Experiment!: Planning, Implementing and Interpreting

Further Reading

Those who are interested in scientific realism are recommended to read the first part of Hacking's book [12]. It also contains references to other texts on the subject. There is a wealth of various types of books on creativity. Michalko [9] provides a useful starting point that is more practical than academic.

ANSWERS FOR EXERCISES

5.1 Many Ph.D. students in applied fields initially think that they are doing development after filling this diagram out, because they may work with specific systems like engines, drugs, control algorithms or measurement techniques. It is, however, quite possible to do this with an aim to generate general knowledge for others to build on. If your purpose is to generalize, understand and explain, you are doing research. If the purpose is only to get something to work, it is development. In that case, you should probably discuss the contents of your research studies with your academic advisor.

5.2 Left to the reader.

5.3 If the criteria are not fulfilled, you should discuss your research with your academic advisor.

References

1. Mischke, C.R. (1980) Mathematical Model Building: An Introduction to Engineering, Iowa State University Press, Ames (IA).

2. Leedy, P.D. and Ormrod, J.E. (2005) Practical Research: Planning and Design, 8th edn, Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River (NJ).

3. Phillips, E.M. and Pugh, D.S. (1994) How to Get A PhD: A Handbook For Students and Their Supervisors, 2nd edn, Open University Press, Buckingham. ...