Introduction to Research in Computing

1.

Introduction to Research in
Computing
What research is, why we do it, how development and research differ, and the research process —
followed throughout with one running example: digital attendance.
UDEA, TASHKENT

2.

LECTURE PLAN
How the hour is structured
Time
Focus
What you take away
0–10
Module introduction
Purpose, outcomes, weekly activities, assessments
10–20
What is research?
Research as planned, evidence-based investigation
20–30
Why we research
Understand, improve, evaluate, create knowledge
30–40
Development vs research
A project can do both — building and investigating
40–50
The research process
Six steps, revisited as understanding grows
50–60
Quality, ethics, recap
Clear question, sound method, honest reporting

3.

SESSION 1
Module introduction
Purpose
Learning outcomes
This module teaches you to investigate a computing
problem systematically, not just to build software.
Frame a researchable question, review existing
studies, select a method, analyse evidence and report
honestly.
Weekly activities
Assessment
Lectures, guided reading, seminar discussion, and
short practical tasks on your own project idea.
Research proposal and a final report — both graded
against the rubric in the module handbook.
Bring your module handbook to every session: outcomes, deadlines and marking criteria all come from it.

4.

DEFINITION
What is research?
Research is a planned investigation that uses evidence to answer
a question or develop new understanding.
Four words that do the work
Planned
Evidence
Question
Understanding
You decide in advance
what you will measure
and how.
Conclusions rest on data
you collected, not on
opinion.
There is something
genuinely unknown to
answer.
The result adds
knowledge others can
reuse or test.
Example question: “Does a mobile quiz application improve students’ learning?”

5.

CONTRAST
Searching for information is not yet research
Looking it up
Doing research
“Which framework is most popular for mobile
apps?” — answered by reading a survey or blog
post. Useful background, no new evidence.
“Does a Flutter version of our quiz app load faster
than the web version on low-end phones?” — you
must measure it yourself.
More pairs to test your understanding
Fact-finding: “What is two-factor authentication?” → Research: “Do students enable 2FA more often after a 10minute awareness session?”
Fact-finding: “What is the average page load time online?” → Research: “Does image compression reduce load
time on our department website?”

6.

MOTIVATION
Why do we conduct research?
Understand problems
Improve systems
Evaluate solutions
Why do students miss deadlines?
Survey and log data reveal causes,
not guesses.
Does redesigning the login screen
reduce failed sign-in attempts?
Does a new phishing filter catch
more malicious emails than the
current one?
Create knowledge
Reduce risk
Justify decisions
A tested method for reducing
network delay that other teams can
reuse.
Test a cryptographic protocol
before deploying it in a healthcare
app.
Evidence, not preference, supports
the choice of database or platform.
Computing examples used in this module: phishing detection, app usability, network delay, attendance recording.

7.

DISTINCTION
Development and research
Development task
Research purpose
Building an attendance application: design the
database, write the code, test that it works as
specified. Success = it functions.
Investigating whether the app reduces attendance
errors compared with manual recording. Success =
a defensible, evidence-based answer.
A single project can include both: you build the artefact, then use it to answer a question. The build is the
means; the evidence is the contribution.
Other paired examples: build a chat app → measure whether it improves group coursework coordination. Build an intrusiondetection module → measure its false-alarm rate against a baseline.

8.

SIX STEPS
The research process
1 · Identify a problem
2 · Read existing studies
3 · Form a question
Something real, narrow and
observable.
Find what is already known and
what is missing.
Specific, answerable with evidence
you can collect.
4 · Choose a method
5 · Collect and analyse
6 · Conclude and report
Experiment, measurement, survey,
case study.
Gather data carefully; summarise it
fairly.
State what the evidence shows and
its limits.
The process is iterative, not a straight line: reading may reshape your question, and early data may send you back to the
method.

9.

WORKED EXAMPLE
Running example: digital attendance
Topic
Digital attendance in classroom teaching
Problem
Recording attendance manually may take too much class time.
Research question
Does QR-code attendance reduce recording time compared with a paper register?
Objective
To compare the time required by the two attendance methods.
Method
Measure the time taken in several comparable classes using each method.
Evidence
Recorded attendance times and any recording errors.
Conclusion
Explain what the evidence shows and acknowledge limitations. Do not assume QR will be
better.
Notice how each row follows from the one above — that chain is what makes a project researchable.

10.

PRACTICE
Three more examples, same structure
Element
Phishing detection
App usability
Network delay
Problem
Students open malicious emails
New users abandon the booking app
Video lectures buffer on campus WiFi
Question
Does a warning banner reduce clicks
on phishing links?
Does a 3-step checkout reduce task
failures vs 5 steps?
Does caching content locally cut
loading delay?
Method
Simulated phishing test, two groups
Usability test, 10 users per version
Measure load times, with and
without cache
Evidence
Click rate per group
Task completion rate, time on task,
errors
Mean delay in milliseconds
Task: choose one column and write its objective and likely limitations in your notebook.

11.

QUALITY
What makes research good?
Clear question
Suitable method
Narrow enough to answer with the time and data you
have.
The method can actually produce evidence for that
question.
Reliable evidence
Honest reporting
Measured consistently; repeatable by someone else.
Report results that disappoint you, and state
limitations.
Weak: “QR attendance is better.” Strong: “QR attendance took 42 seconds on average versus 118 seconds for the
paper register across six classes of similar size.”

12.

RESPONSIBLE PRACTICE
Ethics: consent, privacy, plagiarism
Informed consent
Privacy
No plagiarism
Tell participants what you collect
and why; participation is voluntary
and can be withdrawn.
Collect the minimum data
needed. Anonymise student IDs
and store files securely.
Cite every source you use. Copied
text or code without attribution is
academic misconduct.
Attendance example: timings are recorded, but no student is named in the report.
Phishing example: debrief participants afterwards — never leave them believing they were attacked.
Keep a reference list from day one; it is far harder to reconstruct later.

13.

RECAP
Five things to remember
Research is a planned, evidence-based investigation.
We research to understand, improve, evaluate and create knowledge.
Building is development; measuring its effect adds the research purpose.
The six-step process is iterative, not linear.
Quality means a clear question, sound method, reliable evidence, honest reporting.
Oral questions
1. Give one development task and one research question from your own project idea. 2. Why must we state
limitations? 3. What evidence would convince you that a quiz app improves learning?