Research methodology and dissertation

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Research methodology and dissertation

• Prof Marcus Ormerod

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Knowledge

• Information gathering/storage
• Literature review
• Critical thinking

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Collecting knowledge

• What information should I gather?
• Where should I look for it?
• How will I be able to obtain it?
• What should I do with it when I have it?
• Where will I need to use it?
• How will I know if I have enough?
• When do I stop looking?

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What information should I gather?
Subject knowledge

• What do I already know?
• What am I looking for, to add to my knowledge?
• What is useful knowledge here?
• Who produced it and why?
• When was it produced?
• What are their main arguments?
• What do their conclusions add to the subject?

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What information should I gather?
Process knowledge

• What do I already know?
• What am I looking for, to add to my knowledge?
• What literature is used to underpin their work?
• How have they framed their research?
• How did they design their research?
• How have they arrived at their results?
• What does the process add to the conclusions?

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What information should I gather?
Style and approach knowledge

• What do I already know?
• What am I looking for, to add to my knowledge?
• What is the style and approach they use?
• What is the structure they have taken?
• How do they set their boundaries?
• What are the logical steps they take?

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Useful databases

• APID - Architectural Publications Index on
  campus only
• Archinet recommended web site for architecture
  and building
• Architecture.com RIBA web site
• Barbour Index Construction Expert
• Barbour Index Professional Series
• BCIS Online on certain campus machines
• British Library Public Catalog
• British Standards Online
• BUBL Construction
• Building Research Establishment
• Business Source Premier (EBSCO)

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• Chartered Institute of Housing
• CIBSE building services engineering
• Civil Engineering Database (ASCE)
• Construction and Building Abstracts
• Construction Information Service very useful
  resource site
• COPAC union Catalogue multiple university library
  search
• Countryside Agency
• Department for Communities and Local Government
• Department for Environment, Food Rural Affairs
• Department for Transport
• Department of Health

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• Digimap OS maps
• Emerald Insight (Emerald) business research
• Environment Abstracts Archive
• Environment Online
• Estates Gazette Interactive
• Health and Safety Executive
• Housing Corporation
• Housing Management Standards Manual on campus
  only
• IDS Brief employment case law
• Information Sources Guide for Construction
  Property Management
• Ingenta Connect (Ingenta) academic articles
• Institution of Civil Engineers
• Institution of Occupational Safety and Health

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• JISCMAIL specialist academic discussion lists
• Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• Journal articles how to find them
• Journals Guide for Construction Property
  Management
• Journals_at_Ovid Full Text (Ovid)
• JustCite index of UK and Europe legislation
• Justis law reports
• Lawtel legal information service
• Lexis Nexis Butterworths Uk legislation
• National Housing Federation
• National Statistics
• NoWAL Library Catalogues

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• Occupational Health and Safety Information
  Service
• Red Book valuation and appraisal
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
• University of Salford Library Catalogue
• Westlaw UK UK law
• ZETOC journals and conference proceedings

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Practicalities

• Sources
• Disciplines
• Keywords
• Storing material
• Retrieving material

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Literature Review

• Takes the relevant literature and helps the
  reader understand the arguments, theories and
  patterns to form a credible theoretical base from
  which to start your empirical research

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Literature review

• Provides a current view of the relevant issues on
  the subject area
• Demonstrates that you have read and understand
  the views and research of experts in the field of
  study
• Identifies research methods and how to use them
  correctly
• Helps develop the research topic, questions and
  hypothesis
• Provides a platform from which you can go and
  conduct your own research
• Enables you to compare your findings against a
  theoretical position

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Practicalities

• Skim read only what is relevant
• Establish quickly the worth of the material
• Look for similarities with other writers/material
• Identify common issues/patterns/theories
• Analyse arguments
• Question the validity
• Outline the criticisms they make
• Make connections between ideas
• Develop issues and themes
• Collect quotations and/or paraphrase material
• Correctly reference material

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Critical thinking allows you to

• Credibly defend a position or point of view
• Extract the useful elements from the arguments of
  other people
• Focus on the ideas, theories and arguments of
  others, rather than the author of them
• Synthesising the work of others into a new point
  of view
• Becoming aware of your own critical stance
• Identifying weaknesses in the arguments of other

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Critical thinking involves

• Identifying other peoples positions, arguments
  and conclusions
• Evaluating the evidence they present to defend
  these
• Fairly weighing up alternative points of view
• Identifying bias, assumptions and persuasion
• Reflecting on what you have read
• Drawing your own conclusions
• Presenting your own point of view underpinned
  with evidence and well reasoned argument

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Critical reading

• Identify reasons given and conclusions drawn
• Analyse how reasons are ordered, or combined, to
  construct a line of reasoning
• Evaluate how well the reasons support the
  conclusion drawn
• Evaluate the quality of the evidence that are
  used in the reasoning
• Consider flaws and limitations in the reasoning
• Consider what works well and why
• Collect quotations and paraphrases that
  illustrate the main theories, points of view and
  arguments even if you disagree with them

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