|
Course Title | Research Methods and Ethics in Information Technology |
|
Course Code | ITEC578 |
|
Type | Full Time |
|
Semester | Fall/Spring |
|
Category | Area Elective |
|
Workload | 150 Hours |
|
EMU Credit | (3,0,0) 3 |
|
Prerequisite | - |
|
Language | English |
|
Level | Graduate |
|
Teaching Format | 3 Hours Lecture |
|
ECTS Credit | 5 |
|
Course Description |
| Participants will learn the steps of conducting a research within the context of Information Technology. Research process starting from the formalization of problem, review of literature, theorizing, methodologies like qualitative, quantitative and mixed method approaches will be discussed. Writing strategies, co-authorship and role of ethics in research will also be among the topics covered. |
|
General Learning Outcomes |
On successful completion of this course students should be able to: - know the true nature of research in academic settings
- know how to choose and refine a research problem.
- conduct a literature review and I understand how it can server during the planning of a research project
- compare quantitative and qualitative research methods
- explain internal and external validity of a research
- know how to manage ethical issues related to protection from harm, voluntary and informed participation, right to privacy, and honesty with professional colleagues.
- describe general characteristics and purposes of observation studies, correlational research, development designs and survey research
- understand and recognize the examples of Experimental, Quasi-Experimental and Ex-post Facto designs
- identify situations in which mixed-methods designs are especially useful
- describe common sources of biases in a research
- plan and prepare a final research report
|
|
Teaching Methodology / Classroom Procedures |
- The course has three hours of lectures in a week.
- Class attendance is compulsory.
- Only one make-up exam will be given for the missing exams.
- Make-up exam will be given after the final exams.
- No make-up will be given for the project.
- Students are supposed to submit the assigned tasks on time.
- Course related materials will be posted on the course web site.
- Presentation of topics by the instructor, followed by class discussion.
- Work on individual projects: research on a selected topic by the students: writing a paper and presenting in class via following strictly the rules discussed among the semester.
- Work on individual projects: Term project proposals will be prepared for ITEC599.
|
|
Course Materials / Main References |
Text Book: - ·Paul D. Leedy, Jeanne Ellis Ormrod, “Practical Research Planning and Design” 11th edition, Pearson Education, 2015. ISBN: 978-1-292-07689-8
- Kenneth S. Bordens, Bruce B. Abbott, “Research Design and Methods A Process Approach”, 9th edition, McGraw-hill Education, 2014. ISBN: 978-0-07-8035456
Reference Books: - ·Gate T. Wang, Keumjae Park, “Research and Report Writing: From topic selection to the complete paper”, John Wiley & Sons,2016. ISBN:978-111-8963913
- James D. Lester, “Writing Research Papers A Complete Guide”, 15th edition, Pearson Education, 2016. ISBN:978-1-292-07689-8
- Sharon M. Ravitch, Nicole M. Carl, “Qualitative Research Bridging The Conceptual, Theoretical and Methodological”, Sage Publication, 2016. ISBN:978-1-4833-5174-2
|
Lecture Notes:download (use index.html to access the lecture notes)
|
Weekly Schedule / Summary of Topics |
| |
|
Week 1 | What research Is, philosophical assumptions underlying research methodologies, tools of research. |
|
Week 2 | Finding research project, identifying and describing the research problem, dividing the research problem into sub-problems. |
|
Week 3 | How to organize literature review, understanding when to quit. |
|
Week 4 | Research planning and methodologies, Quantitative and Qualitative approaches. |
|
Week 5 | Ethical Issues. |
|
Week 6 | How to write a project proposal. |
|
Week 7-8 | Midterm Examinations |
|
Week 9 | Quantitative research.
|
|
Week 10 | Experimental, Quasi-Experimental, and Ex Post Facto Designs.
|
|
Week 11 | Quantitative data analysis.
|
|
Week 12 | Qualitative research.
|
|
Week 13 | Qualitative data analysis.
|
|
Week 14 | Mixed Method designs.
|
|
Week 15 | Planning and preparing a final research report.
|
|
Week 16-18 | Final Examinations |
|
Requirements |
- Each student can have only one make-up exam. One who misses an exam should provide a medical report within 3 days after the missed exam. The make-up exam will be organized at the end of the term after the finals and will cover all the topics. No make-up exam will be given for any assignment.
- Once the grades are announced, the students have only one week to do objection about their grades.
- It is the students' responsibility to follow the announcement in the course web site.
- Students who do not pass the course and fail to attend the lectures regularly may be given NG grade.
|
|
Method of Assessment |
| | | |
|
Evaluation and Grading |
Project |
Midterm Exam |
Final Exam |
| Percentage | 40 % | - | 60 % |
|
Grading Criteria * |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|
A |
A- |
B+ |
B |
B- |
C+ |
C |
C- |
D+ |
D |
D- |
F |
| 90 -100 | 85 - 89 | 80 - 84 | 75 - 79 | 70 - 74 | 65 - 69 | 60 - 64 | 56 - 59 | 53 - 55 | 50 - 52 | 40 - 49 | 0 – 39 |
* Letter grades will be decided upon after calculating the averages at the end of the semester and distribution of the averages will play a significant role in the evaluation of the letter grades.
