UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

COURSE OUTLINE:

RESEARCH METHODS (MEPE/MCE513)

Department: Electrical Engineering

Year of study/Semester: Year 1

Course outline version No: 1

Lecturer’s Information: Name: Dr Florance Matarise

Email: matarise7@gmail.com
matarise@science.uz.ac.zw
Office phone: Ext. 15060
Mobile: +263-771139422
Office location: Statistics Dept Room 203
Office hours: 08h00 – 16h30
Consultation hours: By appointment.

Course Outline: Research Methods (MEPE/MCE513)

PURPOSE OF THE COURSE

Research Methodology is a hands‐on course designed to impart education in the foundational methods and
techniques of academic research in all fields of research such as engineering, science, social sciences and
business management research. Research scholars would examine and be practically exposed to the main
components of a research framework i.e., problem definition, research design, data collection, ethical
issues in research, report writing, and presentation. Once equipped with this knowledge, participants would
be well‐placed to conduct disciplined research under supervision in an area of their choosing. In addition to
their application in an academic setting, many of the methodologies discussed in this course would be
similar to those deployed in professional research environments.

2. COURSE DATA

Duration: 3 weekends (Friday to Sunday)

Contact Hours: 50 hrs

AIMS INCLUDE:

• To develop understanding of the basic framework of research process.

• To develop an understanding of various research designs and techniques.
• To identify various sources of information for literature review and data collection.
• To develop an understanding of the ethical dimensions of conducting applied research.
• Appreciate the components of scholarly writing and evaluate its quality.

Learning Outcomes:
After successfully completing this course, students should be able to conduct research i.e.
1. Come with research problems,
2. Determine which concepts to measure,
3. Hypothesize the concepts,
4. Design the research,
5. Collect data,
6. Analyze data,
7. Write academic, technical and or general reports.

Course Outline: Research Methods MEPE/MCE513 Page 2 of 5

3. COURSE CONTENT:

1. Introduction to research – The role of research, research process overview,

2. Philosophies and the language of research theory building – Science and its functions. Scientific
Research, What is theory? The meaning of methodology
3. Thinking like a researcher – Understanding Concepts, Constructs, Variables, and Definitions
4. Problems and Hypotheses – Defining the research problem, Formulation of the research
hypotheses, The importance of problems and hypotheses
5. Research design – Experimental and Non-experimental research design, Field research, and
Survey research.
6. Methods of data collection – Secondary data collection methods, qualitative methods of data
collection (including content analysis and participant observation), and Survey methods of data
collection including in-depth interviews and focus group discussions
7. A review of experimental designs: completely randomised designs, randomised block designs,
Latin square designs and factorial designs ensuring the need for randomisation and replication.
8. Attitude measurement and scaling – Types of measurement scale (ordinal, nominal and ratio);
Use of Likert scale in questions. Questionnaire designing – (length of questions, open ended
and closed ended questions). Reliability and Validity-of data and results.
9. Sampling techniques – The nature of sampling, Probability sampling design(simple random ,
stratified, systematic and cluster sampling), Non-probability sampling design( purposive,
judgemental and quota), Determination of sample size n for each sampling procedure given
error size and level of significance.
10. Processing and analysis of data: Review of statistical methods for data processing(basic statistics,
Frequencies, mean, mode, median, skewness, kurtosis, inference, regression, analysis of variance
for different types of designs, and processing experimental data and survey data using the
statistical packages MINITAB and SPSS as well as Excel.
11. Ethical issues in conducting research:(acknowledging prior knowledge, no plagiarism, patenting of
inventions, working within the rules of the professional bodies e.g Institute of Engineers, as well as
the Research Council (RCZ), Medical Research Council(MRCZ), animal welfare organisations
etc) .
12. Report generation, report writing: looking at different types of reports, technical, academic and

general reports. References using APA format and Harvard formats. Report structure :Title page,

Abstract, Introduction, Methodology, Results, Discussion, References, and Appendices.

Course Outline: Research Methods MEPE/MCE513 Page 3 of 5

4. LEARNING STRATEGY
Teaching methods include readings, lectures, group discussions, exercises, and assignments. Lectures are
designed such that ensure greater scholar participation.
4.1. Lectures: During lectures the lecturer presents the theoretical concepts of the course to
the students and provides guidelines on the various areas of the course and since this is MSc
level students can find other sources in the library on line etc. Also, the lecturer initiates group
work on certain topics and groups present their findings.
4.2. Computer Laboratory practicals: For data analyses a review of the use of a number of
packages like MINITAB, SPSS and EXCEL is done to ensure good analysis and interpretation of
results.
4.4. Self-study / take-home assignments / project work: Students will submit assignments via
email or as hard copies whichever method is convenient. There is also a group mini project (not
more than 3 people per group) which will be submitted as part of the coursework.
4.5. Feedback: Feed-back will be sent via email or through the class rep in the case of hard
copies.
4.6. Consultations: Students are free to make appointments with the lecturer during working
hours to seek further clarification of the concepts covered but that were not well understood in
the lecture.

4.7. Communication outside of the normal classroom and laboratory context can be done using
Email or through TSIME.
4.8. A register of attendance will be maintained. Students are expected to attend at least 80%
of the contact time.

4.9. Major Components of the Course: The major components of the course are Lectures,
presentations and use of data analysis packages. some lecture notes will also be posted on
TSIME.

5. COURSE ASSESSMENT
The following assessment categories are scheduled:

5.1. Final Examination:

There will be one final examination that consists of seven (7) questions covering all the aspects
covered in this course. The student will be asked to choose ONLY five (5) questions. It is a three
hour examination and the University of Zimbabwe examinations conditions apply.

5.2. Two Assignments

Two assignments are given in which there are questions where an individuals must relate
answers to their work places.

Course Outline: Research Methods MEPE/MCE513 Page 4 of 5

5.3. Group project : Three students who work in the same company get together and conduct
a mini research following the research process and will finally submit the report.

7. PRESCRIBED TEXT BOOKS:

Recommended Texts

1. Bryman, Alan & Bell, Emma (2011). Business Research Methods (Third Edition), Oxford
University Press.

2. Kerlinger, F.N., & Lee, H.B. (2000). Foundations of Behavioural Research (Fourth Edition),
Harcourt Inc.

3. Rubin, Allen & Babbie, Earl (2009). Essential Research Methods for Social Work, Cengage
Learning Inc., USA.

4. Anantasi, A. & Urbina, S. (2004). Psychological Testing, Pearson Education, Inc.

5. Chawla, Deepak & Sondhi, Neena (2011). Research methodology: Concepts and cases, Vikas
Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. Delhi.

6. Pawar, B.S. (2009). Theory building for hypothesis specification in organizational studies,
Response Books, New Delhi.

7. Neuman, W.L. (2008). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches, Pearson
Education.

8. Walpole RE and Myers(1989) “Probability and Statistics for Engineers and Scientists,”
Macmillan Fourth edition .

9. Shamoo A and Resnik D. (2015). Responsible Conduct of Research, 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford
University Press).

Course Outline: Research Methods MEPE/MCE513 Page 5 of 5