RESEARCH METHODS FOR

ENGINEERS

5E2/M2
Bidisha Ghosh
(bghosh@tcd.ie)
WHAT IS RESEARCH?
According to Oxford Dictionary,
“The systematic investigation into and study of materials
and sources in order to establish facts and reach new
conclusions.”

The Scientific Method:

Principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of
knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a
problem, the collection of data through observation and
experiment, and the formulation and testing of
hypotheses.
WHY PERFORM RESEARCH?
CURIOSITY!
Academic research is performed broadly
for the following:
• Observe and Describe
• Predict
• Determination of the Causes
• Explain
 THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Photographic study of a
horse galloping, by
Eadweard Muybridge, 1887.

CAMPBELL, REECE, TAYLOR, SIMON, ET AL. BIOLOGY: CONCEPTS AND CON NECTIONS 5TH EDITION; PEARSON EDUCATION,
UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NJ (2005)
OBJECTIVES
This course will provide an
introduction to students the key
aspects of research in
engineering, research methods &
designs, data collection and
analysis, ethical and legal
perspectives.
It is a supporting tool for
conducting research following
scientific method as required in
the research project/dissertation
(5E1/M3) course.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Plan and manage a postgraduate research project
2. Critically appraise of existing research tools, methods
and publications
3. Identify scope of future research and design a research
proposal
4. Summarise, communicate (in written and oral form)
research within and outside their own field
5. Recognise issues of plagiarism, confidentiality, data
protection and other ethical issues
6. Design engineering experiments and analyse and
interpret quantitative information collected
7. Identify and apply appropriate statistical software tool
for experimental problem solving
ELEMENTS OF THE COURSE
This is a self-study course involving no written
examinations.
• Seminar series provided by lecturers
• Lectures on basic data analysis methods
• Group/Individual learning of software

Attendance to lectures is compulsory.

A participation based grading scheme will be
used for the module.
 5E2: COURSE INFORMATION
FOR A,B,C,D & BIO STREAMS
(STUDENTS REGISTERED FOR CE5E1, EE5E1,
ME5E1)
EVALUATION
1. Preparation of a research plan & proposal (25%)

2. Presentation of the research proposal (5%)

3. Assignment on data analysis & experiment design using a

chosen software tool (30%)

4. A short discussion on ethics of research related to the

research topic chosen in 5E1 (10%)

5. A short research paper appropriate for peer-reviewed

publication (30%)
 5E2: COURSE INFORMATION
FOR CD & D STREAM
(STUDENTS REGISTERED FOR CS5E1)

EVALUATION
1. Preparation of a research plan & proposal (25%)

2. Presentation of the research proposal (5%)

3. Research progress report (30%)

4. A short discussion on ethics of research related to the

research topic chosen in 5E1 (10%)

5. A short research paper appropriate for peer-reviewed

publication (30%)
 M2: COURSE INFORMATION (10ECTS)

EVALUATION
1. Preparation of a research plan & proposal (12.5%)

2. Presentation of the research proposal (2.5%)

3. Assignment on data analysis & interpretation using a chosen

software tool (16%)

4. A short research paper appropriate for peer-reviewed

publication (16%)

5. A short discussion on ethics of research related to the

research topic chosen in M3 (5%)

6. A literature review (30%)

7. An assignment using GIS software (16%)

8. Executive summaries of lunch time lectures (Any 4 of them

will be marked) (5%)
5E2: TIMETABLE FOR A,B,C,D &
BIO STREAMS
Week Date Topic Lecturer
2-3pm 3-4pm
1 28-Sep-16 Introduction Bidisha Ghosh
2 05-Oct-16 Literature Review Academic Writing Bidisha Ghosh
3 12-Oct-16 ENDNOTE ENDNOTE David Macnaughton

4 19-Oct-16 ENDNOTE ENDNOTE David Macnaughton

Experiment Experiment Bidisha Ghosh
5 26-Oct-16 Design Design
Research Research
6 02-Nov-16 Proposal Proposal Linda Doyle
8 16-Nov-16 Ethics Ethics David Taylor
Experiment Experiment
9 23-Nov-16 Design Design Maria Nogal
10 30-Nov-16 Paper writing Paper writing Danny Kelly
11 07-Dec-16 Presentation Bidisha Ghosh
Experiment Experiment
12 14-Dec-16 Design Design Maria Nogal
5E2: TIMETABLE FOR CD & D
STREAM
Week Date Topic Lecturer
2-3pm 3-4pm
1 28-Sep-16 Introduction Bidisha Ghosh

