MODULE I

1) MEANING OF RESEARCH?
1. Systematic Approach: Research is a structured, objective, and systematic process aimed at acquiring knowledge or solving
problems. It involves careful planning, data collection, analysis, and drawing conclusions.
2. Hypothesis Formation: Research begins with the formulation of a hypothesis or a problem. This hypothesis acts as a guiding
principle to steer the research process and helps in testing and validating theories or solutions.
3. Problem Identification: A key starting point for research is identifying a practical problem. This problem motivates the
research question, which in turn helps narrow the focus and defines the scope of the research.
4. Original Contribution: Research is not just about gathering existing information, but about making an original contribution
to the knowledge base. Even small insights can expand understanding and lead to new perspectives in a given field.
5. Critical Thinking and Analysis: Research involves the ability to think critically, analyze data systematically, and draw
meaningful conclusions that can either validate or refute the initial hypothesis.
6. Dynamic Research Questions: Research questions are not static; they can evolve as the research progresses. This flexibility
allows researchers to adapt their methods and focus based on findings and new insights.
7. Balance of Scope and Feasibility: Good research involves finding a balance between the achievable scope of the research
and the potential contribution it can make. Researchers should define realistic goals with finite endpoints while aiming for
meaningful outcomes.
8. Connecting Knowledge Areas: Research often involves connecting different fields of knowledge, which requires the ability
to synthesize information and approach problems from various perspectives.
9. Practical Relevance: The ultimate goal of research is to answer important questions that have real-world applications. The
research question should be relevant to current issues and contribute to solving practical problems.
10. Continuous Inquiry: Research is an ongoing process of inquiry. As new information is uncovered, researchers refine their
questions, methods, and conclusions, contributing to a continuous cycle of knowledge creation and improvement.

2) OBJECTIVES OF ENGINEERING RESEARCH

1. Solving New and Important Problems:
o The primary objective of engineering research is to address and solve new, significant challenges in the field,
contributing to advancements and innovation.
2. Uncertainty at the Start:
o Engineering research begins with an unknown conclusion. While the exact outcome is not clear at the start,
researchers rely on intuition, imagination, and circumstantial evidence to form an initial hypothesis or guess.
3. Role of Exploration and Modification:
o Research often begins with a guess or target to work toward, but through initial experimentation, this guess may
prove incorrect. This process allows researchers to explore new avenues, modify initial targets, and adopt new
techniques based on early findings.
4. Contribution from Negative Results:
o Negative results are also valuable. They help researchers understand why a certain target is unachievable, which
adds to the overall knowledge and may guide future research efforts or inform others who may approach the
problem differently.
5. Exploration of New Theoretical or Applied Knowledge:
o The goal of engineering research is to generate new theoretical or applied knowledge, rather than merely
obtaining a desired outcome. Research is about discovery, and understanding why something works or doesn’t
work is as important as finding a solution.
6. Serendipitous Discoveries:
o Research may lead to unexpected, fortunate discoveries while seeking answers to a different question. This
serendipity can open up new directions for future engineering work.
7. Thorough Investigation and Application of Scientific Methods:
o Engineering research involves applying scientific methods to seek answers to open questions, ensuring that each
study is conducted rigorously and with a clear methodology.
8. Understanding Failures and Limitations:
o Research objectives should be framed to not only aim for achieving the desired result but also to understand the
limitations and reasons behind failures. This knowledge contributes to the ongoing research process and can lead
to further developments by others.
3) MOTIVATION IN ENGINEERING RESEARCH
1. Intrinsic Motivations:
o Studies have shown that intrinsic factors like interest, challenge, learning, meaning, and purpose are strongly
linked to creative performance in research.
2. Extrinsic Motivations:
o Extrinsic factors, such as rewards for good work (money, fame, awards, praise, status), can be powerful motivators
but may also block creativity. For instance, achieving a patent may lead to wealth and fame, but it can shift the
focus away from the intrinsic value of the research.
3. Influences from Others:
o Motivational factors can also come from competition, collaboration, commitment, and encouragement. Examples
include:
 Feeling the need to pursue research because friends are doing it.
 Trying to outperform someone the researcher dislikes.
4. Personal Motivation:
o Personal motivations such as the desire to solve unsolved problems, experience intellectual joy, provide service
to the community, and earn respectability are significant driving factors for many researchers.
5. Combination of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Factors:
o Motivations can also arise from a mix of extrinsic and intrinsic aspects, including:
 The desire to do better than previous achievements.
 The goal to improve the state of the art in technology.
 The aspiration to contribute to societal improvement.
 The wish to fulfill a historical legacy in a particular sociocultural context.
6. Other Motivating Factors:
o Additional factors that may influence motivation include government directives, funding opportunities, and
employment terms, which can drive individuals to engage in engineering research.

4) DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESEARCH

1. Descriptive versus Analytical:
o Descriptive Research: This includes comparative, correlational methods, and fact-finding inquiries to describe the
current state of knowledge or art. The researcher does not control the variables but reports facts as they are.
Descriptive research can also attempt to determine causes, even when variables cannot be controlled.
o Analytical Research: This involves using already available facts for analysis and critical evaluation. Some studies
may combine both descriptive and analytical methods.
2. Applied versus Fundamental:
o Applied Research: This type of research seeks to solve immediate problems facing an organization. Examples
include identifying social or economic trends or determining how well communications are understood.
o Fundamental (Basic or Pure) Research: This focuses on generalizations and theory formulation. It is concerned
with understanding natural phenomena or pure mathematics, and the findings may have broad applications in the
long term.
o Objective: Applied research aims to find practical solutions, while fundamental research seeks to generate
knowledge that can lead to future applications.
3. Quantitative versus Qualitative:
o Quantitative Research: This research uses statistical observations and analyzes a large sample size of
representative cases to draw conclusions.
o Qualitative Research: This relies on non-representative cases or verbal narratives in behavioral studies, such as
clustering, where the focus is on understanding deeper insights rather than numerical data.

5) FINDING AND SOLVING A WORTHWHILE PROBLEM

1. Starting with the Research Problem:
o A researcher may begin with a research problem stated by a supervisor or posed by others. This problem might
not yet be solved, or it could require rethinking a basic theory.
o Sometimes the problem is formed from a group of papers suggested by the supervisor, and the researcher needs
to find an appropriate problem to begin their work.
2. Skills Required for Problem Identification:
o Identifying a suitable research problem requires specific skills, which are often not explicitly taught. These skills are
essential for assessing the implications and potential worth of a problem before starting the research.
3. Literature Survey and Technical Reading:
o Once a vague problem is identified, a literature survey and technical reading should be conducted to assess the
problem's relevance and feasibility. This process helps ensure the worthiness of the problem and solidify the
research direction.
4. Initial Spark and Problem Identification:
o Sometimes, the initial inspiration for a problem arises from oral presentations, where asking questions or
introspection can provide a clearer perspective that reading papers may not offer.
o Developments in other fields can also lead to new tools or results, which may directly impact the researcher’s
subject and lead to problem identification.
5. Attributes of a Worthwhile Research Problem:
o A worthwhile research problem typically has one or more of the following attributes:
 Non intuitive or counterintuitive, even to experts.
 Something the research community has expected for some time.
 A simplification of a central part of existing theory.
 A new result that opens up a new area or subject.
 Provides new methods or improves existing ones with practical applications.
 A result that halts further work in a particular area.
o The researcher must be convinced of the problem's worthiness, as motivation is higher when the work is valuable.
This also increases the chances of the research being accepted by the community.
6. Solving Small Problems:
o Not every solved problem will be groundbreaking, but major advancements can stem from effectively solving
smaller problems. Even incremental improvements are valuable to the field.
7. Challenges with Hard Problems:
o Some problems are considered hard and have deep implications, connecting to multiple concepts. However, not
every researcher will tackle such problems in their career.
o Hard problems often remain unsolved, but progress is made because people continue to address them.
o Researchers must decide if the time investment in solving these difficult problems is worth it, especially given the
possibility of failure. However, partial results can still contribute to a dissertation or other projects.

6) ETHICAL IN ENGINEERING RESEARCH

1. Ethical Decisions in Engineering Research:
o Technological developments raise ethical concerns, such as privacy issues and data-related surveillance systems.
o Engineering researchers must make ethical decisions and be accountable for the consequences of their research
outcomes, especially when human impact is involved.
2. Ethics and Data Usage:
o The importance of ethics in data usage arises because the consequences often affect humans.
o With unprecedented access to data, ethical questions arise about what should be done with the data and what
should not be done. Engineering ethics provides guidelines to make these decisions.
3. Influence on Technological Development:
o Engineering research does not occur in isolation but is influenced by ongoing technological developments.
o Researchers make ethical choices that affect the outcomes and consequences of technology in various ways.
4. Setting Ethical Requirements:
o At the beginning of the research, setting ethically right requirements can help ensure the developed technology
has positive effects.
5. Ethical Design Process:
o During the design phase, engineers prioritize requirements, making sure to consider ethical aspects and the
impact of their choices.
6. Choosing Between Alternatives:
o Engineering researchers often need to choose between different alternatives that serve similar functions. Ethical
considerations are crucial when making these decisions.
7. Minimizing Risks and Hazards:
o Research outcomes often lead to unintended side effects, and it is an ethical responsibility to minimize risks and
hazards associated with technologies.
8. Ensuring Safety:
o Engineers should aim to design technologies that are inherently safe, avoiding dangers or incorporating safety
factors and independent safety barriers.
o Where possible, a supervisory mechanism should be implemented to take control if the primary process fails.
7) ETHICS IN ENGINEERING RESEARCH PRACTICE
1. Ethical Concerns in Engineering Research: Technological advancements raise ethical issues, including privacy and
surveillance data concerns. Engineering researchers are responsible for the ethical implications of their work and outcomes.
2. Impact on Humans: Ethics matter in engineering research as the impact on humans is significant. Some practices may be
acceptable in certain contexts but unacceptable in others, with valid reasons for such distinctions.
3. Data Access and Consequences: Unprecedented access to data and analytical options today leads to new consequences in
engineering research. There are practices that may be possible but should not be done with the data.
4. Role of Engineering Ethics: Engineering ethics provides guidelines on deciding what is ethically acceptable. Research in
engineering is interconnected with ongoing technological development.
5. Ethical Choices in Engineering Research: Researchers should set ethically sound requirements at the start to influence
technology's effects.
6. Minimizing Risks and Hazards: Research outcomes can have unintended side effects; minimizing risks and hazards is a key
ethical responsibility.
7. Inherently Safe Designs: Whenever possible, designs should be inherently safe, avoiding risks and incorporating safety
factors and independent barriers.

