role of it in research: how to improve productivity of research process

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ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN RESEARCH : A STUDY OF TOOLS WITH REFERENCE TO IMPROVE

THE PRODUCTIVITY OF RESEARCH PROCESS

Sharad Jambukar

3 May 2014

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Summary

Research process is systematic inquiry for quest in researcher’s mind and is executed with various activities. Reading and reviewing the body of knowledge in search and pursuit of inquiry is a critical activity that researcher has to undertake along with collection of information, statistical analysis and presentation.

Application of computer and information technology (IT) to analyze complex data has made complicated research designs practical. Computers have by now become an indispensable part of research process in the physical and behavioral sciences as well as in the humanities.

The research student in this age of computer technology must be exposed to the methods and use of computers in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the research work. Objective of this presentation is to provide an overview of various IT tools and methods of improving research work. 2

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Content 1. Research Process

– Overview of all research stages and research activities

2. Computer and Information Technology

– Basics of Computer

– Information Technology

3. Needs Assessment of Researcher

– Issued faced by researcher

– Challenges in conducting research

– Possible Solutions

4. Application of computer and information technology in research

– Data Collection Tools- Online Survey etc

– Research Documentation Tools- Quiqqa, Mendely comparison and overview etc

– Statistical applications for data analysis

5. Challenges observed in adopting information technology in research process

– Skills & Training

– Resource Availability

– Attitude to Change

6. Conclusion

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6. Conclusion

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Research

• “Systematic and scientific search for gaining information and knowledge on a specific topic or phenomena.”

• Method of Critical Thinking

• It refers to, – Enunciating the problem

– Formulating a hypothesis

– Collecting the fact or data

– Analysing the facts

– Reaching certain conclusion

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Characteristics of Research

1. Systematic Approach

2. Objectivity

3. Reproducible

4. Relevancy

5. Control

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Objectives of Research

1. Exploration : To understand

2. Description: What is going on

3. Explanation: Cause & Effect

4. Prediction: What will Happen

5. Intelligent Intervention

6. Awareness

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Research Process

Problem Definition

Hypothesis Generation

Decide Type of Study

Decide Method of

Data Gathering

Develop Analysis Plan

Data Collection

Analysis Execution

Draw Conclusions

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Research Design

• F Kerlinger: It’s the plan, structure & strategy of investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to research questions and control variance.

• P.V. Young: It is the logical & systematic planning and directing a piece of research.

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Features of Good Research Design

1. Need for Study

2. Review of Previous Studies

3. Statement of Problem

4. Objectives of Study

5. Formulation of Hypothesis

6. Operational Definitions

7. Scope of the Study

1. Geography

2. Content

3. Chronological Scope

8. Sources of Data

9. Method of Collection

10. Tools and Techniques

11. Sampling Design

12. Data Analysis

13. Presentation of Results

14. Time Estimates

15. Financial Budget

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– Research activities simplification








6. Conclusion 11

Evolution of Computer 1812 – Charles Babbage began designing the “Difference Machine”, which is considered one of the first programmable computers.

1820s – Charles Babbage completed his designs on the “Difference Machine”.

1830s – Designs for the “Analytical Engine” were made by Charles Babbage.

1839 – Photography was invented by Louis Daguerre and William Henry Fox.

1876 – Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.

1895 – The movie projector was invented by the Lumiere brothers.

1906 – The “Vacuum Tube” was invented.

1923 – The first television picture was transmitted by John Logie Baird.

1945 – 1946 – The ENIAC was invented by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert. This was the first noteworthy modern computer.

1947 – The transistor was invented by John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain.

1952 – The first mass produced computer was made and sold by the IBM Company.

1952 – The first computer game was designed and created, “Tic-Tac-Toe” by A.S Douglas.

1954 – The silicon transistor was created.

1964 – Computer systems that use icons, windows and a mouse were designed by Douglas Engelbart.

1971 – The microprocessor was invented by Ted Hoff.

1976 – The first “Apple” computer was invented by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.

1976 – The first computer operated by computer disks was invented by Gary Kildall.

1981 – The “Personal Computer” was released by the IBM Company.

1983 – The “Apple Lisa” personal computer was released by the Apple Company.

1985 – An outline of the Quantum Computer was published by David Deutsch.

1989 – The “World Wide Web was invented by Tim Berners-Lee.

1995 – With the launch of the Amazon Bookstore online shopping became popular.

2003 – Electronic devices that could send emails, access the web and could receive phone calls became commercial.

2008 – More than 300,000 computers were shipped around the world.

