PCS902 Forskningsmetode, forskningsetikk og vitenskapelig arbeidsform

Upon completion of the course, the candidate should be able to:

Knowledge

• explain the main positions in the philosophy of science that are relevant to computer science research, and contemporary critiques of these.
• define the main methodological approaches to natural science research and the theoretical underpinnings of these.
• distinguish the different types of ethical responsibilities that come with scientific work: professional, community, social and environmental.
• describe the central ethical principles for research work including problems pertaining to handling of data and observations.
• explain and identify what constitutes plagiarism and self-plagiarism.
• describe the theories of innovation and different strategies and models for innovation.
• describe the processes involved in taking new technologies into a commercial market.

Skills

• identify the scientific-theoretical foundations for a specific research project.
• apply existing research methodologies to their own research projects and critically evaluate the results of this in the light of eventual weaknesses or reservations in the theoretical foundations of these methodologies.
• recognize what ethical problems that are relevant for a given research project, and carry out the research and publication work based on deliberations and reflections over these problems.
• review scientific papers and reference other works correctly.

General competence

• recognize and discuss scientific-theoretic, methodological and ethical aspects of research projects.
• identify ideas and technologies in a research project that may be commercialized, and plan how to bring these into a market while handling questions such as intellectual property rights, patents and copyrights.

The course is organized into 3 modules. Each module is taught intensively during a period of 1 week including lectures, colloquiums and self-study.

Module 1 - Philosophy of Science and Research Methodology Lectures: 8h - Colloquiums: 6h

Module 2 - Ethics and Integrity in Scientific Work Lectures: 6h - Colloquiums: 6h

Module 3 - Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Scientific Work Lectures: 6h - Colloquiums: 6h

In total there are 20h of lectures and 18h of colloquiums. Students are expected to use 1 hour for preparation and debriefing for every hour of lectures, and 2 hours of preparation for every hour of colloquiums. In addition, the mandatory report is estimated to take about 50 hours of work, for a total of 144 hours.

There are several elements that must be completed for the evaluation of the course.

Module 1: Assignment.

The participants must deliver a written report in which the PhD project of the candidate is discussed in relation to selected topics covered by the module. The report will be graded with Pass/Fail. By the time the course begins, the examiner will have posted a schedule for updated literature.

Module 2: Assignment.

The participants must deliver a written report in which the PhD project of the candidate is discussed in relation to selected topics covered by the module. The report will be graded with Pass/Fail.

Module 3: Assignment.

The participants must deliver a written assignment in which they discuss obligatory literature in relation to individual PhD projects. The report will be graded with Pass/Fail.

To be registered for the assignment in module 3, the participants must have presented two seminar papers related to selected topics (compulsory learning activities).

Module 1 - Philosophy of Science and Research Methodology

• T. Kuhn. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. University of Chicago Press, 1972. Selected chapters.
• K. Popper. The Logic of Scientific Discovery, Routledge, 1959. Selected chapters.
• R. K. Yin. Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Sage, 2002. Selected chapters.
• J. W. Creswell. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. Sage, 2002.
  M. Jørgensen and D. K. Sjøberg. Generalization and Theory-Building in Software Engineering Research. IEEE Proceedings, Workshop on Empirical Assessment in Software Engineering (EASE'04), at ICSE'04, pp. 29-36, 2004.
• G. D. Crnkovic. Constructive research and info-computational knowledge generation.
  Model-Based Reasoning in Science and Technology. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2010. 359-380.

Module 2 - Ethics and Integrity in Scientific Work

• D. Elliot and J. E. Stern. Research Ethics. A Reader. University Press of New England, 1997. Selected chapters.
• P. A. Griffiths (ed.). On Being a Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Research. National Academy Press, 1995. Selected chapters.
• J. M. Ziman. An Introduction to Science Studies: The Philosophical and Social Aspects of Science and Technology. Cambridge Press, 1984. Selected chapters.

Module 3 - Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Scientific Work

• T. E. Burns and G. M. Stalker. The management of innovation. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership Historical Research Reference in Entrepreneurship, 1961. Selected chapters.
• H. W. Chesbrough. Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Harvard Business Press, 2003. Selected chapters.
• W. M. Cohen and D. A. Levinthal. Innovation and learning: the two faces of R & D. The economic journal (1989): 569-596.
• W. J. Abernathy and J. M. Utterback. Patterns of industrial innovation. Journal Title: Technology review. Ariel, 64, 1978, 254-228.
• P. F. Drucker. Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practice and principles. Routledge, 2007. Selected chapters.

Participants must take actively part in the colloquiums by giving oral presentations on subjects and literature in each of the three modules. The participants must participate in discussions, including critical discussions based on the writing of scientific reviews.

In module 3, the participants must present two seminar papers related to selected topics.