Chapter 2: Research Process, Literature Review and Citation

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT FOR POST-

GRADUATE DEGREE IN ENGINEERING

2 RESEARCH PROCESS, LITERATURE REVIEW AND CITATION

2.1 Research Process

Research process consists of series of actions or steps necessary to effectively carry out
research and the desired sequencing of these steps. Figure 2.1 illustrates a flowchart of
a research process.

The process consists of a number of closely related activities (viz., through I to VII).
However, such activities overlap continuously rather than following a strictly prescribed
sequence. At times, the first step determines the nature of the last step to be undertaken.
If subsequent procedures have not been taken into account in the early stages, serious
difficulties may arise which may even prevent the completion of the study. One should
remember that the various steps involved in a research process are not mutually
exclusive; nor are they separate and distinct. They do not necessarily follow each other in
any specific order and the researcher has to be constantly anticipating at each step in the
research process the requirements of the subsequent steps.

Nevertheless, the following order concerning various steps provides a useful procedural
guideline regarding the research process: (1) formulating the research problem;
(2) extensive literature survey; (3) developing the hypothesis; (4) preparing the research
design; (5) determining sample design; (6) collecting the data; (7) execution of the project;
(8) analysis of data; (9) hypothesis testing; (10) generalisations and interpretation, and
(11) preparation of the report or presentation of the results, i.e., formal write-up of
conclusions reached.

Figure 2.1: A flowchart of a research process.

In the figure: F, feedback (helps in controlling the sub-system to which it is transmitted); FF, feed
forward (serves the vital function of providing criteria for evaluation)

A brief description of the steps involved in the research process is as follows.

1. Formulating the research problem: The problem may that related to states of nature
or that which relates to relationships between variables. At the very outset the
researcher must single out the problem one wants to study, i.e., one must decide the

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general area of interest or aspect of a subject-matter that he/she would like to inquire
into. Initially the problem may be stated in a broad general way and then the
ambiguities, if any, relating to the problem be resolved. Then, the feasibility of a
particular solution has to be considered before a working formulation of the problem
can be set up. The formulation of a general topic into a specific research problem,
thus, constitutes the first step in a scientific enquiry. Essentially two steps are involved
in formulating the research problem: viz., understanding the problem thoroughly, and
rephrasing the same into meaningful terms from an analytical point of view.

2. Extensive literature survey: The researcher should undertake extensive literature

survey connected with the problem. This may be obtained from journals, published or
unpublished bibliographies, conference proceedings, government reports, books, etc.
The earlier studies, if any, which are similar to the study in hand should be carefully
studied.

3. Development of working hypotheses/research questions/objectives: After

extensive literature survey, researcher should state in clear terms the working
hypotheses or research questions.

a) Hypotheses

A working hypothesis (either null or alternative) is tentative assumption made in order

to draw out and test its logical or empirical consequences. Hypothesis should be very
specific and limited to the piece of research in hand because it has to be tested. The
role of the hypothesis is to guide the researcher by delimiting the area of research and
to keep him on the right track. It sharpens his thinking and focuses attention on the
more important facets of the problem. It also indicates the type of data required and
the type of methods of data analysis to be used.

• A null hypothesis (Ho) is a type of statistical hypothesis that proposes that no

statistical significance exists in a set of given observations or variables.
• In contrast, an alternative hypothesis (H1) proposes that statistical significance
exists in a set of given observations or variables.
• The null hypothesis is taken as the true statement while the alternative is the
contrast.

A null hypothesis is usually the hypothesis a researcher or experimenter will try to

disprove or discredit.

How does one go about developing working hypotheses? The answer is by using the
following approach:

(a) Discussions with colleagues and experts about the problem, its origin and the
objectives in seeking a solution;
(b) Examination of data and records, if available, concerning the problem for possible
trends, peculiarities and other clues;
(c) Review of similar studies in the area or of the studies on similar problems; and
(d) Exploratory personal investigation which involves original field interviews on a
limited scale with interested parties and individuals with a view to secure greater
insight into the practical aspects of the problem.