Ref: http://evolutionofcomputers.edublogs.org/q3-the-timeline/

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Basics of Computer

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Input Devices (Enters the computer program and data into internal storage)

Output Devices (Records results from internal storage)

Control Unit (Interprets the computer program, directs the operation of all components and units of the system)

Internal Storage (Holds the computer program and data and makes them available for processing

Arithmetic – Logical Unit (Performs all arithmetic operations and logical comparisons)

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How Computer Works ?

In terms of overall sequence of events a computer program is input into the internal storage and transmitted to the control unit, where it becomes the basis for overall sequencing and control of computer system.

After designated calculations and comparisons have been completed output is obtained from the internal storage of the CPU.

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Characteristics of Computer

1. Speed

2. Diligence

3. Storage

4. Accuracy

5. Automation

6. Binary Digits

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Characteristics of Computers

1. Speed – computers can perform calculations in just a few seconds that human beings would need weeks to do by hand.

2. Diligence – being a machine a computer does not suffer from the human traits of tiredness and lack of concentration. It will perform millions of calculations exactly in the same speed and accuracy as the first one.

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3. Storage – Although the storage capacity of the present day computer is much more than its earlier counterpart but even then the internal memory of the CPU is only large enough to retain a certain amount of information just as human brains selects and retains what it feels to be important and relegates unimportant details to the back of the mind or just forgets them.

4. Accuracy – the computers accuracy is consistently high. Errors in the machinery can occur but due to increased efficiency in error detecting techniques these seldom lead to false results.

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5. Automation – Once a program is in the computers memory all that is needed is the individual instructions to it which are transferred one after the other to the control unit for execution.

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6. Binary digits – computers use only binary number system (a system in which all the numbers are represented by a combination of two digits one and zero) and thus operates to the base of two, compared to the ordinary decimal arithmetic which operates on a base of ten. Computers use binary system because the electrical devices can understand only ‘ON’ (1) or ‘OFF’ (0)

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Information Technology

• The branch of engineering that deals with the use of computers and telecommunications to retrieve and store and transmit information*

• Information technology (IT) is the application of computers and telecommunications equipment to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data**

• Basic function as per Value Engineering: To record and retrieve data

• IT deals with overall system including computer and communication.

•( Wordweb Dictionary, Princeton University) •** Daintith, John, ed. (2009), "IT", A Dictionary of Physics, Oxford University Press 27

http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t83.e1592

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IT has evolved to connect the information all around the world in faster and cheaper manner

Source: Radar Networks & Nova Spivack, 20007 –www. Radarnetworks.com Taken from:Pratt, J. (Ed.). (2014, April 28). SEMANTIC ENHANCEMENT OF LEGAL INFORMATION… ARE WE UP FOR THE CHALLENGE? Retrieved 2014, from blog.law.cornell.edu: http://blog.law.cornell.edu/voxpop/2010/02/15/semantic-enhancement-of-legal-information%E2%80%A6-are-we-up-for-the-challenge/

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– Needs of Researcher



– Literature Review








6. Conclusion

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Needs of Researcher

• Literature Review: – Read Journals, Books, Website, eJournals, Articles, Thesis, Research

Papers – Visit library and Search for requisite topic and literature – Taking notes and maintaining references for bibliography and citation

• Data Collection: – Collect secondary data from archives, specialized institutions,

Government Organizations – Collect primary data through personal interviews, Questionnaires(

Letter, Mail, email)

• Data Analysis: – Arrangement of Data – Apply statistical methods and conduct calculations – Conduct complex and iterative analysis eg. Segmentation

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Literature Review

• A Very Important Step in all the Research activities

• At least 70% understanding comes by reading

• You can not review what you don’t understand

• It gives formulation for your research

• It indicates that you have understood the important issues about the topic

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Concerns for Researcher 1. Improper Library Management: The libraries are not managed systematically. Much of

the precious time of the researchers is spent in looking for books, reports, newspapers, etc. rather than searching relevant information from them.

2. Insufficient Interaction: There is no proper interaction between researchers and the business establishments, government institutions, etc. This leads to a great deal of data going untapped.

3. Lack of Confidence in data sharing: Most of the business establishments are of the opinion that, researchers can misuse the data provided by them. As such, they are reluctant to divulge details of their company. This affects the research studies for which that particular data may be of utmost importance.

4. Lack of Resources : Most of the institutions lack computing facilities and lack of budget for providing common research facilities. Though such is made available, resource constraint for making it available for 24X 7 , renders it non useful.

5. Data Handling: Researchers are essentially concerned with huge storage of data,

their faster retrieval when required and processing of data with the aid of various techniques.

