Ambo Institute of Technology

Research methods and presentation

Lecture 02

M. Mamo & Electrical and Computer

Negasa B.
Bayisa K. Engineering Department
MAIN COMPONENTS OF ANY RESEARCH WORK!

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Main components of research work

• Identifying research problem / research topic

• Preparing a research proposal

• Research work

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Identifying research problem / research topic

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Research problem

• The most important step in research !

• A problem is a gap or a difference between what is expected or desired to be
and the actual condition exists
• Often comes from the thought:
– “What we have now is not quite right/good enough – we can do better ...”
• The research question defines the “area of interest” but it is not a declarative
statement like a hypothesis.
– The central research question may be complemented by a few secondary
questions to narrow the focus.
• Research question must be capable of being confirmed or refuted.
• The study must be feasible.
• The sources of a research problem could be
– Observations
– Experts/from experience
– Literature reviews
– Professional conferences

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Research problem

• Example
– “Which methods and tools should be developed to make current
manufacturing control / supervision systems reusable and swiftly
modifiable?”

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Research proposal

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Preparing research proposal

Purposes of proposal:
• Communicate with Client
• Demonstrate your grasp of problem
• Plan the study in advance, so others can evaluate the study approach
–will it work?
–have you overlooked something?
–will results be useful to client?
–can we afford it?

• Formulation of the research proposal is the major task in the process of

developing a research project.
• The proposal draws on all the preparatory steps of the research process and
pulls them together in a document describing the rationale and the methodology
proposed for research.
• The proposal is a basis for approval and funding.

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Components of research proposal

• In general research proposal contains the following elements:

–Title
–Introduction
–Objective of the study
–Methodology
–Work plan
–Ethical issues
–Budget
–References
–Annex (optional)

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Concepts

• The initial section of the proposal is very critical !

• It should "paint a picture" of the proposal in the mind of the evaluator.
• It should establish the framework so that the rest of the proposal has a
frame of reference.
• Key questions
– Why is the work important?
– What do you intend to do?
– How does it satisfy the objectives / priorities of the sponsor?
• Make sure it is innovative and exciting
– Survey the literature
– Talk with others in the field

• Avoid giving the evaluator the opportunity to say things like:

Not an original idea Rationale is weak
Uncertain outcomes Problem is not important
Proposal is unfocused Project is too large

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Title

• Sets the first impression

• Should be in line with your general objective
• Should tell readers what your study is about and where it will be done
• Should be descriptive, specific and reflect the importance of your proposal
• A definite and concise indication of what is to come

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Introduction

• Can be divided into three sections or the concepts of the three sections can be
merged together.
– Statement of the problem
• Background and definition of the problem of study
• Why the proposed study is important. i.e., a general statement on rationale
behind the research project
– Literature review
• İnvestigating researches done on the study area undertaken by the
researcher
– significance of the study / justification
• It is where you defend the importance of the study.
• Justification answers the question “Why your research is needed?” or “What
is the gap to be filled by that specific research?”

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Statement of the problem

• A problem statement is a concise, precise, well documented, and detailed

description of the nature ,scope, causes, severity and the effect or impact of a
problem to be addressed and the need for the proposed project or research.

• Thus a problem statement is the specific description of a problem which is

essential to understand it properly.
• A problem statement is the initial step before undertaking into any kind of
research.
• A well formulated and effective problem statement ensures the research
success.
• A good problem statement is always specific and focused to a particular issue
(restrictive and would express one major idea).

• A confused or vague problem statement will raise a question on the importance

of the research.

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Literature review

What is a literature review?

• In the terms of a literature review, "the literature" means the works you consult in
order to understand and investigate your research problem.
• A description or account of the literature that has been published relevant to a
particular field or topic.

• an overview of significant literature published on a topic.

Importance of literature review:

• Prevents duplication of work that has been done before.
• Help to find out what others have learned
• Helps to become more familiar with the various research approaches
• It increases your knowledge on the problem you want to study and this may
assist you in refining your "statement of the problem".

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Literature review

• How do we do literature review?

– The purpose
– Problem stated
– Proposed solution
– Contribution (how it differs from others)
– Findings (Simulation and Results)
– Your personal critics

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Research objectives

• Objectives answer the question “What do you want to see/learn at the end of the
research?”
• A research objective summarizes what is to be achieved by the study.

• Objectives are operational, tell specific things you will be accomplishing in your
project, and are very measurable.
– Evaluators like to see quantifiable objectives
– The outcomes are much more clear if the objectives are described in
measurable & verifiable ways.
– Show how they relate to the topics addressed by the Call.

• Include specific information about the target users.

– Are they involved?

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Research objectives

• Commonly, research objectives are classified into general objectives and

specific objectives.

