Thematic Seminars on Research Methodology and Statistics I

Recommended Prerequisites

It is important to have knowledge from courses related to Scientific Research Methodology and Statistics from previous undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

Teaching Methods

The methodology combines expository moments with the active participation of students through the analysis of documents, data and discussions. In order to promote critical thinking and consolidation and integration of knowledge in the construction of scientific knowledge, students are encouraged to engage in discussions based on studies already published in the scientific community and carry out work with the support of statistical software and qualitative data analysis in large and small groups.

Learning Outcomes

- To promote advanced reflection on the applicability of quantitative and qualitative research methodology in the construction of scientific knowledge in the area of Educational Sciences

- To allow in-depth knowledge of the main characteristics of quantitative and qualitative approaches, particularly in research study design and implementation of the main techniques

- To encourage the analysis of the advantages of quantitative and qualitative research strategies and its main limitations, in the study of concrete educational problems

- To be able to design, plan and develop autonomously an empirical study of qualitative and quantitative nature

- To decide on the appropriate methodologies for data analysis in order to answer research questions in education, with the use of software specific for each methodology (e.g., SPSS, R, MaxQDA)

- To interpret the results produced by the statistical analysis

- To promote scientific writing skills for international publicatio

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

- Advanced concepts in quantitative scientific research in education.

- Formulation of problems and scientific hypotheses in the multiple types of quantitative research plans and to analyze its credibility (reliability and validity).

- Advanced questions in qualitative research methodology: the socio-critical paradigm; different types of research studies (case studies, ethnography, grounded theory); the complexity of the triangulation techniques in qualitative data collection and reliability issues.

- Understanding the ethical and political aspects to be taken into account when performing scientific research with humans.

- Sampling methods used to collect data in education.

- Review and further development of statistical methods taught in the context of education.

- Multiple linear regression: quantitative and categorical independent variables, residual analysis and multicollinearity.

- General rules for writing a national and international article.

Head Lecturer(s)

Cristina Maria Coimbra Vieira

Assessment Methods

Final assessment
Exam: 100.0%

Continuous assessment
Other: 20.0%
Synthesis work: 80.0%

Bibliography

Amado, J. (Org.). (2014). Manual de investigação qualitativa em educação (2ª ed.). Coimbra: Imprensa da UC.

Bogdan, R. & Biklen, S. (1994). Investigação qualitativa em educação. Porto: Porto Editora.

Carreira, A., de Sousa, B., & Pinto, G. (2002). Cálculo da probabilidade. Lisboa: Instituto Piaget.

Cohen, L.,Manion, L.,& Morrison,K. (2011).Research methods in education (7th Ed.).London: Routledge.

Field,A.(2005).Discovering statistics using SPSS (2nd ed).London:SAGE

Fraenkel, J. R &Wallen, N. E. (2003). How to design and evaluate research in education (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Hair, J., Black, W., Babin, B., Anderson, R. & Tatham, R. (2006). Multivariate data analysis (6th Ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Sharon, L. L. (2009). Sampling: Design and analysis (2nd ed.). PG: Duxbury Press.

Vieira, C. C. (1999). A credibilidade da investigação científica de natureza qualitativa: Questões relativas à sua fidelidade e validade. Revista Portuguesa de Pedagogia, XXXIII, 2, 89-116.