Research methods

Overview

This book is a work-in-progress intended to support the course INFO5520 - Research Methods offered in the Master of Information program at Dalhousie University.

Important note

Winter 2025 will be the first iteration of this new version of the course, which means that:

• Most content is not yet available and will be uploaded over the course of the semester.
• Depending on time constraints, some chapters may end up being very briefs, or include only a set of slides used for in-class presentations.

Thank you for your understanding!

Note

This book can be accessed directly from your browser (without going through Brightspace) using the following URL: https://pmongeon.github.io/info5520/

Schedule

Week	Section	Topic
1	Introduction	Course overview, key concepts in research
2	Conceptual phase	Literature review
3	Conceptual phase	Research problems, purpose, and questions
4	Methodological phase	Methodological designs, research ethics
5	Methodological phase	Sampling, defining, operationalizing and measuring concepts.
6	Methodological phase	Qualitative data collection- observations, interviews, focus groups.
7	Methodological phase	Quantitative data collection - Surveys, structured observations.
8	Empirical phase	Data collection
9	Analytical phase	Qualitative data analysis
10	Analytical phase	Descriptive and inferential statistics
11	Reporting phase	Principle of effective written, visual and oral presentation of research.
12	Reporting phase	Group presentations

Important

Use the course Brightspace to:

• Access the syllabus (under the content - overview tab).
• Access the assignments instructions and due dates.
• Submit your assignments.

Other information and resources

• Use APA style for your references in all assignments.

• Use Zotero (or another reference manager of your choice) to store your references and to cite them in your work. (not mandatory, but highly recommended).

• You can use this Word template to write your assignments (not mandatory). Whether you use this template or not, use Word styles to format and structure your document.

• Have fun.