meljun cortes research seminar 1 introductory lectures research seminar 1

Michael B. dela [email protected]

Point of Discussion

• Overview of the course• Why Research?• Skills and Literature Review• Academic Requirements• Overview of Research – Definition,

Characteristics, and Nature• Types of Research

Meetings

• April 17• April 24• May 1• May 8• May 15• May 22

Overview

• RSH 630 Research Seminar 1RSH 630 Research Seminar 1Focuses on research methodology and techniques. Use of hypotheses and theories, design models, and preparation of reports.

• RSH 631 Research Seminar 2RSH 631 Research Seminar 2The course deals with the application of research methodologies and techniques in writing a thesis or research paper. The students are required to prepare a thesis proposal, defend it in the class/panel, design models, and prepare reports and other relevant documents to complete the requirements of the course.

Overview

• RSH 640 ThesisRSH 640 ThesisWriting and defense of thesis before a constituted academic body as fulfillment of the requirements of the course

Why do you need this?

• To understand content understand content of directed reading within taught modules

• To be able to write essays or reviews be able to write essays or reviews of published literature

• To be able to plan and conduct your project be able to plan and conduct your project where there is an element of research in the investigation or the evaluation of what you have done

Skills needed

• Good library working skills (literature review)• Keen eye for details• More “what if’s”• Critical• Out of the box thinker

Literature reviews

• An account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. Often it is part of the introduction to an essay, research report, or thesis.

• Conducted to ensure a researcher is familiar with ‘all’ of the what is known about a particular field

• Often published in order to bring other researchers up to speed quickly in an unfamiliar field.

Literature reviews• As a piece of writing, the literature review must

be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis).

• Need to have the scope of the review carefully defined– Not too big such that adequate coverage is infeasible,

and there is too much literature to review and the review becomes unfocussed (and thereby not useful)

– Not too narrow such that there are too few papers to include

Literature reviews

• Lets you gain and demonstrate skills in two areas

• information seeking: the ability to scan the literature efficiently, using manual or computerized methods, to identify a set of useful articles and books

• critical appraisal: the ability to apply principles of analysis to identify unbiased and valid studies.

Ask yourself questions like these:• What is the specific thesis, problem, or research question that

my literature review helps to define?• What type of literature review am I conducting? Am I looking

at issues of theory? methodology? policy? quantitative research (e.g. on the effectiveness of a new procedure)? qualitative research (e.g., studies )?

• What is the scope of my literature review? What types of publications am I using (e.g., journals, books, government documents, popular media)? What discipline am I working in (e.g., nursing psychology, sociology, medicine)?

Ask yourself questions like these:• How good was my information seeking? Has my search been wide

enough to ensure I've found all the relevant material? Has it been narrow enough to exclude irrelevant material? Is the number of sources I've used appropriate for the length of my paper?

• Have I critically analysed the literature I use? Do I follow through a set of concepts and questions, comparing items to each other in the ways they deal with them? Instead of just listing and summarizing items, do I assess them, discussing strengths and weaknesses?

• Have I cited and discussed studies contrary to my perspective?• Will the reader find my literature review relevant, appropriate,

and useful?

Form of reviews• Requires reading literature from a variety of sources • Forming some form of taxonomy or structure for your

review• Identifying where in your taxonomy the various

contributions from the literature fall• Critically reviewing the literature– Identifying different approaches, contradictions between

contributions, analysis of strengths and weaknesses– Not simply pasting quotes from different papers

• Drawing your own conclusions, particularly concerning completeness of coverage

• Highlight implications for your work (if appropriate)

Example of a literature reviewHand, C. "A Survey of 3D Interaction Techniques". Computer Graphics Forum,

16(5): 269-281. (Dec 1997) (Abstract)Recent gains in the performance of 3D graphics hardware and rendering

systems have not been matched by a corresponding improvement in our knowledge of how to interact with the virtual environments we create; therefore there is a need to examine these further if we are to improve the overall quality of our interactive 3D systems. This paper examines some of the interaction techniques which have been developed for object manipulation, navigation and application control in 3D virtual environments. The use of both mouse-based techniques and 3D input devices is considered, along with the role of feedback and some aspects of tools and widgets.




