BASIC RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY
Prof. Ir. Dr. Mohd Jailani Mohd Nor
Timbalan Naib Canselor
(Penyelidikan dan Inovasi)
Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka
(UTeM)
E-mel: jai@utem.edu.my
1
st
Module
Topic: Basic Research Methodology
Speaker: Prof. Ir. Dr. Mohd Jailani Mohd Nor
Duration: 2 Hours
Scope:
1 Objective
2 Basic Approach To Conduct Scientific Research
3 Philosophy and Concept
4 The X-Factor in Research
P LANNING: S. W. O. T.
CO MPETENCE: Skills, commitment, etc.
C LEAR OBJECTIVE: S. M. A. R. T.
M ONITORING: Measure your performance and prepare for next
plan of action.
E THICS: Discipline, etc.
S TAMINA: Endurance, positive work culture,
and continuous effort.
PLANNING FOR SUCCESSFUL
RESEARCH AGENDA
SET INDUKSI
Penyelidikan dalam erti hanya pengumpulan data
untuk tujuan pengumpulan data tidak memiliki
ruang di universiti. Penyelidikan dalam erti
pengembangan, penjelasan, dan perbaikan
prinsip-prinsip yang digabung dengan
pengumpulan dan penggunaan bahan-bahan
empiris untuk membantu lancarnya proses ini
merupakan salah satu aktiviti paling berharga
disebuah universiti dan merupakan aktiviti yang
seharusnya dilakukan oleh para profesornya.
Hutchins dan Al-Attas
GLOSSARY
Research The systematic collection and interpretation of information with a
clear purpose, to find things out.
Theory Formulation regarding the cause and effect relationships between two
or more variables, which may or may not have been tested.
Thesis The usual name for research projects undertaken for Master of
Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees, written for an
academic audience.
Dissertation The usual name for research projects undertaken as part of
undergraduate and taught masters degrees.
Triangulation The use of two or more independent sources of data or data
collection methods within one study.
Goldilocks test A test to decide whether research questions are either too big,
to small, too hot or just right.
Hypothesis Testable proposition about the relationship between two or more
events or concepts.
ParadigmA way of examining social phenomena from which particular
understandings of these phenomena can be gained.
Action research Research strategy concerned with the management of a
change and involving close collaboration between practitioners and
researchers. The results flowing from action research should also inform
other contexts.
Applied research Research of direct and immediate relevance to
practitioners that addresses issues they see as important and is presented
in ways they can understand and act upon.
Basic research Research undertaken purely to understand processes and
their outcomes, predominantly in universities as a result of an academic
agenda, for which the key consumer is the academic community.
Fundamental research See basic research.; Pure research See basic
research.
Data display and analysis A process for the collection and analysis of
qualitative data that involves three concurrent subprocesses of data
reduction, data display, and drawing and verifying conclusions.
Deductive approach Research approach involving the testing of a theoretical
proposition by the employment of a research strategy specifically designed for
the purpose of its testing.
Direct realismThe epistemological position that what you see is what you get: what we
experience through our senses portrays the world accurately.
Inductive approach Research approach involving the development of a theory as a result of
the observation of empirical data.
ObjectivismAn ontological position that asserts that social entities exist in a reality external
to, and independent of, social actors concerned with their existence.
PositivismThe epistemological position that advocates working with an observable social
reality.
PragmatismAn ontological position that argues that the most important determinant of the
research philosophy adopted is the research question, arguing that it is possible to work within
both positivist and interpretivist positions. It applies a practical approach, integrating different
perspectives to help collect and interpret data.
RealismThe epistemological position that objects exist independently of our knowledge of
their existence. See also critical realism, direct realism.
ReductionismThe idea that problems as a whole are better understood if they are reduced to
the simplest possible elements.
What is research?
Process of discovery
Through investigation and analysis
Builds on previous work
Contributes to a body of knowledge
Discovery of
A new phenomenon
Extending/confirming a theory
Creating a new way of explaining a phenomenon
Testing/validation of the discovery
Science and Engineering
Science: explain the world
Engineering: affect the world
Science: build artifacts to explain
Engineering: build artifacts to affect
What is the difference from artificial and natural?
