Research Methods

&

Scientific Writing

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Meaning of Research
 Re-search

 Research is an organized and systematic way of finding

answers to questions

 Is an academic activity of a
1. form of problem solving
2. scientific investigation
3. search for new knowledge
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Introduction-Topics
 Meaning of research

 Purpose /objectives of research

 Motivation and significance of research

 Types of research

 Ethical issues in research

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Meaning of Research
 Re-search

 Research is an organized and systematic way of finding

answers to questions

 Is an academic activity of
 Search for knowledge
 Scientific investigation

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Cont…
Research often makes use of various
Sources of Knowledge
• INTUITIVE (when coming up with an initial idea
for research)
• AUTHORITATIVE (when reviewing professional
literature)
• LOGICAL (when reasoning from findings to
conclusions)
• EMPIRICAL (when engaging in procedures that
lead to these findings)

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Cont..
Scientific Research

 Employees Systematic Observation and rational processes

to create new knowledge

 Based on logical relationship not just beliefs

 Involves an explanation of the methods used to collect

and analyze data; explanation to “why the results are
meaningful?”

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WHAT RESEARCH IS NOT
1. Research is not mere information gathering
2. Research is not mere transportation of facts from
one location to another.
 Fact discovery, fact transportation, and fact
transcription.
 Missed the essence of research: the interpretation of data.
3. Research is not merely digging for information
4. Research is not a catchword, used to get attention
YEARS OF RESEARCH HAVE PRODUCED A NEW CAR WASH!
GIVE YOUR CAR A MIRACLE SHINE WITH SOAPY SUDS

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 WHAT TRUE RESEARCH IS
Research is a procedure by which we attempt to find
systematically, and with the support of demonstrable
fact, the answer to a question or the resolution of a
problem.

Has EIGHT distinct characteristics:

1. Originates with a question.
2. Demands a clear articulation of a goal.
3. Requires a specific plan of procedure.
4. Usually divides the principal problem into more
manageable sub-problems.

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WHAT TRUE RESEARCH IS
5. Is tentatively guided by research questions, or
hypotheses.

6. Accepts certain critical assumptions.

7. Will countenance only hard, measurable data in

attempting to resolve the problem that initiated the
research.

8. By its nature, circular; or, more exactly, helical.

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(1) Originates with a question or problem
 Originates with a question in the mind of the researcher.
 The world is filled with unanswered questions,
unresolved problems.
 Things that cause us to wonder, to speculate, to ask
questions.
 Igniting a chain reaction that terminates in the research
process.
 Inquisitive mind is the beginning of research.
 Do not know, do not understand.
 Why? What’s the cause of that? What does it all mean?

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(2) Requires clear articulation of a goal
 Cannot proceed without a clear articulation of a goal.
 A clear, unambiguous statement of the problem.
 An exercise in intellectual honesty.
 Must set forth in a grammatically complete sentence
exactly what the ultimate goal of the research
 Basic for the success.
 Without it, research is on shaky ground.

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 (3) Requires a specific plan for proceeding
 Requires a specific plan of procedure.
 Not an excursion into happy expectation, a carefully planned
attack, search-and-discover mission explicitly planned.

 Logically designed.

 Any existent data that address themselves will be used

 What will you do with them after they are in your possession?

 Cannot be postponed.

 Procrastination has no place in the agenda

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(4) Divides the principal problem into sub
problems
 Dividing it into more manageable subareas.
 Whole is composed of the sum of its parts.

 We break down much more frequently than we realize.

 To proceed logically, should closely inspect the principal

problem, soon cause the appropriate, necessary
subproblems to float naturally.

 Many researchers take neither the time nor the trouble to

isolate the lesser problems, their research projects become
cumbersome and unwieldy.
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cont…
 It is expedient to reduce the main problem to a series of
logical subproblems.
 Example: Getting to another town 50km away
 Main problem: How do I get there?
 Subproblems:
1. What is the direct route?
2. How far do I travel on highway?
3. Which exit number should I take?

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(5) Guided by specific questions or hypothesis

 Seeks direction through appropriate hypotheses

based upon obvious assumptions.
 Each of the subproblems is then viewed through a
construct called a hypothesis.
 Logical supposition, reasonable guess, an educated
conjecture.
 Direct your thinking to the possible source of facts that will
aid in resolving the research problem.
 Nothing new.
 They are constant, recurring features of everyday life.
 Natural working of the human mind.

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Cont…
Example: table lamp.
Find the switch.You turn it. No light.
Begin to construct a series of reasonable guesses.
1. The bulb has burned out.
2. The lamp is not plugged into the wall outlet.
3. A late afternoon thunderstorm interrupted
the electrical service.
4. The wire from the lamp to the wall outlet is defective.
5.You forgot to pay your electric bill.
These hypotheses provides a direction for exploration.

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Cont…
Never proved nor disproved; either supported or not supported.
 You go out to your car, get a flashlight, find a new bulb, and insert the new
bulb. The lamp fails to light. (Hypothesis 1 is rejected.)
 You glance down at the wall outlet and the lamp is plugged into it.
(Hypothesis 2 is rejected.)
 You look at your neighbours’ homes. Everyone has electrical power.
(Hypothesis 3 is rejected.)
 You go back into your home, lift the cord connecting the lamp to the wall
socket. The lamp lights briefly, then goes out.You lift the cord again. Again
the lamp lights briefly. The connecting cord is defective. (Hypothesis 4 is
supported.)
 Fortunately, hypothesis 4 solved the problem, and by repairing or replacing
the cord, you can count on adequate light in the near future.

