RESEARCH PROJECTS AND

SCIENTIFIC WRITING (BOCH-4117)

[Link] ZUBAIR
zubairbiochem1334@[Link]
Department of Biochemistry
Khawaja Fareed University Of Engineering &
Information Technology KFUEIT, Rahim Yar Khan 1
Concepts of Research

What is research?

2
Which of these can be classified as
research?
1. Encik Samad prepared a paper on “computer usage in secondary
schools” after reviewing literature on the subject available in his
university library and called it a piece of research.

2. Encik Muthu says that he has researched and completed a

document which gives information about the age of his students,
their parents income and distance of their schools from the District
Office.

3. Encik Lim participated in a workshop on curriculum development

and prepared what he calls, a research report on the curriculum for
building technicians. He did this through a literature survey on the
subject and by discussing with the participants of the workshop.
3
None of the previous examples
can be classified under the name research.

WHY?

You will know it when you have

understood the concept of the term
‘research’.
4
Consider the following case which is
an example of research:
➢ A general manager of a car producing company was concerned with
the complaints received from the car users that the cars they produce
have some problems with some rattling sound at the dashboard and
the rear passenger seat after a few thousand kilometers of driving.
➢ He obtained information from the company workers to identify the
various factors influencing the problem.
➢ He then formulated the problem and generated guesses (hypotheses).
➢ He constructed a checklist and obtained requisite information from a
representative sample of cars.
➢ He analyzed the data thus collected, interpreted the results in the light
of his hypotheses and reached conclusions.
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You will notice from the previous
example that …
• the researcher went through a sequence of
steps which were in order and thus systematic
1
• the researcher did not just jump at the
conclusions but used a scientific method of
2 inquiry in reaching at conclusions.

The two important characteristics of research are : it is systematic

and secondly it follows a scientific method of enquiry.

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Definition of Research

✓ Hunting for facts or truth about a

subject

✓ Organized scientific investigation to

solve problems, test hypotheses,
develop or invent new products

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What is Research?
Research is systematic, because it follows certain steps
that are logical in order. These steps are:

• Understanding the nature of problem to be studied and identifying the

1 related area of knowledge

• Reviewing literature to understand how others have approached or dealt

2 with the problem.

• Collecting data in an organized and controlled manner so as to arrive at

3 valid decisions

• Analyzing data appropriate to the problem

4

• Drawing conclusions and making generalizations.

5
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High Quality Research!
➢ It is based on the work of others.
➢ It can be replicated (duplicated).
➢ It is generalizable to other settings.
➢ It is based on some logical rationale and tied to
theory.
➢ It is doable!
➢ It generates new questions or is cyclical in nature.

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Then, what is bad research?
➢The opposites of what have been discussed.
➢Looking for something when it simply is not
to be found.
➢Plagiarizing other people’s work.
➢Falsifying data to prove a point.
➢Misrepresenting information and misleading
participants.

10
What is Research?

Research follows a scientific method.

This means that it makes an integrated use of

inductive and deductive reasoning.

This makes it very useful for explaining and/or

predicting phenomena.

The basic assumption of the scientific method is that

every effect has a cause.

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• This general systematic characteristic of research is illustrated
below:

Problem Reviewing Data Drawing

Identification Analysis
Information Collection Conclusions

Figure: Schematic Characteristic of Research

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What is Research? (Cont.)
It starts with the construction of hypotheses from casual
observations and background knowledge (inductive
reasoning) to reasoning out consequences or implications of
hypotheses (deductive reasoning) followed by testing of the
implications and confirmation or rejection of the
hypotheses.

Integrated use of inductive and deductive

reasoning is, therefore, the essence of
scientific method.
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1. Existing
Structure of
Knowledge

5.
Operationally
2. Casual
Specific
Observation
testing
situations

4.
3. Generation
Implications
of hypotheses
of hypotheses

Scientific Method of Acquiring Knowledge of Problem

Solving (courtesy of Yadav & Menon)
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Research

Where Do I Begin?

