Fact Finding Techniques

There are four main fact finding methods used when conducting a research.

Interview

This means interviewing respondents and collecting data through what they say. According to Sekaran (2006), interviews could be unstructured or structured as well as conducted through telephone, online or face-to-face.

Steps of conducting an interview:

• Prepare for the interview
• Establish objectives for the interview 
• Determine the people to interview
• Write down all the questions that must ask 
• Conduct the interview
• Document the interview
• Evaluate the interview
  (uobabylon, 2013)

Observation

Gathering data while observing actions of people in their natural environment along with their activities and behaviors. This includes their movements, work habits  statements made, facial expressions etc.  (Sekaran, 2006)

Questionnaire and Survey

According to Sekaran (2006), questionnaire is a set of pre-formulated questions to which respondents answer through writing or online. This is an effective way of of collecting data because the researcher has the ability of getting exactly needed data by asking the relevant questions. Types of questions which could be included in a questionnaire are as follows:

• Open ended/ Close ended questions
• Positively and Negatively worded questions
• Double-Barred questions
• Ambiguous questions
• Recall-dependent questions
• Leading questions
• Loaded questions

Advantages:

• Cost effective
• Can address a large number of people 
• Involve a large section of subjects

Disadvantages:

• Difficulties in designing the form
• Slow actions
• Problems in understanding the questions

References

Sekaran. U (2006), "Research methods for business" Published by: John Wiley & sons

uobabylon (2013), "Fact Finding Methods" [Online] Available from: http://www.uobabylon.edu.iq/uobColeges/ad_downloads/5_29801_43.pdf Accessed on: 22nd January 2013.

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Difference Between a CV and a Resume

According to Doyle (2011), A Resume is a one or two page summary of skills, experience and education and its very brief whilst a CV includes summary of their academic and educational experiences, including teaching and research, publications, presentations, awards, honors, affiliations and other details.
Important features of a CV

• Clear: Well-organized and logical
• Concise: Relevant and necessary
• Complete: Includes everything you need
• Consistent: Don’t mix styles or fonts
• Current: Up-to-date

What Should be there in a CVAccording to rinib (2010)

• Contact Information
• Education
• Honors and Awards
• Professional Experience
• Extracurricular and Volunteer Experience
• Professional Activities
• Interests and Qualifications

References

Doyle, A. (2011) "Curriculum Vitae vs. Resume?" [Online] Available at: http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/curriculumvitae/f/cvresume.htm Accessed on: 17th January 2013.

Rnib (2010) "Writing a CV - RNIB" [Online] Available at: http://www.rnib.org.uk/livingwithsightloss/working/lookingforwork/Pages/writing_cv.aspx Accessed on: 17th January 2013.

Final Year Project

The final year project can be conducted under one of the two topics as micro or macro. Though this will be done in the final year, the project proposal for the chosen problem statement should be submitted beforehand during the 2nd year of the degree program.

The whole documentation of the final year project includes three main sections

• the project proposal
• project documentation
• project plan (33 weeks)

Three main features of the project should be,

• Feasible
• Useful
• Balanced

The aims and objectives of the project should be clear and precise and it should be said in 3-5 points at the beginning of the documentation.

There are some main points which should be included in the project proposal:

• Area of study
• Objectives
• Describe intended methodology
• Possible outcomes
• Gantt chart

The two main questions which should be answered when conducting the literature review for the proposal would be :

• What is the academic challenge?
• What is the technical challenge?

As for the final year documentation a good research would comprise of 25-40 references with a whole documentation limiting to 20000 words (200 pages) maximum.

Development Methodologies

Definition of a method and its importance

The dictionary definition of a method would be an established, logical, or prescribed or systematic process of achieving certain ends with accuracy and efficiency, usually in an ordered sequence of fixed steps. (businessdictionary, 2013)

Models and life cycles

Waterfall method
According to skysignal (2007), this is not only the oldest but also the most tested and followed methodology in the world because nearly 70% of software development organizations use this. In this method each phase is executed after the previous phase has been completed and at the end of each phase a tangible output is produced most of the time. There are 6 main steps of the waterfall SDLC according to skysignal (2007) such as,

• Initiation/planning phase
• Requirements analysis phase
• Design phase
• Development phase
• Intergration and test phase
• Implementation phase

zinegeist, (2012)

Spiral method 

This is a methodology combining elements of both design and prototyping in stages to combine the advantages of top-down and bottom-up concepts. The spiral model was defined by Barry Boehm in 1985  through an article called "A spiral model of software development and enhancement". Analyzing effects are used in most parts of this method. (select-business solutions, 2013)

V life cycle

The v-shaped development methodology can be used in two kinds of projects where,

• software requirements are clearly defined and known
• software development technologies and tools are well known

The main difference between this method and the waterfall method is that the test planning is done early in the v-shaped method than in the waterfall method. (softdevteam, 2010)

Categories of methodologies

• data oriented design
• function/process oriented design
• OO methods
• user oriented design
• hypertext methods
• web methods
• instructional design methods
• hybrid methods

References

businessdictionary (2013) "method" [Online] Available from: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/method.html Accessed on: 21st January 2013.

skysignal (2007) "Waterfall SDLC methodology" [Online] Available from: http://skysigal.xact-solutions.com/Resources/SoftwareDevLifeCycle/WaterfallMethodSDLC/tabid/600/Default.aspx Accessed on: 21st January 2013.

zinegeist (2012) "The new design methodologies" [Online] Available from: http://zinegeist.com/2012/10/ Accessed on: 21st January 2013.

select-business solutions (2013), "What is the spiral model?" [Online] Available from: http://www.selectbs.com/analysis-and-design/what-is-the-spiral-model Accessed on: 21st January 2013.

softdevteam (2010), "V-shaped life cycle model" [Online] Available from:  http://www.softdevteam.com/V-shaped-lifecycle.asp Accessed on: 21st January 2013.

