RES701 Research Methodology Lecture1

DEVAPRAKASAM DEIVASAGAYAM
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Room:11, LW, 2nd Floor
School of Mechanical and Building Sciences
Email: devaprakasam.d@vit.ac.in, dr.devaprakasam@gmail.com
RES701: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY (3:0:0:3)
Devaprakasam D, Email: devaprakasam.d@vit.ac.in, Ph: +91 9786553933

MOTIVES OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Fundamentally, there are two big motives for research.
Intellectual ambition: the desire to know and
understand the world, to appreciate the best idea and
criticize the flawed idea.
Problem solving: solving of people’s problems. i.e. ,
what people experience as problems.

Purpose of Scientific Research
There are two important purposes and driving force behind
the scientific research, why do we (Scientists and
Engineers) pursue research?
1. Minimum consumption of Energy and Materials without
sacrificing the efficiency and functionality.
2. Maximum conversion of Energy from one form to the
other, to identify, optimize, design highly efficient process
or system.

Objectives
1. To gain insights into how scientific research is conducted.
2. To help in critical review of literature and assessing the research trends, quality and extension
potential of research and equip students to undertake research.
3. To learn and understand the basic statistics involved in data presentation.
4. To identify the influencing factor or determinants of research parameters.
5. To test the significance, validity and reliability of the research results.
6. To help in documentation of research results.
Expected Outcome
1. Ability to critically evaluate current research and propose possible alternate directions for further
work
2. Ability to develop hypothesis and methodology for research.
3. Ability to comprehend and deal with complex research issues in order to communicate their
scientific results clearly for peer review.
3. Review three Journal articles in the filed of interest.
4. Ability to write a review article for a journal in the field of interest.

UNIT I Introduction to Research Methods
Philosophy of Science, Evolutionary Epistemology, Scientific Methods, Hypotheses
Generation and Evaluation, Code of Research Ethics, Definition and Objectives of
Research, Various Steps in Scientific Research, Types of Research; Research Purposes
- Research Design - Survey Research - Case Study Research.
UNIT II Data Collection and Sampling Design
Sources of Data: Primary Data, Secondary Data; Procedure Questionnaire- Survey and
Experiments – Design of Survey and Experiments - Sampling Merits and Demerits -
Control Observations - Procedures – Sampling Errors.

UNIT III: Statistical Modeling and Analysis, Time Series Analysis
Probability Distributions, Fundamentals of Statistical Analysis and Inference, Multivariate
methods, Concepts of Correlation and Regression, Fundamentals of Time Series
Analysis and Spectral Analysis, Error Analysis, Applications of Spectral Analysis.
UNIT IV: Evolutionary Algorithms
Introduction to evolutionary algorithms - Fundamentals of Genetic algorithms, Simulated
Annealing, Neural Network based optimization, Optimization of fuzzy systems.
UNIT V: Research Reports
Structure and Components of Research Report, Types of Report, Layout of Research
Report, Mechanism of writing a research report

Text Book
1. C.R. Kothari, Research Methodology Methods and Techniques, 2/e, Vishwa Prakashan, 2006.
2. Bendat and Piersol, Random data: Analysis and Measurement Procedures, Wiley Interscience,
2001.
3. Shumway and Stoffer, Time Series Analysis and its Applications, Springer, 2000.
4. Jenkins, G.M., and Watts, D.G., Spectral Analysis and its Applications, Holden Day, 1986.
Reference Books
1. Richard I Levin amp; David S. Rubin, Statistics for Management, 7/e. Pearson Education, 2005.
2. Donald R. Cooper, Pamela S. Schindler, Business Research Methods, 8/e, Tata McGraw-Hill Co.
Ltd., 2006.
3. Fuzzy Logic with Engg Applications, Timothy J. Ross, Wiley Publications, 2nd Ed
4. Simulated Annealing: Theory and Applications (Mathematics and Its Applications, by P.J. van
Laarhoven & E.H. Aarts
5. Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization, and Machine Learning by David E. Goldberg

Course Plan for Research Methodology
Introduction to Research – 4 hours
Research Methods – 4 hours
Data Collection and Sampling Design – 6 hours
Statistical Modelling and Analysis – 4 hours
Time Series Analysis Spectral Analysis – 2 hours
Spectral Analysis – 2 hours
Evolutionary Algorithms - Intro. – 2 hours
Genetic Algorithms – 2 hours
Neural Networks – 2 hours
Fuzzy Systems – 2 hours
Assignments and Seminars – 10 hours
Research Reports – 2 hours
Internal Evaluation: Seminars and Assignments – 50%
Term End Examination: – 50%

PhD!!!
PhD- You
are here
You started
here
HOT
LOT

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
What is Scientific Research?
How to do Scientific Research?
Why to do Scientific Research?
Where to do Scientific Research?
When to do Scientific Research?
Before starting your PhD, you need to find answer for the
following questions.
Even before that you need to understand what is PhD!!!.