8) TYPES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT

1. Research Integrity:
o Engineering research aims to improve technology and requires honesty, fairness, and replicability.
o Ethical research practices include ensuring laboratory safety and protecting research subjects.
o Peer review before publication helps prevent mistakes and misconduct.
2. Fabrication (Illegitimate Creation of Data):
o Fabrication involves creating data or experiments without actual results, often due to timeline pressures.
o Researchers may fabricate results based on what they believe the conclusion should be, rather than waiting for
actual data.
3. Falsification (Inappropriate Alteration of Data):
o Falsification refers to misrepresentation or alteration of data to support a desired hypothesis, even when real data
contradict it.
o This misconduct damages research progress, misleads the scientific community, and harms trustworthiness.
o Poor experimental design and incorrect measurements can also lead to misleading data.
4. Impact of Fabrication and Falsification:
o Fabrication and falsification disrupt research trust, increase costs, impede progress, and delay technical
advancements.
o Honest researchers may struggle to publish if their work is overshadowed by fraudulent studies.
5. Plagiarism (Using Others' Work Without Attribution):
o Plagiarism involves using someone else’s work (e.g., text, data, figures) without proper credit.
o Self-plagiarism, where a researcher reuses their own previously published work without citation, is also unethical.
o Automated tools like iThenticate detect plagiarism, but a human review is required to confirm it.
o A low similarity score doesn't guarantee the content is plagiarism-free, and patchwork plagiarism is harder to
identify.
6. Detecting and Preventing Plagiarism:
o Plagiarism may be identified when the original author, reviewers, or readers notice it.
o Researchers should paraphrase or summarize content in their own words and cite the source.
o Avoid copying text verbatim even with citations. Excessive reliance on existing content should be avoided.
7. Other Forms of Research Misconduct:
o Serious misconduct includes fraud, where both deception and damage occur.
o Simultaneous submission of the same article to multiple journals violates publication ethics.
o Researchers should report mistakes in published work, though this is not always prioritized.
9) ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED TO AUTHORSHIP
1. Importance of Academic Authorship:
o Academic authorship is key in communicating scholarly work, establishing priority for discoveries, and building
peer reputation.
o It carries the responsibility for the work's contents and serves as a basis for employment, promotion, and honors.
2. Ways of Credit Attribution:
o Authorship: Acknowledges significant contributions in research design, data interpretation, or paper writing.
o Citation: Refers to previously published or formally presented work.
o Acknowledgment: Credits those who contributed but did not meet the criteria for authorship.
3. Criteria for Authorship:
o A person should be listed as an author only if they made substantial contributions to the research and paper
preparation.
o Authorship is not to be assigned as a favor, only for significant contribution.
4. Guest or Gift Authorship:
o Guest authorship: Given to individuals who contributed little or nothing to the research, inflating credentials
unfairly.
o Gift authorship dilutes the actual contributors' work and misrepresents the research effort.
5. Career-Boost Authorship:
o This practice involves adding a junior faculty or student as coauthor, not for their actual contribution, but to help
with their career prospects.
o It is ethically questionable and should be avoided.
6. Career-Preservation Authorship:
o Involves adding administrators (e.g., heads of departments or deans) as coauthors as a form of quid pro quo.
o Administrators benefit from the authorship without contributing to the work, which compromises the integrity of
authorship.
7. Ghost Authorship:
o When a contributor does not appear as an author due to a conflict of interest within the organization, despite
having contributed significantly to the research.
o This undermines the transparency and accountability of the research.
8. Reciprocal or Minimal Contribution Authorship:
o Involves coauthors who contribute little beyond reading or editing the work, yet are listed as coauthors in
exchange for future favors or as part of a reciprocal gesture.
9. Misrepresentation of Contributions:
o Sometimes a researcher may seek sole authorship while relying on the work of others, acknowledging their
contributions only in the acknowledgment section, thus misrepresenting the true scope of contributions.
o This practice hides the unrecognized contributors, limiting their visibility and engagement with the broader
research community.