Ref: blog.reaspro.com, Reseapro Scientific Services (P) Ltd. 32

Time & Effort Required in Research Project

Research Activity

Time Taken for Activity (% of Total

Work)

Effort Required (% of Total Effort required for research work)

Physical Mental Total

Literature Review 30% 15% 10% 25%

Data Collection 50% 52% 13% 65%

Data Analysis 10% 1% 4% 5%

Other Administrative Work 10% 4% 1% 5%

Total 100% 72% 28% 100%

Ref: Interviews with researchers who have completed their doctoral research and research students 33

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Opportunity to Reduce Time and Effort of research work using IT & improve Quality

Research Activity

Opportunity How Information Technology Can Help?

Literature Review

1. Reduce time required to do more in available time

2. Reduce physical efforts, 3. Improve the reach and depth

• Internet • Online Research Databases •Research Documentation Tools like Quiqqa and Mendely

Data Collection

1. Collect secondary data from online archives

2. Reduce time required to collect data from respondents

3. Reach large no of respondents in short time

• Online Research Data collection agencies like EnterpriseSurvey of World Bank, ZEW of European council •Recording of interviews and observations using mobile cameras •Email Surveys •Online Survey Tools eg. Survemonkey •Social Networking Sites eg. Linkedin

Data Analysis 1. Reduce computation time required and

2. Eliminate the monotony of iterative calculations,

3. Perform complex analysis which otherwise could not have been possible with human skills

• High end configuration of Computing Devices to handle large data eg. Server and large memory capacity • Statistical analysis tools such as SAS, SPSS, R Analytics, Minitab

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– Literature Review & Research Documentation Tools

– Data Collection Tools

– Statistical applications





6. Conclusion

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Some Application of Information Technology

Applications in Various uses

Educations

provide a large data bank of information

aid to time tabling

Carry out lengthy or complex calculations

provide students profiles

assist teaching and learning processes

assist in career guidance

Commerce

assist the production of text material handle payroll of personnel, invoicing, record keeping, sales analysis, financial forecasting

Banks & Financial institutions

cheque handling

updating of accounts

printing of customer statements

Interest printing

Management

planning of new enterprises

finding the best solution from several options

helpful in inventory management, sales forecasting and production planning

useful in scheduling of projects

Kothari, C. R. (2004). Rese. In C. R. Kothari, Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques (p. 361). New Delhi: New Age International Ltd, Publishers. 36

Role of Computer in Research

Computer Applications

Applications in Some of the various uses

Industry

in process control in production control used for load control by electricity authorities computer aided designs to develop new products

Communications & transportation

useful in electronic mail useful in aviation facilitate routine jobs such as crew schedule, time tables, maintenance schedule, etc helpful to railways, shipping companies

used in traffic control and also in space flight

Scientific Research

model processing performing computations Research and data analysis

Homes

used for playing games can be used for educational aid home management is facilitated

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Opportunity to Reduce Time and Effort of research work using IT & improve Quality

Research Activity

Opportunity How Information Technology Can Help?

Literature Review

1. Reduce time required to do more in available time

2. Reduce physical efforts, 3. Improve the reach and depth

• Internet • Online Research Databases •Research Documentation Tools like Quiqqa and Mendely

Data Collection

1. Collect secondary data from online archives

2. Reduce time required to collect data from respondents

3. Reach large no of respondents in short time

• Online Research Data collection agencies like EnterpriseSurvey of World Bank, ZEW of European council •Email Surveys •Online Survey Tools eg. Survemonkey •Social Networking Sites eg. Linkedin

Data Analysis

1. Reduce computation time required and

2. Eliminate the monotony of iterative calculations,

3. Perform complex analysis which otherwise could not have been possible with human skills

• High end configuration of Computing Devices to handle large data eg. Server and large memory capacity • Statistical analysis tools such as SAS, SPSS, R Analytics, Minitab

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Research Documentation Tools

Demo: www.quiqqa.com

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http://www.quiqqa.com/

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Ref: Quiqqa.com

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Data Collection Tools- Survey

• Software tools for surveys are varied, ranging from desktop applications to complex web systems for monitoring consumer behavior.

