NEU FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

A PERSONAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMPLEXITY IN RESEARCH

PREPARED FOR: ME 501 SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH METHODS COURSE.

PREPARED BY: Osude Benedict

MAY 5, 2011.
Abstract.

This term paper is centered on the complex nature of research. But we cannot have a clear
understanding of this complexity without thoroughly reviewing the various processes that make
up research itself.

Research methodology is not just a list of processes coming after each other in a successive order
but rather it’s like a programing language in which the processes are in a consequential order;
that is each process comes as a result of the preceding process.

Introduction

The Encarta dictionary defines complexity as the condition of being made up of many
interrelated parts. Research on the other hand is simply an organized study; that is a methodical
investigation into a subject in order to discover facts to establish or revise a theory, or to develop
a plan of action based on the facts discovered.

Research is said to be methodical because it is a process broken up into many steps that lead to a
conclusion. That said; complexity in research can be seen to be the characteristics of a research
process to be made up of many parts in an intricate arrangement.

Methods

The search for information’s for this term paper started off with internet-based information to get
a general understanding of the subject. Keeping in mind that the web is an open source and every
piece of information there isn’t necessarily true, I weighed the information from the web against
the ones published in a text. Then, I made my own assessment after a thorough understanding of
the subject.
Results

Define
Review the Formulate Design the Analyse Interpret
reseash Collect data
Literature Hypotheses research data and report
problem

Where marks a reversible process

Flow chart of the research process

As the saying goes; a picture is worth a thousand words. Merely looking at the figure above, we
can have a basic understanding of the complex nature of the research process.

The research process consists of a number of interrelated parts that overlap continuously rather
than follow a strictly defined sequence, and the first step determines the nature of the last step to
be undertaken. The various steps involved in a research process are not mutually exclusive, that
is; they do not necessarily follow each other in any specific order and the researcher has to be
constantly anticipating at each step in the research process the requirements of the subsequent
steps.

 Devising the research problem:

There are two steps involved in devising a research problem; the first is to understand the
problem thoroughly and the best way of going ahead with this is to discuss it with either interest
groups or people having some sort of expertise in the subject, and secondly rephrasing the same
problem into meaningful terms. The first step is the most important. The problem to be
investigated must be defined unambiguously because it will help separating relevant facts from
the irrelevant ones. Finally, it is worth noting that the statement of the objective is of the utmost
importance because it determines the facts which are to be collected, their characteristic, their
relations, the choice of techniques to be used in these explorations and the form of the final
report.

 Broad survey of the literature:

At this stage the researcher should write down a brief summary of the problem; the researcher
must survey the literature connected with the problem extensively in other words at this juncture
the research must start building up a literature for the subject which would require tapping into
published or unpublished bibliographies, academic journals, and as many more books as
possible. In this process one source always leads to another.

 Developing the subject hypotheses:

Hypotheses serves as a guide for the researcher by delimiting the area of research and keep him
on the right track, it sharpens his thinking and focuses his attention on more important facets of
the subject and it indicates the type of data required and the type of approach to be used in
analyzing the data.

The researcher at this point should state in clear terms a tentative assumption made in order to
draw out and test its empirical consequences. The development of a working hypotheses plays an
important role, since hypotheses has been known to affect the manner in which tests are
conducted in the analysis of the data and indirectly affect the quality of data which is required for
the analysis, they should be very specific and limited to the piece of research in hand because it
has to be tested.

Working hypotheses arise as a result of prior thinking about the subject, examination of the
available data and the counsel of interest groups or experts. Working hypotheses is more useful
when it is stated in a precise term.

 Preparing the research design

In this stage the researcher will have to state the conceptual structure within which the
research would be conducted. The function of the research design is to provide for the
collection of relevant evidence with minimal expenditure of effort and the achievement of
this is based mainly on the purpose of the research. The preparation of the research design
appropriate for a particular research problem involves usually the consideration of the
following;

o The means of obtaining the information,

o The availability and skills of the researcher,
o Explanation of the way in which selected means of obtaining information will
be organized and the reasoning leading to the selection,
o The availability of time for the research
o The cost factor relating to the research.
 Determining the sample design:

The researcher has to decide a way of selecting a definite plan determined before any data
actually collected for obtaining a sample from a given population, taking into consideration
the nature of the inquiry.

 Collecting the data:

There are several ways of collecting the appropriate data which differs considerably in
context of cost and time.

Data can primarily be collected by either through experiment; in which case he observes
some quantitative measures with which he examines the truth contained in his hypothesis.
Secondly the researcher can collect data through survey; in which case he collects his
information by observation, through personal or non-personal interviews, by mailing of
questionnaires.

 Execution of the project:

This part of the research process is self-explanatory, but the researcher has to make sure that
the project is executed in a systematic manner and on time.

 Analysis of data:

At this stage in the research process, the researcher has to analyze the collected data. The
data can be analyzed through establishing categories, applying these categories to raw data
 through coding; which is usually done by transforming the data into symbols that can be
tabulated and counted.

 Testing the hypothesis:

The researcher is now in a position to test his hypothesis. Hypothesis testing will result in
either accepting the hypothesis or in rejecting it.

 Generalizations and interpretation:

After the hypothesis has be tested and upheld several times it may be possible for the
researcher to build a theory or come up with a new question to answer.

Finally, the researcher has to prepare a detailed report of what he has done.

Discussion

In my personal opinion, research is a scientific gamble; that is, taking a chance in the
expectation of a desired result. The complexities being the many probabilities (that is the
many different directions the research might go) available.

To illustrate my personal take on the complexities in research; the researcher starts with the
first process and based on his result he could either move onto the next one or review the
information in the first part to get the desired results. This can also happen as far as in the
fifth part, based on the result the researcher can move as far back as the first part to get the
appropriate outcome.

References

Yogesh, K.S. (2006). Fundamental of research: Methodology and Statistics. India: New Age
Publications.

Kothari, C.R. (2004). Research methodology: Methods and Techniques. India: New Age
Publications.

Geoffrey M., David D., David F. (2004). Essentials of research: Design and Methodology. New
Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc.