JSS MAHAVIDYAPEETHA

JSS ACADEMY OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION, BENGALURU

Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi, Karnataka, INDIA
Approved by All India Council for Technical Education, New Delhi
Accredited by NAAC with A+ Grade

Sub: Research Methodology and IPR (21RM156)

Ref: text book 1 – module 1 & 2

Module 1

1 Introduction: What Is Research?

The word research is composed of two syllables “Re” and “Search”. “Re” is the prefix meaning ‘Again or
over again or a new’ and “Search” is the latter meaning ‘to examine closely and carefully’ or ‘to test and
try’. Together they form, a careful, systematic, patient study and investigation in some field of knowledge
undertaken to establish principles / policies.

Meaning of Research: Research can be defined as

1. Search for knowledge

2. Systematic and scientific search for getting relevant answers on any taken up specific topic.

3. Scientific enquiry into a subject.

4. Research is a movement from the unknown to the known.

5. It is the voyage of discovery

So, Research refers to a careful, well-defined (or redefined), objective, and systematic method of search
for knowledge, or formulation of a theory that is driven by inquisitiveness for that which is unknown and
useful on a particular aspect so as to make an original contribution to expand the existing knowledge base.

Research involves formulation of hypothesis or proposition of solutions, data analysis, and deductions;
and ascertaining whether the conclusions fit the hypothesis.

Research is a process of creating, or formulating knowledge that does not yet exist.

The research flow diagram:

Through research, one would like to make, or develop, new knowledge about the world around us which
can be written down or recorded in some way, and that knowledge can be accessed through that writing

Dr. Roopa D N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSSATE, Bengaluru

or recording. The ways of developing and accessing knowledge come in three, somewhat overlapping,
broad categories:

(i) Observation is the most fundamental way of obtaining information from a source, and it could
be significant in itself if the thing that we are trying to observe is really strange or exciting, or
is difficult to observe. Observation takes different forms from something like measurements
in a laboratory to a survey among a group of subjects to the time it takes for a firmware
routine to run. The observational data often needs to be processed in some form and this
leads to the second category of knowledge, the model.
(ii) Models are approximated, often simplified ways of describing sometimes very complex
interactions in the form of a statistical relationship, a figure, or a set of mathematical
equations. For instance, the modeling equation captures the relationship between different
attributes or the behavior of the device in an abstract form and enables us to understand the
observed phenomena.
(iii) The final category is a way of arranging or doing things through processes, algorithms,
procedures, arrangements, or reference designs, to get a certain desired result.

The categories of knowledge as enumerated above are:

Good research involves systematic collection and analysis of information and is followed by an attempt to
infer a little bit beyond the already known information in a way that is a significant value addition.

Getting a good problem to solve is more than half the work done.

Engineering research is the process of developing the perspectives and seeking improvements in
knowledge and skills to enable the recognition, planning, design, and execution of research in a wide range
of forms relevant for engineering and technology investigations and developments.

Start off by describing some problem in the world that exists that is bugging or worrying us and that we
should be addressing.

It could be that there is something we would like to do or accomplish but currently can-not because we
lack the knowledge to do so.

Dr. Roopa D N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSSATE, Bengaluru

1.1 Objectives of Engineering Research
• The objective of engineering research is to solve new and important problems.
• Research objectives can sometimes be convoluted and difficult to follow. Knowing where and how
to find different types of information helps one solve engineering problems, in both academic and
professional career.
• Lack of investigation into engineering guidelines, standards, and best practices result in failures
with severe repercussions.
• As an engineer, the ability to conduct thorough and accurate research while clearly
communicating the results is extremely important in decision making.
• The main aim of the research is to apply scientific approaches to seek answers to open questions,
and although each research study is particularly suited for a certain approach, in general, the
following are different types of research studies: exploratory or formulative, descriptive,
diagnostic, and hypothesis-testing.
• The objectives of engineering research should be to develop new theoretical or applied
knowledge and not necessarily limited to obtaining abilities to obtain the desired result.
• The objectives should be framed such that in the event of not being able to achieve the desired
result that is being sought, one can fall back to understanding why it is not possible, because that
is also a contribution toward ongoing research in solving that problem.
• Of course, someone else might come along and actually propose a different approach where the
desired objective is indeed possible to be achieved.