rationale




Scope of review




Indication of taxonomy

• A literature review is a piece of discursive prose, not a list describing or summarizing one piece of literature after another. It's usually a bad sign to see every paragraph beginning with the name of a researcher. Instead, organize the literature review into sections that present themes or identify trends, including relevant theory. You are not trying to list all the material published, but to synthesize and evaluate it according to the guiding concept of your thesis or research question

Sources of information• Scientific journals• Conference proceedings (refereed and unrefereed)• Magazines, newspapers• WWW

• Important to differentiate between reported investigations and reported opinion

• Conclusions of any investigation contain some element of informed opinion or judgement

• Sources of information must be cited appropriately

Academic Objectives• For example.. ‘Review methods of usability evaluation

appropriate to the evaluation of internet-based groupware systems for use by students undertaking a course by distance learning’– Requires review of methods described in the literature,

using the original sources (not just someone else’s review)– Implications of problems/needs associated with evaluation

of groupware systems– Comparisons and contrasts between methods in light of

identified needs of groupware applications– Your conclusions about which method(s) to use and how

How to do it?• Collect and read current papers and reviews of a field• From the list of references cited in these, get copies of

those which appear relevant• Start to classify the papers you collect in one or several

ways to form the basis of a taxonomy• Identify authors who are prominent and check what else

they have published (WWW useful here)• Read contents of recent relevant journals in library• Subscribe to mailing lists for coming conferences and look

at contributors • search on-line bibliographic archives (e.g. bids.ac.uk)

Constructively criticising research..• Researchers have a vested interest in making a piece of work

appear significant and worthy of publication• They may not be as forthcoming about the limitations of the

work as about the benefits• Results should be reported in sufficient detail to enable the

reader to draw his/her own conclusions and thereby judge the validity of the conclusions drawn by the author

• Are the conclusions drawn justified by the evidence provided?

• Is the method of investigation appropriate or flawed?• Are the investigators aware of other similar contributions in

the field?

Overview of Research

• A way of examining your practiceexamining your practice• Undertaken within most professions• More than a set of skills, it is a way of way of

thinkingthinking: examining critically the various aspects of your professional work.

• A habit of questioning what you doquestioning what you do, and a systematic examination of the observed information to find answers.

Definition of Research

• Undertaking a research study to find answers to a question implies that the process:– Is being undertaken within a framework of a set of

philosophies (approaches);– Uses procedures, methods and techniques that

have been tested for their validity and reliability;– Is designed to be unbiased and objective.


• PhilosophiesPhilosophies means approaches e.g. qualitative, quantitative and the academic discipline in which you have been trained.

• ValidityValidity means that correct procedures have been applied to find answers to a question. ReliabilityReliability refers to the quality of a measurement procedure that provides repeatability and accuracy.


• Unbiased and objective Unbiased and objective means that you have taken each step in an unbiased manner and drawn each conclusion to the best of your ability and without introducing your own vested interest. (Bias is a deliberate attempt to either conceal or highlight something).


• Adherence to the criteria enables the process process to be called ‘research’to be called ‘research’.

• Degree (of process) varies from discipline to discipline

• Meaning (of process) differs from one academic discipline to another.

• the process must meet certain requirements to be called research.


• composed of two syllables, rere and searchsearch.– rere is a prefix meaning again, anew or over again– searchsearch is a verb meaning to examine closely and

carefully, to test and try, or to probe.• Together they form a noun describing a a

careful, systematic, patient study and careful, systematic, patient study and investigation in some field of knowledge, investigation in some field of knowledge, undertaken to establish facts or principles.undertaken to establish facts or principles.


• Research is a structured enquiry that utilizes structured enquiry that utilizes acceptable scientific methodology to solve problems acceptable scientific methodology to solve problems and create new knowledge that is generally and create new knowledge that is generally applicable.applicable.

