Study Guide

Objective

Competency aims:
• To understand the meaning of the concept of knowledge, different forms of knowledge and different traditions for knowledge building.
• To understand the relationship between the perspectives of knowledge in different disciplines or interdisciplinary areas
• To have basic knowledge of the research process and of various research methods, especially about methods that have particular relevance to the own profession.
• Can apply scientific literature in one’s own work, as well as reference material in own knowledge development.
• To have developed knowhow and can participate in work-related projects and thereby contribute to knowledge development.

Learning outcomes:
At the end of the course the student is expected to
• Read, understand and be able to critically review scientific literature.
• Assign forms of knowledge to different types of thesis.
• Search, manage, and critically evaluate academic articles and research in one’s own professional field.
• Know and understand the basic concepts relating to quantitative and qualitative data, as well as how and when they can be used.
• Know and understand the concept design, data collection and analysis methods that generate both quantitative and/or qualitative data, and their relevance in the field of research and development of working life within your own profession.
• Can apply relevant methods in the thesis.
• Have mastered the basics of collecting quantitative data, can use of a statistics program for data analysis and have mastered the grounds for interpreting results and reporting findings in the form of descriptive statistics.
• Can apply suitable collection and analysis methods for qualitative data, and account for results.
• Have developed an exploratory approach in order to be able to contribute to knowledge development in one’s own professional field.
• Can report and critically argue in writing and have mastered the techniques reference citations.
• Can apply principles of professional and research ethics in studies.

Content

Course contents:
• The research process
• Theory of science
• The literature review and its importance
• Designs in qualitative and quantitative research
• Participation oriented designs
• Questionnaires, interviews and observation studies
• Systematic literature studies
• Standardized measurement methods in the profile areas of Health Care
• Content analysis
• Research ethics
• Information retrieval and – analysis
• Critical review of scientific articles, reports and essays
• Statistics