Research Methodology Handbook

Compiledby
RIZWANASUBHANI

Research
Guideline
Handbook
ResearchGuidelineHandbook
PROPOSALWRITING
Sometipswhenwritingaproposal
Mostproposalsincludethefollowingcomponents:
1. CoverorTitlePage
Many sponsors/donors provide preprinted Cover Pages for you to fill out. The title
pagecontainsthefollowinginformation:
o PrincipalInvestigatorsname,address,phonenumber
o Titleofproposal
o Sponsornameandaddress
o Durationoftheproposedprojectwithstartandenddates
o Amountrequested
o Submissiondate
o SignatureofPrincipalInvestigator
o Signature of Institutional Representative (AIT President or his authorized
representative)
2. Abstract
Theabstractoutlinestheproposedresearch,includingobjectives,methodology,and
significance of the research. It is usually limited to 200 400 words and should be
writteninlayterms.
3. Budget&Justification
The budget includes a reasonable estimate of the financial support required to
conducttheproject,includingjustificationofbudgetexpenses.
4. StatementofWork
The Statement of Work provides a full and detailed explanation of the proposed
research, typically including a project timetable. It should include general
background information regarding how the project relates to previous and current
research.
5. CurriculumVitae
Include for all key project personnel. Some sponsors impose page limits or CV
templates.
6. Bibliography
Listallreferencescitedinproposal.
7. CurrentandPendingSupport
SponsormayrequirealistingofthePIs(andsometimesKeyPersonnel)current
projectsandpendingproposals.
Typicalbudgetcategoriesinclude:
DirectCosts
IndirectCosts
InkindContribution/CostSharing
DirectCosts/Expenses
Direct costs on sponsored and contracted research projects are those that can be directly
associatedwiththeprojectwithahighdegreeofaccuracy.Directcostsareessentialtothe
project'sfulfillment.
Someexamplesofdirectcosts:
Salaries:For the Institute's professional and research staff and student assistants,
salaryfiguresshouldbebasedonthepercentageofeffortbyeachindividualonthe
projectappliedtohis/herannualsalary(manmonths).ForinternalAITbudgetthis
ispartoftheFaculty/stafftimerecoverycosts
Tuition:ScholarshipsforMastersandPhDstudentscanalsobeincluded.
Equipment(canbeindirecttoo):Anyitemofequipmenthavingaunitcostof15,000
THB or more and a useful life of one year or more. Includes cost of shipping,
installation, and fabrication. General purpose equipment, such as office furniture,

PCs,faxmachinesetc.,aregenerallynotdeemedallowablebymostsponsors,unless
itisusedprimarilyorexclusivelyfortheresearchproject.
Materials and Supplies: Expendable/ consumable items with a useful life of less
thanoneyearsoracostunder15,000THB.Descriptionofcategory(e.g.glassware,
chemical,officesupplies,etc)andbestestimateofcostshouldbeincluded
Travel: Domestic and foreign travel should be shown separately. List the name,
destination, and purpose of trip. Include transportation costs (coach airfare),
registrationfees,accommodationfees,andotherrelatedexpenses
Publication Costs: Estimate the number of pages, page charges, and names of
journalsifpossible.
Consultants/ External Resource Person: List each consultant, their specialty or

servicetotheproject,andtheirdaily,weeklyormonthlyrateofreimbursement,and
showtheconsultantstotalprojectedcostontheproject.Includeintheproposalan
Agreementwiththeconsultantandtheconsultantscurriculumvitae.
Subcontracts: A subcontract is a contract to other organization(s) of some

