SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND COMPUTING
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION
ENGINEERING
ENGINEERING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
METHODOLOGY
Outline
■ 1.1 Meaning of Research
■ 1.2 Objectives of Research
■ 1.3 Motivation in Research
■ 1.4 Types of Research
■ 1.5 Research Methods versus Methodology
■ 1.6 Research and Scientific Method
■ 1.7 Research Process
■ 1.8 Criteria of Good Research
1.1 Meaning and Objectives of Research
What is research?
■ A search for knowledge
■ A scientific and systematic search for significant information on a
specific topic
■ A careful investigation through search for new facts in any
branch of knowledge
■ A voyage of discovery and so on.
■ When the unknown confront us, our inherited instinct of curiosity
makes us probe to attain the full understanding of the unknown.
The method we employ to probe for getting the knowledge of
unknown can be called research.
Research
Research not only helps to raise questions, but also to answer
them
■Research is a approach to obtaining and confirming new and reliable
knowledge
■In simple words, research is “a search for knowledge”
■Research is systematic and orderly (following a series of steps)
■The purpose of research is new knowledge, which must be reliable
■ Searching for explanation of events, phenomena, relationships and causes
■ What, how and why things occur
■ Are there interactions?
■ A Process
■ Planned and managed – to make the information generated credible
■ The process is creative
■ It is circular – always leads to more questions
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Research is not
Accidental discovery:
■ Accidental discovery may occur in structured research process
■ Usually takes the form of a phenomenon not previously noticed
■ May lead to a structured research process to verify or understand the observation
Data Collection:
■ An intermediate step to gain reliable knowledge
■ Collecting reliable data is part of the research process
Searching out published research results in libraries (or the internet):
1. This is an important early step of research
2. The research process always includes synthesis and analysis
3. But, just reviewing of literature is not research 6
Research is defining and redefining problems,
formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions;
collecting, organizing and evaluating data; making
deductions and reaching conclusions; and finally
testing the conclusions carefully to determine whether
they fit the hypothesis formulated.
Research is the pursuit of truth with the help of study,
observation, comparison and experiment; the search
for knowledge through objective and systematic
method of finding solution to a problem is Research.
The systematic approach concerning generalization
1.2 Objectives in Research
■ The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions
through the application of scientific procedures. The main aim of
research is to find out the truth which is hidden and which has
not been discovered as yet. Research objectives fall into the
following broad groupings:
1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new
insights into it
2. To determine the frequency with which something occurs or
with which it is associated with something else (known as
diagnostic research studies);
3. To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables
1.3 Motivation in Research
■ To face the challenge in solving the unsolved problems, i.e.,
concern over practical problems initiates research
■ To get intellectual joy of doing some creative work
■ To be of service to society
■ To get respectability
■ To complete research degree along with its consequential
benefits
1.4 Types of Research
There are several important types of research and those are as
follows:
1. Descriptive: the surveys and fact-finding investigations of
distinct types come under descriptive research.
2. Analytical research: a researcher has to avail data which
already exists and has to make an accurate evaluation.
3. Basic: to determine or establish fundamental facts and relationships within a
discipline or field of study.
4. Applied: undertaken specifically for the purpose of obtaining information to
help resolve a particular problem
• The distinction between them is in the application
Basic has little application to real world policy and management but could
be done to guide applied research
5. Quantitative: Quantitative types of research measures a few
characteristics which are explained in quantities.
6. Qualitative: Qualitative research is related to the
parameter of quality.
7. Conceptual: The conceptual research is concerned with
ideas and theories.
8. Empirical: Empirical research is perfect when we have the
proof which explains that few variables generate a change on
other variables in some way or the other.
1.5 Research Methodology versus
Methodsand methods, two terms are often
■ Methodology
treated as synonyms.
■ Methodology is broader and envelops methods.
■ It is understanding the social organizational context,
philosophical assumptions, ethical principals and
political issues of the enterprise of researchers who
use methods.
Methods are set of specific techniques for selecting
cases, measuring and observing aspects of social life,
gathering and refining data, analyzing data and
reporting on results.
