MODERN ENGINEERING RESEARCH METHODOLOGY!

Introduction to Research

Mansun Chan!
Department of ECE, HKUST!
 Personal Info!

Education!

v Secondary School in Hong Kong

v BSc. (EE) and (CS) from UC San Diego in 1990 and 1991
v MSc and PhD from UC Berkeley in 1994 and 1995
v Exchange student at HKUST in 1994-1995
v Also got MSc. in Finance, Minors in Psychology and
Epistemology (Philosophy), Professional Certificates in
Graphic Design

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Personal Info!

Academic Qualifications!
v Professor in ECE Department of HKUST
v Also affiliated with BIEN and CPEG program
v Adjunct Professor of Peking University Shenzhen Graduate
School
v Adjunct Professor of Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and
Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Science
v Visiting Professor of UC Berkeley (2001-2002)
v Becomes IEEE Fellow in 2012

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Personal Info!

Publication Record!

v Published over 200 journal papers (average > 10 per year)

v Published over 300 international conference papers
(average > 18 per year)
v Co-authored 1 books and 3 book chapters
v 10 US Patents and 12+ Chinese Patents granted
v Upon graduation, published 11 journal papers (5 as first
author) and 20 conference papers (9 as first author)

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Personal Info!

Research Area!

v Mainly in Micro/Nanoelectronics (transistor technology)

v Circuit Design (image sensor, semiconductor memory,
power management IC and RF building blocks)
v Multimedia applications (MPEG encoding, XML standard)
v Bio-processing and detection (DNA and cell activities)
v Financial System
v Working on more exotic subjects rather than conventional
researches

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Personal Info!

Commercial Pursue!

v Help to cultivate entrepreneurship spirit

v Founded the first company in 2000
v Helped to start and fund more than 10 companies
v Mentoring founders of companies on business strategy
v Examples: Maximind, LiteMagic, Fremont Micro Device,
Teralane Semiconductor, Silicon Federation etc.

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Personal Info!

Teaching and Training!

v Following the development of Personalized Education
System, one of the 21st 10 Major Engineering Challenges
v Recent teaching activities on thinking methodologies,
creativity and innovation management
v Help to bring the research level of universities in China to
the international standard
v Hope to cultivate more leaders with future visions rather
than followers and employees
v Develop new concepts to train our next generations

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Objectives!

Research training!
v research is the technique to collect and re-organize knowledge
v Involve a lot of personal attributes including
• Creativity • Active learning
• Observation • Common sense
• Induction • Motivation & Perseverance
• Execution ability • Positive attitude and Confidence (EQ)
• Communication skill • Concentration and Focus
• Language • Discipline
• Presentation • Decision making
• Acting and pretending • Long term vision

v Most of the above attributes are suppressed in conventional

education and technicians (employee) are trained

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Example!

Case Study!

Look at this Journal paper. It is I give up! I just spent 2 hours in the
unfair as I have submitted library trying to get an idea for my
similar work before with more research topic, and I still have no idea
detail theory and experimental of even a general topic that I could
data. My paper was rejected start. I have consulted with my advisor,
and this inferior one got but he just gave me a general direction
published!! I guess it is just without specific task to look for.
purely because my group is Student 1
less famous.
Student 3

Student 2 I have been very dedicated to my

research work. Upon graduation, I
found that the topic that I research on
is very narrow and does not have
much market value. Now, I have
difficulty to find a decent job …

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Research!

How Research Starts?!

v research happens everywhere in our daily life
v Before you purchase a computer, you should have done some
research about its functions and price
v Before you visit another country, you should do some research
on the culture and attractions
v Research is active versus learning is mostly passive
v Research is not limited to scientific findings and inventions
v Do you have a habit of researching before actions?

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Research!

What is Research?!
Do you really know what research is?!
v Can you define it precise in your own words?
v Can you compare two reports and tell which one is better?
v Can you tell a good research topic from a poor one?

Exercise!
v Your first research topic would be …
- Find out what research is
v Example: starts with definition, types, history, components etc.

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Research!

Disclaimer!
v For research method, I am referring to Western Style of
researches
v China has a very different research culture that I am not
familiar with
v But as people are looking to more internationalized
research impact, it is good to know the global “English
based” research environment

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Research!

Definitions of Research!
From the literature!
v Scientific or scholarly inquiry or investigation and the proper communication
of the findings (AH dictionary)
v It is the process of searching for, in a broader sense, general answers in any
field of study or, in a limited fashion, a solution to just one particular problem
v It uses a blend of assorted resources, such as classical or modern theory,
state-of-the-art technology, statistical technology, and engineering
techniques, to uncover previously unknown facts and principles
v Research should be a systematic, controlled, empirical, rigorous, and precise
method used to obtain solutions or to discover and interpret new information
(Paul Curto, 1996)

Can you define your own, with reasons?!

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Research!

When do Research Starts?!

In the stone age:!
v People experimented to refine tools to improve their functions
v The approach is in general not systematic

The Greeks:!
v Appeared to be the first to organize research and science
v Much of their work was lost with the fall of Athens

Modern researches:!
v Francis Bacon (1561-1626) gave a new direction to science with an emphasis on
using science to enrich human life using empirical experimentation
v Galileo conducted experiments and helped rejuvenate the scientific method
v More organized research with the formation of Universities

Are these findings correct and trustworthy?!

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Research!

Type of Researches (Based on Funding)!

