Research Methodology for Academics and Students #251107

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Formulate a clear, focused, and researchable problem statement and set of objectives/hypotheses.

• Differentiate between major research paradigms (e.g., positivism, interpretivism, pragmatism) and choose an appropriate approach for their research topic.

• Design a robust research plan, selecting from quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods methodologies.

• Develop effective data collection instruments (e.g., surveys, interview protocols) and apply sampling strategies.

• Identify and apply basic techniques for quantitative and qualitative data analysis.

• Understand the principles of academic integrity, research ethics, and avoidance of plagiarism.

• Structure and write a research proposal, thesis chapter, or journal article to a high academic standard.

This course is essential for individuals embarking on or currently engaged in academic research:

• Postgraduate Students (Master’s and PhD level) across all disciplines

• Early-Career Researchers and Academics

• Advanced Undergraduate Students preparing for honours or final-year projects

• Research Assistants and Fellows

• Professionals in any field seeking to develop evidence-based practice through research

• Pre-assessment
• Live group instruction
• Use of real-world examples, case studies and exercises
• Interactive participation and discussion
• Power point presentation, LCD and flip chart
• Group activities and tests
• Each participant receives a binder containing a copy of the presentation
• slides and handouts
• Post-assessment

Day 1: The Foundations of Academic Research

• Morning Session: The Research Process Unveiled

  • The Anatomy of a Research Project: From Idea to Publication.

  • Formulating a Research Problem: Gaps, Problems, Questions, and Hypotheses.

  • Conducting and Writing a Critical Literature Review.

• Afternoon Session: Research Paradigms and Philosophy

  • Introduction to Epistemology and Ontology: What is knowledge and what is reality?

  • Understanding Paradigms: Positivism, Interpretivism, Critical Theory, Pragmatism.

  • Workshop: Critique a published article to identify its underlying research paradigm.

Day 2: Research Design and Methodology

• Morning Session: Quantitative Research Design

  • Experimental, Quasi-Experimental, and Correlational Designs.

  • Establishing Causality, Validity (Internal & External), and Reliability.

• Afternoon Session: Qualitative and Mixed-Methods Design

  • Case Studies, Ethnography, Phenomenology, and Grounded Theory.

  • The Rationale for Mixed-Methods: Triangulation and complementarity.

  • Practical Exercise: Select and justify a research design for a sample research question.

Day 3: Data Collection Strategies

• Morning Session: Quantitative Data Collection

  • Survey Design: Crafting effective questions, scales (Likert, semantic differential), and avoiding bias.

  • Sampling Strategies: Probability (random, stratified) vs. Non-Probability (purposive, snowball) sampling.

• Afternoon Session: Qualitative Data Collection

  • Designing Semi-Structured Interviews and Focus Group Discussions.

  • Observation and Document Analysis.

  • Workshop: Develop an interview protocol and conduct a mock interview with a peer.

Day 4: Data Analysis and Interpretation

• Morning Session: Introduction to Quantitative Analysis

  • Preparing Data: Coding, data entry, and cleaning.

  • Descriptive Statistics (mean, median, standard deviation) and Inferential Statistics (t-tests, chi-square, correlation).

  • Introduction to statistical software (e.g., SPSS, R, or Excel).

• Afternoon Session: Introduction to Qualitative Analysis

  • Thematic Analysis: Coding, categorizing, and identifying themes.

  • Content Analysis and Discourse Analysis.

  • Ensuring Trustworthiness: Credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability.

  • Hands-On Lab: Perform a basic thematic analysis on a short transcript.

Day 5: Ethics, Writing, and Proposal Development

• Morning Session: Academic Integrity and Research Ethics

  • Plagiarism and Proper Citation Practices (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

  • Ethical Principles: Informed Consent, Anonymity, Confidentiality, and Minimizing Harm.

  • Navigating Institutional Review Board (IRB) / Ethics Committee Applications.

• Afternoon Session: The Research Proposal and Capstone

  • Structuring a Research Proposal: Title, Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Timeline, References.

  • Capstone Activity: Participants present their own research idea or proposal outline and receive structured feedback from the group and facilitator.

  • Course Recap: Next Steps in Your Research Journey.

  • Final Q&A and Certification.