scientificorprogrammaticaspectofthegrantorcontractmadeoriginallytoAIT.
Other: Other costs typically include items such as, research publications, fees,
contingencyforcurrencyfluctuation
IndirectCosts
Costsrelatedtoexpensesincurredinconductingorsupportingresearchorotherexternally
funded activities but not directly attributable to a specific project. For internal AIT
budget,thisisOverheadcharge.
Someexamplesofindirectcosts:
Utilities(Electricity,water,etc)
Buildings&grounds
Equipment(canbedirecttoo)
LibraryExpenses
GeneralAdministration
SponsoredProjectsAdministration
SchoolAdministration
RESEACHPAPERWRITING
TheAbstract
Thispageisdesignedtobeinteractive,soinplacesyoucanjumpforwardformore
information,or will be asked questions that you find answers to by using the
links.Thispagecovers:
Purpose
CommonProblems
Whatisthedifferencebetweenanabstractandanintroduction?
Examples
PURPOSE
For conference papers, research papers, theses and dissertations, you will almost
alwaysbeaskedtowriteanabstract.Themainpointtorememberisthatitmustbe
short, because it should give a summary of your research. In fact, not only are
abstracts short, they must almost always be a certain, specified length. Many
abstracts are, so, before you begin writing, you must find out how long your
abstract should be (for example, 200 words for AIT master's theses) and you
should come close to but not go over this limit. Abstracts that exceed the
maximumwordlimitareoftenrejectedbecausetheycannotbeusedfordatabases,
summariesofconferences,etc.
Anabstractshouldbriefly:
Reestablishthetopicoftheresearch.
Give the research problem and/or main objective of the research (this usually
comesfirst).
Indicatethemethodologyused.
Presentthemainfindings.
Presentthemainconclusions
It is essential that your abstract includes all the keywords of your research, as it
will enabled on databases which other researchers will search. Obviously if you
only have two hundred words, you can only cover each of these areas briefly. The
emphasisisgenerallyonthemainfindingsandmainconclusionssincetheseareas
areofmostinteresttoreaders.
COMMONPROBLEMS
Toolong. If your abstract is too long, it may be rejected
abstracts are entered on databases, and those is usually a
specified maximum number of words. Abstracts are often
too long because people forget to count their words
(rememberthatyoucanuseyourwordprocessingprogram
todothis)andmaketheirabstractstoodetailed(seebelow).
Too much detail. Abstracts that are too long often have
unnecessary details. The abstract is not the place for
detailed explanations of methodology or for details about
thecontextofyourresearchproblembecauseyousimplydo
not have the space to present anything but the main points
ofyourresearch.
Tooshort.Shorterisnotnecessarilybetter.Ifyourword
limitis200butyouonlywrite95words,youprobablyhave
not written in sufficient detail. You should review your
abstract and see where you could usefully give more
explanation remember that in many cases readers decide
whethertoreadtherestofyourresearchfromlookingatthe
abstract. Many writers do not give sufficient information
abouttheirfindings
Failure to include important information. You need to
be careful to cover the points listed above. Often people do
notcoverallofthembecausetheyspendtoolongexplaining,
for example, the methodology and then do not have enough
spacetopresenttheirconclusion.
ABSTRACTANDINTRODUCTIONCOMPARED
Atfirstglance,itmightseemthattheintroductionandtheabstractareverysimilar
because they both present the research problem and objectives as well as briefly
reviewing methodology, main findings and main conclusions. However, there are
importantdifferencesbetweenthetwo:
Introduction
Should be short, but does not have a word
limit;
Main purpose is to introduce the research
by presenting its context or background.
Introductions usually go from general to
specific,introducingtheresearchproblemand
how it will be investigated). For more detail
seeIntroductions.
Abstract
Hasamaximumwordlimit;
Isasummaryofthewholeresearch;
Main purpose is to summarize the research (particularly the
objectiveandthemainfinding/conclusion),NOTtointroducethe
researcharea.
Examples
Example1
Here is an abstract from a published paper. It is 220 words long. Read it through
looking for the main purpose of each sentence (for example, presenting research
problem, objective, methodology, main findings, or conclusion). You can find
suggestedanswersbyclickingonthesentences.
Abstract
Major problems of the arid region are transportation of agricultural products and
lossesduetospoilageoftheproducts,especiallyinsummer.Thisworkpresentsthe
performance of a solar drying system consisting of an air heater and a dryer
chamberconnectedtoagreenhouse.Thedryingsystemisdesignedtodryavariety
of agricultural products.The effect of air mass flow rate on the drying process is
studied.Compositepebbles,whichareconstructedfromcementandsand,areused
to store energy for night operation. The pebbles are placed at the bottom of the
dryingchamberandarechargedduringthedryingprocessitself.Aseparatetestis
done using a simulator, a packed bed storage unit, to find the thermal
characteristics of the pebbles during charging and discharging modes with time.
Accordingly, the packed bed is analyzed using a heat transfer model with finite
difference technique described before and during the charging and discharging
processes.Graphs are presented that depict the thermal characteristics and
performance of the pebble beds and the drying patterns of different agricultural
products. The results show that the amount of energy stored in the pebbles
dependsontheairmassflowrate,theinletairtemperature,andthepropertiesof
the storage materials.The composite pebbles can be used efficiently as storing
media.
Helwa,N.H.andAbdelRehim,Z.S.(1997).ExperimentalStudyofthePerformance
ofSolarDryerswithPebbleBeds.EnergySources,19,579591.
Example2
Hereisasecondabstractfromapublishedpaper.Itis162wordslong.Again,read
it through looking for the main purpose of each sentence (for example, presenting
the research problem, objective, methodology, main finding, or conclusion). You
canfindsuggestedanswersbyclickingonthesentences.
Abstract
The longterm performance of various systems was determined and the economic
aspects of solar hot water production were investigated in this work.The effect of
thecollectorinclinationangle,collectorareaandstoragevolumewasexaminedfor
all systems, and various climatic conditions and their payback period was
calculated.It was found that the collector inclination angle does not have a
significant effect on system performance. Large collector areas have a diminishing
effect on the systems overall efficiency. The increase in storage volume has a
detrimentaleffectforsmalldailyloadvolumes,butabeneficialonewhenthereisa
large daily consumption.Solar energy was found to be truly competitive when the
conventionalfuelbeingsubstitutediselectricity,anditshouldnotreplacedieseloil
10
on pure economic grounds. Large daily load volumes and large collector areas are
in general associated with shorter payback periods. Overall, the systems are
oversizedandareeconomicallysuitableforlargedailyhotwaterloadvolumes.
Haralambopoulos, D., Paparsenost, G. F., and Kovras, H. (1997) Assessing the
EconomicAspectsofSolarHotWaterProductioninGreece.RenewableEnergy,11,
153167.
TheAbstractTextAnalysis
ThispageprovidesanswerstothetextanalysisoftheAbstractpage.
Example1AbstractTextAnalysis
Example1
"Major problems of the arid region are transportation of agricultural products
andlossesduetospoilageoftheproducts,especiallyinsummer."
Thissentencegivesthegeneralproblemtheresearchisattemptingtohelpsolve
(rather than the specific research problem) in order to provide a rationale for
theresearch.
"This work presents the performance of a solar drying system consisting of an
airheaterandadryerchamberconnectedtoagreenhouse.Thedryingsystemis
designedtodryavarietyofagriculturalproducts."
Thispartoftheabstractgivesthemainobjectiveoftheresearch.
"Theeffectofairmassflowrateonthedryingprocessisstudied."
Heretheauthorsgivetheparametertheywillbefocusingoninordertomeasure
the effect of air mass flow rate on the drying process. Their research problem,
therefore,istofindouttheeffectofairmassflowrateonthedryingprocess.
"Composite pebbles, which are constructed from cement and sand, are used to
store energy for night operation. The pebbles are placed at the bottom of the
dryingchamberandarechargedduringthedryingprocessitself.Aseparatetest
is done using a simulator, a packed bed storage unit, to find the thermal
11
characteristicsofthepebblesduringcharginganddischargingmodeswithtime.
Accordingly, the packed bed is analyzed using a heat transfer model with finite
difference technique described before and during the charging and discharging
processes."
Thispartoftheabstractsummarizesthemethodologyused.
"Graphs are presented that depict the thermal characteristics and performance
ofthepebblebedsandthedryingpatternsofdifferentagriculturalproducts.The
resultsshowthattheamountofenergystoredinthepebblesdependsontheair
mass flow rate, the inlet air temperature, and the properties of the storage
materials."
Herewearetoldinwhatformtheresultsarepresented,andthemainfindings.
"Thecompositepebblescanbeusedefficientlyasstoringmedia."
Finally,wearepresentedwiththemainconclusionoftheresearch.
Example2AbstractTextAnalysis
Example2
"The longterm performance of various systems was determined and the
economicaspectsofsolarhotwaterproductionwereinvestigatedinthiswork."
Here the authors present the objectives of their research (and by implication
their research problem, i.e. the longterm performation and the economic
aspectsareunknownandneedtobefound).
"The effect of the collector inclination angle, collector area and storage volume
wasexaminedforallsystems,andvariousclimaticconditionsandtheirpayback
periodwascalculated."
Here weare told what was studied and calculated,i.e. we aregivena very brief
summaryofthemethodology.
"Itwasfoundthatthecollectorinclinationangledoesnothaveasignificant
effectonsystemperformance.Largecollectorareashaveadiminishingeffecton
thesystemsoverallefficiency.Theincreaseinstoragevolumehasadetrimental
effectforsmalldailyloadvolumes,butabeneficialonewhenthereisalarge
12
dailyconsumption."
Thispartoftheabstractpresentsthemainfinding(i.e.results)theauthors
obtained.
"Solar energy was found to be truly competitive when the conventional fuel
being substituted is electricity, and it should not replace diesel oil on pure
economic grounds. Large daily load volumes and large collector areas are in
general associated with shorter payback periods. Overall, the systems are
oversizedandareeconomicallysuitableforlargedailyhotwaterloadvolumes."
Finally,themainconclusionsandrecommendationsfromtheresearcharegiven.
Introduction
HOWTOUSETHISPAGE?
Most of the links will take you to another part of this page where you can find
moredetailedinformation.
Thelinksforthereferences,forexample,(BoucherandSmeers,1996),willtake
youtotheReferencespagewhereyoucanfindbibliographicinformationforthe
articles used in this online course. If you want to know more about how to
reference,accesstheHowtoReferencepage.
WHATISTHEPURPOSEOFTHEINTRODUCTION?
Ofcourse,theintroductioncomesatthestartofapieceofwriting.Itintroduces
the research by situating it (by giving background), presenting the research
problem and saying how and why this problem will be solved. Without this
important information the reader cannot easily understand the more detailed
information about the research that comes later in the thesis. It also explains
why the research is being done (rationale) which is crucial for the reader to
13
understandthesignificanceofthestudy.
Afterreadinganintroduction,thereadershouldbeabletoanswermostofthese
questions:
Whatisthecontextofthisproblem?Inwhatsituationorenvironmentcan
thisproblembeobserved?(Background)
Why is this research important? Who will benefit? Why do we need to
know this? Why does this situation, method, model or piece of equipment need
tobeimproved?(Rationale)
Whatisitwedontknow?Whatisthegapinourknowledgethisresearch
willfill?Whatneedstobeimproved?(ProblemStatement)
Whatstepswilltheresearchertaketotryandfillthisgaporimprovethe
situation?(Objectives)
Is there any aspect of the problem the researcher will not discuss? Is the
study limited to a specific geographical area or to only certain aspects of the
situation?(Scope)
Is there any factor, condition or circumstance that prevents the
researcherfromachievingallhis/herobjectives?(Limitations)
Inconsideringhis/hermethod,model,formulationorapproach,doesthe
researcher take certain conditions, states, requirements for granted? Are there
certain fundamental conditions or states the researcher takes to be true?
(Assumptions)
COMMONPROBLEMS
Too much detail, and hence too long. Remember, this is the
introduction, a kind of overview. Although you will cover important points,
detailed descriptions of method, study site and results will be in later sections.
Lookattheproportionofaresearchpaperanintroductiontakesup.Noticeitis
comparativelyshortbecauseitservesasasummaryofwhatfollows.
Repetitionofwords,phrasesorideas. You will have keywords that are
crucialtoyourstudy.However,yourreaderdoesn'twanttoreadthemoverand
over! A high level of repetition makes your writing look careless. To reduce it,
highlight repeated words or phrases then you can easily judge if you are
14
overusingthemandfindsynonymsorpronounstoreplacethem.
Unclearproblemdefinition. Without a clear definition of your research
problem, your reader is left with no clear idea of what you were studying. This
means that they cannot judge your work's relevance to their own work, or its
usefulness,quality,etc.Asanexercise,youshouldbeabletocompleteasentence
thatstarts,"Thepurposeofthisstudyis..."thatencapsulatestheproblemyou
are investigating. Of course you will not include this exact sentence in your
thesis, but it serves as an easy way to check that you have a clearly defined
problem. In your thesis you should be able to write your research problem in
onesentenceyoucanadddetailsinthesentencesthatfollow.Youshouldalso
ensure that your research problem matches the title of your thesis (you'd be
surprisedhowmanydon't!)aswellasitsmethodologyandobjectives.
Poor organization. Writing an introduction that effectively introduces
your research problem and encapsulates your study is not an easy task. Often
whenwewritewediscovergraduallywhatwewanttosayandhowwewantto
sayit.Writingisoftenaprocessofdiscovery.Bearthisinmindwhenyouwrite
yourintroduction,andbepreparedtogobackandmakebigchangestowhatyou
have written, and the order in which you have presented your ideas and
information. Your introduction must have a logical sequence that your reader
can follow easily. Some suggestions for how to organize your introduction are
givenbelow(seethenextsectionandthemodifiedSwalesschema).
HOWRESEARCHARTICLEINTRODUCTIONSAREORGANIZED?
The following schema is adapted from Swales (1984). Swales researched the
structure of introductions to academic journal articles. The schema presented
hereisthepatternthathefoundoccurringinamajorityofthearticles.Itisnota
set of rules for how you must write rather, it is a useful guideline for how to
think about structuring your information. An explanation of the terms and
examples is given further down this page (click on the links to find the right
section).
15
Move1:Establishthefieldby:
claimingcentrality(whythisfieldofstudyisimportant)AND/OR
movingfromgeneraltospecificAND/OR
reviewingrelevantitemsofpreviousresearch
Move2:Definearesearchproblemby:
indicatingagapOR
raisingaquestionOR
continuingapreviouslydevelopedlineofinquiryOR
counterclaiming(disagreeingwithanexisting/acceptedapproach)
Move3:Proposeasolutionby:
outliningpurpose/settingobjectivesAND/OR
announcingpresentresearch(methodology)AND/OR
announcingprincipalfindings(results)AND/OR
indicatingthestructureoftheresearch
Adapted from Swales, J. (1984). Research into the structure of introductions to
journal articles and its application to the teaching of academic writing. In
CommonGround:SharedinterestsinESPandcommunicationstudies.[eds.]R.J.
Williams,J.Swales,andJ.Kirkman.Oxford:Pergamon
FIELD
Firstyouneedtoestablishtheareaofresearchinwhichyourworkbelongs,and
toprovideacontextfortheresearchproblem.Thishasthreemainelements:
ClaimingCentrality:Claimingthattheareaofresearchisanimportantone,and
thereforeimplyingthattheresearchdoneisalsocrucial.
Forexample:
"Minimumsafelowtemperatures(abovefreezing)andhighhumiditycontrolare
themostimportanttoolsforextendingshelflifeinvegetables."(Barthetal.,1993).
16
Herethewords"themostimportanttools"indicatecentralitybyshowingthat
thesetwofactorsarecrucial.
Generaltospecific:Mostwritingstartswithgeneralinformationandthen
movestospecificinformation.Thisistrueofintroductionstoo.
Forexample:
Inrecentyears,therehasbeenanincreasedawarenessofthepotentialimpactof
pollutantssuchasheavymetals.Moreover,thetraditionalmethodsfortreating
aqueousstreamscontainingmetalcontaminantsareexpensiveandcanhave
inadequatefacilities(1).Thisisparticularlytrueindevelopingcountries.Thishas
ledtotheuseofalternativetechnologies.Theuseofbiologicalmaterialsisone
suchtechnologywhichhasreceivedconsiderableattention.(Hoetal.,1996)
Explanation:
Thefirstsentence:impactofheavymetals(general).
The second sentence: expense and shortcomings of methods of removing
heavymetals(lessgeneral).
The third sentence: expense and shortcomings of methods of removing
heavymetalsindevelopingcountries(morespecific).
The fourth sentence: alternative technologies to overcome expense and
shortcomingsofmethodsofremovingheavymetals(yetmorespecific).
The fifth sentence: biological materials as an example of alternative
technologiestoovercometheexpenseandshortcomingsofmethodsofremoving
heavymetals(veryspecific).
Notice how each sentence adds a piece of information (shown in italics) to move
the introduction from the general topic of "heavy metals" to the specific topic of
"biological materials as an alternative method of removing heavy metals."
Donotbeginbybeingtoogeneral.Ifyourworkisexaminingthedeliveryofcashto
ATMmachines,donotstartbyahistoryofthebankingsysteminEuropesincethe
Middle Ages it's probably not relevant and will mean you will take a very long
time to reach the specific area of your research. Think of "general" in terms of
information which will help your reader understand the context of your research
problem(ratherthanyourwholefieldofstudy!).
Previousresearch:Oftentheintroductionwillrefertoworkalreadydoneinthe
researchareainordertoprovidebackground(andoftenalsotohelpdefinethe
17
researchproblem).
Forexample:
Numerousstudiesontheutilizationofplantproteinsasapartialorcomplete
replacementforfishmealindietshavebeenconductedusingvariousfreshwater
andmarinesfishes(Lovell,1987;Taconetal.,1983;Muraietal.,1989a;Coweyet
al.,1974).(Takiietal.,1989)
PROBLEM
Yourresearchmustbenewinsomeway.Itmustaddknowledgetoyourfieldso
you need to show in what way your work explores an area/issue/question that
haspreviouslynotbeenexplored,ornotbeenexploredindetail,innotexplored
inthewaythatyouaregoingtouse.Inotherwords,youneedtogivearationale
for your work (i.e. show the reasons for doing it). There are four ways to
demonstratethatyouareaddingtotheknowledgeinyourfield:
Gap:Aresearchgapisanareawherenoorlittleresearchhasbeencarriedout.
Thisisshownbyoutliningtheworkalreadydonetoshowwherethereisagap
intheresearch(whichyouwillthenfillwithyourresearch).
Forexample:
Numerousstudiesontheutilizationofplantproteinsasapartialorcomplete
replacementforfishmealindietshavebeenconductedusingvariousfreshwater
andmarinesfishes(Lovell,1987;Taconetal.,1983;Muraietal.,1989a;Coweyet
al.,1974).However,verylittleisknownaboutthefeasibilityofusingsoybeanmeal
asadietaryproteinsourceinpracticalfeedsforyellowtailSeriolaquinqueradiata.
(Takiietal.,1989)
Raisingaquestion:Theresearchproblemisdefinedbyaskingaquestionto
whichtheanswerisunknown,andwhichyouwillexploreinyourresearch.
Forexample:
Thequestionweaddresshereishowtechnologicalchangeoccurswhenitisthe
overallsystemthatneedstobechanged.Inparticular,howcanwebeginand
sustainatechnologicaltransitionawayfromhydrocarbonbasedtechnologies?
(StreetandMiles,1996)
Continuingapreviouslydevelopedlineofenquiry:Buildingonworkalready
done,buttakingitfurther(byusinganewsample,extendingtheareastudied,
18
takingmorefactorsintoconsideration,takingfewerfactorsintoconsideration,
etc.).
Forexample:
Takingalltheseelementsandtheirpossiblevariationsintoaccountisoftenfartoo
complexandtediousfordeterminingefficientgasdevelopmentpatternswith
simplebackoftheenvelopecalculations.Intheirsurveyoftheseelements,Julius
andMashayeki[8]presentadetailedanalysisofthesedifferentinteractions.They
suggestthatthesebetakenintoaccountthroughgasplanningmodelsconstructed
inthesamespiritastheplanningmodelsdevelopedinthepowergenerationsector.
In this paper, we present a gas planning model that fulfils some of the
specificationsestablishedinJuliusandMashayeki[8].(BoucherandSmeers,1996)
Counterclaiming: A conflicting claim, theory or method is put forward. Here,
for example, the researchers argue that previous researchers' assessments of
cost effectiveness were too complex, and that a simplified process could and
shouldbeusedinstead:
Evaluatingthecosteffectivenessofdistributedgenerationisacrucialresource
planningissue.Manyhaveassessedcosteffectivenessbydividingtheutilitysystem
intomanypartsandestimatingdistributedgeneration'svaluetoeachpart.When
thisisdone,totalvaluecanbecomposedoftenormoreindividualcomponents
(HoffandShugar,1995),substationtransformer(ElGassieretal.,1993),
transmissionsystem,generationsystem,voltagesupport(Hoffetal.,1994)
reliability,energysavings,electricallosssavings(HoffandShugar,1995)minimum
loadsavings,modularityandflexibility(Morrisetal.,1993)andfinancialrisk
reductionvalues(Awerbuch,1994).
Althoughimpressive,thislistofvaluecomponentssuggeststhatdeterminingthe
valueofdistributedgenerationrequiresateamofexpertsassembledfromeach
departmentwithintheutility.Thispaperdescribesasimplifiedevaluationprocess
basedontheobservationthatdistributedgenerationisofvaluebecauseitreduces
variablecostsordeferscapacityinvestments.(Hoffetal.,1996)
SOLUTION
Oncethefieldandproblemhavebeendefined,itistimetogivethe"solution."In
19
otherwords,howwilltheresearchgapbefilled?Howwillthequestionthatwas
raisedbeanswered?Thislastpartoftheintroductioncanalsobeusedtoshow
the benefits, to explain the objectives, to clarify the scope of the research, to
announce what was found from doing the research and how it can be used.
Notice that an introduction will discuss a number of the following points but is
unlikelytocoverthemall.
Outliningpurpose:Oftenresearcherswilldescribetheirobjectivesintheir
introductioninorderforthereadertohaveaclearideaofwhattheysetoutto
accomplish.Usuallythereisageneralobjectivewritteninonesentence(details
ofmorespecificobjectivescanbegiveninfollowingsentences).
Forexample:
Thisworkaimstoestablishtheextentofinteractionofalginatewithcalciumand
aluminiumionswithrespecttotheinfluenceofalgalexudateshaveontheremoval
ofhumicsubstancesbyaluminiumcoagulationduringdrinkingwatertreatment.
(Gregoretal.,1996)
Hint!: always give an overall objective before giving specific objectives. This will
help you explain much more clearly to your reader what your work aimed to
accomplish.
Announcingpresentresearch(method):Importantpointsaboutthe
methodologyusedareoutlined,perhapsincludingthescopeofthestudy.
However,themethodologyisnotgivenindetail(sincedetailsaregiveninthe
methodologysection).
Forexample:
Thispaperexaminestheuseofpeatfortheremovaloftwometals,copperand
nickel,frombothmonosoluteandbisolutesolutions.Inparticular,itreportsthe
effectthatacompetingionhasontheratesofremovalandexaminesthe
mechanismswhichmayaffecttheuptakeofminerals.(Hoetal.,1996)
Announcingprinciplefindings(results):Researchersmayindicatethekindof
resultstheyobtained,oranoverallsummaryoftheirfindings.
Forexample:
DifferentoperatingmodesoftheMESFETmixers,gatemixers,drainmixers,and
20
resistivemixerswereinvestigatedinthisworkandtheresultsprovedthatgood
conversioncharacteristicscouldbeachieved.(Angelov,1991)
Indicatingthestructureoftheresearch:Itisusefultooutlinetheorganization
ofthewrittenupresearchthatfollowssothatthereaderhasaclearideaofwhat
isgoingtofollow,andinwhatorder.
Forexample:
Thispaperisorganizedasfollows.Alternativerepresentationsofdemandand
supplyarediscussedinsections2and3respectively.Themodelisdescribedin
section4.Section5presentsanapplicationofthetooltoagasreserves
developmenttimingprobleminIndonesia.Thefullsetofequationsisgiveninthe
appendixandisreferredtothroughoutthetext.(BoucherandSmeers,1996)
Indicating directions for further research: Research often opens up other
areaswhereresearchcouldorshouldbedone,soitiscommonfortheseareasto
bedefinedintheintroduction.Itisalsoawayofindicatingthatthecurrentstudy
isnotdesignedtobecomprehensive.
This paper takes a first step in this direction by laying out the rationale for
incorporating feedback and feedforward mechanisms in decision support for
dynamictaskssuchassoftwareprojectmanagement(SenguptaandAbdelHamid,
1993).
Indicatingbenefitsofcurrentresearch:Indicatingthebenefitsoftheresearch
helpstojustifywhyitwascarriedoutandemphasizesthevalueofthestudy.
Forexample:
Thepaperfurthersuggestsamultidisciplinarymanagementapproachtoeffecta
favorableoutcomeforthewholefishingcommunity(Limetal.,1995).
Noticethattheintroductionincludesinformationthatispresentedinother
partsofthethesis.Doesthismeanthatifyouindicateyourresultsinyour
Introduction that you will have nothing left to present in your Results
chapter? No! Introductions literally "introduce" information to give an
overview, often offering only a short summary because full details are
giveninlaterchapters.
21
LiteratureReview
HOWTOUSETHISPAGE?
This page is designed to be interactive, so in places you can jump forward for
moreinformation,orwillbeaskedquestionsthatyoufindanswersbyusingthe
links.Thispagecovers:
Whatis"theliterature"?
Whywriteareviewoftheliterature?
Writingyourownliteraturereview
HowcanIwriteagoodliteraturereview?
Traps
Literaturereview:anexample
WHATISTHELITERATURE?
Although you might think of novels and poetry when you hear the word
"literature," for a piece of research the meaning is more specific. In terms of a
literature review, "the literature" means the works you consulted in order to
understandandinvestigateyourresearchproblem.
USEFULSOURCES:
1. Journal articles: These are good especially for uptodate information. Bear
in mind, though, that it can take up to two years to publish articles. They are
frequentlyusedinliteraturereviewsbecausetheyofferarelativelyconcise,up
todateformatforresearch,andbecauseallreputablejournalsarerefereed(i.e.
editorspublishonlythemostrelevantandreliableresearch).
2. Books: Books tend to be less uptodate as it takes longer for a book to be
published than for a journal article. Text books are unlikely to be useful for
including in your literature review as they are intended for teaching, not for
research, but they do offer a good starting point from which to find more
22
detailedsources.
3. Conference Proceedings: These can be useful in providing the latest
research, or research that has not been published. They are also helpful in
providinginformationonwhichpeoplearecurrentlyinvolvedinwhichresearch
areas, and so can be helpful in tracking down other work by the same
researchers.
4. Government / Corporate Reports: Many government departments and
corporations commission or carry out research. Their published findings can
provideausefulsourceofinformation,dependingonyourfieldofstudy.
5. Newspapers: Since newspapers are generally intended for a general (not
specialized) audience, the information they provide will be of very limited use
for your literature review. Often newspapers are more helpful as providers of
information about recent trends, discoveries or changes, e.g. announcing
changes in government policy, but you should then search for more detailed
informationinothersources.
6. Theses and Dissertations: These can be useful sources of information.
However there are disadvantages: 1) they can be difficult to obtain since they
are not published, but are generally only available from the library shelf or
through interlibrary loan; 2) the student who carried out the research may not
be an experienced researcher and therefore you might have to treat their
findingswithmorecautionthanpublishedresearch.
7. Internet: The fastestgrowing source of information is on the Internet. It is
impossible to characterize the information available but here are some hints
aboutusingelectronicsources:1)bearinmindthatanyonecanpostinformation
on the Internet so the quality may not be reliable, 2) the information you find
may be intended for a general audience and so not be suitable for inclusion in
your literature review (information for a general audience is usually less
detailed) and 3) more and more refereed electronic journals (ejournals) are
appearingontheInternetiftheyarerefereeditmeansthatthereisaneditorial
board that evaluates the work before publishing it in their ejournal, so the
qualityshouldbemorereliable(dependingonthereputationofthejournal).
8. CDROMS: At the moment, few CRROMs provide the kind of specialized,
detailed information about academic research that you need for your own
research since most are intended for a general audience. However, more and
23
morebibliographiesarebeingputontoCDROMforuseinacademiclibraries,so
theycanbeaveryvaluabletoolinsearchingfortheinformationyouneed.
9. Magazines: Magazines intended for a general audience (e.g. Time) are
unlikely to be useful in providing the sort of information you need. Specialized
magazines may be more useful (for example business magazines for
management students) but usually magazines are not useful for your research
except as a starting point by providing news or general information about new
discoveries, policies, etc. that you can further research in more specialized
sources.
WHYWRITEAREVIEWOFTHELITERATURE?
Theliteraturereviewisacriticallookattheexistingresearchthatissignificant
to the work that you are carrying out. Some people think that it is a summary:
this is not true. Although you need to summarize relevant research, it is also
vitalthatyouevaluatethiswork,showtherelationshipsbetweendifferentwork,
andshowhowitrelatestoyourwork.Inotherwords,youcannotsimplygivea
concise description of, for example, an article: you need to select what parts of
the research to discuss (e.g. the methodology), show how it relates to the other
work (e.g. What other methodologies have been used? How are they similar?
How are they different?) and show how it relates to your work (what is its
relationshiptoyourmethodology?).
Keep in mind that the literature review should provide the context for your
researchbylookingatwhatworkhasalreadybeendoneinyourresearcharea.It
isnotsupposedtobejustasummaryofotherpeople'swork!
Herearesomeofthequestionsyourliteraturereviewshouldanswer:
1. Whatdowealreadyknowintheimmediateareaconcerned?
2. What are the characteristics of the key concepts or the main factors or
variables?
3. What are the relationships between these key concepts, factors or
variables?
4. Whataretheexistingtheories?
5. Where are the inconsistencies or shortcomings in our knowledge and
understanding?
6. Whatviewsneedtobe(further)tested?
7. Whatevidenceislacking,inconclusive,contradictoryortoolimited?
8. Whystudy(further)theresearchproblem?
24
9. Whatcontributioncanthepresentstudybeexpectedtomake?
10. Whatresearchdesignsormethodsseemunsatisfactory?
WRITINGYOUROWNLITERATUREREVIEW.
It's easy to write a bad literature review and difficult to write a good one. The
mainmistakethatalotofpeoplemakeistowritealiteraturereviewthatlooks
likethis:
IILITERATUREREVIEW
Until recently many researchers have shown interest in the field of coastal
erosion and the resulting beach profiles. They have carried out numerous
laboratoryexperimentsandfieldobservationstoilluminatethedarknessofthis
field.Theirfindingsandsuggestionsarereviewedhere.
JACHOWSKI (1964) developed a model investigation conducted on the
interlockingprecastconcreteblockseawall.Afteraresultofasurveyofdamages
caused by the severe storm at the coast of USA, a new and especially shaped
concrete block was developed for use in shore protection. This block was
designedtobeusedinarevetmenttypeseawallthatwouldbebothdurableand
economicalaswellasreducewaverunupandovertopping,andscouratitsbase
or toe. It was proved that effective shore protection could be designed utilizing
theseunits.
HOMMA and HORIKAWA (1964) studied waves forces acting on the seawall
whichwaslocatedinsidethesurfzone.Onthebasisoftheexperimentalresults
conductedtomeasurewavesforcesagainstaverticalwall,theauthorsproposed
anempiricalformulaofwavepressuredistributiononaseawall.Thecomputed
results obtained by using the above formula were compared well with the field
dataofwavepressureonaverticalwall.
SELEZOV and ZHELEZNYAK (1965) conducted experiments on scour of sea
bottom in front of harbor seawalls, basing on the theoretical investigation of
solitarywaveinteractionwithaverticalwallusingBoussinesquetypeequation.
It showed that the numerical results were in reasonable agreement with
laboratoryexperimentaldata.
25
Haveanotherlookatthequestionsaliteraturereviewshouldanswer.Seeifyou
cananswerthefollowingquestionsabouttheliteraturereviewabove:
Whichofthequestionsdoesthisliteraturereviewanswer?
Whichofthemdoesn'titanswer?
What system has the writer used to organize the litera
review?
Isitagoodliteraturereview?Why/whynot?
HOWCANIWRITEAGOODLITERATUREREVIEW?
Remember the purpose: It should answer the questions we looked at
above. Look at how published writers review the literature. You'll see that you
shouldusetheliteraturetoexplainyourresearchafterall,youarenotwritinga
literaturereviewjusttotellyourreaderwhatotherresearchershavedone.You
aimshouldbetoshowwhyyourresearchneedstobecarriedout,howyoucame
to choose certain methodologies or theories to work with, how your work adds
totheresearchalreadycarriedout,etc.
Readwithapurpose:Youneedtosummarizetheworkyoureadbutyou
mustalsodecidewhichideasorinformationareimportanttoyourresearch(so
you can emphasize them), and which are less important and can be covered
briefly or left out of your review. You should also look for the major concepts,
conclusions, theories, arguments etc. that underlie the work, and look for
similaritiesanddifferenceswithcloselyrelatedwork.Thisisdifficultwhenyou
firststartreading,butshouldbecomeeasierthemoreyoureadinyourarea.
Write with a purpose: Your aim should be to evaluate and show