Scientific Method

PhD!!!
Doctor of Philosophy? a doctorate in any faculty of Science and
Engineering
Philosophy?
Philo + Sophia or Phylo + Sophia
Philosophy?
Greek philosophia "love of knowledge, pursuit of wisdom; systematic
investigation," from philo- "loving" (see philo-) + sophia "knowledge, wisdom,"
from sophis "wise, learned;" of unknown origin.
Doctor?
"Church father," from Old French doctour, from
Medieval Latin doctor "religious teacher, adviser,
scholar," in classical Latin "teacher," agent noun
from docere "to show, teach, cause to know," originally
"make to appear right," causative of decere "be
seemly, fitting

THINK!!!
Do you think?
How do you think?
Why do you think?
Are you an original thinker?

INVENTION
New scientific or technical idea, and the means of
its embodiment or accomplishment.
To be patentable, an invention must be novel,
have utility, and be non-obvious. To be called an
invention, an idea only needs to be proven as
workable.

INNOVATION
The process of translating an idea or invention into a good
or service that creates value or for
which customers will pay.
To be called an innovation, an idea must be replicable at
an economical cost and must satisfy a specific need.
Innovation involves deliberate application of information,
imagination and initiative in deriving greater or
different values from resources, and includes
all processes by which new ideas are generated and
converted into useful products.

Hypothesis
An hypothesis is a limited statement regarding
cause and effect in specific situations.
 it also refers to our state of knowledge before
experimental work has been performed and perhaps
even before new phenomena have been predicted.

Model
The word model is reserved for situations when it is
known that the hypothesis has at least limited validity.
A often-cited example of this is the Bohr model of
the atom, in which, in an analogy to the solar system,
the electrons are described has moving in circular
orbits around the nucleus.

Theory or Law
A scientific theory or law represents an
hypothesis, or a group of related hypotheses,
which has been confirmed through repeated
experimental tests.

History of Scientific Research
Philosophers
Scientists
Inventors
Innovators
Innovations
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
Newton
Einstein
Edison
Tesla
Steve Job
Bill Gates
Google
Facebook

Philosophers
Socrates has become renowned for his contribution to the field of ethics, Plato's
Socrates also made important and lasting contributions to the field of epistemology,
and the influence of his ideas and approach remains a strong foundation for much
western philosophy that followed.

Philosophers
Aristotle was an ancient Greek
philosopher and scientist, one of
the greatest intellectual figures of
Western history. He was the author
of a philosophical and scientific
system that became the
framework. Ethics, logic,
philosophy of science, etc.
Plato was a philosopher, as well
as mathematician, in Classical Greece. He is
considered an essential figure in the
development of philosophy, especially
the Western tradition, and he founded
the Academy in Athens, the first institution
of higher learning in the Western world.
Along with his teacher Socrates and his most
famous student, Aristotle

Inventors and Scientists
Sir Isaac Newton PRS MP was an
English physicist and
mathematician who is widely
recognized as one of the most
influential scientists of all time
and as a key figure in the
scientific revolution
Albert Einstein was a German-born
theoretical physicist. He developed
the general theory of relativity, one of
the two pillars of modern physics.
Einstein's work is also known for its
influence on the philosophy of
science.

Inventors and Scientists
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian
American inventor, electrical
engineer, mechanical engineer,
physicist, and futurist best
known for his contributions to
the design of the modern
alternating current electricity
supply system
Thomas Alva Edison was an American
inventor and businessman. He
developed many devices that greatly
influenced life around the world,
including the phonograph, the motion
picture camera, and a long-lasting,
practical electric light bulb.

