research methodology: a step by step guide to start effective research work

23-Nov-15

Research Methodology A Step by Step Guide

1

Sukhpal Singh

PhD Research Scholar

Computer Science and Engineering Department

Thapar University, Patiala, Punjab, India

© [email protected]

• Search

Try to find something by looking or otherwise seeking carefully and thoroughly.

• Research

The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.

What is Research?

23-Nov-15 2 © [email protected]

1. Read Undergraduate Text Book.

2. Have you zeroed on to some chapters/topics in which you have become interested.

3. Yes! Good…. Now pick up a specialized PG level book on that topic.

4. Have you zeroed on to some chapters/topics in which you have become interested.

5. Yes! Wonderful.. pick top journals in that area and read topic related research papers.

Find the General Domain


1. In this whole process keep on making brief notes on what you find interesting.

2. Any problem or solution in which you strike an idea that it may have been done differently.

3. Any Open Problems encountered.

4. Any limitations of the current work.

Select Sub Domain


Think of the who, what, when, where and why questions:

• WHY did you choose the topic? What interests you about it? Do you have an opinion about the issues involved?

• WHO are the information providers on this topic? Who might publish information about it? Who is affected by the topic? Do you know of Journals of topic?

• WHAT are the major issues for this topic? Are there a range of issues and viewpoints to consider?

• WHERE is your topic important: at the local, national or international level? Are there specific research affected by the topic?

• WHEN is/was your topic important? Is it a current event or an historical issue? Do you want to compare your topic by time periods?

Select Topic as General


Why write a literature review?

A literature review shows how the investigation you are conducting fits with what has gone before and puts it into context. A literature review demonstrates to your reader that you are able to:

• Understand and critically analyze the background research.

• Select and source the information that is necessary to develop a context for your research.

It also:

• Shows how your investigation relates to previous research.

• Reveals the contribution that your investigation makes to this field (fills a gap, or builds on existing research, for instance).

• Provides evidence that may help explain your findings later.

Do Literature Survey Cont..


1. If you're going to start writing a new research paper, you need to contribute some new knowledge about something. That means you need to be able to establish what is usually referred to as "a gap in the literature" i.e. something that has not yet been researched.

2. Mapping out the literature is a major job in itself. You need to be able to articulate what previous studies have shown and use this as the means of pointing toward things that are not yet known.

3. Helpfully, academic papers often conclude with a call for further research on something or other. This might be a useful starting point. However, you shouldn't rely on others to solve your problem.

4. Whenever you read anything, an article, a book, a chapter, a thesis ... write out your own summary of what they've told you and what you still don't know. Use mind maps, tables, pictures, post-it notes, or whatever works for you but keep tracking the relationship between known, unknown and your contribution.

5. Try to find an empty square and be clear about the contents of adjacent squares. Miles and miles of clear white space around your own interest might mean that you have found something really interesting that no-one has ever thought to research.

Find Gaps in Existing Study


The ability to develop a good research problem is an important skill. Sometimes Guide will assign a specific problem, usually they will ask you to select a problem that interests you. When you choose your own problem, you will need to:

1. brainstorm for ideas

2. read general background information

3. focus in on a manageable problem

4. make a list of useful keywords

5. be flexible

6. define your problem as a focused research question

7. research and read more about your problem

8. formulate a thesis statement

Be aware, selecting a good problem is not easy. It must be narrow and focused enough to be interesting, yet broad enough to find adequate information for your research. Before you select your problem, make sure you know what your final research objectives should look like. Each problem, will have somewhat different requirements and purposes for research.

Find Problems based on Gap Analysis


1. Clear, short and concise

2. Be Specific, Not Vague

3. Don't be too general when you give your research paper a title.

1. In fact, make sure that you highlight the most important aspects of your research in the title itself.

2. Think of your title as a research paper of your abstract - the summary of a research paper.

3. It marks the range and extent of your research and tells your reader what to expect.

4. Due to more suitable title it will be easier for your reader to identify whether or not they want to delve into your work.