They are two faces of the same coin
Research
The process of producing new knowledge
Basic research
About fundamental properties of objects, their
relationship and their behavior
Theoretical Research
Experimental Research
Applied research
Usefulness of objects and their behavior, may
lead to improved technology
Provides quicker results
Question of normative issues?
RESEARCH EVOLUTION
Fundamental
Applied
Industrial
Design
Pre-
Comm
Development
Business
Venture
Post-
Comm
Spin off
Inovation
Development of
New Knowledge
Development
of New
Technology
Development of
New Product
ERGS
MOHE
MOSTI
KNOWLEDGE BASED
ECONOMY (RMK-9)
*PRG
S
FRGS /
LRGS/
PRGS
Marketing
Test
Scientific statements
Attempts to describe / explain real phenomena
(force = mass x acceleration)
However, there is no absolute scientific truth
Some knowledge is less likely to be wrong than other
knowledge (e.g., Americans vote to in an attempt to
improve their economic situation)
Statements must be testable
reproducible (a paper is good if I can redo what is
written in this paper)
Scientific knowledge tempts to represent the most
accurate view of the world
Terms and languages
Not reality but only statements about reality are
objects of science.
Languages are used to express
theories.
Languages and terms
terms
Prescriptive Descriptive
Non-logical terms Logical terms
and,
or,
imply

Value terms
good, bad, ..
Theory Building
Conceptual frameworks
Mathematical models
Methods
Observation
Case studies
Survey studies
Field studies
Systems
Development
Prototyping
Product development
Technology transfer
Experimentation
Computer simulations
Field experiments
Lab experiments
Systems Development in Information Systems Research
Nunamaker, Chen and Purden, Journal of MIS, 1991, vol 7, no3
What kinds of research
method?
Method must be appropriate for the subject of the
investigation and recognised by the people
associated with the chosen body of knowledge
Approaches include:
Hypothesis testing
Modelling
Interpretive
Experimental
Observation
Multi-methodological
REPORT
WRITING
DATA
ANALYSIS
GATHERING &
MANAGEMENT
OF DATA
TEST RIG
DESIGN
PROBLEM
IDENTIFICATION
ORAL
PRESENTATION
HOW TO DO
RESEARCH?
Robert Smith, Graduate Research: A Guide for Students in the Sciences
11 points to consider in finding and developing a research
topic:
1. Can it be enthusiastically pursued?
2. Can interest be sustained by it?
3. Is the problem solvable?
4. Is it worth doing?
5. Will it lead to other research problems?
6. Is it manageable in size?
7. What is the potential for making an original contribution to the
literature in the field?
Robert Smith, Graduate Research: A Guide for Students in the Sciences
11 points to consider in finding and developing a research topic. (continued)
8. If the problem is solved, will the results be reviewed well by
scholars in your field?
9. Are you, or will you become, competent to solve it?
10. By solving it, will you have demonstrated independent skills
in your discipline?
11. Will the necessary research prepare you in an area of
demand or promise for the future?
Literature review
the mechanism by which bits of
information scattered in various formats
throughout the literature are gathered
and synthesized into a cohesive
whole.
Ackerson, Linda G. Basing reference service on scientific communication: toward a more
effective model for science graduate students. Reference Quarterly, 1996, 36, 248-
257.
TERTIARY
LITERATURE
Information
Retrieval
Structure of the literature and Channels of Communication
Hypothesis
How to come to hypothesis:
Analogy
Induction
Deduction
Intuition
It is not important how to generate one, but only that it is
falsifyable.
Hypothesis (e.g., there is a relationship between A and B)
and Null Hypthesis (there is no relationship)
Type I error: reject hypothesis that is true (false negative)
Type II error: accept hypothesis that is wrong (false positive)
Approach
Observation
INDUCTION
Theory
DEDUCTION
Prediction
Boundary
conditions
1
2
Hypothesis
Hypothesis
How to come to hypothesis:
Analogy
Induction
Deduction
Intuition
It is not important how to generate one, but only that it is
falsifyable.
