Curricula

Objectives

Purpose of the course
The purpose of the course is to familiarise the student with the basics of development and research activities and support the writing of the bachelor's thesis.

Course competences:
Ethical competence
Internationalisation and communications competence
Learning and information management competence

EUR-ACE accredited degree programmes
Investigations and information retrieval
Engineering practice
Communication and team-working

Course learning outcomes
As a student, you are familiar with the different stages involved in research and development processes supporting your thesis, the required approaches to research and development and the most common options for data collection and analysis. You are able to choose a development or research approach and methods (data collection and analysis methods) that are suitable to your thesis. You are familiar with JAMK’s thesis process and are able to prepare a thesis topic proposal and plan in which you justify the methodological choices you made. You are familiar with the research ethics governing thesis preparation and act in accordance with it and the principles of good scientific practice.

Content

Research process (research setting: research problem, research question, research approach, data collection and analysis methods, reliability review, open science)

The generic structure of a thesis, evaluation criteria and exercises on evaluating completed theses

Research ethics and good scientific or artistic practice

Integrative literature review
- Problem identification, location of studies, data collection from individual studies, evaluation of the studies and data analysis

Qualitative research:
- the most common qualitative data collection methods, analysis methods, reliability review

Quantitative research:
- data collection (existing or self-collected data, questionnaire), measuring scales, sampling, data analysis methods (indicators, direct distribution, cross-tabulation, statistical tests, reliability of results)

Research-based development
- setting development problems / questions, choosing development methods, data collection and analysis, assessing the reliability of research and development activities

Preparation of a thesis topic proposal

Learning materials and recommended literature

Material in Moodle workspace.

Reference literature:
Tang, H. 2021. Engineering research: Design, methods, and publication. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Kananen, J. 2011. Rafting through the thesis process : step by step guide to thesis research. Jyväskylä : JAMK University of Applied Sciences, 2011

Teaching methods

Online implementation - webinars and lectures in Zoom, independent study, assignments completed in small groups, learning assignments.
Link to Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/9925791129

Exam dates and retake possibilities

There is no exam in the course. The assignments and project assignments with their timetables are presented in the first webinar.

Alternative completion methods

The methods of accreditation are described in the Degree Regulations and study guide. The course lecturer will provide information on the specific practices of the course.

Student workload

The course is 5 ECTS = 135 hrs of student work (1 ECTS=27hrs student work)

- webinars and online lectures approx. 20 hrs
- independent study (material and assignments) approx. 40 hrs
- assignments and course assignment approx. 75hrs

Content scheduling

Toteutus kokonaan verkossa: https://jamk.zoom.us/j/8786743123
Aikataulu ilmoitetaan myöhemmin.

Further information for students

The course is assessed with 0-5 scale. The assessment criteria are presented in the first webinar.

Evaluation scale

0-5

Evaluation criteria, satisfactory (1-2)

Adequate 1
The student is familiar with the steps involved in the development and research process. They know how to obtain research knowledge concerning their own area of development or research. The student knows some key research and development methods and is able to describe the differences between them. The student is familiar with the ethical principles and principles of good scientific practice related to the thesis. The student acts in compliance with them.

Satisfactory 2
The student is able to obtain knowledge concerning their own area of development or research. They recognise possibilities for applying development and research methods. The student is familiar with the ethical principles and principles of good scientific practice related to the thesis. The student acts in compliance with them.

Evaluation criteria, good (3-4)

Good 3
The student is able to independently obtain and assess knowledge concerning their own area of development or research. They are able to choose a development or research method suitable for their thesis. The student is familiar with the ethical principles and principles of good scientific practice related to the thesis. The student acts in compliance with them.

Very good 4
The student is able to independently obtain and critically assess knowledge concerning their own area of development or research. The student is able to choose a development or research approach and method suitable for their thesis and justify their choice. The student is familiar with the ethical principles and principles of good scientific practice related to the thesis. The student acts in compliance with them.

Evaluation criteria, excellent (5)

Excellent 5
The student is able to obtain knowledge concerning their area of development or research and is capable of source criticism.
They are able to analyse the differences between different development and research methods and justify the choice of development or research methods for their thesis. The student is familiar with the ethical principles and principles of good scientific practice related to the thesis. The student acts in compliance with them.