2 05-Oct-16 Literature Review Academic Writing Bidisha Ghosh

David Macnaughton
3 12-Oct-16 ENDNOTE ENDNOTE
4 19-Oct-16 ENDNOTE ENDNOTE David Macnaughton
5 26-Oct-16
Research Research
6 02-Nov-16 Proposal Proposal Linda Doyle
8 16-Nov-16 Ethics Ethics David Taylor

9 23-Nov-16

10 30-Nov-16 Paper writing Paper writing Danny Kelly

11 07-Dec-16 Presentation Bidisha Ghosh
12 14-Dec-16
M2: TIMETABLE
Week Date Topic Lecturer
2-3pm 3-4pm 4-5pm
1 28-Sep-16 Introduction Introduction Bidisha Ghosh
Literature Academic
2 05-Oct-16 Review Writing Bidisha Ghosh
David Macnaughton
3 12-Oct-16 ENDNOTE ENDNOTE
4 19-Oct-16 ENDNOTE ENDNOTE David Macnaughton
Experiment Experiment Bidisha Ghosh
5 26-Oct-16 Design Design
Research Research
6 02-Nov-16 Proposal Proposal Linda Doyle
David Taylor
8 16-Nov-16 Ethics Ethics GIS Niamh Harty(GIS)
Experiment Experiment Maria Nogal
9 23-Nov-16 Design Design GIS Niamh Harty(GIS)
Danny Kelly
10 30-Nov-16 Paper writing Paper writing GIS Niamh Harty(GIS)

11 07-Dec-16 Presentation Bidisha Ghosh

Experiment Experiment Maria Nogal
12 14-Dec-16 Design Design
ASSESSMENT 1
1. Preparation of a research plan & proposal
2. Presentation of the research proposal
The research plan and proposal document is
required to be submitted to the project
supervisor at the end of week 7 in semester 1.
The students are required to give an oral
presentation to their supervisor after submitting
the plan. The oral presentation should be
accompanied by an electronic presentation.
This assessment is marked by the supervisor.
ASSESSMENT 2
(FOR A,B,C,D & BIO STREAMS & MSC)
1. Assignment on data analysis & experiment design using
a chosen software tool
The students are required to submit an
assignment on data analysis at the end of
semester 1 (last day) using a statistical software
of their choice.
The students are required to learn the software
on their own.
The software can be Excel/R/SPSS/Matlab/Minitab
or any other language or program.
ASSESSMENT 2
(FOR CD & D STREAMS)
1. Assignment on research progress
The students are required to submit an interim
progress report to the relevant supervisor at the
end of January 2017.

This assessment is marked by the supervisor.

ASSESSMENT 3 & 4
• A short research paper appropriate for peer-reviewed
publication
• A short discussion on ethics of research related to the
research topic chosen in their dissertation project
The students are required to submit the research
paper and the essay at the end of semester 2.
The research paper has to be based on the research
dissertation of the student.
The essay may have a broader subject area.
These assessments are marked by the supervisor.
ASSESSMENT 5
(FOR MSC)
The literature review will be marked by your
project supervisor and is required to be
submitted at the beginning of semester 2.
ASSESSMENT 6
(FOR MSC)
The GIS assignment will be marked by Dr.
Niamh Harty and is required to be submitted at
the beginning of semester 2.
ASSESSMENT 7
(FOR MSC)
The executive summary of 4 lunch time lectures
is required to be submitted at the end of
semester 2.
MARKING
• Please refer the assignment marking scheme
provided along with the module descriptor for
preparation of your report.
• It is the responsibility of the student to
submit all the assignments and to make
sure that the markers have received the
assignments in time.
• Supervisors are required to provide you
feedback and grades within two weeks of
submitting the assignment.
• This module is marked using a participation
based grading system.
RECOMMENDED TEXT(S)
Marder, Michael P. Research Methods for Science. Cambridge
University Press, 2011.
Creswell, J. W. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative
and mixed methods approach. 3rd Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage., 2009.
Peter Bock. 2007. Getting it Right: R&D Methods for Science
and Engineering. Academic Press.
Miller & Freund's Probability and Statistics for Engineers 8th
Economy Edition by Richard A. Johnson, Irwin Miller and John
Freund (2010)
Douglas C. Montgomery, George C. Runger. Applied Statistics
and Probability for Engineers, 4th Edition, Wiley; ISBN: 978-
0-471-74589-1, June 2006.