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Advanced Research Methods: Course Outline (MSDM)

The problem-solving research uses applied research to find solutions to the existing problems. Qualitative Research: Qualitative research is a process that is about inquiry, that helps in-depth understanding of the problems or issues in their natural sett

Course Outline

Overview and Course Objectives

This course is designed to lay the foundations of good theoretical and empirical research from an interdisciplinary perspective with a focus on Disaster Management and Health Care Management. Students become familiar with a variety of approaches to theory extension and development, research design and analyses, and are helped to develop their own research projects/dissertations and produce quality research papers. The students will be required to write a research paper at the end of the course and submit it to an international research conference as identified by the instructor. The Course will also provide an overview of Social Sciences and Disaster Management Research in Islamic Perspectives. The course will start with an introduction to the principles and methods of  research: selecting a workable topic, developing theoretical framework, choosing the appropriate design, securing the respondents, making a test investigation, sampling, collecting data, types and errors of collected data, tabulating and analysing the data using statistical tools and software, interpreting the finding, stating the conclusion, drafting a research paper and finally submitting it to an international conference for possible consideration.

Required Course Materials and Readings

The course requires extensive reading on some topics (see Course Schedule section).  The readings will be made available to students in advance of the classes electronically. Class meetings will involve group discussions of the assigned readings, punctuated with lectures and/or presentations.  Each student will be responsible for summarizing and leading discussion on one or more assigned readings in class.

Indented Learning Outcomes

The specific course objectives are to help students develop:

  • The ability to translate basic/applied issues into appropriate academic research questions in the domains of Health Care Management and Disaster Management;
  • An understanding of how to publish in high quality research outlets.
  • The ability to contribute to the existing body of knowledge by publishing research papers, either theoretical or empirical, in journals of good repute.
  • An appreciation of the links between the issues being investigated and the method of investigation;
  • An understanding of the governing principles in the quantitative and qualitative research traditions, the merits and limitations of each, and of their independent and supporting roles;
  • The skills required to design and conduct research studies using quantitative and quantitative methods;
  • The ability to use SPSS software for data entry and statistical analyses and
  • The ability to interpret research results and establish the substantive meaning and implications of the findings.