1.2 Motivation in Engineering Research

The possible motives may be the result of one or more of the following desires:

(i) Studies have shown that intrinsic motivations like interest, challenge, learning, meaning,
purpose, are linked to strong creative performance;
(ii) Extrinsic motivating factors like rewards for good work include money, fame, awards, praise,
and status are very strong motivators, but may block creativity. For example: Research
outcome may enable obtaining a patent which is a good way to become rich and famous.
(iii) Influences from others like competition, collaboration, commitment, and encouragement are
also motivating factors in research. For example: my friends are all doing research and so
should I, or, a person that I dislike is doing well and I want to do better.
(iv) Personal motivation in solving unsolved problems, intellectual joy, service to community, and
respectability are all driving factors.

The following factors would be a mix of extrinsic and intrinsic aspects: (i) Wanting to do better than what
has been achieved in the world, (ii) improve the state of the art in technology, (iii) Contribute to the
improvement of society, (iv) Fulfillment of the historical legacy in the immediate sociocultural context.

Several other factors like government directives, funding opportunities in certain areas, and terms of
employment, can motivate people to get involved in engineering research.

1.3 Types of Engineering Research

The different types of research are

(i) Descriptive versus Analytical: Descriptive research includes comparative and correlational
methods, and fact-finding inquiries, to effectively describe the present state of art. The
researcher holds no control over the variables; rather only reports as it is. Descriptive research
also includes attempts to determine causes even though the variables cannot be controlled.
On the contrary, in analytical research, already available facts for analysis and critical
evaluation are utilized. Some research studies can be both descriptive and analytical.

Dr. Roopa D N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSSATE, Bengaluru

 (ii) Applied versus Fundamental: Research can either be applied research or fundamental (basic
or pure) research. Applied research seeks to solve an immediate problem facing the
organization, whereas fundamental research is concerned with generalizations and
formulation of a theory. Research concerning natural phenomena or relating to pure
mathematics are examples of fundamental research. Research to identify social or economic
trends, or those that find out whether certain communications will be read and understood
are examples of applied research. The primary objective of applied research is to determine
a solution for compelling problems in actual practice, while basic research is aimed at seeking
information which could have a broad base of applications in the medium to long term.
(iii) Quantitative versus Qualitative: Quantitative research uses statistical observations of a
sufficiently large number of representative cases to draw any conclusions, while qualitative
researchers rely on a few nonrepresentative cases or verbal narrative in behavioral studies
such as clustering effect in intersections in Transportation engineering to make a proposition.

1.4 Finding and Solving a Worthwhile Problem

• A worthwhile research problem would have one or more attributes.
o It could be nonintuitive/counterintuitive even to someone who knows the area,
something that the research community had been expecting for sometime, a major
simplification of a central part of the theory, a new result which would start off a new
subject or an area, provides a new method or improves upon known methods of doing
something which has practical applications, or a result which stops further work in an
area.
o The question a researcher has to grapple with whether the time investment is worth it
given that the likely outcome is negative, and so it is a difficult personal decision to make.
o At the same time, even in the case of failure to solve the intended hard problem, there
may be partial/side results that serve the immediate need of producing some results for
the dissertation.

George Pólya (1887–1985) suggested a 4-step procedure for mathematical problem-solving, which is
relevant to engineering researchers as well. The recommended steps to solve a research problem are:

(i) Understand the problem, restate it as if it’s your own, visualize the problem by drawing
figures, and determine if something more is needed.
(ii) One must start somewhere and systematically explore possible strategies to solve the
problem or a simpler version of it while looking for patterns.
(iii) Execute the plan to see if it works, and if it does not then start over with another approach.
Having delved into the problem and returned to it multiple times, one might have a flash of
insight or a new idea to solve the problem.
(iv) Looking back and reflecting helps in understanding and assimilating the strategy, and is a sort
of investment into the future

5. Ethics in Engineering Research

Ethics generally refers to a set of rules distinguishing acceptable and unacceptable conduct, distinguishing
right from wrong, or wise aphorisms like the sayings of Chanakya.