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b) Research questions

Research questions are crucial because they guide:

• literature search;
• decisions about the kind of research design to employ;
• decisions about what data to collect and from whom;
• process and analysis of data; and,
• writing-up of report.
• making conclusions

Steps in selecting research questions

The series of stages is meant to suggest that, when developing research questions,
the researcher is involved in a process of progressive focusing down, so that one
moves from a general research area down to specific research questions. In making
this movement, one has to recognize the following restrictions:

• Remember that a research question should end with a question mark. If there is
no question mark, it is not a research question.
• Not all research questions that occur to us can be addressed. This is not just to do
with issues of time and the cost of doing research. It is very much to do with the
fact that one must keep a clear focus so that the research questions relate to each
other to form a coherent set of issues.
• Hence, one has to select from the possible research questions that are formulated.
• In making the selection, one should be guided by the principle that the research
questions one chooses should be related to one another. If they are not, the
research will probably lack focus and it may not be possible to make as clear a
contribution to understanding as would be the case if research questions were
connected. Thus, in the example in Figures 2.2 and 2.3, the research questions
relating to TQM are closely connected.

Figure 2.2: Steps in selecting research questions.

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Figure 2.3: Conceptual framework for the selected research questions.

Following from the management questions posed above, examples of a research

questions would be: what plausible courses of action are available to management to
correct the problem or take advantage of the opportunity, and which should be
considered?

Criteria for evaluating research questions

Research questions for a thesis or project should meet the following criteria:

• Questions should be clear. They must be understandable to you and to others.

• Questions should be researchable. They should be capable of development into a
research design, so that data may be collected in relation to them. This means that
extremely abstract terms are unlikely to be suitable.
• Questions should connect with established theory/concepts and research. This
means that there should be a literature on which you can draw to help illuminate
how your research questions should be approached. Even if you find a topic that
has been scarcely addressed by social scientists, it is unlikely that there will be no
relevant literature (for example, on related or parallel topics). Making connections
with theory and research will also allow you to show how your research has made
a contribution to knowledge and understanding.
• Questions should be linked to one another. Unrelated research questions are
unlikely to be acceptable, since you should be developing an argument in your
dissertation. You will not very readily be able to construct a single argument in
connection with unrelated research questions.
• Questions should have potential for making a contribution to knowledge and/or
society. They should at the very least hold out the prospect of being able to make
a contribution-however small-to the topic.
• Questions should be neither too broad nor too narrow. The research questions
should be neither too large (so that you would need a massive grant to study
them) nor too small (so that you cannot make a reasonably significant contribution
to your area of study).

Note: If you are stuck about how to formulate research questions (or indeed other phases of your
research), it is a good idea to look at journal articles or research monographs to see how other
researchers have formulated them. Also, look at past theses for ideas as well.

To address the research questions, the researcher will be required to develop

investigative questions and measurement questions. Following from the research
questions posed above these would be:

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Investigative questions: what does the manager need to know to choose the best
alternative from the available courses of action?
Measurement questions: what should be asked or observed to obtain the information
the manager needs?

4. Preparing the research design: After formulating the research question, the
researcher will be required to prepare a research design, i.e., he/she will have to state
the conceptual structure within which research would be conducted.

5. Determining sample design: The researcher must decide the way of selecting a
sample/sample design.

6. Collecting the data: In dealing with any real-life problem it is often found that data at
hand are inadequate, and hence, it becomes necessary to collect data that are
appropriate. There are several ways of collecting the appropriate data which differ
considerably in context of money costs, time and other resources at the disposal of
the researcher.

7. Project implementation: Project implementation is a very important step in the

research process. If project implementation proceeds on correct lines, the data to be
collected would be adequate and dependable. The researcher should see that the
project is implemented in a systematic manner and in time.

8. Process and Analysis of data: The analysis of data requires a number of closely
related operations such as establishment of categories, the application of these
categories to raw data through coding, tabulation and then drawing statistical
inferences.

9. Hypothesis-testing: After analysing the data as stated above, the researcher is in a

position to test the hypotheses, if any, he/she had formulated earlier. Do the facts
support the hypotheses or they happen to be contrary? Various tests, such as
Chi-square test, t-test, F-test, have been developed by statisticians for the purpose.

10. Generalisations and interpretation: If a hypothesis is tested and upheld several

times, it may be possible for the researcher to arrive at generalization, i.e., to build a
theory. As a matter of fact, the real value of research lies in its ability to arrive at
certain generalisations. If the researcher had no hypothesis to start with, he/she might
seek to explain his/her findings on the basis of some theory. It is known as
interpretation. The process of interpretation may quite often trigger off new questions
which in turn may lead to further researches.

11. Preparation of the report or the thesis: Finally, the researcher has to prepare the
report of what has been done by him/her.

• Finally, decision making whether management or not: what is the recommended

course of action, given the research findings?

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2.2 Literature Review

2.2.1 Goal of Literature Review

• The primary goal of literature review is understand the use of

content/ideas/approaches in the literature to correctly identify the vague problem, to
establish the approach to be adopted in understanding the problem, and to identify
approaches/methods to be used to solve the problem.
• It also helps the researcher understand clearly that the research to be undertaken
would contribute to knowledge.
• The quality of such review can be determined by evaluating if it includes appropriate
breadth and depth of the area under study, clarity, rigour (being thorough and
careful), consistency, and effective analysis.

2.2.2 New and Existing Knowledge

• New knowledge in research can only be interpreted within the context of what is
already known, and cannot exist without the foundation of existing knowledge.
• New knowledge can have vastly different interpretations depending on what the
researcher’s background is, and one’s perception of that new knowledge can
change from indifference to excitement (or vice versa), depending on what else one
knows.
• The significance can normally be argued from the point of view that there is indeed
an existing problem and that it is known by looking at what already exists in the
field.
• The existing knowledge is needed to make the case that there is a problem and that
it is important.

□ Note that the knowledge being sought does not exist as one reviews literature, and
the missing knowledge should be noted so that whatever is reported is original.
□ The existing knowledge should exhibit: the context (background information), the
significance, the originality, and the tools used by other researchers.
□ There is need to establish the originality of the existing knowledge by citing the
authors of that knowledge.
□ Normally, one finds this knowledge by reviewing literature (both published and
unpublished for problem definition, but only published for chapter on literature review)
in the prior field and also about the more recent knowledge which is in fact always
changing.
□ With this foundation in place, the new knowledge that one will make will be much
more difficult to challenge than without that strong foundation in place which is
ensured with lots of references to the literature.

2.2.3 The Review Process

• The review process should show how research concepts build on one another.
• This is because useful research should show how and why certain developments
took place, so that it is easy for the reader to comprehend why the present research
is being undertaken.
• A good literature survey would provide appropriate answers to the research
questions.
• An effective review of literature ensures a firm foundation for advancing knowledge,
facilitates theoretical growth, eliminates areas that might not be of interest, and
opens new avenues of possible research.
• An efficient literature review is centred around concepts and not authors.

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Generally, a good literature review is what a supervisor would expect from a research
student, and when done well can create a good impression that the problem in the chosen
field is well understood. A good literature review should not draw hasty conclusions but
should assess the existing causes/assumptions/mechanisms then synthesize the
available information in a much more meaningful way.

A literature review should be able to:

• summarize what is known,
• detail the key concepts and the main factors or parameters and the underlying
relationships between them,
• describe any existing approaches,
• enumerate the inconsistencies or shortcomings in literature,
• identify reported results that are inconclusive or contradictory, and
• provide reasons to do further work in the field.

A good literature survey is typically a two-step process as enumerated below:

(i) Identify the major topics or subtopics or concepts relevant to the subject under
consideration.
(ii) Place the citation of the relevant source (article/patent/website/data, etc.) in the
correct category of the concept/topic/subtopic (with the help of a √, for example).

