Experimental Methodology in Research
Experimentell forskningsmetodik

GEM080F, 7.5 credits

Valid from: Spring 2020
Decided by: Annika Mårtensson, Prorektor
Date of establishment: 2020-02-04

General Information

Division: Doctoral Research Training
Course type: Third-cycle course
Teaching language: English

Aim

The course aims to provide an advanced understanding of experimental methodologies in research. It provides knowledge about fundamental concepts and techniques that are applied across a wide range of experimental research fields.

Goals

Knowledge and Understanding

For a passing grade the doctoral student must

• Be able to explain concepts in science theory and how they apply to research practices
• Be able to conceptually differ between experimentation and passive observation
• Be able to demonstrate an understanding of limitations of intuitive experimental procedures, such as changing one factor at a time or running trial-and-error experiments
• Demonstrate basic conceptual knowledge of Design of Experiments (DoE)

Competences and Skills

For a passing grade the doctoral student must

• Be able to plan and carry out experiments that result in explanatory knowledge
• Be able to identify the principles of statistical hypothesis tests and apply the most common ones.

Judgement and Approach

For a passing grade the doctoral student must Be able to identify ethical risks pertaining to research methodology.

Course Contents

To support the learning outcomes, the course is built around examples and exercises as well as a small group project, where the central concepts and techniques are applied.

Course Literature

Andersson, Ö.: Andersson, Ö., 2012: Experiment! – Planning, Implementing and Interpreting. 288pp, Wiley. ISBN-10: 0470688254. ISBN-13: 978-0470688250. Wiley, 2012.
The course is given by the author of the course textbook.

Instruction Details

Types of instruction: Lectures, seminars, exercises, project. The course includes lectures, assignments, excercises, project work and literature reading.

Examination Details

Examination formats: Written exam, written assignments, seminars given by participants. Substantial active participation in course activities is a requirement, e.g. more than 50 % of the scheduled classroom sessions. All course tasks need to be fulfilled and assessed by the course leader. At the end of the course there is a compulsory written exam (all assessments on a Pass/Fail-basis).
Grading scale: Failed, pass
Examiner:

Admission Details

Admission requirements: To be prioritized in the admission to the course, applicants have to be admitted to a PhD programme at LTH.
Assumed prior knowledge: This is a faculty-wide doctoral course particularly suitable for students involved in empirical research. Some experience of data collection in ones own research is an advantage.
Selection criteria: Priority is given to students who are closest to finishing their PhD programmes.

Further Information

https://portal.research.lu.se/portal/en/persons/oeivind-andersson(6c8ba8ef-efd0-4f18-a099-1432b09b4ac3).html

Course Occasion Information

Contact and Other Information

Course coordinators:
Web page: https://www.lth.se/english/cee/doctoral-education-support/faculty-wide-phd-courses/