Initiation to the scientific method [INFOB302]

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• conduct a literature search to identify the state of the art for a given research context and topic;
• formulate and evaluate the quality of a research question and its sub-questions and hypotheses;
• define an evaluation protocol to answer a defined research question;
• participate in a peer review process as an author and as a reviewer;
• orally present the different stages of a research study, and justify the choices made.

Objectives

The objective of this course is to introduce students to the scientific research process and to provide them with the basic skills needed to carry out such a process.

Content

The main thread of the course is based on the essential steps in conducting scientific research. The student is led to define a research question on a computer science topic, a protocol to answer it and to present their research work orally. They are also introduced to the peer review process and the proper use of bibliographic search engines.