Module Details
| Module Code: |
MECH9005 |
| Title: |
Research Skills and Question
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Long Title:
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Research Skills and Question
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| NFQ Level: |
Expert |
| Valid From: |
Semester 1 - 2022/23 ( September 2022 ) |
| Field of Study: |
5211 - Mechanical Engineering
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| Module Description: |
The aim of this module is to develop competent researchers and to support and develop their research skills– critiquing published research, utilising available research resources. At the end of the module the student should have selected a research question and be able to defend the validity and importance of the developed question.
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| Learning Outcomes |
| On successful completion of this module the learner will be able to: |
| # |
Learning Outcome Description |
| LO1 |
Know, understand and apply responsibilities as a researcher as regards personal integrity and the integrity of their work |
| LO2 |
Critically evaluate and synthesise published research towards the development of a research question |
| LO3 |
Develop and defend a research question in a specific area of interest |
| LO4 |
Formulate measurable research objectives and draft methods for achieving those objectives |
| LO5 |
Appraise strategies for developing a complete research proposal based on the selected question |
| Dependencies |
Module Recommendations
This is prior learning (or a practical skill) that is strongly recommended before enrolment in this module. You may enrol in this module if you have not acquired the recommended learning but you will have considerable difficulty in passing (i.e. achieving the learning outcomes of) the module. While the prior learning is expressed as named MTU module(s) it also allows for learning (in another module or modules) which is equivalent to the learning specified in the named module(s).
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Incompatible Modules
These are modules which have learning outcomes that are too similar to the learning outcomes of this module. You may not earn additional credit for the same learning and therefore you may not enrol in this module if you have successfully completed any modules in the incompatible list.
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| No incompatible modules listed |
Co-requisite Modules
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| No Co-requisite modules listed |
Requirements
This is prior learning (or a practical skill) that is mandatory before enrolment in this module is allowed. You may not enrol on this module if you have not acquired the learning specified in this section.
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| No requirements listed |
| Indicative Content |
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Research Integrity
What is research, framework for responsibilities as a researcher, possible challenges to integrity, attribution and co-authorship, intellectual property and copyright, plagiarism, data collection and storage, ethical responsibilities and ethical approval, National Policy Statement on Ensuring Research Integrity in Ireland, European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity.
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Literature review
What is literature and why is it important, performing a literature review, identify and utilise bibliographic and electronic resources appropriate to research, critically analysing a paper and extracting the essential information, synthesis of gathered information, Evaluation of literature sourced – Citation Index, impact factor etc.
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Research question definition
Where to look, what to look for, criteria for research question, developing topic ideas, reducing broad idea to single question, defining objectives, Research methods in engineering: quantitative, qualitative.
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Proposal development
Academic writing style, finding sources of relevance to work and management of references, design experimental approaches to address research objectives and critically evaluate experimental outcomes, understand the main characteristics of a good and poor proposal, defining methods: data gathering and analysis, interpreting results, model development and validation, experimental methods, overview of statistical methods for engineers: t-test, ANOVA, DOE etc., overview of tools available, the role of falsifiability in research.
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Communication of results
The "peer review" process, publishing papers: on-line and on paper; conference communications: oral and poster; grant application process; text books. Construction of a scientific paper, paper preparation - Word, LaTeX etc.
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Project management
Costing and planning the research project, Gantt chart etc., research milestones.
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Common pitfalls
Research bias, confirmation bias, falsifiability, statistical errors.
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Other
Health and safety, data ownership, intellectual property, patents, MTU research policies.
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Module Content & Assessment
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| Assessment Breakdown | % |
|---|
| Coursework | 100.00% |
Assessments
| No End of Module Formal Examination |
| Reassessment Requirement |
Coursework Only
This module is reassessed solely on the basis of re-submitted coursework. There is no repeat written examination.
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The University reserves the right to alter the nature and timings of assessment
Module Workload
| Workload: Full Time |
| Workload Type |
Contact Type |
Workload Description |
Frequency |
Average Weekly Learner Workload |
Hours |
| Lecture |
Contact |
Lectures delivering indicative content |
Every Week |
2.00 |
2 |
| Lab |
Contact |
Practical exercises with the aim of developing research skills |
Every Week |
1.00 |
1 |
| Independent & Directed Learning (Non-contact) |
Non Contact |
Self Directed Learning |
Every Week |
4.00 |
4 |
| Total Hours |
7.00 |
| Total Weekly Learner Workload |
7.00 |
| Total Weekly Contact Hours |
3.00 |
| Workload: Part Time |
| Workload Type |
Contact Type |
Workload Description |
Frequency |
Average Weekly Learner Workload |
Hours |
| Lecture |
Contact |
Lectures delivering indicative content |
Every Week |
2.00 |
2 |
| Lab |
Contact |
Practical exercises with the aim of developing research skills |
Every Week |
1.00 |
1 |
| Independent & Directed Learning (Non-contact) |
Non Contact |
Self Directed Learning |
Every Week |
4.00 |
4 |
| Total Hours |
7.00 |
| Total Weekly Learner Workload |
7.00 |
| Total Weekly Contact Hours |
3.00 |
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Module Resources
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| Recommended Book Resources |
|---|
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Andrew Booth, Anthea Sutton, Diana Papaioannou. (2016), Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review, 2nd. Sage Publishing.
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Catherine Dawson. (2009), Introduction to Research Methods, 4th. Little, Brown Book Group, [ISBN: 1845283678].
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John A Sharp, John Peters, Keith Howard. (2017), The Management of a Student Research Project, 3rd. Routledge.
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David V. Thiel. (2014), Research Methods for Engineers, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, [ISBN: 1107610192].
| | Supplementary Book Resources |
|---|
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Santiago Ramón y Cajal. (2004), Advice for a Young Investigator, MIT Press, [ISBN: 9780262681506].
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Karl Popper. (2005), The Logic of Scientific Discovery, Routledge.
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Good, Phillip I.. (2003), Common errors in statistics (and how to avoid them), Wiley-Interscience.
| | Supplementary Article/Paper Resources |
|---|
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Robert E. Kass, Brian S. Caffo, Marie
Davidian, Xiao-Li Meng, Bin Yu, Nancy
Reid. (2016), Ten Simple Rules for Effective
Statistical Practice, PLoS Comput Biol, 12(6),
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J. Michael T. Thompson. (2013), Advice to a young researcher: with
reminiscences of a life in science, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society A,
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MALCOLM D. SHUSTER. (2008), Advice to Young Researchers, IEEE CONTROL SYSTEMS MAGAZINE, 28(5),
| | This module does not have any other resources |
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