Study Guide

Objectives (course unit)

This fundamental course familiarizes the student with the principles and methods of academic research and academic writing. It provides the participants with a toolbox to transform the initial development work into a well-structured and logical final thesis.
*
When the student has passed the course he/she will know the following:
- difference between everyday knowledge and scientific knowledge
- meaning and justification of academic research in society
- nature of academic research
- rules and ethics of academic research
- differences between various research approaches
- most common research strategies and methods
- concepts of academic research
- critical perspective in information and sources
- research process stages
- importance of reference teqhnique
- structure of thesis
*
After completing the course the student can:
- use and apply concepts of academic research
- identify and find academic texts and sources
- choose a suitable research approach and methods
- prepare a research plan
- apply academic reference technique
- plan thesis structure
- analyze academic texts
When the student has passed the course he/she will be:
- skillful in planning research setting
- a leader to plan academic publications/documents in the organization
- a professional to analyse and produce academic texts

Content (course unit)

- Basic concepts of academic research
- Rules and ethics of academic research
- Main strategies and approaches of academic research
- Structure of academic thesis
- Analyzing academic texts
- Preparing research plan

Assessment criteria, pass/fail (course unit)

Criteria for PASS:
The student understands the overall process of designing a research project from the beginning  to the final report. He/she is able to identify ethical issues in research. He/she knows the difference between quantitative and qualitative research. The student is familiar with the criteria for evaluating the quality of a research project. The student is able to articulate a research problem, formulate research questions, develop research objectives and build a theoretical framework. He/she is familiar with basic data collection and analysis methods. The student is able to write a research proposal. 

Assessment scale

0-5