Most people learn such norms in their formative years, but moral development continues through
different stages of growth. Although everyone recognizes some common ethical norms, but there is
difference in interpretation and application.

Ethical principles can be used for evaluation, proposition or interpretation of laws. Although ethics are not
laws, but laws often follow ethics because ethics are our shared values.

Dr. Roopa D N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSSATE, Bengaluru

International norms for the ethical conduct of research have been there since the adoption of the
Nuremberg Code in 1947.

According to Whitbeck, the issues related to research credit dates back to the establishment of the British
Royal Society (BRS) in the seventeenth century to refine the methods and practices of modern science.
BRS gave priority to whoever first submitted findings for publication, rather than trying to find out who
had first discovered.

Whitbeck raised two simple but significant questions to address the tricky issue of authorship in research:

(1) Who should be included as an author and

(2) The appropriate order of listing of authors.

In an increasingly interconnected world, the issue of co-authorship is very relevant to all researchers.
There are issues around individuals who may be deeply involved during the conduct of the research work,
but may not contribute in the drafting phase. Additionally, certain universities now put restrictions on co-
authorship to prevent malpractices.

Government bodies, and universities worldwide have adopted certain codes for research ethics. Research
ethics and the responsible conduct of research are often erroneously used interchangeably. Research
ethics examines the appropriate application of research outcomes, while responsible conduct of research
deals with the way the work is undertaken.

5.1 Ethics in Engineering Research Practice

Engineering researchers need to make ethical decisions and are answerable for the repercussions borne
out of their research as outcomes. The reason that ethics matter in data used in engineering research is
usually because there is impact on humans.

Engineering ethics gives us the rule book; tells us, how to decide what is okay to do and what is not.
Engineering research is not work in isolation to the technological development taking place. Researchers
make many choices that matter from an ethical perspective and influence the effects of technology in
many different ways:

(i) By setting the ethically right requirements at the very outset, engineering researchers can
ultimately influence the effects of the developed technology.
(ii) Influence may also be applied by researchers through design (a process that translates the
requirements into a blueprint to fulfil those requirements). During the design process,
decision is to be made about the priority in importance of the requirements taking ethical
aspects into consideration.
(iii) Thirdly, engineering researchers have to choose between different alternatives fulfilling
similar functions.

5.2 Types of Research Misconduct

There may be different types of research misconduct as described in research articles, which can be
summarized as follows:

(i) Fabrication (Illegitimate creation of data): Fabrication is the act of conjuring data or
experiments with a belief of knowledge about what the conclusion of the analysis or
experiments would be, but cannot wait for the results possibly due to timeline pressures from
supervisor or customers.
(ii) Falsification (Inappropriate alteration of data): Falsification is the misrepresentation or
misinterpretation, or illegitimate alteration of data or experiments, even if partly, to support
a desired hypothesis even when the actual data received from experiments suggest
otherwise.

Dr. Roopa D N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSSATE, Bengaluru

Falsification and fabrication of data and results, hamper engineering research, cause false empirical data
to percolate in the literature, wreck trustworthiness of individuals involved, incur additional costs, impede
research progress, and cause actual and avoidable delays in technical advancement.

Misleading data can also crop up due to poor design of experiments or incorrect measurement
practices.

