Research

Methodology

Lecture 05

Lectured by Prof. Ruvan Abeysekara

PhD(Doc.Eng.)MSc(CS),BSc,Dip.(Tec.Sc.),DFA, MBCS, MCS, MIEEE, MIEEECS, MIET, MIDES
Designing an
Appropriate Research
Methodology
 Formulating and
Clarifying Research
Topic, Problem &
Objectives

Computing Research
LESSON [4] 3
Project
Introduction

▪ Many students think that choosing their research

topic is the most exciting part of their course.
▪ After all, this is something that they get to decide
for themselves rather than having to complete
▪ a task decided by their lecturers.
▪ We will stress in this lecture that it is important to
choose something that will sustain your interest
throughout the months that you will need to
complete it.

LESSON [4] Computing Research Project 4

Introduction
Before you start your research, you
need to have at least some idea of
what you want to do. This is probably
the most difficult, and yet the most
important, part of your research
project. Up until now most of your
studies have been concerned with
answering questions that other
people have set.
Formulating and clarifying the
research topic is the starting point of
your research project. Once you are
clear about this, you will be able to
choose the most appropriate
research strategy and data collection
and analysis techniques.
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Generating and refining research ideas

Generating research ideas

If you have not been given an initial research idea there is a

range of techniques that can be used to find and select a topic
that you would like to research.

They can be thought of as those that are predominantly rational

thinking and those that involve more creative Thinking.

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More frequently used techniques for
generating and refining research ideas

LESSON [4] Computing Research Project 7

Relevance trees

➢Relevance trees may also prove useful in generating research topics.

➢In this instance, their use is similar to that of mind mapping, in which you
start with a broad concept from which you generate further (usually more
specific) topics.
➢Each of these topics forms a separate branch from which you can
generate further, more detailed subbranches.
➢As you proceed down the sub-branches more ideas are generated and
recorded.
➢These can then be examined, and a number selected and combined to
provide a research idea
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Generating and refining research ideas

➢Refining research ideas

▪ Delphi Technique

LESSON [4] Computing Research Project 9

Delphi Technique

Enables experts to engage Responses go to a central

Experts asked specific
remotely in a dialogue and source, are summarized
questions; often rank
reach consensus, often and fed back to the experts
choices
about priorities without attribution

Experts can agree or argue

Process may be iterative
with others’ comments

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The Preliminary Study

➢Even if you have been given a research idea, it is still necessary to refine it
in order to turn it into a research project. Some authors, such as Bennett
(1991), refer to this process as a preliminary study. For some research
ideas this will be no more than a review of some of the literature, including
news items

LESSON [4] Computing Research Project 11

How to begin with
Your Research?

"Well begun is half done" --

Aristotle, quoting an old proverb

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How to find a good research topic
Topic
• Where do research topics come from?
• So how do researchers come up with
Research
the idea for a research project? Problem
• Probably one of the most common
sources of research ideas is the
experience of practical problems in the
field? Research
Question/s

Research
LESSON [4] Computing Research Project Objectives
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 Remember a good research topic
Topic

• It’s a topic which fascinate you /interest you

Research
• Topic is creative Problem
• Not too broad not too narrow
• Some thing is unique and information is available
Research
• Data is available or you have a way to collect them. Question/s

Research
LESSON [4] Computing Research Project Objectives 14
Attributes of a good research topic

▪ Clarity
• Most important quality of any research topic.
• Topic should have to be clear so that others can easily understand
the nature of your research.
• Research topic should have a single interpretation so that people
cannot get distracted and should have to be very clear in your mind
so that you can properly undertake it.
• Research topic should have to be free of any ambiguity.
• Clarity also means that the research topic should have to be
directional and it should set the whole research methodology.
LESSON [4] Computing Research Project 15
Well-defined

• Well-defined and well-phrased research topic is a half guarantee of a

successful research.
• Sometimes researchers phrase the research topic in such a way that it
gives a double-barrelled impression.
• The research topic should have to be well-defined and well-phrased
and it should have to be easy to understand. it should have a single
meaning.

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 • Language of the research topic should have to be simple. You should use
technical terms only when it is necessary, otherwise use simple words so
that everyone can understand it.
Language • keep the ethics of writing in your mind to avoid any unethical term or
sentence.
• Do not introduce any sort of bias directly or indirectly, willingly or unwillingly
in the research problem or research topic.

• Titling of the research problem should follow the rules of titling.

Titling • there are various rules of titling. You can either use a sentence case or a
title case but most of the titles follow title case.

ADD A FOOTER 17
Current importance

• That should also be the consideration of the researcher while selecting

a research topic.
• An obsolete topic will not be beneficial for anyone the topic should
have current importance.
• You should also assess how much the topic will provide benefit to the
field in which you are conducting the study.

LESSON [4] Computing Research Project 18

With a good research topic what is
next?
• After finding a good research topic which interest you, conduct preliminary
research on this topic in current periodicals and journals to see what
research has already been done
• Search engines: Google, google scholar, emerald insight, science direct

LESSON [4] Computing Research Project 19

 With a good research topic what is
next?

• Once you have conducted preliminary research, consider: Who is the

audience? Is it an academic essay, or will it be read by a more general
public? Once you have conducted preliminary research, start asking open
ended “How?” “What?” and Why?” questions. Then evaluate possible
responses to those questions.

Say, for instance, you want to focus on social networking sites. After reading
current research, you want to examine to what degree social networking
sites are harmful
Broder research
LESSON [4]
problem
Computing Research Project 20
 Turning research ideas into research
projects

• Writing Research Problem

• Defining a research problem is the fuel that drives the scientific process,
and is the foundation of any research method and experimental design,
from true experiment to case study.
• It is one of the first statements made in any research paper and, as well as
defining the research area, should include a quick synopsis of how
the hypothesis was arrived at.
• Look at any scientific paper, and you will see the research problem, written
almost like a statement of intent.

LESSON [4] Computing Research Project 21

• Defining a research problem is crucial in defining the quality of the answers and
determines the exact research method used.

• A quantitative experimental design uses deductive reasoning to

arrive at a testable hypothesis.
• deductive reasoning : proceeds from one or more general axioms
and comes to a certain, specific conclusion using logic alone. If the
premises are true and the logic of the argument is valid, the
conclusion is certainly true.

• Qualitative research designs use inductive reasoning to propose a

research statement.
• inductive reasoning : he process of using a series of specific
observations to support the probability of a more general
conclusion.
LESSON [4] Computing Research Project 22
Examples of Defining a Research
Problem

• An anthropologist might find references to a relatively unknown tribe in

Papua New Guinea. Through inductive reasoning, she arrives at the
research problem and asks,
• ‘How do these people live and how does their culture relate to nearby
tribes?’
• She has found a gap in knowledge, and she seeks to fill it, using a
qualitative case study, without a hypothesis.

LESSON [4] Computing Research Project 23

What is a Variable?

A Variable
(A Characteristic or Attribute)
That can be and

Measured
Varies
(Can be assessed
on an instrument (Can assume
and recorded on different values or
an instrument) scores for
different
individuals)
Examples of variables and non-
variables

Variables Difficult but Almost

possibly impossible
• Leadership style measurable to measure
• Organizational
control variables variables
• Autism
• Socialization • Subconscious
• Imagination thoughts
• Intuition • World poverty
• Discrimination • Stereotypes
Categorical and Continuous measures
of variables
• A categorical measure is a value of a variable assigned by the
researcher into a small number of categories. (e.g. Gender)
• A continuous measure is the value of a variable assigned by the
researcher to a point along a continuum of scores, from low to high. (e.g.
Age)
Variables and Constructs

• A Variable is an attribute or characteristic stated in a

specific or applied way
• A Construct is an attribute or characteristic expressed in
an abstract, general way.

Construct Student Achievement

Variable Grade Point Average

The Family of Variables in Quantitative
Studies
Probable
Cause Effect
(X) (Y) (Z)
Independent Intervening Dependent
Variables Variables Variables
•Treatment
•Measured

Control
Variables

Moderating Confounding
Variables Variables
Families of Variables

• Dependent Variables: An attribute or characteristic influenced by the

independent variable.
Families of Variables

• Independent Variable: An attribute or characteristic that

influences or effects an outcome or dependent variable.
• Treatment Variable
• Measured Variable
• Control Variable
• Moderating Variable
Intervening Variables

• Intervening Variables (Mediating Variables): An attribute or

characteristic that “stands between” the dependent and independent
variables.
Example of an Intervening Variable

Independent Dependent
Step 1 Variable Variable

Example Convenient office hours Student seeks help

for students from faculty

Independent Intervening
Step 2 Variable
Variable Variable
Convenient office hours Student becomes willing
Example
for students to take risks

Independent Intervening Dependent

Step 3 Variable Variable Variable
Convenient office hours Student becomes willing
Example Educational Research 2e: Creswell Student seeks help
for students to take risks from faculty
Families of Variables

• Confounding Variables (Spurious Variables): Attributes or

characteristics that the researcher cannot directly measure because their
effects cannot be easily separated from the other variables, even though
they may influence the relationship between the independent and the
dependent variable.
Theories as Bridges Between Independent and
Dependent Variables

Independent Dependent
Variables Variables
Educational Research 2e: Creswell
Different Types of Explanations in quantitative
research

Broad
Extensive Tests by Abstractions
other researchers
As a formal theory that is expressed by connected
hypotheses and variables identified by authors

As a conceptual framework often expressed as a

visual model by other authors for relationship

As a theoretical rationale posed by other authors

based on studies for relationship

As explanation posed by the author as a hunch for

why the independent variable relates to the
Narrow
No Test dependent variable
Educational Research 2e: Creswell Application
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Elements of quantitative purpose
statement
• Single sentence
• “The purpose of this study . . .”
• Theory
• Quantitative words (e.g. “Relate,” “Compare,” “Describe”)
Elements of quantitative purpose
statement

• Variables
• Independent Variable (1st position in sentence)
• Dependent Variable (2nd position in sentence)
• Control and/or mediating variable (3rd position in sentence)
• Research site
• Participants
Research Hypotheses

• Three types:
• Null hypothesis
• Directional alternative hypothesis
• Non-directional alternative hypothesis
Hypothesis?
▪ It is predictive in nature and typically used when significant knowledge
already exists on the subject which allows the prediction to be made.
▪ Data is then collected, analyzed, and used to support or negate the
hypothesis, arriving at a definite conclusion at the end of the research.
▪ It is always written as a statement and should be developed before any
data is collected.
▪ A complete hypothesis should include: the variables, the population, and
the predicted relationship between the variables.
▪ Commonly used in quantitative research, but not qualitative research
which often seeks answers to open-ended questions.
• Examples: A company wellness program will decrease the number sick 42
days claimed by employees. Consuming vitamin C supplements will
reduce the incidence of the common cold in teenagers