Research Methodology

1. Foundations of Research: Meaning, Objectives, Motivation, Utility. Concept of theory, empiricism, deductive and inductive theory. Characteristics of scientific method - Understanding the language of Research - Concept, Construct, Definition, Variable. Research Process. 2. Problem Identification & Formulation - Research Question - Investigation Question - Measurement Issues - Hypothesis - Qualities of a good HypothesisNull Hypothesis & Alternative Hypothesis. Hypothesis Testing - Logic & Importance. 3. Research Design: Concept and Importance in Research - Features of a good research design - Exploratory Research Design - concept, types and uses, Descriptive Research Designs - concept, types and uses. Experimental Design: Concept of Independent & Dependent variables. 4. Qualitative and Quantitative Research: Qualitative research - Quantitative research - Concept of measurement, causality, generalization, replication. Merging the two approaches. 5. Measurement: Concept of measurement- what is measured? Problems in measurement in research- Validity and Reliability. Levels of measurementNominal, Ordinal, Interval, Ratio. 6. Sampling: Concepts of Statistical Population, Sample, Sampling Frame, Sampling Error, Sample Size, Non Response. Characteristics of a good sample. Probability Sample- Simple Random Sample, Systematic Sample, Stratified Random Sample & Multi-stage sampling. Determining size of the samplePractical considerations in sampling and sample size. 7. Data Analysis: Data Preparation - Univariate analysis (frequency tables, bar charts, pie charts, percentages), Bivariate analysis- Cross tabulations and Chisquare test including testing hypothesis of association. 8. Interpretation of Data and Paper Writing- Layout of a Research Paper, Journals in Computer Science, Impact factor of Journals, When and where to publish ? Ethical issues related to publishing, Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism. 9. Use of Encyclopedias, Research Guides, Handbook etc., Academic Databases for Computer Science Discipline. 10.Use of tools I techniques for Research: methods to search required information effectively, Reference Management Software like Zotero/ Mendeley, Software for paper formatting like LaTeX/ MS Office, Software for detection of Plagiarism
Recommended Books:
1. Business Research Methods- Donald Cooper & Pamela Schindler, TMGH, 9th editions.
2. Business Research Methods- Alan Bryman & Emma Bell, Oxford University Press.
3. Research Methodology- C. R. Kothari
4. Select references from the Internet