The course is developed by Dr. D. Alontseva, a professor of the School of Information Technologies and Intelligent Systems at D. Serikbayev East-Kazakhstan Technical University (EKTU).
Research organization and planning
IT_IS
About «Research organization and planning»
This 12-topic course takes you through the fundamental principles of research organization and planning. This course gives an overview of the following 12 topics:
- Basic concepts and definitions (relevance, object and subject of research).
- Scientific information and its sources: search, accumulation and processing.
- Concept of science. Hierarchy of Science. Steps of research process.
- Research Performance Indicators. Scientiometrics. Hirsh index. Impact factor.
- What is research: Definition, Methods, Types & Examples
- Research Methodology & Research Plan.
- Different genres of research papers and their structure (main components).
- How to write a literature review?
- Participation in a scientific conference.
- How to write a scientific article? Anatomy of a manuscript.
- Patent system of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Patent application.
- The main components of a master's thesis and advice on what and how to write.
Course Format and Structure
You will proceed through this course and learn these materials on your own at your own pace. This course contains video lectures, and then you will take short quizzes to determine if you remembered what you learned or review the materials. This course also contains written assignments and glossary memorization assignments with tests that you must take after completing certain topics. Three written assignments are required at the end of the course: your academic CV, your research plan, and a brief literature review on your research topic. The course takes approximately 75 hours to complete. Optionally, you can gain practical skills by completing the 3 practical tasks that you find beneficial. Each additional written assignment will take between 2-4 hours to complete.
Each topic contains:
- Presentations (with transcripts) in PDF format for download
- Video lectures with transcripts
- Self-assessment quizzes to test knowledge acquisition of core concepts
- Reading and writing assignments
- Find out more - links to additional resources / materials
Course Goal and Expected Outcomes
The main goal of the course is to help you acquire the necessary knowledge by explaining the basic principles of organizing and planning research, including the requirements for choosing a research methodology, evaluating and disseminating its results, as well as developing your ability to apply the knowledge gained to planning and conducting original research.
As a result of completing the course, you will be able:
- to use modern technologies for searching and analyzing the reliability of scientific information;
- to work with technical documentation and necessary Internet resources and communicate effectively by email within an academic environment;
- to write your academic CV and a short literature review on the topic of your research;
- to competently plan you own research and present its results using modern computer and information and communication technologies.
Particular attention will be paid to improving your academic English skills in the area of your research expertise, in particular reading and writing skills.
Goal Achievement indicator
The course provides several formats for evaluating your achievements:
- "Quiz" self-assessment tests, including tests on glossary (Quizlet) to know if you have learned the materials or if you need to review aspects.
- Not graded practical tasks that you find beneficial (only your efforts will be evaluated).
- Three graded writing assignments: you must submit your academic CV, research plan and a brief literature review on the research topic (your project) in English to complete the course.
- Peer Review Assignment (Text Review)
- Feedback (questions and discussions) that you can provide via Chat and Forum to show your efforts and involvement in the course. There is no formal exam in this online version.
Enrollment and Dates
This course is self-paced. You will work at your own pace.
- Intended audience: First-year university maser students
- Start date: 01 September 2022.
- Enrollment: Anyone can enroll in this course. Click the "Enroll" button to start learning!
- Certificate: You will have the opportunity to obtain a certificate after completing the course with a minimum grade of 70% (written assignments, quizzes, tests, peer-review assignments). You must also have a C or better grade point average.
- Grading scale:
- Quizzes and tests: 45 %
- Writing Assignments: 45 %
- Peer Review Assignment (Text Review): 10%
Prerequisites and Postrequisites
Course Prerequisites: This course has no special prerequisites. Any first-year university master student can enroll in this course. Since this course is in English, for successful and comfortable learning, students need a certain level of English (required for admission to the master's degree at the university)
Course Postrequisites: The learner can apply the knowledge and skills acquired during the course to any future course (this can be especially useful for a doctoral course in research methods). The knowledge, skills and abilities acquired during this course will be essential for the successful planning, writing and defense of a master's thesis.
Informational resources
This course has no specific resources due to the broad nature of this course.
Application of the Course (possible areas according to the Academic Program)
The “Research organization and planning” is the basic discipline of the 7M07101 - "Automation and control" specialty's working curriculum, which forms the master's student knowledge of the basics of the optimal structure of organization and planning of a scientific experiment, management and organization of scientific and technical activities, presentation and discussion of research results and execution of all necessary documents. This course is also applicable to the required modules for the development of research skills in the field of Instrumentation, Technical Physics and other technical specialties taught during the first year of the university master's degree.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there graded assignments in this course? The quizzes and tests are graded automatically. You must pass each one before you can continue. Written and peer review assignments are assessed in accordance with the points indicated in the syllabus and directly in the assignment, each within a week after uploading to Open EdX. There are 3 graded writing assignments: you must submit your academic CV, research plan and a brief literature review on the research topic (your project) in English to complete the course.
Is there a certificate provided upon completion of the course? To receive a certificate when you graduate from the course, you must have completed at least 70 % of all course assignments (written assignments, quizzes, tests, peer review assignment). You must also have a C or better grade point average.
How many hours a week should I spend on the course? It depends on your own schedule. This course is self-paced. You can work at your own pace. The course takes approximately 75 hours to complete.
The page reads "Content Locked". What do I do? You must first complete a previous section. Click the "Go To Prerequisite Section" button. You must receive 70% on the previous quiz to continue.
Course Developert
Acknowledgement and Copyright.
Acknowledgement. The development of this course was partly carried out in the framework of UD (University of Delaware, US) -EKTU Partnership in English as a Medium for Scientific Instruction and Communication. The U.S.-Kazakhstan University Partnerships Program is funded by the Embassy of the United States of America in Kazakhstan and administered by American Councils for International Education.
Unless otherwise noted, these resources are freely distributed using the copyright Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY SA 4.0)
© Alontseva Darya 2022
Course Certification
The course was checked by an expert committee to verify that it meets all the requirements according to the document "Стандарты по разработке курсов в Open edX ДП НАО «ВКТУ» 041-I-2022".