The purpose of this session is to present an idea of what Theory of science means by "research" and how these principles will apply to a master thesis. You also should be able to understand the fundamental differences between major kinds research approaches, e.g. between

1. Theory-testing approaches (usually quantitative),
2. Theory-creating research (usually qualitative)
3. Design-science research (mixed approaches)

Course Materials:

• What is an academic piece of work ? ,  PDF file ,  Slides

In this (long) session we first will try to convey fundamental principles of empirical research. We then present some advice on how to choose a research subject and how to start doing a research plan. An important issue concerns analytical frameworks, dimensions of concepts, typologies and analysis grids and we will engage in some discussion.

Course Materials:

• Fundamental principles of empirical research ,  PDF file ,  Slides
• Finding a research subject in educational technology ,  PDF file ,  Slides

Reading Materials:

• What We Know about Research in Instructional Technology: Interviews with Research Leaders

We will look into different kinds of research designs that are typically done in educational technology. Here is incomplete list of various designs of which some can be combined:

1. Development of innovative instructional designs (either in real world settings or exploratory studies). All kinds of settings: Formal/informal, distance/blended/classroom, workplace e-learning, just-on-the-spot learning, ...
2. Technical development of a system or exploration of brand new technologies (and that explore/introduce new ideas profitable to education and learning)
3. Sociological studies (e.g. the introduction of ICT to school systems and/or organizations, study of certain population's attitudes and behaviors towards ICT or an ICT initiative, e.g. teachers).
4. Experimental designs that study how humans behave under certain conditions (e.g. "Under what conditions does a multimedia animation have a positive effect on learning ?").
5. Quasi-experimental studies that tests if one instructional design is better then an other.
6. Ethnographic or clinical studies studies of human subjects (e.g. usability studies of software, work place analysis to study informal learning, problem-solving behavior related to the use of ICT etc.)
7. Economic studies (e.g. Return on investment at the organizational or the national level)

Each participant should hopefully be able to identify with one or more of these fundamental orientations.

Course Materials:

• The research plan ,  PDF file ,  Slides
• Theory driven research designs ,  PDF file ,  Slides
• Theory finding research designs ,  PDF file ,  Slides
• Design oriented research designs ,  PDF file ,  Slides

Revise your text (or present a new subject). Your text should include the following items:

1. A "working title" of your research subject
2. Elaborate the title with a few sentences.
3. Present a provisional list of your academic goals (theoretical and applied)
4. Present a list of personal, social, practical goals that will NOT be part of your master thesis.
5. Present a list of provisional research questions and/or working hypothesis. Make sure that each goal is represented by at least a question.
6. For each research question, make a short statement on how you plan to answer it. Relate your answer to conceptual frameworks, analytical tools (models, schemas, grilles d'analyse), data gathering techniques and data analysis techniques, etc. when appropriate. Don't go too much into details, since you may have to revise your list of questions

Return Date: Monday 16:00