1. Lecture 3 Chosing your research problem and research advisor
Research Methodology
Lecture 3 Chosing your research problem and research advisor
Mazhar Hussain
Dept of Computer Science
ISP,Multan

2. Road Map Introduction Chosing your research problem
Chosing your research advisor
Literature Review
Plagiarism
Variables in Research
Construction of Hypothesis
Research Design
Writing Research Proposal
Writing your Thesis
Data Collection
Data Representation
Sampling and Distributions
Paper Writing
Ethics of Research

3. Identifying a research problem
Practitioners in the field may encounter difficulties or problems in their daily work that need to be researched
Graduate students on campus may have to search to find a “problem” they can research for their thesis or class project
Whatever the situation, the identification and selection of a research problem is the first step in the research process.

4. Problem A question raised for inquiry, consideration or solution
An intricate unsettled question

5. What you do with problems
Ignore them
Talk about them
Try to solve them

6. The research area should serve some goal
The primary goal of a thesis is to get a thesis

7. The importance of your decision
Of all the decisions you'll make as an emerging scientist, none is more important than identifying the right research area, and in particular, the right research topic.

8. The importance of your decision
The research you do as a graduate student will set the stage for your later research
While it is unlikely that your later research will be a straightforward extension of your dissertation, it is also unlikely that it will be completely outside your field.
The knowledge, expertise, and skills that you gain early on will form the foundation for your later investigations.

9. Factors to consider Topic should be Interesting to You Your advisor
Otherwise it will be difficult to stay focused, motivated, and convincing other people that your research is interesting
By the time you are done, you may really be tired of the topic
Your advisor
The research community

10. Factors to Consider Feasibility of the project
How much time do you have available
Do you really want to do a longitudinal study that will take 3 years to complete for a MS thesis?
How difficult is it. Are data available?
How much will it cost?

11. Where to get ideas from?
You can gather topic ideas from a variety of sources
Supervisor’s Suggestions
Your supervisor may have many suggestions based on their own research in an area for your research project
Can provide detailed insight into the nature of any problem they suggest
Your supervisor should always be tried first

12. Where to get ideas from? Readings Internet
Preliminary reading in general encyclopedias, newspapers, or magazines
Books & Bibliographies in the back of books on your topics
Journals/Conferences – Electronic databases
Internet
Use this source with caution
You must evaluate Internet sources for credibility

13. Where to get ideas from? What others are doing?
What areas other research groups are working on?
Visit their web pages
Go through the list of MS/PhD theses
Replicate Research with modifications
Changing some of the settings of previous research often leads to new and sometime unexpected results
Apply an existing technique to a new domain
This might be using a modified algorithm to manipulate data in another field in order to achieve a new result

14. Where to get ideas from? What others are doing?
Address Contradiction and Ambiguity
Find results that contradict each other
Contradictions may be reported by two or more researchers exploring an existing problem
Finding ways of explaining the contradictions requires research
Challenge Findings
If you believe some one else’s result may be incorrect, you may attempt to disprove their results formally as your research effort.

15. Where to get ideas from? What others are doing?
Some continuation/increment of some work.
For some people – A bad idea: if they did not do it, it is either boring, useless, very difficult, not manageable
Or all of the above!
Something very new

16. Refine your topic Refine Your Topic From Broad to Narrow Concepts
You can narrow your topic by identifying ideas or concepts included in a broader topic.
For example, you would like to write a 2-page paper on the topic of violence. But violence is such a large concept that it would be difficult to write an all- encompassing paper. It would be best to narrow this topic down.
Narrower topics for the subject violence would be topics such as: violence in the media, domestic violence, or gun control.

17. Checklist 1. Can it be enthusiastically pursued?
It is important that you pick a topic you are enthusiastic about.
2. Can interest be sustained by it?
The topic should interest you over the long run.
Experiments won't go right; equipment will fail; data from other sources won't arrive on time (or at all); others will do work that competes with your research.
During these times you'll need courage and fortitude.

18. Checklist 3. Is the problem solvable? 4. Is it worth doing?
The problem should be solvable in a reasonable period of time.
4. Is it worth doing?
The research community should be interested in your results.
5. Will it lead to other research problems?
The topic should not lead you to a dead end. There should be some interesting future work.
6. Is it manageable in size?
Your supervisor will help you determine how to make your dissertation original and publishable, yet also manageable

19. Check list
7. What is the potential for making an original contribution to the literature in the field?
Potential Publications
8. If the problem is solved, will the results be reviewed well by scholars in your field?
Not only you should think that you topic is a good idea.
9. Are you, or will you become, competent to solve it?
To solve the problem you'll also need to develop basic knowledge and technical understanding, relevant skills and experimental expertise
10. Will the necessary research prepare you in an area of demand or promise for the future?
Not only look on your current goal, look a step further

20. Stating the problem – Famous first words
The current study investigates the relationship between . . .
The focus of this study will be on . . .
The main purpose of this study is . . .
The objective of this research is to determine . . .
The present study is designed to examine . . .
The primary goal of this study is . . .
The primary concern of this research is . . .
The principal objective of this study is . . .
The purpose of this study is to address the problem of . . .
The purpose of the present study is . . .
The purpose of this study is to advance understanding of . .
The purpose of this study is to evaluate . . .
The purpose of this study is to explore the . . .