• To avoid plagiarism it is advised that in the course of reading, whenever one comes
across new knowledge, it should be highlighted.

• After highlighting the information, it is suggested that the article or book be put
aside, then the information be re-written without copying it.

As one writes about why one thinks that part is important and what it contains, one is
automatically changing it and making it fit into one’s foundation in the way that makes
sense. There are shaping and crafting of that piece of knowledge to fit where one needs it
to be.

• To build a good knowledge foundation, one needs to be reading and learning

continuously. One also needs to be writing about what one has read.

A comprehensive literature survey should methodically analyse and synthesize quality

archived work, provide a firm foundation to a topic of interest and the choice of suitable
research methodologies, and demonstrate that the proposed work would make a novel
contribution to the overall field of research.

2.2.4 Analysis and Synthesis of Literature Review

After collecting the sources, usually articles, intended to be used in the literature review,
the researcher is ready to go through each article and identify the useful content in it, and
then synthesize the articles (integrate them and identify the conclusions that can be made
from the articles as a whole). A literature survey grid of N topics and M sources
(Table 2.1) can help crystallize the information in different categories.

A researcher should analyse the relevant information by:

(i) understanding the hypothesis/research questions,

(ii) understanding the models and the experimental conditions used,

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(iii) making connections,

(iv) comparing and contrasting the various information, and
(v) finding out the strong points and the shortcomings.

Table 2.1: The literature survey grid

Source 1 Source 2 … Source M
Topic 1 
Topic 2  

Topic N  

Some criteria that can assist the researcher in evaluating information under literature
review are:

• Authority – what are the author’s credentials and affiliation? Who published the
information?
• Accuracy – based on what one already knows about the topic or from reading other
sources, does the information seem credible? Does the author cite other sources in
a reference list or bibliography, to support the information presented?
• Scope – is the source at an appropriate comprehension or research level?

There are other criteria to consider as well, such as currency, objectivity, and purpose. It
is important to ensure that the search question is neither too narrow nor too broad.

2.2.5 The Way Forward for Effective Literature Search

• A scholarly publication is one wherein the published information is authored by

researchers in a specific field of skill.
• Such report cites all source contents used and is generally peer reviewed for
accuracy and validity before publication.
• Essentially, the audience for such reports are fellow experts and students in the
field.
• The content is typically more complex and advanced than those found in general
magazines.

While most engineering researchers refer to articles that appear in peer reviewed
journals, books or other sources, there is also a substantially useful content in more
popular publications. These are informal in approach and aim to reach a large number of
readers including both the experts in the field and also amateurs, but the content focuses
on news and trends in the field. Research outcomes are not typically first disseminated
here but are usually meant for general reading.

A researcher should use all available search tools for comprehensive search of literature.
No one place or one source exists that will provide all the information one needs; one will
likely need to look in all possible places.

A researcher must consider what type of information is needed, and where it could be
found. Not all information is available online. Some information is only available in print. It
can take time for scholarly and peer-reviewed information to be published. One might not
be able to find scholarly information about something currently being reported in the
news. The information may not be available, or studies on a topic of interest to the
researcher have not occurred. In such a case, the researcher should look for similar
studies that would be applicable to the specific topic; look for broad information (general

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process, technology, etc.), as well as information that addresses the specific context of
the researcher’s report.

Searching is an iterative process:

• Experiment with different keywords and operators;
• Evaluate and assess results, use filters;
• Modify the search as needed; and
• When relevant articles are found, look at their citations and references.

After the search is complete, the researcher needs to engage in critical and thorough
reading, making observation of the salient points in those sources, and summarize the
findings. A detailed comparison and contrast of the findings is also required to be done.
This entire process may be needed to be done multiple times.

• At the end of literature review one must provide:

✓ a summary of existing literature relevant to the study; and
✓ a research gap (a topic or area for which missing or inadequate information
limits the ability of reviewers to reach a conclusion for a given research
question).