(iii) Plagiarism (Taking other’s work sans attribution): Plagiarism takes place when someone uses
or reuses the work (including portions) of others (text, data, tables, figures, illustrations, or
concepts) as if it were his/her own without explicit acknowledgement. Verbatim copying or
reusing one’s own published work is termed as self-plagiarism and is also an unacceptable
practice in scientific literature. The increasing availability of scientific content on the internet
seems to encourage plagiarism in certain cases, but also enables detection of such practices
through automated software packages
(iv) Other Aspects of Research Misconduct:
a. Sooner or later ethical violations get exposed.
b. Simultaneous submission of the same article to two different journals also violates
publication policies.
c. Another issue is that when mistakes are found in an article or any published content, they
are generally not reported for public access unless a researcher is driven enough to build
on that mistake and provide a correct version of the same which is not always the primary
objective of the researcher.

5.3 Ethical Issues Related to Authorship

There are several important research conduct and ethics related issues connected to authorship of
research papers as described by Newman and Jones, and are summarized herewith in the context of
engineering research.

Credit for research contributions is attributed in three major ways in research publications: by authorship
(of the intended publication), citation (of previously published or formally presented work), and through
a written acknowledgment (of some inputs to the present research).

Authorship establishes both accountability and gives due credit. A person is expected to be listed as an
author only when associated as a significant contributor in research design, data interpretation, or writing
of the paper.

• Including “guest” or “gift” (co-authorship bestowed on someone with little or no contribution to

the work) authors dilutes the contribution of those who actually did the work, inappropriately
inflates credentials of the listed authors, and is ethically a red flag highlighting research
misconduct.
• The primary author dubiously bestows co-authorship on a junior faculty or a student to boost
their chances of employment or promotion, which can be termed as Career-boost authorship.
• There is also an unfortunate malpractice of coauthorship that can be described as “Career-
preservation authorship” wherein a head of the department, a dean, a provost, or other
administrators are added as Coauthors.
• Sometimes, an actual contributor abstains from the list of authors due to nondisclosed conflict of
interest within the organization. Such coauthorships can be termed as ghost coauthorship. Some
authors, in trying to acquire a sole-authored work, despite relying on significant contribution to
the research work from others, recognize that effort only by an acknowledgment, thereby
misrepresenting the contributions of the listed authors. The unrecognized “author” is as a
consequence, unavailable to readers for elaboration.
• Being able to quantify the contributions so as to appropriately recognize and ascertain the degree
of associated accountability of each coauthor, is appealing.

Dr. Roopa D N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSSATE, Bengaluru

 • Double submission is an important ethical issue related to authorship, which involves submission
of a paper to two forums simultaneously. The motivation is to increase publication possibility and
possibly decrease time to publication. Reputed journals want to publish original papers, i.e.,
papers which have not appeared elsewhere, and strongly discourage double submission.

Dr. Roopa D N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSSATE, Bengaluru

 Module 2

2 Literature Review and Technical Reading

❖ The primary goal of literature review is to know the use of content/ideas/approaches in the
literature to correctly identify the problem that is vaguely known beforehand, to advocate a
specific approach adopted to understanding the problem, and to access the choice of methods
used.
❖ It also helps the researcher understand clearly that the research to be undertaken would
contribute something new and innovative.
❖ The quality of such review can be determined by evaluating if it includes appropriate breadth and
depth of the area under study, clarity, rigor, consistency, effective analysis.

2.1 New and Existing Knowledge

❖ New knowledge in research can only be interpreted within the context of what is already known,
and cannot exist without the foundation of existing knowledge.
❖ How that foundation of knowledge needs to be constructed so that our new knowledge is
supported by it.
❖ The new knowledge can have vastly different interpretations depending on what the researcher’s
background, and one’s perception of that new knowledge can change from indifference to
excitement (or vice versa), depending on what else one knows.
❖ The significance can normally be argued from the point of view that there is indeed an existing
problem and that it is known by looking at what already exists in the field. The existing knowledge
is needed to make the case that there is a problem and that it is important. One can infer that the
knowledge that is sought to be produced does not yet exist by describing what other knowledge
already exists and by pointing out that this part is missing so that what we have is original.
❖ To do this, one again needs the existing knowledge: the context, the significance, the originality,
and the tools.
❖ A good literature survey is typically a two-step process as enumerated below: (i) Identify the major
topics or subtopics or concepts relevant to the subject under consideration. (ii) Place the citation
of the relevant source (article/patent/website/data, etc.) in the correct category of the
concept/topic/subtopic.