1.6 Research and Scientific
Method
• What is the scientific method?
• What are the steps of the scientific method?
• Steps of the scientific method
1. Observation and Research
2. Problem/Question
3. Hypothesis
4. Procedure
5. Data Analysis
6. Conclusion
7. Communicate
OBSERVATION AND
RESEARCH
■ May be done before or after you pose a formal
problem
– Gives you a question to answer or
– Helps you formulate a hypothesis
PROBLEM/PURPOSE/
QUESTION
■ This what you want to solve.
■ Research may lead to this problem
■ Research may be done after problem is formed.
■ Sample problem: Will fertilizer effect how tall a plant will
grow?
HYPOTHESIS
Prediction based on prior knowledge
FORMAT: If x happens, then y happens, because ________________.
Example:
◦ Question: Will fertilizer affect how tall a plant will grow?
◦ Hypothesis: IF fertilizer is added to a plant, THEN, it will grow taller
BECAUSE the plant will gain more energy and nutrients to grow.
VARIABLES and CONTROLS
The factors that you are testing or changing in an experiment
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE: the one factor you change in your procedure
DEPENDENT VARIABLE: the factor that changes due to the independent
variable being changed
◦ EXAMPLE: If I change the amount of fertilizer on a plant, (independent
variable) then the plants will grow taller (dependent variable) because
they will gain more energy and nutrients to grow
CONTROL: this is the experimental set-up where nothing changes
◦ If the amount of fertilizer on a plant is changing, then I would have a set-
up in “normal” condition (no factors changed- this case NO FERTILIZER
would be added to the control)
1.7 Research Process
1. Formulating the research problem, aim, objectives and scope
2. Performing literature review, critique and gap analysis
3. Developing the hypothesis & methodology
4. Designing and Simulating the methodology
5. Testing the methodology, experimentally
6. Generalization and interpretation of the tests using Statistical tools
7. Presentation of methodology and its findings as report / manuscript for review and
publication
1.8 Criterion for Good Research
■ Should have clearly defined purpose
■ Methodology presented should be:
– appropriate and carefully planned to yield results that are as objective as possible
– described in sufficient detail to allow for further advancement
■ Research should report with complete frankness, flaws in methodology and estimate their
effects upon the findings
■ Data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance
■ Methods of statistical analysis used should be appropriate
■ Validity and reliability of the data should be checked carefully
■ Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data and limited to those for which
the data provide an adequate basis
■ Greater confidence in research is warranted if the entire process is ethical, the researcher is a
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■ There must be difficulty or problem
■ An environment / application must exist to which the problem applies
■ There must be some objective/s to be attained
■ Alternative methodologies should be available for obtaining the objective/s to be attained
■ Some doubt should remain in the mind of a researcher WRT the selection of alternatives
■ Preliminary study (literature review) must be done for selection of a problem
■ Overdone problems should be normally avoided
■ Too narrow or too vague problems should be avoided
■ The problem selected for research should be feasible i.e. related research material or
sources of research are within reach
■ The importance of the subject, the skill sets of a researcher, the costs involved, the time
factor are few other criteria that must also be considered in selecting a problem
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■ Stating the problem, generically
■ Understanding the nature of the problem
■ Reviewing the literature
■ Developing the problem through discussion
■ Re-phrasing the problem
■ Conduct and communicate research, honestly
– Avoid fabrication and falsification
■ Avoid bias and disclose conflict of interest
– Maintain objectivity
■ Maintain integrity
– Keep promises, adhere to agreement, maintain sincerity
■ Avoid negligence, carefree approach
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■ Maintain openness
– Share findings of research, be open to critique
■ Honor intellectual property
– Cite, Refer the intellectual property appropriately
– Avoid Plagiarism
■ Protect Confidentiality
– Protect confidential research and its communications
■ Publish responsibly
– Publish qualitative research
– Avoid duplication, Faking
■ Help and promote mentoring
– Educate, Advice and Mentor
■ Respect colleagues
– Do not discriminate and treat fairly
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Thank You!