Research Methodology and Data Analysis Plan

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INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
The Name of the Student
The Name of the Course
The Name of the Professor
The Name of the School
The City and State where the school is located
Date

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Table of Contents
List of Tables........................................................................................................................3
1.0 Collection of data............................................................................................................4
1.1 The available data sources...........................................................................................5
1.2 The data collection process..........................................................................................5
1.3 Storage of the collected data........................................................................................6
2.0 Design and implementation of experiment..................................................................7
2.1 Data pre-processing......................................................................................................7
2.2 Feature selection or dimension reduction....................................................................8
2.3 Experiment design........................................................................................................9
2.3.1 The design steps..................................................................................................10
2.3.2 The expected output of the research....................................................................12
2.3.3 The potential problems........................................................................................16
2.4 implementation of the research..................................................................................17
3.0 Result analysis and summary......................................................................................18
3.1 The expected results...................................................................................................18
3.2 Results analysis..........................................................................................................18
4.0 The outline of the experiment and result analysis.....................................................19

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References...........................................................................................................................21
List of Tables
Table 1: Data recording table.............................................................................................6
Table 2: A sample table which can be used for storage of data.......................................6
Table 3: Data pre-processing table.....................................................................................9
Table 4: A table of the expected output of the research.................................................12
Table 5: A table showing the hypothetical results of our research................................17

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1.0 Collection of data
Collection of data is normally the first step in the experimental process. It is very important
to collect the data which will be used in the experiment before we begin the experiment. We
have various methods which can be used in the collection of data. The major methods which are
normally used for collecting data include observation method, simulation method, and the survey
or questionnaire data collection method (Adam, Kathleen, and Bernadette, 2012, pp.68-73).
In observation method, the researcher collects the required data through direct observation
in the field and does not change any of the existing conditions in the data collection process.
Simulation method involves the use of mathematical or computer models in the replication of the
existing situations or conditions. It is one of the most expensive data collection methods and
needs a very high level of technology to be applied. Survey or questionnaire method involves
creation of some questionnaire forms which are meant to collect the required data (Fraley et al.
2011, pp.615-625). These questionnaire forms are filled by the people who may have the
required information or data. These people are normally referred to as the respondents. The
questionnaire method is the most commonly used data collection method especially when the
researchers need to collect some sensitive information from many people. The questionnaire
method will give the respondents the privacy to give their responses without any influence from
the researcher or other conditions which may manipulate their responses.

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1.1 The available data sources
Our research involves the study of the use of Bluetooth in Australia. The available sources
of the data of our research are the people who use Bluetooth technology. The available sources
of data include companies, higher learning institutions, people’s parks, and towns. The identified
sources have big crowds of people, and many of these people use Bluetooth technology. This
will simplify our data collection process since we can come across many respondents in these
places.
1.2 The data collection process
After identifying the available sources of data, the researchers should proceed to the field
to collect the required data. The best method of data collection to be applied in this research is
questionnaire method. The respondents from different places will be given the questionnaire
forms which contain the questions to be answered, and they will be allowed to give their
responses in those questionnaire forms without any undue influence (Brace, 2008). After
collecting the required data, the researchers should record their data in a table. A sample table
which can be used to record the collected data is shown below:

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Table 1: Data recording table
Data
Source
Name
Source
Organization
Data
Description
Data File
Format
URL (if
available
online)
Charge
Fee
Target
Data
Source
Data 1 Companies Workers
records
txt --- Free Yes
Data 2 Higher
learning
institutions
Students
records
txt --- Free Yes
Data 3 People’s
parks
--- txt --- Free Yes
Data 4 Towns --- txt --- Free Yes
1.3 Storage of the collected data
It is very necessary to store the collected data safely for future use. We may need to refer
to this experiment in the future and storing this data well will make our reference easier. After
collecting and recording the data, we should create another table to store the data. A sample table
which may be used for storage of the data is shown below:
Table 2: A sample table which can be used for storage of data
Data Source
Name
Date of
Collection
Saved File
Location
Saved File
Name
Saved File
Format
Number of
Data Records