Course syllabus

Course-PM

ACE120 ACE120 Methods and enquiry in organisations lp1 HT23 (7.5 hp)

Course is offered by the department of Architecture and Civil Engineering

 

Contact details

Examiner and main teacher

Martine Buser, Associate professor

E-mail: buser@chalmers.se

Teacher course assistant

Janneke van der Leer, PhD Student ACE

E-mail: janneke.vanderleer@chalmers.se

Rickard Andersson, PhD Student

E-mail: rickande@chalmers.se

Guest lecturer

Bri Gauger, Postdoc, ACE

E-mail: bri.gauger@chalmers.se

ACE
Sven Hultins gata 8
SE - 412 96 Gothenburg

 

Course purpose

This course introduces and trains students to define, plan, perform and present empirical investigations regarding new developments or challenges related to management in the construction sector. Students will learn how to formulate research questions, select appropriate empirical methods, analyse qualitative and quantitative empirical material, present and report data and findings, reflect upon and motivate methodological choices and understand ethical implications of choices and actions.

The theme for the assignment is “new technology in the construction industry”. The students will be asked to study the potential of one specific technology in the particular context of one of the organizations active in the sector.

Reading : a few papers are mandatory to read, they will be signalised during the lectures. Besides, there is a toolbox on Canvas with chapters and articles on the different topics of the lectures that you are asked to use as references.

Tasks: list the work to be done during and or after the session

 

Schedule

Course day	Date/time room	Topic	People
1	Wednesday 30/8	Introduction
	10.00 – 11.45 SB-M500	Course schedule and activities	MB, JVL
2	Wednesday 30/8	Knowledge
	13.15 – 16.00 SB-M500	- What is knowledge in different contexts? - What we communicate, how and to whom? - Master thesis examples Tasks  - Project planning - Create the diary Read for next time Flick chapter 5 Reading and Reviewing the Literature (p. 81 - 102)	MB Former students
3	Thursday 31/8	DCPM get together day
	09.00-17.00	Lindholmen Conference Centre Lunch included Mandatory event	MB, JVL, DK
4	Monday 4/9	Knowledge production in academia: literature
	09.00 – 11.45 SB-M500	- Why and how we use literature - CHATBOT, rules, use and contribution - Technology topic Tasks - Task 1 (see slides)  - Task 2 (see slides) - Task 3: Document the technology (see slides) - Make a list with possible interviewees Read for next time Flick chapter 11 Collecting data, from "Qualitative Inquiries: Interviews and Focus Groups" until "Conclusion" (p. 230 - 252)	JVL
5	Wedeneday 6/9	Workshop Interviews - focus group - observation
	13.15-17.00 SB-M500	See slides for the tasks Read for next time Flick chapter 2 Worldviews in Social Research (p. 23 - 36)	JVL RA
6	Monday 11/9	Paradigms
	09.00 – 11.45 SB-M500	- What are paradigms - Why do we use theory Tasks - Summarise your answers of today's workshop Read for next time Gabriel Y. (2017). Interpretation, reflexivity and imagination in qualitative research, in ed. Ciesielska, M. & Kozminski, D. Qualitative Methodologies in Business and Management - New Approaches to Current Research Dilemmas, pp. 137-157	MB
7	Wednesday 13/9	Literature seminar	JVL, MB
	10.00 – 11.45 SB-M500	Tasks - Answer the questions regarding the Gabriel paper, see slides (2 pages summary of your answers in the diary)
8	Wednesday 13/9	Knowledge workshop
	13.15 – 17.00 SB-M500 Mandatory	Tasks - Deliver your poster Read for next time Flick chapter 4 From Research Idea to Research Question (p. 61 - 77)	MB, JVL
9	Monday 18/9	SWOT and Problem formulation
	09.00 – 11.45 SB-M500	- SWOT analysis - Working with PF and research	MB
10	Wednesday 20/9	Negotiation  and conflict resolution
	13.15– 16.00 SB-M500	- Types of negotiations and resolving conflicts - Group work management	MB
11	Monday 25/9	Master suppression techniques
	09.00 – 11.45 SB-M500	- The 7th master suppression techniques and workshops - Peer review on the dairy Read for next time Flick chapter 12 Analyzing Data, from "Qualitative Analysis" (p. 273 - 296)	MB
12	Wednesday 27/9	Analysis of the empirical material and abstract
	13.15– 16.00 SB-M500	- How to analyse your interviews	MB
13	Monday 2/10	Abstract and method chapter
	09.00 – 11.45 SB-M500 Mandatory	- Abstract - Comparing 3 abstracts - Method chapter Tasks - Deliver a method chapter for your project	MB
14	Wednesday 4/10	Methods peer review
	Between 08.00-10.00 10.00 – 11.45 SB-M500	- Methods review deadline delivery 08.00 methods section read each other (3 groups) - Methods peer review in groups - Lecture presentation skills	MB, JVL
15	Wednesday 4/10	Supervision
	13.15-17.00 Afternoon	Content: feedback diary, method and abstract - To be organized with your supervisor SB M500 will be available for group work	MB, JVL, RA
16	Monday 09/10	Privilege walk
	09.00 – 11.45 SB-M500	- Identity and privilege Read for next time Flick chapter 3 Ethical Issues in Social Research (p. 39 - 58)	BG, MB, JVL
17	Wednesday 11/10	Ethics session
	13.15 – 16.00 SB-M500	- What is ethics? - Ethics in research - Ethics and engineering	MB
18	Thursday 19/10	Presentation of groupwork* 1st round
	09.00 – 17.00 SB-M022	Mandatory	MB, JLV, RA
19	Friday 20/10	Presentation of groupwork* 2nd round
	09.00 – 17.00 SB-M022	Mandatory	MB, JLV, RA

