Chapter 3 Proposal

Research Methodologies/Flow/Design/ Framework

Overall Overview about Research

What is Research? Research is a process. Is it is a process by which we find the answers to questions. Importantly, research is systematic and guided by the theory and research of others. Research always starts with a question The Research Question. The importance of this question for your research cannot be over-stated. It will guide everything that you do, and it is important to get it right. From The Research Question we move on to The Literature Review. Has someone already answered your question? Has anyone attempted to answer it? Is there research in the libraries of the world that points you in the right direction, or suggests what the answer might be? The Literature Review will lead you towards The Hypothesis.

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The Hypothesis is a formulation of what you expect to find. It is a prediction. The next step is to work out how you will test The Hypothesis. How do you find out if it right or wrong? To do this you need The Methodology. The Methodology is the research tool you will use to test the truth of The Hypothesis. There are lots of methodologies to choose from: experiments, interviews, focus groups, observations, the list is almost endless.

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The important thing about The Methodology is whether or not it allows you to test The Hypothesis. Applying The Methodology to The Hypothesis will result in generation of The Data. The Data is the information that you have collected. The Data could be scores on a test, answers to your questionnaire, a transcript of conversations, or a collection of observations. The list is as long as the list of possible methodologies. What do you do with The Data? You analyse it.

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The Analysis involves looking at your data and using it to test The Hypothesis. The method of analysis you select will depend upon what The Data looks like. You could use anything from a statistical analysis to a more subjective interpretation of the themes that have arisen through interviews or focus groups. This is a crucial moment in the research process. Sometimes you find that The Analysis of The Data does not allow you to test The Hypothesis, and you have no clear answer to The Research Question. This is a tough lesson, and it teaches an important point. Think about The Analysis before you go ahead with the research. All the time you are planning your research, ask yourself whether the components listed above will actually allow you to answer your question.

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Finally, comes The Interpretation. What does your research mean? What are its implications? Does it support or challenge pre-existing theories and research? The Interpretation must be based upon The Analysis of The Data. It is not sufficient to impose your own views and opinions on the interpretation process. Any interpretation you make must be based upon research evidence evidence from your research as reported in the dissertation.

The Methodology
Once you have a hypothesis, you need a way in which you can test it. This is your methodology. There will be more than one methodology that will allow you to test your hypothesis.

The Methodology
There are four important things when choosing your methodology. It must be: Practicable. You must be able to actually use the methodology you select. It is no use running a study that requires complex computer software when the software is not available, or would take too much time (and maybe money) to produce. Your dissertation study will run within a small time period, and the methodology you select should reflect that. Ethical. More on ethics of research later. Your research methodology should not cause harm to others, not deceive people, and be based upon the informed consent of participants involved. Appropriate. The methodology will determine the kind of data you collect. This data must allow you to test your hypothesis and propose an answer to your research question. If you want to understand something about processing of information in the
brain, then a questionnaire-based methodology will not give you the data you need. It may be more appropriate to use brain imaging or a psychological test.

Defensible. Whatever methodology you select you must be able to defend it. Q : Why did you use this methodology, and not another one? Often more than one methodology will be available. Think about why you selected the methodology you did. What advantages does it have over other methodologies you could have used?

Research Design and Methods

What research design and method(s) do you intend to use? Identify the research design and methodology you plan to use to answer the research question(s) or test the hypothesis(es), and explain the rationale for your choice. (Research design choices include experimental, quasiexperimental, non-experimental, developmental, correlational, case study, grounded theory, action science, phenomenology, etc. Research methodology includes quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods.)

Research Design and Methods(Source 1)

Methodology formally refers to the study of the methods involved in some field, endeavor, or in problem solving. Most sciences have their own specific methodology. Methodology is sometimes used synonymously with "method", particularly a complex method or body of methods, rules, and postulates (assumption)employed by a discipline

Research Methodology, Methods & Techniques (Source 2)

All those methods which are used by the researcher during the course of studying his research problem are termed as research method. The primary concern of research, particularly applied research, is to formulate or find the solution on a certain problem. For this available data and unknown aspect of the problem have to be related to each other to make a solution possible. With this idea, research methods can be put into certain groups, stated below: The first group consist of methods concerning collection of data. When it is not possible to arrive a solution with the data then these methods are used. In the second group there are statistical techniques which are taken to relate the data and the unknown part of the solution. The third group includes methods which are used to evaluate the accuracy of the obtained result. Research methods falling on the last two groups are known as analytical tools of research.

Research Methodology, Methods & Techniques (Source 2)

Research techniques refer to the behavior and instruments we use in performing research operation. Research methods refer to the behavior and instruments used in selecting and constructing research techniques. Like "Participant Observation" is a method in field research, now its techniques would be using tape recorders, video camera etc. to record the interviews. So now it can be said that comparing to the term "techniques" ,"method" is more general. Methods generates techniques. The philosophy common to all research methods and techniques, although they mat vary considerably from one science to another, is usually given the name scientific method. Scientific method implies an objective, logical and systematic method, i.e., a method free from personal bias or prejudice, a method wherein if a solution can be reached that can be verified, a method where the researcher is guided by the rules of logical reasoning, a method where the investigation proceeds in a orderly and organized manner and a method that implies internal consistency. Research methodology comparing to research methods is wider in dimension. In research methodology it has to be explained that why some particular method is used, why not others and what is the logic behind that method. So research methods do constitute a part of research methodology.

Research Flow

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 Literature Rev

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 3 Research Method

Chapter 4 Results and Discussion

Research Flow

Design prototype application

Develop the prototype

Research Design/Framework
Example: The Development of Speech Training Application for Hearing Impaired Person

Example 1: Application Prototype Block Diagram

Input Preprocessing

Speech Recognition Module

Visual Mapping

Facial Animation

Preprocessing Phase

Training and Recognition Phase

Audio to Visual Conversion Phase

Example 2: Application Prototype Block Diagram

Example: Detail Research Flow

Detail Flow of Application Prototype

Preprocessing Phase
Speech Recording Filtering 16Khz 16 bit stereo Vector Sequence Vector Quantization End Point Detection Short-time energy method Feature Extraction
1)Pre-emphasis 2)Framework blocking 3)Windowing 4)Autocorrelation analysis 5) LPC analysis

Phoneme Transription and blocking

Training and Recognition Phase

Training Phase Audio HMM Recognition

Audio to Visual Conversion Phase

Constraint Optimization Method Visual Parameter Estimation (Proposed Method) Estimated Parameter Reconciliation (Proposed Method) Control Point Parameter Mapping and Synchronization.. (Proposed Method)

3D lip Model

Detail Flow of Application Prototype

Speech Recording

Detail Flow of Application Prototype

Filtering

Detail Flow of Application Prototype

End Point Detection

Detail Flow of Application Prototype

Phoneme Recognition and Blocking

Detail Flow of Application Prototype

Feature Extraction

Steps: 1- Pre-emphasis audio 2-Framework Blocking 3-Windowing 4-Autocorrelation 5-LPC analysis

Detail Flow of Application Prototype

Vector Quantization

Quantization Character:

-12th order LPC vector - Codebook of size 512

Detail Flow of Application Prototype

Vector Sequence

Detail Flow of Application Prototype

Audio I-HMM Recognition

Detail Flow of Application Prototype

Training Phase