• One must note that literature review is a continuous and cyclical process (feed-back
process) that may involve the researcher going back and forth till the end of the
research project.

2.3 Citation

2.3.1 Functions and Attributes of Citation

• Citations (references) credit others for their work, while allowing the readers to trace
the source of publication if needed.
• Any portion of someone else’s work or ideas in articles, patents, or presentations
must be used in any new document only by clearly citing the source.
• This applies to all forms of written sources in the form of texts, images, sounds, etc.
and failure to do may be considered plagiarism.
• One should avoid distress and embarrassment by learning exactly what to cite.
Depending on the exact type of material, the researcher may need to give due
credit to the creator of the original source.

When a bibliography of previously published patents or articles is placed in new reports of

a researcher, a connection is established between the new and previous studies.
• As per relevance to context, the researcher provides due credit through the use of a
citation.
• Citations help the readers to verify the quality and importance of the new studies
and justification of the findings.
• It is a way to tell readers that certain material in the researcher’s present study has
come from another source and as an ethical responsibility, appropriate credit has
been given to the original author.
• Materials that can be cited include journal articles, conference proceeding, books,
theses, newspaper articles, websites, or other online resources and personal
communication.
• Preferably but not always, citations should be given at the end of a sentence or the
end of a paragraph.
• Citation must contain enough details so that readers can easily find the referenced
material.

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A researcher needs to cite each source twice: (i) in-text citation, in the text of the article
exactly where the source is quoted or paraphrased, and (ii) a second time in the
references, typically at the end of the chapter or a book or at the end of a research article.

Most citation styles have the same or similar elements, but differ on the order of elements
and layout. Unless otherwise specifically required by a particular journal or a book, one
may choose any style of one’s choice as long as one is consistent. The citation elements
differ and so what is to be recorded can differ from one source to another. It is also
important to mention the date the source was published and sometimes also the
particular date it was accessed by the researcher if it is related to web content.

There are three main functions of citation:

(i) Verification function: Authors have a scope for finding intentional or unintentional
distortion of research or misleading statements. Citation offers the readers a
chance to ascertain if the original source is justified or not, and if that assertion is
properly described in the present work.
(ii) Acknowledgment function: Researchers primarily receive credit for their work
through citations. Citations play crucial role in promotion of individual researchers
and their continued employment. Many reputed organizations and institutes provide
research funding based on the reputations of the researchers. Citations help all
researchers to enhance their reputation and provide detailed background of the
research work.
(iii) Documentation function: Citations are also used to document scientific concepts
and historical progress of any particular technology over the years.

Authors should cite sources to indicate significance of the study to the reader. Relevant
citations help authors develop an easily understandable argument and prevent the need
to navigate through studies that are irrelevant to the reader’s interest areas. Failure to cite
appropriately infringes on the rights of the researcher who did the original work.

There are certain cases when references do not fulfil the actual goal of citations and
acknowledgments, and thus do not benefit the reader.
1. Spurious citations: In certain cases, when citation is not required or an appropriate
one is not found, if the author nevertheless goes ahead with including one
anyways, it would be considered as a spurious citation.

2. Biased citations: When authors cite the work of their friends or colleagues despite
there being no significant connection between the two works, or when they do not
cite work of genuine significance authors because they do not wish to give credit in
the form of citation to certain individuals, then such actions can be classified as
biased citations. Neglect of citations to prior work whose conclusions or data
contradict the current work is also biased.

3. Self-citations: There is nothing wrong in citing one’s prior work if the citation is really
relevant. Self-citation of prior papers is natural because the latest paper is often a
part of a larger research project which is ongoing. Sometimes, it is also
advantageous for the reader because citations of all the related works of the same
author are given in one paper and this may reduce the effort of the reader in trying
to find the full versions of those papers. However, it is helpful and ethical only if all
the papers are really relevant to the present work.

