Research Methods Introduction What do we mean by “research”? What kind of research? What are “research methods”? How should one approach a research project? How should one “solve” problems? How should one present the results? Why?

What is Research? Gathering information (some people think this is all it is) Solving problems Answering questions Asking new questions Creating new approaches or methods Finding an optimal solution to a problem Presenting the results in a useful form Why?

What is Not Research? Just using an old, inelegant method to solve a problem that has already been solved Novelty and Elegance of the Method Importance and Difficulty of an Unsolved Problem More Valuable Research Less Valuable Research The Usual Path to a Solution

Helpful Hints for Research Efforts Identify the problem before starting Gather information at every stage Plan ahead and organize your work Keep track of ideas you get along the way Document every step you take (take notes) Brainstorm (Don’t be afraid to try the “ridiculous”) Use analogies from other fields Explore, analyze, and synthesize potential solutions Why?

More Helpful Hints Find out who else has been working on the problem Look in journals, proceedings, and transactions Try to concentrate on the central problem Use visualization (plots, diagrams), if appropriate Talk about your work with others Attend meetings and conferences, if possible Give appropriate credit to the work and ideas of others (very important, especially in this class!) Why?

Still More Helpful Hints Work on small-scale (or prototype of) problem first Try to get an understanding of what makes the problem non-trivial (difficult or maybe impossible) Break the problem into subproblems Focus on the toughest subproblem first Find some way to measure your progress Don’t beat a dead horse and don’t get sidetracked Keep at it, don’t give up easily, and persevere Always keep in mind the purpose of the research Why?

Hints for Working on Subproblems Work on most difficult subproblem first Try to get an understanding of what makes each subproblem non-trivial or trivial Break each non-trivial subproblem into additional subproblems, etc. if appropriate, until each is determined to be trivial Document (keep track of what you’ve done) Why?

Hints for Using Goal-Directed Approach Identify goal state(s) or properties of goal state(s) Identify starting state(s) Determine an appropriate metric for progress If possible, determine intermediate goals or subgoals (that are likely to be closer to the final solution or goal state) Monitor progress toward a solution

Differences Between Academic and Corporate or Commercial Research Corporate research generally is less concerned with the newness or elegance of an idea and more concerned with the bottom line (How much will it cost? Will it increase profits? If so, when?) Corporate research generally is more concerned with protecting (and marketing) profitable ideas using patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, etc. (This often involves legal issues)

More Differences Between Academic and Corporate Research Corporate research is generally more concerned with the solution itself and not with how it was discovered, using previous work as much as possible Academic research is more concerned with the solution process, elegance and novelty, how the solution extends earlier work, and with disseminating the results appropriately (Let the world know about it!)