This course is designed for engineering students conducting postgraduate research work on engineering projects. The objective of the course is to translate current research methods, which are mostly from a social science perspective, into something more relatable and understandable to engineers. Our hope for this course is to go beyond the concepts to understand the actual reasons for doing research in a certain way. While engineers are the main target audience, non-engineers will find this information useful as well.
The methods taught in this course will equip you with the knowledge needed to design, plan and construct your own research process.
What constitutes good research:
- An understanding of when research is contributing to shared knowledge
- Design of the research process
- Dealing with uncertainty in research planning
- Tools required for creative research
Syllabus
Week 1: What Constitutes Research?
Week 2: What Makes Your Research a Contribution?
Week 3: Where Does My Research Fit In?
Week 4: Writing as Discovery
Week 5: Argument
Week 6: Planning