What is a Research?
What to do when starting a Research?
How to do a Research?
Where to begin when starting MS/MPhil or PhD research work?
Why to do Research?
All of the above are the questions that each student asks when they start their research work. In this regard, this is a short article that discusses the basics of doing research. First, let’s define what is a research? According to my understanding and knowledge of the subject, research can be defined as
“It is a process involving systematic and controlled investigation of a problem, using multiple materials, resources, references and experiments, with aim to better understand and provide an agreeably valid and relevant new solution to that problem, with new or better outcomes and improved results reaching to an exclusive novel conclusion.” {Dr. Zeeshan Bhatti}
In order to do research and write a detailed comprehensive report of your work in a documented form, you need to thoroughly understand the process and steps required to be taken to carry out the research work. Once you understand these steps, then writing a research paper is as easy as filling in a simple form. The basic process of Writing and Doing Research is summarized into ADDIE. ADDIE is a rule of thumb based principle research tasks, which each researcher must solve and answer appropriately, in order to complete his/her research successfully.
A = Analysis of the problem
D = Design of Solution
D = Develop prototypes à Solve the Problem à Research Development Framework
I = Implement the System
E = Evaluate the System / Testing (Verify and validate the Results)
Each letter of ADDIE contains a huge component of research that any researcher, doing research in any field, must solve. Based on this, following steps have been laid down to assist any new researcher in understanding the process doing research and writing a research proposal and.
Choose your Field of Interest, the one in which you are comfortable to work in, you have expertise, knowledge and background understanding in that area. For Example, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Animation, Natural Language Processing, Human Computer Interaction, Software Designing, Image processing, etc. All these are fields and there can be many more.
Choose wisely, as eventually your ultimate goal would be to become an expert and a professional in this field or area.
REMEMBER: This does not involve choosing the Topic of research, which is something completely different, discussed in next steps.
a. State of the current scenario in your area/field of interest? State of the art work in your AreaàTopic
b. What is wrong with current scenario/field? Find the Gap from future work in literature/ papers, Problem Statement or research Questions
c. Specify a previous working model, and technique and finally highlight the key problems and issues in those related work.
a. Identify the research Gap from the literature review that you have done.
b. Which topic or algorithm or technique you identified, proved to be interesting and worth doing further research.
c. Did you found any problem, deficiency, ambiguity, gap in that topic?
Research objectives are always your target goals that you would like to do and accomplish, during your research period. These objectives come from step three, identifying the research gap and must reflect your problem statement and research scope.
For example,
Objective 1: To Develop Algorithm A.
Objective 2: To Design a New User interface Element.
Objective 3: To Enhance the performance of Exciting systems.
Put all ADDIE aspects in the Objective.
a. Design Model and Algorithms used
b. How the system will be developed
c. Testing and Evaluation
Your research objectives must be SMART
S à Specific
M à Measurable
A à Achievable
R à Relevant
T à Time-bound
a. What is your solution? Proposed framework? Hypothesis
b. What is the working principle behind that solution, Theory, Principle, Technique, Model, Approach, etc.?
c. Use ADDIE to discuss your methodology.
d. Put some literature review in the methodology.
e. Define the stages, Framework, Models, implementations, design aspects
f. Why is your solution better than your competitors/existing solution?
Results section is the most crucial and important part of the research. All your steps, planning, milestones etc. depends on outcome of your results. Therefore, you need to be extremely careful with your results and how you present them in your thesis. A badly presented and discussed results can significantly ruin the thesis and damage the entire research process.
Usually each result must be linked with research questions, hypothesis and objectives, discussed in orderly fashioned as the research work progresses.
Conclusion must reflect your introduction part, and must talk with respect to your Project background, Problems statements, and proposed solutions, Novelty, Uniqueness and Other Technologies.
Then you have to discuss the results achieved through what methodologies that you had adopted. How your algorithm/Techniques/Model/framework is working and how it proved to be better with respect to results achieved.
Salient points to consider
1. What is the commercial value? Market size and your target
2. Who are the beneficiaries and in what way? Government, industry
3. Scope and Scientific Contribution of your research and thesis.
4. How your research stands out from the rest of the world?
Mark your Milestones:
Throughout your research period, you have to ensure that you follow a well laid out plan and achievable milestones. Create Gantt Charts, Project workflow, plan each phase of your research and give it a time frame, so that it can be completed in within specified tenure. Some of the milestones can be as fallows
a. Completion of Theoretical study
b. Completion of Framework Development
c. Completion of Framework Implementation
d. Completion of Experiments
e. Completion of Evaluation
f. Report Writing can be a milestone or literature review.