Synopsis of Scientific Research Methods

From Theoretical to Practical

By
Mr. Dida Aberra
Invited Guests:
Dr.-Ing. Tamene Adugna
Dr.-Ing. Fekadu Fufa
Professor Venkata Ramaya
Dr.-Ing. Getachew Shunkie

Focus Group: Academic Staffs and Graduate Study

Students
Organized by Office of Research, Publications, Graduate
Studies and Consultancy-JiT
Date: April 30/2014 @ 2:00PM
Venue: JiT, E-Learning
Paradigm of Scientific Research
 Why Research?

The world full of problems!

Only two options
What does the community need from us???
So, what is research?

Systematic way of Solving problem

 Engineer??

Problem Solver!
 What is proposal

 With the simplest Engineering language: Proposal is a design/

master plan of a project!
Size, partitions, colors,….every materials to be used (kind,
amount) in the project and the way you use them, the budget,
time, number and types of resources needed(human, material,
time) should be predetermined in the design document…. So
does proposal in the research world!
 What to be included in RESEARCH PROPOSAL
A) Title page to include:

I. Title

 Should be a reflection of the contents of the document

 Fully explanatory when standing alone

 Abbreviations should not appear in the title…ex. ERA

 Scientific names should be in italics

 Should contain 12 to 15 words

 …title page

II. Author’s name and affiliation

Preferred order of names- start with 1st, middle
followed by last name.
Full names should be used

 Affiliation should be well illustrated ; example:

A thesis Proposal submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of

Jimma University in Partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
Degree of Masters of Science in Sustainable Energy Engineering
 ..title page

 The month/year and place should follow at the bottom, right

edge of the caption

Note: -For proposals the cover page should include the title,
author and affiliation (all on one page) and centered

Example
 What to be included…

B)Declaration: Should include both the candidate’s and the

supervisor’s declaration and duly signed

Note: Paginate using roman numbers starting with the declaration page
 What to be included…
C) Abstract: ABC of the proposal!
 This is a brief statement of the problem, objectives of the study,
target population, sampling technique and sample size,
instruments, data collection, data processing and analysis, key
expected outcomes

 single spaced, italic, justify alignment, has key words written

alphabetically

 Should not exceed 1000 words

 What to be included…

D) Table of contents:
 The rubric should be in title case and single spaced
 The chapter titles should be in caps and bold
 The subheadings should follow each chapter title and should
be in title case
Example:
 What to be included…

E) List of Tables: must have name and page no

F) List of Figures: must have name and page no

G) Acronyms: separate by space(1.5-2.0inch)

H) Definition of terms: Define terms in the text that

are not common
 What to be included…

CHAPTER -1

INTRODUCTION

Should include the following:

1.1 Background:

 Should show the understanding and genesis of the problem

 Talk about the global perspective followed by the local scenario

 Talk about the target group in the study

 Should be approximately 5 pages (4-6 pages)

 What to be included…

 Describe in general the problem/issue that you seek to research

 Why is it an issue? How is the problem/issue being developed

in brief?

 Maybe 2 to 3 pages, each page contains 2-3 paragraphs Some

pictures are allowed to be mentioned in this section

 Define any key terms, which may be useful for the reader
 What to be included…

1.2 Statement of the problem

 Heart of the Research!!! No heart…no life!

 Indicate why and how it is a problem

 Must indicate exactly what the problem is and supported by

relevant and updated
literature!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 This should be derived from background/from literature

information to illustrate connectivity

 Length- Maximum 1 page

 What to be included…

1.3 Objectives
 One general objective which should be in line with the title

 Specific objectives: steps/what you are going to do to attain

general objectives
 have to be in line with the variables the candidates hypothesize
to influence the phenomenon being investigated
 Should be related to the general objective
 Should not be questions in the questionnaires
 What to be included…

1.4 Research Questions /hypothesis

 They should be in line with the specific objectives and equal in
number

 Have to be numbered (1, 2, 3…..) and should be questions and

not statements!
 What to be included…

1.5 Justification/Rationale/motivation
 Should illustrate why the researcher is conducting the research
and whom it shall benefit

 Define the reasons behind the selection of this research topic

 What to be included…

1.6 Scope
 coverage of the study

 This is a kind of a disclaimer

 Should cite the focus of the study either geographical area or

target group/ population
 What to be included…

1.7 Limitation
Not a must for a proposal

 Indicate the challenges encountered in the study that may

have limited the study

 Has to be there in the final thesis/project report

Note: What to be included…
 Paragraphing should be consistent. Either leave space or indent

between paragraphs

 Spacing and indenting should not be used together

 One sentence paragraphs are unacceptable.

