RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

PROFESSOR DR. MOHAMMAD ISMAILUTM Construction Research Centre,

Faculty of Civil EngineeringUTM

CONTACT INFO...Room : C09–117-09 Tel : +60731757

LITERATURE REVIEW

Course Contents• Introduction• Literature Review• Research Design• Result and Analysis• Writing and Presentation• Evaluation of Research and Thesis• Research Organization

What is Research?

CASE 4A general manager of a car producing company was concerned with the complaints received from the car users that the car they produce have some problems with rattling sound at the dash board and the rear passenger seat after a few thousand kilometers of driving.

What is Research (cont.)?What he did?

He obtained information from the company workers to identify the various factors influencing the problem. He then formulated the problem and generated guesses (hypotheses). He constructed checklist and obtained requisite information from a representative sample of cars. He analyzed the data thus collected, interpreted the results in the light of his hypotheses and reached conclusions.

What is Research (cont.)? CASE 4 is an example of research

because:

• The researcher went through a sequence of steps which were in order and thus systematic.

• The researcher did not just jump at the conclusions, but used a scientific method of inquiry in reaching at conclusions.

What is Research (cont.)?Research may be defined as a careful and

systematic process of inquiry to find answers to problems of interest

To do research is to investigate the problem systematically, carefully, and thoroughly

What is Research (cont.)?

Research is an organized, systematic, database, critical,

scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem, undertaken

with the objective of finding answers or solution to it.

Problem Selection Criteria

• Uniqueness:– Findings from research should contribute to

body of knowledge already in existence, not merely duplicate existing study.

– However, to pursue a study similar to one already in existence but change the methods used, or modify the design, or use a different sample, or choose to perform different statistical analyses.

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Literature Review 9

Literature Review

Content:• Purpose of literature review.• How to conduct literature review.• Common flaws in literature

review.

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Literature Review 10

Literature Review- Purpose

• To provides the background to the research being conducted and insight to researching techniques which have been employed in previous studies.

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Literature Review- Purpose

• To search for facts and information that will support the research question or hypotheses.

• To establish the need for the research and indicate that the writer is knowledgeable about the area.

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What is a Literature Review?

• A critical element of the research

• A database or compilation of the research that has been published on a topic by recognized scholars and researchers

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Why we need to do and write Literature Review?

• To acquire and demonstrate knowledge in a particular area.

• To convey what knowledge and ideas have been established on specified topic.

• To justify the reason for research.• Allows to establish theoretical framework and

methodological focus.

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Literature Review- Aims

The researcher should make the review as rigorous and extensive as possible. The review should help researcher:

– Limit the problem area.– Define the problem.– Avoid unnecessary repetition.– Search for new approaches.– Recommend suitable methods.

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Literature Review- Aims (cont.)

• Limit the Problem Area.– The problem should be small enough

and sufficiently specific for adequate treatment and competent analysis.

• Define the Problem.– ‘Definition’ means researcher knows

exactly what he is looking for, so that data when collected and analyzed actually relates back to the problem.

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• Avoid Unnecessary Repetition.– Do not assume that because most

of the existing research adopts one method that it is the only method or the correct method. Do not use the approach if you have reservations about its application to the problem.

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• Search for New Approaches.– Be alert to research approaches

which may have been overlooked. Be prepared to adopt a different viewpoint, particularly in areas where research sparse.

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• Recommend Suitable Methods.– Methodology should be appropriate

to the research problem. Compile a checklist in which you reference ideas on research design, instrumentation, sampling and data collection and analysis from various studies.

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Phase of Literature Review

• Bird-Eye-View– Serves to generate ideas and select a

working topic. Read to increase knowledge of content and methodologies. This is more like a scanning process. At this stage, the existing literature serve as a guide to determining the extent of research. Present understanding and conclusions. In addition, it is a way to determine gaps in research.

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Phase of Literature Review (cont.)

• Assessing– To answer more focused questions.

What are major issues? Where are the parameters normally research for? Where are the gaps? Who are the major researchers? What can be found to support a research problem?

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Phase of Literature Review (cont.)

• Integrating/comprehensive critique– Assessment of specific works, detail

analysis of the trends, concurrent and disagreements, and includes firm evidence to support the research.

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Composition of a Literature Review

• A literature review should compose the following:– Be organized around and related to the

research question you are developing.– Synthesize results into a summary of what

is and is not known.– Identify gaps or areas of controversy in the

literature.– Formulate questions that need further research.

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How to start?

• Ask yourself the following questions:– What is the specific research

problem that literature review helps to define?

– What type of literature review am I conducting? Am I looking at theory? Methodology? Policy? What is the scope?

– How good was my information seeking? Has my search been wide enough?

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How to start (cont.)?

– Have I critically analyzed the literature I use? Do I assess them, discussing strengths and weaknesses?

– Have I cited and discussed studies contrary to my perspective?

– Will my reader find my literature review relevant, appropriate and useful?

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When reading each article or book

– Has the author formulate a problem/issue?– Is it clearly defined? Is it significance? Clearly

established?– Could the problem have been approached

more effectively from another perspective?– What is the relationship between the

theoretical and practical perspective?

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When reading each article or book (cont.)