• Scientific methods consist of systematic observation, classification and interpretation of data.

• The difference between day- to-day generalisation and the conclusions of scientific method lies in the degree of formality, rigorousness, verifiability and general validity of latter.


• A systematic enquirysystematic enquiry, which is reported in a form that allows the research methods and outcomes to be accessible to others

• Concerned with seeking solutions to problems or answers to meaningful questions– Meaningful questions are expressed in a way that indicates

what you will accept as an answer– Non-meaningful (in research terms) questions are not

answerable as a result of enquiry alone (e.g. judgemental or metaphysical questions)

• Positivism versus phenomenalism

What Research Is and What It Isn’t• Research is an activity based on the work of others.• Research is an activity that can be replicated.• Good research is generalizable to other settings.• Research is based on some logical rationale and tied to

theory.• Research is doable.• Research generates new questions or is cyclical in nature.• Research is incremental.• Research is an apolitical activity that should be undertaken

for the betterment of society.

Characteristics of Research

• Research is a process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting information to answer questions.

• to qualify as research, the process must have certain characteristics: – Controlled– Rigorous– Systematic– valid and verifiable– empirical and critical.


• ControlledControlled– in exploring causality in relation to two variables (factors),

set up the study in a way that minimizes the effects of other factors affecting the relationship.

• RigorousRigorous– must be scrupulous in ensuring that the procedures

followed to find answers to questions are relevant, appropriate and justified

• SystematicSystematic– the procedure adopted to undertake an investigation follow

a certain logical sequence


• Valid and verifiableValid and verifiable– whatever you conclude on the basis of your findings is

correct and can be verified by you and others

• EmpiricalEmpirical– any conclusion drawn are based upon hard evidence

gathered from information collected from real life experiences or observations

• CriticalCritical– process of investigation must be fool proof and free from

drawbacks

Nature of research - positivist positivist

• Deals with positive facts and observable phenomena • Subscribes to the ‘scientific method’• Primary goal is not only description but prediction and

explanation• Classification of substances and events, and observation

of these, provide the basis for descriptive laws based on consistencies in patterns and properties

• Characterized by absolute or varying degree of generalizability

• Quantitative, as it draws on measurable evidence

Postulates in Positivist Research

• postulate of natural kinds: all instances of classes and categories of phenomena exhibit the same properties

• postulate of constancy: all phenomena remain the same or change only very slowly over time

• postulate of determinism: there is orderliness and regularity in nature, constancy in terms of cause and effect

Nature of research - phenomenalistphenomenalist

• Considers that each phenomena is unique and is controlled by variables such as time, location and culture

• No two situations are identical• No reliance on postulates of natural kinds,

constancy or determinism• Essentially subjective, where the content of

research and the way it is pursued is indicative of researchers intention

• Outcomes are descriptions which are expressed in narrative and mainly in qualitative terms

Example of both approaches…

Can the study of critical incidents (as opposed to accidents) in marine navigation in the Stockholm archipelago provide the basis for improvements in sea safety in the area?

Example of both approaches…

• Positivist approachPositivist approach: collect data via interview, classify types of incidents, produce analyses, make recommendations based on analysis

• Phenomenalist approachPhenomenalist approach: analyse interviews in depth, seek to draw conclusions about causal factors

Positivist research methods include...

Descriptive researchDescriptive research• Anything that is variable, varies to a defined degree, and

thus can be measured• Surveys, case studies, causal comparative studies,

correlational studies, developmental studies, trend studiesExperimental researchExperimental research• Deliberate manipulation of certain factors under highly

controlled conditions• Purpose is to identify causal connections through keeping

the levels of some variables constant and manipulating others

Model of Scientific Inquiry

• Scientific methods consist of systematic observation, classification and interpretation of data.

• The goal is to find the truth or use scientific method that results in a reasonable and sound answer to important questions that will further our understanding of human behavior.


Steps in the research process, wherein each step sets the stage for the next.