2.2 Analysis and Synthesis of Prior Art

A literature survey grid of N topics and M sources is shown below to help crystallize the information in
different categories.

A researcher should analyze the relevant information ascertained in above table, by undertaking the
following steps:

(i) Understanding the hypothesis

(ii) Understanding the models and the experimental conditions used

Dr. Roopa D N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSSATE, Bengaluru

 (iii) Making connections
(iv) Comparing and contrasting the various information, and
(v) Finding out the strong points and the loopholes.

The goal of literature survey is to bring out something new to work on through the identification of
unsolved issues, determine the problems in the existing models or experimental designs, and present a
novel idea and recommendations.

Few criteria that could help the researcher in the evaluation of the information under study:

• Authority: What are the author’s credentials and affiliation? Who publishes the information?

• Accuracy: Based on what one already knows about the topic or from reading other sources, does the
information seem credible? Does the author cite other sources in a reference list or bibliography, to
support the information presented?

• Scope: Is the source at an appropriate comprehension or research level?

Other criteria are currency, objectivity, and purpose. It is important to ensure that the search question is
neither too narrow nor too broad.

2.3 Bibliographic Databases

“Bibliographic databases” refer to “abstracting and indexing services” useful for collecting citation-related
information and possibly abstracts of research articles from scholarly literature and making them available
through search.

Performing simultaneous searches through such large databases may allow researchers to overtly rely on
any one database and be limited by the intrinsic shortcoming of any one of them for quality research.

A researcher should be able to quickly identify the databases that are of use in the idea or problem that
one wishes to explore.

2.3.1 Web of Science

Web of Science (formerly known as ISI or Thomson Reuters) includes multiple databases, as well as
specialized tools.

It is a good search tool for scholarly materials requiring institutional license. It allows the researcher to
search in a particular topic of interest, which can be made by selection in fields that are available in drop
down menu such as title, topic, author, address, etc. The tool also allows sorting by number of citations
(highest to lowest), publication date.

Dr. Roopa D N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSSATE, Bengaluru

When clicked on any of the search results, this website provides the title of the paper, authors, the type
of journal, volume, issue number and year of publication, abstract, keywords, etc., so that the researcher
has enough information to decide if it is worthwhile to acquire the full version of the paper.

2.3.2 Google and Google Scholar

Google is a great place to start one’s search when one is starting out on a topic. It can be helpful in finding
freely available information, such as reports from governments, organizations, companies, and so on.
However, there are limitations:

(i) It is a “black box” of information. It searches everything on the Internet, with no quality
control—one does not know where results are coming from.
(ii) There are limited search functionality and refinement options.

Google Scholar limits one’s search to scholarly literature. However, there are limitations:

1. Some of the results are not actually scholarly. An article may look scholarly at first glance, but
is not a good source upon further inspection.

2. It is not comprehensive. Some publishers do not make their content available to Google Scholar.

3. There is limited search functionality and refinement options.

There are search operators that can be used to help narrow down the results.

(i) OR—Broadens search by capturing synonyms or variant spellings of a concept. Example:

Synchronous OR asynchronous will find results that have either term present.

(ii) Brackets/Parentheses ( )—Gather OR’d synonyms of a concept together, while combining them
with another concept. Example: RAM (synchronous OR asynchronous).

(iii) Quotation marks “ ”—Narrow the search by finding words together as a phrase, instead of
separately. Example: RAM (synchronous OR asynchronous) “Texas Instruments”.

(iv) Site—limits the search to results from a specific domain or website. This operator is helpful
when searching specific websites such as the BC government, which is Example: RAM
(synchronous OR asynchronous) “Texas Instruments” site: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.

(v) Filetype—limits the search to results with a specific file extension one could look for pdf’s,
PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, and so on. Example: RAM (synchronous OR
asynchronous) “Texas Instruments” site: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org, filetype: pdf.

