3 Technical Research

7/30/2019 3 Technical Research

1/29

TECHNICAL RESEARCH

IFFAT FARZANA ANJUM

DEPARTMENT OF BIOINFORMATICS & BIOTECHNOLOGY

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD


2/29

Technical Research

Goals Distinguish the difference between researching at school

and at work

Identify and locate secondary sources

Document secondary sources Evaluate sources

Take notes from sources

Collect primary data


3/29

CONDUCTING TECHNICAL RESEARCH

Information is everywhere; Library where there is a building full of information.

If you want to know something, you only have to lookin the right place.

The problem that technical researchers face is not ascarcity of information.

The problem is in understanding: What information they need,

Where it is,

How it is stored,

How to retrieve it, and

What to do with it after they find it.


4/29

RESEARCHING AT WORK

Useful information that is presented effectively candetermine whether an enterprise is successful orunsuccessful.

Before you can write at work, you may need to conductresearch.

In fact, many decisions and actions at work require moreinformation than you have at hand.

Before you conduct the research, you must make sureyou know:

Who is involved & Who will use your research?

What do these people need to know?

Where will you search for informationwithin or outside yourorganization or both?

Why are you researching this topic?

How will you collect information, and how will it be used?


5/29

RESEARCHING AT WORK

You also need a strategy for: Finding and evaluating the right material and the best sources.

Conducting the research and reading efficiently.

Carefully and accurately recording the information you find sothat you do not accidentally plagiarize or violate the ownerscopyright.

Documenting where you found the information so that you orsomeone else can find it again.

Employees have two basic sources of information: Secondary sources: are indirect or secondhand reports of

information, such as the description of an event the writer orspeaker did not witness.

Primary sources: are direct or firsthand reports of facts orobservations, such as an eyewitness account or a diary. The writer or speaker is the one who witnessed the event or

developed the idea.


6/29

FINDING SECONDARY DATA

To solve most problems, your first step is to explorethe available secondary data.

After all, you do not want to reinvent the wheel.

For work-related research, you will probably use one

or more of the following sources of secondary data: Your organizations correspondence & report archives

(collections or repositories of documents),

A library catalog,

Periodicals, & General reference materials.


7/29


Correspondence and Report Archives: A logical place to begin looking for an answer to a

problem is in the organization where the problem exists.

Most organizations keep archives of all correspondence

and reports.

Employees may use archived documents to learn about

the history of the problem or topic.

They may find letters, memos, or reports explaining

When problems were first noted,

What kinds of investigation were conducted, and

Whether a solution was successful.


8/29


Library Catalog: The researchers next stop is the companys library

or a public or academic library. Company libraries focus specifically on the needs of

employees. e.g. A software companys library may contain

books and journals specializing in software developmentand marketing.

In a corporate, public, or research library, employeeslooking for secondary data may start locating materialsthrough the library catalog.

The library catalog helps researchers find books, pamphlets,periodicals, audiovisual materials, and other holdings.

Most libraries have computerized catalogs that are searchableby subject, title, and author and sometimes by other categoriessuch as date or keyword.


9/29


Periodicals:

Magazines, journals, newsletters, and newspapers arecalled periodicals because they are published atspecified intervals of time.

When you need current information, periodicalswhether online or in printare one type of source youshould seek.

Periodicals are more current than books, butnewspapers, especially daily papers, generally provideeven more current information than periodicals.

Today most periodical searches are conductedelectronically.

Many web-based databases, available to libraries bysubscription, index periodical content. Gale, EBSCOhost,ProQuest, and Elsevier are some of the best-knowndatabase providers.


10/29


General Reference Materials: General reference materials such as encyclopedias,

dictionaries, handbooks, almanacs, and fact books

are quick ways to get information.

Some websites even offer access to reference tools.For example, the Encyclopedia Britannica website

provides an encyclopedia, a dictionary, and an atlas.


