This unit introduces students to IT research. Specifically, it introduces major research methods that are used by IT researchers including experiments, surveys, case studies, and design science. It also addresses the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. Students will learn how to effectively communicate research. Skills developed and knowledge acquired from this unit will prepare students to conduct their own research, as well as to be knowledgeable consumers of others' research.
Two hours of lecture and two hours of studio/tutorial per week.
Students will be expected to spend a total of 12 hours per week during semester on this unit as follows:
Lectures: 2 hours per week
Tutorials: 2 hours per week per tutorial
and a minimum of 2-3 hours of personal study per one hour of contact time in order to satisfy the reading and assignment expectations.
| Week | Activities | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0 | |
| 1 | The Nature of Research | |
| 2 | Literature Analysis | |
| 3 | Research in Information Technology | |
| 4 | Communicating Research and Oral Presentations | |
| 5 | Design Research and Writing Journal Papers | |
| 6 | Experiments | |
| 7 | Surveys | |
| 8 | Case Studies and Research Publication Matters | Assignment 1 due 3 May 2013 |
| 9 | Introduction to Data Analysis | |
| 10 | Quantitative Data Analysis | |
| 11 | Correlation and Regression | Assignment 2 due 24 May 2013 |
| 12 | Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis | |
| SWOT VAC | No formal assessment is undertaken in SWOT VAC. Assignment 3 due 11 June 2013, Week 14 | |
| Examination period | LINK to Assessment Policy: http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/ academic/education/assessment/ assessment-in-coursework-policy.html |
*Unit Schedule details will be maintained and communicated to you via your learning system.
In-semester assessment (assignments and class tests): 100%
| Assessment Task | Value | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment 1: Critical Review of Published Research | 30% | 3 May 2013 |
| Assignment 2: Overview of a Research Project | 40% (Research Project Report 30% and Class Oral Presentation 10%) | 24 May 2013 |
| Assignment 3: Research Project Evaluation | 30% | 11 June 2013 |
Faculty Policy - Unit Assessment Hurdles (http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/staff/edgov/policies/assessment-examinations/unit-assessment-hurdles.html)
Academic Integrity - Please see the Demystifying Citing and Referencing tutorial at http://lib.monash.edu/tutorials/citing/
The assignment will be assessed by:
The research project report (30%) will be assessed by:
The class oral presentation (10%) will be assessed by a peer-review process.
The assignment will be assessed by:
Loraine Blaxter, Christina Hughes, and Malcolm Tight (2010). How to research, 4th Edition. Open University Press, Maidenhead.
John W. Creswell (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Sage, Thousand Oaks, Calif., USA.
Catherine Dawson (2009) Introduction to Research Methods: A Practical Guide for Anyone Undertaking a Research Project, 4th Edition. How To Books, Oxford.
W.G. Zikmund, B.J. Babin, J.C. Carr and M. Griffin (2010). Business Research Methods, 8th Edition. South-Western, Cengage Learning, Mason, OH.
Additional readings will be provided for each lecture. See the unit Moodle site for further details.
Monash Library Unit Reading List
http://readinglists.lib.monash.edu/index.html
Submission must be made by the due date otherwise penalties will be enforced.
You must negotiate any extensions formally with your campus unit leader via the in-semester special consideration process: http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/equity/special-consideration.html.
It is a University requirement (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/plagiarism-procedures.html) for students to submit an assignment coversheet for each assessment item. Faculty Assignment coversheets can be found at http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/forms/. Please check with your Lecturer on the submission method for your assignment coversheet (e.g. attach a file to the online assignment submission, hand-in a hard copy, or use an online quiz).
If Electronic Submission has been approved for your unit, please submit your work via the Moodle site for this unit, which you can access via links in the my.monash portal.
Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them. You can find Monash’s Education Policies at: www.policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html
Key educational policies include:
The University provides many different kinds of support services for you. Contact your tutor if you need advice and see the range of services available at http://www.monash.edu.au/students. For Sunway see http://www.monash.edu.my/Student-services, and for South Africa see http://www.monash.ac.za/current/.
The Monash University Library provides a range of services, resources and programs that enable you to save time and be more effective in your learning and research. Go to www.lib.monash.edu.au or the library tab in my.monash portal for more information. At Sunway, visit the Library and Learning Commons at http://www.lib.monash.edu.my/. At South Africa visit http://www.lib.monash.ac.za/.
For more information on Monash’s educational strategy, see:
www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions and on student evaluations, see: www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/student-evaluation-policy.html
In its first offering (2012) at the SEU-Monash Joint Graduate School in Suzhou, this unit has achieved a student evaluation score of 4.73 (out of 5) for the quality of the unit. Student feedback has shown that this unit is well structured and no changes are required for this semester. In particular, students are happy with the encouragement and helpful feedback they received from the lecturer for their active participation in this unit.
If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp