Study Guide

Objectives (course unit)

In this course, the participants familiarize themselves with the principles and methods of academic research and academic writing at Master’s level at a university of applied sciences. It provides the participants with a toolbox to transform the initial development work into a well-structured and logical final thesis. The course will introduce participants to the various research paradigms for the discipline. The module will consider the differences between ‘academic’ and ‘practitioner-based’ research and enquiry and the importance of methodology.

After completing the course, the participants will be able to:

- know concepts, nature, rules and ethics of academic research
- know some of the most common research approaches and methods
- analyse academic texts
- plan the research process effectively
- build a meaningful structure for their thesis
- apply concepts of academic research in their own Master’s thesis
choose and apply suitable research approach and methods

Content (course unit)

Concepts in academic research
Most common research approaches and methods
Structure of academic research
Academic research process
Research plan

Assessment criteria, pass/fail (course unit)

The student understands the overall process of designing a research project from the beginning to the final report. The student can identify ethical issues in research and 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 can articulate a research problem, formulate research questions, develop research objectives and build a theoretical framework. The student is familiar with basic data collection and analysis methods and can write a research proposal.

Assessment scale

0-5