• The list includes all forms of surveys and data capture techniques: PAPI, CATI, CAPI, CAWI, on-line and off-line. – PAPI: Pen and Paper Interviewing

– CATI: Computer Assisted Telephonic Interviewing

– CAPI: Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing

– CAWI: Computer Assisted Web Interviewing

• Various such survey tools available are categorized as – Computer-Assisted Survey Information Collection (CASIC) Software

– Comparison of notable such software is illustrated

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Survey Tools: Comparison of CASIC Product Developer Headquarters First public release Delivery method License

Google Docs Google Inc

Mountain

View, California,USA 2008 SAAS Proprietory

FormStack Formstack, LLC

Indianapolis, Indiana, U

SA 2006 SAAS Proprietory

Cvent Web Surveys Cvent LLC McLean, Virginia, USA 2006 SAAS

Proprietory

SurveyGizmo Surveygizmo

Boulder, Colorado, US

A 2006 SAAS Proprietory

Qualtrics Qualtrics Lab Inc Provo, Utah, USA 2005 SAAS Proprietory

LimeSurvey The LimeSurvey

project team Hamburg, Germany 2003 On premise GNU GPL

QuestionPro Survey Analytics LLC

Seattle, Washington, U

SA 2002 SAAS Proprietory

SurveyShare Research Tools, Inc

Chapel Hill, North

Carolina,USA 2001 SAAS Proprietory

KeySurvey Worldapp LLC

Braintree, Massachuset

ts,USA 2001 SAAS, ON PREMISE Proprietory

CreateSurvey Imposant LLC Moscow, Russia 1999 SAAS Proprietory

SurveyMonkey SurveyMonkey.com

LLC

Palo

Alto, California, USA 1999 SAAS Proprietory

Zoomerang

MarketTools, Inc.

San

Francisco, California,U

SA 1999 SAAS

Proprietory

FormSite Vroman Systems, Inc.

Downers

Grove, Illinois,USA 1998 SAAS Proprietory

Confirmit Confirmit Inc Oslo, Norway 1996 SAAS Proprietory

SAAS: software as Services On Premise: Software need to be installed in users premises, on hardware owned by users Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_survey_software, Personal Usage as customer for few softwares

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Statistical Software Tools

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_statistical_packages and Personal usage of software, Ref: Training Workshop at Sankhyanalytics