relationships between the work already done (Is Researcher Y's theory more
convincing than Researcher X's? Did Researcher X build on the work of
Researcher Y?) and between this work and your own. In order to do this
effectivelyyoushouldcarefullyplanhowyouaregoingtoorganizeyourwork.
26
A lot of people like to organize their work chronologically(using time as their

organizing system). Unless developments over time are crucial to explain the
context of your research problem, using a chronological system will not be an
effectivewaytoorganizeyourwork.Somepeoplechoosetoorganizetheirwork
alphabetically by author name: this system will not allow you to show the
relationships between the work of different researchers, and your work, and
shouldbeavoided!
When you read for your literature review, you are actually doing two things at
thesametime(whichmakesthingsmoredifficultforyou!):
1. You are trying to define your research problem: finding a gap, asking a
question, continuing previous research, counterclaiming (see the Introduction
page);
2. Youaretryingtoreadeverysourcerelevanttoyourresearchproblem.
Naturally, until you have defined your problem, you will find that there are
hundreds of sources that seem relevant. However, you cannot define your
problem until you read around your research area. This seems a vicious circle,
butwhatshouldhappenisthatasyoureadyoudefineyourproblem,andasyou
define your problem you will more easily be able to decide what to read and
whattoignore.
TRAPS
Sometrapstoavoid:
Tryingtoreadeverything!Asyoumightalreadyhavediscovered,ifyou
trytobecomprehensiveyouwillneverbeabletofinishthereading!Theideaof
theliteraturereviewisnottoprovideasummaryofallthepublishedworkthat
relatestoyourresearch,butasurveyofthemostrelevantandsignificantwork.
Reading but not writing! It's easier to read than to write: given the
choice, most of us would rather sit down with a cup of coffee and read yet
27
another article instead of putting ourselves in front of the computer to write

about what we have already read! Writing takes much more effort, doesn't it?
However,writingcanhelpyoutounderstandandfindrelationshipsbetweenthe
workyou'veread,sodon'tputwritingoffuntilyou've"finished"readingafter
all,youwillprobablystillbedoingsomereadingallthewaythroughtotheend
of your research project. Also, don't think of what you first write as being the
finalornearfinalversion.Writingisawayofthinking,soallowyourselftowrite
as many drafts as you need, changing your ideas and information as you learn
moreaboutthecontextofyourresearchproblem.
Not keeping bibliographic information! The moment will come when

you have to write your references page . . . and then you realize you have
forgotten to keep the information you need, and that you never got around to
putting references intoyour work.The only solution is tospend a lotof timein
the library tracking down all those sources that you read, and going through
yourwritingtofindwhichinformationcamefromwhichsource.Ifyou'relucky,
maybeyoucanactuallydothisbeforeyourdefencemorelikely,youwillunable
to find all your sources, a big headache for you and your committee. To avoid
this nightmare, always keep this information in your notes. Always put
references into your writing. Notice how on this course we have referenced the
works that we have referred to you should do the same. (Access our How to
Referencepageformoreinformationaboutwhyandhowtodoreference).
LITERATUREREVIEW:ANEXAMPLE
Hereisanexampleofusingtheliteraturetoexplainanddefineaproblem.This
exampleistakenfromanintroductionbecausemostthesisliteraturereviews
tendtobetoolongforustoeasilylookat.Althoughyourliteraturereviewwill
probablybemuchlongerthantheonebelow,itisusefultolookattheprinciples
thewritershaveused.
Ontheoptimalcontainersizeinautomatedwarehouses
Y.Roll,M.J.RosenblattandD.Kadosh,ProceedingsoftheNinthICPR
Automatedstorageandretrievalsystems(AS/RS)arebeingintroducedintothe
industryandwarehousingatanincreasingrate.Forecastsindicatethatthis
trendwillcontinuefortheforeseeablefuture(see[1]).Researchintheareaof
AS/RShasfollowedseveralavenues.EarlyworkbyHausman,Schwarzand
Graves[6,7]wasconcernedwithstorageassignmentandinterleavingpolicies,
28
basedonturnoverratesofthevariousitems.Elsayed[3]andElsayedandStern
[4]comparedalgorithmsforhandlingordersinAR/RS.Additionalworkby
Karasawaetal.[9],Azadivar[2]andParryetal.[11]dealswiththedesignofan
AS/RSandthedeterminationofitsthroughputbysimulationandoptimization
techniques.
Severalresearchersaddressedtheproblemoftheoptimalhandlingunit(pallet
orcontainer)size,tobeusedinmaterialhandlingandwarehousingsystems.
Steudell[13],TanchocoandAgee[14],Tanchocoetal.[15]andGrassoand
Tanchoco[5]studiedvariousaspectsofthissubject.Thelasttworeferences
incorporatethesizeofthepallet,orunitload,inevaluationoftheoptimallot
sizesformultiinventorysystemswithlimitedstoragespace.Inareportona
specificcase,Normandin[10]hasdemonstratedthatusingthe'bestsize'
containercanresultinconsiderablesavings.Asimulationmodelcombining
containersizeandwarehousecapacityconsiderations,inanAS/RSenvironment,
wasdevelopedbyKadosh[8].Thegeneralresults,reflectingthestochastic
natureoftheflowofgoods,aresimilartothosereportedbyRosenblattandRoll
[12].Nevertheless,containersizewasfoundtoaffectstronglyoverall
warehousingcosts.
Inthispaper,wepresentananalyticalframeworkforapproximatingtheoptimal
sizeofawarehousecontainer.Theapproximationisbasedonseriesof
generalizationsandspecificassumptions.However,thesearevalidforawide
rangeofreallifesituations.Theunderlyingassumptionsofthemodelare
presentedinthefollowingsection.
Noticehowthewritershave:
grouped similar information: "Steudell [13], Tanchoco and
Agee[14], Tanchoco et al. [15] and Grasso and Tanchoco [5] studied
variousaspectsofthissubject."
29
HEREISANOUTLINEOFTHESAMEPIECEOFWRITING
"Ontheoptimalcontainersizeinautomatedwarehouses"
BY:Y.Roll,M.J.RosenblattandD.Kadosh,ProceedingsoftheNinthICPR
1.ForecastsofincreasingrateofAR/RSintroduction[1]
2.Storageassignment/interleavingpolicies(Hausman,Schwarz,Graves[6,7])
3. Comparison of algorithms for handling orders (Elsayed [3], Elsayed & Stern
[4])
4.DesignofAS/RS&determinationofthroughput(Karasawaetal.[9],Azadivar
[2],Parryetal.[11])
5.Optimalhandlingunit(Steudel[13],Tanchoco&Agee[14])
a.withpalletsize/unitload(Tanchocoetal.[15],Grasso&Tanchoco[5])
b.bestsizegivessavings(Normandin[10])
c.simulationmodel(Kadosh[8])
d.stochasticflow(Kadosh[8],RosenblattandRoll[12])
6. Summary of previous research: container size was found to affect strongly
overallwarehousingcosts.
7.Presentresearch:ananalyticalframeworkforapproximatingtheoptimalsize
ofawarehousecontainer.
shown the relationship between the work of different
researchers, showing similarities/differences: "The general results,
reflecting the stochastic nature of the flow of goods, are similar to
thosereportedbyRosenblattandRoll[12]."
indicatedthepositionoftheworkintheresearchareahistory:
"EarlyworkbyHausman,SchwarzandGraves[6,7]..."
moved from a general discussion of the research in AS/RS to
the more specific area (optimal container size) that they themselves
areresearchingi.e.theyrelatepreviousworktotheirowntodefineit,
justifyitandexplainit.
30
From this outline, it is clear that the writers are organizing their information
around ideas (in this case research) not around the researchers. This enables
them to focus on the research itself, to show how different research is related,
andhowitallrelatestotheirownresearch.
LiteratureReviewQ&A
QuestionsandAnswersforusingliterature
Whichofthequestionsdoesthisliteraturereviewanswer?
Thisliteratureoffersasummary ofpreviousresearch,soitanswersquestion1.
Itsimplytellsthereaderwhatwasdiscoveredinpreviousresearch.
Whichofthemdoesn'titanswer?
This literature review doesn't answer any of the questions from 2 to 10. It
doesn't evaluate the research it summarizes, nor does it show the relationships
betweenthedifferenttheories,viewsandapproachesitdescribes.
Whichmethodhasthewriterusedtoorganizetheliteraturereview?
Thewriterhasorganizedthisliteraturereviewaroundtheresearchers,andhas
presented it chronologically (arranging the work by when it was published).
Notice that by organizing it around the researchers (the summaries are listed
afterthenamesofthepeoplewhodidtheresearch)andnotaroundtheresearch
(e.g.aroundkeyconcepts)thewriteremphasizesthepeopleandnottheirwork.
Isitagoodliteraturereview?Why?
We don't believe that it is a good literature review. It only gives a summary of

