Research Methods in Development Studies (MIED-DED)

Área

AC Economia > UC Doutoramentos

Activa nos planos curriculares

Estudos de Desenvolvimento > Estudos de Desenvolvimento > 3º Ciclo > Unidades Curriculares Obrigatórias > Research Methods in Development Studies

Nível

Doutoramento (D)

Tipo

Não Estruturante

Regime

Semestral

Carga Horária

Aula Teórica (T): 0.0 h/semana

Aula TeoricoPrática (TP): 2.0 h/semana

Trabalho Autónomo: 134.0 h/semestre

Créditos ECTS: 6.0

Objectivos

This curricular unit aims at to introduce the PhD students to the process of scientific research, and to offer an overview of research methods and analytical tools used in research in the field of Development Studies, intending to provide students with basic capacities to conduct scientific research in this area of studies. Emphasis will be put on basic epistemological considerations on research, the nature and stages of the research design and the research process, how to formulate research questions and research hypotheses, the use of secondary sources and the collection of primary data, and the use of qualitative and quantitative data (dichotomy among both and the approach of a complementary use of both).

Programa

1ª semana (2 horas), 19 Setembro
1. Introduction to scientific research (Prof. Pedro Raposo)
topics: what is science and scientific knowledge; scientific research and scientific method; types of scientific research; a (brief) historical view of scientific thought.
2. What means to make scientific research: main concepts (Prof. Pedro Raposo)
topics: the unit of analysis; concepts, constructs and variables; propositions and hypotheses; theories and models.
2ª semana (2 horas), 26 Setembro
3. The research process: main issues (Prof. Pedro Raposo)
topics: paradigms of social research; overview of the research process and the main phases: exploration (research questions, literature review, identification of theories), research design, the research proposal, the research execution (pilot testing, data collection, data analysis), and the research report.
3ª semana (2 horas), 3 Outubro
4. The role of theories in scientific research (Prof. Pedro Raposo)
topics: what is a theory: main components (constructs, propositions, hypotheses); the role of assumptions in the theories: what is a "good" theory; how, and when, does the theory come into the research process.
5. Research designs (Prof. Pedro Raposo)
topics: the (internal and external) validity of a research design; types of research designs: experimental studies, field surveys, secondary data analysis, case research, focus group research, action research, ethnography.
4ª semana (2 horas), 10 Outubro
6. Hypothetical Constructs and Measurement (Prof. Ana Sampaio)
Topics:
-Measurement of constructs and latent response formulation: continuous, grouped, interval-censored, ordinal, dichotomous and censored responses).
-Classical test theory: reliability. Summated scales. Validity.

Metodologia de avaliação

1. Each PhD student must produce a scientific research paper in which one or more methods (qualitative and / or quantitative) learned during the semester are applied in the paper (article).
2. This small report will be in the form of a paper that should have between 3000 and 5000 words including bibliography. Tables and attachments shall be delivered separately.

Bibliografia

Principal