The Concept of Originality in Academic Research of Engineering

Table 3

: Rationale of the questions added in the questionnaire given in Table 3 (Annex B).

Question no. (in Table 3)	Rationale
Q1 and 2	The difference between the research conducted in the academics and industry is worked by [18, 29] (cuhk.edu.hk/clear/rs/research_in_institutions.pdf) and cited in the literature review section. The questions are included to have peer’s input on its practical recognition.
Q3, 4, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24	The study conducted by Mallard and Lamont [30] (cited in the literature review) considered research of a few domains different from others. Barlosius [13] worked on the concept of originality in natural/medical sciences and engineering disciplines only and emphasized the difference in the concepts of the research in different domains. The questions are included to have peer’s input on its practical recognition.
Q5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 18, 23, and 24	Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) and Higher Education Commission Pakistan (HEC) specified the qualification of masters’s degree research to be an application of an advanced body of knowledge in a range of contexts for research and scholarship. The specification of the doctoral degree includes applying a substantial body of knowledge to research, investigate, and develop new knowledge [32, 33]
Q10, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24	The definitions and concepts of originality as presented by different researchers in many studies referred in the literature review [3, 7, 13, 25, 34] among others emerged the needs of classifying different forms of existing research studies including but not limited to surveys, applications of a theory/concept from body of knowledge, critical reviews, and many more into one of the nonresearch, academic research, and industrial research classes.
Q14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24	The definition of originality in thesis/dissertation is concluded above after thorough review of multiple definitions and concepts of originality given in the literature. Contribution to the body of knowledge as a requisite for research is almost agreed among the researchers. These questions are framed to identify such contributions in the existing types of problems which are researched.