Innovators
Steven Paul "Steve" Jobs was an American
pioneer of the personal computer revolution of the
1970s . Shortly after his death, Jobs's official
biographer, Walter Isaacson described him as the
"creative entrepreneur whose passion for
perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six
industries: personal computers, animated movies,
music, phones, tablet computing, and digital
publishing.
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an
American business magnate,
philanthropist, investor, computer
programmer, and inventor. In 1975,
Gates co-founded Microsoft, the world’s
largest PC software company, with Paul
Allen

Innovations
Google is an American multinational technology
company specializing in Internet-related services
and products. These include online
advertising technologies, search, cloud
computing, and software.Most of its profits are
derived from Ad Words, an online advertising
service that places advertising near the list of
search results. Google was founded by Larry
Page and Sergey Brin while they
were Ph.D. students at Stanford University.
Together they own about 14 percent of its
shares but control 56 percent of the stockholder
voting power through super voting stock.
Facebook is an online social networking
service headquartered in Menlo Park,
California. Its website was launched on
February 4, 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg with
his Harvard College roommates and fellow
students Eduardo Saverin, Andrew
McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris
Hughes. The founders had initially limited
the website's membership to Harvard
students, but later expanded it to colleges
in the Boston area, the Ivy League,
and Stanford University

RESEARCH FOUNDATATIONS
Logic and Reasoning
 Induction
 Deduction
Tests for Truth
 Non-Contradictory
 Un falsifiability
 Correspondence to reality
 Coherency

Philosophy of Science
Induction — method of reasoning in which a generalization is argued to
be true based on individual examples that seem to fit with that
generalization. For example, after observing that trees, bacteria, sea
anemones, fruit flies, and humans have cells, one might inductively
infer that all organisms have cells.
Deduction — method of reasoning in which a conclusion is logically
reached from premises. For example, if we know the current relative
positions of the moon, sun, and Earth, as well as exactly how these move
with respect to one another, we can deduce the date and location of the
next solar eclipse.

Philosophy of Science
Logic is the backbone of critical thinking. Logic is extremely useful for
uncovering error and establishing truth. There are principles of logic and
I would like to introduce you to the first three laws of logic. These are
very important.
The Law of Identity
The Law of Non-Contradiction
The Law of Excluded Middle
1. The law of identity says that A is A, that if something exist it has a
nature, a single nature. It is what it is.
2. The law of non-contradiction says that A cannot be both A and not A
at the same time and in the same sense. Truth is not self-
contradictory.
3. The law of excluded middle says that a statement is either true or
false.

RESEARCH STEPS
The major steps in conducting research are:
Identification of research problem
Literature review
Specifying the purpose of research
Determine specific research questions
Specification of a Conceptual framework - Usually a set of hypotheses
Choice of a methodology (for data collection)
Data collection
Analyzing and interpreting the data
Reporting and evaluating research
Communicating the research findings and, possibly, recommendations

RESEARCH!!!
The word research is derived from the Middle French "recherche", which
means "to go about seeking", the term itself being derived from the Old
French term "recerchier" a compound word from "re-" + "cerchier", or "sercher",
meaning 'search'. The earliest recorded use of the term was in 1577.
Systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to
establish facts and reach new conclusions.
Research comprises "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in
order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humans,
culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new
applications.
 Research is used to establish or confirm facts, reaffirm the results of
previous work, solve new or existing problems, support theorems, or develop
new theories

RESEARCH!!!
Research has been defined in a number of different ways.
A broad definition of research is given by Martyn Shuttleworth - "In the broadest
sense of the word, the definition of research includes any gathering of data,
information and facts for the advancement of knowledge.“
Another definition of research is given by Creswell who states that -
"Research is a process of steps used to collect and analyze information to
increase our understanding of a topic or issue". It consists of three steps: Pose a
question, collect data to answer the question, and present an answer to the
question.
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines research in more detail as "a
studious inquiry or examination; especially : investigation or experimentation
aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories
or laws in the light of new facts, or practical application of such new or revised
theories or laws".

1. Review three Journal articles in your field of
interest. Submit your review comments.
2. Write a Review article to a Journal in your
field of interest. For writing the review article,
you need to collect at least 100 journal
articles and do systematic literature survey.
RES 701: Assignments

D.M.AJAY
PhD Scholar Coordinator
Email: dm.ajay2015@vit.ac.in
Give me a test mail with your name and reg.no
PhD Scholar Coordinator

RES701 Research Methodology Lecture1

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