OA3402 Research Methods for Performance Assessment

Well-constructed research is invaluable, informing and enabling decision makers to make better choices. This course covers the research process from beginning to end and explores the types of research conducted in a variety of laboratory and field settings. Topics include institutional approval and ethical use of human subjects; research reliability and validity; formulation of the research question; research designs ranging from experimentation to systematic observational techniques and subjective surveys; database management considerations; analytical approaches; and writing and presenting the research paper. Prerequisites: None.

Lecture Hours

3

Lab Hours

1

Course Learning Outcomes

By the time you finish this course, you will be able to:

• Comprehend a technical report or peer-reviewed publication.
• Critically evaluate research or engineering methodologies.
• Analyze results from a study, test, evaluation, assessment, or simulation.
• Explain others’ interpretations and compare and contrast them with one’s own.