CSB3102 Research Methods

The course unit is designed to acquaint students with types of scientific research relevant for day-to-day challenges.  It will equip the students with the necessary skills that will enable them be able to conduct research projects while at university and outside. This course also introduces students to statistical methods often used in scientific data analysis. Students are further introduced to statistical inference and hypothesis testing and comparison of two mean values.

Course Objectives
This course unit is meant to:

• Equip students with the skills that will enable them carry out independent research,
• Aid the students to understand and appreciate why we do research,
• Guide the students through research process,
• Produce good research proposals and project reports,
• Educate the students on ethical research practices. 
• Analyze scientific data using various statistical approaches
• Apply statistical models during their experimental design process
• Capture and interpret statistical data with the use of statistical software tools like SPSS.

Expected Learning Outcome
On successful completion of this course unit, students should be able to:

• Identity suitable research areas.
• Choose a suitable research method to employ during their research,
• Review relevant literature in their area of interest.
• Write a standard proposal.
• Collect and analyse data
• Write a standard project report.
• Follow the practical and ethical issues in research.