previous research but it does not use the literature to explain more about the
writer'sownresearchproblem.Also,itisnotcritical:afterwereaditwestilldo
notknowwhichtheoriesorfindingsareimportant,whichareinconclusive,what
31
theshortcomingsare,etc.
The main problem with this literature review is that it does not show how
previous research relates to the writer's own research problem, or the
relationship between different research already carried out. Given the
organization the writer has used, this literature review could not be effective
literaturereviewbecausethereislittlescopeforshowingrelationships,drawing
comparisons,ormakingevaluations.
MethodandResearchDesign
DetailsonMethodandResearchDesign
Purpose
Commonproblems
Overview
Examplesofdifferenttypesofresearch
Examplesofmethodsections
Writingyourownmethodsection
PURPOSE
Themethodsectionanswersthesetwomainquestions:
1.Howwasthedatacollectedorgenerated?
2.Howwasitanalyzed?
Inotherwords,itshowsyourreaderhowyouobtainedyourresults.
Butwhydoyouneedtoexplainhowyouobtainedyourresults?
We need to know how the data was obtained because the method affects
the results. For instance, if you are investigating users' perceptions of the
efficiencyofpublictransportinBangkok,youwillobtaindifferentresultsifyou
use a multiple choice questionnaire than if you conduct interviews. Knowing
howthedatawascollectedhelpsthereaderevaluatethevalidityandreliability
ofyourresults,andtheconclusionsyoudrawfromthem.
32
Oftentherearedifferentmethodsthatwecanusetoinvestigatearesearch
problem. Your methodology should make clear the reasons why you chose a
particularmethodorprocedure.
The reader wants to know that the data was collected or generated in a
waythatisconsistentwithacceptedpracticeinthefieldofstudy.Forexample,if
you are using a questionnaire, readers need to know that it offered your
respondents a reasonable range of answers to choose from (asking if the
efficiencyofpublictransportinBangkokis"a.excellent,b.verygoodorc.good"
would obviously not be acceptable as it does not allow respondents to give
negativeanswers).
Theresearchmethods mustbeappropriatetotheobjectivesofthestudy.
If you perform a case study of one commuter in order to investigate users'
perceptions of the efficiency of public transport in Bangkok, your method is
obviouslyunsuitedtoyourobjectives.
The methodology should also discuss the problems that were anticipated
and explain the steps taken to prevent them from occurring, and the problems
thatdidoccurandthewaystheirimpactwasminimized.
Insomecases,itisusefulforotherresearcherstoadaptorreplicateyour
methodology, so often sufficient information is given to allow others to use the
work. This is particularly the case when a new method had been developed, or
aninnovativeadaptationused.
33
COMMONPROBLEMS
1.IrrelevantDetail
2.Unnecessaryexplanationofbasicprocedures
Remember that you are not writing a howto guide for beginners. Your readers
will be people who have a level of expertise in your field and you can assume
that they are familiar with basic assessments, laboratory procedures etc, so do
not explain these in detail. For example: "Total chlorophyll content
(microgram/gram vegetable tissue) was determined spectrophotometrically by
theAndersonandBoardmanmethod(1964),asadaptedbyBarthetal.,(1992)"
(Barth et al., 1993). Notice that the authors do not explain the Anderson and
Boardman method (we can assume it is known in their field of study) nor their
own previous adaptation of it (because the adaptation has already been
recordedintheworktheypublishedin1992).Howevertheydorecordindetail
their own procedures that have not been previously recorded: "At each time
interval, three replicates/treatment were taken, ground (stem and florets) with
a KitchenAid grinder Model K5A and used for determination of reduced
ascorbic acid" (Barth et al., 1993). Notice that they specify the equipment used
becauseitcouldaffecttheresults.
3.Problemblindness
Mostofusencountersomeproblemswhencollectingorgeneratingourdata.Do
not ignore significant problems or pretend they did not occur. Often, recording
how you overcame obstacles can form an interesting part of the methodology,
and means you can also give a rationale for certain decisions, plus a realistic
viewofusingthemethodsyouchose.
OVERVIEW
Introduction: Introduction of research problem introduction
of objectives introduction of how objectives will be achieved
(methodology), optional introduction of main findings and
conclusions,optional
Literature review: Review of previous work relating to
researchproblem(todefine,explain,justify)reviewofpreviouswork
relating to methodology (to define, explain, justify) review of
34
Thisishowmethodfitsintoyourthesis:
EXAMPLESOFDIFFERENTTYPEOFRESEARCH
Analysis: Classes of data are collected and studies conducted to discern
patternsandformulateprinciplesthatmightguidefutureaction.
Case Study: The background, development, current conditions and

environmental interactions of one or more individuals, groups, communities,
businesses or institutions is observed, recorded and analyzed for stages of
patternsinrelationtointernalandexternalinfluences.
Comparison: Two or more existing situations are studied to determine

theirsimilaritiesanddifferences.
CorrelationPrediction: Statistically significant correlation coefficients

betweenandamonganumberoffactorsaresoughtandinterpreted.
Evaluation: Research to determine whether a program or project

followedtheprescribedproceduresandachievedthestatedoutcomes.
Designdemonstration: New systems or programs are constructed,

testedandevaluated
Experiment: One or more variables are manipulated and the results

analyzed.
previousworkrelatingtoresults(particularlyreliability,etc.)
Method: How the results were achieved): explanation of how
datawascollected/generatedexplanationofhowdatawasanalyzed
explanationofmethodologicalproblemsandtheirsolutionsoreffects
ResultsandDiscussion:Presentationofresultsinterpretation
of results discussion of results (e.g. comparison with results in
previousresearch,effectsofmethodsusedonthedataobtained)
Conclusions:Hastheresearchproblembeensolved?towhat
extenthavetheobjectivesbeenachieved?whathasbeenlearntfrom
the results? how can this knowledge be used? what are the
shortcomingsoftheresearch,ortheresearchmethodology?etc.
35
Surveyquestionnaire: Behaviors, beliefs and observations of specific

groupsareidentified,reportedandinterpreted.
Status:Arepresentativeorselectedsampleofoneormorephenomenais
examinedtodetermineitsspecialcharacteristics.
Theory Construction: An attempt to find or describe principles that

explainhowthingsworkthewaytheydo.
TrendAnalysis:Predictingorforecastingthefuturedirectionofevents.
METHODSECTION:ANEXAMPLE
The following example is abridged (the introduction has been removed, as well
astheresults,discussionandconclusions).
Task:Lookforthepurposeofeachpartofthemethodology.Examineeach
sentenceandseeifyoucandecideitsfunction.Hereisarangeofpossibilitiesto
helpyou:rationale(reasonsfordoingsomething),description(e.g.of
equipment),purpose(e.g.ofthemodel),application(howsomethingisused),
structureoftheresearch(theorderinwhichinformationwillbegiven),
assumptions(foramodel),parameters(thesemaybevariablesthatare
measured).
Clickonthehighlightedsentencesforsuggestedanswers.Theanswersare
designedforyoutojumpandforthratherthantoreadasacompletetext.
ProductionandStorageofIceforCoolingBuildings
Wubben,E.A.,Shapiro,H.N.andNelson,R.M.TransactionsoftheASME,Vol.111,
pp.338,1989.
36
Abstract
Astrategythatmayprovideeconomicbenefitsinbuildingsistouseandice
productionsystemtoprovidecoolstorageforlaterusewhencoolingisneeded.
Understandingthefundamentaldynamicsofthestoragetankiscriticalin
determiningthefeasibilityofsuchstrategies.Forthispurpose,alumped
parametermodeloficegrowthonaheatexchangerisdeveloped.Resultsofan
experimentalstudyofanicestoragesysteminstalledinaresidentialresearch
facilityarealsopresented.Theresultsoftheparametricstudyarealsopresented
thatshowsomeoftheeffectsofgeometricandoperationvariablesonsystem
performance.Trendsexhibitedintheresultssuggestwaystooptimizeice
productionfortheparticularexchangerstudied.
Introduction
LumpedParameterModelofIceGrowth
Inthissection,governingequationsaredevelopedtomodelicegrowthonthe
heatexchangerplates.Themodelisintendedtocharacterizethedynamicsofthe
icegrowthwithoutthe[addedproblem]ofthedetailediceprofiles.The
presentationbeginswithmassandenergybalancesandconcludeswiththe
developmentofamodelfortheheattransferbetweenthewaterandthecoolant.
EnergyandMassBalances
Ananalyticalmodelofastoragetankandheatexchangerwasconstructedto
predicttheamountoficethatcouldbeproducedontheheatexchanger.The
modelpredictstheenergyflowsintoandoutofthestoragetankbyconsidering
energyandmassbalancesforasuitablecontrolvolume.Theratesofenergy
removalfromthetankarerelatedtoparametersthatdependontheproperties
ofthestoragemedium,thephysicalcharacteristicsofthesystem,andthe
environmentalconditions.Afterthismodelwasverifiedbyexperiments,itwas
usedtopredicttheeffectsoftheseparametersonthesystemperformance.
Theheatexchanger,illustratedinFigs.1and2,consistsoftwoplateswith
attachedtubesplacedinparallelbetweensupplyandreturnheaders.Thistype
ofheatexchangerwaschosenbecauseofitsthermalcharacteristics,large
surfacearea,readyavailability,andbecausetheiceremainsattachedtotheheat
37
exchanger.Tosimplifythemodel,nostratificationofthewaterisallowedinthe
storagetank.Asubmergedpumpisplacedinthetanktokeepthewaterwell
mixed.
WRITINGYOUROWNMETHODSECTION
Bearinmindthepurposeofthemethodsection.
Keep notes of what you did, why you did it, and what happened. Some
researcherskeepresearchdiariessothattheyhavearecordofthemethodsthey
used. Make sure you develop some way of recording your work, and that you
thencarefullyselectwhichmaterialtoincludeinyourfinalmethodologysection.
Remember who your audience will be, and be careful not to include
unnecessarydetails.
Avoid using "I" to write about what you did. Do not use "we" unless you
reallywereworkingwithoneormoreotherresearchers.Onewaytoavoidthis
problemistousepassivevoice.
Verbtensesbeconsistent,andchoosethecorrectone!
MethodTextAnalysis
MethodandResearchDesignTextAnalysis
"Inthissection,""beginswith,""concludeswith"
Structure of the written report: the writers are telling you how
their research will be presented in the following section,
including the topic and the order in which information will
appear. This is useful because it gives an overview of the
methodology section and therefore makes what follows easier
to understand. Without an overview it may not be evident why
theauthor/sarepresentingcertainmaterialortherelevanceof
certain sections. This first paragraph functions like an
introductiontothefollowingsection.Usuallyeverysectionofa
piece of research writing has some form of introduction that
gives the main points of what follows or outlines the structure
38
oftheresearch.
"isintendedto,""wasconstructedto"
Purpose: in this case, the purpose of the model. Very often in
methodologysectionsthepurposeisgivenfirst,oratleastvery
early because knowing the aim of the research is obviously
paramount to understanding how the researcher/s set out to
achieve their objectives. Later, in the second paragraph, the
morespecificpurpose(inthiscasetopredict)isgiven.
>Themodelpredicts"
What the model does: the model predicts energy flows. In this
sentencewelearnamorespecificpurposethanwasgiveninthe
previousparagraph,andaregivenmoreinformationabouthow
itworks.
"The rates of energy removal from the tank are related to
parameters"
Functioning of the system: here the authors tell us which
variables affect the rate of energy removal, i.e. how the system
functions. In the following sentence we are told that the model
isusedtopredicttheeffectoftheseparameters.
"itwasused"
Application:howthemodelwasused,inthiscaseasamethodof
predictinghowwellthesystemwouldwork.
"consistsof"
Description:adescriptionofthemodel,inthiscasethephysical
equipmentassumedinthemodel.
"waschosenbecause"
Rationale: reasons why this method (in this case, this heat
exchanger)werechosenforthismodel.Itisoftencrucialtogive
39
anexplanationinordertojustifydecisions.
"Tosimplifythemodel"
Assumptions: models necessarily involve simplifying reality.
Here the authors specify their assumptions (no stratification in
the water), and provide a rationale for why they can assume
this to be true (a submerged pump in the tank is assumed to
keepthewatersufficientlywellmixed).
VerbTenseandMethod
FORYOURTHESISORDISSERTATIONPROPOSAL
Becauseyouhaven'tyetcarriedoutyourresearch,youshouldwriteaboutwhat
youplantodointhefuturetense(becauseyouwilldotheworkatsomepointin
thefuture).Forexample:
Amultiplechoicequestionnairewillbeadministeredtothetopmanagersoffifty
informationtechnologycompaniesinthecountry.
Use"will"tomakethefuturetenseratherthanthemoreinformal"goingto."
Forfactsorinformationthataretrueandunlikelytochange,writeaboutthemin
thepresenttense.Forexample:
A multiple choice questionnaire will be used since it offers a way to reduce the
timerespondentswillneedtocompleteit,andthereforetoincreasethenumber
ofcompletedquestionnaires.
The fact that the multiple choice questionnaire offers a way to reduce
completiontimeistruewhetherthequestionnaireisadministeredtodayornext
year(itisalwaystrue),so"offers"isusedinsteadof"willoffer."
40
FORYOURTHESISORDISSERTATION
Mostofyourmethodologysectionwillbewritteninthepasttensebecauseyou
are recording what you have done. Notice too that it is usually written in the
simplepast(theverbtenseusedforeventsthatarenowfinished).Forexample:
1)Thesamplewasweighed.
2)Fishseedwereaddedtothepool.
3)Athermometerrecordedchangesinexternaltemperature.
Thesesentencesarewritteninthepasttense,becauseanactiontookplaceand
isnowfinished.(Forexamplein1,thesamplewasweighedonthe18thAugust,
1996at3pmandisnotstillbeingweighedtheactionofweighingisfinishedso
simplepastisused).Noticethatalthough1,2and3areallinthesimplepast,1
and2arepassiveverbswhile3isactive.(SeePassiveandActiveVoiceformore
information).Forfactsorinformationthataretrueandunlikelytochange,write
abouttheminthepresenttense.Forexample:
Vietnam was chosen for this study because it has a long coastline.
(PresenttenseisusedbecauseweassumethatthelengthofVietnam'scoastline
isunlikelytochange.)
Cornmeal was used to feed the fingerlings because it provides high nutritional
contentatarelativelylowcost.
(Present tense is used because we assume that neither the nutritional content
northecostofcornmealislikelytochange.)
Other verb tenses may also be used, for example to describe one event
happeningduringanother.Example:
Ethylalcoholwasaddedwhilethesamplewasbeingdried.
(pastcontinuouspassive)
41
Notice,too
thepresenttenseisusedtotalkaboutthethesisordissertation
itselfandwhatitcontains,shows,etc.
Forexample:
Table 3 shows that the main cause of weight increase was nutritional value of
the feed. (Table 3 will always show this it is now a fact that is unlikely to
change, and will be true whenever this sentence is read, so present tense is
used.)
"to"isoftenusedtomean"inorderto"
"by"isusuallyfollowedbyaverbendingining
ANEXAMPLEOFVERBTENSESANDVERBTENSESHIFTS
Lookatthetextbelowandseeifyoucandecidewhyeachhighlightedtensehas
been used.Find suggested answers by clicking on the words, then returnto the
textbyusingthearrows.
Takii,K.andShimano,S.etal..InTheCurrentStatusofFishNutritionin
Aquaculture,Takeda,M.AndWatanabe,T.(Eds.)
MaterialsandMethods
Formulationsandproximatecompositionsoftheexperimentaldietsareshown
inTable1.Brownfishmealwasusedtoprovideapproximately54%(drymatter
basis)crudeproteinforthecontroldiet1.Indiets24and5,approximately15
46%and31%ofthefishmealwasisonitrogenouslysubstitutedwithasoy
proteinconcentrate(SPC),respectively,diets24weresupplementedwiththe
essentialaminoacids(DLmenthionin,Llysine,Lhistidine,LvalineandL
threonin)tosimulatethecompositionofthecontroldiet1.Feedingstimulants
(Lalanine,Lprolineand5IMP)weresupplementedtoeachdiet.TheSPCused
inthisexperimentwasDANPROA,productofAarhusOlieCo.,Ltd,(Denmark,
suppliedbyBayerJapanCo.,Ltd.,whichcontainsahighlevelofcrudeprotein
andalowleveloftrypsininhibitors,asaresultofthetreatmentsofdefatting,
42
ethanolextractionandtoasting.
Moistpelletswerepreparedbythoroughlymixingthedryingredientswithoil
andcoldwaterandthenextrudingthedoughthroughalaboratorypelleting
machine.Resultingpellets,3or5mmindiameter,werestoredat20degrees
untiluse.
Forinformationaboutvoice,seePassiveandActiveVoice.
Descriptionofaboveexample
are shown in Table 1: simple present (passive). Always use simple present to
referthereadertoatableorfigureinyourtext.
was used to provide/was isonitrogenously substituted/were
supplemented/were prepared/were stored: simple past (passive) this is the
mostcommonlyusedtenseinamethodsectionbecauseitdescribesactionsthat
are now finished. Passive Voice because it sounds more objective not to use I
(seeActiveandPassive).
used/was/supplied by: simple past. The product was used (an action now
finished). In this experiment (now finished) the product was DANPROA. The
productwassupplied(alsoanactionthatisnowfinished).
contains: we assume that what the product contains is unlikely to change,
thereforewecandescribeitinthepresenttense.
43
VoiceintheMethodchapter
44
PassiveandActiveVoice
Verbs can be used in either in the passive voice (The biscuit was eaten by the
dogORThebiscuitwaseaten)ortheactivevoice(Thedogatethebiscuit).
Whatdoesitmatter?Well,usingpassiveoractivevoicechangestheemphasisof
apieceofwriting.Forexample:
"The biscuit was eaten by the dog." This sentence is passive because the main
focus of the sentence is on the biscuit, but the biscuit does not do anything
insteadsomethingisdonetothebiscuit(bythedog).Infact,wecanevenleave
outthepartaboutwhoperformedtheaction:Thebiscuitwaseaten.
"Thedogatethebiscuit."Thisisactivebecausethemainfocusofourattentionis
onthedog,andthedogistheonewhodoessomething(iteatsthebiscuit).
WHYUSEPASSIVEVOICE?
People reading your thesis or dissertation are going to be far less interested in
you than in your work so the emphasis should be on what you did and not on
you. Also, by not saying "I weighed the sample" but "The sample was weighed"
youmakeyourwritingsoundmoreobjective.
HOWDOIMAKETHEPASSIVEVOICE?
Passivevoiceistheverbtobefollowedbyapastparticiple:Forexample:
RiceisgrowninThailand.(simplepresentispluspastparticiplegrown)
ThefilmisbeingshownatFutureParkMall.(presentcontinuousisbeing
pluspastparticipleshown)
Thesamplewasweighedtofinditsdryweight.(simplepastwaspluspast
participleweighed)
The samples were being dried . (past continuous were being plus past
participledried)
The interviews will be conducted in groups. (future will be plus past
participleconducted)
45
WRITINGABOUTWHATTHERESEARCHERSHAVEDONE
Researchwritingusuallyavoidsusing"I"or"we"(although"we"isbecoming
moreacceptableincoauthoredpapers).Byconvention,ifthepassivevoiceis
usedweassumethatanactionwascarriedoutbytheresearcher/s,andwedon't
saydirectlywhodidit.Forexample:
INCORRECT
Thetemperatureinsidethechamberwasincreasedfrom0Cto20Cbythe
researcher.
CORRECT
Thetemperatureinsidethechamberwasincreasedfrom0Cto20C.(We
assumetheresearcherincreasedthetemperature.)
INCORRECT
Fourthermocouplesweremonitoredhourlybytheresearcher.
CORRECT
Fourthermocouplesweremonitoredhourly.(Weassumetheresearcher
monitoredthem.)
WRITINGABOUTWHATTHEEQUIPMENTHASDONE?
The active voice is usually used when the equipment has performed an action
(i.e. when it is not the researcher/s who have performed the action). For
example:
A200hpgeneratorprovidedpowertothepiezometers.
Controlgaugesmonitoredairpressureinsidethechamber.
Theuseofactivevoiceindicatesthattheresearcherswerenotdirectly
involvedinthefunctioningoftheequipment.
Thepassivevoicecanbeusedtodescribeanactioninvolvingequipment,
buta"by"clausemustbeincludedtowhichequipmentperformedthe
action.Forexample:Powerwassuppliedby14generatorswith
capacitiesrangingfrom90to300KW.
46
Results
DETAILSONTHISSECTION
Purpose
Whatstheresultsanddiscussionsectionsinclude?
Commonproblem
Organization
AnExample
SomeAdvices
PURPOSE
Topresenttheresultsandmakethemmeaningfultothereader.
WHATSTHERESULTSANDDISCUSSIONSECTIONSINCLUDE
Statement of results: the results are presented in a format that is accessible to

