Research Methodology2012

Dr. Mai NeoAssociate Professor, FCM

Introduction

What is Research?

Introduction

What is the purpose of research?

Introduction

Purpose of research: To satisfy a human need

Introduction

What is Research? It begins with a question.

Introduction

What is research?“A focused and systematic enquiry that goes

beyond generally available knowledge to acquire specialised and detailed information, providing a basis for analysis and elucidatory comment on the topic of enquiry”

- Johnson (1994).

Introduction

What is research?Research is the systematic process of

collecting and analyzing information to increase our understanding of the phenomenon under study.

It is the function of the researcher to contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon and to communicate that understanding to others

- Prentice Hall

What is research?

Key issues of research:1. Research should be focused, not general2. Research should take a systematic approach

to a problem – structured and organised3. Add to present knowledge4. Provide a reasoned account to support your

case5. It’s about finding out things in a structured way

Introduction

What is a dissertation?Provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate academic

skillsCharacteristics of a dissertationAn independent piece of workShows detailed knowledge and understandingNeeds organisation and planningShows critical and analytical thinking Illustrates the context of existing knowledgeHas a high standard of communication and presentationDemonstrates research and has an academic approach

Stages involved in preparing a thesisStage 1: Area of interest – what am I interested in? Is there something I would like to study?

Stage 2: Select a topic – Do a literature search; Generate and develop ideas

Stage 3: Topic refined

Stage 4: Proposal written

Stage 5: Collection of data and information

Stage 6: Analyse and interpret the collected data

Stage 7: Writing up the drafts

SUBMIT THESIS/ DISSERTATION

Structure of a thesis

Common format – 5 Chapters Title, Abstract & Preliminary pages Chapter 1 – Introduction Chapter 2 – Literature Review Chapter 3 – Methodology Chapter 4 – Analysis and Results Chapter 5 – Conclusion and Discussion References Appendices

What should you have in a thesis

What should you have in a thesis

1. Introduction

This is a general introduction to what the thesis is all about -- it is not just a description of the contents of each section. Briefly summarisethe question (you will be stating the question in detail later), some of the reasons why it is a worthwhile question, and perhaps give an overview of your main results. This is a birds-eye view of the answers to the main questions answered in the thesis

What should you have in a thesis

2. Background Information

A brief section giving background information may be necessary, especially if your work spans two or more traditional fields. That means that your readers may not have any experience with some of the material needed to follow your thesis, so you need to give it to them.

What should you have in a thesis

3. Review of the State of the Art

Here you review the state of the art relevant to your thesis. The idea is to present the major ideas in the state of the art right up to, but not including, your own personal brilliant ideas. You organize this section by idea, and not by author or by publication.

What should you have in a thesis

4. Research Question(s) or Problem Statement(s)

A concise statement(s) of the question that your thesis tackles

What should you have in a thesis

5. Describing How You Solved the Problem or Answered the Question

This part of the thesis is to demonstrate that you answered the question or solved the problem that you set for yourself in Section 4. Show what you did that is relevant to answering the question or solving the problem.

What should you have in a thesis

6. Conclusions

You generally cover three things in the Conclusions section, and each of these usually merits a separate subsection:

1. Conclusions 2. Summary of Contributions3. Future Research

All conclusions should be directly related to the research question stated in Section 4.

What should you have in a thesis

7. References

The list of references is closely tied to the review of the state of the art given in section 3. All references given must be referred to in the main body of the thesis. Organise the list of references alphabetically by author surname (preferred), as required by IPS.

What should you have in a thesis

8. Appendices

What goes in the appendices? Any material which is important to justify the results of a thesis. Examples include additional screenshots of graphics, more data tables, surveys and questionnaire samples, interview samples, etc.

WHERE TO START

Writing a proposal

Why are proposals important? A proposal starts of the research project and gives the

researcher something to think about carefully. It outlines the research project It makes the researcher think carefully about the

organisation of the dissertation and the key stages of progress

Provides confidence and a blueprint of the research procedures

Writing a proposal

Characteristics of a good proposal: Name and Course Title of the dissertation. It can be a working title for

now, as it will be finalised at the end of your dissertation, but it should reflect the idea of the research investigation.

For example, “A study of students’ perceptions to multimedia courseware”, “Comparing motivation levels between adults and children in the use of technology: A case study in websites”, etc…

Writing a proposal

Characteristics of a good proposal:3. Aims – Identify the questions that your research

intends to answer. For example, “What is the current motivation levels of

adults to the use of technology? What can be done to enhance that level?”

4. What is the relationship of your research to previous literature. There must be some existing research in this field from which you will draw upon. If you have references, you should cite them properly.

Writing a proposal

Characteristics of a good proposal:5. Methodology –How do you propose to collect data? Surveys,

questionnaires, focus groups, etc.? Who will be your sample group?

How will you analyse your data? What analysis will you be giving? What type of statistics will you be presenting? Descriptive? Correlations? Analysis or variances?

Writing a proposal

1. What is the area you are going to do your research in?2. What is the current state of the area?3. What is an issue or problem in this area that you would

like to study? Ask a question to highlight that problem area? Eg. What is the

perception of MMU students about using technology is classes?

4. How are you proposing to collect information to find out more about this topic?

5. What do you think the contributions of this research will be when you have analysed the information collected?

Where to start?

Writing a proposal

1. What is the area you are going to do your research in?2. What is your research title3. What is the current state of the area?4. What is an issue or problem in this area that you would

like to study? What is your aim of this research?5. How are you proposing to collect information to find

out more about this topic?6. What do you think the contributions of this research

will be when you have analysed the information collected?

The Abstract

An abstract usually contains the following basic components:

1) Motivation/problem statement: Why do we care about the problem? What practical, scientific, theoretical or artistic gap is your research trying to do?

2) Methods/procedure/approach: What did you actually do to get your results? (e.g. analyzed 3 novels, completed a series of 5 oil paintings, interviewed 17 students)

3) Results/findings/product: As a result of completing the above procedure, what did you find?

4) Conclusion/implications: What are the larger implications of your findings, with regards to the problem statement you identified in step 1?

Skills needed

Library and information retrieval – access to informationWriting and note-taking skillsResearch skills – approach and methods

taken are important as the material you collectPersonal skills – self-motivation, self-

discipline, time management, the ability to plan and organize.

The Research Process – choosing and developing your topic

Am I genuinely interested in this topic?Do I already know a lot about this topic? Is it a popular topic?Are resources (eg time, facilities,money,

equipment) available?Availability of information Is it appropriate to my degree/area/major?

The Research Process – generating thesis ideas

Reading the literature on the areaAs yourself, “I’d like to know more about

that”.Current events and using the mediaWork-related experience

The Research Process – generating thesis ideas

Reading the literature on the areaAs yourself, “I’d like to know more about

that”.Current events and using the mediaWork-related experience

The Research Process – Techniques

Generate a series of research questions, such as “What do I want to find out?”, “What research methods would be the best to use?”, “How can this topic be further investigated?”

Brainstorm Do an initial literature search to identify how much

information is available. Brainstorm – write down ALL ideas Talk to people who have done research in the area or

who are in the area – are there any issues that they would like to see addressed?

Ask, “Who? What? Why? When? Where? How?” Start with general questions about the topic, “What are

the current trends, patterns, issues surrounding this area?

The Research Process -- Tips

1. Think of an experiment that no-one else has done, and do it. (The emphasis here is on doing something because it can be done, not because you actually understand the implications.)

2. The different packaging of something unoriginal. 3. Read. How to read: read the title, skim the abstract,

look at the pictures and maybe the tables, and if there's anything interesting, then consult the text, looking for that specific point. Can I improve the experiment? Can I improve the theory? Can I refine the definition?

The Research Process

Problem-solving process 1. need to identify a problem / issue that needs further

investigation2. Read up about the area to see if the area is worth doing

within your constraints3. Researchers then collect and analyse data to provide

answers4. Analysis – the appropriate interpretation of the data with

regards to the problem statement / thesis issue The research questions drive the collection and analysis of data,

not vice versa Researcher looks for systematic trends, patterns and

convergence within their data Results will provide a defensible / supportable solution to the

problem / outcome

The Research Process

Types of outcomes

Validity of the research – Are the outcomes accurate and grounded in the data?

Reliability of the research – Are there sufficient data to ensure that the outcomes are dependable and consistent? Can the data be replicated?

The Research Process Thesis chapters Chapter 1: Introduction

State clearly the aim and plan of the research. Why you chose your topic, what the main research issues are, what aspects you investigated and how you investigated them

Chapter 2: Literature Review Show how your work relates to what other researchers have

done. Must relate theory to practice Chapter 3: Methodology

Describe how you studied your topic and what instruments you used to collect your data. Provide detail description of how the investigation was carried out

Chapter 4: Analysis Describes all the results obtained in Chapter 3. Provide full analysis of

the how you intepreted the data and include any tables, charts and figures to explain your results

Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion This section answers the research questions stated in Chapter 1.

Interpret the research findings and see if they agree with the aims and proposals of your research and provide recommendations, if any.

Writing an abstract

An abstract is a short summary of your completed research. If done well, it makes the reader want to learn more about your research.

Writing an abstract

An abstract usually contains the following basic components:

1) Motivation/problem statement: Why do we care about the problem? What practical, scientific, theoretical or artistic gap is your research trying to do?

2) Methods/procedure/approach: What did you actually do to get your results? (e.g. analyzed 3 novels, completed a series of 5 oil paintings, interviewed 17 students)

3) Results/findings/product: As a result of completing the above procedure, what did you find?

4) Conclusion/implications: What are the larger implications of your findings, with regards to the problem statement you identified in step 1?

THANK-YOU!