It can be hard to sift through all the results in Google or Google Scholar, especially if the intent is to find
scholarly resources from a specific subject area. To find the best resources on a topic, one should search
in academic databases, in addition to Google. Databases provide access to journal articles and conference
proceedings, as well as other scholarly resources. One gets more relevant and focused results, because
they have better quality control and search functionality. One should choose a database based on subject
area, date coverage, and publication type. Interfaces vary between databases, but the search techniques
remain essentially the same.

2.4 Effective Search: The Way Forward

To do an effective search, a researcher should consider the following steps:

1. Determine what type of information is needed and where it could be found.

2. Use all search tools available to conduct a comprehensive search.

3. Experiment with different keywords and operators to refine the search.

Dr. Roopa D N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSSATE, Bengaluru

 4. Evaluate and assess results using filters to narrow down the search.

5. Modify the search as needed based on the results obtained.

6. Look at the citations and references of relevant articles to find additional sources.

7. Engage in critical and thorough reading of the sources found.

8. Make observations of the salient points in those sources and summarize the findings.

9. Compare and contrast the findings to identify patterns and trends.

10. Repeat the process as needed until the researcher finds the relevant information they need.

2.5 Introduction to Technical Reading

When reading a technical paper, one should start by reading the abstract to get an overview of the paper.
If the abstract seems important to the field of study, one should skip most of the paper and go straight to
the conclusions to find out if the paper is relevant to the intended purpose. If the paper is still of interest,
one should then read the figures, tables, and captions to get a broad idea of what was done in the paper.
Finally, one can delve into the introduction section to learn about the background information and the
authors' motivations for conducting the study.

2.6 Conceptualizing Research

Conceptualizing research involves formulating a research objective that is original, significant, and
solvable. It requires being aware of the existing literature in the field and understanding the knowledge
and tools that can be used to address the research problem. This step is crucial in research, especially at
the Ph.D. level, as it requires becoming an expert at the edge of knowledge. However, for research projects
of smaller scope, such as a master's thesis, the help of a supervisor or an established researcher in the
field may be needed to guide the conceptualization of the research objective. It is important to immerse
oneself in the literature and continually read to bring together the significant problem, the knowledge to
address it, and a possible way to contribute new knowledge.

2.7 Critical and Creative Reading

Critical and creative reading are important aspects of the research process. When reading a research
paper, it is crucial to approach it critically rather than assuming that the reported results or arguments are
correct. The reader should be skeptical and ask appropriate questions. Some questions to consider are:
Have the authors attempted to solve the right problem? Are there simpler solutions that have not been
considered? What are the limitations of the solution? Are there any missing links? Are the assumptions
reasonable? Is there a logical flow to the paper or is there a flaw in the reasoning?

Critical reading involves finding mistakes or flaws in the paper, which is relatively easier compared to
reading to find the good ideas in the paper. On the other hand, creative reading requires a positive
approach in search of other applications, interesting generalizations, or extended work that the authors
might have missed. It involves actively looking for new ideas and potential areas for further research.
Creative reading can help identify practical challenges and determine the next aspect to focus on.

Taking notes while reading is an important practice for researchers. It helps in retaining and organizing
information from the literature. Researchers can take notes on the margins of their copies of papers or
digitally on an article aggregator tool. Notes can include important definitions, explanations, concepts, as
well as questions or criticisms that arise while reading. These notes serve as a reference for later use and
can be beneficial when going back to reread the same content after a long time.

In summary, critical and creative reading are essential for researchers. Critical reading involves questioning
and evaluating the content of research papers, while creative reading involves actively seeking new ideas

Dr. Roopa D N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSSATE, Bengaluru

and potential areas for further research. Taking notes while reading helps in retaining and organizing
information from the literature.

2.8 Taking Notes While Reading

Taking notes while reading is an essential practice for researchers. It serves as a bridge between reading
and writing a paper, helping to improve the quality of the writing process. The act of taking notes during
and shortly after reading allows researchers to retain important information and build on their knowledge.