thereader(e.g.inagraph,table,diagramorwrittentext). Noticethatrawdata
isusuallyputinanappendix,ifitisincludedatall.
Explanatorytext:allgraphs,tables,diagramsandfiguresshouldbeaccompanied
by text that guides the reader's attention to significant results. The text makes
the results meaningful by pointing out the most important results, simplifying
theresults(e.g."nearlyhalf"insteadof"48.9%"),highlightingsignificanttrends
or relationships (e.g. "the rate of oxygenation decreases as the temperature
decreases"),andperhapscommentingonwhethercertainresultswereexpected
orunexpected.
47
COMMONPROBLEM
The text includes too much detail that simply repeats data presented in graphs,
tables,etc.withoutmakingtheresultsmeaningful.
Solution: remember that tables etc. are used to present a lot of information
efficiently,butthatyourjobistodirectthereader'sattentiontosignificantparts
ofthisinformation.
ORGANIZATION
Therearetwobasicwaysoforganizingtheresults:
Presenting all the results, then giving a discussion (perhaps in a different

section)
Presenting part of the results then giving a discussion, presenting another part
thengivingadiscussion,etc.
The method of organization you use will depend on the quantity and type of
results you obtain from your research. You should look for a method of
presentationthatmakestheinformationandideasyouarepresentingasclearas
possibletothereader.
ANEXAMPLE
Below is part of the results section from "Strategies of failure diagnosis in

computercontrolled manufacturing systems: empirical analysis and
implications for the design of adaptive decision support systems." Part of the
discussioncanbefoundontheDiscussionpage.
Task: read through the part of the results section below and try to find the
purpose of each sentence. Click on the highlighted phrases for suggested
48
answers. Here are some ideas to help you: explanation, reference to a figure,
statementofresults,makingtheresultsmeaningful,comparison.
Strategies of failure diagnosis in computercontrolled manufacturing systems:

empirical analysis and implications for the design of adaptive decision support
systems
Konradt, U. International Journal of HumanComputer Studies (1995) 43, 503
521
SUMMARY(adaptedfromtheabstract)
Objectiveofthestudy: to investigate strategies in failure diagnosis at cutting

machinetoolswithaverbalknowledgeacquisitiontechnique.
Method: semistructured interviews with mechanical and electrical

maintenancetechnicians;protocolanalysiswasperformedonthedata.Analysis
of strategies was performed according to technicians experience, familiarity
withtheproblemandtheproblemcomplexity.Thetechnicianswerecategorized
bylevelofexperience.
Results
Figure 2 shows that the most frequent diagnosis strategies were Historical
information (29% of the 182 observed strategies), Least effort (11.5%),
Reconstruction (9.8%) and Sensory check (8.7%) (see Appendix). Strategies
such as Historical information, which check available information about the
failure history, and Least effort are two low cost technical checks which
shorten the time needed for diagnosis activities (seeAppendix). Strategies such
as Split half, leading to a binary reduction of the problem space, and
Information uncertainty play only a minor role in reallife failure diagnosis of
machinetools(1.1%,seeFigure2).
49
Historicalinformation(29.0)
Leasteffort(11.5)
Reconstruction(9.8)
Sensorychecks(8.7)
Systematicnarrowing(6.6)
Signaltracing(6.0)
Conditionalprobability(5.5)
Frequency(4.9)
Exclusion(3.3)
Manuals(3.3)
Patternofsymptoms(2.7)
Topographicalsearch(2.2)
Diagnosissoftware(1.6)
Splithalf(1.1)
Informationuncertainty(1.1)
Miscellaneous(2.7)
Figure5.2:Frequenciesoffailurediagnosisstrategies(n=182)
"Figure2shows"
Reference to a figure. Notice that the present tense is used ("shows"). Usually
references to figures, tables etc. are put in parenthesis rather than in the main
body of the sentence because they are of secondary importance to the results
themselves.
"themostfrequentdiagnosisstrategieswere"
The writer is pointing out the significance of three of the results (i.e. that they
were the most frequent diagnosis strategies). Notice that the writers refers to
the figure containing the information ("Figure 2 shows"), and that detailed
percentages are deemphasized by being included only in parentheses. In fact,
thisdetailedinformationdoesnotneedtobeincludedinthetextsinceitappears
in the figure. For more detailed information, the reader is referred to the
50
appendix:"(seeAppendix)."Noticethatthisreferenceisinparenthesestooasit
isnotpartofthemainbodyofthesentence.
"aretwolowcosttechnicalcheckswhich"
The writer is summarizing the benefits of two of the strategies in order to
indicatewhytheyweremostfrequentlyused.Althoughthisisinfactdiscussion,
itishelpfulforthereadertohavethisinformationwhilelookingattheresults.A
detailed discussion of the results appears in the Discussion section of the same
article.
"playonlyaminorrole"
The writer is pointing out the least frequent strategies. In this case, the low
frequency of these strategies is of interest (see the Discussion section of the
samearticle)andthereforethereader'sattentionisdirectedtowardsthem.
SOMEADVICES
References to the figure and to the appendix are generally put in parentheses,
e.g. "(see Appendix)" because this information is of secondary importance. Of
primaryimportancearetheresultsthemselves,somostofthesentencesfocuses
on them. Look at the following two sentences. Which one is more effective?
Rememberthepurposeofthetextinaresultssection.Clickonthemtofindout.
a)Table1showstheresultsfromthelaboratoryexperiment.
b) The results from the laboratory experiment indicate that the reaction
proceedsfasterinthepresenceofthismetal(seeTable1).
a)Table1showstheresultsfromthelaboratoryexperiment."
ThepointofthissentenceisjusttotellthereadertolookatTable1.Itdoesnot
maketheresultsinTable1meaningfulbecauseitdoesnotcommentonthem.
b)The results from the laboratory experiment indicate that the reaction
proceedsfasterinthepresenceofthismetal(seeTable1)".
Thissentenceismoreeffectivethana)becauseitmakestheresultsinthetable
meaningfulbypointingoutarelationshipbetweenthespeedofthereactionand
thepresenceofthemetal.Noticethatthereferencetothetableisdeemphasized
bybeingputinparenthesesbecauseitisofonlysecondaryimportance.
51
Discussion
DETAILSONDISCUSSIONSECTION
ThePurposeoftheDiscussionsectionandwhatitincludes
CommonProblem
Organization
AnExample
SomeAdvices
PURPOSEANDCONTENTOFTHEDISCUSSIONSECTION
Thediscussionsectionisforcommentonandexplanationoftheresults.
Itincludes:
Explanation of results: the writer comments on whether or not the
resultswereexpected,andpresentsexplanationsfortheresults,particularlyfor
thosethatareunexpectedorunsatisfactory.
References to previous research: comparison of the results with those

reportedintheliterature,oruseoftheliteraturetosupportaclaim,hypothesis
ordeduction.
Deduction: a claim for how the results can be applied more generally (a
conclusion based on reasoning from the results, e.g. we fed fish a new feed, all
thefishgainedweight,thereforethenewfeedcausesfishtogainweight).
Hypothesis:amoregeneralclaimorpossibleconclusionarisingfromthe
results(whichwillbeprovedordisprovedinlaterresearch).
52
COMMONPROBLEM
The discussion does not discuss simply supplies more detail about the results
obtained.
Solution:rememberthatthediscussionshouldexplaintheresults.
ORGANIZATION
Therearetwobasicwaysoforganizingtheresultsanddiscussion:
1. Presenting all the results, then giving a discussion (perhaps in a different
section)
2. Presentingpartoftheresultsthengivingadiscussion,presentinganother
partthengivingadiscussion,etc
The method of organization you use will depend on the quantity and type of
results you obtain from your research. You should look for a method of
presentationthatmakestheinformationandideasyouarepresentingasclearas
possibletothereader.
ANEXAMPLE
Below is part of the discussion section from "Strategies of failure diagnosis in
computercontrolled manufacturing systems: empirical analysis and
implications for the design of adaptive decision support systems." Part of the
results section was included on the Results page of this online course. The
squarebracketsindicatetheinformationthathasbeenleftout.
Task: read through the discussion section and try to find the purpose of each
sentence.Clickonthehighlightedphrasesforsuggestedanswers.Herearesome
ideas to help you: explanation, purpose, supporting reference, theory,
description,summary,comparison.
53
Strategies of failure diagnosis in computercontrolled manufacturing

systems: empirical analysis and implications for the design of adaptive
decisionsupportsystems
Konradt, U. International Journal of HumanComputer Studies (1995) 43, 503
521
SUMMARY(adaptedfromtheabstract)
Objectiveofthestudy:toinvestigatestrategiesinfailurediagnosisatcutting
machinetoolswithaverbalknowledgeacquisitiontechnique.
Method:semistructuredinterviewswithmechanicalandelectrical
maintenancetechnicians;protocolanalysiswasperformedonthedata.Analysis
ofstrategieswasperformedaccordingtotechniciansexperience,familiarity
withtheproblemandtheproblemcomplexity.Thetechnicianswerecategorized
bylevelofexperience.
Discussion:StrategiesinReallifeDiagnosis
Infaultdiagnosisinadvancedmanufacturingsystems,fourtypicalstrategiesare
found:
Restriction of diagnosis to components which are known and susceptible
tofailures(Historicalinformation);
Performingteststhatresultinleastefforts(Leasteffort);
Reconstruction of the conditions that lead to the failure

(Reconstruction);
Perception of symptoms, i.e. loose connections, odors, sounds, play

(Sensorychecks).
These strategies appeared in about 60% of the total observed strategies. The
primarystrategywasHistoricalInformation.Thiscorrespondstotheresultsof
Hoc(1989).Ininformationtheory,strategiessuchasInformationuncertainty,
which eliminates the greatest number of failure causes, or Split half, which
54
results in a binary splitting of the problem space, are economical ways to

shorten the problem space. We found that in reallife failure diagnosis, even
maintenance experts with more than 20 years experience seldom used these
strategies.Onereasonmaybethattheuseofthisstrategyrequiresinformation
about conditional probabilities and a fully described problem space that cannot
besupposedfortroubleshootingincomplexmanufacturingsystems.
DiscussionTextAnalysis
"The primary strategy was Historical Information": Up to this point, the
writerisprovidingasummaryoftheresultsbyhighlightingthemostsignificant
findings
"correspondstotheresultsofHoc(1989)": The writer supports the validity
oftheresultsbyreferringtosimilarresultsobtainedbyanotherresearcher.
"Ininformationtheory":Thewritersummarizesrelevantinformationfromthe
theory. Notice how this is important to put the writer's own research into
context(seethenextsentence).
"Wefoundthat":Thewritersummarizestheresultsinordertoshowthatthey
differ from what the theory would predict (the theory was summarized in the
previoussentence).
"Onereasonmaybe": The writer suggests why the results from this study do
not correspond with the theory, i.e. the writer is explaining the difference
betweentheoryandthisstudy'sresultsoutlinedintheprevioussentences.
55
SOMEADVICES
If you are putting your discussionintoa discussion section separatefrom
theresults,youmaywanttoprovideasummaryoftheresultstoremindyour
readerofyourmainfindings.
Put your results in context (e.g. by comparing them with previous

research,orwithexistingtheory)inordertoexplainthem.
Give reasons to account for differences between your research and

previousresearchorexistingtheory,ortoexplainunexpectedresults.
Although there may be some repetition of information in the results and

discussionsections,itshouldbekepttoaminimum.
Remember too that the focus should be different: while you are simply
presenting results and making them meaningful to your reader in the results
section,inthediscussionsectionyouareexplainingthem.
CONCLUSION
DetailonConclusionSection
Purpose
CommonProblems
Examples
Purpose
Togiveasummaryof:
Whatwaslearned(thisusuallycomesfirst)
Whatremainstobelearned(directionsforfutureresearch)
Theshortcomingsofwhatwasdone(evaluation)
56
Thebenefits,advantages,applications,etc.oftheresearch(evaluation),and
Recommendations.
COMMONPROBLEM
Toolong:Theconclusionsectionshouldbeshort.Oftentheconclusionsectionis
aslittleas2.5%ofanentirepieceofpublishedresearch.
Too much detail: Conclusions that are too long often have unnecessary detail.
The conclusion section is not the place for details about your methodology or
results. Although you should give a summary of what was learnt from your
research, this summary should be short, since the emphasis in the conclusions
sectionisontheimplications,evaluations,etc.thatyoumake.
Failure to comment on larger, more significant issues: Whereas in the

introduction your task was to move from general (your field) to specific (your
research), in the concluding section your task is to move from specific (your
research)backtogeneral(yourfield,howyourresearchwillaffecttheworld).In
otherwords,intheconclusionyoushouldputyourresearchincontext.
Failure to reveal the complexities of a conclusion or situation: Negative

aspectsofyourresearchshouldnotbeignored.Problems,drawbacksetc.canbe
included in summary in your conclusion section as a way of qualifying your
conclusions (i.e. pointing out the negative aspects, even if they are outweighed
bythepositiveaspects.
Lackofaconcisesummaryofwhatwaslearned:Inordertobeabletodiscuss
howyourresearchfitsbackintoyourfieldofstudy(andtheworldatlarge)you
needtosummarizeitverybriefly.Oftenthesummaryisonlyafewsentences.
Failure to match the objectives of the research: Often research objectives

changewhiletheresearchisbeingcarriedout.Thisisnotaproblemunlessyou
forget to go back and rewrite your original objectives in your introduction so
thattheyaccuratelyreflectwhatyouweretryingtoaccomplishinyourresearch
(notwhatyouthoughtyoumightaccomplishwhenyoubegan).
57
Hereisanexampleofanobjectiveandconclusionthatdonotmatch:
Objective: The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of
roadbuildingonvillagesonruralcommunities.
Conclusion: The model produced in this study can accurately predict the social
andeconomicimpactofroadbuildingonvillagesinnorthernLaos.
If we rewrite the objective to match what we actually did (we developed a

model),itwillfittheconclusion:
Rewrittenobjective:Themainobjectiveofthisstudywastodevelopamodelto
predictthesocialandeconomicimpactofroadbuildingonruralcommunities.
EXAMPLES
Read the texts below and see if you can decide the purpose of each highlighted
sentence(e.g.summaryofresearch,majorconclusion,problems/drawbacksand
other negative aspects, qualified conclusion, directions for future research,
structureofthewriting).Clickoneachsentenceforsuggestedanswers,thenuse
thearrowstoreturntothetexts.
Example1
Analysisofcoupledshear/corewallsusingabeamtypefiniteelement
Kwan,A.K.H.,andCheung,Y.K.(1994)EngineeringStructures.Vol16No2.
Conclusions
TheSisodiyaandCheungbeamtypeelementisfoundtobeparticularlysuitable
fortheanalysisofcoupledshear/corewallstructures.However,itisnotwithout
problems. Firstly, when connected with coupling beams, it yields large
fluctuations of shear stresses which are not realistic.Secondly it gives only the
average bending moments within the elements but would not give directly the
maximum bending moments needed for structural design. Thirdly, the finite
58
element method is computationally less efficient than many other methods.

Theseproblemshavebeenstudiedandthefollowingremediesareproposed.
To resolve the problem with shear stress evaluation, it is suggested that the
shear stresses in the element should be determined from the horizontal nodal
forces acting on the element instead of from the straindisplacement relation of
the element. This can eliminate all the unrealistic fluctuation of shear stresses
and produce shear stress results which are always in equilibrium with the
external loads. To resolve the problem with bending stress evaluation, it is
proposed to use the element in pairs in the form of a composite element and
apply linear extrapolation to determine the maximum axial and bending
stresses.Finally,inordertoimprovethecomputationalefficiencyofthemethod,
thenumberofunknownstobesolvedisreducedbyneglectingthelateralstrains
in the walls which are generally insignificant. After these modifications, it is
believed that the improved beamtype element method is a better method than
mostothersfortheanalysisofcoupledshear/corewallstructures.
Example1TextAnalysis
"TheSisodiyaandCheungbeamtypeelementisfoundtobe...."
Majorconclusionoftheresearch.(Theobjectivewastheassessthesuitabilityof
the Sisodiya and Cheung beamtype element for analysis of coupled shear/core
wallstructures).Noticethatthisconclusionisverygeneralnodetailsaregiven
hereaboutresearchfindingsastheyweregivenintheResultssection.
"However,itisnotwithoutproblems."
Evaluation. The previous sentence concluded that the beam was suitable. Now
theauthorsmoderatethisconclusionbysummarisingtheirnegativefindings.
"Firstly...Secondly...Thirdly..."
Thishelpsthereaderknowthestructureofthewriting:noticehowtheauthors
have clearly labelled the three drawbacks. By following the same order for the
solutions they propose, they make it easy for the reader to follow their
argument.
"Theseproblemshavebeenstudiedandthefollowingremediesareproposed."
Thisindicatesthestructureofthewriting:thissentenceservesasalinkbetween
the problems just listed and the solutions that follow in the next paragraph. By
59
using this sentence as a link, the writers make it clear to the reader what will
comenextandwhy.Suchlinks(or"transitions")makewritingeasiertofollow.
"Afterthesemodifications...."
Qualified conclusion (evaluation). Taking into consideration its drawbacks, the
Sisodiya Cheung beamtype element method is still seen as the one of the best
methods for analysis. Notice that the authors have discussed the problems
involvedinthismethod,makingthisqualifiedconclusionmorecomplexthanthe
initialconclusiontheydrewatthebeginningoftheirconclusionsection.
Example2
BucklingsolutionsforMindlinplatesofvariousshapes
Wang, C. M., Y. Xiang., S. Kitipornchai, and K. M. Liew (1994). Engineering
Structures,Vol16,No2.
Conclusion
Newbucklingsolutionsforregularpolygonal,elliptical,semicircularandannular
Mindlinplaesunderisotropicinplaneloadshavebeenpresented.Itcanbeseen
thatthesheardeformationeffectdepressesthebucklingloadsmoresignificantly
withincreasingplatethicknessandgreaterboundaryrestraint.Futureresearch
onsuchplatebucklingproblemsshouldbedirectedatconsidering:firstly,other
loading conditions, such as shear loading, partial loadings and nonuniform
loadings at the edges; and secondly, boundary conditions involving point
supports,mixededgeconditionsandelasticrestraints.
Example2TextAnalysis
"Newbucklingsolutions...havebeenpresented."
Thisistheshortsummary(oroverview)oftheresearch.
"Itcanbeseen...greaterboundaryrestraint."
This is the major conclusion. This is the main information learnt from the
research.
"Futureresearchonsuchplatebucklingproblemsshouldbedirectedat..."
60
Directions for future research. The present research added to the body of
knowledge in this field, but other gaps still remain or have been discovered.
Thesegapsareidentifiedasbeinginneedofresearch.
REFERENCING
DetailsonReferencingSection
Whatisreferencing?
WhatmustIreference?
WhatdoIneedtoreference?
Differentreferencingsystems
WhichsystemshouldIuse?
Referencingonlinesources
Quotingandparaphrasing
Plagiarism
WhatisReferencing?
Referencing (also called citing or documenting) your sources means

systematically showing what information or ideas you are quoting or
paraphrasing,andwheretheycomefrom.Youareentitledtousesomeoneelse's
words,ideasorinformationinyourworkandinfactyouhavetodosobutyou
mustshowthattheyarenotyourownbyindicatingtheirsource.
Referencing systems vary between different fields of study and between
differentjournalsorpublisherswithinafieldofstudy.Despitethisvariation,all
referencingsystemshavethesamebasiccomponents:
anintextreferencetoshowthatapieceofinformation,idea,quotation,etc.you
haveincludedinyourwritingbelongstoanotherwriter.Itisalwaysdesignedto
beshortbecauseitisinterruptingthetext,andisusuallyinparentheses:
61
In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in car sales inThailand (Honda
1995).
OR
Inrecentyears,therehasbeenarapidincreaseincarsalesinThailand(Honda,
1995).
OR
In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in car sales inThailand (Honda
135).
OR
InrecentyearstherehasbeenarapidincreaseincarsalesinThailand[1].
OR
InrecentyearstherehasbeenarapidincreaseincarsalesinThailand1.
The readerthen uses the intext reference tofind full bibliographic information
(about when and where the source was published, and by which publisher)
either at the end of the page or more usually at the end of the paper (as a
footnote),thesisorbook(dependingonthereferencingsystemused).
A referencing system that in the text uses the author's family name will always
list sources on the references page alphabetically by author's family name; a
referencing system that uses numerical intext references will usually list
sourcesintheorderinwhichtheyappearinthewriting(notbyauthor'sname).
Thisenablesthereadertofindsourceseasily.
Problems
Mixing two referencing systems. If you are using (name year) for your intext
references,donotlistyoursourcesbynumberonyourreferencespagebecause
your reader will be looking for the author's name. Similarly, if you are using
numerical intext references, you cannot list your sources on your references
pagebyauthornameyourreaderwillbelookingfornumbers.
62
What should you do if there is more than one author listed? For the intext
reference,forapaperwithtwoauthorslistbypaperbyboth(forexample,Shaw
andClayton,1996),butforapaperwithmorethantwoauthorslistbythemain
author and add et al. (literally "and the others"), e.g. (Jones, Suzuki and Chan
1997) is written as (Jones et al., 1997). Note: do not change the order of the
names, i.e. you cannot write (Chan et al., 1997) because Chan is not the main
author.
What should I do if there is no author listed? Some articles are credited to
organizations rather than to individuals (e.g. many software manuals) so the
organization is listed as the "author." Many online materials do not have an
author listed: again, often the organization is used or, if no organization owns
thematerial,thenitisreferredtobyitstitle.Seethelinksbelowformoredetails
forbothelectronicandprintmaterials.
Adapting existing referencing systems for your own work. Why make work for
yourselfbyadaptinganexistingreferencingstyle?Useareferencingstylethatis
commonlyusedinyourfieldanduseityourself.Besides,strange,newstyleswill
only confuse your reader (and as a student, your readers are your professors),
and are often used just because the writer didn't bother to follow an existing
referencingstyle![Askyouradvisor]
What should you do if you want to use information by Writer X that you have
foundquotedorparaphrasedinWriterY?Yourfirstchoiceshouldbetoreferto
the original source. For example: you find a book by Honda published in 1993
that says: "A study by Singh (1990) has shown that 60% of clowns suffer from
chronicdepression".Ifyouwanttousethisinformation,trytofindthestudyby
Singh and read it for yourself. If this is difficult or impractical, you should
indicatewhereyoufoundtheinformation.Youcannotattributetheinformation
simply to Honda (as that writer was not the person who did the research) and
youcannotattributeittoSingh(unlessyouhavereadSingh'sstudy).Instead,in
yourresearch,youwillwritesomethinglikethis:
"Previousresearchsupportsthisargument,sinceithasbeenfoundthat60%of
clownsaresufferersofchronicdepression(Singh,1990,citedinHonda,1993)."
This shows that you found the information from Singh in a piece by Honda and
thatyoudidnotreadtheoriginal,i.e.ifthere'samistake,it'sHonda'snotyours.
63
WHATMUSTIREFERENCE?
All work done by other researchers, and that you want to refer to in your own
writing.
Otherwriters'words
You must reference (in other words, indicate the source of) all information and
ideas from existing work that you use in your writing, whether you use the
source'swordsoryourown.Allinformationthatisnotreferencedisassumedto
begeneralknowledge(inyourfield)ortocomedirectlyfromyou,soneglecting
toreferencesomeone'sworkoftenmeansyouareleadingyourreadertobelieve
thattheworkisyourown(seethesectiononplagiarismformoredetailsabout
this).
WHATDOINEEDTOREFERENCE?
Generalknowledge(e.g.thatGeorgeW.BushisthePresidentoftheU.S.A.,
thatChinahasalargerpopulationthanThailand),
Informationthatiscommonknowledgeinyourfield,and
Ideasthataredefinitelyyourown,andfindingsorinsightsfromyourown
research.
PROBLEMS
1. What should you do if you find that your idea has already been published by
anotherwriter?
Acknowledge the other writer's work, for example by writing in your reference
something like: (see also Wong, 1993). You must not ignore the other author's
work, because your readers may think that you have either taken the idea or
information without referencing (this is plagiarism) or that you do not have a
goodideaoftheliteratureinyourfield.
64
2. What should you do if you want to use an adapted version of someone else's
work?
You must still cite the original work. For example, maybe you are using a
diagram from an article by Wattana published in 1996, but you have altered it.
Reference the adapted diagram as (adapted from Wattana 1996). You can also
use other terms in order to specify the exact relationship between the source
and the version you have presented e.g. based on Wattana 1996, summarized
fromWattana1996,etc.
3. What should you do if several authors have published very similar
informationorideas?
You can indicate that the idea or information can be found in the work of more
than one author, e.g. Though in fact many authors have described this kind of
system (for example, Hynes, 1989; Wu, 19991; Lefrre, 1994) little work has
beendoneonextendingittoapplicationtoroboticsystems.Ifyouonlyreference
one author, then your readers may assume that only one author has published
thisonthistopic,orthatyouhavenotreadtheliteraturethoroughlyandarenot
awareoftheotherworkpublishedinthisarea.Useyourreferencingtogiveyour
readers a clear idea of the situation, not a distorted one, and to demonstrate
yourknowledge.
4.Shouldyouavoidreferencingotherpeople'swork?
Referencingotherpeople'sworkisNOTasignofweaknessintheirownwork.In
fact, the opposite is true. If you write up your research with no references to
previous work, you are indicating to your reader that you are not familiar with
the research that has already been done, and are therefore undermining your
owncredibilityandthevalidityofyourownwork.Includingreferencesisaway
of demonstrating your knowledge of your field therefore you must refer to
previouswork.
5.WhatifIfindexactlywhatIwanttosayinotherpeople'swriting?
It depends on what it is; if someone else has done the same thesis as you, then
you're going to have to change your topic, or find something new to say about
whatyou'redoing.
Ifitissomeoneelse'sparticularlysuccinctexpression,butfitsperfectlywhatyou
havebeentryingtosay,youcanquotedirectly,citingthepagereferenceaswell
astheauthorandyearofpublication.
65
DIFFERENTRESERENCINGSYSTEM
Chicagostyle:Thisreferencingsystemisusedwidelyinscienceandtechnology,
andinsomefieldsofthehumanities.Theintextreferenceusesthefamilyname
oftheauthor/splustheyeartheworkwaspublished:
Intextreference:
(Smith1978)Note:nocommabetweennameanddate
OR...accordingtoSmith(1978)
If there are more than two authors, generally the name of the first is used
followed by the words "et al." (which means "and others"). E.g.: The yield has
substantiallyincreasedsince1993(Wongetal.1997).
Referencespage:
This page comes at the end of the paper, thesis or book (but before any
appendices) and has full bibliographic information. In other words, it provides
all the publication (orother information about the source) that readers needto
either find it themselves or to assess its validity. It contains a list arranged
alphabeticallybythelastnameofthemainauthorandonlyincludesworksthat
havebeenreferredtointhetext(i.e.thathaveintextreferences.
Example:
SmithP.1988.Anargumentagainstwetpaddymechanizationofwetpaddy
agriculture.JournalofRiceProduction,8:3460.
Wong,X.,M.SinghandP.Duncan.1997.Increasingriceyieldsinwetpaddy.
AgriculturalReview15:167191.
For full information, see The Chicago Manual of Style (available in languages'
Learning Resource Center, Room 236). For example for sources not mentioned
here,suchasanonymoussources,interviews,TVprograms.
66
APA(AmericanPsychologicalAssociation)Style:
Thissystemisprimarilyusedbythosewritinginthesocialsciences.Itissimilar
totheChicagostyleoutlinedabove.Formoreinformation,consulttheUniversity
of Southern Mississippi online tipsheet (which also includes information for
referencingelectronicsources).
Intextreference:
(Smith,1978)Note:commabetweennameanddate
For referencing a quotation or specific part of a source: "Development will be
slowedbysuchamove"(Smith,1988,p.80)
Referencespage:
AsfortheChicagostyle,onlyworksreferencedinthetextareincluded,andare
listedalphabeticallybymainauthor'slastname.E.g.
Smith,P.(1988).Anargumentagainstwetpaddymechanizationofwetpaddy
agriculture.JournalofRiceProduction,8,3460.
Wong,X.,SinghM.&Duncan,P.(1997).Increasingriceyieldsinwetpaddy.
AgriculturalReview,15,167191.
For information about citing electronic sources using the APA system, see the
UniversityofVermont'swebpage.
CBE(CouncilofBiologyEditors)Style:
This style is predominantly used by writers in the natural sciences. It is rather

