Episode 16 : Research Methodology ( Part 6 )

SAJJAD KHUDHUR ABBASChemical Engineering , Al-Muthanna University, IraqOil & Gas Safety and Health Professional – OSHACADEMYTrainer of Trainers (TOT) - Canadian Center of Human Development

Episode 16 : Research Methodology ( Part 6 )

Reference Books• Ranjit Kumar. "Research Methodology" Longman, 1996

• Lindsay D. “A Guide to Scientific Writing” Longman, 1995

• Ralph Berry. “How to write a Research Paper”, Pergamon, 1986

• Gerson S J and Gerson S M. “Technical Writing Process and Product”, Prentice Hall, 1992

• Coley S M and Scheinberg C A, "Proposal Writing", Newbury Sage Publications, 1990

Is there a difference in conducting Engineering research compared to the research in other disciplines?

Differences between Research Activities inthe Engineering Discipline and Others?

• Engineering research are more formulative in nature.

• A lot is based on mathematics.

• Experiments are conducted on machines, rather than humans or animals.

• Data to be collected differ significantly.

• Hypotheses arrived at are largely based on mathematical proofs, rather than just an educated guess

• Experiments can be done within a shorter period of time.

• Outputs in engineering research are more tangible

• such as a software, a new machine or component, or even mathematical equations, etc.

• Engineering research do not differ much in different regions of the world.

Differences between Research Activities inthe Engineering Discipline and Others?

Literature Survey

I had the idea. Its’ my Patent

Fool!! Should have first filed the Patent Application We have come

a long way since then !!

A Literature Survey & Literature Review

• Often confused and mis-quoted

Literature Survey

• A literature survey is a priory study that is done before a planned research

• The main focus of an academic research paper is to develop a new argument, and a research paper will contain a literature survey as one of its parts.

• In a research paper, you use the literature as a foundation and as support for a new insight that you contribute.

Why do you need a Literature Survey• To make sure that you are not going to re-invent the wheel

Buddy, I thought it was invented 543 years ago by our great grad pa

Why do you need a Literature Survey

• To decide where to begin the research

• To acquire new ideas of improving the planned research

• To collect data, formulae, methodologies that can be used in the research (with proper acknowledgement)

• To convince other people regarding the need for the research

• To give the due credit to the prior-scientific work

Literature Survey

• The summery of the literature survey is included in the research papers (outcome of the research) in the “Introduction” part without adding anything new from the researchers side.

Pay attention on how to present references: Depending on the journal

Literature Review• Walter & Brown (1967) first discovered the

Magnetic resonance of fine crystals. James and Kruger (1972) invented the Magnetic resonance spectroscope. Baltimore et. al (1977) included Polaroid Mirrors to the MRS. In 1982 Kruger and Mandel improved the mirror performance with bi-prism technique. Jemuar et. Al (1989) applied MRS for identifying large protein molecules. ……….

Is this a Literature Review?

• A simple chronological list is not a literature review

• Even a descriptive chronological report is not a good literature Review

Literature Review

• A literature review is a methodical summarizing of a selected subject where the writer finds improvements, relationships contradictions, comparisons etc. among various research work

• The writer has the right to have a scholarly critisim, giving due credit to a hidden discoverer or inventor and also discuss new insights that has either not seen or not emphasized by previous researchers in their own work

• A literature review itself is a research

Literature Review

• Literature reviews provide you with a handy guide to a particular topic.

• If you have limited time to conduct research, literature reviews can give you an overview or act as a stepping stone.

• For professionals, they are useful reports that keep them up to date with what is current in the field.

• A literature review is usually organized around ideas, not the sources themselves as an annotated bibliography would be organized.

• This means that you will not just simply list your sources and go into detail about each one of them, one at a time.

In a Literature Review you have to look for issues such as

• Do they present one or different solutions?

• Is there an aspect of the field that is missing?

• How well do they present the material and do they portray it according to an appropriate theory?

• Do they reveal a trend in the field?

• A raging debate?

• For scholars, the depth and breadth of the literature review emphasizes the credibility of the writer in his or her field.

• In a Literature Review, it will be Great, if you can predict where the knowledge is Heading at!!!!

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ABBAS