Cover letter

What is a Cover Letter

As per Yale College this is your introduction to a potential employer, explaining your interest in the position and why you are qualified to organize and Express. Summary of your CV with a cover letter is not, in fact, it is a "teaser", whose function is to ensure that a potential employer to read your resume.

Why have a cover Letter

According to Yale College,  Each letter must be for a specific job description and organization. Demonstrates how to meet specific job requirements, and stressed that the two or three compelling reasons why there is a compelling candidate, show what you know about the organization / industry, and tell them why you are a good choice.


What a Cover Letter must have

According to the article published by Andrews university,

• The cover letter should explain your experience and provide you with information in a story of your resume, a similar format.
• The cover letter should let you go in-depth experience / skills and relevant work experience.
• The cover letter should indicate that your custom work and their employers.
• The cover letter should show your written communication skills.

What you should include in a Cover Letter

• Your address and the date the letter was written
• The name and address of the person to whom the letter is being sent
• A salutation (Dear ____)
• The body of the letter
• A complimentary close and signature
• A title of respect, such as Dr., Mr., or Ms.
• A return address and zip code
• Can also include reference initials, enclosure notifications (such as your resume), copy and postscript.

References

Andrews (2012) Resumes & Cover Letters :: Andrews University. [online] Available at: http://www.andrews.edu/services/career_services/au_career_resources/resumes-cover-letter.html  Accessed on 17th January 2013.

                      

yalecollege (2011) Cover Letters | Yale Undergraduate Career Services. [online] Available at: http://ucs.yalecollege.yale.edu/content/cover-letters  Accessed: 17th January 2013.

Understanding Research

Objective of research
According to NCIB, 2013, objectives define the specific aims of the study and should be clearly stated in the introduction of the research protocol. 

Objectives are the steps you take to answer your research questions or a specific list of tasks needed to accomplish the goals of the project. Objectives are used to emphasize how aims are to be accomplished and must be highly focused and feasible and precisely described. (Bryman&Bell: Research project guide, 2007)

Objectives can be clearly defined by using the SMART technique to describe them.
S - specific 
M - measurable
A - achievable
R - realistic
T - time-bound

Process in research design

1. Aims and objectives of the research
2. Solution and deliverable
3. Literature Review – Required domain research
4. Selected Data collection methods (Primary Research)
5. Selected Sampling methods
6. Selected Data analysis methods
7. Rationale for selected technical aspects
8. Selected Design approach
9. Timelines

Types of research

Academic research
this type of research is carried out using the research data gathered by others which can be taken from sources such as, books, journal articles, research papers, etc. the sources needed to carry out this kind of research is freely available in libraries.

Secondary research
This is the most common research type used in the industry currently which involves data that has been already collected by another party for a research of their own. Reports, press articles, magazines, and other research papers are used in here which gives more value and proof for your own research. The advantage of this method would be the low cost in retrieving information but a main disadvantage would be if the data used in those sources are out-dated which will make your research fail. (marketresearchworld, 2013)

Primary research
When research is conducted to collect original data it is called primary research. These kind of research is conducted through surveys, questionnaires, interviews and direct observation. The information collected through this could take a long time and be costly but it will cater to the clients needs because its specifically based on the  area or topic needed unlike extracting form some other research based on a different topic. (marketresearchworld, 2013)

References:
NCIB (2013), "" [Online] Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2912019/  Accessed on: 10th January 2013

Bryman&Bell: Research project Guide (2007), "Formulation research aims and objectives" [Online] Available from: http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199284986/01student/project_guide/project_guide/page_11.htm Accessed on: 11th January 2013

Marketresearchworld (2013), "What is secondary research" [Online] Available from: http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=810 Accessed on: 12th January 2013

Marketresearchworld (2013), "What is primary research" [Online] Available from: http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=802  Accessed on: 12th January 2013

Literature Review

What is a literature review?
A literature review is a  description/assessment of the literature relevant to a particular field or topic, done when conducting a thesis (mostly as part of a postgraduate thesis). The purpose of a literature review is to give an overview of the field of inquiry where as a critical literature review shows how prevailing ideas fit in to your own and how your ideas differ or agree to them. (University of Canberra, 2012)

According to University of California Santa Cruz (2012), a literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources relevant to a particular topic or issue, providing a description, summary and critical evaluation of each work.

According to University of Canberra (2012), a literature review of the undergraduate level requires about 5-20 references to make it a rich review report.

Purpose of a literature review 

• To show the level of understanding on the topic under review
• Describe the relationship of each work with others under consideration
• Point the way forward to further research

(University of California Santa Cruz ,2012)

Guidelines to a good literature review:

• Establish research questions and organize the facts into categories around the main topic
• Begin with an introduction to the topic stating the importance of the topic and an overview of what is included in it
• Critically analyse the relevant literature in accordance to the research questions stating the content of it and inconsistencies or conflicting view points
• Ensure to write your own interpretations and to make it a critical and evaluative review
• Write a conclusion which draws together the important points and briefly explain how the information answers your original research question
• Avoid plagiarism and use a proper referencing method

(The University of Melbourne, 2012)

References

University of Canberra (2012), "Writing a literature review" [Online] Available from: http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/writing/literature Accessed on 4th January 2012.

University of California Santa Cruz (2012), "Write a literature review" [Online] Available from: http://guides.library.ucsc.edu/write-a-literature-review Accessed on: 4th January 2012.

The University of Melbourne (2012), "Literature reviews" [Online] Available from: http://unimelb.libguides.com/content.php?pid=87165&sid=651752 Accessed on: 4th January 2012.