differentfromtheChicagoandAPAstylesbecausereferencesarenumbered.
Intextreference:
AsSmith(1)hasargued,Wongetal.'s(2)theoryisstillinneedofdevelopment
becausewetpaddyyieldinthearearemainedlow(3).
67
For the references page, sources are listed in the order in which they appeared
inthetexti.e.(1)then(2)then(3)etc.
1.Smith,P.Anargumentagainstwetpaddymechanizationofwetpaddy
agriculture.JournalofRiceProduction8:3460;1988.
2.Wong,X.;SinghM.;Duncan,P.Increasingriceyieldsinwetpaddy.
AgriculturalReview15:167191;1997.
3.Ahmed,M.CausesoflowriceyieldsoftheMekongDeltaarea.NewYork:
RandomHouse;1996.
Note: 3 is a book, not a journal article so the publisher and place of publication
arelisted.
Other referencing systems: other systems use endnotes (that appear at the end
of the article or thesis) or footnotes (that appear at the bottom of the page on
whichtheintextreferenceappears.Theintextreferencemaytaketheformora
numberinbrackets(e.g.Riceyieldshaveconsistentlyfallen[9])orasuperscript
number (e.g. Rice yields have consistently fallen 9). As with CBE style, sources
arenumberedaccordingtotheorderinwhichtheyappearinthetext,andinthe
endnotesorfootnotessourcesarelistedinthesameorder.Note:somesystems
mix referencing foot/endnotes with foot/endnotes that provide additional
informationtothetext,E.g.
3. It has also been argued that the official figures for crop yields are
unrealisticallyhigh,andthatthetruefigurescould beasmuchas30%lowerin
somecases.
RandomHouse;1996.
68
Other referencing systems: other systems use endnotes (that appear at the end
of the article or thesis) or footnotes (that appear at the bottom of the page on
whichtheintextreferenceappears.Theintextreferencemaytaketheformora
numberinbrackets(e.g.Riceyieldshaveconsistentlyfallen[9])orasuperscript
number (e.g. Rice yields have consistently fallen 9). As with CBE style, sources
arenumberedaccordingtotheorderinwhichtheyappearinthetext,andinthe
endnotesorfootnotessourcesarelistedinthesameorder.Note:somesystems
mix referencing foot/endnotes with foot/endnotes that provide additional
informationtothetext,E.g.
3. It has also been argued that the official figures for crop yields are unrealistic
high,andthatthetruefigurescouldbeasmuchas30%lowerinsomecases.
RandomHouse;1996
WHICHREFERENCINGSYSTEMSHOULDIUSE?
With so many referencing systems available, it can be difficult to decide which

systemtouse.Herearesometips:
talktoyouradvisor,whowillbeabletotellyouifyourSchoolorprogramhasa
preference,andwhichsystemismostcommonlyused.
look at current academic journals in your field of study to see how they ask
writerstoreferencesources.
look at recent theses or dissertations in your field of study in your institution.
Bear in mind, though, that some students' referencing work may not be as
reliableasthatofpublishedauthors.
bear in mind that the numbering systems (e.g. CBE) are growing less popular
that the parenthetical Chicago and APA styles, which are generally easier for
readerstouse.
69
REFERENCINGONLINESOURECS
Referencing systems for electronic sources are becoming standardized (so do

not try and reference sources by inventing a system yourself or adapting an
existing nonelectronic system!). The intext reference should follow the same
format as for printed sources; however, the bibliographic information on your
references page will be different and generally requires you to include the type
ofresourcepluswhenitwasaccessed,aswellastheURLforonlinesources.For
example,
AmericanCouncilofLearnedSocieties(2000)."FulbrightEconomicsTeaching
Program,HoChiMinhCity,Vietnam".Availableonline:
http://www.acls.org/publist.htm.(Downloaded:May10,2000).
Forfurtherinformation,consultthefollowinglinks:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~sources/contents.htmlThissitegivesa
complete,clearlyorganizedsummaryofallthemainissuesinvolvedinciting
sources.
UniversityofSouthernMississippiThisisagoodreferencesiteforAPAstyle.
Andrew Harnack and Eugene Kleppinger have published a book on citing
Internet sources called onOnline! The book's website has excellent advice on
eachstyle.
ForAPA:http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.html#1
ForMPA:http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite5.html#1
ForChicago:http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite7.html#1
How to Cite Electronic Resources from Williams College, Williamstown,

Massachusetts
Citation Guides for Electronic Documents from the International Federation of
LibraryAssociationsandInstitutions.
70
QUOTINGANDPARAPHRASING
A quotation is the use of your source's exact words in your work. A quotation
may be as short as one word but, if that word is significant, it must be put in
quotationmarksandreferenced.
Quotations should include the exact words of your source inside quotation
marks, e.g. "Everything we do is an experience of a kind" (Kenny 1996: 45). If
youlookinKenny1996atpage45youwillfindthewordsEverythingwedois
anexperienceofakindwithnoalterationsoromissions.However,youcanmake
changes,ifnecessary,asfollows:
leavingoutawordorwords:
ORIGINAL
"In many academic circles in America, literary translation is still considered a

secondary activity, mechanical rather than creative, neither worthy of serious
criticalattentionnorofgeneralinteresttothepublic"(Gentzler1993:34).
SHORTENED
"In many academic circles in America, literary translation is still considered a

secondaryactivity...neitherworthyofseriouscriticalattentionnorofgeneral
interesttothepublic"(Gentzler1993:34).
Nomatterhowmanywordsyoutakeout,youonlyusethreedots(exceptifthe
quotedsentencecomestoanend,inwhichcaseyouusethreeplusafullstop,i.e.
four).Also,thereisnoneedtouseenellipsis(...)atthebeginningandendof
eachquotation.
Note the use of page numbers here in this case, the quote is borrowed from
page 34 of Gentzler's 1993 publication. You should always give page numbers
whenyouquotetextdirectlyfromasource.
makingsmallalterations/clarifications:
71
ORIGINAL
Raymond (1996) argues that, "The people never knew what good food was"
(p.245).
ALTERED
Raymond argues that "[t]he people [in England] never knew what good food
was" (1996: 245). Here the writer clarifies who "The people" are, and changes
capitalTtosmalltofitthewriter'ssentencestructure.
Quotationsshouldbeincludedinyoursentence.Forexample:
INCORRECT
"Everythingwedoisanexperienceofakind"(Kenny1996:45).
CORRECT
It can be argued that "[e]verything we do is an experience of a kind" (Kenny
1996: 45). Here the writer has included Kenny's quotation in his/her own
sentence.
Thequotationshouldfitgrammaticallyintoyoursentencesochoosethepoint
atwhichtostart.
Thisisalongquotationandsoisnotshownbyquotationmarksbutbybeingset
in a block that is indented and usually singlespaced. The exact style of
indentation(e.g.indentedononesideorboth,indentedbythreeorfivespaces)
will depend on the style you are using in your work (e.g. APA, CBE, etc.)
(Brightwell,1998)
Quotationsmustbeindicatedwithquotationmarks("...")unlessyouareusing
alongquotation,inwhichcaseitshouldbesetinanindentedblock.
Quotationsshouldbekeptshortandkepttoaminimum(i.e.onlyusequotations
when the words themselves are important). Avoid using a large number of
quotations as they mean you are letting your sources present ideas instead of
youpresentingyourown.
72
Paraphrasing means putting an author's ideas or information into your own

words:
Original
"This has led to the conclusion that, out of the US population at large, 90%
watchtelevisiontoexcess"(Wu,1994).
Paraphrased
"IncontradictiontoSuzukisclaim,Wuarguesthat90%ofAmericanswatchtoo
muchtelevision(1994)".
ThereisnoneedtouseWu'sexactwordsasitishisinformation(nothiswords)
thatisimportanthere.Noticetoothatwithparaphrasingitiseasiertocomment
on the work you are referring to (e.g. here it is compared to Suzuki's). It is also
notusuallynecessarytogivepagenumberswhenparaphrasing.
You should be careful to indicate which are your ideas and which are the
author's by careful use of references and by where and how you break
sentences. This is a subtle art and you should look at published work for
examplesforhowtodothiseffectively.
Paraphrasing must include page references. This is necessary, as you are
claimingthatthequoteyouarereproducingisauthoritative;thereaderneedsto
beabletochecktheexactpointinthetexttowhichyourefer.
Paraphrasingismoregenerallyusedthanquotingasitenablesyoutocomment
on,evaluateandsummarizeinformation;
Paraphrasing can be used with quotations (i.e. you can quote within a
paraphrase);
Paraphrasingmustalwaysbereferenced(becauseyouareusingsomeoneelse's
ideasorinformation);
Paraphrasingisneverenclosedbyquotationmarksorindentation;
Paraphrasing does not mean a wordforword rewrite of the original (usually
youaresummarizingyoursourceorhighlightingoneormorepoints).
73
PLAGIARISM
This means using someone else's words, ideas or information without
referencingtheminotherwords,presentingthemasyourown.Anyworkthat
isnotreferencedisassumedtobeyours,soensurethatthisistrue.
Plagiarism is a serious academic offence and can result in penalties, including
dismissalfromtheInstitute.
Toavoidit,usequotationsandparaphraseswithproperreferencing.Whenyou
are reading, keep careful notes of your sources, including all the bibliographic
informationthatyouneedtowriteafullreferenceforthesources.
ReferencesinAPAstyle
LISTOFREFERENCES
ThesereferenceshavebeenusedonthesewritingupResearchpages:
Angelov, I., & Zirathj, H. (1991). On the different types of MESFETmixers.

MicrowaveandOpticalTechnology,4(12).
Barth, M. M., Kerbel, E. L., Broussard, S., & Schmidt, S. J. (1993). Modified
atmospherepackagingprotectsmarketqualityinbroccolispearsunderambient
temperaturestorage.JournalofFoodScience,58(5).
Bjorkman,I.,&Schaap,A.(1994).OutsidersintheMiddleKingdom:Expatriate
managersinChineseWesternjointventures.EuropeanJournalofManagement,
12(2),147153.
74
Boucher,J.,&Smeers,Y.(1996).Optimaldevelopmentplanningofgasreserves.
EnergyEconomics,18,2547.
Everett, J. G., & Slocum, A.H. (1993). CRANIUM: Device for Improving Crane
Productivity and Safety. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management,
119.
Gregor, J. E., Fenton,E., Brokenshire, G., Van der Brink, P. & O'Sullivan, B.
(1996). Interactions of calcium and aluminium ions with alginate. Water
Research,30(6),13191324.
Hoff, T., Winger, H., & Farmer, B. (1996). Distributed generation: an alternative
toelectricutilityinvestmentsinsystemcapacity.EnergyPolicy,24(2),137147.
Ho, Y. S., Wase, D. A. J., & Forster, C. F. (1996). Kinetic studies of competitive
heavymetaladsorptionbysphagnummosspeat.EnvironmentalTechnology,17,
7177.
Konradt, U. (1995). Strategies of failure diagnosis in computercontrolled

manufacturing systems: empirical analysis and implications for the design of
adaptive decision support systems. International Journal of HumanComputer
Studies,43,503521.
Kwan, A. K. H., & Cheung, Y. K. (1994). Analysis of coupled shear/core walls

usingabeamtypefiniteelement.EngineeringStructures,16(2).
Liberatore, M. J. (1987). An Extension of the Analytical Hierarchy Process for

IndustrialR&D Project Selectionand Resource Allocation. IEEE Transactions on
EngineeringManagement,EM34(1).
75
Lim, C., Matsuda, Y., & Shigemi, Y. (1995). Problems and constraints in
Philippine municipal fisheries: the case of San Miguel Bay, Camarines Su'.
EnvironmentalManagement,19(6),837852.
Paselk, T. A., & Mannering, F.L. (1994). Use of duration models for predicting
vehiculardelayataUS/Canadianbordercrossing.Transportation,21,249270.
Roll,Y.,Rosenblatt,M.,&Kadosh,D.(nodate).Ontheoptimalcontainersizein
automatedwarehouses.ProceedingsoftheNinthICPR.
Sengupta,K.,&AbdelHamid,T.(1993).Alternativeconceptionsoffeedbackin
dynamic decision environments: an experimental investigation. Management
Science,39(4),411428.
Street, P., & Miles, I. (1996). Transition to alternative energy supply

technologies:thecaseofwindpowe'.EnergyPolicy,24(5),413426.
Swales,J.(1984).Researchintothestructureofintroductionstojournalarticles
and its application to the teaching of academic writing. In R. Williams, J. Swales
and J. Kirkman (Eds) Common Ground: Shared Interests in ESP and
CommunicationStudies.Oxford:Pergamon.
Takii,K.,Shimeno,S.,Nakamura,M.,Itoh,Y.,Kumai,H.,&Takeda,M.(1989).
No Title. In Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Feeding and
NutritioninFish,Toba,Japan,281288.
Wang,C.M.,Xiang,Y.,Kitipornchaij,S.,&Liew,K.M.(1994).Bucklingsolutions
forMindlinplatesofvariousshapes.EngineeringStructures,16(2).
76
Wubben,E.A.,H.N.ShapiroandR.M.Nelson (1989).ProductionandStorageof
IceforCoolingBuildings.TransactionsoftheASME,111,338346.
TheBasicofGoodWriting
So you're going to sit down at your computer, go through your notes, and in a
fewhoursproduceapieceofresearchwriting.Right?Wrong!
It is impossible to start from nothing and produce a good piece of writing,
becauseitisveryhardtoorganizeyourmaterialandwriteatthesametime.If
you are working out which piece of research to talk about next and worrying
aboutverbagreement,youarelesslikelytoproduceagoodpieceofwriting.
SomeSuggestions:
Planyourwriting.Beforeyoustartwriting,findawaytoorganizeyourmaterial
so that you know what you are going to write about, in what order, and what
you're going to say. Try writing an outline. Trying writing your ideas down on
thebackofanenvelope,orapieceofoldpaper.Itdoesn'thavetobebeautiful,it
justhastohelpyouthinkaboutwhatyouaregoingtosay.Usewhatevermethod
worksforyou,nomatterhowstrange!
Ignore the language! When you plan your writing, don't worry about the
language. Concentrate on what you are going to say. Write in notes so that you
don't have to think about verb agreement. Don't waste time worrying about
spelling. You can think about all these aspects of writing after you've decided
what you are going to say. If you spend a lot of time fixing all the prepositions
and conjunctions in an early draft you are not going to be willing to cut out
paragraphs or sentences that you later realize aren't necessary, or to change
them substantially. So don't put a lot of effort into proofreading until you are
sure that what you want to say is the best you can come up with, then you can
spendmoretimeonfixingupthewritingsothatthepunctuation,spelling,etc.is
correct.
77
Write and rewrite! More experienced writers rewrite more times and more
substantially than less experienced writers. Are you surprised? Good writing
takes time for everyone. The better a writer you become, the more you will see
that the first thoughts/ideas/writing that comes out of your head and onto the
pagecanbeimproved.Sogiveyourselftimetorewritesothatyourreaderssee
thebestofyourthoughtsandwriting,notthebestyoucouldcomeupwithatthe
lastmoment.
Find readers! ask people to read what you've written. Ask friends, ask
professors, ask your writing advisor in languages. But don't wait until your
writing is "perfect" because then if people suggest changes you won't want to
make them! Give people drafts and let them know what sort of feedback you
want: comments on organization? on ideas? on your language? on the technical
aspectsofwhatyou'vewritten?
Keepwriting!Goodwritingtakespractice.Theonlypersonwhocanmakeyoua
betterwriterisyou.Soworkatit,showyourworktootherpeople,andrewrite,
rewrite,rewrite.
Thereareplentyofwritinghandbooksandguidesavailable.Theycangivelotsof
useful hints and tips, but if the methods they suggest do not work for you then
use a different method: there is no one way to write. Of course, the way you
writedependsverymuchonwhatsuitsyou,andwhatsuitstheparticularpiece
ofwritingyouareworkingon.
IntroductiontoSOMTexts
TheresearcharticleintroductionsbelowarefortextanalysisinAITExtension
LC's Writing Up Research course. See the threemove pattern given in the
introductionswebpageoftheonlinecoursethenreadtheintroductionsbelow
toseehowtheyfittheschema.Bearinmindthatsomeintroductionsfititclosely
whereas others do not if not, why do you think the author/s chose the
structurethattheyused?
78
Example1:
OutsidersintheMiddleKingdom:ExpatriateManagersinChineseWesternJoint
Ventures
Bjorkman, Ingmar and Schaap, Annette (1994). European Journal of

