Research Methods Designing a research project: Getting started

A research process

Designing a research project Other people’s research Research question, aims and objectives Practical constraints: resources, access, ethics Approach, method and instruments

Choosing a topic Your first task to get you started on your assignment Your proposed research MUST be concerned with an area of computing, relevant to your Module As you are writing a proposal for research which you do not have to carry out you have fewer real-world constraints ... but it might be helpful to build some in to your proposal availability of quality literature about your topic is important – web must not be the only source Your first step is to think of some areas of interest ... ... Is there a computing topic you have wanted to find out more about for some time?

Choosing a topic “Computing” research now covers a huge field ... Computer science, new technologies, opensource software, extreme programming, 3D-graphics, wireless networks Humans using computers – for work, leisure, sociability, education and learning Mobile and ubiquitous (non-desktop) computing – phones, cameras, music, gaming, TV Legality and ethics of computer use – piracy, downloading, security, biometrics, identity theft, plagiarism Attitudes to computers, access to technology, digital divide

Formulating a research question Start with an area in which you are interested ... ... then look for previous research on that subject New knowledge Should be (a little bit) original But build on what is already known Create some questions about topic e.g. PLAGIARISM What …? Who …? Why …? How far …? How many …? In what way …? To what extent …?

For example: Plagiarism and the Web Possible to ask different questions about the same topic, and investigate in different ways Do staff and students have different attitudes to plagiarism? Survey of the two groups by questionnaire: “Attitudes to student plagiarism amongst academic staff and students: a comparative study” Where do students draw the line on acceptable and unacceptable plagiarism? – show students case studies in a focus group and record their reactions Are student attitudes to plagiarism different according to their nationality and culture? “Attitudes to student plagiarism amongst students in Computing: a cross-cultural study.”

Another example, Phone cams What do people use them for? User diary study, focus groups “Use of camera facility on mobile phones among young people in Hastings aged 19 - 23” Who buys them? Internet study collating information from market research companies and phone companies “Development of markets for phonecams - comparative study of UK, US, Finland and Japan” Misuse of phone cams, is it a problem? – bullying, happy slapping, stalking. Case studies? Survey of people’s perceptions of risk?

Write a research question Music or video downloading Learning programming Identity cards

Formulating a research question Once you have identified your research question Think of a title for your proposal A good title should tell prospective readers exactly what the research (report, proposal) is about – so that they can decide whether or not to read it Ask if other people will be interested in your research question? Is it relevant to people other than yourself? “How to research”, by Blaxter, Hughes and Tight gives some useful advice about choosing a topic – and how to kick start the process if you cannot think of a topic – see Chapter 2, page 21-52

Planning - what resources do you have to investigate your research question? Time? As you are writing a proposal you can decide how long you have for the research Funding What is the budget? Access Risks – what problems might prevent you getting access to the information you need? Technology Any specialist equipment? Recording equipment? Games consoles?

Research method Think seriously about your own preferences both for topic Do you want to learn something about the research topic you are proposing? Will you be interested in reading papers etc for your literature review? And also method – How feasible would it be to investigate your research topic? Will it require one or more methods to come to some sound and justifiable conclusions? Do you have the knowledge and skills to carry out the investigation? Back this up by reading about research methods

Research methods Approaches = different ways of designing research program Action/participant research Students last year studied themselves as they learned how to play multiplayer games, e.g. Everquest Another group did a street survey in a shopping centre to find out if people new about the security risks of wireless networks Experiments Information seeking with 4 different search engines - relevance of returned results

Research methods Surveys - via questionnaire, interview Questionnaire study of people’s planning behaviour for TV Internet research Research into history, technology and use of SMS Observation of behaviour Home study of families with interactive TV

Summary We have investigated some ways of arriving at a research question bearing in mind constraints. We have identified that the designing of a research question and its aims and objectives cannot be achieved in isolation. Remember we will be looking at topics that help with the research question over the next few weeks.

Questions?

Task 1 (Part 1) 01 Developing a Research Question http://www8.esc.edu/htmlpages/writerold/menus.htm Exercise (Individual & Group based): 1. Read this web page. (Individual task) 2. Complete Exercise 1 "Can this topic be Researched?" (Group task: In your group discuss and note down your reasons why before checking the answers). 3. Complete Exercise 2 "Is this question too broad or Narrow?" note down your reasons why before checking the answers. (Group task: In your group discuss and note down your reasons why before checking the answers). 4. Complete Exercise 3 "Evaluate your own research question" (Individual task)

Task 1 (Part 2) 02 Research Question Types http://www.innovativelearning.ca/sec- research/documents/step2.pdf Exercise (Individual): 1. Read this web page. 2. Identify the type of question you are proposing as your research question. 3. Create a table to show how your research question will be SMART.

Task 2 Think about a research question and then write a brief research proposal and a plan (first ideas, not a finished product). Download from the Wiki and complete the ‘Research Question’ form with rough ideas for next week. Complete 2 of these with a different research question for each.