ResTech 2025: Unveiling Tools and Technology Driving Research, IPR and Patents

[01]The research cycle 🔁

Six steps from my notes, in order. Research begins with a problem, and that problem need not be earth shaking. Identifying it is often the hardest part.

1. Scene01

   Identify the problem

   Work out what the problem means. Start from curiosity, research gaps, a controversy worth going deep on, or a paper worth replicating.

2. Scene02

   Develop questions, examine assumptions

   Ask what, why, where, who, when and how. Accept the critical assumptions that are fixed, like the truth table of an AND gate.

3. Scene03

   Gather data

   Collect what the question actually needs, and nothing it doesn't.

4. Scene04

   Analyse the data

   Check its accuracy before trusting it.

5. Scene05

   Interpret the data

   What do the results say about the question you started with?

6. Scene06

   Take action

   Write it up, and make the abstract and the conclusion reach the same point.

[02]Research, not search 🧠

Five things from the session, as cards. Answer them in your head first, then flip.

0 / 5 answered · tap a card to flip it

• Q01 · DefinitionsWhat is research not?Flip ↻AnswerJust gathering information. The first look is search; going into the depth of that search is research. If there's no contribution to new knowledge, it isn't research.
• Q02 · Starting pointsWhere does research start?Flip ↻AnswerCuriosity, research gaps, controversy, replication and the literature review.
• Q03 · Reading papersWhat is the multicolour, single-pen trick?Flip ↻AnswerRead the same paper again and again, a different colour each time. The words that end up highlighted in every colour are the key takeaways.
• Q04 · Problem framingWhy ask five whys, if others have already worked on the problem?Flip ↻AnswerMany people may already have tackled it. Asking why, five times over, is how you find your own way in.
• Q05 · WritingWhich two parts of a paper must reach the same point?Flip ↻AnswerThe abstract and the conclusion. The abstract says what you worked on and with which technologies; the conclusion says what came out of it.

[03]What I learned

• 🔍

  What research truly means

  A systematic inquiry to discover new knowledge, expand on what exists or solve a problem, by gathering and analysing information.

• ❓

  Six questions, one problem

  What are the facts, and what do I want to achieve? Why did the problem arise? Where does it have an impact? Who, when, and how can people and technology be involved?

• 🧭

  The traits of research

  It starts with a question, states its goal clearly, follows a plan, breaks the problem into sub-problems, and is guided by a hypothesis.

• 📄

  The shape of a paper

  Title, an introduction of no more than 800 to 1,000 words, review of related literature, conceptual framework and methodology. References with numeric citations for every borrowed paragraph.

• ⚖️

  Good research is honest

  Define the scope and limitations, write in plain language, hold high ethical standards, and never take anyone else's work.

• ©️

  IPR and patents

  Why innovative work needs protecting, and how intellectual property rights and patents do it.

[04]Credits

[05]Behind the scenes

[06]The certificate

That's a wrap ✓

Attended ResTech 2025, "Unveiling Tools and Technology Driving Research, IPR, and Patents", organised by the Soft Computing Research Society (SCRS) on 14 November 2025. Signed by Dr. Rupali Gill, Dr. Astha Gupta and Dr. Priyanka Gupta. 📜

“The first time you look something up, it's search. Going back into it, again and again, with a sharper question each time: that's research. I'm looking forward to doing more of the second kind.”