Research in Science and Technology Presented during the Research Skills and Research Capability Buil

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Research in Science and TechnologyPresented
during theResearch Skills and Research
Capability Building SeminarOctober 15-17, 2003,
Audio Visual Room 1, Old Library BuildingXavier
University Ateneo de Cagayan

• Gerry S. DorojaDepartment of Computer
  ScienceCollege of EngineeringXavier University
  Ateneo de Cagayan(gsd_at_xu.edu.ph)

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Presentation Outline

• Introduction
• Science, natural science, object of study,
  methods, science, research, development,
  technology
• Research in Science and Technology (ST)
• Nature/types of research, innovation, adaption,
  research and development
• Object/Unit of Study in ST Research
• Characteristics hierarchy and diversity
• The Scientific Method/The Research Lifecycle
• Hypotetico-deductive cycle, the research
  lifecycle
• The Research Project
• Phases, required skills, selection, design,
  proposal writing
• Closing Remarks/Open Forum

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What is research in science and technology?

• Exploratory (investigative)
• looking for answers to questions
• finding solutions to problems
• Show evidence of independent inquiry
• Show originality in the methods used and/or
  conclusions drawn
• Make an appreciable new contribution to knowledge
  in the field of study
• (Source University Calendar, Trinity College,
  Dublin)

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What is research in science and technology?

• Innovating (originating, discovering, inventing)
  - research in developed countries
• Adapting (adjusting, arranging, accommodating) -
  research in developing countries
• NOT adopting (taking in, using, employing) - not
  research just a project
• NOT copying (imitating, duplicating, reproducing)
  - plagiarism or piracy

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What are the types of research?
Basic research
Applied research
oriented basic research
fundamental research
experimental development
pilot testing
Basic research - experimental or theoretical work
undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of
underlying foundations of phenomena and
observable facts fundamental research - without
immediate or specific use in view oriented basic
research - geared toward the solution of a
specific problem that has not been solved
before Applied research - refers to
investigation undertaken in order to verify
data/information gathered from basic or
fundamental research or to acquire new knowledge
directed primarily towards a specific practical
aim or objective experimental development -
systematic work, drawing from existing knowledge
gained from research and/or practical experience
that is directed to producing new materials,
products and devices, to installing new
processes, systems and services and to improving
substantially those already produced or
installed pilot testing - innovative activity
aimed at gaining experience leading to further
technical improvement of the product or the
production process and setting the parameters
prior to the commercialization process (Source
DOST Revised Guidelines Governing the
Grants-in-Aid Program, 1997)
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What is research and development?

• Remember that research (R) is not development
  (D) although D will be necessary in solving your
  R problem. If you stray to far in D, you will
  probably be passed by industrial RD and find
  your years of work will (sic) be released as a
  product before you start to write-up.
• (Source A. Bundy, A. et al., The Researchers
  Bible, University of Edinburgh, 1995)

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What is the unit/object of study in ST research?

• Natural objects physical bodies, fields and
  interactions, living organisms, etc...
• For example, the unit of study may be systems,
  system components, architectures, models,
  processes, procedures, methods, techniques,
  theories, etc in a particular field or discipline
  (study population in social science research)
• Characteristics of study units hierarchy and
  diversity

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What is the unit/object of study in ST research?

• For example, in computer science study units may
  be
• In Algorithms algorithms, routines
• In Artificial intelligence methods, techniques,
  algorithms
• In Programming languages languages, language
  components or features
• In Architecture instruction sets, memory
  hierarchies, architectures
• In Theory models, theorems, proof techniques
• In Systems systems, components of systems,
  system architectures
• (Exercise 1 Can you come up with a similar list
  in your field/discipline? )

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What is the unit of study in ST research?
(contd)
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• Units have HIERARCHICAL structure. (important
  for understanding context/developing framework)
• For example

unit
computerarchitecture
Level 0
memory hierarchies
instruction sets
Level 1
floating point units
instructions for branching
support for virtual memory
floating point representation
instructions for procedure call
arithmetic algorithms
study of caches
Level 2
study of cache coherency
implementation strategies
pipeline design
(Exercise 2 Can you come up with a similar unit
hierarchy in your field/discipline? )
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What is the unit of study in ST research?
(contd)

• Units vary (DIVERSITY) by their SIZE, POTENTIAL
  VARIETY, COST OF EVALUATION, and so
  on.(important for defining scope and
  limitations)
• Size
• Small units algorithms, language features,
  architectural components
• Medium-size units instruction sets, proof
  techniques
• Large units languages, architectures, machines
• Potential Variety
• Low variety sorting algorithms, cache designs
• High variety AI algorithms, languages,
  architectures
• Cost of Evaluation
• Low cost algorithms, artificial intelligence
  methods
• Medium cost theorems, components of
  architectures
• High cost languages, architectures, ideal models
• Generally, smaller units exhibit less variety and
  lower cost of evaluation, so they are easier to
  do research on.

(Exercise 3 Can you come up with a similar
classification in your field/discipline? )
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What is the typical research lifecycle?
THE PROBLEM - Research defines a new problem, new
constraints, new opportunity, or a new approach.
Definition (1)
Best approaches are transferred to users.
Initial Solutions (2)
Technology Transfer (6)
SPACE OF UNITS IDEAL MODEL - Theorems are proved
about the limits on any solutions. Existing
solutions are placed in a common framework to
determine whether all possible solutions have
been found.
CREATE UNITS - Initial algorithms, designs,
theorems, programs are developed.
Exploratory theory
Space of Possible Solutions (5)
Evaluation of Initial Solutions (3)
Tradeoff
Comparison of Solutions (4)
EVALUATE UNITS - Initial solutions are evaluated
and refined in isolation.
COMPARE UNITS - Solutions are compared to one
another and also to ideal solutions.
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What is the typical research lifecycle? (contd)

• Not all of these phases are seen in all areas.
• For units with high cost of evaluation only
  relatively weak methods can be applied to
  evaluate initial solutions and compare solutions.
• For units with high variety, it is difficult to
  understand the space of all possible solutions.

