1. Engineering Research Methodology
Presented by:
Dr. Mohsen Kahani
Computer Engineering Department Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
kahani.profcms.um.ac.ir

2. Topics
Research Methodologies
Research thru Internet

3. What is Research?
The systematic investigation into and study of materials, sources, etc, in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.
An endeavour to discover new or collate old facts etc by the scientific study of a subject or by a course of critical investigation

4. Research Methodologies
Scientific method
Engineering method
Empirical method
Analytical method

5. Scientific method Observe real world Propose a model or theory
of some real world phenomena
Measure and analyze
above
Validate hypotheses of the
model or theory
If possible, repeat

6. Engineering method Observe existing solutions Propose better solutions
Build or develop better
solution
Measure, analyze, and
evaluate
Repeat until no further improvements are possible

7. Empirical method Propose a model Develop statistical or other
basis for the model
Apply to case studies
Measure and analyze
Validate and then repeat

8. Analytical method Propose a formal theory or set of axioms
Develop a theory
Derive results
If possible, compare with
empirical observations
Refine theory if necessary

9. Different Types of Research
Fundamental Research
Applied Research
Developmental Research

10. Activities Find your Topic Do a review of the literature
Formulate your thesis
Defend your thesis title
Develop your solution
Validate and compare your answer
Write up
Defend your thesis
Search the Internet has an important role

11. Find Research Topic Check for conference CFP and conference programs
Check Other universities research topics
Test your topic
too much information --- narrow your topic
too little information -- use synonyms, hypernyms

12. Literature Review FIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
WikiPedia
USE CATALOGS TO FIND BOOKS AND MEDIA
USE INTERNET TO FIND PERIODICAL ARTICLES
READ & EVALUATE WHAT YOU FIND
CITE WHAT YOU FIND USING A STANDARD FORMAT

13. Search Library Connect to the University Library
Use Guides to learn how to use the system
Click on جستجو وتمديد منابع كتابخانه

14. Searching the web Search engines How do they work?
Gathering information from the web (offline)
Indexing documents
Responding to the queryies
Rendering the findings
Different Search engines, different startegies
General purpose vs. special purpose Search engines
Use Advanced Search for more options
Be hunter not searcher

15. The Invisible Web What is it?
Part of the web that can’t be indexed by search engines
The invisible web is now (mostly) visible
Search engines are now more powerful
Dynamic sites are indexed
Use hints from sites (eg. robots.txt)
Databases have opened their doors for search engines
Eg. Sciendirect, IEEEexplore, ACM, …
Search engine have special tools
Eg. Google scholar, Google groups, Google Maps, …

16. Academic Search
CiteSeer
Scopus
Google Scholar

17. Citeseer http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/

18. Scopus

19. Google Scholar

20. Evaluation & Comparison
Validate your results
Simulation methods & tools
Analyze your results
Use Scientific approaches
Compare with similar works
Redo their work
Compare with the published results
Use standard metrics (if exists)
Concentrate on both pros & cons

21. Write Up Dr. Pour Reza will talk about it in details
Publish your results in conferences
Go for prestigious conferences
International Conferences costs you a lot
Publish the complete works in journals
Use only accredited journals (ISI)
Some journals charge you as well

22. Thanks for your attention
Questions?