4. Coercive citations: Despite shortcomings, impact factors remain a primary method

of quantification of research. One side effect is that it creates an incentive for
editors to indulge in coercion to add citations to the editor’s journal. Even if not

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explicitly stated, the implied message is that the author could either add citations or
risk rejection. Such demands consequently diminish the reputation of the journal.

2.3.2 Impact of Title and Keywords on Citations

The citation rate of any research paper depends on various factors including: significance
and availability of the journal, publication types, research area, and importance of the
published research work. Other factors like length of the title, type of the title, and
selected keywords also impact the citation count.

Title is the most important attribute of any research paper.

• It is the main indication of the research area or subject and is used by researcher as
a source of information during literature survey.
• Title plays important role in marketing and makes research papers traceable.
• A good title is informative, represents the article effectively to readers, and gains
their attention. Some titles are informative but do not capture attention of readers,
some titles are attractive but not informative or related to the readers’ research
area.
• The download count and citation of a research article might be influenced by the
title. There are three different aspects which provide a particular behaviour to the
title: (i) type of the title, (ii) length of the title, and (iii) presence of specific markers.

Some researcher analysed title characteristics of the papers published during 1990–2002
in the area of research and studied relationship between title characteristics and citation,
which concluded that title length positively affects the number of citations. In another
study, it was found that highly amusing titles have fewer citations and pleasant titles have
no significant relation with citations. Analysis of different papers’ titles and their citations
hit for 25 most-cited and 25 least-cited research and review papers of a particular genre
of journals, and found a strong association between title lengths and citation rates, with
highly cited articles having more than twice as many words in the title compared with
lower cited papers. Other authors analysed several open access papers and found that
articles with question-type titles are downloaded more but poorly cited compared to the
descriptive or declarative titles. Declarative titles are downloaded and cited less than
descriptive titles but difference is not much. As per analysis, longer titles are strongly
associated with higher citation rates. Longer titles mainly include the study methodology
and/or results in more detail, and so attracts more attention and citations.

Note:
The titles of journal articles fall under three basic categories:
• Declarative – states main findings or conclusions of the article.
• Descriptive – describes the subject of the article, but leaves out the findings/conclusion.
• Interrogative – the subject of the article takes the form of a question.

In general, titles containing a question mark, colon, and reference to a specific

geographical region are associated with lower citation rates; also result-describing titles
usually get more citations than method-describing titles. Additionally, review articles and
original articles usually receive more citations than short communication articles. At least
two keywords in the title can increase the chance of finding and reading the article as well
as get more citations.

Keywords represent essential information as well as main content of the article, which
are relevant to the area of research.
• Search engines, journal, digital libraries, and indexing services use keywords for
categorization of the research topic and to direct the work to the relevant audience.
• Keywords are important to ensure that readers are aware about research articles

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and their content.

• If maximum number of allowable keywords are used, then the chance of the article
being found increases and so does the probability of citation count of the article.
• Usage of new keywords should be minimal as such keywords may not be well
known to the research community and so may lead to low visibility of the article.

2.3.3 Styles for Citations

Citation styles differ primarily in the order, and syntax of information about references,
depending on difference in priorities attributed to briefness, readability, dates, authors,
and publications. Some of the most common styles for citation (as well as other aspects of
technical writing) used by engineers are as follows:

1. ASCE style (American Society of Civil Engineers)

a) Reference list: This part is to be placed in the bibliography or references at the end
of the article or report. A template with example for the same is given below:

Template for books:

Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published). Title. Publisher, City, Pages Used.
Example:
Wearstler, K., and Bogart, J. (2004). Modern glamour. Regan Books, NY.