There are various effective methods for taking notes while reading research papers. Many researchers
annotate their copies of papers, highlighting key points, definitions, explanations, and concepts. Some
researchers also take digital notes using article aggregator tools. These notes can be organized and easily
accessed for later use.

In addition to capturing important information, taking notes also helps researchers remember questions
or criticisms they may have about the paper. By writing down these questions or criticisms, researchers
can avoid forgetting them and address them later when necessary.

Furthermore, taking thorough notes during the reading process is beneficial when researchers need to go
back and reread the same content after a long time. The notes serve as a reference, allowing researchers
to quickly refresh their memory and understand the material more effectively.

Overall, taking notes while reading research papers is a valuable practice that enhances the research
process and contributes to better writing and understanding of the subject matter.

2.9 Reading Mathematics and Algorithms

When it comes to engineering research and practice, mathematics plays a crucial role. Mathematical
derivations and proofs are often the heart of technical papers. Therefore, it is important to avoid skimming
them and instead read them meticulously to develop a sound understanding of the problem that the
authors are attempting to solve. By carefully reading the proofs or algorithms, researchers can gain a
deeper insight into the paper's relevance and contribution.

Nonetheless, one might skim a technical section if it seems like an explanation of something already
known, or if it is too advanced for the research at the present moment and needs additional reading to
be understandable, or if it seems to specialized and unlikely to be needed in the course of the research
program in which case one can get back to it later on. Implementation of an intricate algorithm in
programming languages such as C, C++ or Java is prone to errors. And even if the researcher is confident
about the paper in hand, and thinks that the algorithm will work, there is a fair chance that it will not work
at all. So one may wish to code it quickly to check if it actually works.

2.10 Reading a Datasheet

Researchers in different fields of engineering will need to read certain types of documents. For example,
mechanical and civil engineers would need to read drawings related to mechanical parts and buildings.
Researchers in the field of electronics need to read datasheets. On occasions, researchers in other fields
may also need to incorporate a certain electronic part in which case careful reading of the datasheet is
imperative. The same principles like initial skimming of the datasheet are required to ascertain whether
further careful reading is needed

A datasheet is an instruction manual for electronic components that provides information on what the
component does and how it can be used. It is important for researchers in the field of electronics to
carefully read datasheets to understand the functionality and specifications of a component. Datasheets
typically include a summary of the component's function and features, specifications, pinout information,
performance graphs, truth tables, timing diagrams, and package dimensions. By reading datasheets,
researchers can design circuits, debug existing circuits, and make informed decisions about which
components to use in their research work.

Dr. Roopa D N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSSATE, Bengaluru

3 Attributions and Citations: Giving Credit Wherever Due

Introduction: Academic writing, by definition, must follow certain rules and conventions. Among the most
important of these are the rules and conventions about citing, referencing, attributing, and acknowledging
the works of others.

That means giving proper credit wherever due.

Citing is the practice of quoting from, referring to other authors’ works and ideas in the text of our work
in such a way that the context is clear to the reader.

Referencing is the listing of the full publication details of a published work that is cited so as to give
background information to the readers.

Acknowledgment in research publications indicates contributions to scientific work.

However, acknowledgment, attributions, and citations differ in the manner of their application.
Acknowledgment is arguably more personal, singular, and simply an expression of appreciations and
contribution.

3.1 Citations: Functions and Attributes

Citations (references) credit others for their work, while allowing the readers to trace the source
publication if needed. Any portion of someone else’s work or ideas in papers, patents, or presentations
must be used in any new document only by clearly citing the source. This applies to all forms of written
sources in the form of texts, images, sounds, etc. and failure to do may be considered plagiarism.

Materials that can be cited include journal papers, conference proceeding, books, theses, newspaper
articles, websites, or other online resources and personal communication. Preferably, citations should be
given at the end of a sentence or the end of a paragraph as can be seen even in this particular paragraph.
Citation must contain enough details so that readers can easily find the referenced material.

