Course overview
The aim of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the basic research skills for topics related to the construction industry and construction management as well as to prepare them for the Honours research project. Students will learn about why research is carried out and how undertaking it results in establishing facts, new knowledge and conclusions, in the context of construction management research.
Students will learn the basic skills required for designing and conducting a research project, including literature search and review, research instrument development, and data collection and analysis techniques that are most frequently used in construction management research and ethical considerations in social science research.
Students will also learn about the various construction research topics, select a topic that is most relevant to their interest and future career path, and develop a research proposal on the selected topic in preparation for the Honours research project that they will conduct in the following semester.
Course learning outcomes
- Identify and evaluate the research problems relevant to the current construction industry.
- Review, analyse, consolidate and synthesise past research information related to a selected research problem using extensive literature.
- Utilising ethical processes, identify and evaluate different types of data collection and analysis techniques available for construction management research.
- Identify and recommend methods to solve complex problems in construction management research.
- Develop a proposal for a selected construction management research by presenting a clear and coherent exposition of gained knowledge.