SIW4220 Qualitative Methods and Research Design Emneplan

No requirements over and above the admission requirements.

After completing this course, the student has the following learning outcomes, defined as knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student has

• a fundamental knowledge about sensing principles and practical methods for interfacing various sensors with electronic measurement systems.
• in-depth knowledge of various noise sources in sensors and measurement systems, their characteristics and mitigation measures.
• in-depth knowledge of important measurement principles in acoustic, optical, thermal, mechanical and electromagnetic-based sensors.
• has general knowledge about an architecture of an instrument including front-end and back-end electronics and its connection to the rest of the instrument.
• konwledge of how communication between the units in an instrument.
• working knowledge of power supply requirements.
• a understanding of legal requirements and practical aspects of electronic devices safety and instruments classification.

Skills

The student can

• design, construct and test sensing systems with appropriate instrumentation circuits and analyse their properties (noise, dynamic range, linearity).
• conduct practical measurements using a range of sensors in specific applications, such as biomedical, mechanical, robotic, mechatronic, environmental or research settings.
• present the measured data in standard formats and interpret the values for specific applications.
• apply the knowledge of how measurement uncertainty and noise impact sensor performance and accuracy.
• assess the electronic and technical safety of the instrument system in question.

General competence

The student can

• describe the operation of different types of sensors, and their limitations.
• discuss and outline the structure of sensing and instrumentation system for a particular application in light of safety requirements and regulations.
• document work in form of a technical report in a specified format,
• present the working prototype of a sensor and measurement system and explain its principle of operation, limitations, and propose future improvements.

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

Knowledge

The student has

• thorough knowledge of the research process
• advanced knowledge of qualitative research designs: their appropriate use as well as strengths and limitations
• advanced conceptual tools to be applied in discussing, evaluating, and exploring social phenomena

Skills

The student can

• relate research processes to scientific theory and ethical principles
• apply research methods in a reflective manner and appropriately choose methods that are relevant for different kinds of research questions
• use relevant methods for producing, analysing and interpreting diverse types of empirical data (e.g. literature, interviews, and field observations)
• evaluate research based on qualitative methodologies in terms of methodological quality and appropriateness

General competence

The student

• has knowledge of general research ethics
• has the ability to reflect critically on the ethical dimensions of data collection, analysis and presentation of data
• has the ability to think critically concerning the development, design and execution of research

The teaching takes place with in-person attendance on campus, and consists of lectures, seminar group- and individual exercises.

Course meetings are divided into lecture and seminar portions. In the seminar, student project groups and/or individual students work with practical exercises. The seminars will be supervised on demand. Students will complete practical exercises in each seminar, which will be collected in a "project portfolio". Portfolio work will receive feedback from the instructor and at specified times throughout the semester and a selection of the work will comprise a portion of the final exam.

The following coursework requirements must have been approved in order for the student to take the exam:

• Coursework 1: Participation in at least 80% of the seminars.
• Coursework 2: An oral presentation, presented by the student project group, as well as peer feedback to another group's work. The presentation can be anything from a presentation of results from that group's work, to presenting the most interesting group discussion or reflection on course related topics.

Attendance during the group presentation is mandatory, and presentations and feedback must be approved by the course lecturer. Students who are not present or who have not provided input to the group or have not participated in providing feedback to a peer group, or have presentations that are not approved, will have to submit an alternative qualification to be able to sit for the examination.

Lack of an approved course work requirement will disqualify the student from taking part in the final examination.

During the practical group project: All

På skriflig eksamen;

* The students report from their own practical group project.

* A handheld calculator that cannot be used for wireless communication or to perform symbolic calculations. If the calculator’s internal memory can store data, the memory must be deleted before the exam. Random checks may be carried out.

Grade scale A-F.

One internal examiner. External examiners are used regularly.

Olga Korostynska

The course builds on ELTS2100 Electronics.