week 1 advanced(2).pptx

8/14/2019 Week 1 advanced(2).pptx

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Welcome

This course is a sequel to Introduction to ResearchSkills

We are going to build on what you learned last year

and acquire new skills You may want to review the materials from IRSon your

own to refresh your memory

Things are going to be a little different.

There is less guidance you are on your own now


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Excel(lence)

Later this semester you

are going to learn andpractice data analysis

Well be usingspreadsheets so you will

want to familiariseyourself with spreadsheetsoftware (Excel)


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Course

IntroductionFor an overview of the course and a weeklyprogramme, consult the manual

Today we will

Review what you know about research

Discuss goals for this semester

Get to work on your next big assignment, which youwill work on throughout the semester


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Why another Research Skills course? Because research and reasoning are essential

survival skills

Your research skills will help you in studying for

other courses and for later on


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Looking Back

at last year

Discuss what you learned last year

About research, critical thinking, argumentation and reportwriting, for example

Discuss the challenges of doing research

What parts are easy and what parts are hard?

Discuss what you would do differently next time?


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In Introduction to Research Skillsyou learned To create a Research Plan

Starting with a central question and sub-questions

Choosing and justifying research methods

To conduct research Gathering and evaluating sources through desk research and an Annotated

Bibliography

Interviewing

Critical Thinking Analysing information

Avoiding bias and fallacy

Reaching reasonable, logical conclusions using Reasoning Trees and othertools

To present research

Writing an APA style report with proper documentation


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Goals for AdvancedResearch

This semester youre going to review and repeat that

process Step by step

With new methods

You are going to study and practice questionnaire

design and explore other methods

You are going to work together in small groups (nomore than three people)

And this time, youre also going to grade each other


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This course consists of a mix of informative andinteractive lectures/workshops, feedback

sessions and conferences

Throughout the semester you will work on anew research project

A feasibility study based on desk research, aquestionnaire, and another method of yourown choosing


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Assessment

This semester, you will hand in

1. A Research plan for Feedback

2. A questionnaire and Pilot test report for 30% of your

final grade3. A Final Report including processed data for 70% ofyour final grade

4. A peer assessment in which you give your teammatesa grade that will count for 10% of the grade for your

report

Details are in your manual and deadlines areforthcoming. Consult your manual and the Blackboard


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Informed Decisions

Informed decisions require research and criticalthinking

Governments, NGOs and businesses always doextensive research before taking decisions

Before any new policy, product or strategy is

launched, extensive research is done to determine

The likelihood of success

How the general public (voters, donors, consumers)and other stakeholders will react.


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In the coming weeks, you will learn how to conduct feasibilityresearch by doing it

You will start by coming up with an idea and designing aresearch plan to test its feasibility

You will do extensive desk research on your topic (and keeptrack of it with an annotated bibliography)

You will conduct a questionnaire to determine public opinion(and to practice quantitative methods)

You will choose and implement a third research method

You will write a report documenting your research and

determine the feasibility of your idea


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Dont Panic

That sounds like a lot of work, butdont worry

Its a step by step process and weregoing to go through it together, stepby step

Right now were just getting started

and to do that, the first thing youneed is a topic


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The 5 steps of the

research process1. Pick a topic youre interested in

2. Formulate a question you want to answer

3. Choose the right methods and apply them

4. Analyse the data

5. Reach conclusions and recommendations


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Research Questions

The Central question is the focus of the wholeproject

The main thing you want to know. In this course, thecentral question is about feasibility

Sub-questions

Break the main topic down into smaller elements Answering each sub-question should provide an

answer to the central question


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Reviewing methods

Once you have clear questions, you can choose methodsthat will help you answer them

Qualitative Researchaiming for in-depth, quality ofinformation

Desk Researchrequired in every case

Interviewsan option in this course

Focus Groupsan option in this course

Quantitative ResearchInformation that can be gathered,expressed and analysed in terms of numbers

Surveysrequired in this course Statistical Analysisrequired in this course

Each has advantages and disadvantages

Thats why you select them carefully depending on thequestion


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Refreshing Desk

Research

What do you remember?


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Desk Research

Desk Research is usually done first

Most research projects start with a Literature Review

General sources are usually consulted first

Stakeholders (experts or organisations involved with thesubject of your research) are considered and investigated

It should

Have theoretical relevance

Filling in gaps in (your) scientific knowledge Have practical relevance

It should answer a lot of questions

About stakeholders, policy, etc.


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Lets not forget

When doing desk research, you must rememberto use APA style to document your sourcesbecause

Otherwise, you could be accused of plagiarism

Its important that a reader be able to easily find thesource for themselves

It helps you keep track of your information

Many of you still need to work on this

Review the Introduction to Research Skills manualand podcasts

Study the APA manual on Blackboard


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Whatever youre researching, remember:

Google is not always the answer Remember: they are in the advertising business, not the

information business

You should always consult multiple sources and becareful about credibility. Should you trust a source andwhy?

Make sure your conclusion is logical and backed up bythe evidence


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Homework

Next week, we will partner up and get started on your feasibilityresearch. To do that, everyone must

1. Come up with 1-3 ideasReview the directions in the manual and pick something that meets thecriteria, but make sure its something that interests you

Feel free to look at your other courses for inspiration you arewelcome to use a topic youre working on in another course

2. Do some preliminary research on your topic ideasIdentify important issues, stakeholders, etc.

3. Be prepared to explain your research methods and to presentyour findings

Use at least one source you did not get from Google

Please note that this is an individual assignment We wont be forming groups until next week

week 1 advanced(2).pptx

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