– Has the author evaluate the literature relevant to the problem?

– What are the strengths and limitations of the article/book?

– How does the article/book relate to the specific question I am developing?

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Plan for Obtaining Literature

• Keywords.• Consultations.• Preliminary sources.• Secondary sources.• Primary sources.• Contacts.

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Plan for Obtaining Literature (cont.)

• Keywords– Compile a list of keywords or terms that

relate specifically to the research problem.

• Consultations– Consult the librarian for information

about the collection and cataloguing procedures.

– Discuss the research problem with specialists and colleagues.

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• Preliminary sources– Using the keywords to check the

preliminary sources for references:• catalogue• indexes• abstracts• bibliographies• annotated bibliographies

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Primary Sources• Locate research reports written

specifically about the research problem

– Journal Articles– Research Reports– Collective Works– Conference Papers

• Locate other primary sources for information on research design and methodology.

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• Secondary Sources–Locate textbooks, articles and

other secondary sources.–Check secondary sources for

relevance and background information

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• Contacts– Write to organization and/or

institutions that may have an interest in the research problem and be able to supply information or additional contacts.

– From the survey of primary sources, contact any person who may have conducted research in the area, if it is felt that this may be useful.

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How to cite other people works?

• Paraphrasing– The objective of paraphrasing are:

• To show your reader that you understand the research literature.

• You are able to synthesize and evaluate it and compare, analyze and draw analytical conclusions.

– You do that through careful mining of the original research and by carefully reporting what you have read and what it all means.

“You don’t show that by plagiarizing”

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How to cite other people works? (Cont.)

• Remember two key points:– You must show the source of your

work in text citation.– Simply changing a couple of words

here or there is not paraphrasing.

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How to cite other people works? (Cont.)

“The more you paraphrasing, the more you show you understand something”

• Overusing quotes suggests to your reader that you might not understand the original.

• Paraphrasing shows that you ‘get it’.• But sometimes direct quotes do work:

– When something is said ‘perfectly’.– When you want to reveal something about the writer

or speaker.

‘By the way, you have to read the whole article, not just the abstract’

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How to cite other people works? (Cont.)Example

Original authorIn designing separation system, a number of important operating conditions for specific application must be identified. The final design must be comply with certain standard before start up of the system.

StudentIn designing separation system, a number of important operating conditions for specific application must be identified. The final design must be comply with certain standard before start up of the system.

Here the student copied the original word for word, with no attribution to the original author. This is plagiarism.

Good paraphrasingSkorczewski (2000)

Papers that explore the limitations on individual opportunity in the United States assert the possibility of beating the odds; arguments about multiple identities urge us to find our true selves; discussion of socially constructed knowledge conclude that we each invent our own ideas every day. How can it be the students write for pages about the complexities of institutional power, multiple identities, and situated knowledge and then refute what they have discussed in a trite or overused phrase?

Student revised paraphrase

Skorczewski (2000) wrote of students’ baffling way of contradicting themselves when writing about tension between personal and communal identity. On the other hand, they seem to believe in the importance and preeminence of institutional power and multiple identities, sometimes writing pages on such issues-only to contradict themselves with cliches such as “if we try hard enough, we will succeed”.In this revised version, the student shows that she read and

thought about the original version. She gives credit to Skorczewski for the idea, but completely rephrases that idea in her own words. This is paraphrasing and giving proper credit at

its best!

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How to avoid plagiarism

• Do not look at the original while you are typing.

• Think about what you read. Then try typing it in your own words.

• Avoid a thesaurus-like,sentence by sentence restatement of the original. What did the author assert? What was his or her evidence? How does that compare and contrast to what other researchers have found?

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Writing the Text of the Literature Review

Obstacle in writing literature review“I have made several attempts to write my literature review but I keep changing it. Is there a proper way or formula to organize it?”

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Writing the Text of the Literature Review (cont.)

Two most important tips:1. Focusing the literature review

– Summarize each interesting findings from each article from the beginning.

– Start writing from the beginning.– Specific to your area.– Systematically keep abreast of new

developments in your field.– Always do revision.

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2. Organizing the Literature Review– Proceed from the general to the specific

problem.– Should set up the readers expectations of

where your work fits.– Should provide justification of why you are

doing what you are doing.– It should establish your theoretical framework

and your methodology.– It is more important to isolate the issue and

highlight the findings that are relevant to what you are doing.

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What should be done?• Complete - ensure that all the

necessary information relating to the research problem is included.

• Correct - ensure that all quotations, facts and figures are accurate and verifiable.

• Clear - ensure that words and terms used in the descriptions are unambiguous.

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• Coherent - ensure that ideas are arranged in a logical sequence.

• Concise - ensure that the review is an appropriate length considering the overall length of the paper.

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What is meant by a Hypothesis?

• A hypothesis is an educated guess.

• It is an attempt to explain the nature of the relationship between the variables identified in the problem.

• It is an attempt to suggest a possible answer to the problem based on available facts or information that the researcher already knows.

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What is meant by a Hypothesis (cont.)?

• Gives direction to a study.

• Gives evidence that some background reading in the area has been carried out.

• Hypotheses written after a review of the literature has been done and a problem has been selected for study.

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Documents

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY