Experiences of introducing research methods to Honours students
V.C. Galpin, S. Hazelhurst, C. Mueller, and I. Sanders
In T. Mc Donald and P.J. Blignaut, (eds), Proceedings
of the 29th Conference of the Southern African Computer Lecturers' Association
(SACLA '99), Golden Gate, South Africa, 27-29 June 1999. 51-56.
Abstract
Research skills are important for any academic and can be of great
benefit to any professional person. These skills are, however,
difficult to teach and to learn. In the Department of Computer Science
at the University of the Witwatersrand we have for a number of years
included the completion of a research report as part of our Honours
programme. This paper is a case study of how we have implemented an
introductory research methods Honours course to increase our students'
exposure to research and to help them cope better with the research
reports. This course provides an effective way of introducing research
to a relatively large class of Honours students. It is now being given
for the second time.
Our experience with the course is positive and we believe it has made a
major impact on the way research is done by Honours students. Many of
the problems we encountered with the Honours research reports prior to
the introduction of the research methods course have been alleviated.
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