Hypothesis (e.g., there is a relationship between A and B)
and Null Hypthesis (there is no relationship)
Type I error: reject hypothesis that is true (false negative)
Type II error: accept hypothesis that is wrong (false positive)
Hypothesis testing
1. Existing theory
& observations
2. Hypothesis 3. Predictions
4. Tests and new
observations
5. Old theory confirmed
(within a new context) or
New theory proposed
Add to body
of knowledge
Problem identification from
the real world
Apply research
Results in industry
Discover deep research
issues from study of
Real world
Carry out basic
research on those
issues
Create basic
CS/IS
knowledge
Theories
Models
tools
Create innovative
And useful products
Research Logbook
Essential to record all measurements, calculations, facts, ideas,
etc., immediately
If you fail to observe this, you will lose information
Date each entry - this can be crucial
When other media employed (computer files, discs, printouts, etc.),
note existence, contents, & date in your logbook
No one ever kept too complete a logbook
REPORT WRITING
(I.M.R.A.D.)
Modular approach
General Format
Additional chapter can be
incorporated if necessary
Introduction (Pengenalan)
Methodology (Kaedah)
Results (Keputusan)
Analysis (Analisis)
Duscussion/Conclusion
( perbincangan/kesimpulan)
Tie your project and results to previous research.
An essential component of scholarship
Entails referencing previous work that is relevant
References should be complete
Good Papers and Presentations
These two are very important.
ORAL PRESENTATION
Three things that will be tested:
You understand what you are doing (Why?, What?, How?)
You carry the research project and write the thesis yourself
Every single thing that you presented is correct and can be
proven and scientifically tested
Plan your presentation for specific audience
Present things that will be the interest of your
audience
Try to make them interested in your findings
Choose appropriate case studies
ORAL PRESENTATION Cont.
George Springer, chairman of the aeronautics and astronautics department at Stanford
University.
It is really important to do the right
research as well as to do the research
right. You need to do wow research,
research that is compelling, not just
interesting.
Identifying the right research area, and the right research topic.
The right topic will be interesting to you, complex, and
compelling.
The research you do as a graduate student will set the stage for
your research as a postdoc and as a professor.
Choosing the right topic as a graduate student will help you
insure that your research will be viable in the future.
Start: Topic and presenter
Introduction: Problem statement and Objective of your study.
Content: Present your methodology and findings
Validation: Validate your results.
Contribution: State clearly your contributions in the field
Conclusion: Conclusions and recommendations
ORAL PRESENTATION Cont.
Research Mgmt Issues
Education: To raise the level of skill in
project management, research strategy,
intelligence and resources.
Communication: Not just within an
organisation but also between organisations.
Exploitation: Managing and exploiting
research product.
Management of research for the future
requires a diffeerent mindset, because
the outcomes expected have change
tremendously.
Reseachers must be well-versed not
only in their subject area but also other
areas such as management,
communication, leadership, and human
relation.
EFFECTIVE RESEARCH MANAGEMENT 1
Management of a research project
nowadays must be done professionally
emphasizing on transparency, honesty,
ethics, and accountability.
Delivery and management of research
projects at all level such as individual,
group, centre, university, agency and
federal level need to be upgraded.
EFFECTIVE RESEARCH MANAGEMENT 2
PERFORMANCE INDICATOR
Scival spotlight
H Index
Citations
Impact Factors
Number of publications per staff per year
Fellows of respected academic organisations
Chairman of Professional bodies or Conference
Commercialised R&I products
Bilangan pelajar siswazah yang bergraduat
The X-Factor in Research
Doing research beyond expectations
Not to do research for the sake of doing
research
KPI versus KIP
Giving impact to the community, nation,
mankind, and the whole world.
THANK YOU
VICTORY (SUCCESS) COMES FROM COOL
COURAGE, DEVOTION, FAITH AND PATIENCE.