Training Programs on

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
&
SCIENTIFIC PAPER WRITING
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Module No: RM-2017/18-ENG-01

Theme: Advancement of scientific career through best practices in Research Methodology

Duration: 02 days

Expected Outcome: At the end of this course the participant will be able to * understand the basic concepts of
research and its methodologies * identify appropriate research topics * select and define appropriate research
problem and parameters * prepare a project proposal (to undertake a research project) * organize and conduct
research methodically * write a research report and thesis

# Topic Description

1 Overview of Research Need for scientific research, Main steps of research and methodologies,
Methodologies Classifications of research, Sequences in conducting research.

2 Selection of Research Module Scientific issues and research issues, Criteria for selecting a researchable
problem, Literature survey and efficient methods of referring, Identifying
variables, Evaluating problems, theory building and conceptualization.

3 Conducting Research Planning of Research activities, Pre-experimental requirements, Handling

of quantitative and qualitative data, Sample surveys and questionnaire
design (in brief), Probability and non-probability sampling, Selection criteria
of research tools, Validation of experimental data, Introduction to statistical
and computational software.

4 Research Communication - Writing a research/technical report, a research/technical paper for

Writing journal/conference publication, postgraduate thesis and research proposal
for grants or collaborative work, Selection of suitable journal and
conference, Working towards papers for journals with high impact factor.

5 Research Communication - Oral Presenting of research reports, Facing viva voce, Presenting at a
conferences, Defending grant proposal, Development of research
personality, public addressing (media interviews, writing to printed media).

6 Commercialization of Research Application-based Research, Procedures and finer points of patenting,

Output Commercializing the patent, International copyright laws and related issues,
Working with Industry.

7 Web-based research Publication management (Mendeley, Zotero, Bib Desk, Qiqqa, EndNote,
management: Jab Ref, Ref Works), Online interactive storage (One/sky drive, Drop Box,
Google Drive, Box, Wuala, Sugar Sync, Team Drive, Cloud Me), Online
facilities (Free file conversions, File import/export), Online time
management (MyStudyLife, Week Plan, DayViewer, Teamweek, Doodle)

8 Networking and Indexing Researcher-ID, Scopus, Google Scholar, Ochid, Research Gate,
Academia, LinkedIn, ISI database, Scopus data base, other indexing
systems, H-index, strategies to increase self H-index.

9 Transformation from junior Image building, Finer points of presentation skills, Dealing with funders and
researcher to senior researcher Project evaluators, Critical thinking and situation analysis, postgraduate
student supervision, Addressing ethical issues, Team management,
Conflict resolution, Social responsibility of a researcher.

10 Hands on activities Writing a review paper at individual level (or in small groups) and group
activities on research module development and presentation.
 SCIENTIFIC PAPER WRITING
Series of Training Programs
Module No: RM-2017/18-ENG-02

Theme: Writing a scientific paper for publishing: Do it in the best way

Duration: 02 days

Expected Outcome: At the end of this course the participant will be able to * understand the publishing scenarios,
* develop various types of scientific publications * fine tune the developed articles * select the right journal and adopt
the relevant guidelines * avoid deliberate or unintended unethical activities or being a prey for predatory journals
* attract the attention of the scientific community to the published papers

# Topic Description

1 Understanding scientific domain The context of scientific publishing. Quality and quantity of publications,
Journal indexing, Personal citations, Research/academic reputation,
Conference vs journal.

2 Preliminaries Type of the paper (original research articles, review papers/perspectives,

letters/rapid communications/short communications), Selection of a theme
and topic, Selection of a journal and attention on journal requirements,
Publishable values of intended material, Levels of language skills of
authors.

Writing the paper: A review Preliminary literature survey, Adjusting the dimensions of the theme,
article Optimized literature survey, Digging for latest industrial and commercial
trends, Selection of sub-section titles, Critical information analysis, Realistic
conclusions and future prediction, Referencing styles, Text book vs review
paper.

3 Writing the paper: An original Drafting method and results, structuring paper (sectionalizing), Building up
research article the scientific story, Funneling from introduction to problem statement,
Meaningful discussion, Conclusion vs summary, Writing a strong
conclusion, Author affiliations, order of authors and acknowledgement.

4 Writing other scientific Writing short communications, Proposal writing, Research paper vs
documents technical report, Key points in a progress reports, Extra-care needed in
writing popular scientific articles.

5 Writing: The right way
Principles of effective writing (cutting unnecessary clutter), Crafting better
sentences and paragraphs, Organization and streamlining the writing
process, Selection of active and passive voice, Using appropriate words
and terms, Avoiding peacock terms, Avoiding turning verbs into nouns,
Decomposing long sentences, Emphasizing the information using the dash,
colon, semi-colon, and parentheses, Limiting direct quotation.

6 Information and data Presenting statistically significant data, Reasoning the choice of
management methodologies and equipment, Systematic and random errors, Significant
figures, System limitations, Selection of the suitable type of graphical
presentation, Formatting tables and figures, Annexure/appendix, footnotes
and postscripts.

7 Group-writing management Work-sharing among multiple contributors, Parallel and series writing using
net-based facilities, Pre-agreement on authorship, ownership of co-author
 provided materials, Uniformity of writing style, Acknowledgement of non-
author contribution

8 Publishing ethics and related
issues
Avoiding plagiarism (including self-plagiarism) and ghostwriting. Seeking
permission for reproduction of figures and tables, Determining the order of
authorship, Ethical acknowledgement, Conflicts of interests, Ready
availability of data sources, Reproducibility of research outcomes, Avoiding
data manipulation, Avoiding multiple submission, Converting a conference
paper to journal paper, Avoiding predatory journals, Turning down
unsuitable editorial positions.

9 Paper submission and revision
Refining the paper title, subject highlights and discussion scopes to get
favourable editor’s decision (to start peer review process), Final formatting
to suit the target journal, Writing a convincing covering letter, Selection of
potential reviewers, Suggesting reviewer’s to be avoided, Online
submission and email submission, Restricted access and open source
publishing, Journal fee, Addressing suggested revisions, Being a reviewer,
Final touch on camera-ready proof.

10 Post-publication activities Attracting citations to the paper (ResearchGate, Ochid, Academia,

LinkedIn, SCOPUS, ResearcherID etc.), Sharing through personal
networking.

Background & Target Groups:

These two programs are developed by converting the highly successful Research Methodology
course conducted at the Universiti Putra Malaysia, Faculty of Engineering into comprehensive
training programs. The 14 week (42 hour) original lecture course has been compressed into two
2-day events, thus they are conducted at an intensive level. The publication turnover has greatly
been increased among the participants who followed these programs, so far.
The two courses have been designed for research scientists in their early carrier and mid-career,
staff of R&D units of industries, university teaching staff of science and engineering fields in their
early career and mid-carrier, Science and engineering postgraduate students, graduate science
teachers of high schools and colleges who intend to upgrade their career level.

Conducted by: Prof. Dr. Chandima Gomes, Professor of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Putra
Malaysia (UPM)
Contact: chandima.gomes@gmail.com / chandima@upm.edu.my