Research Methodology II

Lecture 1 - Introduction

Dr Michelle Hebart
This Lecture
• Expectations Questionnaire
• Course Handbook (see MyUni for full version)
• What is Science?
• What is Knowledge?
• What is Research?
• What is Scientific Method?
• What is Peer Review?
Course Description
• Understanding and application of the “Scientific Method”

• Skills in project management, teamwork, writing and reviewing

skills related to research

• Emphasis on statistical hypothesis testing

Learning Objectives
1. Ability to develop scientific hypotheses
2. Understanding of the principles and practices of experimental design
3. Ability to use selected statistical methods: correlation, regression
(simple linear, polynomial, multiple linear), general linear models
(with interactions), analysis of categorical variables (contingency
tables)
4. Ability to perform project management in the context of planning and
executing a research project
5. Ability to work in small groups to design, conduct and analyse an
experiment
6. Demonstrate effective written, oral and graphical presentation skills
Course Coordinator
• Dr Michelle Hebart

• G10 in J S Davies Building

o Tuesdays and Wednesdays (9am – 6pm),
some Mondays and Fridays (10am -2pm)

• Email: michelle.hebart@adelaide.edu.au
Research Methodology Team
• Guest Lecturers
• Dr Charles Carguel
• Prof. Gordon Howarth
• Dr. Dana Thomsen

• Tutors
• Michael Aldridge
• Octavia Kelly
• Laura Latimer-Marsh
Times and Locations
• Lectures G18 a/b location
• Wednesday 9:00 & 10:00

• Workshop (Callaghan G17, G18, G19, G20, G21)

• Wednesday 11:00-12:00

• Practical (Leske, Computer Lab)

• Wednesday 13:00-16:00
Course Structure
Week Date Academic
Lectures

1 1/3 Introduction Hebart

Research Question
2 8/3 Grant Writing Howarth
Critiquing Scientific Literature
Variation Hebart
3 15/3 Experimental Design Hebart
4 22/3 Study Design Caraguel
5 29/3 Power and Sample Size Calculations Hebart
Data Analysis – Summary Statistics
6 5/4 Data Analysis – t-test Hebart
Data Analysis – GLM
7 26/4 Data Analysis – GLM Hebart
Data Analysis – Regression
8 3/5 Ethics in Research Howarth
Writing Skills
9 10/5 Data Analysis – Non–Parametric Hebart
Data Analysis – Non-Parametric
10 17/5 Social Research Thomsen
11 24/5 Endnote Hebart
12 31/5 Summary Hebart
Books
• Recommended text books (Available at Unibooks and in the library)
• Holmes, M and Cockcroft, P 2008. Handbook of Veterinary
Clinical Research. Blackwell Publishing

• Field, A. 2009. Discovering Statistics using SPSS. Third

Edition. SAGE Publications, London, UK.

• See Course Handbook for additional resources

Software
• Excel and SPSS for the statistical components of the course

• You can’t obtain a personal copy for your own computer

• All University computers have SPSS installed
• Can access SPSS through ADAPT

• Unless otherwise specified please use a word processor for all

assignment and practical assessments
Maths Learning Centre
• Drop-In room – Level 3 Hub Central North Terrace Campus
• Staffed 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday during teaching weeks, SWOT and
exams
• Helps all students learn and use the maths they need at University
(including statistics).
• No appointment needed, come as often as you want, stay as long as you
need.
• Resources to help you succeed with the maths relating to this course may be
found on the MLC website at
www.adelaide.edu.au/mathslearning/resources/
• TEL 8313 5862 | EMAIL mathslearning@adelaide.edu.au
Writing Skills Sessions
Drop in to Maitidli Café
FREE academic support
Exam preparation Assignments
Referencing Practical reports
Study skills Time management

Thursdays and Fridays

12 noon - 1 pm
and by appointment at Roseworthy or Nth
Tce.
email: dana.thomsen@adelaide.edu.au
and make a time that suits you!
Assessments
• Workshop & Practical Attendance (5%)
• 0.5% for missed workshop/practicals (without reason/prior
agreement)
• Need to fill out an approved absence form (My Uni)

• Practical Assessments (10%)

• 3 or 4 assessments
Assessments
• Assignments (40%)
• Assignment 1 (15%)
– Group assignment – Grant application
• Assignment 2 (15%)
– Individual assignment – Data analysis
• Assignment 3 (10%)
– Group assignment – Journal article

• Theory Exam (45%)

• 3 hours
• Closed book
• One A4 page of notes (double sided) allowed
Peer Assessments
Turnitin
• All assignments, practical and peer review assessments
that are required for marking will be submitted via
Turnitin

• Check for potential plagiarism by comparing it against

the world's largest comparison database

• Give students legible, timely feedback while saving

instructors grading time
Penalty for Late Submission

Any late assignments, practical and peer

review assessments that are required for
marking will NOT be marked.
Extensions
Extensions for Assessment Tasks
Extensions of deadlines for assessment tasks may be allowed for
reasonable causes.
• Compassionate and medical grounds.
• Evidence for the grounds must be provided when an
extension is requested.
• Students are required to apply for an extension to the Course
Coordinator before the assessment task is due.
• Extensions will not be provided on the grounds of poor
prioritising of time.
• The assessment extension application form can be obtained
from:
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/student/exams/mod_arrange.ht
ml
To Pass Research Methodology II

• Hurdles:
• Minimum of 50% for the Exam

• Late assignments/practicals: - won’t be marked unless an extension

has been granted prior
Expectation Questionnaire
What is Research
Methodology about?
Course Description
• Understanding and application of the “Scientific Method”