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1. Asking the
question

2. Identifying
8. Asking
the important
new questions
factors

3.
[Link]
Formulating a
the theory
hypotheses

6. Working 4. Collecting
with the relevant
hypotheses information

5. Testing the
hypotheses 16
Research Methodology
[Chapter 1] Overview of
Research and its Methodologies
• Concepts of Research
1.1

• The need for research

1.2

• Types of research
1.3

• Steps in conducting research

1.4

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Why do we need research?
➢ To get PhDs, Masters and Bachelors ??
➢ So, why are you doing a PhD/MS/BS? What do you hope to get
out of a PhD/MS? What are you supposed to be able to do when
you have a PhD/MS?
➢ To provide solutions to complex problems
➢ To investigate laws of nature
➢ To make new discoveries
➢ To develop new products
➢ To save costs
➢ To improve our life
➢ Human desires
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Why do we need research?
➢ So maybe it is because one of these reasons?
➢To provide solutions to complex problems
➢To investigate laws of nature
➢To make new discoveries
➢To develop new products
➢To save costs
➢To improve our life
➢Human desires

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Research Methodology
Overview of Research and its
Methodologies
• Concepts of Research
1.1

• The need for research

1.2

• Types of research
1.3

• Steps in conducting research

1.4

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CLASSIFYING RESEARCH

• Reviewing related past research studies is an important

step in the process of carrying out research as it helps in
problem formulation, hypothesis construction and
selection of appropriate research designs.

• It is beneficial if you can classify a research study under

a specific category because each category or type of
research uses a specific set of procedures.

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Research can be
classified into two types

Research

Purpose Method
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Research can be
classified into two types (Cont.)
• One way is to classify research on the basis of its purpose i.e., the
degree to which the research findings are applicable to an educational
setting and the degree to which they are generalizable.

• The other is to classify research on the basis of the method employed

in research.

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Classifying Research by
Purpose
➢ Taking purpose as the basis of classification, research is considered to be two
types-Basic and Applied (including Developmental research).

Types of Research
(Based on Purpose)

Applied/Development Basic

Classification of Research by Purpose

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Classifying Research by
Method
• The other basis for classifying research, is by the method it
employs.

• Research method is characterized by the techniques

employed in collecting and analyzing data.

• On the basis of method, research can be classified as

historical, descriptive, correlational, ex-post facto and
experimental.

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Classifying Research by Method (Cont.)

Types of
Research Based
on Method

Historical Descriptive Correlation Ex-post Facto Experimental

Content
Case Survey
Analysis

Classification of Research by Method

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Different Types of Research

Types of
Research

Non-
Experimental
Experimental

Quasi
Historical Descriptive Correlational
Experimental

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1. Historical Research

• The purpose of historical research is to arrive at

conclusions concerning trends, causes or effects of
past occurrences.

• This may help in explaining present events and

anticipating future events.

• The data are not gathered by administering

instruments to individuals ,but …

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1. Historical Research (Cont. …)

• they are collected from original documents or by

interviewing the eye-witnesses (primary source of
information).

• If primary sources are not available, data are

collected from those other than eye-witnesses
(secondary sources).

• The data thus collected are subjected to scientific

analysis to assess its authenticity and accuracy.

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Example of Historical Research

• Nancy Burton and Lyle Jones (1982) examined trends in

achievement levels of African American versus White
children.

• They examined high school graduation rates between these 2

ethnic groups who were born before 1913, between 1913 and
1922, between 1923 and 1932, etc.

• They also examined a variety of historical indicators in more

recent groups of African American and White children.

• One of their conclusions is that differences in achievements

between these groups are decreasing.

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2. Descriptive Research
• Descriptive research studies deal with collecting data and
testing hypotheses or answering questions concerning the
current status of the subject of study.

• It deals with the question “WHAT IS” of a situation.

• It concerns with determining the current practices, status or

features of situations.

• Another aspect of descriptive research is that data

collection is either done through asking questions from
individuals in the situation (through questionnaires or
interviews) or by observation.
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An Example of Descriptive Research
• Peter O. Peretti and Kris G. Majecen (1992) interviewed
58 elderly individuals, from 68 to 87 years of age, using a
structured interview to investigate the variables that affect
emotional abuse among the elderly.

• As a result of the interviews, they found 9 variables are

common to elderly abuse, including lack of affection,
threats of violence and confinement.

What kind of descriptive research is

this?

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3. CORRELATIONAL STUDIES

• Descriptive and historical research provide a picture of

events that are currently happening or have occurred in the
past.

• Researchers often want to go beyond mere description and

begin discussing the relationship that certain events might
have to one another.

• The most likely type of research to answer the relationship

among variables or events is called correlational research.

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3. CORRELATIONAL STUDIES (Cont.)

• A correlation study aims at

– determining the degree of relationship between two or more
quantifiable variables.
– the relationship thus determined could be used for making
predictions.

• A high value of relationship, however, does not signify a

cause and effect relationship which must be verified through
and experimental study.

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3. CORRELATIONAL STUDIES (Cont.)
• Correlational research are studies that are often conducted to
test the reliability and predictive validity of instruments used
for division making concerning selection of individuals for
the likely success in a course of study or a specific job.

• Sometime, this research can be described as a type of

descriptive research, since it describes the current conditions
in a situation.

