected
4. Only abstract, introduction and conclusion are read in detail
5. The emphasis of each paper is identified
a) which problem it addresses
b) what solution it proposes
c) how the solution differs from previous solutions
d) what are major conclusions and contributions
6. 4 or 5 papers are selected
7. These papers are read from beginning to end and the following are
identified
a) major approaches
b) methods of analysis
i) metrics
ii) evaluation tools
iii) analysis and interpretation
c) conclusion

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 How to identify research problem - continues
8. Based on the study, a list of what the authors may have missed
in the study, gaps or limitations that could be improved upon is
prepared
9. List of ideas that could be explored further is prepared
10. A two page tentative research proposal defining the following is
written
a) objectives
b) overview of existing work
c) limitations of existing work
d) potential directions and ideas for improvement
e) expected results and impact on the field
11. The two page report can be reviewed by knowledgeable friends
and research supervisor
12. Based on their comments the proposal may be rewritten

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be

ignited” Plutarch

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 Construction of Hypothesis
 The second important consideration in the formulation of a
research problem is the construction of hypothesis.
 Hypotheses bring clarity, specify and focus to research problem,
but are not essential for a study
 Hypotheses are based on guesses. As researcher, it is not
required to know about the phenomena, a situation, the
prevalence of a condition in a population or about the outcome of
a program, but has to have a hunch to form the basis of certain
assumptions or guesses. The verification process should be done
based on the information and the verification process will provide
one of the three outcomes below,
1. right 2. partially right 3. wrong
 Without this process of verification, the researcher cannot
conclude anything about the validity of the assumption.
 Hence Hypotheses is a hunch, assumption, suspicion, assertion
or an idea about a phenomenon, relationship or situation, the
reality or truth of which is not known .

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 Deduction and Induction

Deduction

Induction

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 Research Design
After formulating and defining a research problem, the researcher
has to prepare an action plan as how to proceed. He has to focus
his attention on the following
 Determination of objective of the study so as to indicate what
is the study about and why it is being made
 Evolving methods of data collection and the techniques to be
used
 Sample size determination
 Periodicity or frequency of collection of data
 Manner of processing the data
 Method of reporting the findings and conclusions

Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a

purpose
Zora Neale Hurston

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 Collection of data

Method of data collection

Secondary sources Primary sources

Documents Interviewing
Observation Questionnaire

-Govt publications
-Earlier research
-Census
-Personal records “A turtle makes progress when it sticks its
-Client histories neck out” Anon
-Service records

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 Collection of data ..cont
• Design of experiments
Factorial design
Taguchi approach – orthogonal array
• Accuracy, Precision and error analysis
• Sampling
Confidence level
Error range
• Simulation

Research is creating new knowledge. In much of society, research means to

investigate something you do not know or understand Neil Armstrong

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 Analysis and interpretation of Data
 Statistical analysis
Regression analysis
Dimensional analysis
 Graphical analysis
Curve fitting – linear, exponential, polynomial, parabolic
 Numerical analysis
Finite element analysis
 Mathematical models
 Probability distribution
 Optimization techniques
Traditional methods
Evolutionary optimization techniques
 Interpretation of results
Correlation with scientific facts

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 Communication of Research Findings

• Seminars
• Conference papers
• Journal papers
• Theses
• Books
• Reports

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 The trouble with research is that it tells you what
people were thinking about yesterday, not
tomorrow. It is like driving a car using rearview
mirror

Bernard Loomis

Thank you

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