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2009)
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T-106-5550 Research methods, 5 ECTS
Research methods in Engineering Education Research
In Spring 2010 the research methods course will concentrate on
analyzing Engineering Education Research (EER) literature. EER
will be interpreted in the
course context in a broad sense, so that it includes not only
educational research in technology education but also in nearby fields,
like computing education, mathematics education, physics education and
chemistry education, as well as educational technology.
The goal is to
study, how the research has been carried out and how various research
approaches have been applied. Specifically the course will seek
answers to the following questions:
- How have the research questions been formulated?
- What kind of research approaches (qualitative, quantitative,
constructive...) have been applied?
- What specific research methods have been used?
- How has the selection of the research approach / methods been
argued?
- What methods have been used for data collection, if any?
- What kind of results have been achieved?
- In which ways the results have been evaluated critically?
Based on this inquiry the participants will elaborate their own
research plan.
After the course, the participants should be able
- to give an overview of the EER field, what kind of research is
carried out
- to identify different types of research approaches, explain what
kind research methods they include and what kind results are possible
to achieve, when using them
- to explain the basics of a number of data collection methods
- to explain a number of criteria to discuss the validity of
research results
- write a preliminary research plan
The course will not concentrate on any specific research method so that
the participants would be fully capable of applying it after the
course. This is out of scope because of the breadth of the theme
and the time limits of the course.
Prerequisites
The course is directed to doctoral students who are in an early phase
in planning their own research. Research topics falling in EER
(in the mentioned broad sense) are obviously best fit with this
course. However, doctoral students from other fields may well
benefit from the course, and are accepted. Also MSc, students
working with their Master's thesis could benefit from the course.
The number of participans is limited to 12 students. In case the number
of applications exceeds this number, doctoral students in EER are given
preference.
Course requirements
The participants are expected to submit the required essays and other
works within the course schedule, as well as participate all sessions
and carry out required assignments during the sessions.
Grading
The course is graded using scale fail,
pass, pass with distinction (0-3-5).
Schedule
The course will be organized in three sessions, on separate days.
Between the session the participants will work on individual and/or
team work assignments. The main theme of assignments are given
below.
Session 1, February 19th, 10-14
- Introduction, course goals and arrangements
- Overview of the research process
- Identifying the research problems
- Role of literature
- Research approaches
- Data collection and analyses
- Evaluating the results
Between Sessions 1 and 2 the participants will read a number of
articles, and prepare in teams a summary of observations on these
research works.
Session 2, March 26th, 10-16
- Discussion on findings in the papers
- Formulating research problems
- Choosing the research approach / methods
- Planning data collection
- Evaluating research quality
Between Sessions 2 and 3 the participants will choose one research
approach (or two) which they find most interesting and relevant to
their work, prepare a summary of relevant aspects in the approach, and
survey the literature to find different kinds of example research in
which this approach has been applied, and discuss their findings.
Session 3, April 23rd, 10-16
- Presentation of results of the assignments
- Discussion of findings
- Discussion on "lessons learned"
Between sessions 3 and 4 the participants will work on their personal
research plan.
Session 4, May 21st, 10-16
- Presentations and feedback on individual research plans
Venue
The course will take place at
Tietotekniikan talo (Konemiehentie 2, Otaniemi, Espoo). Room
A106, ground floor.
Registration
The course registration is carried out by sending email to Lauri Malmi
(Lauri.Malmi at tkk.fi). In the email you should give the
following information:
- Your name
- Student number (for TKK students only)
- Brief description of your previous studies
- Motivation for taking this course
- Brief description of your research topic, if you have one
- If you have publications, you could include them (as attachments
in PDF) to show what kind of research you have been doing
DL for registration is Tuesday 16th February.
For more information
Please, contact Lauri Malmi
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
email: Lauri.Malmi at tkk.fi
phone: +358 - 9 - 470 23236, fax +358 - 9 - 470 23293
Please note that the former lecturer of this course, PhD Päivi
Kinnunen, is not involved any more in arrangements with this
course.
Note. This course is separate from the larger international EER research
training course, which is running in 2010. There is clear
overlap - so students who will participate the larger course should
not apply on this course.
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