RESEARCH DESIGN: AN OVERVIEW
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“If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know
what your doing”W.E. Deming
“A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and
usually the best way to get there.”
H. Stanley Judd quotes
Research Design
Research objective
Researchoutcome
Research Design
instrument, information, target, helmet,
• Master plan• Framework for action (Research Operational Framework)• Specifies methods and procedures• Can be thought of as the structure of the research that
describes and holds together all the elements in a research from start to end.
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What is Research Design?
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• Is the strategy for a study and the plan by which the strategy is to be carried out.
• Issues relating to purpose of study (exploratory, descriptive, hypothesis testing), its location (setting), type of investigation, time horizon, unit of analysis.
• It specifies the methods and procedures for the collection, measurement and analysis of data.
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What is Research Design?
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• Covers many variations, some descriptors:
– Exploratory vs formalized– Descriptive vs causal– Cross-sectional vs longitudinal– Field vs laboratory (experimental) vs simulation
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What is Research Design?
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Research Methodology
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Research Methods in Computer Science
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implementation driven research.This approach progresses by iteratively building better and better systems.
mathematical proof techniques.This approach uses formal proofs to reason about the validity of a hypothesis given some evidence. For example, mathematical reasoning can be used to demonstrate that an algorithm can cover all possible input cases.
empiricism.This approach follows a clearly laid out sequence of steps: hypothesis; methods; results and conclusion. Statistical measures are often use to determine whether an experiment actually supports a hypothesis.
observational studies.This approach removes many of the constraints associated with empiricism by analysing the utility of a system in its eventual context of use. For example, the success or failure of a new programming language can only be assessed in this view if real programmers are trained to use the system on a real project.
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Qualitative vs Quantitative Research
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Qualitative Research
*An array of interpretive techniques which seek to describe, decode, translate in terms of meaning not the frequency.
*Aims to achieve an in-depth understanding of a situation.
Quantitative Research
*Attempts precise measurement of some behavior, knowledge, opinion or attitude.
*Operationalization of variables
Mixed Method Research* A combination of Qualitative and Quantitative
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Qualitative vs Quantitative Research
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Qualitative QuantitativeFocus of Research Understand and interpret Describe, explain, and predictResearcher Involvement High Limited, controlled to prevent biasResearch Purpose In-depth understanding Describe or predict, built and test
theorySample Design Non-probability, purposive ProbabilitySample Size Small LargeData Type and Preparation Verbal or pictorial description
Reduced to verbal codesVerbal descriptionsReduced to numerical codes for computerized analysis
Feedback Turnaround Smaller sample sizes make data collection faster for shorter possible turnaroundInsights are developed as the research progresses, shortening data analysis
Larger sample sizes lengthen data collection
Research Design Longitudinal, Multi Method Cross-sectional or longitudinal, Single method
Data Analysis Non-quantitative; humanJudgment mixed with factEmphasis on themes
Computerized analysisFacts distinguishedEmphasis on counts
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Qualitative Research
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Focus Groups
ObservationObservation Data Collection
Techniques
Data Collection
Techniques
Case Studies
Action Research
Grounded Theory
GroupInterviews
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Source of Data
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LiteratureData source often mentioned in bibliographyAuthors can be contacted to share data
Commercial databasesCompanies collect/store/purchase data from literature, experiments, etc. eg ID Alert, MDDR, WDI, CCDC databases
Non-profit organizations, government agenciesEg. National Cancer Institute (NCI) databases,Chemical Abstract Service, National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) scientific and technical databases, hospitals, PERPUN
Benchmark data, standard collection Eg. Text Retrieval Conference (TREC) test collections, Cranfield Collection
In house data – eg. time table, web logsData published on the web, user interest groupsInterviews, surveys, observation, documentations, screenshots
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Data Capturing Instruments
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Hardware – eg. Scanners, digital cameras, digitizers, screenshots.
Software – eg . transcription software (Transcriber, Express Scribe), Qualitative Data Analysis - QDA software (ATLAS.ti 5, Ethnograph 5.08, QSR Nud*ist 6, QSR NVivo 2, MaxQDA, HyperResearch 2.6 ), digitizing software such as Engauge to convert image file into numbers, descriptor generator such as Molconn-Z, Unity, BCI, Daylight
Questionaires, interview template
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Mix Method
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• Triangulation: Term to describe the combining of several qualitative methods or combining qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Forward thinkers believe that the methodologies complement each other.
• Many researchers recognize that qualitative compensates for the weakness of each methods.
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Criteria for Selecting Methodology in Developing Systems
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System Development Life Cycle
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Waterfall Development-based Methodology
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Prototyping
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Adaptation of the Unified Process Phased Development Methodology: Example of RAD
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Object-Oriented Modeling Techniques
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• Major object-oriented modeling techniques include:– Use Case diagrams– Class diagrams– Sequence diagrams– Statechart diagrams
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Integration of four UML Diagrams
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