Steps in the research process – experimental

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=FUkpe26f59e0eM&tbnid=I7WIv2G96XYiwM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.arj.no/2011/04/29/scientific-method/&ei=a2fQUcPaCYuwiQeukYGgBA&bvm=bv.48572450,d.aGc&psig=AFQjCNEu7TRBsIi0_nrc6gjOk-Ll-0C1WQ&ust=1372698707671558

Types of Research

Types of Research

Classified from three (3) perspectives1. ApplicationApplication of research study2. Objectives in undertaking Objectives in undertaking the research3. Inquiry modeInquiry mode employed

Types of ResearchApplication of research Application of research Two broad categories1. Pure research Pure research – involves developing and

testing theories and hypotheses that are intellectually challenging but may or may not have practical application at present or in the future. The knowledge produced through pure research is sought in order to add to the existing body of research methods. (Sometimes called basic research)

Types of ResearchApplication of research Application of research 2. Applied research Applied research – done to solve specific,

practical applications; for policy formulation, administration and understanding of a phenomenon. Can be exploratory, but is usually descriptive.

Types of ResearchObjectives in undertakingObjectives in undertakingResearch can be classified as:1. Descriptive research Descriptive research – attempts to describe

systematically a situation, problem, phenomenon, service or program, or provides information or describes attitudes towards an issue.

2. Correlational research Correlational research – attempts to discover or establish the existence of a relationship/ interdependence between two or more aspects of a situation.

Types of ResearchObjectives in undertakingObjectives in undertaking3. Explanatory research Explanatory research – attempts to clarify why

and how there is a relationship between two or more aspects of a situation or phenomenon.

4. Exploratory research Exploratory research – undertaken to explore an area where little is known or to investigate the possibilities of undertaking a particular research study (feasibility study/pilot study).

Types of ResearchInquiry mode usedInquiry mode usedTwo approaches are adopted to find answers:1. Structured approach Structured approach

– usually classified as quantitative research. Everything that forms the research process (objectives, design, sample, and the questions) is predetermined.

– appropriate to determine the extent of a problem, issue or phenomenon by quantifying the variation. E.g. How many people have a particular problem? How many people hold a particular attitude?

Types of ResearchInquiry mode usedInquiry mode used2. Unstructured approach Unstructured approach

– is usually classified as qualitative research. Allows flexibility in all aspects of the research process.

– appropriate to explore the nature of a problem, issue or phenomenon without quantifying it.

– objective is to describe the variation in a phenomenon, situation or attitude. E.g. description of an observed situation, historical enumerations of events, an account of different opinions, description of working condition in a particular industry.

Types of ResearchInquiry mode usedInquiry mode usedSome studies combine bothboth qualitative and quantitative approaches.

Ex. Suppose you have to find the types of cuisine/accommodation available in a city and the extent of their popularity.

Types of ResearchInquiry mode usedInquiry mode used• Type of cuisineType of cuisine is the qualitative aspect of the

study as finding out about them entails description of the culture and cuisine.

• The extent of their popularityextent of their popularity is the quantitative aspect as it involves estimating the number of people who visit restaurant serving such cuisine and calculating the other indicators that reflect the extent of popularity.

Type of Research

Non-Experimental Experimental

Descriptive Historical Correlational Qualitative True Experimental

Quasi-Experimental

Purpose Describe the characteristics of an existing phenomenon

Relate events that have occurred in the past to current events

Examine the relationships between variables

To examine human behavior and the social, cultural, and political contexts within which it occurs.

