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School of European Studies and
Communication Management
*
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*This course is a sequel to Introduction to
Research Skills
*We are going to build on what you learned last
year and acquire new skills
*You may want to review the materials from IRS
on 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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*
*Everyone must get a copy of the course manual
and bring it to class, but not necessarily on
paper
*Were going to be doing and discussing a lot of
things that require technology (desk research,
information processing) so bring your computer
if you want*Tablets and smart phones are welcome (if used
appropriately)
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*Later this semester you are going to learn andpractice data analysis
*Well be using spreadsheets so you will want tofamiliarise yourself with spreadsheet software (Excel,Numbers, etc.)
*There is a separate course on Excel (see Blackboard)this semester
*It is self-study with teacher office hours for questions
* It is a separate course with a a separate exam but it willhelp you with some of the skills you need for this course
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*For an overview of the course and a weekly
programme, 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
you will work on throughout the semester
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*Why another Research Skills course?
*Because research and reasoning are essential survivalskills
*Your research skills will help you in studying for othercourses
*The research methods you learn will assist you in thenear future (Projects like Europe@Home and Europe 21)and further ahead (your final paper)
*Remember, no matter what career path you choose, youwill need to understand research
* You may have to do it for your job
* You willhave to read, study and analyse it
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*Looking back at Introduction to Research Skills
*Discuss what you learned last year
*About research, critical thinking, argumentation and report writing,for example
*Discuss the challenges of doing research
* What parts aere easy and what parts are hard?
*Discuss what you would do differently next time?
*Because lucky for you, next time is now
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* In Introduction to Research Skillsyou learned
*To create a Research Plan
*Starting with a central question and sub-questions
* Chosing and justifying research methods
*To conduct research
* Gathering and evaluating sources through desk researchand an Annotated Bibliography
* Interviewing
*Critical Thinking* Analysing information
* Avoiding bias and fallacy
* Reaching reasonable, logical conclusions usuingReasoning Trees and other tools
*To present research
*Writing an APA style report with proper documentation
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*
*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 and interactive lectures/workshops,feedback sessions and conferences
* Check the weekly schedule in the manual* Some lectures will be podcasted afterwards for review
purposes
* Throughout the semester you will work on a new researchproject
* A feasibility study based on desk research, a questionnaire,and another method of your own choosing
* There are no required textbooks but students are advised toconsult Researching Social Life or Research Methods forBusiness Students for help with their questionnaire and othermethods
* See manual for details
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*This semester, you will hand in
*A Research plan for Feedback
*A questionnaire and Pilot test report for 30% of yourfinal grade
*A Final Report including processed data for 70% ofyour final grade
*A peer assessment in which you give yourteammates a grade that will count for 10% of the
grade for your report*Details are in your manual and deadlines are
forthcoming. Consult your manual, Blackboard andyour teacher regularly
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*This course is about feasibility research
*Research where the central question is focused
on whether or not an idea is feasible (practical,likely to succeed, etc.)
* It is commonly used in policy development andmarketing in both the public and private sector
*Feasibility research will be discussed in more
detail in week 3*But to get ready, you need to get to work
exploring possible topics
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*
*Semester 3 is all about making decisions and getting thingsdone
* In the public sector
* In policy making, etc.
* In the private sector
* In export and business strategy
*This theme is present in most of your courses
* EPP, Decision-Making in the EU, Export, Negotiating Policy InEnglish, Policy Argumentation/Argumentatie, etc.
* Informed decision making is essential
* You have to react to the world around you and respond to newdevelopments, but you cannot react without thinking
* If you want your organisation to succeed or survive you need tomake informed decisions
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*Informed decisions require research andcritical thinking
*Governments, NGOs and businesses always doextensive research before taking decisions
*Before any new policy, product or strategy islaunched, extensive research is done todetermine
*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 conductfeasibility research by doing it
*You will start by coming up with an idea and designing
a research plan to test its feasibility*You will do extensive desk research on your topic (and
keep track of it with an annotated bibliography)
*You will conduct a questionnaire to determine publicopinion (and to practice quantitative methods)
*You will choose and implement a third researchmethod
*You will write a report documenting your research anddetermining the feasibility of your idea
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*
*That sounds like a lot of work, but dont worry
* Its a step by step process and were going to go
through it together, step by step
*Right now were just getting started and to do
that, the first thing you need is a topic
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*
* You are free to choose your own topic within certain guidelines
* Your research must be about testing the feasibility of an idea (will it succeed?)
