RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

RIGHTS

MODULE-1

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

www.cambridge.edu.in
 MEANING OF RESEARCH

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.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 MEANING OF RESEARCH
RESEARCH CYCLE

 Practical Problem: One must be

clear what the problem being
attempted to solve is and why it is
important.
Research Question: This problem
motivates a research question
without which one can tend to get
lost in a giant swamp of information.

Department of Computera Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 MEANING OF RESEARCH
RESEARCH CYCLE

 Research Project: The question

helps one zero in onto manageable
volume of information, and in turn
defines a research project which is an
activity or set of activities that
ultimately leads to result or answer.
Result or Answer: This in turn helps
to solve the practical problem that
one started with in the first place.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 MEANING OF RESEARCH

Research is not just about reading a lot of books and finding a lot of,
gathering a lot of existing information.
It is instead adding, maybe small and specific, yet original,
contribution to that existing body of knowledge.
The objective of a good research program is to try and gain insight
into something. Or indeed, to try and solve a problem.
Good research questions develop throughout the project actually and
one can even keep modifying them.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 MEANING OF RESEARCH

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 or recording.
The ways of developing and accessing knowledge come in three:
Observation:
 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.
Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in
 MEANING OF RESEARCH

 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.
Model:
 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.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 MEANING OF RESEARCH

 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.
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.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 MEANING OF RESEARCH
CATEGORIES OF KNOWLEDGE IN
RESEARCH

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 MEANING OF RESEARCH

Engineering research:
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.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 OBJECTIVES OF ENGINEERING
RESEARCH

 The objective of engineering research is to solve new and important

problems, and since the conclusion at the end of one’s research
outcome has to be new, but when one starts, the conclusion is
unknown.
The answer is, based on “circumstantial evidence”, intuition, and
imagination, one guesses what may be a possible conclusion.
A guess gives a target to work toward, and after initial attempts, it
may turn out that the guess is incorrect.
Research objectives can sometimes be convoluted and difficult to
follow.
Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in
 OBJECTIVES OF ENGINEERING
RESEARCH

 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.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 OBJECTIVES OF ENGINEERING
RESEARCH

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.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 MOTIVATION IN ENGINEERING
RESEARCH

The possible motives may be the result of one or more of the

following desires:
Intrinsic motivations like interest, challenge, learning, meaning,
purpose, are linked to strong creative performance.
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.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 MOTIVATION IN ENGINEERING
RESEARCH

The possible motives may be the result of one or more of the

following desires:
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.
Personal motivation in solving unsolved problems, intellectual joy,
service to community, and respectability are all driving factors.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 MOTIVATION IN ENGINEERING
RESEARCH

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.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 TYPES OF ENGINEERING
RESEARCH

The different types of Engineering Research are:

Descriptive versus Analytical
 Applied versus Fundamental
Quantitative versus Qualitative

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 TYPES OF ENGINEERING
RESEARCH

The different types of Engineering Research are:

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.
Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in
 TYPES OF ENGINEERING
RESEARCH

The different types of Engineering Research are:

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.
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.
Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in
 TYPES OF ENGINEERING
RESEARCH

The different types of Engineering Research are:

Applied versus Fundamental:
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.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 TYPES OF ENGINEERING
RESEARCH

The different types of Engineering Research are:

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.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 FINDING AND SOLVING A WORTHWHILE
PROBLEM

A researcher may start out with the research problems stated by the
Supervisor or posed by others that are yet to be solved.
Alternately, it may involve rethinking of a basic theory, or need to be
formulated or put together from the information provided in a group of
papers suggested by the Supervisor.
Research scholars are faced with the task of finding an appropriate
problem on which to begin their research.
Skills needed to accomplish such a task at the outset, while taking
care of possible implications are critically important but often not
taught.
Department of computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in
 FINDING AND SOLVING A WORTHWHILE
PROBLEM

Once the problem is vaguely identified, the process of literature

survey and technical reading, would take place for more certainty of
the worthiness of the intended problem.
A worthwhile research problem would have one or more attributes.
It could be nonintuitive/counterintuitive even to someone who knows
the area.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 FINDING AND SOLVING A WORTHWHILE
PROBLEM

The researcher has to be convinced that the problem is worthwhile

before beginning to tackle it because best efforts come when the work
is worth doing, and the problem and/or solution has a better chance of
being accepted by the research community.
Not all problems that one solves will be great, and sometimes major
advancements are made through solutions to small problems dealt with
effectively.
Some problems are universally considered hard and open, and have
deep implications and connections to different concepts. The reality is
that most researchers in their lifetime do not get into such problems.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 FINDING AND SOLVING A WORTHWHILE
PROBLEM

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.
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.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 FINDING AND SOLVING A WORTHWHILE
PROBLEM

4-step procedure for mathematical problem-solving, which is relevant to

engineering researchers as well:
1. Understand the problem, restate it as if its your own, visualize the problem by
drawing figures, and determine if something more is needed.
2. One must start somewhere and systematically explore possible strategies to
solve the problem or a simpler version of it while looking for patterns.
3. 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.
4. Looking back and reflecting helps in understanding and assimilating the strategy,
and is a sort of investment into the future.
Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in
 ETHICS IN ENGINEERING RESEARCH

Ethics generally refers to a set of rules distinguishing acceptable and

unacceptable conduct, distinguishing right from wrong.
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.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 ETHICS IN ENGINEERING RESEARCH

Technological developments raise a whole range of ethical concerns

such as privacy issues and data related to surveillance systems, and so
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.
Certain practices may be acceptable to certain people in certain
situations, and the reasons for unacceptability may be perfectly valid.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 ETHICS IN ENGINEERING RESEARCH

Researchers make many choices that matter from an ethical perspective and
influence the effects of technology in many different ways:
 By setting the ethically right requirements at the very outset, engineering
researchers can ultimately influence the effects of the developed technology.
 Influence may also be applied by researchers through design (a process that
translates the requirements into a blueprint to fulfill those requirements).
During the design process, decision is to be made about the priority in
importance of the requirements taking ethical aspects into consideration.
 Thirdly, engineering researchers have to choose between different
alternatives fulfilling similar functions.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 ETHICS IN ENGINEERING RESEARCH

• Research outcomes often have unintended and undesirable side

effects.
• It is a vital ethical responsibility of researchers to ensure that
hazards/risks associated with the technologies that they develop, are
minimized and alternative safer mechanisms are considered.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 TYPES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT

• Engineering research should be conducted to improve the state-of-the-

art of technologies.
• In order to prevent mistakes, peer reviews should take place before the
research output is published.
Different types of Misconduct:
Fabrication (Illegitimate creation of data)
Falsification (Inappropriate alteration of data)
Plagiarism (Taking other’s work without attribution)

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 TYPES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT

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.
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.
Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in
 TYPES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT

Drawbacks of Fabrication and Falsification:

• 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.
Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in
 TYPES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT

Plagiarism (Taking other’s work 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.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 TYPES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT

How are supervisors, reviewers or editors alerted to plagiarism?

 Original author comes to know and informs everyone concerned.
 Sometimes a reviewer finds out about it during the review process.
 Readers who come across the article or book, while doing research.
• Although there are many free tools and also paid tools available that
one can procure institutional license of, one cannot conclusively
identify plagiarism, but can only get a similarity score which is a
metric that provides a score of the amount of similarity between
already published content and the unpublished content under scrutiny.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 TYPES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT

• A low similarity score does not guarantee that the document is

plagiarism free.
• It takes a human eye to ascertain whether the content has been
plagiarized or not.
• It is important to see the individual scores of the sources, not just the
overall similarity index.
• Setting a standard of a maximum allowable similarity index is
inadequate usage of the tool.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 TYPES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT

There are simple and ethical ways to avoid a high similarity count on an
about to be submitted manuscript:
• Whatever content is relevant can be reported by paraphrasing in one’s
own words, that is, without verbatim copy.
• Citing the original source is important.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 TYPES OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT

Other Aspects of Research Misconduct:

• Serious deviations from accepted conduct could be construed as research
misconduct.
• When there is both deception and damage, a fraud is deemed to have taken
place. Sooner or later ethical violations get exposed.
• Simultaneous submission of the same article to two different journals also
violates publication policies.
• 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.
Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in
 ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED
TO AUTHORSHIP

Academic authorship involves communicating scholarly work,

establishing priority for their discoveries, and building peer-reputation,
and comes with intrinsic burden of acceptance of the responsibility for
the contents of the work.
It is the primary basis of evaluation for employment, promotion, and
other honors.
There are several important research conduct and ethics related issues
connected to authorship of research papers.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED
TO AUTHORSHIP

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.
Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in
 ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED
TO AUTHORSHIP

Including “guest” or “gift” (coauthorship 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.
Sometimes, the primary author dubiously bestows coauthorship on a
junior faculty or a student to boost their chances of employment or
promotion, which can be termed as Career-boost authorship.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED
TO 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 because of quid pro quo arrangement wherein the principal
author benefits from a “good relation” with the superiors and the
administrator benefits from authorship without doing the required
work for it.
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.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

 ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED
TO AUTHORSHIP

Full disclosure of all those involved in the research is important so that

evaluation can happen both on the basis of findings, and also whether
there was influence from the conflicts.
In another type of questionable authorship, some researchers list one
another as coauthors as a reciprocal gesture with no real collaboration
except minimal reading and editing, without truly reviewing the work
threadbare.
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, there by misrepresenting the
contributions of the listed authors.
Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in
 ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED
TO AUTHORSHIP

The unrecognized “author” is as a consequence, unavailable to readers for

elaboration.
All listed authors have the full obligation of all contents of a research article,
and so naturally, they should also be made aware of a journal submission by
Ethics in Engineering Research corresponding author.
It is imperative that their consent is sought with respect to the content and that
they be agreeable to the submission.
In case of misconduct like inappropriate authorship, while the perpetrator is
easier to find, the degree of appropriate accountability of the coauthors is not
always obvious. Being able to quantify the contributions so as to appropriately
recognize and ascertain the degree of associated accountability of each
coauthor, is appealing.
Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in
 ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED
TO AUTHORSHIP

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.

Department of Computer Science And Engineering www.cambridge.edu.in

Thank you