 Table of contents should be followed by:

List of figures/ tables- Should be labeled as per the chapters in which

they are found e.g. the first figure in chapter one should be labeled as

Figure 1.1

 Write name of the table on the top of the table/figure on bottom

 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

This should include:

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Theoretical review/Conceptual Framework

 Review the empirical and theoretical literature relevant to the

problem being investigated

 Indicate what has been done by other researchers including the

methodologies used and identify gaps

  Conceptual framework should demonstrate an
understanding of what variable influences what

 Cite 3-5 references per key section in the text

 Use either APA or Harvard method of citation Consistency is

important in citation

 Each key variable should be 2-3 pages long

2.3 Critique of the existing literature relevant to the study

2.4 Summary

2.5 Research gaps

 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

 Should indicate:

3.1. Research design: Indicate type of research, justify the choice of type of

research by citing authority

3.2. Population; clearly identify the population and the target population

3.3. Sampling frame; Justify the choice

3.4. Sample and sampling technique- illustrate understanding of the technique

3.5. Instruments/tools

3.6. Data collection procedure/lab. Procedures/sampling and handling ur sample

3.7. Pilot test (depends on the instrument being used)

3.8. Data Processing and analysis

 Timeline
 Describe in full every detail of the proposed methodology
according to the available time

 This will inform the reader how you are going to manage your
activities against time

 The timeline includes the proposal writing and thesis writing

items
S.No Activities Months

1 2 3 4 5

1 Review of Literature

2 Proposal Development

3 Defense +Approval

4 Data coll/lab. Analysis

5 Data Analysis

6 Draft Report

7 Final defense

8 Final Report +
Dissemination
 Budget
Outline what all the costs of the research will be
S.N Activities Descriptions Total Remark
o price

1 Perdium for 10Dx206B 2060

researcher

2 Perdium data coll. 2Px5Dx124B 1240

3 transport 1pX2tripx200Bx2times 800

4 Taxi 500

5 Stationary 1000 1000

6 Mobile card 3cx100 300

Total 5900
No payment for separate for bed &food(to be included under perdium)
No separate payment for contract vehicles
 References

 Your bibliography should identify an item (e.g. book, journal

article, thesis,, or internet site) in sufficient detail so that others
may identify it and consult it
FOR A BOOK
The details required in order are:
1. name/s of author/s, editor/s, compiler/s or the institution
2. year of publication
3. title of publication and subtitle if any (all titles must be italicized)
4. series title and individual volume if any
5. edition, if other than first
6. publisher
7. place of publication
8. page number(s) if applicable
 nt!
m fo
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In General,

Internet source: retrieved data must be written!

 Appendix/Annexes

 Any further information that you would like to attach to your main
proposal like tools(questionnaries), lab procedures,….
 Writing style format
 How do you buy a bid document???

 Follow the format of the institution/organization! Annex-2 guideline for research

www.ju.edu.et/sites/default/files/Guidelines%20and%20procedures%20for%20research.pdf

 Title font size 14 point, and Times new roman type (bold)

 Text font size 12 point, and Times new roman type

 Use 1.5 line spacing between text(single &italic for abstract)

 Write tables and figures like: Table (-) -----top , Figure (-) -----on bottom

 Write equation and symbols using Ms-Word/don’t copy paste!

 Page number in the bottom of the page – middle. Page (1) is the

Introduction page
 Things you shouldn’t use

 Using bold or italic style in the  Direct copy from the other

text. references

 Different font type  Un necessary bulletins

 Putting brackets without real  I, we,….

need.  using unreliable sources as

 Shading some of your text. references (ex. Wikipedia)

 Colour your text.  Symbol(&), abbreviation(w/h)

 Cut and paste things from other  use margin: 1.5inL,1U,R,B

documents

 if logo/picture/map, use correctly

 Avoid

 Broad topic areas which would be unmanageable as MSc topics

 Vague descriptions of research areas

 Subject areas where Jimma University, JiT has no expertise,

resources…out of thematic areas

 Don’t Selects a problem that is too vast or too vague to investigate

meaningfully

 plagiarism!

 avoid editorial problems…give to ur colleagues for review

 …cont’d

 Use scientific/research terms

Example:
3.Aim of the research
3.1. General Aim

3.2. Specific Aim

Client
 Don’t hesitate knocking the door of ur advisors… they may not
respond to u…but never give up
 Incorporate the comments given by advisors and than show him again
 Tense: future perfect(will be done, will be analyzed, collected,
interviewed)…if you write in past tense===copied from completed
research!
 Next…After two weeks

RESEARCH FINDINGS:
 REPORT WRITING

and

 Mode of PRESENTATION

Thank you!
I wish you all the best in your research …….
Time for experience sharing

Practical World
Pls Share ur Experience