CURRICULAR UNIT - RESEARCH METHODS

Academic Year: 2020 / 2021
2nd Year – 1st Semester 
Código UC nº 560011

OBJECTIVES AND COMPETENCES TO BE DEVELOPED    

The aims for students acquire skills in of research methodologies, including:

• - Organize a research process;
• - Choose scientific methods appropriate to the research desired;
• - Analyse real-world problems and develop formulations and solutions supported by scientific methods;
• - Prepare the report (dissertation) research
• - Present the results in the investigation

And also, acquire skills in statistical analysis of data, including:

• - Describe statistical principles;
• - Apply statistical methods;
• - Formulate and test hypotheses;
• - Use a statistical analysis tool;
• - Develop analytical skills;
• - apply statistical methodsCritically in different contexts;
• - Develop the capacity of processing and analysis data;
• - to Compare different approaches.

PROGRAM CONTENTS

1. Introduction

• 1.1. the scientific method
• 1.2. the steps of the research
• 1.3. theories, models and paradigms
• 1.4. applied research

2. research project

• 2.1. phases of the research project
• 2.2. issues and research objectives
• 2.3. research methodology

3. Descriptive statistics

• 3.1. population and sample, sampling techniques
• 3.2. important tools for producing surveys / interviews
• 3.3. Measurement scales: nominal, ordinal and numerical (continuous and discrete)
• 3.4. Synthesis of data in tables and graphs
• 3.5. measures of central tendency, position and dispersion
• 3.6. Relationship between variables: correlation and linear regression
• 3.7. notion of probability. Distribution

4. statistics Inferential

• 4.1. estimation and modeling
• 4.2. Hypothesis, parametric and non-parametric tests
• 4.3. Analysis of Variance
• 4.4. Contingency tables. Chi-square test

5. Research report

• 5.1. structure, organization and content of the report
• 5.2. references

6. Oral presentation of research

7. Ethical aspects of research awareness