Textbook: Fellows and Liu, Research Methods for Construction Blackwell, 1997

Objectives:

The objective of this seminar is to expose you to the principles of scientific research and to gain adequate knowledge to aid you in developing a research proposal executable into an acceptable thesis.

Description:

For seminar description see the attached syllabus.

Performance Evaluation:

Student’s performance in this seminar is evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis. To pass, you need to:

1 Actively participate in the seminar discussions.

2 Submit at the end of the semester (last seminar meeting) a research proposal that demonstrates a

clear understanding of the basic principles of scientific research.

3. In lieu of the proposal, students take a final exam and pass it with a grade of 50% or better.

As a final note, I sincerely sympathize with those of you who feel the above requirements are disproportionate to the number of credit hours allotted to this seminar. My only conciliation is that the extra effort you put in this seminar will produce a high “return on investment” when you complete your thesis or report.

CEM 599 (Dr. Almohawis)

SYLLABUS

Meeting # Topic Reading

1. Introduction to the Seminar -

2. Scientific Inquiry & Theories Chapters 1, 3

3. The research Question (Thesis Topics) Chapter 2

4. Concepts, Constructs, and Variables -

5. Hypothesis Chapter 5

6, 7 Research Design Chapter 4

8. Validity: Internal and External -

9. Measurements, Reliability, and Validity -

10, 11 Date Collection Techniques Chapter 6

12. Scaling Handout

13. The Research Proposal Handout

14. The Research Report Chapters 8,9

15 Exam