The Steps into creation of research Chapter 3 The Steps into creation of research 1. The statement of research project 2. Searching literature 3. Elementary scientific method 4. The design of experiment and apparatus 5. Classification, sampling and measurement 6. Analysing of experimental data 7. Reporting of research

Research Defined Systematic – research process Logical – induction/deduction Empirical – evidence based Reductive – generalisation Replicable – methodology.

Research Process Review the Available Literature Publish Findings Formulate a Question Research Process Interpret Findings Select an Appropriate Research Design Collect Relevant Data

Research and Project ALL projects require scincist to carry out research Development projects – desk research on development methods, tools, hardware, software, trends in the business environment that may affect the development Research projects – desk research (literature review) but also field work to gather data first hand

Getting Started: 1.Research statement A research statement is a summary of research achievements and a proposal for upcoming research. It often includes both current aims and findings, and future goals. Research statements are usually requested as part of a relevant job application process, and often assist in the identification of appropriate applicants

Purpose of a Research Statement What is your interest in the research study? What were the unsolved questions that compelled a student to undertake the study? What are the major accomplishments that resulted from the study? What methodologies were used in collection and analysis of data for the research project? What were the factors that limited the scope of the research? What other challenges were encountered during the research and how were they overcome? What is the application of your research in society? What is the importance of the research project within its relevant field?

Content of the Research Statement Research Statement Considerations for Recent and Future Research Types of Research Statements -Objective Research Statement: An objective research statement gives a balanced overview of the whole of the research study. -Subjective Research Statement: The subjective research statement is based on the results of research analysis.

Bad Practices of Research Statements The research study is trivial and does not contribute beneficially to the relevant field. The research statement is built on a hypothesis that is unstable and lacks enough evidence to be compelling. The statement relates to only a limited area and hence does not address the mainstream issues of its field. The research statement does not fully grasp the complexity of the research study.

2.Research and Literature

Primary and Secondary Data Sources Questionnaires Interviews Observation Participant observation Informal conversations Structured group discussions Secondary Textbooks Specialist books Journal papers Conference papers Magazine articles Government & industry reports Web pages Acts of Parliament Company reports

Literature Reviews Find out what is known about the subject Find out whether the research has been done before Build a case for carrying out research Show your expertise in the subject

When to Use Surveys To explore a topic about which relatively little is known To replicate/test/extend findings of a piece of research To collect large amounts of data so that statistical analysis can be carried out To make generalisations based on quantifiable findings

Plagiarism – Just Don’t Do IT! Plagiarism involves: Intentionally copying someone else’s ideas or words and not attributing them Colluding with other students on work when prohibited from doing so Cutting and pasting text from the Internet and passing it off as your own Purchasing someone else’s work and describing it as your own

3. Elementary scientific method The scientific method is the process of collecting data through observation and experimentation, then formulating and testing a hypotheses.

The six steps of the scientific method are: Problem Hypothesis Materials Procedures Results Conclusion

The scientific method is a body of techniquesfor investigating phenomena, acquiring newknowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge

4. The design of experiment and apparatus Constants in an Experiment Factors that are kept the same and not allowed to change

The part of the experiment that serves as the standard of comparison. The Control in an Experiment What is a control? The part of the experiment that serves as the standard of comparison. Why is a control necessary? It is the unchanged part of the experiment that detects the effects of hidden variables.

Drawing of Experiment Include Labels to clearly identify the important parts of the experimental setup

6. analysing of experimental data

Key components of a data analysis plan Purpose of the evaluation Questions What you hope to learn from the question Analysis technique How data will be presented

7. Reporting of research

Types of research articles: Research results may be published in many ways. These are some of the more traditional ones: A journal article A conference paper An article in a trade or scholarly periodical A thesis A research report A research monograph

Chapter 6: Conduct Chapter 7: Results Chapter 8: Analysis Chapter 9: Findings and impact of work Chapter 10: Conclusion and future work Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Scene setting/background Chapter 3: Literature review Chapter 4: The Hypothesis Chapter 5: Methodology and research design