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Refine Chapter 3 in Report�

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Learning Outcomes

Understand what is expected of Research Methodology at Degree level
Know what information should be included in RM
Know the objective of RM Chapter
Know the guidelines in writing RM

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Expectation at Degree level

At Degree level (in CS253), you are expected to be able to:

Describe the exact procedures carried out to achieve the aim of the project
Show a careful and methodical approach to the study
Provide sufficient detail for another researcher to replicate the study precisely

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Information that may be included in the methodology chapter

Techniques/algorithm used (pseudo code/ equations/functions

Logical design (Flowchart/ERD/Use-Case/ architecture/ GUI/ Interface

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Objective of Research Methodology Chapter

Objective: To describe the overall process flow of the

research (framework of the research, research structure)

To describe the techniques and procedures (steps) used in

research;

e.g. Steps in developing the algorithm

Steps in pre-processing the dataset

To explain the data, materials, subjects, tools, and equipment

used in research

To explain how the experiments are designed

Generally to describe:

How the project/research is carried out?

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Guidelines in writing Research Methodology

Refine the proposed RM
Begin with the overview of RM – all phases in one figure

Research framework
Research structure

Explain every phase in detail
Use simple past tense to describe work that has already been completed. Avoid the common mistake of simply copying the methodology described in the proposal because this would have been written in the future tense.

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Guidelines in writing Research Methodology

The passive voice is usually used to describe the methodology because emphasis needs to be placed on the action rather than the person who carried out the action.
The use of the passive voice has the effect of depersonalizing the information and thus making the tone more academic and professional.

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Example Of Chapter Three In TOC

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Research Design / Framework

3.3 Preliminary Study

3.4 Requirement Analysis

3.5 System Design

3.6 System Development

3.7 Data Analysis

3.8 Summary

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Content of Research Methodology– Sample A

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Preliminary Study

3.3 Knowledge Acquisition

3.4 Data collection

3.5 Knowledge Representation

3.5.1 Expert System

3.5.2 Fuzzy Inference System

3.5.3 Case-based Reasoning

3.6 System Design

3.6.1 Data Flow Diagram

3.6.2 Interface Design

3.7 System Development

3.7.1 Hardware Requirements

3.7.2 Software Requirements

3.8 System Testing

3.9 Summary

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3.1 Project Framework

3.2 Theoretical Study

3.3 Empirical Study

3.3.1 Knowledge Elicitation

3.3.2 Data Collection

3.3.3 Data Analysis

3.4 Expert System Architecture Construction

3.4.1 Knowledge Design

3.4.2 System Design

3.5 System Development

3.6 Hardware and Software Specification

3.7 Summary

Content of Research Methodology– Sample B

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3.1 Introduction

3.2 Theoretical Study

3.2.1 Preliminary Study

3.2.2 Knowledge Acquisition

3.3 Empirical Study

3.3.1 Data Collection

3.3.2 Data Pre-processing

3.3.3 Data Analysis

3.4 System Design

3.4.1 Database Design

3.4.2 Interface Design

3.4.3 Architecture Design

3.5 System Development

3. 5.1 System Flow

3.5.2 System Testing and Evaluation

3.5.3 Hardware and Software requirements

3.6 Summary

Content of Research Methodology– Sample C

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Provide enough detail for replication of your work.
Arrange procedures chronologically.
Use past tense to describe what you did.
Do not mix results with procedure.

Chapter 3 – Tips

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Methodology: Framework Design

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Methodology: Process / Block Design

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Methodology: SDLC Design

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Methodology: Others

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Methodology: Iterative Development

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Techniques/ algorithm Used: Equation

Equations/functions

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Pseudo Code

Techniques/ algorithm Used: Pseudo Code

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Techniques/ algorithm Used:

Pseudo Code + Flowchart + source code

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Techniques/ algorithm Used:

Decision Tree Algorithm

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Logical Design vs System Design

Logical Design is the conceptual design on a certain data structure (e.g. relational, object-oriented, network, transfer format)
System Design is to identify any additional system objects, determining operations and data structures for all objects, validating relationships and interactions between objects, and prototyping user interface objects

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Logical Design : Flowchart

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Logical Design : Taxonomy or Structure

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Logical Design : Menu Hierarchy

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Logical Design : Menu Hierarchy

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