Academic Research Methodology for Master’s Students (FutureLearn)

Examine the cyclical research process and inductive research
Alongside leading academics at Coventry University, you’ll identify how to define topics worthy of research and the main issues to solve using the cyclical research process.
You’ll discover how to apply inductive reasoning to your research process and collect data that informs your work.

Explore how to develop and define research questions
As you come to understand the importance of the initial choices and plans made when developing a project, you’ll have the opportunity to learn how to define research problems and create a research plan outlining the actions needed to reach your goals.
Through an exploration of research questions examples, you’ll develop a research question for a real-life proposed piece of research.
You should also learn how to develop an informed rationale and hypothesis for a research question.
By the end of the course, you should have the tools and research skills you need to develop a strong research question for a proposed piece of research.
This course is part of the program Management Research Skills, which is one of the building blocks that leads to a degree in MA Management (Advanced Standing).

What topics will you cover?

• The cyclical research process
• Defining the problem
• Inductive research
• Action planning
• Defining research questions
• Rationale
• Hypotheses
• Example Research Question of studying change

-Linking questions to Sustainable Development Goals

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

• Identify the cyclical research process
• Assess different ways to define problems in the management setting
• Investigate potential research questions
• Interpret the research concepts of the rationale and hypothesis
• Develop a research question for a proposed piece of research