Research Methodology

Recommended Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Teaching Methods

The course unit is taught in a way that encourages students’ participation and strong interactivity.

The methodologies may vary according to the topics addressed, but there is always a combination of expositive approaches with the use of activities with a practical focus and/or that promote critical thinking.

Learning Outcomes

This unit aims to describe the main research paradigms and methodologies, in a way that stimulates their critical evaluation and helping students to design, define and assess a research project, as well as to analyse the research approaches used in empirical studies conducted by other researchers.

As outcomes of the teaching-learning process, the student should be able to:

• Identify and reflect upon the main paradigms and research approaches, evaluating them in a critical way;

• Critically assess the secondary sources of data, namely in what concerns their credibility, validity and relevance to the research purposes;

• Discussing different research methods and techniques and understanding their main advantages and shortcomings;

• Designing and validating some instruments for collecting data

• Using some techniques and tools to analyse quantitative and qualitative data, being aware of the requisites that they imply.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

Giving a similar emphasis to quantitative and qualitative approaches, the emphasis is on the development of competencies that students need to design a coherent and consistent research plan and to critically evaluate the research designs proposed by other researchers. With this in mind, the following topics are addressed:  (1) the nature of scientific research and the demands of the PhD degree; (2) research paradigms and ontological standpoints. Research design and strategies; (3) Management of bibliographical sources; (4) collecting primary data: some methods; (5) Data analysis: some quantitative and qualitative methods. 

Head Lecturer(s)

Patrícia Helena Ferreira Lopes de Moura e Sá

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Project: 50.0%
Mini Tests: 50.0%

Bibliography

BRYMAN, Alan ; BELL, Emma — Business research methods. 2nd ed. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2007. [BP 658 BRY]

SAGE (THE) handbook of qualitative research. Editors Norman K. Denzin ; Yvonna S. Lincoln. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications, 2005. [BP 303 SAG]

SAUDERS, Mark ; LEWIS, Philip ; THORNHILL, Adrian — Research methods for business students. 4th ed. Harlow : Financial Times/Prentice Hall, 2007. [BP 001.8 SAU]

Nota: Para cada temática é indicada bibliografia específica.