11/29

FINDING SECONDARY DATA Electronic Resources:

Computers connected to the Internet provide a wealth ofinformation on countless topics.

Because the Internet is a worldwide collection of computernetworks, it is an information highway connecting government,military, educational, and commercial organizations and

private citizens to a range of services and resources. Finding Electronic Information:

Search the Web using a search engine such as Yahoo, Google

Use these strategies TO LIMIT A SEARCH:

When you connect keywords with AND, the search yields both

keywords. Using + gets the same results.

Ex: juvenile AND diabetes/

Ex: juvenile + diabetes

Yields: Sites that deal with

juvenile diabetes only


12/29

When you connect keywords with NOT, the search yields thefirst keyword, not the second. Using - gets the same results.

Ex: diabetes NOT juvenile Ex: diabetes juvenile

When you surround keywords with quotation marks, thesearch yields the same keywords in the same order besideeach other.

Ex: capitalpunishment Yields: Sites that include the same term, capital punishment, but

not capital alone or punishment alone.

Use these strategies TO EXPAND A SEARCH: When you connect keywords with OR, the search yields either

keyword.

Ex: diabetes OR juvenile Yields: Sites that contain diabetesand/or juvenile as the topic

When you place an asterisk (*) after the word, the search yieldswords that contain the base or root word.

Ex: biblio* Yields: Sites that include bibliography,bibliographer, bibliophile, bibliotheca, and so on.

Yields: Sites that deal withany type of diabetes except

juvenile.


13/29

DOCUMENTING SECONDARY SOURCES

Documentation is a system of giving credit toanother person (writer or speaker) for his or her

work.

It is using a citation system to note whose ideas or words

the writer is using and where he or she found them.

Plagiarism is the act of using another persons

words and/or ideas without properly documenting or

giving credit.

While plagiarism is a serious academic offense,sometimes causing students to fail a course or to be

expelled from school, it is even more serious in the

workplace.

Theft of another persons work often results in lost jobs,

lawsuits, and ruined reputations.


14/29

Documentation

Documentation comes in two parts:

The Works Cited (or bibliography), a list of sources at the end ofthe document, &

The internal citations.

Bibliography and Works Cited:

While collecting data, researchers develop a workingbibliography.

When the research is finished, writers use the lists final formto prepare a bibliography.

A bibliography has three purposes:

It establishes credibility by showing readers what sources youconsulted;

It allows others to find your information path so they can continueor evaluate the study; &

It gives credit to other peoples thoughts, words, and sentences

that you used.


15/29

Documentation

Internal Citations People will assume that ideas are yours unless they

see a citation in the text.

Citations are written indications of the source of

borrowed materials. Enter internal documentation immediately after each

summary, paraphrase, and direct quotation to tell

your reader where you found the information.


16/29

EVALUATING SOURCES

Not everything that appears in print (or on your computer,radio, or TV) is true.

In fact, many mistakes, untruths, and half-truths that youwould not want to repeat are published.

These guidelines for evaluating sources will help you get

started. Publication Date:

Authors Credentials:

Depth and Coverage:

Special Considerations for Electronic Sources What is the electronic address?

What are the references and/or links?

What do design and presentation suggest?


17/29

TAKING NOTES FROM SOURCES

Employees doing research note information theycollect, just as you do when writing a paper inschool.

When you discover data you believe will be helpful,write complete, careful notes.

You can use borrowed information in your notesthree ways: 1. Summary:

To summarize is to condense longer material, keeping essential

or main ideas and omitting unnecessary parts such as examplesand illustrations.

Be consistent with the sources idea, but use your words.

2. Paraphrase

3. Direct quotation


18/29


Paraphrase:

To paraphrase is to present someone elses idea in

ones own words, phrases, and sentence structure.

While a summary should be shorter than the original material, a

paraphrase generally is about the same length or even a bit

longer than the original.

Read the original carefully.

Put it aside.

Write the idea in your own way.

Compare your version with the original.

