Study Research Online
- Learn to plan and conduct research for any industry or discipline
- Discover ways that research skills can improve performance and sustainability of any business
- 100 hour self paced course, expert tutors
Lesson Structure
There are 7 lessons in this course:
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Determining Research Needs
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Introduction
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Identifying research needs
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The research goal
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The research question
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Other questions to clarify the research goal
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Sources of information
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What information is required
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Depth and bredth of data
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Constraining factors: time, resources
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Searching For Information
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Kind of exploratory research
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Primary data research
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Literary reviews
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Research objectives
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Research Methods
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Research terminology
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Experimentation
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A controlled environment
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Other field trial considerations
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Steps in collection and analysis of data
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Setting up a comparison trial
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Running the trial
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Evaluating the trial
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Interviewing skills
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Procedure
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Asking questions
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Types of questions
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Ways of handling difficult questions
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Using Statistics
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Introduction
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Official statistics
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Reasons for using statistics
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Disadvantages of statistics
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Issues to consider
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Descriptive statistics
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Observed and expected rates
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Confidence intervals
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Standardising
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Conducting Statistical Research
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Reliability of statistics
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Presenting statistics: pie charts, bar charts, histograms
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Descriptive statistics: mean, median, mode, variation, standard deviation, etc
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Correlation, Probability
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Research Reports
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Collecting quantitative data
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Conducting a survey
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Procedure for designing a survey
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Forms of data
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Planning a formal survey
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Designing a questionnaire
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Common problems
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Research Reporting
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Report writing tips
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Structure of a report
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The report outline
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Research papers
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Referencing
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Reporting On A Research Project
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A practical project involving construction of a proper research report
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
Aims
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Develop your ability to collect, collate and interpret data and prepare reports in ways relevant to the work environment;
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Monitor and evaluate your own work in order to develop a responsible attitude to workplace performance and quality assurance;
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Determine areas where there is a valid need for research which are relevant to area of study;
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Explain research methods, including experimental techniques, commonly used in your discipline.
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Understand of the basic statistical methods used for research;
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Locate, collect and evaluate information for a specific research purpose;
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Prepare a research report in a format which conforms to normal industry procedures.
Why Learn to Research?
For many students, their first experience with research occurred in school where they were required to prepare a research report or a presentation on a particular subject. This is the fundamental level of research, and its aim is to gather information on a topic, which is later to be presented to an intended audience (a class, teacher etc). Examples are research on a particular country, animal, or political system.
Another level of research aims at answering a research question (often called the thesis question). The information that is gathered and presented is chosen in order to answer that question. Examples of research questions are: What main social and political factors contribute to poverty in your country? Why is the Madagascan lemur an endangered species? How was language used to justify and maintain the Cold War last century? Well formulated and pertinent questions can lead to meaningful research projects that can greatly increase our understanding of the world and ourselves. The problem with this kind of research, though, is that it can be very difficult to know what questions to ask.
. For the student seeking a meaning, relevant research project, the first step is to identify a need for that research. The need not be great or immediately pressing; it can be as simple as satisfying someone’s curiosity, or as practical as seeking a way to do things better or solving a persistent workplace problem. Therefore, there is no single correct way to find a need for research. You can begin investigating by talking to people in the field, listening to their needs and problems, asking around, observing processes, and even by asking yourself: What do I want to know but can’t find the answer to?
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