Towards a framework of research methodology choices in Systems Engineering

Systems engineering researchers are repeatedly faced with a series of choices related to what to study. But there is another important parallel consideration that involves decisions about how to perform a study. This paper focuses on the latter by exploring specific questions related to research methodology choices in systems engineering. These questions include: (1) why is methodology important in systems engineering? (2) what is the difference between methodology and method? (3) what methodological choices exist and which choices are better than others? (4) how do you connect theory, methodology and domain? We view methodological choices as a set of dilemmas that the researcher must reconcile and we discuss reasons for methodological choices in systems engineering. We propose connections between theory, methodology and domain and provide implications for researchers given these discussions. Introduction In its most basic sense, science is the journey of discovery. The process of scientific research is seen as “Generating knowledge about what you believe the world is.” [Lee 2008]. Basic research tells us something we didn’t know before whereas applied research provides the answers to a specific problem as well as contributing to theory. In the context of this paper, systems engineering research is taken to be that which aims to advance the discipline of systems engineering in traditional or new domains. It specifically excludes both research which simply takes systems engineering data as an input to answer questions in another discipline (where methodology would be determined by the considerations of that discipline), and product development which might follow a systems engineering process but does not seek to enhance the process or the understanding thereof (where the systems engineering process itself defines the steps to be taken): Included Examples of SE research:  Analysing SE performance, based on established processes and heuristics, and CSER 2010