MSc Computer Science with Emerging Technologies

Lecture 1

Research Overview and its significance in

Computer Science

Research Methodologies
by Dr Vinaye Armoogum
Professor

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 Learning Topics
1. Research and its Significance
2. Research and Development v/s Product Development
3. Research process models and comparisons
4. Literature review
5. Developing a research problem
6. Choosing a research method for a specific problem and formulating research design
7. Design, development and experiment
8. Presenting, analyzing findings and evaluation
9. Research ethics
10. Report overview and structure – Research proposal, Thesis report and Research articles
– Technical Writing skills
– Review Process
– Analysis of research published papers and writing research articles
– Analysis of Research Proposals and Drafting your own one
– Research based thesis report guidelines
– Referencing Vinaye Armoogum 2
 Learning Outcomes
• Have an understanding of how established techniques of research and
enquiry are used to extend, create and interpret knowledge in ICT
fields
• Have the skills to plan, and conduct your own research,
• Be able to deal with complex issues at the forefront of the academic
discipline of Computing Technology in a manner, based on sound
judgements, that is both systematic and creative;
• Be be able to communicate results
• Be able to communicate conclusions clearly to both experts and non-
experts communities
• Finally, to consider the importance of research ethics when conducting
research

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 Research Methodologies for Computer Science

Research Overview and its significance in

Computer Science
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 What is Research?
Many views and definitions from researchers

Research = Search for Knowledge

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 Research

The main goal of research is the gathering and

interpreting of information to answer questions
(Hyllegard, Mood, and Morrow, 1996)

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 Research

“ a careful investigation or inquiry specially

through search for new facts in any branch of
knowledge”
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

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 Research

“All progress is born of inquiry. Doubt is often

better than over-confidence, for it leads to inquiry,
and inquiry leads to invention”
— Hudson Maxim

• Research inculcates scientific and inductive

thinking and it promotes the development of
logical habits of thinking and organization.
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 Research

Research is a systematic attempt to provide answers

to questions.
(Tuckman, 1999)

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 Research

Research may be defined as the systematic and objective

analysis and recording of controlled observations that
may lead to the development of generalizations,
principles, or theories, resulting in prediction and
possible control of events.
(Best and Kahn, 1998)
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 Research
– Is an activity that contributes to the understanding of a
phenomenon [Kuhn, 1962; Lakatos, 1978]
• phenomenon: a set of behaviors of some entity(ies) that
is found interesting by a research community
• understanding: knowledge that allows prediction of the
behavior of some aspect of the phenomenon
• activities considered appropriate to the production
of understanding (knowledge) are the research
methods and techniques of a research community

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 Research
 “Research is often described as an active, diligent, and
systematic process of inquiry aimed at discovering,
interpreting, and revising facts.
 This intellectual investigation produces a greater
knowledge of events, behaviors, theories, and laws and
makes practical applications possible.
 The term research is also used to describe a entire
collection of information about a particular subject, and
is usually associated with the output of science and the
scientific method.” Vinaye Armoogum 12
 Research and Knowledge
)
Original investigation undertaken in
order to gain knowledge and
understanding

Education Funding organizations

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 Research and Investigation
• ‘An active, diligent, and systematic process of inquiry’ (Wikipedia)
• Scientists use observations and reasoning to develop technologies and
propose explanations for natural phenomena in the form of hypotheses
• Predictions from these hypotheses are tested by experiment and further
technologies developed
• Any hypothesis which is cogent enough to make predictions can then be
tested reproducibly in this way
• Once it has been established that a hypothesis is sound, it becomes a
theory.
• Sometimes scientific development takes place differently with a theory
first being developed gaining support on the basis of its logic and
principles
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 Research and Originality
Original investigation undertaken in order to gain knowledge and
understanding.
“Doing something that has not been done before”
Dawson (2005): There is no point in repeating the work of others and dis-
covering or producing what is already known.

Only true for what is truly known (i.e. very little)

• Theories make predictions, which need to be tested
• The people performing those tests are neither infallible nor
trustworthy
• Tests need to be repeated and results replicated
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 Research and Originality
Areas of originality (Cryer 1996)

• Exploring the unknown

Investigate a field that no one has investigated before
• Exploring the unanticipated
Obtaining unexpected results and investigating new directions in an
already existing field
• The use of data
Interpret data in new ways
• Tools, techniques, procedures, and methods
Apply new tools/techniques to alternative problems
Try procedures/methods in new contexts
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 Research and Gain
Original investigation undertaken in order to gain knowledge
and understanding

Research is supposed to add to the world’s body of knowledge

and understanding (in contrast to adding to the researcher’s
knowledge and understanding)

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 What is Research?

