This document outlines the objectives, topics, and assessment schedule of a research methodology and communication skills course. The course aims to establish an understanding of research through exploring research approaches, language, and ethics. Participants will learn to critically review literature, understand research components and designs, and enhance their communication skills. The assessment includes an assignment, presentation, and final test. The document also covers various research definitions, objectives, types, and characteristics of good research.

1. Research Methodology and Communication Skills
ITEC-802
First Semester M.Phil, 2016
Dr. Khalil-ur-Rahmen Khoumbati
Professor
Institute of Information and Communication Technology
University of Sindh, Jamshoro
Khalil.khoumbati@gmail.com
Lecture #1

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• This course will provide an opportunity
to establish understanding of research
through critical exploration of research
language, ethics, and approaches. The
course introduces the language of
research, ethical principles and
challenges, and the elements of the
research process within quantitative,
qualitative, and mixed methods
approaches.
Course Description

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• Participants will use these theoretical
underpinnings to begin to critically
review literature relevant to their field
or interests and determine how research
findings are useful in informing their
understanding of their environment
(work, social, local, global)
Course Description

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• To understand research terminology
• To become aware of the ethical
principles of research
• To understand research designs and
different research methods
• To identify the components of a
literature review process
• To understand correct ways to refer and
to cite from scientific literature
• To enhance communication skills.
Objectives of the course

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Schedule of assessment tasks for
students during the semester
Assessment
No
Assessment task Week due
Proportion of
Assessment
from 100
Marks
1 Assignment 7th Week 15%
2 Presentation 10th week 15%
3 Final test
As announced by
University
70%

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What is research?
• According to the oxford concise dictionary:
• a. Research is the systematic investigation
into and study of materials, sources, etc,
in order to establish facts and reach new
conclusions.
• b. Research is an venture to discover new
or collect old facts etc by the scientific
study of a subject or by a course of critical
investigation.

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Contd.
• Research is what we do when we have a
question or a problem we want to resolve
• We may already think we know the answer
to our question already
• We may think the answer is obvious,
common sense even
• But until we have subjected our problem to
rigorous scientific scrutiny, our
'knowledge' remains little more than
guesswork or at best, intuition.

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What are the Objectives of Research?
• The prime objectives of research are
to discover new facts to verify and
test important facts to analyze an
event or process or phenomenon to
identify the cause and effect
relationship to develop new scientific
tools, concepts and theories to solve
and understand scientific and
nonscientific problems

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Contd.
• To find solutions to scientific,
nonscientific and social problems and
to overcome or solve the problems
occurring in our every day life.

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Importance of Research
• Research is important both in
scientific and nonscientific fields. In
our life new problems, events,
phenomena and processes occur every
day. Practically, implementable
solutions and suggestions are required
for tackling new problems that arise.
• Some important avenues of research
are:

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Contd.
• A research problem refers to a
difficulty which a researcher or a
scientific community or an industry or
a government organization or a
society experiences.
• It may be a theoretical or a practical
situation. It calls for a thorough
understanding and possible solution.
• Research on existing theories and
concepts help us identify the range
and applications of them.

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Contd.
• It is the fountain of knowledge and
provide guidelines for solving problems.
• Research provides basis for many
government policies. For example,
research on the needs and desires of the
people and on the availability of
revenues to meet the needs helps a
government to prepare a budget.
• It is important in industry and business
for higher gain and productivity and to
improve the quality of products.

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Contd.
• Mathematical and logical research on
business and industry optimizes the
problems in them.
• It leads to the identification and
characterization of new materials, new
living things, new stars, etc.
• Only through research inventions can
be made; for example, new and novel
phenomena and processes such as
superconductivity and cloning have
been discovered only through research.

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Contd.
• Social research helps find answers to
social problems. They explain social
phenomena and seek solution to social
problems.
• Research leads to a new style of life
and makes it delightful and glorious.

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The Nature of Research
• Research is very time-consuming.
• Research is subjective.
• Research can be undertaken by anyone.
• Research can also be fun.
• Research can take over your life
• Research can be much more interesting than its
results.
• Research is about being nosy

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• Research can be done in many ways.
• You can research any thing.
• Research uses everyday skills.
• Research gets into your dreams.
• Spies do research, so do newspaper reporters.
• Research can be done by the people and for the
people.
• Research can done theory in action.
Continue

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• Research can lead you in unexpected
directions.
• Even hard men do research.
• There are no definitive answers
• You can do research
Continue

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The main lesson to learnt is that you
need to practice your skills, read and
think about research, and to build up
your confidence.
So what is the main lesson

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What you have to prove in your
research
• To have produce a thesis which is
an original contribution to
knowledge, as judged through
review.
• To have acquired and understand a
substantial body of knowledge at
the forefront of the discipline in a
systematic way.