A researcher needs to cite each source twice:

(i) in-text citation, in the text of the article exactly where the source is quoted or paraphrased,
and
(ii) A second time in the references, typically at the end of the chapter or a book or at the end of
a research article.

Failure to cite appropriately infringes on the rights of the researcher who did the original work.

3.2 Impact of Title and Keywords on Citations

The citation rate of any research paper depends on various factors including,

• significance and availability of the journal

• publication types
• research area
• importance of the published research work.

Other factors are

• length of the title

• type of the title
• selected keywords

also impact the citation count

There are three different aspects which provide a particular behavior to the title:

Dr. Roopa D N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSSATE, Bengaluru

 (i) Types of the title,
(ii) Length of the title, and
(iii) Presence of specific markers

Various authors have tried to find the relationship between title and citations. The following is the
observation:

• Title length positively affects the number of citations.

• Highly amusing titles have fewer citations and pleasant titles have no significant relation with
citations.
• A strong association between title lengths and citation rates, with highly cited articles having more
than twice as many words in the title compared with lower cited papers.
• Articles with question-type titles are downloaded more but poorly cited compared to the
descriptive or declarative titles.
• Longer titles are strongly associated with higher citation rates.
• Longer titles mainly include the study methodology and/or results in more detail, and so attracts
more attention and citations
• Titles containing a question mark, colon, and reference to a specific geographical region are
associated with lower citation rates.
• Result-describing titles usually get citations than method-describing titles.
• Review articles and original articles usually receive more citations than short communication
articles.
• At least two keywords in the title can increase the chance of finding and reading the article as well
as get more citations.

With respect to keywords, the following is observation made by researchers:

• Keywords are important to ensure that readers are aware about research articles and their
content.
• If maximum number of allowable keywords are used, then the chance of the article being found
increases and so does the probability of citation count of the article.
• Usage of new keywords should be minimal as such keywords may not be well known to the
research community and so may lead to low visibility of the article

3.3 Knowledge Flow Through Citation

The below fig. shows the relationship between citations, knowledge flow, and elements such as
researchers, papers, journal publications or conferences, and institutions.

If paper A is cited by paper B, then knowledge flows through citation networks across institutions.

Dr. Roopa D N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSSATE, Bengaluru

It was examined by various researchers that, the citation impact of the South African publications among
different collaboration types, discipline and sectors, and observed that co-authored publications had more
citations than single author paper and there was a positive co-relation between number of authors and
the number of citations.

Relationship between co-authorship and different types of citations. By analyzing the below figure, We
conclude that papers which frequently cite collaborators will also often cite collaborators of collaborators.
Collaborations certainly impact citation counts.

3.3.1 Citing Datasets

The nature of engineering research has evolved rapidly and now relies heavily on data to justify claims
and provide experimental evidences and so data citations must fetch proper credit to the creator of the
dataset as citations of other objects like research articles.

3.3.2 Styles for Citations

Some of the most common styles for citation (as well as other aspects of technical writing) used by
engineers are as follows:

MLA (Modern Language Association)

APA (American Psychological Association)

Chicago

Harvard

Vancour

3.4 Acknowledgments and Attributions:

3.4.1 What Should Be Acknowledged?

Every author should know that what should/should not be acknowledged. Author should acknowledge
quotation, ideas, facts, paraphrasing, funding organization, oral discussion or support, laboratory, and
computer work.

3.4.2 Acknowledgments in Books/Dissertations

A page of acknowledgments is usually included at the beginning of a thesis/ dissertation immediately

following the table of contents. These acknowledgments are longer than the one or two sentence
statements in journal papers or articles in conference proceedings.

Dr. Roopa D N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSSATE, Bengaluru

 3.4.3 Dedication or Acknowledgments?

Dedication is almost never used in a journal paper, an article in a conference proceedings, or a patent, and
it is used exclusively in larger documents like books, thesis, or dissertations. While acknowledgments are
reserved for those who helped out with the book in some way or another (editing, moral support, etc)

Dr. Roopa D N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JSSATE, Bengaluru