Research Methods in Computer Science

Dear students,

welcome to the course “Research Methods for Computer Science”. The course is primarily for PhD students, but also open for master thesis students who are doing the master thesis.

Best regards,
Knut Hinkelmann

Teachers:

• Knut Hinkelmann

Schedule:

• Friday, 4th of March, 14:30 - 18:00
• Friday, 18th of March, 14:00 - 18:00
• Friday, 1st of April, 14:00 - 18:00
• Friday, 8th of April, 14:00 - 18:00
• Friday, 22nd of April, 14:00 - 18:00
• Friday, 6th of May, 14:00 - 18:00
• Friday, 20th of May, 14:00 - 18:00
• Friday, 27th of May, 14:00 - 18:00

WebEx:

• WebEx room for the lecture: https://unicam.webex.com/join/knut.hinkelmann

This course prepares students to undertake research projects with a focus on Computer Science and Information Systems research. Emphasis is placed on applying skills that lead to a successful closure of a research journey on maser level or PhD. Skills such as the ability to frame a research problem, evaluate relevant literature, generate research objective and research questions, the ability to understand a conceptual framework, the ability to select and justify a particular research design and methodology and the ability to frame their contribution to knowledge. Students will understand and apply the important methods and techniques and will learn how to report critically on research outcomes.

• Overview of the research process
  • What is Research?
• Identifying a research problem
  • Problem Statement
• Research Contribution and Thesis Statement
  • Identify the research contribution
  • Phrasing a Thesis Statement
• Making a Literature Review
  • Purpose of the literature review
  • Strategies for searching relevant literature
  • Processing the literature
  • Writing the literature review
  • Tools for managing literature (Mendeley, Paperpile)
• Research Methodology
  • Research strategies:
    • Systematic Literature Review
    • Case Study
    • Design Science Research
  • Research approaches: qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods
  • Identifying research objectives and formulating research questions
• Data Collection and Analysis
• Project Management
• Writing a Paper
  • Structure of a paper
  • Referencing
  • Writing strategy
  • Writing tips

Course Material

• Slides
  1. Introduction - What is Research?
  2. Research Problem
  3. Research Contribution and Thesis Statement
  4. Literature Review
  5. Research Methods
  6. Data Collection and Analysis
  7. Writing the Thesis

• Literature
  • Hofstee, E. (2006). Constructing a Good Dissertation. EPE. http://www.exactica.co.za/
  • Ellis, T. J., & Levy, Y. (2008). Framework of Problem-Based Research : A Guide for Novice Researchers on the Development of a Research-Worthy Problem.
  • Levy and Ellis (2006). A Systems Approach to Conduct an Effective Literature Review in Support of Information Systems Research.
  • Levy and Ellis (2006). Towards a Framework of Literature Review Process in Support of Information Systems Research
  • Presthus and Munkvold (2016). How to frame your contribution to knowledge
  • Hevner, A. R., March, S. T., Park, J., & Ram, S. (2004). Design Science in Information Systems Research. MIS Quarterly, 28(1), 75–105.
  • Hevner, A. R., & Chatterjee, S. (2010). Design Research in Information Systems. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5653-8
  • Yin, R. K. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications - Design and Methods, 6th Edition. SAGE Publications.
  • Harvard Referencing from Anglia Ruskin University: Quick Guide and Detailed Description
• Citation Guides from Mendeley

• Recordings
  • Research contribution and thesis statement (22nd of May 2020) - Password on request
  • Literature Review (29th of May 2020) - Password on request
  • Research Methods (5th of June 2020) - Password on request
  • Data Collection and Data Analysis (12th of June 2020) - Password on request
  • Evaluation and Thesis Writing (19th of June 2020) - Password on request

Exam Dates A.Y. 2021/22

• 27th of May, 14:00 -18:00 - Oral interviews