Learning objectives
At the end of the course the student is able to:
• Compare different research methodologies and their relevance
• Evaluate research strategies
• Assess the contribution of pivotal research papers in their respective field of specialisation;
• Formulate a relevant research question;
• Formulate a research plan to answer the research question;
• Write a literature review;
• Give feedback to other research proposals;
• Write critical feedback on other research proposals.
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The aim of this course is to introduce students to academic research. Students are first exposed to ongoing research projects. Researchers present work-in-progress and elaborate on their research strategy. What does the literature have to say about the research question at hand? Why is the research question relevant? What is the research about? What is the gap in the literature? And so on. Students will be exposed to different research methodologies and will be able to assess which type of methodology is suitable for a specific research question. If available, some preliminary research results will be presented. Each student is then challenged to formulate their own research question about a topic of their interest. For that students first have to conduct a literature review relevant for their research topic. Next, each student formulates their own research question that subsequently will be presented and discussed in class. Students are also expected to develop their research strategy: (i) theoretical, (ii) empirical, (iii) experimental, or any combination. In addition to formulating a research problem and suggesting a research methodology, students will discuss each other’s research ideas, in order to stimulate critical thinking and develop their analytical skills.
Format
Weekly meetings: combination of group meetings and individual meetings with the coordinator of the course.
Assessment method
• Research project (80%, individual). The following parts will be assessed: Title, literature review, research question, relevance and proposed research approach.
• Presentation (20%, individual). This grade is based on the presentation in this course.
In case online access is required for this course and you are not in the position to buy the access code, you are advised to contact the course coordinator for an alternative solution. Please note that access codes are not re-usable meaning that codes from second hand books do not work, as well as access codes from books with a different ISBN number. Separate or spare codes are usually not available.
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