SP9250 Action Research and Practice Research Course description

The course deals with different research traditions, theories and methodological approaches to empirical studies relating to practice in social work: action research, evaluation, participant-oriented research, collaborative research and practitioner-based research.

The course covers the philosophy of science and the theoretical basis for practice-based research and action research. Important questions include the following:

What is the relationship between experience-based and research-based knowledge? What possibilities for developing knowledge and understanding exist within different research traditions in practice-based research and action research? What are the roles of researchers and other actors (service users and employees) within the different approaches in practice-based research and action research? What is the relationship between proximity and distance when social workers function as researchers within their own culture/subject area?

No prior knowledge requirements

Cloud computing is an emerging paradigm of utilising large-scale computing services over the internet that will affect the computing needs of individuals and organisations. Over the past decade, many cloud computing platforms have been set up by companies such as Google, Yahoo!, Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce, eBay and Facebook. Some of the platforms are open to the public via various pricing models. They operate at different levels and enable businesses to harness different amounts of computing power from the cloud.

The course will be offered once a year, provided 3 or more students sign up for the course. If less than 3 students sign up for a course, the course will be cancelled for that year.

Students who complete the course are expected to have the following learning outcomes, defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge:

On successful completion of the course, the student:

• is at the forefront of knowledge within the topic of his/her engineering project.
• has a profound understanding of the state-of-the-art and the latest developments in the professional engineering field relevant to his/her doctoral thesis.
• can apply the theories, methods and processes in scholarly projects as well as in professional engineering projects specific to his/her field of engineering.

Skills:

On successful completion of the course, the student can:

• apply theoretical knowledge, scientific methods and simulation tools suitable for solving complex civil engineering problems.
• deal with complex professional issues with an academic approach and reflect critically on established knowledge and practice within the research field of the project.
• plan and conduct scholarly work within the topic of his/her the engineering project.
• analyse existing theories, methods and standardised solutions on practical and theoretical engineering problems.

General competence:

On successful completion of the course, the student can:

• apply his/her knowledge and skills to carrying out advanced tasks and projects.
• communicate issues, analyses and solutions to both specialists and non-specialists.
• assess the need for, and initiate innovation in his/her field of expertise.

Seminars, project assignment (scholarly work), scientific report and oral presentation.

Knowledge

On successful completion of the course, the student:

• has an overview of the different elements that comprise the architecture of today’s internet.
• has a good understanding about the approaches for conducting internet measurements and the latest advances in this field.
• be familiar of a broad set of tools that can help analyzing Internet measurments. Of a particular relevance here are tools that originate in other disciplines like Machine Learning and Statisitcal Physics. This will not only expand the available toolset but also increases the potential for interdisciplinory collaboration going forward.

Skills

On successful completion of the course, the student can:

• plan and carry out state-of-the-art measurement tasks
• can formulate research questions on the robustness and performance of operational networks, and design measurements for evaluating these questions.
• will have a general practical understanding of how different parts of the internet's architecture interplay to offer a performant end-to-end service.

General competence

On successful completion of the course, the student can:

• participate in debates and present aspects of his/her expertise in a way that promotes such discussions.
• drive innovation

Emnet undervises i klasserom, der studenten må ha medbrakt privat PC/Mac. Medbrakt privat eksternt tastatur anbefales. I tillegg til forelesninger arbeides det praktisk med øvinger og oppgaver i felleskap, samt at det gis nødvendig opplæring til å kunne øve på egenhånd.

None.

Ev. tildelt forberedelsesmateriale i forbindelse med muntlig framlagte tekst(er)/lydopptak, samt studentens egen autokorrekturliste(r).

Basic background in computer science and networking.