Make certain you have used your own words and

sentence structure and have accurately conveyed the

authors idea.


19/29

Example: The original passage:

Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes,and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research]paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscriptshould appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, youshould strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of sourcematerials while taking notes. Lester, James D. WritingResearch Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 46-47.

A legitimate paraphrase:

In research papers students often quote excessively, failing tokeep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since theproblem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to

minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47). An acceptable summary:

Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation fromsources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in aresearch paper (Lester 46-47).


20/29


Direct Quotation: The third way writers incorporatematerial into their documents, is the use of borrowedideas, words, phrases, and sentences exactly as theyappear in the original document.

Introduce Quotations: Writers introduce quotations to

make the writing smooth. Do not let quoted sentences stand alone.

You can integrate quotations into your text with wordssuch as according to one expert or with completesentences such as the following:

Benjamin Franklin gave this advice in Poor RichardsAlmanac: Early to bed, early to rise, makes a manhealthy, wealthy, and wise.


21/29


Indicate Added or Omitted Material: When you needto add to or edit a direct quotation for clarity or

conciseness, use brackets to set your changes apart

from the quoted words, as in the sentences below.

Original: After the board meeting in which a 2percent fine was approved, she signed her

resignation letter.

Addition for clarity: After the board meeting in

which a 2 percent fine was approved, [MaureenOKeefe] signed her resignation letter.


22/29

COLLECTING PRIMARY DATA

To solve some work-related concerns, primary data maybe more help. Primary data is gathered through fieldresearch: surveys, interviews, observation, andexperimentation.

Some field research is conducted in person, some by

telephone, and some online. Surveys: gather facts, beliefs, attitudes, and opinions

from people. A survey works only when you know what you want to learn

before you begin.

Once you decide what you want to learn, you should carefully select your audience or respondents,

decide how you will administer your survey, and

carefully plan your questions.


23/29

Survey

When you choose an audience, you must select asample broad enough to represent that audience.

A population is the target group from which a personwants to gather data.

A sample is a subgroup with the samecharacteristics as the entire population.

Once you know your audience, the next step is todecide how to administer the survey. You can administer questionnaires in person, by mail, by

telephone, or by e-mail. This decision is based on the kind of data you seek, how

much time you have, & what your budget is.


24/29

Survey

Some suggestions as you prepare for survey:

Explain why you need the information and how it will be used.

Convince your audience to participate.

Logically order questions beginning with easy-to-answer items.

Ask only necessary questions.

Write clear and nonleading questions.

Make the purpose of the question clear.

Stick to one topic per question.

Plan for tabulation.


25/29


26/29

Interviews

Interviews give you access to experts facts,opinions, and attitudes that you might not find any

other way.

However, interviewing can be time-consuming and

costly. To make the process as successful as possible, use

the following guidelines:

Define your purpose.

Make an appointment. Plan and write your questions.

Conduct the interview in a competent and courteous

manner.


27/29

Observation

Professionals frequently rely on observation to solveproblems in their jobs.

Medical professionals observe patients to diagnoseillnesses.

Crop scientists observe the numbers and types ofweeds and insects in a field to decide whether thecrop should be sprayed.

However, you need to be careful when gatheringdata by observation.

Observers may be biased, or subjects may act differentlyif they know they are being studied.

Further, you should strive to interpret data objectively. Donot begin with preconceived ideas.


28/29

Observation

To collect credible data by observation, use the

following guidelines:

Train observers in what to look for, what to record, and

how to record.

Make systematic observations.

Observe only external actions.

Quantify findings whenever possible.

Support your observations.

Consider the time, equipment, and cost.


29/29

Experimentation

Experimentation is the act of causing an event so

that an observer can test an assumption or a

hypothesis.

Experiments test whether a change in one factor will

cause another factor to change.Validity and Reliability

Valid data are data that provide an accurate

measurement of what an individual intends to

measure. Reliable data are data that provide results that can

be duplicated under similar circumstances.

3 Technical Research

Documents