SYNOPSIS
This course covers the general principles of Research Methodology that apply to any discipline. It discusses the fundamental process of conducting academic research. The theoretical and practical aspects of preparing a research proposal are presented. Amongst topics that will be covered are an introduction to research and its philosophy, problem formulation, and research objective, literature review, research methodology and design, data collection procedures, data analysis, research proposal and thesis preparation, and research management
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOME
| CLO | PO | BLOOM’S TAXONOMY | T&L METHOD | ASSESSMENT METHOD | |
| CLO1 | Describe orally and in writing the five principal and processes of academic research (i.e.: problem formulation, literature review, research design, data collection, and data analysis) | PLO1 | C2 | LECTURE & ACTIVE LEARNING | RESEARCH PROPOSAL |
| CLO2 | Identify the research problem and research limitations related to their research from multiple sources. | PLO2 | C4 | LECTURE & ACTIVE LEARNING | RESEARCH PROPOSAL |
| CLO2 | Produce a written research proposal. | PLO5 | P4 | PROJECT BASED LEARNING | RESEARCH PROPOSAL |
| CLOW | Conduct literature search using existing research database | PLO6 | C4 | LECTURE & ACTIVE LEARNING | RESEARCH PROPOSAL & LIBRARY LITERATURE SEARCH ASSESSMENT |
Refer *Taxonomies of Learning and **UTM’s Graduate Attributes, where applicable for measurement of outcomes achievement ***IP – Individual Project; CAD – Case Analysis and Discussion; GP – Group Project; PR – Presentation; FE – Final Exam/ Final equivalent project
| NO | TOPIC |
| 1 | Introduction: What is knowledge? Philosophy of knowledge Type of research Why / Purpose of research? Level of research ; Master or PhD Research Process |
| 2 | Problem formulation What is research problem? Why need to formulate the research problem? Step in formulating research problem How to identify the research problem? Formulation of Problem Statement Formulating research question and / or hypothesis Identify research objectives Scope of research: criteria for Masters vs Doctoral Level of research. Expected outcome of research |
| 3 | LITERATURE REVIEW Rationale for literature review Approaches of Literature review Framework of literature review How to look for literature Making sense of information Writing critical review Managing reading material Making proper referencing |
| 4 | LIBRARY SEARCH |
| 5 | Research design Relationship between methodology & design Purpose of research design Developing Conceptual and operational framework Types of research design (Theory building/ testing/extension; Inductive/deductive) Steps in Research Design |
| 6 | Data collection What is data collection? Types of data: primary vs secondary qualitative and quantitative Selecting your data: sampling techniques and design Methods, tools and techniques for data collection |
| 7 | Data Analysis Types of Data Analysis Steps in Data Analysis Connecting research objective to data analysis Quantitative/Qualitative analysis |
| 8 | Technical Writing |
| 9 | Research Presentation |
| 10 | Plagarism |