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Continue
• To have demonstrate a detailed
understanding of the applicable
techniques for research and
academic enquiry.
• To have demonstrate the ability to
conceptualise, design and
implement the thesis for the
generation of new knowledge,
application and understanding

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Continue
• To have demonstrate that the thesis
is genuinely your work, and is a
satisfactory record of your
research.
• To have demonstrate that the thesis
is satisfactory as regards literary
presentation.

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TYPES OF RESEARCH
Exploratory research
Takes place where there is little or no prior knowledge
of a phenomenon.
This type of research attempts to gain some familiarity
with the appropriate concepts and looks for patterns or
ideas without any preconceived ideas or explanation.

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Descriptive research
Describes a particular phenomenon, focusing upon
the issue of what is happening, or how much of it
has happened, rather than why it is happening.

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Explanatory research
This type of research is involved in explaining why
something happens, and assessing causal relationships
between variables.

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Predictive research
Forecasts future phenomena, based on the
interpretations suggested by explanatory research.

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PURE AND APPLIED RESEARCH
Pure research takes place to explore a particular
concept, or issue, without regard for a specific problem,
and may be carried out to simply gain a better
understanding of the overall concepts.
Applied research is undertaken to solve a specific
problem or provide a solution to a practical question.

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PRIMARY AND SECONDARY RESEARCH
Primary research
Refers to research that has involved the collection of
original data specific to that particular research project,
for example through using research methods such as
questionnaires or interviews.
Secondary research
Refers to research where no such original data is
collected, but the research project uses existing (or
secondary) sources of data, for example census or archive
data.

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THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
Theoretical research generally uses the findings from
existing works to develop new ideas through analysing
existing theory and explanations. These new ideas are
not tested through collecting evidence in the form of
primary data.
Empirical research supports the development of new
ideas through the collection of data (empirical =
observation or measurement rather than theoretical
reasoning).

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HOW TO READ RESEARCH
1. Locate and read a few articles from within a field you are
comfortable with.
2. Read studies that are of interest to you.
3. Read the abstract first.
4. Identify the research question and objectives.
5. Why did the researcher(s) choose a particular setting or
sample?
6. What were the methods chosen to collect data?
7. What were the most important findings?
8. Do not be over-concerned with statistical analysis.
9. Be critical but objective.

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Showing Originality
• Setting out a major new piece of
information in writing for the first time.
• Continuing a previously original piece of
work
• Carrying out an original piece of work
designed by a supervisor.
• Providing original techniques.
• Having a original ideas, methods and
interpretations performed by others.

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Continue
• Showing originality in testing
others’ ideas.
• Carrying out empirical work which
has not been done before.
• Using existing material, but with
new interpretation.
• Taking a current technique and
applying it to a new area.
• Bringing new evidence to bear on an
old issue.

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Continue
• Using ideas for the first time in one
discipline from another.
• Adding to knowledge in a way that
has not been done before.

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Characteristics of good research
• There are three distinct but
interrelated characteristics of good
research:
• Research is based on an open
system of thought
• Researchers examine data critically
• Researchers generalize and specify
the limits on the generalization.

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Continue
• Research is based on an open
system of thought:
• There is no hidden agendas, no
close systems,.
• The continual testing, review and
criticism for its own sake by
researchers of each others work is
an important way in which thinking
is developed.

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Continue
• The key to the approach is to keep
firmly in mind that the classic
position of a researcher is not that
of one who knows the right answers
but of who is struggling to find out
what the right questions might be.

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Researchers examine data
critically
• Researchers examines data and the
sources of data critically, so that
the basic research approach to
provocative statements: such as
soft drinks are less harmful to
health than alcohol.
• Researchers are continually having
to ask:

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Continue
• Have you got the fact right?
• Can we get the better data?
• Can the results be interpreted
differently
• Researcher priorities are different.
They have to go to get systematic,
valid and reliable data because the
aim is to understand and interpret.

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Researchers generalize and
specify the limits of their
generalizations
• It is the aim of research to obtain
valid generalizations because this is
the most efficient way of applying
understanding in a wide Variety of
appropriate situations. But there
are the defaulters here:

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Continue
• According to Dumas, All
generalization are dangerous,
where it applies and where it does
not apply, must be continually
tested.
• The way generalizations can best be
established is through the
development of explanatory theory.

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