To introduce the fundamental concepts, principles and methods required for scientific researches and enhance the research capabilities of post graduate students to be able to conduct and to critically appraise research work

A. Knowledge and understanding: By the end of this program, students should be able to:

1.    Demonstrate understanding of concepts underlying the design of research studies of different designs

2.    Understand the concept of sampling variation.

3.    Outline the guidelines for ethics in research.

B.    Intellectual skills: By the end of the course the candidate should be able to:

1.    Assess the main areas of research in a particular aspect of the subject and explain basic approaches to the design and interpretation of multivariable analysis models.

2.    Critically analyse published papers in various areas, identify important unanswered questions and suggest ways of answering them.

C.   Professional and practical skills: By the end of the course the candidates should be able to:

1.    Demonstrate  some of the skills and  ability required to design a laboratory or field based research project, apply relevant research skills and critically analyse and interpret data

D.   General and transferable skills: By the end of the course the candidates should be able to:

1.    Apply acquired skills to understand, evaluate and keep up to date with scientific literature to  select and design an appropriate research project for future carrier

 

Importance and plan of the program:

This program provides a suitable foundation for students involved in laboratory and field research on which they can develop their skills and expand their experiences for independent research which is crucial in their carrier.

Emphasis will be on practical and applied skills. Each lecture will be followed by a supervised practical session, where the ideas and concepts will be applied. Examples will be based around research themes appropriate to the particular module.

Main topics:

-       Problem identification, analysis and prioritization

-       Research question, hypothesis and goal of the study

-       Variable types (data and information) and specific objectives

-       Study types & design

-       Sample types

-       Sample size

-       Study tools

-       Data management and quality assurance

-       Overall examples

Teaching Strategy:

The program is based mainly on training and brain storming sessions and will be managed through the following teaching methods:

Lectures – interactive discussions - Practical sessions and small group activities

Learning Time:

This program depends mainly on training sessions with few theoretical lectures and the learning time is designed as follows;

o    Lecture represents only 10% of the learning time and 40% is for training sessions (contact time is 50%).  

o   30 % is for directed self-study and self-directed learning.

o   The remaining 20% is specified for assessment, review and revision.

 

·         For monitoring student achievement, a formative assessment based on critical appraisal  and assignments will be performed.

·         The student will be asked to prepare a research  proposal  at the end of the training program.