Proposal development
Postgraduate course
- ECTS credits
- 5
- Teaching semesters
- Autumn
- Course code
- INTH330B
- Number of semesters
- 2
- Teaching language
- English
- Resources
- Schedule
Course description
Objectives and Content
The overall objective is to help students conceptualize and prepare a research proposal in their research area and to nurture a sense of inquisitiveness and active participation in research. One week is used for introductory lectures covering all chapters of a complete research proposal and interactive teaching where each student presents his/her preliminary research proposal and the rest of the class and teacher/s discuss/peer-review these proposals in groups. Students learn to use the research methods taught in the research tools course (INTH315) into practical examples and refine their individual research proposals. This week is followed by 3 full-day seminars during spring semester where the students get peer-review of their proposals before final submission.
The main body of the course is the actual work students carry out on their proposals after this introductory week. Regular discussions with supervisor(s) are an important element of the process.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of the course the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:
Knowledge
The student can:
- justify the choice of research methods
- explain the requirements and process for ethical clearance
Skills
The student can:
- find relevant literature and write a review as justification for the study
- clearly formulate the research question(s), broad objective(s) and specific objectives
- choose the relevant data collection tools/laboratory methods
- choose proper statistical methods in data analysis
- formulate expected outcomes
- make a research budget
General competence
The student is able to:
- independently conceptualize and prepare a good and comprehensive research proposal within the limited time frame and resources
- communicate the research plan professionally
ECTS Credits
Level of Study
Semester of Instruction
Recommended Previous Knowledge
Credit Reduction due to Course Overlap
Access to the Course
Teaching and learning methods
The organized teaching includes one full week in autumn and 3 individual days in spring. The rest of the course is the actual work students carry out on their proposals. Major emphasis is placed on the exercises in groups and individually, peer-review, and plenary discussions with teachers having qualitative and quantitative research backgrounds. 80% of the organized teaching is used for interactive teaching where each student is expected to present own preliminary sketch for class discussion and peer review. This one week`s organized session is followed by the regular sessions with supervisory team during proposal development. The proposals are peer-reviewed by the fellow students and evaluated by supervisors before submission.
Student investment time: 125 hours
Contact hours (lectures and seminars): 42 hours
Individual working hours: 83 hours
Teaching Methods and Extent of Organized Teaching
One week introductory course on proposal development. Major emphasis is placed on the exercises in groups and individually and plenary discussions with teachers having qualitative and quantitative research backgrounds. 80% of the time is used for interactive teaching where each student is expected to present own preliminary sketch for class discussion. This one week`s organized session is followed by the regular sessions with supervisory team during proposal development, and one day follow-up seminar with feed-back on individual proposals from course coordinators.
Student investment time: 260 hours
Contact hours (lectures and seminars): 50
Contact hours (supervision): 10
Individual working hours: 200
Compulsory Assignments and Attendance
Forms of Assessment
Grading Scale
Assessment Semester
Reading List
Course Evaluation
Programme Committee
Course Coordinator
Professor Tehmina Mustafa (Temina.Mustafa@uib.no)
Professor Karine Marie Moland (Karen.Moland@uib.no)