Template for websites:

Author Credentials / Company Name (Year Published). ‘Title’. [Link]
URL (Oct. 10, 2013).
Example:
Blade cleaning services (2015): [Link]
(29 Oct, 2016).
Template for journal publications:
Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published). ‘Title’. Publication Title, Volume
number(Issue number), Pages Used.
Example:
Johnston, L. (2014). “How an Inconvenient Truth Expanded The Climate Change Dialogue
and Reignited An Ethical Purpose in The United States”. Vol., 1–160.

b) In-text citation for journals or books: The following part is to be placed right after
the reference to the source of the citation assignment:

Template
(Author Surname/Website URL Year Published)
Examples:
(i) Citation is a very important part of technical writing. (Deb 2016)
(ii) Engineers create devices to monitor mountains so that nearby inhabitants can be
warned of impending eruptions. ([Link] 2014)

2. IEEE style (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). IEEE style is standard for
all IEEE journals and magazines, and is frequently used for papers and articles in the
fields of electrical engineering and computer science. The IEEE style requires
endnotes and that references be cited numerically in the text.

Those submitting to an IEEE publication should see guidelines for the specific journal
or magazine and may also refer to the complete IEEE editorial style manual. Some
examples of IEEE styles of citations for different types of sources are enumerated
below:

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Chapter in an edited book

[1] A. Rezi and M. Allam, “Techniques in array processing by means of transformations,”
in Control and Dynamic Systems, Vol. 69, Multidimensional Systems, C. T. Leondes, Ed.
San Diego: Academic Press, 1995, pp. 133–180.

3. The APA style of reference has gain usage recently for research reports, dissertations
and theses. The 6th Edition of the same is circulated. Students to go through the
document then make brief notes.
• In this course we shall adopt this style of referencing as it is used widely among
researchers and institutions.

• Note that one should learn how to add citation of all sources using APA style in an
MS word document and how to generate the list of references automatically.

4. Harvard referencing style – referencing in the Harvard style is a two–part process:

• Citation in the text: this is the brief indication of the source within the text of your
work immediately following the use of the source whether quoted or summarised.
• Reference list: a complete list of all the cited references used in your work with full
bibliographic details, to allow the reader to follow up these references and find the
original text.

For more details refer to the guide provided.

2.3.4 Acknowledgments and Attributions

Acknowledgment section is a place to provide a brief appreciation of the contribution of

someone or an organization or funding body to the present work. If no particular guideline
is available for the intended publication, then it can be introduced at the end of the text or
as a footnote. Acknowledgment is a common practice to recognize persons or agencies
for being responsible in some form or other for completion of a publishable research
outcome. Acknowledgment displays a relationship among people, agencies, institutions,
and research. In some cases, certain individuals may help in the research work but may
not deserve to be included as authors. As a sign of gratitude, such contributions should
be acknowledged. Acknowledgment can be classified into six different categories like
moral, financial, editorial, institutional or technical, and conceptual support.

Acknowledgments and attributions are also very important in the publication of journals or
conference papers. Giving proper credit wherever it is due is very important and even if
the contribution is minor, it should not be neglected. A researcher should always
recognize the proprietary interest of others. Whenever possible, author shall give name of
persons who may be responsible, even if nominally, for designs, inventions, writings, or
other accomplishments. Given the importance of work published, authorship is also
important. The reward triangle theory shows a relationship between citations,
acknowledgment, and authorship.

In engineering research, acknowledgments are meant for participating technicians,

students, funding agency, grant number, institution, or anyone who provide scientific
inputs, shared unpublished results, provided equipment, or participated in discussions.

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 Chapter 2: Research Process, Literature Review and Citation

[Link] What Should Be Acknowledged?

Every author should know that what should/should not be acknowledged. An author
should acknowledge quotation, ideas, facts, paraphrasing, funding organization, oral
discussion or support, laboratory, and computer work.

(i) Quotation: In technical writing such as in the field of engineering, quotes are used
very rarely. Quotations are of two types:
a) Direct quotations are used when author use actual words or sentences in the
same order as the original one. Author should use quotation marks for the words
or sentences with proper acknowledgment.
b) Indirect quotation summarizes or paraphrases the actual quote. In such cases, it is
important to acknowledge with proper name and date.