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5. Experimental Research
• Facts known to us
– correlational research can help establish the presence of a relationship
among variables but not give us any reason to believe that variables
are causally related to one another.

• How does one find out if the characteristics or behaviors or

events are related in such a way that the relationship is a
causal one?

• Two types of research can answer this: (1) quasi-

experimental research and (2) experimental research.

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5. Experimental Research (Cont.)
• Experimental research is where participants are assigned to
groups based on some selected criterion often called
treatment variable.

• Quasi-experimental research is where participants are pre-

assigned to groups based on some characteristic or quality
such as differences in sex, race, age, neighborhood, etc.
• These group assignments have already taken place before the
experiment begins, and the researcher has no control as to
what the people will belong to each group.

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5. Experimental Research (Cont.)
• The primary characteristic of experimental research is
manipulation of at least one variables and control over the
other relevant variables so as to measure its effect on one or
more dependent variables.

• The variables (s) which is manipulated is also called an

independent variables, a treatment, an experimental variables
or the cause.

• Some of the examples of an independent variables could be:

temperature, pressure, chemical concentration, type of
material and conductivity.

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Applied vs. Basic Research

• The most basic distinction between the two research

is that basic research is research that has no
immediate application, whereas applied research is
research that does.

• However, such distinctions are somewhat ambiguous

as almost all basic research eventually results in
some worthwhile application in the long range.

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Steps in Conducting Research (Cont. )
1. Selecting and Defining a Problem
This marks the beginning of a research study and is the
most difficult and important step. This involves :

a. Identifying and stating the problem in specific terms;

b. Identifying the variables in the problem situation and
defining them adequately;
c. Generating tentative guesses (hypotheses) about the
relation of the variables or in other words the solution of
the problem, or writing explicitly the questions (research
questions) for which answers are sought; and
d. Evaluating the problem for its research ability.
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Steps in Conducting Research (Cont. )

1. Selecting and Defining a Problem (Cont .)

• All this is not done in a vacuum.

• To achieve this, you review the literature related to the

problem to know what other researchers have done and
discovered and to identify the possible methodology for
conducting the research.

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Steps in Conducting Research (Cont. )

2. Describing Methodology of Research

You need to state the purpose of the study and to define the
problem clearly. This guides you in deciding the methodology
of research which involves :
a. Identifying the method of research;
b. Specifying the subjects of study (e.g. heat flow
problem, etc.);
c. Selecting an adequate representative sample of
subjects;
d. Selecting/constructing valid and reliable
instruments for measuring the variables in the
problem;
e. Selecting a research design and describing the
procedure to be employed for conducting the
research study.
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Steps in Conducting Research (Cont. )

3. Collecting Data

• This step involves conducting the study as per the designed

procedure (manipulating the experimental variables in the
case of an experimental method), administering
instruments for measuring variables and/or gathering
information through observation.

• It also involves tabulating the data thus collected for the

purpose of analysis.

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Steps in Conducting Research (Cont. )
4. Analyzing and Interpreting Results
• The results of the study are generated at this stage.

• The data are summarized, in other words analyzed to provide

information for testing the hypotheses.

• Appropriate statistical methods of analysis are used to test the

hypotheses.

• You can perform the analysis manually, by using a hand

calculator or a computer as per the demands of the problem,
and the available facilities.

• After completing the analysis results are tied together or

summarized.
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4. Analyzing and Interpreting Results (Cont …)

• The results are interpreted in the light of the hypotheses

and/or the research problem.
• These are then discussed in relation to : the existing body
of knowledge, consistencies and inconsistencies with the
results of other research studies, and then the conclusions
are drawn.
• This is followed by writing the research report.

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Research Methodologies Philosophy in
certain areas for Engineering and
Technology
• Industrial based research is • Intuitive knowledge Versus
about decision making Empirical Knowledge
– Problem definition – Intuitive knowledge relates to
things that we know without
– Data identification
having a reasoned
– Data gathering understanding or explanation
– Data Analysis – Empirical knowledge relates
– Data presentation to things we know because
– Information they are supported by other
– Decision Making things that we can sense 95
senses) or already knew

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A Perspective of Research

• Research is a process of using tools and

techniques to discover new truths and
relationships in the world we live in, by
sophisticated empirical study
• These new truths and relationships can be
used to make decisions and to further the
goals of the company

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Problems in Research and Development

confusion and poor decision making

• Irresponsible results
• Unstated assumptions mixed with supported
findings
• Poor records result in unverifiable conclusions
• Statistical analysis is badly selected, inappropriate,
or simplistic
• Documentation is unclear and disorganized

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Summary

we have studied the following:

▪ Overview and Concepts of research

▪ The need for research
▪ Types of research
▪ Steps in conducting research

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