What

After finalising module 6, where we studied the concepts of network security in-depth, focusing on models and frameworks to conduct penetration tests, this module presented a very important topic going towards the completion of this course, Research Methods.

The Research Methods and Professional Practice module provides not just a practical base for research methods but also a critical view of the social, legal, cultural and ethical issues that affect computing professionals (University of Essex, N.D.). This module also includes data collection methods, research design, measurement of variables, and sampling. Heading towards completing this course, following this module's content allowed me to gain knowledge and understanding that will help me complete my final project.

Before starting this course, I had several objectives in terms of gaining knowledge strictly linked to my career; among those was the one about research and how to effectively produce results that can be scientifically proved and at the same time comply with codes of ethics while observing societal and legal aspects. In this context, the key questions were: How do I structure the final dissertation? How to achieve results by using valid methodologies? How to conduct the final project by observing ethical, societal, and legal rules.

So What?

Reviewing the ethical base of research was an excellent way of starting the module. Knowing the considerations we have to take into account in relation to the research participants is key to avoiding harm and protecting their privacy and autonomy. The collaborative discussion focusing on ethics applied to AI research was a perfect way to complete the understanding of the relevant concepts. Among these, the two main ways of reasoning (inductive and deductive) were an exciting journey to the times when I studied logic as a pre-graduated student. Refreshing these concepts was something I really enjoyed.

While studying Units 2 and 3, the parts that compose the Research Proposal became more apparent. Something really good about this module is the structure of its units, which provide knowledge to complete the assignments promptly. At this point, I was particularly interested in the literature review topic as it would be required to submit the first assignment for this module. After struggling a bit to choose a title for the literature review, I decided that I wanted to work with the Cloud computing concept as generic and take the security risks as something more specific. Watching the seminars, I realised I still needed to drill down on the concept to find something even more specific.

Just before the middle of the module, the concepts and types of data collection allowed me to define and confirm I wanted to do qualitative research. Thinking about work, where we maintain and develop features on a cloud-based system relative to growing as a professional, the idea of studying the implications in terms of security was convincing me more and more. I decided to base the initial literature review on e-learning. This meant I made the title even more specific by introducing e-learning, and at the same time, I could use my current practical knowledge of cloud services.

Thinking about the research proposal, having specific information and examples on how to conduct the relevant data collection measured my previous ideas and also the data collection I was performing for the literature review assignment. The second collaborative discussion presented questions about ethics, legal and societal responsibilities; the result of the discussion was a timely call to consider these aspects when writing the research proposal and, more importantly, when doing the actual research.

Towards the end of the module, and having received my marks for the literature review assignment, I understood I had to work on reducing the turnitin rating. This rating was 28%, which I know is not ideal, but it was the first time I got this type of result. Learning about the different sections of a dissertation completes the picture for me, and I could then finalise the research proposal, in which I introduced the concept of AI by adding the relatively new cloud model service called Artificial Intelligence as a service (AIaaS). I found not much information about using this service directly with a cloud-based e-learning system, so it could potentially be the topic I will use for my dissertation. 

Statistics. Considering the examples and statistics exercises, the module's structure was very convenient. I believe they included the most common  aspects that can be applied to research. Statistical calculations in data analysis use descriptive or inferential statistics; the first covers Central Tendency and Variability, and the second covers Differences between means and Variances ( Khan et al., 2023). I enjoyed working through the examples and the exercises provided and, at the same time, refreshed my knowledge of this topic.

Now what?

Not remembering much about the scientific method and research as a whole process, this module allowed me to look at the next module (Dissertation) with more confidence. Taking things from the beginning an having a structure to work on our next project is something priceless and provide us a path to follow towards its completion.

It feels like this is not the reflections on this module but on the whole course. I have gained a lot of new knowledge and also refreshed the existent existent one. Overall, I feel like I have completed my primary goal which was to become more confident when interacting with new trends at work and also looking at trying to apply for a new role with more responsibilities and more demanding in terms of multidisciplinary knowledge.

References

Khan,J., Raman,A., Sambamoorthy, N., & Prashanth,K. (2023). Research Methodology (Methods, Approaches And Techniques). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.59646/rmmethods/040

The University of Essex (N.D.) MSc Computer Science. Available from: https://online.essex.ac.uk/courses/msc-computer-science/ [Accessed 29 May 2024]