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What is expected out of research (i.e.,
result/output)?

• Here are some examples
• a definition of a problem or task
• a unit for solving a problem, performing a task
• identification of factors in influencing the
  cost, effectiveness, or applicability of a unit
  (perhaps with some idea of the relative
  importance of the factors)
• development of an ideal model
• a finished unit that can be distributed to users
  and,
• measurement of some properties of a unit e.g.,
  run time, chip area, representation requirements,
  reliability, usability, etc.

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What are the research methodologies? (Some
generic examples)

• Design units
• Implement units
• Run units
• Find and prove theorems
• Analyze and consolidate

• Study users
• Import techniques
• Read literature
• Write paper

There are many possible research methodologies
(depending on the field/discipline).
The Research Methodology section in a research
proposal or paper is normally an elaboration of
one or a combination of these methodologies used
in the research as well as the
materials/resources to be used/used.
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What are the research methodologies? (contd)
Some specific examples

• performing psychological experiments, surveys,
  observations
• building hardware
• reading literature
• importing techniques and results from other
  fields
• measuring and predicting constraints on future
  units (e.g., VLSI technology, government
  regulation, user expectations and requirements)
• writing papers, monographs, and textbooks

• writing programs
• writing systems
• developing architectures
• developing content architectures (ontologies,
  knowledge bases, class libraries, graphics
  toolboxes, etc.)
• measuring properties of units
• finding and proving theorems
• analyzing and consolidating previous research
• interviewing experts, customers

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What are the research project phases?

• An individual research project follows phases
  related to the research life-cycle
• Choose research question/problem/tradeoff
• Determine current state of knowledge (literature
  review)
• Apply appropriate methods to produce research
  results and,
• Write up research results.
• To address the basic questions/framework for
  research
• What is the problem? (INTRODUCTION)
• What did you use to tackle it? (MATERIALS AND
  METHODS)
• What results followed? (RESULTS AND DISCUSSION)

Research is not complete until it is written up!
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What are the research project phases?
Research Methods
Research Phase-Method Matrix

Research Phases
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SIDETRACK Research and Literature Review
Literature review is fundamental to research!
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What are the required supporting skills?

• Different research methods require different
  supporting skills. Some examples of required
  SKILLS

• Programming
• Design
• Organization
• Mathematics
• Psychological techniques
• Protocol analysis
• Experimental manipulations

• Survey methods
• Statistics
• Writing proposals
• Writing papers
• Critiquing papers
• Designing experiments
• Giving talks

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How to design a research project?

• Some factors to consider

• Impact and significance
• Required skills
• Inherent interest

• Feasibility and competition
• Phase of research extendibility
• Opportunities for learning new skills

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How to choose a research problem?

• Questions about yourself
• Questions about context
• Questions about the lifecycle

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Questions About Yourself

• What research skills do you excel at?
• Where in the lifecycle are those skills most
  needed?
• What kind of outcome do you seek?
• Satisfaction from being a competent researcher?
• Solving important societal, commercial, or
  scientific problems?
• Transforming the way computers are programmed?
• Transforming the way current users employ
  computers?
• Bringing computation to a new kind of user?
• Starting a company and making a fortune?
• What research skills do you excel at? What
  research skills do you excel at?
• What research contributions do you most admire?

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Questions About the Context

• What new technologies may drive change?
• How will these technologies shift tradeoff
  points?
• What new problems will they introduce?
• What kinds of new users are potentially out
  there?
• What are their problems?
• What application areas are very messy and need
  formalizing?

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Questions about the lifecycle Research Strategies

• Technique-Driven Research
• Primarily interested in a technique (e.g.,
  machine learning), look for applications of it.
• Much of computer science is here.
• Problem-Driven Research
• Primarily interested in a goal (e.g., dynabook",
  databases, digital library), use whatever methods
  are appropriate.

Technique-driven - researcher learn about many
applications. Problem-driven - researcher learn
about many techniques.
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How to write a research proposal? Contents

• The Problem
• Previous Work
• Methodology
• Timetable
• Budget

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How to write a research proposal? Example Format

• Project Summary. 250-word abstract describing the
  project and its significance.
• Goals and Significance. Describe the long term
  goals, the short-term goals (briefly), and their
  significance. May need to briefly review prior
  work to set the stage.
• Previous Research. Current state of knowledge.
  Include your own research here to demonstrate
  your knowledge and project feasibility. Cite all
  potential reviewers. May need to include a
  tutorial on this area.
• Specific Goals. May interleave with methods and
  experiments.
• Methods and Experiments. Give sufficient detail
  to assure reviewers of feasibility and of your
  ability to do them. Risky outcomes should be
  accounted for in the design.
• Timetable. Brief list of specific tasks and
  expected time when they will be completed.
• References.
• Budget and Budget Justification. This is usually
  a separate section.
• Other Materials. CV of investigators letters of
  support from and collaborators. Letters verifying
  unusual items (e.g., institutional matching
  funds, etc.)

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Summary

• Introduced
• Science, natural science, object of study,
  methods, science, research, development,
  technology
• Discussed research in Science and Technology
  (ST)
• Nature/types of research, innovation, adaption,
  research and development
• Identified object/Unit of Study in ST Research
• Characteristics hierarchy and diversity
• Discussed the Scientific Method/The Research
  Lifecycle
• Hypotetico-deductive cycle, the research
  lifecycle
• Discussed the Research Project
• Phases, required skills, selection, design,
  proposal writing

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Thank you!