research methods in undergraduate projects. undergraduate projects2 what is the point of doing a...

Research Methodsin Undergraduate Projects

undergraduate projects 2

What is the point of doinga final year project?

You may find the idea of a dissertation rather daunting and even begin to question why you have to do it. Stop now and consider why you think it is a required part of your degree.

Activity: What skills does the dissertation allow you to develop and demonstrate? Jot down three things.


What is the point of doing a project?

Researching and writing a dissertation will allow you to develop and demonstrate your ability to:

plan and manage a piece of research carry out a piece of research by collecting, collating and

assessing information (academic skills) communicate your findings on the subject you have

investigated in a concise format (ability to communicate at a graduate level)

critically evaluate research carried out by others (insight, higher order critical skills)

form appropriate conclusions and recommendations based on the work you have carried out (research supported decisions)

complete a sustained piece of work within a defined time period (demonstrates independent thought)


The “build project” – Client / Lecturer initiated task - usually an application or programming problem. Can be initiated by the student if the problem is ‘real’ and specific enough.

The “business report” – the use of secondary research to ‘solve’ a business and IT related problem, and present recommendations to a company

The “academic paper” – usually a limited case study. Uses primary / secondary research to find ‘new knowledge’ about a topic. Case studies aim to be ‘generalisable’ (e.g. the problems of implementing e-commerce in a case study company might be applicable to a wider set of companies)

All of these ‘deliverables’ need to be accompanied by a reflective report that deals with the management of the problem, insight into the methods employed, critical analysis and reflection of the research task.

3 types of project


Cruising for a fail…Typically:

“A website and database for an imaginary company (friend, uncle) that allows people to log in and record their details”

Not a challenge

No real problem to solve

Freeware can be downloaded

Contains no ‘substantial’ requirements analysis

Little opportunity for reflection, critical evaluation or insight

Can only demonstrate basic coding skills

Project type number 4


The process of research has been described as "seeking through methodical processes to add to one's own body of knowledge and, hopefully, to that of others, by the discovery of non-trivial facts and insights" (Howard and Sharp, 1996, page 7).

This suggests that you should tackle an issue that needs investigation, and where your results might have some significance.

You are unlikely to produce research with world-wide impact (although it does happen).

But do not allow it to turn simply into an "academic exercise" where you jump through a series of hoops to satisfy your examiners. That won't be very satisfying for you (or satisfy your examiners.)


For many students the most difficult part of researching a project may be actually getting going. Take comfort! If you have problems getting started you are not alone!

“The most difficult hurdle to overcome in doing research is not in learning the techniques or doing the actual work or even writing the report. The biggest obstacle, surprisingly, lies in figuring out what you want to know. Two problems are very common: choosing a topic which is too broad . . . or "dressing up" a topic (to make it sound more [academic, or] scientific) (Kane, 1987, page 15).


Finding a topic or formulating a research plan

Pick something you find interesting - if you work on something solely because your advisor wants you to, it will be difficult to stay motivated.

Pick something your advisor finds interesting - if your advisor doesn't find it interesting he/she is unlikely to devote much time to your research. He/she will be even more motivated to help you if your project is on their critical path (although this has down sides too!).

Make sure it addresses a real problem

Pick something that is narrow enough so it can be done in a reasonable time frame

Have realistic expectations (i.e. don't expect the Nobel Prize)


Crazy brainstorm

Look through a good, recent introductory textbook and, if appropriate, more specialized works.

Look through some current periodicals in your subject discipline. Even if 95% of the articles are not relevant you can skim through the contents quickly, and the remaining 5% may give you some useful ideas.

Think about essays and other coursework you have undertaken, and lectures and seminars you have attended. Think back over your reading. What most interested you? What would you like to know more about?

If you lack ideas, or wish to gain focus, try some or all of the following:


Relevance ofthe Literature Review

To help you learn more about the project topic area that you have selected, and

Understand work already carried out in your topic area.

To reuse tried and tested ideas.


Importance of the Literature Review

Most academic books and journal articles show evidence of literature reviews in the form of quotations, footnotes, references and citations.

You need to show similar evidence in your final report


Scope of the Literature Review

You will not, at undergraduate level, generally be expected to produce a definitive account of the state of research in your selected topic area.

You will need to provide evidence that you have read a certain amount of relevant literature, and that you have some awareness of the current state of knowledge on the subject.


Impact on Project Assessment

Examiners at undergraduate level are interested in your own ideas, interpretations and concepts of the particular field of study.

Examiners will reward students who demonstrate critical evaluation, i.e. that they have thought about what they have read.


What is Critical Reading?

One that goes beyond mere description by offering opinions and making a personal response to what has been written.

One that relates different writings to each other.

One that does not take what is written at face value.

(Baxter et al. 1996)


Writing the Literature Review

They should provide ‘a coherent argument that leads to the description of a proposed work’ (Rudestam & Newton, 1992).

Evidence of critical evaluation and critical understanding of relevant literature.

References should be used to support your arguments where appropriate.


The Use of References

To justify and support your arguments. To allow you to make comparisons with

other work. To express ideas better than you could

have done. To demonstrate your familiarity with your

area of work.(Blaxter et al., 1996)


The Abuse of References

To replace the need for you to express your own thoughts.

To impress your readers with the scope of your reading.

To litter your writing with names and quotations.

To misrepresent other authors.(Blaxter et al., 1996)


Presenting the Literature Review

1. As a single chapter.

2. As a series of chapters.

3. Subsumed within the report as various issues are tackled.

For an undergraduate project, approaches 1 & 3 are the most common.

(Saunders et al, 1997)


What a Literature Review Is Not

It is not a list of all the books and papers that you have read (Bell, 1999).

It must not simply dedicate a paragraph or page to each article in turn, just reporting on their content (Haywood & Wragg, 1982).


Literature Review for Research Projects

Dissertations will normally require a significant amount of investigative work. You will need to look at the work of others and identify concepts, methods, models and strategies that are relevant to your own work. The Literature Review is therefore of considerable importance to such projects.


Literature Review for Development Projects The development of a product is not normally

acceptable on its own. You should include a critical evaluation of the

product, the development process, and your own experience in carrying out the project.

Critical evaluation emphasises the distinction between the academic quality of your work, and technical ability alone.


Gathering Data

This is the systematic gathering of published information relating to a subject.

The term published means that the work is recognised as one that has been suitably refereed before publication.

The work has been assessed for its academic worth by other ‘experts’ in the field and accepted as contributing to that field.


Scope of thedata gathering exercise

For an undergraduate computing project, you will rarely be expected to provide the results of a complete literature search, but rather, you will need to show that you have selected reading appropriate to your project area that gives sufficient breadth and depth for your particular project.


Planning thedata gathering exercise

In a general search, which topics can be discounted as not being relevant to your project?

What sort of books, papers etc. do you require for your literature review?

Set a limit to the scope of your searching and don’t let it drag on.

Allow for some material to be acquired late in the project.


The Library

Know your topic ‘shelf’ in the library Ask for the ‘computing area librarian’ Ask about CD Rom databases of current

journals Follow the link for eJournals and

eResources on the library homepage


Computing Organisations

Association of Computing Machinery (ACM)

http://portal.acm.org British Computer Society (BCS)

http://www.bcs.org.uk Institute for the Management of Information

Systems (IMIS)

http://www.imis.org.uk


Recording References

Record manually or electronically: the complete bibliographic reference the location where reference was found the date when located any further details concerning the source of

the reference that might be helpful in the future


Managing Information

It will be necessary to devise a system of note-taking or recording which allows you to record in a manageable way, the key elements from your sources that you might wish to use: highlighting, underlining or making notes on copies

of articles, etc make notes that explain the contribution of what you

have read: ideas, etc


Summary

A Literature Review may: provide a coherent argument that leads to the

description of a proposed study, demonstrate that you have a more than superficial

understanding of your subject area.

All project write-ups should show critical evaluation and critical understanding of the included project elements.


Bibliography Bell, J. (1999) Doing Your Research Project (3/E), Open

University Press Baxter et al. (1996) How to Research, Open University

Press Campbell, D & Campbell, M. (1995) The Student’s Guide

to Doing Research on the Internet, Addison-Wesley Dawson, C.W. (2000) The Essence of Computing

Projects: A Student’s Guide, Prentice Hall Gash, S. (1989) Effective Literature Searching for

Students, Gower Rudestam, K.E. & Newton, R.R. (1992) Surviving Your

Dissertation, Sage Saunders et al. (1997) Research Methods for Business

Students, Pitman

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