Research Funded by non-profit organization:!
v Usually has some particular focus and interest
v Very diverse and some are funded by rich people with passion for certain kind of
knowledge or geographical location
v Relatively limited funding
Government Funded:!
v With specific purpose to help the nation or to lead in certain area
v Some still maintains the spirit of pure research
v A lot of them are now related to applied research, but on more far fetch projects
that may not have immediate value (e.g. Nanotechnology)

Industrial Researches:!
v Usually applied researches related to certain products
v Researchers usually have less freedom and tightly monitored by the sponsors
v In some cases, the research group might work like an internal organization of a
company (with different pay)

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Research!

Type of Researches (Based on Subjects)!

Pure Research:!
v To expand the knowledge base of human being and application is less
emphasized (e.g. astronomy)
Applied Research:!
v Fundamentally motivated for developing of a new product or a next-generation
products
v Operation Research: deriving a process and procedures to measure the
effectiveness of such process

Informational Research:!
v Market Research: collecting public information to observe trends and perceptual
biases in the selected sample
v Philosophical Research: find out the meaning of life, external world, existence etc.

Any other you can think of?!

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Research!

The Research Pyramid (Concluding)!

Good researcher
- Knowledge centric
- Less immediate commercial

Weak researcher
Competition, Short lifetime,

value
more varieties, Practical

- Academic (Pure) Nature

Professional recognition, Risk,

Pure
Science

timelessness, less practical

- More practical & require
specific skill
- More skill centric
- Dominated by applied Engineering &
research Applied Research

- Common data for all

researchers
- Argumentative and Business,
analysis centric Social Science &
- Highly practical
- More controversial

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Research!

Some Observations!
v Research is usually driven by interest (do you have lots of
interests?)
v Approach is formulated before information searching
v Most people do not have the habit of research before
taking actions
v Most everyday researches are not systematic nor
documented
v A person’s research aptitude can be observed by how
well he/she handle his/her daily tasks

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Research!

Problem Solving in Research!

Job seeking example!
v If you are going to interview for a company, how much information can
you find out about that company?
v Do you know what information is useful and critical?
v Is your search active or passive?
v How much information can you retain after the search?
v Base on the information obtained, can you derive a strategy that
distinguish you from other candidates?
v Can you derive a marketing strategy based on your research?

What is the difference before and after your research?!

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Research!

Beyond “Doing” Research!

v If you did a good work, but cannot describe it clearly, you

will not be able to claim the credit
v You can never achieve perfect demonstration and require
marketing skill to present your partial argument
v Developing a good network is the key to success
v Many researches fail (maybe except in China)

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Case Study!

The Pepsi Challenge!

v Pepsi challenges Coca Cola on a taste test
v The taste test indicated that 57% people prefer the Pepsi

v Coca Cola researches on a new taste

and win the Pepsi challenge
v The market rejected the new formula
v What’s wrong in the research process?
v A consultant solved the mystery …
v What is the most valuable part of the
research process?

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Audience!

Targeted Audience!

v This presentation is targeted for people who want to be a

leader in the high-tech world
v It is tough to practice, and I recommend you just ignore it
if you think you are just a follower
v You may not be able to achieve the goal immediately, but
continuous desire and effort will help you to move in the
right directions

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Supply Chain!

Characteristics of Engineering Researches!

v Scientists focus on perfect knowledge
v Engineers focus on applications and efficient solution
v Science is mostly a bottom up approach, start from a
phenomena and look for application
v Engineering is supposed to be a top down approach starting
with a problem and look for THE MOST EFFICIENT solution
- Work with objects! Businessmen! - Work with people!
Scientists!
- bottomup! - topdown!
- knowledge! - response!
Engineer!

v Example: how would you proof f(x)=g(x) ?

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Supply Chain!

Business Environment!
Product Value Chain!
Product Retail
Design Distribution
Most high-tech companies
Add on value !

were started by engineers

with complete knowledge of
Material
the value chain! Wholesale
Purchase Management

Storage & Order

Logistics Handling

What you learned Manufacturing Most engineers

can be obsolete work at the lowest
when you graduate ! value activities !
Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Supply Chain!

Industrial Structure in China!

Up-stream: knowledge generation, human resource,

visionary, information flow, market leadership, standard
definition, resource allocation, services !

Mid-stream: process efficiency, technology transfer,

logistics, integration, quality assurance, regulations !

Down-stream: sale of products,

manufacturing process, price reduction,
effective duplication etc.!

Major part of China’s industrial activities!

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Topics!

Topics to be covered!
v Research Attitude
v Research Process
v Defining Research Topics
v Literature Search
v Lateral Thinking (Improving Creativity)
v Oral Communication
v Written Communication
v Publishing Research Results
v Research Ethics
v Research Management (Quality, Time, Relationship)
v Preparing for a research Career
Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Grading!

Term Project!
v Form a group around 6-8 students (depends on enrollment)
v Perform a research on the nature of a technology industry
v Prepare a report in PowerPoint (40%)
v Presenting the report in class (30%)
v Exercise occasionally given out in class (20%)
v The remaining 10% is attendance

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun
 Expectation!

Something Not To Expect!

v It is not a step-by-step guide to research
v Research technique cannot be taught but can be acquired
through exploration
v Do not expect an answer to any of your questions about
research
v You will end up with more questions to think about
v Observing problems and questions is the first task
v Do NOT think you can get ahead of others by hard work

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering M ansun