To test for true cause and effect relationships

To test for causal relationships without having full control

Time frame Current Past Current or past (correlation)Future (prediction)

Current or past

Current Current or past

Degree of control over factors or precision

None or low None or low Low to medium

Moderate to high

High Moderate to high

Summary of research methods (N.J.Salkind, Exploring Research 6th Edition. Pearson Education International)

Type of Research

Non-Experimental Experimental

Descriptive Historical Correlational Qualitative True Experimental

Quasi-Experimental

Code words to look for in research articles

DescribeInterviewReviewLiterature

PastDescribe

RelationshipRelated to Associated withPredicts

Case studyEvaluationEthnographyHistoricalResearchSurvey

Function ofCause ofComparisonBetweenEffects of

Function ofCause ofComparison betweenEffects of

Example A survey of dating practices of adolescent girls

An analysis of Freud’s use of hypnosis as it relates to current psychotherapy practices

An investigation that focuses on the relationship between the number of hours of television watching and grade point average

A case study analysis of the effectiveness of policies for educating all children

The effect of a preschool language program on the language skills of inner-city children

Gender differences in spatial and verbal abilities

Summary of research methods (N.J.Salkind, Exploring Research 6th Edition. Pearson Education International)

Types of Research (according to N.J. Salkind)• Experimental Research– Examines the direct cause-and-effect relationship

between variables.• True Experimental ResearchTrue Experimental Research – subjects are assigned to groups based on some

criterion, often called the treatment variable or treatment condition. – True experimental research designs isolate and

control all the factors that could be responsible for any effects except the one of most interest.

Types of Research (according to N.J. Salkind)• Experimental Research

• Quasi-Experimental ResearchQuasi-Experimental Research– participants are preassigned to groups based on

some predetermined characteristic or quality. – Group assignments have already taken place before

the experiment begins and the researcher has no control over who is assigned to which group.– Also called post hocpost hoc, or after the fact, research

because the actual research takes place after the assignment of groups (e.g. abusive vs. nonabusive, employed vs. unemployed, malnourished vs nonmalnoursihed, male vs. female)

Academic Research• In academic research, you must not only answer a

question, but you must find something new and interesting.• You join a community of researchers.

– You must advance the collective understanding of this community.

• Each community has a cumulative tradition with a set of interesting questions, tools and methods, practices, a style and language for writing up the research.– Research is a conversation and ongoing social activity!

• You need critical and careful reading of published research– to learn what the community already knows– to fit your work into the community– to be prepared for your own work to be evaluated

A Question• Every piece of research should address a question of

interest to the community• Each community has a tradition of style of question,– what happens?– why does it happen?– how should one do something?– what something should one do?

• Many questions fit into an on-going agenda– e.g. find data models to represent different sorts of

information– e.g. move data and computation in a network to exploit

locality

A claim

• Every piece of research makes a claim (the “contribution”)– this should answer a question of interest

• Claims can be very diverse, among fields and within fields

• This is what happens– e.g. how often is data corrupted when using weak

concurrency control

A claim

• This is why something happens– e.g. what factors lead to project success in open-source

development

• This is a better way to do something– e.g. efficiently recalculate a graph layout after a change to

topology

• This is a better something to do– e.g. allow users to see the model of their skills kept in a

teaching system

Be explicit about the meaning of “better”

Evidence• You must back up the claim

– evidence can be very varied, for examples• a prototype implementation to show that a system can be built to

achieve claimed functionality• a simulation model which is executed to show a system has certain

properties• measurements of a running system to show it has good performance• observations of behavior in an organization to show what is

happening• a mathematical proof to show that some process has desired

properties

• Each research method is defined by the sort of evidence that it can produce– each community has its own standards of quality and

reasonableness

Argument

• You should show that the evidence you offer supports the claim you made– It’s essential that you deal with natural or obvious

objections to the correctness or importance of the work

– that is, you must think like your readers, and anticipate their reactions

• In systems work, this is often called an “evaluation” of the design

References

• http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review

• Institute of Hotel Management-Gwalior. Research Methodology. (http://www.ihmgwalior.net/pdf/research_methodology.pdf)

• Baac, Valentino G. Thesis and Dissertation Writing A Guide for Students 2nd Ed. HisGoPhil Publications

• Salkind, Neil J. Exploring Research 6th Ed. Pearson Education International

http://www.ihmgwalior.net/pdf/research_methodology.pdf

http://www.ihmgwalior.net/pdf/research_methodology.pdf

meljun cortes research seminar 1 introductory lectures research seminar 1

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