• Research skills in project management, teamwork and reviewing

skills

• Emphasis on statistical hypothesis testing

What this course is NOT
• Not all about statistics

• You will NOT be a Statistician

• If you are developing a new project seek statistical advice at the

design stage if available
Research
• I DON’T KNOW
• Therefore I do Research

• Read “The Importance Stupidity in Science” link on MyUni

1. Research is hard because we don’t know the answer
» Research is immersion in the unknown

2. We don’t teach students how to be productively stupid

“One of the beautiful things about science is that it allows us to

bumble along, getting it wrong time after time, and feel perfectly
fine as long as we learn something each time. No doubt, this can
be difficult for students who are accustomed to getting the
answers right.”
Science
• You are studying Science

• What is science?
Science (from Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge")
"knowledge attained through study or practice," or "knowledge covering general
truths of the operation of general laws, esp. as obtained and tested through
scientific method and concerned with the physical world." (Webster's New
Collegiate Dictionary).

What does that really mean? Science refers to a system of

acquiring knowledge. This system uses observation and
experimentation to describe and explain natural phenomena.

Sourced : Fractal Sauna

https://fractalsauna.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/can-there-be-real-science-in-business-organizations
What is Science?

Science is about gathering

KNOWLEDGE
What is knowledge?
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knowledge
(27/2/14)
Knowledge is
• Information, understanding, or skill that you obtain from
experience or education

• Awareness of something: the state of being aware of

something
 What is knowledge?
• There is no single agreed definition of knowledge, nor any prospect
of one, and there are currently a number competing theories

• Information (data arranged in meaningful patterns) vs knowledge

Sourced infogineering
http://www.infogineering.net/data-information-knowledge.htm
What is knowledge?

Knowledge is the theory or facts or practical experience and

understanding of a particular field.

Its what we KNOW!!!

What is Research?
http://www.experiment-resources.com/definition-ofresearch.html
(27/2/14)

“In the broadest sense of the word, the definition of

research includes any gathering of data, information and
facts for the advancement of knowledge.”
What is Research?
• Gathering of data, collecting evidence

• This evidence becomes the basis for decisions

Sourced infogineering
http://www.infogineering.net/data-information-knowledge.htm
Research Methodology
• -OLOGY the study of
• METHODOLOGY methods
• RESEARCH METHODOLOGY pertaining to research

• Describes the general methods used to conduct research (i.e. the

process of research)

• For this course we are concerned with describing the processes or

general methods of how to conduct scientific research.
Research Methodology

The study of the methods

to collect evidence and
hence create knowledge
to enable us to make decisions.
Research Methodology
• If we collect this evidence in a systematic way then this is scientific
research

• We do this systematically so that we can repeat our experiments and

observations ….
…. to demonstrate our knowledge and its value to others.
What is Scientific Method?
• The standard process that is used by scientists for testing ideas and
theories by using experiments and careful observation.
 Research
Idea/
Problem
Write
Report/
Lit. Review
Scientific
Paper

Conclusions Scientific Research

Question

Method
Analyse Design
Data Experiment

Collect Data
This course
Approximately

• 1/3 Proposal Preparation

• 1/3 Data Analysis and

Interpretation I was
I was
wrong!
right!

• 1/3 Publication

Adapted from www.livingston.org

Research
MORE than just doing an experiment and analysing data

• Attract Research Funding (Proposal)

• Manage the Project

• Report

• Publish
What is Peer Review?
• Peer review is asking our peers to review our work.

• Other researchers will look at our work, consider its findings and the
process from which we draw our conclusions in the context of
existing knowledge.
What is Peer Review?

Peer review is about being completely transparent

about the work that was undertaken

Not unlike creating a cookbook – the reader needs to

be able to follow your work step by step
Why do we need Peer Review?
• Discover flaws in our arguments, and rationale behind our
conclusions

• We must be able to clearly and simply describe the process and our
conclusions the reviewer gives a feed back on this

• Once our conclusions have been accepted by our peers they can be
added to the scientific body of knowledge
Charles Darwin
• Wrote “on the Origin of Species” in 1872

• He presents his theory of evolution by natural selection

• Approx. 35 years after his voyage on the Beagle where he made

observations around the world that questions the theory of creation
and immutability of species
Charles Darwin
• Charles Darwin had the foresight to recognise the implications of
this theory and the extent to which it would be challenged by the
leaders of society

• He knew the extent of the criticism he would receive from his peers
Politics and Peer Review
• Some people had vested interest not to accept Darwin’s theory

• Others may have been financially neutral, but had a life long
understanding of creation that Darwin had to disprove if his theory
was to be accepted.

• Others would have been financially neutral had open minds, BUT
concerned about their reputation if they accepted Darwin’s theory
and it was later proven incorrect
Politics and Peer Review

When challenged with a new theory people naturally tend to be

conservative until sufficient evidence is accepted by peers.
Charles Darwin
• Had to undertake many experiments and observations to ensure
that his theory could be followed simply step by step and lead to no
other conclusion.

• After all his work he still did not discuss the evolution of humans in
his original publication because it would have been too
challenging.
Why papers are rejected for
publication

1. The study did not address an important scientific issue

2. The study was not original
3. The study did not actually test the authors’ hypothesis
4. A different type of study should have been done
5. Practical difficulties led the authors to compromise on
the original study protocol
Why papers are rejected for
publication

6. The sample size was too small

7. The study was uncontrolled or inadequately controlled
8. The statistical analysis was incorrect or inappropriate
9. The authors drew unjustified conclusions from the data
10.There is a significant conflict of interest among the
authors
11.The paper is so badly written that it is incomprehensible