CIS Research Methods

2008 | 2009 | 2010

Area/catalogue: INFT 4017
Course ID: 100934

School: School of Computer and Information Science

Campus/course component(s):
Mawson Lakes: Seminar
Note: These components may or may not be scheduled in every study period. Please refer to the timetable for further details.

Unit value: 4.5

Offered externally: Yes (Study Period 2)

Undergraduate elective course: No

Course details
Fee information for this course
Learning resources for this course
Support resources for this course
Class Timetable (Study Period 2 - 2009)

Course details

Prerequisite(s):

Admission to an Honours, Masters (by research, or by coursework with a Minor Thesis) or PhD program; or approval by the relevant Program Director or by the School Research Degrees Coordinator.

Short form:
The research process; the content of research proposals in the IT/IS domain; writing a research proposal; research methodologies appropriate across the fields of Information Technology/Information Systems (IT/IS); investigating emerging issues in IT/IS; research frameworks for IT/IS; qualitative and quantitative research in IT/IS; appropriate use of statistical data analysis in IT/IS research projects; research software tools and their use
Detailed Syllabus:
Note that the central core of this course (the research process) will be taught in parallel by researchers from the appropriate discipline. Students will follow the methodology stream associated with their research topic rather than their course ID.

CIS Research Methods Syllabus
Information Systems/Information Technology Students	Software Engineering/Computer Science Students
What is an Honours/Masters/PhD dissertation/thesis (character, scale and originality)
Library facilities, on-line databases and the Internet as a research resource
The role of the supervisor
Ethics in research
Scientific method and its relevance to IT/IS research
Qualitative and quantitative research methods – strengths and weaknesses
Selecting a topic for research
Identifying an appropriate research philosophy and epistemology
Accessing the literature
Placing your research within the continuum of knowledge
Writing a research proposal (structure style, citations/quotations and referencing style)
The IS/IT academic research process: -formally stating and justifying the research question -designing an appropriate programme of research -choosing one or more research methods -conducting a research project	The SE/CS academic research process: -formally stating and justifying the research question -designing an appropriate programme of research -choosing one or more research methods -conducting a research project
Writing a thesis or dissertation
Presenting your research (in writing and orally)
The examiner's eye view of a thesis

Text book/s:

Phillips, E.M Pugh, D.S 2000, How to Get a PhD, 3rd, Open University Press, Buckingham, England.
McMurray, A., Pace, W. & Scott, D. 2003, Research: a common sense approach,, Thomson Learning ISBN: 0 17 012235 2.

Course coordinator/s:

Professor Paul Swatman, City West
Associate Professor Helen Ashman

Fee information for this course

EFTSL: 0.125

Please note all EFTSL values are published and calculated at ten decimal places. Values are displayed to three decimal places for ease of interpretation.

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as part of a Commonwealth Supported program
as part of a postgraduate fee-paying program
as part of a program for fee-paying international students
as a non-award enrolment

Not all courses are available on all of these bases, and students must check to ensure that they are permitted to enroll in a particular course.

International students and students undertaking this course as part of a postgraduate fee paying program must refer to the relevant program home page to determine the applicable cost for undertaking this course.

Non-award tuition fees are set by the Division offering the course. How to determine the relevant non award tuition fee

The student contribution amount for students enrolling in this course as part of the requirements of a program for which they are Commonwealth Supported may be determined below:

Commonwealth Supported Band Amount: Band 2
How to determine your Commonwealth Supported course fee (student contribution)

Learning resources for this course

Resources specific to this course

General learning resources available through the Learning and Teaching Unit

Course evaluation online – student access only

Course evaluation online – staff access only

Assignment submission online

Open AssignIT

General Library resources

Support resources for this course

Technical/computer assistance

Administrative services

Campus Central
myUniSA
Class Timetable (Study Period 2 - 2009)
More information about textbooks is available from Unibooks (clicking on the Unibooks logo will take you out of the University's web site)

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