Research Methodologies

Code:

MM0056

Acronym:

MINV

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Communication Sciences

Instance: 2023/2024 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Web Page:	https://moodle.up.pt/course/view.php?id=2222
Responsible unit:	Department of Informatics Engineering
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Multimedia

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MM	57	Syllabus	1	-	6	45	162

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

Research Methodologies is a compulsory curricular unit in the 2nd semester of the 1st year of the study program of the Master in Multimedia. Given the guiding objectives of the Master in Multimedia, the curricular unit intends to contribute to enable the student to carry out a dissertation that includes a theoretical component and an empirical component. As such, it becomes important to promote the development of skills such as scientific writing, methodological design, and scientific communication.

It is important to highlight the role of the curricular unit in raising awareness of the relevance of the ethical dimension and in developing standards of practice consistent with the best research practices in the area of ​​Multimedia.

The curricular unit aims to contribute to enable future masters to integrate data from the latest research as well as to bridge research and development at the moments of conception and evaluation of products, processes and services in different professional contexts. Simultaneously, it intends to contribute to increase the capacity to signify the relevance of the masters performance in multimedia at the socio-professional level.

Learning outcomes and competences

Scientific writing 

• To identify the main structural components of a scientific article and a master's thesis
• To use the UP Discovery system, Web of Science and Scopus and select scientific articles relevant to the area of ​​interest
• To use software (EndNote or Mendeley) as bibliographic management software in supporting writting
• To analyze the content of scientific articles in the form of a critical review
• To cite bibliographic sources and references in accordance with APA standards
• To prepare a master's thesis project respecting the structure recommended in the master's degree

Methodological design 

• To distinguish the classical scientific method from the Popperian method
• To categorize and formulate research objectives, questions and hypotheses
• To describe the main characteristics of the methodological designs (experiment, quasi-experiment and non-experiment, including participatory approaches)
• To evaluate the adequacy of a given methodological option to the research objectives with respect to the theoretical, internal and external validity of the research

Collecting, analysing and presenting data 

• To describe and compare the main characteristics of the different techniques and instruments of data collection: survey (interview and questionnaire), observation and documentary study, with regard to communication and access to data.
• Identify techniques and data collection tools used in a particular research
• Select the most appropriate data collection techniques and instruments for the research objectives formulated and compatible with the master's resources and timetable.
• Formulate concise, relevant and clear (unambiguous) items for a questionnaire
• Building a coherent database from a questionnaire
• Calculate simple statistics (absolute frequency, relative frequency, mean, median, standard deviation) through a statistical program
• Elaborate a semi-structured interview script
• Create categories to carry out a content analysis according to the following principles: completeness, homogeneity, pertinence, objectivity and reliability, and productivity.
• Produce and integrate tables and figures appropriate to the data type and presentation context
• To prepare a data management plan considering the singular nature of research digital data

Ethical sense

• Differentiate the cases of application of the guarantees of confidentiality, anonymity and informed consent in the scope of the investigation
• Integrate into the research project the ethical procedures necessary to ensure that the research project scrupulously respects the rights and dignity of the participants before, during and after the research is undertaken

Scientific Communication

• Prepare slides to support oral presentations consistent with the principles of multimedia learning
• Present in public, concise, organized and clearly, a multimedia research project

Reflexivity

• Question the virtues and limitations of the peer review process in the context of open science
• Discuss the place of multimedia as a multidisciplinary research area

Working method

Presencial

Program

- Introduction to the course: Epistemological perspectives on scientific research
- Structure of a paper and master dissertation
- Literature research techniques
- Questions and hypotheses, research validity
- Study design: Experimental, quasi-experimental, and non-experimental designs (including participatory approaches)
- Data collection techniques and instruments
- Quantitative and qualitative approaches
- Data analysis techniques
- (New) Trends in multimedia research
- Ethics and open science
- Research digital data, and data management plan 

Mandatory literature

Bruno Latour; Reassembling the social – An introduction to actor-network-theory, Oxford University Press, 2005

Comments from the literature

The recommended bibliography description may be found at the subject's Moodle page and on a Zotero library.

Teaching methods and learning activities

• Classes with theory components and problem based learning component (PBL) and group dynamics.


• Assignment presentation by the students.

 

Software

R Studio
Excel or open source alternative
Zotero
SPSS
NVIVO

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	10,00
Trabalho escrito	60,00
Exame	30,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Elaboração de projeto	72,00
Estudo autónomo	42,00
Frequência das aulas	48,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

The student should obtain a grade equal ou higher than 10.

Calculation formula of final grade

Evaluation will comprehend formative and continuous components, mixing flexible parameters with more “conventional” ones, such as the final exam. There will be self-evaluation and hetero-evaluation moments at the developed assignment presentations. The subject teachers will arbitrate, moderate and guarantee good judgement and transparency. In every case, the students activities are typically marked by four criteria:

a) Scientific accuracy
b) Creativity/originality
c) Clarity
d) Commitment/presentation

In addition to the tasks, a relatively theoretical test. On a 0 to 20 scale, the final grade will be as according:

A - Evaluation of the dissertation proposal
B - Evaluation of the presentation of the dissertation proposal
C - Exam

Distribution:
A - 60%
B - 10% 
C - 30%

Each students' final grade will come from the following formula: A*0,60+B*0,10+C*0,30

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

As per the ones described in FEUP. Exceptions may be considered in each case.

Classification improvement

Exam