Description:

This course familiarizes students with the process of doing research in the Social Science setting –it examines theoretical and practical issues. Students are involved in doing research with an emphasis on the following activities: approaches to research and methodology design, formulating a research topic/question; surveying and reviewing literature; conceptualizing a research proposal (including theoretical background, hypothesis, and statements of empirical research; collecting data using a variety of instruments (such as participation observation, questionnaire interview, archival research, and indirect method); evaluating research and policy implications; processing and analyzing data including descriptive and inferential statistics; and presenting and disseminating of research findings.

Rationale:

Contributing to the knowledge base has always been an important objective of higher learning. In today’s world, where information is dynamic and readily available, the skills of searching for, evaluating and disseminating information is of vital importance to the educated person. As more instructors use research as a teaching and learning tool, the lack of such skills in students has become apparent thus highlighting the need to provide these skills to maximize students’ chances of success in higher education.