• General objective: aim of the study in general terms

– summarizes what is to be achieved by the study
– should be clearly related to the statement of the problem
• Specific objectives:
– are logically connected parts of the general objective
– measurable statements on the specific questions to be answered by the study.
– Use action verbs specific enough to be measured:
e.g., -to determine -to verify -to identify
-to describe - to assess -to compare
-to calculate - to establish -to explore

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Research objectives

• Avoid the use of vague non-action verbs such as:

- to appreciate
- to understand
- to study
- to believe

• Difficult to quantify these verbs

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Importance of developing objectives

• Focus the study

• Avoid the collection of data which are not strictly necessary
• Properly formulated specific objectives facilitate the development of research
methodology and help to orient the collection, analysis, interpretation and
utilization of data.
• Helps in evaluating the project

• Research question should:

– Be focused, each covering a single point
– Be ordered in a logical sequence
– Be realistic and feasible to answer
– Have measurable outcomes at the end of the research

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Methodology

• Methodology - the study of the methods involved in some field, endeavor, or in

problem solving
• Method - a (systematic ?) codified series of steps taken to complete a certain
task or to reach a certain objective.
• Methodology is defined as:
– the analysis of the principles of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a
discipline;
– the systematic study of methods that are, can be, or have been applied within
a discipline; or
– a particular procedure or set of procedures.

• Methodology refers to more than a simple set of methods;

it refers to the rationale and the philosophical assumptions that underlie a
particular study

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Methodology

• Give a rational of the methods to be used.

– There should be a very clear link between the methods described in this
section and the objectives previously defined.

• Devices
– Devices or equipment required to do the research work at hand
– It depends on the specific research problem
• Methods
– Is the technique which will be applied to answer the research question or verify
the hypothesis
– E.g. Experimental setup, configurations…

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Workplan

• A workplan is a schedule, chart or graph that summarizes the different

components of a research project and how they will be implemented in a
coherent way within a specific time-span.
Characteristics of a well-defined activity
• Its status and completion is easily measured
• It has a very definite beginning and ending date
• It is clearly explained and the time to complete it and its associated
costs can be easily estimated from prior experiences with this or similar
activities
• It comprises work assignments that are manageable, integratable, and
relatively independent of work assignments in other activities
• It should normally constitute one continuous stream of work from start to finish
• It has clear responsibles assigned to

• It’s understandable, manageable and its progress can be measured

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Workplan

• Typical elements to include:

– Work package list
– Deliverables / Outcomes list
– Description of each work package
– Effort table (person-month)
– List of milestones

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Workplan

• Ways of presenting workplan

– Work schedule(table form)
– GANNT chart - the commonest

The GANTT Chart

• Depicts graphically the order in which various tasks must be completed and their
duration of activity.

A typical Gantt chart includes the following information:

• The tasks to be performed
• Who is responsible for each task; and
• The time each task is expected to take.
• The length of each task is shown by a bar that extends over the number of days,
weeks or months the task is expected to take.

• The Gantt chart doesn’t show how various tasks are related.

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Workplan: Gantt chart

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Ethical and other issues

• This section is important in proposals having potential ethical issues

(e.g. Dealing with privacy, health issues, genetics, etc.)

• Some funding agencies might have requirements regarding promotion of

gender equality, involvement of Small and Medium Enterprises, promotion of
specific regions, etc...

• Check the requirements and prepare good arguments for the evaluators

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Budget

How should a budget be prepared?

• It is necessary to use the work plan as a starting point.
• Specify, for each activity in the work plan, what resources are required.

• Determine for each resource needed, the unit cost and the total cost.

• The budget for the fieldwork component will include funds for personnel,
transport and supplies.

The Budget Format and Justification

• The type of budget format to be used may vary

• Most donor organizations have their own special project forms, which include a
budget format.

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Budget

Advice on budget preparation

• Include a 5%-10% contingency fund

• If inclusion of a contingency fund is not allowed, an alternative is to slightly over-

budget in major categories.
Budget justification
• It is not sufficient to present a budget without explanation.

• The budget justification follows the budget as an explanatory note justifying

briefly why the various items in the budget are required.

• Make sure you give clear explanations concerning why items that may seem

questionable or that are particularly costly are needed.

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Referencing and citation

What is Referencing?
• Referencing is a standardized method of acknowledging sources of information
and ideas that you have used in your project.
• Direct quotations, facts, and figures, as well as ideas and theories, from both
published and unpublished works, must be referenced.
• There are many acceptable forms of referencing. E.g. IEEE, OSA, Nature, …

• When referencing your work, it is very important that you use the right
punctuation and that the order of details in the reference is also correct.
• A reference list at the end of the assignment contains the full details of all the in-
text citations.
Why Reference?
• It is necessary to avoid plagiarism, to verify quotations, and to enable readers to
follow-up and read more fully the cited author’s arguments.

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IEEE citation

• The author's name is listed as first initial, last name. Example: Adel Al
Freude would be cited as A. Al Freude (NOT Al Freude, Adel).
• The title of an article is listed in quotation marks.
• The title of a journal or book is listed in italics.
• Examples:
• [1] M. Fidel and H. M. Green, “Engineers perception of information
sources,” Inf. Process. Manage., vol. 45, no. 4, pp. 225-256, May 2015.
• [2] K. Burnett, K. B. Ng, and S. Park, "A comparison of the two traditions
of metadata development", Journal of the American Society for
Information Science, vol. 50, pp. 1209 - 1217, 1999.

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