1. K-Chart: Tool for Research Planning & Monitoring
EPH7112 Research Methodology

2. CONTENTS Background: Dilemma in Research Planning and Monitoring
Existing tools
The K Chart
Conclusion

3. SCENARIO 1: GRADUATE STUDIES
You just started your graduate study. You are looking for a title. Your supervisor/mentor is always busy.
You pick up and photocopy every single article you come across, only to sleep on it than to read it through.
Even when you do finish an article, it’s like reading Peruvian. You don’t know what to get from the paper.
You keep asking yourself; What exactly am I working on? How much should I read? What should be my methodology? How many results should I have? How do I get a novelty?

4. SCENARIO 2: EMBARKING ON A RESEARCH PROJECT
You are about to embark on a research project. You face a hard time identifying the scope of research and specific problems to solve.
You are planning to have co-researchers/ students, but organizing and coordinating them are not a piece of cake. You want them to work together, not to scream at each other.
You ask yourself; who will do what, and how much? How many sub-projects can be created? How to maximize the outputs? How to produce more papers?

5. Questions Students/Researchers Wish to Answer Earlier on:
What is the specific title of study
How to identify the problems to study?
How wide/deep is the study?
How much is the literature review?
What do I look for in reading reference papers ?
How do I choose between two (or more) design options?
How do I organize my study?
Should I focus on theory or simulation or what?
How many results should I get?
How do I know whether my results are correct and sufficient?
What if I can not get the target results?
How to arrange the results?
How to cluster for sub-projects?
Who to do what?

6. DILEMMA
Many new researchers and graduate students are suffering from lack of guides for research planning/monitoring.
Good researches should have macro and micro level planning/monitoring
Macro level: Activities and Timelines in general
Micro level: Scope of Issues Under Study, Methodology, and Results
Existing tools tend to be too specific in function
K-Chart attempts to provide the Micro-level research planning/monitoring.

7. EXISTING RnD PLANNING TOOLS
Pareto Chart (80-20 rule)
Ishikawa/ Cause and Effect/Fish bone
Flow Chart
Gantt Chart
Existing tools tend to be too specific in function, or too broad

8. WEAKNESSES OF GANTT CHART
1. Does not clearly show the structure/scope; depth and width of the project
2. Does not provide the designation of issues under study; general issues, complementary issues and focused issues
3. Does not clearly provide the methodologies used
4. Does not clearly show the detail results
5. Does not provide the number of results

9. WHAT IS A K-CHART? A tool for systematically organizing research
Scope of issues under study,
Methodology, and
Results
Timelines
in the form of a Tree Diagram

10. K-Chart organizes the items in 5 layers:
THE K-CHART LAYERS
K-Chart organizes the items in 5 layers:
GENERAL TITLE
SCOPE OF ISSUES LAYERS
METHODOLOGY LAYERS
RESULTS LAYERS
TIMELINES

11. Study of the Performance of ABC
STRUCTURE OF A K-CHART
System
Sub Issues 2
(App. Based)
Sub-system/ Elements
Methodologies
Sub-issues N
Simulation
Experiment
Results: Performance Parameters
Sub Issues 1
(Types based)
DP 1
ABC
Type 2
Type 3
App. 1
Type 1
App.2
App. 3 A B C
App.4
Theory
Survey
PP2
Design Parameters b1 b2 b3
PP 1
DP 3
DP 2
PP 3
DP1
General Topic
Study of the Performance of ABC
Scope
Methodology
Result

12. GENERAL TITLE
Factors Influencing the Performance of Motor Vehicles
SYSTEM
Vehicles
Sub Issues 1: App. based
Air
Land
Sea
Sub Issues 2: Types based
Motorcycles
Cars
Trucks
Vans
Sub Issues 3: Types based
Mini
Sedan
Wagon
SUBSYSTEM/ ELEMENTS
Engine
Body
Tire
METHODOLOGIES
Theory
Experiment
Simulation
Survey
Lab. Tests
Field Tests
Lab. prototype
Eng. prototype
Commercial prototype
Meas. Techn.1
Meas. Techn.2
Meas. Techn.3
RESULTS: Performance Parameters
Acceleration
Speed
Fuel consumption
Design Parameters
Pressure
Tire Height
Tire Width
Tire Pressure
Tire Width

13. THE IMPORTANCE OF TITLE
A title should indicate:
The systems you are working on
The problems you are solving
Your achievements
Your methodology
General Title: General
Final Project (Thesis) Title: More specific
Paper’s Title: Very specific

14. THE IMPORTANCE OF ISSUES LAYER
The more detail the layers, the less the assumption, the better
Every time there is a jump between the layers, an assumption is made (thus, a justification is required)
One can choose any way he/she likes to arrange the sequence of layers
However, Issues of the same theme should be in the same layer
The Issues Layers indicate
- The scope of critical reviews (what to get from the papers)
- The focused issues (designation of issues)
- The rationale in choosing issues to study (to move from one level to the next)
- The Problem Statement

15. THE IMPORTANCE OF METHODOLOGY LAYER
To define the specific methods adopted
To designate which methods are of higher priorities
To avoid ambiguities in the approach taken
To reduce assumptions

16. THE IMPORTANCE OF METHODOLOGY LAYER
The Results Layers help in:
Identifying the expected results, and how many of them
Setting the priorities and designation of results
Identifying the possible analyses e.g. comparative studies
Organizing reports/thesis/papers
Designating sub-projects

17. With A K-Chart, let’s try to answer these questions again ….
What is the specific title of study
How wide/deep is the study?
How much is the literature review?
What do I look for in reading reference papers ?
How do I choose between two (or more) options
How do I decide to move to the next level of study?
How do I develop the objectives of study
What is the methodology (Theory, Simulation, Experiment, Observation, Survey) ?
How many results (# curves, graphs, charts) can be obtained
Which results to be focused on?
How to arrange the results
How many comparisons can be made?
How to cluster for sub-projects
Who to do what?

18. and more … How to plan for publication ?
How to construct articles’ titles ?
How to organize the report structure ?
How to plan for a graduate thesis writing?
How to integrate with new ideas ?
How to re-align the area of research when the original plan does not work ?

19. CONCLUSION The requirement for a research planning tool is obvious
Existing tools are either too specific or too broad
K Chart provides a more comprehensive micro-level planning

20. WASSALAM Thank You