21. Stating the problem – Famous first words
The purpose of this study is to examine and better understand the effects of . . .
The purpose of this study is twofold. First, this study will assess the . . .
This research concentrates on . . .
The research problem for this study is to describe the . . .
The specific objectives of the present study are . . .
This study examines the relationships among . . .
There are several reasons for inquiring into . . .
This thesis explores the idea . . .

22. Evaluating the problem statement
Research statement is written clearly
Problem stated in grammatically complete sentences
Problem has clearly stated limitations.
Statement has potential for leading to important results
The statement will lead to the analysis of data.
Problem has been reviewed by someone else who provided feedback.

23. Writing a research proposal

24. Think of a research problem and write your problem statement in one line

25. Chosing your research advisor
Research Methodology
Chosing your research advisor

26. Road Map Introduction Chosing your research problem
Chosing your research advisor
Literature Review
Plagiarism
Variables in Research
Construction of Hypothesis
Research Design
Writing Research Proposal
Writing your Thesis
Data Collection
Data Representation
Sampling and Distributions
Paper Writing
Ethics of Research

27. You are not expected to run off and hide in some lab, conduct research, get a result, write a thesis and defend it on your own.
You need to work with……
An Advisor

28. How do you choose an advisor?

29. How do you choose an advisor?
Talk to potential advisors
You will get to know what they're working on
Whether they're looking for new students or not
Talk to current and former students
Very important set
Several different opinions about the advisor's strengths and weaknesses
Each student will have a different read on the advisor depending on how well they work together, so it's important that you speak to multiple students
Read their publications
What they're working on and what stage their research has reached

30. What do you look for in an advisor?

31. What do you look for in an advisor?
Accessibility
How accessible are they likely to be?
Often you will need reassurance, guidance, signatures, direction, keys, and more signatures
Compatibility
Do you have similar working styles?
What do they expect from their students?
Do they think the work week is 40 hours or 80 hours long?
What kind of expectations of progress do they have?
How do they react if those expectations aren't met?

32. What do you look for in an advisor?
Durability
Will they be here for all of your stay?
Do they often go on leaves of absence?
History – Track Record
Have they graduated other students?
Are their current students successful?
Are they established in their area, or are they a "rising star"?
Have they lost a lot of students through advisor changes or departures?

33. What do you look for in an advisor?
Research
Are you interested in their research?
Normally advertise what research areas they are interested in
See their publications.
Do they have a large group working on one problem, or individuals working on unrelated problems?
Applicable in research groups/labs culture

34. What do you look for in an advisor?
Do not be influenced by the performance of a professor in non-supervisory tasks
Teaches well or badly
Late or early for meetings
Dresses well or badly
Actually tells you very little about how good a fit they might be with you.

35. Responsibilities of a supervisor
Help you select/refine your research topic
Guide you in writing the thesis proposal
Review your thesis proposal and recommend its approval
Meet regularly with you
Review your progress on the thesis and guide your research effort
Review your research papers/presentations/reports and give you appropriate feedback
Guide you in the preparation of your thesis arguments in document form
Evaluate the readiness of your thesis for defense
Sit on your examination committee

36. An advisor will only give you the directions to follow – you have to walk by yourself

37. Pros and cons – Junior advisor
May be…..
Easier to access
Enthusiastic
Cutting edge research
Hands-on mentoring
Fewer responsibilities
Inexperienced
Little track record
May be risky research area
Harder to develop independence
Fewer networking contacts

38. Pros and cons – Senior advisor
May be…..
Experienced
Knowledgeable
Significant track record
Established research
Trained more students
Can foster independence
Many contacts
Not very accessible
Generation Gap
Beware of burnout
May be dated
May delegate supervision
May not give due attention
Many responsibilities/ travel/ meetings etc.

39. Once an advisor, always an advisor.
Your relationship with your advisor will last beyond your stay in graduate school. You will often continue to discuss research, professional, and other problems with them.
Once an advisor, always an advisor.

40. The material in these slides is based on the following resources.
References
Choosing a computer science research problem, Alexander Ferworn, Department of Computer Science, Ryerson University
Choosing a research topic, Martin Pinzger, Gerald Reif, DSG, TU Vienna
Choosing a Supervisor, Alexander Ferworn, Department of Computer Science, Ryerson University

41. Questions/ Comments?