Management,12/2,147153,
Introduction
The opening up of the Middle Kingdom for Western influence of different

kinds, including the operations of foreign companies within the country, is a
relatively recent phenomenon in Chinese history. Although some foreign
investorsoperatedinChinapriortotheCommunisttakeoverin1949,itisonly
since the end of the 1970s that large scale foreign direct investment has been
carried out in China. Recently there has been a tremendous boom in foreign
direct investment (FDI) in the Peoples Republic of China, most of which has
been in Sinoforeign joint ventures. While the total contracted FDI in 1986 was
3.3billionUSdollars,in1991ithadgrownto11.9billion,andin1993tonoless
than58billiondollars.
Afewyearsagoitwasenvogueinthebusinesspresstopublicizestoriesonthe
setbacks of Western businesses in China. Today many of the foreign companies
inChinaaregoingextremelywellfinancially(Stelzeretal.,1992;Osland,1993).
Nevertheless,mostforeignmanagersexpressfrustrationovertheproblemsthey
encounter [1]. It is thus of utmost importance for foreign companies to identify
andfurtherdevelopforeignmanagerswhoareabletoworkeffectivelyinChina.
This paper reports on various human resource issues related to the use of
expatriates in SinoWestern joint ventures. Data is presented on staffing,
selection, training and preparation, and the tenure and development of the
expatriates stay in China. Company practice is analyzed in light of information
provided by Chinese and foreign employees in 36 joint ventures [2]. Based on
our data and extant research we will present a number of suggestions for
Western companies concerning how to handle issues related to the use of
expatriatesinChina.
79
Example2:
An Extension of the Analytical Hierarchy Process for Industrial R&D Project
SelectionandResourceAllocation
Liberatore, Matthew J. (1987). IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management,
Vol.EM34/1,Feb.
Introduction
The Research and Development (R&D) project selection decision is concerned

withtheallocationofscarceorganizationalresources,namely,funds,manpower,
and facilities, to a set of proposals for scientific and engineering activities.
Althougha varietyofmathematicaldecisionprocessmodelingapproacheshave
beenproposedtoaddressthisproblem,fewavailablemethodsarebeingutilized
by research and engineering management as aids to decision making [9]. The
purpose of this paper is to examine the applicability of an extension of the
Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) for priority setting and resource allocation
in the industrial R&D environment. A framework for applying AHP and
supportingmethodsinthiscontextwillbedeveloped,andthenillustratedusing
anextendedexample.
The importance of the R&D project selection decision can be attributed to two
key factors. First, in many industrial organizations, R&D spending represents a
sizable investment. Project selection decisions have a significant impact on the
current and future financial position of the organization, and its ability to
compete on a technological basis. Projects often entail large organizational
commitments that translate into significant opportunity costs if an improper
choiceismade.Thus,projectselectiondecisionsshouldbelinkedtothestrategic
objectivesandplansofthefirm.
Second, the organizational returns from R&D projects are multidimensional in

natureandriskyintermsofprojectedoutcome.Forexample,aheavyrelianceon
cash flowrate of return measures for R&D project selection may lead to an
unbalancedportfolioofproductandprocessimprovementeffortsattheexpense
of new product/process and exploratory studies. Certain projects may be
required to maintain a threshold of competence in technologies of strategic
importance,ortoboostthemoraleofscientists.Also,thedirectfinancialbenefits
of research projects may occur ten to twenty years in the future. R&Ds
contributions are sometimes difficult to measure and separate from those of
80
other organizational activities, such as manufacturing, marketing, and

commercial development, who may play roles of varying importance in the
development,nurturingandcommercializationoftheR&Dknowledgebase.
Example3:
AFrameworkForImprovedDevelopmentAppraisalsInDevelopingCountries
Smyly,B.(1993).JournalofPropertyResearch,10,135145.
Introduction
Development projects are organizationally complex though the extent, degree

and sources of complexity vary from one project to another (Sachdeva, 1984),
and from country to country. Complexity is often attributable to uncertainties
andriskswhichareunavoidableeverywhere.Developmentappraisaltechniques
ultimately aim at forecasting the level of uncertainty associated with
development projects. In all development projects, there are uncertainties
regarding costs, duration, objectives and technology. These variations are often
most vividly observed in developing countries where in addition to these
ambiguities the outcome of most property development projects will normally
be dependent on political stability, the future expectations in prices, the
availabilityofforeignexchange,thegeneraleconomicpoliciesofthegovernment
and the perceptions and inspirations of developers and financial institutions
backing the particular project. All the foregoing variables are, no doubt, subject
to considerable uncertainty in all countries, but the degree of uncertainty is
exacerbatedbytheambiguitiesofaturbulentdevelopingcountryenvironment.
The objective of any analysis is to obtain realistic projections. A realistic

projection should not only be a surprise free estimate but one in which both
internal and external factors have been taken into account. This implies that
analysis should not only take into account the theoretical approaches to the
solution but also the particular and peculiar attributes, as well as the practical
aspectsofthesituation.Theultimategoalinusingthethreelevelsofanalysesin
development appraisal should therefore be to guide both the analyst and
developer to achieve surprise free projections for property development
projects. This objective can be achieved not by indiscriminate application of
techniques but rather by the systematic application of techniques geared
towardstheparticularproblem.
81
The aim of this paper is to attempt to bridge the widening gap between the
growing sophistication of theory and practice of development appraisal in
industrialized countries and the ad hoc methods often used in practice in
developing countries, and to show that more concerted and organized
approaches to the analysis of property development projects would not only
improve professional practice but also aid in minimizing the often large
variationbetweenforecastsandactualoccurrences.Morespecifically,thispaper
examinesthemethodofscenarioanalysis/planninggeneralusageandinuseby
development appraisers in particular and concludes that in developing
countries,scenariosanalysis,wouldbemoreappropriateandbeneficial.
IntroductionstoSERDTexts
Example1:
EthylAlcoholDistillationinaBasinSolarStill
Namprakai, P., J. Hirunlabh, and T. Kiatsiriroat (1997). Renewable Energy, 11,
169175.
Introduction
Ethanolisaliquidbiofuelthatmaybeusedinplaceofrefinedpetroleum.Itcan
be produced from natural plant products such as sugar and starch crops by a
fermentation technique, from which the alcohol concentration is ca. 10% by
volume. To achieve a higher concentration or a pure alcohol, a great deal of
energyisrequiredintheprocessofdistillation.
82
Solar stills can be used as a lowenergy alternative to increase the alcohol

concentration. Some authors [1, 2] have reported that the ethyl alcohol yielded
fromtheirsolarbasinstillshadaconcentrationofca.14%from10%byvolume.
In order to develop an effective design for a solar still for alcohol distillation, a
theorytopredictmasstransferratesinthestillisneeded.
In this paper, Spalding's mass transfer theory [3] was modified to predict the
masstransferrateofalcoholdistillationinanenclosedhorizontalspaceofwhich
anevaporatingsurface(S)wasatthelowersurfaceandacondensingsurface(G)
was at the top surface. The predicted rates were compared to the experimental
results.
IntroductionstoSETTexts
Example1:
CRANIUM:DeviceforImprovingCraneProductivityandSafety
Everett, J. G. and A. H. Slocum (1993). Journal of Construction Engineering and
Management,Vol.119,March1993.
Introduction
Cranes, ranging from small cherry pickers to huge tower cranes, are among the
most important pieces of equipment on many construction sites. Because
construction cranes operate in a constantly changing work environment, heavy
reliance must be placed on the crane operator skills (Shapiro 1988). The
mechanical technology used by cranes has improved dramatically in the past
severaldecades,butthetechniquesforcoordinatingthecraneoperatorsactions
with other craftsmen have not. Cranes have advanced at such a tremendous
83
pace that technology has, in many ways, outstripped the ability of people to
applythesemachinessafely(Dickey1975).
Example2:
Use of duration models for predicting vehicular delay at a US/Canadian border
crossing
Paselk,TheodoreA.andFredL.Mannering(1994).Transportation21:249270.
Introduction
TheUS/CanadianborderinWhatcomCounty,Washington,withitsfourprimary
crossings,hasbeenthefocusofconcernbecauseofacontinualincreaseintraffic
volumes. Since 1985, the volume of automobile and commercial traffic crossing
theborderhasincreaseddramatically.Infact,since1985,bordercrossingtraffic
hasincreasedover115percentatthefourcrossings.Thisincreaseisdueinpart
to shopping opportunities, changing tax structures, increased mobility, and a
generalincreaseinpopulation.ThenumberofCanadianborderagentshasbeen
increased to accommodate the increase in northbound traffic into Canada, but
unfortunately, the traffic peaks are less predictable than those of urban traffic.
Therefore,adequatelystaffingthefacilitieshasbecomeadifficulttask.
Providing congestion/delay information to motorists might help to redistribute
trips, either by time or route. Redistributing trips would lower peak volumes,
which would result in reduced delays, smoother traffic flow, and fewer
accidents. In addition, motorists generally experience less stress, even if they
cannotmodifytheirtrips,whentheyhaveadvanceknowledgeofcongestion,and
the reasons for it. Motorists would not be the only beneficiaries. Border agents
wouldseeachangeintheirworkloadasthetrafficwasdistributedthroughout
the system; air quality would be enhanced by the reduced delay; and business
owners would see mobility increased along the streets near their stores.
Although providing information to motorists would not be a cureall for
congestion, it would be perhaps the least expensive, most implementable
alternative.
This paper provides a first step toward developing a fullyautomated motorist
informationsystembystudyingthedeterminantsofvehicledelayatthebusiest
of the four US/Canadian border crossing in Whatcom County, the I5 (Peace
Arch) crossing at Blaine, Washington. The purpose of this research is to apply
durationmodelstoestimatevehicledelay,andtodemonstratetheirsuitabilityin
84
a fully automated motorist information system. The results of this study are
being consideredfor implementationin a system of queue length detectors and
delay estimation software. It is hoped that delay information provided to
motorists by this automated system can significantly reduce congestion at the
border crossings in Whatcom County, which are the busiest of all US/Canadian
bordercrossingsintermsofannualvehiculartravel.
The paper begins by giving a background of the four border crossings in
Whatcom County and a physical description of the I5 Peace Arch crossing,
whichwillbethefocusofthedelaystudy.Thisisfollowedbyadescriptionofthe
surveyandresultingdata,andbyastatisticalanalysisofdelayusingthesedata.
Finally, the paper examines concerns related to delay prediction accuracy and
systemimplementation.

Research Methodology Handbook

Transféré par

Informations du document

Copyright

Formats disponibles

Partager ce document

Partager ou intégrer le document

Options de partage

Avez-vous trouvé ce document utile ?

Ce contenu est-il inapproprié ?

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

Research Methodology Handbook

Transféré par

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

Compiledby

installation, and fabrication. General purpose equipment, such as office furniture,

Consultants/ External Resource Person: List each consultant, their specialty or

Subcontracts: A subcontract is a contract to other organization(s) of some

Write with a purpose: Your aim should be to evaluate and show

A lot of people like to organize their work chronologically(using time as their

another article instead of putting ourselves in front of the computer to write

Not keeping bibliographic information! The moment will come when

We don't believe that it is a good literature review. It only gives a summary of

Case Study: The background, development, current conditions and

Comparison: Two or more existing situations are studied to determine

CorrelationPrediction: Statistically significant correlation coefficients

Evaluation: Research to determine whether a program or project

Designdemonstration: New systems or programs are constructed,

Experiment: One or more variables are manipulated and the results

Surveyquestionnaire: Behaviors, beliefs and observations of specific

Theory Construction: An attempt to find or describe principles that

Statement of results: the results are presented in a format that is accessible to

Presenting all the results, then giving a discussion (perhaps in a different

Below is part of the results section from "Strategies of failure diagnosis in

Strategies of failure diagnosis in computercontrolled manufacturing systems:

Objectiveofthestudy: to investigate strategies in failure diagnosis at cutting

Method: semistructured interviews with mechanical and electrical

References to previous research: comparison of the results with those

Strategies of failure diagnosis in computercontrolled manufacturing

Reconstruction of the conditions that lead to the failure

Perception of symptoms, i.e. loose connections, odors, sounds, play

results in a binary splitting of the problem space, are economical ways to

Put your results in context (e.g. by comparing them with previous

Give reasons to account for differences between your research and

Although there may be some repetition of information in the results and

Failure to comment on larger, more significant issues: Whereas in the

Failure to reveal the complexities of a conclusion or situation: Negative

Failure to match the objectives of the research: Often research objectives

If we rewrite the objective to match what we actually did (we developed a

element method is computationally less efficient than many other methods.

Referencing (also called citing or documenting) your sources means

This style is predominantly used by writers in the natural sciences. It is rather

With so many referencing systems available, it can be difficult to decide which

Referencing systems for electronic sources are becoming standardized (so do

How to Cite Electronic Resources from Williams College, Williamstown,

"In many academic circles in America, literary translation is still considered a

"In many academic circles in America, literary translation is still considered a

Paraphrasing means putting an author's ideas or information into your own

Angelov, I., & Zirathj, H. (1991). On the different types of MESFETmixers.

Konradt, U. (1995). Strategies of failure diagnosis in computercontrolled

Kwan, A. K. H., & Cheung, Y. K. (1994). Analysis of coupled shear/core walls

Liberatore, M. J. (1987). An Extension of the Analytical Hierarchy Process for

Street, P., & Miles, I. (1996). Transition to alternative energy supply

Bjorkman, Ingmar and Schaap, Annette (1994). European Journal of

The opening up of the Middle Kingdom for Western influence of different

The Research and Development (R&D) project selection decision is concerned

Second, the organizational returns from R&D projects are multidimensional in

other organizational activities, such as manufacturing, marketing, and

Development projects are organizationally complex though the extent, degree

The objective of any analysis is to obtain realistic projections. A realistic

Solar stills can be used as a lowenergy alternative to increase the alcohol

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi