Methodology of Scientific Research

Recommended Prerequisites

Knowledge previously acquired in Curricular Units of the 1^st cycle of studies is important, for example in Statistics and Methodology of Educational Research.

Teaching Methods

Theoretical and Practical Teaching (TP), enhancing exercises using SPSS.

Learning Outcomes

The curricular unit “Methodology of Educational Research” is mainly aimed to develop and improve theoretical and technical skills required to carry out scientific research in the field of Educational Sciences by means of the systematic study of the fundamental processes and the specific strategies of planning, accomplishment, analysis, interpretation and presentation of the research results.

This course promotes the development of practical competences for data analysis, using SPSS (17.0) for Windows.

Students should be able to build databases, compute and transform variables, use descriptive statistics, display data graphically, and analyse data using inferential statistics.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1.  Introduction: Epistemology and Methodology

 Clarification of theoretical concepts

 Research plans and scientific hypotheses

 Stages in Survey research

2. DATA ANALYSIS USING SPSS

Building databases in SPSS

Levels of measurement

Descriptive data analysis

Inferential analysis: considerations on parametric and non-parametric statistics

Interpretation of outputs 

3. RESEARCH STRATEGIES

 3.1. Experimental researches - From scientific hypotheses to experiences planning.

Independent variables

Dependent variables

Experimental plans: General points.

Experimental plans

Unifactorial plans

Multifactorial plans

3.2.  Quasi-experimental researches: characterization

3.3.  Non-experimental researches: specific characteristics

Validation and practical relevance problems

Correlation coefficients: Statistical significance and shared variance.

Correlation, prediction and causality.

Determination and regression coefficients.

Multiple regression analysis.

Assessment Methods

TP Assessment
Examination type B: 30.0%
Examinations type A and C: 70.0%

Bibliography

Bibliografia Complementar

Alferes, V. R. (2001). Guia de pesquisa bibliográfica (2ª ed.). Coimbra: Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação [NIIPS – Cadernos de Metodologia da Investigação, 1]. Versão Online

Andrews, F. M., Klem, L., Davidson, T. N., O'Malley, P. M., & Rodgers, W. L. (1981). A guide for selecting statistical techniques for analyzing social science data. Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research. [3rd ed. - 1998] Versão online

Barlow, D. H., & Hersen, M. (1984). Single case experimental designs (2nd ed.). New York: Pergamon.

Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (1966). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Chicago: Rand McNally.

CooK, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: Design and analysis issues for field settings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Gilbert, D. T., Fiske, S. T., & Lindzey, G. (Eds.).(1998). Handbook of social psychology (4th ed., Vol. 1). New York: McGraw-Hill. [Índice NIIPS]

Groves, R. M., Fowler, F. J., Couper, M. P., Lepkowski, J. M., Singer, E., & Tourangeau, R. (2004). Survey methodology. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Howell, D. C. (2007). Statistical methods for psychology (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.David Howell - Home Page

Kiess, H. O. (2001). Statistical concepts for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.  

Kiess, H. O., & Bloomquist, D. W. (1985). Psychological research methods: A conceptual approach. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Neale, J. M., & Liebert, R. M. (1986). Science and behavior: An introduction to methods of research (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. [4th ed. 1995]

Nicol, A. A., & Pexman, P. M. (1999). Presenting your findings: A practical guide for creating tables. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Nicol, A. A., & Pexman, P. M. (2003). Displaying your findings: A practical guide for creating figures, posters, and presentations. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.

Reis, H. T., & Judd, C. M. (Eds.).(2000). The handbook of research methods in social and personality psychology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. [Link Google]

Rosenthal, R., & Rosnow, R. L. (1991). Essentials of psychological research: Methods and data analysis (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.  [3rd ed. 2008]

Sales, B. D., & Folkman, S. (Eds.).(2000). Ethics in research with human participants. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct

Stevens, J. (2002). Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences (4th ed.). New York: Erlbaum.

Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Experimental design using ANOVA. Belmont, CA: Duxbury.

Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics. (5th ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Barbara G. Tabachnick - Home Page

Bibliografia Fundamental

Alferes, V. R. (1997). Investigação científica em psicologia: Teoria e prática. Coimbra: Almedina. Bases de Dados [SPSS e EXCEL] Exercícios práticos: Outputs SPSS Programas e rotinas complementares do SPSS

American Psychological Association (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. APA Style Site Statistical Methods in Psychology Journals: Guidelines and Explanations

Bickman, L., & Rog, D. J. (Eds.).(1998). Handbook of applied social research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [Índice NIIPS]

Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S. G., & Aiken, L. S. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Crano, W. D., & Brewer, M. B. (2002). Principles and methods of social research (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Hoyle, R. H., Harris, M. J., & Judd, C. M. (2002). Research methods in social relations (7th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Wadsworth. [8th ed. – 2006]Rick Hoyle - Home Page Charles Judd – Home Page

Kirk, R. E. (1995). Experimental design: Procedures for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). New York: Brooks/Cole.

Rosnow, R. L., & Rosenthal, R. (1998). Beginning behavioral research: A conceptual primer (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. [4th ed. - 2001] [5th ed. – 2007]

Shadish, W. R., CooK, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. [Link Google]William R. Shadish - Home Page

Vogt, W. P. (2005). Dictionary of statistics & methodology: A nontechnical guide for the social sciences  (3rd ed). London: Sage.

Recursos Internet

Programas: SPSS, STATISTICA, SYSTAT, LISREL, EQS e HLMLinks to Statistical Software Providers Programas onlineStatPages.net Programas e rotinas complementares do SPSSRaynald's SPSS ToolsSPSS Syntax FilesSCRAED - Simple and Complex Random Assignment in Experimental DesignsDyadicDA - Dyadic Data AnalysisExercícios práticosOutputs SPSSOutros sitesResearch Methods Knowledge Base – Bill TrochimDavid A. Kenny – Home PageLogic & FallaciesInternet Sites Related To Survey Research