https://cloud.timeedit.net/chalmers/web/public/s.html?i=667Xg6707Zx0QvQ80543Z6yQY5556Y7Y405ZgQ

Course literature

Main references

Flick U. (2020) Introducing research methodology (third edition). Sage, Thousand Oaks.

Bell E., Bryman A. and Harley B. (2015) Business research methods. OUP, Oxford.

Other materials such as scientific papers, book chapters and videos will be provided on Canvas.

Course design

This course provides knowledge and practical training in designing and conducting research studies. It consists of lectures, literature seminars and practical exercises in research strategy and design, quantitative and qualitative research approaches, formulation of research questions, interviewing and observation, as well as in data analysis. It includes the following topics:

• Defining and conducting systematic production of knowledge
• Introduction to theory of science
• Engineering ethics
• Reflective practice
• Communication and team work skills

The course includes lectures, exercises, seminars and quizzes aiming at giving the students general knowledge and training practices to conduct research.

Project groups are formed at the beginning of the course and group supervision will be provided. The compulsory activities will be listed in the course schedule. 

The groups will be asked to provide a diary of the project processes with a weekly update of their progression.

Learning objectives and syllabus

Learning objectives:

• Reflect upon the notion of knowledge in the context of science, engineering and organisations
• Asses the need for scientific information, search for that information and critically evaluate its relevance
• Analyse specific context to define and delimit a research question
• Select appropriate research methods for fulfilling the research project objectives
• Critically evaluate used methods with consideration to both scientific trustworthiness and ethical aspects
• Interpret and assess the quality of the results from a research project
• Formulate and organise a discussion
• Evaluate whether research has been carried out in a trustworthy and defensible manner

Besides, the students should

• Organise, plan and manage the project work load according to the tasks and the members of the group
• Collaborate professionally according to the project group's needs of structured management and task distribution
• Perform a clear oral presentation of the project result that is well-suited to its intended audience
• Assess and give constructive feedback to other projects group's work
• Reflect on and reason about ethical aspects of engineering work, academic research and corporate codes of conduct according to sustainable concerns
• Show ability to discuss and reflect on equality, equal treatment and diversity in a perspective that is relevant to the students and their professional future role in order to be able to challenge and change structures and cultures in the construction industry

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen.

Study plan

Examination form

You are expected to have read the assigned literature before the beginning of each lecture. This will provide you with the necessary terminology and preconception to enable further collective exploration in class.

Participation in mandatory course activities (or a relevant compensation assignment in agreement with the examiner) is a prerequisite for passing the course.

Each group has to attend all the sessions of the course

Exercises done in class will be part of the dairy

Active project group work, including the completed project diary, presentation material and the oral presentation constitute the group component of the final grade for 90%. 

The project topic is to  assess the potential of a given technology for a organisation. The students will be distributed in groups of  4-5 members, randomly chosen and have 7 weeks or 600 hours to come up with a credible result.

To do so the students are expected to 

• Plan and organize the project
• Manage the workload, the tasks and the team 
• Possible interviews with companies weeks 38-39
• Presentation of the results to the class  on the 20-21 October (one out of the dates only for each group)
• Attend the course and participate to the workshops
• Document the group’s work in a diary

A individual assessment of the project process constitutes the final 10%. 

The grading builds on:

• The fulfilling of the project diary, including the group’s assignments related to workshops, for 50% of the grade
• The slides and oral presentation of the case study for 40% 
• The individual assessment for 10%
• Students need to participate to at least 80% of the course sessions, attendance will be checked and supplementary tasks will be given for missing sessions
• Non-participation to the group work leads to a fail!

The course is graded 5, 4, 3 or fail.