Welcome

This course is a sequel to Introduction to Research Skills

We are going to build on what you learned last year and acquire new skills You may want to review the materials from IRS on your own to refresh your memory

Things are going to be a little different. There is less guidance you are on your own now

Excel(lence)
Later this semester you are going to learn and practice data analysis

Well be using spreadsheets so you will want to familiarise yourself with spreadsheet software (Excel)

Course Introduction
For an overview of the course and a weekly programme, consult the manual

Today we will
Review what you know about research Discuss goals for this semester Get to work on your next big assignment, which you will work on throughout the semester

Why another Research Skills course?

Because research and reasoning are essential survival skills Your research skills will help you in studying for other courses and for later on

Looking Back at last year

Discuss what you learned last year
About research, critical thinking, argumentation and report writing, for example

Discuss the challenges of doing research

What parts are easy and what parts are hard?

Discuss what you would do differently next time?

 In Introduction to Research Skills you learned

To create a Research Plan
Starting with a central question and sub-questions Choosing and justifying research methods

To conduct research
Gathering and evaluating sources through desk research and an Annotated Bibliography Interviewing

Critical Thinking
Analysing information Avoiding bias and fallacy Reaching reasonable, logical conclusions using Reasoning Trees and other tools

To present research
Writing an APA style report with proper documentation

Goals for Advanced Research

This semester youre going to review and repeat that process
Step by step With new methods

You are going to study and practice questionnaire design and explore other methods

You are going to work together in small groups (no more than three people)
And this time, youre also going to grade each other

This course consists of a mix of informative and interactive lectures/workshops, feedback sessions and conferences
Throughout the semester you will work on a new research project
A feasibility study based on desk research, a questionnaire, and another method of your own choosing

Assessment
This semester, you will hand in
1. A Research plan for Feedback 2. A questionnaire and Pilot test report for 30% of your final grade 3. A Final Report including processed data for 70% of your final grade 4. A peer assessment in which you give your teammates a grade that will count for 10% of the grade for your report

Details are in your manual and deadlines are forthcoming. Consult your manual and the Blackboard

This course is about feasibility research

Research to see whether or not an idea is feasible (practical, likely to succeed, etc.) used in policy development and marketing in both the public and private sector

Informed Decisions
Informed decisions require research and critical thinking Governments, NGOs and businesses always do extensive research before taking decisions Before any new policy, product or strategy is launched, extensive research is done to determine
The likelihood of success How the general public (voters, donors, consumers) and other stakeholders will react.

 In the coming weeks, you will learn how to conduct feasibility research by doing it You will start by coming up with an idea and designing a research plan to test its feasibility

You will do extensive desk research on your topic (and keep track of it with an annotated bibliography)
You will conduct a questionnaire to determine public opinion (and to practice quantitative methods)

You will choose and implement a third research method

You will write a report documenting your research and determine the feasibility of your idea

Dont Panic
That sounds like a lot of work, but dont worry Its a step by step process and were going to go through it together, step by step Right now were just getting started and to do that, the first thing you need is a topic

Topics
You are free to choose your own topic

within certain guidelines

Here are some examples of acceptable topics:
Think of a possible government policy meant to solve a social, economic or cultural problem Think of a specific strategy or programme for an NGO to meet a specific need and test its feasibility Think of a business plan (a new product or an export plan) and evaluate the likelihood of success

You will need a topic by next week

The 5 steps of the research process

1. Pick a topic youre interested in 2. Formulate a question you want to answer

3. Choose the right methods and apply them

4. Analyse the data 5. Reach conclusions and recommendations

Research Questions
The Central question is the focus of the whole project
The main thing you want to know. In this course, the central question is about feasibility

Sub-questions
Break the main topic down into smaller elements Answering each sub-question should provide an answer to the central question

Reviewing methods
Once you have clear questions, you can choose methods that will help you answer them Qualitative Research aiming for in-depth, quality of information
Desk Research required in every case Interviews an option in this course Focus Groups an option in this course

Quantitative Research Information that can be gathered, expressed and analysed in terms of numbers
Surveys required in this course Statistical Analysis required in this course

Each has advantages and disadvantages

Thats why you select them carefully depending on the question

Quality control
Remember the criteria for research and research methods:
Reliability: when the research is done twice, it should lead to the same results
Validity: does the research measure what it intends to measure? Generalization: can these results be generalized to other cases?

Refreshing Desk Research

What do you remember?

Desk Research
Desk Research is usually done first
Most research projects start with a Literature Review General sources are usually consulted first Stakeholders (experts or organisations involved with the subject of your research) are considered and investigated

It should
Have theoretical relevance
Filling in gaps in (your) scientific knowledge

Have practical relevance

It should answer a lot of questions
About stakeholders, policy, etc.

Lets not forget

When doing desk research, you must remember to use APA style to document your sources because
Otherwise, you could be accused of plagiarism Its important that a reader be able to easily find the source for themselves It helps you keep track of your information

Many of you still need to work on this

Review the Introduction to Research Skills manual and podcasts Study the APA manual on Blackboard

Whatever youre researching, remember:

Google is not always the answer
Remember: they are in the advertising business, not the information business

You should always consult multiple sources and be careful about credibility. Should you trust a source and why? Make sure your conclusion is logical and backed up by the evidence

Homework
Next week, we will partner up and get started on your feasibility research. To do that, everyone must
1. Come up with 1-3 ideas
Review the directions in the manual and pick something that meets the criteria, but make sure its something that interests you Feel free to look at your other courses for inspiration you are welcome to use a topic youre working on in another course

2. 3.

Do some preliminary research on your topic ideas

Identify important issues, stakeholders, etc.

Be prepared to explain your research methods and to present your findings

Use at least one source you did not get from Google

Please note that this is an individual assignment

We wont be forming groups until next week