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Cont…
 After the hypotheses, come facts.
 Greatest discoveries begun as hypotheses.
 Over time, as particular hypotheses are supported by a growing
body of data, they evolve into theories.
 A theory is an organised body of concepts and principles
intended to explain a particular phenomenon.

 Distinction between a hypothesis and an assumption.

 Assumption is a condition that is taken for granted, without which the
research situation would be impossible.
 Assumptions are self-evident conditions.
 For the beginning researcher, it is better to be over-explicit than to take
too much for granted.

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(6) Accepts critical assumptions
 Assumptions are equivalent to axioms in geometry
 Assumptions as bedrock upon which the research
rest
 Essential that others know
 Vitally important in judging the quality of the research

 Example: to investigate whether students learn the

unique grammatical structure of a language more
quickly by studying only one foreign language at a
time or two concurrently

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Cont…
 At a minimum the researcher must assume
 The teachers used in the study are competent to teach the
language or languages in question and have mastered the
grammatical structures of the language(s) they are teaching

 The students taking part in the research are capable of

mastering the unique grammatical structures of any language
they are studying

 The language selected for the study have sufficiently different

grammatical structures that students can recognized and
learn to distinguish between them

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(7) Requires collection and interpretation of
data
 Deals with facts and their meaning.
 Next step is to collect whatever facts seem appropriate and
to organize them in meaningful ways so that they can be
interpreted.

 Collection of data, not necessarily appropriate for

interpretation.
 Only facts, events, happenings, observations-nothing more.

 These are potentially meaningful.

 The significance of the data depends upon the way in which

the human brain extracts meaning from those data.
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Cont…
 Unprocessed, are worthless in research.
 Become a travesty (something that can be joked about).
 Data demands interpretation.

 No rule, no formula, that will lead the researcher unerringly

(accurately) to the correct interpretation.

 Subjective: entirely upon the logical mind, inductive reasoning

skill, objectivity of the researcher.

 Different minds frequently see different meanings in

the same set of facts.
 An axiom of interpretation that all researchers must recognize.
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(8) Research is, by its nature, cyclical or,
more exactly, helical
 Is circular
 The research process follows a cycle and begins simply and
follows logical, developmental steps.
1. A questioning mind observes a particular situation and asks,
Why? What caused that? How come? (Subjective origin of
research.)
2. One question becomes formally stated as a problem. (Overt
beginning of research.)
3. The problem is divided into several simpler, more specific
subproblems.
4. Preliminary data are gathered that appear to bear on the
problem.
5. The data seem to point to a tentative solution of the problem.
A guess is made; a hypothesis or guiding question is formed.

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Cont…
6. Data are collected, processed, and interpreted.
7. A discovery is made; a conclusion is reached.
8. The tentative hypothesis is either supported by the data or is
not supported; the question is either answered (partially or
completely) or not answered.
9. The cycle is complete.

This is the format of all research.

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Cont…
 Different academic disciplines merely use different
routes to arrive at the same destination.
 Circle is, however, deceptive.
 Accurately helix, or spiral.
 One comes across additional problems.
 Research begets research.
 Dynamic quality.
 NOT One-time act (static), self-contained, an end in
itself.
 Genuine research creates more problems than it
resolves.
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 Types of Research

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Based on Purpose
 (i) Descriptive vs. Analytical:
 -Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding
enquiries such as Ex post facto where the researcher has
no control over the variables so he can only report what
has happened.

 -Analytical research is using of facts already available then

analyse these to make a critical evaluation.

 (CS research is expected to be of more analytical)

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Cont..
 (ii) Applied vs. Fundamental:
 -Applied research aims at finding a solution for an immediate
problem facing a society or an industrial/business
organization.
 Developing a SW that convert word files into database format
 Innovating new way in doing payroll processing by a computer
 Developing a program that copy's files from a computer to a
mobile phone
(Given the field that we are in, your research is expected to be
more of applied)
 -Fundamental research is mainly concerned with
generalizations and with the formulation of a theory
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Based on Approach and method
(iii) Quantitative vs. Qualitative:
 -Quantitative research is based on the measurement of
amount/quantity.

 -Qualitative research is concerned with quality or kind.

 (CS research may follow both or either ) ????

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Based on Approach and method
(iv) Conceptual vs. Empirical:
 Conceptual research is used by philosophers to develop
new concepts or to reinterpret existing ones.

 Empirical research is data-based research which can be

verified by observation or experiment.

 (as a masters work, CS research is expected to be more

of emperical)?

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Cont…
(V) Behavioral Vs Design Science
 Design Science
 Studiesartificial objects or phenomena designed to
meet certain goals
 (CS research mainly falls under this category)

 Behavioral
 Studies the decision processes and communication
strategies within and between organisms in a social
system

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Cont…
 (v) Some Other Types of Research:

 -Based on Time => one-time research or longitudinal

research.

 Based on the environment=> field-setting research or

laboratory research or simulation research.

 Based on orientation=> conclusion-oriented and

decision-oriented

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