Sr No Product Developer Latest version

Open source Software license Interface Written in Scripting languages

1 JMP SAS Institute September, 2013 No Proprietary GUI/CLI JSL (JMP Scripting Language)

2 LIMDEP Econometric Software, Inc., William Greene May, 2012 No Proprietary CLI/GUI Fortran,C++

3 Maple Maplesoft 18.00; March 05, 2014 No Proprietary CLI/GUI

4 Mathematica Wolfram Research 9.0.1; February 1, 2013 No Proprietary CLI/GUI

5 MATLAB MathWorks New releases twice per year No Proprietary CLI/GUI C++, Java

6 MedCalc MedCalc Software bvba 1-Feb-14 No Proprietary GUI

7 Minitab Minitab Inc. 18-Feb-14 No Proprietary CLI/GUI

8 NCSS NCSS, LLC 1-May-12 No Proprietary GUI

9 NLOGIT Econometric Software, Inc., William Greene May, 2012 No Proprietary CLI/GUI Fortran,C++

10 NMath Stats CenterSpace Software 1-Nov-09 No Proprietary CLI

11 NumXL Spider Financial 1-Oct-09 No Proprietary GUI C++, VBA C, C++, C#, VB, VBA, .NET

12 Origin OriginLab October, 2013 No Proprietary GUI C++ LabTalk

13 RATS Estima 1-Oct-10 No Proprietary CLI/GUI

14 SAS SAS Institute 1-Dec-11 No Proprietary CLI & GUI SAS language

15 SHAZAM SHAZAM Analytics Ltd 1-Jun-12 No Proprietary CLI/GUI FORTRAN, C++, C

16 SPSS IBM 1-Aug-13 No Proprietary CLI/GUI Java R, Python, SaxBasic

17 Stata StataCorp 24-Jun-13 No Proprietary CLI/GUI C ado, mata

18 TSP TSP International 1-Sep-09 No Proprietary CLI Fortran

19 WPS World Programming 1-Feb-12 No Proprietary CLI/GUI C, Assembler SAS language

20 WINKS TexaSoft 1-Aug-13 No Proprietary GUI Fortran, Visual Basic

21 XploRe MD*Tech 28-Jun-05 No Proprietary GUI

22 ADaMSoft Marco Scarno 5-May-12 Yes GNU GPL CLI/GUI Java

23 Dataplot Alan Heckert 1-Mar-05 Yes Public domain CLI/GUI

24 Epi Info Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 26-Jan-11 Yes Public domain CLI/GUI Microsoft C#

25 gretl The gretl Team 1.9.14; November 21, 2013 Yes GNU GPL CLI/GUI C

26 OpenEpi A. Dean, K. Sullivan, M. Soe 23-Jun-11 Yes GNU GPL GUI JavaScript, HTML

27 PSPP GNU Project 0.8.2; January 13, 2014 Yes GNU GPL CLI/GUI C Perl (by PSPP-Perl[3])

28 R R Foundation 6-Mar-14 Yes GNU GPL CLI/GUI[4] C, Fortran, R[5] Python (by RPy), Perl (by Statistics::R module)

29 Revolution Analytics Norman Nie 29-Jun-05 Yes Proprietary CLI/GUI

30 ROOT ROOT Analysis Framework 30-Jun-10 Yes GNU GPL GUI C++ C++, Python

31 Sage >100 developers worldwide 5.8, March 2013 Yes GNU GPL CLI & GUI Python, Cython Python

32 Salstat Alan J. Salmoni, Mark Livingstone 26-Jun-05 Yes GNU GPL CLI & GUI Python, Numpy,Scipy Python

33 SCaViS SCaVis Analysis Framework 30-Jun-13 Yes GNU GPL CLI & GUI Java Java, Jython, Groovy, JRuby

34 SciPy Enthought 7-Apr-13 Yes BSD CLI Python, C,Fortran Python

35 SOCR UCLA 28-Oct-08 Yes LGPL GUI Java

36 SOFA Statistics Grant Paton-Simpson 1.4.3; March 16, 2014 Yes AGPL GUI Python Python

37 Statsmodels Statsmodels Developers 13-Aug-13 Yes BSD CLI Python, C Python 43

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– Literature Review & Research Documentation Tools

– Data Collection Tools

– Statistical applications



– Limitations of IT

6. Conclusion

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Skills Required for Researcher to utilize IT

Researchers interested in developing skills in computer analysis while consulting the computer centers must be

aware of the following steps

1. Basic skills in handling computer and internet 2. Data organization and coding 3. Storing the data in the computer 4. Selection of appropriate statistical measures / techniques 5. Selection of appropriate software packages 6. Execution of the computer programs 7. Attitude change in order to do the research work in

different way. i.e. using computer

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Limitations of IT 1. Researchers should also be aware of the following limitations of computer

based analysis

2. Computerized analysis requires setting up of an elaborate system of monitoring collection and feeding of data.

3. All these require time, effort and money. Hence computer based analysis may not prove economical in case of small projects

4. Various items of details which are not being specifically fed to computer may get lost sight of

5. The computer does not think; it can only execute the instructions of a thinking person. If poor data or faulty programs are introduced in to the computer the data analysis would not be worthwhile. The expression garbage in garbage out describes this limitation very well.

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Conclusion 1. Time and effort required to undertake research can be minimized with

appropriate use of Information Technology

2. Reduction in effort due to IT as well as increased speed and access can improve quality of research work.

3. Time saved can be utilized for learning new concepts and acquiring new skills that would certainly help in improve the quality of research work.

4. Overall research process can be followed meticulously with proper record maintenance and that can be made available for further researchers (at Institute level)

5. Effective use of IT, can help save the research cost.

6. Behavioral change management is necessary to adopt IT in research and altitudinal change with innovative approach can help realize the effectiveness of IT better.

7. IT solutions are being aligned with the way human beings consume information and will become more human friendly in future.

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Bibliography 1. Comparison of Statistical Packages. (2014, May 2). Retrieved from www.wikipedia.org:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_statistical_packages

2. Comparison of Survey Softwares. (2014, May 2). Retrieved from www.wikipedia.org: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_survey_software, Personal Usage as customer for few softwares

3. Evolution of Computers. (2014, April 29). Retrieved from evolutionofcomputers.edublogs.org: http://evolutionofcomputers.edublogs.org/q3-the-timeline/

4. Kogent Learning Solutions Inc, Pandya, Kiran et all. (2014). SPSS in Simple Steps. New Delhi: Durga Enterprises, Delhi.

5. Kothari, C. R. (2004). Rese. In C. R. Kothari, Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques (p. 361). New Delhi: New Age International Ltd, Publishers.

6. Pratt, J. (Ed.). (2014, April 28). SEMANTIC ENHANCEMENT OF LEGAL INFORMATION… ARE WE UP FOR THE CHALLENGE? Retrieved 2014, from blog.law.cornell.edu: http://blog.law.cornell.edu/voxpop/2010/02/15/semantic-enhancement-of-legal-information%E2%80%A6-are-we-up-for-the-challenge/

7. Reseapro Scientific Services (P) Ltd. (2014, April 28). Problems encountered by Researcher In India. Retrieved from www.Reaspro.com: http://blog.reseapro.com/2012/08/problems-encountered-by-researchers-in-india/

8. Research Reference Manager. (2014, April 28). Retrieved from Quiqqa: www.quiqqa.com

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