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Overview of Research
• Introduction
• Theories in Research
• Types of research
• Models of Argument and Proofs methods
• Tools of Research
• What is IT Research and its scope?

Introduction
• Research is defined as:
– the systematic investigation into and study of
materials, sources, etc, in order to establish
facts and reach new conclusions.
– A scientific and systematic search for
pertinent information on specific topic
(a systematized effort to add to existing body
of knowledge)
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Introduction…cont’d
– Research is systematic and organized way of
finding answers to questions.
• Systematic: because there is definite set of
procedures and steps which you will follow.
• Organized: because there is a structure or method
in going about doing research. It is planned
procedure, not spontaneous.
• Finding answers: should give an answer to a
question, be it yes or no to the hypothesis.
• Question: research is focused on relevant
question.
3

• Research is not:
– Book Review report/ Literature Review
– Programing, or systems’ dev’t -projects
– Customization of systems-projects
– Doing what others have already done
• However, each of these can be done as part of
research.
4

– Hence a scientific Research:
• Employs systematic observation and rational
process to create new knowledge, insights, etc.
• Is based on logical r/n ships not just beliefs.
• Involves explanation of the methods used to
collect and analyze data; explanation to “why
the results are meaningful?”
– Research methods are:
• techniques used to do research providing you with
ways to collect, sort and analyze information to
come up with conclusions.
5

• Objectives of Researches:
– To discover answer to questions through
application of scientific procedures
– To find out the truth which is hidden and
which has not yet been discovered.
– To test a hypothesis of casual r/n ship
between variables.
6

• Motivation in Research:
– Desire to get research degree
– Desire to solve challenges
– Desire to design appropriate policies
– Desire to contribute to existing body of knowledge
– Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creating work.
– Desire to be of service to society
– Directives from government, etc.
7

Dialectic of Research
• Thesis
– This presents the original statement of an idea. However, very
few research contributions can claim total originality. Most
borrow ideas from previous work, even if that research has been
conducted in another discipline.
• Antithesis
– This presents an argument to challenge a previous thesis.
Typically, this argument may draw upon new sources of
evidence and is typically of progress within a field.
• Synthesis
– This seeks to form a new argument from existing sources.
Typically, a synthesis might resolve the apparent contradiction
between a thesis and an antithesis.
8

Theories in Research
• Theories are
– formalized concepts that summarizes and organizes
observations and inferences,
– provides tentative explanations for phenomenon and
provides basis for making predictions.
• For theory to be scientific, they must
– Be testable
– Make predictions that can be tested
9

Theories in Research…cont’d
• Theories enter into research in following ways:
– Suggest problem for study.
– Provide hypothesis to be tested.
– Selection of variables, classes of data, etc.
– Planning, directing lines of study.
• Good theories have
– Coherence
– Logic
– Internal Consistency
10

Theories in Research…cont’d
• Ethical concerns include:
– Moral issues: Honesty, integrity
– Legal Implications: confidentiality/privacy
– Neutrality
– Protecting human Subjects
• Research is both enjoyable and frustrating
– Enjoyable: based on subject and in solving problems
– Frustrating: when discovering it is impossible to do all
that is intended at the start of investigation, related to:
• Time, Budget, Topic complexity, interest of supervisor, etc
11

Types of research
• The basic types of Research are: Exploratory,
Descriptive and Explanatory
– Exploratory Research:
• Main purpose is formulating a problem for more precise
investigation or for developing the working hypothesis
from an operational point of view or the process of
formulating alternative course of action.
• Major emphasis is discovery of ideas and insights
• Research design must be flexible enough to provide
opportunity for considering different aspects of the problem
under study.
12

Types of research… cont’d
• Exploratory research is done in the situations:
– To design a problem for investigation & to formulate
hypothesis
– To determine priorities for further research
– To gather data about the practical problems of
carrying out research on particular conjectural
statements
– To increase the researcher’s interest in the
problem.
– To explain basic concepts.
13

– Descriptive Research
• Major purpose is description of the state of affairs as it
exists
• Includes survey and fact finding enquiries
• The researcher has no control over the variables
• The researcher can only report what has happened and
is happening
• Can include following examples: such as Measuring
– frequencies of shopping,
– preferences of people,
– income profile of customer,
– pattern of expenditures,
– frequencies of sales by income level, etc.
14

– Descriptive research is conducted in the following
situations:
• Analyzing characterization of certain group
(eg. sex, age, education, etc)
• Identifying the proportion of people in a population who
behave in a certain way
(eg. customers who use a particular technology)
• Forecasting future trends
(eg. Sales in the next five years)
• Study whether certain variables are associated or not
(eg. Income& telephone expense)
15

– Explanatory/Casual Research
• The main purpose is finding the “reason why”
• Desire to know how the causal factors relate to the
effects under predictions
• Usually referred as hypothesis –testing research
• Require procedures such as reduce bias and increase
reliability and permit drawing inferences about
causality.
• “Design of Experiment” research design is used.
16

• The classical broad divisions of research are: basic and
applied research.
– Basic research is mainly concerned with generalizations
and with the formulations of theories, some examples
include researches concerning natural phenomenon
relating to pure mathematics, human behavior, etc.
More Theoretical, Laboratory Based, Focus on
Mechanism, More Reductionist
– Applied research aims at finding a solution for an
immediate problems facing a society or any
industrial/business organization.
Quick Answers, Field Based, Focus on Effect, Less
Reductionist.
17

• Researches can also be Quantitative or Qualitative:
– Quantitative Research is based on the measurement of quantity
or amount-
– Investigation aims to assess a pre-stated theory (Deductive Reasoning)
– Attempts to minimise the influence of the researcher on the
outcome
– Quantitative data infers statistics
– Data collection requires ‘closed’ responses
– Qualitative Research is concerned with qualitative phenomena
(relating to quality or kind)
– Investigation aims to create a novel theory (Inductive Reasoning)
– Researcher becomes an inherent part of the study
– Data infers complex statements or opinions
– Data collection permits ‘open’ responses
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• Researches can also be defined as Analytical, Empirical and
Experimental researches.
– Analytical Research: Where the researcher uses facts or
information already available and analyze them to make critical
evaluation of material.
– Empirical Research: where the researcher relies on
experiences and observations .
– Experimental Research: where it provides a systematic and
logical method of answering questions.
• involves a direct assessment of how one variable influences another
– Independent Variable = this variable is the ‘cause’ also known
as predicator variable, and
– Dependent Variable = this variable is the ‘effect’ that varies in
response to independent variable.
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• All other types of researches are variations of one or
more of the above based on:
• Purpose of the research
• Time required to accomplish the research
• Environment in which the research is done
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Tools of Research
– Mathematical/statistical techniques which are used for
establishing relationships between the data and the
unknowns;
– Methods which are used to evaluate the accuracy of
the results obtained
– Data collection tools / techniques involving interview,
observation, questionnaire, prototypes, etc
– Tools such as soft wares are fine and useful products,
but you must use the tool to demonstrate that you
have made an original contribution to knowledge; e.g.,
through its use, or ideas it embodies.
– Proper use of references and search engines are among
tools used for the literature reviews 21

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