In summary, what are the three key

aspects of research?
Hence, give your own definition about
Research.

(10 minutes group discussion)

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 Research Methods vs Research Methodologies

Research Methods - refer to techniques and procedures used to obtain and analyse
data (e.g. modelling, simulation, engineering experiment using testbeds,
questionnaires, observation, interviews, quantitative (statistical) and qualitative
(non-statistical) analysis techniques, etc)

Research Methods are the methods that the researcher adopts for conducting the
research Studies

Research methodology - refers to the theory of how research should be undertaken.

• Research Methodology is the way in which research problems are solved
systematically.
• It is the Science of studying howVinaye
research is conducted Scientifically.
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 Research Skills

• Learning how to conduct good research

• Developing New skills
• Better understanding and interpretation of the
literature
• Recognize new questions that need investigation
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 Research Philosophies

• Philosophy - the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality,

and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline.

• Deductive - thinking proceeds from general assumption to specific

application

• Inductive - Researchers observe an individual or group of individuals

from a larger population. Based on these observations, generalizations
are made back to the larger population.

• Scientific Method – Systematic, cyclic, series of logical steps

• Hypothesis - A supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis
of limited evidence as a startingVinaye
point for further investigation.
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 Types of Research
1. Basic Research
▪ its main purpose is the disclosure of fundamental truths or principles
▪ Curiosity-driven
▪ Focuses the testing and development of theory
▪ To extend existing human understanding
▪ Has no immediate application to real world problems
 Example -
– Physics is interested to understanding basic elements that make up matter
(natural science)
– Developing theories and algorithms for real-time systems (computer
science)
– A study accessing whether stress levels make people more aggressive
– A study to discover the components making up human DNA

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 Types of Research (cont’d)
2. Applied research
– To solve existing societal problems
– Solution-driven
– Example - software automation like
• Doing payroll processing using a blockchain technique to secure
data (protecting employees against cyber attacks)
• Developing e-learning package to enhance student learning using
a deep learning or reinforcement learning technique (improving
engineering and technological education)
• A social psychologist performing basic research on violence might
look at how different factors might contribute to violence in
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general
 Research, Science, etc

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 Research/Scientific Methods

• Modeling
• Theoretical Computer Science and Engineering
• Experimental Computer Science and Engineering
• Computer Simulation

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 Scientific Research
1. Identifying the Problem
2. Formulating a Hypothesis
3. Developing the Research Plan
4. Collecting and Analysing the Data
5. Interpreting Results and
6. Formulating Conclusions

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 Research – The Apple Story
1. Spring 1655 – Issac Newton was sitting
under an apple tree when suddenly one of
the apples fell on his head!
2. He asked himself,
“Why did the apple fall towards the
Earth?”
“Why did it not shoot upwards?”
3. He came up with the theory that the Earth
must be attracting objects with some
unseen force which he named gravity.
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 Research – The Apple Story
4. He developed a research plan for this
problem
5. He started gathering & analysing data,
then derived a formula on Force of
attraction.
6. He later interpreted/processed results
by testing the formula using the
collected data
7. Next, he formulated his conclusion.
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Discussion: Research is Searching for knowledge
1. Investigate on how Galileo changes the
world with the invention of the telescope
2. Investigate on Vinton Cerf (also known as
the father of Internet) with regards to his
work on TCP/IP.
3. The Invention of Wireless electricity by
Tesla (between 1890-1906) and re-
engineered/re-invented by MIT researchers
in 2005. Vinaye Armoogum 29
 Classwork and Homework : A six-word memoir
For sale: baby shoes, never worn by Ernest Hemingway's
The success of Ernest Hemingway's story lies in the multiple questions and
possible meanings that lie between the lines.
For example:
• Why is the narrator selling the shoes? Is the baby grown? Did she die? Did
she simply go barefoot or was she sadly never able to walk?
• Is the narrator the mother? The father? The sibling? The former baby?
• Is the story about the end of childhood? The end of parenthood? The end of
innocence or justice or happiness or all of the above?
• The questions are endless and the possible meanings are many.

Write your own six-word memoir/idea/thought with multiple meanings.

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Homework – Discussion in the next session
Write a six-word memoir / a six-word
thought on any computer science or
technology topic like Technology 4.0,
University 4.0, Industry 4.0, Teaching &
learning 4.0, The shift from 4.0 to 5.0

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