This unit is proposed as part of the introduction of coursework into the PhD program within the Faculty of Information Technology, and for research Masters students who wish to upgrade to PhD. This unit will be at an advanced level, building on knowledge on research methods gained by students in their Honours (or equivalent) coursework. The unit will focus on various research methods adopted for ICT research with the aim of critically evaluating the philosophical underpinnings and paradigmatic assumptions when designing and conducting research for technical, as well as social advancements of ICT.

8/10/13 - Amendment to pre- and co-requisties deleting FIT4005, FIT5185 as per unit amendment documentation submitted to FRC/FB Exec.

The amendment adds pre- and co-requisites: FIT4005, 5185 or 5143 (or equivalent units). This will apply from Semester 1, 2014.

Sept 2014: Remove "1" from unit name since there is no longer an "Advanced research methods 2".

19 Nov 2014 - Adding new location of offering as this unit will be offered in the PhD coursework program in Malaysia from Semester 1, 2015. ADRT has requested this unit be available to MUM.

24/05/2021 - Admin: updating CE.

26Sep2021: Response to transition to new Professional Development approach that sees all new PhD candidates conducting Professional Development in the future but requires a transition phase in the meantime. This was discussed with Bernd Meyer, Joanne Evans and Matthew Butler.

8Oct2021: slight update for timetabling based on feedback by Bernd Meyer.

Upon successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

029999 Information Technology Not Elsewhere Classified

The aim of the unit is to prepare PhD candidates from the Faculty of IT to conduct research across the range of the disciplines that cover Information and Communication Technology (ICT) research, including computer science, software engineering, at the technical end, and organisational and social informatics, which address societal needs in ICT. This unit is compulsory for all students enrolled in the FIT PhD program from January 2013. The unit comprises of workshops, which address the broad philosophical, methodological and ethical underpinnings of conducting research in ICT, as well as classical and modern approaches to designing data collection and analysis for rigorous and sophisticated ICT research studies. Students have the option to choose from a list of available workshops.

On-campus/Block mode

The unit comprises a set of workshops, which address the broad philosophical, methodological and ethical underpinnings of conducting research in ICT, as well as classical and modern approaches to designing data collection and analysis for rigorous and sophisticated ICT research studies. A sample list of workshops is as follows: ? Workshop# 1. The scientific method ? Workshop# 2. Problem solving and mathematical proofs ? Workshop# 3. Statistical inference ? Workshop# 4. Argument analysis ? Workshop# 5. Modeling and computer simulation ? Workshop# 6. Philosophical foundations of organisational and social informatics research ? Workshop# 7 to 10. Topics in organisational and social informatics research To complete this compulsory unit, students must choose and complete at least one workshop; the compulsory workshop will be determined depending on the main area of student's research. The topics, the contents and the number of the workshops offered may vary yearly depending on the need of the student cohort. Other workshops may be sourced from outside the Faculty. The teaching methods will include lectures and/or seminars/practical work to reinforce the learning by actively engaging students. Each workshop will be run over a video-conference room for multi-campus teaching. Moodle will be used to facilitate forum discussion and teaching material delivery.

The understanding of the workshops will be assessed with written and/or oral reflections on the workshop contents and its integration with the candidates? own research practice.

Students will participate in a number of individually chosen workshops and collective evlaution and reflection sessions. Individual workshops will typically have 2-7 hours face-to-face time that is complemented with additional independent work. The total target workload for all workshops including independent work is aproximately 120 hours. Individual study plans will be negotiated with the subject leader at the start of the semester.

One 4 hour workshop per week to be scheduled in a VC room (just in case ...).

FIT

N/A