(ii) Authors should acknowledge people who give appropriate contribution in their
research work. Non-research work contributions are not generally acknowledged in
a scientific paper but it may be in a thesis. Persons must be acknowledged by
authors, who gave a scientific or technical guidance, take part in some discussions,
or shared information to author. Authors should acknowledge assistants, students,
or technicians, who helped experimentally and theoretically during the research
work.

(iii) If the researcher received grant from a funding agency and if those funds were used
in the work reported in the publication, then such support should always be
acknowledged by providing full details of the funding program and grant number in
the acknowledgment section.

The authors should also acknowledge the use of services and facilities of any
centre or organization with which they are not formally affiliated to. An example of
acknowledgment of grant received is as follows:

Acknowledgments:
This research work was funded in part by the ExtraMural Research Funding 2014–17
(Individual Centric) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of
India.

If there are any concerns that the provision of the information provided in
acknowledgment may compromise the anonymity dependent on the peer review
policy of a particular journal or conference proceedings, the author(s) may withhold
the acknowledgment information until the submission of the final accepted
manuscript. Many technical journals explicitly discourage authors to thank the
reviewers in their article submissions. This could be construed as favouritism or an
attempt to encourage reviewers to accept their manuscript for reasons other than
scientific merit.

(iv) Acknowledging that results have been presented elsewhere: If the results were
presented as an abstract in a journal, then there should be a suitable citation. If the
results were presented as part of scientific meeting, symposium, or other gathering,
then some relevant information should be provided. At the very least, the name of
the gathering and year should be cited. Other helpful items include the location of
the gathering (city and state or country) and the full date of the occasion.

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 Chapter 2: Research Process, Literature Review and Citation

[Link] Acknowledgments in Books/Dissertations

The following are often acknowledged in these types of acknowledgments: main
supervisor, second supervisor, peers in the lab, other academic staff in the department,
technical or support staff in the department, colleagues from other departments, other
institutions, or organizations, former students, family, and friends.

Sample Acknowledgement in Thesis:

I wish to express my sincere appreciation to my supervisor Prof. Gang Tao for the useful
comments, remarks and encouragement throughout this thesis work. Furthermore, I wish to
express my thanks to Prof. Jacob Hammer for introducing me to the topic and for the support
along the way. Also, I like to thank my peers in the Adaptive Control Lab such as Yu Liu and
Shan-shan Li, who have shared their precious time during many lively technical discussions. I
would like to thank my family members who have supported me throughout this journey in many
different ways.

[Link] Dedication or Acknowledgments?

Dedication is almost never used in a journal paper, an article in a conference
proceedings, or a patent, and it is used exclusively in larger documents like books, thesis,
or dissertations. While acknowledgments are reserved for those who helped out with the
book in some way or another (editing, moral support, etc), a dedication is to whomever
the author would like it to be dedicated to, whether it is the author’s mother, the best
friend, the pet dog, or Almighty God. And yes, it is possible to dedicate something to
someone while also mentioning them in the acknowledgments. For example, one may
dedicate a book to one’s spouse, but acknowledge them for being the moral support and
putting up with when one got very stressed.

The acknowledgments in technical books can be sometimes as brief as the ones in

journal articles. The acknowledgment section of a technical report may be a paragraph
that is longer than a journal paper but shorter than dissertations. Generally, the length of
the acknowledgment may have some correlation with the length of the document.

2.3.5 Summary

Citation is a specific form of attribution, but attribution itself can be done in many different
ways. For engineers, citation is very useful to their careers due to the prevailing publish or
perish environment. Proper citation and reference:

• Gives credit and respect to the original author(s).

• Allows readers to find the original source(s).
• Strengthens the credibility of your report. If a researcher does not cite the sources, it
is plagiarism.

Plagiarism is using another person’s ideas without giving credit or citation and is an
intellectual theft. Plagiarism comes in varying degrees, and there are serious
consequences for a researcher if caught plagiarizing. All academic and industrial research
organizations have integrity and misconduct policies. Even past one’s time at a research
organization, evidence of plagiarism can affect the integrity and credibility and can also
retrospectively make an earned degree null and void.

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