introduction

1. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
(IUSD)
Research Methodology
Dr. Ayat Ismail, PhD
Urban design & planning dept.
Ain Shams University
ayat.ismail@eng.asu.edu.eg
Introductory Lecture

2. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
(IUSD)
Topics
• Overview on Semester Outline
• Introduction to Research Methodology
• What is research?
• Types of research
• Stages of research

3. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
(IUSD)
Weeks Lecture Series and Activities
w1 - 22 Feb Introductory lecture: What is research? - types of research - the stages of research - semester overview
w2 - 1 Mar
Formulating a research: From an Interest to a Topic, from a Topic to a Question, and From a Question to
a Problem
w3 - 8 Mar
Navigating the literature - finding reliable sources – reviewing the selected literature – developing a
theoretical framework
w4 - 15 Mar
Developing an analytical framework – Identifying variables – case study selection – tools for qualitative
research data collection and analysis
w5 - 22 Mar off
w6 - 29 Mar
Building an argument - Basing claims on reasons - Basing reasons on evidence - Acknowledging and
responding to alternatives
w7 - 5 Apr How to write a research proposal? components of proposal – how to develop realistic work plan?
w8 - 12 Apr Tutorial – discussion of students’ MT topics and its development in time for MT WS
w9 - 19 Apr
Validity and reliability of research – methods for determining validity and reliability in quantitative and
qualitative research
w10 - 26 Apr Master Thesis Workshop (TBC) – Preliminary Submission
w11 - 3 May Research Ethics: plagiarism and misconduct – quotes and referencing styles
w12 - 10 May
Introductions and Conclusions- How to write an introduction – how to write a conclusion – the
components of conclusions
w13 - 17 May Tutorial – discussion of students’ MT proposals for their 1st MT colloquium
w14 - 24 May Planning to draft, drafting your thesis, and revising your draft
w15 - 31 May Master Thesis Colloquium 1 (TBC) – Final Submission

4. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
(IUSD)
• Research as an everyday practice
• What do you do when:
• You want to buy a car?
• You want to find a good dentist?
• You want to hear popular songs of 2016?
• You want to know the newly discovered tropical
fish species of the 21st century?
• Be aware of the difference between Search & Research

5. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
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• Search
• Searching is the act of looking for something at a place. Whether it is a
kid searching his lost toy or NASA looking for life on a planet. Search isn’t
good at finding the answers to more complicated questions or looking at
multiple aspects of an issue. This is where research becomes important.
• Research
• Research is a systematic way of investigation of things to increase our
knowledge base, through analyzing information to establish facts and to
arrive at new conclusions.
• It is a scientific way for answering questions and solving problems,
following a set of conventions or rules which guide the process of
research.

6. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
(IUSD)
• Why research?
• We might think we know the answer to our question; or we
might think the answer is obvious, common sense even;
• But until we have subjected our problem to rigorous scientific
scrutiny (inspection- study – examination), our 'knowledge'
remains little more than guesswork or at best, intuition
(insight – perception- feeling).
• So what?
• The decision making process and the progress of any field can
not be built upon insight or feelings.

7. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
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• Why write up your research?
• Write to remember
• Write to understand
• Write to gain perspective
• Write to report to others
• Write to document

8. MSc
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& Sustainable Design
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• Why write it up?
• Write to remember
• Write to understand
• Write to gain perspective
• Write to report to others
• Write to document
• What you don’t write down you are likely to forget or, worse, to misremember
• That’s why careful researchers don’t wait until they’ve gathered all their data
to start writing: they write from the beginning of their project so that they
can hold as much of it in their minds as clearly as they can

9. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
(IUSD)
• Why write it up?
• Write to remember
• Write to understand
• Write to gain perspective
• Write to report to others
• Write to document
• When you arrange and rearrange the results of your research in new ways,
you discover new connections, contrasts, complications, and implications.
• Writing helps you line up arguments that pull in different directions, plot out
complicated relationships, sort out disagreements among experts.

10. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
(IUSD)
• Why write it up?
• Write to remember
• Write to understand
• Write to gain perspective
• Write to report to others
• Write to document
• The basic reason for writing, is to get your thoughts out of your head and
onto paper, where you can see them in the clearer light of print, a light that
is always brighter and usually less flattering. Just about all of us, students
and professionals alike, think our ideas are more coherent in the dark
warmth of our minds than they turn out to be in the cold light of day.

11. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
(IUSD)
• Why write it up?
• Write to remember
• Write to understand
• Write to gain perspective
• Write to report to others
• Write to document
• Make your worthy findings available for others to benefit from it in the way
you benefited from others who reported their research, who themselves
benefited from the research of countless others.
• Governments, businesses, decision makers, designers, developers, and
many others build their everyday actions on research reported by others

12. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
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• Types of research
1. Types of research according to the mode of inquiry
2. Types of research according to the objectives of research
3. Types of research according to the applications of research
4. Types of research according to the Logic (approach) of
research

13. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
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• Types of research
1. Types of research according to the mode of inquiry
Quantitative Research Qualitative Research
• Attempts to understand & interpret
social interactions.
• Qualitative data includes words, images,
or objects, open-ended responses,
interviews, participant observations,
field notes, & reflections.
• Study behavior in a natural
environment.
• Narrative report with contextual
description & direct quotations from
research participants.
• Attempts to test hypotheses, look at cause
& effect, & make predictions.
• Quantitative data includes numbers and
statistics, based on precise measurements
using structured & validated data-collection
instruments.
• Study behavior under controlled
conditions; isolate causal effects.
• Statistical report with correlations,
comparisons of means, & statistical
significance of findings.

14. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
(IUSD)
• Types of research
2. Types of research according to the objectives of research
Exploratory
Research
Explanatory
Research
Descriptive
Research
Correlational
Research
Attempts to describe
systematically a
situation, service
phenomenon, or
describe attitudes
towards an issue.
Through
categorization and
classification of
relevant aspects.
Attempts to clarify
why and how there is
a relationship
between two or more
aspects of a situation
or a phenomenon. It
explains the behavior
of aspects or the
reoccurrence of
situations.
Attempts to discover
or establish the
existence of a
relationship/
association/
interdependence
between two or more
aspects of a situation
or a phenomenon.
The objective is to
explore an area
where little is known
or to investigate the
possibilities of
undertaking a
particular research
study. Examples are
feasibility and pilot
studies.

15. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
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• Types of research
3. Types of research according to the applications of research
Pure Research Applied Research
• Involves developing and testing
theories that are intellectually
challenging to the researcher but may
or may not have a practical
application at the present time or in
the future.
• Such work often involves the testing
of hypotheses containing very abstract
and specialized concepts.
• The research techniques, procedures
and methods are applied to the
collection of information about
various aspects of a situation, issue,
problem, or phenomenon so that the
information gathered can be used in
other ways - such as for policy
formulation, administration, and the
enhancement of understanding of a
phenomenon.

16. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
(IUSD)
• Types of research
4. Types of research according to the Logic (approach) of research
Deductive Research Inductive Research
An established
theory exists and we are
trying relate our observation to it to
deduce the validity of our hypothesis
No established
theory exists and
we are trying to induce or generate
one based on recurring patterns

17. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
(IUSD)
• Types of research according to
1. Mode of inquiry: Qualitative - Quantitative
2. Objectives: Exploratory – Explanatory – Descriptive -
Correlational
3. Applications Pure - Applied
4. Logic: Deductive - Inductive
The classifications are not mutually exclusive, one research can be
applied, exploratory, and quantitative all at the same time. Can you
come up with an example?

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Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
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• Stages of research
• Stage one: Planning and framing issues
• Stage two: Gathering and recording
• Stage three: Conducting the research
• Stage four: Analysing the information
• Stage five: Writing and Sharing

19. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
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• Stages of research (Kumar, 2011)
• Phase I: Deciding what to research
1. formulating a research problem
• Phase II: Planning a research study
2. Conceptualizing a research design
3. Constructing an instrument for data collection
4. Selecting a sample
5. Writing a research proposal
• Phase III: Conducting a research study
6. collecting data
7. Processing and displaying data
8. Writing a research report

20. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
(IUSD)
• Stages of research (Kumar, 2011)
• Phase I: Deciding what to research
1. formulating a research problem
• Phase II: Planning a research study
2. Conceptualizing a research design
3. Constructing an instrument for data collection
4. Selecting a sample
5. Writing a research proposal
• Phase III: Conducting a research study
6. collecting data
7. Processing and displaying data
8. Writing a research report

21. MSc
Integrated urbanism
& Sustainable Design
(IUSD)
Thank You