MERG4070 Research Design and Project Description Course description

Language of instruction: Norwegian and English

This course covers the research process from the planning phase until completion of the master’s thesis, including literary searches and referencing, formulation of research questions/hypotheses/issues, choice of research method and development of a project description, as well as ethical assessments relating to the student’s own work. Formal requirements for the project description are also covered to enable the student to complete the project description for their master’s thesis by the end of the course.

MAVIT4050 Theory of Science and Research Methods, 10 ECTS credits or equivalent. MAVIT4060 Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methodology, 10 ECTS credits.

The student must have been admitted to the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences.

After completing the course, the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• can develop a research question for their master’s thesis
• can independently describe relevant academic frame of reference and/or context as a foundation for a project plan for the master’s thesis

Skills

The student

General competence

The student

• can analyse and deal critically with various sources of data and use them in scholarly arguments
• can critically assess relevant ethical norms and values related to the chosen method in the project plan
• can assess whether a research project requires various forms of registration or approval in accordance with the applicable legislation

Ingen forkunnskapskrav.

The following must have been approved in order for the student to take the examination:

• compulsory attendance and participation at seminar days for your own specialisation
• presentation of own student’s project description for the master’s thesis with subsequent discussion in a plenary session
• held the role of opponent, providing feedback on one or more fellow students' project plan (peer assessment/opponent)

A project examination in the form of a project description for the student's master’s thesis, individual or in groups, depending on whether the thesis will be written individually or in a group. Scope: 3,000 words (+/- 20%). For group assignments, one overall grade is awarded for the whole group.

Resit examination: If the student fails the assignment, he/she will be given opportunity to submit a reworked version.

If the course is taught in English, students can also choose to write/conduct the examination in a Scandinavian language (Norwegian, Swedish or Danish).

Emnet går over ett semester med seks undervisningsdager. Undervisningen veksler mellom forelesninger, demonstrasjoner, øvelser, gruppearbeid, arbeid med egne erfaringer og trening i klasserommet.

For å kunne framstille seg til eksamen må følgende arbeidskrav være godkjent:

1. Obligatorisk deltakelse.

Det kreves minimum 75 % tilstedeværelse på samlingene. Ved fravær utover dette må studenten levere et alternativt arbeidskrav som blir nærmere beskrevet av emneansvarlig.

2. Ett skriftlig arbeidskrav.

Skriftlig notat hvor studenten skisserer tema og problemstilling til en semesteroppgave, inkludert begrunnelse for de valgene som er gjort for å avgrense tema og problemstilling. Nærmere krav til utforming av notatet vil bli beskrevet av emneansvarlig. Dersom notatet ikke godkjennes, har studenten rett til å levere notatet på nytt èn gang innen angitt tidsfrist.

Dersom arbeidskravene ikke oppfylles, mister studenten retten til å framstille seg til eksamen.

All answers are assessed by one examiner.

An external examiner is used regularly, at a minimum of every third completion of the course. When selecting answers for external evaluation, a minimum of 10 percent of the answers shall be included, with no fewer than 5 answers. The external examiner’s assessment of the selected answers shall benefit all students.

Alle hjelpemidler er tillatt så lenge etiske retningslinjer og regler for kildehenvisning følges.