Effective Research Methods for Any Project
(By Amanda M. Rosen)
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Sound, systematic research underlies much of what is best about our world. When we think of achievements in medicine, the sciences, engineering, architecture, product design and safety, and so much more, these are areas of endeavor that depend on careful and rigorous research for their effectiveness. We rely on the fact that these areas would have undergone effective research, because sometimes our well-being and our lives depend on it.
Research, of course, is not only for scientists and scholars. Almost everyone does some kind of research from time to time. Whether you are going online to decide about an important purchase, considering a choice between schools and universities, solving a medical problem, making a career decision, or even to planning a vacation, effective research is indispensable to us in many aspects of daily life.
But what makes research effective and what allows it to give us valid and useable results?
Any good research rests upon, above all else, method. Having a systematic, reliable approach to answering a question or investigating something important lies at the heart of valid research and the knowledge it produces. Methodology is what makes the study of research methods both highly useful and deeply fascinating—it helps us see the inner workings of how knowledge is created.
In the 24 engaging and detailed lectures of Effective Research Methods for Any Project, you’ll discover the remarkable methods and techniques that make research such a powerful tool in so many areas of life. Taught by political scientist and research methods expert Professor Amanda M. Rosen of Webster University, this course gives you a deep, detailed, and practical guide to proper research methods, ones that are broadly applicable to all kinds of research. And, once you understand how sound research is conducted, you will also have an invaluable tool for determining which sources, methods, and studies are to be trusted as you encounter them in both your personal and professional life.
Learn the Core Techniques and Applications of Sound Research
Throughout this course, Professor Rosen introduces you to the wide range of research techniques that are available, equipping you to tackle your own projects. You’ll study the procedures and methodologies of experiments, quasi experiments, survey research, case studies, focus groups, election polling, ethnography, and more. And you’ll do this by employing the scientific method. While most of us learned the scientific method in school, here you will learn how to apply its principles to the information you encounter every day. The process will help get you from whatever research question you might have to an answer, regardless of your discipline, profession, or topic of study.
The lectures are designed to help you conduct research on any project. With that aim in mind, you’ll consider examples and techniques from many different fields, such as psychology, business, journalism, medical research, politics, sociology, and other areas, including everyday matters and problems.
Professor Rosen presents a rich and multilevel resource for developing your research project, allowing you to draw on the material and subject matter most appropriate to your specific study. She also makes it clear that research methods are truly usable by anyone. Even if you have no background in math or science, you can master these procedures and use them to find the answers and information you’ve been looking for.
Grasp the Foundations of Credible Research
You’ll begin by taking a broad and deep look at the features of sound research, what defines it, and how to evaluate the research of others. In laying the groundwork for your own research project, you’ll investigate:
The standards, principles, and regulations regarding ethics in research, and the phenomenon of ethical review boards;
The vital role of a review of the scholarly literature as a preparatory step in your research process;
How to develop both a topic for your research and a core research question to guide your work, two essential aspects of a workable research project;
The varieties of research design that exist, and how to choose the best research design for your project;
How to measure your data, encompassing four principle levels of measurement; and
How to define the population of data points you’ll be looking at in your project, and how to select the sample of this population you will actually study.
Ground Yourself in the Range of Research Methodologies
You’ll follow the fundamentals of sound research with a detailed study of the most important categories of research design and methodology. Among these, you’ll explore...”
