Difference between revisions of "MSc:ResearchMethods"

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(Created page with "= Research Methods = * <span>'''Course name:'''</span> Research Methods * <span>'''Course number:'''</span> XYZ == Course Characteristics == === Key concepts of the class =...")
 
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By the end of the course, the students should be able to:
  
By the end of the course, the students should be able to:
   
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* Remember the fundamentals of statistics and probability theory
 +
* Remember the steps of research design
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* Remember the basic models for experimentation and quasi-experimentation
 +
* Remember the sources of information in Software Engineering
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* Remember the specifics and purpose of different measurement scales
 +
* Remember the concept of measurement
  +
* Remember the notion of Scientific fraud
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* Distinguish between random variable and random process
  
−
* Explain the difference between the correlation and causation
 +
* Explain the difference between 4different experimentation designs
   
 
=== - What should a student be able to understand at the end of the course? ===
  
=== - What should a student be able to understand at the end of the course? ===
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By the end of the course, the students should be able to understand:
  
By the end of the course, the students should be able to understand:
   
  +
* The difference between Science and Engineering
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* the value of experimentation for software engineers and data scientists
  
  +
* The nature of errors
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* the basic concepts of an hypothesis
  
  +
* The ethics in research
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* the concept of correlation
  
  +
* How to summarize a research paper
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* the fundamental laws in statistics
  
  +
* How to evaluate a research paper
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* the concept of Goal-Question-Metric approach
  
  +
  +
   
 
=== - What should a student be able to apply at the end of the course? ===
  
=== - What should a student be able to apply at the end of the course? ===
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By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...
  
By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...
   
  +
* Summarize a research paper
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* Apply Goal-Question-Metric approach in practice
  
  +
* Evaluate a research paper
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* Apply the fundamental principles of experimental design
  
  +
* Write good papers
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* Apply reduction to quasi-experimentation experimental design
  
  +
* Present results of the research
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* Apply statistics and probability theory in practice
  
  +
−
* Apply hypothesis testing technique in software analysis
  
   
 
=== Course evaluation ===
  
=== Course evaluation ===

Revision as of 22:17, 26 August 2021

Research Methods

  • Course name: Research Methods
  • Course number: XYZ

Course Characteristics

Key concepts of the class

  • Goal-Question-Metric approach
  • Experimental design
  • Basics of statistics

What is the purpose of this course?

The main purpose of this course is to present the fundamentals of empirical methods and fundamental statistics to the future software engineers and data scientists, on one side providing the scientific fundamentals of the disciplines, and on the other anchoring the theoretical concepts on practices coming from the world of software development and engineering. As a side product, the course also refreshes the basics of statistics, providing the basis for more advanced statistical courses in the following semester(s) of study.

Course objectives based on Bloom’s taxonomy

- What should a student remember at the end of the course?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to:

  • Remember the steps of research design
  • Remember the sources of information in Software Engineering
  • Remember the concept of measurement
  • Remember the notion of Scientific fraud
  • Explain the difference between 4different experimentation designs

- What should a student be able to understand at the end of the course?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to understand:

  • The difference between Science and Engineering
  • The nature of errors
  • The ethics in research
  • How to summarize a research paper
  • How to evaluate a research paper


- What should a student be able to apply at the end of the course?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...

  • Summarize a research paper
  • Evaluate a research paper
  • Write good papers
  • Present results of the research


Course evaluation

Course grade breakdown
Points
Project proposal 45
Interim performance assessment (class participation) 10
Final presentation 45

Each component will be assessed on a scale 0-10, where 6 is the minimum passing grade. In case of exceptional work a 10 cum laude will be assigned, with a numeric value from 10 to 13 at the discretion of the instructor.

The grading, though, is not a simple linear combination of the components above. In particular:

  • failing any part of the evaluation will trigger a failure in the entire course,
  • if there are not failing components, the final grade will be computed as a weighted average of the components above approximated at the highest second digit and then rounded to the closest integer.

Retakes

Retakes will be run as comprehensive oral exam, where the student will be assessed the acquired knowledge coming from the textbooks, the lectures, the labs, and the additional required reading material, as supplied by the instructor. During such comprehensive oral the student could be asked to solve exercises and to explain theoretical and practical aspects of the course.

Grades range

Course grading range
Range
A. Excellent 95-100
B. Good 75-94
C. Satisfactory 55-74
D. Poor 0-54

Resources and reference material

  • Donald T. Campbell and Julian C. Stanley. Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research. Rand McNally College Publishing, 1963
  • Creswell, John W. Educational research: planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research / John W. Creswell. — 4th ed.

Course Sections

The main sections of the course and approximate hour distribution between them is as follows:

Course Sections
Section Section Title Teaching Hours
1 Theory of research 16
2 Research domains 12
3 Students' presentations 6

Section 1

Section title: Theory of research

Topics covered in this section:

  • Introduction to the course
  • Scientific and engineering research
  • Experimentation
  • Scientific “productivity”
  • Ethics in Research
  • Writing good papers
  • Being a reviewer
  • Influence and presentations

What forms of evaluation were used to test students’ performance in this section?

Yes/No
Homework and group projects 0
Midterm evaluation 0
Testing (written or computer based) 0
Reports 0
Essays 1
Oral polls 0
Discussions 1

Typical questions for ongoing performance evaluation within this section

  1. XXX


Typical questions for seminar classes (labs) within this section

  1. XXX

Section 2

Section title: Research domains

Topics covered in this section:

  • SSE research
  • Robotics research

What forms of evaluation were used to test students’ performance in this section?

Yes/No
Homework and group projects 0
Midterm evaluation 0
Testing (written or computer based) 0
Reports 0
Essays 1
Oral polls 0
Discussions 1

Typical questions for ongoing performance evaluation within this section

  1. XXX

Typical questions for seminar classes (labs) within this section

  1. XXX

Test questions for final assessment in the course

  1. XXX

Section 3

Section title: Students' presentations

Topics covered in this section:

  • Final project presentations

What forms of evaluation were used to test students’ performance in this section?

Yes/No
Homework and group projects 1
Midterm evaluation 0
Testing (written or computer based) 0
Reports 0
Essays 1
Oral polls 0
Discussions 1

Typical questions for ongoing performance evaluation within this section

  1. XXX

Typical questions for seminar classes (labs) within this section

  1. XXX

Test questions for final assessment in the course

  1. XXX
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