Research projects for MSc dissertations Antonella De Angeli

Research projects for MSc dissertations Antonella De Angeli Centre for HCI Design School of Informatics 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware

Styles of project • System development – Use and integrate established techniques in order to build a computer-based system • Research project – Original research on the deployment, engineering or evaluation of a computerbased system 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 2

Types of research project • Devise new algorithms • Test existing algorithms in new context • Develop new methodologies (designdevelopment-evaluation) • Investigate adoption and acceptance of IS 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 3

Must have • Clear success criteria – Is the project good or bad? • Risk analysis – What can go wrong? • Contingency plan – How do I minimise risk? 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 4

Acquiring knowledge • Tenacity – Accept ideas as valid because they have been accepted for so long • Intuition – Accepting ideas as valid because they ‘feel’ intuitively true • Authority – Accepting ideas as valid because some respected authority asserts that the ideas are true • Rationalism – Developing valid ideas using existing ideas and principles of logic • Empiricism – Gaining knowledge through observations • Science – A process which combines the principles of rationalism with the process of empiricism, using rationalism to develop theories and empiricism to test these theories 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 5

Scientific research • Systematic search for information • What distinguish scientific research from other forms of research is the emphasis on using integrated empirical and rational processes – gaining information through sensory experiences and reasoning 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 6

Science is a way of thinking 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware

Scientific research • Is the process of formulating specific questions and finding answers in order to understand a phenomenon better • SCIENCE IS A PROCESS OF INQUIRY 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 8

The essence of modern science is the way of thinking, the disciplined way in which questions are posed answered. It is the logical process and demands for evidence, and NOT the technologies, that lies at the centre of science. It is an intellectual process, and its ultimate goal is to understand the natural universe. 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 9

Asking questions • A question is one side of an idea; on the other side is an unknown – A POTENTIAL ANSWER • Asking questions is creative – it is the exercise of curiosity 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 10

Approach to questioning • Disciplined – rigorous – scientific • Researchers are pervasive Sceptics; they constantly challenge existing accepted wisdom – It may have some consequences • May be undesired • Knowledge is always incomplete – it is always tentative 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 11

Scientific research - stages • Posing a question • Developing procedures to answer the question • Planning for and then making appropriate empirical observation • Rationally interpreting the empirical observation 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 12

Elements of research • Facts – data or empirical observations • Observation: – empirical process of recognising and recording facts • Inference: – intellectual process in which conclusions are derived from facts or ideas • Constructs – Non observable inferred events (gravity- electricity – intelligence, personality, user-experience) 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 13

Type of reasoning • Inductive – Begin with empirical observations and then infers construct • Deductive – Use the constructs as the basis of making new specific observations • Both type of reasoning are part of science 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 14

Theories • Formalised set of concepts which – summarises and organises observations and inferences – Provides tentative explanations for phenomena – Provides the basis for making predictions • A scientific theory must be – Testable – Contradictable 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 15

Models • Description or analogy that represents something usually unseen and/or more complex • Mini-theories • A model REPRESENTS reality 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 16

Phases of a research study 1. Idea-generating phase – Identify a topic of interest to study 2. Problem-definition phase – Refine the vague idea(s) into a precise question to be answered 3. Procedures-design phase – Decide on specific procedures/methods to answer our question 4. Testing phase – Use the procedures devised in 3 to test your idea/theory/model 5. Interpretation phase – Answer your question – based on results from phase 4 6. Communication phase – your Dissertation!!!! – Should include a description of all preceding phases 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 17

Problem-definition phase • Learn how other research have conceptualised, measured, and tested these ideas • Library research • Refine research question so that it can be answered 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 18

Conclusion • Research is asking the right questions • Applying proper methodology to find answers • It is challenging, tiring, fashinating 2004/05 CT 334/434 CSCW: Groupware 19