4. Optimize the amount of information you give out in your title; optimize the length of your title; but most of all, make it easier for your readers to find you by optimizing your title so that it contains keywords that can bring it to the top of searches on the internet.

Fix your Title of Research


• A research problem is a statement about an area of concern, a condition to be improved, a difficulty to be eliminated, or a troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or in practice that points to the need for meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation.

• A research problem does not state how to do something, offer a vague or broad proposition, or present a value question.

Define Problem Statement


Your methodology answers three main questions:

1. How did you collect existing the data? How did you analyze the data?

2. How to develop you novel technique to improve existing?

3. How to validate your proposed technique?

Set Methodology


1. Discovering the relevant "facts" of an event, issue, procedure, or problem;

2. Reviewing and evaluating contrasting explanations for the topic being researched, especially explanations which may differ from what the current research has concluded;

3. Reviewing the consensus (or lack of it) of the research findings among researchers;

4. Spreading the findings and conclusions for critical review.

Find Existing Solutions for your Problem


1. Describe each limitation in detailed but concise terms;

2. Explain why each limitation exists;

3. Provide the reasons why each limitation could not be overcome using the method(s) chosen to gather the data [cite to other studies that had similar problems when possible];

4. Assess the impact of each limitation in relation to the overall findings and conclusions of your study; and,

5. If appropriate, describe how these limitations could point to the need for further research.

Find Limitations of Existing Solutions


1. Model

2. Flowchart

3. Pseudo Code

4. Design (UML, DFD ..)

5. Mathematical Model

Purpose:

• Improving existing algorithm

• Design new algorithm based on optimization technique.

Develop Technique to Solve Problem


• Select an environment:

– Simulator

– Real Testbed

• Draw diagram of experimental setup

– How components are interacting?

• Find the parameters

• Fix the range of parameters

Experimental Setup


Experimental Results Cont..


1. Once the data are collected, you must analyze and interpret the results. Analysis will include data summaries (e.g., calculating means and variances) and statistical tests to verify conclusions.

2. Most scientists lay out their Tables and Figures upon completion of the data analysis before writing the Results section.

3. Write the Table and Figure legends. It is good practice to note the one or two key results that each Table or Figure conveys and use this information as a basis for writing the Results section. Sequence and number the Tables and Figures in the order which best enables the reader to reach your conclusions.

4. Remember that the Results section has both text and illustrative materials (Tables and Figures).

5. Use the text component to guide the reader through your key results, i.e., those results which answer the question(s) you investigated.

6. Each Table and Figure must be referenced in the text portion of the results, and you must tell the reader what the key result(s) is that each Table or Figure conveys.

Analysis of Experimental Results


Writing a conclusion is the final part of the research paper, drawing everything together and tying it into your initial research.

• What Has Your Research Shown?

– Anybody reading the conclusion has read the entire paper, so the conclusion merely acts as an aid to memory.

• How Has It Added to What is Known About the Subject?

– You should then point out the importance of the study and point out how it relates to the field.

Conclude your Research


Reference

23-Nov-15

Sukhpal Singh, Inderveer Chana, and Maninder Singh,

“Research Methodology: A Practitioner Approach”, i-

Manager's Journal on English Language Teaching 5

(3) (Oct-Dec 2015): 1-17.

19 © [email protected]

Author’s Biography

23-Nov-15

Sukhpal Singh obtained the Degree of Master of Engineering in

Software Engineering from Thapar University, Patiala. Mr. Singh

received the Gold Medal in Master of Engineering in Software

Engineering. Presently he is pursuing Doctoral degree in Cloud

Computing from Thapar University, Patiala. Mr. Singh is on the

Roll-of-honor being DST Inspire Fellow as a SRF Professional. He

has done certifications in Cloud Computing Fundamentals, including

Introduction to Cloud Computing and Aneka Platform (US Patented)

by ManjraSoft Pty Ltd, Australia and Certification of Rational

Software Architect (RSA) by IBM India. His research interests

include Software Engineering, Cloud Computing, Operating System

and Databases. He has more than 20 research publications in reputed

journals and conferences.

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Email: [email protected]

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research methodology: a step by step guide to start effective research work

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