Week 1 advanced(3).pptx

7/27/2019 Week 1 advanced(3).pptx

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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?

Documents

Week 1 advanced(3).pptx