- Formulating the problem: meaning and significance of a research problem, its sources, identification and selection, the criteria and characteristics of a good problem, and the errors made in choosing one.
- Operationalising the problem: defining scope and objectives, selecting an investigative approach, collecting and analysing data, and interpreting results with appropriate instrumentation.
Course outcomes addressed — CO1: understand the meaning, significance and foundational components of research, including the formulation and evaluation of research problems. CO2: utilise investigative approaches and methodologies for problem-solving in computing science research.
Seven sets of student notes, one per lecture, written for revision. Each opens as a single reading document with a contents sidebar, a dark/light toggle and a Print / PDF button, and links to the next at the foot of the page.
The unit divides in two. Lectures 1–3 are about choosing a research problem — what one is, how to judge it, and how selection goes wrong. Lectures 4–7 are about executing it — bounding the study, picking an investigative approach, gathering and analysing data, and interpreting what comes back.
1. Lectures
Understanding the Research Problem
What separates a research problem from a topic, why its formulation is the most consequential decision in a project, where problems come from, and the five-phase process for identifying one.
Criteria and Characteristics of a Good Research Problem
The external criteria against which a problem is judged and the internal characteristics it must possess, the difference between the two, and the ten errors of selection.
Essential Attributes and Errors in Selection
The essential attributes grouped as conceptual quality, operational feasibility and strategic value; the ATTR-FEAS checklist; and the five families of selection error.
Scope and Objectives of Research
Translating a validated problem into a bounded scope and SMART objectives: the six dimensions of scope, delimitations against limitations, and the aim to hypothesis chain.
Investigative Approaches for Solutions
The investigative approaches available in computing research, how to match an approach to a problem, and what each one licenses you to conclude.
Data Collection and Analysis
The nature and classification of research data, primary and secondary collection methods, sampling, instrumentation, and descriptive and inferential analysis.
Interpretation of Data and Necessary Instrumentation
Turning analysed data into defensible findings: levels of interpretation, measurement scales, reliability and validity, and the errors that corrupt interpretation.
2. Slides and Unit-Wide Notes
The lecture decks for this unit were written against an earlier, finer-grained sequence, so their numbers do not line up with the seven lectures above. Deck L01–L03 together correspond to Lecture 1 of these notes, deck L04 to Lecture 2, deck L05 to Lecture 3, and deck L06 to Lecture 4. Check the title rather than the number.
- Lecture 0 — Why Research Matters (PDF)
- Understanding the Research Problem (PDF) · Sources of Research Problems (PDF) · Identifying and Narrowing (PDF) — together cover Lecture 1
- Criteria and the FINER Test (PDF) — Lecture 2
- Characteristics and Common Errors (slides) — Lecture 3
- Scope, Objectives and Hypotheses (slides) — Lecture 4
- Research Fundamentals, SMART Objectives and Data (slides)
A single unit-wide notes document is also available. It covers the same ground thematically in nineteen sections, including hypothesis testing and the chi-square test, and is the better companion when you are revising the unit as a whole rather than one lecture at a time.
3. Reading Path
Read the lecture notes in order — each one builds on the last, and each links to the next at the foot of the page. If you are preparing something specific:
- Choosing your project topic — Lectures 1, 2 and 3, then write a problem statement and test it against the ATTR-FEAS checklist.
- Writing the synopsis or proposal — Lecture 4 for scope and SMART objectives, then Lecture 5 to justify your approach.
- Running the study — Lectures 6 and 7 for collection, analysis, instrumentation and interpretation.