* Here are some examples of acceptable topics (see pg. 11 in the manual for
details)* Think of a possible government policy meant to solve a social, economic or
cultural problem and test its feasibility
* Think of a specific strategy or programme for an NGO to meet a specific needand test its feasibility
* You can use an existing NGO or make one up and try to find out if anyone would supportit
* Think of a business plan (a new product or an export plan) and evaluate thelikelihood of success
* You will need a topic next week so start thinking about it now
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*
*The best way to make research easy (and possibly
fun) is to work on a topic youre interested in
*Remember: it all starts with a topic*You start with something that interests you,
formulate a question you want to answer, choose
the right methods and apply them, documenting
and analysing what you find along the way
*When you have enough information, you answeryour question
*Consider this simple diagram
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* Following this process leads to a natural way of structuring a report
*An introductionwhich lays out the central question and sub-questions
*Methodsan explanation of what methods were chosen to answerquestions and why
* Resultsa straightforward report of what you found, withoutanalysis
* Discussion/Analysisa critical look at the results that findsrelationships, important developments and leads to
* ConclusionsWhat you know nowthe answer to yourquestion(s)
* RecommendationsWhat should happen next (further study, etc.)often included in with the conclusions
* In short, what should we do with the knowledge we have now?
Topic
Research
questions
Key termsDesk
Research
Qualitative
ResearchQuantitative
Research
Results Results
Conclusions /
Discussion
Feedback
i
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*
* In a nutshell, research involves:
* 1. Figuring out what you want to know
*2. Deciding on the best way to get the information youneed
* 3. Getting the information and analysing it
* 4. Checking to see if you know what you wanted to know
* 5. Deciding what to do next now that you have an answer
* Its that simple, and it all depends on one thing: a goodcentral question
* One that is either descriptive, explanatory, exploratory or aimedat testing a hypothesis
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*
*The Central question is the focus of the wholeproject
*The main thing you want to know* In this course, the central question is about
feasibility
*Sub-questions
*Break the main topic down into smaller elements
*Do not include new elements
*Answering each sub-question should provide ananswer to the central question
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*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 the question
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Remember the criteria for research and researchmethods:
*Reliability: when the research is done twice, it shouldlead to the same results
*Validity: does the research measure what it intends tomeasure?
*Generalization: can these results be generalized to
other cases?* Checkability: is the report clear enough to evaluate the
study?
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*
*We will discuss other methods in the coming weeks,but well start with a refresher on Desk Research
*What do you remember about
* Its purpose
* The methods
* The risks
* Tips for effective desk research
*What do you remember about evaluating credibility
and identifying argumentation?* Bias, for example
*How can you guarantee that your sources aretrustworthy?
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* Desk Research is usually done first
* Most research projects start with a Literature Review
* To find out what is already known, to find theories to test or to
identify knowledge gaps* 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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*When doing desk research, you must remember touse APA style to document your sources because
*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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*Lets do some desk research together
*Whats something you want to know about?
*Give me a central question
*Well break it into search terms
*Heres one to start us off:
*What is the most successful music album of all
time?* Take a guess first for fun
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*Whatever youre researching, remember:
*Google is not always the answer
* Remember: they are in the advertising business, notthe information business
*You should always consult multiple sources and be
careful about credibility
*Make sure your conclusion is logical and backed up
by the evidence* Use a Reasoning Tree if you remember how
* XXXX is the best-selling of all time because/according to.
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*Research is a simple process
* Ask a clear question, choose the best ways to find answers,gather information, analyse it (being careful about credibility)
and reach a logical answer through reasoning* Review your Introduction to Research Skills manual if you need to
* Most research starts with preliminary desk research
* To get familiar with the topic and stakeholders and to refine researchquestions
* Desk research looks easy, but it requires caution and care
* You need to go beyond Google and use multiple sources
* You need to be careful who you trust
* You need to document everything carefully in APA Style
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* Next week, we will partner up and get started on yourfeasibility research. To do that, everyone must
* Come up with 1-3 ideas
*Review the directions in the manual and pick something that meetsthe criteria, 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
* Do some preliminary research on your topic ideas
* Identify important issues, stakeholders, etc.
* Be prepared to explain your research methods and to present
your 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
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*
*Questions?
*Comments?
*Criticism?
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